Current Issues In Education

If you're a teacher, chances are, you've experienced parents upset over both too much and too little assigned homework. Have you ever wondered why opinions on the issue tend to be emphatic, polarized, and emotional? So did we. We decided to do some serious digging, and we were shocked at what we found...

School lunch politics will play out again on Capitol Hill this year as lawmakers consider a bill to reauthorize the 2010 Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act. The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act was championed by the American Heart Association, which has repeatedly implored Congress to protect the new law from changes that could pose both short- and longer-term risks to children's health.

When Alberto Cortes was held back in fourth grade because of low math skills, he thought his world had come to an end. "The first day of going back to fourth grade, I see all my friends with new teachers there in fifth grade," Cortes said.

Joshua Katz is a high school math teacher in Orange County, FL. Joshua's Talk: In the mid 1800's, Horace Mann captured the potential impact of education on society. We have yet to realize the potential he saw, and in fact, we are missing the mark by a wider and wider margin.

Does School Breakfast have an impact on academic achievement? Recent research suggests that it can boost students' cognitive functioning, memory, and test grades. Researchers present their research showing links between participation in the School Breakfast Program and student learning. Watch this video to learn about this research.

1. Early musical training helps develop brain areas involved in language and reasoning. It is thought that brain development continues for many years after birth. Recent studies have clearly indicated that musical training physically develops the part of the left side of the brain known to be involved with processing language, and can actually wire the brain's circuits in specific ways.

Some say too much praise can hurt kids -- plus praise pointers!

This past summer, Tennessee state Rep. Sheila Butt got a call from a mother who said she wanted to talk about her son, a junior in high school. The woman explained that her son's history teacher was writing homework assignments on the board in cursive-and her son couldn't read them.

The song says, "Video killed the radio star." Will technology knock out handwriting lessons in elementary schools? We take a look at the cursive writing debate, which has become an issue in school districts across the nation. Video edited by Belal Bhuiyan.

By Pat Griffin on November 21, 2014 hst As high schools and state associations nationwide continue to provide opportunities for all young people to participate in high school athletics, the inclusion of transgender students on high school athletic teams is a key issue across the country.

Learning outcomes are the result of what happens in classrooms, and what happens in classrooms is mainly shaped by teachers. That's why the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.

To see two conservative think tanks releasing a study disparaging public education is about as surprising as hearing the weatherman announce that the sun is setting tonight. The conservative movement has long used "studies" faulting public education as a way to move the country to private schools and business-run schools.

In This Article If you're a teacher, you know these kids: The one who stares out the window, substituting the arc of a bird in flight for her math lesson. The one who wouldn't be able to keep his rear end in the chair if you used Krazy Glue.

Since the Supreme Court ruled random testing programs constitutional in 2002, more than a thousand schools have implemented them YES Since 2002, when the Supreme Court ruled that random school drug testing is constitutional, more schools have adopted the practice.

If the national school schedule does change from traditional to year-round, it will undoubtedly have lasting effects on the family and the community. Family vacations, child care, and routine living would be disrupted by year-round educational programs. Federal and local government agencies, individual communities, businesses, churches and private organizations would have to reconfigure their established calendar, recreational activities, public service programs, and pattern of operations.

Common sense suggests that public school children will do better in smaller classes than in larger classes. Smaller class sizes provide the opportunity for personal attention and additional instructional help when necessary. Yet, whether smaller class sizes boost academic achievement has been examined in numerous studies with mixed results.

Some former homeschool students are speaking out against what they consider an abusive or neglectful upbringing. Last year they began posting their stories on a website called Homeschoolers Anonymous, alleging mistreatment from parents ranging from sexual molestation to what they describe as "spiritual abuse."

Are calculators a necessary tool in math classes? As a math teacher, it's your job to know when it's right to allow your students to use calculators in the classroom or when they should do all of the math themselves.

The excerpt below is from the book, Fostering Student Accountability Through Student-Led Conferences. "Why did you give me that grade?" "I turned that work in!" "How did I get a "C"?" "I just missed a few homework assignments; I can't believe they counted that much!"

"I'm in 9th grade. I just finished, I skipped 8th grade, and I start my calculus class today. Stressed? Nope. I LIKE school...it's these mean classmates of mine who make me upset. " "I'm in 8th grade and 100% agree with this. My whole 8th grade year has been pretty stressful.

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining and profoundly moving case for creating an education system that nurtures (rather than undermines) creativity.

This RSA Animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award. Watch this lecture in full here: http://www.thersa.org/events/video/archive/sir-ken-robinson The RSA is a 258 year-old charity devoted to driving social progress and spreading world-changing ideas.

Why, why, why does our education system look so similar to the way it did 50 years ago? Millions of students were failing then, as they are now -- and it's because we're clinging to a business model that clearly doesn't work.