¶¶Òô³ÉÈË

Dysgraphia is a specific learning disability that affects writing skills. It is characterized by difficulties in expressing thoughts on paper, leading to poor handwriting, spelling, and overall written expression. Individuals with dysgraphia often face challenges in educational settings, where writing is a crucial mode of communication and assessment. In this article, we will delve into what dysgraphia is, its symptoms and explore effective remediation and treatment strategies.

What is Dysgraphia?
Dysgraphia is a neurological-based learning disability that affects the motor and cognitive processes involved in writing. It is not related to intelligence or lack of effort; rather, it stems from differences in brain function that impact fine motor skills, spatial reasoning, and language processing. Dysgraphia can manifest in both children and adults, leading to frustration, low self-esteem, and academic struggles if left unidentified and unaddressed.

Symptoms of Dysgraphia

Illegible Handwriting: Individuals with dysgraphia often have messy and illegible handwriting, making it difficult for others to read their work.

Poor Spelling and Grammar: Dysgraphia can lead to frequent spelling errors and challenges with grammar and punctuation.

Inconsistent Letter Formation: People with dysgraphia may struggle to form letters consistently and mix uppercase and lowercase letters.

Slow Writing Speed: Writing can be time-consuming for individuals with dysgraphia due to motor coordination difficulties.

Trouble Organizing Thoughts: Dysgraphia can make it challenging to organize thoughts and ideas into coherent written sentences or paragraphs.

Avoidance of Writing Tasks: Those with dysgraphia may try to avoid writing tasks or experience anxiety when faced with writing assignments.

Aided by technology, more students cheat in public schools than ever before. While only 20% of students in the 1940s admitted to cheating in school, this statistic has skyrocketed to 75% of today's high school student population, according to . From cell phones and text messages to emails, cheating has found technological accomplices.

Cheating Trends

According to the , Dr. Donald McCabe, a management and global business professor at Rutgers, has found that nearly all high school students have admitted to engaging in some form of cheating. Unbelievably, 95 percent of all of McCabe's surveyed students report that they have cheated (at some point) during their educational years! Whether the cheating involved copying homework, sharing answers on a test, or using other tactics, McCabe asserts that most teens participate in these behaviors - often without getting caught.

From surveying the cheating practices of high school students for over six years, McCabe has accumulated data from 24,000 high school students in 70,000 high schools. Based on this extensive data, McCabe found that 64 percent of the students have admitted to engaging in serious test-based cheating (including copying, helping someone during a test, and using hidden notes).

Why Students Cheat

Why do such a large majority of students cheat in school? While cheating was once stereotypically confined to struggling students, today's cheaters are often the "best" students. In fact, according to The Josephson Institute, "Cheating is higher among college-bound

When President Obama accepted his presidency, he pledged to honor his promise to improve our country's public schools. As outlined on the Office of the President-Elect website, Obama and Biden have pledged to invest $10 billion per year to create and sustain early learning programs for lower income families.

In addition, both Obama and Biden hope to utilize stimulus funds to ensure that competent, quality teachers are motivated to serve the lower-income public school communities. Obama is planning to increase the support for teachers in training, allowing rising teachers to receive financial support (through grants and scholarships) by committing to work in poorer school areas.

Despite these positive goals, some critics argue that the stimulus will not actually benefit all of the nation's under-served public schools.

The Lower Income / Urban School Stimulus Incentive

According to , Obama's proposed stimulus package will provide low income and deprived urban public schools with an incredible financial boost. Specifically, as Every Child Matters outlines, lower income schools may benefit from the following proposals:

• Tax reductions for lower income families (as a continuation of the Child Tax Credit)
• $1.1 billion to double the number of low income children enrolled in early education programs (specifically, Head Start)
• $1 billion to improve the services of Head Start
• Nursing visitation and support for new mothers that meet low-income qualifications, allowing new mothers to learn recommended childcare techniques,which can foster improved child learning habits and better parent-child relationships
• Expansion of Pell Grants for improved training

If your family is currently facing financial difficulties, your children may be eligible for free or reduced-cost meals at school. In today's soft economy, a rising number of students can qualify for food assistance - which is particularly important to providing nutrition that will promote optimal learning.

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted initiative in the United States that provides nutritious and affordable meals to school children. It was established in 1946 and is administered by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).

The primary goal of the National School Lunch Program is to ensure that all students have access to healthy meals during the school day. The program aims to promote the overall well-being and academic performance of children by providing them with balanced and nutritious food options.

Under the NSLP, participating schools receive cash subsidies and food commodities from the USDA to offer free or reduced-price meals to eligible students. The program is available in public, nonprofit private, and residential child care institutions, including pre-kindergarten and afterschool programs.

The NSLP offers a variety of food choices that meet specific nutritional guidelines. These guidelines are designed to provide a balanced mix of protein, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and low-fat dairy products. The meals served through the program are required to meet certain standards for calories, saturated fat, sodium, and other nutrients.

Parents play a crucial role in the National School Lunch Program. They are responsible for submitting an application for their child