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Faculty and Staff Blood Drive, Sponsored by LifeSource
Blood is needed every two seconds for surgeries, procedures, cancer treatments and emergencies. There is a tremendous demand for blood in the Chicagoland area. Northwestern faculty and staff are highly encouraged to donate this month to help meet the need. 100% of the blood donated during this blood drive will go to hospitals in our community. All donors will learn their blood type, receive a cholesterol screening, blood pressure reading and iron level screening. Walk-ins are welcome. If you would like to schedule an appointment, please contact LifeSource directly at 877-543-3768 or schedule online and use sponsor code: NWUVNWEC.
Should Kids Do Academic Work During Summer?
Roni Sandler-Cohen, PhD, is a clinical psychologist, author, consultant, and lecturer who specializes in the issues of women and girls, parenting adolescents, mother-daughter relationships, and learning disorders. She is the author of three books, numerous scholarly articles in professional journals, and chapters in books on parenting.
As the school year draws to a close, many parents wonder whether it makes sense for teens and tweens to do some sort of academic work during their summer vacation. There are many reasons to consider this. When teens or tweens have below grade level reading, math, or writing skills, the summer can be a good time to work on closing those gaps. The same is true for students who need practice with organizational or study strategies. If your child typically struggles at the beginning of each new school year, summer classes could prevent his skills from getting rusty. Similarly, if your child anticipates a harder than normal course load or busier schedule next fall, it might be a good idea to get a head start on the curriculum.
Or maybe you'd like your teens or tweens to be productive during long, unstructured summer days, especially if you envision them sleeping until mid-afternoon, binge-watching Netflix shows, texting with their friends all night, or remaining glued to the couch playing video games for hours on end. Even if you have none of these specific concerns, like many parents you want your kids to have every advantage; you may believe that summer school would provide a leg up on a good education.
Of course, when students are still in elementary school, it's easier to sign them up for whatever tutoring, summer school, or academic program you like. But once they reach middle school and beyond, deciding whether they'll do academic work during their summer vacations-and perhaps enlisting their cooperation-often becomes a trickier endeavor. Given how busy and stressed-out today's teens are, their desperation to spend summers relaxing and getting a break from the workload of the school year is understandable. So is it worth arguing the point or insisting on summer work? And, will that even be effective? To make this discussion as successful-and peaceful-as possible, here are some general guidelines and issues to consider.
How to Decide
Is Summer Work Required? Sometimes kids' schools eliminate parental stress by essentially making these decisions for you. The most obvious example is when high school students are required to attend summer school to repeat core academic courses they failed during the year. But be aware of other, lesser known reasons why kids might have to take summer classes.
Amy wanted to participate in a year-long international exchange program during her junior year in high school. Because she had taken fewer years of foreign language than the program requested, she signed up for summer school to perfect her conversational Spanish in the hopes of being accepted. Greg had to take English during the summer to complete the requirements necessary to graduate early from high school. Because of a schedule conflict, Kathryn had to do a prerequisite course in summer school for the full-year photography elective she otherwise would not have been allowed to take.
Can It Further Their Goals? With teens and tweens' growing desire for autonomy, enlisting their input in decision-making is always better than dictating their summer plans. The first step should be guiding them to clarify their educational goals, and then exploring together their options for achieving them. Theoretically, that'll make kids less likely to protest going to summer school and more invested in whatever academic work they undertake.
Carla always hoped to major in foreign languages at college so she could become a translator. The summer before her senior year of high school, she realized she would be a more competitive applicant if she attended an intensive language immersion program offered by her first choice college. Jon, anticipating a hectic first semester senior year with many high-level courses as well as college applications to complete, opted to take physics in summer school when it could be his sole focus.
Caveat: this principle works only with kids' own educational goals, not with what you think they should do. Alisha's parents overrode her guidance counselor's recommendation and signed her up for advanced rather than regular English. But when they insisted she take a summer school class to get her ready for the rigorous curriculum, she refused, claiming she was, "fine with being in normal English."
What are their Needs? When you're the one broaching the idea of summer work, things usually get more delicate. Regardless of how strongly you feel or the validity of your reasons, don't adopt a general policy for the whole family. Siblings often have unique learning styles, challenges, and needs, especially as they progress through school. Also, it is equally, if not more, important to assess kids' social and emotional needs along with their academic weaknesses.
Because she struggled to learn how to read, Sara attended a special summer school for kids with learning disabilities from grade 2 to grade 5. Although her parents were sure she'd benefit from the extra reading practice before middle school, after much deliberation they realized that what Sara needed even more was a whole summer off from academic work. Jake was intent upon taking an advanced computer class at the local community college; however, because his parents worried about his awkward peer interactions, they persuaded him to do a community service program, which focused on cooperation and leadership skills, instead.
Continue reading at Dr. Sandler-Cohen's blog
How to Make Your Cubicle Healthier- WeightWatchers
The workplace is the perfect breeding ground for poor food choices. On any given day you're expected to dodge mindless snacking, office celebrations and stress-induced vending machine runs. Sometimes it can feel like the only way to stay on plan is to hide under your desk and avoid your coworkers.
You can create a healthier office environment for yourself, says Milton Stokes, MPH, RD, a Connecticut-based registered dietitian and a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. If you know what you're up against, you can arm yourself with the tools (mental and otherwise) to stay on track. Here's a list of the worst food pitfalls, and how to avoid them:
The food landmine. These nutritional tripwires appear in the form of a dish of chocolate kisses, a reappearing plate of doughnuts or bagels, or an ever-present box of leftover pizza. They seem harmless, but indulging in the office candy bowl can pack on the calories and ultimately cause a weight gain, according to research published by Brian Wansink, Cornell University food psychologist and author of Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think.
What to do: Stock your own stash. "Make sure you have healthy snacks on hand so you can avoid the temptation," says Stokes. Stokes suggests homemade trail mix tossed with a few nuts and dried fruits, or cookies such as gingersnaps, graham crackers or animal crackers.
The working lunch. If your calendar is filled with lunch meetings, you might be faced with an endless stream of take-out or catered lunches. Such meals often leave you with few healthy choices. A typical fast food lunch is often enough of a nutritional bomb to blow a person's PointsPlusŪ values allotment for an entire day.
What to do: Plan ahead to avoid the most fattening fare. You can eat with the pack, but keep your portion sizes small and order condiments on the side, using them sparingly. Stokes recommends snacking on something filling and nutritious beforehand to cut your hunger. Try a handful of almonds or a low-fat yogurt. Never show up to work without fueling first: People who skip breakfast are more likely to overdo it at lunch.
The pause that refreshes. Soft drinks and energy drinks can soak up your daily PointsPlus Target quickly. "Those are just empty, wasted calories being racked up," says Stokes.
What to do: Need a pick-me-up? Buy a sporty water bottle and keep it filled with H2O on your desk. "A glass of water and a quick munch on a high-fiber, whole-grain cereal bar with a fruit filling is much better than a sports or energy drink," says Stokes.
The vending machine. You can stand there and stare through the glass panel for an hour, but you'll be lucky to find one item in a vending machine that is worth its PointsPlus value.
What to do: Make sure you're never caught in an emergency "I need a snack" situation by keeping your desk stocked with healthy snacks (which are also better for your budget). If you must visit the vending machine, Stokes suggests looking for whole-wheat pretzels, whole-grain low-fat crackers or low-fat microwave popcorn.
Weight Watchers @ Work
Let Weight Watchers help you get ready for summer! Meetings are every Thursday at 12:30 with the weigh-in beginning at noon, in room 3.226 Searle Hall (Health Services Building - 633 Emerson Street, Floor 3, room 226, Evanston Campus). Come in and CHECK OUT a meeting for free. What do you have to lose? For more information, contact Tammy Rosner at t-rosner@northwestern.edu or 1-2210.
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