|
News & Views - Oct,
2000 Issue (page 3)
|
Page 3 of 3 - Previous
DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES ON ADHD
(September 11, 2000) Yahoo News reported the result of a Harris Group survey stating that doctors tended to say that
many American children with ADHD go “undiagnosed and untreated,” while about two-thirds of parents and grandparents of children with
ADHD thought the problem was over diagnosed among school-age kids.
KEYSTONE NATIONAL ONLINE SCHOOL
(September 12, 2000) An online article published by The Standard, titled “Fast
Times at Keystone High” gives a favorable review of Keystone National High School located in Pennsylvania, and states that students
from throughout the nation feel public school wastes a lot of time, and are obtaining their high school diploma online.
ARE SCHOOL COMPUTERS BENEFICIAL?
(September 13, 2000) The U.S. branch of the Alliance for Childhood presented a report questioning if exposure to computers
in early education can “harm children’s ability to reason, imagine and play.” Reported both in Time Magazine Online and the Associated
Press, it concludes that although $27 billion has been spent in the last five years on computers and related technology in schools,
there is little evidence “tying computer use and higher school achievement.” On the other hand, the report warns, “computers may account
for a rise in health problems among children, including repetitive stress injuries, eye strain and obesity. Focusing too much on technology
can also distract children from the social interaction they need to develop language skills and bonds with adults.”
MORE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATES
(Sept. 14, 2000) The Census Bureau statistics show that by “March 1999, 83.4 percent of Americans 25 and older had
high-school diplomas, up from 24.5 percent in 1940… and 77.6 percent in 1990.” The percentage of the same group having a college “bachelor’s
degree increased to 25.2 percent, from 4.6 percent in 1940 and 21.3 percent 10 years ago. The story was an Associated Press story
appearing in the Seattle Times.
LAWSUITS ACCUSE RITALIN MAKERS & APA
(Sept. 15, 2000) Lawsuits filed in California and New Jersey accused both the “makers of the drug Ritalin and the American
Psychiatric Association of encouraging overdiagnosis of behavioral disorders in children to boost sales of the drug.” A similar lawsuit
was filed in Texas earlier this year.
STUDY CALLED FOR ON SCHOOL RITALIN ABUSE
(September 15, 2000) US Rep. Henry J. Hyde asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to study Ritalin abuse within
schools, referring to the increasing number of children reported to be diverting and abusing Ritalin.
SURVEY LINKS TEEN SPORTS & BEHAVIOR
(September 15, 2000) Lindsey Tanner, an Associated Press Medical Writer reported that a recent survey that appeared
in the September issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, published by the American Medical Association said
“A survey of more than 14,000 teen-agers found that those who participated in team sports were less likely to use drugs, smoke, have
sex, carry weapons or have unhealthy eating habits.”
ADDICTION RESOURCE GUIDE
(September 26, 2000) Polly Waldman announced an Internet online directory of addiction treatment resources and facilities.
Headquartered in Tarrytown, New York, phw@addictionresourceguide.com, 914-725-5151,
they provide in depth profiles of addiction treatment facilities at their web
site.
OPPOSITION TO STANDARDIZED TESTS
(Sept. 27, 2000) In an Associated Press story titled Parents mobilize nationwide to fight standardized tests, reports
a growing number of parents who are actively opposing the expanding use of standardized tests, stating they place “too much stress
on children, miscalculate their abilities, limit what they are taught, and weigh too much in determining whether they are held back.”
A spokesman for the expanding National Center for Fair & Open Testing “says the nation is seeing only the beginning of the backlash.
Copyright © 2000, Woodbury Reports, Inc. (This article may be reproduced
without prior approval if the copyright notice and proper publication and author attribution accompanies the copy.)
|