What about trust between parents & child?

A nationwide program titled "Project 7th Grade" suggests that parents establish the use of a drug testing kit to help curb their children from using drugs. According to Arizona State University study data, 84 percent of Project 7th Grade parents would "definitely recommend" the program to other parents.

A parent's first reaction to drug testing their kids may be a strong concern about jeopardizing the trust they fell they have with their child. Trust is something that is earned over time. From the time children are young, parents establish rules and verify that the rules are followed.

For example, parents check their child's report cards stating in kindergarten to make sure their child is successful academically. As a child grows, parents continue to review their child's report cards, even when their child tells them what to expect. Kids don't have an issue about their parents reviewing their report cards in middle school or high school because it's a verification method that started when they were young.

For an adolescent, new rules such as curfews are set. The first few late nights, parents stay up to be sure their child is home at the established time. Over time, after a child has repeatedly honored their curfew, parents may extend the curfew or may ask their child to wake them when he or she gets home. Parents trust their child, but continue to verify that their child is following the curfew.

Drug testing can be thought of as a report card or a verification method that shows how successfully a child is "saying no" to drugs. Parents can monitor their child's success with resisting drug use by using a testing kit in the privacy of their own home.

Trust that a child is making good decisions about "saying no" to drugs during adolescence will be earned over time, and parents will continue to verify that their child is healthy and drug free. Home drug testing is a confidential, accurate and inexpensive prevention tool.

- FTONEWS.com -

 

FT Relay for Life deserves continued support

It's on the way!

The 2008 American Cancer Society Relay for Life of Franklin Township is just around the corner. And it can be an amazing 24 hours - dependent, of course, upon the event being embraced by the community.

The Franklin Township Relay is scheduled to begin on Friday, May 30, at 4 p.m. The event is returning after a one-year absence to the Franklin Township Athletic Complex track and adjoining area, where the Relay in previous years has enjoyed successes.

The success of the 2008 presentation will be measured by how well the community accepts the challenge. Here's the challenge - the Franklin Township community (as a whole) needs to become motivated to join the fight against cancer. To what extent will this community accept the challenge?

Those involved in the planning aspect are attempting to spread the word about the American Cancer Society's mission and the important role the Relay for Life of Franklin Township plays from a local standpoint. Still more people need to be helping in getting the word out, . need to be helping in adding teams to the Relay's fundraising process, . need to be helping in fighting cancer by supporting the community's efforts in making a proactive statement through the annual Relay.

The key word is need. The Relay for Life of Franklin Township is in need of community support. The American Cancer Society is in need of fundraising dollars. Those affected by cancer - either directly or indirectly - are in need of help and hope provided through research.

With the help of dollars and awareness raised by Relay participants like those in Franklin Township, the American Cancer Society is making enormous progress in the fight against cancer. For example, the Society has been able to fund 40 Nobel Prize-winning researchers, and has been a part of almost every major breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Right here in Franklin Township, the Society provides programs and services that improve the quality of life for cancer patients and their families. The funds this community generates during Relay for Life of Franklin Township help support those local programs.

Diana Moore, the Relay for Life of Franklin Township's online chair, is one of those spreading the word. She encourages members of the community to join her in sending out Relay emails - an excellent method of drumming up support and spreading awareness.

Show others that people in this community are accepting the challenge. Show others in this community that there are real people here who really care about this fight. Ask them to join in the fight!

NOTE: For additional information about the Relay for Life of Franklin Township (and how to become involved), contact one of the following:

Ben Risinger, Community Representative
American Cancer Societuy-Great Lakes Division
(317) 280-6650 or 1-800-233-6303 Ext. 6650
Email: Benjamen.Risinger@cancer.org

Diana Moore, Online Chair
Relay for Life of Franklin Township
Email: FCHSrelay@aol.com
Web site: http://events.cancer.org/rf l franktownin

- FTONEWS.com -

 

What's 2 million minutes of education worth?

NOTE: A cover story in the February 2008 issue of Indiana Business magazine written by Erik Hromadka addresses contents of a documentary titled "Two Million Minutes: A Global Examination." The storyline was conceived by venture capitalist Robert A. Compton, who also served as executive producer of the 54-minute documentary.

Regardless of nationality, as soon as a student completes the eighth-grade, the clock starts ticking. From that very moment the child has approximately.

• "Two Million Minutes" until high school graduation.
• Two Million Minutes to build an intellectual foundation.
• Two Million Minutes to prepare for college and ultimately a career.
• Two Million Minutes to go from a teenager to an adult.

How a student spends their Two Million Minutes - in class, at home studying, playing sports, working, sleeping, socializing, or just goofing off - will affect their economic prospects for the rest of their lives.

That is the question that Bob Compton is raising as he travels the country to promote his latest project, a documentary called "Two Million Minutes" that highlights the lives of high school students in Indiana and compares them to similar students in India and China . Compton has spent much of his past 20 years investing in entrepreneurial companies in Indiana .

How do most American high school students spend this time? What about students in the rest of the world? How do family, friends and society influence a student's choices for time allocation? What implications do their choices have on their future and on a country's economic future?

This film takes a deeper look at how the three superpowers of the 21st Century - China , India and the United States - are preparing their students for the future. The documentary allows viewers to follow two students - a boy and a girl - from each of these countries, in composing a globl snapshot of education from the viewpoint of kids preparing for their future.

The filmmakers say, "Our goal is to tell the broader story of the universal importance of education today, and address what many are calling a crisis for U.S. schools regarding chronically low scores in math and science indicators.

In many ways the six kids featured in the film simultaneously fit and break national stereotypes.

Take Rohit in Bangalore . He is under intense pressure from his folks to get into a top engineering university but blows off steam singing with his "boy band" and dreams of sending demos out to record companies. In Shanghai , there is math whiz Xiaoyuan, who, while awaiting word from Yale to see if she gained early acceptance, tries out as a violinist for the top music conservatory in Shanghai .

In Indianapolis , filmmakers go to school with Neil, the senior class president and former star quarterback who gave up football to focus more on his studies. He has cruised through school, but now, with a full academic scholarship to Purdue University , wonders if he is up to the college challenge. The other students profiled in the documentary - Ruizhang , Brittany and Apoorva - face many of these universal adolescent pressures as well.

To put their narratives in context the film has assembled an array of interviews with specialists like former U.S. Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich; Tennessee Congressman Bart Gordon, chair of the House Committee on Science; Harvard economist Richard Freeman; as well as top Indian CEOs, and leading scientists in America.

Statistics for American high school students give rise to concern for education in math and science. Less than 40 percent of U.S. students take a science course more rigorous than general biology, and a mere 18 percent take advanced classes in physics, chemistry or biology. Only 45 percent of U.S. students take math coursework beyond two years of algebra and one year of geometry. And 50 percent of all college freshmen require remedial coursework.

Meanwhile, both India and China have made dramatic leaps in educating their middle classes -- each comparable in size to the entire U.S. population. Compared to the United States , China now produces eight times more scientists and engineers, while India puts out up to three times as many as the United States . Additionally, given the affordability of their wages, China and India are now preferred destinations for increasing numbers of multinational high-tech corporations.

Compton said, "When I asked kids in a first grade-class in Bangalore , India , what they wanted to be, most of them said engineers." Back in the United States , he asked the same question, and found a lot of children who aspired to be rock stars and professional athletes.

The goal of this film is to help answer the question: Are we doing enough with the time we have to ensure the best future for all?

Those interested in learning more about the documentary film are encouraged to visit online at: www.2mminues.com

- FTONEWS.com -