Teach children civics and current events

PROBLEM:
A new report from the Intercollegiate Studies Institute (ISI) on the nation's civic literacy finds that most Americans know very little about our government and how it works. Out of 2,500 American quiz-takers nearly 1,800 flunked a 33-question test on basic civics. Only 0.8 percent of all test-takers scored an "A."

This is very disturbing considering we have just had a populist-driven election. In what document do the words "government of the people, by the people, for the people" appear? More than twice as many people (56 percent) knew that Paula Abdul was a judge on "American Idol" than knew that those words come from Lincoln's Gettysburg Address (21 percent). Only 17 percent of college grads understood the difference between free markets and centralized planning.

CAUSE:

Children are not being taught civics anymore. Civics courses, once a staple of junior and high school education, are no longer considered important in our quantitative, leave-no-child-behind world. And college adds little civic knowledge, the ISI study found. The average grade for those holding a bachelor's degree was just 57 percent -- only 13 points higher than the average score of those with only a high school diploma. Forty-three percent didn't know what the Electoral College does. And 46 percent didn't know that the Constitution gives Congress power to declare war.

CAUSE:

The ISI found that passive activities, such as watching television (including TV news) and talking on the phone, diminish civic literacy.

SOLUTION:

Actively pursuing information through print media and participating in high-level conversations makes one smarter. The ISI insists that higher-education reforms aimed at civic literacy are urgently needed. Reform needs to start in high school. Require students to read newspapers, and give college freshman weekly quizzes on current events. Give government subsidies for newspaper subscriptions, as well as federal tuition subsidies for students who perform well on civics tests.

One of the greatest things that ever happened to me and shaped my life was having a man named Lou Solomon be my parents' friend. When I was in high school, he purchased a subscription to Newsweek for me and my siblings and every time he visited he quizzed us on current events. Now at age 44 and the vice-president of a nation-wide franchise system of nanny agenies, I voraciously devour the Washington Post which I have delivered to my home in Florida to learn about the world we live in. I believe that what Lou did created a Phi Beta Kappa 4.0 college student who then went on to have a successful entreprenurial career. Let's give our students today the same opportunity or there is no telling where the future of our country will be.

Childhood obesity still a battle

Parents turn off the TV and video games and find ways to get your kids moving. School boards do not cut physical education classes as this might be the only exercise kids receive in a given day. If anything we need to increase the time children spend in P.E. Regular exercise is known to fight fat.

About 9 million or 16 percent of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight. This is three times the percentage in 1980 when I was in that age group. Times are different now. When I was a kid my parents didn't have to send us outside; we were always outside playing. We had a wooded area in Southern Maryland where we lived that we called "The Beautiful Land." My parents bought a bell to ring so that we would know it was time to come in for dinner. My sister and I rode bikes around a circle where a friend had a tray of rocks and we picked one up and the next time around dropped it off. Silly but we were active without prodding from our parents.

What has contributed to this obesity epidemic amongst children: junk food being sold in schools, P.E. being cut or limited(fewer than 10% offer daily P.E. classes) are two reasons but before we blame schools note that children gain more weight during the summer than during the rest of the year. Once classes resume, children's body mass indexes fall.

We as parents are responsible for keeping our kids fit. Choose taking a walk over renting a movie as a family activity. Physical activity has an incredible by-product: it improves academic performance. So why are schools cutting P.E.??????? They are cutting P.E. because they need more class time to boost math and reading scores when if they kept the P.E. and exercise the academic scores would improve due to the exercise children receive. Stimulates the brain cells.

School boards shouldn't be worried about the cost of more P.E. After all what price can you put on good health? To win the battle of the bulge for our children, we as parents need to get mobilized. If we band together and demand more of P.E., schools will respond.

Physical exercise goes beyond weight control. It leads to overall physical and mental health energy and the ability to focus.

Politics in the classroom? Okay if teachers can remain impartial

Uoung people today are more informed and civic-minded than any in recent memory. They came of age after 9/11, after all. But they're also less obsessed with race than their parents and more cynical about the world and the ability of government to change it for the better. The Internet has made them knowledgeable about many more things that are going on. Perhaps as many as half of the nation's 3.2 million high school seniors on Nov. 4 were eligible to vote, making discussions in high school classes more urgent.

So political discussions in the classroom isn't merely a civics lesson anymore. It is for real. As long as the teachers do not let their own political leanings be self-evident, I think this is healthy and should be done. The problem could come if the teacher can not stay objective. My two boys became Republican because of a middle school teacher they admired who would explain what Democrats believe and what Republicans believe in a way that said to the students the Republican point of view is the "correct" point of view. Whatever my own political leaning this was absolutely inappropriate in a public school and I thought many times of reporting him to the principal but didn't as my boys requested.

Track your child's GPA real time

Parents and students can track fluctuations in a grade-point average from the nearest computer in real time. Programs including SchoolMAX and Edulink are pushing midterm progress reports into obsolescence. Prospective failure is no longer a bombshell dropped in a parent-teacher conference. A bad grade on a test can't be concealed by discarding the evidence. A student can log on at school, or a parent at work, to see the immediate impact of a missed assignment on the cumulative grade or to calculate what score on the next quiz might raise an 89.5 to a 90. Report cards hold little surprise.

These programs can reconnect you to the academic lives of your children; however, the negative is that such knowledge can also feed the controlling tendencies of a helicopter parent if you are one. An e-mail alert is sent each time a grade is posted.

These Internet-based classroom "portals" give parents and students the ability to review grades, download homework assignments and chat with teachers online. This is a great tool for students to know exactly how they are doing in each of their classes. Now there is no excuse because the grade book is open.

Financial and material inducements for students a bad idea

Prepaid cellphones, MP3 players, gift certificates, and cash for completing periodic tests, for acing courses, and for improving scores on assessment tests. School officials who are desperate to raise test scores and close the achievement gap separating white and minority students are paying kids who put up good numbers. I do not agree with this. Why isn't their future enough incentive? I was self-motivated and didn't have to have my parents hound me to do my homework. Doing well in school was a given so that college also a given in my household would be an after-thought. Although I do admit my parents paid us for every "A" we received (a whopping dollar an "A") until my sister and I began making straight "A"s. I am sure the money is NOT what made me achieve in school. It was just a nice reward for my hardwork that set the stage for my future success: Phi Beta Kappa, Dean's List every semester in college, and other accolades. Because of my self-motivated achievements, I was able to enter the Federal Government under the Outstanding Scholar's program, a stream-lined hiring process becoming a Federal Agent. I didn't need inducements beyond my future and I don't think we should offer any to students today. It's like getting paid at home for every little thing the child does. Shouldn't being a part of the household mean the child should contribute by doing chores? They are not helping with the mortgage or utilities so helping as they can should be a given with no financial inducements. A nominal allowance to begin teaching that work equals pay is fine but no extra money should be paid for additional chores. If children complain, then some of their extras should cease and they will see being a part of the household means helping without getting paid for every little thing. Actually, I think it is the environment parents have created at home that has led to having to pay atudents to achieve. Children nowadays won't do anything unless they see a financial return from it. We need to stop the madness and it begins at home. Let us not continue the madness in school. Your future should be the driving force for your performance.

USDA Food Pyramid for Preschoolers can be customized for your child

The USDA's Food Pyramid, with the foods we need most of pictured in its broad, solid base and those we should eat sparingly squeezed into the tiny tip, is a great visual aid for building a healthful diet. MyPyramid for Preschoolers is for children 2 to 5years of age. The website is http://www.mypyramid.gov/preschoolers/index.html. All you have to do to personalize the pyramid for your picky eater is to enter your child’s information for a customized MyPyramid Plan. The Plan will show what and how much your child should eat to meet his or her needs. It will also provide ideas to help you plan meals for your preschooler. Use the MyPyramid Plan as a guide to help you feed your preschool child. Do not be concerned if your preschooler does not eat the exact amounts suggested. Each child’s needs may differ from the average, and appetites can vary from day to day. While the amount eaten daily may vary, the average amounts over time should be similar to this plan. You are the most important influence on your child. You can do many things to help your children develop healthy eating habits for life. Explore ways to help your preschooler:
• Grow up healthy. Complete a growth chart especially for your child to find out more about normal development.
• Develop healthy eating habits. Raise a healthy eater by setting a good example and practicing positive habits.
• Try new foods. Help for picky eaters.
• Play actively every day. Add physical activity into your preschooler’s day.
• Follow food safety rules.

DNA tests on fetuses fine as long as it doesn't lead to an abortion

Doctors have started using powerful new DNA tests to screen fetuses for a wider range of genetic abnormalities, spotting more problem pregnancies early but stirring fears that the results will increase abortions as well as confuse and needlessly alarm many couples. The tests, which use "gene chips" to detect much subtler chromosomal variations than standard prenatal testing can, have also triggered complaints that they mark another step toward a society that seeks to weed out aberrations in the quest for the perfect child.

These tests allow couples to harness the latest molecular technology to target the most devastating genetic syndromes, alleviating their worries in some cases and in others identifying abnormalities soon enough to help them prepare to care for an afflicted baby. These tests should NOT be used to find out information to abort the fetus. Misleading results will subject emotionally vulnerable couples to unnecessary anxiety perhaps prompting some to abort healthy pregnancies.

These tests are okay to find whether a person will have an increased risk for cancer, diabetes, mental illness, obesity, addiction and other conditions later in life. These tests would not be okay if they are used to find traits associated with beauty, personality or intelligence. How we use this powerful technology decides whether it's good or bad.

The tests, which cost about $1,600 and are not yet covered by insurance, can detect about 150 known genetic disorders that can cause physical deformities, mental retardation and a host of health and behavioral problems. The choice should not be to terminate a pregnancy when couples get a bad result. The choice should be to have the baby and get ready to care for the child. Once the child is born, there is already a diagnosis and they can get the care they need as soon as possible. That's the biggest advantage.

We want disabled children to be welcomed into the world. If we decide to use prenatal testing to eliminate gene-based disabilities that is unacceptable. The Nazis were trying to do this. We can not say that certain types of lives aren't worth living. My worry is that these tests will be expanded to search for genetic markers that simply predispose children to illnesses later in life, or will someday go further in the quest for "designer" babies, noting that prospective parents are already screening embryos so they can decide whether to have a boy or a girl. What if we decide to abort embryos that are pre-desposed to obesity? These tests could be a slippery slope that we do not want to go down. Again as long as the information is not used to abort children but to inform parents so they can prepare to provide the best possible care for their child, then I am okay with these tests. Otherwise, I think these tests need to be stopped or at least highly regulated.

Parents should vaccinate their children

Mandated vaccinations for public and private schoolchildren is a necessity to protect ALL children. Childhood vaccines are safe. No study has shown a link between immunizations and autism. Vaccinations do NOT weaken the natural immunities of children. If a child even home-schooled children are going to be around other children at any point, they need to be immunized. They could pass on a deadly disease because their parents did not get their immunizations. Inexcusable and selfish. If parents do not want to immunize their children, then they shouldn't be allowed to bring them into a public arena such as a grocery store.

Home schooling has created gaps in the vaccination safety net leading to outbreaks of rare childhood diseases. Measles cases have spiked over doubling the cases reported. Home-schooled children should not be allowed to escape vaccines.
Philosophical or religious exemptions should be thrown out to protect ALL children. No exemptions should be allowed beyond medical necessity. Mandated vaccination schedules should be followed; otherwise, pockets of unvaccinated children will be created spawning more outbreaks. We need to require the vaccination of home-schooled students or risk new outbreaks of formerly rare diseases such as measles or polio. It is not just children who are put at risk. Vaccines work by providing "herd immunity," meaning large numbers of vaccinated individuals protect a small minority of the unvaccinated. That dynamic breaks down if increasing numbers of people are not vaccinated.

Unvaccinated children pose not only a risk to themselves, but to their families, other children they come in contact with and especially older people they might visit or encounter in a movie theater or mall.

Teachers should be paid for performance/results

Teacher-pay packages that front-load higher salaries and offer bonuses if student test scores improve or if teachers work in hard-to-staff schools is a great idea. We need to move away from a traditional pay models, which increases salaries based on seniority and advanced degrees. Tie earnings and annual bonuses to improved scores, student performance, and working in hard-to-staff schools. Most other positions in the Corporate world get rewarded for results. Why should teaching be any different?