Monday, December 29, 2008
Character Education
- Motivating all students to do their best and care about the quality of their work
- Improving performance on standardized tests
- Reducing dropouts
- Preparing students for college and/or the workplace
Ethical challenges were cited as:
- Teaching students to respect legitimate authority, rules, and the rights of others
- Preventing peer cruelty
- Promoting academic honesty
- Reducing risky behaviors
- Helping students become responsible citizens
All of this is praiseworthy, but I always find it difficult to talk about character education without the family unit being at the center of the discussion. Moreover, schools are leveled with the responsibility of character education even though a child's character is clearly framed prior to a child's first step onto a school's campus.
I agree schools should assist parents in teaching children positive behavior. The first teacher for this type of education is the family unit, however. If schools are reporting lack of time testable subjects why should they accept an additional challenge as lead teacher for character education. My strong view is that society should force parents to fulfill their duty to education children in character development and let schools return to the "three Rs."
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
One Laptop Per Child Project
Initially, I thought the project was odd in that someone was focusing on computers for African children when in many cases those children needed food more than computers. I've had a change of mind after thinking that any needed resource a benefactor can provide is good and trying to work with so many people on a priority for what resources to give, when to provide it, and to whom to give would be a nightmare.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Girls Have Superior Sense Of Taste Compared To Boys
For some reason I've suspected that girls have a more superior sense of taste, on average, than boys. An article in Science Daily provides information concerning a study done in Denmark that supports the idea that girls have a more acute sense of taste. Moreover, the article indicates that boys and girls tend to lean toward different taste directions where in boys seem to prefer sour items more often than girls.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Which Country is #1 in Raising Healthy and Happy Children?
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Physical Ed for K-5 in Florida
Monday, December 8, 2008
A Father's Presence Makes a Signifcant Difference in a Child's Life
Thursday, December 4, 2008
MySpace...TheirSpace
As the debate continues concerning this case, I think Emily Bazelon at Slate.com was on the right track when she wrote: "Drew was an adult who secretly entered a teenage world and made it more dangerous." My view is slightly different however. I believe Lori Drew is a predator. The only part missing from this case and other predatory cases is the sexual intent. The imbalanced of power/age in the relationship is there, the secret identity by the adult is there, and the intent to do harm to a child is there.
The media is referring to the situation as cyber-bullying, but I think that term is best used when the communication is between children or between adults. An adult-child communication is predatory in my mind.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Testing Genes for Athletic Ability
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
What About the Children in Africa?
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Are Toys Safer Toys Safer in 2008?
"You can calm down, say both government regulators and toy experts. This season's toy selection is safer than just a year ago, thanks to increased testing."
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Rock and Rock Camp for Girls Only
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Exploitation of Children
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Social Comparisons Among Preschoolers
"A new study by University of Michigan psychologists Marjorie Rhodes and Daniel Brickman questions these previously held conclusions about preschoolers’ behavior, by demonstrating that young children do indeed respond negatively when they perform more poorly than a peer—if that peer is of the other gender (e.g., if a girl learns that a boy has performed better than her, or vice versa)."
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Listening to John Steinbeck
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Teaching Children Disability Awareness
More interesting, perhaps, is a disability awareness project highlighted by The Christian Science Monitor in the article Helping Kids Break Stereotypes. The project gives young children the opportunity to learn about the lives of disabled children and adults.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Social Skills...That's the Ticket!
Well, what if we stressed social skills in addition to reading, writing, and math from the pre-k level upward?
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Bullying Reporting Web Site
According to the article, the Web site works as follows: "School administrators are made aware of any tips either by e-mail or text message, Bergener said. For some schools, students have to create a logon and password to send a tip, but they still remain anonymous, though. But in most cases, schools allow anyone to send a tip with no need to give personal information."
Nearly 50 schools in states other than Utah are using the Web site. I hope this trend grows. I have a problem with people, organizations, cities, states, and countries bullying others. In my mind I think a bully is are really saying: "I'm going to make problems I'm running from yours."
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Friday, October 3, 2008
Tuna Kindergarten
Monday, September 29, 2008
A Powwow Story
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Another Bailout
The father, on the other hand, makes me wonder: (1) about the practical decision to have nine children, (2) quiting his job, (3) leaving his children at the costly expense of the public, and (4) the efficacy of the safe harbor law in relation to its initial intent. I guess I need to do some research since I would like to know whether the father and others in this situation have to pay child support for total cost of care by the state. These days every penny counts in budgets at all levels.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
8-Year Olds Don't Learn From Mistakes
Monday, September 22, 2008
Cell Phone Danger for Children
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Kids as Weather Forecasters
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Do You Believe in Magic?
Monday, September 15, 2008
Web Site For Kids
Thursday, September 11, 2008
When Kids' Friends Move Away
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
My Space
Later I thought about the child's remark. Initially, I believed the remark was racially motivated--them being black and me being while--and the child was simply repeating what he had learned. Thereafter, I thought the remark may have been a reaction to the child's parents telling him to not let anyone in public get close to him--out of fear of abduction, etc. In any case, the whole incident highlights how children interpret what parents tell them. Young children don't analyze situations and see shades of gray. The fact that the child felt threatened even when his father was within three feet of the shopping cart was clearly an overreaction.
I sure hope the child isn't taken to East Africa anytime soon since personal space is viewed much differently there. While in Nairobi, Kenya and other East Africa locations years ago, I was unnerved each time I stood in line and the person behind me literally touched me with their body as if the threat of someone jumping line was always a danger. Overtime I developed a habit of making more space by extending my elbow behind me. I never got use to how personal space was translated over there.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Are We There Yet?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
The Up Side of Video Games
Friday, August 29, 2008
Whose Children Are They?
I mention this because I still remember my mother telling her children that we shouldn't follow other people, particularly when they were doing something negative. Of course, there was that standard questions: If all the other kids are jumping off a cliff, would you jump? My thought is that I don't go to a furniture store expecting to purchase ice cream, so I question why we're expecting entertainers, sports people, etc. to be a moral compass for our children?
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Day Care Research
Ms. Boodman mentioned that no males worked at the facility she profiled in the article. That is not a surprise.
I taught child development courses at a junior college and observed students for state and national childcare certification. In all the childcare centers I visited to observe students, I never saw a male working as a teacher. At one facility I followed the observation protocol by quietly watching one of my students provide care to 2-3 year olds. One little guy didn't want to nap and tried hard to get my attention without disturbing the other sleeping children. He quietly moved closer and closer to me as I sat in a corner. He finally climbed onto my lap, and I became his tree. I remained still while he moved from my lap, over my shoulder, and to my back. I finally told him that he needed to try to nap.
What I realized was that this little guy decided to take advantage of the only male he saw in the center. This situation left me wondering what children are losing with so few males working as teachers in day care centers. I realize the fear is that males will molest children and that fear is added to the anxiety parents feel when leave children for others to provide care. I'll have more to say about this after I track down a book tittled A Nation of Wimps by Hara Estroff Marano. According to an interview of Marano by Sam Miller of Freedom News Service, Marano believes that we are raising children to be weak because of over protection. Also, Marano believes that children are at risk more at home than outside the home.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Child Shot With Air Gun
"While we are still trying to establish precisely what happened, this does appear to be a tragic accident involving young children," said DI Simon Vowles.
Somehow this hit me as a cop out. The article mentioned that the father of the children left there children unattended. However, there is no discussion about the father left a weapon within the reach of the children. I believe the father should be held accountable for the accident, not the children.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Children Cheating at Games
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Children Books Made into Movies
On one level I understand that publishers need to tie children books to movies to help the struggling publishing industry. I have misgivings, however, because in a way I feel children and parents are being manipulated by the process.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
I Heard That!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Interesting, Very Interesting
(YouTube Video ["Action For Blind People - Kids Sports Club"])
There is evidence that celebratory gestures may be hardwired in humans. New Scientist has an article that cites a study within which the discovery was made that blind athletes display triumphant and disappointing gestures similar to those of people with sight.
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Writing Off Disabled Children
It seems so odd that we label our country as being a "Christian Nation," but we often turn our backs on the most vulnerable among us: children.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
What About Sex?
The video left me with the impression that the book being highlighted is not breaking new ground.
The problem of children being bombarded with sexually-charged material has been on my mind for a long time. I really, really hate Viagra (and similar products) being advertised on TV during primetime and earlier. Also, I'm annoyed at how as a society we paint so much with a sexual brush. For example, a few days ago I saw a commercial, which indicated that a "pool" was sexy. I'm sure you've seen ads about cars, clothes, and other products being given sexual significance. From politics, what about the report that a British government official said that the U.S. wanted to "sexy up" the evidence to support invading Iraq? Through all of this, it's no wonder that children are exploring sex earlier and earlier. As adults we have set the stage, and I don't see much of an outcry to de-sex our society.
The crazy part of me wonders whether the hormones used to fatten animals for market is having an effect on humans in the form of heightened interest in sex. I haven't seen research supporting or debunking this idea, however.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Here We Go: Movement Toward Standardard Assessment in Early Childhood Education
Sunday, August 3, 2008
Friday, August 1, 2008
Children of Domestic Violence Homes
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Computers and Children
I still have mixed feelings about children using computers on line outside the home since we still haven't mastered how to keep children safe on line. When I say safe on line, I mean from the standpoint of parents being more involved in the process beyond software and Web site blocks on computers. I keep thinking that parents need to instill in their children a stronger sense of boundaries, i.e., in speech (what type of speech is never OK for children), personal space (who to allow in personal space as well as being mindful of other people's personal space), age-appropriateness behavior (what behavior is OK for particular age level), and other boundaries. Kids Safe Programs at school may reach children on the intellectual level, but I think not on the personal or emotional level. The home setting is best to reach children about safety on the personal and emotional level. Well, what about children in homes without parental guidance? Perhaps that falls withing the category of child endangerment.
In the report concerning a childcare center having computers for children, I also had reservations about the extent of computer use fby pre-school children. I believe pre-schoolers should have minimal use of computers. My reasoning is that children at that age need to develop full-range motor skill with their hands and using computers doesn't provide that practice. Additionally, computer use currently--Nintendo Wii notwithstanding--often encourages a sedentary lifestyle. And I think researchers are linking some of childhood obesity to sedentary posture and computer use.
The other computer use report I saw was at the Christin Science Monitor on line wherein Tom Regan wrote an article titled How to Make Your Kid's Computer Time Educational and - Fun. The article references software and Web sites appropriate for children. That was fine. What I thought was interesting was that the writer, even within the article title, seems to suggest that fun should be secondary to education.
I totally disagree with fun taking a back seat to education. In fact, I think good education is inherently fun. I'm even banking future projects with children on that premise. Children are learning at exponential rates from games. As adults we're often Neanderthal in our thinking about children and learning these days. The result is that often children are bored in many school situations and are quiting school at earlier ages.
My recommendation is for schools to find people who make learning fun--credentials only indicate that educators have the knowledge and not whether the educator can impart the knowledge. Even though I'm a huge fan for using computers for learning, for now with, however, I recommend they be used sparingly in most cases.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Tantrums
Unrelated to the video above, Dr. Claire McCarthy of Harvard Medical School has written A Guide to Tantrums on MSN.com. The information is divided in sections as "Why Tantrums Happen," "Why Some Children Are More Prone to Tantrums," and "How to Prevent or Diffuse Tantrums." Certainly, the information is practical. However, I think it comes down to children are being children although it is a power play for children. I disagree that parents and caregivers should allow the situation to play out to the discomfort of other people.
What I don't understand and refuse to accept is adults who have tantrums.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Skin Infection Up Among Children
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Laughter Yoga
Friday, July 25, 2008
Girls Do as Well as Boys in Math
One reason I'm not surprised takes me back 37 years. I was dating a girl in college who was majoring in math. She informed me that she was having a problem with the math chairperson, who thought that females wasn't good enough to receive a degree in math. At the time I couldn't understand why the math chairperson, who was also one of her professors, had that view. I had no notion of that type of discrimination at the point in life.
Lately, however, I been thinking that females maybe turned away from math at very early levels. If few females are graduating with degrees in math and even fewer females with math degrees are teaching at the primary school level, then females don't have role models toward a career in math early on. There is also the point that fewer males, who may have degrees in math, are teaching at the early education level.
I might be stretching the point, but I think the question has never been whether girls can do math as much as them having the encouragement and role models in math.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Diversity in Primary Schools Benefits Children
Monday, July 21, 2008
Monday, July 14, 2008
Genetic Link to Violence and Delinquency
Moreover, at what point do we start identifying children who are may commit violence or become a delinquent? Do we start in kindergarten, elementary school, or even prior to birth? Will we get the point of addressing "pre-crime" as presented in one of Tom Cruise's movies (Minority Report) and arrest people before they commit crimes.
I guess I'm saying that I don't trust our society to handle genetic information morally. Call me a pessimist, but I see greed and power overrunning morality time and time again.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Little Technology Addicts
On the other hand, I welcome the opportunity to allow children to communicate differently. I'm certain children are learning more at earlier ages, but their understanding lacks depth. In many situations they are simply reacting and not thinking because they lack the development to think in complex ways.
With these ideas in mind, I read an article by Rachel Mosteller at Huffington Post on line wherein she raises concern about children becoming addicted to technology.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Infant-Mother First-Year Relationship Predicts Child's Behavior Up to 13 Years
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Kids are Smarter Than They Think
Monday, June 16, 2008
Future Engineers in Germany
Siemens is one of hundreds of Germany companies participating in this venture.
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Friday, June 13, 2008
"Bus-ed"
Monday, June 9, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Safe Kids USA - Safety Saves - Pool Safety
It's hot out there! Let's help kids to be careful while having fun in pools.
Children Consuming Sugar-sweetened Drinks
Low Vitamin D in Normal Children
Monday, June 2, 2008
Caregivers of Young Children Lack Knowledge of Toxic Household Products
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Lead Exposure in Children May Lead to Later Crimes
Prior to Christmas last year numerous news reports highlighted the problem of lead in toys from China. Since that time, the news coverage has dwindled.
Friday, May 23, 2008
Help Mediate Allergies With Early Exposure to Cats
Monday, May 19, 2008
An Approach to the Environment That I Like
Monday, May 12, 2008
Reading Aloud to Young Children
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Benefits for Children Speaking More Than One Language
Apparently, children who speak more than one language benefit later in life in having stronger cognitive abilities according to a study at Tel Aviv University (Science Digest, May 7, 2008 article). Read more here.
Monday, May 5, 2008
What Are Children Reading?
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Ideas on Raising an Optimistic Child
Monday, April 28, 2008
Another Reason for Early Childcare Attendance
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Earth Day
I found this soft-back book at the number one company on the Fortune 500 list. I intend to develop a program to use year round for preschool students.
Today I went to a craft store that was giving out pine sprigs in honor of Earth Day. I thought all the sprigs would be gone since I arrived at the store late in the morning and only the first 100 customers were to receive sprigs. I received a sprig at the check-out counter, and I remarked that less than 100 customers had preceded me today at the store. The cashier remarked that she still had sprigs because some customers didn't want them, not even to give to someone else.
This is my best Earth Day because I'm proud of my efforts to help the environment since the last Earth Day. In fact, I became a better gardener since last year. I made my own compost, and I've grown and eaten vegetables from my garden.
Another thought for today is that each year we celebrate Earth Day with planting trees and highlighting the environment; however, I believe each person needs to account for what he or she has done to help the environment since the last Earth Day.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Untagged
I have concluded that many school officials are more interested in iron-clad risk management than ensuring children have rich play experiences as children of prior generations have had. I say this because of another article citing that one more school is forbidding children the opportunity to play tag at school. If some children are playing too roughly, wouldn't a good solution be to disallow them from playing the game?
Friday, April 11, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Educational Video Games
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Early Neglect and Later Agressive Behavior
A few days ago I mentioned a CNN report that indicated that a signiicant number of young children are abused and neglected. Therefore, the foundation for later agressive behavior starts early indeed.
Monday, April 7, 2008
You Can't Bank on It
PC World.com has an article that highlights "cool gadgets" available in Asia, but not in the U.S. One interesting gadget is a bank that reacts when a coin in waved in front of its eyes and when a coin is placed in its mouth. If this product were available to U.S. children, they would use it and enhance their habit to save.
Statewide Internet Safety Training for Children
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Male Monkeys Prefer Boys' Toys
The following link to New Scientist leads to report of an interesting study that concluded that male monkeys prefer boys' toys. I don't think we can, however, leap to any evolutinary conclusions.
Most Hideous of Sins
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
More Important Than Nonsense
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Children and "Bad" Words
Ultimate Fighting Children
A link on Drudge Report on March 27 leads to a story concerning support for a program wherein parents allow their children to participate in ultimate fighting activities like adults. I guess my question is: Is this something social services should investigate?
Monday, March 24, 2008
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Google Wants to Target Ads to Children
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Not Easy Being Green
Most interesting for me is a memory of growing up in Charleston, SC, where an elementary teacher dyed her hair different colors, including orange, regularly without a problem in the 50s. My mother often told the story that the teacher responded after being asked why she dyed here hair different colors that she liked being different.
The Richland story has many angles to it. The "green-haired monster" was an African-American celebrating an Irish holiday is one angle. Another angle is that the teacher was helping to bring fun in a non-threatening way. I wonder whether schools are wound so tightly that it can't identify light teachable moments because it is focused is on the negative more often. Now, how many years have we known that positive reinforcement work much more often than negative reinforcement?
Monday, March 17, 2008
Profiling Children for Future Crime
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Safe Toys Update
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Protecting Children with Consumer Alerts
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Giving Kids Control of Play
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Spying on a Teacher
How Low Can We Go?
Friday, February 22, 2008
Sleepless in Day Care
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Babies Count
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Building Blocks
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Decay-Fighting Lollipop
Today I struck gold when I visited Science Daily and found an article highlighting that Wenjuan Shi, a UCLA microbiologist, had developed a decay-fighting lollipop. The article mentioned that the candy was being sold, and I found a Web location (The Future of Things) that provided additional information concerning the candy including the opportunity to order the candy. Yippee!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Underestimating Kids
In the other study that piqued my curiosity, New Thoughts On Language Acquisition: Toddlers As Data Miners, researchers learned that young children may develop language not at the rate of one word at a time. Instead, young children in the study seem to sort though information for patterns to form language.
I'm wondering whether we have been assuming that young childern's learning is linear and as a result we try to force that pattern on them and may have not credited them for learning; perhaps we have even limited their learning.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Moms Need to Listen to Their Children
Sunday, January 20, 2008
PBS New On-Line Neighborhood for Preschoolers
I knew it was only a matter of time for a service like this since the cost of providing activities on line is less costly than CDs or VHS tapes, etc. Also, the children's on-line market is fertile ground for marketing.
Even though I support computer use for young children, I strongly think that just as television, it should supplement not replace direct face-to-face instruction. We need to remember that there is so much more than lesson content that students learn in face-to-face instruction with teachers, particularly parents.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Children's Personality Set by Pre-School Level?
As with may studies, there is room for critics to question why other factors weren't included in the research. I think the study has value in that it provides insights over time and offers notes for parents and teachers to help children cope with pitfalls in life regardless the personality type. The one caution I have is that we take care when labeling children along personality lines. Often do so has damaging effects on children.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Those Computer Kids
Years ago in each education course I took I head the mantra that educators need to teach students critical thinking skills. Even television news reports and magazine articles touted this need. These days I don't hear much talk about teaching students critical thinking skills--Florida State standards does include this requirement though. I think about our failure as a society each time I see a news report about students being caught in scams on Facebook or Myspace. Yes, our children are handy with computers, but to what end? Moreover, schools are challenged to teach these skills to students within the time students are in their care, but what about the responsibility of parents under with whom kids have the greater amount of time?
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Thursday, January 17, 2008
Children Who Choosing to Smoke
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Girls Behaving Badly
For quite a while I've thought that as a society, we have glorified violence under the banner "that just who we are." Now girls are believing that being aggressive to the point of being violent is a sign of equality with boys. Moreover, Sandy Hausman reports that fights between girls are even treated differently than fights between boys in school. Hausman indicates that schools routinely suspend or expel boys, but are more lenient on girls in fighting situations.
I guess I'm wondering whether we should be sending a message to girls from pre-school onward that equality with boys does not mean behaving just as badly. In the meantime schools should treat girls in similar ways as boys for aggressive behavior to demonstrate equality.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Food Allergies in Children
Today (January 9, 2008) the New York Times printed an article by Kim Severson titled "Food Allergies Stir a Mother to Action." The article highlights the actions of Robyn O'Brien, a mother active in addressing foods that trigger allergies in children. Here is the link to the article, but you need to log in to the Times Web site to read it: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/09/dining/09alle.html?pagewanted=2&_r=5&th&emc=th
According to the article, Robyn O'Brien advocates throwing out nonorganic food to help children with allergies. However, food companies and other groups counter with the fact that research doesn't indicate that the problem is within the food.
I find it amazing that this discussion has continued for years and still little definitive research has been completed. Moreover, I don't trust any research from any organization that receives money directly or indirectly from the food industry. The sad point is that as adults have this food fight, children suffer.
Thursday, January 3, 2008
Traffic Fumes Affect Children
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Disorganized Boys
While reading the article, I wondered how many of these disorganized boys are ADHD.
Here is a link to the article, but you will need to have and sign up for an account if you don't have one already: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/education/01boys.html?pagewanted=1&_r=5&th&emc=th