Month: January 2006

Child’s academic success tied to emotional stability
Author says impulse control precedes learning
— reported by the Houston Chronicle

Besides preparing children for school by teaching them about colors, the alphabet and geometrical shapes, early childhood teachers and caregivers should also deal with the child’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical well-being.

So said Pam Schiller, an early childhood consultant and author, as she spoke Saturday to the 2,500 participants in the 20th annual Early Childhood Winter Conference.

Relationships between children and their teachers are as crucial as child’s home environment, said Schiller, who added children’s trust must be earned before trying to teach them. She said often by the time children become comfortable with their teachers, the child is advanced to another grade.

[snip]

Texas leads U.S. in income gap between wealthy, middle-class
— reported by the Houston Chronicle

No other state has a wider income gap between its richest and middle class than Texas, according to a national study released today.

At the same time, Texas ranks second only to New York in its income gap between its richest and poorest inhabitants, according to the study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, D.C.

[snip]

From 2001 to 2003, the average income of the top 20 percent of Texas families — $118,971 — was nearly three times the average income of the middle 20 percent, which made $41,015, the study shows.

The average income of Texas’ richest families was more than eight times greater than the $14,724 average of poorest one-fifth.

The study also found that in both Texas and the nation, the gap between the richest families and those in the middle or lowest end continues to grow.

[snip]

“Texas and Houston have got to massively upgrade their education systems,” he said. “If we don’t find a way to educate the work force in the 21st century, the state is not going to be competitive.”

Fox to roll out Hispanic magazine in Houston, other major markets
— reported by Houston Business Journal

A new Hispanic magazine, “Fox Sports en Español,” will hit the Houston newsstands in March.

New York-based Cuatro Media Inc., principally owned by Houston-based private investment firm Savoy Capital, finalized a licensing agreement with Los Angeles-based Fox Pan American Sports LLC Monday to produce and distribute a monthly magazine titled “Fox Sports en Español” in the United States.

The full-color Spanish-language sports magazine will have East and West versions.

It will debut on March 23 in Houston through the Houston Chronicle’s “La Voz” and “La Vibra” publications.

[snip]

Duke, UNC MBA programs lose ground in annual rankings
— reported by Triangle Business Journal

The full-time MBA programs at both Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill took substantial nosedives this year in the Financial Times’ Global Top 100 MBA Ranking released Monday.

The MBA program at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business fell from 18th position last year to 27th this year, just two spots ahead of UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, which fell from 17th to 29th. Duke tied for 27th with Esade Business School in Spain.

Wake Forest’s Babcock Graduate School of Management ranked 70th on the annual list.

[snip]

U.S. business schools claimed 57 of the top 100 global business school spots in Financial Times’ 2006 rankings. European schools accounted for 27 rankings, followed by 7 Canadian schools.