August 05, 2023

Grandparents and Drug Addiction

Drug addictions are a major health problem that effect many families. More than one million American children reportedly now live with grandparents due to their parent’s addictions. Then, recent research shows that modern dependence on digital technology causes deep changes in the brain, suggesting updates may be needed for modern education.

Episode Segments:

Grandparents as Parents because of addiction More than one million American children now live with grandparents, primarily because of their parent's addiction to opioids and other drugs. Bacall Hincks, Family Advocate and Program Coordinator at Children's Service Society of Utah said this growing trend is causing grandparents to put off retirement and plow through savings to rescue their grandchildren from dangerous situations. She discussed how these difficult experiences can negatively affect children’s mental and physical health.
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Your Brain on Digital Maryanne Wolf, PhD, Professor of Child Development and Director of the Center for Reading and Language Research at Tufts University, and author of Reader, Come Home: The Reading Brain in a Digital World discussed the latest research into the human brain as we become increasingly dependent on digital technologies, rather than the printed word. She expressed concerns for both children’s and adults’ ability to “deep read,” as the brain is literally rewired by huge amounts of short bursts of information. She offered suggestions for how the nation’s education system needs to adapt.
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Ideas in dducation that aren't working David Michael Slater is a teacher, and author of We're Doing It Wrong: 25 Ideas in Education That Just Don't Work―And How to Fix Them explained why he believes that many current approaches in education simply aren’t working―for students, for teachers, and for society at-large. He explained how teacher evaluations could be improved and why anti-bullying programs in schools don’t work.
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Guest(s) Appearing on this Episode

Maryanne Wolf Maryanne Wolf is the John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service, Director of the Center for Reading and Language Research, and Professor in the Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development at Tufts University. Learn More About Dr. Wolf