Current Issues In Education

Although many people think of homework as doing more harm than good by causing copious amounts of unnecessary stress to everyone, others believe that it has great advantages for children by encouraging them to think more independently outside the classroom.

Say what's on your mind. Display your opinion about whether homework should be banned. Review what others think about the importance of homework.

When I got my degree in Theater Education, I did it for one reason: the fat stacks of Benjamins. I am shocked- SHOCKED!- to hear people advocating for higher salaries for American educators. Financial success and teachers go together like polar bears and ice: they desperately need it, and it's not like they're running out.

It is one of the most commonly held bits of conventional wisdom in this country: that teachers are grossly underpaid, and further that many of the bad outcomes in public education are directly attributable to low teacher compensation. One hears this everywhere, from cocktail parties to TV talk shows -- [...]

I wish this was wildly out of place, but many times I have seen teachers come under fire from parents in this exact situation. Usually the phrase "but my child was an honors student at his last school!" comes up at least once.

Last month the FDA introduced a plan for a food label makeover. Under the new regulations, food labels will provide a greater emphasis on calorie counts and sugar. The plan has once again brought nutrition to the forefront of the health conversation.

Many children consume at least half of their meals at school, and for many children, food served at school may be the only food they regularly eat. With more than 32 million children participating in the National School Lunch Program and more than 12 million participating in the School Breakfast Program, good nutrition at school is more important than ever.

Childhood obesity has both immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being. Immediate health effects: Obese youth are more likely to have risk factors for cardiovascular disease, such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure.

What is Childhood Obesity? Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. It affects more than 30 percent of children, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood. This number has more than tripled since 1980. Childhood obesity is a health issue.

To adults, childhood can seem like a carefree time. But kids still experience stress. Things like school and their social life can sometimes create pressures that can feel overwhelming for kids. As a parent, you can't protect your kids from stress - but you can help them develop healthy ways to cope with stress and solve everyday problems. Kids deal with stress in both healthy and unhealthy ways.

Afterschool Programs: Making a Difference in America's Communities by Improving Academic Achievement, Keeping Kids Safe and Helping Working Families

It is very common for children with ADHD to have difficulties in school. The symptoms and behaviors associated with ADHD can interfere with the learning process. Because many children with ADHD have trouble paying attention, staying focused, and getting organized, they may not learn at the same rate as other children in a classroom setting, even though they may be capable learners and be bright enough to understand the material.

New clothes and notebooks and talk about favorite friends and tough teachers have made their way into American homes amid the exuberance and anxiety of a new school year. But for the millions of parents whose children struggle with attention deficity hyperactivity disorder, the back-to-school swirl of activity is tinged with another worry: whether behavioral challenges will stand in the way of their child's ability to learn and succeed.

Empathy matters. And it needs to be taught in schools. I've seen, read and written this before, but I wasn't quite convinced until earlier this week when I plugged into an episode of

Bullying is when a person or group repeatedly tries to harm someone who is weaker or who they think is weaker. Sometimes it involves direct attacks such as hitting, name calling, teasing or taunting. Sometimes it is indirect, such as spreading rumors or trying to make others reject someone.

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.

Among 34 countries around the world, the United States has one of the shortest school years. The traditional school year in America is 180 days. South Korean children spend 220 days total in the classroom while Finland has a 190 day school year. Both educational systems rank higher than the

In the 2012-13 school year, North Carolina students missed more than 750,000 school days due to suspension. Though suspension is the most widely used disciplinary technique in both general and special education, research has raised serious questions about its effects. First, evidence does not support the notion that suspension improves the behavior of the suspended student.

It's not exactly breaking news that students cheat in school. Whether it's the student who peeks at crib notes during a test or another who can't keep his eyes from drifting over to a classmate's paper - schools have always had to deal with cheaters on some level.

Get ideas for building teamwork skills, motivating students, creating reading response journals and much more!

Breakfast is a crucial part of every child's day. It affects everything from memory to creativity in the classroom. Children who go hungry are more inclined to become distracted from learning at ...

The philosophy behind inclusive schools is that all children have the right to be educated with their peers in regular classrooms in neighborhood schools. The question is, can it be done? Read what teachers who have done it say about the reality of inclusive education! December 4-8, is National Inclusive Schools Week.

I saw a story recently about a school, named Ngee Ann, in Singapore where a math teacher gave problems to students and asked that the answers be "tweeted." These tweets were then projected on a screen at the front of the room, in real time!

Although the Internet has revolutionized communication and provided powerful new educational tools for student learning, it has also created risks and raised ethical issues for students of all grades, as it has created many opportunities for illegal, inappropriate and unsafe behavior among all participants.

Natascha Chtena is a PhD student in Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. You can follow her on Twitter @nataschachtena. Amidst reports of Steve Jobs and other Silicon Valley CEOs imposing extremely strict technology rules on their children, the debate around technology use in the classroom has caught fire once again.