Tuesday’s teen news – local(∆) and national

NYC teacher suspended for assigning ‘Guts’ – The popular teacher did not allow the graphic story about masterbation to leave the classroom but his students babbled about the lesson, leading to the teacher’s reassignment and subsequent protest. “We’re not little kids. We are in high school,” said 15-year-old junior Omar Caminero. “It’s not like we’ve never read anything like that — we have.” (NY Post)

Documentary features teen entrepreneurs – Film follows several low-income teens who are among the 25,000 that enter the national teen entrepreneur contest.“I think every kid needs to have a mentor or an adult (supporting them) in some way, shape or fashion,” Mazzio said. “They are all remarkable kids, all they need is a little bit of water and they are going to flourish.” (Boston Herald)

(∆) NCCU to march in 2011 Rose Bowl -”This puts our name and our presence before millions of people,” said Chancellor Charlie Nelms. “It’s a terrific recruiting tool, reaching so many students who are thinking about college. It also speaks directly to those who are interested in music. And it will attract donors to get involved with the university.” The band now needs to raise $400,000. (Herald-Sun)

Precious in the ‘Age of Obama’ – Black reviewer says black audiences need to see this realistic movie about a low-income girl who will probably never leave the ghetto. ‘Precious is a fully realized character but also a metaphor representing blacks at our lowest psychological ebb, a place we’ve always feared because we know it has the potential to swallow us whole.’ (Salon)

Friday’s teen news – local(∆) and national

Nas’ letter to Chicago youth - Dear Young Warriors fighting the wrong wars!   Killing each other is definitely played out. Being hurt from the lost of a love one was never cool.Dear Young Warriors fighting the wrong war! I know that feeling, that frustration with life and needing to take it out on someone, any one. But….We chose the dumbest things to go the hardest for.  I remember seeing deaths over 8 ball jackets, Fila sneakers, and name plate chains. Deaths over “he say, she say”!!!!! “I’m from this block or I’m from that block”, or “my moms n pops is f*cked up now the whole world gotta pay”….. (Global Grind)

(∆) Enloe’s new security badges – Responding to security issues from last year, Enloe High School is requiring students to wear ID badges this year. The reporter stood outside the front office and watched a steady stream of students who had to call their parents to get their IDs before they would be admitted to class.  She wonders if it is worth the hassle. (News and Observer)

Send disruptive students to separate school? – Chicago Teachers Union president wants disruptive students to be taken out of normal classrooms and placed in an alternative school until they are ready to behave.  St. Louis already has such a system where students attend a special school from 9 am to 8 pm for an entire year. “Here’s the problem: Teachers don’t always get the support they need from their principals. Too often, the principal returns disruptive students to the class like a boomerang,” Stewart said. “Teachers can’t teach and students can’t learn in a constantly disruptive classroom.” (Sun Times)

Wednesday’s teen news – local(∆) and national

KC girl wins “Best Teen Chef” title – A dyslexic teen who can barely read, Sammy Jo Claussen was constantly in trouble at school and at home.  She sought refuge in the kitchen with her grandmother and recently won a $90,000 college scholarship by outcooking teen chefs from all over the country. (KC Star)

Teacher arrested in cash-for-grades scheme - Jersey social studies teacher arrested for giving extra credit for money that she said was for charity but would then keep herself.  Collected $1,400 last year. (CBS 3)

Column: Don’t cancel teen dances – Will Boston cancel teen dances after shooting  erupted at a YMCA dance? Will the actions of a few ruin what has been enjoyable for many?  (Boston Globe)

In recession, some schools cut sports – Schools across the nation face choices between funding sports versus other extracurricular activities.  Some schools are holding fundraisers or charging athletes fees to play.  Critics contend schools are making these cuts to force taxpayers to vote for more school taxes. (USA Today)

5 best majors for recession – According to Chronicle of Higher Ed: service science, health informatics, computational science, sustainability, and public health. (US News)

Monday’s teen news – local(∆) and national

St. Louis closes teen club after 2 nights – Club 12/12 filled to capacity each night and everyone had a good time on the inside. But on the outside, teens turned away created mayhem at surrounding businesses.  Owners claim racism in that police said they are unwilling to help control crowds as they do at white teen events.  (St. Louis Today)

Texas h.s. athletes earn academic credit – Texas high school athletes are now allowed to earn up to four credits to graduation by taking sports classes where they lift weights or watch game film.  Supporters argue such classes keep kids in school and that students can earn equal credit for marching band or arts.  Opponents argue students shouldn’t receive academic credit just for playing a sport.  (Wall Street Journal)

1/3 of Chicago teachers felt pressure to change grade – Here are reasons why teachers were asked to change grades: “to avoid parental conflict. The parent is a CPS teacher.” ”graduating senior who needed to pass and parent pressure.” ”principal wanted graduation rate to increase so she would not be reprimanded. ”not enough parental contact before assigning a failing grade. ”to reduce the total number of students that were being referred for summer school.” ”an athlete needed a better grade point average.” ”special needs student who had 80+ absences and the case manager insisted that the student should not fail.” ”our principal has told us that no one who is in bilingual or special ed should receive lower than a C.” (Chicago Sun Times)

New approach to teaching literature - Some teachers are now allowing individual students to pick their books rather than having the entire class to read the same book.  Some teachers believe the one book approach does not engage the students and individual books will foster a love of reading. Is it more important to teach a particular book or a love of reading? (NY Times)

(∆) Chapel Hill High player upset over Miller situation – Former Chapel High School baseball player Zachary Pollock is upset that former coach David Miller’s contract wasn’t renewed.  According to Pollock, Miller was an expert fundraiser who rebuilt the school field, a great teacher and even better coach who led CHHS to three PAC-6 championships. So why didn’t the school rehire him? (Chapel Hill News)

(∆) Peer to peer sex ed classes find success – School systems in NC are asking Thomasville to help establish similar peer to peer sex ed classes in their districts. When it comes to issues like abstinence, pregnancy, prevention and STDs, Thomasville High School senior Travis Mouzon says students seem to listen better when it’s coming from someone their own age. (News 14)

Iowa town seeks to recover from coaches death – NPR profile on how Parkersburg is dealing with death of legendary football coach as they prepare for the first game of the year.  (NPR) AP photo

Friday’s teen news – local(∆) and national

(∆) 1 black dress, 365 days – As part of the theuniformproject.org, fashionista Sheena Matheiken is wearing the same black dress every day for one year to raise money for education in India.  (N&O)

(∆) Teens gain acceptance at weight-loss camp – A study compares the quality of life of obese children to that of children on chemotherapy. Foster kid Shantale ate food for comfort. “Kids made fun of me. They call me the Big Fat Gorilla and the Big Black Ape,” she said.In the first two weeks of camp, Shantale lost 15 pounds. What she gained, though, was far more significant. Unconditional love from people who understood her. (N&O) photo by Ted Richardson

Gay student sued teachers over slurs – A school district in Minnesota agreed to pay a high school junior $25,000 for experiencing teacher comments like his “fence swings both ways,” “he enjoys wearing women’s clothes,” and after doing a report on Ben Franklin, that he has a “thing for older men.”  (Star Tribune)

Tony Danza to be teacher in reality show? – Officials in the city of Philadelphia are debating whether to let Tony Danza teach a 10th grade English class for a reality show called “Teach.” “My goal is to really be a good teacher,” Danza said. “If we can be really real about it and really honest about it and put the kids first and really show what a teacher goes through, it might be something that is a positive.” (AP)

Brooklyn teen wins $1 million lottery – Waqas Mazhar, “”I just don’t know yet what I’m going to do with the money. I just know I want to help my family and I want to stay living with them.” (NY Daily News)

(∆) Some NCCU students housed in hotel – Enrolling 1,400 students more than last year, NCCU has partnered with Durham Millennium Hotel to house students.  (MY NC)

Movie review of Bandslam – According to the News and Observer, not good.

(∆) S.E. Raleigh grad sets Jr. world record – Racing in front of his parents, Wayne Davis ran the 110 meter hurdles in 13.08 seconds to win the Junior Pan Am Championship in Port of Spain, Trinidad. (News and Observer)

1 in 5 teens share prescriptions – Can lead to unforeseen drug interactions. For example, a teen who’s taking the acne medication Accutane — which has been linked to birth defects — may give some to a friend who is pregnant but doesn’t yet realize it, the researchers said. (USA Today)

Publisher to rent textbooks -Cengage Learning announced that it would begin renting textbooks to college students at 40-70% of the sale cost. With college textbooks often costing more than $100 apiece, students spend an average of $700 to $1,100 a year, representing one of their biggest expenses after tuition and room and board. (NY Times) photo by Katy Datdorff