Resources

Where have all the walkers gone?
Gone for cars and buses, every one, Pete Seeger might say. According to The New York Times, fewer than 15 percent of student walk or bicycle to school. That compares with half of all students who walked or pedaled 40 years ago. One-quarter take buses, and about 60 percent […]

Sometimes, a headline is too intriguing to pass up. From The Dallas Morning News: Maggots are works of art at Oak Cliff school.
Where some see creepy crawly creatures, others see tiny Jackson Pollacks. One of the goals of the exercise, teacher Kim Schofield says, is “to counter society’s instinctive disgust toward maggots.” Maybe a good […]

Schools around the nation have been striving to make their lunch menus more healthful, but they aren’t going far enough for middle school teacher Dave Warwak. The art teacher in Fox River Grove, Ill., who has been removed from classes for encouraging students not to eat meat, says he’s not returning to classes until […]

If students skip too many classes in Escambia County, Fla., their parents may be subject to punishment–and it could be a little harsher than a visit to the principal’s office. According to The Pensacola News-Journal, a juvenile court judge says that parents of chronically absent students could get jail time.
The district, which has about 40,000 […]

Not in Dave Warwak’s classroom. The teacher at Fox River Grove (Ill.) Middle School tells The Chicago Tribune he has been removed from his classroom after advocating his vegan beliefs–apparently a little too forcefully from the school’s perspective.
The Fox River Grove district won’t comment because the issue is a personnel matter. Warwak, who became a […]

It’s September–do you know where your 5-year-old is?
Is he or she in kindergarten, or have you decided to keep the child at home or in pre-school for another year? As The Austin American-Statesman notes, Many parents struggle with the decision–they don’t want their child to be at a disadvantage. Years ago, I discussed this with […]

Ready or not, the school year is upon us. Classes may have begun weeks ago for many students and teachers, but for those who have the day-after-Labor-Day hardwired into the school calendar part of our brains, today is the traditional beginning of the school year. Which is as good a time as any to bring […]