I’ve been writing so much lately, partly in preparation for the release of Playing to Win: Raising Children in a Competitive Culture (have I mentioned you can pre-order it now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or the University of California Press’ website?!), that I decided to do a writing round-up this week. These four different [...]
It’s always great fun to see visual depictions and analysis of activities I’ve studied. Unlike Dance Moms, the drama in the recent documentary Brooklyn Castle isn’t manufactured. It brings an important story, and activity, to a broader audience– in a way not done since the 1993 movie Searching for Bobby Fischer. Below is my review [...]
This blog originally appeared on the Gates Cambridge blog, A Transformative Experience, on July 29, 2012. I was a Gates Cambridge scholar at the University of Cambridge from 2002-2003. It truly was one of the most transformative experiences of my life from a personal and professional point of view. For many years after my time [...]
Testing and Tiaras are back. Earlier this month TLC’s Toddlers & Tiaras returned with new episodes in Season 5. And last week Toddlers & Tiaras “superstar” Eden Wood premiered her own show on Logo; Eden’s World follows Eden into her post-pageant retirement life (which still involves pageants– as she and her mom serve as child [...]
I have a soft spot for scholastic chess. In 2005 I started studying chess as part of my dissertation research (which is forthcoming as Playing to Win: Raising Kids in a Competitive Culture). One of the things I loved the most about the chess scene is the diversity of people who meet and engage over [...]
I recently published a book review of Francesco Duina’s new sociological investigation on competition in the latest issue of International Review of Modern Sociology. You can read the review by CLICKING HERE. While it did appear in an academic journal, I believe the review (and the book itself!) should be accessible to a non-academic audience. [...]
I was honored to participate in an “online roundtable” panel of experts over at Boston Magazine related to overparenting. The question I was asked to answer, along with four experts in psychology and social work, was “Are We Overparenting Our Kids?” This roundtable was tied to a feature story written by Katheine Ozment called “Welcome [...]
Earlier this week Forbes ran an article entitled “The Secret to Being a Power Woman: Play Team Sports.” The piece has certainly struck a chord with many women– and it struck a chord with me as it dovetails nicely with some of my research on girls and competitive afterschool activities. In my work I find [...]
Please check out my first post over at orgtheory– on the back-to-school/afterschool industry. If you’re a parent you’ve likely spent a lot of time lately preparing for the start of the school year. Pictures on the front porch of the house with child in first-day-of-school attire (posted to Facebook, of course)? Check. School supplies purchased [...]
A piece I wrote on the aftermath of the Tiger Mom Amy Chua controversy recently appeared in Contexts– a sociology magazine for the general public. Hope you enjoy it and would love to here what you think! On January 25, 2011, Stephen Colbert announced, “My guest tonight is a Yale professor who has written a [...]
