According to The Wall Street Journal, new research suggests that a summer internship helps a student’s career prospects more than perhaps anything else in their college years. In research conducted with potential employers, the study found that majors didn’t matter, a higher GPA didn’t matter much, all that really seemed to matter from the college years was whether students had a summer internship (work experience). Reporter Brett Arends said, “Candidates whose résumés could point to pre-graduation work experience in the industry they were applying for were 14 percent more likely to get an interview. An English major with an average GPA and a summer internship in a bank was more likely to get a job interview at a bank than an outstanding finance major who spent the summer touring Europe.” Read more here.

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Ready for some good news? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently released a comprehensive report that shows that teens are behaving better today than any other time since the federal government began collecting data. Teen pregnancy is way down and high school seniors are drinking less, smoking less, barely using cocaine and they are exercising more. http://tiny.cc/d0m3gx

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According to Ed Surge magazine, today’s college students arrive on campus with an average of seven devices AND 80 percent of these students will carry and use a mobile phone every waking hour of the day. While the device count includes phones, tablets, e-readers, TVs, printers, laptops, game consoles, video cameras, etc. I still found the number disturbing. http://tinyurl.com/l3hk2kv

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New research published in an academic journal about sleep has found that college students who are poor sleepers are more likely to earn worse grades than healthy sleeping peers. The study also found that sleep problems have about the same impact on a student’s GPA as binge drinking and marijuana use.http://tinyurl.com/m9tdewr

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If you get annoyed by people who confuse their and there, you will love the free new website quill.org. Teachers can also sign up their class and monitor student progress. The site provides fun editing challenges and it covers all of the grammar concepts from the Common Core State Standards for grades 1 through 8.

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Do you have a teen or pre-teen who has trouble staying organized? Suzanne Shaffer (Countdown to College) suggest a few apps to help:

1. Evernote. Create virtual notebooks, organize important deadlines and track key documents.

2. GoogleDrive. Create documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and collaborate with others in real time. You can access your documents anytime, and all changes are saved automatically. There isn’t even a save button.

3. Remember the Milk. To do lists with priorities, due dates, time estimates, repeating lists, tags. Get reminders via email or text.

4. inClass. Keeps track of classes and homework and organizes video notes, audio notes, photo notes.

          And she recommends these free apps to help students prep for college:

1. Evernote.  Takes notes, captures photos, creates to-do lists, records voice reminders – and makes these notes completely searchable across all your devices.

2. Find colleges.  Search for information about U.S. colleges and universities.

3. Collegeconfidential.  Read and interact with other users on topics like financial aid, college life, test preparation and more.

4. Quad2Quad.  Curate and assemble the most important college data.

5. College visits.  Search and find schools to add to your list, rate your college visits, keep personal notes on each visit.

6. SAT question of the day.  Real SAT questions and SAT preparation materials from the test maker.

7. StudyBlue.  Review class notes or make flashcards whenever you have a minute to spare.

8. Khan Academy.  More than 4,200 videos on a massive number of topics.

9. Scholarship advisor.  Find money for college.

10. Scholarships.com.  A database of 2.7 million local, state and national college scholarships.

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Teens seem to think that borrowing or buying “smart drugs” – ADD and ADHD medicines like Ritalin and Adderall – is not a big deal, but studies are finding that the possible short-term boost in mental performance may come at the cost of a long-term decrease in brain plasticity, which is necessary for task switching, planning ahead and behavioral flexibility. http://tinyurl.com/kgstq9z

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A recent study suggests that students who work or study abroad are “smarter.” Students become more open minded when they live abroad and researchers have found that these students are better able to make connections among disparate ideas. Research has also found that the more engaged a student is in multicultural pursuits, the more job offers they receive after their program ends.  http://tinyurl.com/lpuccuw

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According to a recent article in the New York Times, new data proves that college is worth the investment and in fact has never before been more valuable. There was been a lot written about the rising cost of college, but according to MIT economists, the true cost of a college degree today is about negative $500,000 – not going to college will cost about half-million dollars. The pay gap between college graduates and non-grads reached a record high last year, according to Labor Dept. statistics. Americans with four-year college degrees made 98 percent more an hour on average in 2013 than people without a four-year degree. That’s up from 64 percent in the early 1980s. Said reporter David Leonhardt, “College debt may still be a real fear and hardship, but it’s a relatively small cost in the long term. The average $25,000 in student debt doesn’t hold a candle to the $500,000 to be made over a lifetime.” http://tinyurl.com/pabbakr

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Stanford University’s d.school is re-imagining a college education. “What if you were admitted to college not for four years at age 18, but for six years you could use at any time in your life? What if you declared a “mission” rather than a major? What if your transcript displayed not the courses you have taken, but the skills and ideas you have put to work in the world?” This is the first time the university’s famous d.school has applied its “design thinking” processes to the undergraduate experience. The results should be interesting. http://tinyurl.com/lvls44l

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News coming out of a related study: less than 2 percent of U.S. employers said they actively recruit liberal arts majors, and most companies feel that cultural fit is more important than GPA when deciding on new hires. Employers said that they have the most openings for engineering and computer information systems majors, followed by jobs for those in medicine and nursing. http://tinyurl.com/nxrwyxf

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Scholastic’s Teachers website offers forth some great ideas to encourage children to read over the summer:

Join a library summer reading program (the competition, log and incentives can encourage children).

Create a calendar with fun activities for students to complete while reading (examples: make a tent and read under it, read to a pet, read to the oldest or youn­gest person you know).

Launch a summer book club. Read the first book of an engaging series, as the summer is a good time to pursue a complete series.

Plan a book swap.  Ask everyone to bring books they are done with and trade books as well as recommendations.

Try out an audio book with babies and toddlers, as well as with children and teens.  Play the book during naptime or convince your teen to try exercising or doing chores to a book instead of music.

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In a novel idea for a reading contest this summer, The New York Times will ask teens, “What interested you most in the paper this week?” Anyone 13 to 19 years old can post an answer, and every Tuesday winners will be published on the blog The Learning Network, and all related posts are accessible without a digital subscription. http://tinyurl.com/lj25h5t.

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A student blogger recently posted tips on how to stay focused in class for students of all ages:

— Practice active listening and take notes.

‘;l– Sit in the front section of the room.

— Sit in the same seat every day (It will help you to remember what you learned in the class).

— Avoid sitting in the same seat for multiple classes.

— Participate in class.

Read his full explanations at http://tinyurl.com/kv27ycp.

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As you search for summer reading, movies and websites to amuse your children, don’t forget to check out Common Sense Media. The site can help you find age-appropriate movies, books, apps, TV shows, video games, websites and music with more than 20,000 reviews by age, entertainment type, learning rating and genre. commonsensemedia.org

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There is a 99-cent app that might get your kids outside. When you hold The Night Sky app up to the sky, the app identifies the names of the planets, stars and constellations.

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There have been interesting shifts in undergraduates’ choices of majors over time, and the shifts don’t really reflect where the jobs are. Among the majors less popular since 1970: education (down from 21 percent of degrees awarded to 5.9 percent in 2011-12); English (7.6 percent to 3 percent); social studies and history (18.5 percent to 10 percent); math and statistics (3 percent to 1 percent); physical sciences and science technologies (2.5 percent to 1.5 percent); and foreign languages, literatures and linguistics (2.5 percent to 1.2 percent). The majors that have gained the most share: business (13.7 percent in 1970-71 up to 20 percent in 2011-12); health professions (3 percent to 9.1 percent); and communication and journalism (1.2 percent to 4.7 percent). http://tinyurl.com/mepem2v

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In related news, very few of America’s new teachers took undergraduate coursework in teaching. Today, only around half of all new teachers have an undergraduate teaching degree versus 88 percent prior to 1980. According to the National Center for Education Information, the teaching force is changing due to an influx of people from non-traditional backgrounds. America’s teachers are still mostly white and female (the share of men in the profession fell from 31 to 16 percent over the last 25 years) but they’re getting younger, and studies are finding that they are more open to school reform initiatives, like eliminating under-performing teachers and tying pay to students’ test scores. http://ht.ly/wdR2C

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Fewer teens are having babies (or abortions). Teen pregnancies, births and abortions have dropped to new lows. In 2010, among teens age 15 to 19, pregnancies are down 51 percent from the peak in 1990. While teen pregnancies declined in all 50 states, New Mexico has the highest rate and New Hampshire the lowest.

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I was surprised to learn that only 15 percent of current college students are between the traditional ages of 18 and 22, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. My perception of college is out-of-date with today’s reality. This demographic shift is one of the reasons that the entire notion of how higher education is delivered is being reexamined.

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I read a helpful article recently on red flags to look for in teens that might indicate depression, drug use or just general cause for concern. Some are obvious (excessive moodiness, social isolation) but others less so (changes in eating or sleeping patterns, unexplained aches and pains). The complete list and accompanying discussion is helpful. http://tinyurl.com/lqmjo7b

It can be hard for teens to ask for help in person. Crisis Text Line is a new free service designed to help teens through their hardest times: family issues, stress or suicidal thoughts. Trained counselors text back and forth with advice and resources. Teens text “LISTEN” to 741-741. crisistextline.org

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Ben Carpenter is author of “The Bigs: The Secrets Nobody Tells Students and Young Professionals About How to Find a Great Job, Do a Great Job, Start a Business, and Live a Happy Life.” http://tinyurl.com/lf8k5k9. He offers 22 pieces of advice as students look toward the future:

• Do what you’re good at.

• Try out different fields when you’re young.

• Always ask yourself, What’s my edge?

• Think of your boss and your company before yourself.

• Be creative and bold.

• Comfort and success rarely go hand in hand.

• Stay in the driver’s seat of your career.

• Don’t agree to anything you don’t fully understand.

• When you’re upset, choose to look forward, not back.

• Learn to appreciate diverse work styles.

• Know when to look after your own interests.

• Own your mistakes.

• Be a good steward of the “little” things.

• If you want to be a leader, act like one.

• Do what you say you’re going to do, when you say you’re going to do it.

• Don’t let anyone have anything negative to say about you.

• Don’t complain about your job to your coworkers.

• A single act can ruin your great reputation.

• Don’t pick fights you can’t win.

• Don’t badmouth your coworkers.

• Live within your means.

• Don’t forget to have fun.

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Kitestring is a new, free service that alerts your emergency contacts if you don’t respond to its check-ups. The website was founded by an MIT grad student who was worried about his girlfriend traveling alone. Here’s how it works: You or your child start a trip on Kitestring (either on the website or via SMS), and the site texts you later to make sure you’re OK. Reply to the message within five minutes and all is well. If you don’t check in, they alert your emergency contacts that you set up ahead of time. Of course, you can always extend your ETA or check in early. www.kitestring.io

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According to the U.S. Department of Education, only 59 percent of full-time, first-time students, who began seeking a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution in fall 2005, completed the degree at that institution within six years. Students assume they will complete college in four years, and calculate tuition based on that assumption, but the numbers suggest that finishing in four years is unlikely for many. nces.ed.gov/

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Researchers at Stanford have found that walking boosts creativity. A person’s creative output increases by an average of 60 percent when walking, as opposed to sitting. Facebook and Apple executives are famous for meeting while walking, which now doesn’t seem so crazy. Indoors vs. outdoors does not matter. news.stanford.edu/news/2014/april/walking-vs-sitting-042414.html

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All the rage among teens across the country is a new game you play on your phone called 2048. My teens love it. Beating the game involves math and strategy. It is better than the pointless Candy Crush type apps, but equally addictive. tinyurl.com/qehy38n

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Most people agree that apprenticeships are the best way to get employees the skills that companies seek, but apprentice programs have been declining in the U.S. while growing more common in other countries. In Germany for example, there are 17.4 apprentices per 1,000 people, while in the U.S. there are currently 0.9. According to the Department of Labor, formal programs that combine on the job learning with mentorships and classroom education fell 40 percent between 2003 and 2013. Earlier this month, President Obama set aside $100 million to encourage apprenticeships in high-growth industries. Maybe that will help.

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The rising cost of college tuition is a hot topic, but only a third of all students at four-year public and private schools actually pay the published price at a college. For the typical student at a private nonprofit college, the net cost of school is less than half the sticker price. While the sticker price at public colleges grew more than 35 percent over the past 10 years, the average out-of-pocket costs for your typical student only grew by 16 percent. At private, nonprofit four-year universities, it was even less. tinyurl.com/ksk7yca

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For the first time, more Latino than white California students have been offered admission to attend the University of California system as freshmen. For next year, around 29 percent of students admitted to a UC campus will be Hispanic, compared to about 27 percent white. Asian students still made up the largest group admitted, at 36 percent.

In related demographic news, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, over the next ten or so years there will be a 16 percent decrease in white students but a 23 percent increase in Asian students and a 64 percent increase in Hispanic students who graduate from high school. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf

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Need five good reasons to take your child to the library? Christine French Cully, editor of Highlights magazine, offers these:

Regular visits to the library inevitably lead to more reading.

When you visit the library, you expose your child to more books and magazines than you can afford to buy.

Your local librarian can recommend books that you might not think to suggest, broadening your child’s tastes, mind and vocabulary.

Library time is active, not passive.

Owning a library card teaches kids responsibility.

Read the complete list at http://tinyurl.com/ktz266h and visit your local library.

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For what it’s worth, the new ranking of the best public high schools in America is out, courtesy of U.S. News & World Report. The methodology is “based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all of its students well, not just those who are college bound, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes to show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators.”  http://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/national-rankings

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Every Apple computer store will now recycle any old Apple product for free. They will also hand you a gift card if you turn in something that they think they can resell. Announcement of the new initiative was timed to Earth Day.

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The Department of Education offers a handful of tips for anyone who is taking out or currently had a student loan:

Keep close track of what you are borrowing (detailed records of the different loans, repayment dates and interest rates).  At nslds.ed.gov, select “Financial Aid Review,” log in, and view all federal student loans in one place.

Make interest payments while still in school. Even though a grace period is available, if you have a part-time job in school, paying back at least some of your student loan interest while you’re in school can save you a lot of money in the long run.

Keep your loan servicer in the loop. Make sure they always have up-to-date contact info for you.

Figure out what your monthly loan payments are going to be before you go into repayment. The same website above has a repayment estimator that allows you to pull in your federal student loan information and compare what your monthly payments would be under the different repayment plans that are offered.

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A new study has found that the longer kids spend watching television, the less sleep they get, according to Mass General Hospital for Children and Harvard School of Public Health.Young children who had a TV in their room lost an average of 30 minutes of sleep a night. Previous research has found that even a slight lack of sleep can have repercussions on behavior, learning ability and memory. http://tinyurl.com/olzmpug

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Based on the sample questions released last week, it looks like the new SAT will be a harder test. In addition, math will now account for half of a student’s score (800 out of 1600 points) and calculators will no longer be allowed. Students will begin taking the test in spring 2016. You can look at the sample questions at College Board’s site, deliveringopportunity.org.

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A mobile app to help combat jet-lag was released recently by mathematicians who have found a way to help travelers better adjust to new time zones. “Overcoming jet lag is fundamentally a math problem and we’ve calculated the optimal way of doing it,” said Danny Forger, a math professor at the University of Michigan. The free iPhone app, called Entrain, is perhaps the first to take a mathematical approach to “entrainment,” the scientific term for synchronizing circadian rhythms with the outside hour. The researcher/developers calculate ideal light adjustment schedules for more than 1,000 possible trips, a specialized plan and predict how long it will you take to adjust. entrain.math.lsa.umich.edu

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A new study has shown that using marijuana even just a few times a week may be enough to cause damage (The Journal of Neuroscience). It turns out that not much research had previously focused on casual pot smoking (fewer than four times a week) but researchers at Northwestern and Harvard in this small study found volume, shape and density changes in two crucial brain areas that control emotion and motivation, and some types of mental illness are affected by even infrequent pot smoking. The more marijuana the students smoked, the more their brains differed from the non-users. As a result, researchers now say they are very concerned about the long-term impacts of even minor marijuana use on the developing brain. http://tinyurl.com/lgdcp5x.

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Scientists seem to agree that green tea has many positive effects on health, including enhanced cognitive functions, in particular the working memory. Researchers also think that green tea may help treat cognitive impairments in psychiatric disorders such as dementia. http://tinyurl.com/kxy59l4.

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“In the past generation, the rising preoccupation with children’s safety has transformed childhood, stripping it of independence, risk taking and discovery. What’s been gained is unclear: rates of injury have remained fairly steady since the 1970s, and abduction by strangers was as rare then as it is now. What’s been lost is creativity, passion and courage” – said author Hanna Rosin in a recent cover story in The Atlantic titled, “The Overprotected Kid.” She goes on to say that playgrounds are so safe they are boring, and to quote Ellen Sandester, who said, “When (children) are left alone and can take full responsibility for their actions, and the consequences of their decisions, it’s a thrilling experience.”

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Please do recommend this site to others who might be interested and send any interesting news you see my way at lornasheridan@gmail.com.  Happy summer!