I recently met with a fifth grader. HIs mother thought I would be the best person to catch her son up so he could be in the top math group. Her son was very disturbed because he was not placed in the highest math class. When asked why that was important to him, he replied,
Kids say the darnedest things. My friend’s granddaughter was excited about her first day in first grade. We’ll call her Suzy for story telling purposes. The teacher was sweet and Suzy loved her immediately. That’s a good thing for a parent who is leaving her child in the care of someone for the first time.
Working with children who have been on-line for a year and watching them transition into the regular classroom, I have witnessed some new challenges for parents. During Covid on-line instruction, parents were pulled into the learning environment more than ever before. Children who were somewhat independent prior to on-line are now demonstrating increased dependence on
If asked, will your child say they are terrible at math or good at math? Would they say they are a good student or a bad student? Do the words artistic, athletic, or creative show up on their list of descriptives about themselves? Or are meth challenged, poor reader, or is clumsy on their list?
At the ripe age of one month or even before, children begin forming ideas about who they are and how they will survive in this world. By the time they enter school, they have already formed opinions about their strengths and weaknesses. They learn this from all their interactions with family, friends, strangers, and all
Believe it or not, your children are not behind anyone or anything. They are right where they should be. Parents everywhere are anxious about being assured that their children are going to be okay. They are going to be okay for several reasons: The children have discovered a very valuable lesson. They can survive a
If you are a parent dreading the start of school you’ll understand this poem that my mom andI wrote about 26 years ago. I sit at this paper and I stare and I think, That homework and those projects Had me right on the brink! The next year’s project-what will it be? A model? A
Starting off the year with a proper mindset will make the difference between a successful year and one that is steeped in challenges. The first place to start is by determining what kind of year students want to have. A beautiful thing about teachers is they allow their new students to start the year with
There is a saying, “When you point a finger at someone else to blame them for what happened, you have three fingers pointing back at yourself.” When I was young and would complain about something a friend said or did to me, my mother would always reply with, “What part did you play in it.”
School doesn’t have to be difficult. With a little inside information about teachers, students maximize their performance, reduce their anxiety, and create a learning experience that supports them like none other. The students will learn their role in learning by getting to know more about the mindset of teachers. Register your student or take the
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.