Apt. 11D Newsletter

1 week ago | lauramckenna.substack.com | Laura McKenna

College admissions is serious business out here in the upper-middle-class suburbs. Parents hire college advisors and tutors to increase the odds that their child will get into a school with the “right fit.” Thousands are spent guiding their children through the admission process, even before the first tuition bill. Yet, these decisions are being made without considering massive changes in the higher education landscape.

1 month ago | lauramckenna.substack.com | Laura McKenna

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1 month ago | lauramckenna.substack.com | Laura McKenna

Women aren’t pumping out enough babies. The birthrate is below the replacement rate in countries across the world. It’s not a good situation. A society can’t survive with too many old people playing MahJong in the Villages and not enough young people producing wealth. The declining childbirth rate is already impacting colleges and public education. With the rising costs of , persistent student loan debt, and heavy childcare costs, it’s no wonder that couples are postponing babies indefinitely.

1 month ago | lauramckenna.substack.com | Laura McKenna

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1 month ago | lauramckenna.substack.com | Laura McKenna

Twenty years ago, back when my son’s speech delay became obvious, the school district sent us to a neurologist to see if he had autism. She watched him do a couple of wooden puzzles and asked him some questions. Her answer was, “Probably not.” The whole visit lasted about 15 minutes. Teachers confided that they held back their suspicions about autism in other children because they thought it was pointless to worry the parents. Ultimately, there was nothing to be done, they said.