Teacher should do more

Sometimes I find articles that support the idea that teachers should be able to bridge the achievement gap despite their student's background and should get to know their students on a personal level. I want to know how I am supposed to accomplish this in a 45 minute period teaching with the CA state standards. Sure I could accomplish more with my students, but how much of my own free time do I need to give up to reach out to parents and students to accomplish this? How is this fair to the teachers?

Family Conflict and Student Achievement

How many teachers can relate to this story?

By Claus von Zastrow on May 15, 2009

Robert Pondiscio at the Core Knowledge blog recently summed up the findings of a new study on the impact of family conflict on student achievement:

Children from troubled families perform “considerably worse” on standardized reading and mathematics tests and are much more likely to commit disciplinary infractions and be suspended than other students, according to a new study. Writing in Education Next, Scott Carrell of UC-Davis and the University of Pittsburgh’s Mark Hoekstra offer evidence that “a single disruptive student can indeed influence the academic progress made by an entire classroom of students.”

Robert adds his own thoughtful interpretation of the study's findings:

Poll teachers in struggling schools, and I will wager a substantial amount that classroom disruption is identified consistently as the primary barrier to student achievement. Yet it is consistently glossed over or dismissed, typically attributed to a teacher’s lack of classroom management skills. I have long believed that the time on-task lost to disruption and behavior problems is almost certainly one of the under-discussed root causes of the achievement gap. This study does a great service by confirming what many teachers and parents have intuited for years: disruption matters and has a negative effect on all students.

http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/family-conflict-and-student-achievement

Mommy Instinct

As a mom, I have learned a lot about “mommy instinct.” However, as a new mom, I sometimes feel like I need to resort to a book instead of trusting my instincts. And most of the time, my intuition was correct the first time. So I’m getting better at letting go of my analytical side and learning to go with my first instinct. I’m still not 100% confident in my mommy instinct, but I am getting better. Here is the article I am referring to:

“Intuition is not some special power that other people have. Everyone is intuitive, including you—much more than you’ve ever been told. Especially during times of change, you can count on this gift of inner wisdom to give you the right answer.

We’re so quick to follow the advice of friends, family, doctors and other people whom we imagine are more knowledgeable, more powerful or more charismatic than we are. But you’re the only one who truly knows what’s right for you. Whenever you feel an uncomfortable nudge in a direction other than the one you’re following, listen to it. Your intuition is letting you know something is wrong. Just the opposite, a deep inner peace means everything is okay.

Your feelings or intuitions won’t always match up with what you’re thinking or what you want to believe, but they’ll always tell you the truth.” © 2009 The First Thirty Days, Inc.

Where Did My Time Go?

I was reading “One Small Step to Greater Happiness,” and it reminded me how becoming a mom has made me feel like I missing out on doing things I could have accomplished more easily without a baby. Like going out when ever I wanted to, being away from home longer, planning a vacation, keeping the house organized, working in the backyard, and pursuing my hobbies. But at the same time, I reflect on how much more fulfilled my life is with my son and I think, “What did I do with my life before the baby?” Now I get (almost) the same things done in half of the time because I operate on “baby time” now. Here is the article I was referring to:

“If you want to be happier, let go of that feeling that you’re missing out. As one spiritual teacher said, you could sit on the side of the road for five years and your destiny would still find you. You aren't missing out on anything.

Stop worrying about what your life would have been like if you had chosen a different college, career, spouse, neighborhood or weekend activity. You’re already sipping margaritas in Puerto Vallarta—forget the connections you could have made at this year’s conference.

Wherever you are, let go of that persistent, nagging doubt that you should be somewhere else—that you would have been better off if you had chosen the other option. You are exactly where you’re supposed to be right now. Focus on that moment and enjoy it.” © 2009 The First Thirty Days, Inc.

"Kids Aren't Well-Rounded; They're Just...Rounded"

First published March 27, 2008

An Interview with Richard Simmons about His Campaign for P.E. in Schools

Tank top, striped shorts and all, Richard Simmons is becoming a force to be reckoned with in Washington's education policy debate. He has mounted a major campaign to get physical education into the schools and has caught the attention of key policymakers on Capitol Hill.

Amidst all this activity, he recently found time to talk me about his goals, the dire need for physical education and his frustration with the glacial pace of reform in Washington during an election year.

Richard told me about his advocacy for the FIT Kids Act, which would amend No Child Left Behind to require states, districts and schools to include the amount and quality of P.E. among the "multiple measures" by which schools are judged.

He makes no secret of his impatience with the current presidential contest, characterizing it as a political circus that drowns out calls to address the real crisis in children's health and fitness.

His own ideas for reform:

• Carve out real time in school for physical activity. The FIT Kids Act sets a goal of 150 minutes/week in elementary school and 225 minutes/week in high school.
• Enlist Certified Aerobic instructors to help P.E. teachers offer excellent physical education.
• Ensure that P.E. classes include warm up, cardio, strength training and stretching. Just hitting a ball or running around a field won't cut it anymore.
• Get kids moving to the music they love.

Calling himself "the black sheep of the fitness world," Simmons speculates that people won't take him seriously. His record so far belies that fear. He has taken his campaign to the major networks, inspired thousands of calls and emails to congressional offices, made more legislative progress than many professional advocacy organizations could even hope for, and inspired respectful coverage of his ideas from normally wonky organizations like Education Week and Education Sector.

But don't take my word for it. Listen to what he has to say:

http://www.publicschoolinsights.org/node/2347

Determining Your Calorie Needs

Dieting Dangers

As long as there is food, there will be diets. Going on a diet is often spurred by different events, such as looking good for a wedding or reaching a milestone birthday. Instead of incorporating healthy habits to lower and maintain their weight, many people jump on the dieting bandwagon for a quick fix.

dDtermining Your Calorie Needs

Knowing exactly how many calories you body needs can make or break your fitness goals. Guessing may be enough for some people, but most of us need concrete numbers to follow. Here's a "no brainer" way to figure out your calorie consumption using the high-school algebra you thought you'd never need.

Your total calories needs includes your resting energy needs (basal metabolism) and the calories you use during various activities. Your metabolic calorie needs include breathing, heartbeat, food digestion, etc. and count for 60-70% of your total daily calorie needs! These needs vary depending on your gender, height, weight, age and the amount of lean body mass (muscle) you have.

Use the information below to calculate your resting energy needs. Before you start... you'll need to know your body weight in kilograms. You can calculate this by dividing your weight in pounds by 2.2. Use that number in the calculations below:

determining basal calorie needs for men
Age:	Calculation:
10-18	17.5 x weight in kg, then + 651
19-30	15.3 x weight in kg, then + 679
31-60	11.6 x weight in kg, then + 879
Over 60	13.5 x weight in kg, then + 487
determining basal calorie needs for women
Age:	Calculation:
10-18	12.2 x weight in kg, then + 746
19-30	14.7 x weight in kg, then + 496
31-60	8.7 x weight in kg, then + 829
Over 60	10.5 x weight in kg, then + 596

Now that you know how many calories you need for day to day living, you can add more calories for your daily activities. Choose the intensity level that best fits your daily routine and multiply that by the hours you do it. Below are calorie burning ranges for common activities.

determining calorie needs for various activities
Intensity	Calories/Hour	Example
Very light	80-100	Seated or standing activities like: school, office work, driving, cooking, typing, etc.
Light	110-160	Casual walking (2.5-3.0 MPH), housecleaning, light manual labor (electrician, mechanic, carpenter, etc.), gardening/yard work, golf, etc.
Moderate	170-240	Fast walking (3.5-4.0 MPH), cycling, skiing, dancing, weight training, etc.
Heavy	250-350	Running, heavy manual labor (digging, hoeing, etc.), basketball, climbing, football, soccer, etc.
Exceptionally Heavy	350 and up	Professional athletic training.

Figure out how many calories you use during other activities throughout the day. For example, if you work at a desk all day... you burn between 80 and 100 calories per hour during your work day. If you lift weights for an hour and run on the treadmill for 30 minutes after work... add another 300 calories. Add the calories from the activities you do to your basal metabolic needs and you have your total daily caloric expenditure.

Adjusting Calories to Reach Your Goal

If your goal is to maintain your current weight, you eat enough calories to fuel your daily needs. If you want to lose weight, you should create a 500-calorie deficit everyday for safe and healthy weight loss. This calorie deficit should be a combination of increased exercise and lowering your calorie intake. If your goal is to gain weight, you should add 500 calories per day from quality foods that will give your body the additional calories and nutrients it needs to add healthy weight.

Keeping track of your eating habits and calorie intake is more effective than just "watching what you eat." Most people are surprised at how unhealthy their "healthy" diets really are. Try keeping track your exercise and diet (be honest!); then make changes so your eating plan can help you reach your health and fitness goals. Over time, you'll get used to the keeping track of what you eat and will be able to do it without much thought. It's a small price to pay for health and fitness, and you're worth the effort!

Yours In Good Health,
Denise Sarver
Master Trainer

http://www.24hourfitness.com/resources/nutrition/articles/calorie_needs.html

Teaching Your Kids About Change

If you’re a parent, one of the most important things you can do is to teach your kids about change. You aren’t doing them any favors by insulating them from this inevitable part of life.

During a speaking engagement at Amazon.com, I was asked, "how much does our fear of change have to do with the negative connotation of the word change?" I immediately thought of the tendency in this country to keep kids going to the same school, living in the same house, eating the same foods, etc. By protecting your children from change, you’re actually teaching them to avoid it, and ultimately, to fear it.

I’ve met people who say they don’t want to move because they don’t want to take their kids out of school, but it’s the parents who are scared. Kids aren’t as fragile as you think. They’re actually very good at handling change, provided they’re allowed to experience it.

© 2009 The First Thirty Days,

Fitness Myths Busted

SELF.com

By Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief - Posted on Tue, Jan 20, 2009, 5:26 pm PST

Happier, Healthier You
by Lucy Danziger, SELF Editor-in-Chief a Yahoo! Health Expert for Women's Health

Shoehorning your workout into a few days a week is challenging enough—don't make it tougher by buying into those nagging exercise misconceptions that may divert your attention from pursuing your better body goals.

SELF went to the pros to poke holes in these popular fitness myths that pervade gyms, pools and exercise classes. Arm yourself with the facts to keep you slim, strong and even smarter.

MYTH: Muscle turns into fat
REALITY: Muscle and fat are two completely different tissues that have different functions, so it's physiologically impossible to turn one into the other. If you stop exercising, your muscles atrophy, so you lose the tone you worked so hard to create. And if you eat more calories than you burn, you'll gain fat.

MYTH: You need to exercise 30 minutes straight to get fit.
REALITY: Three 10-minute cardio stints offer the same healthy payback as a single 30-minute one. If you are trying to peel off pounds, of course, the more you do, the faster you'll succeed. But don't feel guilty if all you can squeeze in is a few minutes here and a few minutes there—it all adds up.

Short on time? Ratchet up the intensity of your workout: Go hard for 30 seconds on the elliptical or jog for a minute in the middle of your walk to maintain your fitness level and your habit. And remember, anything you do—whether it's a brisk 5-minute walk or carrying heavy groceries to your car—for any period of time, provides some benefit.

MYTH: Overweight people have a sluggish metabolism.
REALITY: Though some folks do have metabolic disorders that slow their metabolism, fewer than 10 percent of overweight people suffer from them. In fact, the more you weigh, the more calories you'll burn during exercise at the same relative workload as a slimmer person. If you notice the scale climbing higher, worry about your activity level, not your metabolism. Try this fat-burning workout to really see results.

MYTH: Lifting heavy weights make women bulk up.
REALITY: Women don’t have enough of the muscle-building hormone testosterone to get bulky, even using heavy weights. The truth is, some people will gain muscle faster than they lose fat, so they may look bigger until they shed some of the flab and reveal the slim, toned muscles underneath. Shape sleek muscles with this workout from The Biggest Loser's Jillian Michaels.

MYTH: You can’t lose any weight by swimming.
REALITY: OK, it’s true that long-distance swimmers who navigate colder waters tend to retain body fat for insulation. But ask anyone who laps it up while training for a triathlon: You will sizzle off pounds in the pool, since swimming burns 450 to 700 calories an hour! One reason you might not shed flab doing freestyle? If you throw in the towel and cut your workout short. Keep it going with this full-body water workout from gold medalist Amanda Beard.

MYTH: Stretching before exercise prevents injuries and enhances performance.
REALITY: Researchers are still scratching their head over this one, since studies have yet to show conclusively that limbering up has any effect on staving off strains and other injuries. But they do know that stretching regularly can make bending, reaching, twisting and lifting easier. Best move: Save your stretching for post-exercise, when muscles are warm.

MYTH: You burn more calories exercising in chilly weather.
REALITY: If you shiver through a long run in the frigid winter air simply to experience the extra calorie burn, you might want to come in from the cold: You do torch a few extra calories during the first few minutes, but once you get warmed up, the caloric expenditure is the same whether you’re exercising in Siberia or the Sahara. Try a treadmill circuit workout with a great playlist to keep you going!

MYTH: When your body gets used to an exercise, you'll burn fewer calories doing it.
REALITY: Unless you've adjusted the intensity, you'll burn as much jogging or cycling today as you did last week, last month, even last year. Experts say that this principle only applies to exercises that we're naturally inefficient at, such as using the elliptical machine: After five to six sessions, you'll be smoother in your movements and expend fewer calories—but the difference is only about 2 to 5 percent.

MYTH: The calorie readout on machines is accurate.
REALITY: If only! Research has shown that some types of machines can be off by as much as 70 percent. The culprit? Contraptions such as the elliptical machine haven’t been around long enough for exercise scientists to develop the appropriate calorie-burn equations. On the upside, stationary bikes and treadmills, the grandfathers of the gym, generally give a fairly precise reading, particularly if you enter your age and weight.

Rather than swearing by what the machine says, use the calorie readout to monitor your progress. If the tally climbs during the same workout for the same duration, you’re working harder and getting fitter. An online calorie calculator can give you a sense of which activities burn the most.