Where Should 6th Graders Go?

During the 6th grade students go through some major physical and emotional changes. They are learning to be more independent now and the relationships within their family change because of this. It can be hard to know if they are still in the maturity level of elementary school or if they have reached the maturity level of junior high or middle school.

A recent study by Duke University showed that it was not good for 6th graders to be lumped into "middle school". This resulted in lower test scored and an increase in behavioral problems. Some say that 6th graders are not mature enough to deal with the behavior of 7th and 8th graders. They will typically copy the behaviors of the older student but not have the maturity for certain situation. Most are of the opinion that they are just a bit too old for the 5th grade mingling. And most teachers are of the mind that the 5th graders should not be lumped with older students as is the case in some schools where they put 5th through 8th grades together.

This is an odd debate. In some places they have had 6th grade centers where the 6th grade is a separate school of it's own. They all come from 5th grade, get what they need for this crucial developmental year and then get dispersed into junior high school (grades 7 to 9).

Typical developmental milestones of a 6th grader include:

• Appetite fluctuates rather sharply
• May seem disproportionate physically
• Girls may have growth spurts
• Interest in sports spikes (watching or playing)
• Preoccupation with appearance and self image - self esteem easily bruised
• Very interested in bodily changes
• Tires easily, may be considered lazy
• Emotional changes due to puberty
• Can vacillate between seeming mature and immature from moment to moment
• Hard on themselves, very sensitive, may try to hide feelings
• Really needs parental help but tries to resist it as part of becoming independent
• Likes to be "stylish"
• Likes to belong to a group
• Popularity becomes a big deal
• Gets very critical of parents
• Awareness of sexual feelings arises
• Longer attention span
• Becomes very opinionated

Because 6th grade can be a difficult time due to changes in physical and emotional nature it is hard to say that the whole group belongs in one place. Some kids at this age will tend to be much more mature than others so there really is not a "one size fits all" solution to this problem. However, when you look at studies like the Duke University that show what happens when they are put with older teens before they are ready the result is not good. That may be an indicator that the discussion should continue among teachers, parents and administrators so that the best solution can be found.

Pros and Cons of Block Scheduling

As time goes by education reform tends to get better and better and teachers, parents, and administrators are willing to take another look at things to better the education system for our students. While all of the new ideas like modular education, looping and block scheduling are great and may work for some schools it is important to take a look at the pros and cons of each before venturing into them. This post will discuss block scheduling.

Block scheduling or modular scheduling is meant to provide a longer time span for students in each subject. Traditional school days are usually broken into six subjects that are each given 50 minutes. Block schedules can be broken up into man different formats. One school went from a traditional day to having two days a week of traditional days and three days where the students went to four subjects for 80 minutes each. Others may use what is considered a 4X4 schedule. This is where each semester the student only has four classes. So a normal year long class is only one semester long and a semester class is only one quarter long.

Pros of block scheduling:

• Teachers and students spend more time together each day and therefore the relationship can improve and the teacher can really understand and meet the needs of the student.
• Longer class periods are ideal for labs and cooperative learning activities.
• The students may retain more information because they are receiving less new information daily. They can really take the time to grasp the concept presented.
• Overall students have less homework because they have time to do it in class.
• With more time teachers can help students with different learning styles and special needs.
• The longer a teacher teaches in this style the less planning it takes and the more learning can be done.

Cons of block scheduling:

• The schedule can feel choppy and lack continuity.
• When a day is missed in a block schedule is the equivalent of two or more days on a traditional system. This means more make up work and a student can easily get way behind.
• For teachers on the 4X4 schedule they can feel like they don't have enough time to fit in all of the curriculum if a normal semester course has to be done in a quarter.
• 4X4 teachers find it difficult to cover all the information in an AP course for students.

This method of scheduling is so new that there really are not studies to prove one way or the other as far as if this works for students and teachers. As with most things it has both positives and negatives.

Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous

Grouping different students together for learning has been a teaching method used for years. Here we will discuss the difference between homogeneous grouping and heterogeneous grouping in the learning environment.

What is a homogeneous classroom? This would be a classroom where students are all at the same or similar ability level. For example, if you had a whole classroom of gifted students this would be a homogeneous classroom.

What is a heterogeneous classroom? This is the opposite of homogeneous groupings. Heterogeneous classrooms consists of students of the same grade or age but the students are distributed in a way that allows variety.

While it has been argued that there may be issues of division in the homogeneous groupings because it takes one group away from others it has to be pointed out that students should be able to learn more when they are ready for it. Only a teacher who is with the student for hours each week can assess whether or not a student could benefit from these groupings. It should also be pointed out that some students who are on grade level feel more comfortable in classes where their peers are at a somewhat equal level. This enables the student to feel like they can risk answering a question wrong when asked for their answer in a classroom setting, etc.

Pros and Cons of Looping

What is looping?

Looping is when students stay with the same teacher for two to four years. For example, students start 1st grade with Mrs. G. When the students move on to 2nd grade Mrs. G. goes with them. This continues on for up to four years. The foundation of this concept is to give the teacher and student more time together to foster that interpersonal relationship. The teacher is able to really zone in on what the needs of the student are and how to better help them with their education.

What are the pros of looping?

• Statistics show that there were fewer absences and less disciplinary action necessary when students had been in the looping process.
• Students have less anxiety in a new school year because they are familiar with the teacher, the teacher's expectations and the other students in the class. This takes the fear out of the first day of school.
• Learning can be more personalized because the teacher has has more time to get familiar with the student and to work with them.
• The individuals in each class tend to get more support.
• There is a great continuity from one year to the next or subject to subject because the student and teacher are familiar with each the pattern and learning styles.
• Gives the student a chance to have stronger relationships with the teacher as well as other students.
• Studies show that students are more willing to take risks and "think outside the box" when they have done looping.
• Less review at the beginning of the year which means about one more month of actual instruction in new material.
• Teachers know better how to design the following year's curriculum based on their knowledge of the student, their needs and their learning styles.
• Special needs students get more time with the teacher.

Cons of looping:

• There could be a bad match between student and teacher.
• New students may have a hard time feeling like they "fit in".
• Students may get too familiar with each other and that could inhibit the learning process.

Substitute Teacher Requirements

There is an ever increasing need for substitute teachers. According to the Institute of Substitute Teachers at the University of Utah 10% of all teachers, nationwide, are absent each day. This means that there is a need for over 310,000 substitutes daily across the United States. While the average substitute makes $65 per day and pays for their own lunch this is not motivation to do a really great job. However, substitutes are so necessary.

There have been claims that so many days of the certified teacher being absent is to blame for lower test scores. It is most likely very hard to know this for sure but it makes sense. Only one state requires that substitutes be certified.

Some people really love the profession of substitute teaching because of the flexibility. Seasoned substitutes may come up with some tricks that they use or things that they bring to class that they know will keep the interest of or motivate students. Also, substitutes that have been teaching for a while know that it helps to follow the lesson plans, stop any class disruptions as fast as possible, be consistent and friendly, be fair and when possible really get to know the kids on a first name basis if you are a frequent teacher.

Some things not to do when substituting in a class room are:

• Don't yell at the students
• Don't ever threaten or scream
• Don't ignore those that break the rules
• Don't insult the students
• Don't just sit at the desk, get up and move about the room
• Don't touch a student in anger
• Don't be negative
• Don't talk about your personal life
• Don't talk about the students outside of the school setting

Speed Reading

Speed reading is a method of reading that takes some training on the part of the reader. For the most part you could sum this method up by saying that the reader has to avoid falling into sub-vocalization of the words. This is to say that mentally you don't sound out every word phonetically, you strictly worry about the meaning, not the letters and sounds.

The term "speed reading" was born because of Evelyn Wood in the 1950's. Evelyn Wood was a teacher who was very inquisitive as to why some of her students were very fast readers while others were slower. She happened to be doing something where her hand slid across a page and she noticed how her eyes wanted to follow. This is how the "Wood Method" was brought about. Evelyn Wood used her hand as a guide or pacer.

There are pros and cons to speed reading. While you may get through reading something faster and possibly cover more information there is a concern that reading comprehension in speed reading is not as high.

Another method of speed reading is "skimming". We have all probably done this from time to time. You glance through paragraphs just looking for keywords or to just get a glimpse of the gist of the information.

There are several commercial speed reading programs or curriculum on the market today. There is not data to be found as to whether or not one method is better than another. It would be wise to do your own research and figure out what program may work best with your learning style and better fit the needs you have as far as what you are trying to accomplish with speed reading. Different methods or programs may have different areas of focus.

Palm Beach County Florida Curriculum Changes

Last week at a Palm Beach County Florida an astounding number of parents arrived at the longest school board meeting in history. This meeting was over six hours long due to the fact that the majority of parents are concerned about recent changes that have come about in the curriculum of their children.

One major change is to have assessments that their students will have that are worked into the curriculum every two or three weeks instead of quarterly or by the semester. Another concern is that the school board wants to "compartmentalize" the elementary schools. This would mean that the students would go from one room to another just like older students in a junior high school or high school setting. These changes have already been put into effect in every school. There was no regard given to the schools scores or any other criteria or need for change.

One parent started a Facebook page entitled "Testing is Not Teaching". The response has been overwhelming and change in the school district has started to take place as front pages of newspapers cover the story.

This bring to mind a few questions:

1. Do parents know what will work for the children better than school administrators?
2. Are we helping schools evolve? And if we are evolving is it in a direction aimed for success and the needs of the future?
3. What can we do for those students that simply don't test well but may have all the knowledge needed for practical application?
4. Can we really say that education is "one size fits all"?
5. Should gifted children have to do the same assessments as all other students?

The discussion that this brings about could go on endlessly because it is a nationwide concern. We are all worried about things like the No Child Left Behind Act and what it really means for our children. Some think that the schools doing the worst need the federal funding the most so what happens when we take away federal funding? What happens to our students?

Another note is that this is a great example of the power that parents do have to stand up and be heard. Parents need to play a more active role. There needs to be mutual respect among educators and parents. It would be good if they could just agree on wanting what was best for each child and to know that somewhere in their ideas there is a middle ground where the student benefits most and without fail a place where there is a peaceful environment would be better for any child rather than arguing and bickering about exams. This is not to say that the issues do not need to be addressed but we could all take a lesson from the Palm Beach County parents. From my findings, they have acted with true concern, they have been patient and they have tried to be respectful but assertive.

Quest to Learn

Quest to Learn has partnered with The Institute of Play to create a school for grades 6 through 12. This year the school opened it's doors to at least 81 sixth graders. The basis for the school is cutting edge. They believe that games are a great platform for learning. It is the concept of learning by doing. The students literally take on identities in virtual worlds to become any number of things. These could include historians, mathematicians, explorers, scientists, developers, or any great thinkers. They take on these roles and learn to function in them which fosters critical thinking.

This does not mean that the students will sit around playing commercial video games all day long. The games are designed to meet all educational standards if not surpass them. These games are designed to give the student time, space and purpose to figure out complex problems. They are given the tools to succeed in the games but they have to work at it and take feedback from their social group as well as meet complex situations head on.

Some may argue that the "role playing" aspect of this is an iffy topic. But as the school states in it's 10 Core Practices that we all take on the role of student, teacher, developer, gamer, writer, designer and producer. The great thing is that these kids will be taught that these roles in school are directly linked to their roles in life. For those wondering about the "role playing" aspect rest assured that these kids will not be taking on identities that leave them anonymous and unaccountable for what they do whether it is virtual or not.

The research backing this school is astounding. They have studies to show that most kids between 8 and 18 spend more than eight hours per day interacting with some sort of digital media. This is an astounding amount of time. If kids are learning in high school how to put these skills into something marketable that is just a bonus. Starting in 8th grade Quest to Learn will also have kids in college preparation and internships.

This school is located in New York and is publicly funded.

Saxon Math Review

Saxon math is a much studied and critiqued math curriculum. The research that has gone into this program is astounding. Saxon is based on the "instruction, practice, assessment" approach to teaching. This company was founded in 1981 and now includes the math, phonics and spelling programs. Each subject is built on the same principles of instruction, practice and assessment.

John Saxon, the founder of Saxon math, was an Algebra teacher. Saxon noticed that his students at a junior high in Oklahoma were not retaining concepts well so he started writing math problems for them. By 1979 Saxon Algebra was published in two texts. He just kept writing and molding the math concepts to different ages and in 1981 he had 20 teachers test the curriculum. This took in about 1400 students. By the end of the term the Saxon students were solving 2.6 problems for every one of the other students doing another math curriculum.

Saxon math is a well known program and most teachers, parents and students will tell you that this program gets the results that are desired. This may be because of the structure of the curriculum and the fact that it takes a general concept and then takes it apart into smaller concepts so there is a good foundation and understanding of math.

Saxon math is available for Kindergarten through the 12th grades. There are homeschool programs as well as programs for public schools and private schools.

Active Learning

Active learning is a broad term but basically it places the responsibility of learning on the actual student or learner. This became a common education theory and learning style in the 1980's and 1990's. There were arguments made about whether or not this learning included "practice" (promoting cognitive learning). Some said that it was crucial for students to actively engage in practice of the curriculum being taught in order to fully understand. Others ask if you can't learn without practicing.

Bonwell and Eison were the original founders of the active learning concept. They claim that learning is done best when done in pairs. They believe that things like role playing, debating and other forms of cooperative learning are vital. There are those that think that these learning styles are best used after new information is given to a student and not as a way to introduce a new concept.

Active learning can consist of the following:

1. Class discussion - Instructors can guide this forum of learning. The great thing about this type of activity is that with today's technology you can do this online or in a classroom environment.
2. Think-pair-share - Students are presented with information and then given time to think about the new information. Later they are paired or put in a group discussion where they can share thoughts and ideas. When this it done the instructor can listen in and see if the students have assimilated the information correctly. If not, the instructor can clear up any misconceptions.
3. Short written exercise - This can be as little as a paper that takes just a minute to write. This is a great way for teachers to gather whether or not each individual has gotten the correct concept or grasped the knowledge.

Proponents of active learning have concerns about "practicing" when learning. The idea of problem solving has a negative side to it that can make things hard on learners.

Learning By Teaching

At first glance you may think that learning by teaching is as simple as having a student teach another student. However, it is much more complex and here we will briefly discuss what learning by teaching entails.

For hundreds of years people have known that we learn when we teach. This is not a new concept. For the regular teacher of a class this may be a hard thing to let students do as the teacher may feel as though they have had to give up some control. Actually the opposite is true. The regular teacher has to be so in tune with the curriculum being offered that no matter who is presenting it the regular teacher stands ready to intervene and finish the thought, concept or activity that goes with the lesson. It isn't like teachers ask students to do the teaching so that they can have the afternoon off.

The other misconception that may arise is that learning by teaching is the same as tutoring. This is not true. Learning by teaching is actually giving over a lesson of new material to the student and having the student do immense preparation at work so that they can then present the course work to the class on a high level of interaction and discussion. The information should be new so that the teaching student is actually learning something in depth. If the information were old it would be like any one teaching someone else to brush their teeth, none of us would learn something new from this, we would just be modeling a behavior or task. These are very different situations.

There is a model of learning by teaching called LdL by Martin. This began in the 1980's with foreign language. This is a great medium for this type of teaching as are individual music lessons. Martin's method is different from that information above in that he did not believe that new information be presented but that the students be broken up into small groups to discuss and do activities having to do with the lesson.

In these little group you could say that the actual teacher is taking an inventory of what the student's actually know about a concept. They expect everyone else in the group to be absolutely silent while each student takes a term talking about what they know. Unless there are interruptions to clear up the teacher has to stand back and just let the group be. This can be very hard because a teacher may want to interject but that is not what the group is for. The teacher basically becomes a facilitator for group learning.

After a concept is discussed in this manner then a new concept is introduced by the student that is teaching. After the concept is presented the student that is teaching provides time and activities to help the other students memorize the necessary material. Then they are to give the students ample work to do at home. Martin believes that the homework is a necessary component in reinforcing what was learned.

No matter the method used in learning by teaching it is just common sense that we all have opportunities to prepare material and activities and then to present such things to our peers. This is priceless experience for students. Then the student has not just thoroughly learned a new lesson but they have preparation skills, public speaking experience, and other great experiences that are just as key as the lesson material itself. It is also good for all students to accept the fact that a peer can impart new information or ideas. It is just a way of showing respect to others.

Kinesthetic Learning

Kinesthetic learning is a learning style by which students learn through movement. This differs from those learners that can sit and listen to a lecture or just see or read about a concept and grasp it. About 15% of the population are kinesthetic learners. Most of us however, learn best if we are able to use auditory, sensory and visual learning all in one. Most people have a dominant learning style but we all use every style.

For instructors it can be easy to get in a rut where they only teach in one learning style for the most part. This can be very hard on the students so it is a good idea for teachers to purposely try to integrate all teaching styles into their lessons.

If you suspect that you or one of your students is a kinesthetic learner here are a few of the traits that you may see:

• can't sit still for a long period of time, needs to get up and move
• most likely good at sports
• role playing is fun, handwriting is not
• likes martial arts, dancing, gymnastics
• has to take several homework or study breaks
• does better studying or learning in short blocks
• does well learning in labs, field trips, hands on
• studies well with others

To help accommodate these tactile learners you can try some of the following in your curriculum:

• role play, skits, performance
• get up and move or dance
• build models
• use different colors and textures in presentations
• provide balls or clay for use
• use scented markers, stickers or something for cross sensory
• get up and stretch periodically

Classroom Management

Maintaining some sense of order in a classroom can be very difficult. It is not easy to take so many students with different personalities, behaviors, and preferences and put them into a room together and make the learning environment suitable for each. Here are just a few ideas on things you may want to consider when thinking about classroom management.

Classroom arrangement - How do you set up the desks in your classroom? Is it working for the students? Until recent years we were all used to setting up desks in rows and now we set them up in circles, squares and any other way to help cooperative learning. The key with classroom arrangement is to keep students away from each other that are just bound to have problems together or who have proven in the past that there are problems.

Organization - If a teacher can flow from one subject to another like from math to English with fluidity then there is less time for the students to become unruly or disengaged. This works great for the elementary school student but for high school students teachers really have to have their time management skills honed. They must learn how to flow from one concept to the next without skipping a beat and giving a lull for the class to get out of hand. This does not mean that being prepared will make all problems disappear but it does make it easier. Having your curriculum well prepared will make a lot of difference.

Rewards and consequences - If you set the tone early in the year that the is zero tolerance for certain things such as violence, bullying of any kind, cheating, or vulgarity (just to name a few behavioral problems) then there is less likely to be a problem. You need to set clear guidelines and let the students know what behavior is expected and if that bar is not reached, what will then happen. The key here is to follow through without fail.

Supplies - It is best at any grade level to be sure that you have the school supplies necessary and on hand for whatever you will be doing in class on that day. Being prepared ahead of time will help keep the chaos low and the learning in order.

Visiting the parents of each of your students before the around the first of the year or even throughout the year may help with discipline problems. If parents and teachers are united in the educational efforts of the student, the student tends to take their own education more seriously.

Update on Flu Vaccinations

The flu (influenza) is a respiratory illness that is very contagious and caused by the influenza viruses. Sometimes the illness is very mild but at times it can lead to death. The best way to prevent the flu from spreading is to get your seasonal flu shot. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention claim that each year anywhere from 5% to 20% of the population gets the flu. More than 200,000 people every year are hospitalized due to flu-related illnesses and/or complications and about 36,000 people die from flu related reasons. The people at the highest risk are the elderly, young children, and people with specific health conditions. The CDC warns that this year could possibly be the worst year we have seen because of the new strain of flu called the H1N1 flu.

Seasonal flu symptoms include fever (sometimes high), headache, fatigue, dry cough, sore throat, stuffy or runny nose, body aches, and stomach symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea (these stomach symptoms are more common in children than adults).

The seasonal flu spreads from person to person through coughing and sneezing. At times it is spread by touching something that has the infection. People with the virus are contagious even if it is before symptoms begin or after they are gone.

The best way to prevent the flu is to get a seasonal flu vaccine. Other prevention tools according to the CDC are: Avoid close contact with those who are ill. When you are ill, stay home and stay away from other people. Cover your mouth and nose. Use a tissue when you cough or sneeze, dispose of it and then WASH YOUR HANDS. This is a huge key. Germs are spread when you touch something contaminated and then touch your eyes, nose or mouth. Get plenty of rest, exercise, nutrition and fluids. Stress prevention is also a great tool.

It is very wise for all children from 6 months old to 19 years to get vaccinated. The CDC says that this is one of the major groups of people who should definitely get this vaccine. Some cases of the flu start going around in October but most hit around January. If you have not yet gotten seasonal flu vaccines for your children or yourself it is not too late. But, you may have to call around and put some effort into finding a place that has the vaccine available.

For H1N1 the largest "target groups" that need the vaccine first are (according to the CDC): Pregnant women, people who live with or care for infants 6 months old or younger, health care providers, people 6 months old to 24 years old and people 25 to 64 years old who have medical conditions that may put them at a higher risk for complications due to H1N1.

All public school are advocates of these vaccines for students and teachers alike. If you have children in any kind of school setting you need to consider finding a vaccination location and getting your kids what they need to fight off these viruses.

Verbs

In this post we will talk about the basic types of verbs. The English language has three basic types of verbs: action verbs, linking verbs and auxiliary verbs or helping verbs.

Action verbs:

An action verb is an action that can be done by a person, place or thing. This can be physical or mental actions.

Alan says he is going to New York.

The dog barks when vehicles drive by.

To be sure if a word is an action very ask yourself if it is something you could do? For example: Todd jogs every weekday. Ask yourself if you can do each word. Can you Todd? No. Can you jog? Yes.

Linking verbs:

Linking verbs tie the subject to the rest of the sentence. These are often different forms of "to be".

Kathy is a sweet lady.

The new car could be a Dodge.

More often than not a linking verb describes the subject of the sentence. In our two examples the linking verb connects the subject to the definition of the subject. For example the first sentence defines Kathy as a "sweet lady".

Here are a few of the various forms of "to be" that can work as linking verbs. Am, are, be, is, can be, were, shall be, has been, have been, would be, being, was, could be, has been, should be, would have been, should have been, could have been, will have been, shall have been, have been and will be.

Auxiliary verbs:

Auxiliary verbs are often referred to as "helping verbs". These words appear in front of action or linking verbs.

The shy girls are sitting at the table together.

You could have been working tonight.

There are many types of auxiliary verbs in our language. Here are just a few of the words that often act as helping verbs. They can also act as action or linking verbs in different sentence structures. Can, could, may, might, must, would, shall, should, will, had, has, and have.

If you want to be sure if a word is a auxiliary very or a linking verb you would just look to see if the action verb immediately follows the "to be" verb. If it does then it is an auxiliary verb, if not it is a linking verb.

Students learn about verbs early on in their school curriculum. However, in the early elementary school grades verbs are simply introduced as "action" words. For more educational tools on verbs you can visit the following:

The Verb

Verb Worksheets

Homophones

Homophones are words that are spelled differently but pronounced exactly the same. Thus, they have different meanings as well. If a two homophones are spelled the same they are considered to be both homographs and homonyms. This can be seen in the following sentence:

The bear could not bear to be hungry any longer.

These words are phonetically the same and spelled the same but they are not anything alike in meaning. Not all homophones area spelled the same but as shown above, they can be. Many scholars of the English language will argue about whether or not to call this a homophone or a homonym. The meaning is basically there, it is really a matter of opinion on the technical aspect of things. For most educational purposes between kindergarten and high school the term homophone will suffice.

Homophones are great in word games and word play. It is great fun trying to solve different puzzles that may have a play on words or a pun. In these games you will often find multiple word homophones. These are technically considered oronyms. Some examples are:

ice cream I scream

depend deep end

stuffy nose stuff he knows

two lips tulips

These can make great exercises for students to get their brains to think in a whole new way. Word play can provide hours of entertainment and a lot of laughter. No matter what grade you are teaching you can have fun by implementing homophones into your curriculum.

Driver's Education

Driver's education was designed to help new drivers so that they have more training than what they get from a state manual on driving. Beginning drivers need many hours of practice in a car, discussion about driving and the responsibility that it comes with and more hours of lessons. Simply handing them a manual and telling a 16 year old that they have to pass one multiple choice quiz to get a license is a scary thought.

Some high schools still offer a driver's education program. However, due to budget cuts nationwide, there is simply not enough funding for most schools to keep these programs alive. When this is the case, parents have to find their own way to make it so that their student gets the necessary training to not only meet state standards but to know that their child is responsible enough to be entrusted behind the wheel of a car.

Here is some information on programs that you can find online:

DriversEd.com offers online training in most states to help you get the educational hours you need for your state standards. Once you get these hours you will be ready to obtain a learner's permit and start gaining some driving hours. Hands on experience with a responsibly party are key to success. With DriversEd.com you get all the online training for just $300.

DMV.org (not an official government site) - This is an information packed site that shows you your state requirements, practice tests, online driver's education, traffic school solutions and more. They offer information on insurances and driver records.

DefensiveDriversEd.com - A site geared for all states to help you obtain a learner's permit or driver's license. You do your course work all online in an exciting interactive way. DefensiveDriversEd.com guarantees that you will pass the test! The fee involved for most states is under $100 but it all varies on location. The site is very upfront about the cost which makes it very nice.

No matter it you do a local driving school or online training you will know that you are an educated driver and that buys peace of mind. Just make sure you meet all of your state standards, don't trust an independent company to tell you the state requirements, get them directly form your Department of Motor Vehicles. Once a teen has a license parents may want to put a parent contract pertaining to driving in place.

Changing Schools

If you are moving, a switch in schools for your student is inevitable unless you are moving right within the boundaries of their current school. If you are leaving the area it can be even more intense for the student because they will have no access other than electronic methods or snail mail to get in touch with old friends.

Here are a few suggestions to help make the transition between schools easier for your student:

• Realize that wherever you are going that you have options. You are not just stuck with whatever school your boundaries decides on for you. You can always ask for an exception or choose a charter or private school for your child. For example, if your child is very gifted in one area and a certain school will foster that gift better than another you may want to consider using that school regardless of whether you live in the boundaries or not.
• Talk with your student about the change. If they haven't switched schools before you may want to talk about what they can expect and also ask them what they would like to get from the new school.
• Take a tour of the new school. Get the student familiar with the surroundings and possibly where the classes they will be attending are located if possible.
• Meet teachers when possible. Your student will be much better off if they have at least a few familiar faces when they go to the new school on the first day.
• Talk to you student about the trials that they may face and give them some coping strategies with how to face these issues.
• Find your student's niche. If your student is musical be sure to get them into some music classes. This will give them a built in peer group with similar interests and help them to feel like they have a place of belonging.
• If you sense that your student will have a difficult time you may want to meet with a school counselor on your own to find out how the school and you can help meet the needs of the student.
• Keep as many things consistent in your home life as possible during this time. Children of all ages thrive on routine, familiar surroundings and solid family life.

Moving to a new school is not an easy thing for students. Be patient and understanding and always be on the look out for risky behaviors. You don't want your child to slip through the cracks and have their needs go unnoticed. You can make a big difference in their experience if you will engage in conversations and be proactive.

Volunteering at School

Studies show that children do better in school and have better self esteem when they have parents who volunteer at their schools. Most teachers and school staff beg for the help of parents. There are many things that parents can do when volunteering at a school. Teachers and administrators will have great ideas to utilize your time wisely. Here are a few tips to help you successfully volunteer.

1. Get to know your student's teacher. Get to know the schedule at school and look at things from the stand point of what you can do to help out. Talking with the teacher will give you great ideas. Most teachers are very receptive to parent involvement.
2. If you are financially able you can ask the teacher or school what supplies may be needed to help out and provide them if possible. Even if you just ask the teacher if there is a day that you can bring a certain snack it would most likely be very welcome.
3. Get involved in your local PTA. Reach out to other parents and network on behalf of making your school a better and safer place. There is always room for improvement and everyone should get involved.
4. Be at school functions. Make sure you are involved in back to school nights, book fairs and other school events. If possible see how you can volunteer and help organize these events. All of these great occasions are to your child's benefit so be there.

As we stated before, your teacher and other school staff members will have great input to how you can most effectively give you time to the school.

Choosing a Tutor

When people start having children they never foresee certain problems. We all just assume we will have happy and healthy children that will go to school and do well. Sometimes we miss the signs that there are even problems because we aren't sure what to look for. Before we go into what to look for in a tutor we will briefly touch on when to think about a tutor.

When you may need a tutor:

• Progress slows in one or more subjects.
• The student has a learning disability that keeps them from grasping concepts in a reasonable amount of time.
• The student is not confident in their abilities at school.
• The student has behavioral issues or medical issues that get in the way of their education and need some extra reinforcement of educational concepts.

How to go about getting a tutor:

1. Talk to you child and let them know that you think a tutor is necessary. Be sure to explain why but help your child realize that it isn't because they are inferior as people. Kids need to understand that EVERYONE struggles with different things at different times in life. Getting help in no way makes them less than anyone else.
2. Approach the student's teacher and/or school administrators to discuss where the child is in their education and what help is needed. The teacher or staff may have great ideas on who can tutor the child and best fit the needs.
3. Be sure to check out the tutors references and credentials. You do not want just anyone spending such one on one time with your child. You also want to be sure that the tutor is competent in the subjects that need to be addressed.
4. Be clear about your expectations to the tutor. You need to be reasonable but if the tutor knows what you expect it can help keep some misunderstandings from cropping up.
5. Ask the tutor if they are available for appointments when the child is ready to learn, not tired and restless.
6. Let the tutor know that you will want to observe some of the tutoring that goes on. If they are uncomfortable with that for any reason let it be a red flag to you and move on to another tutor.
7. Ask the tutor how they measure progress and how they will keep you informed.

Head Start Programs

The Head Start child development started in 1965 with the goal of serving low-income children and their families. In the 2006-2007 program year there were 1,071,697 children and pregnant women enrolled in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. 976,150 in Head Start and 95,547 in Early Head Start according to the National Head Start Association.

Head Start is an early childhood development program that is very comprehensive. Studies show that the benefits for kids and families that take part in the Head Start program include increased earnings, employment, family stability, less welfare dependency, lower crime, less grade repetition, and less special education. Simply by reducing crime, society gets a huge pay back from contributing to the Head Start program. This point is made because 80% of Head Start funding is from the federal government and then 20% comes from local agencies, private donors and others.

Parents who participate in the program are found to have greater life satisfaction, better coping skills, less anxiety, depression and illness. The children participating in Head Start and Early Head Start are 8 percent more likely to have all of their immunizations. It is clear that there is a high rate of success in this program, not just for the children but for the families as a whole. Research tends to reveal that the families function at a higher rate than those low income families that do not partake of the program.

There has been a debate since the Bush administration about changing the funding from the federal government over to the states. The National Head Start Association points out that there is most likely not enough funding at the local and state level to support such programs. The fear is that because of local and state funding the number of children and families served in the Head Start program would be reduced dramatically and then the progress made in recent years would dissipate. The other fear is that there are not the means or infrastructure to oversee such a widespread program and the children would suffer for it. The argument is made that Head Start programs in general provide a more comprehensive and higher quality programs than their state funded pre-k programs. If the states take over the funding it is likely that that due to lack of funding they will not be able to afford the same quality of teachers and that the outcome of the children will be what suffers.

Brainstorming

In 1953 a great group creativity technique known as brainstorming came to be when Alex Faickney Osborn wrote a book called "Applied Imagination". Osborn's theory was that more ideas could come about more efficiently if people would brainstorm or put their ideas on together to get more creative.

There is no scientific evidence that brainstorming will or will not help generate ideas and at times, if not monitored, groups can become too social and lose sight of what they are focusing on. However, with that said, brainstorming can produce some great things as well. When groups get together to put ideas together it can boost morale, enhance an educational or work experience, and promote team work.

For a teacher it is important to remember a few key points when you break students off into groups for brainstorming or problem solving in general. These are:

• Focus - You want the group to solve the problem and to do it as well as possible. Communicating this to your students is key. You don't just want a lot of solutions but you want the students to take their solutions and see how good they can make them while working together.
• No negativity - When you have students in a group situation and you want everyone to feel like they can share ideas or thoughts you absolutely do not want criticism. It should be stressed that there are no bad ideas, but take the ideas and improve upon them to make them all that they can be. This helps students lift one another, work together and ultimately raise self esteem.
• Strange is not bad - Just as you express to students that there are no bad ideas make sure they know that thinking outside of the box is welcome. Great innovators do not think inside of the box and we should foster a student's creativity as much as possible.

A teacher can present the problem, give the student all the information necessary, carefully choose which students will be in which groups and possibly give them a foundation of where to start by asking questions or posing ideas. There are many ways to go about brainstorming so be sure you are clear to your students.

Some subjects that this is good for are things like history. You can give students a historical situation and ask them what a leader could have done and what the outcome would have been. You can ask how many different solutions there were to different historical issues and what the end result would have been if different roads would have been taken. When talking to teens about life situations brainstorming is good. Research has shown that if you do situational brainstorming and have teens come up with ways to handle different scenarios they are more likely to follow through in a like manner. This is great for teaching kids to say no to drug use, underage drinking, sexual promiscuity and other negative behaviors.

Massachusetts Failing National Standards

On September 16, 2009 the Massachusetts Department of Education put out a letter regarding the status of it's yearly progress. Overall the students seem to be stepping it up but the bottom line was that 54% of schools were in need of "improvement, correction action, or restructuring". This is up 4% from 2008 which is alarming. Considering that a schools has to miss the bar four years in a row to be considered in need of corrective action (according to No Child Left Behind) that is a long time to be on a downward slope when you think of how many years a child is in any specific school.

Still, the Massachusetts Commissioner of Education, Mitchell Chester, seems very positive with their results this year. They had one school in Brockton that was up for restructuring and the school has shown major improvement and may be off of the list for improvement in another year. Chester is of the mind that the schools are doing well but with the benchmarks being put higher every year the progress that the schools make never seems to measure up to new standards.

This raises the question about what can be done on a national basis about schools meeting the criteria set by the No Child Left Behind act. Massachusetts has always been seen as a great state for education, right now 937 statewide do not meet all the criteria. Makes one wonder where the problem lies. Public schools and charter schools are basically having the same issues, one does not test better than another.

This past year 378 schools were up for restructuring and so there were changes made to school administration, staff, curriculum and more. It's hard to say if this is a federal or a state problem. The No Child Left Behind act wants all students proficient in English and Math by 2014. However, they leave the meaning of "proficient" up to the states to govern. It could be then, that Massachusetts has set the bar for their proficient score a tad too high and is having trouble reaching it.

The saddest part of all of this is that because of varying expectations and the constant need to require more of students, the success of the students is not being appreciated.