They Say / I Blog

Clothes or costumes: Laurie Frankel on parenthood and gender choice

What to wear on the first day of school. Who doesn’t stress out over that decision? Novelist Laurie Frankel was stressed out plenty about her first-grader’s first day, but the child was calm and certain. This September 2016 New York Times article describes what happened.

Read it here: Frankel, “’From he to she in first grade”

Oh, say, can we see: Zack Beauchamp on the national anthem at sporting events

What do you think of when you hear the Star-Spangled Banner? Firworks? Parades? Football? Ramparts? Recently, the silent acts of some professional athletes have led to scrutiny of the custom of playing the national anthem before major league sporting events. Journalist Zack Beauchamp explores the history of the practice in this September 2016 essay on Vox.com.

Read it here: Beauchamp, “’Kaepernick didn’t bring politics into sports. The NFL did that by playing the anthem”