#860: Social media and kids’ declining mental health, with Michael Horn

03/08/23 • 28 min

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Michael Horn joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss what schools can do to protect kids’ mental health and whether social media is making it worse. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber explores why schools seem to make more progress on math tests than reading tests.

Recommended content:

Michael Horn’s latest book, From Reopen to Reinvent: (Re)Creating School for Every Child
“Teen girls report record levels of sadness, C.D.C. Finds” —New York Times
“How to help young people limit screen time—and feel better about how they look” —NPR
“Is politics making kids depressed?” —Wall Street Journal
Jonathan Haidt’s Substack, After Babel
The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Evan Riehl and Meredith Welch, “Accountability, Test Prep Incentives, and the Design of Math and English Exams,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (September 26, 2022)

Feedback Welcome:

Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at [email protected].

Recommended content:

Michael Horn’s latest book, From Reopen to Reinvent: (Re)Creating School for Every Child
“Teen girls report record levels of sadness, C.D.C. Finds” —New York Times
“How to help young people limit screen time—and feel better about how they look” —NPR
“Is politics making kids depressed?” —Wall Street Journal
Jonathan Haidt’s Substack, After Babel
The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Evan Riehl and Meredith Welch, “Accountability, Test Prep Incentives, and the Design of Math and English Exams,” Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (September 26, 2022)

Feedback Welcome:

Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at [email protected].

Previous Episode

#859: Eliminating honors classes won’t advance equity, with Scott Peters

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Scott Peters of NWEA joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss why eliminating honors classes and other advanced education opportunities in the name of equity is a mistake. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber examines the connection between public school choice and adult criminality.
Recommended content:

“How one school district is balancing excellence and equity—and another isn’t” —Brandon L. Wright
“To increase equity, school districts eliminate honors classes” —Wall Street Journal
“Parents speak out against school canceling honors classes in the name of racial equity” —New York Post
“One-size-fits-all education doesn’t work well, but diversity advocates are hitting the accelerator” —Real Clear Investigations
The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Andrew Bibler et al., “Does School Choice Increase Crime?” NBER Working Paper (February 2023)

Feedback Welcome:

Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at [email protected].

Next Episode

#861: The fight to lift the charter school cap in New York City, with Crystal McQueen-Taylor

On this week’s Education Gadfly Show podcast, Crystal McQueen-Taylor of StudentsFirstNY joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss the battle royale to lift the charter cap in New York City. Then, on the Research Minute, Amber looks at the effects of closing and restarting low-performing schools as charter schools in New Orleans and Baton Rouge.

Recommended content:

“Charter school expansion faces tough fight in New York” —New York Times
“Proof that charters benefit all public-school kids” —New York Post
“Because they can: Governor Kathy Hochul’s charter school proposal is modest—so why are teachers’ unions and state legislators so determined to stop it?” —City Journal
Still Rising: Charter School Enrollment and Student Achievement at the Metropolitan Level —David Griffith
The study that Amber reviewed on the Research Minute: Whitney Bross, Douglas N. Harris, and Lihan Liu, “The effects of performance-based school closure and restart on student performance,” Economics of Education Review (June 2023)

Feedback Welcome:

Have ideas for improving our podcast? Send them to our producer Nathaniel Grossman at [email protected].