holidays

Don't assume that every student had a fun or warm holiday break

By Kirsten Perry

For many students and their families, the holidays can be a time of high anxiety and stress. Read these tips from the 2018 School Counselor of the Year on how teachers can help students transition back to school.

The best gift ever, according to 13 writers, musicians and podcasters

By Elizabeth Flock, Anne Azzi Davenport

Jonathan Franzen, Renee Fleming, Ken Burns and others share the best gift they've ever received.

Column: This Black Friday, do something different. Get outdoors

By Richard Coolidge

This year on Black Friday, take your dog for a walk, go on a hike, explore a beach, get out on the water, play a board game, spend time with those who matter.

Teaching kids about Thanksgiving or Columbus? They deserve the real story

By David Cutler

My students felt betrayed, angry even, that throughout their elementary and middle school years, teachers had pushed a fake narrative, or had done little, if anything, to correct the record.

Column: Why you should tell your kids tragic stories this holiday season

By Marshall Duke, Emory University

In every culture that anthropologists have ever studied, people tell stories. Families most frequently tell stories around the time of vacations, family reunions, (sadly) funerals, Thanksgiving and, of course, the family-oriented winter holidays of Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa.

News Wrap: FBI says ISIS is urging holiday attacks on the U.S.

By PBS News Hour

In our news wrap Friday, the FBI is warning that Islamic State supporters are urging attacks on holiday gatherings and churches in the U.S. Also, the suspect who plowed a truck into a Berlin Christmas market has been shot dead.

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Photos: What Santa does on his day off

By Abbey Oldham

Father Christmas, Père Noël, St. Nicholas, Babbo Natale, Santa Claus: The jolly old man with a white beard is an unmistakable figure around the United States, but he didn’t always wear a red coat and have a reindeer posse.

Military men and women recite 'A Visit from St. Nicholas'

By Dan Sagalyn

Watch U.S. service men and women stationed all over the world recite lines from the beloved holiday poem, "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Special thanks to the Pentagin's Defense Media Activity department for this heartwarming piece. We hope you all…

Don't ignore economic inequality at schools, especially during the holidays

By Paul Chylinski

From the time students start kindergarten, they learn about the importance of being kind and generous toward others. But what happens to young people's understanding of that message around the holidays, when the excitement of receiving shiny gifts overtakes the season? What…