Richard F. Schmid

Bowling Alone: the Collapse and Revival of American CommunityMon, 03/03/2008 - 14:57 -- adminOnce we bowled in leagues, usually after work — but no longer. Drawing on vast new data that reveal Americans’ changing behavior, Putnam shows how we have become increasingly disconnected from one another and how social structures — whether they be PTA, church, or political parties — have disintegrated. Until the publication of this groundbreaking work, no one had so deftly diagnosed the harm that these broken bonds have wreaked on our physical and civic health, nor had anyone exalted their fundamental power in creating a society that is happy, healthy, and safe.



Small is Beautiful: Relationships are Central to Program for Young OffendersSince closing its large juvenile training schools 20 years ago, Missouri has become a model for the nation in juvenile corrections. The small scale and therapeutic, family-oriented atmosphere distinguish Missouri’s juvenile facilities from the training schools common throughout most of America.



shifts in societyOur society has undergone radical shifts in everything from family structure to demographics to where and how families and children spend the majority of their time. Canadian schools, first developed in the context of the family farm and small town, have struggled to respond to the massive shifts that have taken place in how children are living their lives outside of the classroom walls.



Is falling voter turnout linked to diminished civics education?Recent analyses suggest that the drop in voter participation is largely the result of precipitously low election day turnout among young voters. Why? Are young Canadians too cynical? Busy with other forms of political expression? One answer that does find some support is that young people are less engaged in and knowledgeable of current political issues.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)



Addressing the rural-urban gap in educationStudents in rural Canada are falling behind their urban counterparts. These adverse educational outcomes limit the range of employment options available to rural youth and reduce the talent pool available within rural economies. What can be done?
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)



Learning Cities: Optimizing Economic and Social Well-being through Lifelong Learning for AllCanadian cities—now home to 80% of Canada’s citizens—offer economic, educational and cultural opportunities, but also face problems related to equity, maintenance of social cohesion, and civic engagement. Pioneered in Europe and Australia, the creation of “Learning Cities” recognizes that optimal social and financial well-being occurs under conditions that favour lifelong learning for all.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)



Canada slow to overcome limits for disabled learnersFor Canadians with disabilities, learning opportunities are often limited, depriving them of further opportunities and curtailing their potential contributions. Canada and Canadians would benefit from ensuring that Canadians with disabilities have richer opportunities to learn and to make contributions.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning )



Report: Citizenship Education in CanadaThis piece contains information on the history, trends, questions, programs and initiatives, issues and future directions of citizenship education, in addition to providing an extensive list of references. 
(Source: Canadian Education Association)



Hold On to Your Kids: Why Parents MatterMon, 01/07/2008 - 14:17 -- adminDr. Neufeld has dubbed this phenomenon peer orientation, which refers to the tendency of children and youth to look to their peers for direction: for a sense of right and wrong, for values, identity and codes of behaviour. But peer orientation undermines family cohesion, poisons the school atmosphere, and fosters an aggressively hostile and sexualized youth culture.



Opinion: Teach low-income parents how to become involvedLow-income parents must learn how to work the education system in the same way wealthier families do, writes Edwin C. Darden, education-policy director at Appleseed, a network of public-interest justice centers. Maryland’s Montgomery County schools, for example, offer around 35 free Parent Academy workshops, as well as a call center that will answer questions in both English and Spanish. Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (12/26) 
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The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the WorldThu, 12/27/2007 - 10:04 -- adminThe Freedom Writers Diary is the amazing true story of strength, courage, and achievement in the face of adversity. In the fall of 1994, in Room 203 at Woodrow Wilson High School in Long Beach, California, an idealistic twenty-four-year-old teacher named Erin Gruwell faced her first group of students, dubbed by the administration as “unteachable, at-risk” teenagers. This group was unlike any she had ever interacted with.



education for today and tomorrowThere’s no question that the world is a very different place than it was when public schooling became a common practice in North America. In fact, the rate of change itself has accelerated dramatically during this time frame.
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