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Telly in the children’s bedroom not a good idea, says new report

January 22, 2013

Peter Singhatey Education People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

Telly in the children’s bedroom not a good idea, says new report.

Following the Christmas period, many children’s bedrooms may look like mini digital hubs, with all sorts of new televisions, tablets, laptops and smartphones in the possession of children. The debate over whether or not to have televisions in a child’s bedroom is often a personal one, with some parents deciding to allow televisions albeit with strict limits.

New research due out this month by the Pennington Biomedical Research Centre in the US has found, perhaps not surprisingly, that having a bedroom television could have a far greater impact on health and obesity levels among children than previously thought…

How to parent girls: my guide to health and happiness | Hadley Freeman | Comment is free | The Guardian

January 14, 2013

Peter Singhatey Education Education, Parenting, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

How to parent girls: my guide to health and happiness | Hadley Freeman | Comment is free | The Guardian

via How to parent girls: my guide to health and happiness | Hadley Freeman | Comment is free | The Guardian.

Females. Can’t live with ’em, can’t sustain the human race without ’em. But! You can write books about them, so they’re not entirely without merit. Just a week into the new year and two well–publicised books – Leslie C Bell’s Hard to Get and Steve Biddulph’s Raising Girls – are about to be published, telling us what to do about these young female-type people who are, they say, deeply, deeply troubled, beset on all sides by confused cultural messages, promiscuity and eating disorders (“Lions and tigers and bears – oh my!”)…

Schools ban photos to stamp out cyber bullies via @independent_ie

December 5, 2012

Peter Singhatey Education, Irish News Education, Ireland, People & Society, peter singhateh 1 Comment

Schools ban photos to stamp out cyber bullies via @independent_ie.

SCHOOLS have been told to ban all students from taking photographs of other pupils or members of staff under new guidelines to combat cyber bullying.

The radical advice from secondary school managers is the latest move in the drive to combat electronic bullying through social media websites, text and picture messaging, email, chatrooms and gaming sites.

In its advice to 400 schools sent out last week, the Joint Managerial Body (JMB) said the only exception should be when the pictures were specifically required for a school project. The damage caused by cyber-bullying, which has been linked to some recent teen suicides in Ireland, has forced schools to improve their response to the fast-growing problem.

A ban on the generally harmless activity of taking photographs in school, other than in limited circumstances, shows the extent to which the management body has to go to protect its staff and pupils in the age of social media…

The simple magic of learning to spell

December 5, 2012

Peter Singhatey Education Education, People & Society, peter singhateh 1 Comment

The simple magic of learning to spell.

Your child has picked up a book, understood what they’ve read and now, in the third part of our literacy series, it’s time to help with spelling

Who needs spelling? Isn’t that what spell-check is for? Well despite advances in technology, there is still a need for children to learn to spell in order to write and convey their thoughts. Spelling is essential for written communication.

Many people will remember the Friday spelling test: learning lists and lists of words, only to write them down and have your classmates correct them – gold star optional.

The problem with this method is that being good at memorising lists of words is no guarantee that a child will be able to reproduce the same words at a later date. There are many reasons why children struggle with spellings…

UK parents want ban on pupils leaving school at lunchtime via @independent_ie

November 6, 2012

Peter Singhatey Education Early Education, peter singhateh, UK Leave a comment

UK parents want ban on pupils leaving school at lunchtime via @independent_ie.

Parents in the UK want teachers to ban children leaving school premises at lunchtime to stop them buying unhealthy snacks or takeaways, according to newly published research.

A poll of 12,000 parents by Laca, which represents school catering managers, found 73pc of parents in favour.

A readers’ guide to learning Chinese

October 17, 2012

Peter Singhatey Education China, People & Society, peter singhateh Leave a comment

A readers’ guide to learning Chinese.

Do you want to learn Chinese? You do if you know just how important the language is going to be in your future. Here’s how to get started

ARE WE ALL TRYING TO LEARN CHINESE?

We should hope so. China could soon overtake the US as the world’s largest superpower. Across Ireland, students are getting ready for a sea change in global politics. Chinese language and culture are set to form a core part of the overhauled Junior Cert syllabus (see panel). Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn has also announced plans to offer Chinese as a Leaving Cert subject. University College Dublin and University College Cork already offer undergraduate and postgraduate degrees with Chinese language and cultural components…