JANUARY 16, 2014 DAVENPORT, IA - Children looking to learn the lessons of empathy, tolerance, and self-respect now have a mascot to help them on their journey. Today QC United's lovable mascot Pete the Purple Bull urges everyone to visit his website, Twitter account, Facebook page, and YouTube account.

"The common mistake that bullies make is assuming that because someone is nice that he or she is weak. Those traits have nothing to do with each other. In fact, it takes considerable strength and character to be a good person."
- Mary Elizabeth Williams

"Recognizing the importance of developing personal resolve and character is certainly not a new idea" says Kim Riley-Quinn, program director for the Pete the Purple Bull Campaign, "but we have lost ground in this area as our society has moved toward social media as a common form of communication rather than real-time person to person interaction. More effort needs to be made to provide daily, interactive lessons that teach social emotional skills to our children. It is these skills that serve as the foundation for effective learning and it's these skills, along with solid academics, that are essential in preparing our children to become productive, creative members of society."

About Pete the Purple Bull
Pete the Purple Bull provides a comprehensive plan to positively impact the human world by teaching lessons of Social Responsibility in fun, interactive ways. Pete and his team will follow research-based curriculum that effectively supplements the anti-bullying programs in schools today and expands them to include a more progressive definition of positive interaction. Visit Pete's website at PeteThePurpleBull.com.

For more information contact
Kim Riley-Quinn
Email: pete@petethepurplebull.com
Phone: (855) 484-4445
Website: PeteThePurpleBull.com
Twitter: twitter.com/thepurplebull
Facebook: facebook.com/petethepurplebull
You Tube: Pete the Purple Bull Channel

MOLINE, IL - WQPT-Quad Cities PBS invites young authors and illustrators in kindergarten-third grade to submit their original stories to the PBS Kids Writing Contest.

Stories, which must be the original work of the child, may be non-fiction, fiction, prose or poetry. Entries, postmarked by Tuesday, April 8, can be dropped off at WQPT's office at Western Illinois University's 60th Street campus, or mailed to WQPT, 3561 60th St., Moline, Illinois 61265.

Sixteen local winners (four from each grade) will be honored with prizes at a ceremony held at the Butterworth Center in May and will appear on-air in a promotion for PBS Kids programs on WQPT. First place winners will compete for national prizes and their stories will appear on the WQPT website. Finalists and participating classrooms will also receive free books. Each participant will receive a Certificate of Achievement. Finalists and participating classrooms will receive free books.

For more information, along with guidelines and entry forms, visit wqpt.org/storycontest or contact Ana Kehoe at (309) 764-2400 or AT-Kehoe@wiu.edu.

Funding and support for the writing contest has been provided in part by the Butterworth Center and Deere-Wiman House, Family Museum, Figge Art Museum, Midwest Writing Center and WQPT.

WQPT is a public media service of Western Illinois University-Quad Cities.

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FAYETTE, IA (01/16/2014)(readMedia)-- The Upper Iowa University Athletic Department will recognize 179 student-athletes who earned a spot on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll on Friday, Jan. 24 between the men's and women's basketball games against Concorida University, St. Paul.

"We are thrilled to announce the Athletic Director's Honor Roll for the Fall semester," Brandi Rideout, the Assistant Athletic Director for Student-Athlete Services said. "We had a significant increase of student-athletes achieving a 3.2 GPA this past fall which is a testament to their hard work and commitment to academic success. We congratulate them and are very proud of their accomplishments in the classroom."

To earn consideration for the Athletic Director's Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have earned a minimum 3.20 grade-point average during the 2013 Fall semester. In years past, the standard was 3.0 but was raised last year to encourage Upper Iowa student-athletes to achieve at a higher level in the classroom.

Also, 32 student-athletes held a perfect 4.0 GPA during the fall semester (indicated with a * below), while 17 of these student-athletes (marked by a # below) hold a perfect GPA in their respective careers at UIU.

"These awards confirm our belief that academic-achievement and graduation is the number one reason why our student-athletes are here at Upper Iowa University," David Miller, the UIU Director of Athletics said. "This is a testament to the coaches here, and the quality of character in the student-athletes they recruit."

Currently the men's golf team has the highest male team career GPA at 3.30, while the women's golf team has the highest female team career GPA - 3.65.

Earlier this year, 34 student-athletes were named to the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference All-Academic Teams in the fall of 2013. To be eligible for this honor, the student-athlete must be a member of the varsity traveling team and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or better. Also, the student-athlete must have reached sophomore academic and athletic standing at the institution represented with one full year completed at their institution.

Please see the list below to view all of the student-athletes being honored from your area.

Cheyenne Burnett of Rock Falls, IL, a member of the Softball

Paige Davis of Rock Falls, IL, a member of the Women's Cross Country

Haylie Franklin of Muscatine, IA, a member of the Women's Volleyball

About Upper Iowa University Founded in 1857, Upper Iowa University is a private, not-for-profit university providing undergraduate and graduate degree programs and leadership development opportunities to more than 6,200 students-nationally and internationally-at its Fayette campus and learning centers worldwide. Upper Iowa University is a recognized innovator in offering accredited, quality programs through flexible, multiple delivery systems, including online and self-paced degree program. For more information, visit www.uiu.edu.

By now, it has become apparent to academics, administrators, parents and teachers that, in general, boys are underperforming in school, says Edmond J. Dixon, Ph.D, a veteran educator and international expert who offers enhanced teaching techniques for boys.

And it may get worse, he says.

It will take some creativity to teach some elements of Common Core, the educational initiative set to be implemented throughout most of the United States, in a way that's conducive to how most boys best learn, Dixon says.

Common Core has been criticized by educators and other experts as demanding standards that are static, arbitrary and generally antithetical to creativity and innovation. Yet initial results in Kentucky, the first state to use the program, have been positive. The state's graduation rate increased 6 percent from 2010 to 2013, and the percentage of college-ready students increased 20 percent.

"Any parent or teacher who wants a boy to be successful with Common Core must understand two crucial ideas: motivated engagement and discretionary effort," says Dixon, who has more than three decades experience as a teacher, is a parent of boys, and is the author of "Helping Boys Learn: Six Secrets for Your Son's Success in School," (HelpingBoysLearn.com), which features tailored editions for parents and teachers.

Because the new curriculum is designed to improve critical thinking, which requires a deep understanding of the material, boys must be both motivated and deeply engaged to learn, he says. That's what it will take for them to independently put in the necessary hard work involved in learning - discretionary effort - without nagging, he says.

"Only by doing this will they be able to meet the new learning requirements; we are already seeing the negative consequences of not doing this with boys, and I fear it will just get worse," says Dixon, adding that his approach inspires a boy's motivated engagement.

He offers two real-life examples that reveal volumes about how the male brain works:

• Boys need a worthy challenge: Both NBA greats, who have long since been great friends, are eager to talk about their former rival. Both say that they simply would not have had the same legendary career without the rivalry; it made them better. When Johnson left the NBA, Bird said he just wasn't as interested in the game.

The male brain responds to a challenge it deem worthy. A student, who daydreams during algebra class and appears lazy, may also pour attention and effort into mastering a skateboarding trick. Constructing a challenge for the male student will do wonders to engage his learning.

•   Boys crave legitimacy. Think about all the colleges in the United States; now imagine trying to craft an NFL playoff-style system that fairly selects the No.1 college football team. Does it seem impossible? Aren't there too many teams?

The NCAA has been trying to figure out a system for establishing a legitimate No. 1 team for decades, and it's finally going to implement one next season. Whether or not it'll work, the effort put into such an endeavor has been considerable. Why so much time and energy for a game?

Because the male brain craves legitimacy; boys will only agree that something is meaningful or valuable if there is a valid process for establishing that value. In the classroom, helping boys understand why and how learning a concept, skill or calculation has value for them will go a long way toward motivating them to learn.

About Dr. Edmond J. Dixon

A pioneer in the field of cognitive-kinesthetics for learning, Edmond J. Dixon, Ph.D., is a human development specialist with more than 30 years of experience as a teacher, administrator, writer, researcher - and parent of boys. He is the founder of the KEEN Differentiated Learning Group, an organization dedicated to helping struggling learners, and the creator of KEEN 5X, a series of strategies for classroom engagement and learning that were have been used with more than 50,000 students and teachers. His previous books, "KEEN For Learning" and "Literacy Through Drama," have been used by educators to improve classroom learning. A dynamic and popular presenter, he has spoken throughout North America on education and human development topics. .