4/12/10 National Teen News

 Some unpaid internships may be illegal – With young people facing a lack of jobs, government regulators worry that companies may be using internships to obtain labor without paying minimum wages.  “If you’re a for-profit employer or you want to pursue an internship with a for-profit employer, there aren’t going to be many circumstances where you can have an internship and not be paid and still be in compliance with the law,” said Nancy J. Leppink, the acting director of the department’s wage and hour division. (NYTimes)

 Teen to attempt Everest summit – 13-year-old Jordan Romero is attempting to be the youngest climber to ascent Mount Everest and the Seven Summits.  “Obese children are the future of America the way things are going,” he tells CNN in Kathmandu Friday as he prepared to leave for the mountain on Sunday.”I am hoping to change that by doing what I do — climbing and motivational speaking. I want to motivate children and inspire them to get outdoors.” (CNN)

 Should students be paid for school? – Time Magazine profiles Roland Fryer’s national study of paying students money for better grades, higher test scores, etc., which obtained mixed results depending on the method and the city.  One clue came out of the interviews Fryer’s team conducted with students in New York City. The students were universally excited about the money, and they wanted to earn more. They just didn’t seem to know how. When researchers asked them how they could raise their scores, the kids mentioned test-taking strategies like reading the questions more carefully. But they didn’t talk about the substantive work that leads to learning. “No one said they were going to stay after class and talk to the teacher,” Fryer says. “Not one.” (TIME)

 Best college tours - Stanford University, another school that offers a self-guided campus walking tour iPhone app, also offers golf cart tours, which enable prospective students and families to see parts of its 8,200 acre campus that aren’t covered in walking tours. (US News)

4/8/10 Local teen news

March for in-state tuition for illegal immigrants – About 50 walkers joined 3 students 1,500 miles Trail of Dreams to protest educational inequalities for illegal immigrants.  Story compares two DPS students, one who was born in LA and can attend four years of college in-state for $20,000 while her friend who was born in Mexico will have to pay over $100,000. “Change doesn’t come from the president.  It doesn’t come from the Congress. It doesn’t come from people up high. It comes from people like you and me.” (Durham News)

Youth hockey exploding in NC – Junior Hurricanes hockey team is competing in the national championships for the first time this week in Chicago.  “Ten years ago there might have been 200 kids in Raleigh playing hockey,” said Paul Strand, coordinator of youth and amateur programs for the Carolina Hurricanes. “There are 1,500 now in Wake County and more than 6,000 in North and South Carolina.” (N&O)

Forsythe’s college search continues – After blinded by a tiger attack at age 3, Tyler Forsythe wrestled and maintained a 3.0 GPA but didn’t get 1000 on the SATs.  He wasn’t accepted at NC State, UNC or Ap State but he is now applying to all of the colleges in NC through a special feather on the College Fund of NC’s website.  When given a shot on the wrestling mat, Forsythe didn’t disappoint as he earned more than 80 wins in his four-year career. Now, he just needs one institution to do the same. (Cary News)

Teens are ideal consumer – As remainder of economy remains sluggish, the teen market has started to show gains.  “You’ve seen teens come back pretty aggressively in terms of spending,” retail analyst Chen said. “Teenagers are not a savings-oriented bunch. They spend every dollar they get.” (N&O)

3/05/10 Local Teen News

CHHS art show focuses on Haiti – Students created art using the events of Haiti as inspiration and are selling the works at a local coffee shop with proceeds going to American Red Cross.  “Kids feel like they want to help and contribute something, but that they don’t have a lot that they can offer,” Watson said. “This gave them an opportunity to give something of themselves.” (Carrboro Commons)

Should schools require minimum GPA for athletes - Daily Tar Heel column argues that all high schools should follow Chapel Hill’s consideration of requiring athletes to maintain a 2.0 GPA instead of the current policy which requires students to pass 5 classes the previous semester.  Sure, some of these students are aspiring to play professional sports after high school. But most of them will not make it, and the school board owes it to every student to ensure they are prepared to join the work force or enrol in post-secondary education. (Daily Tar Heel)

6 local students selected as Park Scholars - 6 Triangle winners were among the 53 Park Scholars who receive a full-ride at NC State and other stipends, valued at $80,000.  Nicole Doris Roscoe from Chatham Central High School and plans to major in biology. Ansilta Zulima De Luca-Westrate from Durham Academy and plans to major in elementary education. Madhulika Vulimiri of Morrisville from Enloe High School and plans to major in biology or public health. Alex Jin-Wei Chin from Broughton High School and plans to major in mathematics and physics. William Hampton Coe from Sanderson High School and plans to major in philosophy. Stephen Thomas West from Trinity Academy and plans to major in aerospace engineering. (N&O)

“Alternative Spring Break” – More and more college students are foregoing the beaches of Florida and instead opting to volunteer for public service projects around the nation and world.  ”Some students come back saying they’ll change their major or career path,”Samantha Giacobozzi says. “Some come back and think differently about the world a little bit. Many students think it was best experience of their lives.” (US News)

3/2/2010 Teen News: (∆) local and national

(∆)H.S. JROTC finding new success – 100 schools are on the waiting list to add JROTC programs, which supporters say is a leadership training program rather than an Army recruiting mechanism.  95-99% of JROTC members graduate on time and 30-50% of members nationally join the military after graduation. “It has really taught me how to be a better person,” said Chad May, 15, a sophomore. “My grades have improved drastically since joining.” (N&O)

Cheerleader fined $27K for file sharing – A federal court decided that Whitney Harper couldn’t use her ignorance of the law as a defense for file sharing 37 songs with her friends in high school.  “I knew I was listening to music. I didn’t have an understanding of file sharing,” she said. “Harper cannot rely on her purported legal naivety [sic] to defeat the … bar to her innocent infringer defense,” the New Orleans-based appeals court ruled unanimously, 3-0. (WIRED)

(∆)Teen archer hopes for Olympics - 13-year -old Miles Heyman, who has won several state and national archery contests for his age group, enjoys the discipline and social aspects of the sport.  “There’s more drive for perfection in archery than any other sport I’ve tried,” he said. “He understands that luck is not part of the equation,” Kristoff said. “The top archers exhibit type-B personalities. They’re analytical, they’re process driven.” (N&O)

Times’ story on Wake County schools – The New York Times summarizes the recent controversy over the diversity plan in Wake County schools. Across the country, research shows that students of all races and backgrounds perform better in diverse schools, said Roslyn Arlin Mickelson, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Diversified schools typically have higher graduation rates, more college acceptances and fewer students in the criminal justice system.  But the new board members cite other statistics: a countywide graduation rate that has fallen over the past five years, rising suspensions and a widening performance gap between poor and wealthy students. (NYT)

2/22/10 Teen News: Local(∆) and National

Lawsuit: School spied on students with webcams – Parents of a wealthy suburb of Philadelphia are suing the school district for possible using the webcams of school issued computers to spy on students outside of school.  The Robbinses said they learned of the alleged webcam images when Lindy Matsko, an assistant principal at Harriton High School, told their son that school officials thought he had engaged in improper behavior at home. “(Matsko) cited as evidence a photograph from the webcam embedded in minor plaintiff’s personal laptop issued by the school district,” the suit states. (MSNBC)

(∆)High Point native skates in Olympics – Once a superstar roller skater in High Point, Heather Richardson didn’t switch to ice skating until high school and is now in the Olympics three years later.  “Here’s a girl that’s come out of nowhere, we couldn’t be more proud of her because she’s worked so hard,” said her uncle.”Anybody can say that, but for her, you had that little spark. You knew she’d do it because she has that drive and determination.” (MYNC)

(∆) Keeping track of teen drivers – A new program in Raleigh places decals on the cars of teen drivers that allows other drivers to call a number and report unsafe teen driving.  ”It’s not a tattle-tale program. It’s more of a preventative measure,” said Teen Road Angel co-founder Sherrie Holland, of Apex. “We are hoping that because teens have this on their vehicles that they are making better decisions when they’re driving, because they know they can be reported.” (WRAL)

H.S. student makes H.S. ap –  A West Virginia high school student developed and implemented an Iphone ap specifically for his high school, the first ap of this kind nationally. Dobson said he never programmed on a Mac before the iPhone project, and personally uses the Google Droid phone instead of the popular Apple version. But he said programming for the iPhone was much easier than other coding projects he’s done in the past. (Charleston Daily Mail)