The holidays are a special season filled with food, family, friends, and fun, but what do students do when they cannot head back home for the holiday break? Follow these tips if you find yourself far from home this season. Try to begin with coping and realization. We realize that this is easier said than done, but all in all, students should realize that they are not the only one spending a holiday break alone.…
Read More »in College, Culture, Holidays, Mental Health, Parent-Child Advice, Stress management
Students and teachers are enjoying winter break, and excitement is running high! It is hard to believe we have completed the first four months of school and we are approaching a new year. After the winter performances and class parties are over, we spend time with the people we love to ring in the new year. It’s so important to keep self care in mind throughout this time. One challenge of the holiday season is…
Read More »The whole month of December is always busy. Between shopping, parties, finishing up school, and the usual festivities, the month seems to fly by! Here are 25 ideas for new holiday traditions you can start this year with your family to spread some holiday cheer. Cookie exchange party. Every guest brings a batch of their favorite holiday cookies to share with the rest of the party guests. Go Christmas caroling. Bring along some hot chocolate…
Read More »in Culture, Parent-Child Advice, Technology, Time Management
Studies show that the average teenager requires 9 to 9.5 hours of sleep per night, but she typically only gets 7. It’s becoming more and more common for the normal life of the average American high schooler to interfere with sleep. In a recent poll of 2,000 parents, 1 in 6 said their teen experiences frequent sleep problems, here defined as “having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep 3 or more nights per week.” More…
Read More »Ron Ferguson, an economist at Harvard, has made a career out of studying the achievement gap, which is the well-documented learning gap that exists between kids of different races and socioeconomic statuses. He was surprised to discover that this gap is visible with stark differences by just age 2, meaning kids who aren’t even halfway to kindergarten are already well behind their peers. And yet, there’s a whole body of research on how caregivers can encourage…
Read More »Studies have shown LGBTQ students are more likely to be bullied at school, which can lead to missed classes and a higher risk of suicide. For those kids, a teacher who knows how to be inclusive can make a big difference, but many teachers aren’t sure how to do that. Over the years, gender and sexual identity have evolved, and not everyone has kept up. A Queer Endeavor helps teachers navigate questions like how to…
Read More »The use of multiple choice questions has been derided by educators for decades as incapable of truly measuring understanding. While performance on such exams can be noticeably improved simply by learning a few tricks, the multiple choice question may have a larger, less obvious flaw that disrupts the tone of learning itself. This is a tone that is becoming increasingly important in the 21st century as access to information increases, as the updating of information…
Read More »in Mental Health, Parent-Child Advice, Stress management, Teachers
When classroom tasks get a little too difficult, it’s common for teachers to hear “I can’t do this” from their students. Most at-risk kids have some self-defeating behaviors, including those that result in personal failure, and even students who don’t face extra challenges in the classroom get frustrated. Helping students push past their self-perceived limitations results in the beginnings of success. This leads into a success building upon success behavioral cycle. In order to get…
Read More »A four-year-old asks about 400 questions per day, and an adult hardly asks any. Our school system is structured around rewards for regurgitating the right answer, and not asking smart questions, and as we grow older, we stop asking questions. Yet asking smart questions is essential to find and develop solutions, and an important skill in innovation, strategy, and leadership. So why do we stop asking questions – and more importantly, why don’t we train…
Read More »Starting a new school year can be daunting. With all the changes to your student’s academic life, beginning a new year with a new teacher can be stressful. What do they expect of students? How will they run their classroom? Will their teaching style fit with students’ learning styles? Studies show that children do better in school when parents and teachers communicate often. Here are some tips for communication with your child’s teacher: Introduce yourself.…
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