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Will Obama Make Education Top Priority?

During his campaign, Barack Obama said that educational reform is an issue that is near to his heart, but will it be his number one priority? The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) doesn’t think so. The president-elect of the United States of America has a huge job ahead of him. He is inheriting the leadership of a country with many issues, from war to a falling economy, inadequate health care to students who are graduating unprepared for the workforce. The educational system is in crisis. Cuts in spending are being made all over the country by local boards of education due … Continue reading →

Does “Bully Education” Really Work?

Schools all across the country are making concerted efforts to deal with the very real issue of bulling. But are these efforts having an impact? Is your child less likely to be bullied today than he might have been five years ago? The experts are divided on the issue, and some recent research suggests that the answer could be no. Earlier this week, we were driving by a local school. There, right next to the playground was a huge sign declaring the area to be a “No Bully Zone.” I’m not sure why the sign was there. Was it to … Continue reading →

Making In-School Suspension Work

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In-school suspension. Does it really work? Is it really effective? Many teachers and schools believe that having students who are suspended serve the suspension in school is much better than having students serve the suspension outside of school. After all, students are bound to learn a lesson if they are in school being monitored and given work to do rather than at home where they may potentially goof off. Due to this, many schools are reevaluating their in-school suspension strategy to work a bit better and be more beneficial to the student. In essence, schools are trying to make this … Continue reading →

“Hey, Stupid!”

“Mommy, am I stupid?” When those words came out of my five-year-old daughter’s mouth the other day while I preparing lunch, I almost dropped the knife I was using to cut strawberries. “Stupid” is a banned word in our home, so I knew my daughter’s query was not joke. “Stupid?” I repeated, partially hoping that I had misunderstood her. “Yeah… am I stupid?” “Absolutely not!” I responded. “Why would you ask such as thing?” “Today two first graders called me stupid.” Oh really, I thought, trying to disguise my anger while simultaneously squashing thoughts of doing something, well, stupid, to … Continue reading →

Volunteering When You Have Other Children

Schools usually need a lot of volunteers throughout the year. There are many activities, programs, lessons and fundraisers that require parental help. And being a parent who volunteers helps you get to know what the school environment is like. You will also meet other parents, teachers and staff through volunteering. Increasingly though, it is becoming the norm for schools to ban any children from school property if they are not students. Our school used to be open to having siblings visit the classroom, but these days they are not even allowed during official visiting days or even school pageants. Since … Continue reading →

America’s Best Colleges for 2009

Are you wondering what the best colleges in the nation are? Did Harvard beat out Yale? Id your chosen school on the list? U.S. News & World Report has released a ranking of the best colleges in America for 2009. The ranking is based on data that was collected from more than 1,400 colleges. You can read below for some of the highlights, or visit the story on the U.S. News & World Report website. The link is below at the end of this post. This report is not simply a one to 100 type of listing. It breaks the … Continue reading →

National Teleconference to Discuss NCLB Regulations

Confused about No Child Left Behind and the new final regulations that are coming out? Officials from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will be discussing the final regulations (Title 1 regulations) to strengthen the No Child Left Behind Act during a national teleconference. The public is invited to attend. The teleconference will be held on November 13th, 2008, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. ET. You can call in any time between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. that day. ED officials will discuss the new regulations and answer any questions that have either been e-mailed in advance or asked … Continue reading →

New Plans to Graduate Kids in 10th Grade

The last two years of high school are generally spent preparing for college and enjoying the last hurrahs of senior year, but what if it were the first two years of high school, grades nine and ten where this took place, instead of grades 11 and 12? An announcement made by education officials of one state may speed up graduation from high school from senior year to sophomore year, with graduation at tenth grade instead of 12th. On October 30th, education officials in New Hampshire announced that they will be giving students a rigorous new series of state board exams … Continue reading →

Why Don’t School Buses Have Seat Belts?

Car seats and booster seats are required by law whenever you transport a child, in a car, under the age of eight and the weight of 80 pounds. Why then, are not even seat belts required on school buses that carry children as young as five for kindergarten, or in the case of special services and private preschools as young as three? This was a question that I debated with our neighbor across the road as we watched our kids, in first and second grade, load on to the bus. This year we have a great bus driver who makes … Continue reading →

Encouraging Children to Insist upon Respect

Respect can be a big issue in families. In fact, it can be a big issue for many of us in various aspects of our lives—at work, with our extended families and friends, or even with strangers that we might come in contact with. We all want to be respected, and we may ‘demand respect’ from our children for our authority as parents, but are we actually teaching our children what to expect in terms of respect for themselves? Sometimes, I think that respect can be one of the more confusing aspect of family life. As parents, we demand respect, … Continue reading →