When it comes to cheating I feel like it shouldn't be taken lightly. Payton mentioned teachers in East St. Louis letting the kids cheat because the test grades are getting better. Well of course they are getting better. The kids are not learning anything and are affecting their own future. What's going to happen when those kids go off to college and they can no longer get away with cheating? I feel that those teachers are hurting their students but it seems like they don't care because the school looks like it is flourishing because of all the good test grades.

I agree with Kent. Though I am for with the attempt of cracking down harder on these laws I fear that they won't do any good. Like Kent said there is more than just texting going on in that car. With little kids you have to be constantly watching and talking to them. That split second of turning around and yelling at them could be all it takes to get into a crash. These laws are a good idea, but I don't think they will help anything. "Distracted Driving." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

Cheating is yet another major problem in school. We see more and more students fall to new lows just to get the grade. But what adults really can't understand is why does the student cheat? Is it because the student is just lazy and didn't feel like studying? Sometimes that is the case depending on who the student is. The biggest reason for why students cheat is because of the pressure. They have parents breathing down their necks and teachers sternly telling them that this is a huge part of the students grade. That pressure could get so built up that the student starts to read the paper of the closest student. Or even feeling their cell phone in their pocket that could contain the answer they are looking for. It also doesn't help when their peers are encouraging to take the easy way out and to just cheat off the brainy kid in the class. Pressure to achieve academically is at extremely high levels. Between parents, teachers, and college reps sometimes the student gets so desperate that they behave out of the norm. It is extremely common in most high school students. "Cheating in School: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It | AboutOurKids.org." Cheating in School: Why It Happens and How to Prevent It | AboutOurKids.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

It's not very hard to find out that kids really don't like getting homework. With sports and other extra curricular activities it just really drains the students. Homework just adds to the stress and doesn't help the exhaustion level within that student. But is getting rid of the homework really the answer. Homework may be a pain, but it helps with that extra practice to understand the concept that was previously taught in class. It gives the student that time to try and figure out something they may not have understood before. Also, homework is a way the parents could possibly help their child understand what is being taught in a way they will understand. Homework isn't meant to be stressful, even though 90 percent of the time it is. It is meant to help and help further that students education to get them ready for college. I don't think homework should be abolished because yes, I hate doing it as much as the next kid, but in the end it really does help. "New Term, New Battle over Homework." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.

School uniforms are a huge topic in our school system. The belief that the kids should be able to chose their clothing for themselves and achieve individuality. But on the other side of the argument saying that the kids are making an inappropriate choice when getting dressed in the morning. For the past decade, the argument between children, parents, and schools has always fluctuated toward the clothes the kids are choosing to wear in school. From the anti Obama shirts to the inappropriate sayings, the subject of school uniforms has always been in debate. Should the schools take away the right the children have to be their own person and pick their own clothes, or just leave it as is and set guidelines to help the matter not get out of hand? Sure, by having the uniforms would help prevent gangs from forming, encourage discipline, help identify intruders in the school, and diminish the economic and social barrier between students. But by taking away the kids choice of clothing, we are also taking away that same right to make our own choices. It takes away their right to freedom of expression and right of free living and thinking. By putting kids in the same exactly clothing, you can't expect that child to figure what kind of person they really are at a young age. To them, they will just look like the person sitting next to them. "Do Uniforms Make Schools Better?" GreatSchools. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.

Distracted driving is a huge problem that is constantly brought up in our country. We have people talking/texting on their cellphone, other passengers, and even eating distracting us from the task at hand. It takes your hand off the wheel, your eyes off the road, and your mind off the driving. By performing these acts while driven endangers not only yourself and the people in your car, but also the other drivers passing by. In 2010 18% of all car crashes was because of a distracted driver. Also according to cdc.gov, more than 196 billion text messages where sent in 2011. That number has probably sky rocketed since then. We see more and more teenagers with their nose constantly in their phone and not paying attention to life around them. Out of those 196 billion text messages, how many do you think where sent while driving? A very interesting but also scary question when we really think about it. There needs to be tougher laws passed to try and prevent this from happening. Sadly though, I fear that even if those tougher laws do get passed, yes it would be a harsher punishment, but there will still be people becoming a distracted driver. "Distracted Driving." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.

School bullying has always been a problem at schools. You get the kids who think themselves above everyone or just simply unhappy with their own life they take it out on others. However, sometimes it is not just one bully causing the problem. Pack bullying is taking on by a group of students causing problems for another person. By bullying in packs it gives the bullies more of a leverage cause they will have the power in numbers. They most generally will not have to worry about getting outnumbered. Bullying can come into so many different forms. From physical to cyber bullying, in the end, it will still have the same affect on the victim. Schools have tried to become more accustom to stopping the bullying before it starts. But in this reality, schools can't control cyber bullying, even if it is happening in school. Schools try and control the situation but even if the bully does get in trouble, it could just end up fueling the fire instead of extinguishing it. Bullying is a never ending problem in our school system, no matter what the punishment, I fear it will never end. "School Bullying." - Bullying Statistics. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

I really don't think that children are really aware of what they are reading so I don't feel like that is really a huge problem

I feel like this just isn't about books in the school cause no we don't have a choice. But the books we read outside the school is our choice and we need to have that right to choose.

I feel like people deserve that have the choice of reading. There are so many issues and arguments that books will make kids think and act in a way that isn't of the norm. Violence and negativity is a huge reason why some one minded parents feel that is corrupting the mind of their child. But how is that any different than letting their child watch those kind of shows on television. With books, you are not actually looking at the violence unfold like they would be while watching television. There is a huge difference from reading about the violence and watching it on the television. You don't really hear very often about a child pulling a stupid move or doing something violent because of a book. Usually they got it off a television show or a movie that they watched the night before. The ideas of violence normally do not come from a book that someone has read. Those ideas of violence comes from watching something and planting that idea in the viewers head. Not because of the book they read the night before. Books are not the cause of violence, the media already has the department covered.