As an elementary teacher, I get lots of the same kinds of questions from parents every year, and all of them fall into ghe general category of "How can I help my child to do his or her best in school." With Smart Start I'll be adressing a frequently asked issue realting to education. Feel free to respond in the comments with other questions you may have. My goal is to provide you with answers, tips, and insights to help you support your child as a learner at every stage.
Where I live, the air is fragrant with flowers and newly cut hay right now. It is July, and officially summer. Summer in a child's mind is a time of adventure and family, of lazy mornings and lazier afternoons.
But summer also marks the beginning of an important time in your child's academic career: a time of maintaining skills and progress. Children who do not spend time reading over the summer often show significant losses in their reading skills at the start of the new school year, and boys, specifically find it challenging to sink into a good book over the summer months.
Young boys who have just started reading chapter books often struggle with finding books that engage them. Many tend to prefer nonfiction texts or comics: stuff with a wow-factor and humor rather than character development and plot. Boys are often inclined to put the book down mid-way through and zip off to something more engaging if the book hasn't fully drawn them in, and nonfiction reading or comics caters to this style of reading.
But strong comprehension strategies are built and sustained by reading fictional chapter books that require readers to keep track of characters, monitor plot changes, make predictions, and build on prior knowledge. And it's a worthy summer cause to try and find at least one or two chapter books that belong to a series that your son likes, so that he can practice and build on some of these important reaching comprehension skills.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal -- surprisingly, a biology major in college -- has signed into law a bill that allows school boards in Louisiana to select materials to be used in science classes in order to critique scientific theories. The law is supposed to be used to promote "open and objective discussion of scientific theories... including, but not limited to, evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning."
Given that the law was written and promoted with the help of the Discovery Institute, the Seattle "think" tank that orchestrated the Dover debacle, the point of the law seems clear: to allow school boards to select texts that question evolution -- such as the one produced by the Discovery Institute itself. Unfortunately, this will open school districts to very expensive lawsuits, a la Dover. In Oklahoma, the Governor vetoed a similar law, noting that school districts would suffer from "an explosion of costly and protracted litigation that would have to be defended at taxpayers' expense."
The scientific community, naturally, has opposed this legislation. The law will "unleash an assault against scientific integrity, leaving students confused about science and unprepared to excel in a modern workforce," according to Alan Leshner, CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Biologist PZ Myers offers up a scathing analysis that includes an alternative to the Discovery Institute's materials.
Personally, I think Louisiana has enough to worry about, thanks to Hurricane Katrina, and doesn't need the financial burden of school boards trying to push Intelligent Design into classrooms, but that's just me. Luckily, my kids don't go to school in Louisiana, but I'm sure they'll feel the effects of this for a long time as they end up having to deal with others who were "educated" with the help of the Dover Institute.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have donated $1,000,000 to charities in Iraq and the United States. Through their Jolie-Pitt foundation, the power couple's donations will focus on the needs of children affected by the war.
$500,000 was given to three charities in Iraq to support children's education. Another $500,000 was donated to give aid to children whose parents were killed in the war or who have a parent in the military. The $1,000,000 will provide educational supplies and counseling to children.
Jolie is a goodwill ambassador for the United Nations. Pitt has made a name for himself building homes for those devastated by the flooding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. It's nice to continutally be able to report on celebrities doing GOOD! Thanks, Ange and Brad!
It isn't uncommon these days to hear stories about teachers behaving badly in the classroom. I am a big believer in consequences and I am often left mind-boggled when these rogue teachers suffer none. Fortunately, this isn't one of those stories. Oh, we've got the bad teacher alright, but at least this one is no longer in charge of children.
John Freshwater, a science teacher at Mount Vernon Middle School in central Ohio, is accused of not only preaching his Christian beliefs in the classroom, but also of branding his students with a cross. As in using a high-frequency generator to burn the skin on the arms of kids. Freshwater doesn't exactly deny the charge, but claims he was just demonstrating how the generator thing worked and that the image was actually an "X", not a cross. I don't care if the image was Mickey Mouse, you don't burn the flesh of your students.
School board members agree and last week voted 5-0 to fire him. He is entitled to challenge the dismissal and his attorney says he intends to do so. But I just don't see how he could succeed in getting his job back considering the fact that there are actual photos of a child's branded arm. Not only that, district administrators say they've been dealing with complaints against Freshwater for at least half of his 21 year teaching career.
Of course this story isn't entirely without a mind-boggling aspect. Before firing Freshwater for intentionally injuring his students, school administrators tried to find him another position in the school. Fortunately for the kids in that district, he's not qualified to do anything else.
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been used for years to track inventory; now, one school district in Rhode Island is planning to use the technology to track students. RFID chips will be put into the kids' schoolbags and read by devices installed in the district's two school buses. The buses will also have GPS units to track their position.
Parents and school administrators would be able to track the location of the buses online and check whether or not particular kids had gotten on the bus. The ACLU, however, is concerned about the plan. Stephen Brown, executive director of the ACLU's Rhode Island chapter, says that "there's absolutely no need to be tagging children." He says the school district ought to know where its students are without tagging them.
I'm not sure I like the idea; there is, of course, the potential for misuse of the system. More importantly, however, I think I'd rather see the kids tracked by humans, however infallible they might be, than have them turned into a number so early in their lives.
Today, my seven year old and I spent the afternoon in the bookstore. While I was heartened to see many little kids enjoying books, I couldn't help but notice that there weren't many older kids browsing the aisles. After reading about this study, I think I know where those kids were: at home in front of some sort of digital entertainment.
The Tween & Teen Lifestyle Report is a bi-yearly look at what kids ages 8 to 17 are doing with their free time. No surprise, the trend away from reading and toward surfing the Internet, watching television and playing video games continues. The study, conducted by Youth Trends, a research and marketing firm, shows that only 65% of teens (ages 14 to 17) read a magazine for fun last month compared to 65% a year ago. Magazine reading among tweens (ages 8 to 13) showed a similar decline with 48% reporting reading a magazine in the last month compared to 52% percent a year ago.
Skipping magazine reading might not seem like such a bad thing (aren't they all beauty tips and celebrities anyway?), but the report shows that kids are using that time to watch more television and play around online. The report doesn't reveal just what the kids are watching on the tube, but you can be pretty sure it isn't educational. Online, they are spending the majority of their time sending and receiving emails, instant messaging and playing games.
I love to read and rarely does a day go by that I don't indulge that love. It's a habit I developed as a child (way before the Internet and cable television) and one that I still enjoy immensely. My seven year old, if left to her own devices, would rather watch an episode of Hannah Montana for the fourth time than read a book. But when I turn the television off and put a book in her hand, she quickly remembers that she loves to read. I give her books not just to get her away from the screen, but because I hope to make reading a habit that she will enjoy for the rest of her life, too.
In a time when American schools seem to be failing students in so many ways, celebrating the students who finish and graduate would appear to be a good thing. After all, as parents we all know that positive reinforcement is the key to raising successful kids. So what's wrong with congratulating kids who graduate with parties and proms and awards?
Nothing really, if we're talking about college graduation, or high school. But do kids finishing eighth grade really need to graduate?
Educators are saying no.
An article in today's New York Times looks at how eighth grade graduation has gone berserk, with students partying it up in fancy dresses and limousines. Andre Cowling, principal of Harvard Elementary, one of Chicago's worst performing schools, say that eighth grade graduation is "a big business event: everyone has on a new outfit, manicures, pedicures, the hair. And then," he said, "kids go to 5, 10 parties in the neighborhood, in hotels."
But it's not just the pampering and party hopping that causes concern; it's the sense that graduating from eighth grade is somehow the end of your education. Presidential hopeful Barack Obama puts it this way: "Now hold on a second - this is just eighth grade. So, let's not go over the top. Let's not have a huge party. Let's just give them a handshake.
"You're supposed to graduate from eighth grade."
Educators blame parents for the hoopla, saying that every year the bar is raised higher, with moms and dad hiring party planners and sending out elaborate invitations for dinner cruises and other over-the-top festivities.
What say you: is finishing the eighth grade an excuse for a big blow-out or is a handshake enough?
Education has become decidedly less stuffy since schools and administrators have realized there are others ways for students to demonstrate mastery of a topic besides just writing a report on it. Kids now do things like writing a play about Benjamin Franklin, making a diorama of marsh creatures, and recreating a famous landmark out of Popsicle sticks. (ASK ME HOW I KNOW!)
So it makes sense that it might be time to give physical education class an overhaul as well. A new curriculum adopted by hundreds of elementary schools in more than a dozen states recognizes that not all kids are natural athletes or will be interested in playing team sports. (Did YOU ever play dodge ball outside gym class?)
Instead, individual, no traditional physical activities like rock climbing, skateboarding, unicycle riding, yoga, and even Dance Dance Revolution get kids up and moving without demoralizing by making them the last one picked for a team sport. My sons gym teacher introduced the kids to cup stacking, which required quick reflexes and incredible eye-hand co-ordination and the kids were crazy about it and it allowed kids who weren't the fastest or strongest a chance to shine.
"Most of my class doesn't want PE to end," said Ashleigh Parish a fifth grader who is learning to skateboard at school. I can't think of a more ringing endorsement than having kids actually ENJOYING gym class and wanting to do the activities in their free time.
Lately I have been a little concerned about what seems to me to be the mainstreaming of teen pregnancy. Maybe it's just me, but movies like Juno and television shows like The Secret Life of the American Teenagermake getting pregnant in high school seem like a viable option. I know teen pregnancies happen - it happened to me. And while having a child while I was still a child myself didn't exactly ruin my life, it sure made it difficult. And being the child of an unwed teenage mother was no picnic for my daughter, either.
Perhaps NBC's new show, The Baby Borrowers, is the antidote to all that. The whole purpose of the show is fight teen pregnancies. The show gives five couples ages 18 to 20 the opportunity to find out what it is really like to be responsible for the life of another person. The couples will live together and begin the journey with a simulated pregnancy. After the empathy belly comes off, they are charged with caring for an infant. For television purposes, life is fast-forwarded and after a few sleepless days of baby care, the couple is given a toddler to care for. After that, they get a tween, a teen and finally an elderly person.
The show, which which is based on a popular British show, debuts June 25. My girl is too young for it now, but I intend to tune in to this interesting social experiment. Will you watch? If you've got teens, will they be watching?
One day a bully told 13-year-old Patrick Kohlmann, "I'm going to kill you tomorrow." Though Patrick's parents warned the school about the threat, the next day Patrick was hit in the head with a rock and received a concussion.
It isn't the first time Patrick's been bullied. In fact, his mother has noted at least 12 serious incidences in the last year. And now Patrick's and his parents are fighting back. They're taking legal action against the school for not doing enough to protect Patrick while he's in their care, despite being repeatedly told where and when the bullying was taking place.
Earlier this month, Patrick tried to showed an emotional video (see it below) he created about bullying to parents and teachers, but was told that it was too graphic and that the meeting he was attending was over. (School officials now say that faculty will see it in the fall). So Patrick put the video on YouTube where it's received over 5,000 hits. He's also passing out blue bracelets that say "STAND UP to bullying" and says that his efforts are making him new friends.
When my daughter graduated high school, I watched her walk across the stage from my seat near the top of the bleachers in the school's gymnasium. At the time, I was a little disappointed to be sitting so far away from the action, but I realize now that it could have been much worse. At least I was in the same room as she accepted her diploma. Some parents in Brooksville, Florida had to watch the biggest day of their child's life on a television screen.
According to Rick Stone, he and other parents were refused entry when they arrived at the gym for the Hernando High School graduation last week. Claiming that the room was full to capacity, law enforcement officers blocked the doors to the gym 45 minutes before the ceremony was to begin. Those who didn't get in were sent to overflow seating in the auditorium where the event was being broadcast on a large screen television.
"You put your kid through school for 13 years looking forward to the day when they graduate and then you're told you have to watch it on television?" Stone asked. "That's just not right."
Administrators and teachers at a California high school recently announced to their students that several teens had been killed in car wrecks over the weekend. It was devastating news that traumatized students, many of whom had lost good friends.
Administrators came up with the program to discourage teens from drinking and driving.. The plan was to tell students about the accidents in the morning, then reveal the hoax at an assembly in the afternoon.
I didn't do so well in high school, mostly because I didn't go to class all that much and never did my homework. And so, I did not graduate on time. That's the way it works. And yet, sometimes, there are reasons other than childhood irresponsibility. Take, for example, the case of eighteen-year-old Leanna Elizalde from Woodland, California. She fell behind in her studies because of the radiation therapy and surgeries that she underwent to fight off cancer.
So you'd think with an explanation like that, the school would be able to work something out so she could graduate with her friends and classmates, eh? Well, no. The school has steadfastly refused to let Elizalde graduate with her class, says her mother, Lupe Ramirez. "I spoke with the vice principal. I spoke with the principal and even the school district and they're all like, nope, nope, nope, absolutely not," said Ramirez.
Even Elizalde's doctor got involved, writing the school on her behalf. "I strongly believe that (Leanna) should be allowed to participate in her graduation ceremony," wrote UC Davis Professor of Clinical Surgery, Robert Canter, "and I think that refusal to do so would be construed as a punitive action unbefitting a pediatric cancer patient."
Elizalde plans to finish the classes she needs to graduate over the summer. Schools have been known to give credit for all manner of non-academic activities; it seems to me that they could figure out a way to make this work.
The actress, as well as parents, teachers, and principals from 50 city schools, led a rally on Monday protesting cuts at Manhattan's Stuyvesant High School. Nixon, a long time public school supporter, is challenging Schools Chancellor Joel Klein's decision to cut hundreds of thousands of dollars from the budget. (Read more about the issue here.)
Cynthia, we may not have your fame or your fabulous shoes, but parents, teachers, and students across the country can empathize with your plight. In one nearby district, budget woes require that all teachers are laid off every spring, only to be called back in the fall as needed. Money can't solve everything, but when major cuts are taking place, people, programs, and most importantly, educational quality suffer.
In many prestigious schools across the United States, high schoolers are so focused on their academic success that they've cut unnecessary activities... like lunch. According the the NYT, however, school administrators are becoming concerned about the stress these teens are under. So they're passing rules that require kids to take a lunch break, even if they don't want to.
Though many parents are supportive of the new rules, the students, in general, are not. They complain that it will limit the number of courses they can take and their ability to take elective classes. Some students have already made arrangements with teachers to allow them to use their classrooms to work through the mandatory 20-minute lunch period.
Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal -- surprisingly, a biology major in college -- has 
It isn't uncommon these days to hear stories about teachers behaving badly in the classroom. I am a big believer in consequences and I am often left mind-boggled when these rogue teachers suffer none. Fortunately, this isn't one of those stories. Oh, we've got the bad teacher alright, but at least this one is no longer in charge of children.
Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been used for years to track inventory; now, one school district in Rhode Island is planning to 
Today, my seven year old and I spent the afternoon in the bookstore. While I was heartened to see many little kids enjoying books, I couldn't help but notice that there weren't many older kids browsing the aisles. After reading about 
In a time when American schools seem to be failing students in so many ways, celebrating the students who finish and graduate would appear to be a good thing. After all, as parents we all know that positive reinforcement is the key to raising successful kids. So what's wrong with congratulating kids who graduate with parties and proms and awards?
Education has become decidedly less stuffy since schools and administrators have realized there are others ways for students to demonstrate mastery of a topic besides just writing a report on it. Kids now do things like writing a play about Benjamin Franklin, making a diorama of marsh creatures, and recreating a famous landmark out of Popsicle sticks. (ASK ME HOW I KNOW!) 
Lately I have been a little concerned about what seems to me to be the mainstreaming of teen pregnancy. Maybe it's just me, but movies like 
When my daughter graduated high school, I watched her walk across the stage from my seat near the top of the bleachers in the school's gymnasium. At the time, I was a little disappointed to be sitting so far away from the action, but I realize now that it could have been much worse. At least I was in the same room as she accepted her diploma. Some parents in Brooksville, Florida had to watch the biggest day of their child's life 
I didn't do so well in high school, mostly because I didn't go to class all that much and never did my homework. And so, I did not graduate on time. That's the way it works. And yet, sometimes, there are reasons other than childhood irresponsibility. Take, for example, the case of eighteen-year-old Leanna Elizalde from Woodland, California. She fell behind in her studies because of the radiation therapy and surgeries that she underwent to fight off cancer.
Forget sex and the city, how about a protest in the city? Cynthia Nixon, who plays Miranda Hobbes in the blockbuster hit Sex and the City, is using her voice and her celebrity power to 
