I was asked the following question: “What are the best practices to help children overcome obstacles and challenges they face in their educational journey, and how can we create a more inclusive education system for all children, regardless of their social background?” by Qusmano Kind I have an easy answer. We need to place more
I was asked,” How important is parent and teacher communication?” My answer will surprise you. “Not as important as student to teacher and child to parent communication. I believe we need to teach children the Art of Self-Advocacy“ When students learn how to be self-advocates, communication between parent and teacher is less important. Reasons for
For years parents have been concerned that their children were bored in class. Parents responded beautifully to their children’s cries of boredom. They allowed their children to fill their time with video game playing. Parents began filling the afternoons with all sorts of organized activities. Teachers rallied to fill the empty space with creative activities
Checking in with students about their goals and how they feel they are doing is crucial to help them maintain their mental health. Hundreds of students are suffering silently, because of they have perceptions of how they should be performing. They are questioning if they can maintain their current level of performance. The stress of
After a few years of working with third graders I had an epiphany about the perceptions held by underachieving students who lacked confidence, or students who demonstrated negative behaviors. I was discovering an alarming number of students with poor self-images who were very capable students. As the demands on kindergarteners shifted from developmental learning to
The start of school is exciting. Students love getting new school supplies and can’t wait to start writing on the fresh pages with hopes of a better year. The first weeks are designed to be easy to help students settle in, but then the novelty of the new supplies wanes as the placement testing begins.
Turn on the television, open the newspaper, or magazine and notice the ads. What are all advertisers doing to get your attention. They use a time tested formula that sells products. 1. They point out something to be fearful of like rashes, aches and pains, male patterned baldness, female facial hair, or weak bones in children. 2.
You can’t get where you want to go if you don’t know what it looks like. Start your children on the road to success by preparing them for a great year. A little visualization of an end of the year report card is where I would start my students every year. Try this with your
VANS shoes is a nationally recognized brand. It is no accident that a man named Paul Van Doren created such a recognizable brand without even a high school education. The education he received came from working and observing from a very young age. As a child of the 1930’s, he experienced scarcity. No indoor plumbing
That is a question. The pendulum swings continually. Every year I dealt with parents whose only wish was that their children be in the high reading and math groups. I am a huge proponent of grouping for a variety of reasons, but only appropriate grouping. If the purpose is to push a child so they
Victoria is an educational consultant, nationally recognized speaker. Her over 50 years in education has been focused on developing resilient self-reliant self-advocates who know how to tap into their innate ability to independently solve challenges.