Paris, 13/10/02 

The mneaning of title of Fabrice Colin’s book, which has won the 2002 Young Readers’ Prize, is “Children of the Moon”, published by Mango. The news agency France Presse explains that for this prize 20,000 children between the ages of 9 and 12 arrive at a short list and the final choice is then made by a national jury of 25 children. The prize has now reached its 18th edition.

Epsom, 12/10/02 

According to the BBC there was a lot of controversy when the British Minister for Education, Estelle Morris, asked school managers to isolate 2 students who had repeatedly threatened one of the teachers. The school council of Surrey accused Ms Morris of exceeding her authority. The 2 students aged 15 and 16 had made phone calls of death threats.

Washington, 12/10/02 

The number of students in American colleges and universities coming from the Middle East has dropped and this is a consequence of September 11. The Washington Post explains that the situation is due not only to the fears held by arab and muslim students of being discriminated against, but also to the fact that it is now more difficult to obtain a visa to study in the USA.

Buenos Aires, 10/10/02 

The horror of meningitis has been added to the many problems facing Argentina. A school in the district of Garin not far from the capital was closed after the death of a child from meningitis. The daily newspaper Clarin reports that the health authorities are trying to establish whether this is an isolated case or the beginning of an epidemic.

Frankfurt on the Oder, 10/10/02 

Time has stood still in this German city on the Polish border, at least in the schools.  The weekly Der Spiegel writes that they are still using textbooks from 1987 when the city was part of Eastern Germany; in these  the praises are till being sung of the now defunct proletariat State. The school authorities explained that these books serve to complement the regular textbooks.

Dallas, 7/10/02 

If we are attacked by terrorists, we are ready to meet the emergency; this is what the Dallas police officer says who has been given the job of  overseeing safety in local schools. However, as CNN reports, the situation is not so reassuring in other American school districts. A campaign is underway to improve the level of protection in schools with regard both to terrorism and juvenile crime. 

Korhogo, 6/10/02 

Many children in this small city in the north of the Ivory Coast occupied by rebel soldiers are traumatised by the situation. One of the correspondents for France Presse reports that it is common to see kids playing soldiers in the streets. Many parents relate how their children have been in a state of confusion since the war broke out..

Dartington Hall, 5/10/02 

According to Prince Charles, British students do not sufficiently study their national history.  The BBC reports that the Prince of Wales, speaking at Dartington Hall in Devon to a group of teachers at an inservice corse, said that school programs did not give enough emphasis to the importance for young people of having a knowledge of their cultural and historical heritage.

Paris, 5/10/02 

Too much pressure, too much work, too little recognition. These are the reasons that many French teachers abandon their profession and look for work elsewhere. The news agency France Presse writes that, on the initiative of UNESCO and the International Labour Office, a survey was conducted on the occasion of the World Teachers’ Day. It appears that in future there will be a shortage of teachers.

Kuching, 5/10/02 

The school authorities of Sarawak, located in the northern part of the island of Borneo and one of the federated states of Malaysia, are hopeful of beating the drug problem 2017. According to the newspaper Sarawak Tribune, this aim will hopefully be achieved through a capillary campaign of information in schools which is based on a holistic vision of the mental, spiritual and physical needs of the students

San Paolo, 4/10/02 

In the Brazilian state of San Paolo, the authorities are trying to catch up with the school building program which has not been able to keep pace with the rapid increase in population. The daily newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo writes that in the past 14 months more day nurseries have been constructed than in the precedine 8 years. However, the situation in the rest of Brazil is completely inadeguate to meet the needs.

Princeton, 3/10/02 

Because the answers could be read on the Internet,  the Educational Testing Service, a New Jersey company that processes admission tests for American schools, had to cancel a computer exam programmed for Novembre. The exam will now be done a month later but Indian and Chinese students will no longer be able to take part. CNN reports that it was in Asia that certain Internet sites published the exam results.

Pikeville, 3/10/02 

Some students started using sprays and atomisers as weapons and this brought on asthma attacks among classmates prone to this illness. ualcuno The managers of a school in Pikeville, Kentucky, decided to ban the use of atomisers of perfume, eau di Cologne and deodorants. One of the parents who favoured this ban told CNN that for certain allergies the use of sprays in this way is potentially lethal.     

Varese, 3/10/02 

Is it OK to kiss at school? The head of an Italian high school in Varese has decided no. The daily La Repubblica writes that a boy and a girl of 17 and 16 years respectively were suspended for 5 days after they had been caught kissing in the school building. They claimed that it was just a quick kiss, but the head teacher considered this was unacceptable behaviour..

Berlin, 2/10/02 

Full-time primary schools: this is one of the objectives programmed for the next few years by the socialdemocrats and greens, whose alliance in the Federal government was confirmed in the recent elections. The radio station WDR that, in order to lengthen primari education to a full day’s teaching, the cost over 4 years will be €4 billion.

Rome, 2/10/02 

Bullying is spreading in all European schools but, accordino to the figures supplied by the Italian Pediatrics Association, the greatest incidence is in Italy. La Repubblica the Italian daily points out that 45% of primari schools report episodes of bullying and 25% of junior high schools. The problem is worse among boys but it has been increasing aven among girls.

Paris, 1/10/02 

How to combat absenteeism in schools, one of the main causes of lack of success? A committee nominated by the French Education ministry has identified that the remedy lies in contacts and dialogue. AFP  writes that if this does not work then more drastic measures will be called for. The authorities are thinking of imposing fines on parents who, with insufficient cause, do not send their children to school.

Cosenza, 1/10/02 

An 11-year old Italian girl whose parents could not afford to buy her school textbooks did not lose her calm; she called the office for minors of the police station, explained her problem and asked for help to solve itxx. La Repubblica reports that the police organised a collection so the girl could buy her books and go regularly to schhool..

Berlin, 27/09/02 

Although they cannot vote until they are 18 and legally of age, young Germans were invited to express their preferences in a parallel poll taken at the same time as the recent federal elections. Around 70,000 young people “voted” in their schools and the German weekly, Der Spiegel, writes that a clear majority were in favour of the left wing-green coalition which in fact narrowly won on September 22.

Atlanta, 26/09/02 

According to the handbook, evolution is a theory and not a proven fact and this led some people to protest against what they saw as the result of giving into pressure from certain religious groups. CNN reports that after a bitter controversy the authorities in a school district of Georgia decided to allow the teaching of evolution alongside creationism, offering different explanations for the origin of life.

London, 26/09/02 

The teaching objectives established by the British Government have not been  met according to the BBC. In tests for 11-year olds, only 75% reached the standard laid down for English and only 73% for maths. In 1997, goals were fixed at between 75 and 8%. However, the Minister for Education, Estelle Morris, commented that this year’s results were nonetheless the best ever recorded.

Rome, 25/09/02 

All the different unions representing Italian teachers and other school personnel are up in arms. The daily newspaper La Repubblica writes that some of these unions have declared strikes and demonstrations for October 18 while others have yet to decide on a date. They are, however, all united in their criticisms of the cuts in staffing and in their defence of state education..

Abidjan, 25/09/02 

Full military mission was needed to free 170 children, almost all American, of a Baptist school held hostage by the insurgents in the Ivory Coast city  Bouaké which is located in the interior of the country.  The agency France Presse reports that the children and their teachers had been holed up for a number of days in the school building. They were escorted by French troops as far as Yamoussoukro, where 2 American military aircraft were waiting to transport them home.

Washington, 24/09/02 

In the last 10 years, the numbers of ethnic minorities, in the main blacks and Hispanics, in American high schools has increased by 48% but their results remain below average.  Associated Press recalls how, in the year 2000, 28% of the students taking exams belonged to ethnic groups but only 21.8% took out their diploma.

Nairobi, 23/09/02 

A parent in a village of Kenya was unable to pay  school fees and in a fit of dejection took the son’s life. In the report printed in the newspaper Daily Nation it appears that other members of the family were wounded. Primary schools in Kenya cost about €300 a year but the average income hardly reaches €500. At the same time, about 70% of the population attends school, one of the highest percentages in Africa.

Düsseldorf, 18/09/02 

The Medical Association of southern Renania in Germany together with health agencies of the region have come up with a far-reaching program for health education in primary schools. The broadcasting station WDR reports that the plan provides for doctors to give lessons in the classroom, for evening meetings with parents and for the distribution of information about nutrition, the importance of physical exercise and the prevention of disease.

Ankara, 18/09/02

It’s going to be possible to give Kurdish language courses in private schools in Turkey. France Presse reports that this change was recently announced by the Minister for Education, Necdet Tekin and is one of the reforms being adopted by the government in Ankara in order to accelerate the procedure for Turkey’s integration into the European Union. The problem relating to the ethnic minority of the Kurds is one of the largest obstacles to be cleared along the road to Europe.

Hongkong, 17/09/02

Among the more than 100 victims of a mysterious mass poisoning in the Chinese city of Tangshan, there were 40 children. The Italian daily newspaper La Repubblica writes that the deaths were due to rat poison found in snacks supplied by a supermarket chain. It is unknown whether the presence of the poison was owing to an accident, as happens frequently in China, or if it was the work of a maniac.

London, 17/09/02

It is not true that young people are not interested in school, at least it isn’t true in the United Kingdom. The BBC reports that 90% of British pupils suffer from stress and that one of its prime causes is worrying about not doing well enough at school. Other causes are their fear of getting involved with alcohol or drugs, their fear of hoodlums, their uncertainty about what to study when they leave school and, not least, their fear of not being considered trendy.

Washington, 16/09/02

Single-sex classes are becoming more common in the USA. The Bush administration is in favour of this trend but feminists and civil liberty defenders are opposed. According to Associated Press,  these opponents maintain that the system of single-sex schools is archaic and that it favours discrimination against women.

Rome, 16/09/02

15% of Italian school buildings contain some asbestos which, as is well-known, is extremely dangerous to health.  Legambiente, an Italian ecological organization, reports that 10% of schools were originally designed for completely different purposes and were never really suitable for classroom lessons. It would be the job of local authorities to remove this asbestos.

Croydon, 13/09/02

Three months jail was the sentence given to Farzana Akbar, a teacher found guilty  of stealing exam material and then showing it to students. The fact occurred in Croydon, south of London, according to a BBC news report. In sentencing the teacher, the judge accused her of compromising the credibility of the exam system and commented that there was no alternative to prison.

Detmold, 10/09/02

In the Haakedahl primary school in the German Land Nordrhein-Westfalen, the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation has begun a project which is designed to give young students, especially those from disadvantaged urban areas, the opportunity to reflect on racism and violence. The broadcasting service, WDR,  reports that this project is already working in other German schools and that it is based above all on lessons in theatre, art and music.

London, 4/09/02

Just 1 British student in 3 knows how to write the name Shakespeare correctly, while 8 out of 10 have no problems writing the name of footballer David Beckham. Oxford University Press conducted a survey on students between the ages of 10 and 12. All of them knew without a doubt how to spell Hogwarts, the name of Harry Potter’s school, but very few could spell Jane Austen.

Coachella Valley, 1/09/02

In an interview with CNN, Chauncey Veatch says: “I love what I’m now doing”.  Veatch has been teaching in a high school in this southern Californian town for 7 years, but before this he was an army officer for 22 years. In order to teach in this area which is inhabited mainly by people born in Mexico or Central America, he learnt Spanish. He was named Teacher of the Year.