Readers reacted to my column from the 13-year-old dealing with parents who split up. The email below was the most poignant. Q. I鈥檓 glad that 13-year-old had you to talk with. My family isn鈥檛 big on communication. And they put down anyone who seeks counseling. I should know. My parents ...
Q. I鈥檓 no longer a teen, but I have wonderful memories of you as my teacher. You taught us all so much, starting in middle school, when you empowered us to be comfortable with our changing selves, through senior year, when you facilitated a great game, you called 鈥渙ut of the bubble鈥� that ...
Q. I start high school soon. In my freshman orientation packet there was a note saying AI is not permitted. I get that they don鈥檛 want us to write our papers using AI, but isn鈥檛 AI what you use when you search online? Do you think they鈥檙e saying we can鈥檛 do that? That鈥檚 unrealistic. ...
Q. Tell me how to set boundaries and keep them. I have trouble saying no to friends, for one thing. I also can鈥檛 seem to keep my mouth shut 鈥� I overshare in person and online. Finally, I put up with being put down by friends. They say it鈥檚 all a joke, but it doesn鈥檛 feel funny to me. I ...
Q. Is it possible to re-invent myself in high school? I鈥檓 excited about leaving middle school 鈥� it sucked. I couldn鈥檛 find friends. I鈥檓 a writer and a poet at heart. I hope to hide those facets of my personality going forward, so I鈥檓 not made fun of so much. If no one knows me as I ...
My column about middle school friendships hit home with many readers. Here are two responses. Response 1: I read your column on Thursday with a great deal of interest and a little bit of flashback. I鈥檓 in my early 40s and a parent of two elementary school girls. When I read the question from ...
