Quick Hits (1.26.12)

How do you survive middle school? Four eighth-graders in Virginia bestow their wisdom in a format inspired by the popular radio show, This American Life, (the program eventually featured some of the monologues): “If all kids were nice to each other, the world would be a better place. But since that’s not going to happen anytime soon, you better just learn karate.” (The Virginian-Pilot)

Kids on edtech. “One of my daughters woke me up at 5 am the other day because she wanted to do math,” Andy Rotherham writes in his critique of technology in the classroom. (TIME)

But does this translate to college? This year’s college freshmen class was tamer and more studious in high school than those in years past, according to an annual survey of first-time, full-time college students nationwide. (USA Today)

Doing it their way. State education officials in Pennsylvania know their schools won’t reach No Child Left Behind proficiency benchmarks this year, but they’re also not interested in the waiver plan put forth by the Obama administration. Next best thing: FREEZE! (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)