A Cato Institute study shows home-schooled students have better social skills than their public and private school counterparts. According to new research by the Vancouver, Canada-based Fraser Institute, the typical homeschooled student is friendlier, happier, more mature and competent than his peers. These findings refute the education establish-ment's stereotype of homeschoolers as socially deprived and maladjusted. The Institute's research, which focused on homeschooled students in North America, also reinforces the many previous studies showing that homeschoolers regularly outperform their peers academically.
Teens lack knowledge of American history, survey shows. Commissioned by the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, the survey asked 4th-grade-level questions of 1,000 teenagers aged 13-17. Nearly two of 10 students didn't know there were 13 original colonies or that the Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. One in 10 didn't know that George Washington was the first President of the United States, and nearly 1/4th didn't know who fought in the Civil War. Nearly a third couldn't name the author of the Star-Spangled Banner.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued its first guidelines for treating ADHD. Calling ADHD the most common "neurobehavioral disorder" in children, the guidelines recognize stimulant drugs as the most effective treatment, but also recommend behavioral treatment and disciplinary measures, such as time-outs for impulsive actions. Nearly four million children - mostly boys - have been diagnosed with ADHD.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a non-binding resolution (404-0) in October urging public schools to display the popular expression "God Bless America." The Rutherford Institute had called on national leaders to support such a resolution, and many other organizations had expressed a similar desire for freedom of religious expression.