Why Study Patterns? Guided Notes

1. You can .

2. You can .

3. You can .

4. You know when and how to .

5. You can .

6. You learn to .

7. You can distinguish whether information is .

8. Your brain .

9. You can your reading

.

10.You can discover the

11.You can take

12.You can

13.You can answer questions more .

14.You will be able to answer questions more

15.You are better able to .

16.You can organizer ideas so that you write better .

17.You can become a .

18.You can apply these patterns to your other classes

19.Pretty much all nonfiction is organized into seven patterns:

a. : Cause/Effect, Compare/Contrast, Topical, Chronological, Technical

: Problem/Solution, Thesis/Proof, Opinion/Reason

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Reading Expository Text

Expository text is nonfiction text, and that makes it a different – and often more difficult – type of reading. When you read narrative, or fiction, text, you know what to expect because you know STORY GRAMMAR. In other words, you know to expect characters and setting, a complication in the plot followed by a climax and resolution. You have learned how to recognize tone and themes and other fiction-related concepts.

But expository text is different. Generally, expository text is divided into two categories: informative and persuasive. Within each category you will find different sorts of organization. Look at the table below:

Informative Patterns Persuasive PatternsCause/Effect

1 cause/multiple effects 1 effect/multiple causes chain-link cause effect multiple causes/multiple effects

Problem/Solution (current events) problem effect(s) cause solution

Compare/Contrast similarities differences

Thesis/Proof (science, business) thesis background (definitions, research studies) proof (or evidence) implication

Chronological organized by time, sequentially organized by steps in a process

Opinion/Reason(editorials) opinion background (why author has this opinion) reason recommendation

Topical main idea subtopics detail

Technical contains jargon (specialized language) illustrations (charts, graphs, diagrams) step-by-step how-to not usually read from start to finish

As you begin to read expository text, your first question should be, “Is the author’s purpose to inform or to persuade?” Once you have determined the author’s purpose, you can begin to examine the way the text is organized and to assign it to a pattern of organization. Why should you bother? If you can predict how text is organized, you will read more quickly and with better comprehension. You will also find it easier to recall the information in a logical sequence after you finish. That becomes especially important when what you are reading is a test passage on a test such as the ACT or SAT or ASVAB.

So how do you tackle expository text?

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PATTERNS of ORGANIZATION:

All information can be divided into four categories:

TOPIC: This is the SUBJECT MATTER (SM) of an article. To find the topic, you ask, “What’s it about?”

PREMISE: This is the GENERALIZATION (G) of an article. To find the premise, you ask, “What is the author saying about the topic?” or "What was the author's underlying idea when she/he started to write this?"

DETAILS: The DETAILS (D) give the specific facts, reasons, and examples of the article. To find the details, you ask, “Who, What, Where, When, Why?” The answers to these questions are the FIRES.

SIGNIFICANCE: If the writing is persuasive, the author may also include a persuasive argument called the SIGNIFICANCE (Sig.). To find the significance, you ask, “So what does the author want me to do about it?” Not all persuasive writing contains a significance.

You may find the above information in two ways within the article you are reading. It may be DIRECTLY STATED, or you may have to make an INFERENCE based on the details the author gives.

INTRODUCTORY DEVICE and PIVOTAuthors frequently begin with an introductory device. They do this for three reasons:

1. to get the reader’s attention,2. to introduce the topic, and3. to give background information.

When the author uses an introduction, you have to use critical reading skills to recognize when the author stops the introduction and states the topic, for often the introductory material will not help you predict exactly what the author’s main point will be.

You can recognize when the introduction ends by watching for PIVOT words and phrases. The pivot is often negative, and it signals that the first generalization is coming.

Two examples are as follows: “But not everyone.”“In other words, he’s a rarity.”

FOCUS AS YOU READ AND VARY YOUR RATE

As you read, you should be focusing on thoughts, not words. You want to chunk information together and recognize what is the main point and what is supporting detail. This focusing and interaction with text will help you to build and maintain your concentration.

As you do this, you want to vary your rate to suit your purpose. Your RATE depends on two things: your purpose and the level of difficulty of the material you are reading. The more you have to remember, the more slowly you read. The more difficult the material is, the more slowly you read. Here are some general guidelines:

Purpose: Rate Comprehension WPM for entertainment rapid 50% 600to find main Idea fairly rapid 70% 400to find MI and key details average 80% 200for complete mastery slow 100% 50-10

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METHODS OF ELABORATION

Authors elaborate on information (give details) in five ways.

1. Facts2. Incidents/Anecdotes3. Reasons4. Examples/Evidence5. Statistics

You may find FIRES in the TEXT or in the GRAPHICS such as charts, maps, pictures, and other visuals.

PERSUASIVE PATTERNS:In a persuasive pattern, the author is trying to convince you to change your mind, your actions, or both your mind and your actions. The author will present evidence and follow that with information on what the target audience could do to effect change. Sometimes the author also gives SIGNIFICANCE; asking the question “What does the author want ME to do about this” can identify this. Not every article has a significance because the reader cannot take action in all instances.

1. PROBLEM/SOLUTION (P/S)This persuasive pattern of organization has four parts. P/S is commonly found in current event topics.

PROBLEM To find the problem, you ask, “What’s wrong?” or “What’s the problem?”

EFFECTS To find the effects, you ask, “What is happening because of this problem? What are the results?”

CAUSES To find the causes, you ask, “Why is this problem occurring? Why do we have this problem?”

SOLUTION To find the solution, you ask, “How can the target audience fix or eliminate this problem?”

EXAMPLE:P = More teens are smoking.

E = Teens are more easily addicted and often are hooked as smokers for life. The longer a person smokes, the more likely it is that s/he will develop smoking-related diseases.

C = Cigarette advertising specifically targets teens. Teens smoke because of peer pressure.

S = Ban cigarette advertising symbols such as Joe Camel, which specifically target teens. Educate teens as to the dangers of smoking.

Sig. If you don’t smoke, don’t start; if you do smoke, quit.

2. THESIS/PROOF (T/P –Also called Thesis/Evidence)

The subject matter of this persuasive pattern is often scientifically based, and you will be convinced of the author’s thesis because the evidence is well-documented and accurate.

Thesis/Proof is a pattern commonly found in psychology, medicine, engineering, and in some advertising.

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THESIS: To find the thesis, you ask, “What is the author trying to prove?”

BACKGROUND: To find the background, you will ask, “What do I need to know to understand this subject?” The answer may be in the form of definitions or historical data. This is sometimes prior research studies that have been carried out.

PROOF: The evidence will consist of the facts, reasons, examples, and statistics that the author uses to prove his thesis. You will ask, “What evidence does the author present which proves his thesis?”

IMPLICATION: The implication is the action you must take to avoid dire consequences. You will ask, “What does the author say the target audience must do to avoid negative consequences or achieve maximum benefits?”

EXAMPLE: T = Smoking is dangerous and may cause illness and death.

B = Scientific studies begun in the 1950’s led the Congress to pass a law in 1963 requiring cigarette manufacturers to place a warning label on all cigarette packages.

P = Two thirds of all smokers develop smoking-related diseases. Half of all smokers have serious health consequences. Eight out of ten smokers die of smoking-related causes such as cancer.

I = Smoking is dangerous and deadly, so no one should smoke. Tobacco should be banned.

SIG. = If you smoke, quit. If you don’t smoke, don’t start.

3. OPINION/REASON (O/R)The subject matter of this persuasive pattern is often controversial in that you will be able to find opposing viewpoints and arguments on both pro/con sides of an issue. Some examples of O/R topic are abortion, gun control, euthanasia, the death penalty, and legalizing drugs.

Opinion/Reason is a pattern commonly found in book/movie/music review, in politics, in most advertising, in essays, and in editorials or editorial cartoons.

OPINION To find the author’s opinion, you ask, “What does the author believe?”

BACKGROUND To find the background, you will ask, “What do I need to know to understand this subject?” The answer may be in the form of definitions or historical data.

REASON To find the reasons, you ask, “Why does the author believe this?” You will find facts, reasons, examples, and anecdotes that support the author’s point of view. But remember, the author often will NOT include information that supports the opposing viewpoint.

RECOMMENDATION: The recommendation is the author’s statement of what he would like the target audience to do or believe. You will ask, “What action does the author want the target audience to take? What does the author want his audience to believe?”

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EXAMPLE: O = Abortion is morally wrong and should be illegal.

B = Hundreds of thousands of women each year have abortions. Hundreds of thousands of couples each year wait for children to adopt.

R = All of the genetic coding necessarily for life to develop is present in the fetus at the moment of conception. If you abort a fetus, that is the same as murder.

Rec. = Roe v. Wade should be repealed, making abortion illegal. Churches should counsel against the immorality of abortion.

SIG. Write your congressman today and lobby for legislation, which would overturn the Roe v. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in 1975.

Signal Words

Description SequenceComparison/

ContrastCause/Effect &

Problem/Solution

to begin withmost importantalsoin factfor instancefor example

on (date)not long afternowasbeforeafterwhenfirstsecondthen finally

howeverbutas well ason the other handnot only ... but alsoeither ... orwhilealthoughunlesssimilarlyyet

becausesincethereforeconsequentlyas a resultthis led toso thatneverthelessaccordinglyif ... thenthus

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Face-to-face with acne

Tuesday, March 16, 2004 By Kyle Curry

Knight Ridder Newspapers 

How familiar is this scenario?

You wake up one morning and start preparing to give a class presentation. As you plan your speech, you glance in the mirror and spot that cursed sign of teen angst: a zit.

Almost 85 percent of people between 12 and 24 years old suffer from acne, "making it the most common skin disease in America," according to the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases.

Why those years in particular? Hormones.

"Acne is a hormonally driven skin condition in both males and females," says John Rupp, a dermatologist in Kansas City, Mo.

The process begins when hormones, typically testosterone, cause glands in the skin to be clogged, resulting in the formation of blackheads, pimples and cysts. These glands, called sebaceous glands, ordinarily help oil the hairs in the skin, keeping them lubricated.

What happens is this: Material, usually dead cells or skin oils, blocks the pore, called a follicle, for the sebaceous gland. When the follicles are covered by this collection of cells and oils, it is known as a blackhead. When the follicle is covered by pus, it is known as a whitehead. These are the typical pimples.

Worse conditions, such as cysts, result from pockets of liquid building up under the skin. If not treated, cysts can cause infection.

What can be done about acne? For starters, if you pop your pimples -- stop! Not only can it leave an unsightly mess on the mirror, but it also can cause acne scarring. Don't depend on tanning to prevent the skin from creating pimples, Rupp says. Tanning can create another problem -- skin cancer.

Various acne medications use different methods to prevent redness, reduce pustule presence or counter the effects of acne-causing hormones. Those meds that tackle redness and whiteheads attack the problems in the skin itself. Those that counter the hormonal effect work inside the body.

People who are using several products at once should "be mindful of irritation effects," Rupp says. Dryness from taking several medications at the same time can damage the skin more than acne.

As for alternative medications, ranging from acupuncture to lasers, Rupp says they are effective but generally cost more than pills or creams.

When it comes to buying acne medication, choices can be made between name-brand and generic products.

"Some generics are as equally effective as name brand," Rupp says. Also, prescriptions are made for individual cases, while over-the-counter material is generalized for everyday use.

Prescription medications should be sought for more extreme cases. Check with a physician or dermatologist before taking any meds and know what to look for as possible side effects.

Accutane, one of the better-known prescription drugs, works by flushing the system of potential acne-causing material. Amnesteem, a new generic based on Accutane, works in a similar way. These represent the "pill" variety of medications that usually require a prescription.

Clearasil, Plexion, BenzaClin and Triaz Pads represent the "face wash" variety. These affect the skin itself, whether by hiding redness or targeting the bacteria in inflamed areas. Some require a prescription.

When acne is gone, often the worst part remains: scarring.

Different methods for repairing scarred areas include laser resurfacing, skin fillers and microdermabrasions.

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Skin fillers involve putting a substance into the skin, but effects are temporary compared to laser resurfacing. Laser resurfacing has the best odds of restoring skin to the fullest potential by having a laser slowly remove each layer of scarred skin until the non-affected layers are on the surface.

As much as anything else, acne is a psychological dampener that can cause depression and lower self-esteem.

"Acne is the one unavoidable stumbling block in the teenage years," says Hunter Sheaks, a junior at Leavenworth High School in Leavenworth, Kan. "It is how we handle its presence that shows our character."

646; 9.5

This article appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on March 16, 2004.

From: Acne.orgMyth Acne is related to dietReality Prevailing wisdom in the dermatology community is that diet and acne are not related.

Of course science is never a 100% reliable enterprise. But at this time, there is no evidence that chocolate, sugar, oil, milk, seafood, or any other food causes acne. Some people absolutely insist that a certain food causes acne for them, or that a specific acne diet works for them. In this case, doctors sometimes recommend that they avoid that food or follow that diet. Regarding chocolate specifically, several studies have been performed, and the answer to "does chocolate cause pimples?" is a resounding "No".

Myth Washing your face more often will help clear up acneReality Facial blemishes are not caused by dirt. Contrary to what you may have seen in

commercials, pores do not get blocked from the top down. Rather, an entire pore collapses from deep within the skin, starting acne formation. Frequent washing does nothing to prevent this. Over-washing is actually irritating, and excess irritation can worsen acne. A washcloth can aggravate this situation further. Use bare hands to wash and only wash twice a day.

Myth Stress causes acneReality Stress is not a very important factor in acne despite what you may have heard. Drugs

that treat severe stress may have acne as a side effect, but stress itself is no big deal. Your time is better spent determining the right course of acne treatment rather than feeling guilt about stress.

Myth The sun will help get rid of acne Reality The sun may work in the short-term to hasten the clearing of existing acne while

reddening your skin, thus blending your skin tone with red acne marks. However, a sun tan is actually skin damage. Sun exposure causes irritation which can make acne worse. The sun is a short-term band-aid which will often bite back with more acne in the weeks following exposure.

http://www.acne.org/myths.html

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Bullied … by the teacher? New research suggests the problem is more widespread than parents realize, here's how you can protect your child from the most unexpected bully of all.

Raising KidsBetter Homes and Gardens – September 2003

by Kathleen M. Heins

When Barbara Brown's son, Christopher, forgot his social studies assignment pad at their home, she didn't think there would be any problem when she went to his school to drop it off. Her son's teacher took the pad without comment.

But instead of simply handing it to Christopher before class, the teacher hurled it at the boy, saying, "Your mommy brought this for you," while the whole class watched. Embarrassed and humiliated in front of his peers, Christopher could think of little else for the rest of the day.

Parents hear a lot about schools dealing with bullies, but typically the bullying involves kids harassing other kids. Now, new research suggests what some unlucky children and their parents have known all along: Teachers can be bullies too.

While the vast majority of teachers are compassionate, selfless people who care more about making a difference than drawing big paychecks, it takes only one teacher with a chip on her shoulder or an attitude problem to turn a child's academic experience into pure torture. And these adult bullies assault their targets the same way their student counterparts do: using the classic bullying tools of verbal abuse, public humiliation, and even threats of physical harm. For this story, we interviewed several teachers who have witnessed a range of bullying behavior from their colleagues--instances where teachers have slammed their students into walls, or made children stand outside in the rain or snow, near windows where they could be seen by their classmates.

We also talked with parents whose children have been victimized by adult bullies. Many refused to give their names or even tell where they live,

so fearful were they that the bully in question might read this story, recognize himself in it, and take revenge on the children.That kind of unreasoning fear has helped to make bullying the challenging social problem that it is. To make the situation worse, there's not much out there to help parents who are faced with bully teachers.

"There is very little written on this topic. Teachers do not admit to bullying, and administrators generally do not allow researchers to ask these types of questions," says Dorothy Espelage, Ph.D., a psychologist at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana and an expert on school bullying

But Dr. Stuart Twemlow, codirector of The Peaceful Schools Project in Houston, Texas, which develops programs to reduce bullying and school violence, is about to expand research in this area. in Twemlow's new study, "Teachers Who Bully Students: A Hidden Trauma," 25 percent of teachers surveyed admitted to bullying a few times. Two percent stated they did it frequently. Considering the fact that a given teacher will probably have hundreds of students in his or her classroom during a career, two percent can add up to a lot of kids.

There are no simple solutions to bullying. As Dr. Twemlow observes, bullying is a complicated social problem, what he calls "the result of a defective and abusive social system to which everyone contributes." It may be hard to bear that concept in mind when it's your child who is being targeted for ridicule, but it's a perspective worth keeping as you try to find a solution to the problem.

WATCHING FOR SIGNSWhen teachers bully their students, the kids often don't say anything, especially to parents. After all, kids have been brought up to recognize the teacher as the authority figure of the class, the one who looks out for students and makes sure that everyone is treated fairly. To have that same figure pushing them around and embarrassing them in a classroom is as confusing as it is traumatic. Here are some signs to look for:

CHANGES IN YOUR CHILD'S BEHAVIOR. Most kids, boys in particular, are reluctant to say anything. "Kids being bullied by the teacher may suffer from headaches, stomachaches, have nightmares, may not want to go to school, lose interest in learning, act up, and make self-deprecating remarks, such as 'I'm so stupid!'" says Gary Namie, Ph.D., author of The Bully At Work. Grades may also suffer.

ANY COMPLAINTS OF BEING "PICKED ON." Kids and even their parents sometimes don't recognize the bullying behavior for what it is. Pay close attention whenever your child complains about being picked on in front of the class, especially if it involves one particular teacher. Many parents have viewed some of these teacher behaviors as normal punishments going back to the days of the dunce cap, especially when punishment involves public display, such as having to stand against the wall in the school cafeteria or even in the corner of the classroom. In fact, any kind of punishment that hinges on public humiliation should be prohibited. Just because we've heard of such things and even experienced them when we were students, doesn't mean it should be acceptable.

SIGN OF CONTEMPT. If your child tells you about a confrontation with a teacher, try to get the precise details, such as the teacher's facial expressions and tone of voice. Rolling of eyes and heavy sighs or huffing directed at a child tell the entire class: "This is a child who's hard to like." Heavy sarcasm, a patronizing or mocking tone of voice, let alone yelling at kids, are all forms of undesirable emotional mistreatment.

Therese Jordan's daughter (Therese didn't want to reveal her name or age) had A's in every subject except art. Unfortunately, that one B would keep her daughter from attending an annual special event--the prestigious "All A's Breakfast." That might not have been so bad, but the art teacher couldn't resist publicly noting the exception. Therese, herself a teacher in Milford Township, Ohio, recalls that the art teacher gleefully announced to her daughter's entire art class: "Oh, gee, guess I kept you from the 'All A's Breakfast' this year."

When the same teacher repeated the offense the following year, Therese was appalled.

"Teaching is a noble profession and we entrust educators with more than teaching our children academics: how to respect each other," she says. "Kids get in trouble when they make a smart or sarcastic remark the rules should apply to teachers as well."

FINDING PEACEFUL SOLUTIONSIf you think your child is being bullied by a teacher, you can help stop it, but only by keeping your cool and not stooping to a bully's level. Don't head for school armed with threats and a desire for revenge. Approach the situation with an open mind. If you're fortunate, the incident is an isolated one.

"Teachers are often with 22 to 35 kids and it would be inhumane to think they'd never slip and say something inappropriate," says Jane Conoley, Ph.D., dean of education at Texas A&M at College Station, and an expert in student-teacher interaction. Some steps to take:

1. ARRANGE A MEETING. Set up a time to meet with the teacher when you can have her full attention. Approach the teacher in a calm, courteous, professional manner and listen carefully to what he has to say, As much as you can, try to have a 'Let's work this out' approach. In the interest of fairness, you owe it to yourself and the teacher to hear both sides of the story. There's always a chance your child has misinterpreted or overreacted to something that was said or done. Try to be open-minded.

2. PUT IT IN WRITING. From the first meeting, establish a paper trail. Handing the teacher a written account of your concerns and keeping notes on meetings and phone calls sends a clear signal that you're watching what's happening and you're serious about coming to a resolution. Avoid writing down "The teacher is mean, nasty, and cranky." It's unproductive and is only going to create a more adversarial relationship between you and the teacher.

Instead, give examples of what's been occurring, using nonjudgmental language. This puts the focus on the facts and makes it harder to dispute the details, says Betsy Schulte, an elementary school counselor in Colerain Township, Ohio.

3. BE PREPARED TO GO HIGHER. If the meeting with the teacher doesn't resolve anything, it's time to get the principal involved, although if a bully has been allowed to thrive on staff, it may be because the principal has not exerted the right overall control, says Conoley. And if that's the case, don't be afraid to climb the supervisory ladder. Going to a school superintendent or lodging a formal complaint with the school board is well within your rights as a parent.

Whatever you do, don't just hope the problem will go away on its own. "Too often parents do nothing," says Guy Stickland, author of Bad Teachers. Sometimes that's because they fear the bully will retaliate against their child, or that their concerns won't be taken seriously. But second-guessing yourself only gives bullies permission to continue their abusive behavior. In the end, we all have a responsibility to try to address this problem in a peaceful, nonadversarial way.

Reprinted with permissions from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Copyright Meredith Corporation 2003. All rights reserved.634; 9.9

Beating the BullyWhat to do if your child is being bullied.

What You Can DoTeach your child how to respond to bulliesOf all parenthood's trials, perhaps the most vexing is knowing that your

child has become the target of a bully. The "target child" is typically small for his or her age, quiet, sensitive, and well-liked by adults -- the type of child who "wouldn't hurt a flea." Although not necessarily unpopular with other children, the bully's victim rarely can claim a lot of friends. Consequently, other children aren't likely to come to his or her defense.

Further complicating matters is the fact that a bully's parents often deny the problem. They defend their child or rationalize the behavior. Because the bully is rarely held responsible, the aggressive acts tend to become increasingly outrageous, if not dangerous, over time.

When occasional taunting turns into conscious harassment, it's time for parents to step in. But what can you do? If you complain to school authorities, the bully is likely to find out and become that much more determined to hurt your child. If you complain to the bully's parents, you'll probably run into a brick wall.

There are several important things to keep in mind when deciding how to help your child deal with a bully:

Any direct intervention on your part may backfire. Bullies become even more determined when adults get involved.

Bullies can't be reasoned with. They tend to be very troubled children with poor self-concepts, poor social skills, and tumultuous family situations. Most of them are starved for affection and acceptance.

Bullies do understand force. If all else fails, consider asking law-enforcement authorities to get involved.

The bullying should be stopped as quickly as possible. The longer it continues, the longer it will take for the victim's emotional scars to heal. Also, some target children eventually begin expressing their anger toward younger and smaller children, or in more violent ways. Four Scenarios

Here are three examples of how parents have successfully handled a situation heading out of control.

Remove YourselfFranklin was 12 when the harassment began. His tormentor would sit behind him on the bus and pull his hair or thump him on his head. At school, the bully intimidated Franklin into letting him copy work. Franklin began to develop stomachaches and headaches. His parents talked to the principal about the problem, but were told there was little the school could do. The bully's parents refused to admit there was a problem. The principal suggested that Franklin transfer to a different school in the district. Despite the inconvenience, Franklin's parents agreed, bringing that chapter in their lives to a close.

Similarly, 14-year-old Aimee was being hassled on a daily basis by another girl in her public school, and there was nothing school officials could or would do to stop the verbal abuse. Aimee's parents chose to transfer her to private school, where she blossomed.

AvoidanceDerek's parents tried another approach. They coached him on how to avoid his antagonist, a boy who was two years ahead of Derek in school. Derek took a different route home from school every day, stayed close to teachers on the playground, and came inside the minute the bully appeared in the neighborhood. Eventually, the boy lost interest in Derek.

The very best solution, of course, is for the bully and his parents to begin working with a therapist. In the final analysis, a bully's behavior reflects underlying family problems that aren't going to be resolved by either punishment or counseling alone.

Enlist the School's HelpTwelve-year-old Carmen was being taunted continually by one girl and two boys in her sixth-grade class. If taunting is going on at school, whether in the classroom or on the playground, the school has an obligation to get

involved. And most schools will. Often a teacher or administrator will want to talk directly with the bully and will lay out steps he or she must take to rectify the situation. But schools usually will want to hear first from the child who is being taunted -- not from a parent.

The administrator or a teacher adviser will want to know what has been happening, for how long, and how the injured child feels. Talking about bullying was hard for Carmen; she feared she would be labeled a "tattletale." But her parents explained that standing up for her rights is much different than being a busy-body. A kid who tells on a peer for chewing gum might be considered a tattletale; a kid who lets authorities know she is being taunted or made fun of is simply standing up for her right to be in school without being abused, and she may be protecting others, too.

You should explain that a conversation between a child and a school official will be kept confidential. You also may wish to contact the school to discuss an unpleasant situation, but don't overdo it. Give the school a chance to talk to the children involved first and to take action. Then, if the response does not seem adequate, be more forceful. Of course, if the bullying involves physical actions, take action to protect your child right away.

Book 'EmTen-year-old Robbie's parents decided to handle the problem the same way they would if another adult assaulted one of them. Having suffered along with Robbie for nearly a year during which he was the frequent target of a much bigger and very troubled classmate, they finally filed a complaint with the police. The bully was arraigned in juvenile court and released to the custody of his parents. At the same time, an attorney informed the bully's parents that if the problem continued, they would be sued for damages. The bully was ultimately placed on probation, and the entire family was ordered to see a court-appointed psychologist. The bully never again even looked in Robbie's direction.

By Karol DeWulf Nickell, editor in chief of Better Homes and Gardens, is one of the country's leading home and family authorities.

Reprinted with permissions from Better Homes and Gardens magazine. Copyright Meredith Corporation 2003. All rights reserved. 993; 8.5

Colleges at a loss to curb binge drinking

Bob Von SternbergStar Tribune

October 3, 2005 – page A1

In the war against binge drinking among college students, victory is nowhere near at hand.Despite crusades by college administrators and public health officials for more than a decade, nearly half of all college students nationwide continue to indulge in the practice. The numbers are even higher on some campuses in the Upper Midwest.

And fatalities linked directly to alcohol use by students -- as apparently happened late last month to a student at Minnesota State University, Moorhead -- have risen to more than 1,700 a year, according to the most recent national statistics.

Although a wide array of weapons have been deployed in the effort to curb students' excessive drinking, none definitively worked, leaving experts flummoxed.

"If we could find a silver bullet, it would be great," said Ed Ehlinger, director of the University of Minnesota's Boynton Health Service. "We've all tried a lot of things, but nothing really persists. The opposing forces are a lot stronger, whether you're talking about peer pressure, social pressure or marketing."

Similarly, at the Moorhead campus, "I wish we had the answer, because this issue faces every college and university in the country," said Susanne Williams, who heads a task force on alcohol abuse. "But for whatever reason, we haven't been able to put our finger on what works."

That task force was established last year, after a former student died of acute alcohol poisoning after drinking at a Moorhead bar. That was followed last week when the body of student Patrick Kycia, 19, was found in the Red River. His blood-alcohol level has not been released,

but a friend said he was drunk when he left a fraternity house on Sept. 22.

"You can only hope it's a wake-up call," Williams said. "We don't want to see anything beyond the tragedies we've already had."

Numbers say 'excess'Such tragedies are increasing, the National Institutes of Health reported in March.

Between 1998 and 2001, the number of alcohol-related deaths among college students nationwide increased from 1,500 to more than 1,700, the institutes reported. During the same period, the number of students who said they drove drunk increased from 2.3 million to 2.8 million.

In addition, the institutes found that more than 500,000 students were injured as a result of drinking and another 600,000 were assaulted by another student who had been drinking.

Harvard University's College Alcohol Study has been tracking student drinking patterns since 1993.

In 2001 (the most recent year surveyed), 44 percent of students were classified as binge drinkers (defined as men who had five or more -- or women who had four or more -- drinks in a row at least once in the two weeks before the students completed the survey).

The researchers characterized this as "a remarkably similar proportion" to their three previous surveys.

"The drinking style on campus is still one of excess," said Henry Wechsler, principal investigator of the study when it was released in 2002. "If you are a college student and you drink, the odds are seven in 10 that you are a binge drinker."

At the University of Minnesota, where the rate of binge drinking dropped in 2004 to less than 40 percent, it rose this year to more than 45 percent -- the highest it has ever been, Ehlinger said.

Several other campuses in Minnesota, the Dakotas and Wisconsin also have reported binge drinking rates higher than the national average.

"I wish we weren't above the national average, but it's something this part of the country has struggled with," Willams said.

Another Harvard survey, released last year, found that 81 percent of college administrators described students' alcohol use as a problem or major problem. That was up from 1999, when 68 percent had that perception.

Tax increase?Nearly all of the nation's colleges and universities employ multifaceted tools to combat excessive drinking, the survey found.

Among them are alcohol bans in residence halls or entire campuses, comparable bans at campus events, peer counseling, one-on-one interventions and educating students about "social norms" that should prevail on campuses.

That said, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism has concluded that "knowledge of 'what works' is relatively slim" and there is "little empirical evidence" of the most effective programs.

Ehlinger and Williams both suggested that a big increase in alcohol sale taxes could go a long way to help them in their efforts.

"If the price was higher, maybe that would place it out of their reach," Williams said.

That might be worth considering, said Rep. Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, who shepherded a bill into law earlier this year that attempted to quash post-midnight "power hours" by men and women celebrating their 21st birthdays.

"Part of the rationale behind the cigarette tax was that it would discourage young people from smoking, so it might be worth considering for alcohol," he said.

A college administrator himself for 39 years, Lanning struggled to curb students' heavy drinking.

"It's a tough issue," he said. "We've got plenty of research that shows what a big problem this is. Maybe when these [deaths] keep happening, it'll serve as a wake-up call to the whole society."

874; 12.0

This article appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune on October 3, 2005, page A1.Bob von Sternberg is at vonste@startribune.com.

About students and alcoholHere are websites that contain information about alcohol use by college students:

www.hsph.harvard.edu/casHarvard University College Alcohol Study

www.collegedrinkingprevention.govNational institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

www.nih.govNational Institutes of Health

www.startribune.com/412Alcohol Policies Project, Center for Science in the Public Interest

www.startribune.com/413U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Bruce Springsteen - The Echoes of "41 Shots":Springsteen and His American Skin

Author: Mary Jude Dixon Published on: June 29, 2000

I remember the bumper sticker in detail, just as I saw it the first time, attached to the back of a black Ford pick-up. The bold white rectangle was emblazoned with a proud American flag, and its large blue letters spoke volumes to me as we followed the truck up the New Jersey turnpike. "America - Love It Or Leave It"

Now, as a child growing up in the late sixties and early seventies, I was exposed to a variety of bumper stickers and their clever or thoughtful messages. The cheery yellow smiley faces, the green marijuana leaves or the broken cross peace symbols in various psychedelic hues - not to mention the messages like "Out Now!" or "Four More Years!" - were all recognizable mirrors in which we saw the reflection of the person who placed the message in our sight.

But this one puzzled me, this patriotic sticker with the words that seemed both proud and angry. "America - Love It Or Leave It." "What does that mean?" I remember asking my father from my spot in the back of the blue station wagon.

"Some people think you shouldn't criticize your government, even if it's doing something wrong," my dad explained to me. "If you're not happy with the way things are here, you should get out."

I thought about this for a while. Even as a child, I knew quite a bit about the unrest in the country, the arguments between Republicans and Democrats, blacks and whites, doves and hawks, and I knew that there were people dying - on our own streets as well as in the rice fields of foreign nations. And I also knew that our country - despite these tensions, or maybe even because of them - was the best country, one in which are differences can be voiced freely and

openly; one in which we could even learn from those differences and become even stronger. "Wouldn't it be better if it said "America - Love It or Work To Make It Better"?" I asked my dad, who smiled. (He had taught me well).

Recently, Bruce Springsteen has been taking some criticism for one of the newer entries in his concert set list, a moving, mournful song entitled "American Skin (41 Shots)". The song recounts the slaying of black West African immigrant Amadou Diallo, who was fired upon 41 times by four white policemen in February 1999. "American Skin" - an intense look at prejudice and violence - made its tour debut in Atlanta and has become a staple during the Boss's 10-night stand at Madison Square Garden. The song - which is much in the spirit of a body of Springsteen works, especially on the "Nebraska" and "The Ghost of Tom Joad" albums - has been condemned by conservatives in general and the New York City Patrolmen's Benevolent Association in particular. "I consider it an outrage that he would be trying to fatten his wallet by reopening the wounds of this tragic case at a time when police officers and community members are in a healing period," PBA President Patrick J. Lynch said in a letter to the union's membership.

Excuse me?

To say that Springsteen is exploiting the racial tension in New York City to make money is as ridiculous as believing that "Born In The USA" was an appropriate Republican anthem. Sure, Springsteen may be a "limousine liberal" as has been accused - but how could he be otherwise? The man is worth millions, after all, but having money and having a social conscience are not always, thank God, mutually exclusive.

Nor is the song indication that the Boss is anti-cop. After all, to find fault in this excessive overreaction (or the similar under-reaction to the recent "wolf pack" attacks in Central Park) does not make someone anti-cop, just as being horrified at the My Lai massacre does not make one anti-servicemen. Fans will quickly point out that Springsteen has done benefit concerts for the families of slain cops but, that aside, you

need only listen to the words of "American Skin." "Forty-one shots they cut through the night; You're kneeling over his body in the vestibule, praying for his life," is perhaps the most haunting image of the piece, the image of a policeman realizing his mistake, already regretting his actions as he kneels in blood and asks for heavenly intervention.

I've always thought that the best artists produce more than beautiful pictures, humorous essays or songs we can dance to. The best artists - the truly gifted - are the ones who can produce art that acts as a mirror for the rest of us; whose work can reflect back for our enjoyment or our enlightenment just what a piece of life is about. And, even though Bruce has always reflected the good life to us - the hot girls and hotter cars, the Jersey shore carousels and front street drag races, the camaraderie and companionship, the growing up and getting out - he has also been responsible enough, committed enough and gifted enough to reflect more. He's told us that there's more to life than shiny sports cars and loud guitars. Sometimes there's prejudice and anger and "a meanness in this world," and if you're not sure where to find it, maybe it's time you take a look in the mirror.

Springsteen has always used his music to reflect the human condition and American society. Between dancing in the dark and racing in the streets, Springsteen has reminded us of the forgotten Vietnam veterans ("Born in the USA"), unwed mothers ("Spare Parts"), illegal immigrants ("Across The Border") and AIDS ("The Streets of Philadelphia"). His music has fostered understanding as it gently nudges us toward the truth, even when it's hard, painful, or ugly. And as he's done this for me and for countless others, I've grown to admire Springsteen as someone who truly loves America enough to have the courage to point out how we can work to make it better.

The crowd was hushed, even reverent, when I first saw "American Skin" performed at the Garden this week. In the silence you could hear some scattered booing, but the crowd for the most part was listening intently to the repeated reminder of "41 shots". It was a moment of remembering, of courage. It was one of the most powerful moments I'd witnessed in my 20-plus years of attending Springsteen concerts.

Some say the song opens old wounds, just at the time the city is healing. But even in healing, the one thing we cannot - must not - forget is the reality of that overreaction, the tragedy of those 41 shots. Yes, wounds heal, but scars remain. And remembering how we got hurt in the first place is the best way to avoid being hurt again.

1164; 10.4

http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/4400/42682

Published at the above Web address. Article retrieved on January 5, 2005, at 3:44 p.m.

Legislators pick bulletproof names for proposals

Tue, Feb 15, 2005

By Brian BakstAssociated Press 

ST. PAUL -- In advertising, a catchy jingle can be critical to selling a product. More and more, Minnesota lawmakers are resorting to slick slogans to pitch their policies.

Legislation to ban smoking in bars and restaurants carries the title "Freedom to Breathe Act of 2005." A bill to legalize marijuana for medicinal purposes is the "Compassionate Use Act." Increased cigarette taxes are a big part of the "Children's Health Security Act."

There are several reasons why catchphrase politics have caught on at the Capitol, but one rises above the rest: The labels are crafted to create a public perception that transcends controversy. While not everyone might favor a smoking ban, for instance, it's hard to argue against the freedom to breathe.

"Language can be very powerful in shaping our expectations and shaping our motivation," said Paula Tompkins, a professor of communications studies at St. Cloud State University. "The danger is oversimplification, and that sometimes leads to distortion. When it becomes easier in our time-pressed world, we're not going to look further unless we're really motivated to find out something about the piece of legislation or the position."

It's not just bill names, either.

House Republicans dispensed with some age-old committee titles this year in favor of names like the House Education Policy and Reform Committee and the Health Care Cost Containment Division, which reflect their desire to push debate in new directions in those areas.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently added the phrase "welfare health care" to his speeches to describe subsidized insurance for the working poor. He wants to trim benefits.

"Calling it welfare health care gives the public a good sense that we are giving a social service or welfare benefit in the health care area to a person in need," Pawlenty said.

If that's the case, detractors say, he should apply the same logic to ethanol subsidies the state gives to

producers of the corn-derived gas additive or tax relief to businesses who expand in economically depressed areas.

Marcia Avner, public policy director of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, said Pawlenty is unfairly tapping into negative stereotypes about welfare. The governor's move to limit enrollment in the MinnesotaCare program, in which subscribers pay premiums, is a key flashpoint in the budget debate.

"These are working people who are doing everything possible to support their families, and he's referring to it as welfare health care," Avner said. "We urge people to get past that labeling."

Sen. Scott Dibble, a DFLer from Minneapolis, coined the "Freedom to Breathe" moniker. He said supporters didn't test its resonance with the public. But to their delight, it has caught hold; it has been included several times in media coverage of the bill.

"It's really how we've talked about and thought about the issue for quite some time," Dibble said. "It helps people think about the subject in a way they hadn't thought about it previously."

The slogans are typically attached to the hottest of the hot-button issues. In 2003, lawmakers adopted the "Woman's Right to Know Act" putting a waiting period and information requirement on abortions, and the "Personal Protection Act" expanding access to permits for concealed handguns.

Revisor of statutes Michele Timmons, whose office helps draft legislation, said there are no restrictions on bill name-calling.

But some legislators say there should be. Sen. Don Betzold, a DFLer from Fridley, said the titles are fluff and "too often misleading, too often unnecessary."

He's had constituents contact him and urge him to support nice-sounding bills, only to find out they're opposed to what the measures actually do.

"We just don't need them," Betzold said. "They're more of a gimmick than anything else."

This article appeared in the Rochester Post Bulletin on Tuesday, February 15, 2005, on page 4B.

Do parents matter? It's who you are — rather than what you do — that makes the biggest difference in the development of children.

By Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. LevittUSA Today 5/3/05 p. 13A

By now, the letters have landed.

The fast-track nursery schools and the “gifted and talented” public schools and the Ivy League colleges have mailed their acceptance letters, and parents everywhere are either a) congratulating themselves for having shepherded their children into the dream school or b) chiding themselves for having failed.

In the first case, the parents may tell themselves: It was those Mozart quartets we played in utero that primed her for success. In the second case, they might say: I knew we shouldn't have waited so long to get him his first computer. But how much credit, or blame, should parents really claim for their children's accomplishments? The answer, it turns out, is a lot — but not for the reasons that most parents think.

The U.S. Department of Education recently undertook a monumental project called the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, which tracks the progress of more than 20,000 American schoolchildren from kindergarten through the fifth grade. Aside from gathering each child's test scores and the standard demographic information, the ECLS also asks the children's parents a wide range of questions about the families' habits and activities. The result is an extraordinarily rich set of data that, when given a rigorous economic analysis, tells some compelling stories about parenting technique.

A child with at least 50 kids' books in his home, for instance, scores roughly 5 percentile points higher than a child with no books, and a child with 100 books scores another 5 percentile points higher than a child with 50 books. Most people would look at this correlation and draw the obvious cause-and-effect conclusion: A little boy named, say, Brandon has a lot of books in

his home; Brandon does beautifully on his reading test; this must be because Brandon's parents read to him regularly.

But the ECLS data show no correlation between a child's test scores and how often his parents read to him. How can this be? Here is a sampling of other parental factors that matter and don't:

•Matters: The child has highly educated parents.•Doesn't: The child regularly watches TV at

home.

•Matters: The child's parents have high income.•Doesn't: The child's mother didn't work

between birth and kindergarten.

•Matters: The child's parents speak English in the home.

•Doesn't: The child's parents regularly take him to museums.

•Matters: The child's mother was 30 or older at time of the child's birth.

•Doesn't: The child attended Head Start.

•Matters: The child's parents are involved in the PTA.

•Doesn't: The child is regularly spanked at home.

Culture cramming may be a foundational belief of modern parenting but, according to the data, it doesn't improve early childhood test scores. Frequent museum visits would seem to be no more productive than trips to the grocery store. Watching TV, meanwhile, doesn't turn a child's brain into mush after all; nor does the presence of a home computer turn a child into Einstein.

Now, back to the original riddle: How can it be that a child with a lot of books in her home does well at school even if she never reads them? Because parents who buy a lot of children's books tend to be smart and well-educated to begin with — and they pass on their smarts and work ethic to their kids. (This theory is supported by the fact that the number of books in a home is just as strongly correlated with math scores as reading scores.) Or the books

may suggest that these are parents who care a great deal about education and about their children in general, which results in an environment that rewards learning. Such parents may believe that a book is a talisman that leads to unfettered intelligence. But they are probably wrong. A book is, in fact, less a cause of intelligence than an indicator.

The most interesting conclusion here is one that many modern parents may find disturbing: Parenting technique is highly overrated. When it comes to early test scores, it's not so much what you do as a parent, it's who you are.

It is obvious that children of successful, well-educated parents have a built-in advantage over the children of struggling, poorly educated parents. Call it a privilege gap. The child of a young, single mother with limited education and income will typically test about 25 percentile points lower than the child of two married, high-earning parents.

So it isn't that parents don't matter. Clearly, they matter an awful lot. It's just that by the time most parents pick up a book on parenting technique, it's too late. Many of the things that matter most were decided long ago — what kind of education a parent got, how hard he worked to build a career, what kind of spouse he wound up with and how long they waited to have children.

The privilege gap is far more real than the fear that haunts so many modern parents — that their children will fail miserably without regular helpings of culture cramming and competitive parenting. So, yes, parents are entitled to congratulate themselves this month over their children's acceptance letters. But they should also stop kidding themselves: The Mozart tapes had nothing to do with it.

940; 9.5

Stephen J. Dubner and Steven D. Levitt are the authors of Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything

http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/news/20050504/oplede04.art.htm This article appeared on page 13A of USA Today on May 3, 2005.

Research: Teachers pigeonhole students by name

BY NOAH BIERMANKnight Ridder Newspapers

MIAMI - (KRT) - Do two black children from the same family - one called Dwayne and the other Da'Quan - face different treatment from their teachers because of their names?

A University of Florida economist says yes, and has five years of data from an unidentified school district in the state to support his theory.

According to David Figlio, teachers have lower expectations for students with names like Da'Quan because they assume the parents who choose names with unusual letter combinations and apostrophes are poorly educated. But teachers did not have the same low expectations for siblings with more mainstream names, his research shows.

"This is not about families; it's a study about the names," said Figlio, who examined which students were recommended for gifted classes and promoted despite low standardized test scores. "My story is how teachers respond."

Figlio's research goes beyond distinctly black names. In other papers also on track to being published, he asserts that girls of all races with feminine-sounding names, such as Rebecca or Elizabeth, are less likely to enroll in high-level math and science classes.

Figlio, whose work is funded by two federal grants, has obsessed over names for three years. His work, which asks questions about expectations in many racial, gender and economic groups, adds to an emerging body of research about how names brand us. His interest in the research is to inform society of unconscious biases, rather than to persuade parents to avoid unusual names.

Not all researchers agree that our fates lie in our names, but an increasing number of them say they can make a difference.Figlio based his conclusions solely on statistics taken from student records, not through

interviews with teachers and parents or other follow-ups. That's a standard method for economic studies like his.

His work has been discussed at national research conferences and submitted as a working paper to the National Bureau of Economic Research. It follows two major papers, published in 2003 by other researchers, on the importance of names.

In the first, economists from the University of Chicago and Massachusetts Institute of Technology responded to help-wanted ads and submitted fake resumes. Names most commonly given to whites - such as Emily and Greg - received 50 percent more callbacks than typical black names such as Lakisha and Jamal, their study showed.

In the second paper, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Chicago examined 16 million birth records in California and found that people with distinctively black names usually made less money. That study was published by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

But researchers Roland Fryer and Steven Levett concluded that the primary cause was that they came from poor neighborhoods with fewer educational opportunities.

Their study has received renewed attention since Levett cited the research in his recent best-selling book "Freakonomics."

Fryer praised Figlio's work, but urged caution in drawing broad conclusions from such studies."A naive eye looks at data and sees `Raquan' has a bad outcome. But why?" said Fryer, a Harvard fellow.

"This is fun coffee-table stuff," but a name may not be the cause of poor progress in school, he says. It may be that the student's parents are less educated, the child was born into poverty or any number of other reasons that led to giving the child the name, he said.

Economists and sociologists use names as shorthand for a number of cultural markers - because names tend to divide along ethnic and economic lines. Studying them has become more popular in recent years as technology

makes it easier to sift through voluminous public records and make comparisons, Fryer said.

It's not just a black phenomenon. In another study under way that looks at spelling, Figlio has found 263 ways to spell Caitlin or Katelynn, mostly among white parents. The further away someone gets from the two most common spellings, the more likely the girl is to have trouble reading when she reaches third or fourth grade, he says.

"It's often the most highly educated that are using these very creative spellings of common names," Figlio said. "Everyone wants their kid to be unique."

The potential flip side: Teachers think the parents are poor spellers and develop lower expectations for the children.

Figlio emphasized that his studies are based on probabilities, meaning he fully expects his daughters Elizabeth and Rebecca to excel in math and science as they get older.

For the study on black names, he analyzed birth records of all children born in Florida between 1989 and 1996. Names with apostrophes and unusual letter combinations were more likely given by mothers who dropped out of school, he found.

He also applied what he calls the Scrabble test: Names that would earn high scores in Scrabble - with z's, x's and q's - were most likely given by poorer, uneducated mothers.

Figlio then narrowed his research to one Florida school district, which gave him access to usually private student records on the condition he not divulge any information that might identify the district or any of its students.

Figlio looked at more than 50,000 school records from 1996 to 2001, all from children with at least one sibling in that district.

He compared siblings and concluded that even if they had the same test scores, teachers expected less from the child with the distinctive name, such as Da'Quan.

He also found those children performed worse on tests and were less likely to be put in gifted programs. At the same time, teachers were more likely to promote distinctively named children with lower test scores. Figlio concluded teachers did that because they did not believe the students were capable of higher scores.

On the other hand, teachers had higher expectations for a student with a distinctly Asian name such as Vivek than his brother, who has a name like Alex, Figlio found.

Parents who learn about Figlio's research often ask him to name more good and bad names. But he won't because of the confidentiality agreement with the school district.

Besides, it may not help in naming children.As teachers become more aware of the research, they may compensate for their biases and begin favoring children with distinctive names, said Dalton Conley, a New York University sociologist.

"Parents, I would say, should ignore it. But teachers and administrators should be more aware of it," said Conley, who is studying the effects of having a last name that is high in the alphabet.

Conley has taken name experimentation to a new level. He gave his 7-year-old daughter the name E. His 5-year-old son is named Yo Xing Heyno Augustus Eisner Alexander Weiser Knuckles Jeremijenko-Conley, believed to be the longest name in all of New York City.

"In New York City, when I yell `Yo' down the street, everyone turns around," he said.

So what does that do to a child?"I think the jury's still out on the ultimate effect," he said.

© 2005, The Miami Herald. Visit The Miami Herald Web edition on the World Wide Web at http://www.herald.com Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services. This article appeared in the Rochester Post Bulletin on 6/03/05 on page 3A.

Study finds breakfast helps teenage girls stay slim

Saturday, September 10, 2005By Alex Dominguez / Associated Press

BALTIMORE -- Girls who regularly ate breakfast, particularly one that includes cereal, were slimmer than those who skipped the morning meal, according to a study that tracked nearly 2,400 girls for 10 years.

Girls who ate breakfast of any type had a lower average body mass index, a common obesity gauge, than those who said they didn't. The index was even lower for girls who said they ate cereal for breakfast, according to findings of the study conducted by the Maryland Medical Research Institute. The study received funding from the National Institutes of Health and cereal-maker General Mills Inc.

"Not eating breakfast is the worst thing you can do, that's really the take-home message for teenage girls," said study author Bruce Barton, the Maryland institute's president and CEO.

The fiber in cereal and healthier foods that normally accompany cereal, such as milk and orange juice, may account for the lower body mass index among cereal eaters, Barton said.

The results were gleaned from a larger NIH survey of 2,379 girls in California, Ohio and Maryland who were tracked between ages 9 and 19. Results of the study appear in the September issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

Nearly one in three adolescent girls in the United States is overweight, according to the association. The problem is particularly troubling because research shows becoming overweight as a child can lead to a lifetime struggle with obesity.

As part of the survey, the girls were asked once a year what they had eaten during the previous three days. The data were adjusted to compensate for factors such as differences in physical activity among the girls and normal increases in body fat during adolescence.

A girl who reported eating breakfast on all three days had, on average, a body mass index 0.7 units lower than a girl who did not eat breakfast at all. If the breakfast included cereal, the average was 1.65 units lower, the researchers found.

Breakfast consumption dropped as the girls aged, the researchers found, and those who did not eat breakfast tended to eat higher fat foods later in the day.

"We think it kick-starts your metabolism because you've eaten something," Barton said. "When you get to lunch you're not starving and you can make reasonable choices for lunch and dinner."

John Kirwan, a professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University's Schwartz Center for Nutrition and Metabolism, said the findings may be "more reflective of overall eating habits and quality of food consumed."

"Those who eat breakfast on a regular basis are more likely to have a structured eating plan throughout the day and consequently are less likely to snack between meals and consume empty calories," said Kirwan, who has studied the effect of breakfast consumption on exercise performance and was not involved in the study.

He also pointed out that the study did not distinguish between low-sugar and high-sugar cereals, noting growing evidence that those who eat so-called low glycemic foods have a lower risk of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

While cereal can often be high in fiber and low in fat, "you can't walk away saying, I'm going to eat cereal and lose weight," said Melinda Johnson, a dietitian with the Arizona state health department and an ADA spokeswoman.

Johnson also noted, however, that the foods often consumed with cereal tend to be healthy, and the study was another in a series to find a link between breakfast consumption and lower body mass index.

"You can walk away saying breakfast has been shown in lots of different studies to be really important for my children," Johnson said. "So parents can feel confident that serving cereal is definitely not going to do harm and eating breakfast is the right thing to do." 666; 12.0

On the Net: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/obesity.html This article appeared in the Rochester Post Bulletin on September 10, 2005, on page 7A.

Study: Unlikely lobsters feel pain in boiling water

Tuesday, February 15, 2005By Clarke Canfield

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) –A new study out of Norway concludes it's unlikely lobsters feel pain, stirring up a long-simmering debate over whether Maine's most valuable seafood suffers when it's being cooked.

Animal activists for years have claimed that lobsters are in agony when being cooked, and that dropping one in a pot of boiling water is tantamount to torture.

The study, funded by the Norwegian government and written by a scientist at the University of Oslo, suggests lobsters and other invertebrates such as crabs, snails and worms probably don't suffer even if lobsters do tend to thrash in boiling water.

"Lobsters and crabs have some capacity of learning, but it is unlikely that they can feel pain," concluded the 39-page report, aimed at determining if creatures without backbones should be subject to animal welfare legislation as Norway revises its animal welfare law.

Lobster biologists in Maine have maintained for years that the lobster's primitive nervous system and underdeveloped brain are similar to that of an insect. While lobsters react to different stimuli, such as boiling water, the reactions are escape mechanisms, not a conscious response or an indication of pain, they say.

"It's a semantic thing: No brain, no pain," said Mike Loughlin, who studied the matter when he was a University of Maine graduate student and is now a biologist at the Maine Atlantic Salmon Commission.

The Norwegian report also reinforces what people in the lobster industry have always contended, said Bob Bayer, executive director of the Lobster Institute, a research and education organization in Orono.

"We've maintained all along that the lobster doesn't have the ability to process pain," Bayer said.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, an animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, has made lobster pain part of its Fish Empathy Project, putting out stickers and pamphlets with slogans such as "Being Boiled Hurts. Let Lobsters Live." Group supporters regularly demonstrate at the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland.

PETA's Karin Robertson called the Norwegian study biased, saying the government doesn't want to hurt the country's fishing industry.

"This is exactly like the tobacco industry claiming that smoking doesn't cause cancer," she said.

Robertson said many scientists believe lobsters do feel pain. For instance, a zoologist with The Humane Society of the United States made a written declaration that lobsters can feel pain after a chef dismembered and sauteed a live lobster to prepare a Lobster Fra Diavolo dish on NBC's "Today" show in 1994.

It's debatable whether the debate will ever be resolved.

The Norwegian study, even while saying it's unlikely that crustaceans feel pain, also cautioned that more research is needed because there is a scarcity of scientific knowledge on the subject.

And, many consumers will always hesitate at placing lobsters in boiling pots of water.

New Englanders may feel comfortable cooking their lobsters, but people outside the region often feel uneasy about boiling a live creature, said Kristen Millar, executive director of the Maine Lobster Promotion Council.

"Consumers don't generally greet and meet an animal before they eat it," she said.

This article appeared in the Rochester Post-Bulletin on Tuesday, February 15, 2005 on page 3A. 540; 12.0

If at first you don't succeed, nag, nag again Parents say 'no,' but nearly 6 of 10 kids keep trying

By Martha IrvineAssociated Press

Alex Negelein admits that when there's

something he really, really wants, he's willing to

ask his dad for it "150 times."

The 9-year-old's pestering may be on the

extreme side, but he's hardly alone. A new

survey has found that even when their parents

say "no," nearly six of 10 young people keep

nagging — an average of nine times.

The survey, released Monday, also found that 10

percent of 12- and 13-year-olds said they ask

their parents more than 50 times for products

they've seen advertised.

Officials at the Center for a New American

Dream, who commissioned the survey, call it the

"nag factor." They say it shows that kids —

while annoying their parents — are feeling

pressure from peers to buy the latest products.

"They are being made to feel that if they don't

have the right low-cut designer jeans, the right

video game or the right designer watch, they

aren't going to have a friend — that they're

going to be rejected by other kids," says Betsy

Taylor, executive director of the Takoma Park,

Md.-based center, which promotes responsible

consumption of resources and goods.

Of those polled, about a third said they feel

pressure to buy certain products, and more than

half said that buying those products makes them

feel better about themselves.

When it comes to nagging, 55 percent said they

can usually get their parents to give in.

The poll, which has a margin of error of 3.5

percentage points, included the answers of 750

American youth, ages 12 to 17, who were

contacted by phone last month. But experts say

nagging is a habit learned much earlier.

Marian Salzman, chief strategic officer for the

ad agency Euro RSCG, says about 60 percent of

the young people the agency has interviewed for

research said they knew how to manipulate their

parents on "small things" before they started first

grade.

And, increasingly, even the youngest children

have spending power — an estimated $52

billion for ages 4 to 12 by 2006, compared with

a projected $40 billion this year and $17.1

billion in 1994.

All of that has made nagging an "art form," says

Salzman, who believes parents have only

encouraged it by giving kids much more say in

family decisions.

"Kids sit at the center of today's households,"

Salzman says.

Alex's dad, Chris Negelein, has instituted a rule:

"Ask once, and only once." He says, with the

help of counseling, Alex is learning how to

follow it.

And if he doesn't, he knows what happens.

"We have to leave the toy section," Alex says

with a sigh.

As a reward for good behavior, Negelein takes

his son to a Pokemon tournament near their

home in Pompano Beach, Fla., on Saturdays.

That way, Alex can actually play with the cards

he has from the Japanese game, rather than just

collect them and continually ask for more.

"You try to set the ground rules to teach your

kids that materialism is a means to an end, but

it's not a means to life," says Negelein, who is

divorced and took custody of Alex a year ago to

try to rein in his behavior.

But he admits it's sometimes difficult not to

weaken, especially with the waves of licensed

products that accompany every blockbuster

movie.

In the long run, Taylor says she hopes the Center

for a New American Dream can help persuade

Congress to pass laws further limiting

advertising to young people. But ultimately, she

says, it's a parent's responsibility to set better

limits and stick to them.

Marvin Berkowitz, a developmental

psychologist at the University of Missouri-St.

Louis and an expert in character education

agrees.

He says giving in to a child who "asks and asks

and asks" only rewards the behavior. "The child

essentially learns to be a nagger," he says.

Melissa Cooney, a 15-year-old from

Indianapolis, believes that's true.

"If we are spoiled," she says, "it's kind of the

parents' fault, too, for giving in to us."

But she says sometime teens just want to be

heard – and to have more control over their

lives. That's why she bugged her parents until

they agreed to let her visit her older sister in

Florida this summer.

"They got sick of me asking," says Cooney, who

saved money from her birthday and baby-sitting

for the trip. "And I proved that I could get the

money to do it."

This article appeared in the St. Paul Pioneer Press on Tuesday, June 18, page 1A. Reprinted with the permission of the St. Paul Pioneer Press and The Associated Press.

953; 9.9

Evaluating a Persuasive ArgumentWriting that contains a persuasive argument has the following components:

PremiseSupporting Facts/Development of ArgumentOpposing ViewpointConclusion(s)Call to action (optional)

PREMISEThis is the author’s main point (similar to a main idea or thesis statement) and contains the author’s opinion. During the argument, the author is going to try to convince you to believe his premise. The premise should be stated clearly and simply near the beginning of the author’s writing. While the premise will be similar to the conclusion, they are not usually exactly the same.

When you have identified the author’s premise, you need to determine the author’s purpose. Here are some possible purposes:

o take actiono support a causeo accept an opiniono consider an ideao spend money

“I think we should. . .” ; or “The point is. . .”; or “What it means in the end is . . . ” are the types of phrases you want to watch for. The author’s purpose will usually appear in the first paragraph or two; sometimes that author’s purpose is most clearly stated in the final paragraphs.

SUPPORT FACTS/DEVELOPMENT OF ARGUMENTFor an argument to be effective, the premise must be clear, convincing, and supported well. Generally, an author will divide his main argument into sub-points; you should be able to identify at least three key sub-points. For each sub-point, the author will write a topic sentence (or thesis statements in longer works). After the author has stated the main idea, he needs to elaborate on that idea. In other words, the author must give EVIDENCE, and the reader needs to evaluate the evidence. You should question the author as you read.

Is the evidence DOCUMENTED?In other words, do you know where the information came from?

o Is the SOURCE of the information RELIABLE?Is the source of the information known to be FAIR AND UNBIASED?Is the information from this source SIMILAR to information in OTHER SOURCES?Does the author have a BALANCE OF SOURCES such as newspapers, personal interviews,

magazines, professional journals, the Internet, etc.?Does the author rely overly much on one source?

o Is the argument appropriate for the AUDIENCE?Has the author used the right VOICE?Has the author made WORD CHOICES that are appropriate to the topic and audience?

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o Is the information CURRENT?The fact that information is only 2-3 years old isn’t always enough. Has anyone had a

breakthrough on this topic (especially in science, medicine, technology) that has changed the way experts evaluate the author’s position on this topic?

o Does the information come from AUTHORITIES on the topic?Did the author quote experts in the field?Do his/her peers respect the source of the information?Are the authorities CREDIBLE?

o Is the information BIASED?Does the author use WORDS that are neutral (denotative) rather than strongly emotional

(connotative)?Has the author included only the extreme ideas available on this topic?Does the author have an AFFILIATION that could cause bias?Will the author or source GAIN anything from this argument? (For example, if the author works

for Greenpeace, and he is arguing that commercial fishing should be banned, is it possible that the source’s association with Greenpeace could skew the argument?)

o Is the argument DEVELOPED LOGICALLY? Is the writing clear and WELL ORGANIZED? Does the author have clearly defined sections (sub-topics), each of which has a thesis and is

developed with facts, reasons, examples, etc.?Does the author rely on documented facts to make his point, or does he rely on anecdotes?Is the argument straightforward, or is it ambiguous – could be taken in several ways?Does one point clearly lead to another, or do you feel as though the author has skipped

something?Does the author use PERSUASIVE DEVICES instead of factual evidence? or a majority of

persuasive devices and only a few facts?

o Does the author include the RIGHT KIND of evidence? Does the fact the author cites really match his argument? or is the evidence just close to the topic?

or just a bit out of date? or just a big out of the mainstream?Are the sources complete? In other words, has the author included all aspects of the argument or

information that he is incorporating? (Fallacy: Quote out of Context)

o Does the author give ENOUGH evidence? How many documented facts should the author include, depending on the length of the written

work?Remember, you are playing the skeptic here: If you had totally opposed the author’s premise

when you started reading, has the author given you enough evidence now to convince you to accept his premise?

Has the author included enough factual, documented evidence, or has he filled the text with anecdotes and reasons that only expand the single fact he has included?

o Is the evidence TRUE?

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OPPOSING VIEWPOINTGood persuasive writing at least acknowledges the opposing view of the argument. For the most part, authors should present the opposing argument in a fair and unbiased way – and then cite evidence to explain why the premise for the opposing viewpoint is wrong. Generally, the way that writers structure persuasive arguments is like this: 1st argument, 2nd argument, 3rd argument sub-topic, opposing viewpoint, 4th argument that is the strongest and best of the arguments. If the author does not include at least a statement of the opposing view, that makes the author less credible.

CONCLUSIONFinally, the reader needs to check several things about the conclusion. The more complex an argument is, the more closely you have to read the author’s conclusion to make sure that it does not go too far.

o First, does the conclusion match up with the author’s premise? (Fallacy: Non-sequitur) o Second, has the author given enough evidence to justify the conclusion?

CALL TO ACTIONSometimes an author will want you to actively get involved in order to accomplish the conclusion in the paper. For example, the author could give you information on how to register to vote, a contact phone number or e-mail for someone who is organizing a march, a name of your local representative so you can make your voice heard. This Call to Action is not in every persuasive paper; when the author does include a call to action, it comes at the end of the paper. If the author does include a call to action, ask yourself whether what the author wants you to do is reasonable and practical.

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