letterfrompublisher
The school bell ringing out over the Michigan farm
fields from the one-room schoolhouse my mother at-
tended, served as a daily reminder of the vital presence
of children in the community. Pretty Miss Russell, the
only teacher Mother knew until she left for high school,
juggled instruction in the 3Rs among 16 students in eight
grades.
Grandmother served on the board for the township’s
school. She, like everyone, knew all the families in the
district. Learning and life were interconnected.
These days, most students heading back to school
don’t have such a safe, community-supported environ-
ment to thrive in. As a result, Bill Milliken, author of The Last Dropout – Stop the
Epidemic, reports that kids are dropping out at alarming rates. His organization,
Communities in Schools, is working to reverse this devastating trend now threaten-
ing the future of our country. Participants are delighted to discover how schools
can become an integrated and holistic one-stop destination, where parents, fami-
lies and others in the community come together to make a huge difference. (See
page 44).
I love Mother’s stories about how Miss Russell would light the wood stove,
put on the soup pot and throw in vegetables from local farms to simmer until
lunch time. School lunches reliably supplied the daily nutrition they needed.
Brown bag sandwiches, too, came from the family’s own fields. Grandmother
baked the bread and pulled veggies and jams from the garden. With no freezer or
electricity, they relied on canned goods in winter. The traditional Sunday chicken
dinner came right from the farmyard.
Renowned restaurateur and local food fan Alice Waters believes it’s just as im-
portant for today’s children to have that integral connection with their food sourc-
G u l f C o a s t
es. Her Edible Schoolyard environmental education program is gaining deserved
momentum, with some 3,000 school gardens sprouting across the country. It’s also
A c u p u n c t u r e
improving school lunch programs. “We started [the organizing Chez Panisse Foun-
dation] largely out of concern that young people increasingly are isolated from the
Acupuncture • Herbs
land and deprived of the joys and responsibilities it teaches,” Waters explains. See
Energy Medicine
page 29 for details.
NAET • BRT
In “Early Bloomers”, writer Lisa Marshall identifies one of the frightening
consequences of chemical tampering with America’s food sources. It more than
SPECIALIZING IN: raises an eyebrow with the question, “Why are young boys and girls today reach-
Allergy Relief ing puberty prematurely?” Experts supply insight and practical steps that parents
Hormone Dysfunction
can take to keep youngsters from physically maturing too soon, on page 36.
Chronic, Complex Health Disorders
My mother’s generation never even heard of ADD/ADHD, now reaching
Safe, Effective Health Care
epidemic proportions. On page 40, Roon Frost suggests natural treatments to slow
and undo yet another consequence of a toxic environment plaguing our children.
There is a great sense of relief in knowing that there is hope for anyone suffering
from this disorder.
This month’s focus on Children’s Health underscores how special the world’s
youth are and how crucial our role is in nurturing them in every way. Children
depend on us, as responsible adults, to support them along healthy, happy, lively
paths. We have the power to make the world a better place for them to grow and
learn in. Won’t you join us?
AP#0000771
Many blessings,
Phyllis C. Weber
Acupuncture Physician
Naples 841-6611 Ft Myers 936-4199
Sharon Bruckman
Collier / Lee Counties
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