|
0 Comments
Parent tip of the Week #101: How to recall previous learning once you are home from the schoolday10/19/2018  How well have you learned your child's personality? Can you talk about their likes and dislikes, whether they are a morning or night person? Their coping mechanisms for fear, anxiety, or trouble? How they most feel joy or pain? How they show love? Getting to know your child's personality is important all the time, because as they grow and learn more about themselves and really grow that identity, it will change!
People’s personalities change as they grow up. Sometimes people’s personalities change because of experiences they have, and sometimes because they work hard to change their personalities. Knowing your child can change the things they don't like about themselves is important, and you can support these changes. Ask your child to describe his or her own personality. Describe for your child how you’ve seen his or her personality change, and the good things you see in it now. One of the key foundations of Math in the 21st century is that students need to make sense of problems and persevere in solving them. Being good at math is not a matter of getting the answer correct and quickly. That sort of Math is foundational, and kids need to know their facts, but will only help them for so long, and will not help them with problem solving unless it is a very easy problem. How students think about Math, persevere in a problem, and work through it is just as important as knowing their facts. When kids encounter a sophisticated math problem, they need to develop a plan of attack. They then need to carry out the plan. Then they need to check the plan and see if it was accurate and efficient. When students struggle through this, they learn more! Students that they can build intelligence by using new approaches and strategies, trying new things, and working through difficulties. The understanding that they can strengthen their brains, and that can help them achieve more in school and in life. Tell your child about a time you had to learn something new. Explain whether it was hard to learn and how you learned it. Ask your child if there’s anything he or she would like to learn to do this year.  How much do we talk to our kids about goal setting? I know at my house, there is often such a rush between meals, homework, activities, playing outside, and chores. I am hoping to do a better job with my own boys talking to them about goals and reaching those goals. I also want to know a lot more about their goals. This coming week in Second Step during middle school advisory at Kelvin Grove, students are talking about goals. They will learn an effective strategy for achieving goals, because we see our students often aren't sure how to go about their goals, other than simply naming them. They will practice breaking big goals down into small, simple steps and creating plans for how to take each step. I think there are several ways we can begin to help with this at home. Think of a time you achieved a big goal, such as learning to drive or graduating from school. Tell your child about your goal and how you achieved it, and ask your child to tell you about a goal he or she has. Make comparisons and contrast your goals with thiers. Make the conversation about the both of you and your goals. Good luck with goal setting this week!  Not all books are worth reading, and I certainly could not agree with everything in "The Coddling of the American Mind". But I did like very much the advice the author gives for lessons we might teach our children about how to be happy and successful as adults.
The author includes 3 ideas to be "happier, healthier, stronger, and more likely to succeed in pursuing your own goals."
Our jobs as teachers will be much easier if parents partner with us in encouraging these principles. In continuing to talk about how we help all students to learn, regardless of their income status, regardless of the employment status of their parents, regardless of their class, we want to highlight the ways in which Milne and Kelvin Grove make sure these children learn! Last time we talked about how schools in which the teaching and learning is driven by high academic expectations for all students do better. These classrooms are characterized by conversation, inquiry, and collaboration. Today I would like to focus on what this looks like in our classrooms.
Students in classrooms with conversations excel. Sometimes I walk by a classroom and one of our teachers will explain to me why it is so loud. sometimes they are worried I will not like the volume. I always reassure them that this is the sound of learning! Our teachers tell each other to turn and talk, they have debates, and they ask questions. Ask your stduent tonight what kinds of questions they asked today and what kinds of conversations they had with their classmates. Students in classrooms with inquiry learn more. Students in our schools aren't just told what to write down are what the answers are. They notice. they wonder. They discover. Our children are capable of making great discoveries and talkking about their learning in way s that help make it solid. Ask your children what they have discovered this week at school. For more about inquiry learning, click this button. Every school has a group of kids who are living near the poverty level. Some schools have more than others. Our schools have about 38% of our students living near the poverty line. We do not label these students, we don't treat them poorly because of it. But we do want them to succeed and we do go out of our way to support these students, regardless of how well resourced their homes are.
There is no silver bullet to helping students who live in poverty learn more. We call it closing the achievement gap, and there is no easy way to do this. But in the next couple of posts, I want to highlight the work we do at Milne grove and Kelvin Grove to make sure the gap doesn't get any wider. To make sure students from poverty learn just as much as students from homes where there are more resources. Before I highlight this weeks strategy, I want to point out that students who live in poverty are infinity diverse, and by no means do we believe their homes are similar or can be generalized by blanket statements. We do believe that parents know what is best for their children, are doing their best, and we continually partner with all parents to ensure we are also doing what is best for children. We believe all our children are very capable and so are their parents! Our strongest strategy for closing the learning gap is making sure we have high expectations for all our students, and especially for our students who need to close that gap faster. We believe that high expectations are best expressed through high-order learning activities that give students high level skills. We know that the research shows students who have access to higher level learning are surprisingly less likely to drop out than their peers. It just shows that children elevate themselves to our expectations. If our expectations are low, so will their growth be. If our expectations are high, out growth will be too! Getting Along With TeachersThe Benefits of Getting AlongSure, it's good to get along with your teacher because it makes that time you spend in the classroom more pleasant. And yes, it's good to get along with your teacher because, in general, it's smart to learn how to relate to the different types of people you'll meet throughout your life.
But really, there's one super-important reason why you should get along with your teacher. Kids who get along with their teachers not only learn more, but they're more comfortable asking questions and getting extra help. This makes it easier to understand new material and do your best on tests. When you have this kind of relationship with a teacher, he or she can be someone to turn to with problems, such as problems with learning or school issues, such as bullying. As a kid in elementary or middle school, you're at a wonderful stage in your life. You're like a sponge, able to soak up lots of new and exciting information. On top of that, you're able to think about all this information in new ways. Your teacher knows that, and in most cases, is thrilled to be the person who's giving you all that material and helping you put it together. Remember, teachers are people, too, and they feel great if you're open to what they're teaching you. That's why they wanted to be teachers in the first place — to teach! Some kids may be able to learn in any setting, whether they like the teacher or not. But most kids are sensitive to the way they get along with the teacher, and if things aren't going well, they won't learn as well and won't enjoy being in class. What Does "Getting Along" Mean?"Getting along" means you and your teacher have a way of communicating that works for both of you and you both are getting what you need from the relationship. From your teacher's perspective, he or she wants to make sure you are paying attention, being respectful and polite, and trying your best to learn. From your perspective, you want a teacher who is respectful to you, answers your questions, and tries to help you learn. In every school, kids will say certain teachers are mean or tough, but don't judge a teacher until you are in his or her class and can see for yourself. In the majority of cases, your teacher is on your side. And a teacher who's called tough may be someone who feels strongly about getting his or her job done — teaching you the subject you are supposed to learn. It's also important to remember that making mistakes is a part of learning. By pointing out your errors and helping you correct them, a teacher is teaching you. What If We Don't Get Along?Teachers want to get along with you and enjoy seeing you learn. But teachers and students sometimes have personality clashes, which can happen between any two people. If you show your teacher that you want to make the situation better, he or she will probably do everything possible to make that happen. By handling a problem like this, you learn something about how to get along with people who are different from you. Take these steps if the problem seems tough to solve:
In a business relationship, both parties get something out of the relationship, but don't necessarily need to be good friends or like each other a lot. They simply need to respect one another, be polite, and stay focused on the job at hand. In other words, they need to "get down to business." When you act this way, and remember that you're not the only kid in the class, you are helping your teacher. Your teacher is likely to notice this and appreciate it. Teachers also like it when students follow directions and when they learn and obey the rules of the classroom. For instance, there may be rules about listening when another student is talking, or about taking turns, or about raising your hand when you want to say something or ask a question. What Are a Student's Responsibilities?Even if a certain teacher isn't your favorite, you can still have a successful relationship, especially if you fulfill your basic responsibilities as a student. Here are some of those responsibilities:
Some teachers make such an impact that their students never forget them. Some former students may even go back to visit the teacher long after moving on to a higher grade or another school. Maybe you've seen these older students visit a teacher at your school. That's a real compliment to the teacher — that he or she was so special the student wants to keep in touch. And there's an even higher compliment you can give a favorite teacher: Grow up to become a favorite teacher yourself! Reviewed by: D'Arcy Lyness, PhD Date reviewed: August 2013 |
AuthorErin Holland is the Curriculum Coordinator at Lockport 91. Archives
October 2018
Categories
All
|
RSS Feed
Copyright 2016. All Rights Reserved.