Being 12: The Year Everything Changes
"Being 12 means being a kid, a mature kid." Hear what these 12-year-olds think about navigating the most awkward, essential year of their life.
View ArticleOpinion: Seventh Grade Matters. A Lot.
Walk into a middle school and it may feel like you’ve stepped into a foreign land, a world where young people are self-consumed, where a minor situation to an adult feels huge and devastating to a...
View ArticleOpinion: The Power of Students Teaching Students
When we first met Jared we knew he was a bit lost. On paper the 12-year-old boy did not stand apart from his classmates at Breakthrough New York: he had good grades, strong teacher recommendations, and...
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Now Saving The Music Industry: Your 12-Year-Old
The rising tide of digital music has threatened to sink much of the record business. But an unexpected sandbar of profit has emerged: the tween market. Turns out, kids around the age of 12 still buy...
View ArticleNBC: Young New Yorkers Open Up About Tweenage Years
NBC New York tees up the Being 12 series with WNYC's Beth Fertig.
View ArticleChancellor Fariña on Being 12
New York City schools chancellor Carmen Farina explains why she thinks 7th grade is the single most important grade in a kid’s school life.Here's NYC schools chancellor Carmen Fariña in our studio...
View ArticleBeing 12: The Most Awkward, Essential Year of Our Lives
For a lot of American adults, age 12 is probably just one more moment in the extended blur that is adolescence, located smack dab in the middle of those forgettable middle school years. We're here to...
View Article12 Things to Know About 'Being 12' in New York City
1. Twelves are the New Face of America. The U.S. Census Bureau estimated there will be 21 million kids between the ages of 10 and 14 in the U.S. this year. This group of tweens is on the leading edge...
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Middle School: A 'Hot Mess' of Distractions
Seasoned middle school teachers and principals know what they're up against. Their students are bombarded by physical and psychological changes. The same child can show up dedicated and hard-working...
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Tweens and Tech Guide: Getting Them to Open Up
This story is part of New Tech City's series on education and technology.In this episode of our podcast:We kick off a month of podcasts on kids and technology! Exciting!We talk with listener Dierdre...
View ArticleThis Is a 12-Year-Old Brain on Peer Pressure
If adolescence has a poster child, it's a teenager. In a car. Smoking, drinking, and driving badly while also, somehow, having sex in the back seat. But changes in the brain that lead to the famously...
View ArticleFind 'Hidden Gems' Among NYC Middle Schools
A common frustration among families applying to New York City middle school is that there are only a few good schools, and everyone wants in. The popular schools get overwhelmed with applicants, stress...
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Lessons on Getting Adolescents Excited About Reading
In conjunction with WNYC’s Being 12 series, celebrated children’s book author Jon Scieszka will talk about getting adolescents– particularly young boys – to read, and the appeal of writing for this age...
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First Person: New Yorkers on Being 12
Abraham Esber, BrooklynDuring the day, this Williamsburg native is a seventh grader at East Side Community School in Manhattan. But three days a week after school, and on Saturdays, he travels to...
View ArticleMeet the Teachers Crazy Enough to Teach Middle School
It turns out middle school teachers disliked middle school as much as the rest of us.“It’s just an awkward and difficult time,” said Peter Schmitt, a middle school math teacher at Lower Manhattan...
View ArticleWhat a Brand Would Give to Be a Tween Girl’s Friend
Not so long ago, ads for pads and tampons showed images of women in gauzy garments, doing yoga on the beach. Manufacturers left it to moms and big sisters to give young women "the talk."Today, these...
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When Relationships Reign Supreme
Twelve-year-old Déjà Palmer lives with her mother and twin brother on the Lower East Side. She’s a good student at Tompkins Square Middle School, and she’s very active in an after-school program for...
View ArticleBeing 12: The Year Everything Changes for Kids, Schools, Tech, Bodies
It's no secret that being 12 years old can be tough. That's why we've created a full show about it. At 12, kids shed layers, test new roles and transform before our eyes as they explore what kind of...
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Being 12: How the Views of Young Teens Changed
As issues related to race and policing reverberated through New York City classrooms this school year, WNYC spoke to a few different groups of 12-year-old New Yorkers about how their views changed....
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On Talking Race to Young Teens, Teachers Say It's Been a Tough Year
After a year that saw high-profile police shootings plus the deadly attack on a black church in South Carolina, middle school teachers told WNYC their classrooms were abuzz with personal and sometimes...
View ArticleBeing 12: 'People Think I'm Supposed to Talk Ghetto, Whatever That Is.'
After a year that saw high-profile police shootings plus the deadly attack on a black church in South Carolina, middle school teachers told WNYC their classrooms were abuzz with personal and sometimes...
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