Archives for November 2009

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.

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.

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

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.

While college costs have gone up and donations and endowments have gone down, college fees have gone up faster than inflation putting colleges beyond the reach of too many.  Is it possible that universities are using grants and loans to students to raise their fees shifting their costs to the students who attend?  Just asking.

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.