Staying Updated, Part Two

As I mentioned earlier this week, I'm a firm believer in staying up-to-date on topics that I teach about in my classroom. I owe it to my students to provide them with information that is recent, accurate, and reliable. I frequently find myself taking a short minute or two out of class to discuss something in the news. Examples over my first two years teaching include the bullying legislation in Massachusetts, voting on the decriminalization of possession of marijuana, sexual harassment cases at a local school, and articles relating to nutrition.

I find out about these stories through many ways: watching the news (although not as much during the school year), by seeing headlines on websites (while checking e-mail or visiting other websites, etc), from my mother (who e-mails me news articles at least once a week...although, I've usually seen them by the time she gets to them!) and through my Google Reader account.

So, what sources do I skim and read for information? Check out the lists below of some sources I use for education and health news, both locally and across the country. This is not an all inclusive list, as I have eleven feeds total relating to education and a few other sections unrelated to work with about 30 different feeds of blogs, news websites, etc. I'm also pretty sure that people won't care that I follow a Bruins blog or two as well as a few running/exercise science blogs.

My (Personal) Top Resources for Education:

1. The U.S. Department of Education. I use this website to stay on top of various topics relating to education policy and research. There's not too much information I share with my students here, but as a teacher I think it's important to try to stay on top of what's going on nationally as far as education is concerned.

2. DetentionSlip.org. Billed as "your daily cheat sheet for education news," DetentionSlip.org focuses on stories that will probably make you simultaneously angry and amused. Sample stories, which are posted from other news outlets, involve students bringing guns to school and a teacher ordering their class to plan a terrorist attack. The authors note, "We mock the public school system because we love the idea of quality, free, public education." This is, according to the authors, done because they want to promote a solution. Regardless of their motives, it's an entertaining read.

3. Boston.com Education news. Teaching about thirty minutes north of Boston means I need to stay up on education issues going on within the local area as well as statewide. Information here is from the Boston Globe, and covers a myriad of topics: MCAS scores, athletics, budgets, community news, etc. National news is featured here as well.

4. Class Struggle: by Jay Mathews. To me, the best part of Jay Mathews' education blog is the commentary provided by readers. Mathews often weighs in on these comments, engaging in conversation with his readers and even admitting his mistake. Mathews writes about a variety of issues, focusing on education policy and education reform.

5. Free Technology for Teachers. Richard Byrne does a fantastic job posting free resources for teachers to use in implementing technology in their classroom. I've posted about his blog every now and then, and have successfully used many resources he posts in my classroom or for personal use. This should be required reading for all teachers!

My (Personal) Top Choices for Health News

1. Fed Up With School Lunch: The School Lunch Project. Mrs. Q, the anonymous author of this fantastic blog (which I've linked here many times) has set out to eat school lunch during every school day during this calendar year. Her blog has been mentioned on the national news and has been instrumental in creating a dialogue about changing the food our children eat in schools. Now that school is starting up again, be prepared to see pictures of the foods our children consume at school. You might be surprised! Mrs. Q has linked up with many other passionate individuals to help bring attention to this important issue. After all, our children all our future; we should feed them well!

2. Well: New York Times Blog. Well contains commentary on stories that are published in the New York Times relating to exercise, nutrition, fitness, science, etc. Frequently, these stories also come up in my RSS feed for the Health section of the Times, but I subscribe to the blog for the commentary provide by the author and the readers who post comments.

3. Boston.com Health Section. I subscribe to this for the same reason I do Boston.com's education section: it's the best source for local news relating to health, with stories from the Boston Globe. It also covers national headlines as well, and the local aspect makes it easy to make connections with students about what's going on a few miles down the road for them.

4. CNN Health. CNN covers a substantial amount of information and often includes interactive images and videos within their news stories. If the story is making news nationally, CNN will cover it and often will have follow-ups or commentary from multiple sources. If I can, I try to use video from Anderson Cooper 360 because he always seems to have both sides represented, with the occasional fireworks from commentators!

For both education and health news, I do see a lot of headlines that pop up in more than one feed. If the story is not an AP story, it's interesting to see the opinions of each writer and the similarities or differences in their reporting. More often than not, AP stories dominate so I'll just read whatever feed I see first. 

Hartford Courant: YRBS Results Article

An article appeared in the Hartford Courant on Tuesday detailing the results of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey that was administered to 3,000 middle and high school students throughout Connecticut in 2009. The article focuses on the results pertaining to sexual intercourse, specifically that 70% of high school seniors surveyed responded "yes" when asked if they had engaged in sexual intercourse in the last 12 months. The figure being most talked about, however, is that out of all students surveyed who are sexually active, only 60% used condoms in their most recent sexual intercourse experience.

Obviously this article (specifically, the statistic) is helpful for me in my quest to get comprehensive sexuality education into all of our schools. The reporter discusses this with various officials who work within the health and education fields, and realizes that this is a multi-faceted problem that requires an approach from a variety of angles. Sexuality education isn't just about sperm meeting egg, or penis and vagina. It covers the diverse angles within the topics: sex itself, relationships, sexual identity, STIs, methods of protection, media influence, etc. Hopefully articles like this will help start the dialogue about sexuality education that needs to take place within communities.

I'll be going back to my classroom late next week to start preparing things for the start of classes on September 8th. With the start of the school year, my intention is to post less about health issues in the news and more on what I'm doing in the classroom. I'd love to add more pictures and maybe even some video, too. With the school year approaching, I'm starting to brush up on my content knowledge as well. I have an outstanding resource I'll post about before school starts, and there are a few websites I've discovered that I hope to post about soon.

Condoms in Provincetown

I'm sure my few constant readers (and perhaps those of you who find me through search engines) are expecting a post on the condom issue in Provincetown that Massachusetts Governor Patrick isn't happy about. Eventually, I will post about it; I need to dig up some research articles first. It's too fresh for me to post about, because the information is already changing.

I will say this: I'm hoping to have mandatory, comprehensive sexuality education in all Massachusetts public schools by 2020. It's something I'm hoping to start getting involved in as I begin graduate school. There are plenty of organizations that already exist devoted to this, and I plan on joining the action. I'd also like to collaborate with some of my professors from Springfield as well.

Expect a post about the condom issue next week. School's out, and a have a week off before my summer job starts.

School Lunches: The Saga Continues...

Ah, school lunches. All of a sudden, everyone is talking about them. I'm starting nutrition with my sixth graders this week, so I'll post how I'm incorporating this into our curriculum at a later date. For now, I'm pretty positive that school lunch is the teenage pregnancy of 2010, as far as hot health topics go. And while there was a lot of hype in in 08-09 about teenage pregnancy (specifically after what happened in Gloucester) it seems like the dialogue on that issue has faded. It did resurface a little bit during the health care debate, but the media let that fade too. Now, something new has surfaced.

School nutrition is even appearing in commercials! The American Beverage Association recently aired a commercial patting themselves on the back for eliminating full calorie soft drinks from schools across the country. Full calorie soft drinks? Are people still really concerned only with calories? What about sugar? What about high fructose corn syrup? Why should we be satisfied with less-calorie drinks in our schools when they are still serving drinks loaded with other junk?!? I laughed at this commercial. Way to go, corporate America.

And now, the media blitz of our new hot topic. I've posted on this before, and I'm not the only one. Mrs. Q is chronicling her experience eating only school lunches on her blog, Fed Up With Lunch: The School Lunch Project. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do! Then there are the countless news articles that have appeared recently. USA Today has an ongoing section on school lunch safety, which is eye opening in itself: many cafeterias are not passing health and safety inspections, food of a poor quality is making its way onto the trays of students, etc. This week an article appeared in the Boston Globe about struggling families and their reliance on school lunches. This effect is two fold: one being on the students eating the lunches, and two being on the districts who have to serve them without a reimbursement rate that is inadequate. For a comprehensive round up of what's going on in the news relating to school lunches, check out the school lunch roundup posted on Mrs. Q's blog by Brandon Smith.

Because my blog is rather young, there have only been a few posts about school lunches. This will definitely be an ongoing discussion (I have more posts in draft mode) and I hope this conversation continues. It's being hit from many angles: the First Lady, Jamie Oliver, national newspapers, and young, blogging teachers, to name a few.

There seems to be a general outrage about nutrition, but not much is being done. We can watch Jamie Oliver (I have to catch up on Hulu) all we want, but will we join him? While getting a conversation started is the first step (and a critical one!), action is what is needed. What can concerned parents do in their own communities? Here's my own list that I created, as someone with no expert experience in this type of situations. This is only from my head, and I thought about it over the last day or so. Let me know what you think! Here it is:

1. Organize. A group of fired up parents can do a lot to get something within school districts changed! If you do not like what your child is being served, find others who feel the same way you do. Talk with the administrators and teachers in your district. Most principals I know will at least hear you out, even if they can't (for whatever reason: money, etc) change anything immediately. Plan some meetings, get together, and make a game plan. It's better to have too many ideas than none at all!

2. Connect. Connect with local school officials. Tell them you want to work with them, not against them, in helping create more healthy meals for the student body, aka your kids. Reach out to local community organizations: garden clubs, health departments, community coalitions, etc. Nothing around like that? Start one! Social media has made it very simple to connect with others through e-mail, Twitter, Facebook group/fan pages, etc. There's no need to reinvent the wheel; many people have made changes to school lunches in their districts. Connect with these people and see what worked for them! Contact local representatives or other government officials and see if they can help you, too.

3. Research. Read, read, read about food and academic performance! Read articles like this one describing how one district makes fresh breakfasts, from scratch, for their students everyday. Make sure you research data on topics such as the impact of breakfast on academics (warning: company sponsored website), how food service professionals expand their breakfast offerings and be sure to find up to date information from reliable research publications.

4. Model. Want your kids to eat healthy? Eat healthy too! Many people complain about not having enough family time together, but cooking a homemade meal is one of the easiest ways to accomplish two things at once: family social time and healthy eating. My friend Matt has said this for a long time, and I'm in agreement. Realistically, most people can't eat only fresh, unprocessed foods. However, you can be aware of every food item you put into your body, and YOU can make healthy choices.

Also, please realize that schools are held to budgetary constrictions, and a lot of schools simply don't have the facilities to handle a lot of freshly prepared meals. Both are discussed in my post about what Anthony Geraci has done with the food being served in the Baltimore public schools.

Personally, one of my physical education colleagues and me and teaming up to revamp the bulletin boards in our school cafeteria to highlight different information about nutrition. We're still in the process of figuring out logistics, but once we get rolling I'll be sure to post about it, with pictures too.

Will school lunches change? I hope something about them changes. Our children are our future and if we want to have a healthy population in the future, we cannot continue on the road we are on.

As always, please e-mail me with questions, comments, or concerns.

NOTE: Michelle Obama has launched a contest called Apps for Healthy Kids. The goal is to create "innovative, fun and engaging software tools and games that encourage children directly or through their parents to make more nutritious food choices or be more physically active." Check it out, and if you're knowledgeable about that sort of thing, enter the contest!

Phoebe Prince

It appears school lunches and bullying are both hot topics this year, especially with the local, highly publicized story regarding the suicide of 15 year old Phoebe Prince. This media firestorm first occurred back in January and with the recent news that charges have been made, it's back again.

Nine teenagers have been charged with various crimes relating to the death of Prince, which are explained in detail in the linked articles below. The articles share the same common information: unrelenting bullying of Phoebe, kids and teachers who were aware of what was going on, and a fired up public. If you haven't figured it out by now, I don't rehash articles that already have the information for you. So, they're linked below. If a study or article comes out on its own, I'll do a more in depth review (like the New England Journal of Medicine article on salt) but when so many articles appear in a certain amount of time, I just add my thoughts.

Here's an editorial by Boston Globe columnist Kevin Cullen. It's more, uh, blunt than the other reports. Next, the actual articles in the Boston Globe, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. A brief story also appeared in the Springfield Republican.

It's no secret that bullying happens. In order for bullying to stop, students need to learn the skills of how to properly handle a bullying situation. What should someone do if they are being teased or bullied? What can they do as a bystander who witnesses bullying happening? Why do kids bully anyway? To me, this might be the most important question. Part of our sixth grade curriculum includes Aggressors, Victims, and Bystanders. It's a little dated, but my favorite part deals with what students can do as a bystander to a bullying situation, and how they can either prolong the bullying or help end it. We also discuss that choosing not to do anything at all is a decision that has its consequences, as many people in South Hadley have found out. Students should also learn other important life skills, such as self-esteem, communication skills, goal setting, decision making, support networks...all of which can tie into anti-bullying units.

I'm up in the air about the new legislation in Massachusetts regarding bullying because it places most of the blame in one place. Parents are still responsible for their kids, and administrators have so much on their plate already. I'm not saying teachers and administrators should not report bullying behavior (they NEED to do something about it) but I think there are more proactive ways to handle this issue, which is another post in itself! I do like the part about attempting to change the climate of a school, and ultimately, teachers need to be aware of what constitutes bullying versus simple teasing (many may argue there is no such thing as simple teasing). However, so much of bullying can occur outside of school, where teachers and administrators are not responsible for the behavior of their students. I read a report about a parent who paid two boys fifty dollars each to "take care" of someone bullying his daughter. What kind of example does this set? When bullying does occur in school, it's often (not always) very subtle. Teenagers are masters at keeping their behavior discrete. By the time it's being taken care of, another incident is probably occurring. It's a never ending battle; at least it will be until we start changing the culture of a school and community. It is going to be a multi-faceted effort, involving schools, parents, community organizations, and more. Sounds like a great opportunity for schools to work within their coordinated school health programs!

NOTE: I picked up Queen Bees and Wannabes at Borders this weekend, along with a few other books. I'm hoping to start it this week, but with middle school, track, and class all very busy right now, it might have to wait until the weekend.

New England (Journal of Medicine) and New York City Agree on Salt

Big news hit headlines this week as the result of a study published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Big news, yes. Surprising? Not really.

The study, available for personal use on the NEJM website, found that, "Modest reductions in dietary salt could substantially reduce cardiovascular events and medical costs and should be a public health target." There is no doubt that excessive salt in one's diet can lead to a host of medical problems. The study also highlighted the drastic cost savings of $10-$24 BILLION dollars annually, which are sure to gain attention in this economy.

I will admit that I have not yet read the full article, but I plan to as it fits right into what I'm reading about in my current research class. The big thing that sticks out to me is the "modest reduction" of salt intake. It's nothing drastic and certainly doable; this small reduction adds up to big benefits over the course of a lifetime. An editorial in the same issue of the NEJM by Appel and Anderson does mention that this still would not place people within the recommended zone for sodium intake:

"The findings by Bibbins-Domingo and colleagues support a population-wide reduction in salt intake, but is such a reduction achievable? To answer this question, one first needs to understand currentlevels of intake. Mean salt intake in the United States is extremely high in most age groups, including children, and is well above the current daily recommended upper limit of 5.8 g (2300 mg of sodium) (Figure 1).⁶ In several age groups, reducing salt intake by 3 g per day would not achieve the recommended upper limit of intake for U.S. adults, much less the goal of 3.8 g (1500 mg of sodium) per day, which applies to 69% of U.S. adults.^7"

Interestingly, earlier this month New York City announced that it was leading an initiative to assist with companies voluntarily reducing salt levels in both packaged foods and restaurant foods by 25% over five years. Although not finalized yet, similar programs have had success in other countries, notably the United Kingdom. Appel and Anderson also mention similar programs in Ireland and Finland.

New York City seems to be spearheading quite the effort for improving overall health! It first eliminated trans fats from all city restaurants and also implemented a high tax on cigarettes in recent years. They even require calorie information on chain-restaurant menus! Their recent salt effort to reduce is a substantial effort that has gained support from numerous organizations, a full list of which can be found here. The newly published study in the NEJM serves as further evidence to the importance of their initiative.

Also of note is how sodium reduction fits into both Healthy People 2010 and Healthy People 2020, both of which are major health initiatives. For Healthy People 2010, focus area 19-10 was aimed at decreasing total sodium intake. The following was found:

"For the objective aimed at decreasing total sodium intake (19-10), 1999–2000 data suggested that average intake by persons 2 years of age and older remains well above the Dietary Guidelines' recommendation to consume less than 2,300 milligrams daily.² Most of Americans' sodium intake comes from salt added by manufacturers to processed and prepackaged foods rather than from the natural salt content of foods or salt shakers used at the table or in cooking.² With respect to objectives 19-8, 19-9, and 19-10, consumers need access to information about the fat (including saturated fat and trans fat) and sodium content of the foods they eat, both at home and away from home."

Based on this information for Healthy People 2020, objective NWS HP2020-10 is to "reduce consumption of sodium in the population aged 2 years and older." It is a retained, yet modified, version of objective 19-10 from Healthy People 2010.

It's clear that with the original objective, not enough was being done to help accomplish the goal of decreasing total sodium intake. I believe that initiatives such as the one in New York City (aimed at packaged food and restaurant foods, which data found is where most Americans get their sodium) are taking a huge step in the right direction. Access to information is not enough to change behavior. By actually changing the sodium content of foods, we get somewhere. Most people will not want or be able to eat all fresh, natural foods due to convenience or cost, so changing processed foods that the majority of the population consumes makes total sense. The editorial mentioned above notes that:

"In broad terms, there are two complementary strategies that could be used to lower salt intake: a public health approach, in which food manufacturers reduce levels of salt in processed and prepared foods, and an individual approach, which relies on each person to select and prepare foods with little or no salt. Given that approximately 75% of dietary salt comes from processed foods, the individual approach is probably impractical."

I couldn't agree more!

It will be interesting to follow this over the next few months and years. Can people change on a large scale? Will companies comply? If major medical organizations and large corporations can work together, everyone can benefit!

As Appel and Anderson concluded in their editorial:

"As we deliberate health care reform, let us not neglect this inexpensive, yet highly effective public health intervention for the prevention of disease."

Article: Obesity won't improve without reforming PE

I came upon an article today while checking out AAHPERD's Facebook page. The article, written by NASPE board member Bryan McCullick, is short, to the point, and effective. Although I do not teach PE, I'm obviously a big advocate for anything health/PE related in schools.

Click here for the article.

McCullick writes that,"PE is at the core of promoting healthy choices. A comprehensive school program includes PE, health education, healthy food options, recess for elementary school students, intramural sport programs and physical activity clubs, and interscholastic sports for high school students. Ideally, schools would also include physical activity breaks, walk/bike to school programs, appropriate physical activity in after-school child care programs, and staff wellness programs."

Many choices listed here tie into a coordinated school health program. Each unit operates in support of one other. Tennessee has made funding available statewide for development of a CSHP in each district. Will this set a precedent for other states? We'll find out (more on the Tennessee thing later this week).

I also like McCullick's point that, "The days of the ball-rolling, coffee-swilling, game-prepping PE “coach” have contributed to the current obesity rate increase." Today's physical education classes should focus on lifestyle activities and participation in physical activity, and are no longer for the "jocks" or athletes. Anyone is capable of moving their bodies and finding an activity they enjoy doing, and exposure to those activities in physical education classes is one way for students to find that out!

On a side note, a great example of an after school program is ING's Run For Something Better. Here a company is offering 50 $2,000 grants to either begin a school-based running program or to enhance one that already exists. Financial assistance from major corporations is a great way to fund programs for cash strapped districts.

"If schools are places where responsible citizenship is fostered, they should also have an obligation to help children develop the skills, knowledge and confidence necessary to maintain a healthy lifestyle that can prevent or reduce costly future health care."I