education Archives

Kid playing with a modeling compound on a dark background

It may seem hard to believe, but there will come a time when your child is going to take his or her first step, roll, or crawl out of the nest and into an organized program with other children.… Whether you are looking for daycare, full-day preschool, half-day preschool, or something in between, finding the right fit for your child and family can seem like an overwhelming task. To help get you on your way, we have rounded up a list of Jewish preschools in the Baltimore area. The fine print: The information on… >> Read More

Sex Education

Sex Ed Has Changed Since You Were a Kid

Ellen Friedrichs

Protected sex, good contraception and health care

Growing up, I was pretty lucky: I had some fairly solid sex education. I learned about puberty in middle school, and then I had health classes in high school. The sex ed I received covered topics… like where to get condoms, how to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, and how to say no to sex. This kind of approach would generally be called “comprehensive,” since it was designed to address the full range of issues related to sexuality. This is markedly different from “abstinence-only” education, which teaches that sex should… >> Read More

politics

Au Pair and Summer Exchange Programs May Be Under Threat

Joanna C. Valente

The Trump administration is considering cutting some cultural exchange programs, including those for au pairs, summer workers, and the J-1 visa exchange visitor program, according to The Washington… Post and other outlets. Your family and others in your community have probably benefited from some of these programs, whether it's the cool Dutch swim counselor, the friendly Irish folks at the ice cream parlor or fish shack, or your neighbor's French au pair. That's why, for families who rely on au pairs (young adults from foreign countries… >> Read More

education

Assault Survivors Protest Betsy DeVos as She Meets with “Men’s Rights” Groups

Joanna C. Valente

Over 100 Sexual Assault Survivors Protested Outside Betsy DeVos’ Office

Yesterday morning, survivors of sexual assault protested outside U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos' office, decrying her decision to roll back protections for survivors of sexual assault on… college campuses. And they did the right thing: it's a decision that undermines the safety of women (and really, everyone) everywhere. You may be aware that DeVos is re-evaluating her office’s policy on campus sexual assault, meaning the guidelines for hearings, a development which would be promising if DeVos didn't have a history of taking… >> Read More

lgbtq

Betsy DeVos Refuses to Say She’ll Protect LGBTQ Students

Joanna C. Valente

On Tuesday, U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said 14 times that she won’t guarantee schools receiving federal funds will be specifically prevented from discriminating against LGBTQ students.… It seems like she doesn't believe it's a school's job to protect students who happen to identify as LGBTQ. I guess some kids matter more than others, according to her logic. As a former teacher, I'm disgusted. Typing out those words literally makes me feel physically ill--because all kids should be protected, especially by their school… >> Read More

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