Posts by Wendy Schwartz
Arab American Students in Public Schools
Arab Americans in U.S. schools represent more than 20 countries in the Middle East and Northern Africa. They share many similarities with other immigrant groups seeking to establish an ethnic identity in a heterogeneous country, but they also face additional challenges. These result especially from negative stereotyping; racism and discrimination; widespread misinformation about their history…
Read MorePreparing Middle School Students for a Career
How can middle schools promote the development and education of adolescents? How can they focus students’ attention on career opportunities and training? This article offers families some ideas about how they can encourage their children’s career awareness. Information in this guide was drawn from Digest No. 155 published by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult,…
Read MoreNew Information on Youth Who Drop Out: Why They Leave and What Happens to Them
from ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education by Wendy Schwartz It has been known for many years that young people who don’t complete high school face many more problems in later life than do people who graduate. But, while national leaders have demanded that schools, communities, and families make a major effort to retain students, the…
Read MoreDeveloping Social Competence in Children
Changes in the way families are organized and function have resulted in less, and possibly lower quality, adult-child closeness. At the same time, children have been bombarded with increasing amounts of violence in the media. This brief presents an overview of effective strategies for use with children in elementary school to improve their growth.…
Read MoreA Guide to Youth Smoking Prevention Policies and Programs
Social problems in many urban areas often lead to smoking by teenagers. They believe — wrongly — that tobacco will help reduce their stress and make them look “cool” instead of insecure. Many pressures for smoking are discussed, as well as countermeasures. The number of young people who smoke is decreasing, but one third of…
Read MoreSmoking Prevention Strategies for Urban and Minority Youth
Smoking is declining among many teenagers,but one-third of high schoolers still use tobacco. This article explores the risks of smoking and campaigns to prevent it. Overall, the number of adolescents who smoke and use smokeless tobacco is decreasing, and the decrease is sharpest among minority youth. Still, about one-third of high school students use tobacco…
Read MoreSupporting Students With Asthma
What are asthma symptoms and “triggers?” Here are some suggestions for maintaining a school environment conducive to the attendance of children with asthma and for developing a curriculum conducive to their academic achievement. Five million children in the U.S. are living with asthma and the number is steadily increasing. Most live in cities, are poor,…
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