Many classrooms in San Diego County schools are going high-tech to keep students of the "digital generation" engaged, and interested in learning. Teachers are replacing chalk boards and textbooks with high-tech gadgets, such as computerized white boards, wireless laptops, interactive Web curriculum, digital microphones and state-of the-art projecting systems with huge LCD screens.

But is technology the key to holding the attention of students, or should school districts be spending more money on teachers? What do you think?

This week, we tackle a lighter topic: summer vacation. Summer family road trips used to conjure up images of the kids and parents piled into the station wagon or minivan for a time of togetherness -- singing, playing travel bingo, counting license plates, and other diversions. Looking out the window and marveling at the beautiful scenery was entertainment in itself.

Today, many families travel together much differently. With on-board DVD players, cell phones with text messaging, laptops, iPods, and other high-tech gadgets, looking out the window seems to be a thing of the past.

What do you think? Have high-tech gadgets forever changed this summer tradition? Are gadgets and gizmos a bonus or a burden when it comes to family road trips?

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Stay at home with the kids or go to work? It's a question many moms struggle with, and a question at the heart of a fierce debate. In an op-ed column in the Washington Post last week, E.J. Graff states the media have created a "mommy war machine," depicting stay-at-home moms and working moms facing off in playgrounds with briefcases and diaper bags. The column states that "mommy wars" are a media phenomenon driven by money and marketing.

But Leslie Morgan Steiner thinks the issue is more complicated and that the media stories often oversimplify the problems facing American mothers. She says there is evidence that "women experience a 'mommy war' driven by guilt, tension and understandable jealousy on both sides."

What do you think? How much of this debate is valid, and how much of it is simply media hype?

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Texas has become the first state to require girls to be vaccinated against the human papilloma virus, also known as HPV -- a sexually transmitted disease known to cause cervical cancer. The requirement follows a recommendation by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that girls be vaccinated -- starting at age 12. Scientists estimate that 80 percent or more of Americans contract the virus by age 50, and nearly 4,000 women die from cervical cancer each year. Now, 20 states, including California, have proposed legislation to require girls to be vaccinated against HPV.

NPR's Talk of the Nation held an open discussion with medical professionals and call-ins about the vaccine controversy. Some parents object to the vaccine because they fear it will encourage early sexuality; others say their kids are already exposed to enough vaccines as it is.

What do you think? Is this an imposition on parents' rights, or is it a good public health policy?

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New video games are hot sellers this time of year. And like every year, video game graphics keep getting better and better. But some of those details, like realistic gunfire and blood, have some people unsettled. Violent games labeled "M" for "mature" are designated for gamers 17 years and older, like R-rated movies. But local advocacy groups say the retail stores are lax about enforcing the age restriction.

Some say video game violence leads to violent behavior, while others say it's harmless entertainment. KPBS Radio's These Days spoke with the creator of the controversial game Super Columbine Massacre RPG! about these issues.

What do you think about violence in video games? For parents, how strict are you with your kids about video game ratings?

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