Best Kentucky communities for young people
Four Kentucky communities are on the list of the 100 Best Communities for Young People as named by America’s Promise Alliance in partnership with Capital One. The “100 Best” showcases cities and communities across the country that tackle challenges and demonstrate innovative efforts to deliver the five promises that young people need to succeed: caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, an effective education and opportunities to help others.
The list includes large and small, urban and rural communities and cities from 38 states. In Kentucky, those cited as best communities for young people include:
*Lexington-Fayette Urban County
*Louisville Metro
*Mt. Sterling
*Murray-Calloway County
“Nothing is more important than seeing our children and youth have the resources and support systems they need to thrive and succeed,” said America’s Promise Founding Chairman General Colin Powell.
Members of the America’s Promise Alliance include the United Way of America, U.S. Conference of Mayors, Big Brothers Big Sisters, National Association of Counties and the American Association of School Administrators.
Student writing tips for parents
This time of year, many 4th-, 7th- and 12th-grade students are working on writing pieces for their portfolios. Learning to write well is a challenge for many students, but a vital part of a student’s education.
As a parent, there are some things you can do at home to encourage your son or daughter to become a better writer.
*First, encourage them to write. Have them keep a diary or journal so they get used to putting their thoughts on paper. Have them write letters. Let’s face it -- in this age of electronics and instant communication, it’s a lot easier to pick up the phone, but letter writing encourages young people to keep what is becoming a dying art alive. Whether it be a pen pal or a relative, almost everyone likes getting mail. Have them write thank-you notes. Not only do thank-you notes show good manners, they give children a real reason to
write. Have them write e-mails. No, it isn’t as formal as letter writing, but the process is much the same. Students still must formulate their thoughts and express them through
words.
*When your child is working on a first draft of a school assignment, ask questions like “Who is your audience?” “What is your purpose?” “Why are you writing this?” “What is the assignment?” Questions such as these will help keep your student’s writing focused.
*Resist the temptation to correct your child’s paper, especially if it is a piece that may be for a writing portfolio. Coach rather than correct. While you may want to point out a few mistakes, young writers need to learn how to find and correct their own mistakes. Ask them if they have “graded” their writing against the Kentucky Writing Scoring Rubric.
*Have your child read writing out loud. This is one of the best ways to find any problems. Often, a child can “hear” mistakes more easily than he or she can “see” them. Listen while your child reads the piece aloud and respond in some of the following ways:
— “The sentence or word that stands out for me is ___________.”
— “The part that is most interesting to me is ___________.”
— “I’d like to know more about _______________.”
Offer praise about parts of the writing that work well. Ask questions about the purpose, meaning, content, ideas and organization.
Tell your child what you heard the piece of writing say. Ask questions about any part of the writing you find unclear.
*Revise, revise and revise. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are most good writings. Remind your child that writing is a process. A first draft and even a second draft can almost always be improved upon. Make sure your child has the final say in all revisions of the writing.
*Celebrate success. When your child has completed writing, whether it be a personal narrative, a feature article or an editorial, have him or her read the piece to the family. With young children, especially, you might want to display the writing on the refrigerator for all to see.
“Sharpen Your Child’s Writing Skills, a Guidebook for Kentucky Parents” offers even more tips and can be downloaded from the Kentucky Department of Education’s Web site by using the following link:
http://kde.state.ky.us/KDE/Instructional+
Resources/High+School/English+Language+
Arts/Writing/Sharpen+Your+Childs+Writing+Skills.htm
Kentucky Teens and Smoking
A recent report on Kentucky teens and smoking may have slipped by you without much notice, but is certainly worth calling to your attention.
The 2006 Kentucky Youth Tobacco Survey shows a continued decline in youth smoking rates. Smoking in middle school students dropped from 21.5 percent in 2000 to 12.1 percent in 2006. Among high school students the decline was from 37.4 percent six years ago to 24.5 percent in 2006. There was a three percent drop among all students in the last two years.
The number of teens who are trying tobacco is also down. In the last two years the number of high school students who said they had tried smoking at least once dropped from 63 percent to 57 percent. For middle school students, the number fell from 44 percent in 2002 to 36 percent last year.
The decline has been attributed to the efforts of the state’s public health programs and other organizations to reduce youth smoking, the state’s first hike in the tobacco tax in decades and the adoption of smoke-free policies in schools and other public places.
The Kentucky survey included the responses of 3,000 students in 65 high schools and 3,700 in 74 middle schools.
What’s it take to live a long life? Money? Lack of stress? Loving family and friends? While those all may help, the one social factor that researchers agree is consistently linked to longer lives in every country where it has been studied is education.
That’s right. Scientists have now proven that not only will kids who stay in school have better jobs and earn more money, they’re also likely to have better health and live longer.
So, the next time your kids start grumbling about school, remind them not only is school good for their brains, it’s good for their bodies and their futures as well!
Links to Web sites included in this edition:
Best Kentucky Communities for Young People
http://www.americaspromise.org/100Best.aspx?id=968
Student Writing Tips for Parents
http://kde.state.ky.us/KDE/Instructional+
Resources/High+School/English+Language+
Arts/Writing/Sharpen+Your+Childs+Writing+Skills.htm
Kentucky Teens and Smoking
http://www.kentucky.gov/Newsroom/chfs/Youth+Tobacco.htm
The Secret to Long Life
http://www.physorg.com/news87050324.html