Education Newswatch May 2005

In Brief
Sleep-Promotion Poster
This free classroom poster, titled "Underwear, Zombies and Monkey Kung-Fu," uses the theme of exploring one's dreams to encourage kids to get a good night's rest. With weird and witty illustrations and fun musings about the possible symbolism of dream topics, this doesn't read like the public service announcement that it is (the poster was developed by the nonprofit American Innerspring Manufacturers). This poster actually succeeds in putting a "cool" spin on a healthy night's sleep -- something from which all students (and their teachers) benefit. To request a free copy of "Underwear, Zombies and Monkey Kung-Fu," visit www.aiminfo.org or call 800-TUCK-ME-IN.

Bully Pulpit
Peer harassment has spread from the schoolyard to the Internet as kids spend more time communicating online in a myriad of ways – via e-mail, instant message, in chat rooms and through web logs ("blogs"). According to a recent article in USA Today, "Cyberbullies, mostly ages 9 to 14, are using the anonymity of the web to mete out pain without witnessing the consequences." In a study conducted by WiredSafety.org, half of the 3,000 U.S. students surveyed over a six-month period reported they, or someone they know, have been bullied online or are guilty of cyberbullying. New York's Westchester County became the first municipality in the country to address this problem when it held an informational summit earlier this year for educators, parents, students and police, which was attended by more than 600 people. This conference kicked off a multi-approach awareness and prevention campaign against cyberbullying. For details, visit www.westchestergov.com/cybernet Other useful sites on this subject are www.wiredkids.org, www.internetsuperheroes.org and www.cyberbully.org, which includes the informative "Educators Guide to Cyberbullying." Another article of interest on the many faces of, and solutions to, bullying is at www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=Art_1187&issue=nov_04

Science in Space Challenge
NASA and educational publisher Pearson Scott Foresman are offering U.S. students the opportunity for their own science-or technology-themed investigations to be conducted by a NASA astronaut on a future space mission. While the experiments are being performed, students may follow along via television or the Internet and compare their results. The investigations might also be published in a future Scott Foresman science textbook. Teachers are asked to submit proposals on behalf of their students; the deadline is June 3. One entry each will be chosen from grades K-6 and 7-12 by a panel of NASA science education experts. Investigation criteria and information on how to submit entries can be found at www.scottforesman.com/hot/index.cfm