>> welcome to "teen kids news." i'm siena. we'll start with our top story. it's the most widely spoken language in the world. and yet for many years few schools in the u.s. offered it. but as ellie reports, that's now changing. >> fireworks... paper... the compass. these are just some of the many inventions to come from china. here's another one -- mandarin. in a country that's said to have more than 2,000 dialects, mandarin is china's official language. >> [ speaking chinese ]

>> [ speaking chinese ] >> when rong rong lee started teaching mandarin to american students back in the 1980s, scenes like this were rare. but as china has become a major economic power, interest in its language has grown dramatically. >> i think their ability to converse fluently in mandarin will serve them incredibly well, in a variety of ways going forward. >> i knew that when i grew up, like, chinese would be, like, a good thing to just have in my tool belt, i guess, for when applying for jobs and stuff like that. >> learning mandarin not only prepares you for the future, it proves you can take on a big challenge. all languages require you to pronounce words correctly. but mandarin goes further.

you also need to pronounce them with the correct tone. >> there's first tone, second tone, third tone, and fourth tone, and those are all unique ways to pronounce a word. so, you can put together a sentence that's like ma, ma, ma, mand that means "mom scolded the numb horse." it's the same word. >> if you don't pronounce the tone correctly, the meaning will be wrong. it will cause a lot of misunderstanding. >> so, do you have to be a language genius to learn chinese? >> definitely not. because over the years, actually, i have been teaching chinese total for 25 years, and so many kids, they have learned from all kind of background. i just, sometimes i'm amazed they can do what they can do. [ all singing in chinese ] >> these middle school students aren't just learning speak in chinese. they're learning sing in chinese. >> every friday, it's the quiz, and after quiz i want them to relax.

so, i will teach them songs. >> singing and speaking mandarin are just the beginning. learning the written form of the language is even harder. >> for the most part, i think reading and writing is a lot harder, since chinese isn't written in letters. it's written in characters, and each character has its own specific meaning. it's a little bit complicated. >> "a little bit complicated"? that's like saying the great wall of china is a little bit long. in mandarin, there are thousands of characters to master. so, students start by learning what's called pinyin. it's a way of writing down sounds using letters from our alphabet. >> so, you have to learn what the characters mean and then how to say it in pinyin. so, there's a lot of different aspects to it than just learning a different language. >> there are also a lot of different reasons why students decide to learn mandarin. >> the culture and the language has always really appealed to me. >> i really want to go to china.

it's somewhere that i've always wanted to go. so, i hope i'll get to go there one day and use it. [ all speaking chinese ] >> chinese is a journey. experts say it's probably twice as hard to master as spanish or french. but that's not stopping many american students. the number of us learning mandarin has increased tenfold in recent years. zai jian! >> coming up -- a condition a lot of guys have but don't want to talk about.

>> there's a condition that affects many teenage boys. >> other kids would often notice, and they would tease me about it. >> it's a condition that most guys who have it do their best to hide it. >> i was so scared of being teased that i layered my shirts so much that i would wear three inches of layers from my actual chest. >> and i play basketball, so i'd

always put on a tight undershirt under a baggy t-shirt. >> or at all costs avoided going to the beach or anything that involved taking off my shirt, you know. >> that's because they had deposits of tissue on their chest that made it look like they were developing breasts. >> tissue would form on the breast area, so it would protrude right here, and it would be very noticeable. >> it was just my chest was really large. and, i mean, it wasn't a normal boy, you know? i could tell it was kind of girl-like. >> it's surprisingly common. as many as 1 out of 3 teen guys may have excess breast tissue. >> well, it definitely brings your self-confidence down -- a lot of things you would have done that you don't do anymore. >> and i was pretty bummed out, depressed. i mean, it was just, i felt kind of really weird, 'cause, like,

it really kind of affected dating or social-wise. i didn't really want to hang out with the other boys, 'cause i just was scared that they would notice. >> dr. elliot jacobs is a plastic surgeon in new york city. he specializes in dealing with this condition. hi, doctor. >> hi. how are you doing? >> fine, thank you. so, what exactly are we talking about? >> well, we're concerned about the growth of extra tissue on a young boy's chest, which sometimes can get big enough to resemble a female breast. it's called gynecomastia, which technically means female breast on a young man. >> doctor, what causes it? >> we don't know for sure what causes it, although we do know that there is a hereditary component, and there is also known as a hormone imbalance, as well, and these two things contribute to the growth. >> does it go away on its own? >> in many circumstances it will go away by itself.

but in about one out of every three young men, it will remain for more than two years. and once it does, it tends to stay forever. >> so, does that mean this is something that a guy has to live with for the rest of his life? >> absolutely not. there are unfortunately no good treatments for it to remove it easily, such as with pills or injections. there is an alternative, which is surgery. the surgery itself can target the extra tissue, physically remove it from the body, and provide a nice, normal-appearing masculine chest for a young man. >> you know, doctor, a common surgery for girls is getting a nose job. and most doctors recommend that girls wait until they are at least 18 years old before considering cosmetic surgery. is that true with this condition for boys, as well? >> not true. you see, when you consider somebody for a nose job, we want to wait until they are physically mature.

and that usually occurs around 18. but for this condition in young men, and it usually starts around age 12 or 13, they can't wait till they're 18 because they're going to be embarrassed during their entire teenage years. and if we remove it in the early stage, they will have a nice, normal chest forever. >> so, you're saying that it won't come back if they have surgery? >> that is correct. i've done about 250 young men so far. not one of them has had what we call a recurrence. it hasn't regrown after the surgery was done. >> so, if a teen feels he has this problem, what should he do? >> i think the first thing a teenager should do is speak to your parents. speak to them. tell them about the problem. they may not even know about it. they may not even have heard about the condition. and then the parents and you should go to a doctor, have it checked out. and then follow the doctor's

advice, who may say, "wait it out. let's watch it for a while." or if it's been there for a while, you may want to consider surgery. >> well, doctor, thank you very much for discussing this with us. >> you're most welcome. it's been my pleasure. >> dr. jacobs was kind enough to arrange for us to talk with some of his former patients. at the start of this report, we heard them describing what it was like to live with this condition. they all had the surgery. here's their comments on life now. >> i'm more social now. i'm not ashamed of taking off my shirt in the gym. i actually go to the gym now. i used to avoid it at all cost. i mean, i am planning to go to the beach this summer for the first time in a long time and swim, you know? >> so, it's pretty exciting, and it's definitely a whole, new lease on life. >> well, basketball season is going strong, and i don't have to be nervous about wearing a uniform. i feel great. beforehand, i constantly had to be careful, but now i can live

life completely normal. >> so, if you have male breast tissue and it's causing you distress, don't keep it a secret. talk to your parents. and you may want to consult a specialist like dr. jacobs. so, if you'd like to find out more about this, there's a link on our website.

>> unless you watch reruns of "mash" or have a great-grandparent who served there, you don't hear much about the korean war. lauren reports on the memorial to what's often called "the forgotten war." >> on the washington mall, near the lincoln memorial and the vietnam war memorial, there's another memorial. this one honors our veterans of the korean war.

after world war ii, korea was divided into two countries -- north korea and south korea. in 1950, communist north koreans invaded their southern neighbors. u.s. president harry truman immediately sent troops to help south korea. now its remembered as a war. back then it was called a police action. >> it's best and more accurate to call it a korean conflict. congress never declared it a war. technically, we are still in an armistice, and technically that conflict is still under way. >> whatever you choose to call it, the fighting raged for three long years, much of it in the bitter cold. at the korean war veterans memorial, 19 bronze statues represent the different military services that took part in the conflict. >> they're slightly larger than life-size to depict the hazards, the tough conditions that american soldiers experienced during the korean conflict.

>> the memorial has another striking feature -- a massive wall of black granite. look closely and you'll see etched images. you'll also see your reflection in its polished surface. >> so, there's a dual focus there with the idea that you can see yourself in this situation -- see yourself in this conflict -- so as to bring the visitor much closer to what's going on. >> the effect definitely draws visitors in. >> the wall that had all of the people etched in it was really, really cool. >> the korean war was the first military action undertaken by a young united nations. twenty-one countries fought alongside the u.s. they're honored on stone slabs that border the pathway. the war ended in a standoff. to preserve the truce, the u.s. maintains a force in south korea. tensions with north korea remain to this day. the memorial is a guarantee that the forgotten war will always be remembered.

at the korean war memorial for "teen kids news," i'm lauren. >> this important messages is brought to you by the aclu -- because constitution day is every day. >> when it comes to state flags, louisiana holds the record. i'll tell you just what that record is in "flag facts."

>> ever take a close look at your state flag? you should because you might be surprised at how much you can learn from it. here's brandon with this

week's lesson. >> louisiana has a unique distinction. since the first europeans arrived, 10 flags have flown over the territory. that's more than any other u.s. state. in 1519, spanish explorers planted their flag. they were followed by the french in 1682. later on, napoleon's tricolor was displayed. then, in 1763, great britain gained a foothold in the region. in 1810, local colonists united against the british under a flag known as "the bonnie blue." finally, in 1812, louisiana achieved statehood. it looked like the stars and stripes were here to stay. but with the civil war, louisiana withdrew from the union. it declared itself a republic, with its own flag, of course. but two months later, it joined

the confederacy. louisianans would live under two different confederate flags before the war ended. finally, in 1912, louisiana adopted the flag we see today. >> the louisiana flag i love, because it's a story of unconditional love. what the settlers saw, according to a louisiana legend, when they first arrived there, were these brown pelicans. and if food was scarce, what the mother pelicans would do was peck at their breasts until they bled, and they would feed that to their young. so, on this state flag, you see a mother feeding three baby brown pelicans. >> eventually, louisiana adopted the brown pelican as its official state bird. by the way, louisiana also has an official state doughnut, called a beignet. it's fried dough with powdered sugar on top. fortunately, the official state drink is milk. with "flag facts," i'm brandon. >> this report is brought to you by big mountain entertainment.

if you'd like a chance at being in the music video for "i just wanna be me," go to... ...and select "music video contest" from the "more" tab. >> the song "i just wanna be me" is about being yourself. sing it, show us what makes you unique, and send us in the video, and we can put you in our music video. >> you've got until september 1 to enter. all of the submissions will be judged by the band. good luck. >> this may not look like much, but when we return, i'll tell you how this huge section of paper set a world record. we'll be right back.

>> few things made from a simple sheet of paper give more thrills and spills than a paper airplane. no doubt we've all tossed these lightweight gliders at some time or other. as nicole reports, at the pima air & space museum in tucson, arizona, paper aviation

history was made. >> it all started with a contest to see who can make a paper airplane that would fly the furthest. >> we wanted to find a way to capture the imagination of the children so that they'd be more interested in aviation and potentially becoming engineers and scientists in the future. and we thought if we were doing something that kids already do, and adding the interest of building the great paper airplane, that that would be the thing to do. >> the winner is arturo valdenegro. please come up here. [ applause ] >> well, arturo valdenegro won our fly-off in january of 2012, and so he became our guest engineer, and he was able to name the plane. he named it arturo's desert eagle. >> a team of professional engineers took arturo's concept and created a 15-foot test model. >> hey, arturo? >> oh, hey. >> so, are you excited? >> yeah. >> you want to see it? >> yeah.

>> we'll pull it out. >> the model was going to be tested over the desert. leading the team is art thompson. he explained that how the desert eagle was lifted was crucial. >> this is for picking it up with the helicopter. and so this is about where the center of gravity is. >> the model was carefully carried aloft. when it reached the right height, it was time to set it free. >> now. >> "drop, drop, drop." >> ooh! >> and drop it did. the small parachute attached to the back was supposed to help stabilize the paper plane, but it actually made the plane less stable. >> back to the hangar! >> [ laughs ] >> so, the team made some adjustments, including getting rid of the parachute. and now they set out to make an even bigger paper airplane.

this one would set the world record -- 45 feet long, 25 feet wide, and weighing 800 pounds. however, when it was lifted from the center, all of that weight caused the plane to buckle and crack. so, it had to be reinforced. and the engineers decided this time to lift the plane by its nose. the repairs took eight hours, but finally it was ready. to record the historic event, cameras were everywhere -- on the ground, on the helicopter, even on the giant paper plane itself. [ crowd cheers ] at 2,700 feet, it was time for arturo's desert eagle to soar.

>> okay, it's released, and it's flying. it's flying away. looking stable. looking good. flying, flying. >> as the saying goes, "what goes up must come down." and tdesert eagle came down, a bit more quickly than everyone had hoped. >> it flew for about six seconds, actually gliding on its own. but of course gravity does take effect, and it crashed in the desert. we have parts of it here at the museum, still. >> while the desert eagle's flight was brief, it was a success. the project reached its goal of showing arturo and kids around the world just how exciting science and math can be. aviation history is filled with ups and downs. back in 16th century china, a

man by the name of wan hu tried to fly. as legend has it, he took 47 rockets used in fireworks and strapped them to a chair. he then sat in the chair and had servants light the fuses. there was a blast, but no blastoff. it took a lot of trial and error, but eventually man was able to fly. so, who knows? maybe this giant paper airplane is the beginning of a whole, new technology. at the pima air & space museum, with what's left of the world's largest paper plane, i'm nicole for "teen kids news." >> that's our show for this week. thanks for watching "teen kids news." we'll see you next time.

>> here's a shout-out to pr newswire for including "teen kids news" on their big screen in times square, new york city.

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