Tag Archives: medicine

Is Gym Class Too Dangerous?

Forget about those reports that hail gym class as a savior in the war against childhood obesity. According to a new study, injuries to American children enrolled in school physical education classes increased by 150 percent from 1997-2007. Interestingly, the reason for the dramatically high number of injuries is not due to schools instituting vigorous exercise regimes; rather the study claims lack of adult supervision is to blame. The study’s lead author notes that lively gym programs are commendable; however, a decline in school nurses and larger class sizes have the potential to negate benefits gained through rigorous P.E. classes. … Continue reading →

Paying for Your Child’s Bad Behavior in School

What kind of punishment would really hit you where it hurts in regards to paying for your child’s bad behavior in school? British government officials say parents of poorly behaved students are no longer deterred by moves to shame the family name as punishment to get their kids to act properly, so they’ve decided to hit moms and dads where it really hurts—-in their wallets. According to reports, parents in the United Kingdom – whose kids attend state schools – will now be required to sign a contract that promises their children will behave while at school. The government’s new … Continue reading →

How NOT to Help Your Kid Get Into College

Here’s some news that will help ease the guilt of all you parents who desperately want to give your children a leg up on the stiff competition that faces them on their journey to institutes of higher education. So you occasionally help out with your student’s science projects or you maybe drafted a few of his research papers and had him pass it off as his own. Not good. But, definitely not as bad as what Caroline Maria McNeal did to help increase her daughter’s chance of getting into the college of her choice. The overzealous (see: desperate) mom, who … Continue reading →

How Long is Too Long for Kindergarten?

My baby begins kindergarten in the fall. Half-day kindergarten. For roughly four hours or so each day, my loquacious daughter will be chatting the ears off of some woman, who probably looks nothing like me, and a gaggle of kids who probably act just like her. Four hours. I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself. NOT! (Can you say three jobs and a never-ending battle with dirty clothes, the dishwasher and dust bunnies?) Still, when I think of how long kids in one Canadian province might have to spend in kindergarten, I’m liking the sound of four hours more … Continue reading →

Schools Taking a Bite Out of Lunchtime

Ask kids what their favorite part of the school day is and I’ll bet anything that the majority will answer: “LUNCH!” Unfortunately for those students, bad news may be on the horizon. According to reports, several school districts around the country are trimming lunch and recess and devoting the extra minutes to classroom time. The reason: Lunch is bad for kids. Not the nutritional part of it; rather experts say the whole experience of cafeteria dining is chaotic, stressful, unappetizing and akin to feeding time at the zoo. Educators who support reducing lunch periods maintain that with younger kids lunchtime … Continue reading →

Spanking in School

I attended Catholic school back in the 70s, so being hit by a ruler-wielding nun was nothing out of the ordinary. These days I highly doubt many parents would warmly embrace Sister Rose Fatima’s choice of discipline. Just ask parents in Chicago. According to a new investigative report by the CBS affiliate in the Windy City, teachers, coaches and other school administrators have allegedly beaten hundreds of public school students. The report goes on to say that corporal punishment in Chicago public schools is more widespread than most people realize. For the record, beating kids in school is illegal. Still, … Continue reading →

Colorado Making it Easier to Support Kids in School

Have you ever requested time off from work to address your child’s educational needs only to be denied? Apparently it happened one too many times to parents in Colorado, and now state lawmakers have designed a bill to help moms and dads take time off from work to deal with school-related events. The bill recently won preliminary approval in the Colorado House, but it still requires a final House vote before heading to the Senate. Unfortunately, for the bill’s authors it was watered down to apply only to companies with 50 or more workers and restricts what school-related events parents … Continue reading →

Do You Punish Your Kids for Bad Grades?

If you are the Generals from Chesapeake, Virginia, your kid not only gets punished for coming home with a bad report card, but his punishment makes front-page news. It’s hard not to end up in the paper when you have your 15-year-old standing near a busy intersection wearing a chest-to-trunk poster board displaying his bad grades for hours on end. According to reports, Trenton O’Neal’s parents were fed up with their teen’s lack of effort in school and decided to publicly humiliate him. “He hadn’t been trying at all,” the boy’s dad, Rev. Donald General Jr., pastor of Perfecting Saints … Continue reading →

Pink Haired Student Gets the Boot and College Co-eds Make the Most of Bad Weather

Strep throat and the flu have been going around, but that’s not what has kept 11-year-old Natasha Rzanca out of Sawyer Elementary School for more than a week. The Michigan fifth-grader isn’t sick nor has she been suspended. Rather, the reason for her extended absence from school has to do with the color of her hair. The mini fashionista decided to dye her hair pink and now she’s dealing with the consequences of her actions. According to reports, school administrators were less than pleased with Natasha’s new look (her mother didn’t mind the color) and demanded that she remain at … Continue reading →

Teachers Speak Out About Obama Inauguration

As I mentioned in a previous blog, thousands of public and private school teachers around the country allowed their students to put down their books on Tuesday to watch history being made. When Barack Obama took the oath of office as the 44th President of the United States new surveys estimate that more than two million students tuned in to see it live. In fact, Barack Obama’s inauguration was one for the TV ratings history books. Nielsen Media Research just released its latest numbers for Inauguration Day viewership. According to Nielsen, 37.8 million viewers watched Obama become this nation’s first … Continue reading →