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I would like to work on the problem of sending home extensive amount of homework.

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Some schools are eliminating homework, citing research showing it doesn't do much to boost achievement. But maybe teachers just need to assign a different kind of homework.

In 2016, a second-grade teacher in Texas delighted her students-and at least some of their parents-by announcing she would no longer assign homework. "Research has been unable to prove that homework improves student performance," she explained.

The following year, the superintendent of a Florida school district serving 42,000 students eliminated homework for all elementary students and replaced it with twenty minutes of nightly reading, saying she was basing her decision on "solid research about what works best in improving academic achievement in students."

Many other elementary schools seem to have quietly adopted similar policies. Critics have objected that even if homework doesn't increase grades or test scores, it has other benefits, like fostering good study habits and providing parents with a window into what kids are doing in school.

Those arguments have merit, but why doesn't homework boost academic achievement? The research cited by educators just doesn't seem to make sense. If a child wants to learn to play the violin, it's obvious she needs to practice at home between lessons (at least, it's obvious to an adult). And psychologists have identified a range of strategies that help students learn, many of which seem ideally suited for homework assignments.

For example, there's something called " retrieval practice," which means trying to recall information you've already learned. The optimal time to engage in retrieval practice is not immediately after you've acquired information but after you've forgotten it a bit-like, perhaps, after school. A homework assignment could require students to answer questions about what was covered in class that day without consulting their notes. Research has found that retrieval practice and similar learning strategies are far more powerful than simply rereading or reviewing material.

One possible explanation for the general lack of a boost from homework is that few teachers know about this research. And most have gotten little training in how and why to assign homework. These are things that schools of education and teacher-prep programs typically don't teach. So it's quite possible that much of the homework teachers assign just isn't particularly effective for many students.

Even if teachers do manage to assign effective homework, it may not show up on the measures of achievement used by researchers-for example, standardized reading test scores. Those tests are designed to measure general reading comprehension skills, not to assess how much students have learned in specific classes. Good homework assignments might have helped a student learn a lot about, say, Ancient Egypt. But if the reading passages on a test cover topics like life in the Arctic or the habits of the dormouse, that student's test score may well not reflect what she's learned.

The research relied on by those who oppose homework has actually found it has a modest positive effect at the middle and high school levels-just not in elementary school. But for the most part, the studies haven't looked at whether it matters what kind of homework is assigned or whether there are different effects for different demographic student groups. Focusing on those distinctions could be illuminating.

A study that looked specifically at math homework, for example, found it boosted achievement more in elementary school than in middle school-just the opposite of the findings on homework in general. And while one study found that parental help with homework generally doesn't boost students' achievement-and can even have a negative effect- another concluded that economically disadvantaged students whose parents help with homework improve their performance significantly.

That seems to run counter to another frequent objection to homework, which is that it privileges kids who are already advantaged. Well-educated parents are better able to provide help, the argument goes, and it's easier for affluent parents to provide a quiet space for kids to work in-along with a computer and internet access. While those things may be true, not assigning homework-or assigning ineffective homework-can end up privileging advantaged students even more.

Students from less educated families are most in need of the boost that effective homework can provide, because they're less likely to acquire academic knowledge and vocabulary at home. And homework can provide a way for lower-income parents-who often don't have time to volunteer in class or participate in parents' organizations-to forge connections to their children's schools. Rather than giving up on homework because of social inequities, schools could help parents support homework in ways that don't depend on their own knowledge-for example, by recruiting others to help, as some low-income demographic groups have been able to do. Schools could also provide quiet study areas at the end of the day, and teachers could assign homework that doesn't rely on technology.

Another argument against homework is that it causes students to feel overburdened and stressed. While that may be true at schools serving affluent populations, students at low-performing ones often don't get much homework at all-even in high school. One study found that lower-income ninth-graders "consistently described receiving minimal homework-perhaps one or two worksheets or textbook pages, the occasional project, and 30 minutes of reading per night." And if they didn't complete assignments, there were few consequences. I discovered this myself when trying to tutor students in writing at a high-poverty high school. After I expressed surprise that none of the kids I was working with had completed a brief writing assignment, a teacher told me, "Oh yeah-I should have told you. Our students don't really do homework."

If and when disadvantaged students get to college, their relative lack of study skills and good homework habits can present a serious handicap. After noticing that black and Hispanic students were failing her course in disproportionate numbers, a professor at the University of North Carolina decided to make some changes, including giving homework assignments that required students to quiz themselves without consulting their notes. Performance improved across the board, but especially for students of color and the disadvantaged. The gap between black and white students was cut in half, and the gaps between Hispanic and white students-along with that between first-generation college students and others-closed completely.

There's no reason this kind of support should wait until students get to college. To be most effective-both in terms of instilling good study habits and building students' knowledge-homework assignments that boost learning should start in elementary school.

Some argue that young children just need time to chill after a long day at school. But the "ten-minute rule"-recommended by homework researchers-would have first graders doing ten minutes of homework, second graders twenty minutes, and so on. That leaves plenty of time for chilling, and even brief assignments could have a significant impact if they were well-designed.

But a fundamental problem with homework at the elementary level has to do with the curriculum, which-partly because of standardized testing- has narrowed to reading and math. Social studies and science have been marginalized or eliminated, especially in schools where test scores are low. Students spend hours every week practicing supposed reading comprehension skills like "making inferences" or identifying "author's purpose"-the kinds of skills that the tests try to measure-with little or no attention paid to content.

But as research has established, the most important component in reading comprehension is knowledge of the topic you're reading about. Classroom time-or homework time-spent on illusory comprehension "skills" would be far better spent building knowledge of the very subjects schools have eliminated. Even if teachers try to take advantage of retrieval practice-say, by asking students to recall what they've learned that day about "making comparisons" or "sequence of events"-it won't have much impact.

If we want to harness the potential power of homework-particularly for disadvantaged students-we'll need to educate teachers about what kind of assignments actually work. But first, we'll need to start teaching kids something substantive about the world, beginning as early as possible.

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Why Homework Doesn't Seem To Boost Learning--And How It Could

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Some schools are eliminating homework, citing research showing it doesn't do much to boost achievement. But maybe teachers just need to assign a different kind of homework.

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How to Overcome Test Anxiety: 10 Tips | USAHS

Test anxiety Strategies

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The problem I would like to talk about is student mental health

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I would like to talk about health education, in the sense of eating healthy and learning how to facilitate a healthy lifestyle. I feel like this is not talked about in school, and if kids were learning young the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, then the US would have a healthier future. There are mental, physicals, and emotional positives for a healthy lifestyle.

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The importance of health education to a community impacts its overall wellness, access to healthcare by community members and in policy development.

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Six-in-ten U.S. adults say gun violence is a very big problem in the country today.

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The shocking number of animal cruelty cases reported every day is just the tip of the iceberg-most cases are never reported. Unlike violent crimes against people, cases of animal abuse are not compiled by state or federal agencies, making it difficult to calculate just how common they are. However, we can use the information that is available to try to understand and prevent cases of abuse.

Who abuses animals?

Cruelty and neglect cross all social and economic boundaries and media reports suggest that animal abuse is common in both rural and urban areas.

Intentional cruelty to animals is strongly correlated with other crimes, including violence against people.

Hoarding behavior often victimizes animals. Sufferers of a hoarding disorder may impose severe neglect on animals by housing far more than they are able to adequately take care of. Serious animal neglect (such as hoarding) is often an indicator of people in need of social or mental health services.

Surveys suggest that those who intentionally abuse animals are predominantly men under 30, while those involved in animal hoarding are more likely to be women over 60.

Most common victims

The animals whose abuse is most often reported are dogs, cats, horses and livestock. Undercover investigations have revealed that animal abuse abounds in the factory farm industry. But because of the weak protections afforded to livestock under state cruelty laws, only the most shocking cases are reported, and few are ever prosecuted.

Organized cruelty

Dogfighting, cockfighting and other forms of organized animal cruelty go hand in hand with other crimes, and continues in many areas of the United States due to public corruption.

The HSUS documented uniformed police officers at a cockfighting pit in Kentucky.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has prosecuted multiple cases where drug cartels were running narcotics through cockfighting and dogfighting operations.

Dozens of homicides have occurred at cockfights and dogfights.

A California man was killed in a disagreement about a $10 cockfight bet.

The HSUS's investigative team combats complacent public officials and has worked with the FBI on public corruption cases in Tennessee and Virginia. In both instances, law enforcement officers were indicted and convicted.

Correlation with domestic violence

Data on domestic violence and child abuse cases reveal that a staggering number of animals are targeted by those who abuse their children or spouses.

There are approximately 70 million pet dogs and 74.1 million pet cats in the U.S. where 20 men and women are assaulted per minute (an average of around 10 million a year).

In one survey, 71 % of domestic violence victims reported that their abuser also targeted pets.

In one study of families under investigation for suspected child abuse, researchers found that pet abuse had occurred in 88 % of the families under supervision for physical abuse of their children.

To put a stop to this pattern of violence, the Humane Society Legislative Fund supported the Pets and Women's Safety (PAWS) Act, introduced to Congress in 2015 as H.R. 1258 and S.B. 1559 and enacted as part of the farm bill passed by Congress and signed by President Trump in 2018. Once fully enacted, the PAWS Act helps victims of domestic abuse find the means to escape their abusers while keeping their companion animals safe-many victims remain in abusive households for fear of their pets' safety.

State legislative trends

The HSUS has long led the push for stronger animal cruelty laws and provides training for law officials to detect and prosecute these crimes. With South Dakota joining the fight in March of 2014, animal cruelty laws now include felony provisions in all 50 states.

First vs. subsequent offense

Given that a fraction of animal cruelty acts are reported or successfully prosecuted, we are committed to supporting felony convictions in cases of severe cruelty.

49 states have laws to provide felony penalties for animal torture on the first offense.

Only Iowa doesn't have such a law.

Animal cruelty laws typically cover intentional and egregious animal neglect and abuse.

Changes in federal tracking

On January 1, 2016, the FBI added cruelty to animals as a category in the Uniform Crime Report, a nationwide crime reporting system commonly used in homicide investigations. While only about a third of U.S. communities currently participate in the system, the data generated will help create a clearer picture of animal abuse and guide strategies for intervention and enforcement. Data collection covers four categories: simple/gross neglect, intentional abuse and torture, organized abuse (such as dogfighting and cockfighting) and animal sexual abuse.

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Facts, statistics and trends of animal abuse, animal cruelty and abused animals in the U.S.

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Wildlife and salt marsh conservation

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Wetlands, including swamps, marshes, and bogs, are areas of land that are saturated with moisture seasonally or permanently. Believed to be the most diverse ecosystems in the world, wetlands are home to various species of plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. This includes many threatened and endangered species.

In addition to wildlife habitat, wetlands act as filters to improve water quality by removing sediments and chemicals. Further, wetlands reduce flooding and recharge ground water.

Due to the lack of understanding of the value of wetlands, more than half of the wetlands in the United States have been drained or filled for development and farming. Over the last 25 years many federal and state agencies have begun research to expand this knowledge and to protect the remaining wetlands. Today research continues for one of five reasons:

Ownership,

Public trust responsibilities,

Regulatory responsibilities,

Interstate commerce, or

International treaties.

Much of this research centers on:

Wetland processes,

Wetland functions,

Human-induces stresses on the ecosystem,

Delineation and identification, and

Management.

Some of the wetland types that occur in South Carolina include:

Carolina bays and pocosins,

bogs and seeps,

pine flatwoods,

savannahs,

swamp forests, and

bottomland hardwoods.

Currently there is no South Carolina state specific program for regulating wetlands. Much of the regulation is dependent on various federal programs in conjunction with the Clean Water Act.

SCDNR Managed Wetlands

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Wetlands, including swamps, marshes, and bogs, are areas of land that are saturated with moisture seasonally or permanently. Believed to be the most diverse ecosystems in the world, wetlands are home to various species of plants, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. This includes many threatened and endangered species.

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Explore the South Carolina Aquarium’s Plastic Pollution Toolkit

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With the Plastic Toolkit, the South Carolina Aquarium equips you with simple steps to reduce your plastic impact.

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The problem I would like to address is gun violence and the increased prevalence of mass shootings in the United States.

CNN Article about recent mass shooting in Maine and subsequent shootings that followed

When one mass shooting happens we see a spike in shootings afterward and this past weekend there were several different mass shootings across the US.

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Days after a mass shooting rocked Maine, weekend shootings in multiple cities left at least 12 people dead and dozens wounded | CNN

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Days after the nation's deadliest mass shooting of the year left 18 dead and the subsequent manhunt for the gunman shook Maine, a series of shootings over Halloween weekend killed at least 12 people dead and wounded dozens across several states.

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I would like to discuss animal testing in the makeup industry and why it is unnecessary and harmful.

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A list of and links to question and answer pages about animal testing.

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Overcrowded Classrooms Hinder Education Quality

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Imagine stepping into a classroom for the first day of school, only to find you have to share a book. Or, worse, a desk. Far too many American schoolchildren now experience this learning impediment. In fact, 60% of fourth-graders and 66% of eighth-graders find themselves in overcrowded classrooms, a…

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In 2021, SC's voting districts were re-drawn. Many civil rights groups noticed that the new districts were gerrymandered around Black communities in order to make the Black vote worth less. The ACLU filed a lawsuit and the case is being heard before the Supreme Court soon.

https://www.aclusc.org/en/issues/voting-rights

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Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy and the fundamental right upon which all our civil liberties rest. The ACLU works to protect and expand Americansʼ freedom to vote.

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Social Media Regulation and awareness for younger children.

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The problem that I would like to talk about is global climate change and the effects it has on our environment and animals within it.

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Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet

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Our Trajectory

Earth Will Continue to Warm and the Effects Will Be Profound

The potential future effects of global climate change include more frequent wildfires, longer periods of drought in some regions, and an increase in the wind intensity and rainfall from tropical cyclones. Credit: left - Mike McMillan/USFS, center - Tomas Castelazo / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0, right - NASA.

Global climate change is not a future problem. Changes to Earth's climate driven by increased human emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are already having widespread effects on the environment: glaciers and ice sheets are shrinking, river and lake ice is breaking up earlier, plant and animal geographic ranges are shifting, and plants and trees are blooming sooner.

Effects that scientists had long predicted would result from global climate change are now occurring, such as sea ice loss, accelerated sea level rise, and longer, more intense heat waves.

" The magnitude and rate of climate change and associated risks depend strongly on near-term mitigation and adaptation actions, and projected adverse impacts and related losses and damages escalate with every increment of global warming."

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Some changes (such as droughts, wildfires, and extreme rainfall) are happening faster than scientists previously assessed. In fact, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - the United Nations body established to assess the science related to climate change - modern humans have never before seen the observed changes in our global climate, and some of these changes are irreversible over the next hundreds to thousands of years.

Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for many decades, mainly due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.

A Degree of Difference

So, the Earth's average temperature has increased about 2 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century. What's the big deal?

Read more

The IPCC's Sixth Assessment report, published in 2021, found that human emissions of heat-trapping gases have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since 1850-1900. The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades. These changes will affect all regions of Earth.

What's the difference between climate change and global warming?

"Global warming" refers to the long-term warming of the planet. "Climate change" encompasses global warming, but refers to the broader range of changes that are happening to our planet, including rising sea levels; shrinking mountain glaciers; accelerating ice melt in Greenland, Antarctica and the Arctic; and shifts in flower/plant blooming times.

detailed answer

The severity of effects caused by climate change will depend on the path of future human activities. More greenhouse gas emissions will lead to more climate extremes and widespread damaging effects across our planet. However, those future effects depend on the total amount of carbon dioxide we emit. So, if we can reduce emissions, we may avoid some of the worst effects.

" The scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change is a threat to human wellbeing and the health of the planet. Any further delay in concerted global action will miss the brief, rapidly closing window to secure a liveable future." ²

- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Future Effects in the U.S.

U.S. Regional Effects

U.S. Regional Effects

Climate change is bringing different types of challenges to each region of the country. Some of the current and future impacts are summarized below. These findings are from the Third and Fourth National Climate Assessment Reports, released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program.

Is it too late to prevent climate change?

Humans have caused major climate changes to happen already, and we have set in motion more changes still. However, if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, the rise in global temperatures would begin to flatten within a few years. Temperatures would then plateau but remain well-elevated for many, many centuries.

detailed answer

Northeast. Heat waves, heavy downpours, and sea level rise pose increasing challenges to many aspects of life in the Northeast. Infrastructure, agriculture, fisheries, and ecosystems will be increasingly compromised. Farmers can explore new crop options, but these adaptations are not cost- or risk-free. Moreover, adaptive capacity, which varies throughout the region, could be overwhelmed by a changing climate. Many states and cities are beginning to incorporate climate change into their planning.

Northwest. Changes in the timing of peak flows in rivers and streams are reducing water supplies and worsening competing demands for water. Sea level rise, erosion, flooding, risks to infrastructure, and increasing ocean acidity pose major threats. Increasing wildfire incidence and severity, heat waves, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases are causing widespread forest die-off.

Southeast. Sea level rise poses widespread and continuing threats to the region's economy and environment. Extreme heat will affect health, energy, agriculture, and more. Decreased water availability will have economic and environmental impacts.

Midwest. Extreme heat, heavy downpours, and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, air and water quality, and more. Climate change will also worsen a range of risks to the Great Lakes.

Southwest. Climate change has caused increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks. In turn, these changes have made wildfires more numerous and severe. The warming climate has also caused a decline in water supplies, reduced agricultural yields, and triggered heat-related health impacts in cities. In coastal areas, flooding and erosion are additional concerns.

References
References
Header image shows cracked mud stretches across sections of the Panamint Valley. Credit: NPS/Kurt Moses; A degree of concern thermometer image credit: Pixabay/geralt

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intergovernmental panel on climate change

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Vital Signs of the Planet: Global Climate Change and Global Warming. Long-term effects of global climate change in the United States.

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The problem I would like to talk about is mental health and how you could help make it easier in the classroom.

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We are in the midst of a national epidemic of depression, anxiety, and loneliness among children and teens.

Over the last decade, rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide have skyrocketed among America's youth. From 2007 to 2018, rates of suicide among those ages 10-24 increased nearly 60%, and suicide is now the second leading cause of death among those ages 15-24 in the U.S. These trends are even more pronounced for teenage girls. , 3 in 5 teen girls feel "persistently sad or hopeless," and 30% have seriously contemplated suicide.

While this youth mental health crisis has many causes, technology platforms designed to encourage unhealthy patterns of use and serve up harmful content are creating a toxic digital environment that is contributing to poorer mental health outcomes for many young people. Legislative reforms to create a healthier digital ecosystem for young people can help - and in this moment of bipartisan concern, they are in Congress' grasp.

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We are in the midst of a national epidemic of depression, anxiety, and loneliness among children and teens. Over the last decade, rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide have skyrocketed among America's youth. From 2007 to 2018, rates of suicide among those ages 10-24 increased nearly 60%, and suicide is now the second leading cause of death among those ages 15-24 in the U.S.

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The probelm I would like to talk about is "test anxiety" in high school classrooms and how to best deal with it