Muslim pupils diverge on hijab

The controversy surrounding the Azalea Middle school student who wears the hijab demonstrated the problems that can result from prejudice or a lack of understanding about religious freedom. Today’s article provides the views of other Muslim pupils on the wearing of the hijab. What information could be provided in the Times about this particular situation at Azalea Middle School that would bring greater understanding to the students, teachers, administrators and families involved?

If you were an advice columnist for the Times and one of the players in this event had written you asking for guidance about their situation, how would you respond? Write a question from one of the people mentioned in the series of articles about this situation and then your response in the comments section below.

Here are links to today's and earlier articles if you want to revisit them before you post your advice.\

Muslim pupils diverge on hijab (Nov. 15)

Harassment of Muslim sixth-grader is deplored (Nov. 13)

Wilcox vows to investigate (Nov. 14)

Child Soldiers

The United Nations estimates that more than 250,000 children serve as soldiers in conflicts worldwide. Most do not volunteer— they are abducted or otherwise forced to serve. Poverty forces others to take up arms. While fighting, these children are deprived access to education and health care and may be physically or sexually abused. Human-rights groups struggle to help former child soldiers return to their families and communities and school. In his book, A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, Ishmael Beah of Sierra Leone writes of being forced to take up an AK-47 by his government at age 12 to fight in its civil war, and how, fueled by drugs, he learned to kill. He writes of mass murders: “We walked around the village and killed everyone who came out of the houses and huts.”

Eventually rescued by Unicef workers, Beah went on to speak before the United Nations, move to the United States, graduate from Oberlin College and become an advocate for former child soldiers. His straightforward, harrowing autobiography has become an international phenomenon credited with bringing new attention to the plight of child soldiers in Africa.

Last week we asked for your views on selective service and what you would do if you were in charge of recruitment for the armed forces. Have your views changed after reading about child soldiers forced to serve in conflicts around the world? How could the U.S. or the UN help? How would you feel if, like Beah, you were forced to kill for your government at age 12?

Reinstating the draft

What do you think about reinstating the draft? Many young men about to graduate from high school will soon be registering with the Selective Service. Almost all male citizens, and male immigrant aliens residing in the United States, are required to register with the Selective Service System if they are at least 18 years old but are not yet 26 years old, according to federal law. While a draft remains an unlikely option for the nation, registering with the Selective Service can still make many young men uneasy, amid reports that the armed services may need more soldiers to maintain ongoing commitments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere. After falling far short of recruiting goals in 2005, though, the military actually met its targets in 2006; the Army alone signed up more than 80,000 new soldiers. The armed services credit increased cash bonuses for new recruits as being key to their success.

Should the United States have a draft? Is the volunteer military able to handle all of the country’s current needs? If more Americans faced the risk of serving in the military, would the government make different decisions about military actions? Have you registered with the Selective Service? How did it make you feel? Are you willing to serve in the military? What obstacles does the military face in attracting recruits?

Tell us your views on selective service and what you would do if you were in charge of recruitment for the armed forces. You may see your opinion in the next Talk Back!

Feeling inspired? Enter our Maya Angelou poetry contest.

Poet and social activist Dr. Maya Angelou once wrote, “I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.”

As poet, playwright, director, conductor, actor, best-selling author, social activist and three-time Grammy winner, she has inspired millions with her words. On Thursday, May 24, 2007, Dr. Angelou is coming to the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg and the Times NIE department is sponsoring a poetry contest to celebrate this event. Contest winners and their teachers will each receive two tickets to this special event.

How to enter the contest
We are looking for poems inspired by the issues, people and events you have learned about from the pages of the St. Petersburg Times. Reading the Times can invoke many different feelings, ranging from sadness (from reading about the homeless or a tragic death) to joy (a story about a national championship win or a review of your favorite band or movie) to anger (coverage of wounded veterans unable to receive benefits or CEO pay rising while workers are laid off).

To create your poem, find a story that moves you. It can be from today’s paper or a story you remember reading in the past. You can look in the Times archives or our multimedia reports for ideas. You can write a narrative poem or ballad that retells the story, or a sonnet that shares your emotional response to what you read. You might even try your hand at haiku –a Japanese style of poetry that reflects on nature and feelings.

Go to the Times NIE Web site for contest rules and submission instructions. Deadline is May 7, 2007.

Do you Volunteer?

Poet and social activist Dr. Maya Angelou once wrote,

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.

Students across Tampa Bay should take her words to heart and participate in the 19th annual National and Global Youth Service Day on April 20. Millions of young people across the country are planning projects to benefit their communities, from tutoring children to distributing materials about AIDS prevention. They are also teaching about good nutrition and climate change and helping soldiers stationed in—or returning from Iraq.

One local volunteer recently featured in the St Petersburg Times is Natasha Robinson, a Gibbs High School graduate. At first, the allure of a college scholarship is what drew Natasha to AmeriCorps, an organization that connects youth volunteers with community service projects. But after spending 10 months helping Hurricane Katrina victims along the Gulf Coast, the program delivered many more rewards.
"I realized that I was in a better environment than the one I grew up in," said Robinson, 25, who was reared in the Childs Park area. "I realized that there was something better."

Robinson helped build houses in the Jackson, Miss., area; tutored school children in New Orleans; and passed out food, water and supplies to Katrina victims. She found the experience so rewarding she joined for a second year.

Like Natasha, you may find that the person who benefits the most from volunteering is YOU!

How do you give back to your community? What skills and interests do you have that could make a difference for a local organization in need? Tell us about your experiences volunteering and what organizations are near and dear to your heart. If you are organizing an event for Youth Service Day, give us the 411!

Do you Volunteer?

Poet and social activist Dr. Maya Angelou once wrote,

I've learned that you shouldn't go through life with a catcher's mitt on both hands. You need to be able to throw something back.

Students across Tampa Bay should take her words to heart and participate in the 19th annual National and Global Youth Service Day on April 20. Millions of young people across the country are planning projects to benefit their communities, from tutoring children to distributing materials about AIDS prevention. They are also teaching about good nutrition and climate change and helping soldiers stationed in—or returning from Iraq.

One local volunteer recently featured in the St Petersburg Times is Natasha Robinson, a Gibbs High School graduate. At first, the allure of a college scholarship is what drew Natasha to AmeriCorps, an organization that connects youth volunteers with community service projects. But after spending 10 months helping Hurricane Katrina victims along the Gulf Coast, the program delivered many more rewards.
"I realized that I was in a better environment than the one I grew up in," said Robinson, 25, who was reared in the Childs Park area. "I realized that there was something better."

Robinson helped build houses in the Jackson, Miss., area; tutored school children in New Orleans; and passed out food, water and supplies to Katrina victims. She found the experience so rewarding she joined for a second year.

Like Natasha, you may find that the person who benefits the most from volunteering is YOU!

How do you give back to your community? What skills and interests do you have that could make a difference for a local organization in need? Tell us about your experiences volunteering and what organizations are near and dear to your heart. If you are organizing an event for Youth Service Day, give us the 411!

Cyberbullying

In last week’s PARADE, Rosalind Wiseman reported on “cyberbullying,” in which teens use online technology to hurt and humiliate each other. For young victims, cyberbullying can be as frightening as face-to-face aggression and cruelty. Cyberbullies use e-mail, instant-messages (IMs), cell phones, text messages, photos, videos and social networking sites to humiliate and threaten another.

Is cyberbullying a problem at your school? Have you or a friend been the victim of cyberbullying? What can schools or police do to stop it? Tell us your story.

What's your "third place"?

Librarians say they’re overwhelmed by teens each day because the young people don’t have enough “third places” (neither home nor school) where they’re welcome. Do you ever spend time in your neighborhood library after school? DO you see challenges like the ones described in Parade Classroom at your library? Do communities have a responsibility to create safe places for young people to gather before their parents get home from work? Do you have a favorite after school hang out?
Tell us about it!

Women. Men. Sports. Separate? Equal?

Scan the sports section of today's Times. Do local women's teams get less coverage than the men's squads? If so, why do you think that is? Should women's teams practice against men? What are the advantages and disadvantages for the players?

The Grammy Awards

The 49th annual Grammy Award ceremony takes place on Feb. 11 in Los Angeles recognizing the best musicians in more than 100 categories, from rock to rap and classical to children’s music. Who are you hoping will win Record of the Year: Mary J. Blige, James Blunt, Dixie Chicks, Gnarls Barkley or Corinne Bailey Rae? Why? Check out all the Grammy nominees at http://www.grammy.com. Do you have a favorite singer or group that did not get nominated? What makes their music special?

Super Bowl XLI

It's Super Bowl week, so let's talk football! Share your opinion here about which team you think will win (back it up with some evidence from the Times sports pages) or give your take on the fact that African American head coaches will be leading both teams for the first time in Super Bowl history. Did you know that while more than 70 percent of NFL players are black, only six of the 32 coaches are African-American? Be sure to read A Vast Minority, by Joanne Korth, in Monday's sports section for more on this debate.
After you write your post, don't forget to sign your name, school and grade. You might read your comment in next week's Talk Back column.

Driver's License Limits

Let's talk about this week's Parade Classroom topic. . .
What do you think is the right age for a teen to be able to begin driving? What are the rules in your family? Do you support delaying the age at which teens can drive passengers or drive in the late evening? Do you think most of your peers are, or would be, responsible drivers? How do your views differ from your parents? What evidence would you use to convince them that you would be a safe driver?