A Bottle of Injury

Walk in any urban American neighborhood and you'll see shattered glass from beer bottles. Many beer drinkers don't mind smashing empty bottles on the ground, or worse, on other people. Not suprisingly, injuries result.

Some beer manufacturers, like Anheuser-Busch, have introduced aluminium bottles, but critics complain that only glass containers perserve the beer's flavor. The aluminium bottles are a huge improvement over the can counterparts and, no doubt, researchers are working on even more advanced designs.

Adding to the debate is the environmental aspect, since glass bottles are more difficult to recycle: you have to put glass in separate containers for safety reasons. Yet aluminium bottles can go in all-purpose recycling bins and get sorted out later.

While the effects of drinking beer is another topic, those people who are beer lovers ought to be more supportive of aluminum bottles. Our neighborhoods, as well as our environment, will be much better off.

A Paradox About Weight

While some journalists obsess over how fat American children are, others say that too many youngsters are prone to eating disorders. In fact, you may notice that the media often reports these two related stories without considering their connection.

As the media preaches that thinness is divine, children can't help but have a negative view of their weight. They resort to bulimia, anorexia, and binge eating, which seem to be easy weight-loss methods. In reality, eating disorders lead to serious health problems and even death.

The media can no longer ignore reality: it has a duty to encourage children to have a positive image of themselves. While being overweight can be unhealthy, going overboard to reach thinness is just as dangerous.

An Open Library

The days when your child grabbed an encyclopedia off the bookshelf to research his assigned country are practically gone. Instead, he will probably use a search engine to locate maps and statistics from the Internet. He may use the free "Wikipedia" to easily get information on Peru.

Wikipedia is part of a growing trend of "open source" learning that encourages visitors to contribute articles--in essence, creating a worldwide library. Previously, the Encyclopaedia Brittanica was popular, but often had outdated information. Wikipedia has quickly gained respect by publishing the latest facts and trends sent in by average readers.

Encyclopaedia Brittanica has tried to compete by asking visitors to send in articles, which would be published separatedly from the scholarly writings. Nevertheless, Wikipedia seems to dominate the market. While Wikipedia isn't a set of golden, leather-bound volumes, this new "encylopedia" is, as the saying goes, priceless.

Garden for Five-Year-Olds

A new kind of learning came into existence in 1837 when German thinker Friedrich Froebel designed a school just for three- and four-year-olds. Froebel called the school "kindergarten," which translates to "children's garden." His kindergarten was a place for youngsters to learn by playing.

Today, many youngsters in the United States attend kindergarten, but they have little time for play as their teachers strive to prepare them for the rigorous first grade. In fact, the American preschool has taken over as a play center for children, giving them a fun way to enter the school system. Children ages three and four can prepare for kindergarten in a less-restricted environment.

Most children are at least five years old when they reach kindergarten, depending on state laws. Studies show that older children attending kindergarten perform better than younger counterparts, at least in the elementary years. Thereafter, the younger children catchup.

And, in response to parents' daycare needs, many kindergartens run all-day programs, compared to the previous trend of half-day. The benefits of longer school time is debatable, but all-day programs do have more flexibility in providing children playing opportunities. After all, five-year-olds need to play just as much as preschoolers.

Mediation vs. the Courtroom

Since ancient times, people have gotten into disputes with each other. And, just as long ago, people have used a competent outsider, the mediator, to come to an agreement. In the United States, mediation is now part of growing trend that replaces the traditional, costly, and complicated court system with alternative-dispute-resolution methods.

Specifically, mediators can be lawyers, social workers, psychologists, or just about any one since previous job experience is not a requirement. But past job (or volunteer)experiences can be helpful in transitioning to a career in mediation.

Since all mediators need basic negotiating skills, you will definitely want to get mediation training. Currently, no requirements and certifications exist for the mediation field.

Even you do not pursue a career in mediation, your skills can be useful in your current job. You may be able to resolve workplace disputes with mediation skills, possibly stopping situations from reaching the courtroom.