Back to School

No search engine is perfect, but armed with a few tips for better searching you can get great results out of (almost) any search engine.

The end of summer is a study in trade-offs: book time replaces pool time; loungewear is swapped for school-wear; and strict schedules oust free time in a blatant reminder that the summer’s over. Start off on the right foot with the following resources for organizing, communicating and planning, during your child’s return to the classroom.

For kids who might get bored over summer vacation, volunteering might be just the thing. A study by the Corporation for National and Community Service found that in 2004, 15.5 million kids between the ages of 12 and 18 volunteered more than 1.3 billion hours. If you’re a busy parent or teacher, or a student looking for ways to get involved, try the resources we’ve found, which include kid-specific volunteer opportunities and tips for getting kids motivated.

In its ongoing struggle to balance giving users unrestricted editing privileges with its desire to be a credible source of information, Wikipedia is testing out color-coding questionable encyclopedia content.

Despite recommendations last year that doctors give children as young as 8 cholesterol-lowering drugs, experts now say most teens don’t need them.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned that a flu strain spreading through the United States is resistant to the drug Tamiflu.

To protect the federal funding they receive from the National School Lunch Program, some Georgia schools will stop selling junk food to kids.

Classes are canceled, students are shaken, and perpetrators remain at large, following a school shooting at the University of Central Arkansas Sunday night.

More professionals from the financial sector are leaving behind familiar territory and working to inspire kids in the classroom.

Leading educators wonder what the presidential candidates will bring to the table for No Child Left Behind.

In an effort to get kids eating fresher, healthier foods, some schools in Wales have stopped offering ketchup with lunch.

A new study has found that poverty and a lack of parental education prevent some children from living past their first birthdays.

Even after reports of negative health effects, a quarter of girls aged 13–17 have received Merck’s HPV vaccine, due in large part to its marketing campaign.

Some schools in Minnesota are attempting to curb misbehavior and improve nutrition by putting an end to the tradition of kids bringing birthday treats to class.

The FDA is hesitant to institute a ban on cold medication for young children. Yet some pediatricians say that cold medications for young children do more harm than good.

Colleges and universities are participating in a project that could place them at the vanguard of the higher education accountability movement.

School districts around the country are learning how to cope with more homeless students in their classrooms.

For some students, the 2008 school year is nearly a month old. For parents, this means parent-teacher conferences are right around the corner. Here are some tips for having a productive discussion with your child’s teacher, when it comes time to discuss your child’s progress.

Campus alert systems have become common in the wake of tragedies such as the Virginia Tech massacre, but one researcher criticizes them as ineffective.

The story of a block party that spiraled out of control through Facebook underscores the impact that social networking sites can have.

Project-based learning is being used to prepare students to tackle the issues of the 21st century by challenging them with real-world problems.

After spending 2,100 hours in school per year, elementary school kids often confess that they don’t always find a classroom setting to be an ideal place for learning. A different learning environment, such as after school or at home might be able to offset the stress kids experience in the classroom. There are many ways to keep kids encouraged by awaking their innate desire for learning. Help kids to break out of the classroom box, and stimulate their imagination, curiosity, and learning styles.

A new form of “super lice” affecting school children has adults looking for answers on how to get rid of them.

Parentline Plus, a parental charity in Britain, has just launched an online dictionary of teen slang to help parents better communicate with their kids.

Comedian Russell Brand made fun of the Jonas Brothers’ vow of abstinence until marriage, fueling the currently popular topic of teen sex and pregnancy.

Rising food prices have forced school cafeterias to tighten their belts and cut back on what they feed kids who have overdue lunch bills.

The return of students to the classroom raises the question of whether homework is an effective educational tool, or an unnecessary stressor and burden on students.

Social networking sites have “rocketed from a niche activity into a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of internet users,” according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project. But how are such sites changing our social habits, and is the change for better or for worse?

The “Parent Academy,” a parental education program first implemented by Florida’s Miami-Dade County School District in 2005, has inspired similar courses elsewhere in America.

Outdoor play-based learning takes going green to another level, making environmentalism accessible to toddlers, while giving their brains a break.