All4Ed Flash

Get caught up on what you may have missed over the holidays and take a glance into our crystal ball to see predictions for education in 2020 on today’s Federal Flash.

Too often people think stereotypically about the period of

adolescence as a time of vulnerability, risks, and problems. You may even be

guilty of this. How often have you participated in or overheard conversations between

parents that sound something like “my daughter is headed to middle school next

year” and the response is “yikes, good luck!”?

But the reality is that adolescence is the healthiest period of the lifespan, explains Professor Ronald Dahl, MD, a pediatrician and developmental scientist, on the latest episode of Critical Windowpodcast.

“Almost everything you can measure—if you go from elementary school across

adolescence into early adulthood—gets better,” says Dahl. “Strength, speed,

reaction time, reasoning abilities, cognitive skills, immune function,

resistance to cold, heat, hunger, dehydration, and most types of injuries.”

Today’s Federal Flash covers federal funding for historically black colleges; the impact of the Trump Administration’s immigration policies on children; international test results; and a debate on education with Democratic presidential candidates.