Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #100 – December 10, 2011
Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher? I found it to be an extremely rewarding job, not so much financially, but spiritually. I believe becoming a teacher is definitely a “calling”. Unfortunately, it is more and more difficult these days to entice college students to pursue teaching careers and to retain the ones that began to teach, but just couldn’t continue.
Here are a few possible reasons for this dilemma:
• Teachers work an average of ten hours per day
• 46 percent of teachers quit before their fifth year of teaching.
• Teachers cannot afford to buy a home in 32 metropolitan areas
• Over 92 percent of American teachers spend their own money on their students or their classrooms each year.
• 62 percent of teachers have second jobs outside of the classroom
Most teachers I have worked with during my 25 + years as a teacher and principal in various public schools, work long hours for not enough pay. They sometimes neglect themselves and their own families in order to do the best they can for their students. Teachers cannot take a break or go out for lunch whenever they want. By the time students are walked out to the lunch area, teachers have about twenty minutes to guzzle down their food and get the classroom set up for the next activity for the students. When teachers are absent, classroom production decreases. And by the way, teachers are not paid for the two months of summer vacation. Teachers cannot afford to have a bad day; they always need to be "on." Not many jobs are this demanding in so many ways and on so many levels.
Is it possible for teachers to gain the respect, recognition and paycheck they deserve for arguably the most important job there is? If you have any ideas on this, I’d love to hear them.
Modern cynics and skeptics see no harm in paying those to whom they entrust the minds of their children a smaller wage than is paid to those to whom they entrust the care of their plumbing.
John F. Kennedy
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Saturday, November 5, 2011
YOUR SENTENCE: EXHILARATING OR DEATH INDUCING?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #99 – November 5, 2011
Have you ever been forced to listen to a monotone, boring, and oh so irritating instructor teach a class? I’m guessing most of you are nodding your head up and down. On the other hand, do you remember a teacher who was so interesting, you hung onto every word? You don't have to subject your students to cruel and unusual punishment. Here are seven principles for getting your students from a reclining and slouching position right up to the edge of their chairs.
If you don’t want to be guilty of this cruel and unusual punishment, here are a ew tips for teaching or presenting information to an audience.
1. Know Your Stuff
This one may sound obvious; but you’d be amazed how many times instructors attempt to “teach” a class simply by reading the slides to the class. Other instructors actually make slides from the textbook students have already been asked to read as homework and then do a “replay” during class.
It is very poor form to attempt to teach a subject about which you have minimal understanding. You must know your content well. It also enhances the learning experience for students if you have some real life, practical experiences and stories related to the subject, you can share with them. For example, if you teach American History, know more about why Lincoln wanted to end slavery than is in the textbook.
2. Let your students (or audience) in on the “Secret”
Tell your students what they are about to learn during this class period. Clue them in as to what it is they will be able to do as a result of the lesson. That’s right. Why on earth would you want to keep it a secret? For example, "Students, tomorrow you will be introduced to some of the latest scientific knowledge about space. Did you know, they found another solar system in the making? What does it mean? Do we now know how this earth came into being?"
3. Present a Clear Lesson Through Connections
Use directness, clarity and creativeness to get the main point of the lesson across with understanding and relevance. Try different methods throughout the year to keep it lively and interesting. For example, an economics teacher could split the class into groups of 3-4 students. Each group would be given a “virtual” check for $25,000. They would be told to research various stocks and bonds and then “purchase” $25,000 worth of their selections. The groups would be responsible for tracking their “investments” on a daily and weekly basis. At the end of six weeks, each group would share the investment outcome with the class.
4. Check for Understanding through Student Application
Have students practice the new skill they have just learned. Assign various problems for them to solve. Have them work with a partner to share and check each other’s work.
5. Work the Room
Standing in one spot doesn’t allow you to “hear” what’s going on. Walk around and listen to what the partners are saying to each other. Watch how they apply the newly learned skill to the problem at hand. Then you will know what they have actually understood and learned. You can also interact and connect with the students while working the room. Working the room is also good class management. More work happens in the group you are close to.
6. Lighten Up
Life is too short to not laugh a bit… so be sure to have some fun. Research shows that students need some sort of stimulation every 10 to 15 minutes, so do your best to keep them interested, smiling and wide awake. But never make any student, or yourself, the brunt of the humor. You will lose respect.
7. Conduct a Reflection Time at the End of Each Class
At the end of each lesson, take a few moments and have partners explain to each other what concept or skill they have learned and how they can apply it. Then ask for volunteers to share out to the whole class what either they or their partner has said.
Now, you as the teacher or presenter will know how well you did. Not only is this the perfect way to evaluate yourself as a teacher, it also enables your students to re-affirm and “take home” the new knowledge they have acquired.
Get ready for your newly awakened audience. They will look forward to learning something new each day, and gain confidence and pleasure when allowed to apply their knowledge.
Have you ever been forced to listen to a monotone, boring, and oh so irritating instructor teach a class? I’m guessing most of you are nodding your head up and down. On the other hand, do you remember a teacher who was so interesting, you hung onto every word? You don't have to subject your students to cruel and unusual punishment. Here are seven principles for getting your students from a reclining and slouching position right up to the edge of their chairs.
If you don’t want to be guilty of this cruel and unusual punishment, here are a ew tips for teaching or presenting information to an audience.
1. Know Your Stuff
This one may sound obvious; but you’d be amazed how many times instructors attempt to “teach” a class simply by reading the slides to the class. Other instructors actually make slides from the textbook students have already been asked to read as homework and then do a “replay” during class.
It is very poor form to attempt to teach a subject about which you have minimal understanding. You must know your content well. It also enhances the learning experience for students if you have some real life, practical experiences and stories related to the subject, you can share with them. For example, if you teach American History, know more about why Lincoln wanted to end slavery than is in the textbook.
2. Let your students (or audience) in on the “Secret”
Tell your students what they are about to learn during this class period. Clue them in as to what it is they will be able to do as a result of the lesson. That’s right. Why on earth would you want to keep it a secret? For example, "Students, tomorrow you will be introduced to some of the latest scientific knowledge about space. Did you know, they found another solar system in the making? What does it mean? Do we now know how this earth came into being?"
3. Present a Clear Lesson Through Connections
Use directness, clarity and creativeness to get the main point of the lesson across with understanding and relevance. Try different methods throughout the year to keep it lively and interesting. For example, an economics teacher could split the class into groups of 3-4 students. Each group would be given a “virtual” check for $25,000. They would be told to research various stocks and bonds and then “purchase” $25,000 worth of their selections. The groups would be responsible for tracking their “investments” on a daily and weekly basis. At the end of six weeks, each group would share the investment outcome with the class.
4. Check for Understanding through Student Application
Have students practice the new skill they have just learned. Assign various problems for them to solve. Have them work with a partner to share and check each other’s work.
5. Work the Room
Standing in one spot doesn’t allow you to “hear” what’s going on. Walk around and listen to what the partners are saying to each other. Watch how they apply the newly learned skill to the problem at hand. Then you will know what they have actually understood and learned. You can also interact and connect with the students while working the room. Working the room is also good class management. More work happens in the group you are close to.
6. Lighten Up
Life is too short to not laugh a bit… so be sure to have some fun. Research shows that students need some sort of stimulation every 10 to 15 minutes, so do your best to keep them interested, smiling and wide awake. But never make any student, or yourself, the brunt of the humor. You will lose respect.
7. Conduct a Reflection Time at the End of Each Class
At the end of each lesson, take a few moments and have partners explain to each other what concept or skill they have learned and how they can apply it. Then ask for volunteers to share out to the whole class what either they or their partner has said.
Now, you as the teacher or presenter will know how well you did. Not only is this the perfect way to evaluate yourself as a teacher, it also enables your students to re-affirm and “take home” the new knowledge they have acquired.
Get ready for your newly awakened audience. They will look forward to learning something new each day, and gain confidence and pleasure when allowed to apply their knowledge.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
STEVE JOBS TEACHES US
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #98 – October 8, 2011
We lost a great teacher a few days ago. His name was Steve Jobs. Most of us know him as a young genius and creator of the Apple Dynasty. I was one of more than nine million who viewed his 2005 Stanford University Commencement Speech. I found his message to be a profound teaching tool. Mr. Jobs used three stories from his life as the means to deliver his wisdom.
1.Follow Your Heart
The first story was about “Connecting the Dots.” This is where each of us tries to make sense of a path we have taken, we are on, or we are about to embark upon. He described how after he had formally dropped out of Reed College, he informally “dropped in,” only this time he only attended classes that caught his interest. One of these happened to be a Calligraphy class. He learned all about typography, spacing and the art of hundreds of beautiful fonts. At the time, he figured none of this would have any practical application. As it turned out, this led to Apple being the pioneer computer company to include multiple typefaces with beautiful spacing and typography, for which they are so well known.
Mr. Jobs teaches us that “connecting the dots” can be done only by looking forward, not by looking backward. Somehow, he knew dropping out was not looked on as a very wise thing to do; and even though the “drop in” classes seemed impractical, they “called to him.” In his words:
Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your inner voice.
2.Be Courageous
The second story he told was about “Love and Loss.” This is where each of us loves something very much, loses it, and how we deal with this loss. Steve Jobs and a friend started The Apple Company in a garage when he was twenty years old. It soon became an enormous organization with several thousand employees. He had a falling out with someone who had a different vision of where Apple should go. The Board of Directors agreed with the other person, and Steve Jobs was fired at the age of thirty.
So, there he was, Jobs was jobless and had to start all over again. He believes this was the best thing that could have happened to him. He was forced to begin freshly and in a new time. This led him to conceive of and develop two new companies: NEXT and PIXAR; both of these became giant, new successful businesses. Eventually Apple bought NEXT, so he was working for Apple once again.
Steve’s message here is to be courageous, find what you love and to love what you do. He prods us to “never settle.” His exact quote was:
The only way to be truly satisfied is to do great work.
And the only way to do great work is to do what you love.
3.Live Each Day as Though It Is Your Last
His third and final story was: “Live each day as though it is your last.” Steve Jobs was faced with pancreatic cancer and faced death. Luckily, he survived. From that moment on he looked in the mirror each morning and asked himself if what he planned to do this day would be enough if it turned out this was his last day on earth. He advises us to follow our hearts and our intuition each day, and included this quote:
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
As teachers we must refrain from only giving answers to students. Instead, we should strive to give them examples in life so they can discover the answers themselves. Steve Jobs is one of those examples in the way he chose to live his life.
Steve Jobs’ attitude toward and actions taken in his life speak to students at the brink of finding their own calling. Many children have dreams of who or what they want to be one day. Steve Jobs was the embodiment of those dreams attained.
We don’t get a chance to do that many things,
and every one should be really excellent.
Steve Jobs
We lost a great teacher a few days ago. His name was Steve Jobs. Most of us know him as a young genius and creator of the Apple Dynasty. I was one of more than nine million who viewed his 2005 Stanford University Commencement Speech. I found his message to be a profound teaching tool. Mr. Jobs used three stories from his life as the means to deliver his wisdom.
1.Follow Your Heart
The first story was about “Connecting the Dots.” This is where each of us tries to make sense of a path we have taken, we are on, or we are about to embark upon. He described how after he had formally dropped out of Reed College, he informally “dropped in,” only this time he only attended classes that caught his interest. One of these happened to be a Calligraphy class. He learned all about typography, spacing and the art of hundreds of beautiful fonts. At the time, he figured none of this would have any practical application. As it turned out, this led to Apple being the pioneer computer company to include multiple typefaces with beautiful spacing and typography, for which they are so well known.
Mr. Jobs teaches us that “connecting the dots” can be done only by looking forward, not by looking backward. Somehow, he knew dropping out was not looked on as a very wise thing to do; and even though the “drop in” classes seemed impractical, they “called to him.” In his words:
Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your inner voice.
2.Be Courageous
The second story he told was about “Love and Loss.” This is where each of us loves something very much, loses it, and how we deal with this loss. Steve Jobs and a friend started The Apple Company in a garage when he was twenty years old. It soon became an enormous organization with several thousand employees. He had a falling out with someone who had a different vision of where Apple should go. The Board of Directors agreed with the other person, and Steve Jobs was fired at the age of thirty.
So, there he was, Jobs was jobless and had to start all over again. He believes this was the best thing that could have happened to him. He was forced to begin freshly and in a new time. This led him to conceive of and develop two new companies: NEXT and PIXAR; both of these became giant, new successful businesses. Eventually Apple bought NEXT, so he was working for Apple once again.
Steve’s message here is to be courageous, find what you love and to love what you do. He prods us to “never settle.” His exact quote was:
The only way to be truly satisfied is to do great work.
And the only way to do great work is to do what you love.
3.Live Each Day as Though It Is Your Last
His third and final story was: “Live each day as though it is your last.” Steve Jobs was faced with pancreatic cancer and faced death. Luckily, he survived. From that moment on he looked in the mirror each morning and asked himself if what he planned to do this day would be enough if it turned out this was his last day on earth. He advises us to follow our hearts and our intuition each day, and included this quote:
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life.
As teachers we must refrain from only giving answers to students. Instead, we should strive to give them examples in life so they can discover the answers themselves. Steve Jobs is one of those examples in the way he chose to live his life.
Steve Jobs’ attitude toward and actions taken in his life speak to students at the brink of finding their own calling. Many children have dreams of who or what they want to be one day. Steve Jobs was the embodiment of those dreams attained.
We don’t get a chance to do that many things,
and every one should be really excellent.
Steve Jobs
Saturday, September 24, 2011
BE A GREAT TEACHER FOR YOUR CHILD
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – September 24 – Posting #97
Parents have the privilege of sharing the richness this world has to offer with their children. This gives you the opportunity to be a great teacher for your child. Make talking with your child about life's everyday experiences a part of your normal routine. This will help each of you understand the others' viewpoints, values, dreams, and interests. Remember not only to talk, but also listen to your children.
Some parents consider activities such as going to museums, the zoo, or shows make up for lost time with their children. Actually, there is plenty of educational value in everyday activities, such as going to the post office, going to the bank, going grocery shopping, or doing a project at home. Parents just need to plan ahead a little to help their child discover the world.
Here are some ideas for activities to enjoy with your child:
•Watch news and documentaries on TV. (Discuss questions or interests aroused in your child)
•Rent or buy educational videos. (Encourage newly developed curiosity sparked by these videos)
•Visit natural history museums, science museums, art museums, children's museums, zoos, botanical gardens, and historical sites. (See what interests your child, and point out things that interest you)
•Experience national or state parks and forests. Sign up for a tour.
•Read articles in the newspaper, news, and magazines together.
•Go to the public library.
•Make vacations learning experiences.
•Plan "theme" parties that involve some research. For example, an American Revolution costume party, a play, or a display of inventions of the time.
The important thing for parents to remember is that they are the most important teachers in their child's life. Children are born eager learners, but parents need to help them channel that learning. Talking with children before, during, and after any activity helps them learn the steps involved in learning.
This conversation also will improve your communication and in turn, your relationship with your child. The more you talk with each other, the more rewarding your conversations will be, and the better you will get to know your child. Your child will reap the rewards of having a great teacher in you.
Parents have the privilege of sharing the richness this world has to offer with their children. This gives you the opportunity to be a great teacher for your child. Make talking with your child about life's everyday experiences a part of your normal routine. This will help each of you understand the others' viewpoints, values, dreams, and interests. Remember not only to talk, but also listen to your children.
Some parents consider activities such as going to museums, the zoo, or shows make up for lost time with their children. Actually, there is plenty of educational value in everyday activities, such as going to the post office, going to the bank, going grocery shopping, or doing a project at home. Parents just need to plan ahead a little to help their child discover the world.
Here are some ideas for activities to enjoy with your child:
•Watch news and documentaries on TV. (Discuss questions or interests aroused in your child)
•Rent or buy educational videos. (Encourage newly developed curiosity sparked by these videos)
•Visit natural history museums, science museums, art museums, children's museums, zoos, botanical gardens, and historical sites. (See what interests your child, and point out things that interest you)
•Experience national or state parks and forests. Sign up for a tour.
•Read articles in the newspaper, news, and magazines together.
•Go to the public library.
•Make vacations learning experiences.
•Plan "theme" parties that involve some research. For example, an American Revolution costume party, a play, or a display of inventions of the time.
The important thing for parents to remember is that they are the most important teachers in their child's life. Children are born eager learners, but parents need to help them channel that learning. Talking with children before, during, and after any activity helps them learn the steps involved in learning.
This conversation also will improve your communication and in turn, your relationship with your child. The more you talk with each other, the more rewarding your conversations will be, and the better you will get to know your child. Your child will reap the rewards of having a great teacher in you.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
OH MY, IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL!
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #96 – August 20, 2011
Just how important is the first day of school anyway? It’s actually VERY important. It sets the tone for the entire year. It's been said, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." It's another start of the school year and that means another opportunity to improve your teaching. What are your plans for the first day and the first week? If you're an experienced teacher, you probably try to establish the "class culture" each year. If that' s not started on the first day and established within the first week, it probably won’t be.
As a teacher, what are some of the most important things you should do at the very beginning of the school year? Below are some principles for creating your own class culture.
Make it Fresh
One thing every teacher should consider is trying something new; something you’ve never done before on the first day of school. That's the beauty of teaching; we get to start all over again each year. If you are an effective teacher you will undoubtedly start with a plan, a better and more reflective plan than the previous year. That change can begin the first day. Do something new that reflects the new plan. For example, change the way the seats are arranged, teach from the back and front of the class.
The ineffective teacher does the same thing year after year, which is why Einstein said,
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting different results."
Get Students' Buy-In Through Icebreakers
Although ice breakers can seem frivolous, they can be an important first step to getting student buy-in. Unless a student is emotionally connected to school, they will lack motivation to learn. Many teachers consider ice breakers as essential to building the comfort necessary when creating a “team” of learners. For example, have a game where everyone memorizes everyone else’s name and something about them.
Create Class Rules
Create classroom rules using student input. Ideally you should keep classroom rules down to a manageable limit of 3-6 rules. Include a tardy policy and a behavior contract. Elicit student agreement on the order of importance of each rule.
Use Warmups
Begin the routine of using meaningful daily warm-ups. The key word here is “meaningful.” Students are experts at identifying “busy work,” which is not what they should be doing. They should do work that will include real practice toward achieving important learning goals they have set for themselves. For example, if the day before you taught about US presidents, create a slideshow that has presidents pictures and something about each and then let students jot down which president they are.
Have a Positive Teacher Communication/Attitude
Most students are also wondering:
“Will the teacher treat me as a human being?” Everyone wants to be treated with respect, dignity, and love, whether that person is a teacher, administrator, or student. You will have about seven seconds to create that perception beginning with:
how you treat yourself with respect, dignity, and love,
how you greet your students at the door,
how you dress,
what signs are posted in your classroom,
the message on the chalkboard,
the obviousness that you are organized and ready,
that you are in control of the learning environment for the classroom, and
that you really care about each child’s success in your classroom
An ineffective teacher may be more concerned with doing "their thing" or “can't wait to start with a fun activity” so that he or she can be the student's friend or pal. The students are not looking for fun. They are looking for security, consistency, respect, dignity, and care and you can convey that message on the first day of school by conveying how well you are organized. Your effective management skills will demonstrate to the students if your class will be exciting or boring, and if you will light or extinguish their candle.
Get to Know Your Students
An important thing to accomplish during the first week of school is getting to know one personal thing about each of your students. You should learn all of their names in the first week and try to remember one personal interest, hobby or strength that helps to define them. You are going to be a mentor and guiding force in the months to come and your influence will be considerably stronger if you can relate to a personal aspect of each child in your class.
Elicit High Expectations
An effective teacher must have high expectations. Strive to raise the bar for your students. If you expect less effort you will receive less effort. You should work on an attitude that says you know students can achieve to your level of expectations. This will automatically give them a sense of confidence too. This is not to say that you should create unrealistic expectations. However, your expectations will be one of the key factors in helping students learn and achieve.
When you clearly explain and train your students in your expectations, they will know what to do and when to do it. This creates a well-disciplined class which in turn supports student learning. Challenging your students every day is a powerful tool which will motivate them to strive to do their very best and beyond. Although it takes a bit of work and time on your part at the beginning of the year, it is so well worth it!
Conclusion
Which of these is most important? For building a classroom culture, all of them are. Create your teaching plan for the first week and make sure to include all of these principles. If you do, you'll be on your way to creating a class culture that will result in excellent class management and student learning. Go for it!
Just how important is the first day of school anyway? It’s actually VERY important. It sets the tone for the entire year. It's been said, "You never get a second chance to make a first impression." It's another start of the school year and that means another opportunity to improve your teaching. What are your plans for the first day and the first week? If you're an experienced teacher, you probably try to establish the "class culture" each year. If that' s not started on the first day and established within the first week, it probably won’t be.
As a teacher, what are some of the most important things you should do at the very beginning of the school year? Below are some principles for creating your own class culture.
Make it Fresh
One thing every teacher should consider is trying something new; something you’ve never done before on the first day of school. That's the beauty of teaching; we get to start all over again each year. If you are an effective teacher you will undoubtedly start with a plan, a better and more reflective plan than the previous year. That change can begin the first day. Do something new that reflects the new plan. For example, change the way the seats are arranged, teach from the back and front of the class.
The ineffective teacher does the same thing year after year, which is why Einstein said,
"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting different results."
Get Students' Buy-In Through Icebreakers
Although ice breakers can seem frivolous, they can be an important first step to getting student buy-in. Unless a student is emotionally connected to school, they will lack motivation to learn. Many teachers consider ice breakers as essential to building the comfort necessary when creating a “team” of learners. For example, have a game where everyone memorizes everyone else’s name and something about them.
Create Class Rules
Create classroom rules using student input. Ideally you should keep classroom rules down to a manageable limit of 3-6 rules. Include a tardy policy and a behavior contract. Elicit student agreement on the order of importance of each rule.
Use Warmups
Begin the routine of using meaningful daily warm-ups. The key word here is “meaningful.” Students are experts at identifying “busy work,” which is not what they should be doing. They should do work that will include real practice toward achieving important learning goals they have set for themselves. For example, if the day before you taught about US presidents, create a slideshow that has presidents pictures and something about each and then let students jot down which president they are.
Have a Positive Teacher Communication/Attitude
Most students are also wondering:
“Will the teacher treat me as a human being?” Everyone wants to be treated with respect, dignity, and love, whether that person is a teacher, administrator, or student. You will have about seven seconds to create that perception beginning with:
how you treat yourself with respect, dignity, and love,
how you greet your students at the door,
how you dress,
what signs are posted in your classroom,
the message on the chalkboard,
the obviousness that you are organized and ready,
that you are in control of the learning environment for the classroom, and
that you really care about each child’s success in your classroom
An ineffective teacher may be more concerned with doing "their thing" or “can't wait to start with a fun activity” so that he or she can be the student's friend or pal. The students are not looking for fun. They are looking for security, consistency, respect, dignity, and care and you can convey that message on the first day of school by conveying how well you are organized. Your effective management skills will demonstrate to the students if your class will be exciting or boring, and if you will light or extinguish their candle.
Get to Know Your Students
An important thing to accomplish during the first week of school is getting to know one personal thing about each of your students. You should learn all of their names in the first week and try to remember one personal interest, hobby or strength that helps to define them. You are going to be a mentor and guiding force in the months to come and your influence will be considerably stronger if you can relate to a personal aspect of each child in your class.
Elicit High Expectations
An effective teacher must have high expectations. Strive to raise the bar for your students. If you expect less effort you will receive less effort. You should work on an attitude that says you know students can achieve to your level of expectations. This will automatically give them a sense of confidence too. This is not to say that you should create unrealistic expectations. However, your expectations will be one of the key factors in helping students learn and achieve.
When you clearly explain and train your students in your expectations, they will know what to do and when to do it. This creates a well-disciplined class which in turn supports student learning. Challenging your students every day is a powerful tool which will motivate them to strive to do their very best and beyond. Although it takes a bit of work and time on your part at the beginning of the year, it is so well worth it!
Conclusion
Which of these is most important? For building a classroom culture, all of them are. Create your teaching plan for the first week and make sure to include all of these principles. If you do, you'll be on your way to creating a class culture that will result in excellent class management and student learning. Go for it!
Saturday, August 13, 2011
NEVER GIVE UP
Dr. Wendy Ghiora
Posting #95 - August 13, 2011
As I teacher, “Never give up,” was my mantra. Time after time, the most unlikely students would wind up finding the genius within and become my “brightest star.” As a teacher, leader, mentor, boss, whatever, you can help others find their own” hidden genius.” I believe there is a way to find that special something in every student; and when you do, all I can say is “WOW!”
See if you can guess who each one of these supposed ne'er-do-well’s is: (answers at the bottom)
1.This person’s teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, he made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at his invention until he finally succeeded.
2.This person failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.
3.This person failed sixth grade and was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." (his capitals, mind you)
4.This person did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school .
One interesting anecdote, told by Otto Neugebauer, a historian of science, goes like this:
As he was a late talker, his parents were worried. At last, at the supper table one night, he broke his silence to say, "The soup is too hot."
Greatly relieved, his parents asked why he had never said a word before.
He replied, "Because up to now everything was in order."
5.This person was cut from his high school basketball team. He once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."
6.After his first audition, this person was told by the casting director, "Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?" It was at that moment, that he decided to devote his life to acting.
7.This person flunked out of college. He was described as both "unable and unwilling to learn." No doubt a slow developer.
8.was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times. The “bright idea” he proposed was rejected by the local city on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
1.Thomas Edison
2.Henry Ford
3.Winston Churchill
4.Albert Einstein
5.Michael Jordan
6.Sidney Portier
7. Leo Tolstoy
8. Walt Disney
Next time you are just about to give up on someone, I hope you will think about these examples. The “I CAN,” is there in everyone. Just find it.
Posting #95 - August 13, 2011
As I teacher, “Never give up,” was my mantra. Time after time, the most unlikely students would wind up finding the genius within and become my “brightest star.” As a teacher, leader, mentor, boss, whatever, you can help others find their own” hidden genius.” I believe there is a way to find that special something in every student; and when you do, all I can say is “WOW!”
See if you can guess who each one of these supposed ne'er-do-well’s is: (answers at the bottom)
1.This person’s teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, he made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at his invention until he finally succeeded.
2.This person failed and went broke five times before he succeeded.
3.This person failed sixth grade and was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until the age of 62. He later wrote, "Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up." (his capitals, mind you)
4.This person did not speak until he was 4-years-old and did not read until he was 7. His parents thought he was "sub-normal," and one of his teachers described him as "mentally slow, unsociable, and adrift forever in foolish dreams." He was expelled from school .
One interesting anecdote, told by Otto Neugebauer, a historian of science, goes like this:
As he was a late talker, his parents were worried. At last, at the supper table one night, he broke his silence to say, "The soup is too hot."
Greatly relieved, his parents asked why he had never said a word before.
He replied, "Because up to now everything was in order."
5.This person was cut from his high school basketball team. He once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."
6.After his first audition, this person was told by the casting director, "Why don't you stop wasting people's time and go out and become a dishwasher or something?" It was at that moment, that he decided to devote his life to acting.
7.This person flunked out of college. He was described as both "unable and unwilling to learn." No doubt a slow developer.
8.was fired by a newspaper editor because "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He went bankrupt several times. The “bright idea” he proposed was rejected by the local city on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.
1.Thomas Edison
2.Henry Ford
3.Winston Churchill
4.Albert Einstein
5.Michael Jordan
6.Sidney Portier
7. Leo Tolstoy
8. Walt Disney
Next time you are just about to give up on someone, I hope you will think about these examples. The “I CAN,” is there in everyone. Just find it.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
PLANNING FOR THE COMING SCHOOL YEAR
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #94 – July 31, 2011
Planning for the coming school year brings a lot of hope and some great expectations. It’s a perfect time to reflect upon what went really well during the previous school year and what things definitely need to be changed. Here are a few simple things to consider for starters:
Room Arrangement
What is the most effective positioning of student desks?
Where should my desk be located?
If you are planning to truly engage students, they will most likely participate in an abundance of cooperative learning activities. Desks joined in groups with students facing one another are most conducive for this. In most cases groups of four work well. The teacher’s desk should be located in an easily accessible spot where students can see the teacher and ask for help when needed.
Classroom Routines
What are the most important classroom routines?
• What are students expected to do as soon as they enter my classroom?
• What do I expect my kids to do once an assignment is completed?
• When can students use the bathrooms?
• Where do I want them to place various papers and supplies?
• What roles do each team member have?
Looking Ahead
Let students know right from the beginning what the purpose of the class is. Let them know what goals you expect them to reach by the end of the year. Be sure to explain these in a way that says:
“These are the things you will know, understand and be able to do by the end of the year.”
Remember Your Camera
Remember to take a photograph of each student during the first week of school. Have each student write what yearly goals they have set for themselves. I would suggest limiting this to three major goals. At the end of the year, take a new photograph of each student and have them look at their original goals and write how much progress was made toward each one. They can write about how each goal was almost met, totally accomplished, or even surpassed. Then place the beginning and ending pictures and statements side by side for comparison. Students will be amazed at how far they have come!
Your camera will come in handy to record unique and fun learning activities throughout the school year. Photos can be used in school newsletters and for an end-of-the-year Memory Book for your students. It’s true: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Have fun planning for a fantastic school year!
Planning for the coming school year brings a lot of hope and some great expectations. It’s a perfect time to reflect upon what went really well during the previous school year and what things definitely need to be changed. Here are a few simple things to consider for starters:
Room Arrangement
What is the most effective positioning of student desks?
Where should my desk be located?
If you are planning to truly engage students, they will most likely participate in an abundance of cooperative learning activities. Desks joined in groups with students facing one another are most conducive for this. In most cases groups of four work well. The teacher’s desk should be located in an easily accessible spot where students can see the teacher and ask for help when needed.
Classroom Routines
What are the most important classroom routines?
• What are students expected to do as soon as they enter my classroom?
• What do I expect my kids to do once an assignment is completed?
• When can students use the bathrooms?
• Where do I want them to place various papers and supplies?
• What roles do each team member have?
Looking Ahead
Let students know right from the beginning what the purpose of the class is. Let them know what goals you expect them to reach by the end of the year. Be sure to explain these in a way that says:
“These are the things you will know, understand and be able to do by the end of the year.”
Remember Your Camera
Remember to take a photograph of each student during the first week of school. Have each student write what yearly goals they have set for themselves. I would suggest limiting this to three major goals. At the end of the year, take a new photograph of each student and have them look at their original goals and write how much progress was made toward each one. They can write about how each goal was almost met, totally accomplished, or even surpassed. Then place the beginning and ending pictures and statements side by side for comparison. Students will be amazed at how far they have come!
Your camera will come in handy to record unique and fun learning activities throughout the school year. Photos can be used in school newsletters and for an end-of-the-year Memory Book for your students. It’s true: “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
Have fun planning for a fantastic school year!
Saturday, July 2, 2011
FOURTH OF JULY REFLECTION
Fourth of July Reflection
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #93
I have always thought the inscription on the Statue of Liberty incorporates the essence of what our forefathers had in mind. We still welcome people from all lands, seeking a better life under the brilliant torch of freedom. This is the poem from which that inscription was taken. I hope you enjoy it as you enjoy this Fourth of July and the many gifts we enjoy as Americans.
The New Colossus
By Emma Lazarus 1849–1887
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Fourth of July Reflection
Wendy Ghiora
On this Fourth of July, I reflect as I stand,
On thankfulness for my birth in this land.
Some say, it’s not a perfect place,
But for me, it wields an awesome grace.
For nowhere else can one truly give,
With a freedom to think and a freedom to live.
On this Fourth of July, I reflect and stand,
So thankful I was born in this wonderful land.
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #93
I have always thought the inscription on the Statue of Liberty incorporates the essence of what our forefathers had in mind. We still welcome people from all lands, seeking a better life under the brilliant torch of freedom. This is the poem from which that inscription was taken. I hope you enjoy it as you enjoy this Fourth of July and the many gifts we enjoy as Americans.
The New Colossus
By Emma Lazarus 1849–1887
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
Fourth of July Reflection
Wendy Ghiora
On this Fourth of July, I reflect as I stand,
On thankfulness for my birth in this land.
Some say, it’s not a perfect place,
But for me, it wields an awesome grace.
For nowhere else can one truly give,
With a freedom to think and a freedom to live.
On this Fourth of July, I reflect and stand,
So thankful I was born in this wonderful land.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
WILL WE EVER LEARN?
Will we ever learn?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora - Posting #92 - June 14, 2011
I found an interesting and entertaining analogy I would like to share with you:
Horse Story (an analogy)
Unknown Source
Common advice from knowledgeable horse trainers includes the adage, "If the horse you're riding dies, get off."
Seems simple enough doesn't it? Yet in education we don't always follow that advice. Instead, we often choose from an array of other alternatives which include:
1.Buying a stronger whip
2.Trying a new bit or bridle
3.Switching riders
4.Moving the horse to a new location
5.Riding the horse for longer periods of time
6.Saying things like, "This is the way we've always ridden this horse
7.Appointing a committee to study the horse
8.Arranging to visit other sites where they ride dead horses more efficiently
9.Increasing the standards for riding dead horses
10.Creating a test for measuring our riding ability
11.Comparing how we're riding now with how we did ten or twenty years ago
12.Complaining about the state of horse these days
13.Coming up with new styles of riding
14.Blaming the horse's parents. The problem is often in the breeding.
15.Tightening the cinch
Will we ever learn?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora - Posting #92 - June 14, 2011
I found an interesting and entertaining analogy I would like to share with you:
Horse Story (an analogy)
Unknown Source
Common advice from knowledgeable horse trainers includes the adage, "If the horse you're riding dies, get off."
Seems simple enough doesn't it? Yet in education we don't always follow that advice. Instead, we often choose from an array of other alternatives which include:
1.Buying a stronger whip
2.Trying a new bit or bridle
3.Switching riders
4.Moving the horse to a new location
5.Riding the horse for longer periods of time
6.Saying things like, "This is the way we've always ridden this horse
7.Appointing a committee to study the horse
8.Arranging to visit other sites where they ride dead horses more efficiently
9.Increasing the standards for riding dead horses
10.Creating a test for measuring our riding ability
11.Comparing how we're riding now with how we did ten or twenty years ago
12.Complaining about the state of horse these days
13.Coming up with new styles of riding
14.Blaming the horse's parents. The problem is often in the breeding.
15.Tightening the cinch
Will we ever learn?
Saturday, June 4, 2011
DANCE DELIVERS
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #91 – June 4, 2011
I happened to see an interview on TV today with Jacques d’Amboise. He is the former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. When asked how he got into ballet, he said, his mom wanted to keep him from getting in trouble with the “street kids,” so she made him join her and his sister at his sister’s ballet class. In order not to make it a complete waste of his time, he used to make “fart” noises and do other stunts to disrupt his sister’s class. The teacher (a very wise lady), responded by asking:
“Young man, why don’t you come here and see if you can jump as high as the girls?” He was hooked.
After a brilliant career with the New York City Ballet, as dancer and choreographer, Mr. d’Amboise founded the National Dance Institute (NDI). This institute was founded in the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage children and motivate them toward excellence. NDI strives to reach every child, transcending barriers of language, culture, and physical challenges. This group has impacted the lives of over 2 million children.
Year after year, NDI transforms the lives of over 35,000 New York City public school students, their parents, teachers and local communities through classes, residencies and performances. They work with mainstream, bilingual, and special education classes.
An education in the performing arts, endows children with the experience of social interaction and develops personal standards that become key aspects of their lives. Children who are fortunate to have an early exposure to elements of the performing arts, dance and music during their primary education develop confidence in achievement, self discipline, learning techniques, social interaction, and learn the importance of structured routines, and the ability to work together. These skills will serve them well through their academic careers and in their achievements as adults.
After the Jacques d’Amboise interview, Two small groups of New York City students gave a brief performance. One group did a sort of modern ballet, wearing tennis shoes. The second group did a highly spirited clogging dance. The brilliant performance, accompanied by the sheer joy and exuberance beaming from the faces of those children, was a powerful testament to the value of the arts in education. We need more like Jacques d’Amboise in this world!
Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery. ~Martha Graham
I happened to see an interview on TV today with Jacques d’Amboise. He is the former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. When asked how he got into ballet, he said, his mom wanted to keep him from getting in trouble with the “street kids,” so she made him join her and his sister at his sister’s ballet class. In order not to make it a complete waste of his time, he used to make “fart” noises and do other stunts to disrupt his sister’s class. The teacher (a very wise lady), responded by asking:
“Young man, why don’t you come here and see if you can jump as high as the girls?” He was hooked.
After a brilliant career with the New York City Ballet, as dancer and choreographer, Mr. d’Amboise founded the National Dance Institute (NDI). This institute was founded in the belief that the arts have a unique power to engage children and motivate them toward excellence. NDI strives to reach every child, transcending barriers of language, culture, and physical challenges. This group has impacted the lives of over 2 million children.
Year after year, NDI transforms the lives of over 35,000 New York City public school students, their parents, teachers and local communities through classes, residencies and performances. They work with mainstream, bilingual, and special education classes.
An education in the performing arts, endows children with the experience of social interaction and develops personal standards that become key aspects of their lives. Children who are fortunate to have an early exposure to elements of the performing arts, dance and music during their primary education develop confidence in achievement, self discipline, learning techniques, social interaction, and learn the importance of structured routines, and the ability to work together. These skills will serve them well through their academic careers and in their achievements as adults.
After the Jacques d’Amboise interview, Two small groups of New York City students gave a brief performance. One group did a sort of modern ballet, wearing tennis shoes. The second group did a highly spirited clogging dance. The brilliant performance, accompanied by the sheer joy and exuberance beaming from the faces of those children, was a powerful testament to the value of the arts in education. We need more like Jacques d’Amboise in this world!
Dancing is just discovery, discovery, discovery. ~Martha Graham
Friday, May 13, 2011
Alternative Schools, No Longer the "Siberia" of the School District
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #90 – May 14, 2011
I taught for over twenty years at three different traditional public high schools in Southern California. During those years I didn’t know much about the “Alternative High Schools.” What I did know was two things. First, alternative schools were where students (usually juniors or seniors) were sent who were labeled, "at risk," meaning they were in danger of not finishing school because of a deficiency in course credits, pregnancy, or other reasons. Secondly, I knew that none of us teaching at our pristine “regular” high school would ever want to teach at the “Alternative” school. It would be akin to being sentenced to the harsh labor camps in the unwelcoming, frigid atmosphere of Siberia. We actually thought, teachers who taught in Alternative Schools, had been demoted for one reason or another. But, when I learned the truth about Alternative Schools, my eyes were delightfully opened. Here's how that happened.
In more recent years I was appointed to serve on several WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) committees. This is the team that visits and observes at various high schools and determines whether or not to grant State Accreditation to that school and for what period of time. Many of these visits were to “Alternative” high schools.
One realization I had right off the bat was these schools were literally the student’s last chance to get a high school education and earn a diploma. That part I pretty much guessed. But I was not aware that alternative school students actually take advantage of the opportunity and work extremely hard to prove they can be successful.
Many adults assume the students enrolled in Alternative High Schools are the trouble makers, the lazy students or slow learners who have failure written all over their faces. On the contrary, some of these kids are among the brightest I’ve ever met. They simply “march to the tune of a different drum.” Many of them just want a place to learn, where they are respected and accepted for who they are, and the abilities they possess. Alternative schools can be just the place to do that.
Alternative School staff understands when a child is accepted and wanted, great things can happen. And they also understand that acceptance must not only come from the staff; (vertically), it must also come from fellow students (horizontally). In other words, in order for students to feel part of the group, both teachers and students must provide that validation. So Alternative Schools work hard to make that happen by creating a climate for success.
Students do well in these schools because they feel respected by everyone there. There are no cliques like there are in traditional high schools. Everyone talks to everyone else. Students never feel they are being judged by their appearance. Teachers also are non-judgmental. If a student is behind in a subject, they ask for help because they know the teachers won’t make them feel stupid just because they never learned something they probably should have learned a long time ago.
Alternative Schools, as effective as they are, still have challenges. High school students are still young. They have adult thoughts, and do adult things, but they need adult guidance. Students bring problems to school that affect their ability to perform on any given day. These problems need to be acknowledged and treated before the student is ready to learn. Some of these students are virtually homeless and must work in order to survive. Through experience and training, the staff learns to listen to students and watch for signs that indicate present or potential distractions. Then they deal with them right away.
In a recent study on Alternative Schools for the Oregon Department of Education, conducted by Cliff Brush and Bob Jones, they collected the following student statements regarding the care given them by staff at their school:
“They really watch out for us here. After all, we’re still children. Well, we’re really teenagers, but we still need people to take care of us.”
“My teachers notice if I’m having a problem. I don’t even have to say anything. They can tell just by looking at me. They know right away.”
“Sometimes I come in feeling bad. My teachers make me feel better. They make me laugh.”
“If I have a problem and try to hide it, other students can see it and they ask me if I’m all right. After a while you stop saying, ‘Yes,’ and you talk about your problem.”
“I saw a movie on animal rights and mistreatment of animals that really upset me, and the teacher let me stay and talk about it until I was calmed down. I missed the next class, but that was all right with everybody.”
“Teachers don’t just help us with academics. They help us find money for college. They don’t just send application forms home with us. The sit with us and help us fill them out.”
When asked, “Do you have a better idea of what you want to do after high school than you did before,” the vast majority answered, “Yes.” A typical response, “I thought of myself as a dropout. I was comfortable with that. Now, I plan to go to college.”
“This school helps you figure out who you are and what you’re good at.
It makes you think about what you’re going to do with your education.”
[Staff comment] “We’re not teaching them how to be high school students. We’re teaching them to be successful people.”
We know that students learn in different ways and at different speeds. They need staff that are patient with their style and pace of learning and will persevere with the student until learning has occurred. Not every student catches on to what is taught the first time it is presented. This is true for students in traditional schools as well as for students in alternative schools. The difference the alternative school makes, according to students, is that teachers will stick with them until they understand the material.
These final comments from students summarize, in their minds, why the alternative school program is working for them:
“We are like a family at this school. We have family time activities every week.”
“When I come here in the morning, every adult says Hi to me.”
“In my old school, no one noticed me. Here I have a place and I count for something.”
“In other schools it’s like, do this, do it our way. You have no power.”
“We’re all here because we want to be.”
“If I couldn’t go to this school, I’d probably just drop out.”
I can attest to the fact these same ideas and feelings were expressed by students I met within California alternative schools and likely encompass the same reasons these schools are enabling “at risk” high school students throughout our country to achieve the knowledge, the success and the future they almost lost. Perhaps the so called “regular” or “traditional” high schools could learn a thing or two by taking a trip to “Siberia,” and instead of a rigid frozen environment, discover one full of warmth, light and real hope.
Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children. Walt Disney
I taught for over twenty years at three different traditional public high schools in Southern California. During those years I didn’t know much about the “Alternative High Schools.” What I did know was two things. First, alternative schools were where students (usually juniors or seniors) were sent who were labeled, "at risk," meaning they were in danger of not finishing school because of a deficiency in course credits, pregnancy, or other reasons. Secondly, I knew that none of us teaching at our pristine “regular” high school would ever want to teach at the “Alternative” school. It would be akin to being sentenced to the harsh labor camps in the unwelcoming, frigid atmosphere of Siberia. We actually thought, teachers who taught in Alternative Schools, had been demoted for one reason or another. But, when I learned the truth about Alternative Schools, my eyes were delightfully opened. Here's how that happened.
In more recent years I was appointed to serve on several WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) committees. This is the team that visits and observes at various high schools and determines whether or not to grant State Accreditation to that school and for what period of time. Many of these visits were to “Alternative” high schools.
One realization I had right off the bat was these schools were literally the student’s last chance to get a high school education and earn a diploma. That part I pretty much guessed. But I was not aware that alternative school students actually take advantage of the opportunity and work extremely hard to prove they can be successful.
Many adults assume the students enrolled in Alternative High Schools are the trouble makers, the lazy students or slow learners who have failure written all over their faces. On the contrary, some of these kids are among the brightest I’ve ever met. They simply “march to the tune of a different drum.” Many of them just want a place to learn, where they are respected and accepted for who they are, and the abilities they possess. Alternative schools can be just the place to do that.
Alternative School staff understands when a child is accepted and wanted, great things can happen. And they also understand that acceptance must not only come from the staff; (vertically), it must also come from fellow students (horizontally). In other words, in order for students to feel part of the group, both teachers and students must provide that validation. So Alternative Schools work hard to make that happen by creating a climate for success.
Students do well in these schools because they feel respected by everyone there. There are no cliques like there are in traditional high schools. Everyone talks to everyone else. Students never feel they are being judged by their appearance. Teachers also are non-judgmental. If a student is behind in a subject, they ask for help because they know the teachers won’t make them feel stupid just because they never learned something they probably should have learned a long time ago.
Alternative Schools, as effective as they are, still have challenges. High school students are still young. They have adult thoughts, and do adult things, but they need adult guidance. Students bring problems to school that affect their ability to perform on any given day. These problems need to be acknowledged and treated before the student is ready to learn. Some of these students are virtually homeless and must work in order to survive. Through experience and training, the staff learns to listen to students and watch for signs that indicate present or potential distractions. Then they deal with them right away.
In a recent study on Alternative Schools for the Oregon Department of Education, conducted by Cliff Brush and Bob Jones, they collected the following student statements regarding the care given them by staff at their school:
“They really watch out for us here. After all, we’re still children. Well, we’re really teenagers, but we still need people to take care of us.”
“My teachers notice if I’m having a problem. I don’t even have to say anything. They can tell just by looking at me. They know right away.”
“Sometimes I come in feeling bad. My teachers make me feel better. They make me laugh.”
“If I have a problem and try to hide it, other students can see it and they ask me if I’m all right. After a while you stop saying, ‘Yes,’ and you talk about your problem.”
“I saw a movie on animal rights and mistreatment of animals that really upset me, and the teacher let me stay and talk about it until I was calmed down. I missed the next class, but that was all right with everybody.”
“Teachers don’t just help us with academics. They help us find money for college. They don’t just send application forms home with us. The sit with us and help us fill them out.”
When asked, “Do you have a better idea of what you want to do after high school than you did before,” the vast majority answered, “Yes.” A typical response, “I thought of myself as a dropout. I was comfortable with that. Now, I plan to go to college.”
“This school helps you figure out who you are and what you’re good at.
It makes you think about what you’re going to do with your education.”
[Staff comment] “We’re not teaching them how to be high school students. We’re teaching them to be successful people.”
We know that students learn in different ways and at different speeds. They need staff that are patient with their style and pace of learning and will persevere with the student until learning has occurred. Not every student catches on to what is taught the first time it is presented. This is true for students in traditional schools as well as for students in alternative schools. The difference the alternative school makes, according to students, is that teachers will stick with them until they understand the material.
These final comments from students summarize, in their minds, why the alternative school program is working for them:
“We are like a family at this school. We have family time activities every week.”
“When I come here in the morning, every adult says Hi to me.”
“In my old school, no one noticed me. Here I have a place and I count for something.”
“In other schools it’s like, do this, do it our way. You have no power.”
“We’re all here because we want to be.”
“If I couldn’t go to this school, I’d probably just drop out.”
I can attest to the fact these same ideas and feelings were expressed by students I met within California alternative schools and likely encompass the same reasons these schools are enabling “at risk” high school students throughout our country to achieve the knowledge, the success and the future they almost lost. Perhaps the so called “regular” or “traditional” high schools could learn a thing or two by taking a trip to “Siberia,” and instead of a rigid frozen environment, discover one full of warmth, light and real hope.
Our greatest natural resource is the minds of our children. Walt Disney
Saturday, April 23, 2011
RESPECT: THE COMMON THREAD
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #89 – April 23, 2011
In my capacity as a teacher and school principal, I have noticed a common thread connecting all great teachers and leaders. That common thread is respect.
According to the online dictionary, respect is:
1. To feel or show deferential regard for; esteem.
2. To avoid violation of or interference with: respect the speed limit.
3. A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem.
4. The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.
5. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation.
Respect is, a bit difficult to grasp in finite terms, as it is subjective. If one insists on an absolute definition, I would say the closest absolute definition of respect would be:
For me, respect is, at minimum, one person's condoning what another does as socially acceptable. At the higher end, it is admiration for doing something good or beneficial to society.
Many teachers and great leaders demonstrate this brand of respect by their actions. They are consistent in granting respect and set the example for all to follow. When one is shown respect the great feeling accompanying this gesture promotes the desire to give the same respect back. Once this is accomplished, the team you are leading will gain the confidence needed to achieve far beyond their own expectations and yours.
The common thread that runs through successful teachers and leaders is respect for others including children. Belief that students can achieve more than they thought possible is a part of that respect. It is also a respect for the process of teaching itself. Christa McAuliffe said it best: "We are in a position to touch the future. It's what we do."
In my capacity as a teacher and school principal, I have noticed a common thread connecting all great teachers and leaders. That common thread is respect.
According to the online dictionary, respect is:
1. To feel or show deferential regard for; esteem.
2. To avoid violation of or interference with: respect the speed limit.
3. A feeling of appreciative, often deferential regard; esteem.
4. The state of being regarded with honor or esteem.
5. Willingness to show consideration or appreciation.
Respect is, a bit difficult to grasp in finite terms, as it is subjective. If one insists on an absolute definition, I would say the closest absolute definition of respect would be:
total acceptance; not a hint of resistance to what another does
Short of this, respect is simply an accepting of what another does, whether you agree with it or not.
For me, respect is, at minimum, one person's condoning what another does as socially acceptable. At the higher end, it is admiration for doing something good or beneficial to society.
Many teachers and great leaders demonstrate this brand of respect by their actions. They are consistent in granting respect and set the example for all to follow. When one is shown respect the great feeling accompanying this gesture promotes the desire to give the same respect back. Once this is accomplished, the team you are leading will gain the confidence needed to achieve far beyond their own expectations and yours.
The common thread that runs through successful teachers and leaders is respect for others including children. Belief that students can achieve more than they thought possible is a part of that respect. It is also a respect for the process of teaching itself. Christa McAuliffe said it best: "We are in a position to touch the future. It's what we do."
Friday, April 8, 2011
Why We Revere Revere
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – April 9, 2011 – Posting #88
Paul Revere Revere’s Ride
Listen my children and you shall hear,
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere...
One of the enduring legends of the American colonists' fight for independence was Paul Revere's heroic ride from Boston to Lexington, Massachusetts on April 18, 1775. It foiled British plans to arrest American revolutionaries Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Although Revere was arrested after delivering his warning, he was released in time to witness the ensuing Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War in 1860.
Considered by many Americans to be one of the greatest and most famous American patriots, a near mystique has gathered around Paul Revere. With his active involvement in the American Revolutionary War, Revere's heroic actions helped establish his own legend. Here are some facts about our beloved hero:
Silversmith
Paul Revere earned his living as silversmith, one of the most respected and admired tradesmen in Boston. His company produced tea sets, silverware and special engravings. Revere Ware is still sold today in some of our finest cookware stores.
Boston Tea Party
As a member of the Sons of Liberty, an underground organization that favored revolting against the British, Revere participated in the famed Boston Tea Party in 1773.
The Midnight Ride
Paul Revere remains best known for his involvement in the Midnight Ride, where he rode on horseback in April 1775 from Boston to Lexington, alerting colonists of approaching British troops. The battle that followed marked the start of the American Revolutionary War. Here we have a man who had everything to live for, but was willing to give his life for a cause very dear to his heart; freedom.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
In 1861, more than 40 years after his death, Paul Revere's Midnight Ride became immortalized when the famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the classic American poem, Paul Revere's Ride.
The landlord of the Wayside Inn orally tells the fictionalized story of Paul Revere. In the poem, Revere tells a friend to prepare signal lanterns in the Old North Church to inform him if the British will attack by land or sea. He would await the signal across the river in Charlestown and be ready to spread the alarm throughout Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The unnamed friend climbs up the steeple and soon sets up two signal lanterns, informing Revere that the British are coming by sea. Revere rides his horse through Medford, Lexington, and Concord to warn the patriots.
Longfellow was inspired to write the poem after visiting the Old North Church and climbing its tower on April 5, 1860. The following morning he began writing the poem. The poem served as the first in a series of 22 narratives bundled as a collection, similar to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which was published in three installments over 10 years. When written in 1860, America was on the verge of Civil War. The poem was published in the January, 1861, issue of The Atlantic Magazine on December 20, 1860, just as South Carolina became the first state to secede from the United States. Paul Revere's Ride was meant to appeal to Northerners' sense of urgency and, as a call for action, noted that history favors the courageous.
Longfellow, who often used poetry to remind readers of cultural and moral values, warns at the end of the poem of a coming "hour of darkness and peril and need", implying the breakup of the Union, and suggests that the "people will waken and listen to hear" the midnight message again. By emphasizing common history, he was attempting to dissolve social tensions. Unfortunately, his ploy did not work.
The poem waffles between past and present tense, sometimes in the same sentence, symbolically pulling the actions of the Revolution into modern times and displaying an event with timeless sympathies.
Poetic License
Longfellow's poem is not historically accurate but his "mistakes" were deliberate. He researched the historical event, using works like George Bancroft's History of the United States, but he manipulated the facts for poetic effect. He was purposely trying to create American legends, much as he did with works like The Song of Hiawatha(1855) and The Courtship of Miles Standish(1858).
The poem depicts the lantern signal in the Old North Church as meant for Revere and not from him, as was actually the case. The historical Paul Revere did not receive the lantern signal, but actually was the one who ordered it to be set up. The poem also depicts Revere rowing himself across the Charles River when, in reality, he was rowed over by others. He also never reached Concord. Longfellow gave sole credit to Revere for the collective achievements of three riders. In fact, Revere and William Dawes rode from Boston to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that British soldiers were marching from Boston to Lexington to arrest Hancock and Adams and seize the weapons stores in Concord. Revere and Dawes then rode toward Concord, where the militia's arsenal was hidden. They were joined by Samuel Prescott, a doctor who happened to be in Lexington. Revere, Dawes, and Prescott were stopped by British troops in Lincoln on the road to nearby Concord. Prescott and Dawes escaped, but Revere was detained and questioned and then escorted at gunpoint by three British officers back to Lexington. Of the three riders, only Prescott arrived at Concord in time to warn the militia there.
What a great specimen to use as an example for your students. Discuss the use of poetic license by the author. Ask small groups of students to decide if poetic license is merited and to explain why or why not. Even today, this poem brings home the overwhelming feeling of the pride we feel for heroes then and now, those willing to give their lives for our freedom.
Paul Revere’s Ride
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend,
"If the British march By land or sea
from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
Then he said "Good-night!"
and with muffled oar Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay The Somerset,
British man-of-war; A phantom ship,
with each mast and spar Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified By its own reflection in the tide. Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made Masses
and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell Of the place and the hour,
and the secret dread Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides. It was twelve by the village clock When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball. You know the rest.
In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
Paul Revere Revere’s Ride
Listen my children and you shall hear,
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere...
One of the enduring legends of the American colonists' fight for independence was Paul Revere's heroic ride from Boston to Lexington, Massachusetts on April 18, 1775. It foiled British plans to arrest American revolutionaries Samuel Adams and John Hancock. Although Revere was arrested after delivering his warning, he was released in time to witness the ensuing Battle of Lexington and Concord, the first skirmish of the Revolutionary War in 1860.
Considered by many Americans to be one of the greatest and most famous American patriots, a near mystique has gathered around Paul Revere. With his active involvement in the American Revolutionary War, Revere's heroic actions helped establish his own legend. Here are some facts about our beloved hero:
Silversmith
Paul Revere earned his living as silversmith, one of the most respected and admired tradesmen in Boston. His company produced tea sets, silverware and special engravings. Revere Ware is still sold today in some of our finest cookware stores.
Boston Tea Party
As a member of the Sons of Liberty, an underground organization that favored revolting against the British, Revere participated in the famed Boston Tea Party in 1773.
The Midnight Ride
Paul Revere remains best known for his involvement in the Midnight Ride, where he rode on horseback in April 1775 from Boston to Lexington, alerting colonists of approaching British troops. The battle that followed marked the start of the American Revolutionary War. Here we have a man who had everything to live for, but was willing to give his life for a cause very dear to his heart; freedom.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
In 1861, more than 40 years after his death, Paul Revere's Midnight Ride became immortalized when the famed poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote the classic American poem, Paul Revere's Ride.
The landlord of the Wayside Inn orally tells the fictionalized story of Paul Revere. In the poem, Revere tells a friend to prepare signal lanterns in the Old North Church to inform him if the British will attack by land or sea. He would await the signal across the river in Charlestown and be ready to spread the alarm throughout Middlesex County, Massachusetts. The unnamed friend climbs up the steeple and soon sets up two signal lanterns, informing Revere that the British are coming by sea. Revere rides his horse through Medford, Lexington, and Concord to warn the patriots.
Longfellow was inspired to write the poem after visiting the Old North Church and climbing its tower on April 5, 1860. The following morning he began writing the poem. The poem served as the first in a series of 22 narratives bundled as a collection, similar to Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, which was published in three installments over 10 years. When written in 1860, America was on the verge of Civil War. The poem was published in the January, 1861, issue of The Atlantic Magazine on December 20, 1860, just as South Carolina became the first state to secede from the United States. Paul Revere's Ride was meant to appeal to Northerners' sense of urgency and, as a call for action, noted that history favors the courageous.
Longfellow, who often used poetry to remind readers of cultural and moral values, warns at the end of the poem of a coming "hour of darkness and peril and need", implying the breakup of the Union, and suggests that the "people will waken and listen to hear" the midnight message again. By emphasizing common history, he was attempting to dissolve social tensions. Unfortunately, his ploy did not work.
The poem waffles between past and present tense, sometimes in the same sentence, symbolically pulling the actions of the Revolution into modern times and displaying an event with timeless sympathies.
Poetic License
Longfellow's poem is not historically accurate but his "mistakes" were deliberate. He researched the historical event, using works like George Bancroft's History of the United States, but he manipulated the facts for poetic effect. He was purposely trying to create American legends, much as he did with works like The Song of Hiawatha(1855) and The Courtship of Miles Standish(1858).
The poem depicts the lantern signal in the Old North Church as meant for Revere and not from him, as was actually the case. The historical Paul Revere did not receive the lantern signal, but actually was the one who ordered it to be set up. The poem also depicts Revere rowing himself across the Charles River when, in reality, he was rowed over by others. He also never reached Concord. Longfellow gave sole credit to Revere for the collective achievements of three riders. In fact, Revere and William Dawes rode from Boston to Lexington to warn John Hancock and Samuel Adams that British soldiers were marching from Boston to Lexington to arrest Hancock and Adams and seize the weapons stores in Concord. Revere and Dawes then rode toward Concord, where the militia's arsenal was hidden. They were joined by Samuel Prescott, a doctor who happened to be in Lexington. Revere, Dawes, and Prescott were stopped by British troops in Lincoln on the road to nearby Concord. Prescott and Dawes escaped, but Revere was detained and questioned and then escorted at gunpoint by three British officers back to Lexington. Of the three riders, only Prescott arrived at Concord in time to warn the militia there.
What a great specimen to use as an example for your students. Discuss the use of poetic license by the author. Ask small groups of students to decide if poetic license is merited and to explain why or why not. Even today, this poem brings home the overwhelming feeling of the pride we feel for heroes then and now, those willing to give their lives for our freedom.
Paul Revere’s Ride
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Listen my children and you shall hear
Of the midnight ride of Paul Revere,
On the eighteenth of April, in Seventy-five;
Hardly a man is now alive
Who remembers that famous day and year.
He said to his friend,
"If the British march By land or sea
from the town to-night,
Hang a lantern aloft in the belfry arch
Of the North Church tower as a signal light,--
One if by land, and two if by sea;
And I on the opposite shore will be,
Ready to ride and spread the alarm
Through every Middlesex village and farm,
For the country folk to be up and to arm."
Then he said "Good-night!"
and with muffled oar Silently rowed to the Charlestown shore,
Just as the moon rose over the bay,
Where swinging wide at her moorings lay The Somerset,
British man-of-war; A phantom ship,
with each mast and spar Across the moon like a prison bar,
And a huge black hulk, that was magnified By its own reflection in the tide. Meanwhile, his friend through alley and street
Wanders and watches, with eager ears,
Till in the silence around him he hears
The muster of men at the barrack door,
The sound of arms, and the tramp of feet,
And the measured tread of the grenadiers,
Marching down to their boats on the shore.
Then he climbed the tower of the Old North Church,
By the wooden stairs, with stealthy tread,
To the belfry chamber overhead,
And startled the pigeons from their perch
On the sombre rafters, that round him made Masses
and moving shapes of shade,--
By the trembling ladder, steep and tall,
To the highest window in the wall,
Where he paused to listen and look down
A moment on the roofs of the town
And the moonlight flowing over all.
Beneath, in the churchyard, lay the dead,
In their night encampment on the hill,
Wrapped in silence so deep and still
That he could hear, like a sentinel's tread,
The watchful night-wind, as it went
Creeping along from tent to tent,
And seeming to whisper, "All is well!"
A moment only he feels the spell Of the place and the hour,
and the secret dread Of the lonely belfry and the dead;
For suddenly all his thoughts are bent
On a shadowy something far away,
Where the river widens to meet the bay,--
A line of black that bends and floats
On the rising tide like a bridge of boats.
Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride,
Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride
On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere.
Now he patted his horse's side,
Now he gazed at the landscape far and near,
Then, impetuous, stamped the earth,
And turned and tightened his saddle girth;
But mostly he watched with eager search
The belfry tower of the Old North Church,
As it rose above the graves on the hill,
Lonely and spectral and sombre and still.
And lo! as he looks, on the belfry's height
A glimmer, and then a gleam of light!
He springs to the saddle, the bridle he turns,
But lingers and gazes, till full on his sight
A second lamp in the belfry burns.
A hurry of hoofs in a village street,
A shape in the moonlight, a bulk in the dark,
And beneath, from the pebbles, in passing, a spark
Struck out by a steed flying fearless and fleet;
That was all! And yet, through the gloom and the light,
The fate of a nation was riding that night;
And the spark struck out by that steed, in his flight,
Kindled the land into flame with its heat.
He has left the village and mounted the steep,
And beneath him, tranquil and broad and deep,
Is the Mystic, meeting the ocean tides;
And under the alders that skirt its edge,
Now soft on the sand, now loud on the ledge,
Is heard the tramp of his steed as he rides. It was twelve by the village clock When he crossed the bridge into Medford town.
He heard the crowing of the cock,
And the barking of the farmer's dog,
And felt the damp of the river fog,
That rises after the sun goes down.
It was one by the village clock,
When he galloped into Lexington.
He saw the gilded weathercock Swim in the moonlight as he passed,
And the meeting-house windows, black and bare,
Gaze at him with a spectral glare,
As if they already stood aghast At the bloody work they would look upon.
It was two by the village clock,
When he came to the bridge in Concord town.
He heard the bleating of the flock,
And the twitter of birds among the trees,
And felt the breath of the morning breeze
Blowing over the meadow brown.
And one was safe and asleep in his bed
Who at the bridge would be first to fall,
Who that day would be lying dead,
Pierced by a British musket ball. You know the rest.
In the books you have read
How the British Regulars fired and fled,---
How the farmers gave them ball for ball,
From behind each fence and farmyard wall,
Chasing the redcoats down the lane,
Then crossing the fields to emerge again
Under the trees at the turn of the road,
And only pausing to fire and load.
So through the night rode Paul Revere;
And so through the night went his cry of alarm
To every Middlesex village and farm,---
A cry of defiance, and not of fear,
A voice in the darkness, a knock at the door,
And a word that shall echo for evermore!
For, borne on the night-wind of the Past,
Through all our history, to the last,
In the hour of darkness and peril and need,
The people will waken and listen to hear
The hurrying hoof-beats of that steed,
And the midnight message of Paul Revere.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
SOUP DU JOUR
Dr. Wendy Ghiora-Posting #87-April 3, 2011 Compliments are one of the most extraordinary ingredients of that all-encompassing soup we call our classroom. If offered in the right way, they create so much positive energy; they make things happen almost as if by magic. When a praiseworthy situation is noticed, this awareness needs to be spoken. In other words, the compliment needs to be put forth into the world in spoken form. When we deliver praise, our students benefit from being the objects of compliments. Recipients feel great, knowing that we notice and value them. In this respect, compliments are powerful tools in motivating continued efforts. Compliments are little gifts of love. But they are effective only when they are sincere reflections of what we think and if they are given freely and not coerced. Compliments backfire if they are not genuine. In his landmark 1996 book, Punished by Rewards, Alfie Kohn makes four solid points about giving compliments and praise: a. "Don't praise people, only what people do. It's less likely that there will be a gap between what someone hears and what he thinks about himself if we don't make sweeping comments about what he is like as a person." b. "Make praise as specific as possible. Even better than 'That's a really nice story' is 'That's neat at the end when you leave the main character a little confused about what happened to him.'" c. "Avoid phony praise. . . . One symptom of phony praise is a squeaky, saccharine voice that slides up and down the scale and bears little resemblance to the way we converse with our friends. A four-year-old can usually tell the difference between a genuine expression of pleasure and phony praise, between a sincere smile and one that is manufactured and timed for best effect." d. "Avoid praise that sets up competition. Phrases like 'You're the best in the class (or for adults, in this department)," whose "most pernicious effects . . . encourage a view of others as rivals rather than as potential collaborators. What's more, they lead people to see their own worth in terms of whether they have beaten everyone else - a recipe for perpetual insecurity." Kohn supports each of these points with solid research. The reality is that there is always something a student does that we can make a compliment about. There is no harm in doing so and when done genuinely it can not only help the student feel good, but create motivation to continue their efforts. I know each school day is a busy one, and many teachers have 35 or more students in each class. However, I am convinced, if done sincerely and with meaning, the investment of time and energy to render a compliment, can result in significant benefits for the student. Here’s a suggestion; divide the number of students in your class by the number of days in the week you meet with them. For example, if you have 35 students and see them 5 days a week, you would divide 35 by 5, which gives you 7. List the names of 7 students for each day of the week. These will be the students you will give a compliment to on that day. Of course, don’t hold back those compliments you know you want to give to the group as a whole (I’m just saying). Stir the soup gently and thoroughly, sit back and taste the powerful changes you will see in your classroom. Enjoy!
Saturday, March 26, 2011
TIPS FOR TOP TEST-TAKING PERFORMANCE
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #86 – March 19, 2011
It’s that time of year again—the time teachers, students, and principals have dreaded for a while. Why do we see grimacing when annual standardized assessments arrive? Even the most prepared teachers and students have some fear of tests, in some cases not so much because of the information needed to pass, but simply a fear of the test itself. This fear is a unique phobia and, yes, it’s called, “testaphobia.“ If a student hasn’t studied for the test, there’s not much that can be done but, if he or she simply has a fear of tests, here are some tips that just might get students a few more correct answers, they would not have gotten before.
Relaxing
When students are about to start the test, it sometimes helps to take a deep breath to relax. Anxiety may reduce confidence and be an obstacle to doing one's best. Take in a deep breath and re-affirm one's certainty and confidence.
Directions
Read and listen to all instructions given. It is imperative to really understand what is expected in each section of the test. Students should ask their instructor to explain any instructions they don’t understand.
Budgeting Your Time
It is not uncommon for students to leave unanswered questions because they run out of time. To avoid this, they should budget their time by taking the total amount of time given for each section, subtracting two minutes (for review), and then dividing the remaining time by the number of problems or questions. This will tell them approximately how much time they have for each question.
Managing Multiple Choice Questions
Did you know research reveals, on multiple choice questions, 3 out of 4 times, the first choice was the correct answer. So students should start out a multiple choice section by answering all the questions they know the answers to. (If they don’t know the answer immediately, put a mark next to it and skip it.) Then, go back over those not known. When finished, unless there is a very good reason for changing an answer, don’t.
Passing the Reading Passages
Success for answering questions related to passages increases when students read the questions prior to the passage. Doing so helps one hone in on relevant points. After reading the questions, students can highlight key words, phrases and ideas relevant to the questions, as clues to support the answers. Use text features such as: captions, graphs, charts and illustrations. They enhance the text and present relevant details.
Scoring on Math Questions
Students are required to show work and to write legibly. Even if the answer is wrong, they may receive partial credit if their work can be read and evaluated. A math question may have more than one part and, therefore, more than one answer. Be sure to answer all of the parts.
Reviewing Your Work
Here’s a way for students to get another correct answer or two. If they have time, they should go back and check all of their work. They should re-check as many answers as time permits. From my experience, they are bound to find something and correct it. But they should only correct things when they are absolutely sure.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
Good luck to all of you!
It’s that time of year again—the time teachers, students, and principals have dreaded for a while. Why do we see grimacing when annual standardized assessments arrive? Even the most prepared teachers and students have some fear of tests, in some cases not so much because of the information needed to pass, but simply a fear of the test itself. This fear is a unique phobia and, yes, it’s called, “testaphobia.“ If a student hasn’t studied for the test, there’s not much that can be done but, if he or she simply has a fear of tests, here are some tips that just might get students a few more correct answers, they would not have gotten before.
Relaxing
When students are about to start the test, it sometimes helps to take a deep breath to relax. Anxiety may reduce confidence and be an obstacle to doing one's best. Take in a deep breath and re-affirm one's certainty and confidence.
Directions
Read and listen to all instructions given. It is imperative to really understand what is expected in each section of the test. Students should ask their instructor to explain any instructions they don’t understand.
Budgeting Your Time
It is not uncommon for students to leave unanswered questions because they run out of time. To avoid this, they should budget their time by taking the total amount of time given for each section, subtracting two minutes (for review), and then dividing the remaining time by the number of problems or questions. This will tell them approximately how much time they have for each question.
Managing Multiple Choice Questions
Did you know research reveals, on multiple choice questions, 3 out of 4 times, the first choice was the correct answer. So students should start out a multiple choice section by answering all the questions they know the answers to. (If they don’t know the answer immediately, put a mark next to it and skip it.) Then, go back over those not known. When finished, unless there is a very good reason for changing an answer, don’t.
Passing the Reading Passages
Success for answering questions related to passages increases when students read the questions prior to the passage. Doing so helps one hone in on relevant points. After reading the questions, students can highlight key words, phrases and ideas relevant to the questions, as clues to support the answers. Use text features such as: captions, graphs, charts and illustrations. They enhance the text and present relevant details.
Scoring on Math Questions
Students are required to show work and to write legibly. Even if the answer is wrong, they may receive partial credit if their work can be read and evaluated. A math question may have more than one part and, therefore, more than one answer. Be sure to answer all of the parts.
Reviewing Your Work
Here’s a way for students to get another correct answer or two. If they have time, they should go back and check all of their work. They should re-check as many answers as time permits. From my experience, they are bound to find something and correct it. But they should only correct things when they are absolutely sure.
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.
Benjamin Franklin
Good luck to all of you!
Saturday, March 12, 2011
TO CHEAT OR NOT TO CHEAT?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #85 - March 12, 2011
The results of standardized tests are the driving force behind most public education institutions in the United States. It’s rather a sad note that performance on this one test determines major financial and political consequences for the staff and can result in less than a quality education for the students in our public schools today.
Scoring below grade level can mean a student is placed in additional hours of reading or math and is not permitted to take elective courses such as music or art. These students may have P.E. eliminated from their schedule. Many students are also subjected to being “taught to the test” for the entire school year. . Worse than that, this pressure has caused some teachers and even school principals to cheat on these pivotal tests. Is there an alternative to cheating?
Back in pre-historic times, when I attended school, there was no big deal made out of the yearly standardized tests. Why? Because our teachers had done their job; they had taught us what we were supposed to know as second, third or whatever graders we were. We took these tests each spring and never thought much about what they meant. That’s the way it should be.
USA Today (3/10, Upton) reports, "The standardized tests required by the federal No Child Left Behind law have become one of the most important - and controversial - ways to measure a student's progress, a teacher's competence, a school's success and a state's commitment to education." USA Today adds, "Teachers cheat sometimes and so do principals, according to academic studies. .. In an investigation of standardized testing in six states and the District of Columbia, USA TODAY found that an infraction such as casually coaching one student can carry nearly the same punishment as deliberately changing answers for a whole class."
Investigation Exposes Cheating At Michigan School. USA Today /Detroit Free Press (3/10, Dawsey) reports, "The teachers and principal at George Washington Carver Academy, a charter school" in Highland Park, MI, "have learned firsthand what happens when an official probe concludes that the staff cheated on a standardized test. Monitors sent by the Michigan Department of Education have watched over teachers here for the past two years as state tests have been administered." According to USA Today, "Educators at Carver cheated on the tests in many ways, stopping just short of giving students the answers, the state investigation found."
If schools in the very poorest of neighborhoods can “make the grade” without cheating, surely more fortunate schools should be able to follow suit. In New York City, most schools don't know if their students are progressing until the 3rd grade test. That just doesn't cut it. At the Harlem Success School, they test when students enter school to know children’s starting points. They test using both internal curriculum assessments and nationally-normed tests. The internal curriculum assessments allow school staff to target academic interventions in real-time, track trends in student learning, make curriculum enhancements, and provide useful feedback to teachers and parents. The nationally-normed tests allow the teachers to see how they match up to schools across the country.
Here are the results from this school that uses a culture of planning, goals, continuous evaluation, and teamwork, frequent communication with parents and relentless teaching and nurturing instead of cheating:
100% of Harlem Success 3rd graders passed the math exam, with 71% achieving the top score of "4," ranking the school #1 out of all public charters in the state.
• 95% of Harlem Success 3rd graders passed the English Language Arts exam, with nearly a quarter achieving the top score of "4," ranking the school #2 out of all public charters in the state.
• Harlem Success Academy ranks #32 out of all 3500 public schools in New York.
• No public school in the state scored higher than Harlem Success on the math exam.
• Harlem Success outperformed its school district by nearly 25 percentage points in English Language Arts. The percentage of students "advanced proficient" in math surpasses even the affluent Upper East Side of Manhattan by nearly 35%.
When teachers ’and principals’ jobs are threatened, some feel the only alternative is to cheat. However, teaching kids what they are supposed to know and understand in the first place is so much easier, don’t you think? As with any endeavor, the progress has to be watched carefully with vigilance and changes and improvements made the moment an insufficiency is noticed. This is basic to achieving any sort of a goal or end product in any field, including education. Let’s try it in our schools, shall we?
~ I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating ~ Sophocles
The results of standardized tests are the driving force behind most public education institutions in the United States. It’s rather a sad note that performance on this one test determines major financial and political consequences for the staff and can result in less than a quality education for the students in our public schools today.
Scoring below grade level can mean a student is placed in additional hours of reading or math and is not permitted to take elective courses such as music or art. These students may have P.E. eliminated from their schedule. Many students are also subjected to being “taught to the test” for the entire school year. . Worse than that, this pressure has caused some teachers and even school principals to cheat on these pivotal tests. Is there an alternative to cheating?
Back in pre-historic times, when I attended school, there was no big deal made out of the yearly standardized tests. Why? Because our teachers had done their job; they had taught us what we were supposed to know as second, third or whatever graders we were. We took these tests each spring and never thought much about what they meant. That’s the way it should be.
USA Today (3/10, Upton) reports, "The standardized tests required by the federal No Child Left Behind law have become one of the most important - and controversial - ways to measure a student's progress, a teacher's competence, a school's success and a state's commitment to education." USA Today adds, "Teachers cheat sometimes and so do principals, according to academic studies. .. In an investigation of standardized testing in six states and the District of Columbia, USA TODAY found that an infraction such as casually coaching one student can carry nearly the same punishment as deliberately changing answers for a whole class."
Investigation Exposes Cheating At Michigan School. USA Today /Detroit Free Press (3/10, Dawsey) reports, "The teachers and principal at George Washington Carver Academy, a charter school" in Highland Park, MI, "have learned firsthand what happens when an official probe concludes that the staff cheated on a standardized test. Monitors sent by the Michigan Department of Education have watched over teachers here for the past two years as state tests have been administered." According to USA Today, "Educators at Carver cheated on the tests in many ways, stopping just short of giving students the answers, the state investigation found."
If schools in the very poorest of neighborhoods can “make the grade” without cheating, surely more fortunate schools should be able to follow suit. In New York City, most schools don't know if their students are progressing until the 3rd grade test. That just doesn't cut it. At the Harlem Success School, they test when students enter school to know children’s starting points. They test using both internal curriculum assessments and nationally-normed tests. The internal curriculum assessments allow school staff to target academic interventions in real-time, track trends in student learning, make curriculum enhancements, and provide useful feedback to teachers and parents. The nationally-normed tests allow the teachers to see how they match up to schools across the country.
Here are the results from this school that uses a culture of planning, goals, continuous evaluation, and teamwork, frequent communication with parents and relentless teaching and nurturing instead of cheating:
100% of Harlem Success 3rd graders passed the math exam, with 71% achieving the top score of "4," ranking the school #1 out of all public charters in the state.
• 95% of Harlem Success 3rd graders passed the English Language Arts exam, with nearly a quarter achieving the top score of "4," ranking the school #2 out of all public charters in the state.
• Harlem Success Academy ranks #32 out of all 3500 public schools in New York.
• No public school in the state scored higher than Harlem Success on the math exam.
• Harlem Success outperformed its school district by nearly 25 percentage points in English Language Arts. The percentage of students "advanced proficient" in math surpasses even the affluent Upper East Side of Manhattan by nearly 35%.
When teachers ’and principals’ jobs are threatened, some feel the only alternative is to cheat. However, teaching kids what they are supposed to know and understand in the first place is so much easier, don’t you think? As with any endeavor, the progress has to be watched carefully with vigilance and changes and improvements made the moment an insufficiency is noticed. This is basic to achieving any sort of a goal or end product in any field, including education. Let’s try it in our schools, shall we?
~ I would prefer even to fail with honor than to win by cheating ~ Sophocles
Sunday, February 27, 2011
INSPIRE!
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #84 – February 27, 2011
Please take your seats ladies and gentlemen. We are about to embark on a four-part journey, beginning with the “I” for “Inspire,” in the acronym “I C A N.”
The theatre was totally quiet. All eyes were focused on Brandon. I noticed he was wearing a child-like striped T-shirt. I waited, not knowing what, if anything was about to take place. Brandon was getting into “the zone” of becoming his character. Suddenly, he looked directly out at the audience and said,
"I think lunchtime is about the worst time of day for me, always having to sit here alone."
I think some of the students squirmed because they thought those were Brandon’s words. Actually, this is the first line of Charlie Brown’s famous monologue about the love of his life, The Little Red-Haired Girl. The quality of the voice, the tone, the emotion, the poise were simply amazing. I looked around and saw most of my students’ jaws hit their knees. When Brandon delivered the last line,
"Whew! She's not looking at me! I wonder why she never looks at me? Oh well, another lunch hour over with...only 2,863 to go,"
there was a pause, and then the entire class stood up to give Brandon a well-deserved standing ovation. He was all smiles and glowing from head to toe. After dabbing my eyes and discretely shoving the Kleenex back in my pocket, I walked over to the stage as the boys lifted Brandon and wheelchair down.
“Brandon,” I said, “You are quite the actor. That was amazing!” He smiled and said, “Thank you.” The boys all lined up to give Brandon high fives.
Brandon had joined my drama class about a month earlier. He wasn’t a regular student at the high school. He was confined to a wheelchair and had partial control of his upper body movements. He was also a patient at the “Behavioral Clinic” across the freeway from our school. (I never quite figured this one out, as he never demonstrated any behavioral problems in my class). He had expressed the desire to be in a drama class and the counselor that wheeled him into my classroom asked if this would be possible. He had already checked with the principal who said the decision would be mine. I got down and met Brandon’s gaze at eye level. I introduced myself as did he. Then I asked,
“Brandon, do you want to be in this drama class?” His face broke into one big smile and replied,
“Yes, I love acting and would really like it a lot!”
So, of course, I couldn’t say no.
Within the next few days, students began working on their first major assignment, which was to present a monolog. I didn’t notice Brandon working on anything in particular, but he assured me he would be ready with the assignment on time. On the first day the presentations began, Brandon was absent. When he showed up the second day, I really didn’t know what, if anything to expect. After the first couple of students completed their monologue performances, Brandon raised his hand and volunteered to take the stage. As you can imagine, his performance had quite an impact on the entire class.
One side effect of Brandon’s performance was, from that moment on, I didn’t get any excuses as to why some students couldn’t do the assignment. All of us learned different lessons from Brandon. For me it was admiration for the great capacity and willpower each human being is endowed with. I was humbled by this student’s determination and bravery, and most of all, his talent.
Sometimes we complain about our lot in life or our job; complaining doesn’t really accomplish anything. If we look at each day as an opportunity to create something new, or something good; or to help others produce something they can be proud of, sometimes we are lucky enough to receive a gift like Brandon.
Something inspired Brandon to get up and perform. I’d like to think I had something to do with that. Each one of us has the ability to care for and to help others. For some of us, such as teachers, coaches and leaders, we also hope to be the one that can inspire others.
The dictionary defines Inspire as: To stimulate to action; to motivate.
I always like to delve even more deeply and find out the original derivation of a word. Inspire is from Latin meaning: To breathe life into. When I read this, I smiled. It was the perfect description. How often has a teacher, a coach or any leader looked at his personnel and wondered, “What can I do to really breathe some life into this group?”
The “I” in I C A N is for “inspire.” There are so many ways students can be inspired, and they can be grouped into two categories: by modeling and by love. A teacher’s enthusiasm for the subject is contagious. Setting high expectations is enthusiasm’s complement. I have found the most common and perhaps the most profound way to inspire is when teachers just instinctively model their own sense of purpose and enthusiasm for their work, caring for their students and the delightful habit of always going beyond what is expected of them.
Teaching probably has more randomity than any other profession. This is what keeps the job exciting and interesting. In fact, one never knows what the source of the “inspiration” might be. In the case of Brandon, I merely set the stage. It was he that inspired his fellow classmates. His gift to our class was more powerful than any book or lecture I could have offered.
A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron. Horace Mann
This story is taken from the book, Unleashing The Student’s “I Can,” now available at Amazon.com
Please take your seats ladies and gentlemen. We are about to embark on a four-part journey, beginning with the “I” for “Inspire,” in the acronym “I C A N.”
The theatre was totally quiet. All eyes were focused on Brandon. I noticed he was wearing a child-like striped T-shirt. I waited, not knowing what, if anything was about to take place. Brandon was getting into “the zone” of becoming his character. Suddenly, he looked directly out at the audience and said,
"I think lunchtime is about the worst time of day for me, always having to sit here alone."
I think some of the students squirmed because they thought those were Brandon’s words. Actually, this is the first line of Charlie Brown’s famous monologue about the love of his life, The Little Red-Haired Girl. The quality of the voice, the tone, the emotion, the poise were simply amazing. I looked around and saw most of my students’ jaws hit their knees. When Brandon delivered the last line,
"Whew! She's not looking at me! I wonder why she never looks at me? Oh well, another lunch hour over with...only 2,863 to go,"
there was a pause, and then the entire class stood up to give Brandon a well-deserved standing ovation. He was all smiles and glowing from head to toe. After dabbing my eyes and discretely shoving the Kleenex back in my pocket, I walked over to the stage as the boys lifted Brandon and wheelchair down.
“Brandon,” I said, “You are quite the actor. That was amazing!” He smiled and said, “Thank you.” The boys all lined up to give Brandon high fives.
Brandon had joined my drama class about a month earlier. He wasn’t a regular student at the high school. He was confined to a wheelchair and had partial control of his upper body movements. He was also a patient at the “Behavioral Clinic” across the freeway from our school. (I never quite figured this one out, as he never demonstrated any behavioral problems in my class). He had expressed the desire to be in a drama class and the counselor that wheeled him into my classroom asked if this would be possible. He had already checked with the principal who said the decision would be mine. I got down and met Brandon’s gaze at eye level. I introduced myself as did he. Then I asked,
“Brandon, do you want to be in this drama class?” His face broke into one big smile and replied,
“Yes, I love acting and would really like it a lot!”
So, of course, I couldn’t say no.
Within the next few days, students began working on their first major assignment, which was to present a monolog. I didn’t notice Brandon working on anything in particular, but he assured me he would be ready with the assignment on time. On the first day the presentations began, Brandon was absent. When he showed up the second day, I really didn’t know what, if anything to expect. After the first couple of students completed their monologue performances, Brandon raised his hand and volunteered to take the stage. As you can imagine, his performance had quite an impact on the entire class.
One side effect of Brandon’s performance was, from that moment on, I didn’t get any excuses as to why some students couldn’t do the assignment. All of us learned different lessons from Brandon. For me it was admiration for the great capacity and willpower each human being is endowed with. I was humbled by this student’s determination and bravery, and most of all, his talent.
Sometimes we complain about our lot in life or our job; complaining doesn’t really accomplish anything. If we look at each day as an opportunity to create something new, or something good; or to help others produce something they can be proud of, sometimes we are lucky enough to receive a gift like Brandon.
Something inspired Brandon to get up and perform. I’d like to think I had something to do with that. Each one of us has the ability to care for and to help others. For some of us, such as teachers, coaches and leaders, we also hope to be the one that can inspire others.
The dictionary defines Inspire as: To stimulate to action; to motivate.
I always like to delve even more deeply and find out the original derivation of a word. Inspire is from Latin meaning: To breathe life into. When I read this, I smiled. It was the perfect description. How often has a teacher, a coach or any leader looked at his personnel and wondered, “What can I do to really breathe some life into this group?”
The “I” in I C A N is for “inspire.” There are so many ways students can be inspired, and they can be grouped into two categories: by modeling and by love. A teacher’s enthusiasm for the subject is contagious. Setting high expectations is enthusiasm’s complement. I have found the most common and perhaps the most profound way to inspire is when teachers just instinctively model their own sense of purpose and enthusiasm for their work, caring for their students and the delightful habit of always going beyond what is expected of them.
Teaching probably has more randomity than any other profession. This is what keeps the job exciting and interesting. In fact, one never knows what the source of the “inspiration” might be. In the case of Brandon, I merely set the stage. It was he that inspired his fellow classmates. His gift to our class was more powerful than any book or lecture I could have offered.
A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron. Horace Mann
This story is taken from the book, Unleashing The Student’s “I Can,” now available at Amazon.com
Saturday, February 19, 2011
WHY MORE NON-FICTION?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #83 – February 19, 2011
“Educators say non-fiction is more difficult than fiction for students to comprehend. It requires more factual knowledge, beyond fiction’s simple truths of love, hate, passion and remorse. So we have a pathetic cycle. Students don’t know enough about the real world because they don’t read non-fiction and they can’t read non-fiction because they don’t know enough about the real world, “claims Jay Mathews, a writer for the Washington Post.
I say, it’s all in the presentation. Start presenting non-fiction at an early age, use materials you know will catch their interest, and you just might hook a student and have him or her begging for more. Since 80-90% of what we read and write is non-fiction, I would affirm reading more non-fiction is an important piece of today’s education.
Reading interesting non-fiction articles during Read Aloud time, will give kids experience in listening for information, which is the purpose of this genre. Teachers consider it a challenge to find lessons including non-fiction. Adding non-fiction to reading lessons, marks a shift after years in which they put most or all of their energy into getting students excited about storytelling and reading fiction.
Children deserve more exposure to non-fiction, as most of their adult world will consist of this type of reading and writing. Kids deserve to be exposed to a variety of nonfiction books - texts in different formats, about different topics, and written by different authors. Read aloud is a perfect time for students to fall in love with nonfiction. Some of the non-fiction topics I have found that spark an interest with children include:
Animals, Heroes, Amazing & Weird True Stories (on practically any topic), Biographies/Autobiographies, Sports, Music Legends and Dinosaurs. One of the best sources I have found for interesting non-fiction articles is Kids National Geographic (online). Imagine asking your students, “Have you heard about the tattooed mummy found buried with the gigantic war clubs of a warrior? And to everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be the body of a woman in her early 20’s?”
When you think about it, from the minute you wake up in the morning, browse through the morning newspaper, follow the road signs to work, listen to the local news and weather report on your radio, grab the mail from your inbox, it is predominantly a non-fiction world. Let’s make it interesting, fun and compelling for our kids to learn and use all things non-fiction.
Oh, just in case you had a little spark of interest in finding out more about the tattooed mummy, here’s the link: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/tattooed-mummy/
“Educators say non-fiction is more difficult than fiction for students to comprehend. It requires more factual knowledge, beyond fiction’s simple truths of love, hate, passion and remorse. So we have a pathetic cycle. Students don’t know enough about the real world because they don’t read non-fiction and they can’t read non-fiction because they don’t know enough about the real world, “claims Jay Mathews, a writer for the Washington Post.
I say, it’s all in the presentation. Start presenting non-fiction at an early age, use materials you know will catch their interest, and you just might hook a student and have him or her begging for more. Since 80-90% of what we read and write is non-fiction, I would affirm reading more non-fiction is an important piece of today’s education.
Reading interesting non-fiction articles during Read Aloud time, will give kids experience in listening for information, which is the purpose of this genre. Teachers consider it a challenge to find lessons including non-fiction. Adding non-fiction to reading lessons, marks a shift after years in which they put most or all of their energy into getting students excited about storytelling and reading fiction.
Children deserve more exposure to non-fiction, as most of their adult world will consist of this type of reading and writing. Kids deserve to be exposed to a variety of nonfiction books - texts in different formats, about different topics, and written by different authors. Read aloud is a perfect time for students to fall in love with nonfiction. Some of the non-fiction topics I have found that spark an interest with children include:
Animals, Heroes, Amazing & Weird True Stories (on practically any topic), Biographies/Autobiographies, Sports, Music Legends and Dinosaurs. One of the best sources I have found for interesting non-fiction articles is Kids National Geographic (online). Imagine asking your students, “Have you heard about the tattooed mummy found buried with the gigantic war clubs of a warrior? And to everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be the body of a woman in her early 20’s?”
When you think about it, from the minute you wake up in the morning, browse through the morning newspaper, follow the road signs to work, listen to the local news and weather report on your radio, grab the mail from your inbox, it is predominantly a non-fiction world. Let’s make it interesting, fun and compelling for our kids to learn and use all things non-fiction.
Oh, just in case you had a little spark of interest in finding out more about the tattooed mummy, here’s the link: http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/stories/history/tattooed-mummy/
Sunday, February 13, 2011
The Father of American Education
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #83 – February 12, 2011
As Americans, we are so fortunate to have a free education. According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), even in today’s highly technological world, one billion, (approximately 26 percent) of the world's adult population is illiterate. Women make up two-thirds of all non-literates. Most of us take this privilege for granted. Let’s take a moment to recognize the man responsible for our good fortune.
Mann’s Beginnings
Horace Mann is known as The Father of American Education. Horace was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, May 4, 1796. As a boy, he lived in poverty and hardship on the family farm. His schooling was limited to about three months of instruction during each year, due to his duties helping family on the farm.
Mann studied hard in his spare time and after receiving some private tutoring, qualified for the sophomore class at Brown. When he graduated, he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1823.
Early Careers
Horace Mann had a brilliant career, first as a State Representative and then as a Senator, in the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1837 he accepted the position of First Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts. His humanitarian impulses led him to abandon a highly promising career in politics in favor of education. He took office at a time when glaring weaknesses existed in public education in Massachusetts. Here are some of Mann’s achievements during his twelve years as First Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education:
Achievements for Education
a. Campaigned for Education. Realizing the need for public support and public awareness of the educational problems of poor teaching, substandard materials, inferior school committees and pupil absences, Mann campaigned throughout the State. This campaign was eminently successful. The schools were improved everywhere in the State.
b. Established Schools For Teacher Training. The first Normal School for Teachers was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839 through the efforts of Mann.
c. Established School District Libraries. Horace Mann improved education by successfully advocating for the establishment of free libraries.
d. Won Financial Backing for Public Education. Mann knew the importance of money in making educational progress. Through his efforts, the wages of teachers were more than doubled, supervision of teaching improved with compensated school committees, fifty new secondary schools were built, State aid to education doubled, and textbooks and educational equipment improved.
e. Horace Mann edited the "Common School Journal" and wrote twelve Annual Reports which became famous.
Famous “Annual Reports:”
Due to Mann’s tireless efforts to improve our free educational system, many of his ideas spread and were implemented across this great nation. Here are some of his most important Annual Reports:
(1) Fifth Annual Report (1841). Mann argued successfully that economic wealth would increase through an educated public. It was therefore in the self-interest of business to pay the taxation for public education.
(2) Seventh Annual Report (1843). Horace Mann inspected and appraised favorably the Prussian school system. This report led to widespread improvement .of education through the educational theories of Pestalozzi, Herbart and eventually Froebel.
(3) Tenth Annual Report (1846). Mann asserted that education was a natural right for every child. It is a necessary responsibility of the State to insure that education was provided for every child. This report led to the adoption of the first State law requiring compulsory attendance in school in 1852.
(4) Twelfth Annual Report (1848). He presented a rationale for the support of public education through taxation. Society improves as a result of an educated p public. He argued for non-sectarian schools, so the taxpayer would not be in the position of supporting any established religion with which he might disagree in conscience.
(5.) LAST YEARS. Horace Mann resigned in 1848 to take a seat vacated in the United States Congress. In 1853 he assumed the Presidency of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He became President to implement his educational ideas in higher education. This college was coeducational and non-sectarian. The labor of raising funds for Antioch College weakened his health. He died August 2, 1859.
Final Remarks
Horace Mann had the insight to understand the importance of providing free public education for all Americans. He persevered and was a fierce champion in this effort. I for one am so glad he did!
Education is the transmission of civilization.
Will Durant
As Americans, we are so fortunate to have a free education. According to UNESCO (United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization), even in today’s highly technological world, one billion, (approximately 26 percent) of the world's adult population is illiterate. Women make up two-thirds of all non-literates. Most of us take this privilege for granted. Let’s take a moment to recognize the man responsible for our good fortune.
Mann’s Beginnings
Horace Mann is known as The Father of American Education. Horace was born in Franklin, Massachusetts, May 4, 1796. As a boy, he lived in poverty and hardship on the family farm. His schooling was limited to about three months of instruction during each year, due to his duties helping family on the farm.
Mann studied hard in his spare time and after receiving some private tutoring, qualified for the sophomore class at Brown. When he graduated, he studied law and was admitted to the Bar in 1823.
Early Careers
Horace Mann had a brilliant career, first as a State Representative and then as a Senator, in the Massachusetts Legislature. In 1837 he accepted the position of First Secretary of the State Board of Education in Massachusetts. His humanitarian impulses led him to abandon a highly promising career in politics in favor of education. He took office at a time when glaring weaknesses existed in public education in Massachusetts. Here are some of Mann’s achievements during his twelve years as First Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education:
Achievements for Education
a. Campaigned for Education. Realizing the need for public support and public awareness of the educational problems of poor teaching, substandard materials, inferior school committees and pupil absences, Mann campaigned throughout the State. This campaign was eminently successful. The schools were improved everywhere in the State.
b. Established Schools For Teacher Training. The first Normal School for Teachers was established in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1839 through the efforts of Mann.
c. Established School District Libraries. Horace Mann improved education by successfully advocating for the establishment of free libraries.
d. Won Financial Backing for Public Education. Mann knew the importance of money in making educational progress. Through his efforts, the wages of teachers were more than doubled, supervision of teaching improved with compensated school committees, fifty new secondary schools were built, State aid to education doubled, and textbooks and educational equipment improved.
e. Horace Mann edited the "Common School Journal" and wrote twelve Annual Reports which became famous.
Famous “Annual Reports:”
Due to Mann’s tireless efforts to improve our free educational system, many of his ideas spread and were implemented across this great nation. Here are some of his most important Annual Reports:
(1) Fifth Annual Report (1841). Mann argued successfully that economic wealth would increase through an educated public. It was therefore in the self-interest of business to pay the taxation for public education.
(2) Seventh Annual Report (1843). Horace Mann inspected and appraised favorably the Prussian school system. This report led to widespread improvement .of education through the educational theories of Pestalozzi, Herbart and eventually Froebel.
(3) Tenth Annual Report (1846). Mann asserted that education was a natural right for every child. It is a necessary responsibility of the State to insure that education was provided for every child. This report led to the adoption of the first State law requiring compulsory attendance in school in 1852.
(4) Twelfth Annual Report (1848). He presented a rationale for the support of public education through taxation. Society improves as a result of an educated p public. He argued for non-sectarian schools, so the taxpayer would not be in the position of supporting any established religion with which he might disagree in conscience.
(5.) LAST YEARS. Horace Mann resigned in 1848 to take a seat vacated in the United States Congress. In 1853 he assumed the Presidency of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He became President to implement his educational ideas in higher education. This college was coeducational and non-sectarian. The labor of raising funds for Antioch College weakened his health. He died August 2, 1859.
Final Remarks
Horace Mann had the insight to understand the importance of providing free public education for all Americans. He persevered and was a fierce champion in this effort. I for one am so glad he did!
Education is the transmission of civilization.
Will Durant
Saturday, February 5, 2011
PARENTS ALLOWING KIDS TO SKIP SCHOOL NOW A CRIME IN CALIFORNIA
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #82 – February 5, 2011
Is it okay to let kids miss school? When students miss school, they miss lectures, notes, class discussions, assignments, quizzes, and tests. It doesn't matter how conscientious students are about making up their work, they can never make up all of what they miss, even when they're absent for only a day or two. It’s hard enough to catch up after a legitimate absence, such as illness, let alone an illegitimate reason.
I have worked in schools where parents sometimes take their kids out of school for two to three weeks for a family vacation. Excuse me, but did they ever think of using the eight weeks they have off during the summer for this purpose? Then, when the children can’t catch up and receive low or even failing grades, the parents complain that it’s the school’s fault. There are also parents, believe it or not, that condone their children missing one or two days of school every single week!
Parents who allow their children to miss school when they aren't ill, not only hurt their children's education, they also send a message school isn't really that important. If your child doesn't want to go to school, or if you're seeing a pattern of excuses to miss school, talk to your child or to your child's teacher or school counselor and handle whatever the problem is.
Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1317, a new statewide anti-truancy bill that officials hope will curb chronic absenteeism in elementary and middle school students. The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, and allow state officials to prosecute parents when their kids don’t show up to school.
The initiative was pushed by California attorney general hopeful Kamala Harris, Harris has smartly tied crime rates with dropout rates; the correlation between kids’ educational achievement and the rate of their criminal convictions is direct. And yet the solutions are alarmingly punitive.
Parents whose kids miss any more than 10 percent of their classes can be charged with a misdemeanor and slammed with a $2,000 fine or a yearlong jail sentence if, after being offered state support and counseling, their kids still fail to improve their attendance. Before SB 1317, parents could be prosecuted under a child endangerment statute. Now kids’ absenteeism has become a crime all its own. The state labels a student as truant if they have more than three unexcused absences in one school year on their record.
On the lighter side, if you think that today's students aren't learning all they should, check out some of the writing by their moms and dads. The following are actual excuse notes received by teachers:
(I left all grammar and spelling in the original format and boy was my Spellcheck going nuts!)
Dear School:
"Please eckuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33. "
"Please excuse Mary for being absent," wrote a parent. "She was sick
and I had her shot."
"Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating."
"Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was
hurt in the growing part. "
"Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. "
"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels."
"Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his
boots leak."
"Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forget to
get the Sunday paper off the porch. and when we found it Monday,
we thought it was Sunday."
"Please excuse my son's tardiness. I forgot to wake him up and I did not
find him till I started making the beds. "
"Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend a
funeral."
"My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent the
weekend with the Marine's."
"Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover."
"Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat,
headache, and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore
throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't
the berst either, sore throat and fever. There must be the flu going
around school, her father even got hot last night. "
Isn’t it absurd to have to go so far as possibly arresting parents to get a point across? What are these parents thinking? Children need good role models to say, “I know it’s a beautiful sunny day, but you can’t go to the beach; today is a school day.” Children must go to school the same way parents must go to work. By allowing children to decide when they will or will not go to school, you are setting them up for failure in the real world. This is what life is about, making the responsible decisions and choosing the right path.
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. ~Confucius
Is it okay to let kids miss school? When students miss school, they miss lectures, notes, class discussions, assignments, quizzes, and tests. It doesn't matter how conscientious students are about making up their work, they can never make up all of what they miss, even when they're absent for only a day or two. It’s hard enough to catch up after a legitimate absence, such as illness, let alone an illegitimate reason.
I have worked in schools where parents sometimes take their kids out of school for two to three weeks for a family vacation. Excuse me, but did they ever think of using the eight weeks they have off during the summer for this purpose? Then, when the children can’t catch up and receive low or even failing grades, the parents complain that it’s the school’s fault. There are also parents, believe it or not, that condone their children missing one or two days of school every single week!
Parents who allow their children to miss school when they aren't ill, not only hurt their children's education, they also send a message school isn't really that important. If your child doesn't want to go to school, or if you're seeing a pattern of excuses to miss school, talk to your child or to your child's teacher or school counselor and handle whatever the problem is.
Recently, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed SB 1317, a new statewide anti-truancy bill that officials hope will curb chronic absenteeism in elementary and middle school students. The new law will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2011, and allow state officials to prosecute parents when their kids don’t show up to school.
The initiative was pushed by California attorney general hopeful Kamala Harris, Harris has smartly tied crime rates with dropout rates; the correlation between kids’ educational achievement and the rate of their criminal convictions is direct. And yet the solutions are alarmingly punitive.
Parents whose kids miss any more than 10 percent of their classes can be charged with a misdemeanor and slammed with a $2,000 fine or a yearlong jail sentence if, after being offered state support and counseling, their kids still fail to improve their attendance. Before SB 1317, parents could be prosecuted under a child endangerment statute. Now kids’ absenteeism has become a crime all its own. The state labels a student as truant if they have more than three unexcused absences in one school year on their record.
On the lighter side, if you think that today's students aren't learning all they should, check out some of the writing by their moms and dads. The following are actual excuse notes received by teachers:
(I left all grammar and spelling in the original format and boy was my Spellcheck going nuts!)
Dear School:
"Please eckuse John being absent on Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, and also 33. "
"Please excuse Mary for being absent," wrote a parent. "She was sick
and I had her shot."
"Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating."
"Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was
hurt in the growing part. "
"Chris will not be in school cus he has an acre in his side. "
"Please excuse Ray Friday from school. He has very loose vowels."
"Please excuse Tom for being absent yesterday. He had diarrhea and his
boots leak."
"Please excuse Harriet for missing school yesterday. We forget to
get the Sunday paper off the porch. and when we found it Monday,
we thought it was Sunday."
"Please excuse my son's tardiness. I forgot to wake him up and I did not
find him till I started making the beds. "
"Sally won't be in school a week from Friday. We have to attend a
funeral."
"My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent the
weekend with the Marine's."
"Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover."
"Maryann was absent December 11-16, because she had a fever, sore throat,
headache, and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore
throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't
the berst either, sore throat and fever. There must be the flu going
around school, her father even got hot last night. "
Isn’t it absurd to have to go so far as possibly arresting parents to get a point across? What are these parents thinking? Children need good role models to say, “I know it’s a beautiful sunny day, but you can’t go to the beach; today is a school day.” Children must go to school the same way parents must go to work. By allowing children to decide when they will or will not go to school, you are setting them up for failure in the real world. This is what life is about, making the responsible decisions and choosing the right path.
To know what is right and not do it is the worst cowardice. ~Confucius
Sunday, January 30, 2011
MANNERS MATTER?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #81 – January 29, 2011
Should we bother to teach our children good manners? Well, let me ask you this; have you ever had a child come up to you and say, “Your hair really looks stupid” or point at someone when shopping in the mall and yell, “Look at that fat man”?
As an adult, would you think of these two scenarios:
A man comes up to you and says, “Hey lady, let me see your watch.”
A man comes up to you and says, “Excuse me, can you please tell me what time it is?”
Seeing Is Believing
A lot of the teaching of good manners comes from how you treat a child. Ordering a child what to say and how to act is not respectful. It is not the kind of manners you want her to learn. Thanking her when she is being helpful or being kind and generous towards others, should really be the heart of your teaching tools. Children really do assimilate what they see, hear and experience around them.
The key words used by people with good manners are still “please” and “thank you”. Encourage your children to greet their friends politely, to say "thank you for coming" when their guests depart, and "thanks for having me over" when they leave a playmate's house. If you model using these words consistently, your children will get the idea and be well on their way to practicing good manners wherever they go.
The Golden Rule
Between the ages of 2 and 5, your preschool child is most receptive to learning the rules of polite conduct. "When children are very young," says Linda Altman, a Georgia-based counselor and educator, "they want to do anything you ask. Grab the opportunity to teach appropriate behavior."
The key from the beginning, according to Marianne Drew-Pennington, executive director of West Side Family Place, a Vancouver parent-resource center, is to treat your children with the same respect you expect from them. "Children learn primarily by example," she says. "You can't be rude to them and then expect them to be polite to other people."
Take “in the moment” opportunities to teach good manners. For example, when I saw Jason shove another student and shout, "Move!" After the incident, I asked Jason, "Could you have said that more politely?" The child thought for a moment and then said, "Move please?" Hmmm. "That's a little bit better, but how about saying 'excuse me?' "To which the child replied, "Why should I say that? I didn't burp." "He honestly didn't know." "They can't know if you don't teach them."
Drew-Pennington advises us to take every opportunity to praise polite behavior. Comments like "It sounds so nice when you remember to say 'please' and 'thank you,' "or "I think it made Aunt Mary feel good when you told her you liked her present." Let your child know that his efforts make a real difference. With good role modeling and praise for appropriate behavior, your children will “learn” good manners as a natural matter of course.
Good manners is the art of making those people easy with whom we converse. Whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best bred in the room.
Jonathan Swift
Should we bother to teach our children good manners? Well, let me ask you this; have you ever had a child come up to you and say, “Your hair really looks stupid” or point at someone when shopping in the mall and yell, “Look at that fat man”?
As an adult, would you think of these two scenarios:
A man comes up to you and says, “Hey lady, let me see your watch.”
A man comes up to you and says, “Excuse me, can you please tell me what time it is?”
Seeing Is Believing
A lot of the teaching of good manners comes from how you treat a child. Ordering a child what to say and how to act is not respectful. It is not the kind of manners you want her to learn. Thanking her when she is being helpful or being kind and generous towards others, should really be the heart of your teaching tools. Children really do assimilate what they see, hear and experience around them.
The key words used by people with good manners are still “please” and “thank you”. Encourage your children to greet their friends politely, to say "thank you for coming" when their guests depart, and "thanks for having me over" when they leave a playmate's house. If you model using these words consistently, your children will get the idea and be well on their way to practicing good manners wherever they go.
The Golden Rule
Between the ages of 2 and 5, your preschool child is most receptive to learning the rules of polite conduct. "When children are very young," says Linda Altman, a Georgia-based counselor and educator, "they want to do anything you ask. Grab the opportunity to teach appropriate behavior."
The key from the beginning, according to Marianne Drew-Pennington, executive director of West Side Family Place, a Vancouver parent-resource center, is to treat your children with the same respect you expect from them. "Children learn primarily by example," she says. "You can't be rude to them and then expect them to be polite to other people."
Take “in the moment” opportunities to teach good manners. For example, when I saw Jason shove another student and shout, "Move!" After the incident, I asked Jason, "Could you have said that more politely?" The child thought for a moment and then said, "Move please?" Hmmm. "That's a little bit better, but how about saying 'excuse me?' "To which the child replied, "Why should I say that? I didn't burp." "He honestly didn't know." "They can't know if you don't teach them."
Drew-Pennington advises us to take every opportunity to praise polite behavior. Comments like "It sounds so nice when you remember to say 'please' and 'thank you,' "or "I think it made Aunt Mary feel good when you told her you liked her present." Let your child know that his efforts make a real difference. With good role modeling and praise for appropriate behavior, your children will “learn” good manners as a natural matter of course.
Good manners is the art of making those people easy with whom we converse. Whoever makes the fewest people uneasy is the best bred in the room.
Jonathan Swift
Friday, January 21, 2011
Are Pen Pals Passe'?
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #80 - January 22, 2011
Anyone remember writing letters to Pen Pals? Once upon a time, in many cities and towns in this great nation, children got excited about writing letters and receiving correspondence back from children their own age. Many times the “Pen Pal” was from a different state or even a different country. The cool thing was we were all connected by a common language, English.
Due to the extent of the British Empire, countries all over the globe have English speaking inhabitants. And, get this, many of their children, who are not fluent in English, want to correspond with American children in order to improve their English language skills. By the same token, many of our children are interested in learning what kids of their age group do for fun in their countries.
Exchanging letters or emails with a pen pal can offer learning experiences about life in other parts of the country or around the world. Your child may be surprised that children of similar ages do things very differently in other places. If your child is lucky enough to have an international pen pal, a further learning experience about foreign customs, traditions, and even language is possible.
Having a pen pal can also teach them about different sports, hobbies, and other interests. It is a great learning experience to be able to share an interest with another person. Pen pals can ignite the imagination and encourage your child to try new things. Having a pen pal or two can open up a whole world of experiences and education for your child. Not only can it help with writing skills, it can also teach them about different parts of the country or the world, and how life is the same in some ways and different in others.
Parents and teachers, this is a win-win situation. It’s a way to get your children excited about reading and writing and actually enjoy doing it! Of course, you will need to take the proper precautions since this does take place on the Internet. Make sure your child doesn’t give out his or her home address to anyone without your approval.
There are a myriad of websites to help you start on this new adventure. Here’s one that offers a variety of websites for prospective email Pen Pals. Bon Voyage!
http://www.pcfl.net/channels/kidszone/penpals.htm
Anyone remember writing letters to Pen Pals? Once upon a time, in many cities and towns in this great nation, children got excited about writing letters and receiving correspondence back from children their own age. Many times the “Pen Pal” was from a different state or even a different country. The cool thing was we were all connected by a common language, English.
Due to the extent of the British Empire, countries all over the globe have English speaking inhabitants. And, get this, many of their children, who are not fluent in English, want to correspond with American children in order to improve their English language skills. By the same token, many of our children are interested in learning what kids of their age group do for fun in their countries.
Exchanging letters or emails with a pen pal can offer learning experiences about life in other parts of the country or around the world. Your child may be surprised that children of similar ages do things very differently in other places. If your child is lucky enough to have an international pen pal, a further learning experience about foreign customs, traditions, and even language is possible.
Having a pen pal can also teach them about different sports, hobbies, and other interests. It is a great learning experience to be able to share an interest with another person. Pen pals can ignite the imagination and encourage your child to try new things. Having a pen pal or two can open up a whole world of experiences and education for your child. Not only can it help with writing skills, it can also teach them about different parts of the country or the world, and how life is the same in some ways and different in others.
Parents and teachers, this is a win-win situation. It’s a way to get your children excited about reading and writing and actually enjoy doing it! Of course, you will need to take the proper precautions since this does take place on the Internet. Make sure your child doesn’t give out his or her home address to anyone without your approval.
There are a myriad of websites to help you start on this new adventure. Here’s one that offers a variety of websites for prospective email Pen Pals. Bon Voyage!
http://www.pcfl.net/channels/kidszone/penpals.htm
Saturday, January 15, 2011
A Closer Look At ADHD
Dr. Wendy Ghiora – Posting #79 – January 15, 2011
Three-quarters of ADHD Diagnoses are Wrong
Before you immediately accept a diagnosis of ADHD given your child, consider this. ABC News Online (Australia) reports that diagnoses labeling children as AD/HD are wrong up to 75% of the time. This discrepancy was discovered after careful examination of labeled students by a team specializing in ADHD. New studies published in the Journal of Health Economics suggest that nearly 1 million children are mistakenly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Todd Elder, Michigan State University Economist, would be in support of these findings. He suggests that about 900,000 children diagnosed with ADHD in the United States may not have the disorder at all. Often the suggestion of ADHD comes first from a school or daycare provider, and their completely subjective feedback can be instrumental in whether a pediatrician ultimately makes the diagnosis of ADHD and subsequently prescribes stimulant medication. ADHD is being treated as a “disease.”
Is ADHD Really a Disease “On The Rise?”
The article states, although 5% to 10% of American children are diagnosed with ADHD, other countries are not as quick to do so. For example, in England, well under one percent of children carry the diagnosis. In countries like France and Italy, many if not most doctors do not believe the condition exists. Are American children more hyperactive and distracted than those in other countries or is there something else going on?
Children are active, imaginative, and sometimes hyper individuals by nature. They are supposed to move around continuously, jump on things, often not listen to what they are told to do, and go off in their own world and daydream a little. If they weren’t doing those things then they wouldn’t be acting like normal kids. So why then, are children who are acting in normal child-like fashion, being quickly diagnosed as having ADHD? Why are doctors telling parents that to fight childhood obesity we need to keep our kids steadily active, and then almost in the same breath telling parents that something is wrong with their child if they happen to be overly active? What makes society want to put a label on children who are simply just being kids?
Follow The Money
The production of the stimulant medications Adderall and Dexedrine (commonly prescribed drugs for ADHD), has increased by 4,516% between 1993 and 2003. At the same time, the production of Ritalin has also increased by 375%. Drug companies spend 20 to 30 thousand dollars per American physician on things like junkets, free meals, trips, trainings, free samples, and cash rewards to high-prescribers. It is almost impossible to find a researcher who would advocate the use of stimulants for ADHD that is not on the drug company’s payroll.
In Understanding ADHD and the Creative Child, Colette Bouchez reports that ADHD students and gifted, creative children frequently share some traits. People who don’t understand intelligence and giftedness and creativity think that if you’re smart you ought to know how to behave, and if you don’t behave you’re not smart – or you have something wrong with you – but “that couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Minnesota child psychologist Deborah Ruff, PhD, National Gifted Children’s Coordinator for American Mensa and author of the book, Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind. In addition, it is understandable that a gifted or intelligent child would be the one to finish the assignment early and then get in trouble out of boredom. Children probably are over diagnosed. If we look at the diagnosis cycle, we find that parents commonly get their first recommendation from their child’s teacher. The parent then takes the child to the family practitioner or their pediatrician where diagnosis is made in short order – twenty minutes of interview time. Pediatricians and family practitioners are typically not specialists in ADHD, but they wield the authority to prescribe medication. As for ADHD being a real “disease,” according to Dr. Ron Receveur, ADHD expert, ADHD remains merely a clinical diagnosis, meaning that there is no scientific test for ADHD only an interpretation of symptoms.
What’s A Parent To Do?
Parents should be slow to make a decisionon whether to medicate their child. Until recently, the most important question concerning Ritalin or amphetamine administration has not been asked. Do these drugs make a difference in the long-term outcome? A comprehensive examination of this subject carried out at the Montreal Children's Hospital discovered a startling fact. At the end of five years, hyperactive children who received Ritalin did not differ significantly from children who had not received. Although it appeared that hyperactive kids treated with Ritalin were initially more manageable, the degree of improvement and emotional adjustment was essentially identical at the end of five years to that seen in a group of kids who had received no medication at all.
There are side effects to the ADHD medications. If you’re still undecided about medicating your child, here are the side effects of the most commonly used medications (as listed in the Physician’s Desk Reference):
Common Side Effects
•Addiction
•Nervousness including agitation, anxiety and irritability
•Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
•Decreased appetite
•Headache
•Stomach ache
•Nausea
•Dizziness
•Heart palpitations
Other Serious Side Effects Include
-Slowing of growth (height and weight) in children
-Slowing of growth of body organs (including the brain)
-Seizures, mainly in patients with a history of seizures
-Eyesight changes or blurred vision
How Can I Help My Child Focus Better in School?
If you have an active child that has a challenge keeping focused during school, here are some suggestions that have proven to be of help. Research suggests that a good breakfast helps a child do better in school. For example, a 1998 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, showed that children who ate breakfast regularly had higher reading and math scores, lower levels of depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity, better school attendance, improved attention spans, and fewer behavior problems.
For children with ADHD, the menu matters, too. In a 1983 study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, researchers at George Washington University tested three breakfast types (high-carbohydrate, high-protein, and no breakfast at all) on 39 children with ADHD and 44 kids without the condition. For the hyperactive children, performance on several tests, including a test for attention, was significantly worse with the high-carbohydrate breakfast, as compared with the scores of the children who ate the high-protein breakfast.
As a former school principal, I can testify that eating a breakfast high in protein resulted in a major improvement in children who previously had problems focusing during class time. I tested this and had great results. Believe me, I know, as a working parent, it’s much easier to let your kids just grab a bowl of cereal. However, giving them anything they like that has protein, such as eggs, bacon, peanut butter, string cheese, etc. will help them immensely. Why risk harmful side effects, especially when the effectiveness of the drugs are suspect? Spending the extra time to give your child a nutritious breakfast can help prepare them mentally and physically for a successful day at school.
“A child in the crowd calls out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all and the cry is taken up by others. “
Three-quarters of ADHD Diagnoses are Wrong
Before you immediately accept a diagnosis of ADHD given your child, consider this. ABC News Online (Australia) reports that diagnoses labeling children as AD/HD are wrong up to 75% of the time. This discrepancy was discovered after careful examination of labeled students by a team specializing in ADHD. New studies published in the Journal of Health Economics suggest that nearly 1 million children are mistakenly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Todd Elder, Michigan State University Economist, would be in support of these findings. He suggests that about 900,000 children diagnosed with ADHD in the United States may not have the disorder at all. Often the suggestion of ADHD comes first from a school or daycare provider, and their completely subjective feedback can be instrumental in whether a pediatrician ultimately makes the diagnosis of ADHD and subsequently prescribes stimulant medication. ADHD is being treated as a “disease.”
Is ADHD Really a Disease “On The Rise?”
The article states, although 5% to 10% of American children are diagnosed with ADHD, other countries are not as quick to do so. For example, in England, well under one percent of children carry the diagnosis. In countries like France and Italy, many if not most doctors do not believe the condition exists. Are American children more hyperactive and distracted than those in other countries or is there something else going on?
Children are active, imaginative, and sometimes hyper individuals by nature. They are supposed to move around continuously, jump on things, often not listen to what they are told to do, and go off in their own world and daydream a little. If they weren’t doing those things then they wouldn’t be acting like normal kids. So why then, are children who are acting in normal child-like fashion, being quickly diagnosed as having ADHD? Why are doctors telling parents that to fight childhood obesity we need to keep our kids steadily active, and then almost in the same breath telling parents that something is wrong with their child if they happen to be overly active? What makes society want to put a label on children who are simply just being kids?
Follow The Money
The production of the stimulant medications Adderall and Dexedrine (commonly prescribed drugs for ADHD), has increased by 4,516% between 1993 and 2003. At the same time, the production of Ritalin has also increased by 375%. Drug companies spend 20 to 30 thousand dollars per American physician on things like junkets, free meals, trips, trainings, free samples, and cash rewards to high-prescribers. It is almost impossible to find a researcher who would advocate the use of stimulants for ADHD that is not on the drug company’s payroll.
In Understanding ADHD and the Creative Child, Colette Bouchez reports that ADHD students and gifted, creative children frequently share some traits. People who don’t understand intelligence and giftedness and creativity think that if you’re smart you ought to know how to behave, and if you don’t behave you’re not smart – or you have something wrong with you – but “that couldn’t be further from the truth,” says Minnesota child psychologist Deborah Ruff, PhD, National Gifted Children’s Coordinator for American Mensa and author of the book, Losing Our Minds: Gifted Children Left Behind. In addition, it is understandable that a gifted or intelligent child would be the one to finish the assignment early and then get in trouble out of boredom. Children probably are over diagnosed. If we look at the diagnosis cycle, we find that parents commonly get their first recommendation from their child’s teacher. The parent then takes the child to the family practitioner or their pediatrician where diagnosis is made in short order – twenty minutes of interview time. Pediatricians and family practitioners are typically not specialists in ADHD, but they wield the authority to prescribe medication. As for ADHD being a real “disease,” according to Dr. Ron Receveur, ADHD expert, ADHD remains merely a clinical diagnosis, meaning that there is no scientific test for ADHD only an interpretation of symptoms.
What’s A Parent To Do?
Parents should be slow to make a decisionon whether to medicate their child. Until recently, the most important question concerning Ritalin or amphetamine administration has not been asked. Do these drugs make a difference in the long-term outcome? A comprehensive examination of this subject carried out at the Montreal Children's Hospital discovered a startling fact. At the end of five years, hyperactive children who received Ritalin did not differ significantly from children who had not received. Although it appeared that hyperactive kids treated with Ritalin were initially more manageable, the degree of improvement and emotional adjustment was essentially identical at the end of five years to that seen in a group of kids who had received no medication at all.
There are side effects to the ADHD medications. If you’re still undecided about medicating your child, here are the side effects of the most commonly used medications (as listed in the Physician’s Desk Reference):
Common Side Effects
•Addiction
•Nervousness including agitation, anxiety and irritability
•Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
•Decreased appetite
•Headache
•Stomach ache
•Nausea
•Dizziness
•Heart palpitations
Other Serious Side Effects Include
-Slowing of growth (height and weight) in children
-Slowing of growth of body organs (including the brain)
-Seizures, mainly in patients with a history of seizures
-Eyesight changes or blurred vision
How Can I Help My Child Focus Better in School?
If you have an active child that has a challenge keeping focused during school, here are some suggestions that have proven to be of help. Research suggests that a good breakfast helps a child do better in school. For example, a 1998 study published in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, showed that children who ate breakfast regularly had higher reading and math scores, lower levels of depression, anxiety, and hyperactivity, better school attendance, improved attention spans, and fewer behavior problems.
For children with ADHD, the menu matters, too. In a 1983 study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research, researchers at George Washington University tested three breakfast types (high-carbohydrate, high-protein, and no breakfast at all) on 39 children with ADHD and 44 kids without the condition. For the hyperactive children, performance on several tests, including a test for attention, was significantly worse with the high-carbohydrate breakfast, as compared with the scores of the children who ate the high-protein breakfast.
As a former school principal, I can testify that eating a breakfast high in protein resulted in a major improvement in children who previously had problems focusing during class time. I tested this and had great results. Believe me, I know, as a working parent, it’s much easier to let your kids just grab a bowl of cereal. However, giving them anything they like that has protein, such as eggs, bacon, peanut butter, string cheese, etc. will help them immensely. Why risk harmful side effects, especially when the effectiveness of the drugs are suspect? Spending the extra time to give your child a nutritious breakfast can help prepare them mentally and physically for a successful day at school.
“A child in the crowd calls out that the Emperor is wearing nothing at all and the cry is taken up by others. “
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