Digital and social media exposure makes our children vulnerable to the manipulation of others. Can our children recognize the one most powerful strategy used to persuade? Our grandparents and parents may have used it to convince us we should comply with their wishes. WHAT IS IT? Children become empowered to protect themselves, when they
I love this question. Children do not realize there are many ways to read. Each reading method is determined by the purpose of the text. Excellent readers often read in phrases. In a sense, they are scanning the page and drawing conclusions about what they think they are reading. This is fine when reading for
I’ve been asked, “What skills will be more important today that are no longer taught, that were once taught years ago.” Without hesitation, I know that the Socratic methods used by Socrates are essential today. I would say more important than they were during his time. Why? Our students are barraged by information and are
I receive questions like this from middle and high schoolers, as well as college students. Frankly it has come up too many times in my practice the last year. These students are not alone, yet they think they are. Why is performance waining? I can speak to this myself. I was able to make it
Question of the Day! Questions About Reading Comprehension I have received the following questions many times over my 50 years while teaching gifted children: “Why does my child do so well on math testing and perform so poorly on math word problems?” “Why does my son reads at a fourth grade reading level, but performs
It’s hard for students to get their needs met from their teachers if they don’t know how to ask for help. Those who have the courage to ask for help may ask it in a way that can be frustrating to their teachers. “I don’t get it!” are words that send shivers up the spines
“Why does my daughter beat herself up because her twin’s talent is in math and he can do it easily while she struggles. He constantly corrects her?” asked a mother of gifted children. To answer this questions we need to do the following: Examine the power of beliefs formed at an early age. Examine our
I was at a book fair and overheard a kindergartner ask the librarian, “What’s that?” She replied, “That’s a penny.” Then he asked, “What’s a penny.” The question was shocking at first, but made sense because this child never handled a penny. He only knew that the dollar bills in his hand were what he
Labeling children can often be more destructive than helpful, and can prevent us from discovering the real reason behind the behaviors being manifested. I recently heard a fourth grader I am homeschooling in math and language referred to as being ADD. His supervising teacher said, “I’m sure you already have noticed signs of ADD.” I
Working with procrastinators for over 48 years has been very telling. Some procrastinators are simply over scheduled and lack time-management strategies. A good number of procrastinators put off hard things. They will avoid those tasks that take more mental energy, while others hold deeply rooted secrets that interfere with the ability to complete tasks on
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.