With ADHD rates skyrocketing, student engagement rates dropping for each year that kids are in school, and reports of failing schools commonplace, there are no shortage of difficult issues to tackle in our nation’s education system.

With little or no supervision, confined spaces, and a wide range of ages, which creates a power imbalance, school buses offer fertile ground for bullying. Indeed, up to 10 percent of bullying happens on the bus (U.S. Department of Education  ), and it can have the same negative impact as bullying that happens in the classroom or schoolyard.

Each January, National Mentoring Month—sponsored by the Harvard School of Public Health, The National Mentoring Partnership (MENTOR), and The Corporation for National and Community Service—provides an opportunity to raise awareness of and celebrate mentoring across the country. This year’s theme, Mentoring Works!, brings attention to the value of mentoring.

While most Americans, including children, took part in the unofficial tradition of overeating this holiday season, a new study released by JAMA Pediatrics should give us pause. The study found that children’s overeating and binge eating habits, even if they do not cause weight gain, are predictive of future marijuana and other drug use. 

Since our own parents and grandparents were kids, blocks, train sets, and dolls have been children‘s favorite holiday gifts—but a major shift is occurring. This holiday season, sales of “traditional” toys are at some of the lowest levels in recent history. Sales of electronic items, however—tablets, laptops, smart phones, and TVs—are up, suggesting that children have more access and exposure to technology than ever before.