Education Station NewsOK.com Blogging Community

The word “kindergarten” is German for “children’s garden.”

But “garden” doesn’t describe most modern-day kindergarten classrooms — indoors and structured to a clock.

In Germany, where kindergartens first came to life, they are beginning to again reflect the spirit behind the name.

The country now boasts more than 500 waldkindergartens, or “forest kindergartens,” where the only doors children walk through to get to class are the great outdoors, and where they learn from nature and from play.

The idea has trickled into the United States.

For instance, Shining Star Waldorf School in Portland this year started a class called Mother Earth Kindergarten that operates on a community farm, and the Esalen Institute operates a similar Gazebo School Park Early Childhood Program in Big Sur, Calif.

Would you enroll your child or grandchild in such a kindergarten? How do you think this will prepare young children to learn the building blocks they’ll need in a competitive world?

Share your thoughts here on the education blog at http://blog.newsok.com/educationstation.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

Gov. Brad Henry recently signed a bill raising the amount of physical education required for schoolchildren.

Students in California are facing a different approach under a law that went into effect this year: the amount of P.E. students must take depends on how fit they are.

In California, high school freshmen who fail more than one of six fitness tests must repeat P.E. classes until they can muscle through the assessment. The results don’t impact their graduation.

There is a notable difference between the state actions — Oklahoma’s applies to elementary and middle schools; California’s to high schools.

But both states’ approaches could be applied to any grade level, so which do you think will turn out to be more effective in helping kids slim down and shape up?

Share your thoughts on the education blog at http://blog.newsok.com/educationstation.

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

Summer is here! Or at least it will be later today when thousands of Oklahoma City school kids leave their classrooms for a two-month break.

But  summer break doesn’t have to be a vacation from learning. Even if your kid isn’t enrolled in an organized summer program or class, there are plenty of educational opportunities for the whole family.

A few things my family will do this summer:

* Visit the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at OU to see SuperCroc, a 40-foot long creature that lived 110 million years ago.

* Start a new tradition of going to the library. Those trips to Barnes & Noble are adding up but library books are free! And there are plenty of activities there too this summer.

What are your summer plans? What ideas do you have for fun yet educational activities that don’t cost a bundle?
Comment here or e-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com and I’ll share some of your responses.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer 

Science is not my strong suit, despite having hands-on science kits packed with a microscope, test tubes and powdery chemicals like borax when I was a kid.

Discovery Education, which is affiliated with the Discovery Channel, wants Oklahomans who do have a knack for science to submit video entries for a contest.

A spokeswoman for the Discovery Education/3M Young Scientist Challenge, Pat McMurray, said there are too few entries from Oklahoma right now.

The competition is open to students in grades 5 through 8. The video entries must demonstrate how well students understand and explain scientific concepts.

A winner will be selected from each state, and 10 finalists will get an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington, where a national winner will be crowned and handed a $50,000 savings bond.

More information about the contest is available at www.DiscoveryEducation.com/YoungScientist. 

Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter

I’ve been to two graduations in two weeks. I’ve heard inspirational speeches, the usual blah-blah-blah about achieving dreams, and watched parents that talked on their cells phones for much of the ceremony.

But the image that sticks with me most are toes: some hairy, most unmanicured and often hanging off the ends of flip flops.

Our nation’s future — a generation of hope! — wore flip flops to their commencement ceremonies. Grads are required to wear standard graduation gowns and those square-shaped caps, leaving their shoes as their only fashion option.

If this were a test, most flunked. Especially the men. I saw hundreds in battered flip flops that would be an embarrassment on a beach, must less a place of pomp and circumstance.

Some women did wear nice footwear, sensible flats or even heels. But others failed just as miserably as the men.

Am I old-fashioned to think that graduates should dress a little better for this very important occasion? Did their parents even care? It would seem a sign of respect to try to look your best at graduation. And yes, people are looking at your feet. Or trying to look away.

Susan Simpson, Education Writer

E-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com

Gallagher-Iba Arena was standing room only Saturday. But it wasn’t because  of a sporting event — it was Oklahoma State University’s spring commencement.

OSU President Burns Hargis noted the packed house and large number of graduates this year. About 2,700 students were candidates for bachelor’s and graduate degrees.

But do all 2,700 have jobs lined up?

I asked a few and got mixed responses, some had jobs waiting across the globe, some were planning to go to grad school, some hadn’t started the job-search process.

With the slowdown in the national economy, some experts have said graduates will have fewer offers this year, particularly in struggling industries. Whereas, one year ago, a grad might have 2 or three good offers, this year they might be lucky to land one entry-level job.

What do you think? Have the nation’s economic problems caused any problems for Oklahoma graduates?

E-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com

 Susan Simpson, Education Writer