What started as a “man-cession” is turning into a “Great He-pression.”
The unemployment rate for men is running 2.7 percentage points higher than for women – a “just unprecedented” spread, according to economist Mark Perry at the University of Michigan-Flint.
One obvious reason: The downturn has hammered manufacturing, construction and other male-dominated sectors, while going easier on female-heavy fields such as health care and education.
But a less-appreciated factor could make an even bigger difference in the long run. (more…)
High schoolers in Chesapeake are referred to guidance counselors. Middle schoolers get the lesson in health class: how to spot gangs, what gangs do, and how to stay away. Now Chesapeake wants to extend these lessons to elementary school students, and eventually even kindergartners. Starting this fall, students in grades three to five will have gang prevention and awareness classes. 
The South Atlanta Educational Complex is a vast brick-and-glass building housing 1000 or so 9th- through 12th-graders. While its students look like those from any big-city school district, administrators estimate that about 85% come from families whose income is below the federal poverty line. In addition to getting an education, many of these teens are supporting a child or younger siblings or caring for an elderly relative or sick parent. Some are in foster care, and some are homeless. Others are children of recent immigrants who work long hours and don’t know how to help them thrive academically.