Summer Learning

As we roll into the last few weeks of the school year, it’s time to turn our hearts and minds to that time of great freedom: summer vacation. Of course, this freedom, like any other, must be used wisely. So here are a few tips to help you guide your children through 2-3 months of non-school time:

1) Think about what you need to do over the summer.  Needs are easy to identify: does Jimmy need to brush up on his essay skills for the upcoming ACT? Does Allie need to practice her math facts? It’s a good idea to spend at least a little time several days a week working on the “needs” subjects. Not only will your children increase their proficiencies, but it will go a long way towards taking the stress out of difficult subjects.

2)Brainstorm about what you really want to learn. Kids might learn about the planets and solar system in school, but do they have any idea how to find constellations in your night sky? Have they drawn the moon….from their own observations? Ask your children what they would like to learn about and then locate materials to aid them. Of course, a visit to the library can help start them on their way (and build library skills since they will have to locate resources on their own).

3)Get out! Outside, that is. Making learning fun is not hard. Catch up on your biology facts while catching frogs at the local pond. Hike through the forest and identify plants and trees. Visit the arboretum to do watercolor paintings of the willows. Go on rock treasure hunts at the forest preserve.

4)Stay inside….for awhile. Free museum days are fast disappearing. However, while the big city museums may be out of your range, there are usually dozens of local museums that are worth a look.  Plus, local landmarks are sure to generate a buzz of interest in your home team.

Of course, leave some days for doing nothing. While my children have learned to never say “I’m bored!” (I hand the offender the broom and dust pan), one way to get kids to engage in creative activities or brainstorming is to let them be bored.

Hope you have a great summer full of fun and learning!

Getting to the Heart of It: The Common Core Standards

Have you been puzzled by your child’s homework lately? Received a letter from your teacher about how the “standards have changed”? If you are scratching your head over the bizarre math worksheets your second grader is bringing home, you may be a victim of…THE COMMON CORE STANDARDS.

Getting to the heart of the Core
Just what are the Common Core Standards? Basically, they are a collection of competencies or benchmarks children are supposed to achieve at certain grade levels. You can take a head-spinning look at the actual benchmarks here: http://www.corestandards.org/. The Common Core Standards are broken up into two main sections, math and English language arts.  The Standards were developed out of the perceived need to have a clear set of competencies for all school children.

Pros
Well….standardization, for one thing. The material students in one state need to know will be the same in another state.  The CCS are also comparable to educational standards developed in other countries. Theoretically, this means that American schoolchildren will be able to better compete with their foreign counterparts. The CCS are supposed to support higher level thinking skills. Of course, there’s money involved here, too—the standardization will make it cheaper for generalized tests to be developed.

Cons
Where to start? Although I have developed material for and worked with the CCS, I am not persuaded of their virtues.  They seem to be part of a massive social experiment perpetrated at every level of public education. Standardization, for example, sounds wonderful. But who has a standard child? Benchmarking the Standards to those in other countries seems superfluous—while foreign students may score better on tests, it’s difficult to see how that translates into a better quality of life.  What strikes me is that the CCS are actually focused on the one thing we probably want to avoid: teaching to the test. 

What is the future of the CSS? It’s unclear how completely the Standards can be implemented, so it is rather difficult to predict. However, in the near future,  I definitely think there will be issues with getting teachers, parents, and students on board–especially when grades or test scores begin to suffer. 

 

Read More…
Backer of Common Core School Curriculum Is Chosen to Lead College Board (New York Times article on the architect of the CCS)
Eight Problems with the Common Core Standards (Washington Post)

My Fair Science

It’s that time of year again…time for the Science Fair! The Science Fair projects in our home always end up being messy, sometimes aggravating, but always rewarding. If this is your first time doing a Science Fair (or 100th time), you may have a few questions about it. Here are a few ideas to help you and your child get the most out of working on a Science Fair project.

1) Get all the information you need about the Fair.
Your school district typically has this information and most even host special meetings after school to help families understand the process and requirements. Different age groups typically have different requirements (no, your 5-year-old won’t need to explain relativity). If you can make the informational meetings, that’s great: ask all the questions you want. Don’t worry about what other parents might think of you, either. Many people don’t speak up and they probably have similar issues.

2)Help your child pick a project.
For older children, this won’t be much of an issue because they will probably already have decided what they want to try. Younger children need some guidance. Some need a lot of guidance. Others just need to have something handed to them. (Yes, we are encouraging independent learning, but let’s be honest, some kids want to participate but only have very vague ideas about direction. Others have ideas that are too specific. Case in point: my second son had his project already figured out by the time he got off the bus after the Science Fair was announced. He just needed me to take him to the store to pick up a few things….oh, and did I know where to buy some uranium? After I nixed the model nuke idea, he hit upon a better project….that involved copious amounts of hydrogen.)

3) Research.
Your library is the best bet for books and project guidance. Your librarians have already spent years dealing with a lot of Science Fair questions, so they also make a tremendous resource. Don’t forget that many libraries also provide access to a number of databases with science information (they usually have kid-friendly ones, too). One site on the Internet that can help you out is Science Buddies (http://www.sciencebuddies.org).

4) Gear up!
But don’t break the bank. You will need a presentation board and other materials, but encourage your child to use items you already have around the house. Not only will this keep costs low, but it also helps your child see new uses for regular objects. (One of my children used old leftover computer parts to build a robot and cardboard tubes were modified to be a turret on a tank….*sigh*… boys….)

5) Guide.
When the kids are small, you will be the project manager. You may need to lay out the direction of the project, outline what they need, and help them find their answers. It’s important to let the kids do most of this on their own, but I’ve had varying degrees of success with that. Older children should, of course, be able to do the project largely on their own. For them, you might need to be the Chief Scheduler so that no one is running around the night before the setup for the Science Fair looking for 8-inch styrofoam balls.

6) Learn.
Sure, it’s great to have a project that works or outshines everyone else’s. But that’s not the point of the Science Fair, and in our experience, the failures taught us much more than any medal would have. You and your child will get a good education in one area of science…and you will get great insight into human nature when you walk down the aisles of the Science Fair. You will notice that some of the projects are….let’s say “advanced”…for a particular grade level. Yes, there are parents who will do the whole project for the child. Please, do not let yourself be intimidated.

The Science Fair is a great way to get your children involved in science and independent learning. I hope these tips help you to have a great Fair.

Goal Keepers

It’s that time of year…time to write New Year’s Resolutions! Most resolutions don’t make it too far past January. We promise to lose weight, break bad habits and save money, all to find that those holiday pounds are pretty stubborn, biting our nails is a necessity because the relatives are still here and the overflowing toilet is just screaming for an expensive plumber. Kids are another matter. They can write realistic goals that parents can help them achieve.

K.I.S.S.
Keep It Short and Simple. Don’t make the list too long (think 5-10 items). Not only will it help the kids focus on what is really important, but it will also make it simpler to reach the goals.

Kid-Sized Goals
Goals should be age-appropriate. For example, it would be reasonable to write a goal of finishing two chapter books this year for a second grader. It doesn’t make sense to have the goal of finishing War and Peace.

Mom-Friendly, Kid-Approved
Of course you want little Tommy to listen better and Sally should start cleaning her room by herself. It’s ok to recommend goals to the kids, but don’t make the list for them.

Specifics
Make the goals as specific as possible so everyone can tell when they are achieved. “Be nicer to my sister” sounds great, but how will you know that goal has been achieved?

Hang Them High…
…on the refrigerator or in another obvious place in the house. The goals should be easy to see so kids can keep them in mind. It’s also a good way for them to see their own progress.

Hope these few hints help you in the new year.  I wish you a warm, bright and prosperous new year!

 

Our Thoughts and Prayers

Our thoughts and prayers are with the suffering families and friends who lost precious souls in this terrible tragedy.

Raising Writers

Magazines, newspapers, webpages, eBooks, white papers, ads….while traditional publishers may be taking a hit these days, there’s no denying that the written word still wields power. What you say is as important as how you say it. However, if you’ve ever taken a look at the writing your child produces on a regular basis, you may be a bit dismayed. College instructors and business owners frequently complain that the writing skills of incoming students and employees are sub-par. What can families do to help children become more effective writers?

Issues
Part of the problem is that writing is time-consuming. You need to think about what you will say, jot down some kind of outline or notes, put those ideas into a structured form and then connect the sentences and paragraphs in an effective manner. There’s no real way to get around the time it takes to produce clear writing; the best that can be done is to make sure there is some time to do it so your child doesn’t feel rushed.

Another issue with writing is that when you are done, you’re not really done. Every piece of writing needs to go through the revision process. A writer also needs to be an editor, seeing problems with grammar, structure and content. This is no easy task—after all, people make careers out of editing—but you can make the experience less painful by working with your child.

Make It Happen At Home
Here are a few suggestions for helping your children become more effective writers:

1) ER (Encourage Reading). Reading not only helps expand the mind, but it also lends itself to a stronger understanding of grammar and structure.

2) Make time for fun writing. Giving a child a little notebook or diary is a tremendous boon. School assignments are often structured around learning targets, so kids are especially happy when they can write about their own ideas. If your children don’t know what to write about, a prompt or two may be in order (One day, in a far off land, a knight and a dragon….).

3) Walk through the editing process together. After your child has finished an assignment, tell her you will both come back to it in a few hours (or days). Then, sit down together and take a look at it with fresh eyes. Let your child circle any obvious errors (grammar, spelling, structure and content). Offer one or two of your own suggestions. (It’s best to keep it to only one or two, even though you may be curling up on the inside. If you start hammering on too many points, the child will probably give up on the editing process.)

4) Rewrite. Have your child rewrite the assignment just once with the edits in place. Usually, a piece of writing will go through several drafts to make it acceptable, but during the early stages, you just want your child to see the vast improvement between Draft One and Draft Two. (Also, it’s tough to go through several drafts when your child has stacks of other assignments to do.)

5) Persevere. It takes years to develop a clear voice and style. Some people are naturally gifted or learn quickly. Others….let’s just say they’ll take their sweet time. However, the time invested while your little writers are young is never wasted.  Hang in there!

Does Technology Help Children Learn?

Doesn’t every parent want the best possible education for their child? They frequently leave the curriculum design to the experts, with the thought that those well-educated academics will know the best approaches. And teachers and administrators usually do their best to develop a high-quality approach to learning. However, schools are now pushing technology into the classrooms like never before, in the belief that it will somehow enhance the learning environment. But does it? Are kids really learning more?

This issue first came up when our district began implementing a wide array of technology in the classrooms. iPads, Macs and broadband internet were made available to all students. Technology is great–but is the learning environment being enhanced? Are kids learning and grasping more difficult concepts than before?

I am not sure that technology in the classroom provides an overall benefit to the learning experience. There is the time displacement. No, this blog is not about the time/space continuum (next time, maybe).  Time needs to be set aside to train the children to use the technology. When one of my daughters was in kindergarten, her teacher explained that she had done poorly on the standardized tests….largely because my daughter could not figure out how to use the computer for the test. She was 5 at the time, and the instructor told me that most of the children were pressing the screen with their fingers, using the mouse as a toy or just pecking away at the keyboard. In short, they were acting like typical 5-year-olds who did not spend time in front of a computer (a tribute to those parents and caregivers, I believe).  She assured me that all of the students would know how to use the computer by the end of the year. As a teacher, she was great, but she may have misunderstood my concern about the test. I was concerned that students were actually being tested on how to use the computer instead of their understanding of basic concepts like counting or letter recognition.

Other than the time saved by grading kindergarten tests (which will now be taken out of the school day to teach all the kids how to use the computer), I fail to see the benefit of the computerized test, especially at such a young age. As a teacher, I also used to give out standardized tests. I graded each one manually; it took a lot of time, but I knew that I was getting a more realistic picture of my students skills and knowledge.

Technology changes rapidly. I taught a variety of computer classes in my (fleeting) youth, and every month, something new was popping up. The new Windows is supposed to change everything. Smart Phones are a far cry from the clunky car phone my father had twenty years ago. So why are we wasting time training children to use legacy systems? By the time they hit college (or the real world), the technology will be different. They will need to learn new technologies on their own time. Which means we will have wasted hours of classroom time.

Another issue is that of physiology. What are the effects of putting a developing brain in front of a computer or TV screen for hours at a time? The effects of long-term computer use are not well understood. However, there is research that indicates the screen can have a negative impact on the human body. Researchers used adult subjects and had them watch TV while they monitored their condition. When the TV went off, there was a noticeable depressive effect in many of the subjects. The brain also processes information differently while engaging in activities. Reading generates a flurry of activity in the brain. Not so with screen time.  One of my children tried to convince me that research showed video games were “good” for children because they enhanced their reaction time. But at what cost? Similar studies indicate that the games make children more violent and prone to negative behaviors. Just what we need….more trigger-happy angry people.

Technology does have a place in school, but it should be limited to those classes where it is most necessary (like those in middle or high school). There is value to developing engineering projects on the computer or creating graphic art portfolios for professional use. For younger students, I don’t think the benefits of technology in the classroom outweigh the negatives. We are playing with fire by exposing the most vulnerable among us to increased screen time.