School Survival

The ACLU is pushing Congress to outlaw corporal punishment in the United States. Although the practice has been banned throughout New England, it is currently legal to use physical punishment as a means of disciplining students in 20 states, primarily in the South. The House Education and Labor Subcommittee on Healthy Families and Communities held […]

It was a silent call to arms: an easy-to-overlook message urging New Jersey students to take a stand against the budget cuts that threaten class sizes and choices as well as after-school activities. But some 18,000 students accepted the invitation posted last month on Facebook, the social media site better known for publicizing parties and sporting events. And on Tuesday many of them — and many others — walked out of class in one of the largest grass-roots demonstrations to hit New Jersey in years.

A 13-year-old California boy plans to try to climb Mount Everest in a quest to reach the summits of the highest peaks on all seven continents. If Jordan Romero succeeds, he'll become the youngest person to conquer the world's highest mountain. Jordan will attempt the ascent to 29,035 feet with his father and his father's […]

I just read this on Idzie's blog: If you're an unschooler, or a homeschooler, or interested in alternative learning, and are even *slightly* involved in any of those communities online, you've most likely heard about the Good Morning America segment on unschooling. Unschooling has been moving steadily into the mainstream awareness in the last few […]

A few times each month, second graders at a charter school in Springfield, Mass., take time from math and reading to engage in philosophical debate. There is no mention of Hegel or Descartes, no study of syllogism or solipsism. Instead, Prof. Thomas E. Wartenberg and his undergraduate students from nearby Mount Holyoke College use classic […]

Teenagers will be able to cast their vote from the age of 16 on the Isle of Man, after ministers agreed the change of regulation at the House of Keys. Members voted by 19 to 4 in favour of an amendment to the Registration of Electors Bill, proposed by former Education Minister Steve Rodan. The […]

Nearly 300 teachers and other school workers were accused of abuse last year at Chicago Public Schools. The number of complaints nearly doubled from previous years. The dramatic increase may be the result of a better reporting system put into place after 2 Investigator Dave Savini exposed a citywide abuse scandal. One victim is 10-year-old […]

New York - A 12-year-old girl who was hauled out of her New York City school in handcuffs for doodling on her desk has started legal action against the city over her arrest. A lawyer for Alexa Gonzalez filed legal papers seeking $1m in damages, saying the Queens girl was subjected to overly harsh treatment. […]

A bilingual 4th grader hurt in an Arizona bus accident that killed six people and injured more than a dozen others translated from an ambulance stretcher for busy rescue workers as they hurried to set up a triage center, authorities said Saturday. Oscar Rodriguez of Las Vegas, Nev., was labeled a hero by firefighters and […]

by Tabatha Southey At first I was only mildly bothered by an editorial cartoon that appeared in this paper on Monday. The cartoon showed four loutish, slovenly adolescents, three of whom were saying "Whadda you wanna do?" or "I dunno, whadda you wanna do?" and then there was a final teenager saying, "Something sedentary and […]