Human Interest

This weekend, most Americans will lose an hour of sleep last night as daylight saving time takes effect. Why do we fall back one hour in the autumn, and spring ahead one hour in the spring?

Maurice Sendak, author of “Where the Wild Things Are,” is considered a visionary and even an activist for children. He sees himself quite differently, however.

Around report card time many parents hear a familiar complaint: “My teacher just doesn’t like me.” Researchers at the University of Miami acknowledge there may be truth to these grumblings, and that “non-cognitive traits” influence students’ grades.

Most Americans lost an hour of sleep last night as daylight saving time took effect. Why do we “fall” back one hour in the autumn, and “spring” ahead one hour in the spring?

Getting paid to lose weight? It’s a reality for one woman. But how can the rest of us get motivated to stick with our New Year’s resolutions?

Two female albino kookaburras have been found in northern Australia, in the wake of last year’s pink elephant and pink dolphin.

FindingEducation met up with Elizabeth Devine at the annual National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) conference in Atlanta, Ga., in November 2009. At the conference, Devine was named as one of the NCSS Outstanding Secondary Social Studies Teachers of the Year for 2009-2010. She also hosted a panel focused on helping teachers integrate the study of human rights into their curriculum.

On Sunday, March 14, 2009, most of the United States set their clocks ahead one hour. Likewise, on Sunday, Nov. 7, most households will set their clocks back one hour. Why?

At the National Council for the Social Studies conference in November 2009, the Carter G. Woodson Book Awards honored Dr. Robert H. Mayer for his book, “When the Children Marched: The Birmingham Civil Rights Movement.” Mayer was recognized for “accurately and sensitively” portraying an issue related to ethnic minorities.

This week findingEducation caught up with Blake Harrison, a.k.a. Emcee Escher, rapper, educator and creative director of Flocabulary, to hear how he and Alex Rappaport, co-founder and executive producer, are bringing their energy and passion for hip-hop to the classroom.

Josie Carbone, the founding principal of Girls Prep Bronx, an all-girls charter school for pre-K through first-grade students in the Bronx, New York, got involved in teaching while volunteering to teach Spanish at a local elementary school during high school. After graduating from college in 1997, she worked with Teach For America in New York. Carbone taught for six more years before becoming involved with the New York charter school movement in 2003.

In Topeka, Kan., the library is the second favorite place for teens to hang out. “We’re sort of kicked out at the mall,” they tell David Lee King, the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library’s digital branch and services manager. As a result, the building, particularly the new media area and gaming room, are a little noisier than your average library. But King, a former DJ and assistant recording engineer, and now an author, blogger and librarian thought leader, takes pride in all the bustle. “Not too many people can say, ‘Yeah, teenagers think that the library’s cool.’”

For many people, Sunday afternoons are a mix of cloudy yearning for the day before and dread of the week to come.

This week findingEducation sat down with Patrick Sweeney, a fifth-grade teacher at Boones Ferry Primary School in the West Linn-Wilsonville School District of Oregon. Sweeney teaches all subjects in his mixed-level, self-contained classroom. How does he keep 27 students with different ability levels engaged and excited about learning while covering the necessary curriculum?

The story of Terry Fox, a young Canadian amputee who attempted to run across Canada for cancer research in 1980, will be told in “Into the Wind,” the latest installment of ESPN’s highly praised “30 for 30” documentary series.

Earlier this year findingEducation spoke with Joyce Valenza, an information specialist and author who manages the Springfield Township High School Library in Erdenheim, Pa. Valenza is also a blogger for School Library Journal, a former tech columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer and a lecturer on education issues and technology.

A 3-year-old boy survived alone for two days in the Missouri wilderness. Experts say some people have what it takes to survive in such harsh conditions, and some people do not.

Calvin Borel, who began riding racehorses at age 8 and dropped out of eighth grade to become a jockey, today won the Kentucky Derby for the third time in four years.

Rachel Scott was the first person killed during the Columbine shooting on April 20, 1999. Her memory continues to inspire students nationwide to see the best in others.

History is full of women who never got fair credit for their brilliant ideas, heroic deeds or extraordinary work, often due to prejudice, discrimination or the social mores of their time. As Women’s History Month begins, take a look at six unsung women who deserve to be more widely celebrated and praised.

Torrey Maldonado is an author, a sixth-grade social studies teacher at Middle School 88 in Brooklyn, N.Y., and a trained specialist in conflict resolution. Maldonado, who describes himself as a Black Puerto Rican, says he was inspired to become a teacher by his mother, who gave him homework she created herself, and by a few good teachers in Red Hook. Maldonado's first book, “Secret Saturdays,” will publish in April 2010. Learn more about “Secret Saturdays” at TorreyMaldonado.com.

While studying international development in Kenya as part of his final semester at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Alex Grossi was inspired to find ways to improve the educational opportunities for students there. After returning to the U.S. and graduating from college, he and a few friends created the Kenya School Libraries Program.

As the founder of the Global Coalition Project, Bill Reilly has united classrooms around the globe through his vision to promote peace and global understanding. A social studies teacher at Bethlehem Central Middle School in Delmar, N.Y., for the last 16 years, Reilly was named one of Disney’s Educators of the Year in 2006 for his exceptional ability to teach “real world” lessons. Two years prior, he was chosen by the American Councils for International Education to represent the United States in a Eurasian/American teacher exchange in Azerbaijan.

Shakespeare wrote parts of a play formerly credited solely to playwright John Fletcher, shedding light on the Bard’s collaborations and how researchers determine the authenticity of literature.

Nicknamed the “human iPod,” pianist Derek Paravicini is wowing audiences with his extraordinary repertoire of thousands of songs he can play entirely by memory.

A sarcophagus in an English parish church built by the writer Fulke Greville, a Shakespeare contemporary, could contain clues about several works traditionally attributed to Shakespeare.

The new MTV series debuts tonight, signifying a new direction for the network and an example of Gen Y’s socially conscious leanings.

Experts wonder whether popular culture’s emphasis on physical appearance, wealth and status is to blame for the increase in mental health issues.

Harlem Children’s Zone aims to put children—and entire communities—on a path to academic and economic success.

The story of Denis Avey, 91, a British soldier during WWII, shows that small acts of bravery can save a life, and calls to mind other unsung heroes of the Holocaust.