Whether it's good or bad, players are taught to forget about a play as soon as it's over. QB Donovan McNabb's ability to do that may be one reason he and the Eagles are headed to the NFC title game. ...more

January 12, 2009

The Tri-County area of Polk, Highlands, and Hardee counties has the second highest rate of child abuse in Florida. Many of these children who are abused by their parents enter the foster care system. One such child is Jennifer, who came to Children's Home Society's Hansen House at 17 after being in 27 different placements. ...more

November 9, 2008

From the outside, the small white, frame house in rural Seffner looks much like the tiny schoolhouse its founder envisioned. ...more

October 8, 2008

One of the heartbreaks of teaching is the inability to "reach" a student. Serious teachers lose sleep over certain kids. ...more

June 13, 2008

SEBRING — More than 50 Cracker Trail Elementary students in challenging situations have been paired up with a concerned staff member. School's guidance counselor Crystal Pella created the Adopt-A-Student Program to promote self-esteem, school attendance, academic achievement and a reduction in discipline problems. It's a "Big Brother/Big Sister" strategy for meeting the individual student's self-esteem needs, said Principal Rick Demeri. Cracker Trail Elementary staff members are asked if they would like to be paired with a student who has been chosen based on attendance problems, academic difficulties, divorce or death in their family or low self-esteem. Pairing up with a student is on a voluntary basis and not a requirement, Demeri said. Parent permission is obtained and all strategies take place during school time on the school campus. ...more

January 21, 2008

So I'm sitting through my final round at a speech and debate tournament thinking, "If I hear one more speech about the problem with America, I am going to nose-dive into an inescapable depression and become a 17-year-old alcoholic." ...more

January 16, 2008

Not long ago, a poet lamented to me that few newspapers review poetry books. So in honor of him and other poets, dead and alive, here's a look at some of the books of poems published this year. ...more

December 2, 2007

For parents concerned about their overweight teens, new research suggests the best tactic might be to just relax and cook a healthy Sunday dinner. ...more

October 15, 2007

Tonight marks the debut of PBS documentarian Ken Burns' seven-part, 14-hour film 'The War,' which tells the story of World War II through the personal accounts of men and women who lived through it. It was six years in the making, and it's expected to have the scope and power of his landmark series, 'The Civil War.' ...more

September 23, 2007