Al's Morning Meeting reader (and
Poynter
grad)
Susan Hirasuna (an anchor at Fox-11 in Los Angeles) sent me a story idea about a tragic "game" that kids play, called "The Choking Game."
Susan
covered the death of a 14-year-old who played the game. It has been
around for a while, but keeps finding new young audiences:
The kids called it
the choking game, Space Monkey, Flatlining. Using a belt of their
hands, kids get a cheap high cutting off their air supply. But the game
can be deadly and is often mistaken as suicide.
A Seattle Times story said:
Youths
who try choking themselves can faint and die because they cut off their
oxygen supply, but they can also suffer strokes by compressing then
releasing pressures on the carotid arteries that carry blood to the
brain.
Parents of kids who had died have started Web sites to spread the word.
CBS News reported on The Choking Game this summer:
Among the warning signs parents should watch for:
- Your child keeping a rope or plastic bag
- Bloodshot eyes
- Headaches
- Marks on the child's neck
A newsletter, called TheTeenChokingGame.com, lists a number of news stories just this month. Another site, www.stop-the-choking-game.com, also has a collection of clips from the past month:
Nasal Irrigation
It is not a headline
that attracts the weak of stomach, but it seems that there really might
be something to the notion of keeping the inside of your nose wet, as a
way of reducing the severity of sinus infections and allergies. Chris Swingle, health/fitness reporter at the Democrat and Chronicle (Rochester, N.Y.), dropped a link to Al's Morning Meeting. Her story said:
In this season of allergies and colds, have you irrigated your nose lately?
Salt-water
nasal washing -- where fluid is poured in one nostril and flows out the
other, and possibly out the mouth -- has been used for thousands of
years in traditional Eastern medicine and by hatha yoga practitioners.
It might sound gross,
and it can take some getting used to, but it works. Scientific studies
have documented that salt-water nasal irrigation may reduce the number
of sinus infections and shorten their duration. It can help people
suffering from allergies. The approach is intended to soothe dry nasal
passages, wash away dust and pollen, offset the effects of breathing
dry air (especially in winter), remove excess mucus and help you
breathe more freely.
"It acts as a very mild decongestant," explains Dr. Beth Friedman, a Rochester allergist.
The
inexpensive, simple, nonprescription approach appeals to patients who
prefer to avoid medication and its side effects. Pharmacies sell
squeeze bottles, some already filled with saline, to flush out the
nostrils. The traditional device is a small pot with a straight spout
called a neti pot.
Try it when you're suffering the pain of a sinus infection and, Friedman says, "It will change your life."
This isn't a cure for the common cold but can make a cold more tolerable and possibly go away faster, says Friedman.
Recently, NPR aired a very nice story on the subject. Give it a listen. The NPR story even suggested nasal irrigation might "prevent" colds.
My doctor told me
that she's not sure about that, but said that it might make colds less
severe. I suggested that it might make the cold seem less severe, because anything compared to shooting warm salt water up your schnoz doesn't seem so bad.
High-Tech Crackdown on School Tardiness
The Dallas Morning News
tells the story of how bar-code technology, similar to what you see at
the grocery check-out line, is helping schools deal with tardy students.
If they arrive to school late, they have to swipe their student ID into
a card reader:
A computer printer
produces their punishment, which also serves as a hall pass. It's a
ticket to class since teachers are expected to shut and lock their
doors at the final bell.
[Irving's' MacArthur High School] is in its third year of using the Web-based eCampus USA system.
Principal Tracie Fraley said it has cut down on tardies and made
punishments more equal. She can also generate reports to watch trends
or check on specific students.
Irving High also uses the system, and this year Nimitz High School began using it. It's also in use in other area districts, including Dallas, Frisco and Garland.
Before the system,
tardy slips were written out manually. Classroom teachers were expected
to keep track of late students, and they weren't always consistent with
discipline.
"It was just a
management nightmare to try to keep up with so many students," Ms.
Fraley said. "We weren't always accurate. This way it's much more
objective."
The school's
enrollment is about 2,400. Several hundred students were late first
period before the system, Ms. Fraley said, but now there are usually
only 20 to 30 unexcused tardies.
eCampus says the computerized system saves staff time and administrative costs. The
system sends out parent letters, too. Teachers will tell you that tardy
students are a big disruption. They not only interrupt the teacher, but
they start the day behind the rest of the class.
Teaching in Hospitals
The New York Times
ran an interesting story about how school goes on, even when
schoolchildren are hospitalized. It is a story that just about all of
you could do: Who are the teachers who visit and teach kids in
hospitals? Some of these sick kids will be hospitalized for months or
years. I mentioned this idea back in February, when the St. Petersburg Times did an especially nice story on teachers who are assigned to hospitals.
Faith and Family Survey
The PBS program "Religion & Ethics" just came out with a new national survey on faith and family in America.
- According to the
survey, the growing acceptance of divorce is also occurring among
religious conservatives. Only 34 percent of evangelical Christians and 30 percent of
traditional Catholics say that divorce is a sin. [...]
- Eighty percent of Americans agree it is better for children if their parents are
married, but 55 percentalso agree that "love is what makes a family";
- Forty-nine percent of Americans agree that married people are happier than unmarried people;
- Ninety-seven percent
of Americans in traditional families and 88 percent in nontraditional
families say they are satisfied with their family life;
- Forty-nine percent
of nontraditional families and 37 percent of traditional families say they
worry a lot about their children learning the right values;
- Twenty-nine percent
of nontraditional families and 25 percent of traditional families say they
worry a lot about their children maintaining the religious faith they
were brought up in;
- Forty-two percent
of evangelical Protestants agree that a family suffers if the woman has
a full-time job, yet nearly half (48 percent) of evangelicals in traditional
families have two adults who work full time versus 40 percent of all
traditional parents;
- Sixty-four percent of Americans agree that it is sometimes necessary to discipline a child with a hard spanking;
- Seventy-nine percent
of evangelicals and 70 percent of traditional Catholics say the law should
define marriage as a union between a man and a woman, compared to 53 percent
of mainline Protestants and 35 percent of liberal Catholics;
- Seventy-seven percent
of Americans say sex-education classes should provide information about
condoms, contraception, and how to make responsible decisions about
sex; 18 percent say abstinence is best and sex-ed classes should not provide
information about contraception;
- Eighty-two percent of Americans say the government should not be involved in programs that encourage marriage.
Radio With Video
The other day, we heard from Chris Carl, news director at WDEL-AM (radio) in
Wilmington, Del.
He gives a glimpse of how radio reporters are not just about radio -- or
even writing online stories. They are shooting video, too:
We've
traded in all of our cassette recorders for video cameras. In
addition to producing stories for the radio, our reporters produce a
video package which is put on our Web site -- wdel.com. We also produce a daily video newscast. Times are truly changing!
The video newscast is posted at 8 a.m.
daily.
Federal Legislation Coming to Prevent
Car Back-Overs
Sen. Hillary Clinton and Rep. Peter King today will
hold a press conference to introduce their legislation to force new cars to
include technology that they say will help prevent blind zones behind vehicles,
especially large vehicles.
Al's Morning Meeting has hit this topic many
times in the past. A 2004 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study reports deaths and injuries caused by non-traffic car accidents. Lots of these have involved parents backing
over their own
children or family members in their own driveways.
Kids and Cars, a lobbying group
that favors the federal requirements, says:
In 2004 alone, more
than 100 children were backed over and killed, many by parents or
family members in their own driveways. Already in 2005, at least 190
children have been killed in non-traffic car incidents. The
technology exists to protect families and children from these
tragedies, but currently neither Congress nor the National Highway
Traffic Safety [Administration] requires the technology be installed.
Such technology is only available on a select few vehicles, or as an
after-market product consumers have to purchase themselves.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible.
As a teenager (which was about four years ago) we...
