Back to school

"Yesterday I couldn't spell engineer. Today I are one"

Education is very important - but not everybody thinks so
according to research from Otago University.

"Two out of three eight and nine-year-olds can not pinpoint
New Zealand's location on a world map...The National Education Monitoring
Project findings issued yesterday also showed that about 40 per cent of 12 and
13-year-olds had trouble picking a precise location, with some choosing spots
closer to or in South America and other points near Antarctica, south of
Australia. Other results showed: About 48% of Year 8 students didn't know that
the Pacific Ocean was on the east coast of New Zealand. About the same number
were stumped when asked the name of the sea between New Zealand and Australia..."The
Dominion Post, 12/11/02.

Maybe parents should choose to carry a little bit of
the responsibility for this knowledge deficit occurring in their families?

Further research shows that Kiwi kids are getting fatter -
Otago University researchers are running trials trying to reduce the number of
'fat kids' in schools -– a situation which has been described as epidemic
in New Zealand.

"...nutrition lecturer Rachael Taylor said 'this study,
rather than relying on individuals to change their behaviour, will focus on
changing lifestyle patterns around them...people say the cost of healthy food is
a huge barrier...lean cuts of meat are more expensive and Coke is cheaper than
milk.' (incidentally, petrol is cheaper than buying a bottle of water).
Marlborough Express 01/08/02.

Maybe parents should choose to carry a little bit of
the responsibility for the 'physical surplus' occurring in their families...!
I think it fair to say that normally speaking, knowledge precedes implementation
of healthy dietary patterns.

Certainly there are socio-economic issues to address -–
people with less money do tend to buy cheaper less healthy food BUT a little bit
of re-education about food, and choice can dramatically change peoples
purchasing habits -– and health.