Thursday, November 26, 2009

Shouldn't Everyone Be Accountable for Student Performance?

I just read a New York Times article that indicated Mayor Bloomberg of New York City was considering having teacher's tenure be pegged to students' performance. My initial reaction is that that is a good idea if at the same time parents and guardians will be cited and fined for sending students to school unfed, improperly clothed, and ill-prepared to learned because of behavior issues.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Toy Hazard List

As the gift giving season approaches and many people are considering toys to purchase for children, take note of the list of toys on the recall list at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

BPA (Bisphenol-A) Research Makes a Link to Sex

Now that BPA research has moved into the realm of male sexual function, I'm predicting that more attention will be given to the problem. Initially, I thought the research was being highlighted by the "green industry," which is not a bad tactic. The research, however, was funded by the U.S. Institue of Occupational Safety and Health. Science Daily has an article that provides detail about the research.

The renewed concern did cause me to refresh my memory about products that contain BPA. Last year I searched the Web for information about plastics and BPA because I was working on some projects for children that used watter bottle plastic caps. My fear was that the caps may containd BPA. While we still don't seem to have an inexpensive test that the public can use at home, I did find comfort in the April 22, 2008 NY Times article written by Tara Parker-Pope, titled A Hard Plastic is Raising Hard Questions. Her article provides good information from a common sense approach.

Up to now the media had focused on hard, clear plastics, but not on the lining of can goods. Now the foucs is on food can lining and some companies have started to scramble. I noticed already that some can soups have been discounted, particularly from one company that was cited earlier this week by ABC News as having high levels of BPA in its products' can lining.

Well, now that there is sexual dimension to BPA, the discussion should heat up.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Remember the Toy Safety Act Last Year?

While watching CSPAN today, I caught an interview of Dr. Temple Grandin, who has autism and has been "schooling" the world about autism and other disabilities. Dr. Grandin mentioned that the New York Times recently had an article that dealt with small-time toy makers being affected by the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) of 2008.

Since I make learning objects out of wood and other materials to support early childhood activities, I thought I would locate and read the Times article. I found the article: Burden of Safety Law Imperils Small Toy Makers. It highlights how CPSIA, if left unchanged, will impact not only toy makers, but also thrift resale shops and other business. That small-time toy makers will have to pay for testing of each toy at $300 or more is practically a death knell for them. Moreover, that large toy companies as Mattel can do their own testing and submit a report seems unfair and harkens back to the "too big to fail" premise.

One organization leading the reform of the CPSIA is the Handmade Toy Alliance, a non-profit organization. All of this has left me with the need to this situation out; however, I thought the intent of CPSIA was to address lead in toys and restrict the use of small loose components that children can swallow. I guess I'll do some more researching.