American Morning
Virginia school separates students by gender
Editor's Note: In part three of American Morning's special series, "Inside the Child's Mind," Kiran Chetry reports on how gender affects children when it comes to learning.
By Kiran Chetry, CNN
We know boys and girls develop at different stages as they grow, but there is growing research showing how boys and girls are wired differently when it comes to learning.
I visited one school where teachers are putting that to the test with single gender classrooms. It has its critics, but the school says test scores have shown improvement.
Faced with a gender gap in test scores, Woodbridge Middle School in Virginia formed single gender classrooms – testing the growing school of thought that boys and girls are hard wired to learn differently.
Dr. Leonard Sax, author of "Why Gender Matters," says the solution is to split them up.
“The best way for the boys is not the best way for the girls. The best way for the girls is not the best way for the boys,” says Sax. “The brain research is showing us quite clearly that the brains of girls and boys develop along different trajectories.”
Sax says math skills develop earlier in boys and language skills faster in girls.
“The surprising finding is that the coed classroom ends up disadvantaging both girls and boys, ends up reinforcing gender stereotypes. The girls end up thinking that abstract number theory is for boys, the boys end up thinking creative writing is for girls.”
TSA security secrets posted online
The TSA is trying to explain today how its screening manual – something no one outside the agency is supposed to see – was posted online, for all to see.
Some security experts are calling it the biggest security breach the TSA has been involved in since 9/11. Our homeland security correspondent Jeanne Meserve is looking for answers.
Read more: TSA reviews Web release of manual
Al Gore answers your climate change questions
[cnn-photo-caption image= http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/12/08/gore.gi.art.jpg caption="Former Vice President Al Gore answers your climate change questions on American Morning Wednesday."]
By John Roberts, CNN
The intersection of the Copenhagen Climate Summit and the e-mail controversy colloquially known as “Climate-Gate” has cast new suspicion on what many people had taken to be decided science.
How much of an impact it will be remains to be seen. Professor Peter Liss, who has taken over as interim director of the prestigious Climatic Research Unit, says it is bound to have some impact, particularly among nations who are looking for reasons to resist the call for new curbs on greenhouse gases.
Supporters of anthropogenic global warming will no doubt get a boost from Nobel Laureate Al Gore, who will be attending the conference. Gore’s visit coincides with the release of his new book, “Our Choice,” in which he lays out in simple, but lengthy detail the green technologies he believes can reshape America and the world.
While Gore has legions of supporters, he also has his fair share of critics, who charge that the book is “emotionally charged propaganda” and that Gore – the venture capitalist – stands to profit handsomely from the very technology and policy he promotes.
The former vice president joins us tomorrow in the 7am hour of American Morning, and we’d like to throw open the discussion to you. What would you like to ask him about global warming, the environment and green technology?
Post your question below, call our show hotline at 1-877-MY-AM-FIX, or send us an iReport.
We’d really appreciate you being part of the discussion.
Autism: A journey of recovery
Editor's Note: New cutting-edge research is helping to unlock the mysteries of the child's brain and could give autistic children a whole different future. Watch part three of our special series, Inside the Child's Mind, tomorrow on American Morning.
By Kiran Chetry, CNN
As a baby, Jake Exkorn was everything his parents hoped for – happy and healthy.
“He hit all of the developmental milestones. He walked, he talked, he played,” says Jake’s mother Karen Exkorn.
But at 17 months, Karen says the light began to fade from Jake's face.
“At first he stopped responding to his name. And then he stopped playing. And then by his second birthday, he stopped speaking entirely.”
Karen worried it may be a hearing problem, or a speech delay.
“I never expected to hear the words, your child has autism. … It was completely devastating. It meant that there was no hope for my son. And yet I was determined to help my son in any way that I could. I knew that I wanted treatment for Jake that had science behind it. And a lot of treatments don't. But the one that had the most science behind it was a treatment called ABA.”
ABA – applied behavior analysis – is an intensive approach that uses repetition and rewards to teach autistic children the things that come naturally to most kids.
Gates in Afghanistan: 'We're in this thing to win'
Defense Secretary Robert Gates made an unannounced visit to Afghanistan Tuesday. He's there to assure our troops, "we're in this thing to win."
Secretary Gates arrived overnight – six days after President Obama announced he's sending in 30,000 reinforcements. The secretary is also there to reassure the Afghan president that America will not abandon him. Our Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has the report from Afghanistan.
Read more: Defense secretary visits Afghanistan
1,500 Marines set to ship out
It took three months for President Obama to decide on a troop surge strategy for Afghanistan. It took less than a week for the Pentagon to announce the first deployments.
About 1,500 U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina just got the call. They're shipping out this month. Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence has the report from Camp Lejeune.
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