Don't mess with Texas, they say, and that's especially true if you're a student in that particular state. The Human Rights Watch and the ACLU recently released a report on corporal punishment in the United States. They found that 25% of the reported 223,190 instances of corporal punishment last year happened in the Lone Star state. An astonishing twenty other states still use this form of physical punishment.

In the South, African-Americans are 1.4 times as likely to be hit than white students, and African-American girls are especially at risk. They're hit twice as often as their white peers. The two human rights groups want to see corporal punishment banned in the United States, saying that hitting kids creates a hostile environment, teaches violence, and creates a barrier to learning. And every now and then, kids get seriously injured. At school. By their educators.

Spanking is a hot topic issue among parents, and no less so here at ParentDish. But beyond my own personal views about spanking, I think that giving another person -- especially another person that you may not know very well -- the right to hit your child at their discretion and outside of your prescence is sheer insanity. I'm grateful this isn't an issue in my own state, where corporal punishment is illegal, and hope that these groups are successful in bringing awareness to this issue. What do you think?

As kids head back to school with new backpacks and sneakers and grins missing teeth, you're breathing a sigh of relief. Right? Isn't that what you're doing?

Well, maybe not if your child is going to school for the first time (if that's the case, deep breath, everything will be FINE....) But for kids heading back to school for the second year, or the fifth for that matter, you know your child is re-entering the realm of structured routines, after school activities, and yes, homework.

Is it a good thing? The homework, I mean. Some parents say it's the best thing ever--and they hound me from day one for more homework, more homework. Others say the opposite, and wonder why I ever send any homework home at all.

In my opinion homework in the elementary grades serves only one purpose: to get young students into routine of doing homework in preparation for the later grades. Other than that, I think it interferes with the meaningful and enriching activities children should be doing after school and at home with their families. Call me a renegade, but there is quite a bit of research out there to support my view.

Don't get me wrong-I'm not saying children should go home and play video games all afternoon. I think every child should spend time with books every single day--reading independently and being read. I also think that parents should involve their children in other meaningful academic activities that are incorporated into daily life--like playing math games, or doing research on a topic that the child is interested in.

But homework for homework's sake when your kid is 6 years old? I'm not convinced.

I'm curious. Do you think homework in the early grades is important and necessary--or is it overrated, and perhaps taking precious time away from other activities children could be doing?

I'm not sure there could be a worse headline, as far as I'm concerned: "Church Attendance Boosts Student GPA's." Luckily, it's not quite that simple. Researchers did find that going to church affects a teenager's grades, chances of dropping out, and sense of school community as much as whether or not the parents had college degrees, but it's not so much God's work as it is several other, identifiable factors.

The reasons for the improved performance include:

• The students have role models they see regularly from multiple generations.
• Parents are more likely to be in touch with the parents of their kids' friends.
• It is more likely that their friends' families will have the same values and expectations as their own.
• They tend toward higher rates of participation in extracurricular activities.

Other studies that have identified benefits of church attendance also pointed to the social networking and psychological aspects of being a member of a church as the key factors. If your kids attend church already, these findings may not be of much use to you, but not everyone goes to church or has any interest in doing so. For those of us in the latter category, this research has great value.

When the police in Auckland, New Zealand were called to shut down a loud party last Friday, they probably expected that the party-goers would be a bunch of kids. What they probably didn't expect is that the kids would all be about five years old. But that is exactly what they found when they responded to a complaint made by what can only be described as a cranky neighbor.

The One Tree Hill Kindergarten was in the midst of their annual disco party, rocking out to Bob the Builder and the Chicken Dance when noise control officials arrived on the scene around 6:30 pm. Teacher Jenny Skerritt said the officials seemed a bit "red faced" as they ordered them to turn it down or shut it down. "I don't think it was that ragey, but it's all a matter of perspective I guess," she said.

Perspective, indeed. The babies sleeping in the very next room obviously didn't think it was too loud. Nevertheless, they turned the music down and continued with their party. And just for kicks, they plan to frame that noise abatement notice for all to see.

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School should be a safe place, one where kids can concentrate on learning, not on staying alive. Sadly, however, that's not always the case. "If you're afraid you're going to get beat up after school, it's hard to concentrate when you're in algebra class," said David Kopperud of the California Department of Education. In 1998, the World Health Organization surveyed more than fifteen thousand sixth through tenth grade students and found that nearly a third had been involved in bullying.

There are serious consequences of bullying and not just for the students directly involved. The American Medical Association estimates that as many as 160,000 kids refuse to go to school each day because of bullying. The kids miss out on their education and the schools lose their funding. Further, kids can end up with problems that affect their relationships, self-esteem, and emotional well-being. The U.S. Secret Service found that three out of four school shooters were bullied.

These days, there's an added twist to the problem -- the internet. Bullying has become "more extreme, more humiliating and more public," according to Elayne Savage, a psychotherapist and author of "Don't Take It Personally: The Art of Dealing With Rejection." She sees the effects of bullying in her adult clients too. "You never forget the hurtful slurs and actions," she says.

How do your kids get to school? How did you get to school when you were a kid? Taking the yellow school bus, walking or riding a bike may all seem like normal methods of getting to school. In the modern world, we drive and carpool as well. But what about in urban environments where a lot of parents don't drive or even own a car? They take the subway.

And they do it ALONE. That's right--I've seen it myself. Kids popping onto and off of the subway without a parent in sight. How do they manage it? And why, you might wonder, do their parents let them do it? Well, necessity is the mother of invention and a lot of other things, it turns out. Kids are going in one direction, their parents in another (to school versus work), and the main way to get around town in New York, for example, is underground.

Turns out, it's probably safer too. Driving in this city is a disaster on a good day. You're a LOT less likely to get into an accident on the subway than you are in your car. Plus, the kids tend to travel in packs on the subway. I never see a kid get onto an empty car at an odd (non-rush hour) time. They pick which car to meet up on and collect as the train makes its stops toward their final destination. I know because I can hear them screeching above my iPod.

Need some pencils for the new school year? How about a ruler? If you've got a cent, you can get them -- at Staples and OfficeMax, respectively, in some areas. Target regularly offers school supplies for next to nothing in the weeks leading up to the start of the school year. (Wanna meet a teacher? Hit Target at 8am on a Sunday in August -- they'll be there stocking up on pencil boxes, crayons, and -- literally -- hundreds of folders for their classrooms.)

As the economy nose dives, parents aren't rushing out to buy brand new supplies when last year's zizzors (as my daughter calls them) work just fine. Retailers are running scared and are offering lots of "loss leaders" -- items priced below their cost -- to get shoppers in the door. This is nothing new, of course -- it happens every year -- but this year retailers are dropping prices even more than usual, even to the point of offering products for free.

Naturally, the stores are hoping you'll buy other, more profitable items while you're there and that's usually the case. Still, if your kid's backpack still holds books and their binders still hold paper, do you really need new ones? Are you buying all new supplies or making do with what you have as much as possible?

Yesterday, I took my five-year-old for a back-to-school haircut. She'd decided she'd had enough of her long, straight hair and wanted a chin length bob. At home it seemed like a good idea, but when the stylist lifted her scissors to cut off that first length of hair, I nearly had to hang on to the counter to stop myself from snatching her back out of that chair.

That's pretty close to how I feel about the upcoming first day of kindergarten. It's not about the hair, of course, it's about the letting go and letting her grow up. Kindergarten is a huge milestone, but part of me wants to scoop her up and tell the world, "You can't have her yet. She's still all mine."

NYMetroParents has some good advice for parents facing that first day of kindergarten, two that especially stick out for me. The first is that, no matter how ambivalent I might be feeling about school starting next week, my game face is always on for my daughter. We talk frequently about how much fun it's going to be, how exciting it is to start "big girl school," how it'll be great to see her preschool friends again and make new friends as well. Though I'm watching her closely for signs of anxiety or nerves, I keep my personal angst to myself.

This summer, the Olympics are providing lots of great family entertainment. The opening ceremony's parade of nations inspired my son to plop his globe on the kitchen table for an impromptu geography game. The gymnastics and swimming competition stirred discussions about health, discipline and sportsmanship. But it's the Olympic host country itself that is generating the best conversations.

My kids have always been fascinated by China. Evidence of their love for all things Chinese abounds. My Chinese bathrobes have been absorbed into their play clothes collection; they beg to use chop sticks (even if we're having spaghetti); they can be convinced to eat new vegetables if I proclaim them "Chinese"; they love Mulan; and my four year-old regularly breaks into a foreign language she claims is Chinese. We have high hopes that the Beijing Olympics and accompanying coverage will expand their knowledge of China beyond Kung Fu Panda and Chinese restaurants.

Thanks to years of careful planning on the part of the Chinese government, China put on the most spectacular opening ceremony in recent memory. Viewers were rightfully dazzled by the combination of Chinese artistry and technology. If my kids are any indication, interest in China is at an all-time high.

No parent would want to have to deal with a situation like this. Your teenage daughter is acting a little odd (more so, even, than one would expect of a teenager) so you decide to check things out a bit and there, on her cell phone, you find a text message from her teacher. "It happened around 9:35 at night," said the girl's mother who didn't want to be identified. "It said, 'I don't want her to find out, I don't want her to get hurt. I need to meet with you.'"

Checking the phone bill, she found many calls and messages from the teacher, at all hours. "He called her at midnight," said the mom. "They were on the phone for 30 minutes." She notified the school by phone and in writing, but, so far, the response has been a bit unimpressive and certainly not what one, as a parent, would hope for.

The school district admitted that the teacher did "communicate with [the girl] at times of the day and night that was concluded to be unprofessional" and apologized for a "lack of professional behavior." The district also said that a letter would be added to the teacher's file. As for the teen, however, she's still in his class.

After the local news media contacted the school district, the mother says they are starting to take some action and may remove the girl from his classes. I think if it were me, I would make darn sure the teacher were removed from the school, unless there were a pretty darn good reason why he was calling my teenage daughter at midnight.

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Blake Peebles likes to play Guitar Hero, the video game that lets players pretend to be rock stars with a small plastic guitar. In fact, he likes to play it so much that the sixteen-year-old has dropped out of school to be able to play the game more. His hope is that he can turn his affinity for the game into a career and, so far, it looks like he might have a chance.

His parents agreed to his plans but only if he were to be tutored at home. They would rather he stayed in school, but Blake managed to wear down their resistance. "We couldn't take the complaining anymore," says his mom. "He always told me that he thought school was a waste of time." So far, Blake has won about a thousand dollars worth of prizes.

I suppose as long as the kid is learning what he would learn in school, it doesn't really matter what he does with the rest of his time, but it sure seems to me like putting all his eggs in one basket -- and a basket that has yet to show it has any real financial potential. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't let my kids quit school to play video games, no matter how good they are.

Being overweight is tough for a kid. There are many options toward weight loss, but some are more (or less) appealing than others. For many, over the years, the weight-loss camp has been a dream. But, while "fat camp" is almost as American as apple pie, it's now going the way of many other American dreams--it's too darned expensive to attend. Like any other camp, weight-loss camp costs money to run and maintain. With more than nine million children who are considered obese in this country, such camp can seem like a knight in shining armor for families struggling to get their kids' weight under control. The weight-loss camps, while they can be affective, are far from free. Few to none accept insurance.

The government generally offers no more assistance than insurance companies. Instead the children rely on their essay writing skills and other means to win scholarships to attend. Yes, even weight loss camp is something only possible for the rich. Corporate sponsorship is one way to help get kids who can't afford the often more than $1,000-a-week pricetag what they need. Advocacy groups are being formed, such as the Childhood Obesity Treatment in Action. Some tax deductions are coming into play, and some insurance is starting to cover a portion of the cost--mostly in the cognitive behavior area.

But is it enough? Rarely. And financial cost is to say nothing of the emotional cost to the children, who are often left with either feeling exploited by their situation--their essays and their experiences become the property of the camp, who share that information freely with the media in hopes of growing the industry--and/or have to deal with life after camp, which can be even harder than before they found their salvation. While most children lose some portion of their body weight at the camps, few manage to keep it off after returning to the real world.

Pic by skampy.

Vanessa Lovelace and her son Lenny were both excited about enrolling him in his new school in Kenosha, Wisconsin until it came to actually filling out the enrollment forms. In the section where it asked what race/ethnic group the child belonged to, none of the available options fit 10-year-old Kenny. Lovelace was asked to choose from Asian/Pacific Islander, Black not Hispanic, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska native, or White not Hispanic. Since Kenny is biracial with one white parent and one black, Lovelace checked both Black and White boxes.

That didn't go over well with the secretary at the Kenosha Unified School District's Educational Support Center. "She handed the form back to me and said I had to pick one, otherwise, someone would pick his race for me," Lovelace said. District policy dictates that if the race of the child is not indicated by the person filling out the form, an "observer identification" must be made. By that logic, Kenny Lovelace looks white, so he is white.

How is it that a form with such a narrow field of choices should even exist? According to Patrick Gasper, of the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, a multi-racial category has been allowed since 2007, but that change won't go into effect for all Wisconsin public school districts until the 2010-11 school year.

If you are wondering why the school even needs to have a check box for a child's race, Gasper explains that as well. He says that racial demographic data is gathered by the federal government and can indirectly affect funding for certain programs. He encourages parents in the district to choose a race even if it is incorrect, otherwise their child cannot be enrolled in school.

With the change allowing a biracial checkbox not going into effect for several years, Lovelace is considering her options. She is thinking about moving back to Illinois, where Kenny attended school last year, or even homeschooling him. But in the end, it is Kenny who is stuck in the middle and feeling like the odd one out. "It made me feel kind of weird," he said. "I'm sad because I'm not only one race. I'm black and I'm white."

School dress codes are getting a lot of attention lately, mostly as a result of school officials actually trying to enforce them. In a sad twist on the dress code debate, a family in California is suing the Hueneme school district for not enforcing the dress code.

Dawn and Gregory King claim that E.O. Green Junior High School official's failure to enforce the dress code resulted in the murder of their 15-year-old son, Larry King. Larry was gay and liked to wear feminine clothing and makeup to school. Apparently this angered classmate Brandon McInerney so much that he felt it necessary shoot Larry to death as he sat in class.

King's parents say that Larry's "unique vulnerabilities" made him a target for abuse and that the school should have protected him by not allowing him to dress this way. You may be asking yourself why Larry's own parents weren't enforcing the dress code, especially if they were so concerned, but the answer is simple: Larry didn't live with is parents. At the time of the shooting, Larry was a ward of the court and living at a shelter for abused, neglected and emotionally troubled children.

The Kings have filed a personal injury claim against the district and are seeking unspecified damages. As for Brandon McInerney, he has been charged as an adult in the shooting and also faces a charge of committing a hate crime. He has pleaded not guilty.

How could the school have bettered handled this situation? I just don't know. Had they enforced the dress code, they surely risked being accused of violating Larry's rights. And by not enforcing it, they are now being held responsible for the consequences of Larry exercising his rights.

Remember Bill Nye the Science Guy? Sort of a cross between Pee-Wee Herman and Mr. Wizard? Well, it's been about ten years since his TV show ended, but now he's set to return to the small screen in a new show called Stuff Happens, on a new channel dedicated to green living, Planet Green. On the show, Nye will explain "what happens when we use stuff, where it goes when we're through with it, and what impact it all has on the environment and the entire planet."

It appears the thirteen-part series will target an older audience than his previous show, but with "astonishing information, easy-to-follow science, lighthearted demonstrations, expert interviews and connective story-telling to amplify growing problems in the environment and important solutions," it sounds like it would be great for any kid old enough to care about science and the environment.

The first episode kicks off the series in the bathroom, exploring the impact of what goes on in the throne room. Other episodes will cover the bedroom, the attic, dinner, and breakfast. The first episode airs September 2 at 9pm Eastern. I think we'll be checking it out.