News & Views
NEWS & VIEWS - JUNE 2007
Jun 15, 2007, 18:25
LA BOOT CAMP INSTRUCTOR ARRESTED
(April 25, 2007) The LA Times reported an instructor at a Juvenile Boot Camp, run by the LA County Probation Department, was arrested after allegedly threatening his coworkers. In addition to the alleged threats, authorities found loaded firearms in his car.
POT CAUSES PSYCHOSIS?
(April 30, 2007) Reuters reported on a study of brain scans in the UK, which explained how heavy consumption of marijuana "triggers psychosis and schizophrenia in a small number of people."
FDA SEEKS SUICIDE WARNING
(May 2, 2007) According to KOMO TV in Seattle, WA, the Federal Food and Drug Administration asked makers of antidepressant drugs to expand warning labels to include young adults up to age 24. This request is due to studies that found "Young adults face an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior when they first begin taking antidepressants...."
STATE PLACED YOUTH DIES IN WILDERNESS
(May 4, 2007) The Montrose Colorado Daily Press reported that authorities are continuing to investigate the death of a state-placed youth in an Alternative Youth Adventures (AYA) program. Initial reports indicate the youth died from natural causes; however the Mesa County Coroner released a statement which found the youth died due to "a methicillin-resistant staph aureus infection."
MORE GIRLS ABUSE PRESCRIPTION DRUGS
(May 6, 2007) A new government study finds that prescription drug abuse is higher for girls than boys, and while boys use them to get high, girls use them to "increase confidence, cope with problems or lose weight." More...
DRUG MAKERS AND PSYCHIATRISTS
(May 9, 2007) The New York Times discusses the apparent tie between increased prescriptions of drugs to children and payment to those psychiatrists.
RESTLESS PARENTS LEAD TO EDUCATION INVESTING
(May 11, 2007) A theme in a recent futurist conference indicated that parental concern toward their child's education is causing a number of educational companies to be financially successful in creating curriculum and marketing innovative enhancement techniques in schools. More...
CHOICE SCHOOLS ARE BETTER
(May 14, 2007) A study published in the Hoover Institution's Education Next showed that schools of choice (charter, private and home schools) often do a better job of boosting civic values than do traditional public schools.
A VIEW ON GENERATION Y
(May 15, 2007) Nadira A. Hira, writer-reporter for Fortune Magazine, wrote her perspective of Generation Y at work (published on MoneyCNN.com). Hira explains, "This current crop of twenty-somethings is having an impact on the working world… from their experience in being told all their life they are special… diversity… multitasking… entitled… mother participating in their job interviews… delaying marriage… and many still live with their parents." She claims Gen Y is a force unlike anything the work world has ever seen before. More...
DOES THIMEROSAL CAUSE AUTISM?
(May 16, 2007) According to Judith H. Miles, MD, PhD, and T. Nicole Takahashi, researchers from the University of Missouri, their newest study regarding the causal link between autism and the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal, simply adds to the evidence showing there is no causal link. More...
UK STUDENTS NEED PSYCHOLOGISTS
(May 20, 2007) UK experts are concerned about the increasing need for psychologists to help students as young as eight cope with increasing stress from the growing number and importance of tests facing them. More...
CHILD EXPERTS DESTROY UNITY
(May 20, 2007) Julia Steiny, an education writer for the Providence Journal, reviewed the book "Raising America - Experts, Parents and a Century of Advice about Children" by Ann Hulbert. According to Steiny, Hulbert concludes that radical differences between experts' advice allows scientific objectivity to replace the common sense influence of community, parents and grandparents. Because of this trend, Steiny concludes, "It's no wonder parents are confused and defensive about child-rearing skills." More...
BIG SCHOOLS, ONGOING PROBLEMS
(May 20, 2007) David W. Kirkpatrick, a columnist for EdNews.org, summarizes several decades of research that concluded student performance drops as high schools increase in size. More...
ATTORNEYS IN SPECIAL ED CASES?
(May 21, 2007) According to the Boston.com News, the US Supreme Court ruled that to facilitate parents' ability to challenge school district decisions regarding the education of special needs students, parents do not need to hire an attorney to represent them.