Improving school offerings

Food has been under attack of late—on TV, in the papers, and no more than on the school-front. The reasons speak for themselves:

• One-third of our children/adolescents are either overweight or obese, thus putting them at higher risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and other health problems.

Meanwhile, 32 million children eat lunch at school every day, with 11 million more also eating breakfast there. Put another way: kids consume 30% to 50% of their calories at school, all of which is contributing to the weight issues confronting so many.

Enter the federal government.

Some time ago Happy Meal toys were banned, as were sugary drinks in vending machines. Then in December, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010. Its stated goal (more…)

Hard-working kindergarteners

The kindergarten controversy is not about to go away any time soon, as, more and more, school districts across the country turn the “children’s garden” into a full-day affair, complete with reading, writing, arithmetic, and testing, too. In other words, the new first grade.

Used to be, our youngest students engaged in all manner of play, everything from playing dress-up and building wooden block castles to carving out sand tunnels and singing along as their teacher accompanied them on the piano. And always for just a few hours every day.

That was then. Now, though, thanks in part to (more…)

Video gaming goes to the Supreme Court

Video games: absorbing, interactive, potentially addictive, and, on many occasion, violent—and therein lies much of the problem. That’s because many experts believe the brutality our children are exposed to desensitizes them and contributes to aggressive and very unchildlike behavior.

Indeed, says the American Academy of Pediatrics, “There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both counts. . . The conclusion of the public health community, based on over 30 years of research, is that viewing entertainment violence can lead to increases in aggressive attitudes, values and behavior, particularly in children.”

For that very reason, California’s Senator Leland Yee—who also happens to be a child psychologist—sponsored a state ban of violent video games to minors (more…)

Child’s play has gone viral, as even five- and six-year-olds are getting on the cyberbullying bandwagon, sending out hurtful messages without so much as a second thought and causing some of our children to view suicide as their only way out of the pain inflicted on them via electronic media.

The highly publicized deaths of Tyler Clementi and Phoebe Prince leave no doubt; no wonder November is National Anti-Bullying Month.

A short time ago in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, more than 100 Souderton Area High School students signed up in September for National Kick a Freshman Day; fortunately that effort was thwarted by officials.

Just recently, however,17-year-old Jesse Buchsbaum hanged himself in his Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania home, most likely a victim of bullying.

As John Halligan will tell you, the toll is great. Because his son Ryan killed himself after being bullied in school (more…)

Parenting: doing it right is uppermost in everyone’s mind and don’t authors and booksellers know it! So do all our well-meaning friends and relatives who shower us with free advice, complete with oft-told old wives’ tales.

Never sure whether or not to subscribe to all that “wisdom” and act accordingly, many of us seek the professional advice of our pediatricians.

Only they might not have all the right answers.

So says Dr. Andrew Adesman, a pediatrician at the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Children’s Medical Center of New York and author of Babyfacts: The Truth about Your Child’s Health from Newborn through Preschool. For his study, he and his team sent out questionnaires to 5,000 board-certified American pediatricians and heard back from 1,002 of them. Of the 48 questions posed, 34 were so-called myths, while the rest were all true statements. The doctors’ responses—true, likely true, unsure, likely false, or false—should give us pause. (more…)

Info 101: Common Core Standards and the Race to the Top Competition

Making schools better with national standardsAfter taking more than a year to develop and built on a foundation of previously established college and career-readiness standards, the Common Core State Standards have now been released.

You should know that . . .

• The Standards were developed by the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association—along with input from numerous teachers, parents, school administrators, civil rights and business leaders—and are designed to replace the various uncoordinated ones currently defined by the states.

• Only Texas and Alaska did not participate.

• The Standards address English language arts (ELA), literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects, and mathematics, K-12.

• All are “1) research and evidence-based; 2) aligned with college and work expectations; 3) rigorous; and 4) internationally benchmarked.”

• The states are allowed to add up to 15% of their own standards to fill in any gaps.

If adopted nationwide, as hoped, every state—thus every district—will essentially be following the same curricular guidelines (more…)

It’s worrying just about everybody. The writing skills of today’s students, that is. Blame it on the death of letter writing and thank you notes; blame it on emailing and instant messaging; blame it on lack of practice and caring. Whatever you come up with, we’ve got a problem.

Does putting thought to paper come easily to your child, or does it invite arm twisting, gnawed pencils, and piles of crumpled paper? And does it matter? You bet. Says Pennsylvania’s Department of Education, “Writing is an essential skill in most places, where it serves as a means of posing and solving problems, of making reports, and of persuading others to take a particular action.” There’s no getting around it. This is, after all, the Information Age. (more…)

Let’s face it: begging doesn’t cut it, nor do threats and bribes. Not when it comes to homework and studying. That’s because external motivators, like the promise of an MP3 player or the threat of grounding, have only short-term effects. Instead, make it personal. It’s internal motivators, such as striving to accomplish goals, that lead to more sustained effort and growth. As Time for Kids suggests, “Children whose goal is to learn are more focused on their own progress and are more willing to take on challenging tasks.”

Start by explaining that effort is often more critical than ability, modeling hard work and valuing learning. Set up a schoolwork schedule together, and then limit distractions during work times. If necessary, help get assignments started—then, step back. This is your child’s job, not yours.  (more…)

She insisted that her daughter not be penalized for misspellings–but spelling counts even out of the classroom, whether we like it or not. And millions don’t like it, and it’s no wonder. After all, English is not only loaded down with ninety spelling rules, they’re accompanied by about 3,500 exceptions! And forget about spelling a word the way it sounds. The first lines of this poem prove that: (more…)

Hunched over the computer, her fingers flew over the keyboard. Fact after carefully researched fact about Ellis Island made their way onto the screen. The paper was practically writing itself—and then the phone rang. Wanting privacy, she took the call in her bedroom. Meanwhile, her mom ran upstairs for a sweater, saw the light on in the computer room, and flicked the switch. Such a howl! Eight pages gone, unsaved . . .

Our memories, too, can let us down. Our short-term memory allows us to keep a thought—but not for long. Storing information, like a computer’s hard-drive, is our long-term memory’s job. To demonstrate, ask your child to look up a number in the phone book, close it, and dial it—then immediately hang up.  (more…)

The yellow buses are on the move again, and your child’s bookbag overflows with textbooks and new supplies–another school year begins. Now all that’s left is to make sure homework’s always done, tests are studied for, and expectations remain high, right? Well, actually only if you also go to school once in a while, thus staying informed and in touch. Says Arthur Pober, “. . . Nothing has a more profound effect than parents who get involved.” Even if you’re working full-time, opportunities abound to make a contribution.

First and foremost, attend parent nights to connect with teachers and familiarize yourself with their goals and requirements. Rotating from class to class, you’ll also discover why some teachers/courses are favored over others. Don’t say you’re too tired or busy—just be there.  (more…)

To some, it’s a magical place—one of discovery, camaraderie, empowerment. For others it’s akin to a lock-up, a holding cell until real life can actually begin—and the wait seems endless. School, to them, is little more than boring lectures, useless facts, teachers’ dirty looks—and you’ve got to wonder why. How come some kids value the importance of a good education, while others see no point to it at all? In “A Letter to the World,” the unknown writer speaks: “So world . . . teach him the wonder of books, give him quiet time (more…)

Homework—it’s not just for kids anymore. Teachers have always been around to help, but now there are added twists. First is the Internet pouring out answers to all our questions–essays and research papers, too, and putting teachers on guard. Meanwhile, countless parents are crossing the line from making sure schoolwork is done to moving their kids aside and doing it for them–even though it undermines their children’s confidence and accountability.

For starters, make education your number one priority, putting it above all else, including sports. After school, send your child out (more…)