The Common Ground Speaker Series has some great speakers lined up to help parents better understand their children’s challenges. On Sept. 17, a mental health panel titled “Navigating the Tides of Adolescence” will be held at Junipero Serra High School, in partnership with local nonprofit StarVista.
For the full schedule of events, with starting times and addresses, see the Common Ground Speaker Series web page.
On Oct. 3, Paul Tough will speak at Menlo School in Atherton on the topic “The Years That Matter Most: How College Makes or Breaks Us.”
On Oct. 15, Lynn Lyons will speak at St. Andrew’s Episcopal School in Saratoga and at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Day School in San Mateo on the subject of “Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents: Interrupting the Worry Cycle.”
On Oct. 22, a screening of “The Like Movie” will be followed by a moderated teen panel at Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose on “The Impact of Social Media on Our Lives.”
Nov. 4, Michael Robb, PhD, will speak at Woodside Elementary on “The New Normal: Parents, Teens, Screens and Sleep.”
“Late Bloomers: Patience for Alternative Paths” will be the topic of a talk by Rich Karlgaard at Menlo School in Atherton on Nov. 12.
Lisa Damour, PhD, will speak on the topic of “Under Pressure: Confronting Stress and Anxiety in Girls” at the Nueva School in San Mateo and Sacred Hearth Preparatory in Atherton on Dec. 10.
Starting off 2020, Jennifer Eberhardt, PhD, will be in conversation with Julie Lythcott-Haims on “Biased: How Unconscious Bias Shapes Behavior” at Sacred Heart Preparatory in Atherton on Jan. 15.
“Changing the Game: Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids” is the title of John O’Sullivan’s talk, which will take place Jan. 27 at Crystal Springs Uplands middle school campus in Belmont, and on Jan. 28 at St. Andrew’s School in Saratoga and Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley.
On Feb. 12, there will be a Children’s Health Council panel discussion at Menlo School on the topic of “Is it LD/ADHD, Anxiety or Both?”
Wrapping up February, Jackson Katz will speak on “Modern Masculinity: Raising a Stand-Up Guy Not a Stand-By Guy” at Junipero Serra on Feb. 25 and St. Francis High School on Feb. 26.
On March 4, Michael Reichert, PhD, will speak on “How to Raise a Boy: Nurturing the Emotional Lives of Our Sons” at both Harker’s middle school campus and Trinity School in Menlo Park.
The season closes on March 24 with “We Need to Talk: How to Have Conversations that Matter,” with Celeste Headlee at Nueva School’s Bay Meadows Campus and the Bowman School in Palo Alto.
Please note all Common Ground Speaker Series events are free of charge to all community members , including parents, of member schools. Since The Harker School is a member school,parents need only come to the event and identify themselves as Harker parents. No RSVP is necessary. Non-member guests are welcome to attend for $20 at the door. Light refreshments are available 30 minutes prior to each event. Speakers’ books, if applicable, are available for purchase in cooperation with Books Inc.