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

Lupe: Hip-hop partly to blame for Derrion’s killing – Speaking on the beating death of the Chicago high school student, Lupe criticized radio stations for not playing positive music: “Hip-Hop has to take some fault for that.  Just in the fact that the amount of violence and the amount of negativity that’s in Hip-Hop and the music, it attributes to so much that goes on, negatively, in the hood.” (News One)

Indian student suspended for ‘cultural’ nose ring – Utah high school suspended Suzannah Pabla for violating the dress code by wearing a nose ring, which she wears in honor of her Indian heritage.“It’s true that the nose ring is mainly a cultural thing for most Indians,” Singh said. “Even if it is just culture, culture matters. And her right to express or explore it seems to me at least as important as her right to express her religious identity.” (AP)

Gender expression challenges h.s. dress codes – Boys in dresses, girls in tuxedoes.  Should students be allowed to express their sexuality if identity issues distract from classroom education? “He was cross-dressing, and it caused a disruption in the normal instructional day,” said Kevin Christian, a district spokesman. “That’s the whole point behind the dress code.” (NY Times) photo by Joshua Lott

Chris Brown: ‘Abuse of any kind is wrong’ – In interview with MTV, Brown also says , “I made a big mistake. I’m learning from it. Like, I’m not saying, ‘Who are they to judge?’ because, I mean, everybody’s entitled to their own opinion on how they feel, but it hurts.” (MTV)

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

H.S. students start alternative dance – Michigan students planned an alternative homecoming dance after their high school banned grinding.“The school is holding the dance in a cafeteria, and our dance is $5 cheaper,” Clayton Maney, a 17-year-old senior, said. “We have been told that we will not receive letters of recommendation because we are having another dance. Parents are talking about us like we’re trouble makers.” (Morning Sun)

Should students get paid to do well in school? - Time Magazine examines the effectiveness of incentive programs internationally, which achieve varying degrees of success. The government’s objective is simple: increase student motivation and class attendance and reduce the number of French teenagers who leave school without earning a diploma or professional training certificate, roughly 120,000 to 150,000 each year. (Time)

Oprah, Tyler Perry share teen troubles – Perry attempted suicide as a teen, then saw an Oprah show where she said that writing was cathartic, which led him to author his best-selling plays.  Now, him and Oprah are both promoting the movie Precious, based on the book Push by Sapphire. “The story of abuse in our community and in many communities is still a taboo subject.” (People)

Teen dies from dating violence – The recent death of Keighley Ann Alyea highlights recent studies that show 1 in 3 teens suffer physical abuse while dating. Teenagers are prey to abuse because many lack experience in forming close relationships. Teenage boys can confuse aggressiveness with masculinity. Girls may perceive a boyfriend’s controlling and aggressive behavior as romantic. (KC Star)

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

 Study finds high rate of prison for dropouts – In era where demand for low-skill workers is declining, 1 in 10 dropouts will be in prison at any one time as compared to 1 in 35 for high school graduates. For black dropouts, the likelihood of imprisonment is 1 in 4. “We’re trying to show what it means to be a dropout in the 21st century United States,” said Andrew Sum, director of the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern, who headed a team of researchers that prepared the report. “It’s one of the country’s costliest problems. The unemployment, the incarceration rates — it’s scary.” (NY Times) 

 Teen out of school for cross dressing – A new student at a Georgia high school left after 3 days when the principal told him he could no longer wear feminine clothes, including skinny jeans, vintage shirts, a wig and make-up. Officials say his outfits have led to fights.“I don’t consider myself a cross-dresser,” he said. “This is just who I am.” (UPI)

 H.S. to test students for alcohol - Foxborough officials will administrate breathalizers at extracurricular events and during the school day, if there is ever a suspicion of a student drinking alcohol. “A Breathalyzer just becomes a clean way of following through. And if we’re wrong? We will apologize,’’ an official said. “I have four kids, and as a parent I would be more comfortable knowing this option is available.’’ (Bosotn Globe)

 FBI director: Terrorist recruitment of US youth a real danger – Specifically young Muslims, regardless of where they live. ( Boston Herald)

 

 

  Chicago teens: No choice but to fight - At a public meeting hosted by Jesse Jackson about the street killing at Fenger, a teen said, “I ain’t got no other choice but to fight,” an exasperated William Jenkins told Rev. Jackson.  “They’ve got brick, bottles and stuff and you telling us to run? Where are we going to run to?  Where are we going to go running again? There ain’t nowhere to go!” Students said that school officials and police have done nothing to address the ongoing conflicts that erupt everyday. (WBBM)

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

Explicit book leads to school review – A Virginia man says he became “infuriated” when he discovered that his 16-year-old son brought home a book,”Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky, he’d been given in school that contained references to homosexuality, drug use and explicit sexual behavior. “I don’t think it’s age-appropriate for anyone,” he said. “I don’t think adults should be reading that junk. It’s pornography. They’re corrupting his mind with this garbage.‘ (Fox News)

(∆) 102 students sent home for dress code – Wilson County high schools instituted a new policy of automatic three day suspension for any students violating the dress policy by having their shirts untucked and their pants sagging. (WRAL)

Do elite colleges discriminate against Asian students? – An examination of test scores and acceptance rates indicates that more-qualified Asians are passed over for lower-scoring minorities, athletes, and rich white students. (US News)

Did school closings lead to Chicago violence? – When Arne Duncan closed schools, he forced students to attend schools across community and gang lines, leading to constant fighting. “You have a trail of blood and tears ever since they launched (Renaissance 2010),” said Tio Hardiman, director of the anti-violence organization CeaseFire Illinois. “There’s a history of violence associated with moving kids from one area to another.”(AP)

Teens recommend ways to reduce teen violence - Chicago teens say their most dangerous time is when they leave school until they arrive home.  Students’ 28-page paper recommend gang intervention and prevention and support for community groups like Cease Fire. “One of the problems is that (adults) are just talking about it and anything we might suggest, they have a problem with,” Gaeta said. “But this is trial and error and since violence is becoming such a big problem, why not try things out and who knows? Maybe it might work.” (Chicago Tribune)

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

Is Facebook protected under 1st Amendment? - Schools and students are suing students who make negative comments on their MySpace/Facebook pages, including one suspended girl who posted a message that said ‘Ms. Sarah Phelps is the worst teacher I ever had.’ “It is ironic that high school is where students first learn about First Amendment rights, including the right to free speech, yet it is Katy’s high school that unconstitutionally trampled those very rights,” ACLU cooperating attorney Matthew D. Bavaro, said in a press release announcing the suit last December. (MSNBC)

In violent Chicago, difficult to be a kid – More than 40 kids have been killed since Jan 1.”The violence is bad. You get jumped going to the store,” said Porch, 17, standing near the spot where a 16-year-old schoolmate was beaten to death last month. “It seems like all the good kids are dying first, and the bad ones keep doing what they’re doing. I’m a good kid, but I’m trying to be half good and half dumb so at least I have a 50-50 chance.”

Tyler Perry says he was molested – While promoting his newest movie about an abuse teen, Perry has opened up about getting beaten unconscious by his father and being molested by a neighbor. “He got the vacuum cleaner extension cord and trapped me in a room and beat me until the skin was coming off my back. To this day, I don’t know what would make a person do something like that to a child,” Perry wrote. (NewsOne)

Latino names drop in popularity – As immigrants become more assimilated, educated and familiar with English, parents begin to name their kids American names like William instead of ethnic names like Guillermo.“When [immigrant or later-generation] parents name their children, they are combining their own attachments and affinities with their hopes and aspirations for their children,” says Guillermina Jasso, a sociology professor at New York University and a second-generation Hispanic American. (Time)

(∆) Election could change Wake Co. schools – Voters elected candidates for school board who support neighborhood schools rather than the current practice of diverse, bused schools. “We’ll be focused on how to educate children, not moving them from place to place,” said Deborah Prickett, a state Department of Public Instruction employee who posted an overwhelming win in District 7, North Raleigh and Morrisville. “We’ll improve academics.” (N&O)