Along the Garden Path is out!

My new novel is out. This is a young adult contemporary fictional piece. I think it appeals to more than just young adults. If you've ever been a teen, parent a teen, or know a teen...you will connect!

Available at Amazon 

This is a story about Addison Erhard, an affluent young 17 year old growing up in McLean, Virginia who feels pressured to be successful. She wants to be a journalist who makes an impact on the world, and wants to attend Columbia University. Her family is split in their support, the pressure in the community and from her father is to attend an Ivy League school, to become a successful lawyer, doctor, politician or banker; her father would like her to become a banker. Her mother, an artist who does not fit in with the McLean society as well as her father, supports her desire to follow her dreams. While pursuing her dream to write, she also is striving to break the state record in track for the 800 meter run.

She meets a young man, Mason Gentry, who wants to buck high society McLean by following his family’s legacy and become a farmer. While investigating her story about kids who pursue non-traditional college and career paths, the young journalist falls in love with Mason.

In March a student at Chain Bridge High School and friend of both Mason and Addison, Jamison Randall, is struck down during a hit-and-run accident early one morning. The driver of the car has fled and Jamison is in a coma. Addison, who works for the news magazine decides to investigate the accident on her own, and what she find is more than she can handle.

http://amzn.com/B01CXKEY0G

How @4410 Changed our Journalism Program

My son, Willem Drescher performing at Open Miic Night in October

@4410 changed my news magazine program, Inside 15000. Yes, I know, it’s a music space, and what does that have to do with a news magazine? The owner of Contemporary Music Center (CMC) and @4410, Menzie Pittman visited my class in October of 2015 to speak to my students about how their skills as journalists can take them to amazing places. After his talk, he walked around the classroom and talked to the kids, saw what they were working on, and asked us how we made our money to run the magazine. My then-business manager, Lauren Ainslie, explained that we held Open Mic Nights in our cafeteria once a month, but that it wasn’t all that great because we didn’t know what we were doing with the sound system and things sounded bad, and the work it took to set everything up and take it down barely made it worth the while. We just weren’t making out numbers.

The idea of Open Mic Nights at @4410 was born. Menzie offered to host our Open Mic Nights; we would benefit from their incredible sound system, stage with light, and seating for a crowd of over 100 kids. I have never felt more relieved, I would be able to offer a cozy Open Mic environment with all the benefits of a professional setting, without having to pay for it, or set it up and take it down.

The arrangement benefited @4410 and Inside 15000: we charged $7 per ticket for attending the otherwise free Open Mic Nights. Menzie got a fee ad, but more importantly, kids were attending @4410 and word was getting out this amazing space. Our first Open Mic Night gave us a 130 student turn-out. We raised enough money to pay for our next edition, in just two hours’ time! The arrangement continues to be a win-win situation for both CMC and the community.

The best part of the entire experience is watching students, parents and teachers performing, not only for each other, but with each other. My favorite experience in this regard was watching a student of mine perform; she was a shy student in class, she wore her hair so that I couldn’t see her eyes, she was soft spoken and vey nearly never voiced her opinions in our many class discussions. She hated my class so much that she tried to transfer out. I offered extra credit for students to perform at @4410. This quiet, shy girl got up on stage and, with her family and classmates watching, belted out a song with such a rich, deep and emotional voice that it brought tears to my eyes. When she finished I embraced her, and told her how her music moved me. That changed our entire year. She began speaking up in class, she formed a group of friends to work with, and she and I developed a much stronger teacher-student relationship. It is incredible to see how music can change the way we view those around us.

MaryBeth Starkey and John Crocker belt out some old country tunes.

Not only have students come out of their shells on stage, teachers have as well. We’ve seen a teacher and student duet, with Mary Beth Starkey and John Crocker performing a country music set. Students in the crowd cheered as this unusual duo performed together. We’ve hear Mr. Dittmer sing old fashioned Frank Sinatra ballads, we’ve had Ms. Thorpe, a new Spanish teacher at the school sing, after being part of the school for just one month.

Because @4410 has such a family-friendly environment, we see family performances as well. Teacher’s children have performed, we’ve watched the Young family with father and son performing, and the youngest Young belting out in a voice that amazed the crowd. We’ve had the Thistle family perform, not only with father and son but father and sons!

After each event, we leave not only with our hearts filled, but our coffers as well. @4410 has helped us publish our $610-a-month issue for the past year-and-a-half. @4410 has also benefited from our combined events, because the students who attend our BHS Open Mic Nights love it so much, they attend it every Friday when it is a community Open Mic Night (and free).

If you haven’t visited the Open Mic Nights yet, visit the next one! Visit their website for upcoming events.

Andrew Young Rocks out

At what cost?

I don't understand. I mean, I do understand why people take their own lives. But I don't know why we let it happen over and over. Especially young people in our society, who are under tremendous pressure to perform, to be liked, to blend in -- yet stand out to be an individual -- it is tragic. Being a teenager in Northern Virginia is the most "#FirstWorldProbs" place to grow up. We may laugh at the need for a car for every 16 year old, the fact that they have more clothes than they can wear, and that they have the newest phones and computers, but the cost of all that "success" and "status" is that they are under pressure. Very real pressure. It is real. It is scary to these teens. Today we lost yet another bright student with a promising future, with everything in place to succeed, yet something inside her couldn't take it another day.

I know the statistics. Believe me, as a teacher at my high school, I have watched eight young souls lose their lives to suicide. We've struggled at home with depression linked to the high expectations placed on our students, not only academically, but physically as well. There is a standard, and if you don't fit it, you try to compensate, or you worry. Some kids can handle it, some kids don't mind being unique, but far too many kids crack under the pressure.

Suicide is the third leading cause of death among teenagers today. Nationally it is the tenth leading cause of death. According to the CDC, "There were 41,149 suicides in 2013 in the United States—a rate of 12.6 per 100,000 is equal to 113 suicides each day or one every 13 minutes." Even when you take the full number of suicides per year, which includes adults and children, the national rate has nothing on our local rate. We have lost eight students in seven years. Each year we've had about 3000 students, some years more, some years less. So, out of the 21,000 student who have walked through our halls, we've lost eight. that is 1 in 2,625 instead of 1 in 100,000. That is a bit shocking. Our school in not unique, our geographic location is unique, the pressure we are putting our students under is what is unique. Every school in Northern Virginia has had its unfair share of teen suicides. Why?

What can we do for our teens? This goes back to the blog I posted on Saturday. Kids are seeking self worth and value in their school performance, their testing ability and the schools they apply for, get accepted to, and attend. We need to re-examine as parents, teachers and a culture what really is important to us. Is it success? If so, can we find a new way to measure it?

I know as a parent, I want my children to be happy. I will measure their success based on their level of contentment. What I mean by that is, if they choose a career that makes gives them joy and satisfaction, despite making little money, then that is successful. If they make a living that makes them happy, and wealthy, then awesome, but I won't measure success by income, college attended, people they know, or how they look. It is the smile on their face, the clarity in their eyes, and the people they surround themselves with that will tell me if they are happy and and thereby successful. I plan on telling my kids just that tonight.

Some resources if you feel that your child might be in danger:
The Parent Resource Program
HealthyChildren.org
Suicidehotline