Teens and cellphones: Some startling statistics

 
 
by Christopher Paslay
 
Recently, Common Sense Media and Benenson Strategy Group conducted over 2,000 interviews with teenagers about their cellphone use.  Here are some of their findings:
 
          –Eight in 10 teenagers have cell phones.
 
          –In an average week, teens send 440 text messages.
 
          –110 of these text messages are sent during class.
         
          –65 percent of [...]

Apple and Twitter: Hampering education and ruining work ethic

 
 
by Christopher Paslay
 
In the Philadelphia School District, teachers are often evaluated on their use of technology in the classroom.  Administrators want to know if we’re using laptops and Smartboards—if we’ve completed the latest training to bring us up to speed on Governor Rendell’s Classrooms For The Future—and if we’re taking full advantage of educational resources on [...]

Is cursive writing worth teaching?

by Christopher Paslay
 
“Are the flowing curves and fancy loops of cursive writing disappearing from elementary school classrooms?” asks writer Megan Downs in a recent USA Today article, “Schools debate: Is cursive writing worth teaching?”
 
Call me old-school, but I think penmanship is an important skill and should continue to be taught in all schools across America.  [...]

District Must Declare War on Cell Phones

by Christopher Paslay
 
In an article last spring in the Philadelphia Inquirer, local radio talk show host Michael Smerconish proposed that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania should take the death penalty off the books because it is so rarely enforced. 
 
“. . . the death penalty in the commonwealth is a sham, a paper tiger, and a form [...]