The Garden School Tattler

It was a fantastic day – a brilliant blue sky, a gentle slightly chill breeze, birds flying, cat screaming, children enjoying the sunshine, and we had a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and apple slices on the patio.

After a brief faculty meeting – I mean where else can you have a staff meeting wearing blue jeans, a pink bandana and sandals with huge blue chrysanthemums while you drink a variety of health drinks, chocolate velvet coffee, and lemon water?

Here’s how a Garden School Faculty meeting sounds:

“So what do you want to do about the farm field trip?”
“Miss Judy, Miss Judy, watch me go across the monkey bars.”
“Call Sandy and,”
"Can I have the next quarter, Miss Judy?”
“Yes, if I have one.”
“See how much it will cost to,”
“Miss Stacey will you tie my shoe?”
“Can I go to the bathroom?”
“I don’t know, can you?”Giggle
“Why can’t we go to the pumpkin patch?”
“What’s a crinoid, Mrs. St. Louis?”
“It’s a fossil, a plant that’s turned to stone.”
“We can go anywhere you want.”
“Can I go to the bathroom?”
“Did you hear about our toy contest voting?”
“I want my jacket.”
“I told you to bring it out with you.”
“What about the Stay Alive House?”
“That’s on October 12th.”
“What time?”
“When are we going in?”
“Shortly.”
“Shortly? I’m not shortly.”
“Has everyone done their report cards?”
“Miss Molly, watch.”
“Somebody’s crying. Who’s crying?”
“Seth threw rocks.”
“Seth don’t throw rocks.”
“I finished the last cards ten minutes ago.”
“What about the voting?”
“David’s mom said her office collected 2400 votes.”
“He hit me.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
"Well next time, find out.”
“Miss Rachel can you help me with the sounds of the letters?”
“What are we doing for fine art today?”
“When we go in.”
“He hit me.”
“Well you’re not crying, so you must be tattling.”
“If we go to the Stay Alive House and the Pumpkin patch,”
“My mommy bought a pumpkin today.”
“What color was it?”
“Orange,” Giggle.
“Miss Judy has a big orange cat named Clonmacnoise.”
Giggle
“So it’s settled.”
“Sure, mosaics. You’ll love it, I promise.”
“What’s the mess like?”
“Look, Mrs. St. Louis, I cleaned up all the cups.”
“Good, you get candy.”
“Can today be a fudge day?”
“How about chocolate sundaes?”
"MMMM.”
“Rice and beans and macaroni and dry cereal. You’ll be cleaning till next Thursday.”
“What’s on the shopping list today?”
“I need popsicles… and paper towels and cat food and … After the very successful faculty meeting, Mrs. St. Louis taught a brilliant lesson on mosaics and then we passed out little tag board cards and all kinds of dry stuff and glue pots and paint brushes. It was a complete disaster. We’ll work on it. In fact, the disaster taught me that it’s a must do till they get it. We threw away the mess.

I read one of my favorite stories, The Scrubious Pip and every child was perfect. It’s a Lear poem and the drawings in the book are delightful. Some of the more artistic children couldn’t look at the pictures long enough. “I think he’s a man,” said Ty who got a big prize. He was the only child who understood that it’s a creation story.

We had pizza and apples, and oranges and bananas and milk on the patio and spent a generous part of the afternoon doing karaoke. The kids love it and get to try out all their songs. Fridays are relaxed and the kids go home after ice cream sundaes – I made the chocolate sauce from scratch – feeling satisfied and ready for a weekend.

And that’s the way it was.

Help One More Day!!!

There is just one more day to vote, and you can vote over and over. Please take the time to just vote one more day. One parent voted 2400 times!

No matter where you are reading this blog, please take time to help our little school win a city wide toy contest. Your votes could help our children win 200 new toys. Our needy children will take some of them home, and have a wonderful year of great new toys. Go to www.wtvw.com and vote The Garden School - often.

Judy and the gang say thanks! And there's a prayer for you today!

The Garden School Tattler

Everyday I post articles I find from around the world, from next door in the nation and stuff I get from distributors because I think these things are interesting and keep readers abreast of the face of early childhood. Who is doing what, thinking what where and why. It all helps to understand children and the people who care for them. I want to reach out to every corner of the interested childcare world.

Yet part of the personal drama goes on during every teacher's day. What I do for a living that enables me to write this takes place between 6:15 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. – my school hours.

For those of you first reading, my partner and I own a little school in Southwestern Indiana – about two - three hours from anyplace you'd recognize like Louisville or Indianapolis or Nashville or St. Louis. I work with Mrs. St. Louis, Miss Molly, Miss Rachel, Miss Stacey and Mr. Tom. We have somewhere between thirty and forty children who come to play at our place – The Garden School.

I’m going to try to write a new little addition on the kids at play. It might give some parents a laugh, and some parents an insight into what we, as teachers, see during a full day at school. Be prepared for naming names!!!

I think we will call this “The Garden School Tattler." Here goes:

The day opened with breakfast on the patio – donuts and apple slices and milk. The kids think they are very grown up to do this. After breakfast, we had circle time and we did yoga and tried to do the frog and we had a balancing contest. The kids love yoga.

One of the joys of early childhood is the hilariously funny antics of very young children. This morning I went into the kitchen which is a nook about 10X10 - just beyond art – and there was Triston three feet in the air clinging to a shelf while he helped himself to a box of candy. “Get down,” I bellowed, and he gave me a chocolaty grin. Was he in trouble the rest of the day!

Dawson bit his brother because his brother bothered him, so Dawson lost his medal and got scowls from his brother. We use a medal on a chord that signifies good behavior. If you lose it for making another child cry on purpose, disrupting a class or if you are chronically disobedient, you don’t get treats when the treats are passed out. Most kids work hard to keep their medals especially on fudge days. We have a few kids, like Hadley, who never lose their medals.

Class time went uneventfully.

We had tacos and cheese and sour cream and salsa for lunch with beans and rice and bananas and apples that I bought yesterday at the orchard. We had cherry-pineapple critter and a salad too and milk. The kids ate it all. They usually do, including Aidan who eats nearly everything for us. He tried critter today and asked me to give the recipe to mom. I'll post it this weekend with some other Garden School recipies.

One of our more creatively disobedient children, Ty, ate lunch near the biter and the rock thrower and the candy snatcher, and while the three of them were doing acrobatics at noon prayer, he was reverently saying his prayers - a feat of personal engineering. He was well rewarded, needless to say, and enjoyed a super sized piece of cake later at the party.

We had birthday. Brian is four. He’s a sweet child who mostly zero’s into life from a very right brained point of view. He used to carry a green teddy bear, but now he’s decided that it’s too much trouble to bring him, so bear stays home. Brian is tall with huge eyes and a smile the size of Pittsburgh.

We had a cake at 1:30 on the playground for Brian. We usually avoid “frosting lick” by using 6 oz Dixie cups and a popsicle stick. We put a small piece of cake frosting side down into the cup with a pizza palate and we’ve found the child actually eats the cake and enjoys the trouble of scooping with the stick. Works for most.

After that I taught geography to fifteen of our bigger kids. Dhezmond knew you can’t live in the ocean. You have to live on ground. Geography kind of goes over the little kid’s heads, so I took a crew into Miss Rachel’s room and we talked about the World and the United States and how one fits into the other. The kids colored parts of a map and then we adjourned to the playground.

We ended the day catching a thief. We have a donation envelope at the front of the school for a family who used to attend the GS. Daddy had a bad accident last week and died, and we are taking up a collection. Someone reached in and took the cash. But today we caught this parent on video camera.

It’s all in a day’s work.

Planned National Children's Study

NICHD September Announces Contracts to First Research Centers for Planned National Children's Study

The National Children's Study-planned to be the largest study ever undertaken to assess the effects of the environment on child and adult health-took a major step forward today with the announcement that contracts have been awarded to 6 Vanguard Centers to pilot and complete the first phases of the Study.

The full nationwide study would follow a representative sample of children from early life through adulthood, seeking information to prevent and treat such health problems as autism, birth defects, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

"The National Children's Study would follow more than 100,000 children, from before birth-and, in some cases, even before pregnancy," said Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). “It would meticulously measure their environmental exposures while tracking their health and development, from infancy through childhood, until age 21, seeking the root causes of many childhood and adult diseases."

The announcement was made at a news briefing in Washington, D.C. In the search for environmental influences on human health, and their relationship to genetic constitution, National Children's Study researchers plan to examine such factors as the food children eat, the air they breathe, their schools and neighborhoods, their frequency of visits to a health care provider, and even the composition of the house dust in their homes.

Study scientists also plan to gather biological samples from both parents and children and analyze them for exposure to environmental factors. The planned National Children's Study is led by a consortium of federalagency partners: the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services (including the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences at NIH, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Dr. Alexander named the following Institutions as the Vanguard Centers for the National Children's Study
* University of California, Irvine, for the Study location of Orange County, California; * University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, for the Study location of Duplin County, North Carolina;
* Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, for the Study location of Queens County, New York;
* Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, for the Study location ofMontgomery County, Pennsylvania;
* University of Utah, Salt Lake City, for the Study location of Salt Lake County, Utah;
* University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, for the Study location of Waukesha County, Wisconsin.

The federal agencies sponsoring the Study are still negotiating toestablish two additional Vanguard Centers that will serve counties inother areas. The Vanguard Centers were selected from a pool of applicants through acompetitive process.

These centers have successfully demonstrated advanced clinical research and data collection capabilities, with the ability to collect and manage biological and environmental specimens; with community networks for identifying, recruiting, and retaining eligible mothers and infants; and a commitment to the protection and privacy of data.

The Vanguard Centers, which include a variety of universities, hospitals, health departments and other organizations, will work within their communities to recruit participants, collect and process data, and pilot new research methods for incorporation into the full study. The Study has adequate funding to launch the Vanguard Centers.

The federal agencies leading it hope to award additional Study Centers to work in a total of 105 sites, subject to the availability of future funding. Future centers would be selected in a competitive process like the one just completed for the Vanguard Centers.

The timing of a new competitive process also depends on future funding. Dr. Alexander added that a coordinating center, Westat in Rockville, MD, has been awarded the contract to manage information for the plannedNational Children's Study, starting with the Vanguard Centers.

Westat will collect data, compile and analyze statistics, and ensure that thestudy proceeds according to design. Dr. Alexander noted that, in many cases, study researchers would recruit women before they are even pregnant, as well as the women's partners. Because many pregnancies are unplanned, the researchers will also recruit women who are not considering pregnancy.

"The study might eventually lead to preventions or treatments for many common conditions," said Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, M.D., M.P.H.,FACS, the United States Surgeon General.

"We're looking to find the root causes of many common diseases and disorders," Dr. Carmona said. "When we do, we'll be in a position toprevent them from ever occurring."

Dr. Carmona added that the study could also shed light on such indoor environmental exposures as secondhand smoke, lead, radon, and asbestos. "We now know that one in five schools in America has indoor air quality problems, which affect millions of children who don't even realize it,"Dr. Carmona said. "And that's where The National Children's Study comes in. The study could help us map how our environments, habits, and activities affect our children's health."

Other speakers at the briefing included representatives of the federalagencies sponsoring the study, as well as representatives of associations concerned with children's health.

The NICHD is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the biomedical research arm of the federal government. NIH is an agency ofthe U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NICHD sponsors research on development, before and after birth; maternal, child, andfamily health; reproductive biology and population issues; and medical rehabilitation.

Naples Daily News
Bonita firm sees day care as an investment
By RIDDHI TRIVEDI-ST. CLAIR,
rtrivedi@bonitanews.comSeptember 13, 2005

With a 2-year-old daughter, living in Cape Coral and working in Bonita Springs was a juggling act at best for Denise Fortune.

Each morning, she would take her daughter to day care at 6:30 a.m., then drive to work at Source Interlink, where she has been an analyst for about a year and a half. Her husband would pick Sandra up about 5:30 p.m., then stay home with her until Fortune got home.

"By the time I got home, she would have dinner, and she goes to bed by 8:30 p.m., I saw her for about two hours a day," Fortune said. "I have been trying so many things to find time to spend with her."

The answer came from her employer.

Employee surveys done by Source Interlink's human resources department repeatedly turned up affordable child care as one of the chief issues facing its workers, said James Gillis, president and chief operating officer of the Bonita Springs-based company.

"It was almost impossible for people to find good quality day care in south Lee County at affordable rates," Gillis said. "With the length of the commute to where they were going for day care, it was expensive and adding hours to their day."

They had space available in the company's headquarters in Riverview Center near the Imperial River and U.S. 41. Space that they budgeted for when the company recently expanded its offices by 25,000 square feet.

The planning began a year ago and the day care opened about a month ago. The center is licensed for 25 children from 6 weeks old to age 4. The company already has 16 children, and several other expectant mothers have signed up for the services.

Parents who have their children in the day-care center are thrilled.

"I can have lunch with her, take her home with me and it's $40 cheaper (monthly) than the one I was using in Cape Coral," Fortune said. "If she gets sick, I am right here and if there is ever an emergency at home, she is right here."

Like Fortune, most parents have lunch with their children and many even come see their children during shorter breaks.

Mary Stehle says she likes how much fun her daughter, Megan, is having at day care. The South Fort Myers resident used to start her day at 6:30 a.m. to take her daughter to day care at a church in Fort Myers before coming to work around 8 a.m. She and her husband would trade off picking up Megan. But that meant she had no flexibility in her schedule.

"I absolutely had to be out of the door at 5 (p.m.), and in season the times just didn't work," Stehle said. "Generally we would get home at about 7 p.m., shove food in everyone's faces, take a bath and go to bed so you can do it all over again."

Now she gets to work earlier because she can bring Megan with her. She also gets to see her daughter several times a day, and if she doesn't, Stehle said, she knows Megan is safe and close to her.

"I used to feel there's a choice between my career and family, and this makes it a little easier," she said.

The children have a variety of activities to choose from, including finger painting, playing house, music and reading. They are supervised by Jacquelyn Gillis, who is the daughter of James Gillis, and her staff.

Jacquelyn Gillis, who has a bachelor's degree in government, worked at a home for abused children for more than five years in Connecticut and decided she wanted to keep working with children.

"It took me a whole week to realize I had actually started (the day care)," she said. "But the kids are just great and their parents are so happy with the program."

Company officials say the decision to start a day care center isn't just a good deed; it's good business.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, nearly three in 10 employed women quit their job upon becoming pregnant. And the number of women with infant children who remain in the work force has fallen about 5 percent since 1998. In 2000, 55 percent of mothers with infant children were in the work force, compared with 59 percent in 1998 — the first decline since 1976.

Various studies commissioned by the Census Bureau also show job flexibility and child care at the workplace are two major factors in deciding whether women come back to work.

Source Interlink spent more than $300,000 on the day care center. The company since has received most of it back in after-the-fact grants from county, state and federal governments, James Gillis said.

Even if that hadn't happened, the day care would have been a good investment, he said.
"We have 350 employees here in Bonita Springs and our turnover has been going down consistently," he said. "We want to make the benefits nice enough so people will stay with us."

Nunatsiaq News, Canada

Nunatsuaq News
September 23, 2005

Long Waits Loom for Nunavut Day Care
More kids than spaces, despite some funding initiatives

Seepoola Nauyuk watches over kids while Bernice Kelly, on left, reads from a book. Iqaluit’s First Steps Daycare is full up with 39 kids.

Some Iqaluit kids got lucky this fall. After two years on a waiting list, they were finally able to saunter into Aakuluk Day Care.

The biggest day care in Iqaluit looks after 44 kids every day, but they still have a long waiting list.

“All day cares are like that in Iqaluit,” said Michelle Mackay, who runs Aakaluk.

First Steps Day Care, which is now full with 39 kids, has about 70 infants and 45 to 50 pre-schoolers on its waiting list. That’s “a good two-year wait,” says Shannon Graham.

The waiting list at Kids on the Beach is also “a couple of years long,” said Danielle Budgell. That day care has 24 seats, 12 of which are reserved for students of Nunavut Arctic College.

Nunavut has 959 licenced day care spaces, said Lesley Leafloor, manager of early childhood development for the Department of Education. That number includes aboriginal head start programs, pre-school programs and full- and part-time after school programs.

But for many parents, that’s not quite enough.

“I sympathize,” said Budgell, describing how she breaks the news to parents. “There’s not much I can do. It’s normal. There definitely needs to be more day cares in Iqaluit.”

Rates have also increased at Kids on the Beach. Last year, parents paid $170 per week for full-time care, and $100 for half-day care. As of Oct. 1, full-time care will cost $200 per week, and half-time care will cost $125.

The fee hike was necessary, Budgell said, because grocery bills are rising and the day care wants to continue providing a hot lunch and two snacks to all of its kids.

Kids on the Beach is the only day care in Iqaluit that serves a hot lunch (other day cares ask parents to pack a healthy lunch). The service is especially important for college students’ children, who may live a more student lifestyle than working parents.

Beneficiaries will feel less of a crunch thanks to federal funding from Human Resources Development Canada, which is administered by the Kakivak Association, and covers 50 per cent of day care costs.

More relief for parents could come from the Young Parents Stay Learning initiative. The Government of Nunavut added $500,000 in its latest budget to help parents aged 14 to 18 cover costs — as long as they can find spaces.

In Iqaluit, no students have taken up the offer yet at the Inuksuk Infant Development Centre, the day care attached to Inuksuk High School, which looks after 24 children, most of whom belong to teachers.

Even that day care has a year-long waiting list, said Rukhsana Ali.

The day care crunch is not unique to Iqaluit.

The Cambridge Bay Childcare Centre, Cambridge Bay’s only day care, is full with 46 spaces, and has 10 more kids on its waiting list, said manager Brenda Rideout. Parents there pay $150 per week, no matter what age their kids are. Rates go down slightly for multiple children form the same family.

The Shared Care Daycare in Arviat, across the road from the Qitiqliq Secondary School, is full with 21 toddlers and 10 babies. The only day care in Arviat, also has a waiting list, said assistant manager Frances Okatsiak.

The Kataujaq Day Care, Rankin Inlet’s largest, is also full with 30 kids, and has just “a medium-sized wait list,” said manager Debbie Greer.

Kataujaq also manages to provide a hot lunch, charging $190 per week for infants, $180 per week for toddlers and $150 per week for kindergarten students.

An outstanding problem, Greer said, is finding “dependable, reliable staff.”

“I would dearly love to see NAC host an early childhood education program here,” Greer said.

“There’s more quality care needed in the community that offers real pre-school instruction.”

The Old and the New

I like the idea of putting the young and the old in the same facility. I would like to see more of this. Older people can teach and care for young children, and young children can respond in a a very necessary way for older people. It should be done more often.
Savannah Morning News

District Welcomes Education Ally

Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools superintendent Thomas Lockamy welcomed the mayor's further advance into education Monday and dismissed the suggestion that it could lead to a turf battle.

"I think first of all you can front-load success or back-load failure," Lockamy said. "I think this is a real effort to front- load success, and I would certainly like to be a part of that."

The effort Lockamy referred to is a partnership between the city of Savannah and heavy equipment manufacturer JCB Inc. to open a state-of-the-art early- childhood learning center in westside Savannah. United Way of the Coastal Empire will select an agency to run the center and assist with quality control.

The plans have been in the works for 18 months, but Lockamy didn't learn about them until a reporter contacted him following Monday's announcement.

He said he'd like his staff to work with those planning the center so the planners "could be certain how the preparation of children folds into the work we're doing in pre-kindergarten and kindergarten."

Julie Newton, principal at Bartow Elementary School on Savannah's westside, said a well-run center could mean more students arrive at her school ready to learn.

Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson said that's exactly what he hopes to accomplish. And he guaranteed the school system will be involved.

"We're doing early childhood preparation that (leads) to school readiness," he said.

JCB and the city will open the Lady Bamford Early Childhood Education Center in March in the east wing of the Moses Jackson senior center. It will initially serve about 30 neighborhood children from newborn to four, the age when they'd be eligible to move up to pre-kindergarten.

The center is being designed to serve 58 children but could be expanded to serve more, according to Ellen Hatcher, the Smart Start project director with United Way of the Coastal Empire.

The exact form the center takes will depend on the agency United Way selects to run it. But Hatcher said any program will be buttressed through its involvement with Smart Start, a joint state-non-profit ventures that offers educational incentives to typically low-paid day care workers.

Hatcher said United Way said the agency running the center must also aim to become accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children.

Oversight of day care facilities tends to be fairly lax in Georgia.

Hatcher declined to state the center's projected cost since United Way has not yet received proposals from agencies interested in running it.

Researchers have shown that effective early childhood education can lead to greater academic success. A 2004 study by the Economic Policy Institute also concluded that education programs for 3 and 4 year olds can ultimately bring financial rewards to local governments through higher earnings and reduced crime.

United Way plans to interview agencies Friday that could run the center. Those agencies include Greenbriar Children's Center, Wesley Community Centers, Parent and Child Development Services and YMCA of Coastal Georgia, according to United Way president Gregg Schroeder.
Lockamy said he and Johnson plan to meet face to face for the first time within the next two weeks.

Foundation for Child Development Annual Forum

The Foundation for Child Development Annual Forum will be held on October 20. Educators in Chicago, Independence (MO), and Union City (NJ) will discuss how they are leveraging our current, uncoordinated investments in early childhood programs to create a new first level of education – PK-3.

The session will provide practical advice on:
•Aligning standards, curriculum, and assessment from PK-3
•Funding PK-3 systems
•Working with community organizations
•Enhancing teacher qualifications
•Supporting families

When: October 20, 2005 from 3:00 - 5:00 PM

Who: Edith Allen-Coleman, Lead Teacher, Hansberry (Chicago) Child-Parent Center
Jim Hinson, Superintendent, Independence, Missouri Public Schools
Adriana Birne, Principal of Early Childhood Education, Union City (NJ) School District
Gene Maeroff, Senior Fellow, Hechinger Institute on Education, Columbia University

Where:Victor Borge Auditorium Scandinavia House 58 Park Avenue (between 37th and 38th Streets) New York, NY 10016

RSVP:Roz Rosenberg, 212-213-8337, x213 or roz@fcd-us.org

Katherine S. Johnson - Draper

Deseretnews.com Salt Lake City, Utah

Learn About Hyperactivity

In your Family Section on Nov. 15, there was a column written by Judy Lyden. It was titled "Wrong diagnosis." I have a clinical license to practice psychotherapy and have extensive experience working with children and adults who experience hyperactivity.

I wonder what Judy's credentials are that allow her to diagnose children as having "personality problems" and not physical ones?

I agree hyperactivity is over-diagnosed. However, to suggest that all children diagnosed as hyperactive are misdiagnosed is a disservice to them and their families. Without appropriate treatment these children grow up with feelings of low self-esteem and often develop conduct disorders. It's time Judy went to school and learned more about this disorder.

Kathryn S. Johnson- Draper


My Response:

This letter was published a while back. Too bad they didn’t send it to me. I LOVE personal attacks like this. It makes my day. I love the one-ups-man-ship and the tone. The disregarding, condecending tone makes me giggle. My first mental response actually meets her on her own level, Look, lady, I’m not the one making the big bucks on these kids.

But it goes a lot deeper than that. Once upon a time, I received a whole big How To binder from a psychotherapist who liked my work and lent it to me because he agreed that hyperactive children were being treated for a disease that doesn’t exist. It was a trumped up money maker, said he, and in the binder labeled, How to Set up a Psychotherapeutic Center, it said Never turn away a child suspected of hyperactivity. He’s your bread and butter.

The binder was full of tests, and ways to manage an office, and a lot of helpful strategies on this illness and that mental problem. It was at that point I lost most of my respect for psychotherapists. It seemed like a scam that not only drains parents’ pocketbooks but the state resources we all pay for. And the only one reaping the rewards is the lady with the boat and the new car and the $1,000,000.00 house. You can bet the child will never be cured of this illness.

Here’s a credential for you: I am hyperactive and I’ve reared four productive hyperactives. You can’t find better more interesting, productive, energetic, on target kids than mine.

Here’s another: For over a quarter of a century I’ve picked up targeted hyperactives out of the dustbin of ridicule and disdain put there by psycho-therapists. (I always take issue with that title.)

I’ve loved these throw away kids just as they are; just as God made them. I’ve spent a life time of care re-teaching them how to live in the world, and my success rate doesn’t come out of an expensive bottle. It comes out of two hearts – theirs and mine.

Do I have an education? You bet, Summa Cum Laude, first in my class, and aces in graduate school as well, but more than that, I’m educated enough to know a fraud when I hear it. I’m educated enough to understand you can’t diagnose a personality type or medicate one you don’t like or can’t keep up with. I think that way because I do something remarkable; I actually read books.

Let’s medicate some of the hyperactives from the past and get a good laugh:

Theodore Roosevelt
Lewis and Clark
Christopher Columbus
Johnny Appleseed
Daniel Boone
Davy Crocket
Thomas Jefferson
St. Paul
Alexander the Great


And the beat goes on.

England

Blackpooltoday.co.uk

£1.2m Child Care Probe

INVESTIGATIONS are to be launched into the soaring cost of caring for vulnerable children in Blackpool.

A new report has revealed it costs almost £1.2m a year to provide specialist care for just SIX of the borough's most at risk youngsters.

There are 295 children in care in Blackpool, and the cost of looking after them has spiralled way over budget as social workers are having to intervene in more and more cases – many of them involving physical and sexual abuse.

A special committee of councillors is now being set up to investigate the situation. In a report looking at reasons behind the overspend, cases of six children were highlighted. The cases included:

* A boy who poses a serious risk to younger children because of aggressive sexual behaviour. He requires a small therapeutic residential home, staffed round-the-clock, at a cost of £5,000 per week.
* A second boy suffers with self-harm and suicidal tendencies. He requires special mental health care costing £3,500 a week.
* A 13-year-old boy who has severe behavioural difficulties and places himself at risk of sexual exploitation. He needs to be placed away from "negative influences" within a residential school environment, costing £2,767 per week (£143,884 per year).

Last year, Blackpool Council's Children's Services department overspent on its £13.5m annual budget by £361,000.The results of an inspection last March found 18 of 22 cases, looked at as a sample, had paedophile involvement. The inspector commented this was "unprecedented in his experience."

Coun Sylvia Taylor, chairman of the Children Services Development Committee, said a special committee of councillors would be set up to investigate the situation. She said: "There are a lot of transient families coming in to Blackpool. We have to look at what is best for vulnerable children and that comes at an expense. We are trying to get more children located locally, but sometimes we haven't got facilities for children with special problems."

Part of the reason behind more children needing care is the "threshold" for intervention by social services was reduced following early inspections of the service.

Most of the cost for care is picked up through Council Tax and by the resort's Primary Care Trust, which is funded by central government. Blackpool's Director of Children's Services David Lund was aiming to review its strategy in a bid to try and keep the costs under control. One alternative might be to develop more in-house provision rather than external placements.shelagh.parkinson@blackpoolgazette.co.uk

22 September 2005

The Face of American Day Care

Finding Child Care Is No Easy Job for U.S. Parents
Written by Jerilyn Watson 25 September 2005

VOICE ONE:
Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:
And I’m Faith Lapidus. Today we tell about an issue facing America’s working parents. If both a mother and a father are employed, who will care for their young children?

VOICE ONE:
A half-century ago, most mothers of young children in the United States did not work outside the home. But life has changed. The United States Census Bureau said that in two thousand two, sixty-four percent of mothers with a child under age six were in the workforce. If the father also works, the need for child care is clear. The same is true if a parent is single.

VOICE TWO:
Sometimes grandparents or other family members watch over children. But most working parents must pay for care. And they often have to pay a lot. The Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics says child-care costs for a full day begin at about four thousand dollars yearly. Many families pay ten thousand dollars yearly per child – and more.

The Urban Institute is an economic and social-policy research organization. It reported in two thousand one about working families in America. The institute said nearly half of families with a child under thirteen spent about nine percent of their monthly earnings on child care. The poorest families spent twenty-three percent.

VOICE ONE:
Some parents employ a person to supervise children in the parents’ home. This person is often called a baby sitter or a nanny. Sometimes this care provider lives with the family.

Au pairs are foreign care providers. They live with families while supervising the families’ children.

Some care providers open their own homes to one or more children. These, and other, children’s centers must meet the requirements of local and state governments. For example, a care provider can supervise only a limited number of children. The number depends on the children’s ages. Care centers must show that they are protected against fires and other dangers.

Yet once parents find a place, they cannot be sure they will stay. The care might not be as good as they hoped. Or the cost might increase. Or the parents might even be asked to take their son or daughter elsewhere if the child often bites or hits other children.

VOICE TWO:
Childcare worker Angenita Tanner reads a book to students at her home daycare center in Chicago.

Child-care companies and religious organizations operate some of the daycare centers and preschools in the United States. Organizations like the Y.M.C.A, the Young Men’s Christian Association, provide daytime child care in many cities across the country. These programs serve children from the earliest years to as old as students in middle school.

Care for school-age children is also provided at public and private schools before and after normal school hours.

VOICE ONE:
Other organizations mix daytime activities for older adults with daytime care for children. One such organization is called ONEgeneration. This nonprofit community group is in Van Nuys, California. It serves older adults and young children in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles.

A ONEgeneration center for older adults is next to its daycare center. Older people who volunteer visit the daycare children in the afternoon. They sit and hold the babies and rock them back and forth, as they might do with their own grandchildren.

VOICE TWO:
Private companies and government agencies also offer childcare. This lets a working mother or father be near their sons and daughters during the day. For example, the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland, looks after employees’ children at several centers. These places accept children ages six weeks to three years.

The N.I.H. centers are operated by a child-care company in cooperation with the children’s parents. The parents of children in the full-day program must help in the centers for three hours a month. If they cannot do so, they must pay an additional amount for their child to attend. Help from parents in such cooperative centers helps keep costs down.

VOICE ONE:
The General Services Administration has more than one hundred ten child care centers in federal buildings. These centers are in thirty-one states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. At least half the children in the centers must have parents employed by the government. Any places not filled this way go to the general public.

VOICE TWO:
Young children in good preschool programs learn to identify common objects. They study letters and pictures to help prepare for reading. They learn songs. They play games that use numbers and maps. Many children’s programs include activities to help them get to know the wider world. For example, children visit zoos, museums and fire and police stations.

At age five, most American children attend free kindergarten in public schools. Many American kindergartens now require skills taught in early education programs.

VOICE ONE:
Jan Forbes of Rockville, Maryland, works in two centers for young children. Missus Forbes is paid for teaching music in one center. She gives her time to the other center, which serves more poor children.

The teacher says good child care and preschool centers are important to prepare children for their school years. She notes that kindergarten classes once placed major importance mostly on social development for school. But today most kindergartens teach basic educational skills.
Missus Forbes says early education helps children develop good relationships with adults. At the same time, children learn to cooperate with other children. She praises the activities of preschool life as helping develop responsible and happy children.

VOICE TWO:
Head Start is the national preschool program for poor children. The goal is to prepare them for the educational system – and life in general. But these programs cannot serve all needy children.

Getting good child care that provides early education can be very difficult for poor families. The Census Bureau says there were thirty-seven million people in poverty in two thousand four. The poverty rate was twelve and seventh-tenths percent, up two-tenths of one percent from the year before.

Now there are worries that money needed to rebuild areas hit by Hurricane Katrina could take away from early education and child care.

VOICE ONE:
Parents often criticize the price of child care. But daycare operators say many parents do not understand all the costs involved. These include food, drinks, toys, videos, games and crafts. They also include wages, taxes, insurance, transportation and things like cleaning supplies.
One person said on a child-care Web site, "we providers are in this line of work for love of kids -- not money!"

VOICE TWO:
Low pay is a major reason the industry has to replace many workers each year. Currently, the lowest pay in the United States permitted under federal law is six dollars and seventy-five cents an hour.

The government says half of daycare workers earned less than seven dollars and eighteen cents an hour in two thousand two. Those employed in schools had median earnings of nine dollars and four cents per hour.

Pay depends on education. A caregiver who attended college earns more than a person who only finished high school. But the best pay is still not very high.

VOICE ONE:
Getting the best child care can be difficult for even the wealthiest parents. The best centers may have long waiting lists. Parents often have to request a place long before their child is born.

VOICE TWO:
Now we will visit a group of three-year-olds at a preschool in Fairfax, Virginia. The children begin their day by forming a circle. They talk a little to each other and their teacher. She leads them in song. After that, the children go to “stations,” places in the center where they can choose activities.

The boys and girls get a chance to paint or work at a computer. They can look at books or play with trains or trucks or dollhouses. They can build tall structures with building sets. Then they have a little something to eat and drink.

If the weather is good, the children play outside under supervision. Those staying a full day in the preschool have a meal. Later they sleep for part of the afternoon. Then their mothers or fathers arrive.

The children’s time in the care of others is over. It is time to go home.

VOICE ONE:
Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Caty Weaver. I’m Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:
And I'm Faith Lapidus.

Ronald McDonald

Ronald McDonald is expanding his role as a global ambassador of fun, fitness and children’s well-being. As McDonald’s® Chief Happiness Officer™, Ronald® is inspiring and encouraging kids and families around the world to eat well and stay active, or as he likes to say, “it’s what i eat and what i do™ …i’m lovin’ it.™” As a recognizable role model for children around the world, he makes learning fun and can make important subjects like energy balance – the food you eat and the activity you do – simple and compelling.

In McDonald’s new global television commercial, “Come Out and Play,” Ronald steps out in his Big Red Shoes™ to show kids that getting active and making balanced food choices actually means having fun. Ronald gets kids up off the couch, and outside and moving with a variety of cool sports activities including bike riding, snowboarding and playing basketball with NBA superstar Yao Ming. Whether he’s juggling vegetables with his friends or dodging strawberries, he snowboards down a yogurt mountain, Ronald makes it clear that kids can have fun and feel great if they “Come Out and Play.”

The global television commercial will debut in the U.S. on June 10 and will air in numerous countries including Canada, Germany, Italy, Portugal, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Uruguay, Chile and Argentina throughout the year.

To keep up with this active lifestyle, Ronald McDonald went shopping and picked out a whole new wardrobe. Whether he’s hitting the ball with tennis champions Venus and Serena Williams, training with Olympic athletes or attending awards ceremonies, these new outfits complement his fun, energetic style.

The trademark yellow jumpsuit remains a wardrobe staple for Ronald, and has been updated with a new, streamlined fit. In addition to the jumpsuit, his active wardrobe features a warm-up suit, basketball and soccer/football outfits, a tuxedo, a winter jacket for visits to Russia, and a baseball outfit for events in Japan.

This September, Ronald will take his new “Go Active with Ronald McDonald™” community show on the road. The program will debut first in the U.S. followed by countries around the world this fall. It is a fun, interactive show in which Ronald enlists the audience to help him coax his friend “Arnie” out of the house and into a more active lifestyle.

Using improvisational games and cool activities, Ronald encourages everyone to burn energy by finding the activities they like to do, making them fun and incorporating them into their lifestyle.

As a global leader, McDonald’s cares about its customers and is taking action to encourage balanced, active lives. The company is committed to being part of the solution by reinforcing the importance of energy balance – the food you eat and the activity you do. McDonald’s Balanced, Active Lifestyles program is built on three strategic pillars: increasing menu choice, promoting physical activity, and continuing to provide accessible nutrition information. For more information, visit http://www.balance.mcdonalds.com/.

McDonald's is the leading global foodservice retailer with more than 30,000 local restaurants serving nearly 50 million people in more than 100 countries each day. Approximately 70 percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent, local businessmen and women.

Delaying Babies Defies Nature

BBC News

Delaying Babies 'Defies Nature'

Women who wait until their late 30s to have children are defying nature and risking heartbreak, leading obstetricians have warned.

Over the last 20 years pregnancies in women over 35 have risen markedly and the average age of mothers has gone up.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, the London-based fertility specialists say they are "saddened" by the number of women they see who have problems.

They say the best age for pregnancy remains 20 to 35.

Over the last 20 years the average age for a woman to have their first baby has risen from 26 to 29.

The specialists, led by Dr Susan Bewley, who treats women with high-risk pregnancies at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital, warned age-related fertility problems increase after 35 and dramatically after 40.

Other experts said it was right to remind women not to leave it too late.

'Having it all'

In the BMJ, the specialists write: "Paradoxically, the availability of IVF may lull women into infertility while they wait for a suitable partner and concentrate on their careers and achieving security and a comfortable living standard."

But they warn IVF treatment carries no guarantees - with a high failure rate and extra risks of multiple pregnancies where it is successful.

For men, there are also risks in waiting until they are older to father children as semen counts deteriorate with age, they say.

Once an older woman does become pregnant, she runs a greater risk of miscarriage, foetal and chromosomal abnormalities, and pregnancy-related diseases.

They add: "Women want to 'have it all' but biology is unchanged; deferring defies nature and risks heartbreak."

"Their delays may reflect disincentives to earlier pregnancy or maybe an underlying resistance to childbearing as, despite the advantages brought about by feminism and equal opportunities legislation, women still bear full domestic burdens as well as work and financial responsibilities."
Dr Bewley told the BBC News website: "We are saddened because we are dealing with people who can't get pregnant or are having complications.

"Most women playing 'Russian Roulette' get away with it, most people are fine. But I see the casualties.

"The best time to have a baby is up to 35. It always was, and always will be."

She added: "I don't want to blame women, or make them feel anxious or frightened."

The reasons for these difficulties lie not with women but with a distorted and uninformed view from society, employers, and health planners.

"Doctors and healthcare planners need to grasp this threat to public health and support women to achieve biologically optimal childbirth.

"Where we can, we should be helping women to have children earlier."

Clare Brown, chief executive of Infertility Network UK, said "Delaying having children until you are in your thirties is a choice many people make but they need to be aware of the added problems when trying to conceive, particularly over the age of 35 when a woman's natural fertility declines.

"When this is exacerbated by a further complication such as blocked tubes or low sperm count the chances of a successful pregnancy even using IVF are much less."

Peter Bowen-Simpkins, of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said: "The biological clock is one thing we cannot reverse or change.

"The message that needs to go out is 'don't leave it too late'

Pumpkins and More

Pumpkin carving kit from Dremel's

Halloween enthusiasts will be clamoring for Dremel's latest Pumpkin CarvingKit which includes cool "tools" to create this season's ultimate pumpkinparty.

Dremel's kit also includes unique ideas that make Halloweendecorating and entertaining easier and more creative than ever before. Click on the link for our Online Media Kit

Afterschool

Afterschool

Gretchen Wright
September 19, 2005

Turning the Lights On from Coast-to-Coast Cities Nationwide Gear Up for National Afterschool Rally From the courthouse in Moultrie, Georgia to the Children's Museum in Pittsburgh to the Houston Zoo, afterschool programs are lining up fun and exciting venues for the sixth annual Lights On Afterschool.

Each October, hundreds of thousands of parents, children and community leaders in cities across the country come together in diverse settings to rally for afterschool programs. Lights On Afterschool is organized by the Afterschool Alliance with National Presenting Sponsor the JCPenney Afterschool Fund.

Events planned for this year include:

* A "Kids Day" on October 20 in Los Angeles, California at the Boys and Girls Club of East Los Angeles. Activities will include making special Lights On piñatas.

* A two-day celebration in Modesto, California, beginning with a rally at Boomers Amusement Park on October 19 and ending with a street fair in downtown Modesto on October 20. The street fair will also highlight Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

* A Lights On Afterschool On the Square festival at the courthouse in Moultrie, Georgia on October 20. Afterschool providers from across the city will participate and staff booths that showcase the types of afterschool activities available to kids.

* An open house and pizza dinner at Madison Middle School in Rexburg, Idaho on October 20. The program will display light bulb artwork created by students and participants will receive Lights On necklaces.

* Fireworks, food, games, prizes and entertainment at Bosse Field on October 12 in Evansville, Indiana. More than 3,000 residents are expected to turn out for what is becoming one of the city's most anticipated annual events.

* Student performances at the state capitol in Albany, New York on October 20, and a van tour of local programs for state legislators and other officials. Two local malls will also hold events, hosted by JCPenney.

* Youth church choir performances in the town square in Supply, North Carolina, where County Commissioners have already issued a proclamation declaring October 20 "Afterschool Day."

* A "Best Afterschool Program Ever" at the Cincinnati Museum Center in Ohio on October 20 that will include a showcase of the variety of afterschool activities involving art, science, reading, math and culture.

* Art activities and a Youth Puppet Troupe performance at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh on October 20, with door prizes, a raffle and refreshments.

* A "Wild About Afterschool" rally at the Houston zoo on October 20, featuring Mayor Bill White. After the rally, children will be invited to participate in a variety of fun, hands-on activities.

* A rally featuring a performance by the West Virginia youth choir and First Lady Gayle Manchin at the state capitol in Charleston, West Virginia on October 20. "It is exciting to see the diverse events being planned and so many communities participating in Lights On Afterschool this year," said Wynn Watkins, Board Chairman of the JCPenney Afterschool Fund.

"We are delighted to be National Presenting Sponsor again this year, and to have many of our store managers supporting events around the country. Lights On Afterschool does so much to call attention to the need for more afterschool programs, which keep kids safe, help working families and inspire student learning."

This year's Lights On Afterschool is expected to include more than 7,000 events in the United States and at military bases around the world. Information about other 2005 Lights On Afterschool events is available online at Afterschool

Lights On Afterschool was launched in October 2000 with 1,200 events across the country. Last year, more than half a million people rallied at 7,000 events to show their support for afterschool programs. California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger is National Chair of Lights On Afterschool, a position he has held since 2001.

The Afterschool Alliance is a nonprofit public awareness and advocacy organization supported by a group of public, private, and nonprofit entities working to ensure that all children have access to afterschool programs by 2010. More information is available at www.afterschoolalliance.org.

The JCPenney Afterschool Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports programs designed to keep kids safely and constructively engaged during out-of-school time. The Fund's contributions allow for the creation and continuance of afterschool programs aimed at the academic, physical, and social development of children throughout the U.S.

The JCPenney Afterschool Fund also works to raise awareness of the benefits of afterschool programming, and is committed to ensuring that every child has access to the world of opportunities that awaits them after school.

Sick Kids?

Here's a splendid idea for a new business. Ill child care. But if you consider the price in the article, no one could afford it. Drop in ill child care is probably going to cost over and above what parents pay as "tuition" day care costs, so this is an add on expense. Visiting sitters would be the best. Considering a substitute teacher probably makes $50.00 to $75.00 per day for a 6:30 - 3:00 job, what could someone charge to do this?

Brighton pages Dr. Day Care
By Jim Totten

DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
Livingston Michigan

Parents with a child that is too sick to go to school but not seriously ill face a challenge: What to do?

Stay home with their child and miss a day of work? Or try to find someone who will take care of their sick child, a challenge in itself. It's a problem faced by many families including the growing number of homes in which both parents hold down jobs.

Dr. Mo El-Fouly, a pediatrician, said he can resolve the problem with his pediatric observation center that he plans to open in October in Brighton. He said this facility for mildly ill children would be the first in the United States.

"The best place for a sick child is at home with one or both parents," El-Fouly admitted.

"Barring that, the second-best place would be with caring people and pediatricians."

Children would be kept in private or group observation rooms with glass walls and separate ventilation systems. Children with similar maladies would be kept in the same room. The cost would be $25 per hour, but it could be as low as $12.50 per hour with employer participation plans.

El-Fouly, who has been a pediatrician at the University of Michigan Brighton Health Center for 12 years, said his new idea will address the needs of dual-income, middle-income parents who need a place for their sick children. He said absenteeism is a growing problem in this country, and he has received a lot of support from patients' families for his new venture.

According to the National Association for Sick Child Daycare (NASCD), there is a huge, unmet need for sick child care. Each day, more than 350,000 children younger than 14 years of age are too sick to attend child care or school. It is estimated that working mothers are absent from their jobs from five to 29 days per year caring for ill children, and this has been estimated to cost employers between $2 billion and $12 billion annually.

El-Fouly said families will see his observation center as a "godsend."

He recalled an incident involving a friend who came to his office one day with his sick child. His friend, an attorney, had a big case that day, and his wife, also an attorney, was out of town on a business trip. El-Fouly said his friend pleaded with him to watch the child that day because he had no one to watch him, but the doctor had to turn him away.

The center will be open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and take up to 40 children ages 6 months to 16 years. He said the center will serve children with mild illnesses such as pinkeye, low-grade fever, mild asthma, fractured bones. Post-surgery patients would be welcomed, too.

The observation center would only be one facet of El-Fouly's new office, at 1021 Karl Greimel Drive in an industrial_commercial park west of the Brighton District Library. The office would offer pediatric services, counseling for children, gynecological services for teenagers and a gift_coffee shop. Three doctors and two nurse practitioners would work at the office.

El-Fouly said he picked Brighton because he doesn't believe there are enough pediatric services for the increasing number of young families moving to the area.

He said there's a four-month wait for teenage gynecological appointments in the area.

The new office would be next to Advanced Urgent Care & Walk-in Clinic, which opened last month. El-Fouly said the two offices would complement each other, with Urgent Care handling more serious injuries and his office handling mild sicknesses.

Canada

Canada.com
Paul Martin Says Childcare Key to Confronting China and India

Alexander Panetta
Canadian Press
Wednesday, September 21, 2005

GATINEAU, Que. (CP) - Canada's competitive edge in the looming economic showdown with China and India must be honed soon after its toddlers leave the crib, Prime Minister Paul Martin said Tuesday.

The prime minister said his proposed national child-care plan will help Canadian tots get a head start in a global economy where only the smartest countries will thrive.

"It's about development and learning during the crucial time in life when potential is most readily nurtured and developed," Martin said in an address to senior bureaucrats.

Re-positioning Canada's economy for the next century was the central theme of his remarks. The address was constructed like a throne speech, laying out the Liberal government's agenda in the months before an election expected next March.

Polls indicate that much of the prime minister's popularity is built around his handling of the economy as finance minister. His government's agenda for the fall to boost productivity appears to play to that strength.

Before he could outline the future, Martin was forced to deal with the past in his speech. He acknowledged that the sponsorship scandal stigmatized MPs and public servants.

"The issues related to the Gomery inquiry, issues that have reflected on both those who are elected and those who are professional public servants - these are unacceptable aberrations in a public sector that is honest, talented and committed to Canadians," Martin told his audience.
His proposed national daycare plan will be part of an agenda that will move his government beyond the scandal, Martin said.

The program will be an integral part of improving productivity, he said.

"A successful head start is important for all Canadians," Martin said. "I am convinced that when future generations look back they will recognize in our pan-Canadian approach to early learning, a project of nation-building in the same sense as universal medicare."

Canadians must understand that the intellectual bar is being raised globally and only the best-educated countries will successfully compete.

"When (Microsoft founder) Bill Gates goes to China young people line up for hours and hang from the rafters just to listen to him. In China . . . Bill Gates is (like pop singer) Britney Spears," Martin said, quoting best-selling author Thomas Friedman.

"In North America, Britney Spears is Britney Spears."

He predicted China and India - which comprise one-third of the world's population - will vault upward in a race for top jobs in research-based industries. Canadians need to start developing learning skills before they get into formal schools, he added.

"Today we don't just want our children to succeed in school. We need them to."

The Liberal government has promised $5 billion over five years for new provincially run, low-fee day care programs and is in the process of striking funding deals with the provinces.
Six provinces - Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Alberta - have already signed on. Quebec's $7-a-day program is the model for the plan.

The Conservatives have dismissed the daycare plan as a potential bureaucratic boondoggle.
Martin's proposal for $5 billion over five years will not even come close to covering the cost of a Quebec-style program, they say.

They also contend that for all the Liberal talk about education, the nation's post-secondary institutions are chronically under-funded while students are buried under a mountain of tuition-related debt.

Tories say the daycare cash should simply be turned over to parents.

"I really don't think we need the Liberals telling us what we need to do to raise our children," said Tory critic Carol Skelton.

"I know lots of little children that read before they go to school and are very outgoing and have had the very best care from a stay-at-home mom. And grandmas, too."

Scandinavian countries have large government day-care programs similar to the one Canada is creating. But the taxes in Nordic countries also hover around the 50-per-cent mark of GDP - compared with under 40 per cent in Canada.

Martin also said Tuesday that the federal government would like to cut taxes while improving social programs.

Civilization in Danger Again

When did we stop listening to one another? In the first hour I returned to work today, I was cut off, disregarded, and interrupted nine times. I don’t think I made a single statement that actually went from start to finish.

OK, so nobody wants to listen to me. So what? If that is the case generally, if we no longer want to listen to another, then what happens to communication? What happens to the idea of socialization? What happens to knowing someone, or is knowing self all that really matters? Or is it just me?

At the risk of seeming paranoid, which I always think of as twice annoyed, I realize that everyone has an agenda, a point of view, a list of important matters that need an attentive ear once in a while. It might seem insignificant to a listener at the time, but the truth is, everyone needs that ear once in a while just to appear to be a valued friend, and in today’s world, that’s simply not happening.

People don’t ask each other questions any more. Asking questions in today’s shallow formless, civilization is about as “Meepsorpian” as it gets. “Nice weather we’re having?” seems to be about as invasive as it gets. Is the failure a failure of interest? Are we simply not interested any more in someone else’s life?

I have dozens of interests that could strike up a conversation at about any level, and yet I find more and more that those interests are simply never touched. It makes me believe that I am simply a dull and uninteresting person with nothing or little to say, and if I feel that way, what are other people thinking or feeling and does it matter?

I think it does. I think people are important and not only need friendship that is based on friendship, but an ear and interest when they speak.

There was a wonderful scene from “Our Town” where the actors were supposed to be dead, and they asked more questions than the normal fifteen people would in a stuck elevator, an office, a school or a class reunion.

Exchange was the basis of simple economics that changed the world. Perhaps we need the same simple exchange again.

Book Report - Enough is Enough

Rocks-DeHart Public Relations 306 Marberry Drive, Pittsburgh, PA 15215 sends:

Endure No More: Five Ways to Say "Enough Is Enough" and Create an Extraordinary Life If your life has become an exercise in survival or sameness, it's time to stop enduring. In her new book, Jane Straus explains how to stop enduring and start thriving.

San Francisco, CA (September 2005)--Life can and should be an adventure in joy, excitement, and inspiration. But too many people drag through the day in a mild (or even severe) state of boredom, anxiety, or depression. Perhaps you're one of them. Well, you may be thinking, I would be happier if I didn't have to keep this job, but without my high salary we couldn't afford our house. Or, I would love to go back to work, but my husband insists that our kids need a full-time mom. Or, it's too late for me to __________ (fill in the blank).

If you can relate to any of these scenarios--or more to the point, the dismal feelings related to them--you're not really living, says seminar leader and personal coach Jane Straus. What you're doing is enduring.

"Endurance is not the same as perseverance. We persevere when we have a higher goal in mind. Our spirit is engaged when we are persevering. On the other hand, we endure when we think we don't have the right to whatever we feel or the right to choose an extraordinary life," writes Straus in her book Enough Is Enough!: Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life (Jossey-Bass, August 2005, ISBN: 0-7879-7988-0, $22.95).

"Most of us succumb to a life of endurance with little, if any, resistance because we do not believe we are worthy of more. If we wake up most mornings feeling anxious, bored, or numb, looking toward some imagined future time when we will feel happier, then we are enduring."

"When we are enduring, we try to convince ourselves that surviving is the same as thriving," she adds. "We tell ourselves that it should be enough that we made it through another day, earned our daily bread, performed our duties, and possibly helped others. But when we are merely surviving, we feel resigned, not inspired, exhausted, but not accomplished. We know that something is missing, but we don't know exactly what or how to go about finding it."

In Enough Is Enough!, Straus illuminates the suffering created by self-judgments and inattention to our deeper truths and inspires readers with the courage and conviction to embrace their inherent value and dreams with joy, self-respect, and compassion. Citing examples from the lives of her clients and seminar participants--and sharing some poignant stories from her own life--she clarifies the chain reaction of emotional, spiritual, and physical suffering triggered the moment one chooses endurance. In the process, she helps readers overcome their fears, break their destructive patterns.

About the Author:

For more than 20 years Jane Straus has maintained a private practice coaching individuals, couples, and families using the principles found in Enough Is Enough! She also speaks to various groups, provides consulting services for companies trapped in negative cultural patterns, and conducts in-depth seminars for organizations and individuals from all walks of life.
Jane lives in northern California with her husband, daughter, and dog.

About the Book:Ten Steps to Creating Your Extraordinary Life

Excerpted from Enough Is Enough!: Stop Enduring and Start Living Your Extraordinary Life (Jossey-Bass, August 2005, ISBN: 0-7879-7988-0, $22.95) by Jane Straus

Step 1: Recognize that you are enduring. Do you feel that you never have time to stop? Do you distract yourself with eating, working, volunteering, cleaning, etc.? Do you resent that you never have time to do the things your spirit longs for? Do you feel resigned rather than inspired? If you wake up most mornings feeling anxious, bored, or numb, looking forward to some imagined future time when you will feel happier--"when my children finally start school," "when my bills are paid off," "when I retire"--then you are enduring.

Step 2: Release your self-judgments. Your negative beliefs about yourself that are holding you back--you're untalented, too fat, not smart enough, etc.--are probably rooted in your childhood. Why would you let your "inner seven-year-old" run your life? These judgments are real but they are only as true as you have believed them to be. Give yourself compassion for having carried the burden of your self-judgments. Replace them with affirmations and find new evidence to support your willingness to believe in them. Affirmations are as true as you allow them to be.

Step 3: Question your limiting beliefs. When you tenaciously hold on to the belief that the world works in one particular way (against you), or that there is only one right way to do something (and you are doing it wrong), or that your actions will inevitably result in a specific and predictable outcome (bad), you are strapping on blinders. Make a commitment to take off those blinders. It will take practice and patience to stay out of "limiting belief territory," but eventually it will become second nature. You'll quickly start to see that life no longer feels boring and predictable.

Step 4: Drop your acts. When you put on the armor of an act, you sacrifice your authenticity for protection. For instance, you think no one can hurt you if you're tough enough...or that everyone will love you if you're nice enough...or that everyone will respect you if you never admit to being wrong. Your acts will become your prison. Instead, give yourself joyful permission to become more of who you really are. You will feel free and you will find that who you are is much more interesting than any character you could possibly play.

Step 5: Face down your fear. What fear is keeping you from living your extraordinary life? Whatever it is--quitting your unfulfilling job, leaving an abusive marriage, telling the truth about your past--you must face it head on. Recognize that F.E.A.R. means "False Evidence Appearing Real." Think of the worst-case scenario and see yourself living through it with dignity. Get support from others. Create an affirmation, such as, "I am now courageous." Then, just do it. Remember that no matter what the momentary outcome of facing down your fear brings, your worth as a person is constant and never in question.

Step 6: Free your feelings. If you feel bored, you are probably ignoring or avoiding something. Make an effort to connect with your feelings. Sit in a quiet place and close your eyes. Take some deep breaths. Check in with your body. Do you feel any tightness or pain? Give that pain or tightness a name, such as fear, hurt, anger, resentment, sadness. If your body feels light and open, give that an emotional name such as joy, love, happiness. Whatever emotions you feel and name, just allow them to be. If they change, let that be. Let yourself be. Learn to honor your emotions. Give them an opportunity to inspire you.

Step 7: Heal your anger and resentment. When you can acknowledge that your resentments are fueled by your personal regrets, you free yourself to step out of the victim role. It is not that you are letting others off the hook for unkind or unfair behaviors; they are still responsible for their intentions and actions. But the moment you uncover your regrets, you are empowered to let go of resentment.

Step 8: Forgive yourself. Make a list of the wrongs you have done to others and to yourself. See them as results of survival strategies. Acknowledge the consequences of these strategies to yourself and others. Grieve for your losses and your mistakes. Make amends with yourself and others. Create an affirmation to replace the self-judgments that drove you to using your survival strategies. And remember to treat yourself the way you would want others to treat you.

Step 9: Know, speak, and live your truth. Commit to being truthful in all you say and do. Realize that being truthful is not synonymous with being honest. Truth is a complex blend of honesty mixed with compassion and vulnerability. When you are "brutally honest," you are expressing your judgment but not expressing your truth. Your spirit knows the difference between truth and honesty. When you express your highest thoughts and intentions, you are able to live a true life, not just an honest one.

Step 10: Create your extraordinary life every day. To live in your truth is to allow your spirit's energy into every cell of your being and into every thought and action. Here's what this means in everyday terms: When you tell the clerk at the grocery store checkout counter that she has given you too much change, you make truth and spirit matter more than money. When you hear gossip and don't pass it along, you make truth and spirit matter more than your momentary desire to feel important. When you tell someone you love him or her, unsure of whether he or she will say it in return, you make truth and spirit matter more than your fear of rejection. Make these decisions every day. It takes courage and commitment to be your extraordinary self. You will be amply rewarded with a rich and fulfilling life.

Book Report - Cooking Around the Calendar with Kids

Timely Resource for National Family Meal Day

Is your family on the run from morning until night? Never have time to reconnect? Even at mealtime?

The pleasures of cooking and eating meals with the family are rarely practiced in our hurry-up world. Millions of children and adults eat “out of the refrigerator ” and often alone, or spend more time at fast-food restaurants than at heir own tables.

Amy Houts would like to see that change and her book, Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids — Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun is the beginning of a mission to help families cook and eat meals together. Over 150 of the recipes and suggestions in the book are intended to help in preparing seasonal food, establishing meaningful traditions, and cherishing he joy of spending family meal time together.


This book is a timely resource for the upcoming National Family Meal Day to be celebrated September 26. On this day families are encouraged to sit down and eat dinner as a family. It is a revealing fact about our society when we need a special day to acknowledge the importance of eating together.

Eating together tends to strengthen bonds between loved ones. There is a strong connection between food, family and friends. Cooking and sharing meals together is an extremely powerful way of connecting with the people you care about.

Make mealtime a time to reconnect with your family. Ask your kids to tell you about their day and share what is happening in your world. Forget the phone, the doorbell and TV. Make this your special time, not only on National Family Meal Day but perhaps a regular part of any day.

Here is a recipe from the cookbook, Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids — Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun that ill get the family working together and then enjoying their meal together.

Easy Vegetable Soup

1 pound ground beef or ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
3 cups beef broth
3 carrots, pared and sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
1/4 cabbage, shredded
1 (8-oz.) can tomato sauce
3 tablespoons uncooked rice
1 (16-oz.) can kidney or red beans.
Season to taste

Brown ground beef or turkey and onion in a 4 qt. pot. Drain fat. Meanwhile, prepare vegetables. Allowing children to pare, shred, or dice vegetables will depend on the age of the child.

Children can measure beef broth and rice and add to pot along with the vegetables. Bring to boil, then turn down heat, cover, and simmer or our. Yield: 6 servings

Cooking Around the Calendar With Kids — Holiday and Seasonal Food and Fun is available from libraries, select bookstores, and directly from Snaptail Press, Division of Images Unlimited, P.O. Box 305, Maryville, MO 64468 or through their website. ($24.95 plus 4.00 postage)

Media kits, review copies, and interviews available on request. Special feature story inquiries welcome.

Love

I was told once that I talk about love too much. I must be confounded by it. I must not know very much about it to be always including it in my conversation. But that's essentially what I do for a living, I excused myself. "It's not a job, but it's the key to doing my job."

I suspected other jobs at that point and wondered if people who understand gardening never talk about it. If professors who know about history or psychology never talk about their subject. Are artists mum about art, musicians recalcitrant about music, poets ready to hide their words, and are news broadcasters more eager to sit silently as the cameras do a red light dance?

I looked back. I was one of those pathetic children with all the strikes. You know the kind. The little girl with the boy's haircut and the mud on her face and the sprinkling of bruises and scrapes. My dress was always dark brown with one gigantic hole that was easily hidden in the great gaping of two sizes too big, but that was OK because shoes were always two sizes too small and it kind of balanced the ragamuffinesque picture.

David Niven lived up the street from me right near Mary Martin. I played with Sterling Hayden's kids; Gretchen wore pink and yellow and ribbons in her long blond hair. Her father loved her and her brothers. He had a huge booming voice and once demanded that I teach his new wife how to make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Perhaps I looked smart.

I remember going next door to Mrs. Kyle's house who taught me how to garden. She showed me how to divide plants, how to care for bits and pieces of living things. I saw instantly how life is precious, how the smallest green thing begs to live, begs for life - a little water, a little care, some time, some light and suddenly the pot is overflowing with abundance and vigor. Because of simple acts of kindness, the plant often rewards the giver with a gift of flowers. I learned a lot from Mrs. Kyle. I watched her love her life and how she missed her husband who was a merchant marine. She used to knit her own clothes. I remember a brown suit she made and a houseful of treasures.

What I've found is that life is like Mrs. Kyle's garden. It's filled with bits and pieces that just need to be loved - a little warmth, some light, some care and presto bingo there's an abundance of life returned. Love a child and you have a friend for life. Love a peer and you have companionship. Love strangers and the world becomes full. I suppose that's an unsophisticated approach to life that's terribly flawed. We are all terribly flawed, but it doesn't keep us from loving.

Perhaps I don't know a lot about love, but I know that love seems to be a free exchange of the will. And those who know how to love, love with abundance and joy and vigor and life. Lovers give everything they have without fear that one day it will all be given away and there won't be any left - that's why they're called lovers.

I know that when you love something lesser than yourself, like the cat my daughter and I found covered in mange, coughing with pneumonia, toothless, and sad, and you care for it just a little with just a little love, and the actions of love - interest and care - it thrives. When the cat found us, we called him Terminal and now we have to give this handsome cat with the sleek coat and the appetite of kings a better name. Perhaps we will call him Paul.

One of Scripture's little pockets offers the best image of love I can think of. Talents given by the Master to become an abundance with a little care. Some will reap the flowers, and others will hide theirs in the back yard under a rock in an attempt to keep it all.

Love is a beautiful expression of hope. It's meant to be shouted out loud from the rooftops.

Botswana

Botswana

Mmegi Press

Can ICT Help Achieve Education for All?

Last week’s IFIP World Information Technology Forum (WITFOR) addressed 12 major goals within the framework of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals. One of these was to develop ICT-based alternative educational delivery systems to achieve Education for All targets.

We recognise the importance of teachers in the dissemination of ICT knowledge and propose enhancing the ICT competence of teachers in the developing world through establishing innovative learning and knowledge communities of teachers and defining a professional development model to enhance ICT competence of teachers in order for them to utilise ICT in pedagogically meaningful ways.

A project proposal related to this goal reportedly involves Helsinki University of Technology, the Universities of Helsinki, Mauritius, Botswana and Geneva - through appropriate Centres at each - as well as Botswana’s Ministries of Education, and of Science and Technology.

The project has two objectives. The first is to establish innovative learning and knowledge communities of teachers. The second is to establish a professional development model to enhance ICT competence of teachers in the SADC region in order for them to utilise ICT in pedagogically meaningful ways in schools and other educational institutions.

Essentially, ICT offers a hopefully improved methodology of propagation and acquisition of wider knowledge, based on the knowledge and practice of ICT itself.

How ICT will help achieve Education for All depends to some extent on what one understands Education for All to mean and imply. It surely isn’t just about numbers at different levels of the education system. Does it include Early Childhood Education, Tertiary Education, and Technical as well as Academic Education? And does it incorporate learning of both Skills as well as Knowledge, in other words linking of Theory and Practice?

I tend to the view that Education for All should have a clear, universally applicable, broad objective related to the all-round development of heads, hearts and hands, and the promotion of good health of everyone to the highest level each of us is capable of. In my view, that should be Education for Work and a Better Life for All.

I have argued for the best part of thirty years for the combination of teaching and learning of academic and technical skills, of sociological as well as scientific and technical knowledge, and of whatever mental and manual skills are vital to lifelong practice and useful benefit.

Some sociologists see education as a means by which society reproduces itself but we need to see it as a means by which it can uplift itself and offer better lives to all its people.

Every society needs its professionals and engineers, but also its technicians and artisans, even in an age of automation. We can’t at least not yet rely totally on robots to do our plumbing, attend to electrical faults, repair our vehicles, fix our TVs and telephones and cell phones, and build and repair our roads, homes and offices. We have to rely on, and respect, those with such skills, and to give them the best affordable training.

These days, our motor vehicles are automated, but we still need a mechanic in the garage to fix them. The last and most recent US space flight was potentially endangered by a piece of flapping material on the outside of the spaceship, that one of the astronauts had to go out and repair by hand!

Besides professionals, engineers, technicians and artisans, we need both social and commercial entrepreneurs, and managers of both state and private enterprises to produce as many of the goods and services we all need in this day and age.

If recent analyses of the economy in other publications are correct, we may be losing expatriate managers and entrepreneurs, and perhaps people with technical skills, who are not easily or quickly replaced by qualified locals.

It seems to me that technical training lags behind our needs, and we didn’t need to start turning Brigades into more costly technical colleges. If we want our economy to expand, we need to train more technically and professionally qualified personnel, through new institutions as well as existing ones that we are busy renaming and/or taking over.

The desired expansion and vocationalisation of education and training, and the engagement in useful activities of learners in early childhood education, will be expensive and in ordinary circumstances may be beyond the means of the State. That is why it may be necessary to draw on the Productive dimension of EwP to generate income, or otherwise create resources through use of the labour of those being taught and trained, as Brigades did.

The first challenge to ICT in this context is to devise means to improve teaching and learning of practical skills - and more especially to strengthen education and training with production.

Too many students who go through schooling and higher education fail to find employment because their pass levels are below those required to get jobs ˆ pass levels that put the blame on them as failures, and not on society.

As a result, the more we expand the education system, the greater are the number of those who don’t pass well enough, or simply fail.

EwP would test and rate students, not by exclusive examinations designed to select and reject in highly academic curricula, but by continual assessment of theory and practice in life-related and modern curricula and related practical activity.

If ICT can address this, it would have done the Nation a great service. If, moreover, it can reduce poverty through its appropriate use, the more it does so, the better.

Azerbaijan

Azertac State telegraph agency of the republic of Azerbaijan

This really makes me sad because it's so uninformative. There are still countries in the world who can print a story like this with absolutlely no information and make it look like they're the good guys. I know teachers like that. Teachers who have the information locked up and the child gets nothing.


EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT’ PROJECT DISCUSSED
September 10, 2005, 15:15:15

Ministry of Education has hosted a sitting of the Coordinating Council for Early Childhood Development project. Addressing the sitting, Minister of Education Misir Mardanov spoke of the purpose and the main objective of the project.

As was emphasized, some 13 reports were prepared and 3 seminars were carried out within the frameworks of a project.

Sitting participants discussed the issues of alternative pre-school educational institutions, problems of education, etc.

Chief of the Social Sector Department of the Asian Development Bank Mr. Robert Vichtol, and Head of the Group of International Consultants Mr. Doran Bernard attended the session.

Childhood Learning Worth the Cost

Boosting kids early worth the cost
By John Lively
and Judy Newman
Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Early childhood education can be considered economic development. It improves the quality of the future work force and creates tremendous cost savings for society, according to an analysis done by an economist and researcher at the Minnesota Federal Reserve Bank.

Well-focused investments in high-quality early childhood education programs ensure that children arrive at school ready to learn. Children ready for school are more likely to be ready for life, without need of assistance.

If America is indeed committed to the notion of leaving no child behind, and to making high-quality education for every child a top priority, our efforts and investments must start in the early years of life. Education does not simply begin with kindergarten.

All children are born ready to learn. All of a child's early experiences, whether at home, in child care or in other preschool settings, are educational. Ninety percent of a person's brain develops in the first five years of life. It is critically important that children have good nutrition, nurturing relationships, stimulating environments and positive experiences during these formative years. Yet we invest the very least amount of public and private dollars and other resources in this age group.

So why pay early? Several studies provide solid evidence that each dollar invested in good early childhood education programs results in $3 to $8 in benefits. The advantages to the public are greatest when the programs are of high quality and reach children from the poorest families. By investing early, taxpayers benefit later because fewer children need remedial educational services, more children graduate from high school and more children get better paying jobs. Tax revenue is increased, the need for welfare assistance is reduced, and the burden on the criminal justice system is lightened.

Young children do not begin school as equals. Children of poor families generally start kindergarten with significantly lower social, language and cognitive skills than their more advantaged counterparts.

In fact, a University of Kansas study shows that by age 3 the differences are already dramatic. The vocabularies of 3-year-olds who live in poor families are half the size and less complex than those of their peers from professional families. This gap continues to widen until children enter school, and these discrepancies continue throughout their years in school.

Research shows that poor children deprived of early education are more likely as teens and adults to engage in crime, use illegal drugs, commit vandalism, neglect and abuse children, and suffer from poor physical and mental health.

As workers, they generally are less skilled, less productive, earn less money and generate less tax revenue. Failing to invest early results in a larger cost to society later.

Given that children's success in school largely determines their success in life, significant inequalities at the starting gate predestine a continuing cycle of poverty in America.

Education for all is a defining value of our country. Americans widely consider schools to be places where social and cognitive inequalities are equalized, and where every child is given an equal chance to excel, in school and in life. Yet America is falling far short of this ideal.

Intensive efforts to level the playing field from kindergarten onward are helpful. But by expecting primary and secondary schools to erase the deficits created in many children from birth to age 5, Americans are simply expecting too much.

Investing in young children is investing in our nation's future. Whatever steps are taken, earlier is better than later - and quality is the key.

However great the costs of investing in early childhood development, it is clear that the costs of doing nothing are far greater.

John Lively and Judy Newman are co-chairs of Lane County United Way's Success by 6 Initiative. On Sept. 20, Rob Grunewald, regional economic analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, will speak at the Success by 6 Initiative's annual breakfast.