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6547. thoughtful - 7/13/2005 8:10:04 PM

are school meals provided free of charge? or do they have to pay?

6548. judithathome - 7/14/2005 12:47:16 AM

Even the sippies things for young babies that are 'supposed to be healthy' because they have 'natural flavor' and vit c added are fundamentally sugar water.

And now, they are putting Splenda in those drinks and most of the sweet snack foods and colas kids are having.

6549. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 1:23:37 AM

Thoughtful,

Kids who qualify get free meals, and some have reduced price meals. It's a federal program, and is a basis for measuring children in poverty in public schools. It also helps determine the amount of state aid to high poverty (70% or more on free and reduced meals, and in AR a number of schools have over 95% of their students living below the poverty line and on the F&R program) public schools in Arkansas--one of the good things that came out of education reform here in the last couple of years. AR also added a preschool program for three and four year olds, so now, in addition to the Head Start Program, children in poverty have the state option of preschool, where they can get free or reduced price meals, making it even more important that schools work on offering healthier food.

6550. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 1:51:28 AM

We went to visit a fairly low-income district as part of our promotion of fair reform for poor and rural schools a couple of years ago, and the kids were having hamburgers that day, which is common everywhere--but the buns were homemade, because it was cheaper for them to make buns than buy them.

6551. thoughtful - 7/14/2005 2:19:24 PM

because it was cheaper for them to make buns than buy them.

That's amazing! I mean a production line churning out thousands of buns an hour vs homemade? Un-freakin'-believable! And for schools to have 95% below poverty is also unbelievable.

The coasts really are different from the middle and being a lifetime coaster, I guess I'm really really sheltered.

6552. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 4:00:36 PM

Some of those poorest districts can be the most rewarding to work in, too, if they're small enough that kids and teachers don't get lost in the system and buried in non-educational paperwork, and if their administrators are taking lower pay because they care about the kids and community rather than because they can't get jobs anywhere else. There's just so much community support and people appreciate the school and staff. Community people are also willing to work in lunchrooms and as janitors and will do more for less (like making homemade buns). In many rural communities the school is the biggest employer.

I've turned down several higher paying jobs over the years (and in fact, got a call at home just last week offering me a teaching job in a larger school--one time I got an offer while I was standing in line to get my car tags) because I am committed to where I am, and I was miserable trying to work in another--many would say better--teaching environment. In working with administrators over the last two years, I've been most impressed by the competence and accomplishments of those who are really committed to high-poverty rural schools (of course I am very biased in that regard).

(reining myself in--note to self: don't morph every discussion into rural education!)

6553. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 4:18:05 PM

And now for something completely different:

What, exactly, is the difference between an MD and a DO?

6554. thoughtful - 7/14/2005 4:53:45 PM

Encyclopedia definition: osteopathy (ŏstēŏp'əthē) , practice of therapy based on manipulation of bones and muscles. This school of medicine, founded by A. T. Still in 1874, maintains that the normal body produces forces necessary to fight disease and that most ailments are due to “structural derangement” of the body. Frequent slight strains are held to be capable of causing misalignment of bones and various other conditions of the muscle tissue and cartilage, and treatment is directed toward correction of these conditions.
The first school of osteopathy was founded at Kirksville, Mo., in 1892. A growing number of other colleges in the United States are accredited by the American Osteopathic Association to give the required four-year course of training and to grant the degree of D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy). These colleges give a complete course of instruction in conventional medicine as well as in osteopathic theory and practice. Osteopaths are licensed to practice medicine, including surgery and the prescription of drugs, throughout the United States. Many specialize in treating bone and muscle conditions, but about half are primary-care physicians in general medical practice.

6555. thoughtful - 7/14/2005 4:54:43 PM

toys?

6556. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 6:49:17 PM

Oooohkaay. Thanks! Does anyone here have an opinion on them one way or the other?

6557. thoughtful - 7/14/2005 6:51:03 PM

don't know...never been to one.

6558. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 6:57:41 PM

One was just hired in our doctor's office, and I expect mine is preparing to retire in the next year or two. There will also be an MD coming in next summer, so I'll probably go with her instead, unless someone gives me compelling reasons to try the DO. I was thinking we'd discussed them in here a long time ago, but I couldn't recall any details.

6559. PelleNilsson - 7/14/2005 8:06:18 PM

Here in Sweden they are classified among others who practice "alternative medicine".

6560. thoughtful - 7/14/2005 8:22:25 PM

good news and a big surprise from my brother...he's quit smoking though his wife has not. He is using this inhaler thing which seems to be working quite well for him. He's also lost weight, been watching his diet and added exercise. He's been to 2 docs already who have said his eyes are good enough that he can return to driving...just needs one more with the insurance co for where he was working and he'll be able to get back to work.

I just hope he sticks with his reforms!

6561. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 9:45:17 PM

That is so wonderful, Thoughtful, especially since he's been able to lose weight and quit smoking. It's often discouraging for smokers to gain weight when they quit--it takes a lot of discipline to lose it instead, so that's a great sign that he's very serious!

6562. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 9:47:00 PM

That's interesting, Pelle. I guess "holisitc" would fall into that category as well? I wonder if DO's are the main practitioners of holistic medicine.

6563. judithathome - 7/14/2005 9:51:25 PM

Does anyone here have an opinion on them one way or the other?

I love them...I've been going to DOs for over 10 years. They are very good doctors and mine in particular is very open to vitamin therapy. He has been so interested in what I am taking for lowering cholesterol and boosting my bones that he's looked into the things I'm taking...red yeast rice and plant-based calcium...and has told me to keep doing what I'm doing.

They are doctors, period. And the ones I've been involved with are good ones. I've never had him say I could be cured by skeletal manipulation but I have had him tell me what to do to improve my posture and to help my broken leg heal properly.

We had a friend who was a DO and he was a Major in the Air Force...he was a flight surgeon and took care of all the pilots. Once I had a pain in my neck and he manipulated my spine and the pain was gone...they know more than regular MDs, I feel, and sure, they have some alternatives to prescribing pills but they are very good at what they do. At least the ones I know have been.

I'd recommend DOs in a heartbeat.

6564. arkymalarky - 7/14/2005 9:56:20 PM

Thanks Judith. This man's background sounded good, and I would trust my doctor's choices of people to come into his office, but I couldn't remember what I'd heard about DO's and couldn't get a lot of information that wasn't pretty vague.

6565. thoughtful - 8/4/2005 2:44:34 PM

Articles like this annoy me....correlation is not causation. And they ignore completely the possibility that people who are interested in yoga are also generally more interested in their health and thus more likely to watch their weight.

Anyway, here it is for your digestion:

Practicing yoga may be one way to prevent middle-aged spread, according to the findings of a new study.

Although the connection appears to be indirect, yoga practitioners are apparently able to avoid - or at least minimize - the one-pound-a-year of gained weight that most people endure between the ages of 45 and 55.

The researchers used data from more than 15,000 men and women ages 53 to 57, who reported their weight at age 45 and their current weight.

The subjects were also asked to report whether they engaged regularly in three specific recreational activities - walking, weight lifting, and yoga - and whether they participated in two broader categories of activity, moderate and strenuous exercise. The researchers assessed the diet of the study participants using a detailed food questionnaire.

Practicing yoga for 4 or more years, for at least 30 minutes once a week, was associated with a 3.1-pound lower weight gain among people who were normal weight at age 45. The yoga practitioners who were overweight at 45 lost an average of 5 pounds, as opposed to an average gain of 13 pounds in overweight nonpractitioners. Being overweight was defined as having a body mass index of 25 or greater.

6566. wonkers2 - 8/18/2005 3:44:31 PM

High altitude pulmonary edema. Sounds like this is what got my sister's fiance last weekend at 14,000 feet in the Peruvian Andes. Here.

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