Many of the back-to-school tips available are targeted towards teachers, but it’s essential for students to have a great support system in place at home as well as in the classroom. The more informed your family is by asking your child’s teacher questions, the more seamlessly students can transition from summer to school. Below are some questions parents can ask teachers to better clarify what is happening in the classroom. Some of these questions may…
September has arrived, and the feeling of fall is in the air. With the changing of the season comes the opportunity to put in place some back-to-school habits that can help your children build their literacy skills. Here are four practical ideas to help your family kick-off the school year. 1. Keep Up With a Reading Log Many schools request children to read at home several times a week. Even if the school does not…
We live in a world of screens, and in this digital age full of so many devices and distractions, it’s become one of the things parents worry about most: How much time should kids spend staring at their phones and computers? When it comes to technology use, what’s the right balance between privacy and self-discovery? Research continues to provide answers on how parents are navigating this world with their children. A recent study that looked…
In practice, proficiency-based learning can take a wide variety of forms–there’s no universal approach! The following principles of proficiency-based learning describe the common features found in the most effective proficiency-based systems, and can therefore help teachers and schools learn how to best understand and utilize this method. All learning expectations must be clearly and consistently communicated to students and families. This includes long-term expectations like graduation requirements and standards, short-term expectations like learning objectives for…
According to social scientists, a mindset based on self-doubt leads to two common coping mechanisms among children and young adults. The first is called “self-handicapping,” which is when students underperform as a way to shield themselves from the psychic consequence of working hard yet doing poorly. The other is “subjective overachievement,” which is taking heroic measures to guarantee a successful outcome, and attributing that success solely to effort. The overachieving variant of self-doubt is common…
As young children begin to take notice of gender equality and the differences in social expectations for gender roles, the ways in which their teachers interact with them become more weighted. These interactions also create long-lasting effects in other areas of their lives, at times limiting their self-image and their perception of the opportunities that are available or appropriate for them. This trend is especially apparent in the shortage of women who pursue education and…
Imagination is what drives all creativity in our world; it enables clear thinking and inspires our sense of humanity. Imaginative play comes naturally to children, but it’s a habit of mind that needs to be taught and reinforced later in life. While imagination is vital to a clear mind, it’s not something that’s widely taught or understood, especially among older students. In a 2007 study of prospective teachers, 68% said they believed students needed to…
Look up from this screen right now. Take a look around. On a bus. In a cafe. Even at a stoplight. Chances are, most of the other people in your line of sight are staring at their phones or other devices. And if they don’t happen to have one out, it is certainly tucked away in a pocket or bag. But do we truly have a technology addiction? And what about our kids? It’s a scary…
It’s safe to assume that high school students would probably cherish a little extra sleep in the morning, but did you know that studies show that starting school later for teens is actually healthier for them? Sleep experts have determined a shift in sleep cycles (circadian rhythms) in recent studies. This shift begins in adolescence and makes it more difficult for most adolescents to fall asleep as early as younger children or older adults. Typical…
I’m sure most, if not all, teachers can think of at least one student that was defined somewhere along the way as unreachable. The struggles of children who are challenging (often victims of exploited communities, neglect, and abuse) are so heartbreaking and extreme that as professionals, teachers need to share their stories and vent their feelings. It is equally important, however, for them to build from there, and for that they need awareness of and…
