Safety and Helmets

Safety has always been a huge issue for me. At the summer camps I have worked at, I have often had to disagree with others who wanted to do certain trips due to safety reasons. Fortunately, even when I lost out, no accidents have happened, and most of the time, they won't. But it's that one time that the accident does happen that can become a problem. I hope that day never comes while the students are under my care.

At the boarding school I previouslly worked at, the rules for riding a bike or skateboard were simple, wear a helmet. While staff always did a good job to make sure kids wore a helmet, I often had concerns about the actual fitting of the helmets. The straps were always very loose, and none of the other staff took the time to show kids how to properly wear a helmet. Kids would complain that I was the only dorm parent that made them tighten the straps of their helmets. I always had to show them how easy it was for that helmet to come off with the way they wore them. I'm sorry I had to do this, but I think it was important. I will explain why.

My mom's life was probably saved by a helmet after a nasty bike spill. My cousin's life was probably saved by wearing a motorcycle helmet. In both instances, the helmets were substantially damaged due to impact, but they did their job. I've, sadly, had two others in my life who were not wearing helments and who have not been so lucky - one a bike accident, the other a skateboarding accident. Had my mom or cousin not been wearing their helmets properly, they could have easily come off during the fall, thus leading to major head injury, or even worse.

Due to my experiences with knowing people who have worn helmets, thus preventing major head injuries, and seeing the tragic results of those who haven't, I must continue to insist that whenever I am in a supervisory position with kids, that I am able to require the proper use of helmets when they are riding a bike or skating. Should Golden Tree ever become reality, one of my requirements will be just this, proper use of helmets. If the student can't, then the student will have his or her bike, skates, scooter, skateboard, etc., taken away. They might not like it, their parents may not like it, but I'd rather have them angry at me than injured.

Accidents happen. They are part of life. Please, when you are out biking or skating, reduce your risk of major injury by wearing a helmet. Make sure your loved ones do as well.

Today, while making my normal rounds on the Internet, I stumbled across two articles, written by elementary students, about boarding school. The articles can be found at:

• It's great being at boarding school
• I'm going to boarding school

Both these articles are about life at boarding school, and the fun that goes along with it.

I know many people picture boarding schools as a place more akin to a prison. And, in fact, some of the schools for troubled teens are a bit like prisons. But for the most part, they aren't. Golden Tree Academy is designed around the needs of the kids. Not only will they need to work hard for their classes, but they are expected to play, interact, socialize, etc., just as all kids in normal schools do. The difference? At boarding schools, your friendships can become extremely tight.

Sodas in Boarding Schools

I'm addicted to soda, pop, or coke, depending on which part of the country you are from. It looks like soda is the preferred term in all the boarding school areas. Seriouslly, I tried doing without soda today. I gave in, and wound up drinking a soda for dinner. But that was going to be my only soda for the day. By 8:45 pm, I had to have another soda! I tried just drinking water, but I couldn't do it. I don't know why I'm addicted. It's not the caffeine. I can do just fine with caffeine free soda. I just need the soda.

At one of the boarding schools I worked at, students were not allowed to have sodas on campus, unless provided by the school for special events. Students were able to purchase sodas during town-time and on weekend trips, but those had to be consumed before coming back on campus. Needless to say, many kids snuck soda onto school grounds. The other school I worked at did allow soda. They even had a soda machine on campus. None of the students were excessive with their soda drinking, as far as I know. Mostly one or two cans a day.

If and when Golden Tree Academy becomes operational, we will need to decide on a policy for sodas. Should we allow sodas on campus? If we do, we would have to monitor consumption to ensure that some kid isn't drinking too much. If we don't, students will still get it, but hide it, but they probably won't have as much access to it. Oh decisions decisions. What is your opinion? Should a residential school for mostly middle school aged students allow sodas on campus?

Am I Stupid?

My friend, Paul Zietz, who just returned from teaching at MathPath, says that being stupid is part of the human condition. We all know only a certain amount of stuff, and there's always room to learn more.

What's my point? Nothing really, other than it's important that all of us come to the realization that we don't know everything. There's always room for improvement. Keep learning!

Til next time....
Bryan