The push for students to excel at school and get into the best colleges has never been more intense. In this discussion, author and parent Michael Thompson, Ph.D. will address America’s performance-driven obsession with the accomplishments of its kids–and provide a deeply humane response.

“How was school?” These three words contain a world of desire on the part of parents to know what their children are learning and experiencing in school each day. Children may not divulge much, but psychologist Michael Thompson suggests that the answers are there if we know how to read the clues and–equally important–if we remember our own school days.

School, Thompson reminds us, occupies more waking hours than kids spend at home; and school is full not just of studies but of human emotion–excitement, fear, envy, love, anger, sexuality, boredom, competitiveness. 

Michael Thompson, Ph.D., is a clinical psychologist, lecturer, consultant, and former seventh-grade teacher. He conducts workshops across the United States on social cruelty, children’s friendships, and boys’ development. With Catherine O’Neill Grace and Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D., he co-authored "Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Understanding the Social Lives of Children" and "Mom, They’re Teasing Me: Helping Your Child Solve Social Problems." With Dan Kindlon, Ph.D., he co-authored the New York Times bestseller "Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys." He is also the author of "Speaking of Boys: Answers to the Most-Asked Questions About Raising Sons."