Global Obesity in Children
In America, we are in the midst of our holiday eating seasons. It starts with Thanksgiving, goes through Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza and culminates on New Year’s. To say that we are in the middle of an globally obesity crisis is not an understatement. And adults are not the only ones affected. Go into any school in the world and you will see obese children. Researchers can find many causes such as the lack of exercise, sitting in front of television or computers. What is happening is that there is an increase in diseases which are linked to obesity. In the past 10 years, the number of type 2 diabetics has almost doubled. Overall, there are an estimated 24 million people with diabetes in America. That includes one in four who don’t even know they have the disease.
Most of us do not even think about the implications of what we do. To burn off one plain M&M candy, a person will have to walk the full length of a football field.
Walking a mile is approximately 2,000 steps. On average, one minute of walking will extend a person’s life by about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Walking an extra 29 minutes a day will burn off 7 pounds of body fat each year.
Adults who over eat frequently are children who overate. Teaching students good nutrition should not only take place in health classes but all over the school.
HAPPY HOLIDAYS.
Happy Thanksgiving
Tomorrow, in the United States, is a day of Thanksgiving. It is a time of family gathering eating and rejoicing. I am aware that there are many of you accessing this website outside of the United States and I suggest that all of us take some time tomorrow, to think of all the men, women and children who do not have enough food clothing or housing. Take some time to wish that next year, at this time, the world is at peace.
Cantutillo High School
| February 15, 2010 | ||
| 8:30 am | to | 12:00 pm |
Franklin will be presenting a professional development workshop at Cantutillo High School in El Paso TX to the staff of the high school and members of the district.
21st Annual Youth At-Risk Conference
| March 3, 2010 | ||
| 9:45 am | to | 12:30 pm |
Franklin is a featured speaker at the 21st Annual Youth At Risk Conference to be held at the Grand Hyatt in Savannah Georgia. He will be presenting two workshops on March 3, 2010.
National Title One Directors Conference
| January 22, 2010 | ||
| 10:00 am | to | 11:00 am |
Franklin will be presenting a workshop for 450 educators dealing with leadership and school culture at the Gaylord Hotel in Washington DC on Friday, January 22, 2010 from 10AM to 11AM. Hope to see you there. Material will be drawn from my two books, From At-risk to Academic Excellence: What Successful Leaders Do and Creating School Cultures That Embrace Learning: What Successful Leaders Do.
I will be signing books immediately after the presentation.
Using Computers in School
While parents, K-12 students and educators agree that using computers in schools is essential to learning and student success, parents are dissatisfied with the technology skills their children are learning in schools according to a report released by Project Tomorrow(R), a national education nonprofit organization.
According to the survey, only one-third of parents and 40 percent of students in grades 6 through 12 believe that schools are doing a good job of preparing students for the 21st century. In contrast, more than half of principals surveyed believe they are doing a good job of preparing students.
“The disconnect between educators and parents reveals the need for schools to improve the integration of technology into the learning environment and students’ learning experiences,” said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow. “Parents do not feel that schools are effectively preparing students for the jobs of the 21st century, and view technology implementation as essential to student success.”
Parents believe that teachers need more training and more access to up to date technology and support school adoption of 21st century technology-infused approaches to teaching and learning, ranging from online textbooks to tools such as interactive white boards, laptops for students, computer projection devices and technology based organizational tools.
“As a parent, I want my son’s school to provide a world class education and prepare him with the skills he needs for the jobs of the future,” said Pam Young, a parent from Mission Viejo, Calif. “Using technology in school is key to achieving both of these objectives. I think it is essential that our schools provide opportunities for students to use a wide range of new technologies in the classroom, and that the teachers are well trained in how to use technology to increase student achievement.”
The findings are included in the report Learning in the 21st Century: Parents’ Perspectives, Parents’ Priorities, which examines parent responses to the aspirations of students for technology enhanced learning environments. The data is from Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up project, an annual survey which has collected and reported on the views of more than 335,000 U.S. K-12 students, parents and educators about online education and 21st century learning.
Many schools have words in the mission statement which indicate that they will prepare students to thrive in the 21st century and yet have teachers on their staff who are not proficient in the use of computers. Obviously there is a disconnect between the words and the vision.
Will Religion Become Extinct?
A new study by researchers at Trinity College found that 34 million adult Americans -about 15 percent of the population – have no religious affiliation. Less than 20 years ago,just 8 percent of the population claimed no affiliation, These people live predominately in the Northeast or in the Pacific Northwest. Most of them are younger than the rest of the population – in part explaining that they are the fastest-growing segment of the religious landscape. A majority of them believe in God and a third say that they pray weekly or daily. Fewer than 10% say that are atheists. The National Opinion Research Center says that regular church, synagogue and mosque attendance fell from 41 percent in 1971 to 31 percent in 2002. Protestant churches saw a decline by as much as 20% in the last few years.
What are the implications?
Non-religious younger people are replacing older religious people. The non-religious people tend to be more liberal both politically as well as culturally. They believe in abortions, gay rights, limited school prayer and evolution. These hot-button issues have been fought over by conservatives and liberals in recent decades.
Reported in The Week Magazine, November 6, 2009
What Do You Get For $142,532?
The recession is causing more people than ever to go to college. But the cost of college is rising faster than inflation and faster than financial aid which is putting a college degree out of the reach for many.
According to a report from the College Board, tuition and fees at private 4-year schools rose 4.4% in the current school year to $26,273. Costs at public 4-year universities spiked over 6% for both in-state and out-of state students, to $7,020 and $18,548, respectively.
At the same time, the availability of financial aid isn’t keeping up with these climbing costs. Grant funding grew only 4.7% in the 2008-2009 academic year, the most recent for which data is available, which means that undergraduates’ out-of-pocket costs are higher than ever. Because of higher unemployment and stagnant household incomes, is making it harder than ever to finance a degree.
The good news is that about two thirds of full time students receive financial aid that doesn’t need to be repaid. After taking grants into consideration, coupled with federal tax benefits, the net cost of college is much lower than the sticker price. On average, students at private schools are paying $11,900, while those attending public schools are spending about $1,600 out of pocket each year. That still leaves a third of students paying full freight, and every undergrad is still contending with room and board costs that are also climbing, up 5.4% at public schools at 4.2% at private schools this year.
Hispanics Want to Go to College, But Don’t
A report issued by the Pew Hispanic Center indicates that nine out of ten Hispanics say it is necessary to get a college education – more than any other ethnic or racial group. However, fewer than half of Hispanic 18 to 25-year-olds plan to get one –well below the 60% of all other young people.
Why is this so? The report suggests several reasons including language difficulties, financial problems an student’s felt need to support their families(74%). Thirty-nine percent say they do not need more education. Twenty -one percent say that their grades are not high enough to get into college. Some Hispanic students start in 2-year community colleges but only one in 10 get an Associate Degree.
With Hispanics now the largest minority group in the country and the fastest growing ethnic group, this portends to be major national problem. Taken with the fact, that the Hispanic population is the largest group to not complete high school, this adds to the national education problem, today and tomorrow.
Building Global Economies: From the Schoolhouse to the Workplace
I do not know if you are aware that I deliver business presentations in addition to delivering educational presentations. While I was delivering 2 educational workshops in Fargo, North Dakota, I delivered a business presentation at the Microsoft Campus to 75 business leaders that was organized by the United Way of of Cass-Clay. Judy Green, Executive Director of the United Way stated that she had never gotten as much as a commitment from the business community. Here a number of their comments:
Excellent! Thank you for including us. Franklin – great!
Great presentation.
This event was phenomenal! Information provided by Franklin was astounding and an
agent for improvement and realization. I can use so much of what I learned today to impact and influence the individuals and groups I work with. This issue is huge, important and vital locally and nation wide. I look forward to more engaged discussions and actions on this topic. Thank you for the opportunity to attend today!
Thank you for providing this opportunity to our community!
This was an informative session. Thank you!
I will do whatever you need from me.
I am a school board member and familiar with all this data so I was looking for something
new we could do. I forget that everyone doesn’t know the same information.
Good job!
What an enlightening presentation. It has left me wondering what my role as an informal
educator is in addressing this issue. What can I offer? Where do my strengths lie, and how can I utilize them to your assistance?
Great supporting data to help me grow my statewide program for early entrepreneurship
education.
Great job United Way!
Thanks.
Some of the statistics provided today were quite alarming. I had not realized this is the
current state. Dropout rates are high, and need to be lower. Events like this today give
hope that one day those rates will be lower. Thank you for the insight.
Great information.
Thanks for the great introduction to this process.
This info is good to share with everyone in our community. This is a problem for all of us.
I am heading a new organization called the Great Plains STEM Education Center which will address a segment of the problem of active learning as opposed to passive dependent learning. I would be happy to get involved. Thanks!
Excellent presentation.
I am currently on the ND Drop Out Prevention Team.
Very interesting.
We are already strong partners in this endeavor – let’s continue with focus and strength!
This is information everyone needs to know. I think there are a lot of misconceptions and
prejudices regarding “at-risk” kids and I think discussions like this can teach individuals that it is an important issue no matter what your position in the community.
I completely agree that education is a very important factor in improving the lives of
individuals and our communities. Improvements are required to encourage our students to remain engaged and become life-long learners.
Having been a high school teacher in large, diverse and struggling school districts in Texas during the start of my career and currently at Microsoft, I often have thought “if I’d known then what I know now”. I would love to be involved!
Great session! Great presenter! Great information!
Franklin is an inspiration to me! Great presentation, great content. I would love to listen to him – longer!
If you are interested in having me address the business community in your area, contact me at 505/823-2339 or franklin@schargel.com
