FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM FEBRUARY 23, 2017 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 27 kids & education FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM DECEMBER 29, 2016 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 35 kids & education ‘Superhero’ gives Bayside kids a lesson on good behavior Experts agree digital education may help young kids learn For years, parents and pediatricians fretted over how much screen time was too much, especially for very young children. BY SUZANNE MONTEVERDI smonteverdi@qns.com/@ smont76 Students at a Bayside school enjoyed a lesson from a superhero about respecting each other everywhere they go. High-energy superhero “Omega-Man” captured the attention of the student body at P.S. 159 on Wednesday, Feb. 15, by combining fascinating feats of strength, motivational speaking and audience participation into one dynamic anti-bullying presentation. Students were taught about the dangers of all types of bullying, including physical, emotional and cyber through a series of colorful presentations. In one instance, Omega-Man ripped a phone book, dubbed the “Book of Bad Choices,” in half — a metaphoric way of teaching children that their past mistakes don’t have to define their futures. “If you can get their attention, you can get a message into their lives,” said Omega-Man, otherwise known as Marc Wilkes. “It’s the same message that teachers and mom and dads are saying; it’s just wrapped up in a different Smart Student BANKING1 Open your Student Checking2 Account and/or Savings Account and enjoy: ▪ No Minimum Balance Fee ▪ No Per-Check Fee ▪ No Monthly Service Fee ▪ Unlimited Transactions at NYCB ATMs ▪ Free Visa® debit card ▪ Free Direct Deposit ▪ Free e-Statements ▪ NYCB Online and NYCB Mobile3 Bank Anywhere You See NYCB! (877) 786-6560 • myNYCB.com All services not available at all locations. 1Student Banking is available for personal accounts only and is free of maintenance and activity fees. 2Student Checking Accounts with a Visa® debit card are automatically enrolled in the Even >more Rewards Program. For complete terms and conditions speak with a branch representative. Restrictions apply. 3Standard messaging and data rates may apply. © New York Community Bank- Member FDIC Equal Opportunity Lender package.” Wilkes is the founder of Omega-Man Schools. Formed in 2008, the group has visited more than 5,000 schools nationwide to discuss topics like bullying and peer pressure through engaging and energetic presentations. Isabella Chang, 10, spoke about the educational and entertaining elements of the assembly. “I learned to not do things and to not lie and be nice to everyone,” the fourth-grader and student council member said. “My favorite part was when he was talking to everyone about all the bad things people do and how to try not to do them. And also my favorite part was when he broke stuff.” The event was organized by the school Parent Teacher Association (PTA) and coincided with the Department of Education’s “Respect for All” week. “We feel that it’s so important for students to make good choices, to respect others and to stand up if they see something wrong, to say something,” said Teresa Kirchhofer, treasurer of the PTA. “We wanted to educate the students and empower them to have those tools, so that when they’re confronted with a situation, they know how to respond.” P.S. 159 is a National Blue Ribbon elementary school located at 205-01 33rd Ave. Photos: Suzanne Monteverdi/THE COURIER Omega-Man teaches students at P.S. 159 how to respect others through an interactive assembly. 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Bank is not responsible for typographical errors. © New York Community Bank- Member FDIC Equal Opportunity Lender Many child health experts advised minimal screen time for elementary-aged kids and none at all for children younger than 2. New research, a revised policy from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), and the personal experience of millennial parents who grew up in the digital age, have changed the way parents view screen time for youngsters. “Research now shows us that not all screen time is equal,” says Barbara Peacock, managing director of School Zone Inc., a recognized leader in creating innovative multimedia learning tools to prepare children for a lifelong love of education who recently launched AnywhereTeacher.com, a “Digital Educational Playground” for kids 2-8. “Everyone agrees it’s important for children to maintain healthful levels of physical activity, but studies also show educational screen time can be an eff ective way to supplement children’s learning. As the American Academy of Pediatrics recently noted, ‘the eff ects of media use are multi-factorial and depend on the type of media, the type of use, the amount and extent of use, and the characteristics of the individual child.” New understanding Th e AAP and other child health experts have long counseled parents against allowing very young children to have much screen time. However, the AAP recently revised its stance, citing “evidence regarding health media use (that) does not support a one-size-fi ts-all approach” to media use by children. Rather than keeping young children off devices entirely, the AAP now advises parents to develop a Family Media Use Plan that takes into account children’s developmental stages, and uses that information to create an appropriate and individual balance for media usage by each child. Th e AAP encourages parents to establish boundaries for how and when children may use digital devices, ensure they understand the importance of not sharing personal information online, and openly talk with children about media use. In revising its recommendation, the AAP looked to a growing body of research that shows digital media use can help facilitate learning. Writing in the Hechinger Report, a highly regarded watchdog media outlet that covers inequality and innovation in education, Lisa Guernsey, director of New America’s early education initiative,and Michael H. Levine, founding director of the Joan Ganz Cooney Center, a nonprofi t literacy and digital media research organization, explained the shift in thinking. “Literacy rates and toddlers’ media use may seem unrelated, but they are inextricably tied,” the co-authors noted. “Th e important connections between media and reading must be brought to light in schools, households, and in the public’s imagination ... children at very young ages can gain important skills in literacy and language development if the content on the screen is designed for learning and if they have a parent or educator who talks with them about what they are doing and seeing.” Making media work for learning Parental involvement in media use is the key diff erence between programming that benefi ts children’s educational development, and valueless screen time, research shows. Th e National Head Start Association recently stressed that “family engagement is integral” to successful learning. Th e U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Department of Education agreed in a joint policy statement issued in May 2015: “Families are children’s fi rst and most important teachers, advocates and nurturers,” the statement said, calling family involvement in kids’ education “critical” to their long-term success. Busy tech-savvy parents recognize how easy technology can make it to access high-quality supplemental learning tools for their children, but fi nding a trusted source of curated content is not always easy. Speaking to her company’s newly launched site, Peacock comments, “AnywhereTeacher.com features content that has been developed exclusively by School Zone based on decades of research and broad-based experience working with educators, dating back almost 40 years when our founders, James Hoff man, Ed.D and his wife Joan, MA,recognized the need for at-home learning materials.” Th e subscription based AnywhereTeacher.com is an easy to navigate site for youngsters that combines the power of video with traditional learning tools such as fl ash cards, games, interactive worksheets and printable activities. Original episodic programming like Charlie & Company engages children with educational messages in a fun, familiar way. Th e service, which starts at just $6.99 per month, allows parents to manage their children’s activities and view their progress, creating an opportunity to talk about learning goals and improvement. Th e service is compatible with most devices and you can buy a subscription through iTunes, Google Play or PayPal to gain access from any device. Th ere’s no limit on the number of devices families can simultaneously use to access the site. Visit AnywhereTeacher.com to learn more. (BPT)
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