Schools turn to unconventional methods to raise cash. PLUS: Kids get too much of a good thing, a girl is suspended for shaving her head, and Game Boy gets into the hall of fame.
BUYING BETTER GRADES — The tough economy has been hard on everyone, including those in education. With voters turning down bond issues in droves, many schools are turning toward unconventional methods to raise cash. Take, for instance, Rosewood Middle School in Goldsboro, North Carolina. The school is selling extra test points to its students: $20 is worth 20 points, which can be spent in 10-point increments. Say little Bobby flunked a history test, snagging just 57 points on their knowledge of the civil war. Now at Rosewood, students can “spend” 10 points on the terrible test, and viola! Little Bobby now has a high “D.” Principal Susie Shepherd says that the points aren’t enough to make a huge difference in a child’s year-end results, but the North Carolina Board of Education believes that allowing students to spend their way to higher grades teaches middle schoolers the wrong sorts of lessons. (Associated Press)
TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING? — For years, we’ve been told the America’s youth — the same ones filling church youth groups across the country — are getting more obese because of lack of exercise. Now, researchers are telling us that that’s not necessarily so. According to a new study from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, high schoolers between the ages of 15 and 18 are getting about the same amount of exercise they did in 1991. That’s not altogether positive, since just a little over one-third of youth (both then and now) exercised enough, according to the government. Still, you’d not expect the nation’s obesity rates to have increased as much as they have the last two decades. Researchers suspect that, while exercise rates may be holding steady, youth may simply be eating more than they used to. Just an extra 20-calorie tortilla chip can equal a two-pound weight gain if that tortilla chip isn’t burned off through exercise. (Time)
AUSSIE SUSPENDED FOR SHAVING HEAD — A 15-year-old girl was suspended from her Catholic school for shaving her head in solidarity with her cancer-stricken dad. The girl, Emily Pridham, says her father is battling leukemia and has been given just a few months to live. Pridham opted to shave her head to raise awareness — as well as perhaps a bit of money. “Basically my way of coping is to try and help other people going through the same thing,” Pridham said. Her school, however—Mount Alvernia College—says that Pridham won’t be allowed back to school until her hair grows back. (news.com.au)
MARIO WOULD BE SO PROUD — The Game Boy — Nintendo’s ubiquitous pocket gaming system that’s sold around 120 million units since its inception — was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame. It beat out such childhood favorites as Cabbage Patch Kids, the Rubik’s Cube and (gasp) Hot Wheels cars to join the Big Wheel and the ball. (IndustryGamers.com)
