I have no desire to remember my eighth-grade self. If the new movie Eighth Grade captures what it’s like to be an insecure 13-year-old, I don’t want to see it. But, for those of you made of tougher stuff, the reviews are excellent. The Atlantic calls it a “mesmerizing, heartfelt portrait of teenhood.” Rolling Stone: “one of the best teen movies ever.” Vox: “startlingly empathetic, wincingly honest, and always completely charming.” Because of the movie’s “R” rating, actual eig

Boston will eliminate middle schools under a plan proposed by Superintendent Tommy Chang. The city already has created a number of K-8 schools. The plan calls for students to attend a K-8 and a high school with grades 9 to 12 or a K-6 and a school that includes grades 7-12. Chang wants to eliminate the “middle school plunge” in achievement. “Moving to a middle school causes a substantial drop in student test scores (relative to that of students who remain in K–8 schools),” re

Netflix is debuting a new movie and a new comedy series set in high schools, reports Mark Walsh in Ed Week. The movie, “#RealityHigh,” about social media excesses of high school students, has some redeeming qualities. “American Vandal,” an eight-part series, is in part a satire of Netflix’s own documentary series. Based on promos for the series, it looks dystopian. The movie features a girl, “a goofy, dog-loving nerd,” who tries to make friends at an affluent high school. She

In A&E’s Undercover High, which debuts Oct. 10, seven young adults ranging in age from 21 to 26 pose as teen-agers to attend a Topeka high school. They’re shown in class, clubs and activities and just hanging out with classmates who don’t realize they’re “undercover.” (The superintendent okayed the project.) The young adults include a former bully, victims of bullying, a teen mom, a youth motivational speaker and a teen minister. #adolescence #highschool

The “super-connected,” smartphone-addicted teens of “iGen” are lonely and unhappy, writes Jean M. Twenge in The Atlantic. “Rates of teen depression and suicide have skyrocketed since 2011,” tracking the spread of smartphones and social media. The kids are not alright. Twenge, a professor of psychology at San Diego State, has studied generational differences for 25 years, she writes. Around 2012, she noticed stark changes between Millennials and what she calls iGen. Today’s te

As parents are more involved with their children’s college lives — some send a wake-up call to ensure they get to early classes — colleges are adapting, writes Laura McKenna in The Atlantic. Some colleges “provide a parent-and-guardian track during student orientation and create webinars for parents on topics like homesickness and career services,” while others have created parent “leadership councils,” she writes. “Universities also reach out to parents with weekly newslette