Which way is best to slim down, shape up?
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
Fragrance-free schools?
A Minnesota lawmaker wants to give the ax to Axe, one of an array of fragrances students put on before or at school.
Some students and school nurses say the fragrances aggravate asthma and cause headaches.
High school student Mikolai Altenberg told the Associated Press he gets headaches from the fragrances, which permeate the air.
“Mostly it’s just guys who just think that putting Axe all over them is a substitute for showering,” Altenberg said.
Minnesota Democrat Karen Clark’s bill would establish a campaign in Minneapolis and possibly other districts to make students and parents more aware of possible fragrance issues. She originally proposed banning fragrances in the capital city’s school district.
Do you think schools should be fragrance-free? Share your thoughts with me and with other readers on the Education Station blog at NewsOK.com.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Reporter
Can’t get into nursing school?
Each year hundreds of qualified students who want to become nurses are turned away from nursing schools in Oklahoma.
Why? Because there aren’t enough nursing faculty to teach all the would-be nurses, who are of critical need in hospitals, clinics, nursing homes and schools.
Why aren’t there enough faculty? Because faculty pay is generally less than that in clinical settings, there’s little incentive for working nurses to gain additional degrees in order to teach.
Have you applied to nursing school and been turned away? How has that changed your career goals? Did you re-apply and get in another year or program?
I want to know how the faculty shortage has impacted you. E-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
(Back)packing heat
Should college students be allowed to carry guns on campus? And would that make them any safer?
It’s a debate that renews after each senseless shooting on a college campus, the most recent being the tragedy at Northern Illinois University in which five students and the gunman died.
Utah is the only state that allows persons with concealed gun permits to pack heat on campus. But several other states have passed or are considering legislation to allow it.
Oklahoma bans weapons on public campuses, and I haven’t heard any talk from administrators about changing that. But what do students, faculty and campus police think about changing the law? It will be hot topic if shootings ever occur on a campus here.
Let’s hope that day never comes.
E-mail me your comments at ssimpson@oklahoman.com
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
Does campus safety mean end of privacy?
College students, what price would you pay for safety, or at least the feeling of security?
Would you pay an extra $10 a class? Would you be willing to open your student files to faculty and administrators?
As a parent of one-day college students, I say yes! I’ll pay my share to hire a battalion of mental health workers, install high-tech warning systems, and erect barbed wire around the dormitories if need be. My kids files will be spotless anyway, full of honor roll listings and volunteer accolades.
Right. If the world was perfect, then we wouldn’t have these worries.
A group of college presidents is recommending $16 million in security upgrades to state campuses. They fear both a Virginia Tech-style tragedy and the more regular kind of violence (suicides, assault) that can be fueled by mental illness or substance abuse.
One recommendation is to form crisis committees on each campus that would look into reports of troubled students, with some access to student and medical records. That has some questioning rights to privacy.
What do you think? What sacrifices would you make to create safer campuses?
E-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com or call me at 475-3930.
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
Fit by Ferret?
When I think about fit, trim and positively svelte creatures, I don’t imagine a ferret.
I do imagine this weasel-like animal when contemplating Joe Pesci or ambulance-chasing lawyers. (Not sure why the former, maybe because he often plays furtive characters.)
Well Oklahoma City Mayor Mick Cornett has made the ferret a poster child for making us a healthier city. In a news conference this week at the zoo, he said city residents are like the elephants he posed near, and not the fuzzy, playful furball ferret held by a zoo employee.
I’m not sure what animal would be inspirational to the fat masses of Oklahoma City, but it’s probably not a ferret. Imagine the motivational slogans “One more mile … You can do it … Be a ferret!”
How about a gazelle? Or the diversity-friendly zebra? Or even an elephant for goodness sake.
Is an elephant really fat? Or just really big? Someone with an elephant’s bone structure will never fit into ferrets clothing.
And elephants are herbivores. They eat grasses and fruits. While ferrets are meat-eaters and will munch mice, prairie dogs and even roadkill.
What animal do you think best represents a fit, healthy Oklahoma? E-mail me at ssimpson@oklahoman.com
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
From the “duh” files
This just in — Highly-educated University of Texas at Austin researchers have discovered that “College Students Drink More on Game Days!”
Their study found that students drank more on football game days than on Halloween or New Year’s Eve, other holidays with a reputation for inebriation.
Male students drank more for all games. Female students tended to chug-a-lug most during away games.
Said one study author: “Most events associated with heavy drinking occur only one a year, such as Spring Break, or once in a lifetime, such as a 21st birthday, but the weekly football schedule presents students with more regular opportunities to drink.”
The study is published in November’s issue of Addictive Behaviors.
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
Taking the lead on lead
I spent my morning amid swing sets and monkey bars.
An anonymous caller said he suspected playground equipment at an elementary school was coated in lead-based paint, so I bought a do-it-yourself test kit from Home Depot to find out if that was true.
I tested two different pieces of playground equipment at that school, Buchanan Elementary at NW 18 and Utah in Oklahoma City, with LeadCheck.
Per the instructions, I shook the cigarette-shaped swab and then crushed the two small glass vials inside to release the chemicals that detect lead. I squeezed out some of the freshly activated chemicals and rubbed the tip against the paint for 30 seconds.
If the tip turned pink or red it would indicate lead; a yellow tip would indicate none.
And in 30 seconds I had an answer: no lead.
On my way back to the office I stopped at Johnson Elementary in The Village to get in another test, and again swabbed two separate pieces of playground equipment. Both tests were negative.
Some story ideas that come into The Oklahoman don’t always pan out — but that doesn’t mean they aren’t worth checking out.
Wendy K. Kleinman
Education Writer
Can You See Clearly Now?
When I left home this morning, I told my preschooler that Mommy was getting her eyes fixed today and wouldn’t have to wear glasses anymore.
I was going to get Lasik surgery today, and was giddy with anticipation.
So giddy that I forgot to verify the appointment day and time.
It’s not until next week, I found out when I arrived at the doctor’s office.
Darn, another week of spectacles. I’ve worn contacts since middle school but to prepare for surgery, I’ve been wearing my glasses for about a month now.
Still, all good things come to those who wait, right?
Will my daughter need eyeglasses one day? She has no signs of poor vision.
But she’s got my genetics — which pretty much destines her to bad eyes and crooked teeth — both completely fixable by modern medicine.
Besides, wearing glasses isn’t a bad thing … some well-sighted celebrities wear them just to make a fashion statement.
I clearly remember the day I got my first pair. I was in second grade, I think.
On the drive home, I was astounded by a clarity of vision I’d never before known. Edges were sharper, colors were brighter, the shapes whizzing by were recognizable — at last!
But not all children are as lucky as I was to have access and money for vision care, especially those in developing countries.
The World Health Organization estimates that 153 million people have uncorrected refractive errors (near-sightedness, far-sightedness and astigmatism). Refractive errors can be easily corrected with eyeglasses, yet millions in undeveloped nations lack access to basic eye care.
That’s why Lions Club International has long served as collector of used prescription eyeglasses, which are cleaned and distributed to needy people around the world.
Go to www.lionsclubs.org to see if a chapter in your area has a drop-off site.
Also, a coworker tells me that LensCrafters stores also collect used eyeglasses to give to the less fortunate.
When I do make my donation, I’ll probably take my daughter with me, so that she sees how helping yourself can also mean helping others.
Susan Simpson, Education Writer
Electronic guard dog
My cell phone rang this afternoon as I drove to a press conference – unknown number.
“Hello?”
“Hi, this is Brinks Security.”
That wasn’t what I wanted to hear.
The motion detector on my home alarm is going off. Do I want Brinks to send the police? Yes, please.
My husband and I already have had a few problems with the house we bought a few months ago – a burst faucet, flooding from rising rainwater, an air conditioner that needed new parts. I really didn’t want to have to add a break-in to the list.
I focused on the press conference and told myself it was a good sign my phone didn’t buzz again, because the woman with Brinks told me that I wouldn’t get a call if everything was OK.
Still, I called back afterward to find out what happened. Turns out, a back door somehow swung open. The police secured it and left. That was a big relief.
To the Brinks people I spoke with and the officers from The Village who responded to the call, thank you. It’s nice to know that the security company and the police will take care of my house, even when I’m not around to know something might be wrong.
Because if the house is empty and the problem is ever more than a loose back door, I feel much better knowing that there’s still, in a way, a guard dog there with the teeth to do something about it.
Do you have a home security system? Has anything ever happened at your house that made you thankful you invested in it?
E-mail me at wkleinman@oklahoman.com.
Wendy K. Kleinman, Education Writer
