DYSLEXIC BRAIN STUDY
(October 4, 1999) A study by an interdisciplinary team of University of Washington researchers reported Dyslexic children use nearly five times the brain area as normal children while performing simple language tasks. The study shows for the first time that dyslexic children have chemical differences in brain function than non-dyslexic children. Dyslexia is a reading disorder that affects an estimated 5-15 percent of children. More…
STUDY TIES MORE GENES TO DYSLEXIA
(October 29, 2005) The New York Times reported Dr. Juha Kere, professor of molecular genetics at Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, and Yale geneticist Dr. Jeffrey R. Gruen, found two additional genes linked to causing Dyslexia. Large deletions in a regulatory region of the DCDC2 gene were found in one of every five dyslexics tested, making it less active. The second gene, Robo1, is a developmental gene that guides connections (axons), between the brain's two hemispheres. More…
INTERNET DANGER ON RISE FOR CHILDREN
(December 21, 2005) The Polly Klaus Foundation reported that a nationwide survey of 1,468 US youth (ages 8-18) revealed they frequently take risks with their personal information by communicating with people they know only through the Internet. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention reported that between 2004 and 2005, its Internet Crimes Against Children program saw complaints increase 84 percent nationally against predators traveling to meet and/ or entice minors. More…
TEEN PRESCRIPTION DRUG ABUSE ON RISE
(December 22, 2005) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the widespread use of potent legal drugs to control youthful behavior coupled with massive television advertising of legal drugs might be contributing to an alarming rise in prescription drug abuse among American teenagers. The National Institute on Drug Abuse reported that its annual survey of 50,000 students indicates the number of high school students abusing prescription drugs like Oxycontin is rising, and sedative use is at its highest level in 26 years. More…
CAMPAIGN AGAINST PHYSICAL RESTRAINTS
(December 27, 2005) The Pittsburg Post-Gazette reported that Estelle Richman, Pennsylvania State Secretary of Welfare, is campaigning against using physical restraints on youth in group homes. Although restraints are attributed to three deaths and untold broken bones over the past seven years, some group homes disagree with the secretary's campaign. Many group home directors believe that while it might be possible to reduce the use of restraints, it's impossible to eliminate them. More…
SCHOOLS OFFER MENTAL HEALTH CARE
(December 29, 2005) The Boston Globe reported that with some assistance from outside agencies, schools are becoming the leading providers of mental health care for children. School nurses now devote a third of their time tending to students' emotional and family issues, according to a survey by the Federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. More…
INTERNET GENDER GAP NARROWS
(December 29, 2005) The Washington Post reported women have historically lagged behind men in the adoption of Internet technologies, but a study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that women under age 65 now outpace men in Internet usage. In other age groups the women outpace the men by three percent, except for those 65 and older where 34 percent of men are online in comparison to 21 percent of women. More…
AMERICAN LITERACY SLIPPING
(December 30, 2005) The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported the skill known as prose literacy is declining even among well-educated Americans. The latest sampling of adult literacy by the National Center for Education Statistics found a 10-percent drop in graduate students from 1992 to 2003. There was also a marked slip among college students testing proficient; 40 percent in 1992 and 31 percent in 2003. More…
SCHOOLS OFFER SUPPORT GROUPS
(December 30, 2005) The Detroit News reported Detroit schools offer support groups that meet during class time to discuss divorce, grief and self-mutilation. However, some parents and teachers fear the class-time counseling could hurt students' academic performance. More…
TRANSFORMATIVE PARENTING UPDATE
(December 30, 2005) Todd Sarner, MA, Co-Director, Transformative Parenting, San Rafael, CA, 415-289-6515, an educational consulting firm, announced they are now adding family coaching to their services. More…
SPORTS HAZING INCREASING
(January 2006) The Sport Journal reported that research conducted by Alfred University indicates that sports related hazing from middle school through college is rising. According to the research, 1 out of 20 athletes in middle school, 4 out of 10 in high school, and 8 out of 10 in college were subjected to some form of hazing. More…
INVESTIGATION AT SWAN LAKE
(January 2006) An Associated Press story in the Billings Gazette, Helena, MT, reported that the state Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) is investigating Swan Lake Youth Academy. Attorney Andree Larose, said the investigation began after she wrote a letter to DPHHS on behalf of a former student who alleges physical and verbal abuse, as well as licensing violations at the facility. However, DPHHS spokeswoman, Gayle Shirley said she found no record of a licensing investigation, but added that abuse and neglect investigations are confidential. More…
TOUGHLOVE GOES COMMERCIAL
(January 2006) New York Magazine reported that psychologist Dr. Ron Zodkevitch, and Igal Feibush are relaunching the TOUGHLOVE® Program as an alternative to removing kids from their homes when they get into trouble. A pilot program to introduce Toughlove to parents wil be tested in Broward County, Florida school districts. Feibush hopes to mimic it across the nation in public schools. ToughLove was originally founded in 1979 by family therapists David and Phyllis York. More…
PRIVATE INVESTORS OPTIMISTIC
(January 2006) EducationNews.org reported there are several reasons for financial investors of private education to be optimistic and for policy-makers to continue the slow-motion privatization of education. The optimism stems from the successes of the private voucher systems that have been used since the early 1990s in Milwaukee and Cleveland schools, and the mid-1990s boom of online education. More…
TEENSCREEN LABELS STUDENTS
(January 2, 2006) EducationNews.org reported that many claim a 10-minute computer test, TeenScreen, is an unscientific written mental health survey that is labeling students. Developed by David Shaffer in Columbia University's psychiatric department, the program professes to discover "mental illnesses." The test is sold to numerous schools across the country as a suicide prevention program, but the story says there is no scientific data to back up this claim. More…
NONPROFIT "WEIGHT LOSS" ACADEMY TO OPEN
(January 4, 2006) Ira Green, Founder, The Healthy Children Academy, Lenoir, NC, 888-533-9039, announced the January 2006 opening of the "first nonprofit" weight loss boarding school. The school will share classrooms, dorms and dining facilities with the Patterson School www.PattersonSchool.org. The program places special emphasis on nutrition, exercise and developing self-esteem. More…
DEFINING SCHOOL VIOLENCE
(January 5, 2006) Well known educators Chester E. Finn, Jr., and Michael O'Keefe, point out in their newsletter, The Education Gadfly, that although the decline of violence in US schools is welcome, the levels of violence are still too high when compared to other nations. The authors say this seems to reflect an unduly high acceptance level for violence, and compare it to a tendency referred to as "defining deviancy up." More…
HAZING: NATIONAL ISSUE
(January 6, 2006) The Rock Hill Herald, a South Carolina publication, reported that Rock Hill High School suspended its head wrestling coach, an assistant coach and seven wrestlers because of a hazing incident on a trip to Virginia in December 2005. In 2000, Alfred University in Alfred, NY, conducted a national survey that revealed hazing is a problem at colleges and high schools nationwide. While the majority of hazing incidents go unreported, several have resulted in students being injured and killed. More…
IDAHO VIRTUAL ACADEMY ACCREDITED
(January 10, 2006) RuralNorthwest.com reported that Idaho Virtual Academy (IDVA), a public virtual charter school, received provisional regional accreditation by the Northwest Association of Accredited Schools for the 2005-2006 school year. More…
CALL TO CLOSE FLORIDA BOOT CAMPS
(January 11, 2006) The Miami Herald reported that after the sudden death of a teen placed in a state run, military-style youth facility in Panama City, FL, a South Florida lawmaker is demanding the closure of the state's six juvenile justice boot camps. State officials say they will reexamine the policies that allow the use of physical force against children in state care. Each facility is run by its county sheriff's department. More…
SINGLE SEX EXPERIMENTS SHOW BENEFITS
(January 11, 2006) The Enquirer reported that single sex class experiments in about 200 middle schools around the country show benefits for both boys and girls. More…
DEFENSE REQUESTS DISMISSAL
(January 12, 2006) The White County News Telegraph reported that defense attorneys claim two technical errors in the Grand Jury murder indictments against six former counselors at the Appalachian Wilderness program may get the charges thrown out. The case stems from the April 20, 2005 death of a 14-year-old boy. More…
CURRICULUM TO STOP HAIR-PULLING
(January 13, 2006) Abby Leora Rohrer, Founder, Facilitated Recovery, LLC, Boulder, CO, 303-546-0788, www.pullfreeatlast.com, is releasing the first holistic curriculum to help adults end compulsive hair-pulling. Rohrer says the Pull-Free, At Last system explores the cultural, personal, psychological and spiritual factors that contribute to compulsive hair-pulling. She has taught self-healing principles since 1995 and is the author of What's Wrong with Pulling My Hair Out? More…
STUDENTS PREFER ONLINE CLASSES
(January 14, 2006) An Associated Press article on Yahoo News, reported that many on-campus students prefer the format and schedule flexibility of online college courses. Approximately 2.3 million American students attended an online course in 2004. More…
MULTIPLE FAMILY THERAPY RESOURCES
(January 14, 2006) Lewis Foster, Board Member for the Multiple Family Group Therapy Association, announced the internet address of their new online resource is now available.
WHAT TEENS KNOW THAT PARENTS DON'T
(January 14, 2006) The Seattle Times reported that although parents are not as dumb as most teens think, it is true that adults may not realize how much times have changed. One example in the story was that most parents don't know April 20 is a pot-smokers' holiday. "It's the day that everyone smokes pot," explained Sue Cutler, a chemical-dependency counselor at Youth Eastside Services in Bellevue, WA. More…
THE CULTURE OF BOYS
(January 16, 2006) The Kansas City Star contains a four part series titled "Raising Boys Better," which reviews the problems boys have in our culture, some reasons for increasing failure, and some possible solutions to help more boys seek success rather than choosing to be turned off. Part One…Part Two…Part Three… Part Four…
PUBLIC EDUCATION STATISTICS
(January 18, 2006) Teacher Magazine reported some very interesting statistics about the teaching profession, including average money spent per pupil in public education, average teacher salaries, percentage of teachers who feel the measurement of standardized testing is flawed, and much more. More…
UK NUTRITIONAL STUDIES SHOW BENEFITS
(January 18, 2006) In a series of studies called Durham Research, researchers added fatty acid supplements to the diets of control groups of students to determine the effect on reading and behavior. Preliminary results showed that those children receiving a supplement to their diets showed a significant improvement in reading comprehension and a significant reduction in behavioral problems. More…
ONLINE FAMILY COACHING
(January 21, 2006) Jeff Griswold, President, Effective Learning Systems, Inc., Bloomington, MN, 952-943-1660, and Svein Berg, Executive VP, Mintra Inc., Houston, TX, 281-990-8505, announced the two companies have joined forces to release Your E-coach: The Art of Leading Yourself. According to the press release, this online personal coaching program is an interactive program that guides each individual through the process of mastering their own self-leadership. More…
FEDERAL EXAMS START EARLIER
(January 22, 2006) The Washington Post reported several public schools will begin classes weeks earlier next fall because students need more instruction time for federally mandated exams. The exams are required to maintain compliance with the "No Child Left Behind" Act. Parents are seriously complaining about the side effects of "high-stakes" testing. More…
ONLINE PRIVACY VS. INTERNET SAFETY
(January 23, 2006) Eschool News reported that the federal government's attempt to revive the 1998 Child Online Protection Act (COPA) pits online privacy against Internet safety of children. The Justice Department wants access to online search engine records to prove Internet filtering doesn't adequately protect children or prevent them from accessing online pornography or other objectionable websites. Google has refused to comply with the subpoena. COPA was ruled unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court because Justices felt that filtering software might better protect children. More…
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