Thirty percent of high school students in the US have stolen from a store and 64 percent have cheated on a test this year alone, according to a
new survey that suggests Americans are apathetic about ethical standards. A Los Angeles-based ethics institute surveyed 29,760 students at 100 randomly selected high schools nationwide, both public and private. Some of the key findings include:
- Thirty-five percent of boys and 26 percent of girls—30 percent overall—acknowledged stealing from a store within the past year.
- One-fifth said they stole something from a friend; 23 percent said they stole something from a parent or other relative.
- Cheating in school is rampant and getting worse.
The debate over public versus private school can be a heated one that has even worked its way up to the
presidential level. Last week, I told you about the beginning of my quest to find
the perfect school for my daughter and that got me thinking.
Did you choose your home based on the school system your child will attend?
The first day of school is a cinch, it's the process of getting there that's a hassle. I remember being excited about my own entree to kindergarten — slipping into my plaid uniform and putting on my brand new backpack hoping for homework. I was five-years-old and now twenty-six years later, I will relive that moment with my daughter in a matter of months.
Uh-oh! Tough times ahead for profiteers of No Child Left Behind. With its penchant for formulaic learning and standardized testing, it's
a boon to the prepping and testing industry.
The Pledge of Allegiance has been routinely said in classrooms since the 1800s. Many youngsters mumble it out of habit, but students at Woodbury Elementary in Vermont are well aware of the words they are stating. The school has banned the practice of the pledge in the classroom so students who wish to partake in the morning routine do so in the gym and then return to their studies.
College is all about independence, at least in terms of making every day choices like going to class, what to eat, and how late to stay out. My parents didn't try and stop me when I declared my major, though I knew other students who weren't given the freedom to choose any major they pleased.
CNN Money's article "Your highly educated dishwashers" gives a little perspective into the thought process of parents with college-bound kids, and it got me wondering how many of your majors were influenced by your parents.
The US Treasury Department is getting on the bandwagon of rewarding kids' knowledge with money and is
offering the chance at a $1,000 scholarship for teens who can ace a 35-question financial literacy quiz. This is one educational initiative that's taking a step in the right direction and hopefully it's a sign that finance will become more common in classrooms. The Wall Street Journal got its hands on five sample questions from the National Financial Literacy Challenge, and I've reproduced them here for you to test your knowledge — would your score be worthy of $1,000?
Now that the 2008-2009 school year is in full swing, the College Board has released the official numbers for
the average cost of attending college this year, and
CNN Money has developed a list of the 10 most expensive schools in the US. Is your alma mater on the list?
10 Most Expensive Colleges
- Wesleyan University: $38,934
- St.
Even as the economy flounders, the cost of the college experience is continuing to increase according to numbers for this year's bill, just released by the College Board. Let's all take a moment to be grateful for the college education we may have received, because in this economy, it's tougher for students and families
to find the money for higher education. Take the quiz and make educated guesses about tuition and room and board in the current school year.
If High School Musical was real (and I wish it was, it would actually have made for fascinating reality TV) at least one kid on the poster wouldn't be tossing any cap at all. High-school dropout rates now show
one out of every four students not graduating, and 7,000 students drop out every day. Under new regulations for reporting announced today, schools will have to report graduation rates for all students — including minorities and students with disabilities, which have a dropout rate as high as one in three.
