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As school leaders experiment with modern educational strategies, one of the most promising programs centers on a concept known as “collaborative reasoning.” Far evolved from the archaic preconceptions of a classroom from the past, collaborative reasoning programs strive to make students active leaders in their learning communities.

Instead of having teachers solely speak and lecture, collaborative reasoning focuses on allowing children to explore using different learning and cognitive development elements. Specifically, as the explores, classrooms centered on collaborative reasoning enable teachers to act as facilitators of small student group discussions and investigations: “Collaborative reasoning discussions are intended to create a forum for children to listen to one another think out loud as they learn to engage in reasoned argumentation.”

Collaborative reasoning is designed to encourage independent critical thinking and question fellow peers and sources. Through this type of proactive learning, experts anticipate that cooperative learning can jumpstart student progress into modernity.

Traditional Learning vs. Collaborative Learning

Hoping to overcome the passive and dull methodologies of inactive classrooms, public schools across the country are embracing efforts to teach students using collaborative reasoning. Examining the need for this reform, argues, “The least effective mode of teaching and learning is still the most popular at all levels of instruction: teaching by telling, learning by parroting...When you tell it back to me the way I told it to you, I assume you have knowledge.”

Instead of demanding children to listen, memorize, and

Although the media may not frequently report sensational stories of public school gang activity, the reality of the statistics is not reassuring. Experts have found that a rising number of schools have been encountering gang-related activity – in areas outside of the stereotypical urban cities. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, during the 2003 – 2004 school year alone, 41% of high schools and 31% of middle schools reported gang activity.

As , an association of professional educators, explains, “Once the exclusive of poor neighborhoods in our large cities, youth street gangs have lately inspired an almost paralyzing fear in both suburban and rural middle-class communities across the nation.”

To address the growing gang dangers prevalent in school communities, educational leaders have been enforcing new practices to keep campuses and students safer.

Gangs in 51����s: The Rising Concern

While gangs can realistically arise in any region, many schools throughout the country have reported significantly higher rates of gang activity. For example, as the Seattle Times reveals, one local Washington state high school, Garfield, has been forced to make significant changes in order to combat pressing gang problems in recent semesters. According to reports, “As Seattle struggles with heightened violence attributed to street gangs, the city's schools are increasingly shaping policies to keep the problem from spreading onto campuses.”

Garfield High School has implemented comprehensive changes in an effort to reduce gang activity, including:

• The school purposefully avoided scheduling any

When President Obama’s national address to students approached in September, many parents expressed concerns over the potential of politically charged messages. Before his speech notes were revealed, school communities feared that Obama would try to sway students towards his political viewpoints by subtly mentioning key national issues, such as healthcare reform and economic stimulus plans. Although the speech was surrounded in controversy, in post-speech reviews, bipartisan parties generally agreed that President Obama’s lecture was non-biased and inoffensive.

Regardless, the heated debates leading to the president’s speech forced many parents and leaders to pose the question: do parents have the right to deny or allow public speakers at their child’s school?

51���� Speakers: Who Chooses Them?

While public schools across the country frequently invite speakers to their campuses, some parents argue that booking these speakers without parental consent could be harmful for students. For example, many conservatives, as well as individuals who oppose some of President Obama’s key political philosophies, feared that allowing their children to listen to the president’s national address in the public school setting was a violation of their parental and personal rights. Wanting to protect their children from opposing viewpoints, many parents were outraged over Obama’s public school speech, which was aired and widely viewed by public school students during regular school hours.

In examining this controversy, the reported that “Districts across the country (were) inundated with phone calls

Budget cuts have forced public schools to reduce their curriculum offerings, increase class sizes, and cut back on teacher positions. However, to fill the fiscal gap, many schools are taking even more drastic measures to reduce their operating costs.

The costs of new textbooks, classroom materials, and even handouts can result in massive school expenses. Subsequently, many public schools are now requiring students to purchase their own materials and books! As a result, many families may be forced to increase their education spending to meet their child’s classroom needs.

This video offers an overview of public K-12 education in the United States.

Cutting Jobs, Classes...and Textbooks?

When schools are faced with budget costs, most districts begin by eliminating faculty positions; however, reducing the number of teachers and administrators can only go so far on the bottom line. If school leaders reduce their faculty numbers, but still have not met their budgetary restrictions, then leaders are forced to develop new, and often controversial, alternatives.

For example, according to ABC News, schools across the state of California are hoping to reduce their spending by using older textbooks for longer periods of time. While California schools have already eliminated various educational programs, along with teaching and faculty positions, these cuts are simply not enough – and new textbooks are literally getting the ax.

In fact, school leaders report that the state of California will not be