NEWSBITES
FOR KIDZÔ
FEB. 22, 2004
EDITORIAL :Impact of
diversity on children USA
New toys interact with TV :Devices respond to encoded light messages New York:USA
'A Child's Eye': Children portray their
hopes, fears: INDONESIA
Congress to select Child Ambassadors
:INDONESIA
GLOBAL KIDS :Students to compete at language event :
ALASKA, USA
KIDS AT SCHOOL :"Little Dining Tables" for
students popular in Jinan :CHINA
KIDS HELPING KIDS :Young and old folks walk for hungry
children : IDAHO, USA
Pupils up in the air on the way to the
festival : AUSTRALIA
KIDS AT WORK :Music can help children with their
homework : SOUTH AFRICA
News for Kidz Site Map Earlier NewsBites
Impact of diversity on children
By Michael J. Thomas
Guest Columnist
(Created 2/19/04 10:14:43 AM)
When we as adults define diversity, it usually encompasses
some epithets of race, ethnicity,
socio-economics, gender, sexual orientation and
many other “ism’s” of our world.
However, children are not as spatial in thought as adults,
and they rely upon the concreteness of reality to
define their experiences.
Children notice skin color, weight, hair color, height,
gender or varying physical abilities. It is through
continued experiences and maturity that these
differences become laden with values and judgments; some
positive and other negative.
To ensure that children adopt the most bias-free mannerisms
and perspectives, the initial model given by
parents is vital. We, as adults, are our
child’s first and primary teacher.
How many times have you heard an adult accidentally allow an
explicative word pass, only to have their
2-year old say it repeatedly? We must look at our children
as shadows or mirrors by which everything we
do or say will be imitated.
It is our responsibility that we exemplify what we desire to
see in our own children, both overtly and
covertly. There are clear examples of both.
An overt response to differences may be a parent encouraging
their child not to play with other children of
color. More covertly, a parent may hold
his or her child’s hand more tightly when passing someone of
color on the street. Both examples send a
clear message to children that based upon physical differences,
you should respond in a negative or
fearful manner.
As
ambidextrous in their social interactions in
order to become accepting adults. To do so, I offer a model I
developed entitled CARE, which stands for:
•Community: Children should understand that they are a part
of a larger community group. Organize
opportunities for children to play and interact
with a broader range of people gives them experience with
diverse groups so that they begin to
formulate healthy interactions with children different from them.
•Acknowledgement of differences: This is your educational
moment! You need to foster a level of
acceptance and understanding so that future
encounters with people will not seem as different or taboo.
•Responsibility: Adults need to ensure that children respond
appropriately and respectfully.
•Empathy: Empathy means that a child will not only
understand what it means to be different, but how it
may feel.
Parents and adults do have a great deal of influence to
shape the development of children, and this is
important with regard to maintaining a
diverse and open perspective to differences.
Michael J. Thomas is the Coordinator for Diversity Services
for the
licensed Social Worker by training and has
worked extensively with children and families. He is also a
current doctoral candidate at the
The information above is provided the community initiative
Success By 6® NW.
http://www.mnsun.com/archive.asp?display=story2&year=2004&storyID=129704
New toys interact with TV
:Devices
respond to encoded light messages
By Anne D'Innocenzio
Associated Press
Thursday, February 19, 2004 -
toys has arrived.
A miniature Batmobile can now rev
its engine in sync with an animated
version on TV, while a plush cat can sing
along with a DVD or video.
Toy companies, hoping to compete with video and computer
games, are
marketing toys that interact with what
children are watching on TV. But
unlike some high-tech toys of the past
that were too difficult to operate,
manufacturers promise the latest versions are
easy to use.
"Toy makers have been able to put more technology into
the toy, and still
enhance the play factor," said Tom
Conley, president of the Toy Industry
Association, the industry trade
association. He estimates that about 70
percent of the new toys introduced at this
week's American International Toy
Fair, the industry product expo,
will have some sort of microchip.
The new toys include:
Serafina, from Mattel Inc., a furry toy cat
named for a character in "The
Princess and the Pauper," that sings and wags its tail
in response to what's
happening on the DVD or video that stars
Barbie. The toy will retail for
$40.
Hasbro's "Wheel of Fortune," which allows
consumers using a handheld
wireless device to actively compete with the
contestants on the TV series in
real time. If you beat the contestant,
the TV sends a signal to download
bonus games into your device. The product
is priced at $29.99.
Ohio Art's ETO, an electronic version of its Etch-a-Sketch,
which retails
for $34.99, and uses the TV as its
sketching tool. The system comes with its
own control device that's hooked up to
the TV and allows children to create
their own original artwork, sound effects
and maze games.
Mattel's InteracTV, which allows
children to interact and learn with
characters from popular shows like "Blues
Clues" and "Dora the Explorer,"
using the TV and a DVD player. The $39.99
learning system from the company's
Fisher-Price division comes with a wireless controller that
uses sensors and
touch-screen technology.
One of the latest technologies in toys, licensed by Mattel
and Hasbro, is
called Video Encoded Invisible Light, or
VEIL, created by Veil Interactive
Technologies. VEIL is a special process that
alters the illuminous levels of
an image on TV. Humans can't detect
it, but a photosensor on the toy picks
up the signal, which then prompts the
toy to react in a certain way.
Scott Miller, vice president of business development at
Veil, said many toy
companies were interested in adopting the
technology, but the company was
careful to launch it with what it
considered "the best properties."
Mattel is using the VEIL technology initially in three of
its Batman toys,
but chairman and CEO Robert Eckert
expects the company to use it in other
toys as well. Some of the high-tech toys
sold in recent years, such as
robotic dogs and other animals, were too
complex for children. Eckert said
this generation of toys is easier to
play with.
"You can take technology too far, and it actually turns
kids off," he
acknowledged.
The Batman toys can receive signals from a new animated
series called "The
Batman," which will air this fall
on two cable channels, Kids' WB! and The
Cartoon Network. For example, the Batman action figure will
start speaking
phrases at the exact moment the cartoon
version does.
Hasbro's "Wheel of Fortune" also uses the VEIL
technology. But Mattel's
Serafina uses a less sophisticated
technology that emits signals from the
DVD or video to the toy cat through a a
small wireless transmitter that sits
next to the TV. The cat, which reacts in
80 different ways each time the
child plays the film, should be no more
than 15 feet from the TV, according
to Julia Jensen, a Mattel spokeswoman.
Some critics fear these toys may interfere with children's
play, limit their
creativity and get them hooked to TV for a
longer period of time.
"Instead of watching the television, they are now
watching the doll watch
the TV. When these kids watch a show,
they don't want to be disturbed," said
Stephanie Oppenheim, co-editor of Oppenheim Toy Portfolio, an independent
guide to toys and other media.
She added: I'll be very interested to see how these toys
do."
Oppenheim also said children like to use
their own imagination, even when
watching TV, and she believes some of these
new toys dictate "directed
dramatic play."
Diedre Dennis Wachbrit,
of
said she doesn't know much about the
toys, but, "it's important that my kids
have balance and plenty of interaction
with the natural world."
"If a toy helps facilitate that or teaches something
like reading, then I
like it. But if the toy distracts them
from the real world, and fails to
teach anything valuable, I'd say it's no
better than TV, which isn't too
good."
___________
'A Child's Eye': Children portray their hopes, fears:
Features - February 21, 2004
Bambang Bider, The
"Thank you for making our children laugh again with
this beautiful coming together," said Buchari
Arachman.
Buchari is the municipality head of
Child's Eye:
Campaigns for peace and reconciliation have been intensive
in
ethnic conflict involving the Dayak, Malay and Madurese ethnic
groups.
The foundation's art director, Jonathan Perugia,
said, "This program is to help the children explore and
recount their own stories through
photography, writing and discussion. We also hope to raise their
self-esteem and help to foster solidarity and
friendly relations between children who come from differing
environments, particularly those from
conflict-ridden areas."
The children and teenagers, aged
from 10 to 18, who took part in the workshops, produced photographs
imbued with life, spirit, joy and
merriment, as well as touching scenes. The naivete
reflected in the
photographs tells a story about the children's
lives and illustrates the problems they face. In short, these
pictures are a very powerful social
document.
A Child's Eye believes that mental awareness and the
self-respect of each individual are the first things that
must be developed to ensure that social
justice can eventually be at tained.
In each workshop the children are involved in games designed
to provide them with practical knowledge
about photography. When they return home
after their training, they can take pictures of anything that
interests them with their plastic cameras.
Every week they get together and submit their work. In this
meeting they learn more about photography
from professional photographers.
"We also discuss and study their rights and other
matters of importance to children. They are free to
express themselves naturally and
innocently, without any orchestration or coercion,"
In terms of creativity and art, these photographs excel in
quality. However, when art alone does not suffice,
we must all play an active role in
supporting national and international pledges to fight poverty and find
new ways to resolve conflicts and ensure
that the rights of children all over the world are respected.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20040221.R01
Congress to select Child Ambassadors :
National News - February 20, 2004
Slamet Susanto, The
Participants in the Indonesian Children's Congress (KAI) are
slated to choose 10 representatives to be
child ambassadors for
If they are appointed as ambassadors, they will promote the
Law on Child Protection to the public, in order
to advance children's rights.
"The would-be ambassadors understand the problems being
faced by children in
can explain and defend children' rights
well locally and within the international community," Ciptaningsih
Utaryo, the chairwoman of the congress,
told The Jakarta Post on Thursday, on the sidelines of the
congress.
The four-day congress will end on Saturday. The congress,
the fourth so far held in the country, is being
attended by 271 participants, mostly
children up to 18 years old.
According to Ciptaningsih, the
ambassadors had to promote the four basic rights of children, namely the
right to live, the right to grow, the
right to be protected and the right to participate in public affairs.
"The rights are included in a United Nations
convention, but violence against children in our community is
rampant," said Ciptaningsih,
who is also an executive board member of Sayap Ibu (Mother's Wing)
Foundation in
http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20040220.D02
Students to compete at language event :
By JEN RANSOM-Frontiersman reporter
Feb 20 2004
MAT-SU -- Ten
their bilingual talents this weekend at
the 2004 Alaska School Activities Association/First National Bank
Alaska World Language Declamation
contest.
About 400 students from across the state will meet Saturday
to compete in French, German, Japanese
and Spanish Languages.
Students compete in four categories: cultural trivia, poetry
recitation, dialogues and impromptu
monologues. The declamation was originally a
poetry-reciting contest, but ASAA began to include more
events in past years, something that
Wasilla High School Japanese teacher Carla Williams thinks is very
beneficial to the students.
"The dialogue and the impromptu are very challenging
because it is not memorized, it has to be off the top
of their heads," said Williams,
who is taking 15 of her students to compete. In order to prepare for the
contest, Williams' student must not only
practice dialogue, but must also learn poetry that will be recited on
Saturday.
"My students learn the poem, it doesn't matter if they
are going to the declamation or not," Williams said.
Palmer High School French teacher Valerie Koivunen prepares her students in a similar fashion.
"Part of my curriculum is to teach a poem to practice
memorization and to learn cadence," Koivunen
said.
"The students also pick up vocabulary that they
wouldn't otherwise be exposed to."
Koivunen has been taking students to the
declamation since 1987, and is pleased that someone from
Palmer has always placed. But, she says, that is not the
reason she takes the students each year.
"We appreciate the students who go, they're willing to
take risks," Koivunen said. "But winning
isn't
important. It's an opportunity for academic
practice ... but I do treat my students that place to dinner after."
http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2004/02/20/news/news5.txt
"Little Dining Tables" for students popular in
www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-22 17:17:50
hours, staff in government departments
and public institutions only have one hour of lunch time. That's not
enough for them to go back home to prepare
a meal for their children. So students have turned to schools'
or privately-run dining halls called
"little dining tables".
The
Xiaopeng says they can guarantee the kids a
balanced diet:
"We have invited some nutritionists to draw up a menu
for the whole semester. We'll cook for our
students according to this menu."
And in something of a first for school food, the pupils
aren't complaining:
"All the dishes here are very good. And some of them
are my favorites."
"The teachers here are very kind, and the food is
delicious. I like eating here."
The schools can provide good food at the "little dining
tables", but they can't provide a huge number of
tables. So most of them only allow junior
students to have lunch there. Many other schools haven't set up
the tables because of the
administration and personnel costs.
As a result, many private-run "little dining
tables" have opened up near the school, some of which even
provide students with rooms where they can
have a nap.
Geng Xueping
is in charge of the "little dining table" in the Shunyuan
residential area near the Shungeng
Primary School.
"I also have a child. Putting myself in other parents'
shoes, I know I must guarantee the quality and
hygienic standards of the food, to make the
parents trust us to let their children have lunch here."
However, some of these private-run "little dining
tables" don't have public health department permits.
And some provide food in quantity without giving thought to
its quality, resulting in many parents
complaining that their children have gotten
into bad, unhygienic habits when they have lunch outside
school.
In light of these difficulties, some higher-income parents
have rented apartments near the schools their
children attend and hired housemaids to cook
for them. But most parents can't afford that. The public is
now appealing on the government to
encourage schools to set up more "tables", and regulate the
private-run "little dining tables".
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2004-02/22/content_1325773.htm
Young and old folks walk for hungry children :
Chris Butler / The
Children pose for photographs behind the Liberty Bell on the
Statehouse steps Saturday after the Walk for
Hungry Children. More than 100 children and adults
participated in the event, which was organized by
13-year-old Jackie Sandmeyer. “Look around you, we are
making a difference," Sandmeyer, a student at
St.
Joseph´s School in
items such as diapers, baby food, and
cereal for distribution to low-income families.
Children listen as event organizer Jackie Sandmeyer, 13, talks at a gathering after the Walk for
Hungry
Children on Saturday morning.
Thirteen-year-old Jackie Sandmeyer
talks during the event she organized Saturday to collect donations for
low-income families. “I go home every day to a
loving family and food on the table every night. I wonder
how some survive without this,” she
said.
Chereen Langrill
The
A walk to help low income families drew people of all ages
and attracted spectators Saturday morning in
The Walk for Hungry Children was organized by 13-year-old
Jackie Sandmeyer to raise money, food and
baby care items. Nearly 100 people
attended the event.
Participants walked from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise
on
pledged baby bottles, baby food, cash and
peanut butter and jelly to those who walked, Sandmeyer
said.
Some brought cases of diapers. Others donated checks for
$100.
Bystanders who saw the group walking handed the participants
cash, she said.
The event drew people from Saint Joseph´s
School, where Sandmeyer is in the eighth grade, along
with
young children, families and students
from other schools around
“We were really impressed that people we had no clue about
were walking there with us,” Sandmeyer said.
Saint Joseph´s teacher John Pattis said the back of a large pickup truck was filled
with food by the end of
the event.
Organizers expect to know exactly how much food was
collected today when the Idaho Foodbank does a
final tally.
“I had people pressing pledge forms into my hands as I
walked,” Pattis said.
One woman told organizers she was walking at Saturday´s event because she was once homeless, he said.
Sandmeyer said she plans to hold a similar
event every year because of Saturday´s success.
“It was awesome,” she said. “Everyone was so excited at the
end. I just knew we did what we came to do.”
To offer story ideas or comments, contact Chereen Langrill
cdlangrill@idahostatesman.com or 208-373-6617
Edition Date: 02-22-2004
http://www.idahostatesman.com/Story.asp?ID=61674
Pupils up in the air on the way to the festival :
February 20, 2004
JUGGLING and learning to walk on stilts are not the usual
skills taught at primary school, but for the
children at Port Fairy Consolidated, the
lessons form part of their curriculum.
Their teacher, Terry Cole, a circus performer for 15 years,
is passing on his trade secrets to the pupils,
preparing them for an appearance at the Port
Fairy Folk Festival.
For the past seven years, the folk festival committee has
sponsored a visiting artist who has helped the
children with skills development, enabling
them to take a larger part in the town's celebrations.
Mr Cole said the children were quick
to take up the challenge and usually got comfortable in the stilts
within 10 minutes.
It's a long way to the (big) top: circus performer Terry
Cole with
stilts experts (from left) Emma Gaull, Grace Arnold and Lachlan Clapham.
(Code: 040219dw07)
Picture: DAMIAN WHITE
"Juggling takes a bit longer, about half an hour, but
most of them get it, especially the grade sixes," he said.
School principal Michael Keyburn
said the children had responded "ecstatically". "Terry has been
someone who is able to engage and enthuse
people very readily," Mr Keyburn
said. "It's amazing to see
the progress of some of the kids."
The staff too have become enthused,
with one teacher making 15 pairs of stilts during the holidays.
With the assistance of group Bushwahzee
and Mr Cole, class teachers will also rehearse the
children's
routine with them in the lead-up to the
festival.
The pupils will then perform their new-found skills in a
pre-festival concert staged in the folk circus tent,
supplemented by three additional performances
during the weekend by the years five and six pupils.
Mr Cole is also performing at the
festival with Circus in a Suitcase and The Fratellini
Brothers.
http://the.standard.net.au/articles/2004/02/20/1077072824382.html
Music can help children with their homework :
February 19 2004 at 08:51AM
homework, a German association campaigning
for humane schooling standards has recommended.
Music with a slow rhythm of between 60 and 70 beats per
minute was ideal. Classical music or slow rock
ballads are suitable but children should be
consulted in choosing the type of music they wanted to listen
to, the AHS Group said.
The music could help in shutting out disturbing outside
noises and contributed to motivation. The right
side of the brain was stimulated to
greater activity.
"Relaxing music stimulates the brain into an active but
relaxed state of mind and promotes greater mental
ability," said AHS chairman Detlef Traebert.
If in doubt parents should arrange a test period to monitor
the effect of the music on homework, he
recommmends. - Sapa-dpa
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?click_id=117&art_id=qw1077173461829B241&set_id=1