Research Study Favors School Uniforms

School uniforms will likely always be a controversial topic in education. Those who support uniforms usually discuss how wearing the same clothing takes away from peer pressure. Those who oppose of school uniforms are concerned about the students losing their identity and individuality. A study about students wearing uniforms was conducted at Oxford Brookes University. The study was conducted with 13 to 17 year old students in the Oxford area. The study found that wearing school uniforms improves student behavior. The students who wore school uniforms behaved better both inside and outside of the school. In addition, the schools who … Continue reading

Concerns of Public Education: U = Uniforms

Uniform policies are a concern in many school districts. My school system does not require or enforce a school uniform policy. However, we do have a dress code policy. Many districts are concerned about student attire and placing a uniform policy into effect. Some school officials feel that uniforms would cut down on concealed weapons and drugs in the schools, especially in middle school and high school. Others believe that having a school wide dress uniform policy would cut down on social competition among the students. Students could focus more on academics than social status and appearance. However, placing a … Continue reading

Topical Whensday: When will YOU wear a Colored Tee to Recognize Violence Against Women and Children.

Colored Tees help women affected by violence. Do you have one to donate and one to wear this Topical Wednesday in respect for women affected? The Clothes Line Project could use your donation. It is an international awareness-raising event where women affected by violence decorate a color-coded Tee shirt to be displayed as a barometer of those affected by intimate violence. Herstory: The idea for the Clothesline Project grew out of the Men’s Rape Prevention Project in Washington D.C. The men’s project claimed that while 58,000 soldiers died for the love of their country in the Vietnam war, 51,000 women … Continue reading

Getting Answers from Insurers is Difficult

My attempt to find out what my health insurance actually covers came to a stand still. The booklet mentioned something about “preventative care” being covered. However, it never described exactly what the insurer considered to be “preventative care”. A call to my insurer was enlightening. I almost feel sorry for the phone representative that ended up getting me when I called my health insurer for information today. I don’t think they get many callers who are as informed about health insurance as I am. There is an advantage to writing about insurance topics every day for over a year. The … Continue reading

Camera Phone Photos

My brother doesn’t own a traditional camera; rather he uses his cellphone to make the most of photo ops, and then he instantly shares the images with me and the rest of our family via email. He also tweets a bunch a photos, which I typically miss since I am anti-social media (little inside joke). With much of the world attached to their picture-taking PDAs it’s no wonder that photo apps are such a hot topic. Wander into photography forums these days and everyone and their brother (literally) is swapping stories about the latest and greatest apps that allow you … Continue reading

Pressure Treatment

The Thundershirt from my last pet blog made me start to wonder about pressure as a treatment for dog anxiety. As I said, I’d never heard of the practice before, so I’m curious as to whether or not it’s a legitimate calming method or something made up by Thundershirt salespeople. After spending a while researching the topic, I’m more inclined to believe the latter. Multiple searches using varied forms of the phrase “pet anxiety pressure treatment” resulted in page after page only talking about the subject specifically in relation to selling the Thundershirt. I’m ready to consider the “pressure as … Continue reading

Book Review: Ashtanga Yoga for Women: Invigorating Mind, Bodoy and Spirit with Power Yoga

Whether you are brand new to yoga or have been practicing a while, but need advice and guidance on poses to improve technique, a good yoga book can be helpful to advancing your practice. At Christmas, I included yoga books on my list for my husband. He got me a pretty good one entitled: Ashtanga Yoga for Women: Invigorating Mind, Body and Spirit with Power Yoga. This book focuses on Ashtanga Yoga. It’s a great resource for anyone beginning an Ashtanga practice and interested in detailed information about the sequences in the primary series of Ashtanga yoga. The authors, Sally … Continue reading

Summer Reading Programs

Kids are out of school and getting them to read is a challenge every parent struggles with. Studies have shown that they can lose two months of knowledge over the summer if they don’t engage their brains in something other than fun. Parents don’t have to fight this battle alone. Several businesses and websites have stepped up to offer summer reading programs to kids where they can earn cool prizes and rewards. If you haven’t read Valorie Delp’s Blog, All About BookAdventure.org., you should check it out. She discusses the advantages of using this website to encourage homeschooled children to … Continue reading

Kinship Foster Care

My last two blogs defined kinship adoption and discussed its advantages and disadvantages. This blog is about the related topic of kinship foster care. Some estimates say that nearly half of the children in foster care are living with relatives. This is very hard to measure, as many families may be taking care of grandchildren, nieces or nephews informally. As with kinship adoption, the major advantage of kinship foster care is that the children are with someone familiar instead of being further traumatized or frightened by being placed with strangers. Many children also find living with relatives to be less … Continue reading

Encouraging Your Child to Read

Reading is very important in a child’s academic career. Besides taking a reading course, reading is involved in other subject areas. Math involves reading word problems. Science and history both involve reading. Most adults read on a daily basis. Our lives are full of books, magazines, paperwork to sign, and forms to complete. Fluent reading and comprehension can help your child become a very successful adult. As a parent, there are things that you can do to encourage your child to read. The more a student reads, the more efficient he/she becomes at it. Following some of the simple activities … Continue reading