In order to provide a safe haven for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning high school students, the Chicago public school system is considering opening a high school specifically for LQBTQ students. Attendance at the new school would be voluntary and open to everyone, not just LGBTQ students.
More than a third of Illinois students surveyed in 2006 said that sexual orientation is the most common reason for bullying and harassment in schools; the same number listed gender identity. Three out of four students said they had heard anti-gay remarks from other students and more than four out of five heard students say things like "that's so gay" or "you're gay."
It seems like there is a definite need for change here, but I have to say that this school sounds an awful lot like "separate but equal" to me. I'm not saying they don't need the school or shouldn't move ahead with the plan; it just saddens me to no end that it is needed.
Money is not the only thing that makes a good school, but it certainly helps. There is "no denying the fact that funding allows us to have smaller classes, a deep and rich curriculum and many extracurricular activities," said Superintendent Linda Yonke of the New Trier school district near Chicago, Illinois. New Trier High School spent $17,500 per student last year, more than half again as much as Chicago Public Schools.
The disparity comes largely from the fact that seventy percent of school funding comes from property taxes, so schools in more affluent, more expensive areas have a larger source of revenue. Kids in lower income areas end up with schools that can't afford to offer extra-curricular activities, smaller classes, and better materials.
Last Tuesday, more than a thousand Chicago students skipped the first day of school in order to protest the difference in school funding. The students rode buses to the New Trier school district to fill out applications for enrollment in the better-funded district. "If we say we're a world-class city, then we shouldn't be content with having second-class schools," said state Senator James Meeks, who led the boycott. "I do not believe that a child's education should be based on where they live."
In California, schools are funded equally, regardless of where they are located or local property values. This seems to me to be a much better idea over all because, in the big picture, we're all in this together and everyone should have an equal shot at a good education.
One of the fast food restaurants had a commercial wherein a young man was in a grocery store holding two packages of meat, his gaze swinging back and forth between the two. Finally, he just drops the meat and hightails it out of the store like the devil himself were chasing him. The tag line then came on saying, "Without us, some guys would starve." Sure, you can dismiss it as simply clever marketing, but I actually know a guy who was just like that before he got married.
Author Sharon E. McKay knows someone like that too -- her son. He actually got scurvy because he thought he could live on chicken wings and beer alone. She and Kim Zarzour, a journalist, decided they had to do something to help all those newly liberated "grown-ups" stay alive in the wild world of momlessness. So they wrote a book: Good To Go: A Practical Guide to Adulthood. It's packed with all the things a young adult needs to know in the big world outside mom's reach. Like cooking. "And of course," says Zarzour of her son's attempt at heating chicken nuggets, "he's yelling out: 'What's a cookie sheet?' I mean, how did I not remember to teach him what a cookie sheet was?"
These days, it seems like kids have a lot more to learn before they leave the nest -- computers, higher math, more politics and world history -- than did my parents. My dad joked that he only learned to add and subtract; he had no need for multiplication and division. These days, kids need a lot more than that to get into a good college. It seems the practical skills have gotten left behind. I'd say this book sounds pretty necessary, these days.
The first week of school is behind us now-and we're in the midst of the second, getting used to routines, expectations and each other. The classroom is bustling with activity from the minute the children arrive, to when they leave, tired and hot at the end of the day.
Aside from building a strong classroom community during the first couple of weeks of school, teachers spend the bulk of their time trying to get to know their students-both personally and academically. We have so many questions: did our students regress over the summer or grow? Did they read? Do math? Play games? Travel?
We spend our days conferring with individual students and soliciting information through writing prompts, drawing activities, and assessments.
As parents, you are likely doing the same thing, right? Every parent comes with a pocketful of worries, questions and concerns.
I know this is true because my son just started preschool this past week, anda great deal of my time is consumed with wondering about small things-will they open his lunch containers for him? Will they heat up his food? Will they help him make friends?
But really, when I think about it, all these little concerns amount to one great big huge one: will my son's teachers see him as he really is? Will they get to know him, and help him to grow and learn without quashing his sweet earnestness?
Dallas, Texas student Dalton Sherman gave the keynote address at this year's kick-off for his local ISD. It's not unusual for students to address the district during the back-to-school kick-off, a pep rally of sorts for teachers and staff. But Dalton Sherman is anything but typical.
He starts off his speech with the line, "I believe in me. Do you believe in me?" He goes on to tell the entire 17,000-person audience that for him to succeed, he needs them to believe -- believe in him, in his hopes for success, in themselves, in each other, in their work as educators. It really is an amazing speech, and as an educator, it brought tears to my eyes.
But is it a message that's only important for teachers? Surely kids do need educators to believe in them. But as I watched the end of Dalton's 8-minute speech, I started to pretend that he was talking to me as a parent. And you know what? The message is the same. As we send our kids off to school this season, it's also important for us as moms, dads, and caregivers to believe our kids, in their hopes for success, in ourselves, in each other, and in our work as parents. Thanks for the reminder, Dalton.
If students are expected to treat school as their work, it stands to reason that they then be compensated for a job well done. In academics, good work is reflected by good grades or test scores and in New York, kids are getting paid up to a thousand dollars for doing well on Advanced Placement tests.
While it hasn't yet been proven that reimbursing for grades can actual increases test scores, one of the results of the program being funded by private donations, corporations, and foundations is that more kids are taking the tests. In fact, the number students taking the AP test in New York rose slightly this past year, but the number who passed fell but still, it's a start.
Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust, a Washington research group that works on closing the racial achievement explains why the program is worth a try. "There's some part of all of us that gets a little queasy at this sort of buying stuff," she said. "That said, the problem of under-performance, especially among poor and minority kids, is so serious and has been with us for so long that I'm not begrudging anybody who has good will here from trying something so we can hopefully learn something from it. Frankly, rich kids get paid for high grades all the time and for high test scores by their parents, so this isn't so different."
If cash motivates students to study and do better, I'm all for it. I offered my sons iPods for being on the honor roll for the entire year last school year and having to buy one in June was a great day for him and for me!
You know that old nighttime saying, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite"? Well it turns out bedbugs aren't an imaginary creature designed to keep kids from wandering out of their beds at night.
Bedbugs are tiny, real insects that suck blood from people in their beds as they sleep. Our sister blog That's Fit just shared the educational-yet-horrifying information that some colleges are suffering from bedbug infestations. You know, because between the booze, boys, and bills, college parents didn't have ENOUGH to worry about.
If your college student suspects they have bedbugs as roomies, here are the steps to take:
Pretend you don't know about the problem and transfer to a different university (Just kidding, although that would probably be my first response.)
Reduce clutter to eliminate hiding places for the bugs.
Thoroughly clean house using a high-powered vacuum cleaner and a stiff brush to remove bugs from cracks in the floor.
Dismantle beds to find hiding places.
Wash the bedding. Seal up mattresses and box springs by taping any holes or other places where bugs could exit. Wrap the mattresses and box springs in heavy plastic covers and seal them. Dumping mattresses on the street could result in making the problem worse by spreading it to others.
To keep bugs from traveling from the floor to the bed and anyone attempting to sleep, set the bed frame legs in containers of mineral oil and do not let the blankets touch the floor.
Caulk and seal all holes and cracks around pipes, electrical outlets, and around baseboards and cove moldings.
If you are a tenant, work with your landlord to solve the problem. If you are a homeowner, you might consider calling a licensed pest control operator.
There are a number of products and kits you can purchase to treat the problem. Some involve chemical pesticides, others depend upon organic means of control, such as insecticidal dusts that tear away the bug's protective coating, causing it to die. These products can be found on the internet.
If you suspect you have had a bedbug encounter during a trip out of the country, it's possible you have transported the little fellows or their eggs in your luggage. Leaving your luggage in a closed car for several hours in a hot summer sun should kill them. Meanwhile, it's a good idea to have clothing professionally laundered in a commercial bug-killing solution immediately upon your return, preferably before you bring the clothing home. Inspect, vacuum, and scrub your empty suitcase with a stiff brush to remove any eggs.
Of course the easiest way to deal with bedbugs is to not get them in the first place. That's why the best idea is to keep your kids little and at home with you. When someone figures out how to do, this please let me know ASAP.
A lot of people -- mostly politicians, it seems -- have praised the No Child Left Behind initiative to no end. Best thing since sliced bread, it seems. But a lot of people -- especially teachers -- have voiced plenty of criticism, If you're not quite sure why anyone would be opposed to NCLB, given its goals of making sure all students get the education they deserve, I urge you to read Susan Hobart's essay on the matter.
Hobart is an educator who -- like so many public school teachers -- teaches because it is her passion. And yet, despite being willing to go the extra mile and do the extra work necessary, she can't really teach her students. Instead, she has to make certain her students do well on the standardized tests so she spends time teaching students how to properly "bubble up," the term for filling in the circles on answer sheets.
We're not too far gone, though, Hobart says. We can return to doing it right if we're willing to let go of easy answers -- because easy answers rarely work. We need to let teachers teach according to the needs of their students, not according to the bottom line of the test makers. We also need involved parents and home environments that are not only conducive to learning, but encouraging as well.
Starting school can feel a little like starting a new job. There's a new environment, new materials, new tasks, a new "boss," and maybe most importantly to kids, new friends. Back-to-school can be a stressful time of year for kids, and parents know a little encouragement goes a long way.
Over at PBSParents, the Supersisters have a great idea for not only dealing with your own youngster's nervous energy, but spreading a little kindness as well. They snuck out early on the first day of school and wrote inspirational messages in sidewalk chalk for school kids to read as they headed to school. "Have a awesome day," read one. "You are fantastic," said another. Supersister Jen reports that the messages were a hit, and I have to imagine that even tweens and teens who were "too cool" to react had to be bolstered by such such positive prose.
If you think that you might want to spread a little cheer on your first day of school, head out early to get your messages written well ahead of time (and to make sure you aren't late for the first day of school!). If you don't live in a walkable neighborhood, you could also get your school's permission to put the messages on the school's sidewalks and playground instead. If you do, Supersisters want you to share your words of kindness with them through their Flickr pool.
As Roger pointed out in a recent post, school should be a safe place for kids. But what happens when it isn't? Bullying is a big issue in schools, and today's technology has allowed it to reach far past the school yard. Bullies can now torment their targets by text, IM, or through the Internet. Victims of bullying are at risk for social, emotional, and academic problems in the long-term.
So what should you do if you're child is being targeted by a bully? CNN has several suggestions, some of which include:
Tune into your child's behavior and look for signs that something is out of the ordinary. Take note, too, if they radically change their routine for no apparent reason.
Before jumping in and calling a bully's parents, get your tween or teen to open up and talk about it, letting them have some control over the solution.
Younger children will need parents to intervene more quickly.
Inform school authorities immediately.
Help your child come up with tactics that will put a stop to the bullying, but don't encourage violence or retaliation.
Encourage social relationships through extra-curricular activities, clubs, and sports, and teach your child how to reach out to others socially.
Finally, realize that bullying isn't something that kids "grow out of." Adults who were bullied can have traumatic memories of childhood, and bullying isn't limited to children. The sooner that both victim and bully get adult guidance to resolve the situation, the better.
It's tradition in many high schools for athletes and cheerleaders to wear their jerseys or uniforms on the Friday before a game. But a Monroe, Ohio high school is taking issue with the cheerleaders' short skirts. Since the school dress code says skirts must fall no higher than three inches above the knee, cheerleaders are no longer allowed to wear the skirt portion of their uniform to school.
Not everyone agrees with the rule. "My daughter is in her senior year," says mom Becky Daniel. "We paid for uniforms and they should be able to wear them on game day." But Superintendent Elizabeth Lolli is clear: "The skirts that cheerleaders wear are very short, and they're very tight and they're slit so they can do the gymnastics that are required of a cheerleader."
Are short cheerleading skirts even necessary? (Don't answer that, guys.) They seem like a relic from an era gone by. If cheerleading is a serious sport, why not put them into some serious, modern workout gear? Then again, I was never a cheerleader. But it seems like a compromised could be reached in Monroe by letting the girls wear their uniforms, skirts and all, with warm-ups underneath. What do you think?
An Australian school who recently banned cartwheels may be reversing its decision. Both parents and children protested after cartwheels, somersaults and other gymnastics were banned during recess.
According to the school, safety was at the the heart of the decision to ban the "acrobatics." Now officials of the Queensland education system are saying they are willing to be flexible and work toward a balance. Gymnastics were given a risk rating of 2 by the school. Parents became upset when other sports such as soccer, tennis and the ever-popular cricket were also rated with a 2 but allowed to continue.
Was the school trying to do the right thing to protect its students, or did they take things too far? Ever had anything like this happen at your child's school? If so, what was your stance?
Traditions are an important part of family life. Traditions not only create positive feelings and a sense of belonging, they help parents pass their values on to their children. There's a good reason why, as parents, we often find ourselves repeating some of our favorite family traditions with our own children.
Today was my older daughter's first day of kindergarten, so we're just starting to form our own back-to-school traditions. Ours are pretty simple -- a shopping day spent just with Mom, a special breakfast that first morning, and a picture taken on our front porch, where all milestone pictures are staged. Then, we all walk to school together as a family. It's only our second year of school, but I particularly hope that we can keep that last one up.
Do you read parenting books? For real, as in from cover to cover? Did you get anything at all out of the book? Was it overall a great buy with an excellent philosophy, or was there at least one nugget of sage advice that has helped you shape your parenting style? If the answer to that last question was yes, then perhaps parenting books are good for you. For others, not so much.
I remember when I first started writing for ParentDish--way back in the Blogging Baby days. I was pregnant and trying to figure out if I had what it took to be a parent. I bought oodles of parenting books and tried to plow through them as best as I could. I found lots of conflicting information, some of it outdated. I had lots of conversations with other parents and got more of the same. I even asked them what parenting books they recommended. Some loved certain books, some hated said books. One such book was "What to Expect when You're Expecting." I wrote a post about that and got innumerable comments of both praise and abhorring. So it is with any sort of parenting advice.
Once you become a parent, generally all the things you were so scared of dissipate. You become more confident in your decision making and parenting abilities. Most of the time, you actually become a better wife, daughter, friend, sister, etc. in the process. Did the parenting books help? Maybe, maybe not. Being a parent did. The things we all fear--that we'll be bad parents, that we'll hurt our children, that they'll be taken from us through our own negligence--seem to go away the more we actually practice parenting. And that means whatever parenting style comes most naturally to us or works out best for us. And it is different for every person. I don't think it really matters how much attention you paid to WTEWYE--you're probably doing OK in the mommy or daddy department. Parenting books, if you actually have time to read them (see: before children) might offer some insight, but only you will be able to determine the right approach to raising your kids.
In order to provide a safe haven for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, and questioning high school students, the Chicago public school system is considering opening a high school specifically for LQBTQ students. Attendance at the new school would be voluntary and open to everyone, not just LGBTQ students.
Money is not the only thing that makes a good school, but it certainly helps. There is "no denying the fact that funding allows us to have smaller classes, a deep and rich curriculum and many extracurricular activities," said Superintendent Linda Yonke of the New Trier school district near Chicago, Illinois. New Trier High School spent $17,500 per student last year, more than half again as much as Chicago Public Schools.
One of the fast food restaurants had a commercial wherein a young man was in a grocery store holding two packages of meat, his gaze swinging back and forth between the two. Finally, he just drops the meat and hightails it out of the store like the devil himself were chasing him. The tag line then came on saying, "Without us, some guys would starve." Sure, you can dismiss it as simply clever marketing, but I actually know a guy who was just like that before he got married.
If students are expected to treat school as their work, it stands to reason that they then be compensated for a job well done. In academics, good work is reflected by good grades or test scores and in New York, 
You know that old nighttime saying, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite"? Well it turns out bedbugs aren't an imaginary creature designed to keep kids from wandering out of their beds at night.
A lot of people -- mostly politicians, it seems -- have praised the No Child Left Behind initiative to no end. Best thing since sliced bread, it seems. But a lot of people -- especially teachers -- have voiced plenty of criticism, If you're not quite sure why anyone would be opposed to NCLB, given its goals of making sure all students get the education they deserve, I urge you to read 
Starting school can feel a little like starting a new job. There's a new environment, new materials, new tasks, a new "boss," and maybe most importantly to kids, new friends. Back-to-school can be a stressful time of year for kids, and parents know a little encouragement goes a long way. 
As Roger pointed out in 
Traditions are an important part of family life. Traditions not only create positive feelings and a sense of belonging, they help parents pass their values on to their children. There's a good reason why, as parents, we often find ourselves repeating some of our favorite family traditions with our own children.
