The Teacher Education Program will host a screening of the award-winning documentary “Chasing Childhood” on Monday, May 1, at 6 p.m. in Cramer Hall 087. No registration is required to attend.
Chasing Childhood is a feature-length documentary that explores how free play and independence have all but disappeared from kids’ lives, supplanted by relentless perfectionism leading to record rates of anxiety and depression, a situation now compounded by the pandemic. Free play, unsupervised by adults, is critical for developing essential life skills: grit, independence and resourcefulness. Many young adults may appear more accomplished on paper, but by the time they get to college, they are emotionally struggling and lacking the tools needed to live independently.
The event is coordinated by Dr. Terry Burant, clinical associate professor and director of Teacher Education in the Department of Educational Policy and Leadership.
