July 27, 2008
etc. (News You Need)
- 3 TAPPED FOR AMERICAN CIVIC EDUCATION TEACHER AWARDS. The 2008 American Civic Education Teacher Awards, recognizing exemplary work preparing young people to become informed and engaged citizens, have been given to Sally Broughton of Monforton Elementary School in Bozeman, MT; Cheryl Cook-Kallio of Irvington High School in Fremont, CA; and Julie Kuhnhein of Highlands High School in Fort Thomas, KY. The awards are given annually to elementary and secondary teachers of civics, government, and related subjects who have demonstrated special expertise in motivating students to learn about the U.S. Constitution, Congress, and public policy. ACETA is sponsored by the Center for Civic Education, the Center on Congress at Indiana University, and the National Education Association. The ACETA winners receive an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington in July to participate in an educational program that includes observing committee hearings in Congress, meeting members of Congress and other key officials, and visiting sites such as the National Archives and the U.S. Supreme Court. Applicants must be full-time classroom teachers of grades K–12. No fee is required to apply, and applications and materials for the 2009 awards will be available online in January.
- CHICAGO’S FIELD MUSEUM. If you find yourself in the city of Chicago this summer, be sure to take the kids to The Field Museum, where among other fascinating exhibits, they can see “Mythic Creatures: Dragons, Unicorns & Mermaids,” through September 1, 2008. The new DNA Discovery Center is a permanent display that opened on May 2. While there, do yourself and the environment a favor by purchasing a credit for $1 to offset the impact that your travel to the Museum has on global warming. Your $1 purchases carbon offsets in the Chicago Climate Exchange market and funds the development of renewable energy technologies, forest conservation, and habitat restoration projects. Every little bit helps, and it’s another lesson for students of all ages to learn.
- TWO ANGRY MOMS. Would you like your kids to have healthy food choices at their school cafeteria? Are you tired of getting the run-around from administrators of your local schools? A movement is afoot to make changes for healthy kids: Two Angry Moms. This effort grew out of the partnership between award-winning film producer Amy Kalafa and Dr. Susan P. Rubin. Both women are advocates of holistic health and nutrition, and both have a vested interest in seeing better food choices become available at their local schools—their kids are eating in the cafeterias, but they bring their lunches from home! Ms. Kalafa produced the film Two Angry Moms, which is available for screenings around the country. Dr. Rubin has begun an organization called Better School Food: BSF’s mission is “to raise awareness of the connection between food and children’s health, behavior, and learning.” To learn how you can join the Angry Moms effort, visit their Web site. Never underestimate the power of determined parents (especially moms who are fed-up, so to speak)!
- TEAM AMERICA ROCKETRY CHALLENGE. Countless hours spent designing, hand-building, and testing model rockets has paid off for 100 teams that will be vying for the sixth annual Team American Rocketry Challenge (TARC) national title at Great Meadow in The Plains, VA, on May 17. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) sponsors the contest, which offers more than $60,000 in scholarships and other prizes for winning participants. About 7,000 middle and high school students on 643 teams from 43 states and the District of Columbia took part in the qualifying rounds of competition this year. The aerospace industry faces a looming workforce shortage, so this number of enthusiastic and creative potential aerospace engineers is encouraging to the Challenge’s sponsors: the National Association of Rocketry, NASA, the U.S. of Department Defense, the American Association of Physics Teachers, and 34 AIA member companies.
- PEW INTERNET AND AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT REPORT. Today’s teenagers are writing all the time — instant and text messaging, emailing, blogging, and posting on social networking sites—but they don’t think of those communications as “writing” in the school sense. In a recent Pew Internet and American Life Project report, “Writing, Technology and Teens,” 87% of youth ages 12–17 said they engage at least occasionally in some form of electronic personal communication—while 60% of teens say they don’t think of these electronic texts as “writing.” Why does it matter? Because teenagers and their parents believe that good writing is necessary for future success. Eight in ten parents believe that good writing skills are more important now than they were 20 years ago, and 86% of teens believe that good writing ability is an important component of guaranteeing success later in life. The catch is that many of the informal devices used in those technology-driven communications (such as emoticons and text shortcuts) are creeping into the teens’ more formal school-based writing assignments—is this “good writing”? The Pew Charitable Trusts sponsored the survey in conjunction with the National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools and Colleges.