School Survival

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Federal prosecutors will not file charges against a school district or its employees over the use of software to remotely monitor students. U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger says investigators have found no evidence of criminal intent by Lower Merion School District employees who activated tracking software that took thousands of webcam and […]

by Peter Gray (originally published here) According to the most authoritative recent data, approximately 8% of children in the United States, aged 4 to 17, have been diagnosed as having ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).[1] The same reports note that the disorder is about three times as frequent in boys as it is in girls, […]

by Erica Goldson (originally published here) There is a story of a young, but earnest Zen student who approached his teacher, and asked the Master, "If I work very hard and diligently, how long will it take for me to find Zen? The Master thought about this, then replied, "Ten years . ." The student […]

by Peter Gray (originally published here) Many years ago, as part of my early studies of the Sudbury Valley School, I sat in on a school meeting at which the main agenda item had to do with a complaint made about a new student's clothing. A new teenaged enrollee had been coming to school wearing […]

A school district in Mississippi has agreed to pay a recent high school graduate $35,000 in damages and adopt a policy prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, according to a statement released Tuesday by the American Civil Liberties Union. The settlement comes after the ACLU sued the school district in Fulton, Mississippi, on behalf of […]

BURLINGTON, Vt. — It’s hard to find anyone here who believes that Joyce Irvine should have been removed as principal of Wheeler Elementary School. John Mudasigana, one of many recent African refugees whose children attend the high-poverty school, says he is grateful for how Ms. Irvine and her teachers have helped his five children. “Everything […]

The Secular Coalition of America announced this weekend that it is supporting legislation that would ban the use of force against children as a punishment in both public and private schools. The legislation is sponsored by Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and is called the Ending Corporal Punishment in Schools Act (HR 5628). The bill currently […]

by Maureen Costello Some things that happen in school are just not right. It’s not right for a six-year old boy to be handcuffed and shackled to a chair by an armed security officer because he “acted up” in school. But that’s exactly what happened at the Sarah T. Reed Elementary School, in New Orleans, […]

Teachers are to get tougher powers - and clearer guidance on using physical force - to deal with unruly pupils, the Government will announce. Courts will be told to heed new guidlines on force being used to remove youngsters from classrooms or restrain troublemakers. Search powers are to be beefed up too, allowing kids to […]

For many gay rights activists, 2010 will be the year remembered for ups and downs in the name of advocacy. While the community won many deserved victories in the name of equality, including the beginning steps to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” there were a number of reminders that we have a long way to […]