LilSugar

Celebrities Phone Truant Students and Tell Them to Get to Class

Heather Maddan — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:00:27 PST

Kids who skip school in New York City may be answering to Magic Johnson. In order to get truant students to school, Mayor Bloomberg has launched an initiative that sends recorded celebrity messages to lackadaisical youngsters and encourages them to get to class. A New York Times report said:

The campaign, appropriately named "Wake Up! NYC," rolls out next week. It will focus on the 6,500 students who have been absent for 10 or more school days in a single year and attend one of the 25 schools whose principals volunteered to join the effort. If it yields results, it will be expanded citywide, where roughly 250,000 students miss at least one month of school in a given year, officials said.

Children who shake off school can grow into uneducated adults, so empowering people at the get-go is a common-sense approach. What do you think of this program?

41 States Don't Require Students to Learn Cursive

Rebecca M Gruber — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 12:00:54 PST

Just print your John Hancock here. It may sound funny, but given the current educational standards across the US, few tots may know how to sign their name by the time they graduate from high school. To date, 41 states have adopted the Common Core State Standards for English, a new set of standards students are expected to learn before graduation, which doesn't include cursive writing. Though 71 percent of LilSugar readers believe that script should still be taught, more states are removing it from their curriculum as they aren't assessed on kids' ability to use it, and there is more of a focus on learning the QWERTY keyboard. States like California and Massachusetts have added the longhand style of writing back into their schools, but Georgia will make a decision when administrators meet in March.

If your school doesn't require students to learn cursive, would you teach your children?

Jamie Oliver Brings His Message to West Coast, Australia

Katie Sweeney — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 10:30:03 PST

British chef and healthy-eating-habits advocate, Jamie Oliver, is on the move. He's taking his reality show, Food Revolution, to the West Coast. Oliver and his family will settle into the LA area in January, and filming will start later in 2011. The format of the second season of Food Revolution will differ from the first, although there will be an element that involves schools.

Oliver hoped to film in the cafeterias of the Los Angeles Unified School District, but the superintendent's office has denied his request, "our feeling was that his time would be better spent or invested in other communities," a representative for the schools said. Producers for the show are on the lookout for families with children who need dietary help.

Oliver's other attempts involve Australia; today he launched the "Ministry of Food Australia" campaign in which he'll set up regional centers that teach people how to enjoy nutritious food. The Queensland government will donate $2.5 million over the course of four years to Oliver's agenda. "These cooking classes are fun, produce delicious food from fresh ingredients and really take the fear out of cooking," Oliver said.

At a time when it seems hard for a single individual to make a difference, it's refreshing to see Oliver fight for change. What do you think about his efforts?

America Gets Schooled: Is Your Child Getting the Best Education?

LilSugar — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 13:00:00 PDT

Kids are back in class, but are you happy with your child's education? Parents want the best for their children so some responsibility falls on moms and dads to make sure that the public (and private) schools in America provide kids with a bright future. The country's success depends on it. How do you feel about the system?

Check back on Lil for our interview with director of Waiting For Superman and father of three Davis Guggenheim.

When Is It Appropriate to Take Your Child Out of School?

LilSugar — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 05:00:39 PST

A Brownie troop peddling Girl Scout cookies outside of Sugar HQ in the middle of a weekday sparked this question: when is it appropriate to pull your child out of school? For some parents it is only on rare occasions like to accommodate a family reunion or a doctor's appointment, while other moms and dads allow their children to accrue numerous absences so the family doesn't have to travel during the peak season or to beat weekend traffic on road trips. Growing up, one student in my private school could stay home whenever she wanted if she reimbursed her parents for the missed day's tuition. What is your opinion on this issue?

Are Family Friendly Schools the Future of Education?

LilSugar — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 09:00:45 PST

From carpools to free snacks and babysitting during PTA meetings, some schools offer small perks so parents can actively participate in their children's education. My daughter's school even has a program that provides eighth graders to babysit your children (free of charge, the students get community service hours) during the school's annual fundraiser. Do you think these types of conveniences will become more mainstream in the future? Tell us which family friendly programs your child's school offers.

Should Parents Be Responsible For Kids' Actions in School?

LilSugar — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:00:47 PDT

Sit down and behave yourself will take on a new meaning in British schools this year. Under a government plan, parents of children enrolled in state schools will be required to sign a Home School Agreement regarding rules on attendance, behavior, school uniforms and homework. Should kids break the rules, their parents could face court proceedings and a fine up to $1,600. In explaining the reasoning for the new rules, the British schools secretary said:

If the large majority of parents are doing the right thing but a small minority do not engage you can have one lesson for 30 kids disrupted by one child. Every parent will have to, as part of the admissions process, say they take on board the obligations in the Home School Agreement, and every parent will be expected to reaffirm that every year.

In a rather unique twist, parents will have the ability to complain about other moms and dads that are not complying with the agreement. If the parents are found guilty, the courts can force them to attend parenting classes to ensure better behavior. Would you want to see such rules enforced in the United States?

No More A's, B's, and C's For New York Elementary Schools

LilSugar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 14:00:31 PDT

Students in New York Elementary Schools will no longer receive traditional letter grades - A, B, C, D, and F - to evaluate their performance. A new grading system assigns a number - 1, 2, 3, or 4 - to assess the student's skill set. Across the nation, numerous schools have adapted to the standard-based report card system. As a parent, what's your opinion?

Must Read: Edible Schoolyard - A Universal Idea

partysugar — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 16:15:38 PDT

Alice Waters has been making waves in the food industry lately, so many that she's appearing on 60 Minutes this Sunday. Along with other prominent foodies, she's strongly urging President Obama to promote local, sustainable eating by petitioning for a White House garden.

To solve the country's obesity crisis, Waters believes, we should plant more gardens, and not just any garden, but schoolyard gardens. If you can teach a child to grow fresh, in-season fruit and vegetables, you'll awaken their senses and teach new skills. Essentially, it will change the way they think about themselves, food, and the world.

This is the concept that Waters eloquently presents in Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea ($24.95). The book describes the history of the garden Waters created at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School, in Berkeley CA. To find out what I thought of it,

Arkansas Teacher Used Tape to Get Students to Sit Still

LilSugar — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 05:00:52 PDT

Parents send their kids to school assuming it's a safe place to learn, but that wasn't the case in one Risen elementary school. An Arkansas first grade teacher has been placed on administrative leave after angry parents of nine of her twelve students brought child abuse allegations against her. They are accusing the educator of taping their young children to their chairs as punishment for not sitting still. The Sheriff's Department, DHS and the school board are all investigating the situation.