A NATION OF NUTS
(October 22, 1997) In an article in the Wall Street Journal entitled “A Nation of Nuts,” Jim Windolf tallied the number of Americans allegedly suffering from some kind of mental disorder. “If you believe the statistics, 77 percent of America’s adult population is a mess....And we haven’t even thrown in alien abductees, road ragers, and internet addicts.”

DIET AND WEIGHT GAIN
(December 1999) In this month’s issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, researchers found a tendency that those girls trying to diet had the most weight gain. They followed 692 9th graders for four years, each girl was evaluated by measuring height and weight, filling out a questionnaire and participating in a structured clinical interview.

VIDEO GAMES AND VIOLENCE
(April 24, 2000) The APA's Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Vol. 78 No. 4, reported two research studies involving a number of college students, which concluded playing violent video games could increase aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in real life.

TEEN-PARENT ATTITUDE GAP
(May 2000) The YMCA of the USA released the results of a survey conducted in April by interviewing 200 12-15 year olds and 200 parents entitled “Talking with Teens.” It showed different perceptions between parents and children when asked comparable questions. For example, 20% of the children reported they spent most of their free time watching TV, while only 12% of the parents thought their teens spent most their free time watching TV. Or, 26% of the kids reported their parents frequently talked to them about drugs and alcohol, while 51% of the parents reported they frequently spoke to their kids about drugs and alcohol.

SEVEN RESILIENCIES
(May 2000) Dr. Sybil Wolin presented her theory of seven “resiliencies” in a new book “The Struggle To Be Strong,” featuring stories by young people dealing with the changes and challenges of adolescence. Her theory is there are seven “resiliencies” that give teens what they need to assess a situation and take appropriate action. She identifies the seven resiliencies as insight, independence, relationships, initiative, creativity, humor and morality.

POSITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
(June 2000) Karen Pittman, in “Making the Case: Linking Youth Development and Positive Psychology,” in the June issue of Youth Today, reports Dr. Martin Seligman, president of the American Psychological Association is also a strong backer of “the emerging discipline of ‘positive psychology.” She reports his concern that psychology has emphasized addressing mental illness, and not done nearly as well addressing issues of well- being and nurturing talent. His hopes for “Positive Psychology” are “to have definitions, categorizations and measures for the psychological strengths that are comparable to those now available for the psychological pathologies.”

CHILD ABUSE, ADULT STRESS LINKED
(August 4, 2000) A study by Emory University and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded “Abuse in early childhood dramatically changes the brain chemistry of women for life, making them more vulnerable to anxiety disorders and more easily frustrated by stress as adults.” Critic of the report, Allie C. Kilpatrick, a professor with the University of Georgia asserted “It’s not always so. There are so many intervening factors. Who was the person providing the abuse, how long did the abuse continue, how much force and trauma occurred at the time? All those factor in to how someone reacts later in life.” She referred to her own study of 500 women that showed “There were some women who had no traumatic effects and there were women who had a lot. It all depends on those intervening variables and the resiliency of the individual.”

RUN SCHOOL LIKE A BUSINESS?
(August 7, 2000) The Christian Science Monitor, in an article titled “Corporate ways invade schools,” states: “Beset by lagging student performance, American schools are starting to run their classrooms like corporations – setting ‘performance’ targets for teachers and students, measuring results, and putting CEOs in superintendent’s chairs.”

VOUCHER ANALYSIS
(August 29, 2000) The New York Times reported a study conducted by researchers at Harvard University, Georgetown University and the University of Wisconsin that found “Black students who switched to private schools from public schools on scholarships that were similar to vouchers performed significantly higher on standardized math and reading tests than similar students who remained in public schools.” “Groups that opposed vouchers criticized the study, with some noting that among those who helped pay for it were several conservative research groups and voucher advocates.”

VIRTUAL HIGH SCHOOLS
(August 31, 2000) A Chronicle of Higher Education article on distance education reported “More States Create Virtual High Schools, With Virtual Universities’ Help.”

ARE SCHOOLS FAILING BOYS?
(September 5, 2000) The Globe and Mail, an Internet Canadian publication presented a survey of Canadian educators recognizing that boys are increasingly falling behind girls in reading and writing throughout the country. This appears to be the same problem being discussed in the United States and Great Britain, summarized by some as: “They’re not just falling behind, they’re giving up.” One suggestion is changing reading content for boys to reflect their greater interest in action narratives; others suggest an effort should be made to help boys, similar to what has been done in the last decade or two to help girls.

BIPOLAR WEB LINK
(September 5, 2000) The Stanford University School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences has established a web site featuring Bipolar Disorders. Sections include a description of their clinic, definition of Bipolar Disorder, and other related information.

STUDENTS SHOW FEW GAINS IN READING SKILLS
(September 6, 2000) The New York Times, reported an analysis in “The first of five annual reports planned on the National Assessment of Educational Progress” that students today read at about the same level as students in the early 70s, and have advanced in basic math skills only slightly. The analysis was based on a new analysis of standardized tests given since the 1970s.

WARNING FOR GIRL ATHLETES
(September 6, 2000) The American Academy of Pediatrics, in a publication of a statement updating a 1989 policy statement in the September issue of the Pediatrics journal, warned “Adolescent girl athletes should be monitored closely to ensure that their training doesn’t include unhealthy eating habits that could result in damaging bone loss.” David Martin, chairman of sports science for USA Track and Field, said many male coaches “use male lingo to exhort their female atheletes to train hard, run fast, get skinny…. It’s kind of a militaristic approach but is perceived by these girls as, ‘I can please my coach by losing weight and getting thin.’

HARRY POTTER NUMBER ONE IN CENSER ATTEMPTS
(September 7, 2000) USA Today reports the Harry Potter books were “the No. 1 target last year of efforts to pressure libraries and schools into making the books difficult or impossible to get.” The fictional books have also been No. 1 on the best sellers lists for months.

POLL SHOWS VOUCHER SUPPORT DECLINING
(September 7, 2000) A poll conducted by the Gallup Organization for Phi Delta Kappa International, reported in Education Week, concluded that “Support for publicly financed vouchers for private school tuition has declined over the past three years, from 44 percent of respondents in 1998 to 39 percent this year.”

FBI LIST OF SCHOOL VIOLENCE WARNINGS
(September 7, 2000) Reported in the New York Times, “F.B.I. Lists Caution Signs for Violence In Classroom,” the FBI developed a list of “more than 40 signs for school officials to check once a threat of violence had been discovered.” Warning this was not a profile that could identify a potentially violent student, it does cover “the student’s personality and family, as well as school and social dynamics.”

BALANCED PARENTING WEBSITE
(September 8, 2000) Dr. Brien O’Callaghan, a clinical psychologist with over 32 years of experience, is developing a web page at http://www.jbocallaghan.com/fr_home.htm called Balanced Parenting, designed to present his thoughts on the proper balance in parenting, such as “Family struggles start with an imbalance: too much or too little protection and control of children.” He emphasizes use of common sense.

ATTACHMENT DISORDER WEB SITE
(September 8, 2000) Billing itself as “Your Place for Information and Support Regarding Reactive Attachment Disorder,” the Attachment Disorder Site can be found at http://www.attachmentdisorder.net/.

EDUCATION IS TOP POLITICAL ISSUE
(September 8, 2000) The New York Times, article entitled “On the Stump, the Hot Topic Is Education,” points out that virtually all candidates for public office this year, from President to county commissioner, sound like they are running for school board. It seems as if the voters are expecting all candidates to have the solution to education’s problems. (How did we get to where the public seems to feel politicians are more qualified than teachers, parents or the children themselves in educating our children? –Lon)

DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON ADHD
(September 11, 2000) Yahoo News reported the result of a Harris Group survey stating that doctors tended to say that many American children with ADHD go “undiagnosed and untreated,” while about two-thirds of parents and grandparents of children with ADHD thought the problem was over diagnosed among school-age kids.

KEYSTONE NATIONAL ONLINE SCHOOL
(September 12, 2000) An online article published by The Standard, titled “Fast Times at Keystone High” gives a favorable review of Keystone National High School located in Pennsylvania, and states that students from throughout the nation feel public school wastes a lot of time, and are obtaining their high school diploma online.

ARE SCHOOL COMPUTERS BENEFICIAL?
(September 13, 2000) The U.S. branch of the Alliance for Childhood presented a report questioning if exposure to computers in early education can “harm children’s ability to reason, imagine and play.” Reported both in Time Magazine Online and the Associated Press, it concludes that although $27 billion has been spent in the last five years on computers and related technology in schools, there is little evidence “tying computer use and higher school achievement.” On the other hand, the report warns, “computers may account for a rise in health problems among children, including repetitive stress injuries, eye strain and obesity. Focusing too much on technology can also distract children from the social interaction they need to develop language skills and bonds with adults.”

MORE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
(Sept. 14, 2000) The Census Bureau statistics show that by “March 1999, 83.4 percent of Americans 25 and older had high-school diplomas, up from 24.5 percent in 1940… and 77.6 percent in 1990.” The percentage of the same group having a college “bachelor’s degree increased to 25.2 percent, from 4.6 percent in 1940 and 21.3 percent 10 years ago. The story was an Associated Press story appearing in the Seattle Times.

LAWSUITS ACCUSE RITALIN MAKERS & APA
(Sept. 15, 2000) Lawsuits filed in California and New Jersey accused both the “makers of the drug Ritalin and the American Psychiatric Association of encouraging overdiagnosis of behavioral disorders in children to boost sales of the drug.” A similar lawsuit was filed in Texas earlier this year.

STUDY CALLED FOR ON SCHOOL RITALIN ABUSE
(September 15, 2000) US Rep. Henry J. Hyde asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to study Ritalin abuse within schools, referring to the increasing number of children reported to be diverting and abusing Ritalin.

SURVEY LINKS TEEN SPORTS & BEHAVIOR
(September 15, 2000) Lindsey Tanner, an Associated Press Medical Writer reported that a recent survey that appeared in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association said “A survey of more than 14,000 teen-agers found that those who participated in team sports were less likely to use drugs, smoke, have sex, carry weapons or have unhealthy eating habits.”

ADDICTION RESOURCE GUIDE
(September 26, 2000) Polly Waldman announced an Internet online directory of addiction treatment resources and facilities. Headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, 914-725-5151, they provide in depth profiles of addiction treatment facilities at their web site.

OPPOSITION TO STANDARDIZED TESTS
(Sept. 27, 2000) In an Associated Press story titled Parents mobilize nationwide to fight standardized tests, reports a growing number of parents who are actively opposing the expanding use of standardized tests, stating they place “too much stress on children, miscalculate their abilities, limit what they are taught, and weigh too much in determining whether they are held back.” A spokesman for the expanding National Center for Fair & Open Testing “says the nation is seeing only the beginning of the backlash.