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Should Parents Be Responsible For Kids' Actions in School?

LilSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:47 -0700

Sit down and behave yourself will take on a new meaning in British schools this year. Under a government plan, parents of children enrolled in state schools will be required to sign a Home School Agreement regarding rules on attendance, behavior, school uniforms and homework. Should kids break the rules, their parents could face court proceedings and a fine up to $1,600. In explaining the reasoning for the new rules, the British schools secretary said:

If the large majority of parents are doing the right thing but a small minority do not engage you can have one lesson for 30 kids disrupted by one child. Every parent will have to, as part of the admissions process, say they take on board the obligations in the Home School Agreement, and every parent will be expected to reaffirm that every year.

In a rather unique twist, parents will have the ability to complain about other moms and dads that are not complying with the agreement. If the parents are found guilty, the courts can force them to attend parenting classes to ensure better behavior. Would you want to see such rules enforced in the United States?

No More A's, B's, and C's For New York Elementary Schools

LilSugar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:00:31 -0700

Students in New York Elementary Schools will no longer receive traditional letter grades - A, B, C, D, and F - to evaluate their performance. A new grading system assigns a number - 1, 2, 3, or 4 - to assess the student's skill set. Across the nation, numerous schools have adapted to the standard-based report card system. As a parent, what's your opinion?

Must Read: Edible Schoolyard - A Universal Idea

partysugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:15:38 -0700

Alice Waters has been making waves in the food industry lately, so many that she's appearing on 60 Minutes this Sunday. Along with other prominent foodies, she's strongly urging President Obama to promote local, sustainable eating by petitioning for a White House garden.

To solve the country's obesity crisis, Waters believes, we should plant more gardens, and not just any garden, but schoolyard gardens. If you can teach a child to grow fresh, in-season fruit and vegetables, you'll awaken their senses and teach new skills. Essentially, it will change the way they think about themselves, food, and the world.

This is the concept that Waters eloquently presents in Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea ($24.95). The book describes the history of the garden Waters created at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, in Berkeley CA. To find out what I thought of it, read more.

Pros:

The story is truly inspiring and empowering. After reading it, I wanted to run out and plant a garden. I especially enjoyed when Waters describes how the garden has changed and affected the children.
It's very easy to read: her tone is encouraging, clear, and concise. Although the text is 43 pages, I finished the book in an hour.
It's a beautifully thought-out book with lots of colorful images.

Cons:

The very few recipes are written in paragraph form without listing ingredients, making them hard to follow.
While I love the idea of putting a garden in every school in America, I don't know how realistic it is. When Waters created the garden in Berkeley, CA, she was joined by tons of volunteers. Local farmers donated crops and the city supported her. To achieve this on a mainstream level, Waters would need the support of every American.

Recipes: The focus of this book is clearly the message and the recipes are an afterthought. Most of them sound delicious and are easy enough that a child could make them. Here are a few that sound appetizing:

Cucumber-lime cooler
Bread salad
Potato smash with kale

Imagery: Without the imagery, this book would be nothing. It's filled with large, colorful pictures of smiling kids working in the garden. There are also pictures that illustrate the process Waters went through when transforming the asphalt schoolyard into an edible one. My favorite is of two boys holding chickens.

Overall Rating: If you have children and care passionately about the nation's education system, I highly recommend checking it out.

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Arkansas Teacher Used Tape to Get Students to Sit Still

LilSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:00:52 -0700

Parents send their kids to school assuming it's a safe place to learn, but that wasn't the case in one Risen elementary school. An Arkansas first grade teacher has been placed on administrative leave after angry parents of nine of her twelve students brought child abuse allegations against her. They are accusing the educator of taping their young children to their chairs as punishment for not sitting still. The Sheriff's Department, DHS and the school board are all investigating the situation.

US Universities Have a Grading Problem

CitizenSugar — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 09:30:01 -0800

When it comes to entitlement, American college students get high marks. At universities around the country students expect better grades for less work.

Growing increasingly concerned with students' increasing expectations, researches at the University of California, Irvine decided to study student attitudes. According to the New York Times the report found that a third of students surveyed said that they expected B’s just for attending lectures, and 40 percent said they deserved a B for completing the required reading.

The study hypothesized that parental pressure, competition, and achievement anxiety (prescription drug sure to follow shortly) has caused students to see an A as the default grade, rather than a C.

High report-card expectations aren't a bad thing, but let's hope actually learning something is part of the goal too.

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Have You Ever Misused Your Kid's School Directory?

LilSugar — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 08:00:00 -0800

A booklet of personal phone numbers and email addresses has proven too tempting for many New York parents who use or abuse their children's school directories for their own benefit. Rather than planning playdates and organizing classroom snack schedules, moms and pops are using the resource to send political mailings, real estate listings and fundraising inquiries.

Have you used your child's school directory for other reasons?

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India Hicks Sends Her Kids to School on Another Continent

LilSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 06:00:17 -0800

India Hicks (host of last season's Top Design) has many titles, but none is more important than mother. In the latest issue of Cookie magazine, the model/designer mum to four who lives with two of her children and her partner in the Bahamas, talked about making the difficult decision to send her older boys, Felix, 11, and Amory, 9, to boarding school in England. She said:

"There's a point where you outgrow an island education," she explains. "Especially boys, who need to be socialized and have laboratories, art departments, and playing fields." That said, she adds, "I miss them unbearably. It's a physical pain. I hop on and off that plane to London like it's a bus."

Would you be able to bear this kind of separation if it meant a better education for your kids?

Six-Year-Old Gives Himself License to Drive

LilSugar — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:00:10 -0800

You miss your bus so you hop in the car. Not a big deal...except if you are six! A Virginia boy put the pedal to the metal in his family's Ford Taurus after he missed his ride on Monday. While his mom slept, he grabbed the keys and got going, running off the road multiple times before he hit an embankment and utility pole. Luckily, he suffered only minor injuries despite not having buckled up and even made it to class after a trip to the hospital. What is going on in the world these days? One kid takes the wheel and a couple of others tried to get hitched?
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Lil Tip: Help Your Child Adjust to a New School

LilSugar — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 05:00:24 -0800

The Obama girls started their new school, Sidwell Friends, yesterday. While most students don't ride to school in a motorcade flanked by the Secret Service, a mid-year transition can be difficult for any child. As Malia and Sasha move into their new digs, the White House, they will also be forging new friendships and getting familiar with their surroundings.

If your tot is adjusting to a new educational environment, help them along by hosting a party so they can get acquainted with their peers, reaching out to other parents in the PTA and keeping the lines of communication open in case your youngster wants to chat.

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Did You Choose Your Home Based on the Schools?

LilSugar — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:00:00 -0800

The debate over public versus private school can be a heated one that has even worked its way up to the presidential level. Last week, I told you about the beginning of my quest to find the perfect school for my daughter and that got me thinking.

Did you choose your home based on the school system your child will attend?

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