THE ROAD NOT TAKEN
(October 12, 2000) The web site for the CBS News program, 48 Hours, reports on a trial of a daughter and her boy friend for the murder of the daughter’s single mother occurring ten days before the daughter was to be enrolled in a one-year program for troubled teens. The overwhelming implication is that the story would have ended much differently if the mother had acted two weeks earlier.

REALLY BIG GUYS RESTRAIN YOUTH VIOLENCE
(November 25, 2000) Science News, p. 341, reports about young adolescent male elephants living in Pilanesberg National Park in South Africa in a predominantly adolescent world. After rampaging for several years, killing more than 40 white rhinos, the adolescent males settled down when six full-grown bull African elephants were introduced into the herd. “Biologists say the way to stop killing sprees by male juvenile delinquents is to bring in older males, at least if you’re dealing with elephants.”

LETTERS FROM MOM
(December 2000) Jane Boyd, Houston, Texas, 713-334-3370, is the founder and writer of a series of booklets as a partial answer to the question “What Can YOU do to help Struggling Teens?” The booklets are in the form of letters a mom might write to her children as they struggle to grow up. They are circulated with the idea parents could give their child any letters that express what they are trying to say. Samples and full information can be found on her web site.

PHILANTHROPISTS BACK SCHOOL REFORM
(December 10, 2000) The Seattle Times series starting December 10th, focuses on the rapid increase of philanthropic giving to schools. Special emphasis was placed on the State of Washington where donations have been received from Bill Gates and Microsoft. The American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel estimated Americans donated $27.5 billion to education, which is up 8.5% from last year. It points out that the “philanthropists are more strategic, and want a return for their donated dollars in the form of improved education”

PUBLIC SCHOOLS PROMOTE SUBURBAN SPRAWL
(December 10, 2000) The Salt Lake Tribune, discusses the criticism expressed by some experts that “schools are a top offender in pushing development farther afield.” They point out that requirements for school buildings tend to favor building in undeveloped fields, creating schools that are no longer community schools; their distance from homes causes children and parents to participate less in school activities.

ISN’T THERE A BETTER WAY?
(December 13, 2000) The Governor of California, Gray Davis is sueing 18 school districts to force them to improve conditions in their schools in response to a lawsuit against him for “alledgedly failing to provide decent learning conditions to all California schoolchildren,” according to the San Francisco Chronicle. (Doesn’t this take the blame game a little far? –Lon)

EDUCATION INVESTMENT SEEN TO INCREASE
(December 26, 2000) An article in The Christian Science Monitor, analyzes President-elect Bush’s anticipated impact on education by citing a Merrill Lynch 1999 report: “Private companies, which now account for 10 percent of the $740 billion education market, are making inroads into the K-12 market. The failure of public schools is opening up a ‘big investment opportunity’ for new entrepreneurs.”

DEVELOPING BRAIN CHANGED BY CHILDHOOD ABUSE
(December 29, 2000) In research conducted by Dr. Martin H. Teicher, of the McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts, it was concluded that childhood abuse and neglect contributes to “permanent physical changes to the developing brain—changes that could cause psychological problems in adulthood.” One of the interesting patterns detected was in the bridge between the two hemispheres of the brain: “Neglect was the more likely factor to reduce the size of the bridge in boys, but sexual abuse had no effect. In girls, sexual abuse was associated with a decrease in the size, but neglect had no effect.”

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN BOYS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE BOYS?
(January 2001) Parent Power: The Education of Boys, implies the answer to the above question is that boys’ writing skills are significantly below girls’ skill levels. Boys outnumber girls in special education classes three to one. Boys take fewer Advanced Placement tests, 45% compared to 55% of girls; and fewer boys than girls are going on to college. A statement by Archibald Montgomery, headmaster of the all-boys’ Gilman School in Baltimore, Maryland is quoted: “Schools, for the most part, are dominated by women, and boys are taught to the “rhythm of girls.”

BOY FACES JAIL FOR SLAPPING GIRL’S BOTTOM
(January 3, 2001) The Electronic Telegraph, reported a teenage boy in Northern New Mexico is facing the possibility of two years in a juvenile prison for slapping a “girl on the bottom for a joke.” The girl did not complain, the girl’s mother said she would not have pressed charges and the boy’s mother said, “It’s political correctness gone mad.” However, a teacher who saw the incident reported it to the police who “are using forensic scientists to determine the force of the slap to decide whether to charge the boy with criminal sexual contact or merely assault and battery.”

ERRORS IN SCIENCE TEXTBOOKS
(January 14, 2001) CNN.com reported a study conducted by John Hubisz, a North Carolina State University physics instructor, of 12 common science textbooks, concluding they are riddled with errors. He estimates that about 85 percent of the children in the US use the textbooks examined, and says, “These are terrible books, and they’re probably a strong component of why we do so poorly in science.”

ONLINE ASPERGER SYNDROME INFORMATION
(January 17, 2001) An Information and Support web site for parents of children diagnosed with Asperger Syndrome can be found at http://www.udel.edu/bkirby/asperger/.

ANOREXIA A DISABILITY?
(January 18, 2001) According to The Washington Times, Keri Krissik, a 20-year old, is suing Stonehill College “for refusing to let her register on the grounds of her anorexia,” claiming she is protected by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The school is defending itself by pointing out they do not have the facilities for treating eating disorders like anorexia.

SURGEON GENERAL’S WARNING ON YOUTH VIOLENCE
(January 18, 2001) A report by Surgeon General David Satcher warns that despite the decreasing incidence of violence by young people, arrests for violent crime surged between 1983 and 1993. It was “driven largely by rapid proliferation of firearms use by adolescents,” and according to confidential surveys, “30 percent to 40 percent of boys and 15 percent to 30 percent of girls admit to committing a serious violent offense – defined as one causing bodily harm – by age 17.” The report can be found at the Surgeon General's web site.

AUTISM LINKED TO VACCINE?
(January 21, 2001) An article entitled “MMR doctor links 170 cases of autism to vaccine,” in the Electronic Telegraph, United Kingdom, states: “Andrew Wakefield, a consultant gastroenterologist at the Royal Free Hospital in London reports evidence in 170 children that they developed autism and/or bowel disease after being given the MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. In a reaction to this controversial report, the government continues to claim the MMR vaccine is safe.

LOS ANGELES STUDENTS ARMING THEMSELVES
(January 22, 2001) The San Francisco Chronicle, in an article titled “Crimes Surge Around L.A. School Sites – Fearful students start carrying knives,” reported “The Los Angeles Unified School District has been hit with a surge in crime in six of the 10 categories it tracks, including violent, property and sex crimes.” School Police Chief Wesley Mitchell said “Students reported to us they were arming themselves for fear of their own safety.”

SURVIVORS OF SPECIAL EDUCATION
(January 22, 2001) The Providence Journal Company article, “A map for learning when learning doesn’t come easy,” discusses Jonathan Mooney and David Cole’s new book, Learning Outside the Lines. “Mooney, who is dyslexic and still tests at a fourth-grade reading level, and Cole, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, graduated from Brown University last May, each of them with a 4.0 average.” They consider themselves “survivors” of special education, which they say puts down the very children it is supposed to help. Much of the book is set up as a study guide.

YOUTH SPORTS BROKEN?
(January 22, 2001) The Christian Science Monitor, contained an essay claiming “Youth sports are broken and need to be fixed. The problem is that too often the kids just aren’t having fun. The children themselves are voting with their feet: by the age of 12, more than 75 percent of all kids who have played organized sports have dropped out.” The major cause of this, according to the article, is the behaviors and attitudes of coaches and parents.

STRIP SEARCH PROTESTED
(January 27, 2001) The Dallas Morning News, reported several parents of third-graders in Westwego, Louisiana’s Joshua Butler Elementary School complained about the strip search of eight students by a school administrator after another student reported $20 missing.

THE PARENT TRAP
(January 29, 2001) An article in Newsweek, compares modern parenting as “competing in a triathion with no finish line in sight. We only want what’s best for them, but our kids may not be better off.”

WORKING MOTHERS
(February 4, 2001) The Electronic Telegraph reported recent research by Essex University in the United Kingdom concluding “Children under five whose mothers work go on to achieve exam results inferior to those whose mothers stay at home.