Kids Are Back To School. Let's Not Add Academic Pressure

Also: I Wasn’t Ready For This Kind Of Grief ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌  [View in Browser]( | [Donate [WBUR]]( [WBUR](  [WBUR]( April 11, 2021 Dear Cog reader, After more than a year, schools in Massachusetts are slowly reopening full-time. Last week, many elementary students returned to in-person classes. This week, the middle-schoolers go back. It’s the closest thing we’ve had to normalcy – despite the masks, the quiet lunches, the unnatural space between young bodies – in a long time. But writer Ellen O’Donnell, a pediatric psychologist, wants to make sure we don’t race back to all of our pre-pandemic ways. Even before COVID-19 closed schools, she writes, research suggested schools needed to pull back on academic pressure and grades, and pay more attention to learning and students’ social and emotional needs. Now, as students have suffered through the “twin pandemics of COVID-19 and racial injustice,” she [writes]( it’s especially important not to blindly leap back into the old system. Also this week: [Kathy N. Le]( on Asian Americans giving voice to their suffering; [Kat Read]( on her journey with Taylor Swift’s new album; [Mignon Duffy and Kim Price-Glynn]( on the importance of a care agenda in politics; [Rich Barlow]( on the quiet revolution to pay parents; and [Anne Gardner]( on “Justin Beaver,” the fur coat she couldn’t give up. Stay safe, — Kathleen Burge and Cloe Axelson, Cognoscenti editors newsletters@wbur.org Must Reads url[I Wasn’t Ready For This Kind Of Grief]( In the aftermath of the mass shooting in Atlanta, Kathy N. Le writes, I am realizing that I have neither the emotional ‘muscle memory’ to express my frustration, sadness and fear, nor the natural instinct to make myself heard. [Read more](.   #%23%23[Twitter](  #%23%23[Facebook](    [Kids Are Returning To School. But Let’s Avoid A Return To Academic Pressure]( Suddenly, we’re in a race to pick up where we left off, to catch up to the pace we were at when school abruptly closed in March 2020, writes Ellen H. O'Donnell. [Read more](. [‘Fearless (Taylor’s Version)’ Is Finally Here. We’ve Both Come A Long Way In 13 Years]( Taylor Swift is re-releasing her celebrated 2008 album. For me, "Fearless (Taylor’s Version)" is a rare and beautiful invitation to reflect, writes Kat Read. [Read more](.  Support the news [A 'Care' Agenda Is Essential Policy]( Joe Biden could be the first president to pursue 'caregiving' as a policy priority, write Mignon Duffy and Kim Price-Glynn. [Read more](. [The Quiet Revolution Underway To Pay Parents]( Democratic and Republican proposals would redefine paid work, writes Rich Barlow. This norm-upending idea to pay parents is overdue. [Read more](. [My Life With 'Justin Beaver': Confessions Of A Closet Fur-Owner]( PETA may have moved on from fur – but I'm not ready, writes Anne Gardner. [Read more](. What We're Reading "In Chinese families, you greet someone by asking if they’ve eaten yet. It is love expressed as concern ... " The New York Times, "[Keeping Love Close]( "One of the great paradoxes of love is that our most transcendental need is for people who, in a worldly sense, we do not need at all." The Atlantic, "[The Best Friends Can Do Nothing for You]( "The concept of space as a clean slate comes with the caveat that only a select few are worthy of salvation ... " The Guardian, "[Revive the US space program? How about not]( “ Our instinct in moments of danger is to seek the comfort of invisibility, to be passive and hope the danger will pass. — Kathy N. Le, "[I Wasn’t Ready For This Kind Of Grief]( ICYMI [Talking To Patients And Their Families, Even When There's Nothing To Say]( Dr. Michael P.H. Stanley called the wife of his cancer patient every day with updates. Then he missed a day. [Read]( clicking on the link above – and be sure to listen to the on-air commentary.       If you’d like to write for Cognoscenti, send your submission, pasted into your email and not as an attachment, to opinion@wbur.org. Please tell us in one line what the piece is about, and please tell us in one line who you are. 😎 Forward to a friend. They can sign up [here](. 📣 Give us your feedback: newsletters@wbur.org 📨 Get more WBUR stories sent to your inbox. [Check out all of our newsletter offerings.]( Support the news [WBUR]( [WBUR]  [WBUR]( [95289b97-66e8-43d4-a174-3bc3520a79a9.png]( [Instagram](  [Twitter]( [Facebook]( Want to change how you receive these emails? [Stop getting this newsletter by updating your preferences.]( I don't want to hear from WBUR anymore. [Unsubscribe from all newsletters.]( Interested in learning more about corporate sponsorship? [Click here.]( Copyright © 2021 WBUR-FM, All rights reserved. You signed up for this newsletter at wbur.org. Our mailing address is: WBUR-FM 890 Commonwealth AveBoston, MA 02215-1205 [Add us to your address book](