School Survival

If the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s most recent report had been an international comparison of test scores, the media would have gone berserk. Negativity certainly erupts when ODEC releases the results of their Programme for International Student Assessment test, since it generally shows U.S. students performing poorly compared with their peers in other […]

by IllusionMyst (aka IllusoryDeath on the forums) (Click here to see the stamp mentioned in this post) **BEWARE! There are vulgarities written within this description! Even though I have now reached my junior year of high school, this stamp goes for all levels of the school system: preschool, kindergarten, grade school, middle school, high school, […]

An article featured in Education Week reports the findings of a study showing that 2 out of every 5 teachers are “disheartened” by their jobs. This was a nationwide study of teachers called “Teaching for a Living: How Teachers See the Profession Today.” The study of the Teacher Community is taking a closer look at […]

One morning in May 2008, an eighth-grader walked into Janice Hart's office at a Beverly Hills school crying. She was upset and humiliated and couldn't possibly go to class, the girl told the counselor. The night before, a classmate had posted a video on YouTube with a group of other eighth-graders bad-mouthing her, calling her […]

Necessity may be the mother of invention and in this case, it's a joint product of mom and dad. Home schooling is an option that combines family togetherness and learning, a choice that is increasing in popularity, but finding resources and like-minded people to support that choice can be difficult. Enter Carrie Whalen-Morrin and her […]

Hope Witsell was just beginning the journey from child to teen. The middle-school student had a tight-knit group of friends, the requisite poster of “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson and big plans to become a landscaper when she grew up. But one impetuous move robbed Hope of her childhood, and eventually, her life. The 13-year-old Florida […]

A 14-year old student in a special education classroom in Texas, Cedric was living with a foster family because of a history of neglect, including malnutrition. But on this day in 2002, his teacher tried to punish him by withholding food, despite the abuse he had suffered as a young child. Cedric's teacher delayed his […]

Two sophomore girls have sued their school district after they were punished for posting sexually suggestive photos on MySpace during their summer vacation. The American Civil Liberties Union, in a federal lawsuit filed last week on behalf of the girls, argues that Churubusco High School violated the girls' free speech rights when it banned them […]

The Preamble of the UN Convention beautifully, almost poetically, outlines that the UN affirms "their faith in fundamental human rights and in the dignity and worth of the human person".. and that "everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth therein, without distinction of any kind...", which would include children. The Preamble […]

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 […]