Jessica Lahey
NEW DATE: JANUARY 30, 2025
The Gift of Failure: Learning, Motivation, and Competence
We all parent from a place of love and a desire to give our kids every possible opportunity to lead successful, happy, purpose-driven lives. However, some of the things we do to pave the way toward that success can backfire by undermining teen motivation, engagement, and even their ability to learn.
When teens are not allowed to fall and pick themselves up, they never learn how to tolerate disappointment, manage their relationships, take responsibility for themselves, or cope with the frustration of not getting what they want.
Join us to hear from Jessica Lahey how to empower your teen to overcome setbacks. Parents will learn how to boost motivation and engagement in school, increase competence and a sense of self-efficacy, and deepen their connection with their teen while simultaneously decreasing risk for substance use disorder and other negative mental health outcomes.
Our Speaker:
Jessica Lahey is the author of the New York Times bestselling book, The Gift of Failure: How the Best Parents Learn to Let Go So Their Children Can Succeed and The Addiction Inoculation: Raising Healthy Kids in a Culture of Dependence. Jess was awarded the Research Society on Alcohol’s Media Award for “outstanding journalistic efforts of writers who cover empirical research on alcohol” […] “for her book The Addiction Inoculation and advocacy for the recovery community.” Over twenty years, Jess has taught every grade from sixth to twelfth in both public and private schools.
Jess also spent five years teaching in a drug and alcohol rehab for adolescents in Vermont. She has written about education, parenting, and child welfare for The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and her biweekly column “The Parent Teacher Conference” ran for three years at the New York Times. She designed and wrote the educational curriculum for Amazon Kids’ award-winning animated series The Stinky and Dirty Show, and was a 2019 Pushcart Prize nominee. Jess holds the dubious honor of having written an article that was later adapted as a writing prompt for the 2018 SAT. She co-hosts the #AmWriting podcast from her empty nest in Vermont.
Our Q&A following the presentation will be moderated by Julie Beck, LCSW
Julie Beck, LCSW, School Counselor, Director of Advising, and member of the Student Support Team and Freshmen Seminar Team, joined the JCHS community in 2006. Julie is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who earned her MSW at New Mexico Highlands University. She also holds a MA in Eastern Classics from St. John’s College in Santa Fe, NM and a teaching certificate from the University of New Mexico. Julie’s undergraduate degree from the University of Rochester focused on a dual major of psychology and religion.
Prior to working at JCHS, Julie worked for a number of years at an adult inpatient mental health rehabilitation center in San Leandro, CA. Julie grew up just outside Boston in Newton, MA, where her family still resides. She currently lives in San Francisco with her two children and their dog. She is passionate about fitness and music and in her free time she enjoys taking long walks on Ocean Beach, doing yoga, teaching dance classes and seeing live bands whenever possible.