Should iPods be banned from schools?

Schools banning iPods to beat cheaters

MERIDIAN, Idaho - Banning baseball caps during tests was obvious — students were writing the answers under the brim. Then, schools started banning cell phones, realizing students could text message the answers to each other.

Now, schools across the country are targeting digital media players as a potential cheating device. Devices including Apple Inc. iPods and Microsoft Corp. Zunes can be hidden under clothing, with just an earbud and a wire snaking behind an ear and into a shirt collar to give them away, school officials say.

Shana Kemp, spokeswoman for the National Association of Secondary School Principals, said she does not have hard statistics on the phenomenon but said it is not unusual for schools to ban digital media players.

"I think it is becoming a national trend," she said. "We hope that each district will have a policy in place for technology — it keeps a lot of the problems down."

Using the devices to cheat is hardly a new phenomenon, Kemp said. However, sometimes it takes awhile for teachers and administrators, who come from an older generation, to catch on to the various ways the technology can be used.

Some students use iPod-compatible voice recorders to record test answers in advance and them play them back, said 16-year-old Mountain View junior Damir Bazdar.

Others download crib notes onto the music players and hide them in the "lyrics" text files. Even an audio clip of the old "Schoolhouse Rock" take on how a bill makes it through Congress can come in handy during some American government exams.

Kelsey Nelson, a 17-year-old senior at the school, said she used to listen to music after completing her tests — something she can no longer do since the ban. Still, she said, the ban has not stopped some students from using the devices.

"You can just thread the earbud up your sleeve and then hold it to your ear like you're resting your head on your hand," Nelson said. "I think you should still be able to use iPods. People who are going to cheat are still going to cheat, with or without them."

STOP Emotional Eating!

It's not always calories, fat or any other diet factor that causes people to become overweight. For many people, the trigger to overeating is stress, and the answer is mastering relaxation techniques. One recent study found that people who had no strategy to deal with stress gave in to eating temptations every time; those who responded with positive thoughts and action -- taking a walk, listening to music -- avoided emotion-based eating 85% of the time.

I admit, I have been an emotional eater since I was young. It got worse at times in college and then really bad my first year of teaching. At the time I didn't think of myself as an emotional eater. But I now know that when I am stressed, frustrated, upset, etc...I turn towards fatty, salty foods. Usually, knowledge is power, but even when I know I am stressed, I don't work through it...lately I just eat.

It's hard to work through the emotional eating. It really takes a peron to feel good about themselves to stop from grabbing for food. When I am not feeling so pisitive towards myself i will eat to cope with whatever negative thing is happening in my life. However, if I am feeling positive about my self-concept, I deal with the negative situation differently...not with food.

So, with adults and teens we need to focus on our inner self and make ourselves feel good, proud, and positive towards who we are. that's not the easiest thing to do.

RELAX... I don't own a cow!

Teachers "purify" students with cow urine

MUMBAI (Reuters) - Indian teachers sprinkled cow urine on low-caste students to purify them and drive away evil, reports said on Saturday, in a country where millions of people remain oppressed at the bottom of the ancient Hindu caste system.

Upper-caste headteacher Sharad Kaithade ordered the ritual after taking over from a lower-caste predecessor at a school in a remote village in the western state of Maharashtra earlier this month, the Times of India reported.

He told an upper-caste colleague to spray cow urine in a cleansing ceremony as the students were taking an examination, wetting their faces and their answer sheets, the newspaper said.

"She said you'll study well after getting purified," student Rajat Washnik was quoted as saying by the CNN-IBN news channel. Students said they felt humiliated.

Hinduism reveres the cow, and its dung is used in the countryside as both a disinfectant and as fuel. In 2001, Hindu nationalists promoted cow's urine as a cure for ailments ranging from liver disease to obesity and even cancer.

The newspaper said the two teachers were arrested after angry parents complained to police. They have been released on bail.

BERRY GOOD!!

All types of berries (strawberries, blueberries, cranberries, blackberries) are low in calories and rich in disease- fighting nutrients. For a quick health kick, add berries to yogurt, cereal, sorbet and smoothies. Fretting because you have to wait until they are in season? In the off-season, pick up unsweetened frozen berries to get the same nutrition benefits all year round!

VIRGINIA TECH

BLACKSBURG, Virginia (Reuters) - Police on Wednesday pored over the writings of a student who massacred 32 people at Virginia Tech university, searching for further clues as to why he went on the worst shooting rampage in modern U.S. history.

This kind of violence truly mesmorizes me...what in the world gives a person the right to think that they can take another's life?!? This HAS TO STOP. The Amish School reopened after that man killed 10 girls about a month ago...then the boy who killed a guard and teacher on that reservation in Minnesota...there's so many...

My heart aches for these slain students...maybe it because I am a teacher and I don't know what I would do if anything like that happened to any of my current or former students. It's hard enough when you lose a student to an accident (we miss you Kwizera and think of you often) but for it to be done on purpose, that's a whole different story.

HOW DO WE HELP KIDS REALIZE THAT THEY ARE TRULY SPECIAL?

Health Tip: Never Share Prescription Medications

HealthDay News) -- Although you may be tempted to use a medication that has been prescribed to someone else, this is a dangerous practice.

Even if you have similar symptoms, the American Academy of Family Physicians warns:

• The medication could have been prescribed for someone of a particular gender, size or age, and may not be appropriate for someone else.
• The medication may react with other drugs that you take.
• Your body may react differently to the drug than the person for whom it was prescribed.
• The dosage written on the prescription label may not be appropriate for you.

Study: Antidepressants may help kids

By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO - Authors of a new comprehensive analysis of antidepressants for children and teenagers say the benefits of treatment trump the small risk of increasing some patients' chances of having suicidal thoughts and behaviors.

The risk they found is lower than the one the Food and Drug Administration identified in 2004, the year the agency warned the public about the drugs' risks in children. After the warning, U.S. youth suicides increased and some mental health experts said reluctance to try antidepressants might be to blame.

The new analysis includes data from seven studies that were not part of the previous FDA analysis, including two large pediatric depression trials that were unavailable three years ago.

Researchers analyzed data on 5,310 children and teenagers from 27 studies. They found that for every 100 kids treated with antidepressants, about one additional child experienced worsening suicidal feelings above what would have happened without drug treatment. In contrast, the FDA analysis found an added risk affecting about two in 100 patients.

There were no suicides in any of the studies. The antidepressants included Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, Celexa, Lexapro, Effexor, Serzone and Remeron.

FULL ARTICLE http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070417/ap_on_he_me/antidepressants_children_1

Skim milk best for pumping up muscle mass

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Weightlifters who drink skim milk after a workout will build about twice as much muscle as those who rely on soy beverages, a new study suggests.

What's more, milk is far cheaper than supplements specifically designed to help weightlifters pump up after a workout, Dr. Stuart M. Phillips of McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, the study's lead author, told Reuters Health. The researchers used powdered skim milk in the current study, available in any grocery store.

"I have done these calculations and figure that ounce for ounce milk is 20-30 times less expensive than most supplemental protein sources available," he said in an e-mail interview.

Consuming protein after "pumping iron" is known to help build muscle mass, Phillips and his team note in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, but it is not clear whether some types of protein are more effective than others.

Quickly digested or "fast" proteins, including whey and soy, cause a temporary flood of amino acids into the blood, they explain, making more of these protein "building blocks" available for uptake by muscle. Proteins that take longer to digest, such as casein that is found in milk, produce a more gradual and long-lasting increase in blood levels of amino acids. While these "slow" proteins don't promote muscle formation, they do prevent muscle breakdown.

FULL ARTICLE http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070417/hl_nm/skim_milk_dc_1

Does less trans fat make food healthier?

By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Mon Apr 16, 7:55 PM ET

WASHINGTON - A major change in the national diet is under way: Heart-damaging trans fat is rapidly disappearing from grocery aisles and restaurant food, too. But are its replacements really healthier?

It's a tricky time for consumers, because the answer depends on the food — and some are losing trans fat only to have another artery clogger take its place, that old nemesis saturated fat.

"Right now the public has to be very careful ... if something says 'trans fat-free,' what else is in it?" warns Dr. Robert Eckel, past president of the

American Heart Association.

Trans fat has become the new fall guy for bad nutrition. Chain restaurants are struggling to get it off the menu after New York City and Philadelphia required restaurants to phase it out by next year. Bills to restrict or ban trans fat in restaurants or school cafeterias have been introduced in at least 20 states.

FULL ARTICLE http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070416/ap_on_he_me/healthbeat_which_fats_4

Breaking up is hard to do....yeah, right...

BERLIN (Reuters) - Business is booming for a Berlin entrepreneur's unique service -- delivering break-up messages for a fee.

Bernd Dressler, who charges 50 euros ($68) to tell people they have been dumped, says he has helped end 200 relationships in the last 11 months.

"I almost never get invited in for a coffee," he told the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper on Monday. "Most of the time they're totally surprised."

Breaking the bad news only takes about three minutes and often leaves the message recipients in a state of shock, said Dressler, a trained economist.

People wanting to dump their partners in person can make use of coaching sessions given by Dressler, who also offers help for those wanting to save their relationships or apologize for going astray.

Why raiding the fridge at night is a bad idea

You can eat after dark without blowing your diet, but be carefu

By Lisa C. Cohn, R.D.

MSNBC contributor

Updated: 5:26 p.m. CT April 6, 2007

Lisa C. Cohn, R.D. • Profile • E-mail

Judy, a 39-year-old suburban mother of two and a veteran dieter, was convinced that fasting after 7 p.m. would help give her back the body she had in college. But clocking calories left her feeling unsatisfied by bedtime.

Like many dieters, Judy fell for some magic rule such as "no eating after dark." But it's not so much when you eat as what and how much that really counts.

---

Sure, it's better to get most of your calories earlier in the day when you are most active. In general, you will lose weight easier if you finish dinner earlier because you’ll have more time to burn off the calories. Also, sleeping with a full stomach can promote weight gain because the food energy you just consumed will not be used (you burn fewer calories during sleep), so the fat will be stored.

On top of that, going to sleep with a full stomach can promote indigestion, labored breathing and extra work for the heart. You are also likely to not sleep as well and may feel physically uncomfortable.

But unless you hit the sack within 2 1/2 hours of sundown, you'll likely become hungry between dinnertime and bedtime. Most people start craving a snack about three hours after a meal.

It's OK to allow yourself a 100-150 calorie after-dinner snack — preferably something fresh or less processed, such as a dozen nuts and a small fruit, or a piece of low-fat cheese and a small bunch of grapes. Some fresh herbs with dinner, or a handful of berries or three cups of popcorn can help you sleep through the night better without ruining your diet.

Starving yourself after dusk can backfire by sending you desperately scrounging for snacks at midnight.

FULL ARTICLE http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17956109/

Fitness Tip

Lose 5 lbs. a year without dieting.

One simple change in your daily routine can help you burn extra calories and shed excess pounds. Anything you do every day to burn an extra 50 calories will save you the equivalent of five extra pounds over the course of a year. It can be as easy as parking your car a mere five minutes further from your office each morning and then walk briskly to your desk and back again after work. That's easy weight loss in just 10 minutes a day!

Cut Salad Dressing Calories

All salad dressings are not created equal. If your low-cal, low fat favorites are not on hand when dining out, save calories and fat by ordering the dressing on the side and using it as a dip. This controls the amount you use, and still lets you get the flavor with each bite. For even bigger savings, ask for balsamic vinegar and enjoy the tangy flavor on your salad with zero calories or fat!

Abstinence students still having sex

Study tracked 2,057 young people in government-funded programs

WASHINGTON - Students who participated in sexual abstinence programs were just as likely to have sex a few years later as those who did not, according to a long-awaited study mandated by Congress.
Also, those who attended one of the four abstinence classes reviewed reported having similar numbers of sexual partners as those who did not attend the classes, and they first had sex at about the same age as their control group counterparts — 14.9 years, according to Mathematica Policy Research Inc.
The federal government now spends about $176 million annually on abstinence-until-marriage education. Critics have repeatedly said they don’t believe the programs are working, and the study will give them reinforcement.

FULL ARTICLE http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18093769/

Does drinking your fruit and veggies count?

Sure, juice is nutritious, but you're better off sticking with solids
By Karen Collins, R.D.
Special to MSNBC.com
Updated: 6:23 a.m. PT April 13, 2007

Many of us have trouble meeting recommendations to make vegetables and fruits a major part of our diets. Is drinking more juice the solution?
Research supports categorizing juice as a nutritious beverage, but juice cannot provide the full benefits that come from eating solid vegetables and fruits.
Evidence continues to accumulate on the many ways that vegetables and fruits promote good health, reducing risk of major chronic disorders such as heart disease and cancer. Although for more than 20 years Americans have been told a mostly plant-based diet lowers cancer risk, American’s consumption of produce has grown slowly.

FULL ARTICLE http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18057874/

Picking FROZEN Dinner

The clock is ticking, and you need dinner fast. To find the best frozen meal, focus on the fat (no more than 3g per 100 calories), saturated fat (no more than 1g per 100 calories) and sodium (no more than 200mg per 100 calories). If this is your main course, make sure you get adequate protein (15 grams) and fiber (3-5 grams). One way to boost fiber and make a frozen dinner more filling: Serve 1 or 2 cups of fresh or frozen vegetables (with no added fat) on the side, or toss a large fresh salad.

THIRTY-SEVEN SCHOOL DAYS LEFT...

THIRTY-SEVEN school days are left...that's just over a month. We will survive. Students (and teachers) are beginning to feel the "fever". I'm not too bad this year. I'm barely even counting down. I think it's weird how teachers, like students, look forward to the end of the year. You'd think we'd be a bit more professional about it! We have it pretty good...working only 10 months out of the year, we get all holidays off and at least 6 weeks vacation!! WE DEFINATELY EARN IT!

Treating Psoriasis

(HealthDay News) -- Psoriasis is a chronic condition that causes red, scaly, itchy patches on the skin.

While there is no cure, psoriasis can be controlled with these common treatments, listed by the National Psoriasis Foundation:

• Topical ointments and creams, including salicylic acid and topical steroids.
• Lotions, bath solutions and other nonprescription topical preparations to help soothe symptoms and reduce scaliness.
• Light therapy, including UVB and lasers.
• Prescription systemic medications, a term used to describe drugs that affect the entire body. These drugs are usually reserved for people with moderate-to-severe cases.

Knock Down Cholesterol

It's not just about diet -- physical activity makes a huge difference, too. Exercise improves your blood cholesterol profile by lowering your levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol and, more important, boosting your levels of HDL (protective) cholesterol. It also reduces your overall risk of dying prematurely and helps you control your weight; significantly reduces your risk of dying from coronary artery disease or a heart attack; helps your heart pump more blood with each contraction; reduces your risk of developing high blood pressure and helps lower existing high blood pressure; and improves blood circulation throughout your body.

Don't Boil Your Food

When you boil vegetables, it leaches out the potassium that is essential in blood pressure control. Steam, bake, roast or microwave instead. A boiled potato, for example, loses up to half its potassium, as do most other vegetables. This is particularly true when you use large amounts of water that just gets poured down the drain.

Bananas vs. High Blood Pressure

Boosting your potassium intake, as well as your calcium, while limiting the amount of processed food you eat goes a long way in regulating high blood pressure. Bananas, beans, tofu and potatoes are all rich sources of potassium. Bonus blood-pressure control tip: Maintain a healthy diet, with at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables per day.

Drink Before You Get Thirsty

As we age, thirst becomes a less sensitive indicator of dehydration. Up to half of all Americans suffer chronic mild dehydration that can cause fatigue, headache and loss of appetite. Women should aim for about nine cups of fluids daily; men should try for 12. Drinking more than six glasses of water each day cuts the risk of developing bladder cancer in half. Some evidence suggests that staying well hydrated reduces the risk of colon and breast cancer.

Color and Mood

RED
Associated with:
VITALITY, ENERGY, COURAGE

Physical effects:
Stimulates brain activity, increases heart rate, respiration and blood pressure, gives energy and self-confidence.

ORANGE
Associated with:
HAPPINESS, INDEPENDENCE, CONFIDENCE

Physical effects:
Energizes, stimulates the appetite and digestive system, removes inhibitions, and fosters sociability.


YELLOW
Associated with:
AWARENESS, WISDOM, CLARITY

Physical effects:
Energizes, relieves depression, improves memory, increases awareness, perception and understanding. Also stimulates the appetite.

GREEN
Associated with:
BALANCE, LOVE, PEACE

Physical effects:
Soothing, relaxing mentally as well as physically, helps alleviate depression, nervousness and anxiety, offers a sense of renewal, self-control and harmony.

BLUE
Associated with:
KNOWLEDGE, RELAXATION, HEALTH

Physical effects:
Calming, lowers blood pressure and decreases respiration. Ideal for sleep and over-active children. Enhances communication and decision-making.

INDIGO
Associated with:
INTUITION, IMAGINATION, UNDERSTANDING

Physical effects:
Strengthens intuition and imagination, increases dream activity. Helps connect us to our unconscious mind.

VIOLET
Associated with:
CREATIVITY, WISDOM, INSPIRATION

Physical effects:
Suppresses appetite, provides a peaceful environment, relieves tension, and is good for migraines. Promotes inner strength, wisdom, kindness, artistic talent and creativity.

I'm Back...

Okay...so I guess you people are actually reading this blog! I have had so many of you ask me when I am going to update it...so here I am! I would say the semester has gone well. There are the students that still don't think they need to listen to anyone...they are going to have a rough life. Maybe not a rough life...but someone will end up teaching him/her a BIG lesson and it may not be pretty!! I really appreciate the students that just do what they need to do. It's easier to enjoy ourselves in the classroom!

Fitness Day 2

Many of you freshman are making it through our second day of fitness classes pretty well. I know it's different, but stick with me this semester because no matter where your fitness level is...athlete, weekend warrior or couch potato...it doesn't matter. You will be more fit and have more energy.

Whatever you feel like on Fitness Days...having a great day, having a terrible day...GIVE ME 100% OF THAT DAY! It's all about effort. Help me to see that you are giving it all you got. That means more to me than how many push ups you can do or how fast you can run.

FIRE UP!!

www.212movie.com

Go to www.212movie.com and watch.