I remember being drilled in cursive throughout elementary school, and again in junior high. But I think the real value in learning cursive is speed- taking notes is really much quicker with cursive, and it's certainly easier to churn out a quick rough draft before class. I've never thought that using cursive in class should be required- sometimes, someone's writing is neater in print than in cursive. All in all, I think it's important for kids to learn cursive in elementary school just to have that skill and that option, but it doesn't need to be something you're graded on.

I feel both sides of the boy-girl argument. While someone isn't legally an adult, maturity is expected of them. I think it might be more prudent if the doors said "young ladies" and "young men." I was expecting some information about transgender bathrooms as well… but there was nothing about that. Was the article a rant or an actual story?

It's probably not a murder (yes, I know! I'll dump the body in broad daylight in a public area in front of witnesses! No one will suspect a thing!) but it is kind of frightening to think that our every move is caught on Google Earth. I'm just going to blame brain washing aliens...

This kind of depressed me but also simultaneously motivated me. But- get this- I'm still technically starting high school, being a freshman, so… does that not count as a "new exciting stage"? I'm not really sure what to make of this, really. I don't see any news. Just some humor that isn't actually funny.

Interesting tone… it did a fantastic job of annoying me halfway to heck. Um, these guys do realize that woman are choosing what to wear, right? And that they're boyfriends fashions are, if most, a minuscule factor in the way they dress? I personally really loved some of the pictures of clothes and then there was a guy saying "Ew, gross, hate it." The one that really got to me though was the comment on pantsuits. "Men's business suits...you're a woman, not a man." Hahaha, yeah, I feel the same way about thongs. BUT THEY DO REALIZE that we like looking professional too, right? That we don't necessarily enjoy not having anything to cover our legs? And that sometimes fashion doesn't come first?????? Most importantly, do they realize I don't give a frick?

While the author made some good points, she may be biased, as shown in the last paragraph. I feel like prom is something you either enjoy or don't, and it isn't really a pro/con thing- you're not supposed to sit down and think to yourself, "on one hand it's going to be expensive, but on the other…" There is nothing demeaning about waiting to be asked… I think you'll find that the majority of girls who wait for a boy to ask them are NOT doing it because it's the way things are done, but because they either don't have a particular guy they want to go with, or there's this little thing called nervousness, which apparently the author is unaware of. There's also nothing wrong with the dress factor- as "children" we don't get to get classy that awesome, and most prom dresses show off less skin then our everyday clothing. And as for the whole social media thing, well, I've personally never taken my phone to a dance, if a girl does that and liveblogs the whole thing hey, it's her choice! I get that it was an opinion piece, but it's important we all know it's really just up to us. Prom is what you (and the prom committee) make it.

I agree, I would have liked some more background. The daughter clearly supports her mother, and it sounds to me like the mom just didn't want to lose her kid. The mother could have been deemed unsuitable as a parent by the court because of something in her past, but maybe she's past that now.

I've grown quite fond of the Bechdel system since our last issue (I MAY have been employing it to every book and film I come within ten feet of). However, I do not think that it has any thing to do with gender equality- sometimes it's just that these conversations would be completely irrelevant, or that the protagonist (maybe because he is a dude) wouldn't be in a situation where he would easily overhear them. On the other hand, I think that gender equality in films is a very important thing, though it may have nothing to do with the Bechdel system. To me, it's more about the way woman are dealt with by the film's creators than their conversation topics.

I doubt she'll even be leaving her house next Halloween. What she did was wrong, and probably a poor, last minute decision (and, obviously, a bad one), but the bullying has gone way too far. Sending her PARENTS death threats is plain wrong- so is threatening her. These people need to stop, or someone will definitely get hurt more than they already have.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/fox-grabs-gotham-series-about-the-city-before-batman/

As an avid comic fan, I'm excited, but what do you guys think? Are they trying to share a piece of S.H.I.E.L.D's glory? Just how good will Gotham be without the Bat? Is this going to be something special or stupid?

When I was a Sixlet sixth grader, I HATEHATEHATED math- still do- buy me familia paid me to do extra (easy) math work in a workbook.. I think this was a bad practice, because it gave me money to create cavities, and forced me to bottle up my hatred of math until explosions over my (actual) homework. I think bribery shouldn't be thrown around,it should be used when necessary. Kids need to understand why they do homework, chores, and why they partake in family life. For the big issues, though, bribery isn't such a problem, because those are rarer.

This kind of frightens me. My mom and I had a chat recently about how media affects your brain- TV actually changes your dopamine production, just like drugs do, and trying to take away TV can cause depression. Whenever I visit my younger cousins, I have to put a code on my phone, or else they might take it out of it's charger and start playing on it without my permission, and they typically forget to put it back. And I don't even have lots of games on my phone- I have the Injustice: Gods Among Us app (NOT appropriate for small children), some strategy and puzzle games, and some social networking apps. One of my best friends has a younger brother who NEVER gets off his technology. He's always playing on apps that are linked to sport or battle. My friends and I are constantly debating the merits of violent games- is it an outlet? Or an influence? One line in this article that really shook me was "I know if I need Zoe to be quiet for an hour, I can hand her the iPad and I won't hear from her." Holy CRAP. This is true, and not just for youngsters, and I think it will be awhile before these parents realize that the hour has grown into their child's home life. They're creating problems for the teen years, when they'll say "honey, put away that laptop, come out of your cave and talk to us," and spark lots of arguments. I wasn't allowed online without permission till I was about nine, and I think that worked out pretty well in my favor.

I think that it is possible to be impartial (though it may be tough), but known "allegiances" can make us seem biased- for example (going off my previous homework), if MSNBC quoted a Republican source and then pointed out they were wrong, it would seem biased, even if it were true. Also, I think (ethical) media and journalism isn't seen by people so much as the harsh, power-stripping things society often rants about as something that really exists- it can only be understood if you're a part of it.

The difference between sixty and seventy percent is sixteen percent. That's actual a lot of people, even if it doesn't feel that big. This article really goes to show that while some people grow up dreaming about their big, pretty marriage, not everyone does, and that is OKAY. That is NORMAL. Why should they be any different?

This was a really good article. I seriously think coverflipping is amazing- all books should be published with a "guy" cover and a "girl" cover, because then people can read the books they want minus the bullying and mockery.

I think stress in high school is mostly homework induced- with the work load, even if we're getting a decent amount of sleep, we can't find time to unwind and do the things we want to do- pleasure reading, hanging out with friends, and stress trying to make time. This makes our homework less in depth, too.

Two of my friends have had their phones stolen right out of their (locked) PE lockers- and then the thief came back for one of their locks. Also, a girl's hearing aid was stolen. This is seriously bad. All of my friends are bringing in their (new) phones during PE so the teachers can lock them into a drawer.

http://www.zagat.com/b/san-francisco/eye-candy-6-stunning-san-francisco-restaurants/?utm_source=outbrain&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=desktopbuzzsf#6

I was a bit disappointed not to see Gary Danko on here, as my mom used to work there, and I have to say, it had the most stunning visuals.