Jim Liebelt's Youth Culture Watch

Schools Consider Four-Day Weeks

Facing deep funding cuts during the economic downturn, increasing numbers of school districts nationwide are contemplating trimming the traditional school week to four days to save money.

A four-day week has long been confined to a few small rural districts looking to save on fuel costs. Indeed, many of the districts thinking of shaving a day off their weekly calendar have small enrollments -- such as the 940-student district in Bisbee, Ariz.

But some districts contemplating the move serve suburban or urban areas. The idea is being floated in South Florida's Broward County, the nation's fifth-largest school system.

A recent University of Washington study found that states are cutting 18% of their education spending over the next three years, eliminating as many as 574,000 jobs.

"When everything's lean and states have no money and are cutting budgets to schools, it's an easy way to save money without cutting staff," said Gary Spiker, superintendent of the tiny Ash Fork School District in northern Arizona, which has had a four-day week since the 1980s.

Typically, districts that hold classes four days a week extend school hours 60 to 90 minutes per day. Education experts say there are no definitive data showing whether a four-day week benefits or harms students.

The most common concern is voiced by parents who may have to scramble for an extra full day of child care. "For parents, the issue is if Johnny's not in school on Monday or Friday, where is he going to be?" said Marc Egan of the National School Boards Assn.

Source: Los Angeles Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-four-day4-2009may04,0,5367225.story

Teen Drug Education Also Helps Curb Risky Sexual Behavior

School-based drug education programs for adolescents can have a long-term positive impact on sexual behavior in addition to curbing substance abuse, according to a new RAND Corporation study.

Researchers found that young adults who had been exposed to a popular drug abuse prevention program as adolescents were less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior five to seven years later, according to the findings published online by the Journal of Adolescent Health. The study provides the strongest evidence to date that drug abuse prevention programs can also curb risky sexual practices in young adulthood.

"The lessons these young people learned about how to avoid drug and alcohol abuse appears to have had a positive impact on their sexual behavior as well," said Phyllis Ellickson, the lead author of the study and a researcher at RAND, a nonprofit research organization.

The study found that youth exposed to a drug abuse education program were significantly less likely as young adults to either engage in sex with multiple partners or to have unprotected sex because of drug and alcohol use than their peers who had not received the training.

Source: ScienceDaily
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429111247.htm

Meds Help Kids With ADHD in Classroom

Children who take medication to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do better in elementary school than those who don't, a new study has found.

Of 594 children whose parents reported an ADHD diagnosis, those who took medication scored 2.9 points higher on standardized math tests and 5.4 points higher on reading tests than children with ADHD who were not taking medication.

Researchers used a nationally representative sample from the Childhood Longitudinal Study of children who entered kindergarten in 1998, and followed them through fifth grade.

"It's one more important piece of evidence that states clearly that taking the medication isn't just about parents or teachers feeling better about the child or thinking he or she is more compliant," said study author Stephen P. Hinshaw, chair of the department of psychology at University of California, Berkeley. "On an objective, rigorously-designed standardized test of reading and math ability, we have evidence there are 'real world' gains in achievement."

The study is not advocating that every child who has attention problems be put on medication, Hinshaw said. An ADHD diagnosis should only be made after a careful evaluation by doctors.

And not all children will see test scores rise as a result of medication.

"This doesn't mean every single child will show that benefit," Hinshaw said. "Some will show more, some less. The family and clinician have to evaluate carefully the trade-off between the potential benefits and potential side effects."

The study is published in the May issue of Pediatrics.

Source: Forbes
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/hscout/2009/04/27/hscout626357.html

Bad Behavior in School Linked to Lifelong Troubles

The results of this study should motivate parents to be proactive in early interventions when they become aware that their children are developing patterns of bad behavior in school.

Teens who misbehave at school may be on their way to a lifetime of difficulties in work, relationships, and mental health, researchers found.

Severe teacher-reported conduct problems in adolescence more than doubled the likelihood that an adult would have poor mental health, difficulties in family life and relationships, and financial woes, Ian Colman, Ph.D., of the University of Alberta, and colleagues reported online in BMJ.

Even mild behavior problems raised the risk of failure to graduate 2.3-fold and nearly doubled global adversity scores in adulthood in the longitudinal cohort study. These findings add to the bleak picture of adult life for adolescents with conduct problems, the researchers said.

Source: Medpagetoday
http://www.medpagetoday.com/Pediatrics/Parenting/12389

Textbook Rentals Now Available to College Students

In the midst of these difficult economic times, here's a little good news for parents with kids in college...

Chegg (Chegg.com) is a textbook rental startup that lets college students rent books for a fraction of the price they’d normally pay at their campus bookstores. After identifying the books they need on the website, Chegg sends students their textbooks within eight business days. Once they’re done with the books at the end of the term, students simply toss them in a pre-paid box and ship them back to Chegg. The service is available nationwide at 4,000 universities, and has reportedly saved some students as much as $650 per quarter in textbook fees.

The service will likely spread like wildfire once more students (and parents) realize how much money they can save. Textbooks have been notoriously overpriced on college campuses for years, and even the textbook buyback programs found at most student unions are blatant ripoffs, often paying as little as little as 15% or 20% of a book’s original price. With rates that put these programs to shame, Chegg seems like a sure winner.

Source: TechCrunch
http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/12/17/confirmed-kleiner-perkins-gets-into-textbook-rentals-as-chegg-raises-25-million/

Lie, Cheat and Steal: High School Ethics Surveyed

More than the lapse in ethical behavior indicated in the study, two areas cause me greater concern from this survey: 1) That students are playing the comparison game in terms of how they rate ethically with their peers ("I'm better than most people I know,") and 2) Some educators' take on the situation, namely that "We have to create situations where it's easy for kids to do the right things."

In my opinion, kids whose ethical standards are set based on others' behaviors will always set the bar too low, so cheating, lying and stealing can be okay if they do it less than their peers. And adults tasked with helping our kids grow into responsible adults aren't helping them by trying to make it easier to do the right things. The adult world is one where people face many difficult choices in order to do the right thing. Trying to make it easier for students to make ethical choices doesn't reflect the reality of the real world, and will make it all the easier for young people to cut corners when they enter into adulthood.

Like so many other areas, building an ethical value system within kids begins at home, with parents who set standards and serve as role models for strong ethical behaviors.

In the past year, 30 percent of U.S. high school students have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test, according to a new, large-scale survey suggesting that Americans are too apathetic about ethical standards.

"The competition is greater, the pressures on kids have increased dramatically," said Mel Riddle of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. "They have opportunities their predecessors didn't have (to cheat). The temptation is greater."

The Josephson Institute, a Los Angeles-based ethics institute, surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. All students in the selected schools were given the survey in class; their anonymity was assured.

Michael Josephson, the institute's founder and president, said he was most dismayed by the findings about theft. The survey found that 35 percent of boys and 26 percent of girls — 30 percent overall — acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year. One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative.

Cheating in school is rampant and getting worse. Sixty-four percent of students cheated on a test in the past year and 38 percent did so two or more times, up from 60 percent and 35 percent in a 2006 survey.

Despite such responses, 93 percent of the students said they were satisfied with their personal ethics and character, and 77 percent affirmed that "when it comes to doing what is right, I am better than most people I know."

Riddle, who for four decades was a high school teacher and principal in northern Virginia, agreed that more pressure could lead to more cheating, yet spoke in defense of today's students.

"We have to create situations where it's easy for kids to do the right things," he added. "We need to create classrooms where learning takes on more importance than having the right answer."

Source: Associated Press
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i8Qc-a2ZdwcbZ5BKwfdwWj33bi_AD94PE5L00

'Entitled' Students Expect Grades for Effort, Attendance

This study demonstrates an attitude of entitlement that has reached into the arena of education. It underscores the need for parents to be intentional in teaching their children to become responsible, and the earlier the process begins, the better.

Most university students believe that if they're "trying hard," a professor should reconsider their grade.

One-third say that if they attend most of the classes for a course, they deserve at least a B, while almost one-quarter "think poorly" of professors who don't reply to e-mails the same day they're sent.

Those are among the revelations in a newly published study examining students' sense of academic entitlement, or the mentality that enrolling in post-secondary education is akin to shopping in a store where the customer is always right.

The paper describes academic entitlement as "expectations of high marks for modest effort and demanding attitudes toward teachers."

The study reveals that students who are academically entitled are more likely to engage in academic cheating, exploit others, shirk hard work and display "narcissistic orientation."

The study, which surveyed two groups of approximately 400 undergraduates aged 18 to 25, is published in the November issue of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence.

Among the findings:

The study asked approximately 400 undergraduates aged 18 to 25 whether they agreed with these statements:

• If I have explained to my professor that I am trying hard, I think he/she should give me some consideration with respect to my course grade - 66.2 percent agree

• If I have completed most of the reading for a class, I deserve a B in that course - 40.7 per cent

• If I have attended most of the classes for a course, I deserve at least a grade of B - 34.1 per cent

• Teachers often give me lower grades than I deserve on paper assignments - 31.5 per cent

• Professors who won't let me take my exams at another time because of my personal plans (e.g. a vacation) are too strict - 29.9 per cent

Source: Vancouver Sun
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=6f8e11db-6ed2-4e17-b271-1368cc9bd123

Study: Church-Going Teens Have Higher GPAs

Regular church attendance may boost a student's GPA, according to a new study.

Students who attend religious services weekly average a GPA of 0.144 higher than those who never attend services, said Jennifer Glanville, a sociologist in the University of Iowa College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

"That suggests that the act of attending church – the structure and the social aspects associated with it – could be more important to educational outcomes than the actual religion," the sociologist suggested.

Despite the positive link between church attendance and academic success, the study surprisingly found the importance of religion to teens had "very little impact" on their educational outcomes, Glanville noted, according to the University of Iowa News Services. The study had looked at whether the teens said religion was important to them.

According to the study, church-going teens tend to do better in school because of regular contact with adults from various generations who serve as role models; their parents are more likely to communicate with their friends' parents; they develop friendships with peers who have similar norms and values; and they're more likely to participate in extracurricular activities.

Source: Christian Post
http://www.christianpost.com/article/20080823/study-church-going-teens-have-higher-gpas.htm

I'm not trying to rain on anyone's parade about this news, but you'll have to forgive me for not being very excited about the findings. Sure, what can be said is that regular church-going teens have higher GPAs than those who aren't. But, I just can't go gaga over the increase of 0.144. The kid who doesn't go to church and has a 2.30 GPA, gets a 2.44 if he or she goes to church regularly. Now, even I would be excited if it had been a full point increase!

Also of note regarding this study is that there is no differentiation made as to various religions. And, as the study points out, the increase might be due to the structure and social aspects associated with attendance, not the religion itself.

North Texas School District Will Let Teachers Carry Guns

With all of the school shootings over recent years, I'm surprised only that it's taken this long to get to the point where teachers can carry guns...

A tiny Texas school district may be the first in the nation to allow teachers and staff to pack guns for protection when classes begin later this month, a newspaper reported.

Trustees at the Harrold Independent School District approved a district policy change last October so employees can carry concealed firearms to deter and protect against school shootings, provided the gun-toting teachers follow certain requirements.

In order for teachers and staff to carry a pistol, they must have a Texas license to carry a concealed handgun; must be authorized to carry by the district; must receive training in crisis management and hostile situations and have to use ammunition that is designed to minimize the risk of ricochet in school halls.

Source: Chron.com
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5945430.html

Online Student-Teacher Friendships Can Be Tricky

Randy Turner knows there's a huge gap in age and technology between him and his adolescent students.

So when the 52-year-old set up a MySpace page and his students began asking to add him as a friend and sending him questions about assignments, he realized he was on to something.

"Just the very fact that I have MySpace makes them think, 'Well, maybe we can talk to this guy and open the lines of communication,' " said Turner, who teaches English at South Middle School in Joplin, Missouri. "I realized this is a major way of communication for them."

MySpace had 72.8 million national users in June, versus Facebook's 37.4 million, according to a ComScore Media Metrix study. Once available only to students with college e-mail addresses, Facebook opened its virtual doors to everybody two years ago.

Despite perceptions, the sites aren't populated just by teens and 20-somethings. A 2006 ComScore survey found that half of those registered on MySpace were 35 and older, while a similar study last year found that almost 40 percent of Facebook users were above 35.

Teachers such as Turner believe sites like MySpace help them connect with their students about homework, tutoring and other school matters. But others fear the social-networking sites are breeding inappropriate relationships between teachers and students.

State legislator Jane Cunningham is sponsoring a bill in the Missouri House of Representatives that would ban elementary school teachers from having social-networking friendships with their students.

Turner said he understands the reasoning for the bill. He acknowledged that in some cases, teachers have become the public face of inappropriate Facebook and MySpace relationships with kids.

"I see where they are coming from," Turner said. "You can't argue with people whose intentions are trying to protect children. But the simple fact is, you take these people who prey on children and they are going to find a way to do it, whether it's over Facebook or not."

Those teachers are ruining it for the ones legitimately trying to help children, Turner said.

Source: CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/08/12/studentsteachers.online/

What's your take? Should teachers be allowed to interact with students on social-networking web sites?