I fondly remember Scholastic book orders from my childhood. It was always so exciting to get that little newsprint catalog each month and browse the affordable books. My children experience this same excitement, only problem is…their book orders suck!
What has happened to Scholastic’s quality? Do they really think parents want to buy crappy cheap Chinese toys and video games instead of quality literature?
It’s been eight years since I taught elementary school full time, and even then I noticed the children were more attracted to the fuzzy diaries and the cheap horse necklaces than the actual books in book orders. As a teacher, I liked being able to provide affordable books for families to purchase, as well as earn points redeemable for classroom books from our orders, but I hated sending home all that junk and poorly written books. [read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on January 13, 2010 · 4 comments
Photo by
maveric2003
Parents can request hormone-free milk at school
Parents send their children to school to help them develop socially and intellectually; however, their health may be compromised by the food served to them daily in the lunchroom. School milk is no exception. Food & Water Watch has successfully campaigned for over a year to give schools a choice to buy hormone-free or organic milk, but does your school know they don’t have to serve rBGH milk? As a parent, did you know you have the right to request hormone-free milk be served to your child?
[read the full article...]
I swear you can find a research study to support any belief, custom, practice. Spanking is no exception. I’ve always fallen under the thought that spanking, a form of physical violence used for disciplining, teaches children that hitting is an appropriate solution to social problems.
In my 14 years in education, the children that were spanked by their parents are often the ones who exhibit more behavior and socialization problems later in life. A new study does supports my experience about aggressive behavior, but it also finds that “children who are smacked before the age of six perform better at school when they are teenagers.”
The spanking study was conducted by
Marjorie Gunnoe, professor of Psychology at Calvin College, through questionnaires. The
Daily Mail reports the results:
Young children who are smacked by their parents grow up to be happier and more successful than those who have never been hit, research claims…
They are also more likely to do voluntary work and to want to go to university than those who have never been physically disciplined.
[read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on December 22, 2009 · 6 comments
Photo by
Monica R.
Practical food education begins at an early age.
I’ve long advocated for gardening with kids, not only to connect children closer with nature but to improve their diet. Food for Life Partnership, “a network of schools and communities across England committed to transforming food culture,” agrees. The Telegraph reports:
Emma Noble, director of the Food for Life Partnership, said: “It is possible to transform school food culture and to increase school meal take-up at the same time when young people’s views are listened to and school meal changes are supported by practical food education like learning to cook, growing food and visiting farms to learn where food actually comes from.”
Every school should have a garden; every child should be involved in growing food. Food for Life Partnership works with 1500 schools across England to “change their school dinners with freshly prepared local, seasonal and organic ingredients.” The group is getting amazing results, with participation in school meals growing from 30 to 400 children at one of the partner schools “bucking” the national trend of “surprisingly low” involvement in healthy school meals.
[read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on December 15, 2009 · 4 comments
Photo by
ZeroOne
Fast food meat is safer than school lunches.
Fast food is notorious for its high calories and fat content; however, a new study has found the meat served by restaurant chains, such as McDonald’s, is actually safer than the hamburgers served in school lunches. It is not that fast food, largely responsible for the obesity epidemic in America, is healthier than school lunches, but fast food restaurants have stricter safety standards. Considering children are “most susceptible to food-borne illnesses”, it is morally reprehensible the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) does not take food safety seriously.
[read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on December 14, 2009 · 6 comments
Photo by
dan taylor
Student suspended for "crisp" dealing.
Many schools have eliminated junk food from vending machines on campuses, and some have even gone so far to ban it entirely. When schools have outlawed junk food, some students have responded by “dealing” fatty snacks to their peers. Recently, a 12-year-old boy from Liverpool was suspended for ‘‘crisp dealing”.
Junk food is largely responsible for the growing childhood obesity problem in developed countries. Concerned schools and governments have responded by establishing policies that eliminate unhealthy foods. Cardinal Heenan High School, a prominent UK school, has such a policy. Meals are “home cooked”.
[read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on December 7, 2009 · 9 comments
Photo by
OctopusHat
Irvine High School to get solar panels
Students in the sunny southern California town of Irvine will soon attend schools powered by photovoltaic panels. In November, Irvine Unified School District’s Board of Trustees unanimously voted to install solar at all of their 21 school sites. Partnering with the solar industry, this green energy renovation will not cost taxpayers a penny.
[read the full article...]
Here’s a fun book you may enjoy. It could inspire you with new ways to teach your child about living green. Or it may make a great gift for another parent that you know who could use some help in the eco-department.
Grow Your Own Tree Hugger: 101 activities to teach your child how to live green
by Wendy Rosenoff is full of activities, crafts and recipes that can easily teach children about the environment and about being green without being preachy.
Some of the activities sound like so much fun your kids won’t even know they’re learning. [read the full article...]
