Finals - Don't Panic - Follow These Tips

Tips for how to study for finals.

1. Develop good study habits. For example, I have my students make flash cards, mind maps, and study their class notes, etc. four days a week for 10 minutes. This saves time in the long run because if you are studying regularly you are transferring the concepts  into long term memory and when you go to study for the final you will find that you already know the material.

2. I make finals for my students. Then I teach them how to do this. I use their textbooks, class notes, previously taken tests, and often the textbooks have websites with practice test. However, I think that teaching students how to write test questions and having them make problem solution guides is a better way to help students learn the concepts. Join a study group and suggest this method and you will be surprised at how affect it is. When I was a classroom teacher, I had my students work in groups to create test questions and problem solution guides. This method was so successful that I often didn't give them an actual test because they had learned the material. The students always told me that they learned more this way. Learning how to write a test question is a life long learning tool that I found my students using all the time, it became a habit. Another benefit in learning how to write test questions with multiple choice answers is that it teaches students how tests are structured and they become better test takers in general.

3. Unbeknownst to some students, many schools have a procedure for dealing with an overload of finals on the same day. If you have, say 3 finals on the same day, the school will arrange for one of the teachers to move her/his final to a different day. Find out if your school has this policy.

4. Most students begin studying for final the week before. But if you have lots of finals, you'll do better to start studying for some of them a few weeks before or better yet, if you study regularly like I suggested in #1 for all subjects the extra time will give you plenty of time to go over the material that may be more challenging. If you need to do extra reading or get a term paper done earlier this will relieve any stress. But the extra time for preparation - and the sense that you have plenty of time for all your finals - will make the added planning and effort worthwhile.

5. A major mistake - that you should avoid - is planning to spend equal time studying for each of your finals. It is better to apportion your study time unequally to your different finals. Things to ask yourself: Is this a class I'm acing already, or that is in real grade trouble? Am I pretty much guaranteed a certain grade in this class, or is the grade in the balance? What percentage of the course grade does the final count, anyway?

6. Adopt efficiency measures. The single most important thing you can do if you have more finals than any human can manage is to work efficiently. First thing, don't waste your time on things that do not really advance your preparation for the test: things like copying over your notes, doing all the reading again. Much better is to do targeted activities that get you ready for the actual problems that will appear on the final: things like writing out study questions with problem-solution guides, doing extra problems from the book, website, or handout, or marking up your notes for issues that will likely come up on the test, and many students like making flash cards, color coded mind maps, etc. Many teachers have review sessions before or after school. This is the single most efficient strategy, since teachers or TA's go over problems very similar to those the will appear on the final, in the best case, drop hints about questions that will actually appear on the exam.

7 .Set a study schedule. You won't have to decide each time when - and whether - you're gonna study if you've calendared your study schedule before exam week. And, if you set the times - and  mean them - you will overcome the single biggest impediment to preparing for finals: PROCRASTINATION!

8. Avoid  "interleaving". Many students divide their study sessions into parts for each subject: 30 minutes for science, 40 minutes for math, 60 minutes for English, and so on. But you'll study better - and retain the material better - if you devote the entire study session to one subject. That's because you will get less confused, and you'll build up steam, if you're working in one thing. Also (in the best case), you won't feel compelled to take a break after each subject, which will also save you time. A good rule of thumb. 45 minutes of uninterrupted study time = 1 break. 1 break = 10 minutes.

9. Turn off the media. "Nuff said.

10. Tell 'em to "cut you a break". Many students will have a much easier time studying for finals if they jettison a few commitments. If you work, tell your boss you absolutely, positively, 100 percent have to work fewer hours the week before exams and during exam week itself. Tell your parents and/or kids that you're not going to be at their beck and call during this high-pressure fortnight. And as for your church or synagogue, your sports, or clubs - well, you know what I'm going to say.

11. If you learn better working in a group, then by all means do so. Be sure to carefully choose who you are going to work with as time is a commodity not to be wasted.

If you follow these tips you will lessen your stress and of course do well on your exams.

Best of luck with your finals, and have a happy 2014!

Math Anxiety . . . What it is~Where it comes from~How to overcome it!

I have a student that knows the math content being presented in class but always hesitates when he is solving problems and lacks self-confidence. It made me think about what is math anxiety, what causes it, and most importantly how to overcome it.

What is Math Anxiety?

Math anxiety or fear if math is actually quite common. Math anxiety is similar to stagefright. Why does someone suffer from stagefright? Fear of something going wrong in front of a crowd? Fear of forgetting the lines? Fear of going completely blank? Fear of being judged poorly? Math anxiety conjures fear of some type. The fear that one won't be able to do the math or the fear that it's too hard or the fear of failure which often stems from having a lack of confidence. For the most part, math anxiety is the fear about doing the math right, our minds draw a blank and we think we'll fail and of course the more frustrated and anxious our minds become, the greater the chance for drawing blanks. Added pressure of having time limits on math tests and exams also cause the levels of anxiety to grow for many students.

Where Does Math Anxiety Come From?

Usually math anxiety stems from unpleasant experiences in mathematics. Typically math phobics have had math presented in such a fashion that it led to limited understanding, Unfortunately, math anxiety is often due to poor teaching and poor experiences in math which typically leads to math anxiety. Many of the students I've encountered with math anxiety have demonstrated an over reliance on procedures in math as opposed to actually understanding the math concepts. When one tries to memorize procedures, rules, and routines without much understanding, the math is quickly forgotten and panic soon sets in. Think about your experiences with one concept - the division of fractions. You probably learned about reciprocals and inverse. In other words, "It's not yours to reason why, just invert and multiply". Well, you memorized the rule and it works. Why does it work? Do you really understand why it works? Did anyone ever use pizza or math manipulatives to show you why it works. Did anyone ever make the connection to the commutative or distributive laws? Or did they relate the algorithm to whole numbers? It not, you simply memorized the procedures and that was that. Think of math as memorizing all the procedures - what if you forget a few?
Therefore, with this type of strategy, a good memory will help, but, what if you don't have a good memory? Understanding the math is critical. Once students realize they can do the math, the whole notion of math anxiety can be overcome. Teachers and parents have an important role to ensure students understand the math being presented to them.

Myths and Misconceptions - None of the following are true!

You're born with a math gene, either you get it or you don't.

Math is for males, females never get math!

If the logical side of your brain isn't your strengtht, you will never do well in math.

Math is a cultural thing, my culture never got it!

It's hopeless, and much too hard for average people.

There's only one right way to do math.

Overcoming Math Anxiety

1. A positive attitude will help, positive attitudes come with quality teaching for understanding which often isn't the case with many traditional approaches to teaching mathematics.

2. Ask questions, be determined to "understand the math". Don't settle for anything less during instruction. Ask for clear illustrations and for demonstrations or simulations.

3. Practice regularly, especially when you are having difficultly.

4. When total understanding escapes you, hire a tutor or work with peers that understand the math. You can do the math, sometimes it just takes a different approach for you to understand some of the concepts.

5. Don't just read over your notes - do the math. Practice the math and make sure you can honestly state that you understand what you are doing.

6. Be persistent and don't over emphasize the fact that we all make mistakes. Remember, some of the most powerful learning stems from making a mistake.

Find out more about the myths of doing math and you too will overcome math anxiety. And, if you think making mistakes it a bad thing, look again. Sometimes the most powerful learning stems from making mistakes!

What is Wrong With Charter Schools?

There are two local school districts considering charter schools and there have been discussions about instituting a voucher system. Recently a local newspaper published a column written by one founders of one of the proposed charters and a letter written to the editor by a parent. Both articles are riddled with misinformation.

There are many innovative public schools all around the country. I personally have had the good fortune to have taught in such schools and have worked with many progressive educators. As nice as independent schools are, and  I have visited many, they cannot afford to serve the poor to more than a token extent, and so are therefore, elitist. And I do not agree that you should be free to educate students however you want. I believe in public responsibility, and how you educate children matters to society as a whole not just to you or the child. That's where I align myself with thinkers like John Dewey; there is a balance in a democratic society between the freedom of the individual and responsibility to society. Where to draw the line is complex, but it needs to exists. Drawing that line is part of the democratic process.

The rhetoric behind vouchers is that if everyone had vouchers parents could select the best school for their child instead of being forced to go to "government schools".

Where does such logic fall apart? There are two main logistical reasons it is really a false promise. One is economic and the other is the question of who gets to choose.

The private schools that the elite send their children to cost tens of thousands of dollars a year to attend. I looked up a few private schools and tuition ranged from $20,000 to well over $30,000, more than many private colleges. And the actual amount they spend per pupil is well over the tuition since they raise lots of extra money from alumni. They also tend to pay their non-unionized teachers significantly less than public schools.

Since at best the voucher proposals I have seen only pay a small fraction of that, these vouchers will leave the recipients with few real choices without putting out a lot more money. I do not think the public is going to go for vouchers of $20,000+ and have never even heard such figures discussed. It they did, the public education budgets would soar. And those already in private schools would and should claim they should get the subsidies too. What it would do in effect, at the rates being proposed, is subsidize the middle class and the rich to abandon public schools and send their children of private schools, and while leaving such choices out of reach financially for the poor.

The other issue is who chooses. Most private schools have selective admission, and limited space. Since unlike public schools they get to choose their students, even if the voucher fully paid for them (which of course it will not), they would still most likely cream the easiest students to teach, leaving the more difficult to teach children to the public schools.

These two factors in combination would end up subsidizing private schools and the middle and upper class families at the expense of public schools and the poor that are left in them. This would further segregate our schooling system into the haves and the have-nots.

Since I have never heard voucher proponents either suggest that vouchers should be at the levels necessary to have them cover the full cost of most private schools, nor to force private schools to take those children, I find their arguments disingenuous.

Charter schools, in theory at least, get around both of the above limitations. There is no tuition; schools receive the same funding as other public schools, and (at least in California) schools cannot select the students. (In reality, though, they often find ways of using other means to "encourage" and "discourage" certain types of students) So, is this not a solution?

Why I still do not favor even this is that it fundamentally changes the purpose of public schools. Traditionally we have considered the education of the next generation to be a concern of society as a whole. In fact, virtually every society has considered this to be true throughout history. For this reason, locally elected school boards have governed our public schools.

Charter schools and voucher systems make schooling a private consumer choice. In the charter and voucher systems consumers choose among the choices offered them, but have no guaranteed right to have a say about the schooling other than making that choice. Those who do not have children in school have no say at all. Private schools are run privately, and do not have to answer to the public. Charter schools usually have to answer for test scores and financial responsibility, but even there it is to the state and not in any direct way to the local public. While charter schools have governing boards, they select their own members of those boards. This gives control of the content of schooling to those who run the schools, often for-profit concerns, but even if not, private concerns of some sort. While our government is not perfect, should I really trust those who have private agendas and do not have to answer to the public to decide the how and what of our next generation's schooling? Public school boards are elected, and have open meetings: private schools do not have to. Even if the charters do have open meetings, they are often run by national organizations and so are inaccessible and would probably just say, "Don't send your child here if you don't like our agenda".

Charters and vouchers are about redefining the public as consumers rather than citizens, which is part of a larger corporate agenda to destroy public institutions and limit the power of the public.

For the above (and other) reasons, I see truly public schools as the only answer for those committed to a democratic society.

Read between the lines the implication that anything government does must be poor quality. Yet since parents in the suburbs and rich areas are perfectly happy with their public schools, why is it only the public schools that poor kids go to that seem to be failing? "Government" schools for the rich and middle class are fine it seems-as long as they do not have to share them with the poor.

When Will I Ever Use This Stuff?!

When will I ever use this stuff?! 

I have been in education for forty years and the statement I hear over and over again with regards to math is something I'm sure you have heard too. It I've heard it once, I've heard it thousands of times: "When will I ever use this stuff".

All too often, students who make this statement are referring to the actual concept they are learning; whether it be Pythagorean's Theorem, long division, multiplication of polynomials, properties of polygons, the Power Rule, or what have you, their comment is usually based on the specific math topic. I related what they are learning to "real- life" examples, and or course, I tell them they are also actually applying and deepening many life long skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. Skills that include but are not limited to: analyzing, making connections, problem solving, looking for patterns, proving, thinking, understanding and persistence. Math is an opportunity gateway, it opens doors and without it, it often closes doors. However, if in fact math isn't for you and you have a goal or career that doesn't require university math, here's some of the everyday math that you'll need, hence this article is for you.

Everyday Math

First of all, before I generate this list of what I believe to be helpful math for everyone to know for day to day living, it's only my opinion and may differ from the opinions of others.

Percent

Percent is a concept that is used regularly. What is the percent of deductions of your gross pay? This helps you calculate your net pay or potential pay. Sales are often based on percent, what is 20, 30, or 40 percent of a number? Percent is used in loans, investment and mortgages. You need to understand enough about percent to use a calculator correctly. Percent is used to calculate simple and compound interest. Percents are used in services to calculate sales tax and tips. You should be able to use mental math for some percent computations and the calculator for others.

Four Operations

The four operations refers to adding, subtracting, dividing, and multiplying and are sometimes referred to as arithmetic. I think this concept is self explanatory. We use the four operations for mental math in grocery stores, bill payment, recipes, etc. You should know the basic multiplication facts and you should know when and how to add, subtract, divide and multiply fluently mentally and with a calculator.

Measurement

Understanding the various units of measure that we are exposed to each day is vital to making decisions based on this information. When you go into the carpet store to consider a purchase and the store clerk tells you the carpet is 4.50 per square yard, you need to have an understanding of what your room measurements of 12 feet by 16 feet means in terms of the unit of measure, square yards. Think in terms of following a recipe. If you do not understand the various units of measure for dry goods such as flour, then you can make a mess out of baking. Measurement recognition and understanding is a daily occurrence. Even if you need an online converter or calculator for conversions, a basic understanding of measurement is helpful.

Estimation

Estimation is a basic skill we use so much in our daily lives that we never think about it.  Estimation is not a guess; it is a calculation based upon specific information and often referred to as an "educated guess".You estimate what time you have to get up in the morning to do all the tasks needed before you head off to school or work. You estimate how long it will take you to your homework. I'm sure you can think of countless examples.

Charts, Graphs and Data

Visual representation of information is commonplace in modern living. Graphs and charts are used to reduce the amount of textual explanation that many comparisons require. With the advent of the internet, it's imperative that we have the ability to look at a graph and see the weight of the data points individually while having an idea as to the trend the data exhibits. Basic to extremely complex information can be portrayed using charts such as scatter plots in terms we understand. It's helpful to be able to interpret pie charts, and line bar graphs.

Problem Solving

Problem solving is a daily skill. Being able to use the basic math mentioned here and apply it to problem solving situations is key. In other words, knowing what math to use to solve basic problems. Examples of this are in doubling a recipe, halving a recipe, calculating how much tile is needed id a room of various sizes, balancing check books, calculating time lapses and distances for trips along with various money situations/financial literacy.

It can be difficult to determine the daily math one needs in everyday life and much depends on ones responsibilities in life, however, having a grasp on the above certainly helps. And, taking steps to improve your math skills is always a great idea. Knowing math helps us understand the world and empowers our ideas.

Online Resources: There are a number of websites that provide help with mathematics

This week I am sharing some links to excellent websites that provide help with  math.

Online Resources:

* http://kahnacademy.org - this site contains hundreds of topic specific videos and example problems.

* http://www.purplemath.com

* http://math.com

* http://mathforum.org/dr/math

* http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html  - National Library of Virtual Manipulatives

The Importance Of Relationships

I communicate regularly with my students teachers, and I know my middle school and high school students much better than their teachers do. And the more I think about education and learning, the more I see relationships as the key to what really matters. If I think about all the movies I have seen about "great teaching" both fictional and those "based on a true story", while the actual teaching going on in them varies enormously, what they all have in common is a teacher that builds caring strong relationships with their pupils, from "To Sir With Love", "Up The Down Staircase" of the 60s, to more recent movies such as "Mr. Holland's Opus" and "Dangerous Minds." But of course that portrayal could just be the license of the writers and directors.

But I would say I have found the same in my experience as a teacher and now a tutor. I worked with teachers with many different pedagogical approaches. If you have read my previous columns, you will see it's clear I have strong beliefs about which are more effective. However, the most consistent thing that I noticed of teachers that appeared to me as more effective was that those teachers all had strong relationships with their students. The students knew their teacher expected them to learn, and was there to help them succeed in doing so.

It was really much for this reason that I decided to move to elementary school after teaching middle and high school for 17 years. It is really difficult to build those relationships when every hour you have a new group of students. I often asked other teachers to keep an eye an a specific student in the hopes that one of us could connect with them. And I consequently worried that there where students that had no one to advocate for them and that someone would slip through the cracks. With elementary school kids I had the same ones all day long. It is also a reason I have never liked "regrouping" with other teachers - I never saw the trade off as worth the loss in knowing my students fully.

One anecdote. At one place I taught, we were using the Reading Recovery program for our struggling first and second grade readers. Reading Recovery is a strongly researched based program giving intensive support to the lowest readers in the first and second grades, based on some of the best research of learning to read, with a strong research record of its own, and all the practitioners of it have to be credentialed teachers who have gone through an intensive training in the model. One year I taught third grade and my struggling readers did not qualify. So instead we used instruction assistants, who had a rudimentary training in more traditional phonics approaches to work with them. I would argue that third graders who are still struggling with reading are probably more difficult candidates, as they have a longer history of failure to overcome.

Yet, in decidedly non-random and small sample that this consisted of, my instructional assistant succeeded with every one she worked with. The same cannot be said of the Reading Recovery program that had about a two-thirds success rate with our students. I attribute it to the strong relationship she built with each of them-letting them know that she believed they each would and could learn to read.

This, maybe, is what worries me most about many of the past educational reforms. They make those relationships more difficult. Scripted curriculum, larger classes and school consolidation, use of technology for instruction, and worst of all, the tactics of fear-trying to scare teachers and students into doing a better job. Each if these, in a different way, makes it slightly more difficult for teachers and students to develop strong relationships.

I will be following the implementation of the Common Core Standards as they are designed to foster more teacher and student engagement and allow teachers the opportunity to develop their own units of study that incorporate the required standards.

I have been offered a job to teach an all on-line teacher education course. I haven't made a decision yet, but I am curious to know to what degree this mode allows for and interferes with such relationships.

If you or any one you know teaches on-line, or for that matter, if you have taken on-line classes, I would be interested in hearing about your experience. What kinds of relationships does on-line learning foster?

Debra

Improving Math Skills by Improving Your Note Taking

When studying for math, we often use exercises, worksheets and sample problems to work through in order to prepare of an upcoming test, exam, or review. However, as in most other subjects, note taking and journaling is also very effective and very important to help with the understanding of specific math concepts. Whether you dictate your notes and have them available for audio, or write your notes to review them visually, the strategies and tips here will help you prepare for math quizzes and tests. Effective notes will help you to remember important concepts taught in class and they will guide you through various math problems.

Taking Notes

I prefer to use the two column approach in my notes and I also prefer pencil. To use the two column approach, your actual notes will be on one side and the examples of theorems/formulas will be on the other. There is usually more than one method of solving a problem, use your notes to document this. Be sure to include examples that you believe will help you later. Math is often about making connections as so many concepts interrelated, be sure to record the connections you make. Areas where you have concerns of believe to be your greatest weakness are also the  areas you should emphasize. To emphasize you may wish to use a highlighter and attach a few stickies. Personally, I prefer to date my notes as well, I also include the text pages for handy reference.

Format

I've already mentioned that it is helpful to keep audio notes, however, it is difficult to record examples of exercises in audio. Audio is better when you are reviewing postulates, procedures, and formulas. The more you hear the explanations, the greater chance you will retain the information. However, you may also wish to record your notes on your computer. Microsoft One Note is quite effective. There's an add-in that allows you to perform calculations, and to plot graphs and it contains an extensive collection of mathematical symbols and structures to display expressions and has a pretty good equation gallery. Two others are La-Tex, and Math Symbols. Although I like La Tex, it is not my first choice for taking notes. Math Symbols is great for creating exercises and it allows you to create your equations quickly (newer versions has handwriting recognition) but you'll still need another application to integrate it with. A lot of my students prefer One Note because it's where they keep all of their notes. But, everyone is different and you'll need a strategy that works best for you.

Tips for Improving Your Note Taking Skills

* Listen carefully to your instructor and jot down the key points about solving problems, proving theorems or    using a procedure. Write everything you think that will help you when you return to this concept later.
* Don't get too wordy, keep your notes to the point and simple to understand.
* Use logical organization, jumping around from concept to concept will only be confusing. Make sure your      examples have key points in your notes.
* Explain your reasoning. This component is key, keep it short and sweet but explain the logic behind the          application or procedure.
* Record alternate methods, as I mentioned earlier, there is usually more than one way to solve a problem,
   be sure to record the alternative method.
* Yes, it's a lot of work but a great way to learn . . .  recopy your notes. Highlight and add or delete
   information/

When taking notes in math, look at your textbook. What do you like about it? What don't you like about it? Think of your notes as a set of cheat notes for you to review. Make them look like a text that you find easy to follow.

In summary, most important of all is the review your notes in a timely way. Make review part of your routine. We are all guilty of cramming before tests and exams but a little review along the way will better equip you to
 see greater success in math. If journaling works better for you, you may wish to read my up-coming posts about strategies for effective math journaling.

The History of Standards-Based Education

Currently in education there is a lot of talk about the new Common Core State Standards and the need for high standards. I will discuss in this column where that concept came from and how it has been distorted from its original use.

The idea of a standards-based educational system came from the work of Ted Sizer (1932-2009). In the early 1980s he was involved in a nationwide study of high schools that resulted in his book Horace's Compromise (and later Horace's School and Horace's Hope). In Horace's Compromise, Sizer describes the work of a typical teacher, and how no matter how willing, well-meaning, and hardworking, the teacher cannot meet the needs of the over hundred students she sees everyday, and how students by the same token cannot do deep quality work while jumping from one subject to another each with a different teacher and mostly sitting there being expected to soak up facts and concepts. In other words, the lack of real quality learning going on in schools was not the fault of teachers or students, but the design of the institution and the compromises teachers and students made with each other to survive in such an institution.

Sizer proposed that instead of students being rewarded for successfully passing a certain number of courses, and being in school for a certain amount of time, they be required to demonstrate the knowledge and abilities of a successful high school student through some sort of performance assessment where students actually showed they could apply what they had learned. He also posited certain attributes tat schools would need in order to carry out such an education.

What came out of that directly from Sizer and likeminded educators was an organization, the Coalition of Essential Schools, which holds a set of ten common principles that schools doing such work adhere to. This organization supports schools trying to make the changes to move toward applying these ideas. According to Sizer, how schools would measure this success, and how each school would carry out those principles in practice, needed to be locally decided.

This idea of Sizer's that students should graduate by being measured against a set of standards rather than just seat time became popularized in the 1990s. However, in many ways the concept got turned on its head. For one thing, the term "standards" took on a new meaning from its usual everyday meaning of a level of quality. Instead "standards" became a laundry list of facts and concepts, both broad and discrete, to be learned, as well as levels of performance. This standards, rather than being locally decided as Sizer proposed, have been mandated by National and State authorities.

The other distortion is that meeting these standards is measured by standardized tests. Performance has come to mean not what Sizer had in mind-the ability to carry out real world tasks that used the knowledge and abilities that schools decided were important-but how one "performs" on a standardized tests. These standardized tests are designed to test students' recall random sample of what is on that laundry list of facts and concepts. High standards have come to mean high scores on such tests.

Sizer's idea was that graduation by standards should free up schools to look and act differently, and free up students to demonstrate their knowledge in a variety of ways. The current practice of  "standards" has meant that the standardization of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment of the students, as well as their teachers, schools, districts, and states by the use of standardized tests. So far there's no evidence that the current use of standardized curriculum and the high stakes use of standards has improved the quality of education. The achievement gaps these so called reforms were to solve are as great of greater than before these changes. Graduation rates are overall no better, and we do not hear high school teachers claiming that students are coming in more prepared than they used to be. So far the only response the educational establishment has to offer to lack of results is that we need more standardization, a Common Core of facts and concepts, more tests, and higher stakes.

On the other hand, Sizer's ideas of standards without standardization have also been tried out, at times with astounding success. One of the first schools to implement Sizer's ideas was Central Park East School (CPESS) a public school of choice in New York's East Harlem. Deborah Meier, building on her work at Central Park East Elementary School, collaborated with Ted Sizer on how to meld his ideas and hers to develop a secondary school on the Coalitions principles. They came up with a school where students studied fewer topics, and worked with fewer teachers more intensively. All faculty and administrators worked as advisors who stayed with students over time and met with their advisory group daily. Students took part in internships in real world professional settings. The standards of the school were upheld through a series of portfolios and defenses of those portfolios in front of a committee. Students graduated, not after a prescribed number of years or prescribed number of completed courses, but when they had successfully passed and defended those portfolios. The standards of Central Park East were built around certain "Habits of Mind" that the faculty believed were important in all facets of life and in all disciplines. To a large extent, the demonstration of the use of those habits was the rubric used to decide if the portfolio or defense of the work met the schools standards. The students of CPESS had success at graduating high school and going on to, as well as succeeding in, college and far beyond their demographic equivalents in other public high schools in New York (see David Bensman's fascinating book Central Park East and its Graduates which documents his study of CPESS alumni).

After CPESS, such schools sprung up all over New York City, and to some extent nationwide. Schools such as Urban Academy, the International High Schools, the Met Schools, High Tech High, and Boston Arts Academy, to just name a few, continue if this tradition of high standards without standardization, of depth of knowledge over coverage, and of the importance of relationships with students as essential to successful education. While each of these schools looks very different, in each school one will see students who are passionately following their own interests while being held to a common set of high standards in a non-standardized curriculum. These schools have shown that they help students beat odds in terms of graduation and getting into college. Even more importantly, these schools produce graduates with positive attitudes toward learning and their ability to shape their own futures and contribute to the larger society.

When I attended a forum recently on the Common Core, many concerns were voiced. True positive educational reform with high expectations/standards can be achieved - there are models (I just described a few)  to learn from and we, citizens, must be activity engaged in the process. Educate yourself, volunteer at your child's school, go to school board meetings (remember they are elected politicians) and remember that everything a teacher can or cannot do in her classroom is determined by a politician.

A Guide to WRITING, THINKING, and LEARNING

A very successful parent of a student that I tutor told me that he always struggled in school because he never learned how to study or how to find out the important information from texts. I interviewed students from elementary, middle, and high school and discovered that they were never taught how to use or read their textbooks. Although, all textbook go over how they are formatted and  useful  strategies on how to use them, none of the students I interviewed remember a teacher going over how to use the information - guidelines, samples, or methods to learn.

The reading students are asked to do is amazing complex. Students read instructions, tests, novels, newspapers, websites, and books from the library. They need to recognize all sorts of usual words, make sense of many types of reading, change how fast or slow they read, use strategies, reread, and then remember everything. Who can do all that?

Students could probably use a little help to make reading and learning easier. You need to sit down with your student and look over each textbook. Read the guidelines the textbook provide and be sure your student knows where to find important information.  For example, math texts have a section that has vocabulary, formulas, rules, etc.  History texts have timelines, etc.

Some basic strategies that work for reading to learn that may be used for all academic subjects are listed below:

Before Reading set a purpose - everything you do in or especially out of school you should use the "Habits of the Mind" to critically read and think about information.

To set a purpose - do a quick survey before reading the assignment. This will help prepare you to read and organize information more easily. Look for the title, headings, words in bold of italic print, graphics, key points, and guiding and review questions.

Make up questions based on your survey. Try to answer your questions, as well as the review questions, while you read.

Takes notes of summarize sections while you read. Summarizing is especially helpful if a section is difficult to understand. Say your summary out loud or write it in your notes. Some students have trouble summarizing and end up rewriting everything thing they read. A good method to use to write summaries is to write down the most important word in each sentence and then the second most important word in each sentence. It's interesting to note that you will discover the most important word you write is a noun, and the second most important is a verb. You will have a list of words called a 'word bank' and from that list write a summary. I use this technique successfully with students as young as third grade and I personally use this strategy all the time. It also helps students store information in long term memory and when they need to write a research paper they won't be tempted to plagiarize (which I don't think students intent to do - they just never learned how to take notes and summarize).

Look up any words you don't understand. Sometimes tricky words make a passage difficult to read; understanding their meaning can make all the difference.

After reading, review any summaries or notes you have written. Test yourself to see if you can answer the review questions and most importantly your questions.

Read a large variety of material. The more you read, the easier and more enjoyable reading will become for you.

There is method called SQ4R that is very effective, and has been around a long, long time-that's because it works! It is similar to the method describe above.

Survey. Before you start, survey the chapter's headings, tables, charts and figures. Read the chapter summary. Conceptualize the content of what you are about to read.

Question. Turn the chapter headings and subheadings into questions. As you read the chapter, imagine which questions might likely turn up on a test.

Read. Quickly read each section of the chapter, one after the other, searching for the answers to your questions. Do new questions pop up?

Recite. At the end of each section, recite your questions. If they weren't answered, go back until they are all answered. Only then should you go on to the next section.

wRite. First write down your questions and then your answers. This process will aid you in remembering what you have read.

Review. What were the main learning points of the chapter? What is the significance of the main points and how they apply to the big picture.

Don't worry about the kind of questions you write, are they good, or whatever, the whole process will help you learn and understand and that's the point. If you are still having difficultly then it is time to get ask for help. Remember that your teachers are there to help you, they want to help you!Your teachers have no way of knowing of what is going on with you if you don't tell. them. If you don't feel comfortable asking questions during class see your teacher during her office hours.

I will write a post soon on how to write questions. I will use examples from the work of students that I'm presently tutoring.

Best,
Debra

The Common Core State Standards ---- The Assessment Piece

I've been researching information about the Common Core Standards and found a lot of interesting information about the assessment component. These are some of the facts I found at Fairtest.org

A new fact sheet shows that the Common Core Assessments, which are being rolled out for widespread implementation in the 2014-2015 school year, are not significantly different from the standardized exams currently administered in many states. At the same time, plans call for more high-stakes tests even with greater cost.

"Despite proponents' claims that the Common Core would lead to a new breed of assessments that focus on higher-order, critical thinking skills, the planned tests are predominantly the same-old multiple-choice questions," explained Dr. Monty Neill, Executive Director of the National Center for Fair & Open Testing (Fair Test).

Dr. Neill continued, "Rather than ending 'No Child Left Behind' testing overkill, the Common Core will flood classrooms with even more standardized exams. Their scores will continue to be misused to make high-stakes educational decisions, including high school graduation. They will also end up costing taxpayers millions more for new tests and the computer systems required to deliver them."

The FairTest fact sheet also challenges the notion that harder tests are automatically better. It states, "If a child struggles to clear the high bar at five feet, she will not become a 'world class' jumper because someone raised the bar to six feet and yelled 'jump higher', or if her 'poor' performance is used to punish her coach." Scores recently plummeted in New York State and Kentucky where Common Core tests were initially administered.

Based on its analysis, FairTest is calling for an indefinite moratorium on the Common Core tests. "As the prestigious Gordon Commission of educational experts recently concluded, these exams are not the better assessments our schools need," Dr. Neill concluded. "Instead, a system of classroom-based performance assessments, evaluations of student work portfolios, and school quality reviews will help improve learning and teaching."

Sincerely,
Debra

Extracurricular Activities --- The Key To Improve Student Success --- Multiple Intelliigences Honored

Choosing an Extracurricular Activity That Honors Your Students Intelligence

The school system in the United States is focused on two main intelligences, logical/mathematical and verbal/linguistic. The new Common Core State Standards will allow creative teachers to incorporate Multiple Intelligences theory into the curriculum, which will in turn, reach students that have been previously excluded. But what can you do until the Common Core Standards are implemented? Enroll your student in after-school activities. For example some students are more able in the arts or sports (their strongest intelligence). The perception is that they are "extra" classes. But they're the main reason many struggling students stay focused on school.

What is Multiple Intelligences Theory?

Howard Gardener's theory of Multiple Intelligences utilizes aspects of cognitive and developmental psychology, anthropology, and sociology to explain human intellect. Although Gardener had been working towards the concept of Multiple Intelligences for many years prior, the theory was introduced in 1983, with Gardener's ground breaking book, Frames of Mind.

Gardener's research consisted of brain research and interviews with stroke victims, prodigies, and individuals with autism. Based on his findings, Gardner established eight criteria for identifying seven (he has added an eighth and ninth) separate intelligences. The eight criteria used by Gardner to identify the intelligences are listed below:

* Isolation by brain damage/neurological evidence
* The existence of prodigies, idiot savants, and exceptional individuals
* Distinguishable set of core operations
* Evolutionary history and plausibility
* Susceptibility to encoding in a symbol system
* Support from experimental psychological tasks
* Support from psychometric research

For a more detailed look at these eight criteria, visit http://surfaquarium.com/MI/criteria.htm.

Originally, the theory accounted for seven separate intelligences. Subsequently, with the publishing of Gardener's Intelligence Reframed in 1999, two more intelligences were added to the list. The intelligences are Verbal/Linguistic Logical/Mathematical, Visual/Spatial, Bodily/Kinesthetic, Musical, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Naturalistic, and Existential.

Gardner's theory challenges traditional, narrower views of intelligence. Previously accepted ideas of human intellectual capacity contend that an individual's intelligence is a fixed entity throughout her lifetime and that intelligence can be measured through an individual's logical and language abilities.This is what standardized tests focus on. According to Gardner's theory, an intelligence encompasses the ability to create and solve problems, create products or provide services that are valued within a culture or society. Listed below are the key points of Multiple Intelligences Theory:

* All human beings possess all nine intelligences in varying degrees.
* Each individual has a different profile.
* Education can be improved by assessment of the students' intelligence profiles and designing activities
   accordingly.
* Each intelligence occupies a different area of the brain.
* The nine intelligences may operate in consort or independently from one another.
* These nine intelligences may define the human species.

Gardner, a Professor of Education at Harvard University, and other researchers and educators continue to work towards a more holistic approach to education through Project Zero. For more information on the projects and research in Project Zero, visit the website at http://www.pz.harvard.edu

Although the theory was not originally designed for use in a classroom application, it has been widely embraced by educators and enjoyed numerous adaptations in a variety of educational settings.Teachers have always known that students had different strengths and weaknesses in the classroom. Gardner's theory was able to articulate that and provide direction as to how to improve a student's ability in any given intelligence. The Common Core State Standards are just standards, so educators can design curriculum based on both the academic standards and Multiple Intelligences.

Choose an extracurricular activity with the Multiple Intelligences in mind. Listed below is a brief description of each intelligence.

* Verbal/Linguistic - Strengths include writing, reading, memorizing dates, thinking in words, telling stories.
* Mathematical/ Logical - Strengths include math, logic, problem-solving, reasoning, patterns.
* Visual/Spatial - Strengths include maps, reading, charts, puzzles, imagining things, visualization.
* Bodily/Kinesthetic - Strengths include athletics, dancing, crafts, using tools, acting.
* Musical - Strengths include picking up sounds, remembering melodies, rhythms, singing.
* Interpersonal - Strengths include leading, organizing, understanding people, communicating, resolving
   conflicts, selling.
* Intrapersonal - Strengths include recognizing strengths and weaknesses, setting goals, understanding self.
* Naturalistic - Strengths includes understanding nature, making distinctions, identifying flora and fauna.
* Existential - Strengths include ethnics, humanity, sensitivity and capacity to tackle deep questions about
   human existence.

EXTRACURRICULAR activities help children learn more themselves, develop new skills, and contribute to their community. It is important that parents help their child focus on a "nonacademic" path to success. While not all children excel academically, after-school activities present opportunities to become world class at something.

Extracurricular activities such as dance or sports not only bolster children's health, they also foster good habits for a lifetime, and motivate students to focus on school. Here's some advice on helping your student choose an extracurricular activity:

Listen to your child. The right age to start an activity depends entirely upon your child. One size does not fit all. Even toddlers, who in an imagination stage developmentally, may gain confidence from theater programs for preschoolers.

Don't overload. Be aware of an activity's time commitment. Many sports require daily practice, plus obligations for tournaments, fundraising or celebrations. It's important to allow for downtime too.

Consider cost. Some activities are more costly than others and may require lessons, uniforms, costumes, or travel. Ask questions to avoid unexpected budget-breaking expenses. For budget-friendly options, explore community recreation centers, boys and girls clubs, houses of worship, or other groups such as 4-H, and of course talk to other parents for their ideas.

Find volunteer opportunities. The opportunities are endless, a few examples include libraries, hospitals, and food banks.

Let your student/child experiment. Give your child the freedom to explore and discover multiple joy-inducing activities. Don't insist on your child finishing an activity if it's clear, even after just two weeks, that's it's not a good match. Take seriously the child's opinion. Eventually, children will find an interest in which they can shine.

Extracurricular are so important because that is where children can find out who they are in the world. And without extracurricular activities students might not concentrate on school. Research shows that there's a link between high quality arts education and strong educational outcomes. Although there's no research on whether extracurricular activities improve student performance, any teacher or parent, can tell you that once  they get a taste of success in whatever activity it spills over into other academic work.

On a final note, the arts and many other extracurricular activities give ideas life and power!

Sincerely,
Debra

Habits Of The Mind Standards -- 5 habits that empower students

I learned about the "Habits of the Mind" from Deborah Meier, a former kindergarten teacher, founder of the Central Park East Schools, fellow at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and she is leading various efforts to reinvent public schools across the country. She is currently principal of the Mission Hill School in Boston. I use these "habits" in every aspect of teaching and learning. The "habits" should be internalized by every student and used no matter what they are studying about both in school and especially out of it!

Habits Of The Mind Standards

Evidence - How do you know that? Facts to base claim? Proof?

Perspective - Whose point of view? Who said it and why?

Supposition - Hypothesizing - What if?

Connections - What patterns? How related?

Relevance - Who cares? Why is that important?

Knowing and learning take on importance only when we are convinced it matters, it makes a difference. Having a good mind and being well-educated don't always seem important to young people. It matters because it will help us get ahead, get into a good college, hold a well-paying job. But that's not the whole story! It will also help save the world! I know that sounds kind of corny. But it's also true.

It's important to be able to stand alone, to take personal responsibility. But it's also important to be able to work with others - to collaborate. That means not forgetting our family, our friends, and our community as we gain success in life. Young people are in a lot of conflict between their ambitions, their compassion for others and their loyalties to family and friends. That's where they need you - their parents. There is no greater wisdom on relevant issues. And you can help your child to learn to analyze and think for themselves by integrating the Habits of the Mind questions into parenting.

You can read more about the Habits of the Mind and how Deborah Meier has transformed democratic education in her book, The Power of Their Ideas.

Best,
Debra

Skills for School Success . . . Test Taking Skills

When I begin tutoring students I always ask them what study skills they have been taught;  they tell me that they are told to study for a test but never instructed on how to study for a test or how to actually take a test (with exception to the end of the year standardized tests). However when I talk to teachers they tell me that they teach students test taking strategies. I don't know what the disconnect is - but with your help your student can succeed.

When I taught middle and high school I found that most parents thought that because their child was older that keeping up on homework assignments and studying was their responsibility. This is a mistake, your child still needs you (especially in middle school) to check their homework, quiz them on the information that they are learning, and check their backpacks once a week. The internet has made it is easier to keep track of your child's school assignments, grades, etc. as school districts have online accounts for parents, and students. I have access to my students accounts, this information allows me to prepare for tutoring sessions in advance, use tutoring time more efficiently, and keep on top of their progress. I also communicate with the teachers regularly, and suggest you contact your child's teacher(s) if you have questions or concerns. If your child tells you that they are getting all their homework done at school and they have A's and no missing assignments than this is likely the case, however, if they have missing assignments or not earning A's than they need to spend more time studying. Which leads me to the topic of this post . . . Test Taking Skills.

1. Come Prepared and Arrive Early

Bring all allowable materials you might need, such as; pencils, pens, a calculator, a dictionary, and a watch. This will help you focus on the task at hand.

2. Stay Relaxed and Confident

Remind yourself that you are well-prepared and going to do well. Don't let yourself become anxious. If you feel anxious before or during a test, take several slow, deep breaths to relax. Don't talk to other students before a test; anxiety is contagious. 

3. Be Comfortable but Alert

Use the restroom before you find your seat. Choose a good spot to take the test. Make sure you have enough room to work. Maintain an upright posture in your seat. 

4. Preview the Test (if it not timed)

Spend 10% of your test time reading through the test carefully, marking key terms and deciding how to budget your time. Plan to do the easy questions first and the most difficult questions last. As you read the questions, jot down brief notes indicating ideas you can use later in your answers.

5. Answer the Questions in a Strategic Order

Begin by answering the easy questions you know, then those with the highest point value. The last questions you answer should be the most difficult, take the greatest amount of time writing, or have the least point value.

First, eliminate answers you know are wrong. Always guess when there is no penalty for guessing or you can eliminate options. Don't guess if you are penalized for guessing. Don't change your answers unless you are sure of the correction.

 Essay Tests

6. Think Before You Write

Create a brief outline for your essay by jotting down a few words to indicate ideas you want to discuss. Then number the items in your list to indicate the order in which you will discuss them.

7. Get Right to the Point

State your main point in the first sentence. Use your first paragraph to provide an overview of your essay. Use the rest of the essay to discuss these points in more detail. Back up your points with specific information, examples, or quotations from your readings and notes.

8. Reserve 10% of Your Test Time for Review

Review your test; resist the urge to leave as soon as you have completed all the items. Make sure you have answered all the questions. Proofread your writing for spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Check your math answers for careless mistakes (e.g. misplaced decimals). Match your actual answers for the math problem against your preliminary estimates.

9. Analyze Your Test Results

Each test can further prepare you for the next test. Decide which strategies worked best for you. Identify those that didn't work well and replace them. Use your past tests to review when studying for final exams.

10. Be Positive

Develop a positive attitude towards schoolwork including tests. All aspects of school are important for your long term goals. Get to know your teachers - they will help you.

Students are under a lot of pressure to do well and school/tests can be stressful but always remember that you are so much more than a test. As with any skill, test taking takes practice and over time you become better.

All the best,

Debra

Collaboration, communication, creativity, the "New Common Core State Standards" are not new they have evolving for over the past 20 years.

What does it mean to be an education person? This is a question philosophers, teachers, and parents have been pondering since the beginning of mankind. The idea behind the Common Core State Standards is that there is common core set of knowledge that all students in the U. S .should master at each grade level. They're designed to help children to think, explore, experiment and analyze - not just memorize - and build on knowledge from year to year.  The theory behind the standards is that if you live in one state and move to another state you get the same skills/knowledge. In the past standards have been developed at the state level.

I first read the read the Common Core State Standards in the mid-nineties and they have been refined over that period. My first objection was, who standards are these? Does it take away local control, and what are the implications for democracy? Having a voice, having the debate, and having the opportunity to develop the standards was important to me. But after reading the standards I soon discovered the content was nothing I could object to and there is opportunity for academic freedom. That means that teachers can develop units that incorporate the standards. An example of this is a unit I developed, On Your Own, a financial boot camp that helps teenagers learn the ABC's of financial responsibility. Students do not receive financial know how classes in public education before graduation. I saw a need and taught this unit teaching math concepts and improving English language arts skills.

The Common Core State Standards were developed by a bipartisan group of governors, school chiefs, and teachers who believed their own standards were too low, leaving students unprepared and businesses without qualified workers. They are far more rigorous than the vast majority of what they replace. The bipartisan group also relied on the guidelines and standards from many prominent and respected educators and organizations including the National Teacher's of Mathematics.

Some people object to the standards because they are determined by politicians, but this has always been the case. Local school boards are elected officials and policies have always dictated what a teacher can do in her/his classroom. That is one of the reasons I have always encouraged teachers to be involved in politics. And that parents engage on all levels, from volunteering in classrooms, PTA, and electing those who hold the same values. Many of those whom oppose the Common Core Standards have been misinformed and are using them promote the dismantling of pubic education, although they are not forthcoming about their agenda it is focused on privatizing the school system and promoting the tea party's  ideology. They also have little or nothing to say about the content of the standards. The National  Federation of Teachers is calling for a moratorium on the Common Core Standards not because they object to the content but because teachers need time to learn the Standards and how to implement them. TNTF do have a valid concern about the nation's reliance on high - stakes standardized tests, and that teacher's evaluations will be based upon their students test scores is a recipe for disaster.

The thing to remember is that these are only standards. Each state must develop curricula to teach to the standards and to ensure that students are learning the material. Districts and schools are doing some of this work, with lots of pubic discussion. Some states have already begun testing; California is scheduled to start in 2014-2015. Concerns about curriculum  and testing are worth public discussion. This is an opportunity to to be part of the discussion and help determine what it means to be an educated person. That is why states like California have a transparent process with public participation (go to cde.ca.gov/cc/to find out more).

Everything goes in cycles in education and many long - term educators (myself included) adopted the standards twenty years ago. Do you remember collaborative learning, thematic teaching, hands-on projects, portfolios, teachers creating or using "replacement units" instead of textbooks? That the role of your teacher was to facilitate learning, so the students were responsible for their own learning?

To back track a little, The No Child Left Behind Act was implemented and many teachers succumbed to pressure and abandon best teaching practices, and new teachers were not trained to teach using such methods as collaborative learning.  But the exciting news is that the standards of teaching are changing again. Common Core Standards are being adopted by most school districts in the nation. Instead of trying to teach everything, teachers are being asked to focus on the fundamentals. Teachers always complained that the curriculum was a mile wide and an inch deep. Now, they can go in depth on concepts and ensure their students fully understand the material.

It's about time! Twenty years ago, politicians decided that we were losing the education race. They demanded that more skills be taught earlier. Educators spoke loud and clear that many of the requirements were developmentally inappropriate, unfortunately they weren't listened to and a whole group of students have suffered the negative consequences.Teachers who taught middle school math were expected to focus on algebra instead of pre-algebra.

This meant that all eight-grade students, regardless of their ability were required to take algebra, which was normally taught in high school. Not surprisingly, many students failed. And, of course, those students assumed they were awful at math.

The real tragedy: Years, and years of students who sold themselves short because bureaucrats made  poor decisions. Students who, with the right teachers and classes could have been scientists and engineers, have opted for less challenging careers.

But there is hope on the horizon. Social scientist are studying the relationship between knowledge of math fundamentals and success in algebra .I wrote an in-depth essay about this topic - number sense last week. Two groups of students were compared: Those who did well on math fundamental test and those who did well on algebra readiness test. Surprising, the students who excelled in math fundamentals did better in algebra.

For decades, teachers have been reinforcing the math fundamentals in middle school and introducing algebra in high school. And that wasn't done arbitrarily; it was done after years of experience of teaching mathematics. Algebra is abstract and is difficult to learn it you don't have a solid grasp of the fundamentals of math, that is number sense. Doing anything well requires practice and competency requires apply math skills to other academic disciplines and "real-life" situations/problems.

Today, we have more options for good teaching: excellent tutorials on the Internet and computer-guided individual pacing of lessons. Teachers have more tool in their toolbox. However children's brains still learn the same way: with patience and practice.

If there are any any lessons to be learned from the "No Child Left Behind Act", it is we left a lot children behind by trying to teach too much, and focusing on high stakes tests. We need to focus on the basic skills that are developmentally age-appropriate and let children be successful. The Common Core Standards seem sensible and are a great step toward that success.

Post Script:

"House Republicans voted Friday to dismantle the troubled No Child Left Behind law..."

The day after I wrote this essay there was an article (AP) in my local newspaper about the House voting to replace the "No Child" law. This is an summary of that article and my analysis.

The House voted to dismantle the "No Child" law for evaluating students and schools, saying states and local school districts rather than Washington should be setting the rules for ensuring that children are getting a good education,

The legislation would eliminate federally required testing of students, which has been controversial from the start. The measure passed with no Democratic support and drew a veto threat from the Obama administration, which said it would be a "step backward" in efforts to better prepare children for colleges and careers as well as bringing improvements to low - performing schools.

Democrats in the Senate are working on their own bill. It would also give states greater flexibility is designing school improvement standards.  But it would maintain the authority of the federal education secretary to approve those plans. A Senate vote on the legislation is expected in the fall.

The House bill, which Republicans named the Student Success Act, passed 221-207, with every Democrat and 12  Republicans voting against it. The partisanship comes against a background in which nearly everyone agrees that No Child Left Behind, while achieving some successes in improving achievement levels, is too inflexible and needs a major overhaul. The law created a lot of problems in schools, including teachers "teaching to the test" and standardized tests given too much weight in measuring student performance.

The specifics of the new law were not in the newspaper article and I am doing research to find out the content of the legislation. However, I suspect that the bill is a method to undermine the Common Core State Standards, not because it's a bad system, but because President Obama backs it.

Tea party worries are primarily the result of opposition to Obama and irrational fears of festering tyranny. State, school officials, educators, parents, and concerned citizens need to get beyond them and focus the hard work of raising educational achievement for children.

Don't Procrastinate! Teach Your Child Time Management And Skills For School Success !

As a busy parent, you may be thinking: Teach my child to manage her time? I can't even manage my own! Then it's decided. There is no better time to start than the new school year. And while teaching your child how to best manage her time, you may just learn a trick or two about becoming more productive yourself.

Time management is really just a fancy way of describing balancing more than one responsibility or opportunity at once. Like any other skill, it takes practice. But while most parents make it a point to teach their kids how to brush their teeth of show them dozens of times how to wash their hands properly, few drill them in organizing the hours in their day. By teaching your child child early on how to manage her time, you are instilling a skill she can use long after she's donned her college cap and gown. This is a skill she can use for life.

Didn't get an early start? It's never too late to teach kids how to organize their week and prioritize their "to-do" list. Time management is essential for everyone. But if you can get your child to learn the main principles, that's a tool they can use forever. Time management is a principle that impacts children's emotional, social, mental, physical, financial, and spiritual lives. It is a skill every child needs to thrive. If we don't train them in good habits while they are young, they will spend the rest of their lives trying to shake a bad habit.

Here are some tips for teaching children the importance of time management:

* Help your child make the distinction between what is important and what is urgent. Important means it will help them obtain the quality of life most valuable to them. Urgent just means it needs immediate attention. Encourage them to work on the things that are most important first.

* Help your child make a hierarchy of priorities they can use as a master checklist to make better time management decisions. For example, prioritize the following values: Family, Health & Fitness, Personal Development, School, Community, Friends. Add or eliminate values here depending on what is important to you and your child.

* Within each value, prioritize activities to perform. For instance, under School, she may have, 1) complete homework assignments, 2) study for tests, 3) work on large projects, etc.

* Have your child practice using  the hierarchy of priorities when making decisions about how to use her time. Give her different scenarios and let her consider what should be done first, second, and third. For example, if she wants to go to a friend's house, but also has to read the next 3 chapters of her science textbook, ask her to weigh her options. If she does the assignment now, she may be able to stay at her friend's house for dinner. If she chooses to do the assignment later, she has to be home before dinner so she's not up late doing schoolwork. Work with her to figure out the best use of her time. I also recommend, especially for younger children, having a specific time set each day for homework.

* Each evening have your child list on paper or a daily planner everything she needs to do, and use her hierarchy of priorities checklist to her choose the top five or six priorities for the following day.

Managing time well is a learned thing. And it only gets harder as life goes on. The fact is, there are more opportunities in life then there is time to do them. Start kids early at learning how to weigh their options. Not every task is equally important and not every task is equally urgent. Help your child determine what things can or cannot wait, and then, depending upon what they choose to tackle first, discuss how that will effect the rest of her time that day. She'll start to learn how much time she needs to allocate to certain responsibilities and will improve her productivity too.

Don't forget to absorb some of these lessons yourself. Create some of your own checklists and priorities. Hopefully, teaching your child to do the same. Here is a copy of a hand-out I give my students:

Organize your week and prioritize your "to-do" list.

Use a planner and calendar:

1) Distinguish what's " important", "urgent" or "both".

2) Prioritize activities to perform. 1) homework, 2) study for tests, 3) work on projects,etc.

3)  Make a to do list (write it in your planner) and prioritize what has to be done 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc. If an assignment isn't due the following day be sure to also write it in your calendar.

4)  Each day make a list of everything you need to do  (include homework, extra curricula activities, etc.)  and use your hierarchy of priorities checklist to choose the top 6 priorities and then list them in order of importance.

5) Cross off items from the list when completed. Reflect on how you feel (this is an important step).

6) Determine how much you need to allocate for each task (this takes practice and you get better at it over time).

Goal setting, prioritizing, and scheduling:

Goals---you can determine that amount of time needed by creating a "to-do" list.

Create a chart of prioritized goals with categories labeled, "important", "urgent", "both". Put tasks or assignments that will take a long time, such as a research paper under "important". Tasks or assignments that need to be done the next day, or before other tasks (maybe that need to be in the next couple days) go under "urgent". "Both", are long term tasks or assignments that are almost complete and are due in the next day or two. For large tasks or assignments break them down into smaller parts. For example, for a research project/report you need to make a plan, find materials, read, take notes, outline, write rough drafts, and then the final paper.

Calendar:

1) Prioritized tasks/assignments

2) Write tasks under the days you want to have them completed.

3) Mark off the days on the calendar and write what you have done and what you still need to do. This will keep you focused and help you keep track of how many days you have left before the due day. It also helps you adjust the time you need spend each day if needed. Sometimes things take less or longer time than we think.

4) Check your calendar each day, this helps you focus.

Eliminate distractions:

1) Turn off your cell phone.

2) Let people know the times you are available and unavailable.

3) Keep track of distractions and write down the distraction - person (or whatever) the date and the time.

4) After one week go back and check your calendar/planner and check which distractions were valid and invalid.

Although this seems like a lot of work and it's time consuming it helps you focus and become more "aware" of how you are using your time. And in the long run it will actually will help you use your time more effectively thus saving you time!

Best,
Debra

Moving On Up ----- Middle School

Moving on up to middle school ----

Starting middle school means big changes and big opportunities! Exited? Not surprising! Middle school has a lot to offer. You may be looking forward to:

*Meeting new people and making new friends.

*More independence.

*Different classes and teachers.

*Learning new things.

*Exploring new activities.

Nervous? You are not alone. But most worries are soon forgotten --- as you discover how enjoyable middle school can be! The "strange" things about middle school will soon feel normal!  Moving up to middle school means moving up in life.

What changes can you expect? Here's a sneak peek!

Lots of NEW things.

*Classes-Each class may be in a different room or building. Some classes may be longer than others.

*Rules-You may have new rules on how to dress or behave, for example. Learn and follow them.

*Expectations-Each teacher may have different standards or expectations, for example, some don't accept late work or others may have special requirements for late work. It's your job to ask the teacher(s) if you don't understand something. Remember they can't read your mind and some may have a total of 300 students or more. Teachers are there to help you and they want to help you too!

*Schedules-Yours may be busier than ever before. And it's up to you to get to each class on time.

*Lockers-A place to keep your stuff! Ask a teacher if you need help navigating! Some schools have 8th grade peers to assist you also.

MORE of other things.

*Classmates-The same students may not be in every class. You may see a lot of new faces.

*Teachers-You may have a different teachers for each subject. Remember they are there to help you, not just to teach. They are someone you can trust!

*Choices-You may join extracurricular (after-school) activities, for example.

*Homework-It helps you sharpen new skills and succeed in school.

TWO Keys to ACADEMIC SUCCESS

1. Stay Organized.

*Use and assignment or agenda book or planner - to keep track of upcoming homework, projects and tests.

*Keep your locker neat - so you can quickly find what you need.

*Create a system for taking notes. Teachers usually have a system they want you to follow but if you are unsure ask them for advice. Try using a different section of a binder for each class, or a different-colored notebook for each class.

2. Use Time Wisely.

It may take some practice at first, but it's worth it!

*Set a regular time for homework - and work in a quiet, well-lot space.

*Get a jump-start on the morning -  by getting your clothes and backpack ready the night before.

*Break up big projects - use your calendar and planner to help you organize and manage your time. For example, a research project may require you to locate books one week, take notes the next, and begin writing the third week. It is helpful to work backwards, write the date the project/assignment is due, then write the dates you will have each element of project done by. It's helpful to make a daily to-do list and check your calendar/planner daily to help you focus and stay on task.

*Ask for help when you need it! Your teachers WANT to help succeed!

The Best Friendship Advice.

Get Involved. Like to exercise your voice, mind, creativity, or body? Chances are, there's a middle school activity or club for YOU-- and new friends who share your interest.

Be friendly, and a good friend. Flex your smile muscles! Be the first to say hi. And always treat others the way you want to be treated!

Understand Negative Peer Pressure.

It can come on fast and fierce-and cloud your judgement. Steer clear of people who:

*Cheat on tests or homework.

*Skip school.

*Use alcohol and other drugs.

*Fight, bully or carry weapons.

YOU'VE got better things to do!

The real deal on cliques (groups). Sure everyone wants to fit into a group. But if a group disrespects others? Forget it! Feeling the heat of peer pressure? Keep cool-say no and walk away. Ask a trusted adult for more advice.

How To Keep Yourself SAFE.

Stay alert. A bigger school with bigger kids doesn't have to mean trouble! But keep your eyes and ears open, so you know what's going on around you. If you EVER feel unsafe at school, or on your way to or from school tell an adult.

Report bullying.

Being mean to people on purpose STINKS - and it has no place in school. If you:

*See bullying, don't laugh or join in. Show that you're not coll with it - and encourage others to speak up, too. Then tell an adult about what happened.

*Are bullied, calmly tell the person to stop. Then walk away. It's always OKAY to ask a trusted adult for help.

If the person who is bullying has a weapon or you're afraid for your safety, don't argue or fight back! Tell an adult immediately.

Most students DON'T support bullying!

Middle School --- it's a sweet opportunity to grow!

During middle school, your world will change in more ways than you ever imagined. Okay, so you miss recess a little at first. But there's so much else going on! There will be more experiences to share with friends, new skills to learn and more to discover about YOURSELF!

Let others in on your world. Feeling stressed? Have a problem you can't fix? Talk to someone you trust, such as a:

*Parent or another adult family member.

*Teacher or coach.

*School counselor.

*Crisis hotline listed in your phone book. Or goggle it.

Learn. Laugh. Grow. Your middle school adventure awaits!

Early number sense not algebra readiness plays role in understanding higher level mathematics

There is new research that confirms what teachers have always known, and that is that number sense is more important than algebra readiness in determining a students understanding algebra and higher level mathematics. We know a lot about how babies learn to talk, and how youngsters learn to read. Now scientists are unraveling the earliest building blocks of mathematics. What children know about numbers as they begin first grade plays a huge role in how well they do in everyday calculations later on.

The findings have specialist developing steps that parents might take to spur math abilities, just like they do to try to raise a good reader.

This is not about trying to improve the nation's math scores and attract children to become scientist and engineers. It is far more basic.

Consider: How rapidly can you calculate a tip? Do you know the fractions to double a recipe? Know many quarters and dimes the cashier should hand back to you as change?

Approximately one in five adults in the United States lacks the mathematical competence expected of a middle-schooler, meaning they have difficultly with those ordinary tasks and are not qualified for many of today's jobs.

"It's not just, can you do well in school? It's how well can you do in your life," says Dr. Kathy Mann Koepke of the National Institutes of Health, which is funding most of the research into math cognition. "We are in the midst of math all the time."

A new study shows trouble can begin early. University of Missouri researchers tested 180 seventh-graders. Those who lagged behind their peers in a test of core math skills needed to function as adults were the same children who had the least number sense or fluency when they started first-grade.

"The gap they started with, they don't close it," says Dr. David Geary, a cognitive psychologist who  leads the study that is tracking children from kindergarten to high school in the Columbia, MO, school system. "They're not catching up" to the kids who started ahead.

If the first-grade sounds too young to predicting mathematical ability, well, no one expects tots to be writing sums or performing other arithmetic operations . However this number sense, or what Geary more precisely terms "number systems knowledge," turns out to be a fundamental skill.

The Common Core Standards being adopted by most school in the nation are design to focus on the fundamentals. And number sense is the the fundamental, the foundation for all other strands of mathematics.   I am writing an essay about the standards that I will post soon.

There are a lot of sites that have recommendations for activities to develop number sense. One that I recommend is, Helping Your Child Learn Math.

Remember that encouraging your child to ask questions and explore the world will provide you with many teachable moments.

Until next week,
Debra

If One-Size-Fits-All Education Doesn't Work --- Does One-Size-Ft-All Funding Work?

A school board member in my hometown has declared that Governor Brown's new formula for funding schools is unfair. But is it? All students should have the opportunity to reach their full potential. However with the nature of school funding these days, and the overemphasis on standardized test, many students cannot get the extra attention they need. How many times have teachers had to keep the lesson moving ahead ( following a pacing guide), when they could tell by the lost looks on a few faces that they were not quite getting it?

Maybe they need more one-on-one attention that the class size makes impossible. Maybe they need to go to the reading lab or work with the librarian, but the school let the librarian go a few years ago. Or maybe they haven't had enough to eat but the school district only has $.80 a day  to provide breakfast and lunch and can't they concentrate on the lesson. Perhaps their home life has been stressful and they just need someone to listen and tell them it's going to be okay, but the one counselor in the school is swamped with standardized testing responsibilities.

We know that not every student in California has the same opportunity for success. Some students need additional resources to get them where they need to be.

California legislators have passed a historical budget agreement that overhauls education funding for K-12 schools. And although it's not perfect I support the Local Control Funding Formula because it recognizes that the one-size-fits-all funding doesn't fit all students. Now, additional funding for students of greatest need will help more dreams become realities.

Thanks to the efforts of educators, parents and others to pass Proposition 30, new money is flowing into our schools for the first time in five years. This allows of the new spending plan, which provides all schools with more resources, begins repaying schools the money they are owed from years of budget cuts, recognizes the need for smaller class sizes, and helps meet the needs of school districts serving students with high needs.

It is exciting, as it has been such a long time since we've seen a state budget with a significant increase in education funding. With this new funding  formula, school districts will be held accountable on how they spend the money. It gives us (teachers, parents, citizens) the opportunity to work collaboratively with school boards to make sure the resources go where they are needed most, and reshape the way we support all students. Having local control is democratic, locals know the best ways to use funds.

It is long pass time for California to change the way it funds public schools. We must ensure all students get the resources they need - especially when some need more than others. The governor's Local Control Funding Formula will make that possible. That gives me hope for the future of public education in California.

Until next week,

Debra

Recommended Summer Reading

I have read a few books recently that I would highly recommend . When he is included in history books at all, Nat Turner's is usually mentioned only as the leader of an unsuccessful slave uprising that led to a more militant proslavery stance. In contrast, 101Changemakers: Rebels and Radicals Who Changed U.S. History, presents Turner as a person with a life story and a legacy that "inspired those opposed to slavery". You will read about people you know any some you never hear of that have made a difference. The book, edited by Michelle Bollinger and Dao X. Tran, uses Turner and others to inspire a new generation of rebels and radical. This book is good for middle school and up.

The Night Dad Went to Jail, by Melissa Higgins, takes readers into the life of a young child whose father is arrested and sent to prison. Information is provided throughout for parents and teachers to use as discussion builders with your child or students. It offers crucial insights that every educator needs. Good for elementary and up.

Based on the same character that inspired the Trevor Project (a national organization support LGBTQ youth), Trevor by James Lencesne brings home the importance of embracing uniqueness and celebrating diversity. From humorous rants about class assignment to sobering account to attempted suicide, Trevor gives the reader a glimpse if what it's like to be an LGBT teen. For mature middle school youth, high school and up.

Almost half a century has passed since the civil right movement, but the hunger for equality, the courage in the face of brutality and the awful patience necessary to outwit the slow pace of social change live on in the poems complied in Words of Protest, Words of Freedom: Poetry of the American Civil Rights Movement and Era, edited by Jeffery Lamar Coleman. This collection of poems takes you straight to the heart of the civil rights movement. Middle and high school.

Hunted, by Cheryl Raindfield, imagines a world where "Paranormals" (psychics and telekinetics) are oppressed and enslaved by "Normals". This young-adult novel, which reminds readers of the need for action and advocacy on the behalf of people without a voice, is a great tool to for discussions about social-justice issues. Middle and high school.

No More Teasing, a Kate Woo book by Fran Manushkin, tells a kid-friendly story of why teasing hurts-and how to stop it. It's easy for kids to understand and I recommend it for elementary school.

Enjoy your summer reading, for more recommendations on youth and adult books you can find me at kidsbookstomakeadifferencea@blogspot.com  or www.debrastutoring.com and my Facebook page Debra's Tutoring.

Debra's Tutoring A introduction and information on how to... Put The Brakes On The Summer Slide

I am a retired teacher in Vacaville, California, with 31 years of classroom experience and a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics, Bachelor of Arts in Multicultural Studies and Master in Education. My experience has bought me to the conclusion that the one-size-fits-all approach to education doesn't work. I highly value and encourage a child's natural curiosity, and I strongly believe learning can be exciting and fun for anyone when the effort is made to discover and develop one's unique strengths and style of learning.

With this in mind, I came out of retirement to dedicate myself to giving children the individualized attention they need to gain confidence in themselves and to reach their full potential no matter what their circumstances with expert tutoring in Vacaville, California. It is not just knowledge that I wish to instill in my students, but also the ability to think for themselves, and I structure tasks as a tutor in Vacaville so that even young children can analyze and reflect on what they are learning. Developing effective mental habits is of vital importance to the learning process and will greatly enrich all areas of life beyond just academics.

I also believe that every student deserves equal access to high-quality educational services, so I maintain the flexibility with tutoring near Sacramento to be able to work around each family's unique logistics and in budgeting and best times and locations to meet. I offer my services because I want to see children succeed, so don't hesitate to call to find out how I can work with you.

Put The Brakes On The Summer Slide

The school year is wrapping up and most students won't see the inside of a classroom for months. To kids, this means vacation, but to teachers it means lots of catch-up in the fall. According to a study by the John Hopkins' Center for Summer Learning, without summer educational programs, the average student falls two months behind in his/her math and reading skills. To"put the brakes on the summer slide", I offer affordable, summer programs. I will set up an individualized summer program designed to keep your student on pace, moving forward and preparing for the new school year. With no homework and fewer distractions, I've found summer to be a powerful learning time. Inquire at Debra's Tutoring on how to give your student a jump start.

707-628-8590
www.debrastutoring.com