NEWSBITES
FOR KIDZ�
APRIL 18 2004
Unmasking today�s silent heroes - Philippines
Chalk Media and YTV to co-produce kids reality game show
with interactive
No kidding! TV Channels Coming to India
Batting for peace and fielding for harmony
Choices for children increase and improve: Sesame Street
Pupils learn about Japan from native - MT, USA
KIDS AND ANIMALS�
/� �EDUCATION
Furry reading friends - New York State, USA
Mathematics: Most hated subject by pupils� - Nigeria
Astronaut Looking Forward to Returning to Earth, But Not
to Gravity: Earth and Space
Egg-ceptional Fun Rain doesn't stop children from
attending annual egg roll at the White House -
Four days in cyber space : China
National Geographic Bee Announces State Winners : USA
Parvaz (the take off) : Afghanistan
News for Kidz Site Map Earlier NewsBites
http://www.mb.com.ph/SCAU200404066642.html
Unmasking today�s silent heroes -
By AMYLINE QUIEN CHING, The
They may not have shed blood for the country but
their perspiration quenched the thirst of the very people
who
have fought for the freedom of the country and those who are continuing to do
so. They may not be
beatified
for the miracles that they perform everyday, but in the eyes of the children,
whose lives they have
changed
for the better, they are earth angels.
Nothing could probably be nobler than the
profession that lives and breathes to enrich the minds and souls
of
people. And if there is anyone who so richly deserves to be called hero, it is
these teachers, who slaved
the
whole day, dedicating their whole lives in building a future not only for the
children, not only for the
community
but for the whole country.
Cognizant of the significant role that teachers
play in our society, MMPI's Me Magazine launched the
�Inspiring Teachers
Awards.�
��These
people are the unsung heroes of the country. They have done so much and yet,
they are the least
recognized
and the least affirmed. I think that it's about time that their efforts are
rewarded,� says its
editor-in-chief
Cathy Babao-Guballa.
�Of the
countless number of letters that were sent, the editorial team chose five
teachers that have not only
taught
the basics of their subject matter but also the basics in life. Some of them
were nominated by their
students
while others were nominated by their co-worker and even their superior.�
DISCOVERING
THE POTENTIALS WITHIN
��There are
no dumb students. All children have their own set of intelligence. The task of
the teacher is to
discover
these potentials and develop them.�
�Grade five student Rochelle Sy-Ramos may be
young but her age has not blinded her from the qualities
that
make her teacher, Marilyn Laureno, �the greatest
teacher she ever had.� In the words of a child, she
wrote,
�Mrs. Laureno is a god-loving, kind, industrious and
patient teacher. She is a role model for me and
someday,
I want to be like her.�
�Going beyond
the lessons in the textbooks, Marilyn teaches her students to appreciate and
nurture their
talents
and special abilities. A subscriber of the theory, multiple intelligence or
�different smarts,� she
frequently
reminds her students that they have their own �smart,� be it word smart, body
smart, picture
smart,
number smart, or people smart and that they should not despair if they can't do
what others can do.
�Though the
subject may not be part of the public elementary school curriculum, she feels
that there are a
lot
more things that she could share with her young students. Being an effective
teacher, for her, does not
necessarily
mean having students with the highest grades. Apart from their academics, they
must also be
able
to apply the things that she has taught them in solving problems in their
everyday lives.
�Her
innovative approach and willingness to go the extra-mile has earned her the
respect and admiration of
her
peers and superiors. �She is such a dedicated teacher. All her students really
learn from her because
she
makes sure that no one is left behind in their lessons,�
Mirabal.
�And for all
her efforts, all she wants as her reward is the knowledge that her students
have learned from
her.
�Just hearing them say that they got it, that they
understood the lesson, is more than enough for me to
live
by,� she reveals.
TURNING ROCKS INTO PRECIOUS STONES
��In essence,
teachers are like gem cutters, they see through our rough fa�ade and patiently
bring out our
vast
potentials, turning rocks into precious gems.�
�On the surface, Ma. Cristina Pargas
Bawagan epitomizes the teacher stereotype,
eye-glasses, serious
demeanor,
looks that could kill if you haven't done your readings and assignments and
yet� upon a close
look,
she is but a person who have chosen to dedicate her life in teaching students�
and learning from
them
too.
��What really
amazed me is her willingness to accept criticisms and change herself for the
better. When she
found
out that some of her students did not like her teaching style, she asked her
students to list down
their
complaints on a piece of paper. She then read each one, considered their
observations and changed
herself
accordingly. I found it really inspiring for she is woman enough to accept our
criticisms,� relates
third
year student Kirsten Anne Lopez of Philippine Science High School.
�Ma'am Buwagan or just plain Tina, as she wants to be called,
divulges that the greatest reward that
teaching
has ever given her is the realization that she was able to make a dent in her
student's life, not only
academically
but also psychologically and emotionally. There is, according to her, a feeling
of fulfillment
and
joy in seeing them grow before your eyes, developing self-confidence and
building dreams and hopes
for
the future.
�"Most
students do not really remember the subject that you teach. What they would
remember are the
times
that you have encouraged them to be more than they thought they could be,"
she discloses.
A LIGHT THAT SHINES BRIGHTER
�Storms,
floods are no match to the iron-clad dedication of Filipino teacher Araceli Cruz to her students in
She would painstakingly pore over her presentation,
her visual aids, checking over the minutest details.
�This
determination and will to do her best was the one that has delivered her from
the clutches of
ignorance.
Unlike those who had the luxury of studying in the best schools, she worked
hard to finance her
studies.
After finishing elementary, she stopped for a while to help her parents raise
money. She eventually
went
back to school, working in the school canteen part-time. It was only after so
many years that she
finally
realized her dream to become a teacher.
�Araceli believes that poverty should not stop people from
dreaming, from believing that they can make
something
of themselves. Through hard work and patience, they too, can achieve something
that they
never
thought they could do.
A SECOND MOTHER
�There is
more to school than textbook lessons and classroom lectures. This was what Gianello Cero
discovered
through his chemistry teacher Laura de Guzman in La Salle Greenhills.
�"More
than a teacher, she has become a friend and a mother. It might be so clich�d
but she has become
that.
We really learned a lot from her and not just on chemical formulas," says Gelo.
�That one
time that they have accompanied their teacher to one of her weekly volunteer
activities has
turned
into two and then three until they realized that they were hooked.
�"Not
everything can be learned from the classroom. Sometimes, there are even more
lessons that you can
learn
from these volunteer work, from then people that you encounter than in class.
Not only do you learn,
but
you are also able to help them, share a part of yourself with them. I guess
that is one of the things that I
like
about her. Being a student, for her, is not only brainwork,
one should also go out and experience what
the
real world is all about," he continues.
�According to
de Guzman, a teacher's role in a child's life is crucial because teachers are
one of the
primary
influences in their formative years, where they develop their character and
their puberty stage,
where
they develop their identity. "Teachers are really second mothers
especially to the students who do
not
enjoy an open relationship with their parents or those who have parents that
are always absent," she
maintains.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
�To be a good
teacher is not that difficult if one truly loves the profession and is willing
to devote his or her
entire
self to the betterment of others. Marilou Cancio Goloya is one teacher who
has committed her life to
helping
visually-impaired pupils in
handling
perhaps a normal class, the rewards are immeasurable. "It is a challenge
to teach the
handicapped.
It is hard� yes but what joy you would feel to see them starting to progress
when before
they
cannot do anything on their own," she shares.
�"For
her to handle eight blind pupils is actually more than what is required of her
as that is more than the
prescribed
number per class. Still, with her dedication and her natural love for her
pupils, she is able to
manage
the class effectively," states DepEd-NCR
Education Supervisor Dr. Elvira Rocal.
�A lady of
innovations and great thirst for knowledge, she utilizes different teaching
styles and attends
seminars
to learn more. Believing that education should be a continuous process, she sees
to it that she
upgrades
her competencies in teaching the blind every time she finds an opportunity.
�"One
should not rest on one's laurels. Education does not stop the minute you walk
out of the classroom.
Learn from everything that you see, from everything
that you encounter. That is the only way for you to
develop
as a person," she advises.
�Having no
medals of valor or sculpted images inside the church does not make them any
less of a hero,
any
less of a saint than those who line up the pages of history books or the
insides of the places of
worships.
�Each word of
encouragement, each pat in the back may seem small but to the students, whose
lives they
have
touched, its impact immeasurable.
__________________________________________________________
SOURCE:
http://www.cnw.ca/fr/releases/archive/April2004/07/c9254.html
Chalk Media and YTV to co-produce kids reality game show with interactive
���
announces
the acceptance of a conditional offer from YTV to co-produce Spy
Academy, a kids' reality game television show with
an interactive web
component.
��� YTV and
Chalk Media plan to co-produce thirteen episodes of the
half-hour
reality game show to air across
9-12, an opportunity to actively participate in the
type of show they love
To watch.
The show will also include interactive web components that will allow kids to
participate online at home during the show.
���
targeting
this young audience. Mike Agerbo, Chalk Media founder
and Chief
Creative Officer, is excited to be partnering with
YTV, "The new show
Combines the popularity of reality television with
the excitement of kids' game
shows.
We're very enthusiastic about the interactivity
that is integrated directly
into
the show. Kids at home can participate with the on-air contestants and
have
the opportunity to win prizes. Even if they don't get picked to be in
the
television show, any child in
regular
home PC and internet connection."
��� "We
are looking forward to working with Chalk Media on this new project.
We think kids will welcome this new game show
concept. It's a reality
Program that uses all the latest gadgets, with an
interactive section that will
provide
the YTV audience with the full experience," said Bonita Siegel,
Director Original Productions, Corus
Children's Television.
��� Chalk
Media believes that interactivity will be a new direction for the
television
shows of the future and that this appeal will be high with kids.
Consumer Research
a
television in their bedrooms, and 1/3 of those also have a computer in their
bedrooms.
While adults tend to see T.V. as a 'sit-back' experience, kids are
media
multi-taskers - they are watching T.V., surfing the
internet, instant
messaging
their friends and talking on the phone all at the same time.
___________________________________
SOURCE:
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/life/2004/04/05/stories/2004040500170400.htm
No kidding! TV Channels Coming to
Nithya
Subramanian
At least three new channels for kids are eyeing the
Indian market place and
are
likely to go on air in the next few months.
If you are worried that television is turning your
little ones into couch
potatoes,
then brace yourself for some more news. At least three new
channels
for kids are eyeing the Indian marketplace and are likely to go on
air
in the forthcoming months.
While Turner International launched sister channel
POGO exclusively for
Entertainment Television has announced that it
would bring in Animax later
this
year and the Walt Disney Company is also in talks with distributors for
its
Disney Channel.
Advertising industry officials say that this is a
segment that is set to
witness
growth. Sandip Tarkas,
President, MPG India, part of Havas
Advertising, says, "Currently, Cartoon Network
has been dominating the
children's
space, while Viacom Inc's Nickelodeon, which is the
leader
internationally,
has not done very well in
children's
programming on specific time-bands, such as Fox Kids on Star Plus
or
Cartoon Network on Zee, and these have done well. There is an opportunity
in
that segment."
According to the Federation of Indian Chamber of
Commerce and Industry
(FICCI)-Ernst & Young Entertainment Report, the
total television market in
2003 was an estimated Rs
12,900 crore, with advertising revenues about Rs
4,200 crore.
Of this, children's and infotainment channels have just two per
cent
share. Media planners say that the kids' market is estimated to be much
larger
because a lot of advertisements targeted towards children are aired
on
general entertainment channels. "Hence there is potential akin to sports
or
news channels," they add.
The advertising industry officials point out that
both the news and sports
channels
have witnessed tremendous growth. "The biggest gainer has been the
sports
genre whose share increased from 3 per cent in 2002 to 13 per cent in
2003," says the report.
Action is also hotting up
among niche segments. Apart from the 100-odd
existing
channels, more are likely to go on air soon. The Times Group is
aggressively
eyeing the television space with the proposed launch of several
channels
in the general entertainment, business, lifestyle and spiritual
genres.
The company has been going on a hiring spree and has recruited
professionals
who have previously worked in advertising agencies as well as
broadcasting
companies such as Zee and Sony.
The industry buzz is that Zee has also been
scouting for niche channels, and
that
Animal Planet from the Discovery-BBC joint venture may be re-launched
under
a new global strategy.
_____________________________________________
http://www.hindu.com/lf/2004/04/02/stories/2004040200240200.htm
Batting for peace and fielding for
harmony
This group of 26 young cricketers has been practising very hard. And when
they
cross the border, they promise to win. But it is not the scoreboard
they
are concerned with. Instead, these young enthusiasts will be batting
for
peace and fielding for harmony.
Conceived by Leapfrog and supported by ActionAid
children
and six children journalists plan to cross the border and play with
their
counterparts, using the platform of cricket to spread the message of
peace.
"But, there will be no Indian and Pakistani teams. There will be
children
who will play with each other. This will encourage true team spirit
and
interaction,'' clarified Pooja Singh, a student of
School, during a press
conference on Thursday.
The 20 underprivileged children have been drawn
from Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Ashray Adhikar Abhiyan, Anhad, Chetna and Jamghat and belong to Gujarat, Bihar, Rajasthan and
Two "child reporters'' will also stay on in
"We will be writing about the matches and our
experiences in
will
send these back to the city reporters who will try and get them
published
in mainstream papers here,'' says a participant.
To prepare them for the trip, peace and harmony
workshops were organised for
the
children. "We encouraged them to use all possible media like skits,
songs,
posters, comic writing. Apart from this, workshops were conducted by
Nandita
Das, Kuldip Nayar, George Abraham and Harsh Mander. Concepts
such as identity, positive experiences, peace and conflict were discussed. But
we
just
introduced the concepts and let the children decide how to interpret
them,''
says Saumya Sen of
Leapfrog.
Apart from other positives, a major success is the
solidarity that has been
forged
among the children. "I have really enjoyed this opportunity to
interact
with these children who spend their life on the streets. It has
changed
my perception of street children. Now, I look at them differently
and
understand their concerns much better,'' says Nishit
of Delhi Public
School who is part of the
children's media group.
However, there is still a slight snag in the plans
as the visas for
have
not come through yet. "We were planning to leave on April 2 but it has
been
delayed because the visas are yet to come through. Most likely, there
would
be delay of about four to five days. This means that the matches would
also
be delayed by three to four days,'' says Saumya.
By Anjali Malhotra
� Copyright 2000 - 2003 The Hindu
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1080988335160282.xml
Choices for children increase and improve:
04/04/04
Mark Dawidziak
Plain Dealer Television Critic
Big Bird took flight at a time when the skies
weren't all that sunny in the
kid-TV
world. There wasn't a great deal of original programming for children when
"
word
being ap plied to most of what was there.
"It was pretty much a vast wasteland for kids
in 1969," says Bob McGrath, a
regular
on "
Captain Kangaroo,' Mr. Rogers' and some things
Shari Lewis tried, there
wasn't
a whole lot on. And much of what was being marketed to kids then, and
even
into the '70s and '80s, was mindless or violent."
But the landscape has changed over the last 35
years for the good. In terms
of
quality and quantity, concerned parents now have more choices than ever
before.
"I don't think you can quite call it a golden
age for children's
television,"
says Christy Glaubke, the principal associate for the
Children
and
Media Program at Children Now. "Some hindsight is necessary to determine
that.
But it's unquestionably true that there are more quality choices than
at
any time in television history."
Glaubke
credits three programmers with leading the quality charge for kids:
PBS, with the likes of "
the
Big Red Dog"; Nickelodeon with "Dora the Explorer," "Blue's
Clues" and
"Rugrats"; and
the Disney Channel with "Bear in the Big Blue House," "Out of
the
Box" and "Rolie Polie
Olie."
"Even when you get to things for older kids on
Nickelodeon," Glaubke says,
"shows like Sponge
Bob SquarePants' and Hey,
smart
and clever. They're more about being entertaining than being
educational,
but you find wonderfully positive messages and a great deal of
diversity
in shows like The Wild Thornberries' and Hey,
Diversity is an area where there has been the most
progress since "Sesame
Street" debuted with an integrated cast.
"I think
several
generations growing up, just accepting that we live in a diverse
world.
We've almost got to the point with children's programming where it's
a
given. There's going to be diversity, not just in terms of race, but in
terms
of backgrounds, cultures, beliefs and experiences."
"
for
children, and that has had an enormous impact.
"Yes, kids' programming is better," says
Marjorie Kaplan, the executive vice
president
in charge of the Discovery Networks' Discovery Kids series. "And
probably
that's due, in part, to one of the things that I think is the
biggest
change, which is that producers and networks listen to kids and
constantly
talk to kids. . . . When I started in the kids' television
business,
advertisers knew more about children, by and large, than networks
and
production executives did. And that's not true anymore."
Cable, though, also gets much of the credit for the
quality boom of the last
decade.
"It's now all kids, all the time," says
Deborah Forte, president of
Scholastic Entertainment, which produces
"Clifford the Big Red Dog." "Ten
years
ago, 24/7 kids' networks didn't exist, and certainly there was no
proliferation
of kids' networks, so to speak. A decade ago, Nickelodeon was
really
in its early stages."
Tom Lynch, a writer-producer whose credits include
"The Secret World of Alex
Mack" and "Romeo!" believes that the
other big change is economic: "It's a
great
business to be in. Right now, in all media, in all of television, the
children's
business is the only one that can travel across the platforms . .
. movies, television,
video games, DVD. You know, it's a huge, huge
business."
Yet there is a dark side to all that growth. Glaubke is uncomfortable with
the
amount of marketing and merchandising that goes hand in hand with
children's
programming, even on PBS.
"That's the downside," she says.
"The commercialization can get pretty
fierce.
It has become a necessary evil because it funds so much good
programming
in a capitalistic society, but it is one of the things we're
concerned
about. We worry about the future when you have completely
interactive
digital television. What will the marketing and merchandising be
like?"
Violence also remains an issue, particularly with
some of the shows aimed at
kids
on the WB and Fox lineups.
"The quality can improve in children's
programming," says Lewis Bernstein,
executive
producer of "
that,
overall, the state of children's television is better, with many more
choices
and many more shows conscious of diversity and of being educational.
I'm sorry there isn't more, but, yes, you have to
say it's better."
When Children's Television Workshop co-founder Joan
Ganz Cooney set out to
make
"
one
of the long-term results would be more and more choices for kids, and
there certainly are now: Dora the Explorer,'
Between the Lions,' Clifford
the
Big Red Dog.' Those are quality shows, and that's what Joan Cooney
wanted."
__________________________________
SOURCE:
http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1080988214160280.xml
SOURCE:
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/health/story.jsp?story=506654
����� Sugar rush -
����� In two
decades, child obesity has doubled. In the past year, �25m of
TV food adverts were aimed at children. Is there a
link? Depends who you
ask,
says Caroline Stacey
����� 03
April 2004
����� "Frosted Shreddies." My
daughter is reading aloud to me from the
Beano.
I should be pleased her reading is coming along, but it's not quite
what
I had in mind. She's dictating over the phone as if to an imbecile (a
tone
familiar, I hope, to other parents), the name of the breakfast cereal
she
wants me to buy on the way home from work. Helpfully for the readers of
the
Beano, who we can probably assume are mostly under 12, there is a
full-page
advert from the cereal's manufacturer, Nestl�, on the page
opposite
Dennis the Menace.
����� There's
a law against pester power. Adverts aimed at children must not
explicitly
encourage the little pests to nag you into buying something. You
think
an ad in a kid's mag, for food that appeals mainly to
children but is
bought
by parents, counts as encouragement? It doesn't. According to the
Advertising Standards Authority (which monitors all
non-TV adverts),
objecting
to a product, and who it appeals to, is not a reason for objecting
to
an advertisement. And it's not in the ASA's remit to
consider where they
are
placed.
�����
"Frosted" is a euphemism for a Bob the Builder-style truckload
of
sugar.
These little brown waffles of malty cereal are so
encrusted with
sugar
they're almost white. It's the second ingredient, after wholegrain
wheat
and rice. Each 100g has 366 calories and 36.3g of sugar. My children
are
quite capable of eating 150g at a sitting. That's more than 500
calories,
a third of the total a six-year-old girl should have a day.
����� Cereals
like Frosted Shreddies and Sugar Puffs (glistening
with a
whopping
49 per cent sugar content), confectionary, savoury
snacks, soft
drinks
and fast foods are the types of grub constantly wheedling their way
into
children's hearts and minds via lovable characters and catchy jingles.
A whopping 90 per cent of food advertised in the
gaps between children's TV
programmes
is high in at least one of the unhealthy trinity: sugar, salt and
fat.
����� There
is no legal definition of "high-fat", but experts accept that
more
than 20 per cent is a lot, and that more than 10 per cent sugar is
high.
As for salt, which contributes to high blood pressure and
heart
disease,
more than 0.5g of sodium (that's the salt to watch out for) per
100g is not good, and processed foods are one of
the main sources of it. One
third
of a packet of Walkers crisps, so successfully advertised by the
ex-footballer
and sports TV presenter Gary Lineker, is made up
entirely of
fat,
and sodium content is 0.7g per 100g. Nestl�, which produces Cookie
Crisps, KitKat, Aero,
Munch Bunch Squeezy and Herta
Dinky Dogs, is one of
the
top-spending food advertisers, along with Cadbury, Coca-Cola,
McDonald's, Heinz and Pepsi
(which owns Walkers and Quaker).
Many have stars
such
as Lineker and Justin Timberlake on their side.
����� The
term junk is generally applied to energy-dense, low-nutrient
foods.
Weight for weight, fat contains twice the number of calories as
protein
or carbohydrate, so you don't need to eat as much to start gaining
weight.
And the nation's increasing weight is getting out of hand. Half the
adults
in
Radio 4's Today programme
recently, "a tidal wave of obesity is heading
towards
us". The reality is a public health catastrophe. Stars like Britney
Spears (a Pepsi-promoter) should be worried. How
long is it before someone
points
a fat finger at her and says, "Britney made me drink it"?
����� When
those adults spared regular contact with children come across a
breaded
turkey dinosaur (28 per cent turkey), they are horrified by what
seem
like caricatures masquerading as food. Nothing surprises the
food-battle-weary
parent, but we have strategies for keeping contact with
enemy
products at a minimum. Eventually we hope our progeny will lose
interest
in them. But for the sake of research I sacrificed the children in
a
sortie to the supermarket.
����� I
dragged my two, 6 and 7, and another, 9, to Sainsbury's to help me
identify
the foods that tempt them. They were to show me the products they
want,
explain why, and how they knew about them. Then be told they couldn't
have
them. This may be good for their health, but it's not an activity
recommended
in childcare manuals. Worse, it was Health Week at school and
they
were in the middle of a full and inspiring programme
about nutrition
and
exercise. One child had arrived at school in tears because he was
worried
he wouldn't be allowed to eat the white-bread sandwich, chocolate
and
crisps his mother had packed for lunch, but the message had been getting
through.
Until we got to Sainsbury's.
����� Once
past the sweets and fags at the entrance, the rack of Finding
Nemo
videos primed them for yet more Nemo merchandising to
come. But before
that
there was brand-free fruit and vegetables to get through. No danger of
pester
power there.
����� "I
like Cheestrings, but the ads are rubbish." Does
that show they're
impervious
to advertising? Perhaps now the agency's creative team will be
sacked
and a new one brought in to rethink the strategy. In the yoghurt
aisle
my guinea pigs were drawn to the cartons of Cadbury's Buttons and
Flake mingling with the fruit flavours
as if they had a similar nutritional
virtue.
And Nestl�'s Nemo-covered fromage frais (nearly 16 per cent
sugar).
We compromised on Muller Corner's vanilla choco balls flavour, sweetened
with
fructose and dextrose, and with no sugar content given. (This was
Health Week remember - it
goes down in their food diary as yoghurt.) Their
eyes
lit up at the California-style Sunny D (15 per cent juice) on the other
side
of the aisle. However often they've been told it isn't orange juice
like
its neighbours, how do you convince them when its
presented as one of
the
chilled fruit juice gang.
�����
"This is the yummy section," my son said, approaching the cheesey
snacky
things he so longs to have a lunchbox to fill with. "I know these, I
love
that. I really like these pizza-making things," his friend said of
Dairylea
Lunchable Stack 'Em, Yummy
Ham version (1g of sodium per 110g),
which
the child constructs by stacking slices of pizza-flavoured
cheese and
processed
ham on a biscuit. Nearby were Kellogg's new screamin'
fruit
Squidgers,
a f crushed fruit snack. Ninety per cent fruit and
fruit juice -
not
bad. "Fruit Winders are just as good, but I haven't seen the Fruit
Winder advert lately, they only do one for
Screamers," they said
knowledgeably.
"But it's all scrummy stuff here - Fruit Shoots,
Panda."
����� In the
cereal section, even the packed-lunch-resistant parent is
vulnerable.
Every packet is emblazoned with temptation. There's a scene in
Tony Parson's novel Man and Boy where the child is
puzzled when his newly
single
dad offers him the sugary cereal, the one saved for holidays, instead
of
the no-fun everyday breakfast his mum usually gives him. It rings bells
with
every parent who has had to negotiate a deal: the sweetest cereals are
allowed
for "special" occasions, like Saturdays. On our research safari,
nobody
bothers with the Shredded Wheat or Weetabix, it's
straight to
"Weetos,
yeah!" These are 36 per cent
sugar, and the kids want the "toon
popper"
(plastic toy) inside. And it's "Frosties
Chocolate, yeah" as well.
That's 41 per cent sugar. But the one they really,
really want is Nestl�'s
Cookie Crisp (40.8g of
sugar per 100g). Here's why: "There's
this guy,
right.
He has bouncy things on his shoes and jumps to a block of flats and
there's
these children eating Cookie Crisps and he says, 'Can I have some of
yours?'
Everyone puts their bowls out the window and it rains Cookie Crisps
down
from the sky into the kids' bowls."
�����
Academics, consumer campaigners and health organisations
are in no
doubt
that adverts contribute to the obesity epidemic. Obesity rates in
children
have doubled in the past 20 years. One in six children aged six to
15 is obese, as are 9 per
cent of two to four years olds. Successive reports
(from, to pick a few, the
International Obesity Task Force, National Audit
Office, Food Standards Agency, and
past
few months have reiterated the scale of the problem. Sitting tight and
doing
very little is not an option - that's partly what made us fat in the
first
place. Children should take more exercise, parents should exercise
more
control, all sides agree. But something else is keeping everyone on
their
toes: debating whether advertising junk food to children should be
banned.
�����
"Children are being targeted systematically," says Neville
Rigby,
director
of policy and public affairs at the International Obesity Task
Force.
He makes comparisons between the junk food business and the tobacco
industry
of the past: "Unless we address the diet side of it no amount of
jogging
will compensate for the junk food." The proportion of fat in the
average
calories
we eat. Now that's up to nearly 40 per cent.
����� These organisations want children steered away from the foods and
way
of
life that can make them overweight, develop diabetes and die early as
adults.
Banning adverts for unhealthy food aimed at children is one of their
priorities.
Not surprisingly, advertisers and food manufacturers beg to
differ.
The British Retail Consortium which represents the supermarkets and
other
shops, insists "an attack on food advertising misses the real cause of
childhood
obesity". Promoting these foods isn't what causes obesity, goes
the
advertisers and food manufacturers' line. Education, family environment
and
lifestyle matter more.
����� The
Department of Health is investigating the link between food
promotion
to children and obesity. Ofcom is reviewing the codes
which govern
food
advertising to children and should report by the middle of the year.
Last month the Food Standards Agency, guardian of
the nation's food safety,
threw
its hat into the ring with an action plan for improving children's
diets,
partly by changing the ways food is promoted to them.
����� This
issue is hotter than the fattiest, saltiest, deep-fried slice of
potato.
In one corner is Scooby Doo, Thomas the Tank Engine
and a host of
other
characters from children's TV, licensed to appear on children's foods,
along
with food industry giants and advertising magicians. On the other are,
well,
almost everyone else you'd expect to care about your health. Sustain,
an
alliance of health and consumer campaigns, led the most recent appeal to
the
Government. Another hundred groups (among them the British Dental
Association, British Heart Foundation, Centre for
Food Policy, Child Growth
Foundation, Child Poverty Action Group, Children's
Society, Co-operative
Group, Consumers' Association, Food Commission,
Guild of Food Writers,
National Children's Bureau, National Union of
Teachers and Unison) backed it
and
joined a worldwide appeal to the World Health Organisation
to
incorporate
the marketing ban into its global anti-obesity initiative.
����� And
then, in between the two camps, we have Tessa Jowell,
Secretary of
State for Culture, Media and Sport, who recently
made clear she wouldn't
give
in to demands for a ban on the ads that make unhealthy children's food
seem
so tempting.
����� After
sifting through all available research on the subject, last
autumn's
Food Standards Agency review, titled "Does Food Promotion Influence
Children?", came to
the conclusion that advertising does affect what
children
eat. Entirely predictable? Not if you believe the
advertising and
food
and drink industries. "They don't see themselves as part of the
problem,"
says Debra Shipley, Labour MP for Stourbridge,
who has campaigned
in
Parliament on this issue. "It's not just that these products exist, it's
that
the manufacturers are doing everything within their power to make
children
want them - and persuade their parents to buy them. We have got to
stop
brainwashing tiny children, on TV and in schools with vending machines
and
sponsorship activities."
����� For
once, instead of clearing up the remains of their nutritious tea,
I watched TV with the kids. In under an hour, we
saw commercials for
Frosties,
McDonald's Happy Meals, Hubba Bubbba
5 chewing gum and Kinder
Surprise.
The cartoon was sponsored by Coco Pops Crunchers. Research by the
Food Commission, a watchdog group, showed that of
all the cereals advertised
in
children's TV viewing time, 89 per cent were for high-sugar children's
cereals.
The advertising and food-manufacturing lobby claims that without
ads
for children, the choice and quality of their TV programmes
and channels
would
reduce. How impoverished their lives would be.
����� The
sums spent promoting confectionary are gobsmacking. Last year,
�25m was spent on food advertising aimed at
children and shown on the
channels,
and at the times, they watch. On terrestrial TV, there might be up
to
10 adverts an hour for food high in fat, sugar and salt.
Grocer, a trade magazine, for tantalising
snippets about what advertisers
are
up to, I learn that the new Cadbury's Giant Fingers (20g each) hope to
capture
a significant slice of the lunchbox market and take on KitKat.
The
TV ads start in April, as part of a �4m package,
including sponsorship of
the
Channel 5 Family Movie on Saturdays.
����� With
less than half our children eating school dinners, lunchboxes are
important,
as are the foods targeted at them. These include processed
products
with more sodium than a child's daily allowance (Dairylea
Dunkers
Salt 'n' Vinegar Twist have 0.9g of sodium per 100g
- remember: 0.5g is
considered
a lot) and sugary cereal bars. A survey which prized open the
plastic
lids of primary school children's lunchboxes found that 71 per cent
included
a bag of crisps, 60 per cent a biscuit or chocolate bar, and less
than
half had a piece of fruit. Nine out of 10 contained food too high in
saturated
fat, salt and sugar. Many children are eating twice the
recommended
amount of sugar. Add in breakfast cereals and their sugar intake
soars.
����� And
what of the children (like mine) whose entreaties have been
stonewalled,
despite their pleas that everyone else at school has blue Slush
Puppies after swimming?
Do they feel hard done by? Take a guess. We can't
manipulate
what they want to eat but - at home, at least - we can determine
what
our children do eat. Which is why we shop alone, if we can.
����� The
standard defence of advertising is that it introduces
consumers to
new
foods. There are 30,000 food products out there, says voice of the
industry,
the Food and Drink Federation. How dull it would be without them
all.
We'd be depriving children, taking their sweets away from them. The
young
cannot be sheltered from marketing and advertising, the most visible
and
entertaining aspects of commercial activity. "Children enjoy and
remember
advertisements, but this does not necessarily mean that they have
an
impact on their behaviour," says its defiant
manifesto. "Food advertising
does
not dictate overall diet and health," states the Food Advertising Unit,
set
up by the Advertising Authority, an industry body.
����� And
then there's Dr Jason Halford, a bio-psychologist and
expert in
"human ingestive behaviour" at the
commercials
aimed at children may actually stimulate them eat to more. He
showed
children - both the obese and lean - food adverts, and then made the
same
foods available immediately afterwards. Many of them - irrespective of
their
size - ate more than they did when they hadn't been shown the adverts.
But as Dr Halford, points
out, in most homes the high-fat and sugary foods
like
crisps and biscuits are as easy to get hold of as the healthier snacks,
and
will seem more attractive to appetites just whetted by TV ads.
����� It'll
take a lot of investment and imagination to redress the balance.
Who will put a persuasive case for a crunchy carrot
and unsalted rice cake
as
the first thing a child wants to nibble after school? Tessa Jowell
has
urged
advertisers to do just that. But the spokeswoman for the Food and
Drink Federation explains that "advertising is
used for brands to
differentiate
themselves in a competitive marketplace." Any volunteers for
some
creative advocacy for broccoli? "It would need to be a branded cabbage
to
be promoted," she admits. And what the industry does is add value -
produce
food they can charge more for. Of course, there wouldn't be adverts
if
the food wasn't invented. Oh, but then there's the argument that the food
industry's
role is to provide choice for consumers. So, what'll it be for
lunch
then? Dairylea Dunkers Jumbo Munch or an Attack-a-Snak Cheestring
Chicken
Wrap?
____________________________________
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?id=1&display=rednews/2004/04/13/build/local/40-japan-elementary.inc
Pupils learn about
By DIANE COCHRAN Of The
Gazette Staff
April 13 2004
Students at
"Do you eat fish with their heads on?"
the fourth grader asked during an assembly Monday afternoon.
After a moment of stunned silence, the gymnasium
erupted into giggles. While Kogame conferred with fourth
grade teacher Nancy McManus, his American host, students waited eagerly for the
answer. Finally, Kogame's face lit up.
�
"Yes," he announced triumphantly.
"We have fish with the head, and the tail is on."
Kogame,
24, spent about 30 minutes Monday talking with fourth, fifth and sixth graders
at Alkali Creek
School about Japanese
culture. He is visiting McManus,
who lived with his family in
McManus traveled to
"We have so much to learn from one
another," McManus said. "The primary focus of the program is to create
peace between the two countries."
She said the relationship she developed with Kogame and his family is a perfect example of what the program
aims to achieve. Because of the bond she formed with Kogame,
he decided to travel to the
During her three weeks in
"I went over with the thought that things were
going to be very strict, the children were going to march around, and things
were going to be very quiet," she said. "I was very wrong."
She described Japanese students as happy children
who often tell jokes. But they have much more responsibility than do their
American counterparts, McManus said.
"The children are responsible for the school
inside and out," she said.
Before class, students clean up the school grounds.
They cook and serve their own lunches - using vegetables grown in school
gardens - and at the end of the day, they clean up the building.
"You don't see janitors in
Classes span the entire day - from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- and many students also attend private "cram" schools in the
evenings and on Saturdays, McManus said.
"There is truly no child left behind in
During Monday's assembly, Kogame
taught Alkali Creek students to count to 10 in Japanese and signed autographs
using Japanese characters.
Students wanted to know if he plays sports (soccer
and volleyball), if there are beaches in
Kogame
experienced his first Easter celebration on Sunday, which included an egg hunt
and potluck dinner as well as a visit from the Easter bunny.
"I've never seen such kind of activity
before," Kogame said. "I didn't know what
the Easter bunny was, but I learned the Easter bunny is some kind of Santa
Claus."
Copyright � The
___________________________________
KIDS AND ANIMALS�
/�
�EDUCATION
Furry reading friends -
In a novel twist to raise reading skills, program
uses dogs to help pupils
By PAUL WESTMOORE
News
4/11/2004�
�
PENDLETON - The dogged pursuit of learning looks a
little different in a Pendleton elementary school.
Since October, about 55 first- and second-graders
who have been struggling with reading have improved their skills by reading
stories one-on-one to registered therapy dogs.
HARRY SCULL JR./
Volunteer Jackie Newman assists second-grader
Celeste Murphy with her reading. Her assigned dog is Maverick, a golden
retriever.
The "Reading With
Rover" program is the only one of its kind in
School.
And while it started off as an experiment, she said
it has proven to be an effective tool in helping children read. Every
participant's reading skills have been brought up to grade level over the past
six months by reading 30 minutes a week to dogs.
HARRY SCULL JR./
Second-grader Dillon Olear
reads to Ice, his therapy dog, at
"This is amazing," Wyner
said. "When you can get a child who does not read well
or doesn't like to read to look forward to reading - that right there, as far
as I'm concerned, is a major step in the right direction. They just
can't wait to read. That's amazing and wonderful."
Dillon Olear certainly
thinks so. He sits on the floor with Ice, an Italian hunting dog, hovering over
his shoulder, reading "The Three Bears."
"It's fun," the 7-year-old Dillon said.
"I like doing it a lot. It helps me."
Dillon then continued reading to Ice while the
dog's owner, Becky Iannone, helped him sound out the difficult
words.
Celeste Murphy said she was having trouble with
reading and is doing much better since she started reading to her pal Maverick,
a 75-pound Golden Retriever.
"I like doing it," the 8-year-old said.
"I like to come to school when it's my turn to read to Maverick."
Maverick is owned by Jackie Newman, who founded the
program with Wyner, recruits volunteers and coordinates
it.
Newman said she and Wyner
came up with the idea for
Iannone
is the
To work with children, Iannone
said, the dogs must have the right temperment and be
able to withstand a lot without reacting. She said Maverick and Ice, for
example, love to be with kids and never bark, are
never aggressive and don't play rough while they are working.
Wyner
said the program has been successful for a number of reasons.
"The advantage is the child gets to practice
reading in an environment that's totally comfortable and secure with the dog
next to them. Sometimes the child pets the dog while reading to it. Sometimes
the dog puts its head on the child's lap. Sometimes the child rests on the
dog," she said.
"It's just a very nonthreatening
situation where they don't have to feel embarrassed if they don't read a word
correctly like they might in front of their classmates. It helps them relax and
focus on their reading," she said.
Add a dog's unconditional love into the mix, and
you have a winning plan, Iannone said.
"It provides the emotional support the kids
need," she said. "The dogs don't correct them. They don't say,
"You have to do this and be perfect at it.'
They're just there to be read to."
And because almost every pupil in the school wants
to read to the dogs, it offers the kids who participate
an element of status, boosting their self-confidence, making them better
students and drawing other children to them whom they otherwise might not have
become friends with, Wyner said.
Wyner
said the school's kindergarten teachers would like their pupils to participate.
Teachers and pupils at
And while most of the kids in the program are there
for reading help, Newman said, it is flexible enough that, if a child has
special problems, teachers will give Wyner the
heads-up on a situation, and they'll admit the child into the program.
Iannone
said she had one pupil who was upset because his cat died.
"He came in and just talked to Ice the whole
time about his cat dying. It was perfect," she said.
Maverick has one girl who came in initially and
just sat in a chair in the corner, Newman said.
"She didn't want to interact with the dog. She
didn't want to read. She didn't want to touch," Newman said.
She was very very shy.
"Now she is to the point where she comes in, she's on the floor with the
dog, she's planning ahead, she's picking out a book, she's
conferring with the librarian.
"When it was time for her turn to leave the
program (because she was doing so well), she actually broke down crying. We
re-evaluated and ended up continuing her because she had come so far and had
broken out of her shell," Newman said.
The kids aren't the only ones who benefit.
"Maverick doesn't like to leave school,"
Newman said. "I've physically had to carry him to get him to leave because
he likes the kids so much. He will lie down on the floor so flat even his lips
are flush to the floor.
And I have to pick him up dead weight and carry him
to the car. He weighs 75 pounds.
"That's become the big joke. Did you get him
out of school without carrying him?"
�
______________________________________________
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/fe408042004.html
Mathematics: Most hated subject by pupils�
-
�
By� Emmanuel Edukugho, Vanguard
Wednesday, April 07, 2004
�
Vanguard conducted a survey among students to find
out their reaction on mathematics. The investigation
revealed
the rationale, objective or otherwise. Whether mathematics be made compulsory,
how feasible is
the
methodology of teaching, the subject in schools, approach, the role and
attitude of teachers, what kind
of
interest shown by students on the subject, conduciveness of the environment,
availability of
instructional
materials, what can be done to generate interest and overcome the proverbial,
traditional fear
often
times from the first day in school.
�I have always been intrigued by numbers right from
my primary school days. But as I went further, going
into
secondary, I started to come to grips with maths. I
want to learn more about the logic of number
because
I hope to be an engineer.
For me, maths is not
difficult as some of my classmates used to say, unless you don�t have interest.
I used
to
tell them to have interest and you will understand the subject. Everything is
about interest� � Paul�
Eyituoyo, a student of
Another student from the same school, Pauline Erewa believe the subject is
difficult.
�Arithmetic is the subject I hate most. Even when I
try to be attentive, yet I still cannot understand it. I am
now
encouraged by a friend who told me I can master it.
I used to think that mathematics won�t be of any
use to me when I grow up, so there is no point in learning
the
subject. I have come to realise that math will be
useful in many ways. I am now trying to work harder
and
harder and not give it up.�
Miss Kome Ejeta of Ajagbadi high school
told Vanguard that mathematics is boring to learn.
�Our teachers can use so much time to treat a topic
which is boring to many of us. At times, fear is created
in
our minds. One thing I know now is that when I practise
it daily, I will be alright. I want to overcome that
fear
when I write WASC.�
Miss Mercy Otsemaye, a
level 300 law student of
a
compulsory subject.
�Not all courses need mathematics, but now, if you
want to study law, arts, mass comm, one is required
to
have
a credit in it. I remember when I was in secondary school, a phobia was created
that maths is very
difficult
and almost impossible to pass. My experience was hard. I had to take extra
lesson at home
especially
for maths before I could get a credit in WAEC.�
Mercy believed maths is
not a terror - subject as many people think.
�Let students take it easy. About 50% of the blame
for failure should go to the students because they don�t
want
to work hard.
�One can approach your peers who are good in it and
they can help you out. Parents should buy the
necessary
text books required and encourage their children to attend extra lesson.�
Attention was drawn to the need for a good
teacher/student relationship in the mastery of the subject.
Pupils should have the patience to listen and
possess individual determination.
Vanguard survey showed that students don�t get
close enough to their maths teachers. Some pupils are
slow,
while others are fast in learning.
One student said: �I don�t pass maths,
not that I don�t like it. There can be better ways of teaching it. Let
government
provide materials for effective teaching in schools and libraries. Teachers
should use
dramatic
style and not making it magical. They need to tell the pupils to believe in
themselves. Teaching
ought
to be more practical, and less of theory.�
Some students interviewed expressed mixed feelings.
While there are those who regard mathematics as a
problem,
others said it�s not a problem.
To those who have interest, it is very easy to
learn.
On the other hand, those without interest find it
difficult to learn. Yet the beauty of mathematics lies in the
ability
to solve problems which is the very soul of the subject.
Exercises in mathematics involve problem-solving
which is not found commonly in other subjects. A lot of
calculation
necessary in accounting is there.
A student observed in the course of this report
that even as a worker, one still needs some knowledge of
maths.
�If for instance, one wants to collect his/her
salary, and told that 25% has been added, you have to calculate
the
percentage increase and make sure you are not cheated,� he said.
According to him, even the petty trader, the market
women, need to understand addition and subtraction,
plus
and minus of numbers for proper accounting at the end of the day.
__________________________________________--
http://www.eham.net/articles/8139
Astronaut Looking Forward to Returning
to Earth, But Not to Gravity: Earth and Space
from
The ARRL Letter, Vol 23, No 15
Website: http://www.arrl.org/ on April 10, 2004
Astronaut Looking Forward to Returning to Earth,
But Not to Gravity:
Astronaut Mike Foale,
KB5UAC, told a group of students in
returning
to Earth at the end of the month. But he was not especially enthusiastic about
the prospect of
having
to reacclimate himself to Earth's gravitational pull.
Foale made the comment during an Amateur
Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS)
school group contact with youngsters at two schools in
commander
and NASA ISS science officer--said coming back to Earth is difficult for the
first two or three
days.
"It feels like I am carrying suitcases all the
time," he said. "My body hurts and all the muscles hurt in my
body
as if I've had influenza." Foale has been living
in zero gravity conditions for the past five months.
Participating in the contact were students at the
College George Brassens of Saint Mard
and the Ecole
Jacques Prevert, both located some 28 miles northeast of
the
questions students prepared.
Foale
also told the pupils that the ISS does sometimes get struck by small meteorite
particles. "We can see
one
or two small holes in the large, large solar arrays that generate our
electricity aboard the International
Space Station," Foale
explained. "We also have one or two small little pits or marks on the
windows of the
Service Module in the
Russian Segment."
Youngsters at an
Foale
on April 5. The contact with KA7SKY at
http://epage.pvusd.k12.az.us/sonoransky/ in
Expedition 8 crew.
The school has been following the ISS mission and daily events. As a part of Sonoran
Sky's standard curriculum, third graders learn
about space exploration beginning with the Apollo missions
through
the building of the ISS, and sixth graders attend Astrocamp
every year.
Among other things, Foale
told the
shock.
"The Soyuz provides a smoother ride as compared to the shuttle," he
said, "but you are pressed
down
in your chair."
During the approximately 10-minute contact, teacher
Carrie Cunningham, N7NFX, handled control operator
duties
at the kindergarten through sixth-grade school of some 500 students. The
contact was broadcast
live
through the school as reporters from three TV stations and two newspapers
looked on.
Another youngster at Sonoran
Sky wanted to know what Foale liked best about being
an astronaut.
"I think the best thing about being an
astronaut is that you're taking part in an adventure--a human
adventure,"
Foale replied. On the plus side of being in space, he
said in response to another question, is
that
he gets to do something very few other people get to do. On the minus side, he
noted, is "being away
from
my family and missing my children."
Foale
won't be in space too much longer now. The Expedition 9 crew of Mike Fincke, KE5AIT, and Gennady
Padalka,
RN3DT, will launch from
crewmate
Sasha Kaleri, U8MIR.
Accompanying Fincke and Padalka
will be European Space Agency
astronaut
Andr� Kuipers of the
groups
in his home country during his week or so aboard the ISS.
Foale,
Kaleri and Kuipers will
return to Earth at the end of the month aboard the Soyuz vehicle now
attached
to the ISS. Fincke and Padalka
will spend approximately six months aboard the ISS. Regular
school
group contacts will resume sometime in late May.
ARISS http://www.rac.ca/ariss/ is an international
educational outreach program with
ARRL, AMSAT and NASA.
________________________________________________________
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArt
icle&cid=1031774839240&path=!nationworld&s=1037645509161
Egg-ceptional Fun Rain doesn't stop children from attending annual egg
roll at the White House -
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Undaunted by the rain, hundreds of children
scampered around the South Lawn of the White House
yesterday,
hugging stuffed bunnies and rolling colored eggs across the soggy grass in an
annual ritual
that
dates to the late 1870s when Rutherford B. Hayes was president.
Shielded from a steady drizzle by a large black
umbrella, Education Secretary Rod Paige started this year's
egg
roll, standing in for President Bush, who was at his
Local area children roll their eggs at the annual
Easter Egg roll at the White House, Monday, April 12,
2004.
Undaunted by the rain, hundreds of children
scampered around the South Lawn of the White House
Monday, hugging stuffed bunnies and rolling colored
eggs across the soggy grass in an annual ritual that
dates
to the late 1870s when Rutherford B. Hayes was president. (Ron Edmonds / AP
Photo)
Paige later read The Bunny who Found Easter. The
book, written by Charlotte Zolotow, is about a lonely
bunny
who embarks on a long journey to find a companion. The tale ends when he finds
his mate and has
a
family and realizes that Easter is not a place, but a "time when
everything lovely begins once again."
About 7,200 eggs were dyed in pastel colors for the
egg-roll races in which children used spoons to try to
push
eggs through the wet grass faster than other racers in adjoining lanes. Another
4,000 colored eggs
were
available for children to color in a "Be an Easter Artist" on the
South Lawn.
The annual Easter egg roll was back to being open
to the public this year. Last year, it was closed to the
public
and limited to about 12,000 people - soldiers involved in the
The White House egg roll has been a tradition since
the mid-19th century. The celebration took place on the
Capitol grounds until 1878, when it was moved to
the White House by Lucy Hayes, the wife of President
Rutherford Hayes.
_______________________________________________
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-04/14/content_1418325.htm
Four days in cyber space :
�
www.chinaview.cn
2004-04-14
���
where
he spent more than four days playing computer games and chatting online.
The Internet gradually grow into an indispensable
part in daily life of
nowadays.� (File photo)
�
The boy, surnamed Xie,
left home with 200 yuan (US$24) last Thursday and
went to a Net cafe on downtown
��� His
mother went to the cafe on Monday afternoon and tried to persuade him to give
up playing
computers,
but Xie refused to go home and climbed up to the roof
of the cafe.
��� Exhausted
and cold in the rain, the boy fainted as rescuers reached him and was taken to
nearby
��� Doctors
said that he was suffering only exhaustion.
���
Yesterday, when Shanghai Daily visited Xie's
home on downtown
mother
were reluctant to talk about the issue.
��� "The
most important thing is my son came back home safely. I don't want to say
anything more," said
Xie's
mother surnamed Su.
��� Xie had spent all his money in the Net cafe and was trying
to borrow money from the cafe boss, when he
was
spotted by a neighbor who later reported the boy's whereabouts to his mother.
��� Internet
cafes are forbidden to open after midnight and no one under 18 is allowed to
enter, according to
a
regulation issued by the State Council last November.
���
Proprietors violating the rule can be fined from 5,000 yuan to 15,000 yuan. People found
breaking the
rule
three times can have their business license revoked.
��� But
officials said students are still frequently found playing in local Net cafes,
or even staying overnight
like
Xie.
���
"Both the society and family, as well as Internet addicts' schools, are to be blamed for such incidents,"
said
Zhang Youde, a sociologist at
��� Only when
the community and school authorities take more effective measures, can students
be
prevented
from breaking the rule.
��� Families
should also care more, rather than spoiling their children, Zhang said.
(Shanghai Daily)
_____________________________________________________________
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/kids/2004/04/stategeobee.html
National Geographic Bee Announces State
Winners :
Reported by Jennifer Vernon and Josh Wentz and
written by Sarah Ives
National Geographic Kids News
On April 2 thousands of
Winners will advance to the national competition in
Students have been competing in the National
Geographic Bee for 16 years. The Bee is the second largest
academic
competition in the
Students in fourth through eighth grade from about
16,000 schools nationwide compete for the top prize�a
$25,000 college
scholarship.
But according to Mary Lee Elden,
director of the Bee, there's more to the contest than winning.
First-place District of
Geographic Bee national
competition on May 25 and 26.
News anchor James Adams (second from right)
moderated
the District competition. Ryan O'Toole (left), took third place, and Alec
Cooper (right) won
second.
Photograph by Cathy Healy
"It's not that they're spending their whole
lives studying geography to win the Bee," Elden
said. "And we
don't
encourage that. ... It's mainly to encourage knowledge of the world around you,
not to win the
contest."
The competition begins with a school-level test.
The school winners then take a written exam and send it
back
to National Geographic for scoring. Then, the top hundred students in each
state compete at the state
level.
One winner from each
Territories, and the overseas U.S. Department of
Defense schools will come to
national
competition on May 25 and 26. See a list of state-level winners.
According to Elden, the
students deserve all the recognition they get: "It is important to
showcase these
students
and their knowledge of the world. Trophies, prizes, and scholarships are given
for football,
soccer,
basketball, et cetera. Why not geographic knowledge?"
SOURCE:� http://www.ainaworld.org/
Parvaz (the take off) :
Parvaz (the take off) is a
monthly magazine for the Afghan children aged from 7 to 12 or more, in Dari and
Pashto supported by achette Fondation
and published in
_______________________________________________
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