Ms. Dorothy,
We have had a problem with thefts at my daughters school-- from backpacks, to coats, to snacks out of her lunchbox. I have written her name on EVERYTHING she takes to school, but this still isn’t working. I know I’m not the only parent at the school who has had problems with this issue. What can I do to make sure my kid’s stuff stops getting stolen!?
- Concerned Mom
It's always good practice to put your child's name on things. Very often children will mistake one lunch box for another, and a name helps to get things back to the original owner. If this is a problem that is occurring throughout the school, be sure to bring it to the attention of the administration so that it might be addressed school-wide.
When it comes to your daughter, think of this as an opportunity to establish and affirm your values about property. Talk about how full and rich her life is, and how she will never want for anything that matters. Help her to understand that people who fear the loss of things sometimes give themselves the right to take from others. How lucky you are to know your child will never be the one feeling so neglected that she steals to fill her needs.
Pack her an extra snack to give away. Bring the jackets she has outgrown to school. When she gets a new backpack for the new school year, donate the old one.
Your participation as a volunteer and PTO member will give you a great avenue to brainstorm ways to address the problem with the school community.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
How can I prepare my child for starting school?
Labels:
culture,
exposure,
kindergarten,
learning,
preschool,
readiness,
reading,
styles,
support at home,
writing
Ms. Dorothy,
My daughter will not be able to enter kindergarten this year because of cut-off dates, and I can’t afford a preschool program to keep her learning until she can start school next year. What suggestions do you have for teaching her at home? She can count to at least 20, and knows all the letters and sounds, she is really ready to read & I just need to know what to do to keep her moving forward. Can you help?
- Mom of a 4 year old
She is so well prepared already for kindergarten! I commend you for wanting to continue working with her. There is no harm in having her ahead before she starts school.
One of the best things you could do for her would be to take her out and give her some cultural experiences. Going to an Art or Science museum would be so enriching, and many provide free days or sponsor cultural events in the community.
One of the best ways to get her to move into reading is by getting her started writing. Have her draw pictures and tell you the story . You can “publish” the stories as little books, and practice reading them with her.
Most of all, have fun! The concepts she learns through playing will be the foundations of all her later learning .
Sunday, November 21, 2010
How can I help my child fit in at school?
Labels:
cliques,
differences,
friends,
insecurity,
peers,
positive,
socializing
Ms. Dorothy ,
My 8 year-old daughter is having a hard time fitting in at school. Her class is full of cliques and she just hasn’t found her niche yet. There are many days that she ends up sitting by herself at recess. I have encouraged her to smile, to be kind, and if nothing else works, be content playing on the monkey bars by herself. Nothing is working! What can I do to help her “fit in??”
-Worried Mom
Your positive attitude and faith that she will eventually find her niche and fit in is her strength! Keep believing in her and encouraging her to be good with being on her own!
The thing about cliques is that they are typically made up of children who have something in common. It may be something very superficial, but there is something about themselves that they recognize in one another. Insecurity is what makes cliques exclude anyone who they don't see that trait in. The best approach is often through that insecurity.
One way she may be able to approach other children is by having that knowledge. Ask her to look for what the unifying thing is about a group, what it is that they think they all have in common.
It is important to remember that we make friends one relationship at a time. Breaking into a clique is about making one friend. Once she figures out what she has in common with one person, the problem will fade.
How powerful it will be when, in time, she reaches out to include the little girl she sees sitting alone on the playground.
My 8 year-old daughter is having a hard time fitting in at school. Her class is full of cliques and she just hasn’t found her niche yet. There are many days that she ends up sitting by herself at recess. I have encouraged her to smile, to be kind, and if nothing else works, be content playing on the monkey bars by herself. Nothing is working! What can I do to help her “fit in??”
-Worried Mom
Your positive attitude and faith that she will eventually find her niche and fit in is her strength! Keep believing in her and encouraging her to be good with being on her own!
The thing about cliques is that they are typically made up of children who have something in common. It may be something very superficial, but there is something about themselves that they recognize in one another. Insecurity is what makes cliques exclude anyone who they don't see that trait in. The best approach is often through that insecurity.
One way she may be able to approach other children is by having that knowledge. Ask her to look for what the unifying thing is about a group, what it is that they think they all have in common.
It is important to remember that we make friends one relationship at a time. Breaking into a clique is about making one friend. Once she figures out what she has in common with one person, the problem will fade.
How powerful it will be when, in time, she reaches out to include the little girl she sees sitting alone on the playground.
Saturday, November 20, 2010
How can I assess student learning?
Ms. Dorothy-
I have three students that I work with. They are home-schooled and are in 7th and 8th grade. They are taking the work seriously, and do a great job meeting all the criteria of the assignments. I'm just not sure that the information we cover is really being learned, or if they have just gotten really good at taking tests. Is there a difference? I need some way to grade them for what we do that is fair, and I want to be sure I'm measuring what I think I'm measuring. What do you think?
- Middle School Teacher
Finding out how much of what you've taught is really owned by the students is so different from counting how many questions were answered correctly on a test!
I think that completing an assignment well has to be about more than having accurate spelling and grammar, or even a well structured argument. To me, producing something for a teacher is about pleasing one person, and usually the person who has already directed you in how they wish to be pleased.
Justification is a powerful critical thinking skill that changes assignments from something you have to do to something you have to stand behind. I don't think it is possible to present your knowledge of a topic to an expert on that topic unless you have truly gained some mastery of the content.
If a student writes a paper about the plight of the black-footed ferret I would expect that student to present this paper to people who are interested in black-footed ferrets, and be convincing to someone to whom ferrets matter.
When it is done right, the authentic audience evaluates your success or failure in achieving your curricular goals.
I have three students that I work with. They are home-schooled and are in 7th and 8th grade. They are taking the work seriously, and do a great job meeting all the criteria of the assignments. I'm just not sure that the information we cover is really being learned, or if they have just gotten really good at taking tests. Is there a difference? I need some way to grade them for what we do that is fair, and I want to be sure I'm measuring what I think I'm measuring. What do you think?
- Middle School Teacher
Finding out how much of what you've taught is really owned by the students is so different from counting how many questions were answered correctly on a test!
I think that completing an assignment well has to be about more than having accurate spelling and grammar, or even a well structured argument. To me, producing something for a teacher is about pleasing one person, and usually the person who has already directed you in how they wish to be pleased.
Justification is a powerful critical thinking skill that changes assignments from something you have to do to something you have to stand behind. I don't think it is possible to present your knowledge of a topic to an expert on that topic unless you have truly gained some mastery of the content.
If a student writes a paper about the plight of the black-footed ferret I would expect that student to present this paper to people who are interested in black-footed ferrets, and be convincing to someone to whom ferrets matter.
When it is done right, the authentic audience evaluates your success or failure in achieving your curricular goals.
Friday, November 19, 2010
How do I get my class to behave?
Ms. Dorothy -
My class is very talkative and uncooperative. Every time I turn around, they are chatting again. I have set up so many different reward scenarios where they earn something for doing something consistently, but they don't want anything badly enough to actually stick with it. What do I do? They like having lunch with me, and they like having extra recess time, but they won't behave enough to earn it. It just seems to be getting worse, and we are losing so much learning time! What can I do to change their behaviors?
-Discouraged 3rd grade Teacher
Your impulse to reward them for positive behavior is a great one, because setting up punishments will only exaggerate the student-vs-teacher feeling that an uncooperative class has.
It sounds like they like you, but perhaps they don't see you as an ally yet. I'm also wondering if there is some important issue or underground dynamic in this group that requires a lot of discussion that you might be missing.
What if you were to give them something they are interested in before they give you the behaviors you want?
Invite the class to have lunch with you. Make it fun and call it a classroom restaurant day. Free them from the cafeteria, sit and chat and socialize with them. See if you can catch on to what it is they are spending so much time talking about. Join the discussion and offer time in class to talk further as a group about what is consuming their attention.
Learning to communicate clearly, to listen to one another, to agree or disagree respectfully, to contribute to a discussion, to weigh opinions and seek compromise are all important skills to learn in 3rd grade. Does it matter if you provide the content for a Socratic seminar or if they do?
This is valuable learning, so don't think of it as "lost" teaching time. Teach the skills of discussion around their issues and provide them a means for bringing topics to the group.
Try using a notebook with some rules about no individual names or put downs. Let them go and write topics for later discussion in the notebook.
Once you establish those positive structures, you can negotiate with them for more time on other content. "If we can focus and finish this math now, we will have more time to set up the room for a restaurant lunch, or for a class issues forum."
Sometimes getting the reward first and expecting the behaviors to follow works to establish in their minds that you want them to have the reward, and it removes the feeling that it is an empty promise.
My class is very talkative and uncooperative. Every time I turn around, they are chatting again. I have set up so many different reward scenarios where they earn something for doing something consistently, but they don't want anything badly enough to actually stick with it. What do I do? They like having lunch with me, and they like having extra recess time, but they won't behave enough to earn it. It just seems to be getting worse, and we are losing so much learning time! What can I do to change their behaviors?
-Discouraged 3rd grade Teacher
Your impulse to reward them for positive behavior is a great one, because setting up punishments will only exaggerate the student-vs-teacher feeling that an uncooperative class has.
It sounds like they like you, but perhaps they don't see you as an ally yet. I'm also wondering if there is some important issue or underground dynamic in this group that requires a lot of discussion that you might be missing.
What if you were to give them something they are interested in before they give you the behaviors you want?
Invite the class to have lunch with you. Make it fun and call it a classroom restaurant day. Free them from the cafeteria, sit and chat and socialize with them. See if you can catch on to what it is they are spending so much time talking about. Join the discussion and offer time in class to talk further as a group about what is consuming their attention.
Learning to communicate clearly, to listen to one another, to agree or disagree respectfully, to contribute to a discussion, to weigh opinions and seek compromise are all important skills to learn in 3rd grade. Does it matter if you provide the content for a Socratic seminar or if they do?
This is valuable learning, so don't think of it as "lost" teaching time. Teach the skills of discussion around their issues and provide them a means for bringing topics to the group.
Try using a notebook with some rules about no individual names or put downs. Let them go and write topics for later discussion in the notebook.
Once you establish those positive structures, you can negotiate with them for more time on other content. "If we can focus and finish this math now, we will have more time to set up the room for a restaurant lunch, or for a class issues forum."
Sometimes getting the reward first and expecting the behaviors to follow works to establish in their minds that you want them to have the reward, and it removes the feeling that it is an empty promise.
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