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News & Views - Sept,
2000 Issue (page 2)
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Page 2 of 3 - Previous | Next
TEEN BIRTH RATE LOWEST IN 60 YEARS
(August 8, 2000) The National Center for Health Statistics released an analysis that teen births are now the lowest
in 60 years, reporting 49.6 births last year per 1,000 girls. “The drop was particularly sharp among girls ages 15 to 17, whose rate
fell 6 percent from its level in 1998 to 28.7 births per 1,000.”
REBIRTH THERAPY TRAGEDY LEADS TO CHARGES
(August 16, 2000) The
Bergen Record reports three therapists and the business manager of a home-based rebirth therapy center in Golden, Colorado were
charged with reckless child abuse arising from an April 18 session in Evergreen that resulted in the death of a 10 year old girl.
The girl was being treated for reactive attachment disorder. Rebirth therapy is considered to be controversial among professionals
who work with that disorder.
ENGLAND TO TACKLE BOYS UNDERACHIEVEMENT
(August 20, 2000) BBC
News announced the British Government plans to tackle boys’ underachievement in the public school system by stamping out “the
myth among boys that it is ‘cool’ to fail at school.” The action was precipitated by concerns that girls out-performed boys in the
A-level exams for the “first time in the exam’s 49-year history.” There are plans to experiment with single sex classes, and encourage
more men to enter the teaching profession. The opposition Tories stated “The government is going to have to face up to the fact that,
as a consequence of their heavy-handed interference, they have widened the academic gap between the sexes.” (The difference in approaches
between the two countries with a comparable problem is intriguing – Lon).
TEACHERS SWITCH OVER PROFICIENCY TESTS
(August 20, 2000) The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported a number
of teachers are leaving their fourth grade classes, opting to teach other grades to avoid what they term students’ extreme anxiety
about the benchmark proficiency test which necessitated spending most of the class time teaching to the test.
SCHOOL ROLLS HIT RECORD
(August 20, 2000) The USA Today, reported a record number of 53 million US children who are attending public and private
elementary and secondary school. They reported the greatest increase to be in the number of high school students.
TRACKING POTENTIAL VIOLENCE IN SCHOOLS
(August 21, 2000) The Los Angeles Times reported many school
districts are implementing programs to “identify students bent on violence. Some programs are modeled on law enforcement methods used
to track dangerous criminals and analyze workplace dangers. Others are in-depth psychological surveys developed by school districts.”
Critics call this an over-reaction that is only profiting those “peddling the threat assessment programs.” Wired
also had an article outlining the growing incidence of electronic surveillance in schools.
Copyright © 2000, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced without prior
approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
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