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News, Advice, and Tips for Parenting Teenagers

The By Parents For Parents Blog is regularly updated with the latest news and information on topics that relate to parenting teenagers. We'll post parenting advice and tips from trusted online news sources and expert parenting columns.

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Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Study Says Failure to Educate Girls Inflicts Severe Economic Damage on Developing Nations

A report released by one of the world's oldest and largest international development agencies says that the failure to adequately educate girls costs developing nations more than $92 billion every year.

According to Plan, a child-centered community rights group, data provided by the World Bank and the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) indicates that the cost of failing to educate girls almost equals the developed world's $103 billion annual overseas development aid budget.

The group's report, Paying the Price: The economic cost of failing to educate girls, says that "those who oppose girls' education are doing great damage not only to the girls and their families but also to wider communities and economies." The report's "Reflecting on the numbers" section includes the following observations:

Countries in South and West Asia and sub-Saharan Africa have the worst record on educating girls to secondary level. India alone misses out on potential economic growth worth about $33 billion per annum. Other major losers include Turkey ($20 billion) and Russia ($9.8 billion).

Nine countries in sub-Saharan Africa have a gap of 10 percentage points or more between the proportion of girls educated to secondary level and the proportion of boys. Yet, despite this poor record, the region's total lost annual growth ($5.3 billion) is limited by the small size of its economies.

By contrast, just two countries in South and Central America fail to educate girls to the same standard as boys. Indeed, many have more girls in secondary education than boys.

The report did include some good news for advocates of girls' education, noting that net primary enrollment rates for girls across the globe increased from 78 percent in 1990 to 85 percent in 2005, and that secondary enrollment for girls had improved from 47 percent to 57 percent over the same 15 years.

Labels: economics, education, girls

posted by ByParents-forParents at 9:15 AM 0 comments

Monday, May 12, 2008

High School Seniors Flunk Test on Financial Literacy

High school students do not understand how to handle basic money issues, such as calculating APRs or investing for the highest returns. Fewer than half of high school students who took a financial literacy test from the JumpStart Coalition on Financial Literacy passed it. This was the lowest result in six years of testing.

Bernard Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve, commented on the results, saying "the financial preparedness of our nation's youth is essential to their well-being and of vital important to our economic future."

College prep boarding schools might be better equipped to teach teens about money and finances, which will only make them better prepared for the future. Find a college prep boarding school at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: education, money, responsibility

posted by ByParents-forParents at 2:17 PM 0 comments

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Cooperative Learning Better than Competitive Styles

Teens that learn in classrooms where students cooperate and share information score higher on tests than those in classes based on individual competition.

Researchers at the University of Minnesota analyzed data from 148 studies involving 17,000 people aged 12 to 15. Those in classes that supported students working together on projects and test preparation achieved higher scores in problem-solving, critical thinking, and reasoning compared to those who studied alone or in classes based on competitions and "winning."

"When teachers set up their classrooms in a cooperative way," said Dr. Cary Roseth, "both social and academic goals are met simultaneously. Students can interact, which is naturally what they want to do at this age."

This study appears in Psychological Bulletin.

Boarding schools can often cater to different learning styles and offer more attention to students. Find the best boarding school for your child at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: education, learning_styles, teaching

posted by ByParents-forParents at 2:41 PM 0 comments

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Most Students Pass National Writing Test

"The nation's newest report card" says that most middle and high school students score at or above the basic level in writing. Scores did not change in any significant way from the last time American students took the national writing test in 2002. About a third of the eighth-graders and a fourth of the twelfth-graders scored at the "proficient" or above-average levels.

Eighth-graders went from 85% to 88% passing, but twelfth-graders improved more: from 74% to 84%. Some educators suggested that the reason for that increase might be that the newer college board examination (SAT) now has a writing component.

Girls scored higher than boys.

Labels: education, school, studying

posted by ByParents-forParents at 4:53 PM 0 comments

Monday, April 07, 2008

Girl-friendly Chemistry Program May Keep Girls Focused on Science

Most girls lose interest in science around fifth grade. However, a new program developed at the University of Missouri may be changing all of that.

"The Magic of Chemistry" began almost 10 years ago with a group of 35 Girl Scouts taking part in workshops like "The Case of the Unsigned Letter," "Fun with Polymers," and the "Chemistry of Colors." Since then, almost 2,500 elementary school girls have participated in these female-friendly math and science classes designed by chemistry professor Sheryl Tucker, who is also associate dean of the graduate school at University of Missouri.

Tucker and her aides found that more than 80 percent of girls who participated in the Magic of Chemistry said they wanted to learn more about science and related careers.

"There was a critical national need to start a program targeting young girls with the purpose of igniting and retaining their interest in science at an age where national studies indicate they begin to lose this curiosity," said Dr. Tucker.

Bromley Brook School is a private girls boarding school with a strong program in math and science. Learn more at www.bromleybrook.com.

Labels: education, girls, learning_styles

posted by ByParents-forParents at 2:49 PM 0 comments

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Abstinence-only Sex Ed Programs May Not Curb Teen Pregnancy

Last week's announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that one in four American teens has a sexually transmitted disease has ignited more fury in the debate on sex education in public schools. Now, a new study from the University of Washington (UW) reveals that students who receive comprehensive sex education that includes information on condoms and birth control are half as likely to become teen parents as those who participate in abstinence-only programs.

UW analyzed the education of 1,719 heterosexual teens ages 15 to 19 and found that 67% had comprehensive sex education, 24% had abstinence-only, and 9% had no sex education. The ones in the comprehensive program were 50% less likely to report pregnancy than those in abstinence-only group.

"We're building more and more evidence that abstinence-only education isn't having much effect," said Pamela Kohler, the lead author of the study.

Congress has spent more than $1.5 billion over the past decade on Title V Abstinence Education, and yet American teens have higher rates of pregnancy, abortion, and STDs than those in other developed countries.

Labels: education, pregnancy, sex

posted by ByParents-forParents at 3:40 PM 0 comments

Monday, March 10, 2008

Don't Know Much About History - Report Indicates Teens Deficient

Many of today's teenagers do not know basic dates and fundamentals of history and literature, according to a survey from the American Enterprise Institute.
Among the 1,500 17-year-olds in the survey, only 43 percent knew the Civil War occurred between 1850 and 1900. A quarter of the students could identify Adolf Hitler, and less than 20 percent knew which countries America fought in World War II. Only about half knew the theme of George Orwell's book, 1984, or that Senator Joseph McCarthy's scandal was about communism.

"The question of how much our 17-year-olds know is particularly pressing, given broader social trends. After all, these students are less than a year away from reaching legal adulthood, making them eligible to vote and serve in the nation's armed forces," said Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies for the American Enterprise Institute and the author of the report.

Private schools can often offer better, smaller classes than public schools. Help your teen be better prepared for college and the work place by sending them to a top private boarding school. Visit Boarding Schools Info to find the best boarding school for your child.

Labels: deficiencies, education, school

posted by ByParents-forParents at 8:03 PM 0 comments

Monday, August 27, 2007

Helping Teens Decide on a Career

Some parents are of the opinion that self-discovery is the best way for a teenager to choose a career path. Others worry that, in this highly competitive market, 'self-discovery' is too ambiguous and unstructured to provide the skills necessary to compete, so they offered other suggestions.

"Several parents said career testing had worked well for their kids, either at college counseling centers or other sources. Testing by the nonprofit Johnson O'Conner Research Foundation (www.jocrf.org), an assessment firm with 11 offices nationwide, was recommended by several readers."

One mother in Oklahoma suggests that her teens consider three "overlapping circles"; the things they love to do, the activities in which they're talented, and activities others will pay them to perform. Read more at CareerJournal.com.

Think military boarding schools will straighten out your troubled teen and get them on the right path? Learn about their ineffectiveness and about other alternatives at 4-Military-School-Alternatives.com.

Labels: careers, education, testing

posted by ByParents-forParents at 9:37 PM 0 comments

Monday, August 20, 2007

Helping Your Kids Choose a Career

The competition seems to get tougher and tougher. Even in her freshman year of college, your child might begin vying for post-graduate internships and jobs. But as Sue Shellenbarger from The Wall Street Journal has watched this scenario unfold in her own household, she's less concerned about the level of competition and more concerned with the ultimate career paths her kids are choosing.

"Although I'm glad my son, 16, and my daughter, 19, are thinking about jobs, their deliberations hold none of the curiosity or sense of exploration that I recall feeling at their age. Instead, they seem rushed and grim."

Most young people feel a high level of "career anxiety", according to college counselors. This anxiety causes them to choose a career path - any path - very early and set about pursuing it without much thought to what they actually enjoy or might find satisfying. Ask leading questions when your teen begins talking about work and a career. Help him discover not only his natural talents, but the ways he enjoys using those talents. Be one of the few voices in your kid's life that's telling her it's ok to choose a career she actually loves. Read more at OCRegister.com.

The best boarding schools will offer your teenager a peak at different career choices by offering a variety of classes. Find a boarding school for your teen at BoardingSchoolsInfo.com.

Labels: careers, education, stress

posted by ByParents-forParents at 10:26 AM 0 comments

Monday, March 12, 2007

Kids of High School Dropouts Will Struggle With Reading, Writing

Canadian researchers found that parents who do not finish high school are more likely to have children who have problems learning to read and write.

Professor Linda Phillips, director of the Canadian Center for Research on Literacy, said the results were so definitive that her researchers could predict how well children would do on early childhood screening tests just based on their parents' educational levels.

This study is included in a book entitled "Family Literacy Matters," published by Temeron Books Inc.

Labels: education, research

posted by ByParents-forParents at 10:57 PM

Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Teens Ask for Science-Based Sex Ed

Teens from Des Moines, Iowa spent part of Tuesday at the Capitol telling legislators that including medical and scientific information in sex education classes would help reduce and prevent teen pregnancy and disease. Many of the teens agreed that more sex education is needed.

"'You can't do a two-day thing on sex and be like, "OK, you know enough." You can't say, "Here's pamphlets and video, let's call it a day,"' said [Venessa] McDole, who is a peer counselor with R3..."

The Iowa Senate and House both have bills on the table that would require science-based, age-appropriate sex education. A subcommittee with discuss the bills today. Read more at DesMoinesRegister.com.

Labels: education, sex, teenagers

posted by ByParents-forParents at 5:15 PM

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