School Survival

Last night, Cevin Soling appeared on the Colbert Report to promote his documentary entitled, "The War on Kids." Cevin discussed with Stephen issues facing young people in the American School System. He explains how our system of public education went from a Prussian model designed to make good soldiers, to a factory model with bells […]

Police shot 18-year-old Dashawn Vasconcellos on Saturday, November 21 after cops say he pulled a gun on them. The fatal incident began when four plainclothes officers in an unmarked vehicle observed three males exiting Bays Water Park after-hours. As the officers exited their vehicle to question the three as to why they were in the […]

Juergen and Rosemary Dudek of Archfeldt, Germany, were sentenced to 90 days in prison in July 2008 because they homeschool their children. Their sentence was overturned by an appeals court because of a legal error, and a new trial was ordered. Their new trial began November 16. German news reports indicate the judge appears disposed […]

Last week in New York, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) with the release of a special report on the impact of the treaty. While many used the anniversary to celebrate the CRC, some expressed concern about the growing pressure on the […]

As Thanksgiving preparations shifted into high gear, media outlets large and small have been opining on the importance of gratitude, but, more specifically, they've often targeted their sights on the most ungrateful creature of all: the adolescent. Pointing to the research of Hofstra professor Jeffrey Froh, a number of these reports have suggested that it […]

Video games frequently flaunt international human rights and criminal law without portraying the consequences, a study by Swiss human rights organisation TRIAL and youth rights advocate Pro Juventute Switzerland has unsurprisingly discovered. Lawyers trained in international humanitarian, criminal and human rights law cast their legal eyes over twenty shooters including Call of Duty 4: Modern […]

Two former county judges accused of taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send juveniles to private detention facilities are partially immune from civil lawsuits, a federal judge in Pennsylvania ruled Friday. The decision by U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo could make it harder for the people suing former Luzerne County judges Michael T. […]

The Willows Unified School District board of trustees has expelled a 16-year-old for having unloaded shotguns in his pickup parked just off the Willows High School campus. The board voted 4-0 Thursday to expel junior Gary Tudesko after the weapons were discovered via scent-sniffing dogs on Oct. 26. Board Vice President Alex Parisio abstained from […]

A Michigan teen who was sentenced to four days in juvenile detention Thursday for refusing to visit his father was released after spending only one night there. Macomb County Judge John Foster reversed his previous decision Friday to order Jacob Mastrogiovanni, 14, to spend four days in a youth home for refusing to see his […]

The following has been submitted by Abrar al Haq, a young Bradfordian. It is the first in a series of posts that will focus on educational standards in Bradford. Reasons in favour of public schooling 1. Children who receive a one-on-one home education will learn more than others, giving them an unfair advantage in the […]