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Greetings!
This month's newsletter provides information a new movie called "Waiting for Superman," new recommendations regarding obesity screening as young as six years old, mandated physical education legislation, an Olympic medal prediction, playground best practices, and free play at recess article.
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"Waiting for Superman" -
Educators. Find the Kryptonite
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First he took on global warming in the film, "An inconvenient truth." Now documentary filmmaker, Davis Guggenheim is taking on public education in his new film, "Waiting for Superman".
"Waiting for Superman" examines the 'crisis' of public education in the United States through multiple interlocking stories-from a handful of students, and their families, whose futures hang in the balance, to the educators and reformers trying to find real and lasting solutions within a 'dysfunctional system'. (His words not mine).
This is a film to keep an eye on.
It should be out this summer. If early returns are any indication (Sundance Film Winner) then educators should be out-in-front of this sure-to-be tidal wave of discontent towards public education.
Not since 1983 when Reagan released "A Nation at Risk" has education faced criticism of this nature. Remember the Commission Report that found poor academic performance at nearly every level and warned that the education system was "being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity." Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators disagreed and was quoted as saying, "A Nation at Risk was an overstatement of the problem, and it led to sort of hysterical responses."
Some educational historians consider "A Nation At Risk" to be a turning point in public sentiment regarding the quality of public schools and the scholarship of teachers.
Will "Waiting for Superman" spread faster than a speeding bullet or will it be more powerful than a locomotive? In short, will it have a similar effect to "A Nation at Risk"? I predict it will.
Stay tuned. Educators, I suggest you begin gathering your Kryptonite with all deliberate speed.
Link to interview with Guggenheim.
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Federal Panel Recommends Obesity Screening for Ages 6 and older.
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 Photo credit: Thomas Reis Edutopia Magazine
A federal panel of health experts has issued new recommendations
encouraging U.S. doctors to screen children aged 6 and older for
obesity, and to offer them a referral to intensive weight management
programs when necessary.
Read
more......
The new recommendations was published in the
February issue of Pediatrics, and are available online now at the Pediatrics
Web site.
You
may also be interested in the Peaceful Playgrounds featured article: Healthy
Food,
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds
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Legislators Weigh in on Mandated Physical Education
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Ohio legislators this week are discussing mandating Physical
Education for all students.
Senator McCarthy and Kent State
University professor Steve Mitchell said increased physical
activity helps students to focus more on their studies, demonstrate
better school attendance, increased test scores and have fewer
disciplinary issues, during a press conference at the Ohio Statehouse
Jan. 13.
And Mitchell downplayed criticism that the legislation
would increase school costs.
"We can't afford not to [do this],"
Mitchell said. "The long-term financial costs to the health care system
in Ohio far outweigh the short-term costs of implementing the policies
... "
Advocates cite state-backed studies to support the
legislation, stating that some 17 percent of Ohio third-graders are
obese and one-third of today's children will develop diabetes during
their lifetime.
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America to win 26 medals in Vancouver Olympics |
 Pardon my slight deviation from our typical topics...... I must confess
I'm the ultimate Olympic Fan. I watch about 14 hours a day of Olympic
coverage. No kidding. When I worked the 1984 Olympics in LA they were
even better than I imagined. So here's a story on Vancouver games which
start in exactly 10 days. But who's counting?
I didn't make the remarkable prediction for Vancouver medals but Economist Daniel Johnson did and he's remarkably accurate at making medal predictions.......more
Here's a link to Vancouver Olympics web resources for teachers.
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Playground Best Practices
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 11
Steps to a Successful Playgrounds - Monty Christiansen, CPSI
If
you are building, maintaining or strive to keep all kids safe on a
playground then you will find the 11 steps to a successful Playground
helpful.
1. Strive to purchase equipment with high "play value"
2.
Make sure your playground meets appropriate play standards
3. Have
your equipment installed by a qualified installer.
4. Install and
maintain sufficient safety surfacing
5. Require CPSI verification of
standards compliance prior to first use
6. Establish and use an
effective playground maintenance program
7. Perform annual in-dept safety
and maintenance inspections
8. Perform frequent primary issues
safety and maintenance inspections
9. Have a procedure for
effectively taking broken equipment out of service
10. Practice good
health and sanitation procedures
11. Strongly encourage competent supervision
of users, based upon age and activity
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Saving Free Play At Recess
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 With mounting lawsuits and tight budgets, recess is again on the chopping
block at some districts despite evidence of its importance.
Free
play or free form play is a type of play that we support here at
Peaceful Playgrounds. People often misinterpret the Peaceful Playgrounds philosophy and incorrectly assume that we recommend that schools require
participation in our games and activities. Nothing can be
further from the truth. We believe that children should be free to
choose to self select any game or activity of their choice or are free
to choose to do "nothing at all".
Here's a link to an article
on Free
Form Play which we believe should be the right of each and every
child at recess.
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We hope you enjoyed this month's Play Nice Newsletter. Why not Sincerely,
Melinda Bossenmeyer
Peaceful Playgrounds, Inc.
www.peacefulplaygrounds.com
ADDRESS AND PHONE
951-245-6970
fax 951-245-6956
melinda@peacefulplaygrounds.com
17975 Collier Ave. Unit 5
Lake Elsinore, CA 92530
Copyright Peaceful Playgrounds, Inc. 2010 All Rights Reserved.
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