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"Performance Enhancing Drugs in Schools: How Big is the Threat to Kids? By Jeff Roberts on August 9, 2013 2 Comments Lance Armstrong. Ryan Braun. A-Rod. Marion Jones. Tim Montgomery. Tyson Gay. Bill Romanowski. Rafael Palmeiro. And so on … and so on. We've all heard the names. We're all familiar with the historic heights each of them achieved in their respective sports. And we have all witnessed their tragic, self-induced falls from grace.  Their respective careers are ruined. Their legacies disgraced. And, perhaps most tragically, all of the youngsters they once inspired are left confused and heartbroken. The worst part? The high-profile names mentioned here are a tiny fraction of the incredibly long list of professional and amateur athletes who have tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs). Over the past decade, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency has sanctioned cyclists and soccer players, water poloists and weightlifters, rowers, wrestlers, boxers and archers. And that's just a small sample of the offenders.   But when officials in Texas revealed last July that nine high school athletes tested positive for steroid use - and that just recently, scandal-ridden Biogenesis of America provided PEDs to high school athletes in Miami - the conversation became slightly more sickening. We were immediately filled with questions: What is the prevalence of PEDs in high schools? What types of PEDs are being used among high school athletes? What can be done to combat this trend? Let's answer these questions one by one. The prevalence of PEDs in high schools Roughly 3.2 percent of American high school kids - boys and girls - took steroid pills or shots without a doctor's permission at least once in their lives, according to the U.S. Department of Health's Youth Risk Behavior Survey published in June 2012. Bear in mind that the data collected reflects the 2011 school year and four U.S. states did not share data. Still, powerful co

It wasn't that long ago, that the average child did not attended any form of public schooling. Usually they were needed to work at home or in the family business. Those that did attend school either went to a one room school house in their community, or were taught at home. There's an astonishing list of successful adults that never attended what we now call "public school".

"It was Monday again. It was Monday and the day was damp and cold. Rain splattered the cover of Algebra I as Laura heaved her books higher on her arm and sighed. School was such a bore. School. It loomed before her now, massive and dark against the sky. In a few minutes, she would have to face them again---Diane Goddard with her sleek blond hair and Terri Pierce in her candy-pink sweater. And Carol and Steve and Bill and Nancy... There were so many of them, so exclusive as they stood in their tight little groups laughing and joking. Why were they so cold and unkind? Was it because her long stringy hair hung in her eyes instead of dipping in graceful curls? Was it because she wrote poetry in algebra class and got A's in Latin without really trying? Shivering, Laura remembered how they would sit at the back of English class, passing notes and whispering. She thought of their identical brown loafers, their plastic purses, their hostile stares as they passed her in the corridors. She didn't care. They were clods, the whole lot of them. She shoved her way through the door and there they were. They thronged the hall,streamed in and out of doors, clustered under red and yellow posters advertising the latest dance. Mohair sweaters, madras shirts, pea-green raincoats. They were all alike, all the same. And in the center of the group, as usual, Diane Goddard was saying, "It'll be a riot! I just can't wait to see her face when she finds out." Laura flushed painfully. Were they talking about her? "What a scream! Can't wait to hear what she says!" Silently she hurried past and submerged herself in the stream of students heading for the lockers. It was then that she saw Rachel Horton---alone as always, her too-long skirt billowing over the white, heavy columns of her legs, her freckled face ringed withover the white, heavy columns of her legs, her freckled face ringed with shapeless black curls. She called herself Horton, but everyone knew her father was Jacob Hortensky, the

Interactive Writer's Models Analyze the elements of good writing with these interactive writer's models. Each model includes annotations and tips to help you be a good writer yourself. Middle School Grade 6 Grade 8 * Comparison-Contrast Essay * Descriptive Essay * How-to Explanation * Informative Report * Literary Comparison-Contrast Essay * Personal Narrative * Problem-Solution Essay * Short Story * Supporting a Position Grade 7 * Business Letter * Comparison-Contrast Essay * Complex Process Essay with Word Processing Features * Descriptive Essay * Informative Report * Literary Comparison-Contrast Essay * Personal Narrative * Persuasive Essay * Problem-Solution Essay * Short Story * Supporting an Interpretation * Business Letter * Character Analysis * Comparison-Contrast Essay * Informative Report * Instructions for Operating a Tool * Literary Comparison-Contrast Essay * Personal Narrative * Problem-Solution Essay * Review of a Novel * Short Story * Supporting a Position High School Grade 9 Grade 11 * Analysis of a Poem * Analysis of a Short Story * Autobiographical Narrative * Comparison of a Play and a Film * Comparison of Media Coverage * Description of a Place * Nonfiction Analysis * Persuasive Cause-and-Effect Essay * Persuasive Essay * Research Paper * Short Story Grade 10 * Analysis of a Short Story * Autobiographical Narrative * Biographical Narrative * Comparison of a Play and a Film * Comparison of Media Genres * Description of a Person * Persuasive Essay * Problem-Solution Analysis * Research Paper * Short Story * Analysis of a Novel * Editorial * Historical Research Report * Reflective Essay * Short Story Grade 12 * Analysis of Literature * Comparison-Contrast of Literature * Descriptive Essay

"Supporting English language learners: A practical guide for Ontario educators Grades 1 to 8 Supporting English language learners: A practical guide for Ontario educators Grades 1 to 8, 2008, is designed to support and help teachers, principals, and other education professionals in elementary schools work effectively with English language learners. This resource guide provides a rich source of practical techniques, research findings, and strategies that can be put to immediate use in the classroom and in the school. It also contains valuable information on working with families and communities, and as a whole school, to enable English language learners achieve curriculum expectations while they learn English."

"Write in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers A video workshop for middle school teachers; 8 one-hour video programs, workshop guide, and Web site

Using the New Middle School ELA Classroom Library Collections

"Using Literature the First Weeks of School"

"Lesson Plan Postmodern Picture Books in Middle School"

Learning and Working in the Collaborative Age: A New Model for the Workplace Pixar University's Randy Nelson explains what schools must do to prepare students for jobs in new media.

Welcome to Kenn Nesbitt's poetry playground, Poetry4kids.com, where you will find lots of funny poems and poetry books for children, games, contests, lessons, discussion forums, and journals, plus a rhyming dictionary, funny poetry podcast, school visit information and lots more.

Community Classroom is an innovative and free resource for educators, offering short-form film modules adapted from ITVS's award-winning documentaries and standards-based lesson plans for high school and community colleges, NGOs, and youth organizations."

Mini-lesson: improving sentences with thoughtful prepositional phrases. We have this text in the middle school library: 398.5 MAC

"What do successful teachers do to help their students become confident and proficient writers? Write in the Middle: A Workshop for Middle School Teachers addresses that question in an eight-part professional development workshop."

Adolescent literacy has, for many years, been a forgotten area as educators have focused their attention on early literacy, in particular, Grades K-3. However, in the last few years adolescent literacy has gained more attention as policy makers and educators realize that literacy is a critical issue even as students transition into the middle and high school settings.

Targeting Text A Guided Writing Project Targeting Text was a collaborative project undertaken by teachers from a cluster of three schools in the Bowen District - Lindisfarne Primary, Lindisfarne North Primary and Cambridge Primary. The purpose of the project was to focus on the place of guided writing in a balanced writing program. Inspired and supported by Dr Jan Turbill of the University of Wollongong, the teachers were able to develop and share their own skills in using guided writing as a key teaching strategy.

Great Poems to Teach Compiled by the Teachers & Writers Collaborative, this list contains 341 poems submitted by teachers who participated in a workshop organized by TWC. Selected for participation by C. K. Williams, teachers applying to the workshop were asked to supply a list of poems which they had successfully taught in high school English and Language Arts classrooms.

Here are a number of creative and inexpensive suggestions for making poetry a more important part of school life during April and throughout the year.