Talk Show Panel Proposal:

High School’s Not Forever

We all experience high school differently. Some love it, some hate it and some are just doing time.

Authors Jane Bluestein and Eric Katz, in their ground-breaking book, High School’s Not Forever, surveyed and interviewed thousands of teens from across the country.

The authors, along with a diverse panel of current high school students and recent high school graduates, are available to provide a window into how our teens struggle to survive the maze that is the high school experience.

As guests on your show, the authors and students can offer personal experience and insight into the issues that affect teens daily, from academic and social pressures to the “saving graces and positive places” that help them survive the daily grind of high school’s realities.

“Hookups, breakups and breakdowns” are among the issues our young people face daily, as well as issues of status and identity. See and hear what they know and feel about friendship, dating, sex and sexuality. Listen as they describe how they navigate the physical and emotional minefield they encounter on a regular basis. Hear about the values and priorities of the high school and the impact these can have on kids’ mental health, body image and coping strategies. Learn what they truly want and need from the adults in their lives.

Additionally, the authors—an educator who has worked with parents and teachers world-wide and a school counselor working on the front lines in a large, ethnically diverse high school—will bring a perspective to help adults not only to appreciate and understand what the kids in their lives may really have on their plates, but also ways to better encourage and support them.

Finally, this panel will do more than just point out the challenges of high school life. The book is action-oriented; the members of the panel will have a wide range of concrete tips, strategies and steps that teens can use to work through the struggles of today so that they are better able to see that tomorrow has greater promise.

For those of us who were told that high school is the best four years of our lives and felt despair at the notion that this is as good as it gets, High School’s Not Forever provides a calming counterpoint. For many people, these are NOT their best years. In fact, they can be among the most difficult and confusing years of their lives. High School’s Not Forever puts practical tools in the hands of kids with specific suggestions for real-life challenges, including how to approach a teacher, be a friend, deal with loss, prepare for a test, or successfully manage a variety of pressures, problems and provocations.

Our kids are unbelievably resilient. If we give them real options and support their choices, the future is likely to be a better place. The authors and teens will make it clear to teen viewers the ways in which they have some power in their lives and how they can use this power to make their high school experiences more positive, successful and enjoyable.

Contact Health Communication’s media specialist, Kim Weiss, at 1-800-851-9100 x212.

Contact the authors directly

About Jane Bluestein (bio).

About Eric Katz (bio).

Dr. Bluestein’s resume and speaking resume.

Mr. Katz’s resume and speaking resume.

Information about this book.

Sample pages of this book.

What people are saying about this book.

Dr. Bluestein’s Web site (for educators. parents and other adults).