Math Memorization...

As an educator, it is a mystery as to why some students learn the basic operations much more fluently than others. I will, however, say that some of these processes do need to be drilled in order for children to show automaticity in that skill.

My own experience with math stems from my ability to create a vivid mental picture of what the problem looks like. For some reason, because of my own internal pressure to be "good at math", I would lie in my bed, look up at the ceiling and paint the numbers and operations in my head. I would sit up and write what I remembered on a blank piece of paper to see if it was correct. I was lucky - at seven years old I realized that I tricked myself into learning something that many others had memorized.

When children need to learn something, whether it be math or spelling or the names and capitals of states and countries, they need to discover their own personal and unique way of learning. For me, it's a skill that I share with my students and feel very passionately about. When you find it, you'll never want to give that Secret of Memorization away.

Instead of focusing on the "what" focus on the "how" of learning. We'll always need to learn something new - whether it's an appliance that you just purchased or a new teacher that your child has to encounter. It's your job to help yourself learn how to commit these things to memory.

Common Core Sore

I've been asked by people both in and out of my circle about the Common Core Standards. The Common Core Standards are a set of objectives that the Department of Education has mandated that all states follow to strengthen the position of the United States as it attempts to earn back it's place in this global competition. What I have discovered in the last few months are rather disturbing.

Many States Are Not Ready To Implement the Common Core

I've done my research and have been extremely disappointed at the fact that despite these standards have been put in place for several years, many states have not prepared for the implementation of the rigor and difficulty of the new standards. In Georgia, I've noticed a few passive attempts to "talk to the public" about these new standards, but it's been nothing more than a mere whisper to announce that they are going to integrate these standards by merely posting the standards in the classroom....

Publishers and Book Companies Do Not Know How To Address The Common Core

When we had the CRCT, EOCT in Georgia, it was fairly easy to understand how to teach various objectives to students. As we have migrated to Common Core, the task is to teach this new generation how to think "critically". Over the last few years, I have yet to see publishers compile the ideal set of resources to help students achieve this goal. Curriculum developers are struggling to do this which results in poorly written books, study guides and materials that lack in the content needed to help students, school staff, and parents with better test goals.

Teachers Want To Teach, But Are Lacking The Support

As a professional, the most important aspect that can attribute to success is being prepared. The fact that many of these professionals are being given standards without a blueprint to reference really bothers me.

I've done research and have noted that many school districts in every state have been given the directive to establish benchmark assessments and leveled questions that will address these standards. The fact of the matter is, the reason why your teacher may be struggling teaching your students is because they do not know what to teach. 

What Can Be Done?

Let's face it, children are struggling in school. If the expectations are not presented properly, it will be difficult for them to perform at any level. I am unsure as to how long it will take for the various school districts and states to follow through on their promise to help students "reach for the top", but until that happens, I would not wait for your child to fail.

As a company, we've made certain that we have the resources and materials to help each student access the information that they need in order to be confident and successful in their educational endeavors. Months have been spent aligning our services and products to make sure that we have everything that we need so that every minute we spend working with the student yields the best results. It's something that we have seen tremendous results in - and has attributed to the success of many who have called on us.

The Back-To-School Daze

10 Tips to get you child's mind back on track

As students begin their "Back to school" routine, their minds still traverse in a state of disarray, struggling to engage into the educational environment filled with academic expectations but still in the “summer mode”. 

By week 3,  I begin to see parents take drastic measures when the first series of performance assessments start rolling in. I’m embarrassed to say that I've see it all: parents begin by removing privileges, placing students on restriction, having students write essays on the effects of laziness and disrespect. Some of the funnier, and more unorthodox methods such as removing the child’s bedroom door or installing a series of video cameras in their room or website tracking software on their laptops either deters or exacerbates these behaviors otherwise known as “Delayed Academic Achievement Daze”. 

The sad thing is, it doesn't have to be that way for many of our students. Here are 10 tips to get you students focused and “back in the game”:

10. Set a Routine

Some of the best parents that I have encountered keep check lists. Believe it or not, students crave check lists and want to feel accomplished when they come home. Before school starts, begin with a simple check list that will leave them feeling proud out loud!

9. Don't put too much on their plate in the first month

Being Supermom or Superdad will make you SuperStressed. Give students a light load and focus on what is important. Allow them to ease into the school year with traditional activities that focus on duty before fun. Yes, encourage play outside, but make sure that you have enough time to get your academics in. If you put too much on their schedule, other activities like sports or recreation may overwhelm them and take away time from what they need to learn.

8. Remove Distractions

Television and video games are great (and a necessity in some households) however, these should be turned into privileges and not hindrances to what they need to do afterschool. Kids need to learn that leisure occurs after they have worked. (Yes, that means that video game time should be earned, not given). Think of it this way - your children do not see Daddy playing video games for two hours before he goes to work, right? As a family you should be committed to the routine of preparing for what activity/obligation is to come. Practicing the mindful art of preparation, centeredness and focus as they prepare for school week will help them enjoy their highly deserved fun-filled weekends (and not take you for granted).  

7. Be the director, not the actor!

You are in charge, and must learn how to delegate the responsibility of having your child learn how to think, act, and care for themselves. Your role is to serve as the best role model you can be and to encourage these behaviors from your children.

6. Small steps towards big rewards

Do you remember how hard it was for your children to learn how to color within the lines? Well, their development is even harder to contain within the lines.

Regardless of what goals you set for your children (both stated and implied), it is vital that you celebrate those little milestones to help them understand their full potential. If it’s something as simple as saying, “I am so proud of you for starting your homework on time” or, “You are growing up to be such a responsible little man by putting your play clothes in the hamper”, those words will not fall into deaf ears for your children who love to please mommy and daddy.

5. Do Summer Learning - Student's who engage in academics over the summer are more likely to transition more easily into the school year. Plus, they won't have as much summer learning loss to contend with. (Learn More about Summer Learning)

4. Encourage positive behaviors

Don’t bribe, threaten, or bully your kids when they don’t act in the way that you want them to behave. Serve as a testament for how you want them to live your life.

My mom would tell me little things that I remember to this day that I share with my clients. Whenever I went shopping and was in the dressing room and did not like the clothes that I picked up, my mother would always say, “Be a good citizen and put things back. Be respectful of the people and the world around you.” It sounds much better than, “You are a slob!” doesn’t it?

3. Inspect what you expect

So, you want your children to be respectful children who will be model citizens in the community. If you do not know what types of shows they watch or the company that they keep, it will be hard to see where some of the negative behaviors they had picked up came from. If you do not have time to observe the quality programming that they are watching Monday - Friday (and if you think that all television shows that have children in them are wholesome, think again. These shows encourage intolerable behaviors that would constitute a one-way ticket to restriction prison). then maybe it would be prudent to give them only a half hour to watch while you are in close proximity. The same goes for play dates, sleep overs, and movie outings.

2. Check their homework daily

Ask if they understand what they have just completed and have them show you that it’s done - CORRECTLY. If my parents actually opened up my subtraction folder from 2nd grade, I think that they would have said that they brought home the wrong baby from the hospital (To this day, I only know subtraction through addition.. go figure!).

LASTLY... 

1. Get yourself an educational manager, someone who can help you with the many aspects of learning both academic and intellectual. 

Learning Ridge is one of the few companies who focus on a holistic approach focusing not only on the subject and grades but on the student as a whole.

JATP Private School Admissions - 8 kids admitted into the same school?

2013-2014 is the year that I thought that I had it all figured out. My clients started early to get their students into their dream school and we came up with plans, schedules, and more plans. Before I looked up, I thought that it would be impossible to accomplish this feat. We had charts and time lines and deadlines and then.. the letters.

If anyone knew what needed to be done during those last few months I would have won a Nobel Peace Prize for Parental Humanity. I enjoyed every minute working with these potential private school students and visualizing them enroll into the school of their choosing. It's hard when you work with so many different clients and have to keep things in perspective. Some clients would have sleepless nights thinking of what agenda each school had while other clients blissfully would send me a screen shot of their acceptance letter. The best feeling that I had this year was when I calculated all of the students that I had and sorted them into the schools that they were accepted into. My last count - 8 kids enrolled into the best private school in Atlanta! (That was just one school, there were too many to count this year.)

Thanks to all of my clients that trusted my advice, my feedback, and my direction. I told many of you that it would all work out and it did!

False Sense of Success During the Honeymoon Week in School

It's the first week of school and other than the late bus ride home, parents are elated at the thought that their children are happy to be at school.

You breathe out a sigh of relief as your child jumps out of the school bus and says that they just love school. What most people do not realize is that the first week is called "the honeymoon period" and some schools have indoctrinated to each of the teachers that they want children to feel good about the process.

I like this idea - maybe for a day. I think it might even be a better idea to start the school year with an assembly and introduce the teachers as the rock stars that they are. I know that in Europe the Kindergarten students are given gifts by their parents to give them a sweet taste in their mouth as they embark their journey into the halls of education. I started at a private pre-school and my parents took the cutest picture of me in a white uniform and a really pretty pink ribbon in my hair. School was everything and anything that I wanted it to be, but after this week - that is when reality sets in.

Parents who have children in programs for remediation or who have needed tutoring in the past to help close the gap wait weeks or even months before they call for help. It sounds like they want to do their child a favor by waiting to give them the assistance that they need but what ends up happening is that their child falls further and further behind. They forget how to approach problems because they have spent the last 12 - 20 weeks doing anything but studying. It's not a good practice, but I see this happening each and every year.

If you are a parent that has had problems in the past with your child learning the concepts during the school year, remember - Early Intervention is the Key!

Motivation and Achievement

Growing up in a big family, it's ironic that I spent the majority of my time alone. I was the middle child lodged between my older brother and my younger brother, seven years older and younger respectively. It was hard for me to relate to their "play styles" and even more difficult for me to compete with them. At the end of the day, I was left to observe the world and understand things without an explanation.

Late this week I watched a movie pertaining to a fictional depiction of the Spelling Bee. As my husband briefly went over the synopsis with me, I whispered to him that I was the runner up for the Spelling Bee when I was in 6th grade. My husband then asked me, "who helped you, your mom, dad, brother?". I laughed out loud and said, "What? Nobody helped me with that! Everything that I had learned up to that point was accomplished by me."

Then we watched the entire movie from start to finish. If I had told my younger self what I had seen in that movie, I think my younger self would have the same look of disdain that I had that evening. I had to ask, "Why do you need to study or even be coached to do something like that?" or "That's cheating!" would be my response. Everything that we had worked for when I was in school was through our own "blood, sweat and tears". We always did things independently and the only assistance that we would give ourselves would be peer assistance.

The reason why I mention this is that I've noticed that some parents push their kids to do things that they may not want to do. Sometimes it's to be the best at a sport that they hate or to be first chair in an instrument that they may not even like. It bothers me to no end to see children being busy for the sake of being busy. There is no purpose for what they are involved in and it seems that the busier the children are, the smarter that they are perceived to be.

When I spoke to a parent early last week, she asked me if  I thought it would be a good idea for her daughter to spend a few hours a week learning how to use an abacus. A monkey can use an abacus - if you want your daughter to imitate a monkey I guess that would be a good idea but I personally have my own opinion about what a child should learn. The smartest of my clients use calculators, I am trying hard to find a reason why your child would need to learn how to calculate things rather quickly. If you are going for a world record, or if there is a scholarship in school for some abstract skill - then go for it. (I was a Business Scholar at the age of 16, my two brothers and my niece were on Music Scholarships, and my grandfather was multilingual (four languages by the age of 21). The hardest part of being a parent is learning how and what to prioritize - focusing on quality versus quality and acknowledging the strengths and the weaknesses of your children.

My father knew best. At 19, I was discovered by a talent scout that wanted me to be signed on by an agency to become an actress. I was motivated at the time to embark on this career. I came home to tell my father and without blinking his eyes he said, "This will be a bust. Did you forget that you have stage fright?" I was definitely blind-sighted by the statement and went on to audition and realized that when there was a room full of people I would begin to freeze. Dad knew what I was great in (helping people in private) and knew what I should stay away from.

If you are a parent, learn more about your child and what your shared goals are before you commit them to anything. It's important for you to understand and respect them as your children and they will in turn respect you.

Knowing How To Say “No”

It seems simple, your child makes a request that you think is not worthy of an affirmative response. “10 more minutes of television please” or even “I want to have candy after dinner!”. It seems implausible but when I glance over at parents - I see that they have been abated into parental abandonment and emotional torture when their own children are unable to take “no” for an answer.

How Can You Say “No”

From the person who cleans the floor, to the individuals at the top of the corporate chain, the word “no” is something that they need to deal with and overcome. What would happen every time someone objected to an idea that Bill Gates had and he started screaming at the technology professional? Or if the young man who asked for a raise after 2 years of loyal service left to go to a competitor? The world would not be a very happy or productive place if people could not understand that certain things have certain answers.

As a great parent, I encourage you to help your child understand why a certain response is put in place. When delivering the message - it is important for your child to understand why you must not yield to their whims. 

For example: “I’m sorry, you can’t have that extra scoop of ice cream because we need to save some for the next time we have dessert” would be a good way to pacify your child when they are looking for more food. If your child is screaming at the top of their lungs wanting a toy that you think is beyond their toy budget, tell them, “We have a certain amount set aside for your toy budget sweetheart. We need to save for other things that you want and need such as food, clothing, and your activities that you like so much.” Help your child understand what the reasons are for the disapproval on their childhood request form, a not not just “No”.

Why You Should Learn To Say “No”

This will definitely help as your child learns to regulate their emotions and manage expectations that they have of you, and the rest of the world. Think about it, your role as a parent isn’t to make them happy at every moment of their life, but to prepare them for the life that they are about to live under your guidance. Understanding how to deal with adversity and the simplicity of things will result in a happy, more self-reliant young adult.