Schools Team Up to Turn Off the TV

According to a recent Nielsen survey (November 2009), the average American kid ages 6-11 is spending more than 30 hours a week in front of the tube.

Younger kids spend even more time than that!

Parents watch what foods their kids eat. They monitor the toys they buy for their kids. They make sure their kids get a good night’s sleep. But do they supervise TV viewing with that same kind of care?

BUILDING A BALANCED TV DIET

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that establishing healthy TV habits is one of the most important things a parent can do. As a principal, you can help parents do their job by raising awareness and providing them with helpful advice. In your next school-to-home newsletter, you might plan to share these tips from AAP for “Building a Balanced TV Diet.”

Watch what kids eat and watch what they watch.
How much your kids eat has a big impact on their health; so does how much TV they watch.
● Chart your family's current TV intake; list all TV shows watched in a week.
● Discuss how much time your family spends with TV, which programs are worthwhile, and which can be dropped in favor of other activities.
● Then limit your child's TV viewing to one to two hours of quality programming a day. Take advantage of high-quality programs offered on DVD or from other sources.

Know what's inside the box.
You carefully read the labels on the foods your children eat. Do the same with TV. Lots of sugary sweets are not good for kids. Neither are programs with violence, lewd language, and sexual overtones.
● Read the TV listings and reviews.
● Preview programs before your kids see them. Talk to teachers and pediatricians to learn what they recommend.
● Select TV programs that build interest in other activities, such as reading, hobbies, or the outdoors.

Add plenty of nutritious content.
Look for TV “main dishes” with educational content and positive characters and values.

Sit down with a good "TV meal" -- don't just snack away.
Don't let your children just “watch TV.” The next time your children ask, “Can I watch TV?” ask them what specific program they want to watch. Help your children get in the habit of watching one TV program, then turning the TV off and doing something else. Involve your children in setting TV rules.
● Don't let your children watch TV until after their homework or chores are done.
● Make that extra effort to watch some shows together. By watching together, you're telling your children you care. “Co-viewing” can lead to lasting educational benefits.
● Tape quality shows and view them at a later time.

Put down the clicker and get some family exercise.
TV should not replace active play. Your TV diet will be most successful when it includes lots of “family exercises,” such as family discussions and activities. TV programs should be springboards that spur curiosity, discussion, and learning.

TV TURNOFF WEEK

Another thing you can do is to initiate a TV Turnoff Week in your school. TV Turnoff Week can help to raise awareness about TV viewing as it helps parents and kids take control of the electronic media in their lives instead of letting it control them. Or perhaps your school’s PTO leadership will see the value in this idea and spearhead a school-wide effort -- and maybe even a school-wide Game Night event -- during one of 2010's TV Turnoff Weeks, April 19-25 and September 19-25.

It's not too early to join thousands of other schools and community organizations that are organizing special events to get out this very important message. Start planning now with TV Turnoff’s Six Steps to a Great Turnoff.

Note: The "TV Turnoff Week" Web site is not very active these days. It will not be updated for the Turnoff Weeks in 2010. The links on the site for ordering an Organizer’s Kit are not working at this time. But don’t let that deter you. And be sure to check with the folks at your local Barnes&Noble store. Many stores are planning special events during this year's TV Turnoff Weeks.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Elephant in the Living Room: Make Television Work for Your Kids
You might even use this book as a “parent book club” selection. Use this discussion guide to guide a group discussion.

The Smart Parent’s Guide to Kids’ TV
This book provides practical techniques and strategies to assist parents in dealing with television in the lives of their children. The book is out of print, but many new and used copies are available at the link above.

NBPTS To Certify Principals Too

Last week, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), the organization that sets and maintains the standards for teacher excellence, launched the National Board Certification for Educational Leaders (NBCEL), which includes the development of National Board Certification for Principals.

“Just like our board certification process for teachers, we are working to create a rigorous and meaningful process that identifies what principals should know and be able to do,” said Joseph A. Aguerrebere, NBPTS president and chief executive officer, during a webcast that introduced the new program on December 8. “Just like board certification -- which is a career stage that is well accepted in other professions like medicine or accounting or architecture -- educators, more particularly principals, will be able to reach for a higher bar, achieve it, and be recognized for it.”

Like the teacher certification process that has been in place for 20 years, the process for certifying principals will be comprehensive and rigorous, and it will involve principals in creating a portfolio of evidence that confirms achievement of the standards of leadership, Aguerrebere explained. He added that it will be real, authentic, and relevant to the job; it will be tightly linked to performance and results for students; and it will be the gold standard for the profession -- a professional growth experience second to none in the field.

“The National Board is moving rapidly from a model focusing on one teacher at a time to a new model that focuses on a school at a time,” said Robert Wise, chairman of NBPTS. “It’s an exciting new era where the National Board framework has the potential to drive school-wide and district-wide change.”

In a recent NBPTS survey, 83 percent of school leader respondents and 69 percent of district leader respondents expressed interest in National Board Certification for Principals, which is expected to become available in 2011. Both school- and district-level leaders were most interested in a certification that would better prepare principals to lead systemic instructional improvement.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

National Board Certification for Educational Leaders Launch
View a December 8, 2009, webcast of the meeting at which NBPTS announced its principal certification program. (Running time: 1:30:00)

National Board Certification for Principals
Read the latest news about the program, or sign up for email updates about it.

National Board Cerification for Principals Brochure
This is the latest (12/4/2009) principal certification brochure. Certification will become available in 2011. (PDF format)

Teachers Got Talent!

So what hidden talents can be found among the teachers on your staff? Have you a teacher who can nail a back flip? A staff member who can do a spot-on Donald Duck or Barney the Dinosaur impression? A co-worker who can balance a stick on the end of his nose?

Why not videotape teachers performing their special talents and let students vote for the most impressive act? Post your teachers’ talent videos on SchoolTube and watch the excitement build as teachers vie to win the [Your School Name’s] Got Talent competition!

You might even turn your teacher talent show into a school fundraiser. Students could pay a dime per vote. For just a buck they could purchase ten tickets and stuff their favorite teacher’s ballot box. Or perhaps students will divide their votes among your school’s talented teachers by placing tickets in more than one box.

Isn’t it time to unearth your teachers’ secret talents and share them with the world? What a great, fun way to build a sense of school community!

MORE TALENTED TEACHERS

● Teachers’ Wacky Talents

● Teachers’ “Thriller” Dance

Blog Bits #2: Welch's Garden Grants Parent Engagement Toolkit Math Fun for Students

My files are full of ideas to share, so from time to time I will clean out my files by sharing a few “bits” --- things of interest, things to think about, or things to share with your staff or students. Following is my second batch of blog bits of principal concern and interest.

TWO SCHOOLS IN EVERY STATE TO WIN GARDEN GRANTS

Welch's® and Scholastic Parent & Child® Magazine have launched a unique Harvest Grants program to help 100 winning schools nationwide grow fruit and vegetable gardens. Thousands of school children nationwide will have the opportunity to participate in this unique, hands-on learning experience that can help bring to life subjects such as science, math, and even literacy.

Starting this month, K-8 teachers are invited to apply to win one of 100 Harvest Grants through the Scholastic Web site http://scholastic.com/harvest/. Entries will be judged by experts at the National Gardening Association, who will select two schools in every state to receive a Welch's Harvest Grant: Welch's will award 100 garden packages, together valued at $35,000, to the winning schools. Five schools will receive $1,000 packages; 25 schools will receive $500 packages; and 70 schools will receive $250 packages. Each package will be filled with a variety of tools, seeds, and educational materials that will help students connect with nature and better understand the origins of their food supply. Deadline for submission is February 6, 2010. For complete details and official rules go to http://scholastic.com/harvest/.

PARENT ENGAGEMENT TOOLKIT

How many U.S. students drop out of school each year? Would you have guessed more than a million? Approximately 1.3 million students drop out each year. That’s more than 7,000 students each school day, or nearly one in three students. Nearly 50 percent of African American and Hispanic students do not complete high school on time.

In an effort to attack that national disgrace, America’s Promise Alliance has teamed with the Annie E. Casey Foundation to create a Parent Engagement Toolkit. The kit aims to engage parents and community leaders together to solve the dropout problem. The kit is based on three priorities that are critical to student success throughout a child’s academic. Those “3 A’s” are

● Attendance Every Day -- ensure children go to school regularly;
● Achievement Every Year - monitor and help children make satisfactory progress each year; and
● Attainment Over Time - set high expectations for children and plan for attaining their long-term goals.

Those three priorities were identified because each one is critical to student success throughout a child’s academic career. Each one is heavily influenced by the actions and thinking of parents as well as educators, community-based providers and students themselves.

The kit provides parent and teacher surveys, a blueprint for involving parents in focus groups that identify barriers and challenges to student success, and more ideas for involving parents in the school improvement process.

MATH FUN FOR STUDENTS

If your school includes students in the upper elementary or middle school grades, provide them with the math problem below to solve. (Answers are shown in orange.) Do students notice the symmetry of the answers that result?


1 x 1 = 11
11 x 11 = 121
111 x 111 = 12321
1111 x 1111 = 1234321
11111 x 11111 = 123454321
111111 x 111111 = 12345654321
1111111 x 1111111 = 1234567654321
11111111 x 11111111 = 123456787654321
111111111 x 111111111 = 12345678987654321


Before presenting the problem, you might set a few ground rules:

Name please. Write your name at the top of your paper.

“Show me the work!” The detailed math must be shown for all steps of the problem.

Watch for the Prize Patrol. All correct answers will be entered into a contest. One winner’s paper will be drawn at random and the winner will be presented with a special prize. (If you have a deep prize drawer, you might even have multiple winners. How about a winner at each grade level?)

What a fun -- and educational -- way to keep kids engaged on a rainy indoor-recess day!

Teachers Honored on the ‘Walk of Hearts’

Back in 2003, the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles was doing some work in the downtown area of its Canoga Park neighborhood. That effort included replacing sidewalks, which had been damaged by the Northridge earthquake a decade earlier. As Joe Andrews read local news reports about the sidewalk work, he wondered if there might be a place in the redevelopment plans for a concept he’d been mulling for some time.

Andrews, a local realtor, had long been inspired by the teachers in his life, and he always wished he could do something to honor the ones who changed his life.

“I have loads of memories of teachers who tried to help a kid with ants in his pants,” Andrews told Education World. “At least that’s what they called it back then. Today, there might be a different label for kids afflicted with that condition.”

With thoughts of new sidewalks making news in Canoga Park, and an image in his head of the Hollywood Walk of Fame just 20 miles away, an idea was taking shape. Andrews approached the Canoga Park Chamber of Commerce with his idea for a Walk of Hearts® that would honor Los Angeles teachers. Anyone would be able to nominate a “teacher who changed a life,” Andrews explained. He pictured a plaque inscribed with the words A teacher’s passion comes from the heart and a heart formed from a quill pen. That open heart would signify a teacher’s open heart.

If Andrews was expecting the Chamber to pick up his idea and run with it, he was mistaken. They were intrigued, but overworked Chamber leaders would not be able to carry the ball on such a demanding project. If anyone was to champion the idea, they explained, it would have to be him. And so, with dogged determination, Andrews harnessed that ants-in-your-pants energy and used it to surmount obstacle after obstacle on the way to his goal. Within a year, the first ten inductees were recognized and their plaques were set in cement.

And, just a few weeks ago, five new plaques were unveiled to bring the total number of inductees to 42 teachers.

TEACHERS WHO MAKE A DIFFERENCE, LIKE HERMAN KATZ

Herman Katz taught in Los Angeles for 50 years. In that time, Katz touched the lives of countless students, but he affected one particular student’s life by encouraging him to go to college, even helping to pay his way. The kid eventually went to law school, and today that kid -- Antonio Villaraigosa -- is the mayor of Los Angeles. It was Villaraigosa who nominated Katz -- a teacher who changed his life -- for his place on the Walk of Hearts.

The Walk of Hearts has accomplished so many of the goals Andrews had in mind when he conceived the idea. It has “created a buzz about education” in the community, he says. It has helped bring to the forefront the important role that teachers play in a child’s life. And it even played a role in Canoga Park being designated in 2005 as an All-America City.

Now Andrews would like to see the Walk of Hearts program expand into other cities and towns. He is preparing a kit that will help others follow his model and learn from the mistakes he made on the way to seeing Canoga Park’s Walk of Hearts become a community icon. For more information, visit the Walk of Hearts Web site.

HONORING EDUCATORS IN MANY WAYS

Is this an idea that could work in your community? Does your community do something unique or special to recognize inspiring educators who go above and beyond? Click the pencil below to share what your community does so others might learn from your community’s efforts.

Principals Encourage Parents to Turn Dinnertime Into School-Home Connection Time

In the weeks ahead, many families will be gathering for Thanksgiving and other holiday celebrations. For some families, these special meals are a rare opportunity to sit down as a family. For school leaders, the upcoming occasions are perfect fodder for your school-to-home newsletters. They are an opportunity to remind your students’ parents about the importance of family meals.

According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, eating dinner together as a family every night keeps the doors of communication open between parents and children. Many studies bear out the importance of the family meal. Did you know that…
● mealtime is a rich opportunity for young children to learn words and expand their vocabulary?
● teens who have dinner with their families five or more times a week are almost twice as likely to earn A’s in school than teens who have family dinners two or fewer times per week?
● teens who sit down for frequent family dinners are less likely to smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs?
● children whose families watch TV as they eat family dinners are more likely to be overweight than those who aren’t tuned-in to television at dinnertime?

“Although hectic schedules have made family dinners a thing of the past, there is compelling evidence that sitting down at a table to share a meal is an ideal environment for family interaction,” said Laura Olson, vice president of education for Kiddie Academy International.

Olson notes that families should aim to sit down to a meal most nights of the week for a minimum of 30 minutes. For those parents wondering how they can make the most of family dinners, Olson offers the following tips, which you might share in your next school-to-home newsletter:

Be curious. Showing an interest in a child's likes and dislikes can result in the child feeling appreciated, respected, and emotionally secure. Ultimately, the child experiences a surge in self-confidence, which can positively shape his or her developmental progress in the classroom.

Get creative with conversation. Lively dialog is crucial to getting your kids to listen and share, so have all family members tell their favorite part or biggest challenge of the day. Not only will this give everyone a glimpse into each other's routine, but it will also help kids expand their vocabulary with new and intriguing words.

Be specific in your questions. Instead of just inquiring about the day at school, ask about a particular book the child may be reading or an art project he or she may be crafting. This will help the child foster ideas and opinions about the assignment that he or she may not have previously considered.

Let kids plan the menu. Getting children involved in the planning aspect of dinner gets them accustomed to thinking ahead and following step-by-step directions. Additionally, cooking is a great way to have them practice their math skills, such as adding fractions.

MORE RESOURCES TO SHARE WITH PARENTS

Make Mealtime Family Time
Make Mealtime Family Time™ exists to encourage families with children, including teenagers, to make mealtime a family time priority. The site includes many resources, including a set of 32 Mealtime Conversation-Starter Cards.

Get Involved: The Importance of Family Mealtime
This resource from the U.S. Department of Human Services explains why family mealtimes are important and offers topics families might talk about at mealtime.

NuNews: Nutrition News Your Kids Can Use
NuNews offers printable newsletters for parents on nutrition topics. These informative articles are perfect for printing on the back side of school lunch menus that you send home. Articles are available in both English and Spanish.

Strengthen Your Family Bonds by Eating Dinner Together
Print out and send home this brochure from the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension Division.

Cool School Tool #4: Kids Celebrate Earth With “100 Generations” Song

Are you looking for a fun and educational way to get your school’s students thinking about Earth? Read below about a delightful way to bring your school’s Earth Day (or any day) celebration to life.

Like most kids, California sixth-grader Aitan Grossman is concerned about Earth and the impact of global warming. And like most kids, Aitan didn’t feel there was much he could do to help solve the problems Earth faces. But Aitan had an idea: he combined his love of music and Earth and created a song he calls “100 Generations,” the chorus of which goes like this…

Hawk you fly into the wild.
I am like a little child.
You and I, we share the same elation.
River run down from heaven’s hill,
Ever flow I know you will,
Lasting for 100 generations.

Aitan, his friends, and children from five continents recorded the song, and now they’d like other kids around the world to join them. They can either sing Aitan's lyrics or create their own about local natural landmarks they hold dear. All they need is music from the KidEarth Web site. They will need a digital video camera, too, if they want to star in a music video like the rap version below recorded by Stanford student Nick Streets:





“The more kids who sing Aitan’s song, the bigger its impact will be as children everywhere, together, raise the world’s awareness about climate change,” Lauren Janov, a spokesperson for KidEarth, told Education World.

JOIN A COOL PROJECT

What a cool project for kids across the U.S. and around the world! Could teachers in your school challenge their students to add their voices to a growing world chorus? Maybe each class or grade level could write a verse for a school-wide song to be performed at a great Earth Day celebration. After each class performs their verse, everyone can join in on the chorus. While you’re at it, be sure to contact your local news media outlets and let them know about this special event. Make sure you tell Aitan about it too. And, by all means, create a “100 Generations” video to add to the others already posted on the KidEarth You Tube page by students in places such as Botswana, France, Taiwan, Venezuela, Ethiopia, and the United States.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

KidEarth
The KidEarth Web site includes everything you’ll need to create a special event. On the site you will find background information as well as links to sheet music, sound files of the chorus, videos of children from around the world singing Aitan's song, and instructions for uploading your video to You Tube.

Aitan Grossman: Climate Hero
Aitan Grossman is a 12 year old who has taken his love of music and composed a remarkable song. This young climate hero hopes his composition will raise the world’s awareness about the threat of global warming to future generations.