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Bigger Wish

Family News: Make-A-Wish combines OC, Inland Empire

By OC FamilyPublished: February, 2005

The Make-A-Wish Foundation has merged locally to create one large Orange County and Inland Empire chapter. The chapter, based in Tustin, is now set up to provide program services for families in Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. A regional office is in Riverside. The geographic area is enormous more than 28,000 square miles.

According to the nonprofit’s newsletter, the merger “enables the single chapter to increase the number of wish children it can fulfill each year by eliminating administrative redundancies and amplifying outreach efforts.”

CEO Mark Pilon realizes that volunteer workers will be key in the outreach across such a large swath of land. The merger “introduces the significant challenge of recruiting and training enough volunteers to enable us to accomplish our expanded mission.”

The Make-A-Wish Foundation grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Information and donations: www.wishocie.org or 714.573.9474.

after school

Kids remain active after final bell

A new study indicates that a surprising number of children do something active after school, rather than the perceived couch potato thing.

Some 79% of America’s middle and high school students regularly participate in activities both after school and on weekends and 57% say they have some kind of non-school activity nearly every day. These activities range from sports to art and music to church programs, according to the Public Agenda.

There is a disparity, however, between low-income and minority parents and others. The former worry about finding high-quality, convenient and affordable activities for their children.

Of those young people surveyed, 85% say that “organized, structured out-of-school activities are enormously important to them,” And parents want activities that foster interests, values and growth.

One of the most important offshoots of after-school activities are friendships. Some 92% say they make good friends in these environments.

The study, “All Work and No Play? Listening to What Kids and Parents Really Want from Out-of-School Time,” was commissioned by The Wallace Foundation.

The Public Agenda is a nonprofit organization that focuses on public policy research. For information: www.publicagenda.org.

know your child

Strengths play out with teens

One of the knocks against using standardized testing to drive education reform has been the idea that such testing fosters a “one-size-fits-all” approach to teaching. In recent decades, many psychologists and educators have argued that some students learn differently than others, and specific teaching strategies should be tailored to students’ individual strengths.

Before that can happen, teachers, parents and students themselves must understand students’ strengths. A recent Gallup Youth Survey asked 13- to 17-year-olds to describe their own strengths, and to say whether they feel their parents and teachers recognize those strengths in them.

Most teenagers (89%) say their parents recognize their strengths at least “somewhat well,” with almost half (46%) saying “very well.”

Carol Ann Tomlinson, a veteran teacher and author of “The Differentiated Classroom,” likes those numbers, but believes parents can do even better by making it a point to talk openly and regularly with their teens about how their abilities are developing. “Some of the issue for parents may be not thinking to look for specific strengths or perhaps not having a ready set of categories for which to look,” Tomlinson says. “If parents are looking only or largely for good grades, for example, they might overlook a teen’s ear for other people, ability to find good in difficult situations, level-headedness, and so on.”

Teens don’t have quite as much faith in their teachers: Just 25% say their teachers recognize their strengths “very well,” though almost half (49%) say “somewhat well.”

“For teachers, I really believe the first step is deciding whether they want to know about the interests and strengths of their students,” Tomlinson says. “The pressures on teachers are great, and many, I think, implicitly draw the conclusion that: (a) they can’t know so many students; and (b) they have no options for using what they might find out if they did get to know kids better. Those are, in my opinion, incorrect and sad conclusions for both teachers and kids.”

Tomlinson describes a variety of ways teachers and parents can seek to understand teens’ strengths and interests better, but notes that the most important thing is simply to get that communication going. Perhaps the saddest comments were the ones like this from a 13-year-old girl who, when faced with the question about her strengths, says simply, “I don’t know. No one has ever asked me that question.”

By Steve Crabtree, contributing editor. The Gallup Youth Survey was completed by 439 respondents, ages 13 to 17, Aug. 8-19, 2004. Sampling error is ±5 percentage points.

resources

Information for Black History Month

Here are useful books, as well as a relevant website, to celebrate Black History Month during February.

The books are suggested from Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division:

“This Little Light of Mine.” E.B. Lewis takes this well-known spiritual and creates a story to go with watercolor illustrations. For all ages.

“Freedom Summer.” A white boy recounts his first experience of racial prejudice and his friendship with a black boy. By Deborah Wiles, illustrated by Jerome Lagarrigue. For ages 5-9

“A Sweet Smell of Roses.” Angela Johnson, along with illustrator Eric Velasquez, offers a glimpse of the youth involvement that played a role in the Civil Rights Movement. For ages 6-9.

“I, Dred Scott.” A fictional narrative based on the life and legal precedent of Dred Scott. For ages 10-14.

Also, a valuable website: www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/BHM/bh_hotlist.html

OC author

Book series debuts with Lincoln’s legacy

Just in time for President’s Day, a new book series is being introduced by Simon & Schuster that is sure to engage children in history lessons about our forefathers. Not just another biography, “Blast to the Past: Lincoln’s Legacy” is a fictional story that takes modern-day third-graders back in time to 1862 to meet President Lincoln and urge him to deliver the Emancipation Proclamation. Not doing so would change history forever!

Author Stacia Deutsch, an Irvine resident and mother of three, along with co-author Rhody Cohon and illustrator David Wenzel, has transformed the typical, dry text that children often find when studying historical figures into a real reading adventure. The book brings children into the world as it was then and shows, through third-grade eyes, the significance of what occurred. Real action and fun facts enrich the history lesson.

The “Blast to the Past” series is written for second- through forth-graders and profiles American visionaries and the importance of their values and perseverance. The next release, “Disney’s Dream,” follows Walt Disney’s contributions to America, while the last in the three-part series, “Bell’s Breakthrough,” delves into the life of Alexander Graham Bell.

By Kimberly A. Porrazzo

FAMILY NEWS BITES

NEW BASEBALL STADIUM OPENS AT MATER DEI
Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana recently celebrated the grand opening of its new baseball stadium and outdoor athletic complex. The stadium was named the Rod Dedeaux Baseball Stadium in honor of the man considered “the game’s true master coach.” Dedeaux, who has made a tremendous impact on collegiate and international baseball, as well as Mater Dei’s program, won an unprecedented 11 NCAA titles, had an overall record of 1,332-571-11 and coached more than 50 future big leaguers, including Tom Seaver, Fred Lynn, Dave Kingman, Mark McGwire and Randy Johnson.

NEARLY $100,000 FOR SCHOOLS
Capistrano Unified School District Foundation recently announced that it has raised nearly $100,000 in the foundation’s first-ever mail campaign marking the largest single amount ever raised in the organization’s 11-year history. The funds will be used to help support local schools and districtwide programs, including those hardest hit by recent fiscal crisis. Specifically, the donations will be used to support teacher grants, class size reduction, music, art and technology programs, senior scholarships and other programs that enrich education for the 51,150 students enrolled in the district.

STUDENTS FOR CLEAN WATER
Some 30 students from Santiago High in Garden Grove will explore local tidepools and test local water quality in the new year. It is part of the Youth Can Conserve education program organized by the Sierra Club Orange County inner City Outings volunteers. The students will divide into teams and organize a present an action project to educate the public about coast conservation. Orange County has 42 miles of coastline. They also will promote World Water Monitoring Day, which is Oct. 18.

Reported and compiled by OC Family Magazine staff

sober driving

MADD observes 25th anniversary
By Sandy Bennett

More Americans have been killed by drunken drivers than in all the wars fought since the founding of our country, according to statistics supplied by MADD (Mother’s Against Drunk Driving).

The nonprofit agency, headquartered in Texas, works to put an end to these needless deaths as well as alcohol-related, traffic injuries. Established in 1980 by a group of women in California outraged after the death of a teenage girl killed by a repeat offender, the organization has since grown to one of the largest crime victims organizations in the world. This year, it observes its 25th anniversary.

Its mission is three-pronged: to stop drunken driving, support the victims of this violent crime, and prevent underage drinking. The agency offers a number of programs to meet its goal, from the annual Red Ribbon Week, held the third week of October in Orange County, to candlelight vigils and court assistance for victims.

Among its most recognized program is Designated Driver, which got its start locally. MADD Orange County, located in Tustin, was the first MADD chapter to develop a designated driver program with the hospitality industry. The program which calls for one member of a group to drink only non-alcoholic beverages and provide safe and sober transportation home for companions has since become commonplace throughout the United States.

Besides only driving when sober, vehicle operators need to drive defensively. This includes not only taking responsibility for your actions, but also keeping an eye on other drivers. The National Safety Council offers these safety tips:

• Make sure each person is wearing a seat belt.

• Follow the rules of the road (distance, speed, etc.).

• Watch for drivers who weave, make wide turns, stop abruptly or responds slowing to traffic signals.

• Avoid an impaired driver by turning right at the nearest corner or exiting at the nearest exit. If it appears that an oncoming car is crossing into your lane, pull over to the roadside, sound the horn and flash your lights.

• Notify the police immediately after seeing a motorist who is driving suspiciously.

For more information on MADD, visit madd.org or maddorangecounty.org or call 714.838.6199.

Sandy Bennett is associate editor. For Letters: sbennett@churmpublishing.com