Lifestyle
Why you should stop texting your kids at school
Virginia high school teacher Joe Clement tracks text messages sent by parents to students in his economics and government class:
- “What did you get on the test?”
- “Did you get a signed tour form?”
- “Do you want chicken or hamburgers for dinner tonight?”
Clement has a request for fogeys: stop texting your kids at school.
Parents are alarmingly aware of the distractions and mental health issues related to smartphones and social media. But teachers say parents may not realize how necessary these struggles are at school.
One wrongdoer? Mom and pa whose stream of consciousness questions create an environment of constant disruption and distraction from learning. Even when schools regulate or ban cellular phone use, it’s difficult for teachers to implement it. And the constant vibration of watches and phones occupies a critical a part of the brain, no matter whether children look at them.
Just a few changes in parent behavior could make phones less of a distraction at school. Here’s what teachers and experts recommend.
Try: Stop texting your child at school
Many parents stay in contact with their child via text messages, but school is a spot where you can deal with learning and developing independence. Teachers say that in case of a change of plans or a family emergency, you can still contact your child: just contact the office.
If the message is not urgent, it could probably wait.
Think of it this fashion: “If you got here to school and said, ‘Can you take my kid out of calculus so I can tell him something irrelevant?’ we might say no,” said central Virginia school counselor Erin Rettig.
Teachers stressed: They’re not saying parents are accountable for school cellular phone fights, they’re just saying they will do more to assist. For example, tell your children to not text home unless it’s urgent. And if this happens, ignore it.
“When kids text you things that can wait, like, ‘Can I go to Brett’s house in five days?’ — don’t answer,” said Sabine Polak, one in all the three moms who were co-founders of the Phoneless Schools Movement. “You need to stop getting involved. It just fuels the problem.”
Cut the cord from 8 a.m. to three p.m
Many parents became accustomed to constant contact in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic, with children staying at home and learning online. They have maintained this communication as life otherwise returns to normal.
“We call it the digital umbilical cord. Parents can’t let go. And they have to,” Clement said.
Parents may not expect their children to answer text messages immediately (though many do). But when students pull out their phones to reply, it opens the door to other social media distractions.
Anxiety via text message
In a parenting workshop, Rettig, a school counselor in Virginia, tells parents that they contribute to their kid’s anxiety by texting, tracking their whereabouts and checking their grades each day, which does not give children the space to be independent in school.
Some teachers say they get emails from parents right after exam grades are returned, before classes end, because kids feel the necessity (or are instructed) to report grades to their parents immediately.
Dr. Libby Milkovich, developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Children’s Mercy Kansas City, asks parents to contemplate what children are missing out on by having parents available during school hours.
“By texting back and forth with a parent, the child is not able to practice self-soothing or problem-solving skills,” Milkovich said. “It’s easy to text, but if I don’t have my phone, I have to go and ask the teacher or else I have to figure it out myself.”
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Some children who oppose bans on cell phones in schools say it is useful to contact their parents after they feel anxious or nervous at school. For children with severe anxiety who’re used to texting their parents for reassurance, Milkovich suggests regularly introducing restrictions so the kid can regularly practice more independence. He encourages parents to ask themselves: why does my child need constant access to a phone?
“Parents often say, ‘I would like to find a way to contact my child at any time,’ which has nothing to do with the kid’s treatment end result. It’s because of fogeys’ anxiety,” she said.
Take that old phone away
Beth Black, a high school English teacher within the San Francisco Bay Area, advises parents to contemplate confiscating their kid’s old phones.
Her school requires students to place their phones in a special holder when entering the classroom. However, she has seen students put their old, inactive phones there and keep the one which works.
Like many teachers, he says phones aren’t the one problem. There’s also the problem of headphones.
“Forty percent of my students come into class with at least one headphone in their ears,” Black said. “Children will place their phone in the music holder and listen to music during classes in one earphone.”
Turn off notifications
Parental control over texts is not going to go very far. So work with your kids to show off some or the entire notifications that catch their attention.
To prove how distracting smartphones are, Clement conducted a classroom experiment through which he asked students to silence their phones and switch on notifications for 2 minutes.
“It sounded like an old-time video arcade – buzzing, buzzing, ringing and ringing for a good two minutes,” he said.
Many studies have shown that students regularly check their phones during class. A study last 12 months by Common Sense Media found that teenagers are bombarded with as many as 237 notifications a day. About 25% of them come in the course of the school day, mostly from friends on social media.
“Whenever our concentration is interrupted, it takes a lot of brain power and energy to get back to the task at hand,” said Emily Cherkin, a Seattle teacher-turned-consultant who focuses on screen time management.
Teachers say the perfect school cellular phone policy is one which physically removes the phone from the kid. Otherwise it’ll be difficult to compete.
“When the phone vibrates in their pocket, their attention is now on the pocket. And they wonder, “How do I get this on the table?” How to check?” said Randy Freiman, a high school chemistry teacher in upstate New York. “You ask them a question and they don’t hear a word you say. Their brains are elsewhere.”
Lifestyle
BlaQue Community Cares is organizing a cash crowd for serious food
QNS reports that Queens, New York-based nonprofit BlaQue Community Cares is making an effort to assist raise awareness of Earnest Foods, an organic food market with the Cash Mob initiative.
The BlaQue Cash Mob program is a community-led event that goals to support local businesses, reminiscent of grocery stores in Jamaica, by encouraging shoppers to go to the shop and spend a certain quantity of cash, roughly $20. BlaQue founder Aleeia Abraham says cash drives are happening across New York City to extend support for local businesses. “I think it’s important to really encourage local shopping habits and strengthen the connections between residents and businesses and Black businesses, especially in Queens,” she said after hosting six events since 2021.
“We’ve been doing this for a while and we’ve found that it really helps the community discover new businesses that they may not have known existed.”
As a result, crowds increase sales and strengthen social bonds for independent businesses.
Earnest Foods opened in 2021 after recognizing the necessity for fresh produce in the world. As residents struggled to seek out fresh food, Abraham defines the shop as “an invaluable part of the southeast Queens community.” “There’s really nowhere to go in Queens, especially Black-owned businesses in Queens, to find something healthier to eat. We need to keep these businesses open,” she said.
“So someone just needs to make everyone aware that these companies exist and how to keep the dollars in our community. Organizing this cash crowd not only encourages people to buy, but also shows where our collective dollars stand, how it helps sustain businesses and directly serves and uplifts our community.”
The event will happen on November 24 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at 123-01 Merrick Blvd in St. Albans. According to the shop’s co-owner, Earnest Flowers, he has partnered with several other Black-owned brands in the world to sell his products at the shop. Flowers is comfortable that his neighbors can come to his supermarket to purchase organic food and goods from local vendors like Celeste Sassine, owner of Sassy Sweet Vegan Treats.
At the grand opening three years ago which was visited by over 350 viewersSassine stated that the collaboration was “super, super, super exciting” to the purpose that the majority of the products were off the shelves inside hours.
Lifestyle
Keke Palmer Recalls the Key Advice Will Smith Gave Her as a Child: “It’s Hard to Be First”
Like many young people, actress Keke Palmer went through a phase wherein she clashed along with her parents. Recently in a performance at “Toast” podcast.Palmer revealed that fellow actor Will Smith helped her take care of the situation along with her family.
As a child star who has appeared on Nickelodeon and Disney productions, the “Akeelah and the Bee” actress explained how juggling fame has affected her and her family relationships — a lot in order that she admits she once considered emancipating herself from her parents.
Although her lawyer tried to get her into counseling, Palmer said it was Smith’s words that ultimately modified her mind.
“A couple of weeks go by, I’m on the set of ‘True Jackson, Vice President’ and I get a call from a very, very unknown number. And I said, “What? If it was strange, I would not answer,” she said, mentioning that she simply went back to work. Later, while retrieving her phone, Palmer received a voicemail from the “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” star.
“Hey Keke. This is Will. We’re here filming ‘The Karate Kid’ with (my son) Jaden and I just want to let you understand that I’ve talked (to your lawyer),’ Palmer continued, impersonating Smith. “He let me know every little thing you are going through and I need you to know that sometimes it’s hard to be the first, but you may do it. Just stay focused, love your loved ones and every little thing shall be high-quality.
Palmer remembers struggling as a child with the attention and fame that got here with climbing the ladder in the entertainment industry. While trying to adjust to the demands of her burgeoning profession, the actress recalls feeling that fame meant she would have to “throw (her) family away.”
“It’s something that happens when you leave and you can become a child artist, you can be the first person in your family to go to college, or you can be the first person in your family to get married,” Palmer said: explaining her feelings at that moment. “There are so many firsts that can happen as the generations of your family grow and evolve.”
Ultimately deciding not to undergo the emancipation process, Palmer emphasized the importance of getting a healthy community when navigating the entertainment industry.
“I think I’ve always felt like a lot of people, whether they’re big names or whether they’re my lawyers, have been a good community,” she added. “Also, my parents made sure I was around (people) who would encourage community rather than discord and separation.”
Lifestyle
Issa Rae will be honored at the British Fashion Awards 2024
Issa Rae gets flowers – in style.
The 39-year-old author, actress and producer will receive the Pandora Leader of Change award at the upcoming British Fashion Awards 2024, which will happen on December 2 at London’s Royal Albert Hall, the British Fashion Council announced.
Actress and former “Insecure” co-star Yvonne Orji will present the award to Rae at the event, which serves as a significant fundraiser for the council’s foundation, in keeping with Women’s on a regular basis clothing.
“We are thrilled to honor Issa Rae with the Pandora Leader of Change Award at the Fashion Awards 2024,” Caroline Rush, chief executive of the British Fashion Council, shared in an announcement.
“Rae’s work has inspired and resonated with people around the world. “She is a staunch supporter of the civil and women’s rights movements, always advocating for equality and social justice in her acting and writing,” Rush continued. “She consistently uses her platform to highlight the lack of diversity in Hollywood and advocate for greater representation in the industry, including meeting people of color behind the scenes.”
She added: “She is wholeheartedly committed to moving the conversation forward and galvanizing voices that are typically absent and underrepresented to open doors for others. She truly embodies the principles of this award and we are very excited to celebrate her in December.”
According to the British Fashion Council website, the Pandora Leader of Change award recognizes individuals who “lead innovation” to extend representation in arts and culture. Rae will be the second-ever recipient of this award. According to official details about the award, one other actress and author Michaela Coel was honored in 2023 Elle Magazine.
“Issa Rae truly embodies the spirit of the Pandora Leader of Change award,” Berta de Pablos-Barbier, Pandora chief marketing officer, said in the release. “In this second year of presenting this award, we are (honored) to celebrate a woman whose love for her craft and community shines through in each multi-dimensional character she brings to life.”
Pablo-Barbier added: “Her passion and purpose make her a natural candidate for this award, which fits perfectly with our values at Pandora, where love is always at the center. Issa’s commitment to meaningful change and uplifting others makes her an extraordinary change leader, and we are proud to honor her.”
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