Denise Fawcett Facey

Are you as tired as I am of the bullying, cyber-bullying and other mean-spirited behaviors we so often hear about among teens in the news? If so, a recent news story about Washington Township High School, in New Jersey, is a refreshing change. For the past nine years, guidance counselors there have quietly maintained a freshmen orientation program in which 25 upperclassmen assist the staff in preparing incoming freshmen to make the transition from middle school to high school. Convening for a four-day camp about a month before school begins, freshman learn the layout of the school building as they follow their new class schedules, moving from class to class. Then, in addition to (more…)

Remember when poetry meant memorizing lines by Emily Dickinson or Robert Frost, and then reciting or writing them for an exam? Well, times have changed. Chicago high school teacher Peter Kahn—who teaches not English but Spoken Word—has developed a Spoken Word Club whose impact is such that graduates return, to extend a helping hand to others, as members of his Motivational Mentorship panel. (more…)