Lance Armstrong

David Walsh

nce Armstrong

"Parent Voice Thank you Amina for talking to me about Zaynab and your family which helped me to know a bit more about her. We both agreed that the starting aspiration for Zaynab would be to become comfortable in her new environment and get familiar with the new language as she mostly speaks Arabic."

that God has designed them for a purpose, that while they are unique they are made in the image of God.

The movie is sporadically energized by its racing sequences. But it shies away from glamorizing Armstrong’s accomplishments. He is portrayed as a soulless, hypercompetitive narcissist addicted to the spotlight who grows to believe his own hype and is mercilessly vindictive toward anyone who threatens him. It is a measure of the public’s desperate desire for heroes and the greed and duplicity in sports that the scam continued for as long as it did.

The Program,” much to its detriment, concentrates almost exclusively on the history of the doping effort . There is no mention of his childhood or adolescence or any attempt to analyze his character. When the movie touches on the Livestrong Foundation, Armstrong’s charitable support organization for those with cancer, it is portrayed as a cynical buffer against allegations of drug use. The movie strongly suggests that the testicular cancer for which Armstrong was treated in the 1990s, before his ascent, was brought on by performance-enhancing drugs.

Where his film excels is in examining how it feels to be unable to accept defeat, even when you know victory was ill-gained. And in pulling no punches in pointing the finger at us, the gullible public, dumbly unable to reject an irresistible narrative. The clues were there all along, The Program reminds us. We just dug in our heels and presumed innocence, even though we knew it was too good to be true, despite having heard him tell us “we’re all the own authors of our own life story” and we should “go out there and write the best damn story you can”. The best place to hide is right out in front, in plain sight, in yellow.

theater screens often double as inspirational posters that bolster the belief that anyone can achieve the impossible if you only believe in yourself.

The most dramatically compelling scenes arrive early when a 25-year-old Armstrong is diagnosed with testicular cancer just as his career is taking off. After bravely conquering the disease following grueling treatment, he dedicates himself to reaching out to other cancer patients and giving them hope through his Livestrong Foundation and its ubiquitous yellow wristbands. He pays visits to hospital wards, encountering one young boy so weakened by his illness he can only gaze and wanly smile upon the biking god.

But seconds later, the cyclist is seen doubling down on his resolve to win at any price, exploiting other riders on his team and forcing them to undergo the same dangerous drug regimen as he does. Meanwhile, it is observed that his status as a cancer crusader and philanthropic spokesman proves to be a mighty shield against any speculation or criticism. Hence, the birth of St. Lance.

East Asian adolescents reported greater personal distress and less empathic concern than their Western counterparts

This ability is important for social functioning, as it helps children to coordinate relationships with others

Teachers are the engine that drives social and emotional learning (SEL) programs and practices in schools and classrooms, and their own social-emotional competence and wellbeing strongly influence their students

Classrooms with warm teacher-child relationships support deep learning and positive social and emotional development among students, writes Kimberly Schonert-Reich

Research shows that teaching is one of the most stressful occupations; moreover, stress in the classroom is contagious—simply put, stressed-out teachers tend to have stressed-out students

By developing empathy, youth learn to attend to emotional cues, listen, become sensitive to others, understand another’s perspective, and read the needs of others, which allows them to work and live with others in the community and act with compassion toward others’ needs.

a belief that coaches play a key role in helping young athletes not only develop their athletic prowess but, more importantly, develop life skills for personal growth and empowerment as well as help young people learn how to live compassionately and constructively within our communities ( Fraser-Thomas, Côté, & Deakin, 2005; Gould, Flett, & Lauer, 2012).