Midlothian Schools

Midlothian Independent School District

Check out the link above,
they have put together an excellent Web Site

This school district makes me proud every day
( some topics below not withstanding )

Media Education Foundation

Online short version of the 2003 film
Captive Audience - Advertising Invades the classroom

Speaking of Channel One

Campaign For A Commercial-Free Childhood (formerly Stop Commercial Exploitation of Children) is a national coalition of health care professionals, educators, advocacy groups and concerned parents who counter the harmful effects of marketing to children through action, advocacy, education, research, and collaboration. We support the rights of children to grow up – and the rights of parents to raise them – without being undermined by rampant consumerism. CCFC is headquartered at the Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston.

CommercialFreeChildhood.Org

While aimed at life in general, it would be nice if schools would
shelter our kids from corporate America.
Let the parents decide which corporations have access to children.

MISD is always in the process of dealing with new growth
and how best to use the funds it has.

While I understand the rationale behind using existing
designs to build new schools, it's time to move
beyond the curve.

We need to build these new schools using design and materials
using "Green" models.

Not just energy efficient buildings,
but models of what can be done today to take advantage
of sun, wind, and water to the most advantage
without negative environmental impact.

Buildings that have substantial positive impact
not only on students but on the community
of Midlothian as a leader in forward thinking.

Some good resources and examples are;

http://www.rmi.org/sitepages/pid715.php

http://www.seco.cpa.state.tx.us/re_sustain.htm

http://www.nesea.org/buildings/greenschoolsresources.html

http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/GreenBuilding/Schools/

http://www.mtpc.org/RenewableEnergy/green_schools/planning.htm

http://www.innovativedesign.net/schoolkey_a.htm

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/08/roy_lee_walker.php

http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1158&issue=sept_04

Please do not give our kids a lesson in corporate
greed by plastering corporate logos of anyone who will pay the money.
All of these facilities belong to Midlothian Citizens.

If you need extra money to put up a school sign or scoreboard without
taking corporate advertising dollars, you should ask for it.
The pride we have in our school structures is diminished
substantially when we have to stick the name of some
soft-drink manufacture on the sign and tell the world
we didn't have the money.

It's called branding.

These companies are in it to sell their product.
Is that the lesson we want to teach our children.
(see related material on Channel One further down)

Can we start a healthy lunch initiative ?

What you eat has an incredible effect on
how you feel and how well you learn.

We cannot expect our students to excel when fed
hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and other semi-worthless junk.

ARAMark , the food service company that supplies
MISD with food services, has vegetarian options available
to districts that want them. We want them, lets see what can happen.

WWW.SAVE.US

The Four Appetite for a Change Goals:

KICK junk foods and junk food ads out of our schools.

While MISD has moved in a positive direction regarding
access to junk food in school, they did not do it
20 years ago when most people knew the stuff was junk.
If our system had not been forced to do so,
we would still have a wall of machines dispensing
chemical and sugar laden snacks
supplied by highest bidder.
START converting school lunches to healthier menus.

Using organic and transition to organic ingredients
(no pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, irradiation or
genetically engineered ingredients). Offer vegetarian options.
STOP spraying toxic pesticides on school grounds and in buildings

Convert to integrated pest management practices.
TEACH students about healthy food choices and sustainable agriculture.

This will be difficult since our own government does not
encourage the practice, and it runs counter to the
profit motive of agricultural chemical companies

School Cafeterias Starting to Go Organic
Some Washington Schools Go Organic for Lunch

Menu for Change:
Getting Healthy Foods into Schools

GM Free Schools

Medifast GMO Site
The campaign for GM free schools

Making Sense of Student Drug Testing
Why Educators are Saying No

340 K PDF File - Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader available Free here

Textbooks have left
out important sex education information.
Find Out Why

Keep up with the latest controversies concerning textbooks
how their chosen, by whom , and why some make it some don't

Texas Freedom Network

Texas Center for Science - www.txscience.org.

The National Center for Science Education - www.ncseweb.org

also

Biology textbook hearings prompt science disputes

Religion in Public Schools

Channel One - Is it Really Serving Our Children ?

On the No side

Obligation.org
Channel One, Alloy, Bus Radio

Commercial Alert - Channel One overview
Especially this letter from 2001

Fair.org and Channel One

The Hidden Costs Of Channel One:Estimates for the Fifty States

How to be Stupid
The Lessons of Channel One

On The YES Side

Channel One

Ever ride a school bus and wonder why they don't have seat belts.
It does not take much to imagine what would happen to 25 kids
as they are tossed around inside the bus in an accident.

http://www.ncsbs.org/testimonies/seat_belt_background.htm

http://www.stnonline.com/stn/occupantrestraint/tableofcontents/sb_goertz.htm

Confused about the ongoing evolution/creation debate regarding science textbooks.
Specifically whether alternative theories should be introduced.

This a good fact e-booklet on the compatibility of evolution
with most major world religious views.

Voices for Evolution

Neat site for checking out how our schools compare to others
The link uses the Middle Schools as an example

just4kids

Public Schools First

Find out about how Federal budget cuts and redistribution of
money with various new programs have serious consequences
with regard to our already seriously under-funded public schools.

Midlothian Schools

Check out the link above, they have put together an excellent Web Site

This school district makes me proud every day ( some topics below not withstanding )

Online short version of the 2003 film Captive Audience - Advertising Invades the classroom

MISD is always in the process of dealing with new growth and how best to use the funds it has.

While I understand the rationale behind using existing designs to build new schools, it's time to move beyond the curve.

We need to build these new schools using design and materials using "Green" models.

Not just energy efficient buildings, but models of what can be done today to take advantage of sun, wind, and water to the most advantage without negative environmental impact.

Buildings that have substantial positive impact not only on students but on the community of Midlothian as a leader in forward thinking.

Please do not give our kids a lesson in corporate greed by plastering corporate logos of anyone who will pay the money. All of these facilities belong to Midlothian Citizens.

It's called branding.

These companies are in it to sell their product. Is that the lesson we want to teach our children. (see related material on Channel One further down)

Can we start a healthy lunch initiative ?

What you eat has an incredible effect on how you feel and how well you learn.

We cannot expect our students to excel when fed hamburgers, hot dogs, pizza and other semi-worthless junk.

ARAMark , the food service company that supplies MISD with food services, has vegetarian options available to districts that want them. We want them, lets see what can happen.

KICK junk foods and junk food ads out of our schools.

START converting school lunches to healthier menus.

Using organic and transition to organic ingredients (no pesticides, antibiotics, hormones, irradiation or genetically engineered ingredients). Offer vegetarian options.

STOP spraying toxic pesticides on school grounds and in buildings

Convert to integrated pest management practices.

TEACH students about healthy food choices and sustainable agriculture.

This will be difficult since our own government does not encourage the practice, and it runs counter to the profit motive of agricultural chemical companies