Chicago: The government has decided to minimize the number of public elementary schools to mere 48, owing to the reduction of 1 billion in the budget. The shutdown in the city is the newest addition to closures all around the country. Sources suggest that tightening of the budgets by the districts and a marginal downfall of the school going children are the primary reason for this major step.

When the scenario in Chicago is analysed it is quite evident that, the schools that are closed down are majorly in the areas where there is an enormous number of African American population who had suffered the backlash of recession which resulted in many of them losing their jobs and were forced to move out .The students are currently on their summer break, so by the time they return, when the school reopens, a new allotment would be done.

Atlanta: After the infamous cheating scandal which caused the arrest of 35 former teachers of Atlanta Public Schools (ASP) including their former superintended Beverly Hall, Errol Davis took charge as the new superintended and also ensured o setting up a new foul proof system. He previously worked as the chancellor in the state of Georgia and has also served as a chairman of the board for Alliant Energy Corporation. Davis promises to keep the system error free by making a stricter and tighter security wall. He has also made it mandatory for all the staff; teaching and non-teaching to attend an annual training program on ethics.

The cheating scam had took the education system by storm as it was revealed how the infamous group had manipulated , calculated and erased the standardization of data which resulted in betterment of test grades. The pay scale of the staff were directly linked to the grades which made them attempt this forgery. However with the arrest of the group, Davis is hoping that the issue gets a closure and the schools in Atlanta would be able to put it all behind and hope for a brighter future.

Through her new book, Bazelon makes the readers introspect, think and analyse at the same time. The Yale law graduate also has a lot of credentials to her credit . Even though the topic has been politicized over the years, she throws light to the lesser known aspects which is very impressive and insightful at the same time. She suggests how the society treats and sees “bullying” as a whole. She herself had to undergo a painful instance in her 8th grade, when she was isolated and tortured. She says that, it made her realize the power of empathy.

She also suggests that most of the times, we see bullying and ignore it so as to make children independent and for making them capable of handling such situations. However she calls for a change in the attitude as well as suggests an involved parenting technique, so that children could feel the confidence and comfort in reaching out for help. As a mother of two, she also shares her insights which she has gained by her experience in raising her children and how employing her techniques helped her to boost the relationship.