In the United States, about 19% of children and adolescents are obese. Without any change in eating and lifestyle patterns, overweight children are more likely to grow up overweight, which contributes to the odds of their becoming diabetic later in life.
The U.S. Constitution automatically grants citizenship to those born in the United States whatever the status of their parents. Tensions surrounding immigration have increased over the last decade, however, leading to suggestions that rescinding the automatic right to citizenship would discourage unauthorized immigration.
As U.S. schools struggle with funding cuts and the requirements of the test-centered No Child Left Behind Act, music and other arts programs are often put on the chopping block. Because these courses are frequently seen as “impractical,” they’re often the first to be trimmed or eliminated altogether.
Obesity presents serious health risks at all ages, but is particularly worrisome in children and youth. In addition to having a greater chance of becoming obese in adulthood, obese children and adolescents are also more likely to contract cardiovascular diseases compared to their peers.
The concept of merit pay in education is simple enough: Bonuses are given to educators who succeed at their jobs based on agreed-upon criteria, which can include the results of standardized tests, evaluations or other measures. Merit pay has received support as part of the federal “Race to the Top” initiative, and a number of state and local efforts have included such programs. As with many education reform initiatives, however, criticism isn’t lacking.
Millions of dollars of instructional videos for infants have been sold to hopeful parents in the past decade, many promising accelerated learning. While children may enjoy watching such products, are there any real educational benefits, or are they just “electronic babysitters”?
Since the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and the 2003 start of the Iraq war, hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers have served increasingly long and difficult deployments overseas. Beyond the physical risks troops face, their absence can have significant negative impacts on family members.
At the 2000 United Nations Summit a plan was developed to combat problems facing the world’s most impoverished populations. The plan was based on eight major objectives, known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); the World Health Organization (WHO), part of the U.N., was responsible for coordinating efforts on the health-related objectives.
Journalist’s Resource encourages using scholarly research as a lens through which to see local events. Stories on a variety of topics — from immigration to water quality — can be enriched by referencing scholarly research and findings. Such data and insights can provide meaningful context that can elevate a reported piece and give it greater resonance.
Browsing research can also help stimulate new story ideas.
