If Michigan legislators have their way, the state could soon be home to some of the most permissive charter school regulations in the nation.

Michigan, and Detroit in particular, is widely seen as one of the epicenters for a number of experimental school reforms. The recently introduced legislation aiming to relax the cap on charter school growth, follows a move, earlier this year, that essentially placed the worst performing schools in the Detroit Public School system into a separate district. The city and the state have been rallying to overcome U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s declaration, last year, that DPS was “arguably the worst urban school district in the country.’’

But in the push to implement sweeping school reform, some veteran educators say Detroit and the state may be missing an opportunity to make student and classroom-centered changes.

 

Official statistics show that since 1999 over 64,000 Chinese babies, most of them girls, have been adopted by Americans. China’s one child policy has caused an increase in the number of children abandoned, many of whom end up in orphanages. But China has changed a great deal in the last two decades, and so has its attitude towards adoption. The Chinese government recently paid for 90 adopted Chinese children and their families to travel from the U.S. to the country of their birth on a "heritage tour" — billed as an opportunity for these children to learn more about their roots.

Many parents grapple with how to talk to their kids about a certain sensitive topic. They want to know: Are the kids old enough to understand? Am I talking about this too late, or too early? Will I explain things clearly, or just confuse them? I'm referring, of course, to the money talk. And I'm a firm believer in the idea that no kid is too young to get it.

'Nanny lit' may have turned heads years ago in the publishing world, but there's a new voice — and a new book — getting people excited about the genre. Trinidadian immigrant Victoria Brown worked as a nanny on the Upper East Side, and she talks with us about her new book, "Minding Ben," as well as her own path to motherhood. 

Two stories with medical angles find their way intersecting in my life this morning. I’m not so interested in dwelling on my personal biographical details but our conversation with the world’s first “test tube baby,” now a first time mom, and two people involved in the drama and miracle of premature babies these days sure got me thinking.

Takeaway co-host Celeste Headlee will be getting married this summer and, in the process, she'll be taking on the role of stepmother, as her husband-to-be brings a new son into the household. At the same time, her son will get a new stepfather. She's not alone: 65 percent of remarriages involve children from a previous marriage, so we look at the challenges of blended families.

New studies and rumors fly almost every week on what (allegedly) causes autism and what "cures" it. At the same time, autism studies (including the frequently-cited Wakefield study linking MMR vaccines to autism in 1998) occasionally get retracted. What's true and what's not? Dr. Perri Klass and Dr. Eileen Costello, pediatricians and co-authors of "Quirky Kids: Understanding and Helping Your Child Who Doesn't Fit In - When to Worry and When Not to Worry," distinguish autism facts from autism fiction.

Last week, ten American Baptist community members attempted to take 33 children out of Haiti, claiming their goal was to rescue the children. The Haitian government disagreed and charged the Americans with kidnapping.  For many, the story has raised new concerns and questions about adoption.

It's not news that a lot of couples squabble about money. But what might come as a surprise is the fact that more and more couples are trying to avoid those money fights by keeping their finances separate. In a 2009 survey by PayPal, 57 percent of couples said they kept all or some of their money apart, up from 48 percent in 2008.

The president and first lady spend a lot of time in the public eye. The private life of Barack and Michelle Obama is, well, private. But this week's New York Times Magazine offers the public a look at the couple's off-camera relationship. New York Times national reporter Jodi Kantor joins us with an intimate portrait of one of the most powerful couples in the nation.

Jodi Kantor's profile of Barack and Michelle Obama's marriage will be in the New York Times Magazine this Sunday.

Nick Weaver revealed to his mom that he was gay when he was 12 years old. Now he is 15 and lives in Tulsa, Okla. Both he and his mom, Pam Anderson, talk with us about the challenges pre-teens face when coming out of the closet. We also speak to Benoit Denizet-Lewis, who wrote a cover story in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine about a growing trend among young gay men and women: coming out earlier in life.

It’s Monday, when we talk about family issues on The Takeaway. Takeaway contributor Lisa Belkin, who writes the parenting blog Motherlode for The New York Times, is here to talk with us about what happens when parents make the decision to dissolve an adoption. 

We also talk wtih Anita Tedaldi about this painful process. Tedaldi wrote an essay for Motherlode about her very personal experience of terminating an adoption. She had adopted a baby from an undisclosed country and after months of raising the baby, decided that she and her husband were not equipped to take care of him.

While working fathers are content with their job-life balance, moms are increasingly angry as they try to balance being great employees and great parents. Who are they mad at? The dads. Joining The Takeaway to discuss the continuing inequality of parenting are Lisa Belkin, author of the Motherlode blog for The New York Times, and Jeremy Adam Smith, author of The Daddy Shift: How Stay-at-Home Dads, Breadwinning Moms, and Shared ParentingAreTransforming the American Family.

There's a discussion that’s happening around a lot of watercoolers in America today: Elizabeth Edwards is finally going public about her husband's infidelity. In advance of her new book, Resilience, the wife of former Senator and former presidential candidate John Edwards sits down with Oprah Winfrey today to discuss her husband’s affair. Are politicians more likely to cheat than other men? And why do their wives stay with them? The Takeaway talks to Gail Sheehy, author of Hillary’s Choice and contributing editor of Vanity Fair, about the enduring fascination with political scandal and public marriages.

Oprah's interview with Elizabeth Edwards airs today, but here's an AP report to tide you over:

New scientific research from China’s National Institute of Family Planning indicates that researchers are one step closer to a form of contraception for men. The shot could be as effective at preventing pregnancies as the female pill or condoms. The monthly testosterone injection works by temporarily blocking sperm production and could revolutionize birth control. But will women trust men to use it?

We’re taking a look at the science and the social implications of this shot with Dr. John Herr, a professor at the University of Virginia. He’s director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Research in Contraceptive and Reproductive Health. We’re also joined by Susie Bright, author of The Sexual State of the Union and the host of In Bed with Susie Bright on audible.com.

Today, California’s Supreme Court takes up the issue of whether Proposition 8, the ballot initiative that effectively banned gay marriage in that state, is legal or not. The hotly-contested proposition passed last year and heads to the court today over questions of constitutionality. The courthouse should be a spectacle as protesters on both sides of the issue rally and even Ken Starr is expected to make an appearance. To tell us more about the gay marriage debate in California and across the country, Kenji Yoshino of New York University Law School joins us.

For a comedic take on the gay marriage battle in California, here's "Prop. 8 The Musical":

More than a century ago, an eight-year-old girl asked an adult at the New York Sun for the answer. And for the past 100 years, grown-ups still tell their kids, yes, yes, yes! We take a listen back on that famous letter, and how it keeps kids young and old still believing.

Read the original letter from Virginia O'Hanlon and the "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Clause" response at newseum.org »

While the rest of the United States — indeed, the world — was dancing, carousing and toasting VB Day, California voters gave the Obama administration an idea of what the future's going to look like, and a serious reality check: letting go of the brutal, stupid politics of the last 20 years is not going to come easy. With no statewide office races this year — Gov. Schwarzenegger's tenure ends in 2010, neither California senate seat was up, and the legislature is locked into place by gerrymandering that rises to the level of abstract art — this California election was all about ballot propositions.

This week, California voters passed Proposition 8, a ballot initiative that amends the state's constitution to explicitly remove the court-approved right of same-sex couples to marry. Florida and Arizona passed similar measures. Where does the movement to legalize same-sex marriage go from here? Aaron Hicklin, editor of Out Magazine, outlines possible next steps.

President-elect Barack Obama will have a host of important decisions before him in the coming weeks. Among them - what sort of dog should he and his family choose as the new First Pet?

 

"Overwhelmingly, most feel that the new president-elect and his family should adopt a pound mutt." — Meg Frost, author of the blog Cute Overload. She's been polling her readers on the question of what dog best represents America.