Russell Shaw, a veteran school administrator with 30-plus years of experience, has a confession: nobody knows what they're doing when it comes to raising kids. In his new eight-week newsletter series for The Atlantic, 'Raising Resilient Children,' Shaw promises not to provide a foolproof formula - because, as he puts it, anyone pitching one is making a fool's promise.

Shaw's journey began when he was 27, serving as dean of students at a Northern California school, responsible for 400 kids in grades 6 through 12. He was confident managing other people's children, but when he brought his own newborn home from the hospital, he found himself twisting around at red lights, incredulous that anyone would let him take the baby. There was no orientation, no manual, no check - just him, his wife, and a tiny human they were expected to turn into an adult.

After 25 years of parenting and 30-plus years in school administration, Shaw has concluded that some approaches do serve kids and parents better than others. His newsletter, which starts with an email tomorrow at 6 a.m. ET, will cover topics like motivation, friendship, failure, and AI. Each week, he'll discuss a story he's written for The Atlantic, share an original essay, and answer questions. He won't pretend the eight weeks will solve all your parenting dilemmas, but he does offer a glimmer of hope: even on the hardest days, there's real joy in this work - if you know where to look.