Sad, but true: For more than three years now, one of us here at The Gradebook couldn't bear to part with a Sept. 29, 2004, press release headlined, "STUDENTS DRINK APPLE JUICE ON THEIR WAY TO BETTER TEST SCORES." Yes, incredibly, it was tied to the FCAT (but isn't everything? click here) so someday we knew we'd put it to good use.
And that day has come!
It was impossible not to think of the FCAT-boosting powers of apple juice this morning when reading about the four South Florida kids who nearly OD'd on Redline energy drinks. According to the story, the middle schoolers (all male, of course) were rushed to a hospital with increased heart rates and bloodshot eyes after each drank six of the caffeinated beverages. One parent said his son could have died.
The kids' motivation: They wanted to be alert for the FCAT.
Maybe they had the right idea, but the wrong drink? Here is what the Apple Products Research & Education Council said in that 2004 press release: "You don't have to convince teachers and students at Barbara J. Hawkins Elementary School in Miami-Dade County that drinking apple juice can boost brainpower – they know it firsthand. Before the Florida Comprehensive Tests were handed out, each student got an apple juice box adorned with a sticker that read, "Yes I can!"
"The apple juice and inspirational stickers, along with a dedicated teaching staff that worked overtime, together have improved the school's average by two letter grades, going from a D to a B, in the past three years."
- Ron Matus, state education reporter
Get inside the world of Florida education with St. Petersburg Times staff writer Jeffrey S. Solochek and the rest of the Times education reporting team. We'll bring you up-to-date information about the latest education trends, fads and news and dig deep into Tampa Bay area school issues.
Thanks for the Douglas Adams reference ("Life, The Universe, and Everything.")
Posted by: Jason | March 14, 2008 at 12:51 AM
The day teachers and school administrators stop stressing our kids out about the FCAT may be the day more students begin to do well on them. CHILL OUT!!!
Posted by: Truth | March 13, 2008 at 08:55 PM
All the "education" in the world can't stop the marketing.
My kids' school newspaper did a great job of highlighting the dangers and STILL they tell me the "stories" of kids suffering heart palpitations during FCAT testing.
Some of the kids had teacher/parents!
If you were "unalert" in class the d@mn drinks won't make you smarter - just more alert that you don't know jack!
Posted by: Timmy! | March 13, 2008 at 06:10 PM