The small community of Bath, Michigan, was the scene of the largest school bombings in terms of loss of life in U.S. history. On May 18, 1927, the North Wing of Bath Consolidated School exploded, leading to the deaths of 38 students plus five adults. The final death toll stood at 45 and included the
Over the years, high school sports have traditionally been seen as a positive factor in students’ lives, giving them something to do, keeping them away from delinquency and deviance, teaching them teamwork, instilling in them team spirit and school pride, and providing many with college scholarships. But what of the darker side of sports? What
Toronto, Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Victoria, Edmonton, Bowmanville, Brampton, Scarborough, Tabor, and Etobicoke–what do all these places have in common? They have all been the sites of newsworthy incidents of school violence. Tabor, 1999: a former student entered a school and shot two students; one died. Toronto, 2003: a student was wounded by gunshot
A Norwegian researcher named Dan Olweus published the first study on bullying, Aggression in the Schools: Bullies and Whipping Boys, in 1978. In it, he established the most widely used definition for bullying. Olweus defines bullying as follows: A student is being bullied or victimized when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time
In the 1990s, when the Internet first gained a public face, it belonged to adults. In most cases, a home had only one computer that all family members shared, with adults being the primary users. In recent years, however, with the introduction of a wide variety of new products linking to the web and the
Broadly defined, a “drug” is any nonfood substance that in some way alters the physical or psychological processes of the body. As to the legality and availability of drugs, there is enormous variation in the regulation of the manufacture and sale of these substances. Some drugs, such as aspirin and caffeine, are readily available and
Many school districts have enacted dress codes in the belief that they will help increase student self-esteem, enhance school unity, increase attendance and reduce dropout rates, and reduce violence–in particular, violence related to gang activity. The types of dress codes established by schools vary widely, running the gamut from simple prohibitions on specific logos or
Young people are increasingly getting involved with gambling, especially males. Many are even developing gambling addictions. Research presented at the 106th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association showed that between 5% and 8% of American and Canadian youth had serious gambling problems, compared to 1% to 3% of adults. The same research suggested that
How much and which types of free speech and expression rights students in public schools and colleges have has been an issue of much contention, both publicly and in the courts. Generally, parents and administrators are cautious about allowing students to have the same free speech and expression rights as adults, suggesting that full freedom
Since the 19th century, writers have set large numbers of their stories in schools; these works are meant mainly for a school-age audience, although some are intended for older readers. The traditional form featured an account of bullying, where the bullied student, usually a boy, eventually triumphs. Charles Dickens’s Nicholas Nickleby (1838-1839), for example, recounts