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Crazy teens, where are the boys, language instruction, science news

Education Roundup

If you have ever looked at a teen and said to yourself: “What was he thinking?” – you should read both the Wall Street Journal article on Jan. 28 titled, “What’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind?” and the book “Get Out Of My Life, But First Can You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?” by Anthony Wolf, PhD. The WSJ article was written by Berkeley psychology professor Alison Gopnik and she explains how children today reach puberty earlier and adulthood later. And the book will make every parent feel better about the times their teen children are withdrawn or argumentative.

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Why are our boys not entering and completing college in the same numbers our girls are? It is projected that by 2020, men will represent only 41.1 percent of college enrollees (National Center for Education Statistics). According to the U.S. Dept. of Education, females comprised 56 percent of college applicants to four-year colleges and males 44 percent, for fall 2010 admission.

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Although there is a great deal of talk about our children needing to be global citizens, foreign language offerings are relatively slim in the United States, including here in Sonoma, compared with other countries. Budget cuts and the demands of No Child Left Behind have made language education an easy target. The number of schools offering foreign-language instruction is lower every year and today, only 25 percent of all public elementary schools offer foreign-language instruction and 58 percent of all middle schools, according to a study by the research organization Westat.

At the high school level, 91 percent of all high schools offer foreign languages, but only 46 percent of students actually take them. Here in Sonoma: apart from Flowery Elementary School’s dual-immersion program, none of the elementary schools offer Spanish instruction as part of the regular school day.  Altimira Middle School offers no foreign languages.  Adele offers only Spanish instruction in its dual-immersion program and in limited enrichment blocks, but not as a regular course offering. At Sonoma Valley High School, currently 665 students, or 51 percent of the student population, take a foreign language.

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There is a great opportunity for high school students (and adults in town) to take advantage of a newly revamped and expanded slate of online courses offered through SRJC (in partnership with Ed2go, a nationally known provider of online higher education) www.ed2go.com/srjc.

All courses offered are $99 and the topics include: SAT preparation, speed reading, web design, graphic design, languages, writing, law and legal careers, and lots of courses for teaching professionals. Classes run for six weeks and consist of 12 lessons, including assignments, tutorials and online discussions. The website details each course syllabus, the instructor’s biography, requirements for the class, and reviews from students who have taken the class.

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Looking for good books to engage your teen in reading? The Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in literature written for young adults was recently awarded to “Where Things Come Back,” by John Corey Whaley.  Honorable mention went to:  “Why We Broke Up,” by Daniel Handler, “The Returning,” by Christine Hinwood and “Jasper Jones,” by Craig Silvey.

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What a lovely website: www.thanksforteaching.us is a place where people share stories about the teachers who changed their lives. I’d be shocked if you can read five stories without getting teary-eyed.

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Students (and parents and teachers) who are science buffs will not believe the array of science lectures and special events available around the Bay Area every single week. Email info@bayareascience.org to be added to their weekly newsletter that provides a comprehensive list.

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Speaking of science: The Academy of Sciences in San Francisco will be open free of charge on June 3, Sept. 16 and Dec. 9. (no more free Wednesdays). Berkeley’s Botanical Garden is free to the public the first Thursday of every month. And the Discovery Museum in Sausalito is free to the public the first Wednesday of every month.

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The Intel Science Talent Search finalists have been announced and it is amazing what these teens are working on. The four finalists from the Bay Area (out of 40 total) are: Clara Fannjiang, (Davis Senior High School) Better Images, Fewer Samples: Optimizing Array Configuration for Compressed Sensing in Radio Interferometry; Jin Pan (Henry M. Gunn High School) A Novel Protein Translation Kinetics Model Supports the Ribosomal Pause Theory; Saurabh Sharan (Bellarmine College Preparatory School) Parameter-Free Graph-Based Nuclear Segmentation in Cellular Images Using Morphological Cues; and Alissa Zhang (Saratoga High School) Molecular Fingerprinting of Glucose with Raman and SERS for Noninvasive Diabetes Monitoring. www.societyforscience.org/sts/2012/finalists. These students will compete for $630,000 in awards.

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Sonoma Ecology Center is hiring for its Spring EnviroLeader Internship program. Interns work eight hours a week from Feb. 29 to June 2, and earn a $400 stipend, while learning about restoration and organic farming.  Applications are at the Sonoma High College & Career office and are due Friday, Feb. 17.

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Congratulations to Sonoma Valley High School senior Selena Caruso, who was chosen for the Good Citizenship Award by the Vineyard Trails Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. This award goes to a senior who possesses good citizenship qualities of dependability, service, leadership and patriotism in their homes, schools, and communities. Each award is given on a merit basis including completion of a questionnaire, essay, scholastic record, and a letter of recommendation.

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The Sonoma County Regional Spelling Bee takes place in March and Olivia Boles and Gariella Girish won their school competition to represent St. Francis Solano School and Layla McDermott and Justine Broadman won the Presentation School’s competition to represent their school in the grades 4, 5, and 6 category. Good luck girls!

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Sonoma Charter School is hosting its 16th annual Spaghetti Feed & Talent Show Fun’draiser on Saturday, Feb. 11. Tickets are on sale now at the school and I gather they “always sell-out.” The school is raffling off a football to the winner, personally signed by Joe Montana, NFL Hall of Famer and former San Francisco 49er. The signed football will be presented to the winner by Joe Montana Sr. You need not be present to win.

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The Presentation School is hosting a lunch and tour for prospective parents on Thursday, Feb. 16 from noon to 1:30 p.m. Parents interested in learning more about the school, grades K-8, should RSVP by Tuesday, Feb. 14 to Beth Fox at bfox@presentationschool.com.

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Congrats to Sonoma teens Nanette Salomon, Able Romer and Marielle Bossio, along with Glen Ellen’s Grace Wellington, Lucia Tropeano and Hayley Westcott, who are among the cast at Summerfield Waldorf High School’s production of “The Mikado” on Feb. 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 and 19. Call 575-7194 for information or tickets.

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Republic of Thrift, at 17496 Hwy 12, had their Grand Opening last weekend. Republic of Thrift is donating 100 percent of net profits to our Valley public schools.  They continue to accept donations of gently used clothing, shoes, household items, toys, furniture, etc.

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Just a few tickets are left for the Boys & Girls Clubs Sweetheart Gala on Saturday, Feb. 11. This year’s theme is the Golden Age of Hollywood, and they are celebrating the Club’s 50th Anniversary.