# data[].attributes.body
Meet the parents who won’t let their children study literature:
When I assigned an 800-page biography of Andrew Carnegie for a new undergraduate course on wealth and poverty at George Mason University a few years ago, I wasn’t sure the students would actually read it. Not only did most of them make it to the end, however, but many thanked me for giving them the chance to read a popular work of history. Curious, I inquired how many were history majors. Of the 24 honors students in the seminar, there were none. English? Philosophy? Fine arts? Only one. How was this possible? I asked. Almost in unison, half a dozen replied: “Our parents wouldn’t let us.”
The results were similar when I surveyed freshmen in another honors seminar this spring. This time, I asked how many would have been humanities majors if the only criteria were what they were interested in and what they were good at. Ten of the 24 raised their hands.
I was aware, of course, of the drift toward pre-professionalism on college campuses, of widespread concern over student debt, of stories about college-educated baristas living in basements, of governors threatening to cut off state funding for French literature and anthropology. Even so, I found it shocking that some of the brightest students in Virginia had been misled — by parents, the media, politicians and, alas, each other — into thinking that choosing English or history as a major would doom them to lives as impecunious schoolteachers.
And it’s not just at state schools like Mason. Harvard University professor Jill Lepore recalled hosting an information session at her home for undergraduates interested in a program she directs on history and literature. One student who attended, Lepore told the New York Times, kept getting text messages from her parents ordering her to leave the meeting immediately.
I have heard from many different colleges that there is now a considerable — and disturbing — amount of parental pressure against the liberal arts,” reports Debra Humphreys, a senior vice president at the Association of American Colleges and Universities. One reason for the “explosion” of double majors — as high as 40 percent of students at some elite schools — is that students want one major to satisfy Mom and Dad and another to satisfy their own interests, she says.
Parents are becoming more deeply engaged in nearly every aspect of their children’s lives, and it’s carrying over even to their choice of major. “A lot of our students feel parental pressure to go into business, economics, medicine,” says Christy Buchanan, who heads the office of academic advising at North Carolina’s Wake Forest University, a traditional liberal arts college that recently announced new programs in biomedical sciences and engineering. Buchanan, a psychology professor who studies the role of families in adolescent development, says this is what “helicopter parenting” has come to.
Matthew Boyce, George Mason’s director of undergraduate admissions, reports that parents are more interested than ever in the direct path between a degree program and a first job, and the eventual salary associated with that degree. “To many of them, that pathway from liberal arts seems a little more muddled,” he said. Adds Saskia Clay-Rooks, Mason’s acting director of career services: “What parents are thinking about is return on investment.”
I certainly got that sense when I buttonholed students and parents at an information session this spring for high school seniors who had been accepted to Mason. “To spend $80,000 on a history degree, I’d need to see a way forward” to a career, said Kyle Tucker of Fredericksburg, Va., as he stood with his son in the long line in front of the engineering school’s booth. (The boy was torn between cybersecurity and accounting.) Bradley Gray of Richmond told me that he enjoys history, but “it’s hard to get a job with a history degree — that’s what I hear, anyway. The only opportunities are in teaching or working in a museum.” Bradley is aiming for something in STEM — science, technology, engineering or math.
“We’re on the defensive,” acknowledges Robert Matz, a Shakespearean scholar who, as an associate dean in Mason’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, is leading an effort to promote the value of liberal arts degrees. The English department’swebsite, for example, now has a prominent section, “What Can I Do With a Degree in English?,” that listsfamous actors, musicians, judges, politicians and corporate executives who were English majors.
Matthew Boyce, George Mason’s director of undergraduate admissions, reports that parents are more interested than ever in the direct path between a degree program and a first job, and the eventual salary associated with that degree. “To many of them, that pathway from liberal arts seems a little more muddled,” he said. Adds Saskia Clay-Rooks, Mason’s acting director of career services: “What parents are thinking about is return on investment.”
I certainly got that sense when I buttonholed students and parents at an information session this spring for high school seniors who had been accepted to Mason. “To spend $80,000 on a history degree, I’d need to see a way forward” to a career, said Kyle Tucker of Fredericksburg, Va., as he stood with his son in the long line in front of the engineering school’s booth. (The boy was torn between cybersecurity and accounting.) Bradley Gray of Richmond told me that he enjoys history, but “it’s hard to get a job with a history degree — that’s what I hear, anyway. The only opportunities are in teaching or working in a museum.” Bradley is aiming for something in STEM — science, technology, engineering or math.
“We’re on the defensive,” acknowledges Robert Matz, a Shakespearean scholar who, as an associate dean in Mason’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences, is leading an effort to promote the value of liberal arts degrees. The English department’swebsite, for example, now has a prominent section, “What Can I Do With a Degree in English?,” that listsfamous actors, musicians, judges, politicians and corporate executives who were English majors.
Over the past 30 years, the shift in college majors hasn’t been as dramatic as many assume. As the total number of students has doubled, the humanities have suffered modest losses in market share, while natural and social sciences have been the big winners. But more recently, in the wake of the Great Recession, the number of degrees in the core humanities disciplines — English, history, philosophy — has fallen sharply . In the mid-1960s, they represented as much as 17 percent of degrees conferred; now that figure is just over 6 percent.
So here’s what I’d say to parents who, despite all the evidence, still believe that liberal arts majors waste four years contemplating the meaning of life: At least those passionate kids won’t make the mistake of confusing the meaning of life with maximizing lifetime income.

GIORGIO.

# data[].attributes.body
Homework battle pits parents against teachers at School Board meeting
By Kyra Gurney

Parents and teachers butted heads over homework policy at the Miami-Dade School Board meeting on Wednesday, with parents arguing that many teachers assign far beyond the recommended amount, leaving children little time to spend with their families.

In a debate that lasted for over an hour and a half, parents called on the School Board to increase awareness of the district’s policy — which recommends a scale ranging from 30 minutes of homework for kindergarteners and first-graders up to two hours for high school students — and improve compliance through teacher training. Some parents also asked the board to get rid of mandatory homework altogether in favor of optional, personalized assignments.

“There is not a minute of time for free play or exercise,” said Laurenne Moreland, a school counselor and one of nine Miami-Dade parents who spoke at the meeting.

Other parents shared stories of their children spending four or five hours a night on homework in elementary school and gave examples of assignments they considered to be busy work.

Teachers bristled at the suggestion that the School Board try to dictate the amount of homework they assign to their students, arguing that the real enemy is standardized testing, which takes up a large chunk of classroom time.

“As you know this is an era of high-stakes testing and much of the time is lost in the classroom in preparation for those tests, so as a result homework is necessary,” said Vincent Davis, a United Teachers of Dade executive board member.

IT’S A CONVERSATION THAT NEEDS TO BE HAD AT THE SCHOOLS AND THAT NEEDS TO BE HAD WITH THE TEACHERS.School Board member Susie Castillo

Miami-Dade Schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho acknowledged that striking the right balance with homework is a difficult and ongoing issue in education.

“Our best shot is greater awareness, greater sensitivity, additional training on the efficacy, efficiency, benefit, but also consequences of homework,” he said.

Carvalho also noted that teachers are not always aware of how much homework their students are getting in other classes and said the district was exploring the possibility of using a “learning management system” that would allow teachers to view the assignments their colleagues give out.

The board item, which called for the superintendent to consult with parents, teachers and administrators and develop a plan for a homework awareness campaign, passed unanimously. Carvalho will present a report to the board at its February meeting with recommendations on how to increase awareness and compliance.

“We need to hear parents and do something about it,” said School Board member Susie Castillo, who proposed the item. “It’s a conversation that needs to be had at the schools and that needs to be had with the teachers.”

The debate was the latest installment in an ongoing conversation about homework at both the local and national levels. One Miami-Dade public school, Henry S. West Laboratory School in Coral Gables, made headlines earlier this year when it did away with mandatory homework altogether.

CHIARA

# data[].attributes.body
Fast food and childhood obesity
Kids' meals at fast-food restaurants have gotten an overhaul. Burger King late last month dropped soft drinks from its meals. That move came after similar ones by McDonald's and Wendy's. But will these changes really make a difference? Data on childhood obesity suggest that any change eliminating calories from kids' meals would be for the better. Obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other alarming CDC statistics:
The percentage of obese children ages 12 to 19 increased from 5% to 21% between 1980 and 2012.
In 2012, more than a third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese. This rise in childhood obesity seems to go hand-in-hand with the growth of the fast-food industry. By 1983, for example, there were 6,000 McDonald's chains across the country. But in the 20 years following that, the growth of the restaurant chain exploded with about 360 restaurants opening across the country each year, according to a Bloomberg Business report.The majority of parents are OK with limitations on the sale of unhealthy food to their children. Just over two-thirds of adults nationwide (67%) support federal restrictions on food served in school meals, according to a 2013 Gallup Poll. That percentage jumps to three-quarters when parents of public school children answered the same question. And that support doesn't just apply to food sold at school. The majority of Americans (57%) also support such restrictions on items sold to children at snack bars, or small restaurants where snacks and light meals are served. (See the graphics below for more details. To see the graphics on mobile, visit the full site.) Below, comments from readers on recent changes at fast-food restaurants, and the national conversation on childhood obesity in graphics. Make your voice heard in our informal polls and surveys.
Effectiveness of restrictions
Despite overwhelming support of federal measures to limit kids' caloric intake, nearly 40% of adults say that such restrictions would either not be too effective or not be effective at all.

DEBORA.

# data[].attributes.body
Suit:
Teacher sexually assaulted student at school for disabled
A former student says she was sexually assaulted by a teacher last year at a special needs high school in West Englewood.
The alleged abuse happened in November 2015 on the grounds of Southside Occupational Academy
The school describes itself as a “transition center for students aged 16-22 years with disabilities.” The alleged victim’s age is not specified in the suit.
“CPS notified both CPD and DCFS about these allegations, and conducted its own investigation that determined these allegations [were] unfounded,” CPS spokeswoman Emily Bittner said in an email.
No criminal charges have been filed against the teacher named as a defendant, according to police and court records.
The suit claims the teacher assaulted her “verbally, physically and sexually,” and that other school workers knew about his “predatory conduct towards students” following other complaints that he “commonly engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct” at the school.
She is seeking more than $300,000 in damages.

GIULIA.