Parenting and Learning Issues

As the United States takes its first steps into a new decade, public education is being scrutinized from every angle. Some advocate eliminating teachers’ unions and tenure, making instructors directly accountable for their students’ progress on standardized tests. Others maintain that the K-12 public education system is suffering from a critical shortage of qualified teachers, and improved salaries and working conditions are needed to recruit the best talent.

While policy-makers debate the feasibility of such large-scale changes, some school districts are trying to improve the educational outcomes of their public high school students by making a small, simple, but potentially powerful change. These school districts are considering changing school start times from the traditional 8:00 am to a later 8:30 am. What is their reasoning? Well-rested students learn better.

The Benefits of Later School Start Times

From improved learning to better health, there is a myriad of reasons public schools are considering starting school at 8:30 am.

Works with Teenagers’ Natural Sleep Rhythms

According to the National Sleep Foundation, children undergo a shift in sleep patterns when they enter puberty which causes them to remain alert later into the evening and to remain sleepy later in the morning. In other words, teenagers are naturally inclined to stay up later at night and wake up later in the morning.

Advocates argue that an 8:30 am start time improves students’ chances of success. In the early morning, when their brains are not

For parents of children attending public schools, it can be exceedingly difficult to express their concerns about disciplinary measures, school policies, or the appropriation of district funding. In the majority of cases, the best place to start is the school board. However, parent-led battles within the public school setting are often frustrating, futile, and swamped in bureaucratic red tape. This guide can help you navigate the school board infrastructure and understand how to best advocate for your child.

Great Schools describes what a school board does as follows: "A well-run school board plays a vital role in keeping your local schools on track, always with the student's best interests in mind. Ideally, a school board works with, and for, their community with the overarching goal of improving your district’s local schools. They should be maintaining a strong organizational structure for their district, one that empowers the superintendent and district administrators to manage the schools, the teachers to effectively teach, and the students to be supported in a thriving learning environment."

This video describes what a school board does.

The School Board: Where Major Decisions Are Made

For parents experiencing a personal issue related to schooling, the principal or superintendent should be the first port of call. However, if there are concerns relating to the school’s policies or curriculum, the elected school board is the only faction with the authority to

In the United States, the typical kindergartener is five years old. If a child turns five in March or April of a given year, it is highly likely that he or she will start kindergarten the following September. However, for parents whose children’s birthdays fall in the latter half of the calendar year, the question of when to enroll a child in kindergarten becomes more complicated. The practice of “redshirting,” or delaying a child’s enrollment in kindergarten so that the child is slightly older than some of his or her peers, is common

As an article in the New York Times Magazine explained, American children are eligible to start kindergarten based on a birthday cutoff date that is determined by the state, or in some cases, by the local school district. Birthday cutoff dates vary greatly; the Times reports that in Indiana, a child must turn five by July 1 of the year he or she starts kindergarten, while in Connecticut, a child must turn five by January 1 of the year he or she is enrolled in kindergarten.

Although children are generally not allowed to enroll in kindergarten earlier than the cutoff date dictates, they are allowed to wait and enroll a year later if their parents so choose.

The practice of holding a child back so that he or she is slightly older than some of the other students in a classroom is known as “redshirting.” The popular Newsweek blog Nurtureshock reports that

The topic of sex education always sparks intense debate, and now the conversation may become even more heated. As more public schools from New York to Milwaukee contemplate providing free condoms on campus, students are caught in the crossfire of the debate.

Milwaukee Public Schools may soon join the small ranks of public school districts nationwide to provide high school students with access to free condoms. The school district's health officials cite concerns about the spread of sexually transmitted diseases as evidence of the need for a plan to make condoms accessible to students who need them. The proposed plan would allow a student to receive two condoms after a consultation with the school nurse, who would also provide the student with literature pertaining to the risks of sexual activity.

While it is not yet clear if the Milwaukee school board will approve the plan, the proposal has resurfaced a national debate over whether condoms have a place in public high schools.

The Advocates for Condom Distribution

Those who support making condoms available as part of a public high school's sex education program make several arguments:

* Condoms Needed to Prevent Spread of Sexually Transmitted Infections
In 2008, the Center for Disease Control released a study showing that one in four teenage girls in America has at least one sexually transmitted infection, and that nearly half of African-American teenage girls had at least one sexually transmitted infection. Advocates for condom distribution in public schools point these studies as

While high school is typically associated with AP exams, English Literature class, prom, and football games, some campuses today are renewing their focus on an unexpected area: agriculture!

According to the Dallas News, the study of agriculture and its related sciences is gaining popularity on a handful of public high school campuses. Specifically, students from various urban and suburban school districts throughout Texas are leading the renewed interest in agriculture sciences.

In a technology-driven economy, the growing interest in agricultural sciences challenges centurion stereotypes of the industry. As the director of the Vocational Agriculture Teachers Association of Texas asserts, agricultural education has also broadened to encompass a wide range of city-based careers from veterinary science to biomedical research.” In addition, the agricultural-based vocational programs offered to public school students are thriving in urban areas, potentially due to shifts in population trends from some of the state's more rural regions.

As agricultural science continues to reinvent itself through technological and innovative developments, more public high school students enjoy the challenges of an education and future careers in the industry.

This video reports on jobs in the agricultural science field.

The Evolution of Agricultural Sciences

While the traditional roles of agriculture were once reserved for farming, today’s agricultural education programs highlight modern business practices. Modern agricultural corporations are beginning to hire more and more researchers, experts, and analysts – all while challenging industry