Environmental Dad

joshthomas23 — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:37:10 +0000

Has it really come to this? “NC School Sells Test Points To Raise Money.” http://ping.fm/kceqs

The Walk-to-School Fight – NYTimes.com

joshthomas23 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:35:53 +0000

In 1969, 41 percent of children either walked or biked to school; by 2001, only 13 percent still did, according to data from the National Household Travel Survey. In many low-income neighborhoods, children have no choice but to walk. During the same period, children either being driven or driving themselves to school rose to 55 percent from 20 percent. Experts say the transition has not only contributed to the rise in pollution, traffic congestion and childhood obesity, but has also hampered children’s ability to navigate the world.

via The Walk-to-School Fight – NYTimes.com.

Survey: Average gamer is 35, fat and depressed – Games – msnbc.com

joshthomas23 — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:29:49 +0000

Reason #134 why we don’t own a video game console.

A new study says the average age of video-game players in the United States is 35, and oh, by the way: Theyre overweight and tend to be depressed.

If we had one, the only difference would be that I’m 37 instead of 35.

How to Lick a Slug – NYTimes.com

joshthomas23 — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:06:59 +0000

One problem may be that the American environmental movement has focused so much on preserving nature that it has neglected to do enough to preserve a constituency for nature. It’s important not only to save forests, but also to promote camping, hiking, bouldering and white-water rafting so that people care about saving those forests.

I agree completely. If we can’t get (young) folks outside and into “nature,” they are never going to care about it.

Forget the Flash-Cards: How To REALLY Help Your Pre-Schooler « FreeRangeKids

joshthomas23 — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:18:17 +0000

Always good stuff from Lenore. Happy Friday.

A new study reported in Connect with Kids shows that teaching pre-schoolers the academic stuff — letters, numbers, etc. — may not be the best approach. What is? Chores. Teaching them to listen to you, follow instructions and complete a task.

Canoes and campouts

joshthomas23 — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 10:14:28 +0000

Wife and her dad left early this morning for a week of canoe camping in NE Oregon. The kids miss her already but I think we’ll manage to have a bit of fun ourselves. We will camp out in the backyard tonight, hit the rock climbing gym a couple of times this week, visit the pool at least once and head out for more camping next weekend.

Not the same without mom but a good opportunity for the rest of us to manage on our own.

Study: Hospitalizations related to childhood obesity nearly double – USATODAY.com

joshthomas23 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:38:58 +0000

We are eating (and couch-potatoing) ourselves into crises. The more stats like this that I see, the more Wall-E re-enters my mind. We as adults have to set the appropriate expectations for nutrition and exercise. And then, it’d be really nice if more of us modeled those expectations in healthy and appropriate ways. This isn’t brain surgery folks. Get outside and move! And, as Michael Pollan might say: “If grandma has never heard of the ingredients, don’t eat it.”

The number of hospitalizations of kids and teens, ages 2 to 19, with a primary or secondary diagnosis of obesity nearly doubled between 1999 and 2005, climbing from 21,743 to 42,429, according to a study published Thursday on the Health Affairs website.

These were stays for obesity-related conditions such as asthma, diabetes, gallbladder disease, pneumonia, skin infections, pregnancy complications, depression and other mental disorders.

via Study: Hospitalizations related to childhood obesity nearly double – USATODAY.com.

Teen sailor nears end of trip around the world

joshthomas23 — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:16:11 +0000

Teen sailor nears end of trip around the world.

Wow. Now this is a kids-in-nature story!

23 states get even fatter

joshthomas23 — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:00:28 +0000

In parts of the country, we’re approaching 1/2 of children being clinically obese. Wow (and not in a good way).

Mississippi also had the highest rate of overweight and obese children, at 44.4 percent. It’s followed by Arkansas, 37.5 percent; and Georgia, 37.3 percent.

via As 23 states get even fatter, heavy costs loom – Fitness- msnbc.com.

“Teachers Don’t Like Boys, Mom”

joshthomas23 — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:46:44 +0000

As we entered his classroom, Aidan leaped up to touch the door frame. Immediately, one of the teachers scolded him about safety.

Aidan apologized. As soon as we were alone, though, he rolled his eyes at me. “Teachers don’t like boys, Mom. If I was a girl, she never would have said anything.”

via Holly Robinson: “Teachers Don’t Like Boys, Mom”.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. This year our oldest received many, many more “below average” marks from his teacher — almost all of them for (what she considered) inappropriate behavior. This never happened in the year previous (or in any year previous for that matter). Not surprisingly (to me, at least) he was much, MUCH more engaged last year — when his active-ness and enthusiam was viewed positively rather than negatively — than this.

Yes, teaching is hard; but I think many teachers end up making it harder for themselves (and their students) when they can’t figure out how to engage students effectively and then blame students for actions that result from their being bored. School doesn’t have to be boring, as previous teachers have proved and despite the “back when I was in school you had to sit in straight lines and keep your mouth shut; I turned out fine, so get over it!” attitude that sometimes creeps up (and I admit, it creeps up on me, too).

It does take more effort to work on engaging all students — especially kinesthetic learners like many young boys. But if we’re asking kids to put out great/more effort, shouldn’t we ask the same of adults?