How Should Schools Respond to Racist Jokes?
Have you ever heard racist jokes or comments at your school? Do you think that hateful speech — in class or online — is a big problem for your school community?How do your teachers and school administrators deal with these incidents? Do you think their responses are effective?In “How Do You Respond to a Young…
Should All Schools Teach Cursive?
Find all our Student Opinion questions here. Do you know how to write in cursive? If yes, where did you learn this skill? How often do you use it?Is cursive a valuable skill in 2019? Or is it a relic of the past?In “A Defense of Cursive, From a 10-Year-Old National Champion,” Tracey Tully writes:A…
Online Learning Works – So Why are Schools Failing at it?
If you believe what many school districts, governmental officials, and even some folks in the media, the whole idea around online learning, as a result of the closing of schools, is not only a fiasco, but something so new that it has sped up its usage by 15 years. Anyone who has been involved with…
Should Schools Limit the Number of A’s That Teachers Can Give?
Harvard is proposing to curb grade inflation by cutting back on how many A grades its professors can award. What do you think of this plan?
Should All Schools Have Student Newspapers?
Just 27 percent of public high schools in New York City have a newspaper. A new initiative is trying to change that.
How Do You Feel About Active-Shooter Drills in Schools?
Do you have regular active-shooter drills at your school? If so, what happens during these drills? What are you expected to do? How do you feel about having to participate? WASHINGTON — After the first day of school at Mark T. Sheehan High School in Wallingford, Conn., Mackenzie Bushey, a 15-year-old junior, came home upset…
Do Schools Need to Do More to Hold Students Accountable?
Do you think your school does enough to hold all students accountable academically and behaviorally?For example, what happens if you miss several days of school? Are you required to make them up somehow? Are your grades affected? Do you risk being held back if you are absent too many times?What about if you don’t turn…
Should Schools Ban Cellphones?
In “This Florida School District Banned Cellphones. Here’s What Happened,” Natasha Singer writes that in the wake of Orlando’s new policy, which bars students from using cellphones during the entire school day, student engagement increased, but so did the hunt for contraband phones:One afternoon last month, hundreds of students at Timber Creek High School in…
Should High Schools Post Their Annual College Lists?
Students in U.S. high schools can get free digital access to The New York Times until Sept. 1, 2021.Many high schools publish annual lists of colleges — or trade schools and military service branches — that their graduates will be attending or joining. Is there anything wrong with that?Does it matter what the purpose of…
Do Schools Need to Do More to Support Visual Thinkers?
Some people think in words; others in pictures. A professor argues that “society is failing visual thinkers, and that hurts us all.” Do you agree?
