October 2011
When Does Dress Code Become Censorship in Public School? Oct 31, 2011
The recent banning at an Arizona high school of pink t-shirts bearing a slogan that the principal found offensive has begged the questions: Are slogans offensive if they're displayed for a good cause? Should school officials be more lenient in...
'Sesame Street' Strives to Combine Humor and Science Oct 28, 2011
For more than 40 years, preschoolers have been asking how to get to Sesame Street; after the show's latest season, which began in September 2011, these children might be able to calculate just how many miles they need to travel to get there....
Should Bullies Go to Jail? Oct 27, 2011
Should school bullies be locked up behind bars? Yes, that is extreme, and schools haven't yet gotten to that point. But as bullying has extended beyond the campus and seeped into victims' private lives through Facebook, Twitter and other social...
Chronic Absenteeism a Problem for Some Young Students Oct 26, 2011
It likely goes without saying that you can't learn unless you're in the classroom. Missing a day here or there for illness or emergencies is one thing, but missing more than 18 days per year becomes a problem known as chronic absenteeism. From...
Keeping Schools Safe, But At What Cost? Oct 25, 2011
How do you make safer a school system that during the 2009-10 academic year reported well over 800 physical assaults and nearly 130 confiscated weapons at its high schools? One way is to install state-of-the-art detection machines and...
Chicago Schools Require Recess, and Every Other School Should, Too Oct 24, 2011
In August 2011, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) announced that recess would be mandatory in every elementary school in the CPS system starting in 2012. While other states have passed laws regarding recess, some still do not require any type of...
The Potato Fights to Stay in School Lunches Oct 21, 2011
Potatoes are under attack. Despite their status as one of the most cherished parts of a school lunch, the federal government is looking to limit the starchy staple's presence in cafeterias. But French fries aren't going without a fight, though...
Nashville Students Will Now Rock (and Rap, DJ and More) in School Oct 20, 2011
Nashville is widely acclaimed for its music,and now the city is hoping to develop its musical spirit in generations of schoolchildren. With some high-powered help from locally-based stars, Nashville looks primed to bring contemporary music...
Why Raising Kids Keeps Getting More Expensive Oct 19, 2011
Everyone knows that raising a child isn't cheap. But did you know that the cost of raising a child has been rising dramatically in recent years? It's not just a matter of designer clothes and other over-priced luxuries; the simplest essentials...
Is the Pledge of Allegiance Truly Voluntary? Oct 18, 2011
The city of Brookline, Massachusetts, recently made headlines when an activist group pushed for the town to ban the Pledge of Allegiance from schools. While the debate has fostered political posturing and grandstanding, it's also raised a serious...
Inside the Nation's Best Urban School District Oct 17, 2011
Urban school districts have a reputation for poor performance and low morale. Yet North Carolina's Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools (CMS) is fighting to become a progressive and elite place to send your child. The hard work paid off last month, when...
Fighting Bullies with Shakespeare Oct 14, 2011
This fall, students at more than 30 elementary, middle and high schools throughout Colorado will receive a special performance of William Shakespeare's 'Twelfth Night.' What makes this performance unique? It's tied to bully-prevention workshops...
Turn Your School Green Oct 13, 2011
A school building can leave a massive ecological footprint, polluting the environment through inefficiency and waste. If you're interested in making your school a little greener, there are many steps you can take. Pursuing even a single step from...
How Bullying Affects Your Child Oct 12, 2011
On January 14, 2010, 15-year-old Phoebe Prince committed suicide. The Irish-born student, who was living in Massachusetts at the time, became a prominent symbol of the tragic consequences of bullying. Though not every bullying story ends like...
High School Fight Clubs May Be Common Oct 11, 2011
The first rule of fight club, as stated in both the 1996 novel by Chuck Palahniuk and the 1999 film starring Brad Pitt, is that you don't talk about fight club. Yet many high school students are doing much more than talking about their fight...
Unbanning Books, Sort Of Oct 10, 2011
Banning books that are deemed controversial is a practice that school libraries can't seem to move past. Among others, Kurt Vonnegut's 'Slaughterhouse-Five' is no stranger to such bans. Yet a Missouri school board recently voted to unban the book...
Fun (and Healthy!) School Lunch Ideas Oct 07, 2011
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips and juice boxes have been boring kids while not being particularly healthy for generations. It doesn't have to be this way. With the new school year in full swing, you can make school lunches that...
Public School Should Be Free for Students...But It's Not Oct 06, 2011
Once upon a time, parents sent their kids off to school confident in the knowledge that their taxes had paid for anything Little Johnny or Janey might need: supplies, extracurricular activities, busing and all other support services. But in the...
Could Schools Start Charging Students to Use the Bathroom? Oct 05, 2011
The past few years of a tough recession have all but done away with a free public education system. From elementary schools to higher education institutions, more and more charges are being heaped upon parents and students as schools deal with...
Skip Reading Class and Bring Back Home Ec Oct 04, 2011
Once included in the standard curriculum, home economics began to vanish from the educational scene sometime during the 1980s. In the face of technological advances what benefit, some wondered, could there be in teaching children how to sew and...
Should Your Daughter Be Forced To Get the HPV Vaccine? Oct 03, 2011
At a recent Republican presidential debate, candidate Michele Bachman railed against the government requiring young girls to receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. While most agree that Bachman engaged in unfounded fear-mongering about...