The Chatterbox

The Chatterbox

News and views from the staff of FamilyEducation.
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September 25, 2012
Team Whitney! A Michigan Town's Cure for the Cruelties of High School
Grab the tissues, Mom. You know those all-too-rare stories that restore your faith in humanity? This is one of those. It's the story of Whitney Kropp, a small-town Michigan teen whose peers nominated her to homecoming court (making her a finalist for homecoming queen) -- as a mean joke. Whitney is described as "a free spirit with few friends. Her black outfits and strange hair colors don't mesh well with other kids in the rural community." As Whitney's mother says, "She's just sweet. She doesn't have a mean bone in her body." Well, once Whitney got...
Bullying, Cyber Bullying, High School, raising teens, Teens
September 19, 2012
Are Boys and Men Failing at School and Life?
...Harsh headline, I know. But let me explain... A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of interviewing insightful author and education consultant Ana Homayoun about her book That Crumpled Paper Was Due Last Week, which focuses on all the ways and reasons boys struggle in school, and offers tips and tools to help them succeed. In talking with her and reading her book, I thought it took some guts for a woman to focus a book (and a consulting career) solely on failing boys. Is it really just boys who are struggling? Should we lump them all together? Can we...
Academic Performance, boys, feminism, Homework, raising boys
September 4, 2012
New Study Shows No Clear Health Advantages to Eating Organic
As I sat here munching on my non-organic grapes (they're one of "The Dirty Dozen" -- eek), I came across the NYTimes headline "Stanford Scientists Cast Doubt on Advantages of Organic Meat and Produce."  I let out a little sigh of relief inside. Organic food is more expensive, and we're on a tight budget and rarely buy it. The Stanford researchers set out to discover whether organic produce packs more of a nutritional punch than conventionally-grown fruits and veggies. "When we began this project, we thought that there would likely be...
Dirty Dozen, Food Safety, Health and Nutrition, Organic Foods, study