Taking Action by Ashley.

   I am taking action by signing a petition to get junkfood out of the YMCA. The YMCA has a partnership with PepsiCo, therefore while they are promoting children to get fit and exercise, they are also promoting soft drinks and foods of low nutritional value. With childhood obesity being one of the largest epidemics for children, it seems absolutely outrageous that a place that is supposed to promote health also promotes sugary drinks and high calories.
   Signing a petition that helps children get healthier connects with democratic values in the fact that being healthier is for the common good. For the next generation to be and stay obese as they continue to get older, there's no way to stop how much more obese the following generation will be. Being healthy is a huge part of people's lives, it makes them happier, have more self-confidence, and helps them live longer, without giving them all of the problems of high cholesterol, diabetes, or possibly depression. And isn't that what America is all about? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Give children a longer life, and the chance to be happy about how they feel and look.
   I have no problem teaching about healthy foods that we should be eating, and the epidemic of childhood obesity. Regardless of what I tell my students, I know that it will always be an opinion of theirs to make. I especially think that in this decade, parents don't have the time to always feed their children the healthiest of options, so if I can make a difference in children's minds, maybe when they go to the grocery store with their parents they will choose the grapes instead of the cookies. It's small changes like these that will begin to change the epidemic of childhood obesity.
   I think the quote, “Struggle for social justice is central to our nation’s history…Concerns about the common good and the rights of the individual, no matter how humble in social standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore in the world of teaching social studies” is true. I do believe that social justice is extremely important for our nation because what are we, if we aren't based on the principles of equality and solidarity? Teaching social studies should be on the common good and the rights of the individual, because even though the students are young when they are learning them, they can go on to do great things in their life with what we have taught them. We teach social studies in order to not duplicate what has already been done in the past, but by teaching the common good, maybe students can learn what can be done that can change our society for the better. 

   I really enjoyed doing this project on childhood obesity. It is, and unfortunately will always be, a growing epidemic. We need to change the way of the children so they do not get into habits that they pass down to their children, only to continue this epidemic. I personally liked how we connected our projects to a blog and also to the iPads. When other students were blogging, it is very interesting to see their point of view on things that I might have never thought of, but that make a very good point. 
   I believe that I will always feel strongly about childhood obesity. Obesity relates to so much more than physical problems, it becomes psychological, and now is even related to higher car related deaths, and eventually Alzheimers. If this one thing can be changed at such an early age by simply getting more exercise, eating healthier, and knowing how to balance the two, then why not do it and make the change. 
    When I was younger because my mother and my aunt, the two that raised me, were so busy with work and school, we used to get McDonald's a lot, because it was cheaper and easier when my mom would come home late and didn't want to cook us dinner. This was absolutely nothing that I could control at such a young age, but I see now that that is not the life that I want to live, for me or for my future children. While my family got out of the habit of getting fast food, (thank God, because I now think McDonalds is absolutely disgusting), some families don't have the option of cooking for their children at night and fast food is the way to go. I think by knowing this information we should absolutely make the student's school lunches healthier, but still something that they would enjoy to eat. We cannot always control what goes on at home, but we can control what happens in schools. And I believe we can start to win this war by changing the school lunches to healthier, better options. 
    If you had asked me a few months ago if teaching current events is important, I would have probably answered with an "I don't know". Now, I can confidently say that it is extremely important for us as teachers to teach current events in schools. Students need to form their own opinions and take a stance on whatever it is that they believe. They are so apt to choose the side of their parents, but we need to give them the opportunity to know why they are choosing that side if they still choose to do so. 

Taking Action by Qiaoyi

Our topic is Childhood Obesity

The link connected to my topic:

1.       http://action.naacp.org/page/s/childhood-obesity-manual

2.      http://www.completelykidsrichmond.com/2012/10/take-action-to-battle-childhood-obesity/

1B. Post individually

• What you did for a “take action” and reflect on how it felt. 

If I were a teacher in Horace Mann School, I will write a letter to parents:

Dear my students’ parents,

     You may be used to hear Childhood Obesity from news, or just used to see the children who are overweight in your life. However, as Childhood Obesity becomes one of the hottest topics in American society, we cannot only get used to it since it may influence your children’s health so much.

     Obesity is generally defined as an excess of body fat. However, there is no clear delineation between how much fat is normal and how much fat is abnormal. Furthermore, body fat is difficult and expensive to measure directly in large samples. Therefore, obesity is often defined as excess weight after adjusting for height. Body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kg/height in m2) is used in adults to ascertain obesity status, and a BMI 30 is considered obese. However, because children are growing, the age and gender of the child must be taken into account in order to evaluate a child’s obesity status (Spruijt-Metz, Donna, 2).

     In the last three decades, obesity rates have tripled in youth aged 6–12 (qtd in Spruijt-Metz, Donna, 2).

     The influences of Childhood Obesity can include Fat, Gut and Brain (qtd in Spruijt-Metz, Donna, 4). For example, it is now recognized that obesity also leads to a physiological state of chronic inflammation, which is attributed to elevated plasma levels of inflammatory markers (cytokines) such as tumor necrosis factor and interleukin 6, many of which are secreted by adipocytes themselves (qtd in Spruijt-Metz, Donna, 5). Moreover, children's mental health will be influenced deeply.

     As your children’s teachers, we will try our best to keep your children fit. Here is what we have done for your children.

No matter when it is, we will ensure your children have breakfast and lunch.

Every day, students will have at least one to one and a half hours for the gym class;

During the snack time, we will offer fresh fruits and vegetables to children;

     But after school, we need your corporation.

      Please control your children’s eating of candies, sodas, fries, chips and even hamburgers. It doesn’t mean they cannot eat those foods and drinks but asks you to control their diet. Also, please encourage your children to take exercise or just take them walk around. It will be good for their digestion as well as their physical health.  

     Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

Qiaoyi Zhu

• Reflect on how taking this type of action connects with democratic values.

Because it asks the corporation of schools and parents, the school should first be sufficient transparency in the plans of keeping students from getting too fat. After the school shows what they can do for children and give appropriate suggestions, they can get the parents’ understanding and corporations.

• Last, where do you lie in regards to teaching about social justice issues? You as an Educator need to decide for yourself what education is all about—do you believe that education is an instrument for the public good?

I think it is really important to take action to prevent children from getting too fat and keep them fit. As an educator, we should not only focus on children’s learning of subjects but also cultivate their ideas of cherishing their health.

I do believe that education is an instrument for the public good. Here, the public good means the mainstream of society. Society consists of people. If majority of people have the same attitude towards one thing and all the people follow it, they can be in harmony with each other. On the other hand, if a person learns well and knows a lot but does nothing or even hurt society, he can be very dangerous in the world.  Our work is to help people get the idea about how to lead a harmonious life.

• What do you think about that quote of
• “Struggle for social justice is central to our nation’s history…“Concerns about the common good and the rights of the individual, no matter how humble in social standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore in the world of teaching social studies”

Yes. I do agree with this quote. “Struggle for social justice is central.” In terms of politics, the action for some issues which are decided by the government is usually up to the governor’s will. If the governor represents the interest of interest groups or is supported by some interest groups, for example, the companies which sell firearms, it will never totally ban the circulation of guns. But here the will of the government doesn’t belong to individuals’ wills. So even the decision of permitting the circulation of guns is made up by the government which consists of many elites, we still treat this decision as the incorrectness.   

1C.  reflect on this whole current event project and what you learned the most out of engaging in this one topic.

Where do you stand on this topic? 
I do agree that we should take action to prevent children from getting too fast.
Give your reasons for why you believe what you believe.
As I mentioned before. Childhood Obesity will hurt children's physical health as well as their mantal health.
What are good arguments against your position?  
There is no need to take action to prevent children from getting too fast.
 
Where do you stand when you consider all sides to your topic?  

 
I do agree that we should take action to prevent children from getting too fast.
Do you think teaching using current events is important?
Yes. To know the current world can help students care about themselves (for example, their health) and apply what they learn from schools to their daily life. They are living in society which consists of people. For knowing this society, they can finally get well with others.

Here is my another thinking about this question:
 (1)    Have a wider view of the world is very important and the knowledge of the maps and the world can help students to know that the world is bigger than where they live, which may leads to take a new look at themselves.In Taiwan, as a result from many situations, many children are taught to love Taiwan and treat Taiwan Island as their whole world. This makes children have limit views about the world. So a famous writer named Yingtai Long once wrote a poem to tell her children that they need to focus on the world map, which can help them to be not always so lazy but spare no effort to pursue dreams and lead a life they desire.The situation, to some degree, happens in America as well. America is the most powerful country in this world. As a result, some Americans are not often proactive pay attention to the international news. Their many impressions about the world or some countries are based on news that is produced by medium, which usually represent some interests and offer guidance to public opinion. So exploring the world by themselves rather than follow the medium can make them have a rounded and suitable attitude to different countries and people.(2)    As we know, America is a culturally diverse country. There are so many international people around this world here. Maybe in children’s classrooms, they can meet some international classmates. So if they know where they come from, it will be much easier to make friends.

Work Cited

Spruijt-Metz, Donna. "Etiology, Treatment, And Prevention Of Obesity In Childhood And Adolescence: A Decade In Review." Journal Of Research On Adolescence (Blackwell Publishing Limited) 21.1 (2011): 129-152. Education Research Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2013.

Taking Action by Randy

    There seemed to be a lot of very empty petitions about childhood obesity.  Things that signing them pretty much just said ‘I support ending obesity,’ without specifying how.  This seems like it is not much help.  However, there was a petition for Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution.  This had a more concrete objective of serving healthier food into school cafeterias.  For that reason, I took action by signing this petition.  I am not too sure that this petition really will accomplish very much, but I do agree that serving nutritious food in schools is a valuable step toward reducing childhood obesity.

    Signing a petition is one way of helping to demonstrate the popular support around an issue.  In some ways, signatures are like votes in an election.  Even though they are not binding, like elections, elected officials should listen to the results of petitions.  If enough people sign a petition because they think that it is an important issue, it should tell local politicians that they should pay attention to it.  In that way, it is a way supporting democracy.

    Education is absolutely a public good.  In order make informed votes, people need to be educated enough to think critically and make decisions.  I think that social justice is an important part of a productive society.  If everyone in the society is healthy and well educated, the group as a whole will benefit.

    I think that the quote, “Struggle for social justice is central to our nation’s history…Concerns about the common good and the rights of the individual, no matter how humble in social standing, transcends politics and holds a definitive place in the realms of morality, ethics and federal law, and therefore in the world of teaching social studies” is partially true.  While there has always been an effort toward social justice, I think that it is not the primary goal of American society.  In America, we value personal freedom over social justice.  While we think social justice is something nice, it usually comes with the expense of added taxes and laws, things that many people think of as ‘unamerican.’

    This whole current event project has shown me that there are so many different opinions around issues.  It is hard to say that any one of these opinions is right, because there is evidence to argue a lot of different points of view.  In engaging with this one topic, the most important thing I learned is that since 2000, the number of obese children has continued to grow.  I thought that in America, the amount had sort of leveled off, but it does not seem to have.

I think that childhood obesity is a difficult problem.  With adult obesity, it is easy to blame the person, because they are responsible for themselves.  But, kids are not responsible for themselves, and need their parents and schools to make good decisions for them.  I think that what food is served in cafeterias is an important way that teachers are responsible for their students.  I do not think that anyone thinks children should be allowed to make their own choices about food.  But, I do think that a lot of people can see the school as interfering in something a lot of people see as only the parents’ right.  Even though I think that outside of school, what a child eats is the responsibility of the parent, I think that during school hours, the school does need to be responsible.  At least, the school should not make things worse by offering only unhealthy choices.  Current events is an important topic to teach.  Not only does it help make sure that students are aware of what is going on around them, but also it helps to show the real world usefulness of school.

Interview by Ashley

Andrew is a recent college graduate, and is now a contributing member to society.

Is this a problem you think is important?  Why/ Why not?

Absolutely. Childhood obesity is increasing from year to year. In my opinion it’s not necessarily the children’s fault. If I saw an obese child, I would say that its bad parenting. What’s going on in these households, are they letting their kids play video games all day, or making them go outside and get exercise.

Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? why/ why not?

The people that I associate myself around definitely have similar views.

What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?

First Lady Michelle Obama’s Lets Move campaign.

If their is policy around your issue/ problem/ topic, ask these questions:

What are advantages of this policy?

One thing is that food industry executives pledge to reduce the amount of sugar in school lunches. Pediatricians are being encouraged to measure using the body mass index upon checkups. Also, beverage makers are being forced to label their sugary drinks more clearly.

What are disadvantages of this policy?

I think this approach can be very detrimental to the thoughts of a young child. They are ten years old and we are trying to tell them what they can and cannot eat. It makes me a little depressed because their being forced to do something, especially when it comes to something to basic like eating. I think Michelle Obama is moving rather quickly with it, in regards to cutting everyone off.

How might the policy be improved?

I think it could be improved if they broke it down into a phase program, and first started with getting the kids to exercise, then teaching them to eat right, then teaching them how to balance these things on a daily basis. Instead of “Here, you need to eat this, even though you do not like it.”

Does the policy need to be replaced?  why?

No, I don’t think so. I think it’s a good policy if it’s executed properly.

What disagreements, if any, about the policy exist in this community?

There aren’t any that I know of.

Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem?

http://www.letsmove.gov/

www.google.com

I absolutely agree with Andrew. I think it is partially the parent's fault for letting their children sit around and play video games, and eat the bad foods, instead of teaching them what is better for them and making them play outside. I love his idea of breaking Michelle Obama's campaign down into a phase program. I think that if it were broken down into different parts, children would be more apt to follow it, because they would know how to balance the two. 

Interview by Qiaoyi

I. 

Interview:
First name of the person I interviewed: Xinyi--My friend and a student in Salem State University.
My topic: Childhood Obesity

Questions:
1. Is this a problem you think is important?  Why/ Why not?
Yes. I do agree with Wei that Childhood Obesity is a worldwide topic and worth being paid attention to. Apart from the fact that we can easily found very fat children here and there, I also find that the foods and drinks increase the rate of getting fatter. I heard from news that New York has banned big soda. And the reason why they did this was because the government thought it will help to decrease the rate of getting fatter. Although I haven't done any research on Childhood Obesity, I can sense how serious this topic becomes through the government's action.

2. Do you think others in our community this is an important problem? why/ why not?
 If you mean Salem State. I will say yes because I have seen many classmates and college students getting fatter and fatter, which influence their daily life badly through these years when I study here.
If you mean the circle where I live rather study, I will say no because I always hang out with my Chinese friends and strangely, they are not worrying about obesity;
When it comes to the children I met recently, I will say yes because I did find many students in Horace Mann School are facing the problem of obesity.

3. What policy, if any, does government now have to deal with this problem?
One thing I just heard is about the ban of big soda. Another is that students can always have the snack time for eating things during classes. During the snack time, they will be produced with fruits and vegetables, which are very nutritious and may help to keep fit.
I don't know much about the local policies related to childhood obesity. But I found when we give children some cookies as gifts, they will first ask for the permission from their parents then eat them. Although this is definitely not a policy, I do think is a way to deal with Childhood Obesity

4. If their is policy around your issue/ problem/ topic?
Oh, it is like the third question. I will answer the same thing.

5. What are advantages of this policy?
In terms of the ban of big soda, the advantage is to prevent children from getting fat too fast.
In terms of the snack time, the advantage is ensure students' nutrition by making them eat fruits and vegetables which are full of vitamins.
In terms of the permission for eating something from children's parents, the advantage is that children can may have the chance to keep fit under their parents' supervision. 

6. What are disadvantages of this policy?
 In the snack time, I always found students eating some fries and chips. Eating them is not healthy and may accelerate them to get fatter much fater.

7. How might the policy be improved?
Maybe during the snack time, children do not have to bring any snack by themselves. Let the schools offer all the snacks to them, like fruits and vegetables.

8. Does the policy need to be replaced?  why?
No. It is better to improve them because all the policies are useful to keep students from getting fatter.

9. What disagreements, if any, about the policy exist in this community?
Like what I said in the sixth question, during the snack time, I hope student can eat more fruits and vegetables rather fries and chips.

10. Where can I get more information about this problem and the different positions people take on this problem?
Well, I think you may ask the elementary teachers, students, your professors and some students whose major is nutrition. That is what I am thinking.

II.

 (This interview is for the snow day extra point. But I think it can also be applied here)

Interviewee: Wei Huang
Major: International Economy
Minor: Communication
Date: March 12 2013

Interviewer: Hi, Wei Huang. What is your opinion about Childhood Obesity?

Wei: Hi. Because I am a Chinese, I am more familiar with the Childhood Obesity related to Chinese. In my opinion, I think Chinese children now are getting fatter and fatter. When I was a child around seven years ago, I hardly heard from others who talked about the students' obesity. But now I always found the news about the childhood obesity in China.


Interviewer: So you mean when you were young, you and your classmates as well as many other students in China were not as fat as the students now? How come?

Wei: I think it is because our education system emphasizes on academic classes and doesn't pay enough attention to gym classes. As a result, almost every school has cut back the number of gym classes. I am not kidding. All the things I say here are from the news I heard. Apart from the unbalanced emphasis of the education system, parents should also be to blame. They don't attach importance to children's exercise.


Interviewer: You think children's parents and the education system which the schools rely on should be to blame. Apart from that, don't you think children's eating habits and the foods are also responsible?

Wei: Yes. I think you are right. But in China, I don't think these two factors are the main factors.

Interviewer: What do you think of Childhood Obesity here?

Wei: It is definitely a sharp problem here. We can tell from our daily life that many children, teenagers and college students are really fat. They give us the signal that we should not ignore Childhood Obesity.

Interviewer: You do get Childhood Obesity very well. Here is my last question. What do you think we can do for solving this problem?

Wei: Well. Definitely, the education system should have some related polices which schools can rely on and get some related ideas from. Also, the schools should make a suitable plan for students' foods. Parents also need to pay attention to children's eating and exercise. Those are what I can come up with.

Interviewer: Thank you!

My reflection:
1. Wei, Xinyi and I are good friends and all from China. Because of Wei's minor and Xinyi's major, I thought they must have something to tell me about the Childhood Obesity. However, I find maybe it is because we have the same culture background, our thoughts of this topic can be summarized in the same ways. What they thought are almost what I thought. On the other hand, they helped me to confirm that Childhood Obesity is a really serious issue.

As Xinyi mentioned, I also heard from the news that New York City has forbidden banned on sugary drinks bigger than 16 ounces in restaurants for preventing people from getting fatter. I think this can contribute to solving Childhood Obesity.

Next time when I need to do this interview, I plan to visit some people who are older than me. Or I may interview some local people.

2. I will do some research before interviewing so that I can give those who I interview some suggestions and get more ideas for interaction.

Answer Questions (Group post)

Our topic: Childhood Obesity 

1. What are the critical attributes of your current event? (remember from previous assignment (1. Read topic 4 pages  31-32/ pg 34-43 enculturation/ critical attributes/ etc)

Some critical attributes to childhood obesity are the food choices that are put in schools. The school lunches are not healthy and they have poor food selections as is. Another attribute would be the lack of exercise that students get. Schools are looking to make gym class an unnecessary class for student's education. Gym is where students get out their energy and burn off calories, so without gym, students would get no physical activity. One more attribute would be the lack of nutrition. Given the choice between a burger and a salad, the children will most likely choose the burger. They are too young to know how bad some of the things they choose to eat really are, and parents are just letting their children eat whatever they can put in their mouth.



2. How would you break the problem/ current event up into informational knowledge and procedural knowledge?   
Our topic is "Childhood Obesity." Because we may explore this topic through "what is Childhood Obesity", "why it happens and becomes hotter and hotter in current society" and "how to deal with Childhood Obesity," the informational knowledge is "what is Childhood Obesity" and the procedural knowledge is "why" and "how."

 
3. How would you break this concept up to teach us as we read the blog, IN YOUR OWN WORDS, what the concepts within the current event/ issue mean?

1. Use concept map;

2. Definition of Childhood Obesity: 

(1) Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child's health or wellbeing (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_obesity).

(2) Obesity is generally defined as an excess of body fat. However, there is no clear delineation between how much fat is normal and how much fat is abnormal. Furthermore, body fat is difficult and expensive to measure directly in large samples. Therefore, obesity is often defined as excess weight after adjusting for height. Body mass index (BMI, calculated as weight in kg/height in m2) is used in adults to ascertain obesity status, and a BMI 30 is considered obese. However, because children are growing, the age and gender of the child must be taken into account in order to evaluate a child’s obesity status (Spruijt-Metz, Donna, 2). 

 3. The current situation: Childhood and Adolescent Obesity: A Global Crises (Spruijt-Metz, Donna,3) AND in the last three decades, obesity rates have tripled in youth aged 6–12 (qtd in Spruijt-Metz, Donna, 2)

4. Culture of eating: Americans do not pay as much attention as Chinese to the foods, which I can find through the "zero" restaurant or cafeteria in some streets. And Americans' eating culture is also called fast-food culture. This culture influences digestion, the choices of ingredient as well as nutrition (I read some articles and watched programs about this topic, so I write these reasons. But I didn't search this information online, I will check this later). 

5. Climate: influences children (people)'s choices of foods.

6. the current policies: Here is part of the policies I found online: http://www.ncsl.org/issues-research/health/childhood-obesity-2011.aspx.

7. What else people can do: parents' involvement with schools; the cooperation with the companies, which produce foods or drinks, to restrict people getting fatter.

Work Cited

Spruijt-Metz, Donna. "Etiology, Treatment, And Prevention Of Obesity In Childhood And Adolescence: A Decade In Review." Journal Of Research On Adolescence (Blackwell Publishing Limited) 21.1 (2011): 129-152. Education Research Complete. Web. 18 Mar. 2013.