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Student Blogs to Effect School Change

saladTired of being forced to eat what she felt were nutritionally sub-par meals at school, a 9-year-old student took to her blog in an effort to draw attention to the issue. It didn’t take long for that attention to go viral as Martha Payne's blog, Never Seconds, was eyed by several media outlets in her native Scotland. The attention grew to the point of a nationally-televised interview with the BBC. She explained how she would take pictures of the meals presented to her with a digital camera and write up a summary of the food including a Food-o-meter rating of how much she likes it, a mouthful count, a health rating and a number for how many pieces of hair were in the food.

She started in April and by May 15, school and town officials were seen leading journalists on tours of the school’s dining area. It was then that Payne blogged that there was a new system for ordering food, and that "cherry tomatoes, radishes, carrot and cucumber shreddings," began appearing in the meals.

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Introducing unEDited Chatter: Real...

In education, some of the most meaningful insights come from honest conversations, the kind that aren’t scripted or edited for perfection. That’s exactly what inspired the creation of a new podcast, unEDited Chatter. It’s a space where educators, leaders, and lifelong learners come together to share experiences, explore ideas, and talk about the real challenges and triumphs that happen every day in schools and classrooms.

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Learn about the Vikings: Leif Eriksson...

October 9, 2025, is Leif Eriksson Day. Eriksson, a Viking (Norse) and son of Erik the Red, was born around 970 AD, in Iceland. It is believed that Eriksson (also spelled Ericson, Erikson) sailed to North America (area of Canada) around the year 1000 and named the area Vinland. Although some say the name was for the wild grapes found growing in the area, others say the name means “land of meadows”.He eventually left and returned to Greenland and never sailed back to North America again....

Sharing Geography Activities to Foster...

BACK to School. Sharing some geography activities I used with my students to foster geographic Awareness. Perhaps you will find some of interest as you start the school year.

1. A fun way to show our Globally Interdependent World: Assign a partner and have the students check the labels on their tops to see where they are made. Do the same for their shoes. Have the students do a safari search with their partner looking for where things in the room were made...

Back to School Activity: Everything has...

Perhaps, teachers may find this activity of interest:
A Back to School Activity.

Why Study History:
Show students that everything has a history, even them!

I started the activity by bringing in my childhood toy. It is rather sad looking after all these years. I shared memories about the stuffed animal, a dog, and how I remember...

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