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Should Schools Screen for Childhood Trauma?
Childhood experiences shape who we become as adults, for good and bad. The new Surgeon General of California is pushing for childhood trauma screening in students in the hopes of resolving some of the issues that might later lead to the development of physical and mental health problems.

Childhood experiences shape who we become as adults, for good and bad. The new Surgeon General of California is pushing for childhood trauma screening in students in the hopes of resolving some of the issues that might later lead to the development of physical and mental health problems.

The new Surgeon General of California is working to implement an unprecedented plan to implement universal screenings for childhood trauma in children benefiting from the state’s Medicaid program.

Dr. Nadine Burke Harris, the first person to hold the newly developed role of Surgeon General of California, is a pediatrician known for studying the harmful effects of adverse childhood experiences and toxic stress. The goal of the program is to identify children living with untreated childhood trauma so they can get the help they need and prevent harmful health effects from developing later in life.

Though Harris has already taken several steps toward implementing this plan, there are those who question its cost. Read on to learn more about the program and to explore the subject of childhood trauma in greater depth.

What Constitutes Childhood Trauma?

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), a traumatic event is one that threatens injury, death, or the physical integrity of self or others and also causes horror, terror, or helplessness at the time it occurs. Examples may include sexual abuse, physical abuse, school or community violence, domestic violence, accidents, medical trauma, national or manmade disasters, and traumatic loss.

The

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Common Mental Health Problems in School Children and How to Address Them

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Common Mental Health Problems in School Children and How to Address Them
Millions of people struggle with mental health issues on a daily basis, but no one wants to think that these issues might affect children. As a parent, it is your responsibility to know what your child needs and to provide it. This includes identifying problem behaviors and seeking treatment when your child needs help.

It is a fact of life that children are sometimes going to break the rules. It’s also a fact that they’ll occasionally show an outburst of emotion or throw a tantrum in the middle of the grocery store. Childhood development is a trying time and children are often ill-equipped to understand or properly deal with the changes they’re going through.

But there is a point at which behavioral issues go beyond the point of being normal. If your child is becoming extremely withdrawn and avoiding social interaction, it might be something more. If your child is expressing angry or violent thoughts and behaviors, it might be something to worry about. Mental health is a difficult thing to gauge, but you can see the signs when your child exhibits behaviors that are abnormal for their personality or for other children of their age. It is your job as a parent to notice the change and to seek help.

In this article, we’ll explore the subject of mental health issues in school children. We’ll talk about the most common issues affecting children of school age and how parents and teachers can work together to identify those issues. We’ll also talk about what schools and parents can do to support these children.

This TEDx Talk discusses mental health in our schools.

How Common Are Mental Health Issues in Children?

According to the National

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What Parents Need to Know About Lunch Shaming

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What Parents Need to Know About Lunch Shaming
Students all over the nation go hungry every day not because their schools don’t offer lunch, but because they refuse them to children with outstanding debts. Read on to learn about the horror that is lunch shaming and what can be done about it.

As an adult, you’ve well learned that while societal pressures still exist, it is, in fact, possible to say no to peer pressure. As a child in school, however, it feels like being liked and accepted is the most important thing in the world. No child wants to stand out too much, especially for the wrong reasons.Canon-McMillan School District

Unfortunately, underprivileged students are forced to fight this battle in a number of ways. From wearing hand-me-down clothing and sharing schoolbooks to enrolling in free lunch programs, it’s difficult not to stand out when you don’t come from the same economic background as more privileged students. In some schools, the differences are minimal and barely noticeable but children in many schools are experiencing something called lunch shaming and it may affect their education.

In this article, we’ll explore the subject of lunch shaming to discover what it is and how it affects public school students. We’ll also take a closer look at the incentives behind lunch shaming and what some people are doing to prevent it.

This video from PBS reports on the issue of lunch shaming.

What is Lunch Shaming, Anyway?

According to Feeding America, 16 million American children struggle with hunger each year. It may not be a daily battle, but at some point throughout the course of the year, these children lack the means to obtain nutritious food on a

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Common Behavioral Issues in School-Age Children and How Alternative Schools Can Help

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Common Behavioral Issues in School-Age Children and How Alternative Schools Can Help
Being a parent is never easy, but some children are more challenging than others. If you're concerned that your child's behavioral issues might be more than just temporary, consider whether an alternative school might be the next move.

Raising children is a difficult and often thankless job. If you ask any parent, however, you’ll hear them say that it’s worth it. Your child is more than just your flesh and blood – he is your life and your number-one priority. When something seems wrong, no one has to ask you to step in and find a solution. Chances are that you’ve already been thinking about what to do.

It’s not easy being a parent, but some children are more difficult than others. As a parent, however, you know the difference between your child acting out and your child acting differently. Behavioral changes are going to happen throughout your child’s life, but some changes are not normal. If you notice your child exhibiting serious behavioral issues or sudden changes, run, don’t walk to your pediatrician’s office. From there, the next step might be to visit a child psychologist. No parent wants to hear that their child has a behavioral disorder but knowing is better than not knowing because it means that you can take steps to help your child.

Finding help for your child is just one step in the process. Once you start getting his behavioral issues under control, you need to start thinking ahead. This means considering your child’s future, particularly in terms of his education. In this article, we’ll explore some of the most common behavioral issues in school-age children and talk about whether an alternative school might help your child.

This video examines

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What Are Alternative Schools and How Do They Impact College Admissions?

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What Are Alternative Schools and How Do They Impact College Admissions?
All students deserve to have an equal chance at academic success but not every student learns in the same way. Alternative schools provide students with unique challenges or abilities an opportunity to succeed in a different educational setting. Keep reading to learn more about alternative schools and their impact on college admissions.

The American public-school system is always a hot topic for debate. While there are two sides to every issue, there is one point that cannot be debated – some public schools are better than others.

Public schools in wealthy and suburban areas tend to perform much higher in testing than urban schools and there is a significant difference in funding as well. Parents can’t always choose their school district, but if the public schools in an area are sub-par, there are other options to consider. Alternative schools like boarding schools, magnet schools, and even homeschools may provide better educational opportunities for students, but there are some challenges to consider as well.

When it comes to college applications, alternative school curriculums and transcripts are less straightforward for admissions officers to understand. In this article, we’ll explore the subject of alternative schools and their impact on the college admissions process for graduating seniors.

What is an Alternative School?

Every student is unique in terms of educational background, learning ability, and interest in school. Two students from the same class, when given the same test, can achieve very different scores because academic achievement is determined by more than just curriculum. A child’s performance is school is affected by in-school factors such as the teacher’s education level, availability of resources, and curriculum. But it is also affected by other factors such as the student’s socioeconomic status, home life, and personal or learning challenges.

An alternative school is a school that doesn’t

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