Is your kid being hit on by her teacher? Would you know if she was? Would she tell you?* The first inappropriate attention I can remember receiving from teachers was in seventh grade. Comments about classmates’ breasts; rides home from school; calls on my private phone. Shoulder massages. By high school I had a more complete understanding of how flirtation could work to my advantage. Hall passes, excuses from class, little bits of padding here and there, as long as I could remain in classes with certain malleable male instructors. Occasionally I hit a bump, the odd required class, but it wasn’t as though I couldn’t pass; I was bright and capable, just attention starved and increasin

What or whom are you influenced by when you are looking for a new product? It might be commercials, television shows, or maybe if you are like millions of other people around the world, you are influenced by bloggers. Gone are the days when you only read ads in the Sunday newspaper, or watch commercials on the television. Today many of us are being swayed commercially by social media, the internet, and other digital mediums. In fact, according to Marketing Charts.com, nearly 50% of blog readers say they purchase products mentioned in the blogs they read on a daily basis. That is quite powerful when you put it in perspective. So what about here locally? What kind of power and influence do

Q: My husband and I have just one child. We had planned on having more, but it never worked out. Now I am seeing that as a good thing because our son is going into the fourth grade (he is going to be 10 in November), and he has become a virtual nightmare to deal with on a daily basis. His third grade teacher had to call me at work several times to report that he didn't come to class, that he got in a fight with a classmate or that he was rude to her. We have been having a lot of problems with him at home, too. He talks back to me, has even hit me on occasion and does not listen when we tell him to do things or try and punish him. I think we are at the end of our rope. It is causing some

Everyone has thoughts and opinions about the laws we abide by. The Sacramento Press hit the streets recently and asked random people what law they thought should exist in Sacramento. Edward Nelson, 22, who is a musician and writer, said he thought there should be a law for stricter education standards. “There ought to be a law for standards in education that states that teachers who aren’t turning out students at a specific level at the end of each year have to go retest for their teacher’s license again,” Nelson said. “I hear so many stories about teachers trying to go on strike and form new unions to get them more money. My initial response to that is after seeing so many students tha

Q: I have a 16-year-old daughter who just got her driver’s license. She is a pretty good kid (as far as I know), but I am scared to death. My first instinct is to impose all kinds of rules on her like a curfew and who can and cannot ride in her car (once she can drive with other kids) and where she can and cannot go. Then I remember my parents doing that to me and how I rebelled. I don't want her to rebel like I did, but if I don't give her boundaries, she might run wild. What do I do to keep her close but let her grow up?   A: This is a pretty scary time for you, for sure. I can only assume this is either your only child or your oldest child, based on your reaction to her growing up. Alt

Ever since the 1950’s, the video telephones has been flaunted as an inevitability. And yet 50 years later, at a time when cell phones and the internet are considered essential services by most, video telephone phones remain a mere possibility to all but 0.7% of all households in the U.S. That number may change dramatically if the teachers and tutors at the Neuro-Linguistic Learning Center in El Dorado Hills, California have their way. The NLC has unveiled a new In-Home Tutoring Program that offers free video telephones to families with children who are struggling in school. The in-home tutoring program is aimed at kindergarten though high school children struggling with chronic learning

In part one, we looked at some of the courses taken out of our school and why it's important to find a supplementary program for our children. We learned there were many benefits to experiential education but focused on just 5-benefits: Experiential outdoor education programs help in a great many ways, here are a few main points of impact this type of education will have on a student: 1. An environmental / ecological awareness. 2. Physical challenge and accomplishment positive for both the physical and emotional well-being. 3. Self-awareness / empowerment 4. Interpersonal relations, communication and leadership skills. 5. Socialization and community development. Through real life camp ex

To say folks are frustrated with much of the US education system is an understatement, many people are fighting angry, spitting mad. For many of us part of the US's founding intentions were to provide the best education in the world and evolved into a bragging right for the US. While there are many quality teachers to be had and good classroom programs, the diversity in our childrens' education is virtually gone. Will stories of the good old days of school begin with, once upon a time there was driver's education? The argument rages as to how this happened or why but we're not going to develop that argument here. How we can help our children, what we can do for them is our focus. The appr

It' s because you care, you're reading this article. Chances are you've explored the options and are getting close to sending your child or children to a residential camp. It doesn't matter whether this is the first camp experience or whether you're an old pro, it's a near certainty a couple of things have crossed your mind. First, there are a lot of camps. Second, many appear to offer the same program. Third, they're not necessarily cheap. Finally, for the money spent, isn't it fair that I expect a little enrichment? You're exactly correct in each thought. The volume of camps is overwhelming. They do cost a fair amount of money, there are similar programs and yes you should be able to h

Trying to find just the right "summer camp" can be a frustrating journey. The internet will return hundreds of pages, sorted for their terms, not yours. Undoubtedly at or near the top of the search results will be camp focused directories. While no directory can pick a camp for you, they can help you form a good idea of what you're looking for in a summer camp. Then, you can do some additional research to help insure your summer camp experience is the best it can be. In the search results there will be web links that relate to one specific camp. You may chose to look at some of these as well as the directories but going camp page to camp page will take too long, limiting your exposure to

Fred had a big problem. He and his next door neighbor were in the habit of heated arguments, squirting each other with the water hose, and even on the verge of fist fights. These two men despised each other. Fred was in the thick of a worst-case scenario situation where moving to another neighborhood seemed inevitable. He clearly had some issues to work on, but the real question I wonder about was what his three daughters were learning from their Dad as they watched his belligerence toward the man next door. What type of neighbor do you want your children to be one day? What are your hopes for them when they plant their roots in a community? It’s easy to think of our children’s success i