About Ben Dorson

A proposed federal law would prohibit schools and libraries from allowing access to social networking Web sites or chat rooms. It was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) in May. The Deleting Online Predators Act would require public schools and libraries to bar minors from "commercial social networking Web sites" and "chat rooms," such as MySpace and Facebook.

Tim Bell stands in front of a crowd of squirming elementary students. He sticks five candles into a cake, lights three and declares it fit for a 21st birthday. Even an audience that can barely spell the word "computer" knows that 21 candles belong on the cake. But Bell, an associate professor of computer science and software engineering at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand, is not talking about simple arithmetic. On this particular Saturday morning, he is at Butler University to explain binary code and other scientific computer concepts to kids during a one-hour presentation.

The walls lack a student-of-the-month plaque, an honor roll list and a trophy display case. Outside the classroom, you won't find any school group competing in sports or academic contests. Yet, students flock here every day, year-round. Dozens more are on a waiting list. Welcome to Key Learning Community, the first Indianapolis elementary school to rely on the multiple intelligence theory that learning can't always be measured by standardized tests. The Indianapolis Public Schools elementary opened in 1987. A middle school followed in 1993, and a high school opened in 1999.

It all started 10 years ago. My dad set off to climb Mount Rainier, a 14,411-foot volcano an hour's drive from Seattle. He did not make it to the top. My dad tried again in 1999, with the same result. He made his final try in 2006, this time with me, his 16-year-old son. So here I was at 5 a.m., with five hours of climbing behind me. Having started our climb at midnight to avoid melting snow, I st

A proposed federal law would prohibit schools and libraries from allowing access to social networking Web sites or chat rooms. It was introduced in the House of Representatives by Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) in May. The Deleting Online Predators Act would require public schools and libraries to bar minors from "commercial social networking Web sites" and "chat rooms," such as MySpace and Faceboo

Earlier this month, an estimated 300,000 people from around the country met at Indiana Black Expo to celebrate the accomplishments of African-Americans. During the event, Expo released a report produced by the Indiana Youth Institute that showed Indiana's black youth continue to be more at risk of failure than white youth. The study, based on data from federal, state and local sources, found low b

I n the midst of a tumultuous city sits a stronghold of peace, a building that has stood strong through centuries of fighting, acting as a safe haven for people old and young. The building is the YMCA and the place is Jerusalem, a city whose history is as violent as it is rich. The Jerusalem International YMCA -- Young Men's Christian Association -- was founded in 1878 during the Ottoman Empire an