Lil Bro Bush, Along With Mama And Ex-Prez Daddy Bush Are All Making Money Off The NCLB Act

 

Featured on the front page of today’s edition of the L.A. Times, was an article titled “Bush’s Family Profits From ‘No Child’ Act”.  Now, this isn’t the first time that the issue of the first family profiting from the seriously flawed (I’m being nice here) NCLB act has been raised in the media.  Although I find it a bit disconcerting that there has been enough “noise” or talk surrounding this gross conflict of interest and that more people haven’t paid enough attention to it or perhaps people truly don’t know what’s going on.

For those of you who are just now hearing of this for the first time, I’m happy to be the one to fill you in.  You see, Dubya’s little brother Neil, created a company called Ignite! Learning.  Now little brother Neil didn’t do all of that by himself.  No, Mama and Ex-Prez Daddy Bush (along with some other investors) tossed little Neil some money to help him get his new company up and running.  Now, there is nothing wrong with Mom and Dad helping out their offspring with a little financial backing when junior is trying to start up his own business.  Many parents have and will continue to do what Mama and Ex-Prez Daddy bush did.  The problem lies with the fact that, as the L.A. Times put it, “[the company that is] headed by President bush’s brother and partly owned by his parents is benefiting from Republican connection and federal dollars target for economically disadvantaged students under the No Child Left Behind Act.”

The article went on to state that the Bush owned company has “placed its products in 40 U.S. school districts . . . and at least 13 U.S. school districts have used federal funds available through the . . . No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, to buy Ignite’s portable learning centers (also called Curriculum on Wheels or COWs) at $3,800 apiece.

What makes this Bush family/ NCLB link even more foul than what it already is, is the fact that the NCLB act provides government funding to help school districts better serve the socio-economically disadvantaged and to help struggling students improve specifically in the areas of math and reading.  The problem is that this Ignite system does not have a reading component and according to the L.A. Times, the math component will not be available until next year!  WTH?    Despite that, some school districts have and are still purchasing the Bush family product and Neil Bush has stated that his program has been a success with regards to improving the test scores of disadvantaged kids.

It must be noted that there has not been many independent studies that have assessed whether or not Ignite’s learning centers and Neil Bush’s learning strategies are indeed effective and if it is worth the cost.  One school district in Tornillo, Texas, bought the Ignite learning system several years ago to the tune of $43,000.  It no longer uses it and the current superintendent, Paul Vranish stated, “I wouldn’t advise anyone else to use it.  Nobody wanted to use it and the principal who bought it is no longer here.”

Again folks, shaking my head with a whole lot of cynicism and skepticism, I don’t know about this.  Seems awfully fishy to me.  And you?  What do you think?

Check out the full article at http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-ignite22oct22,0,4402778.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Say It Ain’t So! A Link Between Television and Autism?

 

So-called experts and millions of “old-school” moms and grandmothers have been saying for years that spending hours on end in front of a television set is not healthy for children.  Now a new study, albeit not a very scientific one, seems to back what they have been saying all of along.  But this study has nothing to do with how watching television impacts intelligence or how it contributes to violence.  No, the study, which was also featured on Slate, last Monday, highlighted speculation that there could be a correlation between Autism and increased television viewing. 

The study, carried out by researchers at Cornell University, was basically a quantitative or numbers based statistical study.  It did not involve or follow any actual children with or without Autism.  Instead, the study focused on areas that saw a rise in cable television access and subscription.  Researchers noticed that along with the increase in cable T.V. came an increase in the rates of kids diagnosed with Autism in those areas.  Could it be?  I don’t know.  But, it did get me to thinking.

As, I stated in an earlier post, kids today spend more time in front of the T.V., either watching a show or playing video games.  And they seem to be doing it at a much earlier age than seen before.  Teachers, parents and caregivers have all noticed the affects, some subtle and some not so subtle, that this increase in time spent in front of the television has had on our kids – both academically and physically.

Indeed there seems to have been an explosion, to say the least, in the number of children diagnosed with Autism.  Speculation as to the cause and increase of this debilitating disorder has run the gamut from childhood vaccinations, increased environmental pollution to the environment within the womb.  Some attribute the rise of Autism to new and better diagnostic techniques.  Again, I don’t know.  But I do think that this is an issue that parents and those hoping to be parents should pay attention to and take very seriously.

I have had the privilege and challenge or working with children who have Autism and the parents affected by it.  The more we know and learn about this disorder, hopefully we can learn how to prevent it or at least learn lessen the severity and occurrence of it and how to better help those with it.

What are your feelings on the issue?

 

Check out an article on this study at http://www.slate.com/id/2151538/

Ronald McDonald Worsened My Child’s Autism

Did anyone read the article on Yahoo (and possibly other sites) about the man who has filed a lawsuit against the restaurant giant McDonald’s, who by the way are internationally renowned for their nutritious and wholesome fast food, alleging that the food served up at the restaurants contain ingredients believed to aggravate or “exacerbate” some of the behaviors caused by Autism?  The man specifically cited the fries as the culprit.Folks, as you may or may not already know, I am a teacher . . .  who has taught several kids with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, as it is formally called.  And, what you may or may not already know is that most parents of Autistic kids and the educators, therapists, medical professionals, etc. who works with them, have already heard about the suspicions that wheat/gluten and casein products may be harmful to kids with the disorder.  With that said, many parents/guardians (not all) who are living what is often a difficult life with an Autistic child, are very mindful about what that child eats.  Often, Autistic kids are finicky eaters, who will only eat certain foods, often accompanied by certain rituals which must be carried out daily.  Typically kids (and people living with Autism in general) do not like change in their routines and this would include their daily meals.  

So, after reading the article, I sat appalled at what appears to me to be just another example of a frivolous lawsuit.  We all know that other than the salads, most of everything else served up a McDonalds are fried up in tasty, oily, fatty grease that contains beef tallow.  This was revealed by vegetarian activists a while back.  What do you folks think of the matter?  

Check out the article at http://news.yahoo.com/s/ct/20061012/

Bring Back The Old Days When Kids Used To Go Outside And Play

 

Bring back the old days when kids used to go outside and play.  That’s what I felt as I was reading an article on CNN.com about America’s population approaching 300 million and the urban sprawl, increased competition for jobs and increased violence that has come with it.  But what really caught my attention and brought back nostalgic childhood memories was the issue of increased stress and its effect on kids.

“With population growth comes stress.”  The article went on to mention a study recently published by the American Academy of Pediatrics stating, “The report cited hurried lives, intense competition to get ahead, poverty and lack of open space – all related to a growing population – as adding stress to kids’ lives and depriving them of the development opportunities that old-fashioned play provides.”

Now, I’m a product of the late 70’s who can recall my formidable years as a youngster in the early to mid 80’s with great clarity.  And, what I remember most about growing up was playing outside, using white rocks to draw hopscotch squares on the black asphalt, building forts, climbing trees and just making up games and adventures – outdoors – with my brother, cousins and a few neighborhood kids.  The only video game console that existed for the longest was an Atari.  The only computers were those old Apple’s with the neon green screen (sorry kids, no Windows then) that were at school and those huge floppy disks that contained games that now look boring and lame compared to what’s out now.  My generation saw the advent of the first Nintendo and the slew of other video game systems that would follow, most of us can recall life without a microwave, VCR, definitely a DVD player, and the first satellite dishes that we ever saw were those huge, monumental, beasts that used to devour an entire back yard.  And cell phones?  Cell phones, back then, were big and boxy with long antennas that only the military, the rich, or drug dealers owned.  No cute ring tones or cutting edge designs . . . I’m rambling now. 

However, my point is that kids just don’t seem to play anymore.  With flashy and high video games, a gazillion television channels, P.C.’s and access to the internet, kids no longer have a reason or any motivation to get up, go outside and be creative.

While I truly enjoy many of the wonders of technology and modernization that has come our way, being a relatively young person who can look back at my own childhood while confronted everyday with those of my students, I am often saddened by what modern childhood has seemingly become.  What are your thoughts on this?

 

Check out the article at http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/16/300.million.main/index.html