Immigration is a hot topic right now, especially in the education sector. At the heart of a raging debate is access to education for illegal immigrant children who have matriculated through the American public school system.

In 1982, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that illegal immigrants can attend public school through the 12th grade. But, this law makes no provision for college. When colleges do admit illegal immigrant students, they often must pay out-of-state tuition even if they graduated from a state public school. Other times, schools admit them as international students, but this is a problem because they lack the necessary student visas to complete enrollment. Even if immigrant students make it into college, they are not eligible for the scholarships, loans and financial aid available to legal residents.
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In recent years, there has been a growing trend for middle and high school students to seek alternative ways to get high that are considered “safe.” One such way is the “passing out game” or the “choking game,” but these methods are anything but safe.

The premise is that you can cut off the oxygen supply to the brain to achieve a type of “high.” Though the so-called game is new to many adults, it’s likely something that children have been doing for a long time, said Connecticut-based child psychologist Dr. Lawrence Shapiro, author of “The Secret Language of Children: How to Understand What Your Kids are Really Saying.”

“That’s scary,” Shapiro said.

In addition to talking to kids about drugs and alcohol, parents should discuss other risky behavior, like the pass-out game, Shapiro said.

“Younger kids don’t know that they can die from this, that it’s a very dangerous activity,” Shapiro said.
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Boot camp is not just for military enlistees or out-of-control teens in need of structure and order. Now high school guidance counselors charged with helping students prepare for, and gain acceptance into college can attend boot camp.

“180 counselors from high schools in Illinois, Missouri and elsewhere gathered at a “boot camp” at Elmhurst College last week. At the Academy for College Admission Counseling, which continues this week, they swapped stories ranging from dealing with intense parents to cracking the Ivy League and figuring out financial aid.”

At the boot camp, high school counselors learned how to handle pushy parents, underachieving students and college admissions counselors. Read more about the boot camp at Chicago-Sun Times. ‘Boot camp’ helps college counselors cope