NOTE TO SELF: SINCE WHEN ARE HAIRCUTS PART OF A NURSERY SCHOOL CURRICULUM?
Three year old(!) Tavis Cook has been banned from his Tyneside (UK) nursery school class due to his trendy "tramlines" haircut. His mother, Donna Cook, was informed that the youngster's hair cut broke the rules of Riverside Primary School in North Shields, UK and to keep her son home from school until his hair grows back.
Say what? Since when is a youngster's choice of hair cut part of a curriculum?
North Tyneside Council said it was aware of the matter and was advising Ms Cook on her options. No-one at the school was available for comment (I bet!).
Miss Cook took the youngster to the barber at which point Tavis chose the trendy hairstyle. Less than an hour after dropping the youngster off for nursery class the next morning, she was contacted by phone and requested to come pick him up. According to Tavis's mother, the walls of the barber shop were covered with photos of hair cuts and he choose his "tramline" cut. She had contacted the school and been informed that there was no uniform policy for the nursery or reception year.
When Tavis's mother arrived at school, the young boy was in tears.
A spokesman for North Tyneside Council said that they are aware of this issue and currently advising the parent on the matter.
Uh-huh...
A spokesman from Riverside Primary School said head teacher Dame Mary MacDonald was not available for comment.
Uh-huh...
Judge for yourselves as to the appropriateness of the haircut:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/tyne/7331184.stm
Honestly? The boy is a mere 3 years old and I can't see anything wrong with this haircut! True it's 'different' but in no way offensive!
http://www.northtyneside.gov.uk/ed1/index.htm
Writers & Friends
www.jrslater.com/forum
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Thursday, April 3, 2008
LAUGH FOR THE HEALTH OF IT
NOTE TO SELF: APRIL IS "NATIONAL HUMOR MONTH"
It seems fitting that National Humor Month takes place in April, a month that arrives with the warmer Spring weather.
National Humor Month was founded in 1976 by best-selling humorist Larry Wilde, Director of The Carmel Institute of Humor. It is designed to heighten public awareness on how the joy and therapeutic value of laughter can improve health, boost morale, increase communication skills and enrich the quality of one's life.
It's virtually impossible to feel sad while laughing so it stands to reason that laughter is good for one's health. A study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, presented at the American Heart Association's 73rd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
In the study, researchers compared the humor responses of 300 people. Half of the participants had either suffered a heart attack or had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. The other 150 were healthy, age-matched participants who did not have heart disease.
Participants in the study were asked to complete two questionnaires. One questionnaire had a series of multiple-choice answers to find out how much or how little the participant laughs in certain situations. The second questionnaire used 50 true or false answers to measure anger and hostility.
For example, the questions included the following:
From the multiple-choice section:
If you arrived at a party and found that someone else was wearing a piece of clothing identical to yours, would you (a) not find it particularly amusing (b) be amused but not show it outwardly (c) smile (d) laugh or (e) laugh heartily.
If you were eating in a restaurant with some friends and the waiter accidentally spilled a drink on you, would you (a) not find it particularly amusing (b) be amused but not show it outwardly (c) smile (d) laugh or (e) laugh heartily.
From the true or false section:
I often wonder what hidden reasons another person may have for doing something nice for me. True or False.
I am likely not to talk to people until they speak to me. True or False
People with heart disease were less likely to recognize humor or use it to get out of uncomfortable situations. They generally laughed less, even in positive situations and they displayed more anger and hostility.
(Source:) http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/laughter.htm
There's a great article on the value of laughter geared for children here, that explains the whole process:
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=287&id=2424
Finally, if you're a pet owner, then you just might have noted that your pet smiles, which could indicate a sense of humor present. In fact, research has been done that confirms this. There's a great article on National Geographic Kids that examines the subject:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/0604/
To your health! Laugh - it's good for you! Meanwhile, if you have some good family-fare jokes to share...post them here.
It seems fitting that National Humor Month takes place in April, a month that arrives with the warmer Spring weather.
National Humor Month was founded in 1976 by best-selling humorist Larry Wilde, Director of The Carmel Institute of Humor. It is designed to heighten public awareness on how the joy and therapeutic value of laughter can improve health, boost morale, increase communication skills and enrich the quality of one's life.
It's virtually impossible to feel sad while laughing so it stands to reason that laughter is good for one's health. A study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, presented at the American Heart Association's 73rd Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, researchers found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.
In the study, researchers compared the humor responses of 300 people. Half of the participants had either suffered a heart attack or had undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. The other 150 were healthy, age-matched participants who did not have heart disease.
Participants in the study were asked to complete two questionnaires. One questionnaire had a series of multiple-choice answers to find out how much or how little the participant laughs in certain situations. The second questionnaire used 50 true or false answers to measure anger and hostility.
For example, the questions included the following:
From the multiple-choice section:
If you arrived at a party and found that someone else was wearing a piece of clothing identical to yours, would you (a) not find it particularly amusing (b) be amused but not show it outwardly (c) smile (d) laugh or (e) laugh heartily.
If you were eating in a restaurant with some friends and the waiter accidentally spilled a drink on you, would you (a) not find it particularly amusing (b) be amused but not show it outwardly (c) smile (d) laugh or (e) laugh heartily.
From the true or false section:
I often wonder what hidden reasons another person may have for doing something nice for me. True or False.
I am likely not to talk to people until they speak to me. True or False
People with heart disease were less likely to recognize humor or use it to get out of uncomfortable situations. They generally laughed less, even in positive situations and they displayed more anger and hostility.
(Source:) http://www.umm.edu/news/releases/laughter.htm
There's a great article on the value of laughter geared for children here, that explains the whole process:
http://www.cyh.com/HealthTopics/HealthTopicDetailsKids.aspx?p=335&np=287&id=2424
Finally, if you're a pet owner, then you just might have noted that your pet smiles, which could indicate a sense of humor present. In fact, research has been done that confirms this. There's a great article on National Geographic Kids that examines the subject:
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/ngkids/0604/
To your health! Laugh - it's good for you! Meanwhile, if you have some good family-fare jokes to share...post them here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)