Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Year after year, property tax bill after property tax bill and they still need more money!
We're paying $94 for cross country? Really? OK, I think I might step over the boundaries that I have in place for myself when talking about money, taxes and school, but this request for money was the straw that broke the camel’s back and it got me talking to lots of friends. So this week I am going to go out on a limb and say what most of us are thinking and I am guessing half of you won’t comment on. I apologize to anyone ahead of time, if you are my friend, we can still be friends and disagree on this topic … its OK. This week I am going to complain about Geneva, and why I love to hate Geneva, specifically the amount of spending I have to do here. If you don’t want to read an article full of whining, STOP READING NOW! This idea started …
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Each week, our Mom's Talk articles provides a topic and asks you to join in on our parenting discussion. This week, we want to know how you model healthy eating and an active lifestyle for your family.
Question: With all statistics pointing out that childhood obesity is on the rise in America and soon to be out of control, what do you do as a parent or family to promote healthy lifestyles and active behavior? My answer: As a parent it is essential to model good behavior both physically and by what we put in our bodies. My husband and I trained for a half marathon all winter, and last Sunday we completed our first half—13.1 miles baby! It was hard work, it took time away from family when we had our long weekend runs, but most important, we accomplished a major goal, we felt good about ourselves and set an example for our children. Our children both participate in a sport. We cannot stress enough the importance of physical activity. But …
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Are your children helpful with household chores or do they refuse to lift a finger—unless, of course, it's to respond to a text?
The groans, the sighs, and even the polite “no thank you.” I have heard it all when it comes to asking my children for a little help around the house. I don’t think that my husband and I expect too much from our children, ages 10 and 12. We don’t even give them weekly chores—we expect that when we ask for help, they do it, and skip the groans. To his credit, my son helps with the laundry. But I will never forget when he first started helping me. He stomped up the basement stairs with steam blowing out of his ears. When I inquired about his mood, he turned to me and said, “Is it too hard for all of you to turn your clothes right side out?” I cracked up on the spot, elated that someone was compassionate to my frustration. My son then gave …
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
It's a fight over the last banana, but what if you were not allowed to send your child to school with a lunch packed at home?
On Monday, the Chicago Tribune ran a story featuring Little Village Academy, a public school in Chicago’s Little Village where administrators have banned students from packing and bringing lunches from home. The only exception is when students have a medical excuse. Principal Elsa Carmona says brown bags just aren't cutting it. “Nutritionwise, it is better for the children to eat at the school," she said. "It’s about the nutrition and the excellent quality of the food that they are able to serve in the lunchroom. It’s milk versus a Coke.” The Tribune reports that the students at Little Village must take the meals served in the cafeteria or go hungry. Most students choose both, take the meal and throw it away, untouched. Now, many things …
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Moms of Geneva Unite! Together we can put an end to BOREDOM!
This weekend we had a meltdown in our house. It started Sunday after church. Maybe it was the post fun fair blues or the lack of sunshine, but it came from both children … the dreaded B word. I’m boooooorrrrreeeeeeeeeeeddddd. Really, I was feeling bored myself, and I was not in the mood to come up with a remedy for my children’s problems. So I did what every good mother would do—I posted to Facebook. Instant success! Other (more experienced) mothers felt my pain and offered a plethora of suggestions. One friend covered all of the bases: clean rooms, laundry, vacuuming, dusting, and my mother-in-law suggested the pooper scooper. Another friend offered a brilliant suggestion, one which I later employed: Make a list. Her advice was to have…
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Bullying happens all too often. It can happen to kids at school or on the web. The consequences can be devastating and permanent. As a community, how can we take a stand against bullying?
On March 10, President and Mrs. Obama addressed a growing epidemic in schools and society: bullying. The Conference on Bullying Prevention at the White House presented an opportunity for students, parents, teachers, law makers, those who have been bullied and those who want to prevent it, to come together to discuss challenges posed by bullying. This address follows a lot of conversation we have had in regard to how we are raising our children. I think most people agree that we are raising our children in a high-pressure, intense, competitive society. We're schooling our children in a way that is heavily mandated by federal, state and local government, focusing greatly on behaviors and results that can be measured and quantified. My …
41.866909
-88.353457
Geneva Middle School South
1415 Viking Dr, Geneva, IL
/articles/bullies-theyre-not-just-taking-lunch-money
318902
/locations/3705113
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Does homework sour a kid's attitude toward school or does it promote learning through writing, research, commitment and responsibility?
After watching the film Race to Nowhere, a topic resonated with me through the night and has been churning in my mind ever since. I kept hearing throughout the film that all of the students feel like Sisyphus, compelled to roll the boulder of homework up the mountain, only to slide to the bottom in a pile of loose-leaf, over and over again. What shocked me was how much the film pushed against homework. I thought: Why would a school ever promote this film? Homework is the core of my children’s schooling obligation. Homework is as necessary to education as fries are to a Big Mac. Well, I guess the film accomplished its goal—it got me to think. And some thinking I have done. Sitting back and contemplating homework and its purpose, I must …
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
As students acoss Geneva are coloring in bubbles, Mom's are planning breakfast and buying chewing gum.
How Prepared Are Your Kids? As parents we leave it up to the teachers and staffs of our children’s school to prepare them academically for the vigorous rounds of testing this week, but what are you doing at home to help your children be better test-takers? Here is what bothers me. Several blurbs and reminders come home from the various schools reminding me as a parent how to better ready my child for testing this week. I am supposed to feed my children a hearty breakfast, and I am supposed to make sure they get a good night's rest. The next day, I should supply a pack of gum and a water bottle, not to mention the extra pack of gum because you know they are giving that first pack away to their friends. Does anyone else find this advice …
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Are we raising productive critical thinkers or are we driving our children over the edge?
The film Race to Nowhere was shown at the Geneva High School Auditorium on March 2. Subtitled "The Dark Side of America's Achievement Culture," the film addresses a failure of critical-thinking skills in our children, and shows through interviews and narratives that there’s too much pressure on our children to perform. As parents, we are giving our children too little free time. We are expecting them to become young adults at the age of 8 and taking away their childhood. Some of us parents are being likened with the Chinese Tiger Mother. It’s our very own Westernized version of raising perfect children. The film's premise is that parents are expecting too much from children in school, sports and extracurriculars. We are raising children …
41.892909
-88.316319
Geneva Community High School
416 McKinley Ave, Geneva, IL
/articles/are-we-racing-our-children-to-nowhere
319110
/locations/3563446
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Moms Talk appears each Wednesday at 1 p.m. on Geneva Patch! The topic of discussion today is the new "no-grinding rule" for high school dances. Is it a good thing or does it infringe on students' rights to free expression?
Hi! I'm Kyla Keime, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to bring you Moms Talk—a discussion platform by moms, for moms—and dads too, now and then. Every Wednesday at 1 p.m. you will be able to read an article based on a topic that will be on the minds of moms in Geneva, thanks to the Geneva Patch Moms Council. (More on that later.) After you read the article, post your thoughts and feelings in the comments area, and hopefully we will begin and continue an interesting conversation between moms in a friendly forum where we can voice opinions, offer advice and find support. So, who am I and why am I doing this? Well, here's the "who" first. I've been a resident of Geneva since 1998. I live on the East Side with my husband, Erich, and …
Kyla Keime
4:48 pm on Thursday, September 1, 2011
James, I would love to see a grassroots movement to eliminate the requirements of No Child Left Behind (which I have read) and I would love to see the primary focus of education become a focus in critical thinking with our students rather than driving test taking skills into the ground. That being said, with how schools are funded we would have to overhaul the "laws" and I believe that it can … more ›