Diet drinks for children?!

In researching childhood obesity I recently came across an article which described parents giving their overweight or obese children diet drinks such as slimfast or medifast meals...I was quite shocked and alarmed.

While limiting calorie consumption is on the right track, a more nutritious choice for the developing bodies of children is to focus on 5 servings of fruits and vegetables every day...As well as following the FDA food guide pyramid.
If parents or schools need guidance on how to take the weight off in a healthy fashion, there is a great website: Eat Smart Play Hard

Interview questions for hiring physical education teachers

The National Association for Sport and Physical Education has just released a new document for use by Principals: Suggested Job Interview Questions for Prospective Physical Education Teachers.

Research indicates that hiring quality teachers is the single best indicator of student learning. Another important aspect of student learning is a teacher's general understanding of the standards, issues and trends relative to all the content areas that make up a comprehensive education including physical education. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), which has been setting the standard for the professions for over 34 years, has developed guidelines and interview questions to help you to hire the best physical education faculty and contribute to the total education of your students.

Resources for Administrators
Today’s school administrator is faced with greater demands on time than ever before. To assist you in your school leadership efforts for quality physical education programs and student achievement, visit the NASPE website at www.naspeinfo.org. There you will find complimentary position papers such as Recess in Elementary Schools, and Physical Education is Critical to a Complete Education; and valuable resource materials such as National Standards for Physical Education, Opportunity to Learn Standards and Appropriate Instructional Practices.

Similar posts: Physical Education Teacher Evaluation Tool

May 1st is RSS Awareness Day

I think RSS feeds are the greatest invention since sliced bread. Well, almost. When I stumbled upon (no pun intended) RSS feeds last year I found my life getting organized and my mailbox shrinking. Yes. Shrinking. Spam filters were "heaven sent" but RSS feeds make life "heavenly".

Are you a believer? Few have joined the club according to the Pew Internet Project which cites, "back in 2005 only 5% of the Internet users said they were using RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online. Even today only a very small percentage of the Internet population is aware of the RSS format and its benefits.

Here's a short You Tube video entitled: RSS in Plain English by Lee LeFever about how to get started with RSS.


RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is a format used to deliver information from websites and pages that get updated regularly. An RSS document (which is called feed) contains either a summary or the full content from a website. What to learn more? Check out the RSS Awareness Day.

Don't forget to sign up for my RSS feed in the top right hand corner and tell a friend.

Can physical activity improve test taking performance?

There seems to be a buzz recently about physical activity and better "test taking" performance. One such example is an article in the Twin Cities Pioneer press which reported that: "Moving around improves kids' literacy scores."

The article about Farmington Middle School East, said staff members have implemented the "Literacy Education in the Active Domain" to help students who struggle with reading. The LEAD program models a district study last year that showed students' reading scores improved significantly after they completed physical activities.

"I think this is the new frontier for physical education and academics," said Jack Olwell, a North Trail Elementary PE teacher who conducted the study. "The two areas have not been connected like this before."

After testing in the fall to identify students reading below their grade level, Farmington East invited 40 sixth-graders to participate in the LEAD program, which incorporates about 20 minutes of physical activity with various lessons before a student's reading class.

Another test was given in January, and the average increase in reading scores for the 34 students who decided to take part was more than double the increase logged by their counterparts across the district.

Play is serious business

Stuart Brown created the National Institute for Play in 1996 after more than 20 years of psychiatric practice and research persuaded him of the dangerous long-term consequences of play deprivation.

According to Brown, "If you look at what produces learning and memory and well-being, play is as fundamental as any other aspect of life, including sleep and dreams.’’

Play (or lack of ) is the one thing that most educators, parents, and psychologists agree on. Educators fret that school officials are hacking away at recess to make room for an increasingly crammed curriculum. Psychologists complain that over scheduled kids have no time left for the real business of childhood: idle, creative, unstructured free play. Public health officials link insufficient playtime to a rise in childhood obesity. Parents bemoan the fact that kids don’t play the way they themselves did — or think they did. And everyone seems to worry that without the chance to play stickball or hopscotch out on the street, to play with dolls on the kitchen floor or climb trees in the woods, today’s children are missing out on something essential.

Play is serious business. Scientists who study play, in animals and humans alike, are developing a consensus view that play is something more than a way for restless kids to work off steam; more than a way for chubby kids to burn off calories; more than a frivolous luxury. Play, in their view, is a central part of neurological growth and development — one important way that children build complex, skilled, responsive, socially adept and cognitively flexible brains.

Play vs time. ROBIN MARANTZ HENIG in a recent article in NY Magazine describes the battle between time and play as, " There are only six hours in a school day, only another six or so till bedtime, and adults are forever trying to cram those hours with activities that are productive, educational and (almost as an afterthought) fun. Animal findings about how play influences brain growth suggest that playing, though it might look silly and purposeless, warrants a place in every child’s day. Not too overblown a place, not too sanctimonious a place, but a place that embraces all styles of play and that recognizes play as every bit as essential to healthful neurological development as test-taking drills, Spanish lessons or Suzuki violin."

More on Henig article called, "Taking Play Seriously."

PE Boost Results in Higher Academic Gains for Girls

Making time for physical education doesn't hurt grades, and may help boost girls' test scores, according to a new study written by the CDC.

The report, written by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention scientists, addresses concerns of school administrators who fear that increasing P.E. time will interfere with pressure to raise standardized test scores. The study was released Thursday in the online version of the Journal of American Public Health.

The scientists, who specialize in obesity and school policies, examined standardized math and reading test scores from 5,000 students across the nation as they moved from kindergarten through fifth grade.

Girls who spent the most time in P.E. classes, from 70 to 300 minutes a week, had slightly higher test scores than girls who spent less than 35 minutes a week in the classes. There was no significant difference in academic achievement for boys.

The group is hoping that the study will convince educators trying to raise test scores that cutting P.E. isn't the answer, said Susan Carlson, the study's lead author and a CDC epidemiologist.

Case grows stronger for physical activity's link to improved brain function.

A first-period exercise class is helping Illinois teens prime their brains for the day's coursework -- a model that should be expanded nationwide, some education and medical experts say. "There's sort of no question about it now," said Dr. John J. Ratey, a Harvard Medical School associate professor of psychiatry. "The exercise itself doesn't make you smarter, but it puts the brain of the learners in the optimal position for them to learn." Education Week (premium article access compliments of Edweek.org) (2/12)

Proponents of the educational benefits of exercise maintain that the federal No Child Left Behind Act, which puts pressure on schools to raise students’ test scores in core academic subjects, is prompting some schools to cut back on time for physical education classes and recess. Nationwide, Dr. Ratey writes in his book, only 6 percent of schools now offer PE five days a week. “At the same time,” he adds, “kids are spending 5.5 hours a day in front of a screen of some sort—television, computer, or hand-held device.”

“Had the creators of No Child Left Behind looked at the data, they would’ve realized that physical activity is good for the brain,” said Charles H. Hillman, an associate professor of kinesiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

With his university colleague Darla M. Castelli, Mr. Hillman assessed the physical-fitness levels of 239 3rd and 5th graders from four Illinois elementary schools. Their findings published last year, in the Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, show that children who got good marks on two measures of physical fitness—those that gauge aerobic fitness and body-mass index—tended also to have higher scores on state exams in reading and mathematics. That relationship also held true regardless of children’s gender or socioeconomic differences.

Alternatives to withholding recess

QUESTION FROM A KDG TEACHER:
“I am looking into alternatives to taking away recess as a form of
punishment. At our elementary school, the children have a 30 minute recess
period every day. However, if a child does something during the day (hitting,
biting, etc.) the punishment is usually missing recess. Our board has determined
that this is not in keeping with our new wellness policy. I am researching
alternatives.”
ANSWER:
Given the value of recess in a student’s physical and social development,
and the need for periodic breaks from classroom instruction, using recess as
punishment is inappropriate.
Download 60 Alternatives to Withholding Recess and do your part in getting
kids active at www.peacefulplaygrounds.com/recess-alt.htm

Zero Cost Alternatives (Positive think "earned as opposed to taking away")

1. Sit by friends
2. Watch a video
3. Read outdoors
4. Teach the class
5. Have extra art time
6. Extra music and reading time
7. Homework coupon
8. Coupon for prizes and privileges
9. Enjoy class outdoors
10. Play a computer game
11. Read to a younger class
12. Get a no homework pass
13. Make deliveries to the office
14. Listen to music while working
15. Play a favorite game or puzzle
16. Earn play money for privileges
17. Walk with a teacher during lunch
18. Be a helper in another classroom
19. Eat lunch with a teacher or principal
20. Dance to favorite music in the classroom
21. Get “free choice” time at the end of the day
22. Listen with a headset to a book on audiotape
23. Have a teacher perform special skills (i.e. sing)
24. Have a teacher read a special book to the class
25. Recognition with morning announcements
26. Chat break at the end of class
27. Taking care of the class pet

More alternatives to withholding recess.....

"Golden Rule Act" Anti Bullying Bill Passes

It's not often that legislators in both parties agree. Even more rare is a bill with a unanimous outcome. But that is exactly what happen this week when Kentucky legislators voted on anti-bullying legislation.

The bill would prohibit bullying and harassment among students in Kentucky's public schools and require school districts to put procedures in place to handle reports of such behavior. The bill passed the House today by a vote of 96-0.

House Bill 91 or "The Golden Rule Act", sponsored by Rep. Mike Cherry, D-Princeton, now goes to the Senate for its consideration. It is the fourth anti-bullying measure that Cherry has tried to pass into law in recent years.

The prohibition against bullying, harassment and other forms of intimidation--including cyberbullying via the Internet--required by HB 91 would be included in a "code of acceptable behavior" formulated by each district that would be based on the Golden Rule of "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Each code would include procedures for handling complaints of bullying and protecting those who make reports from retaliation.

Students who break the code by harassing, bullying, cyberbullying or intimidating other students could face suspension, expulsion or other disciplinary action under the proposal.

Eight states have mandatory recess: Number growing

Wanting their children to receive mandatory recess time every school day, a group of township parents repeatedly approached the township board of education last year to see what could be done.

Soon, lawmakers took notice.

Pointing to their concerns as a motivating factor, Assemblyman Joseph Malone III, R-30, is sponsoring a state Assembly bill to establish a task force on public school student recess.

If adopted, New Jersey would become the ninth state to have a recess policy. At the present time, only California, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Virginia and Wisconsin have enacted such a measure.

The idea for the task force came partly in response to Howell's ongoing debate of whether there should be mandatory recess time set aside each school day.

More on NJ push for mandatory recess....

UK : Kids need more PE and Playgrounds

Schools will be encouraged to build more playgrounds, introduce food education classes and offer 4 hours of PE each week, according to the London Sun. Additionally, NEARLY a million pupils are doing less than the two hours a week of PE and sport recommended by the Government, official figures revealed yesterday.

The huge number represents a devastating setback to Labor’s drive to combat rising obesity rates among the young.

Mr Laws, Lib-Dem schools spokesman said: “As more kids grow up obese, sport at school becomes absolutely vital.

“How can we expect to find and train Olympic champions of the future if children aren’t taking part in sport at school?”

More on Millions of pupils don't get enough.....

Could NCLB Law be making kids fat?

According to a documentary directed by former Brigham Young University film student Steven Greenstreet, the way schools have reacted to the federal law contributes to a national childhood obesity epidemic. So do a lot of other factors that play out on the schools' stages.

Greenstreet, director of the award-winning documentary "This Divided State," about filmmaker Michael Moore's 2004 visit to Utah Valley State College, is putting the finishing touches on the film, "Killer at Large," produced by ShineBox Media Productions in Salt Lake City. The film, which Greenstreet plans to submit to 30 festivals, explores childhood obesity in America.

A dozen schoolteachers interviewed for the film said the federal No Child Left Behind policy is part of the problem, Greenstreet said. Vending machine junk food, what some call lax USDA school lunch standards, overpriced produce also are fingered as contributors, among a slew of other factors.

Utah health and education leaders tend to agree.

More on NCLB and childhood obesity film.....

PE Campaign: For the Children

The nation's second largest school system (Los Angeles Unified School District) has launched a Physical Education Campaign: Helping Students Move More, Eat Well, Stay Healthy, Do Their Best in School.

Components of the Campaign include:

First, a 55:1 cap on class size. WOW. 55 students to one teacher??? This seems outrageous. How can one teacher teacher 55 students?

Second, twenty-a-day: enforce California Education Code which mandates an average of 20 minutes of physical education every day for elementary school students.

Third, a certificated PE instructor at every elementary school.

Given the facts reported below by the United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) it seems the situation is at an alarming state.

At LAUSD’s South Gate High School, 1,600 children took the state Fitnessgram test and not one child passed. Forty schools did not have a single physically fit student. Less than 10% of students were physically fit in nearly one-third of the 605 schools in LAUSD. Only eight schools had student populations that are more than 50% physically fit.

These statistics spell out an alarming situation in which a school system is failing its students- miserably- inequitably- forgivingly......

More on UTLA's PE Campaign for Children...

American Academy of Pediatrics: Make Play a Priority

A clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends counteracting increased stress with more play, “which is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.” Although play for children might seem intuitive, it is clear Americans must make play a priority in children’s lives.

While doctors are recommending that children spend more time playing, some schools are taking that time away. Currently, 2.2 million to 4.2 million first- through fifth-graders do not get any recess during their school day, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Schools are eliminating recess for several reasons. Some schools fear liability from injuries on the playground or lack the funding to pay for playground monitors. Barbara Carlozzi, an assistant professor at OSU and a certified school counselor, said that some schools are taking away recess to give teachers more time to prepare students for standardized tests. Carlozzi said schools are seeing increased pressure to perform on standardized tests and cover state-mandated curriculum.

“This huge pressure to test well is at the expense of other activities,” Carlozzi said.

TeachersCount Website is a must visit.

A new website is a must for teachers, want-ta-be teachers and those who appreciate teachers.

TeachersCount.org has three main sections: I’m a Teacher, I Want To Teach, and I’m a Teacher Booster. You’ll also notice that on the left side of many pages on this site are images from our “Behind Every Famous Person Is a Fabulous Teacher” Campaign, an ad series in the Time Inc. family of magazines that depicts celebrities with their favorite teachers. To learn more and see all the images, please visit the Campaign section or just click on one of the images. Related to this initiative is our partnership with Scholastic’s Instructor magazine.

If you’re a teacher, you’ll find many free resources in the I’m a Teacher section. If professional development is your goal, you can access grad school information and listings for conferences, grants, and awards. Many teachers take advantage of TeachersDisCount, a free retail savings program just for teachers.

Worth Reading: Melinda's Weekly View

The United States is NOT going to compete with the rest of the world in terms of cheap labor or cheap raw materials. If we are going to compete productively with the rest of the world, it's going to be in terms of creativity and innovation. America has always had a capacity for hard work and stamina, but those qualities of creativity and ingenuity are not being nurtured and fostered by our current educational system. Dana Gioia, Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts

In the era of No Child Left Behind, liberal learning is on the defensive. Federal law mandates academic gains only in reading and math, and its sanctions and interventions are triggered only by failure to make gains in those two areas. States, school districts and individual educators have understandably responded by ramping up the time spent teaching those two sets of core skills and prepping students to take tests in them, to the detriment of a "broad", "liberal" and "arts" education. As a result, the K-12 school system as a whole is failing today's students.

The public K-12 school system must provide every young American with an education that allows them to become fully functioning and contributing member of society. On this front we are not doing so well.
Whether as voters, advocates, or candidates, for a democracy to function well its citizens must be actively engaged in the decisions that affect their lives and those of their children. Yet too few Americans are so engaged. Consider so simple a gauge as voter turn-out for presidential elections, which declined steadily, from 1960 (63 percent of the voting population) to 2000 (51 percent,rising back to 55 percent in 2004). In off-year congressional elections, the figures are lower: 47 percent turnout in 1962, 37 percent in 2002. Such paltry rates of participation do not bode well for our democracy. (Fordham Foundation 2007). Is it any wonder that a society reared on multiple choice exams finds it difficult to decide on the candidate best suited to lead the city, state or nation?

What's needed today is more not less.
Years ago, most U.S. schools sought a balanced education for their students. In addition to the three R’s, along with generous exposure to history, math, science, literature, music, and art, young people also received training in debate, in values and character, and in speech. One could fairly say they were being groomed for leadership or at least for responsible citizenship. Today students sit in classrooms for extended periods of time (often without recess or physical education) and drill in the areas of reading and mathematics. Rote learning is not synonymous with deep thinking.

The world is a different place now.
Twenty years ago the average person spent their entire lifetime in the same job working for the same employer. Today the twenty-somethings call them "lifers". My daughter, (a twenty-something) and a college graduate has worked for 3 employers in three years. A movie studio, a fashion designer and now me -a playground designer. Granted not all college graduates land such unique positions or move so frequently. However their positions are unique. Some graduates I know are inventing video games, designing web pages, and writing for public relations firms. I trust, you agree that while reading and mathematics are necessary foundational skills for these positions, film production courses, technology courses, art and design courses best match the skills set needed for the previously described graduates.

Neighborhoods are more fluid, too. People move in and out with greater regularity. And today’s neighborhoods are more diverse in myriad ways. To compete successfully in a world where we will surely come in contact with many people whose primary language is not English, do business with a printer of Middle Eastern descent or painter of Hispanic descent, then negotiate with an importer from the Far East, it’s just not enough to know a lot about a narrow field. It’s important to be well versed in a broad array of technologies, cultural histories, and languages.

History offers many explanations for why people should acquire a broad, liberal-arts education. Prominent thinkers and leaders over the centuries have expounded on the virtues of such learning. Aristotle said liberal education is necessary if one is to act "nobly." Franklin said it was needed to cultivate "the best capacities" in humans. And Einstein found in liberal learning the locus for imagination.

The challenge we all face is not can Jane and Johnny Read.
But how WELL have we prepared Juan and Jolanta to create the latest gadget, lead an innovation team in creating the latest and greatest version of software, or design the yet unrealized innovation that will change the way we presently do something someone has yet to invent.

This blog represents reflections from Dr. Melinda Bossenmeyer on material from "Beyond the Basics: Achieving a Liberal Education for All Children. Fordham Foundation 2007.

Dr. Bossenmeyer is a retired public school principal and administrator from California State University San Marcos.

Prayer at Recess Likely to End Up In Court

A shift in the schedule of US schools to accommodate Muslims students’ prayers is being considered by some to be unconstitutional with the implication that the schools promote religion, reports the Christian Science Monitor.

During afternoon recess, at an elementary school on the outskirts of San Diego, some students go out to play, while others assemble in a room for prayers. This “special treatment” has raised a controversy with Constitutional overtones: Is the school unfairly promoting religion by accommodating Muslim students?

According to Pacific Justice Institute President Brad Dacus, the school’s policy “presumes that Christians are less religious and less inspired to worship and praise the Lord and come together”. He is asking the school district to set up special rooms where Christians can pray too. This outcry, and others like it from conservative commentators and attorneys, suggests that the matter may end up in court. The issue at hand is to what extent a public school can accommodate the special religious needs of some students while denying similar allowances for other students.

According to the Christian daily, about 100 students in the Arabic language programme at Carver Elementary School are given a 15-minute recess period in the afternoon and about an hour after lunch. Many of the students are Muslim and the school has revised its schedule so the students can pray at the specific times ordained by their religion, says attorney Brent North, who represents the school district. A teacher is present to watch the praying children but cannot lead or take part in the observance. He said Islam is one of the few religions that requires specificity of prayer obligations and denies that a new recess were added to address the religious needs of Muslim students. Akram Shami, a retired bank security manager who volunteers at the Islamic Centre of Southern California in Los Angeles, says that five daily prayers on scheduled times are an integral part of the Islamic faith. He said several students take momentary leaves of classes or wait until they get home to say all their prayers together, according to the faith.

According to the newspaper, various school districts in the US have faced dilemmas as the number of Muslims in the country has grown. More on the subject of prayer at recess.

DO SCHOOLS KILL CREATIVITY

Happy 4th! Today's post is one to ponder. My daughter introduced me to the TED.com website. It is an amazing window into the world of "thinkers." My first visit into the world of Ted.com lasted about 3 hours so that is the reason for the holiday post. Enjoy! Why not take a minute and share your thoughts regarding the Ted website by commenting below?



Why don't we get the best out of people? Creativity expert Sir Ken Robinson argues that it's because we've been educated to become good workers, rather than creative thinkers. Students with restless minds and bodies -- far from being cultivated for their energy and curiosity -- are ignored or even stigmatized, with terrible consequences. Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. "All kids have tremendous talents and we squander them." He goes on to say that he believes that creativity is as important in education as literacy, and we should give it the same status.


ted.com

DEATH & TAXES: A GUIDE TO HOW Your FEDERAL DOLLARS ARE SPENT

The 2008 federal discretionary budget request for the United States is $1.075 trillion. At the link below, you can find a graph that depicts the president’s budget request for 2008.. It will be debated, amended, and approved by Congress, ideally by October 1, to begin the next year. The discretionary budget includes spending that must be approved by Congress every year. It is paid for largely with your federal income taxes and includes all departments within the federal government. Unlike Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid, which are paid for by separate taxes, the discretionary budget is a uniquely revealing look at our national priorities. It fluctuates yearly according to the wishes of the president, the power of the Congress, and the will of the people. Overall, military/national security funding represents $717 billion or 67 percent of the President’s discretionary budget. Non-military/security spending is $358 billion or 33 percent. Click the link below to examine specific agency budgets, including the Department of Education.

Note: The Safe and Drug Free Schools Office budget which funds both Partnership for Character Education Grants and Physical Education for Progress Grants (PEP) is experiencing a projected cut of funding by 38%.

For a unique look at the PROPOSED Federal budget .
http://www.thebudgetgraph.com/poster/

Walk to School Incentive

Every morning there's school, rain or shine, Christina Parker shepherds a group of children through the woods in Newton. "The kids love it," said Parker, 50. "It's obviously a tremendous way to start the day. It's healthy. It just makes a lot more sense to me to be walking instead of driving." Parker's flock came together informally. But such groups may soon get a boost from a bill pending in the Legislature that would distribute federal funds to communities to promote walking and biking to school. The Safe Routes to Schools Bill is designed to help communities establish safety education programs; install new crosswalks, bike lanes, and signs; construct and replace sidewalks and traffic-calming bumps; and build multi use trails connecting to schools. More...

Information from the federal Centers for Disease Control's KidsWalk-to-School program can be found at www. cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/kidswalk.
Boston Globe Article