Connect for Kids / Child Advocacy 360 / Youth Policy Action Center - CFK Articles, History of Childhood

Patriotism For Children, Then and Now

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:40:01 -0500

Dorothy Rich, founder and president of the nonprofit Home and School Institute, Megaskills Education Center reflects on her experiences as a child during World War II— and what she sees as the very different experience today's children are having of growing up in wartime.

Massive Persistence

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:26:53 -0500

It's the ultimate back-to-school story: about 80 middle-aged Virginians are heading back to the classroom--more than four decades after their educations were derailed by the state's "massive resistance" campaign, which led some Virginia communities to shut down their public schools rather than integrate them. Connect for Kids Editor Susan Phillips spoke to recipients of Virginia's new Brown v. Board of Education scholarships.

National Museum of the American Indian: Filled with Educational Opportunities

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 15:06:20 -0500

The newest, and presumably last, museum to win space on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. opens this week with much expected fanfare. Once the celebration is over, museum leaders hope to get down to the serious business of overcoming stereotypes and teaching kids about the American Indian past, present and future.

Brown v. Board: Lessons for Tomorrow

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 13:07:34 -0500

The 50th anniversary of the landmark Supreme Court school desegregation ruling in Brown v. Board of Education has produced an outpouring of reminiscence and evaluation. Today, amid national attention to the issues of school reform, school choice, and student achievement, Connect for Kids editor Susan Phillips asks what's next for our public schools.

Children's Health: A Brief History

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:49:21 -0500

The emergence of the school nurse a century ago in the New York City Schools is part of the evolution of children's health care in this country. As part of our ongoing project Kids in America: 500 Years of Change Connect for Kids highlights some of the critical moments in that evolution.

School Nurses in a New Age

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 10:48:44 -0500

As the field of school nursing enters its second century, changes in law and society have transformed the profession: school nurses now supervise children on complicated meds, help kids manage chronic conditions such as asthma and diabetes, and look for signs of depression, drug or alcohol abuse. Nevertheless, reports Rob Capriccioso, they are a frequent target of school budget cuts.

Kids in America: 500 Years of Change

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:04:09 -0500

Connect for Kids launched a special project intended to bring a sense of the past to our understanding of the present. We hope it will demonstrate connections; for example, between Benjamin Syms—1634 bequest of eight cows and 200 acres of land to establish a free school in Virginia, to today's hot political issues of school vouchers and national educational standards. Jan Richter explains the roots of "Kids

From Presidents to Children: History in Letters

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:58:22 -0500

From the admonitions of George Washington to his young relatives, to words of encouragement from Richard M. Nixon to the son of a political rival, the letters of U.S. Presidents to children and young people offer a glimpse at the evolving relationship between our political leaders and their youngest constituents. As President's Day approaches, Connect for Kids offers a selection of some of these letters from the book Dear Young Friend, edited by Stanley and Rodelle Weintraub.

Whatever Happened To...

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:43:54 -0500

Connect for Kids is all about making things happen for children—and about celebrating the people who put kids first. For this Fifth Anniversary edition, we thought we would revisit the subjects of some of our stories, and see where they are today.

Born to Run, Depression-Style

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:13:59 -0500

Are teens today more violent and less reverent than ever before? Not according to Errol Lincoln Uys' book, Riding the Rails: Teenagers on the Move During the Great Depression. In this review, Grace Palladino tells the stories of "box car boys and girls" who searched for jobs and adventure during the Great Depression, before anyone ever heard of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll.

Youth Today: Adult Perceptions May be Misperceptions

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:11:52 -0500

Many adults today believe that teens are "different" today, and that they have rejected traditional American values. Learn why and whether this is accurate in these remarks by Susan Nall Bales at the White House Conference on Teenagers.

Reflections on 19th Century Childhood

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:10:22 -0500

Exploring the life of a New England girl and boy from different backgrounds, historian Robert Bremner reflects on 19th century family life and its portrayal in literature of that time period.

Public Education's Past

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 10:08:38 -0500

School financing and reform are hot topics today, as are vouchers to use public money for private school choices. A historian offers a brief but fascinating history of public education in the United States.

When Government Became Children's Advocate

Fri, 05 Jan 2007 14:45:34 -0600

Historian Kriste Lindemeyer traces the early days of the Children's Bureau—the beginning of government protection of America's children.

America's Children 1999

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 09:50:28 -0500

The annual statistical report of federal agencies shows that America's children are better off today than in recent years, and there has been a 40 percent drop in juvenile crime. But much remains to be done.