Posts Tagged ‘News’
August 30, 2011
Fresno School Superintendent Larry Powell is a reminder of what education should be about – selflessness and dedication.
I recall a survey conducted back in the US in 1998/99 that found that teachers spent an average of $448 of their own money on instructional materials and school supplies:
The survey conducted last summer by the National School Supply and Equipment Association — a trade group representing the school supply industry — found that teachers pay for 77 percent of the school supplies needed in their classrooms. The rest comes from the school, parent-teacher groups and other school funds.
Teacher expenditure would be even higher nowadays. But when it comes to selflessness nothing can top the outstanding act of generosity and conviction by Larry Powell:
Fresno School Superintendent Larry Powell has agreed to give up $800,000 in salary that he would have earned over three years. Until his term expires in 2015, Powell will run 325 schools and 35 school districts with 195,000 students, all for less than what a starting California teacher earns.
“How much do we need to keep accumulating?” asks Powell, 63. “There’s no reason for me to keep stockpiling money.”
Powell’s generosity is more than just a gesture in a region with some of the nation’s highest rates of unemployment. As he prepares for retirement, he wants to ensure that his pet projects survive California budget cuts. And the man who started his career as a high school civics teacher, who has made anti-bullying his mission, hopes that his act of generosity will help restore faith in the government he once taught students to respect.
“A part of me has chafed at what they did in Bell,” Powell said, recalling the corrupt Southern California city officials who secretly boosted their salaries by hundreds of thousands of dollars. “It’s hard to believe that someone in the public trust would do that to the public. My wife and I asked ourselves, ‘What can we do that might restore confidence in government?’ “
Powell’s answer? Ask his board to allow him to return $288,241 in salary and benefits for the next 3 1/2 years of his term. He technically retired, then agreed to be hired back to work for $31,000 a year — $10,000 less than a first-year teacher — and with no benefits.
The media is riddled with terrible stories of teachers abusing their position and acting without integrity, it is so good to see a more positive story doing the rounds.
Thank you Mr. Powell for putting your convictions before your purse and your students before anything else.
Tags:anti-bullying, California, Education, Fresno, Inspiration, Inspirational, Larry Powell, life, News, Parenting, School Superintendent, Unemployment
Posted in Inspirational Teachers | 1 Comment »
August 28, 2011
There are two significant problems with a book like Maggie Goes on a Diet, which is pitched at pre-teens and preaches dieting as the best form of weight loss.
The first problem is that young children should not be dieting. On the child related health website, Kidshealth.org, it states that, “Diets that don’t include a variety of nutritious foods, or have too few calories, can be dangerous for kids.”
My second concern is the type of messages we send kids about weight. At a time when these young children are trying to work out who they are and trying to find a sense of self it is terribly destructive to focus on their weight. Children who need to lose weight don’t need a novel to tell them that. They need a support network of loving parents and dietitians who will be able to consider the child’s virtues as well as their struggles.
As much as childhood obesity is a concern, in my view children lacking in confidence is of far greater concern. It is not sufficient to tear down a childs self-esteem by recommending diets and drawing attention to their weight. To be motivated to do anything positive one has to be in a positive mindframe. You have to believe in yourself and think of yourself as worthy of the breakthrough.
I too have written a book (albeit not yet published) that focusses on an obese child. But I have taken a very different approach. My child learns not to obsess about his weight and see the bigger picture. He is not going to get thin tomorrow, but in trying to improve his health he will reflect on the things he has learnt about himself over the course of the journey.
I don’t think the carrot stick for potato chip packet works or is very responsible.
Tags:Children, Dieting, Education, Health, kids, life, Maggie Goes on a Diet, News, Obesity, Parenting, Paul M Kramer, Psychology, Weight, Weight-Loss
Posted in Childhood Obesity | 2 Comments »
August 26, 2011
I have no problem with children learning about the 9/11 tragedy and I think it is appropriate to commemorate those that perished in terrorist attacks on that fateful day. What I don’t condone is the idea that kids coloring in the burning twin towers is a good way of imparting such information. To me, this is disrespectful to children and creates unhelpful tensions.
As Bruce Felps writes:
Titled “We Shall Never Forget 9/11 ‘The Kids’ Book of Freedom,’ ” the book engages kids to color in a depiction of the flaming, smoking, about-to-collapse World Trade Center towers. It also includes an image of a Navy SEAL firing on Osama bin Laden, complete with a bullet in mid-flight. (See that page here)
So, what color is tragedy? What shade of cowardice hides behind a woman when facing his certain death?
The book looks to be intended for kids about 6, 7, 8 years old … too much for that age or too ageless a lesson to delay?
The book also contains narrative. In a press release, publisher Wayne Bell of Really Big Coloring Books Inc. said it “was created with honesty, integrity, reverence, respect and does not shy away from the truth.”
One page, illustrating the immediate aftermath of the attacks, depicts what looks like a TV news anchor reporting that bin Laden was, indeed, the mastermind.
That page includes the line, “These attacks will change the way America deals with and views the Islamic and Muslim people around the world.” Shouldn’t that be “extremist Islamic terrorists” and not the religion and its adherents as a whole?
Tags:9/11, Bruce Felps, Coloring Book, Education, life, News, Osama Bin Laden, Parenting, Really Big Coloring Books Inc, Wayne Bell, We Shall Never Forget 9/11 ‘The Kids’ Book of Freedom, World Trade Center
Posted in Dealing With Tragedy | 2 Comments »
August 24, 2011
I think I’ve heard it all. It seems you can take any position nowadays, no matter how crazy or usual it sounds and sell it to a world of impressionable and desperate people. Advocating a more lazy, hands-off approach to parenting is certainly unconventional. The claim that families are suffering from “family fatigue” just seems odd:
Children need time and space just to play and to be – if not they’ll end up psychologically damaged and useless, says a British parenting writer and philosopher.
Tom Hodgkinson is author of The Idle Parent, a book that encourages parents to adopt a hands-off approach so that their children become more self-reliant and capable.
… the less free time parents allocate to their children, the more anxious parents seem to become.
Rather than ferrying kids to music lessons, sports games and playgroups, it seems we should be saving our energy and staying at home, dragging out the dress-up or craft box, or sending the kids out into the backyard.
What’s next, a book condoning absent parents?
Tags:Children, Education, life, News, Parenting, Psychology, The Idle Parent, Tom Hodgkinson
Posted in Parenting | 2 Comments »
August 23, 2011
I resist criticising parents, because as one myself, I know that it’s not an easy job. Parents make mistakes, it’s just a fact of life. But some mistakes, parents just can’t afford to make. Shaming a ten year-old in the way that this mother does, takes a small problem and turns it into much larger one:
A Townsville mother has punished her son by making him sit in public wearing a sign that read, “Do not trust me. I will steal from you as I am a thief”.
The boy, who was also wearing a pair of Shrek ears and writing lines, spent almost an hour near a waterpark on Sunday while his family ate lunch nearby, the Townsville Bulletin reported.
Diane Mayers told the Bulletin that she was so “horrified” when she saw the boy, thought to be about 10, that she alerted Child Safety Services.
The former Child Safety Services worker said the long-term effects of the public humiliation would be greater than any form of physical abuse.
“A lot of people walked past and were laughing at him, including boys who would have been his age,” she said.
She said the parents had clearly put a lot of work into the punishment, with the boy wearing laminated signs on both his back and his front.
Ms Mayers told the Bulletin the boy took the Shrek ears off at one point when her daughter overheard the boy’s mother say, ‘Put them back on or I’ll smack your head in’.
That boy may never steal again, but does the punishment really fit the crime? Not even close.
Tags:Bulletin, Child Safety Services, Children, Crime, Diane Mayers, Education, Family, kids, life, News, Parenting, Psychology, Shaming, Shrek ears, Thief, Townsville
Posted in Parenting | Leave a Comment »
August 17, 2011
The American Civil Liberties Union continues to act without rhyme or reason. By representing child sex offenders to ensure that they are not evicted from their house which is situated next to day care centers, they are not doing themselves or the greater good of society any favours.
The Delaware American Civil Liberties Union has filed court papers to stop sex offenders from being evicted from a safe house that is located near a new day care center.
The ACLU, along with an attorney representing the safe house and three sex offenders, has asked a judge to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the city from evicting the residents.
“The state has asked the residents to leave, and if they don’t leave they will be arrested,” attorney Daniel Wolcott, Jr. told Fox News Radio.
Wolcott is representing the owner of the safe house and three sex offenders.
“The safe house has been there for a number of years and has been accepting registered sex offenders who are prohibited from living within 500 feet of a school,” he said.
Wolcott said there are two safe houses in question. One house was operating before the day care center opened for business. The other one was not. However, he said police said any sex offenders living at both houses would have to leave or face arrest.
Tags:ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union, child sex offenders, Daniel Wolcott, Delaware, Education, Jr, life, News, Political Correctness, Politics
Posted in Political Correctness | Leave a Comment »
August 12, 2011
Teachers should stop being so precious about time wasted due to toilet breaks. Of course it’s not ideal to have children come in and out of the classroom from the toilet whilst you are teaching a skill or conducting a classroom discussion. I don’t doubt that students have the option in going at break times but choose not to, and they must learn to take those opportunities. I also know that some students use it as an excuse to leave the classroom whilst not needing to go to the toilet.
But ultimately, so what?
The frustrations listed above should never lead to an imposed trial which could result in children wetting themselves. I would rather have lessons impaired on a constant basis that have even one child wetting themself on account of a harsh rule I have introduced.
I never want to involve myself at any time with a trial like the one at Kew Primary School:
PARENTS are alarmed that children at a primary school in Melbourne’s east began wetting themselves after the school tested an approach that discouraged them from going to the toilet in class time.
In the Kew Primary School trial, which parents said was conducted without their knowledge, the entire class would go to the toilet if one child needed to go during a lesson.
One mother, who asked not to be named, said she first became aware of the trial when her child wet herself at the front door. ”I said, ‘What happened? She said, ‘I’m holding on, I didn’t want the whole class to have to come with me to the toilet.’ At first when she told me the rule I disbelieved her.”
Another mother took her high-achieving child to the doctor after she wet herself twice at home.
”She hasn’t done this since she was three,” the mother said. ”There was a kind of ripple effect where parents slowly became aware of changes in their children. Children were complaining of headaches, they were constipated, they weren’t drinking water and were coming home with full drink bottles.”
A group of parents wrote to Kew Primary principal Kim Dray, expressing their concern about the trial and citing medical research about the impact of constipation on children.
In an email, obtained by The Age, Dr Dray said the ”whole class” method of toilet break supervision was ”used successfully by some other schools” and was being tested by some classes.
”Team leaders met at the end of last week to discuss the trialled approaches, and although you may find this surprising, some commented on a decrease in disruption to class lessons, especially in senior and specialist classes,” she wrote.
Tags:Education, Kew Primary School, Kim Dray, life, Martin Dixon, Michael De'Ath, News, Parenting, The Age, Toilet Trial
Posted in Child Welfare | 2 Comments »
August 10, 2011
I couldn’t help but be struck by this excerpt from an article about the London Riots:
“… what I am saying is that for all of those who live and work in the poorer areas of London this disaster has been totally unsurprising. The fact of the matter is that we have manufactured within our society a sub-culture of sociopaths who care nothing for anyone or anything but themselves and are wholly unable to empathise with the suffering of others. The people most responsible for creating this social plague are the very same politicians, journalists and social commentators who are now asking “How did this happen?”
I believe that to a lesser extent the Educational system has bought into the plague too. So consumed by its bottom line, so obsessed with the meaningless private vs public school debate and so content to take creative children and force them to conform with a robotic set of rules and regulations, that children get lost in the crowd.
I had a discussion with someone recently about the role of schools. He felt that schools were nothing more than institutions with the responsibility of imparting knowledge. According to him, as long as the school could point to the lessons that were taught and the curriculum that was followed, their job was done.
I believe schools have a far greater responsibility. They must do a lot more than concentrate on prime numbers and single-celled organisms. They must try to ensure that every child has a sense of self and an understanding of how they can use their unique skills and qualities to contribute to society.
It sounds fanciful and “airy fairy” but children today are more obsessed than ever before by wealth, gadgets, appearance and all things materialistic. They spend so much time trying to outlook and outdo others simply because they are not happy with who they are and what they have. The question has to be asked, besides close family members, who helps them to understand and appreciate who they are and what they can achieve?
The media is charged with unsettling them and making them fearful. The advertising industry is charged with making them feel that without products and gadgets they cannot be happy. Where are our kids receiving the positive message they desperately need to hear?
Children often say, “Why should I be good to them if they aren’t to me.” Those participating in the riots seem to be making that statement. Whilst it is absolutely no excuse to do what they have done, one has to wonder who does look after the best interests of our children. Shouldn’t the school system who has our kids throughout their crucial developmental years do more to help them find acceptance in who they are? Shouldn’t the school system encourage them better to be themselves rather than conform?
There is no excuse for people who riot and willfully and violently break laws, but when reflecting on incidents lessons must be learnt. Children that are supported and nurtured don’t riot. Children who are in touch with their unique qualities and have been encouraged and accepted by others don’t riot.
We can go on preparing our students for calculus tests and chemistry assignments, but in a time of need and doubt, our students probably wont turn to calculus or tests tubes for salvation.
Tags:Advertising, Child Development, Class, Class System, Education, life, London Riots, media, Meterialism, News, Parenting, Politics, School, Wealth
Posted in Child Development | 2 Comments »
August 2, 2011
Sooner or later there will be a drug for everything. No problem self-made or genetic will be without its own medication.
And we will all be worse for it.
I have a very cynical view of the pharmaceutical industry. I don’t believe what they are telling us about how they are giving children with poor concentration a quality of life they wouldn’t ordinarily have. Maybe I should buy in to it, but I don’t. Instead, I believe that they are replacing one problem with the threat of a much bigger problem. The effect of drugs on a child isn’t fully known yet. I fear that when we do have comprehensive data on the effects of drugs such as Ritalin on young children, we won’t like what we see.
The latest drug to concocted is a truancy drug. That’s right, a drug for not wanting to go to school! It is recommended that no child under 18 take it, but whoops, that rules out school aged children! Not much point making a truancy drug for adults.
So they scrap the idea, right? Nope. They find a way to trial the drug on kids aged as young as 11:
SCHOOL truants as young as 11 are being given a powerful ADHD and antidepressant drug in a controversial trial.
The drug, Lovan, is not recommended for anyone under the age of 18 but is being prescribed for children as part of a School Refusal Program being led by Professor Bruce Tonge.
Prof Tonge is chairman of a federal government committee setting new guidelines for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
But the side-effects are minimal, right? Nope.
Prof Tonge said the children on the trial and their parents had been warned of potential side-effects of Lovan, including suicidal tendencies.
The question I am bursting to ask is, why do we need a drug for something which is a product of factors likely to be unrelated to the child’s mental state.
But asking that questions will show me up as a pharmaceutical non-believer. Because logic isn’t important here. What is important is that every problem must have its own approved drug.
I’d love to write more on this issue but I’ve got to take my pills now. I’m trialling a new drug for people who don’t enjoy paying bank fees.
Tags:ADHD, Antidepressants, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Children, Drugs, Education, Health, kids, life, Lovan, Medication, News, Professor Bruce Tonge, School Refusal Program, Suicide, Truancy
Posted in Children and Medication | 1 Comment »
July 29, 2011
It seems student violence is a major issue in Britain. Reading that 900 students are suspended each day for physical and verbal violence towards teachers and classmates, indicates to me schools in Britain are at crisis point. It seems that whatever they are doing clearly isn’t working:
Bad behaviour is blighting Britain’s schools with almost 900 children suspended every day for attacking or verbally abusing their teachers and classmates, new figures show.
Every school day 13 pupils are permanently expelled for attacks and abuse and 878 are suspended in England’s primary and secondary schools.
The figures, from the Department for Education, include physical assaults, racist abuse and threatening behaviour.
In total, they show school children were suspended on 166,900 occasions for assault or abuse.
And pupils were expelled on 2,460 occasions.
And the level of violence in primary schools was also high with children aged four and under suspended 1,210 times and expelled 20 times.
Across all of England’s primary, secondary and special schools, boys were around four times more likely to be expelled than girls, with boys accounting for 78 per cent of expulsions
Tags:Britain, Bullying, Education, Expulsions, life, News, Parenting, Suspensions, Violence
Posted in Bullying | 4 Comments »
Topical Teaching 