Sext Education, and a History of Linguistic Aggravation

For teens in the new era of smartphones, sexting is common. Many school districts, trying to get a handle on the issue, have treated it as a criminal offense. But the LAUSD is planning to roll out a new education program about sexting in the fall. What does research show about the consequences of sexting? And how should it really be addressed by law enforcement, and schools? Then, Julie Hamp, the highest ranking woman ever at Toyota, was arrested in Japan in June. She was suspected of importing the painkiller Oxycodone. Now, a news service there is reporting that she’s being released and the charges dropped. Next, Carmen de Lavallade has danced on broadway, in movies, and on television. She broke boundaries as an African-American in a White-dominated industry. But before all that, Carmen de Lavallade was just a girl from Los Angeles. Finally, there are two kinds of people in the world: those who correct other people’s grammar, and those who think that those people are jerks. Ammon Shea’s new book, Bad English, looks at what are commonly considered mistakes in our language and explores how people first started speaking this way.