How Should Schools Handle Cyberbullying?

Carol’s Summary:
An estimated one in five middle school students has been affected by cyberbullying. Bullying has always been an issue that teachers and principals have had to handle. However, in middle and high schools lately, the problem has evolved to involve technology. Schools are now finding ways to cope with issues of cyberbullying, in which children are harassed through text messages and social networking websites.

Much of cyberbullying occurs after school and on weekends, when children are not under the guidance and care of the school system.

Cyberbullying can affect a child’s academic success, self-esteem, social skills and emotional growth. While this is a relatively new problem that students, school officials and parents must deal with, it is spreading fast and has proven to be dangerous.

Many school districts are conflicted with whether or not they have the right to inspect students’ cell phones and social networking accounts, unless the issue deals directly with a conflict within the school. There are legal issues involving privacy which makes many school officials either nervous or leery about doing so.

Many administrators are concerned about the possibility of looking through a child’s cell phone and finding compromising photos and text messages that could bring about child pornography cases. There is also the issue of how students should be punished if they are cyberbullying other students.

Cyberbullying is growing into a major conflict in today’s schools, and not only for the students involved. Teachers and parents are finding themselves concerned for the well-being of children, but are not always able to get involved since technology is the medium for these behaviors.

LifeBound’s Making the Most of High School, 2nd Edition and the accompanying curriculum shows students how to use technology in a beneficial and safe manner. To find out more about Making the Most of High School and other LifeBound materials, visit www.lifebound.com or e-mail contact@lifebound.com

Article:
Online Bullies Pull Schools Into the Fray
By JAN HOFFMAN
June 27, 2010

The girl’s parents, wild with outrage and fear, showed the principal the text messages: a dozen shocking, sexually explicit threats, sent to their daughter the previous Saturday night from the cellphone of a 12-year-old boy. Both children were sixth graders at Benjamin Franklin Middle School in Ridgewood, N.J.
Punish him, insisted the parents.
“I said, ‘This occurred out of school, on a weekend,’ ” recalled the principal, Tony Orsini. “We can’t discipline him.”
Had they contacted the boy’s family, he asked.

To read the full report: www.nytimes.com

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Developing emotional, social and cognitive intelligence

Developing emotional, social and cognitive intelligence is important to understanding and becoming a great leader according to Dr. Richard E. Boyatzis. Professor of Organizational Behavior and Psychology at Case Western Reserve University and Professor in Human Resources at EASDE in Barcelona, Dr. Boyatzis sees leadership as the ability to connect emotionally with others and inspire them. He states in a recent podcast that “Adults can improve their emotional, social and cognitive intelligence competencies—those that distinguish outstanding performance in management, leadership and other professions, by as much as 70%!”

Emotional and social intelligence is at the center of LifeBound’s mission to prepare students for college, career and life success because these skills are not only important in the world of work, but also throughout school. Students need to be able to form strong relationships with others in order to function effectively in teams, participate in study groups and join extracurricular activities. Life success requires not just book smarts, those who struggle academically, do better when challenged emotionally and socially which teaches them how to persist.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
ARTICLE:

The Hay Group posted a 4 part podcast by Dr. Richard E. Boyatzis titled, “Developing emotional, social and cognitive intelligence in graduate, undergraduate and executive students.”

To listen to all 4 podcasts visit http://www.haygroup.com/ww/Media/Details.aspx?ID=27430.

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Nation has high college remedial education rate

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

The data on remedial courses in college is startling. According to the Associated Press article below:

• Nationwide, about a third of first-year students in 2007-08 had taken at least one remedial course, according to the U.S. Department of Education. At public two-year colleges, that number rises to about 42 percent.
• In a 2007 ACT National Curriculum Survey of college professors, 65 percent said their states poorly prepare students for college-level coursework.
• The Alliance for Excellent Education estimates the nation loses $3.7 billion a year because students are not learning basic needed skills, including $1.4 billion to provide remedial education for students who have recently completed high school.

High schools today teach a broad understanding of a wide range of subjects, but college requires more specific skills and knowledge. Also, the recent focus on higher education has pushed academically weak students into college when they would otherwise prefer vocational training. “We’re telling kids you’ll be a third-class citizen if you don’t go to college,” said Marty Nemko, an education policy consultant and author. “And colleges are taking kids who in previous generations would not have gone to college.”

Properly preparing college-bound students, while giving students options such as apprenticeship programs similar to those offered in Finland, Japan and Germany would create a stronger workforce and ultimately strengthen the US economy. LifeBound’s books are designed to make cross-curricular connections with the courses students are already studying so that they connect their learning in class to their lives and other courses. Our new book, LEADERSHIP FOR TEENAGERS: From Antiquity to the 21st Century, exemplifies this strategy while helping students build the practical skills they need to make a difference in school, their community and the world as a whole.

ARTICLE:

Nation has high college remedial education rate
By CHRISTINE ARMARIO
Associated Press
May 11, 2010

DAVIE, Fla. — Professor Derron Bowen teaches high school math to college students, patiently chalking equations on the board on basic arithmetic topics such as the speed of a driver on a a 20-hour trip.

Bowen’s class at Broward College in South Florida is for students who didn’t score high enough on an entrance test to get into college-level math. In all, about two-thirds of students entering the community college need to take at least one remedial course in math, English or reading.

Nationwide, about a third of first-year students in 2007-08 had taken at least one remedial course, according to the U.S. Department of Education. At public two-year colleges, that number rises to about 42 percent.

Education observers worry that the vast numbers of students coming to college unprepared will pose a major roadblock to President Barack Obama’s goal for the United States to once again lead the world in college degrees.

To view this entire article visit www.google.com

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Lingering Seniors Get a Soft Shove From Cal State

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Students with more credit hours than necessary to graduate, but chose to stay in college for more than four years, or “super seniors,” are now seeing a push from California State’s 23 campuses. Due to budget cuts that led to enrollment reductions, the campuses hope to encourage super seniors to graduate in order to make room for new students.

The Cal State administration feels this program is a low-cost way to reduce enrollment pressures and possibly raise their graduation rate (in the fall of 2008, 3 percent of all undergraduates at the Northridge campus alone consisted of super seniors). Each campus will take differing actions, but according to the Chronicle of Higher Education article below, “most will involve holding departments responsible for super seniors, expanding focused advising services, and setting new limits on financial aid.”

The difficulty will be determining which students are staying to party and avoid the real world of work and which students are truly lost, trying to find their desired career path through trial and error. College is a time of self-discovery and character building, and like with most things, each person is on their own clock. We don’t want to rush students through such a pivotal time in their lives. That’s why LifeBound’s materials help 5-12 grade students discover their gifts and talents, become emotionally intelligent, encourage critical and creative thinking and develop effective study habits – to lead them to earlier self-discovery and prepare them for academic, social and emotional success in order to make the most of college. My book, MAJORING IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, is a great resource for students unsure of their direction in life and seeking guidance. To learn more about LifeBound’s resources or to request a free review copy of any of our texts visit www.lifebound.com or email contact@lifebound.com.

ARTICLE:

Chronicle of Higher Education
May 2, 2010
Lingering Seniors Get a Soft Shove From Cal State
Like other colleges, the system seeks to help longtime students move on
By Josh Keller
Northridge, Calif.

California State University at Northridge just wants Randy Vitangcol to graduate already.
Mr. Vitangcol has been in college since 2005. He is on his second major. By the time he plans to finish college next spring, he expects to have amassed twice as many credit hours as he needs to complete the requirements for his current major, financial services.

“I’ve been in college for so long, sometimes it feels like I don’t know anything else,” he admits. He compares himself to Van Wilder, one of a long line of cinematic college students who party endlessly and studiously avoid graduation.

The Cal State system has historically taken a lax attitude toward “super seniors,” students with large numbers of credit hours who linger in college for more than four years. But no more. After budget cuts forced sharp enrollment reductions over the past few years, many of the system’s 23 campuses have taken aggressive measures to thin their ranks and make room for new blood.

To view this entire article visit www.chronicle.com

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How Not to Raise a Bully: The Early Roots of Empathy

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Bullies have a large impact on the people they taunt and torment, but how do you as a parent or teacher encourage children to not become one? In the Time article below it states that “Increasingly, neuroscientists, psychologists and educators believe that bullying and other kinds of violence can indeed be reduced by encouraging empathy at an early age. Over the past decade, research in empathy — the ability to put ourselves in another person’s shoes — has suggested that it is key, if not the key, to all human social interaction and morality.” According to the article, “The first stirrings of human empathy typically appear in babyhood: newborns cry when hearing another infant’s cry, and studies have shown that children as young as 14 months offer unsolicited help to adults who appear to be struggling to reach something. Babies have also shown a distinct preference for adults who help rather than hinder others.”

Instilling empathy into children is part of making them emotionally intelligent. LifeBound’s title PEOPLE SMARTS FOR TEEANAGERS: Becoming Emotionally Intelligent has been used with sixth graders to effectively create a positive classroom culture. To receive a free review copy call 1-877-737-8510 or email cynthianordberg@lifebound.com

ARTICLE:

How Not to Raise a Bully: The Early Roots of Empathy
By Maia Szalavitz
April 17, 2010
Time

Since the Jan. 14 death of Phoebe Prince, the 15-year-old in South Hadley, Mass., who committed suicide after being bullied by fellow students, many onlookers have meditated on whether the circumstances that led to her after-school hanging might have been avoided.

Could teachers have stepped in and stopped the bullying? Could parents have done more to curtail bad behavior? Or could preventive measures have been started years ago, in early childhood, long before bullies emerged and started heaping abuse on their peers?

To view this entire article visit www.time.com

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Why Guidance Counseling Needs to Change

Carol’s summary:
I have the privilege of working with extraordinary counselors across the country who take on leadership roles in their schools and district. Their aim is to help all students by leading success and transition programs through summer academies, boot camps and year-long advisory classes. As the heart and soul of their schools, these counselors are committed in a larger way to building awareness among administrators and teachers for what makes a difference in students’ lives. Based on my experiences and input from counselors nationwide, here are ways guidance counselors can make themselves indispensable to school districts:

1) Align with district academic, emotional and social goals
2) Lead the advisory movement–teach, facilitate and promote a success vision in the school.
3) Tie your results to data and get data collected for the school on behalf of the principal.
4) Be a strong part of the principal’s leadership team along with the APs.
5) Connect with strong counselor leaders across the state–get peer mentors outside your district as well as inside.
6) Develop your coaching and your business skills–these two things will allow you to be more effective as counselor.

For more information about LifeBound’s work with counselors, please contact our toll free # at 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@lifebound.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

ARTICLE
Educational Leadership
Why Guidance Counseling Needs to Change
Jean Johnson, Jon Rochkind and Amber Ott

Recent surveys of young adults make a compelling case for reinventing high school guidance counseling.

The meeting with the high school guidance counselor is expected and routine—a time set aside for students to talk about goals and plans with an adult trained to offer advice, options, and assistance. At least, that’s the goal. Unfortunately, the reality sometimes falls short. One young man, now in his early 20s, summed up his experience: “They’d look at your grades and then say, ‘Oh, you can get into these schools.'”
Such meetings are impersonal, perfunctory, and more common than you might think, according to a 2009 survey of young adults ages 22–30 conducted by Public Agenda for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Johnson, Rochkind, Ott, & DuPont, 2009). The findings from this survey, along with several others we have conducted in recent years (see, for example, Johnson, Duffett, & Ott, 2005), offer one clear message: As education focuses its attention on bringing today’s high schools into the 21st century, the guidance counseling system is a prime candidate for innovation and reform.

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/910kAT

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At College Admission Time, Lessons in Thin Envelopes

Carol’s summary:

As teens await the springtime arrival of college letters, some students will read a rejection from their college of choice as an indication that they don’t have what it takes to succeed, but as the article below iterates through several interviews with highly successful people, there are many paths on the road to success. Rejection can actually open the door to a better opportunity. Investment mogul Warren Buffet, said, “The truth is, everything that has happened in my life…that I thought was a crushing event at the time, has turned out for the better.” With the exception of health problems, he says, setbacks teach “lessons that carry you along. You learn that a temporary defeat is not a permanent one. In the end, it can be an opportunity.”

While a college rejection can be devastating initially, it can also propel students “to define their own talents and potential,” said Columbia University President Lee Bollinger, who was rejected as a teenager when he applied to Harvard. Students need to remember that there is no one perfect college. Any number of schools can be good fits and places to thrive. In the face of rejection form a college or university, here are some steps students can take:

Talk to your counselor.
S/he has been through this before with other students and knows what to do.

Apply to schools whose deadlines haven’t yet passed.
Many colleges have late admissions policies or rolling admissions. Use College Search to help you find schools that are still accepting applications.

Apply to the same schools again.
Some schools will reconsider your application if you take the SAT® again and improve your scores or if your grades shot up dramatically at the end of your senior year. Contact the admissions office.

Ask for an explanation.
Was it your high school transcript? Your essay?

Consider transferring to the college.
If you spend a year at another school, you can prove to college admissions officers that you’re motivated and ready for college-level work. Consider community and state colleges, too.

Source: http://www.collegeboard.com/student/apply/letters-are-in/126.html

Winston Churchill said, “Success is the ability to go from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm.” The opportunity in this situation is for students to improve their ability to risk, despite the outcome. One of the most important life lessons is that we only “fail” if we don’t try. Learning how to master these lessons now can prepare students for success in college, career and life. This is why I wrote LifeBound’s book for seniors in high school, MAJORING IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE: Success Secrets For College Students, which includes real-world advice from other professionals who’ve faced rejection and gone on to find their best career path. To request a review copy of our new fifth edition, call the LifeBound toll free # 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@lifebound.com.

ARTICLE:

WSJ
March 26, 2010
Before They Were Titans, Moguls and Newsmakers, These People Were…Rejected
At College Admission Time, Lessons in Thin Envelopes
By Sue Shellenbarger

Few events arouse more teenage angst than the springtime arrival of college rejection letters. With next fall’s college freshman class expected to approach a record 2.9 million students, hundreds of thousands of applicants will soon be receiving the dreaded letters.

Teenagers who face rejection will be joining good company, including Nobel laureates, billionaire philanthropists, university presidents, constitutional scholars, best-selling authors and other leaders of business, media and the arts who once received college or graduate-school rejection letters of their own.

To view this entire article visit www.wsj.com

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Sharp drop seen in children’s bullying

Carol’s summary:

Here’s some good news:  A national survey funded by the Department of Justice reports that the percentage of students being “physically bullied over the past year had declined from nearly 22 percent in 2003 to under 15 percent in 2008,”and anti-bullying programs are credited for the improvement.  To continue this trend, programs need to be put in place nationwide that not only intervene before problems begin, but proactively reduce bullying by giving kids the tools they need to manage strong emotions and learn conflict resolution skills. 

Right now my staff is in the process of tabulating results from schools using our PEOPLE SMARTS program, which helps students develop emotional intelligence. Our results show that schools have experienced a reduction in the number of children who say they’re being bullied, and equally encouraging, more students say they stand up for someone and themselves who is the victim or physical or verbal abuse. Our data also shows that students in the PEOPLE SMARTS program experience better relationships with their siblings after taking the class (on the pre-assessment, 35.3% reported they “get along well with their siblings;” and the POST-assessment 50.1% reported that they do), a finding which is significant since bullying behavior is often learned at home where many children report being bullied by their brothers or sisters. 

While anti-bullying programs play an important role in our nation’s goal to curb aggressive behavior, programs that help students build stronger communication, emotional, and social skills as a prevention strategy, can make the greatest impact. If you would like to receive a review copy of our PEOPLE SMARTS book, or any of our other resources, call us toll free at 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@lifebound.com.

How can we do a better job of being preemptive so that students have the self-awareness and communication skills to stand up for respectful behavior? How can parents, teacher, and counselors get on the same page to use the language of emotional intelligence so that students are getting these principles reinforced in every sphere of life?

How can districts effectively collect and use the data to measure the results of these programs?  

ARTICLE

March 3, 2010

Associated Press

NEW YORK – There’s been a sharp drop in the percentage of America’s children being bullied or beaten up by their peers, according to a new national survey by experts who believe anti-bullying programs are having an impact.

The study, funded by the U.S. Department of Justice, found that the percentage of children who reported being physically bullied over the past year had declined from nearly 22 percent in 2003 to under 15 percent in 2008. The percentage reporting they’d been assaulted by other youths, including their siblings, dropped from 45 percent to 38.4 percent.

The lead author of the study, Professor David Finkelhor, said he was “very encouraged.”

“Bullying is the foundation on which a lot of subsequent aggressive behavior gets built,” said Finkelhor, director of the University of New Hampshire’s Crimes Against Children Research Center. “If it’s going down, we will reap benefits in the future in the form of lower rates of violent crime and spousal assault.”

To view the entire article visit

http://bit.ly/b0vyTj

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Graduates Fault Advice of Guidance Counselors

A new study shows why guidance counselors need the support of student success programs that give them the skills and tools to be effective in their jobs. The Public Agenda reports that, “Most young adults who go on to college believe that the advice of their high school guidance counselors was inadequate and often impersonal and perfunctory. Most troubling, and potentially significant for policy makers,” the study added, “is that young people who characterized their interactions with guidance counselors as anonymous and unhelpful were less likely to go directly from high school into a postsecondary program.”

LifeBound is proactive in working with counselors across the country to solve the very problems cited in this article. Our stair-step program for every grade, 5-12, addresses the academic and developmental issues specific to each grade level. For instance, our PEOPLE SMARTS book addresses behavior and motivation issues by helping students become emotionally intelligent. Our new edition of MAKING THE MOST OF HIGH SCHOOL, is designed to help students develop an eight-year academic plan starting their freshmen year. We’ve had outstanding results in giving counselors the methods for impacting students in positive ways and developing their leadership skills through coaches training so they have greater credibility and influence in their districts. Many of the counselors who’ve completed our academic coaches training classes have been promoted to district level positions. For review copies of LifeBound’s materials, please email contact@lifebound.com or call toll free 1.877.737.8510. We look forward to hearing from you.How can we help counselors solve the myriad of problems they face in their profession and give them the tools to be more effective in their roles?What can we do to better engage students and families in the college and career planning process?

 

How can we elevate the counseling profession so that it fulfills its mission as set by the American School Counselor Association?

ARTICLEan>

 

New York Times

by Jacques Steinberg

Most people who graduated from high school in the last dozen years believe that their guidance counselors provided little meaningful advice about college or careers, a new study has found. And many said the best advice on their futures came from teachers. “Most young adults who go on to college believe that the advice of their high school guidance counselors was inadequate and often impersonal and perfunctory,” according to the study by Public Agenda, a nonprofit research organization. “Most troubling, and potentially significant for policy makers,” the study added, “is that young people who characterized their interactions with guidance counselors as anonymous and unhelpful were less likely to go directly from high school into a postsecondary program.” To view the entire article visit
http://nyti.ms/bxLm3x

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Business Schools Tap Veterans

Carol’s summary:
Business schools are recruiting former military members, and the post 9/11 GI Bill, means more instructors will be teaching veterans. These are nontraditional students entering a very difficult economy, and we need to figure out how to engage them and draw on their unique experiences. Higher education institutions report that veterans bring a unique perspective to their education, and employers say their military training equips them with strong teamwork and leadership skills. At Harvard Business School, veterans currently make up 3% of the class of 2011’s 930 students.

How can we show honor to our veterans for their military service?

How can we best tap their experiences to sharpen our teaching methods and help other students benefit from the different perspective that veterans bring to education?

How can we help ex-military members make a smooth transition from the battlefield to the classroom?

How can educators treat both the emotional and the academic needs that these returning vets will have in the classroom?

What other campus services can they access for support?

ARTICLE
By DIANA MIDDLETON
Five years ago, Augusto Giacoman was commanding about 30 soldiers and leading raids in Iraq. Now he spends his days in classrooms alongside former bankers, engineers and other civilians earning a master’s in business administration.

Mr. Giacoman, a retired U.S. Army officer, is evidence of a growing effort among business schools to lure ex-military members into M.B.A. programs, where they are prized for their leadership skills and ability to bring an alternate perspective to the classroom, say school administrators.
At Harvard Business School, veterans currently make up 3% of the class of 2011’s 930 students.

From Boot Camp to Business School
Known for its case study method, Harvard relies on students’ personal experiences to propel cases, says Deirdre Leopold, director of admissions at Harvard Business School. Veterans, she says, bring something to the room that other students don’t. “They’ve been responsible for lives, which brings a gravitas to classroom discussion,” Ms. Leopold says.

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/cdqHLS

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