C O L L E G E
P A R K
S C H O L A R S
Advocates
for
Children
Investigation & Presentation
Activity Group
Stephen Wright, coordinator
e-mail: sw125@umail.umd.edu,
(301) 314-5909
In this group, students will select a topic of their choice (see suggestions below). Students may work individually, but are encouraged to work in small groups. The topic can be investigated in traditional ways like research using library and other printed materials, internet, etc., but may involve creative alternatives for information gathering like interviews, site visits, covert espionage, etc. The presentation of the topic can also be a traditional format or creative alternative: paper; web posting; poster session; oral presentation using displays, overheads, etc.; skit; role play; special presentation to an outside group. Other possibilities for methods of investigation or presentation are encouraged; please simply ask for approval for unusual ones.
Suggested Topics
Child Development & Family Issues:
- Parenting
- Divorce, separation, custody
- Parent-child relationships (attachment, etc.)
- Understanding children's development (cognitive, emotional,
social, spiritual)
- Theories of children's development and implications for
parenting, public policy, etc.
- Cross-cultural or cross-national issues of development or family
(or regarding any of the topics below)
Safety:
- Juvenile delinquency
- Crime
- Gun-related violence
- Land mines
- Drug-related violence
- Violence in TV, movies, music
- Sexual depiction in TV, movies, music
- Abuse & neglect (physical, sexual, emotional)
- Foster care and adoption
- Child safety laws (air bags, seat belts, car seats, other
non-traffic related)
- Recreational Safety
Health:
- Teen pregnancy
- Infant mortality
- Health insurance: the uninsured and under-insured
- Drug-affected babies (abuse?)
- Abortion issue (partial birth abortion, privacy issues, emotional
consequences, etc.)
- Adolescent drug and alcohol abuse
- Adolescent tobacco use
- Sexual depiction in TV, movies, music
- Mental illness (of parent, of child)
- Community and residential treatment for mental illness
- Specialized health care for physically and mentally challenged
- Teen Prostitution
Economic Well-Being:
- Child support enforcement
- Earned Income Credit
- Availability and affordability of child care
- Low-income housing
- Welfare reform
- Mandatory drug testing of welfare recipients?
- Disallowance for truancy
- Teen parenting
- Youth employment/unemployment
Education:
- For teen mothers
- Special Education
- Community and residential treatment for developmental delays
- Inequities in education
- Funding equity
- School choice (charter schools, religious schools)
- Values as they impact school policy (religious, secular)
- Head Start
- Child care / pre-school
- Educational technologies
- School drop-out
Other:
- Legal and judicial aspects of child advocacy
- Comparison of Charities that address the needs of children
- Careers in advocacy
- Any issues in your home community which are not presently
listed
INTRODUCTION TO THE
FALL, 98 COLLOQUIUM
1125 Cumberland Hall
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742-9331
(301) 314-5909