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Controversy At Newton South High School

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Newton South High School in Newton, MA graduates have run into a major problem in their freshman year of college. Some students have been deemed ineligible to play college Division 1 or Division 2 sports based on courses already taken at Newton South High School. The NCAA, the governing body of collegiate athletics determined that incoming college freshman who had taken certain Curriculum 2 classes from Newton South High School were ineligible to play college sports. Curriculum 2 classes are taught at a slower pace than Curriculum 1 and Honors level classes.

The NCAA decision is part of their effort to ensure that incoming athletes are academically ready for college. What is even more shocking is that many other high schools throughout America also offer Curriculum 2 classes that the NCAA have approved. In fact even Newton North High School’s Curriculum 2 classes are NCAA approved.

The problem with Newton South’s curriculum came to light last summer when the NCAA deemed a graduate who wanted to play baseball at he the University of Massachusetts Amherst ineligible. He had taken some Curriculum 2 classes. Newton South High School is currently appealing the NCAA decision. Since last summer, Newton South has been able to persuade the NCAA to accept Curriculum 2 classes in math and Spanish. English, science and history classes taught at that level are still ineligible and under appeal.

New School Lunch Rules: Students Fight Back

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Most schools comply with the new low calorie limits (650 – 850 depending on grade level) by giving out smaller portions. Kids complain that after they eat lunch, they are not full. As a result of schools putting caloric limits on school lunches, some students have started to protest. Students in Kansas made a spoof video on YouTube called “We Are Hungry”. Many Wisconsin students boycotted school lunches and started to bring in food from home.

With a high school calorie limit of 850, they are not taking into account a student’s weight. For example an 85 lb freshman and 280 lb senior each get the same portions by law. Some students have to purchase 2 meals just to get full. To get the equivalent of the amount of lunch kids got last year, they would have to spend about $6 – $7 now.

These smaller lunch portions were created with the assumption that all students are getting a full and filling breakfast at home before school. Unfortunately in the real world this does not always happen. For some students this scaled back lunch is often the main meal they rely on to get them through the rest of the day. In fact this meal is supposed to hold athletes over until their late night dinner after sports.

School Lunch Regulations Silliness

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In order to comply with the new forced limits on grains, protein, sodium and fats; schools have begun to act silly. For example Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Lexington, MA has removed its SALAD BAR!!! One would assume that salad is healthy however not the government. Being afraid that the school could not control the portions of protein or grains the students would take out of the salad bar, they decided to remove it all together. In Shrewsbury, MA they decided croutons on a salad added too much grains to the meal so they banned them. Also on the Shrewsbury hit list and now banned from their salad bar are hard-boiled eggs and turkey slices because the nanny state can not regulate how much protein one will take. Whole-wheat pasta salad is also a no-no because the nanny state says that kids may get too many grains. After all of this Shrewsbury silliness, the school system brought in $10,000 less in September 2012 lunch sales than in the same month 2011.

New School Lunch Rules Tough For Kids To Swallow

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After the new federal rules designed to help kids eat healthier, some schools are reporting fewer kids are buying lunch. The new rules limit the amount of grains, protein, sodium and saturated fat that school lunches subsidized by the US Department of Agriculture may contain. Trans fats are banned and calories per meal are capped. Many students have been upset with smaller portions. For example in Brookline, MA, students have been upset with smaller less filling bagels due to these rules. They report that across the school system about 30% of Brookline students buy lunch, down from 35% last year. This is a drop of 5%. Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School in Lexington, MA reports a drop of 35% fewer students buying lunch this year since the new regulations went into affect.

Stay tuned here for hilarious yet frustrating stories of how schools are banning certain foods one would consider to be healthy, simply to comply with these new regulations dictated to them by the government. Also we will report on clever ways students are taking matters into their own hands to fight back against the nanny state.

New Autism Treatment – Early Start Denver Model Behavioral Therapy

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Intensive early behavioral therapy may normalize the brain activity in children with autism when they look at faces and improve their social skills according to a recent study. This is on top of what was previously known that it could help develop language and thinking skills. Researchers looked at 48 autistic children between 18 and 30 months. Half of the children were treated with a new type of therapy called Early Start Denver Model for 20 hours per week for 2 years. After 2 years, researchers used electroencephalograms to measure the brain activity of the children with autism as well as of children without autism while they watched faces and toys. The majority of autistic children treated with the Early Start Denver Model showed greater brain activation when looking at faces rather than objects (a response common to children without autism). The opposite was found among the kids with autism who received other interventions.

The autistic children with increased brain activity at the sight of faces also had better social and behavioral skills. The study is the first to find underlying changes in brain function along with behavioral changes after early therapy. The full study can be found in the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, November 2012.

Vaccinations Still Necessary?

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Vaccination Myth: “Serious diseases like polio have already been eradicated, so there is no need to vaccinate against them.”

While many diseases have been wiped out for the most part in the United States of America, they have not been eradicated around the world. That means you could still be at risk if you go abroad or come into contact with an infected person from overseas. In fact the increase in non-vaccinated immigrants that enter America and the increase in formerly eradicated diseases is not a coincidence. If your kids are not vaccinated, there is a good chance that they could become exposed to some major diseases and suffer like so many people did years ago.

Dissection Choice: Know the Law

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If your student chooses to not dissect an animal and is given a hard time, explain to the teacher that you know the state policy. For example in Massachusetts the 2005 State Board of Education Policy gives anyone the right to refuse to cut up animals. In fact Massachusetts residents can mention the following policy:

“All public schools that offer dissection as a learning activity should, upon written request by a student’s parent or guardian, permit a student who chooses not to participate in dissection to demonstrate competency through an alternative method.” [2005 MA State Board of Education Policy]

Look up the policy where you live and have it ready to go to avoid being intimidated.

Dissection Choice

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Many students feel the stress of peer pressure and fear of repercussions by the teacher when not wanting to dissect animals in biology classes. These students find cutting up animals to be morally objectionable, yet feel forced to do so. In fact this moral dilemma can cause grades to go way down. Some people do not realize that even though each year, 10 million animals (including frogs, cats, and fetal pigs) are killed and then cut up in classrooms across the country, humane alternatives do exist. Studies have shown that students who use alternatives to dissection perform just as well as, if not better than students who cut up animals. In most states students have the right to refuse to dissect animals if they choose and most do not even realize it. The reality is your student does not have to dissect animals if they do not want to and it is the school’s responsibility to find alternatives for each student.

Drug Controversy in Public Schools

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Many high schools throughout the country have started to take extreme and varied measures to ensure drugs are kept out of the schools. Some different yet controversial drug prevention methods include:
At more than 100 high schools in Eastern Massachusetts, drug-sniffing dogs are brought in every year to search for everything from alcohol to marijuana.
In Quincy, MA video cameras follow students in the hallways while plainclothes security guards stay alert for drug activity.
At Westford Academy in Westford, MA the principal decided to add a full time police officer to the staff.
Newton North High School in Newton, MA feels that counseling is the best way to rid the school of drugs. The school has on staff a social worker acting as the school’s prevention and intervention counselor. This person offers several group therapy sessions for students including for youths who are struggling with alcohol and drugs.
All of these schools have a common goal of preventing drug use. Which methods do you think are best and which do you think are going too far? Share your comments.

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