Stress: A preventable killer

In Edenheim, PA, an 11th grader, upset about the repercussions of an unsatisfactory report card killed himself in school with a rifle on Tuesday, December 12, 2006 . The young man took his life because he knew the report card would mean many of his after school activities would be curtailed if it was not satisfactory. At the time of the story’s release, it was known that the young man was an Eagle Scout and volunteer fire fighter.

•Has our focus of good grades gone a little to far? Explain
•If you were this person’s friend, what might you tell him to make him feel better about his situation?
•Why are teens under so much pressure nowadays to juggle school work and extracurricular activities?
•Do you feel extremely stressed about school, work, extracurricular activities, etc.

Whatever happened to peace on earth and goodwill towards men?

Christmas is supposed to be a time of peace on earth and goodwill toward men. However, the focus of Christmas in modern times is one of commerce, presents, and the perpetual propagation of politically correct rhetoric and lowered standards. Case in point on Black Friday, the well-known day after Thanksgiving when stores go from being in the “red” to “black”, was met with fighting, long lines, and continued emphasis on what to get whom for Christmas. Recently, a city in the Triad area of NC reported a “grinch” stealing Christmas decorations. A church in Fayetteville, NC had a manger scene burglarized for their baby Jesus figurine. A Seattle airport had to take down all of their Christmas trees due to complaints and threats of a lawsuit. And the list goes on and on.

Have we lost the true meaning and purpose of the Christmas holiday?

Why are grown men and women fighting over toys, electronics, and various other gifts for children that are oftentimes ungrateful?

Who is to blame for the overemphasis on materialism at Christmas time?

What is the true meaning of Christmas anyway?

Holocaust Deniers

During WWII, Adolf Hitler began his program of world domination and ethnic cleansing. Upon reading information about the “ubermensch” (superman), Hitler believe that there was the possibility of a race of superior people. These people would have blonde hair and blue eyes and be called Aryans. They would possess superior strength, intellectual capability, and power to rule. Based on the premise of evolution, that only the strong survive, Hitler’s ideology motivated him to kill those who he felt were far from his idea of the superior race, the Jews. Over the years of the 2nd world war, Hitler and his Third Reich would kill over 6 million Jews to prove his point of superiority. The scars of the Holocaust still run deep in both an emotional and literal sense. Even more hurtful is the fact that there are some in America, Europe, and other parts of the developed and civilized world that hold the belief that the Holocaust is a myth and never happened.

1.Why do you think some people refuse to look at the Holocaust as a significant historical event?
2.How might you convince someone of an event like the Holocaust being a credible historical event?
3.What do you think is the reason for the belief of the Holocaust as a myth?

Six degrees of separation hypothesis

Six degrees of separation is the hypothesis that anyone on Earth can be connected to any other person on the planet through a chain of acquaintances with no more than five people in between. This means you are no more than five people away from a popular celebrity, a local drug addict, the promiscuous person with a reputation in your school or someone else's, the person suffering with AIDS, and so on.

Knowing that you are so very close in association to the homeless man or drug addict, does this information make you think before you judge others not like yourself? Why or why not?

Since there are only six degrees of separation between a Bill Gates and yourself according to this hypothesis, what is so different about you and Mr. Gates?

Since there are only six degrees of separation between a local man that homeless and yourself according to this hypothesis, what is so different about you and the homeless?

Why in your opinion do you feel that people have such freedom to judge others as if perfect themselves?

Too many dropouts!!!

The 2004-05 dropout statistics for NC disclosed that a majority of dropouts from HS did so during the 9th grade. Of this percentage (33.7% of the overall total), 60% were due to attendance. Dropouts are a societal issue costing a loss of 1.6% of America’s Gross Domestic Product (How much the US makes as a country). If all single mother’s on welfare simply had a HS education more than 125,000 would not need welfare. Dropouts are also affected healthwise as well. An 18 year-old dropout generally has the same level of health as an educated individual 20 years older than they are (38 yrs old!). Statistics have also found that a HS dropout makes $200,000 less in their lifetimes than their peers that graduate from HS. Of course this value increases for 2 year, 4 year, and graduate degrees.


•Many schools have horrendous attendance. What could be implemented to solve the problem?
•What would make the statistics about dropping out and attendance hit home for those that skip classes?
•Do you think that make-ups for unexcused absencs, No Child Left Behind, and high stakes testing sometimes contribute to the lazy attitude of students towards being in class?
•In Bermuda, students that do not come to class cause parents to incur fines of $200 or more. Do you think fines and/or jail time for student truancy would help curb this problem.
•What would you say to encourage a teen who was considering dropping out of school?

Our appreciation for American education

In American society, we have some of the best resources, teacher training, availability of supplies, and researchers available in comparison to other parts of the world. However, in spite of all the advanced technology, amount of government money provided, number of grants for special programs, countless hours spent by teachers to become certified and highly qualified according to the president’s definition, students often leave free public education for college or the working world unprepared, unfit, and unqualified to contribute to society. Worse still, many students do not take advantage of the opportunities afforded them, wasting tax dollars and time in frivolous activity that they associate with being part of their educational (K-12) experience.

Do you agree with the preceding viewpoint?

• Are most American students ungrateful when it comes to their free education?
• Do Americans make the most out of the teachers, materials, technologies given to them while being educated?
• Who should be to blame for America’s nonchalance towards education?
• Should American students be required in some way to take responsibility in insuring they get the most out of their education? If so, what should the consequences be? If not, then whose responsibility is it?
• What would you tell a student in a poverty stricken country about school in America?
  

And the winner is...

A high school senior from Oregon won a $100,000 scholarship at one of the nation’s premier high school science competitions on Monday for his research in a new area of mathematics called string topology.
The research conducted by Dmitry Vaintrob, 18, a student at South Eugene High School in Eugene, Ore., could provide knowledge that mathematicians and physicists might apply to understand electricity, magnetism and gravity, judges at the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology said.
“His work is at the Ph.D. level, publishable and already attracting the attention of researchers,” said competition judge Michael Hopkins, a professor of mathematics at Harvard.

•Considering the work of this HS student, what is holding you back personally from exhibiting a higher level of work in an area of your choosing?
•What do you think made it possible for Vaintrob to win $100,000 in this competition?
•What would you do with a $100,000 scholarship?
•What would you do if experts were calling your house everyday for advice on a topic of your choosing? What would that topic be?

Obama and Ludacris discuss youth empowerment

Sen. Barack Obama and Chris Bridges (Ludacris) met in Illinois to discuss how to help kids succeed. As Bridges put it, “We talked about empowering the youth.”

If you had the opportunity to meet with the president, a congressman, or senator, what would you suggest be done to help kids be more successful in school, society, and future careers?

Edugaming

The Federation of American Scientists recently declared that video games can redefine education. The theory is that games teach skills that employers want: analytical thinking, team building, multitasking, and problem-solving under duress. Unlike humans, the games never lose patience. And they are second nature to many kids. Many questions come to mind when considering this possible phenomena. How much training would teachers receive? Who would persuade school leaders and the public that games aren't a waste of time? Would education schools add serious gaming to the curriculum?
Ultimately, teachers may soon need to see games as a way to help--not as a threat.

•Are video games a viable option to traditional education?
•Do you think playing video games builds the skills mentioned in the article (analytical thinking, teamwork, multitasking, and problem solving)?
•If gaming was added to the curriculum, would students take school more seriously?
•Would gaming cut down on discipline problems, skipping, and high school dropouts?
•Do you agree with trying to implement games into school?
•If yes, what arguments would you use to persuade adults to consider adding gaming to school?
•If no, what would you implement to make school and learning more inviting?

No spanking allowed

There has been much debate on the use of corporal (bodily) punishment when disciplining children. In Pender County, NC a father was convicted of abusing his son when a social worker said his 13 year old son was hit with a belt and bruised on his buttocks. The father appealed stating that corporal punishment did not constitute abuse and the court agreed.

•Has the whole debate about corporal punishment of children gone too far?
•Why do you think that shows like Supernanny and Nanny 911 do not advocate spanking children as a form of discipline?
•Do alternative forms of discipline work?
•Is spanking an archaic form of punishment that needs to be done away with?

The day Magic Johnson changed the world

On a November day, 15 years ago, Earvin “Magic” Johnson announced to the world that he was the latest victim of what had been called GRIDS virus or what we now call HIV. Once thought to be a disease solely afflicting homosexual men, Johnson’s announcement struck fear into a society that once thought that the heterosexual male, transfusion recipient, and others that came in contact with bodily fluids were safe from such a disease. Today, Johnson has no signs of the disease in his system due to advancements in AIDS therapy and proper nutrition, but the effect of his announcement has done little to stop the proliferation of the disease nationally and worldwide.

•What does Magic Johnson’s announcement and the whole HIV/AIDS epidemic mean to you?
•Do you think people take the knowledge we gain about epidemics like AIDS and how they spread for granted?
•Why are black females the fastest growing population to be infected with the disease?
•Should we help other countries to stop the spread of AIDS in their homelands?
•Are Americans taking all the necessary precautions to prevent getting this disease?
•Where do you think AIDS came from?

The learning gap in Guilford County, NC

A study by Guilford County Schools shows that the poorest white students scored higher on the SAT this year than the wealthiest black students. Gongsue Zhang, a statistician employed by GCS said he suspects the disparity comes from lower family and peer expectations among black students and possible bias in the SAT exam. This information brings about the following questions:
•Is the SAT culturally biased?
•Do black students generally have lower family and peer expectations? Explain.
•What, in your opinion, is the reason for blacks performing worse on standardized tests?

Cosby to educators, "Make it relevant"

Bill Cosby, who has ignited controversy in the past with his sometimes scathing rebukes, criticized teachers and parents at a weekend education conference, saying they don't do enough to help kids.
Cosby spoke in October at a forum called "Education Is a Civil Right." Hundreds of Los Angeles-area parents, teachers and students attended the event at Maranatha Community Church.
Cosby, 69, was critical of black parents, saying they don't involve themselves enough in their children's education and don't know what their children are doing.
"We've got parents who won't check the bedrooms of their children to see if there's a gun," he said.
He chided teachers for not offering clear explanations to children who ask why courses such as English and algebra are necessary.
"If you teach English and you can't answer this child, then you're in trouble, and we've been in trouble," Cosby said. "We can't answer these children, because nobody's given them any goals."
In the past, Cosby has criticized some black children for not knowing how to read or write, said some had squandered opportunities the civil rights movement gave them and said whites are unfairly blamed for problems in the black community such as teen pregnancy and high dropout rates.