# data[].attributes.body
are their to many distractions in the class room

# data[].attributes.body
1. Should there be a legal curfew for minors?

# data[].attributes.headline
How seriously should we take standardized tests?

# data[].attributes.subject
How seriously should we take standardized tests?

# data[].attributes.body
1. Do prisoners deserve the right to vote?

# data[].attributes.headline
should parents let their kids play football

# data[].attributes.subject
should parents let their kids play football

# data[].attributes.body
1. Should cigarettes and other tobacco products be outlawed?

# data[].attributes.headline
How much time should people spend on their cell phones a day?

# data[].attributes.subject
How much time should people spend on their cell phones a day?

# data[].attributes.headline
should video games be considered a sport

# data[].attributes.subject
should video games be considered a sport

# data[].attributes.headline
Do class sizes affect success of student

# data[].attributes.subject
Do class sizes affect success of student

# data[].attributes.headline
Do printed books or ebooks help students learn better?

# data[].attributes.subject
Do printed books or ebooks help students learn better?

# data[].attributes.body
is it the pit bull or the owner

# data[].attributes.headline
Should students be allowed to have cell phones at lunch

# data[].attributes.subject
Should students be allowed to have cell phones at lunch

# data[].attributes.body
1. Should Video Games Be Considered a Sport?

# data[].attributes.headline
Can cell phones be used as education tools

# data[].attributes.subject
Can cell phones be used as education tools

# data[].attributes.headline
What is the right age to get a cell phone?

# data[].attributes.subject
What is the right age to get a cell phone?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Heroes. Role models. Inspirations. These are just some of the ways sports fans think about their favorite players.

But is there a downside to admiration? Do we expect professional athletes to perform to higher standards even when they're not competing?

In " Thrill Is Gone; So Is Donovan," Billy Witz writes about soccer star Landon Donovan in the final days before his retirement, describing his willingness to show his vulnerability as something that made him "appear more human, which is not always a desired quality in star athletes":

CARSON, Calif. - For someone who can make playing soccer look so easy, Landon Donovan has never been shy about conveying how hard the sport can be for him. He has made no secret that the responsibility and the trappings that came with being the standard-bearer of American soccer for more than a decade had long ago become a burden, and that in recent years he had begun to view his talent not so much as a gift, but as an obligation.

"No question," said Donovan, who announced in August that he intended to retire from the sport.

Donovan, 32, has sought counseling, struggled with depression, watched his celebrity marriage disintegrate, reconnected with his father and even taken a four-month break from soccer in 2012-13 - laying out his vulnerabilities for all to see. If other widely recognized athletes build fences around themselves and their thoughts, Donovan, more often than not, has laid out a welcome mat to his mind.

That self-awareness, and his willingness to express it, have made him appear more human, which is not always a desired quality in star athletes.

"The way we see athletes - coaches see us this way, fans see us this way, the media sees us this way, owners see us this way - they want us to live, breathe, eat and die the sport," Donovan said. "Every game they want you to go out and do everything you can to make the fans feel good, make the coach feel successful, make the owners successful."

"I think some athletes are wired that way," he continued, citing the basketball stars Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

But clearly he is not, and so he is walking away.

Students: Read the entire article, then tell us ...

- Where do you think professional athletes should draw the line between protecting their privacy and sharing their lives with the public? Why?

- Do you see the line between privacy and sharing with fans as something different for athletes than for celebrities such as pop stars or actors? Explain.

- Is there an athlete you admire more than others? If so, do you consider him or her a role model and/or an ambassador for the sport? Why or why not?

- Have you ever been disappointed by that athlete, on the field or off? Explain.

- Describe what you see as a healthy balance between admiring a sports figure, or anyone who is in the public eye because of his or her talent, and idealizing that person too much.

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Do Fans Put Too Much Pressure on Their Favorite Professional Athletes?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Heroes. Role models. Inspirations. These are just some of the ways sports fans think about their favorite players. But is there a downside to admiration? Do we expect professional athletes to perform to higher standards even when they're not competing?

# data[].attributes.headline
should schools put tracking devices on student ID cards

# data[].attributes.subject
should schools put tracking devices on student ID cards

# data[].attributes.body
1. Do Violent Video Games Make People More Violent in Real Life?

# data[].attributes.headline
Do violent games and television show make kids violent

# data[].attributes.subject
Do violent games and television show make kids violent

# data[].attributes.headline
Do class sizes affect the success of students

# data[].attributes.subject
Do class sizes affect the success of students

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last week after the International Cycling Union decided that he was a ringleader of a doping program on his winning cycling team. Armstrong became a heroic figure for many, not just because of his cycling feats, but also because he is a cancer survivor and the founder of the highly respected Livestrong cancer foundation.
Should athletes who dope have to forfeit their titles and medals? What is your reaction to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France wins?

In "Lance Armstrong Is Stripped of His 7 Tour de France Titles," Juliet Macur writes about the scandal and what it means for both Mr. Armstrong and the world of professional cycling:

The International Cycling Union announced Monday that it would not appeal the United States Anti-Doping Agency's ruling to bar Lance Armstrong for life from Olympic sports for doping and for playing an instrumental role in the team-organized doping on his Tour de France-winning cycling squads.

That decision to waive the right to take Armstrong's case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, the highest court in sports, formally stripped Armstrong of the seven Tour titles he won from 1999 to 2005.

"Lance Armstrong has no place in cycling; he deserves to be forgotten in cycling," Pat McQuaid, the president of the cycling union, known as U.C.I., said in a news conference in Switzerland. "Something like this must never happen again."

McQuaid said he was "sickened" by the facts in the 202-page report the antidoping agency made public two weeks ago regarding the evidence it had in the Armstrong case, and called it mind-boggling how former teammates like the five-time national time-trial champion David Zabriskie were pushed to use performance-enhancing drugs.

McQuaid said that Armstrong's teams had a "win at all costs" attitude fueled by "deceit, intimidation, coercion and evasion," and that all of the evidence was there to prove that Armstrong doped. He added that he was sorry the cycling union had not caught Armstrong and his teammates "red handed" so he could have thrown them out of the sport.

Armstrong, who has vehemently denied ever doping, declined to comment Monday. But in the past, he said that he, his teammates and those riders who competed against him would always know he won those seven Tours. By early Tuesday, his biography on his Twitter page had been changed to no longer say he is the seven-time Tour de France winner.

Students: Should athletes who dope have to forfeit their titles and medals? What is your reaction to Armstrong being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles?

Should Armstrong be "forgotten in cycling," as the president of the International Cycling Union suggested, or do his "victories" still count for something?

Armstrong has become a mythical figure for some, an American hero, because of his battle against cancer and the success of his foundation, Livestrong. Should the doping scandal take away from his accomplishments as a leader in the fight against cancer?

Doping was extremely commonplace among many Tour de France teams during the years Armstrong's team won the Tour de France. Should that fact affect the way Armstrong's alleged doping is viewed, or should it not matter?

Armstrong still denies all of the doping allegations. What does his denial mean to you?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Should Athletes Who Dope Have to Forfeit Their Titles and Medals?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Lance Armstrong was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles last week after the International Cycling Union decided that he was a ringleader of a doping program on his winning cycling team. Armstrong became a heroic figure for many, not just because of his cycling feats, but also because he is a cancer survivor and the founder of the highly respected Livestrong cancer foundation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do you know children or preteenagers who are on sports teams so competitive that they spend several days a week nearly every week of the year playing? Whose families have organized their whole lives around getting these students to and from games and practices?
Do you think youth sports has gotten too intense, or do you feel that this level of play is right for some children? What are the benefits and drawbacks of focusing so deeply on one sport at an early age?

In "The Crazy, Intense Schedule of Competitive Youth Soccer? Bring It On," Lisa Catherine Harper argues that being on a highly competitive soccer team has been good for her daughter:

...our daughter is 11, her sport is soccer, and that she has been playing competitively since age 7. If I revealed anything more - her position, her team or club, what she does with her downtime, or anything specific about her play - she would kill me...

Some friends wonder: Why do we spend thousands of dollars a year on team fees? Why do we shuttle her to the field three to five days a week, 50 weeks a year? Why do we organize weekends around game schedules? And why are we allowing her younger brother to follow in her footsteps?

We live out the arguments against: early focus on one sport, diminished traditional family time, financial cost, lost weekends, less after-school time, fund-raising and volunteer duties, car pools and periodic exhaustion.

Still, the benefits outweigh the costs. There are the platitudes about "teamwork" and "lessons about winning and losing," and then there are the real rewards of team sports, which have become visible to me only over many seasons.

The first thing to know: no young athlete succeeds unless he or she wants to. Few survive - and fewer thrive - simply because of parental will. It's too hard. There's no off-season. Our daughter spends 4 to 10 hours a week on the field, depending on games. Home fields are close, but away games can involve an hour of travel each way. On tournament weekends there's nothing else.

But this requirement to lean in is central to why we let her play. It's always good to work hard and learn a skill well. Sustained, intense, focused training teaches her that hard work pays off. Every season she is stronger, faster, more skilled - and she knows it. It's no secret that this kind of physical confidence in what her body can do is especially valuable for a girl. As is the relationship with her father that's a result of her sport, which he also played.

Students: Tell us ...

Have you, or has anyone you know, played youth sports at the level described here? If so, what was the experience like?

Would you want your own child to be on a highly competitive sports team as an 11-year-old? Why or why not?

Do you think playing sports teaches valuable life lessons and skills? If so, what?

The author of this post writes that her message to her daughter is, "Work as hard as you can at whatever you love. Find people who are better than you, learn from them." But many of the commenters on the post seem to feel that pushing a child to spend so much time on one sport or interest too early is dangerous. What do you think?

Students 13 and older are invited to comment below. Please use only your first name. For privacy policy reasons, we will not publish student comments that include a last name.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Do you think youth sports has gotten too intense, or do you feel that the level of play described in this article is right for some children? What are the benefits and drawbacks of focusing so deeply on one sport at an early age?

# data[].attributes.headline
should reading and math be taught in gym class too\

# data[].attributes.subject
should reading and math be taught in gym class too\

# data[].attributes.body
Yep. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

# data[].attributes.headline
How Young is too young to have an i phone 

# data[].attributes.subject
How Young is too young to have an i phone 

# data[].attributes.body
Are people becoming addicted to the internet?

# data[].attributes.headline
Should Middle School Students have a bed time

# data[].attributes.subject
Should Middle School Students have a bed time

# data[].attributes.body
1. Are the Web Filters at Your School Too Restrictive?

# data[].attributes.headline
should middle school students be drug tested

# data[].attributes.subject
should middle school students be drug tested

# data[].attributes.body
1. Do Your Teachers Use Technology Well?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Is It Offensive for Sports Teams to Use Native American Names and Mascots?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Native American names and symbols have long been popular for all types of American sports teams at the professional, college and high school levels. Think of the Cleveland Indians, Atlanta Braves and Washington Redskins. Is it offensive for sports teams to use Native American names and mascots?

# data[].attributes.headline
Are the web filters at your school to restrictive?

# data[].attributes.subject
Are the web filters at your school to restrictive?

# data[].attributes.body
Yes ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

# data[].attributes.body
School lunch

# data[].attributes.body
Should school uniforms be required?