Archive for the ‘Child Development’ Category
August 21, 2012
It is interesting to read that after shelving their policy of holding students back, schools are starting to revisit the notion of making students repeat the year.
Whilst I’m not an advocate of such a policy and up until now research seems to suggest if anything, it will do more harm to a child than good, I am open to it as an option. There is simply no point moving certain children up a grade. It is unfair to a child to be promoted to a grade based solely on psychological impact rather than academic necessity. I wonder whether the past research has proven so negative against the notion of holding back students because most schools do not have the support structure to make such a move accommodating and palatable for children.
The shift in thinking has come about, partly because recent research into this area has been far more supportive of retention policies:
Thousands of third-graders may have a sense of déjà vu on the first day of school this year: The number of states that require third-graders to be held back if they can’t read increased to 13 in the last year.
Retention policies are controversial because the research is mixed for students who are held back, but a report published on August 16th by the Brookings Institution suggests that at least for younger children who struggle with reading, repeating a grade may be beneficial.
The report, which examined a decade-old retention policy in Florida, was authored by Martin West of the Harvard Graduate School of Education. He argues that “the decision to retain a student is typically made based on subtle considerations involving ability, maturity, and parental involvement that researchers are unable to incorporate into their analyses. As a result, the disappointing outcomes of retained students may well reflect the reasons they were held back in the first place rather than the consequences of being retained.”
West comes to the following conclusion:
“Retained students continue to perform markedly better than their promoted peers when tested at the same grade level and, assuming they are as likely to graduate high school, stand to benefit from an additional year of instruction.”
There is no doubt that the psychological impact of the child should be our number one priority, but I believe that good, supportive schools can help effectively transition children to make repeating a year a far more positive experience.
Click on the link to read Teaching Children to Deal with Embarrassment
Click on the link to read What our System Does to Children Without Attention Spans
Click on the link to read Lessons Children Can Learn from the London Olympics
Click on the link to read A Class Full of Class Captains
Tags:Are there benefits of repeating a year, Brookings Institution, Brookings Institution report, Children, controversial policy of holding children back, Grade Retention, Is there benefits in holding a child back for a year, Martin West of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, outcomes of retained students, Parenting, repeating a grade may be beneficial, Repeating Grades, Resaons for holding back a child at school, research is mixed for students who are held back, Retained Students, Retained students continue to perform markedly better than their promoted peers, Retention policies in schools, School Retention Policies, Students Held Back, Students who are held back research, The benefits in Making Students Repeat the Year, The stigma of being held back a year., younger children who struggle with reading
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August 13, 2012
1. It is never over until it’s over. Don’t drop your shoulders and certainly don’t give up. It isn’t over until the final siren has rung.
2. Natural talent isn’t enough. Dedication and practice is vital to performance.
3. It is preferable to choose mascots that don’t give children nightmares.
4. Jamaican’s are pretty fast!
5. The difference between winning and losing is sometimes only properly understood with a knowledge of decimals.
6. Handling disappointment is part of the test of a true athlete.
7. The equestrian sport known as “dressage” is best viewed in very short doses.
8. One day we will be making “most embarrassing parent in the grandstand” an Olympic sport.
9. You don’t need to have legs to be an Olympic sprinter.
10. If you are going to throw a bottle onto a sporting field make sure you’re not sitting next to an Olympic medalist in Judo.
Click on the link to read Teaching Children to Deal with Embarrassment
Click on the link to read Misplaced Lego is Often Found in the Strangest Places
Click on the link to read Explaining the Colorado Movie Theater Shooting to Children
Click on the link to read A Class Full of Class Captains
Tags:Being humble in victory, Dealing with disappointment, Dealing with Parents, Decimals and the Olympics, Education, French athlete Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad bad sportsmanship, Jamaican's are pretty fast, Lessons learnt from the London Olympics, Managing failure, Olympic mascots, Resillience, The importance of practise and preparation, Websites for teaching children about the olympics
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August 9, 2012
Looks like the calories in movie popcorn isn’t the only reason to consider passing on the traditional cinema treat:
Movie popcorn has often been criticized for its high calorie count, but now the tasty treat may harm more than just your waistline.
A recent study has found that diacetyl, an ingredient in popcorn responsible for its buttery flavor and smell, may be linked to Alzheimer’s disease, UPI.com reported.
The scientists said they focused on the substance, because it has already been associated with respiratory and other health issues in workers at microwave popcorn and food-flavoring factories. According to UPI.com, diacetyl is used in other products such as margarines, snacks and candies, baked goods and in some beers and chardonnay wine.
Tags:a defense which prevents harmful substances from entering the brain Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/08/popcorn-ingredient-found-to-be-linked-with-alzheimer/?intcmp=trending#ixzz22y2fX, an ingredient in popcorn responsible for its buttery flavor and smell, baked goods and in some beers and chardonnay wine, blood-brain barrier, Center for Drug Design at the University of Minnesota Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2012/08/08/popcorn-ingredient-found-to-be-linked-with-alzheimer/?intcmp=trending#ixzz22y2ZHFOu, Chemical Research in Toxicology, diacetyl, diacetyl is used in other products such as margarines, food, Health, Movie popcorn, Movie popcorn high calorie count, Nutrition, Popcoen chemical Alzheimer’s disease, popcorn linked with Alzheimer’s disease, respiratory and other health issues in workers at microwave popcorn and food-flavoring factories, Robert Vince, snacks and candies
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August 7, 2012
Why is it alright for children to be tone deaf at music or fail at sport but it’s not acceptable for children to struggle to maintain concentration?
Why do educators believe that if you easily lose concentration you have a disability that must be fixed. Remember, these are the same teachers whose minds wander during professional development sessions and who stare into space during staff meetings. Yet, when their students gaze out the windows while they’re teaching a maths skill – it’s time to get the child assessed!
Talk about hypocrisy!
Teachers are obsessed with fixing the attention spans of children. They call for hearing tests, speech analysis, psychological examinations, occupational therapy sessions, language disorder checks and if you are really unlucky start the ADHD ball rolling.
Do they ever consider that children are not all meant to have endless attention spans? Just like every child can’t draw a landscape, every child cannot sustain a 20 minute mat session. What is it with mat sessions anyway? When is the last time a teacher tried to sit on a floor without so much as back rest to lean on for an extended period of time? It’s unbelievably uncomfortable! Yet you get teachers complaining all the time about children not sitting still or failing to pay attention. Try paying attention when your back feels like it was just hit by a rolling pin!
And have teachers ever contemplated that it might be their dry and boring style of teaching and their failure to properly communicate to children that has their class zoning off completely? Worksheet dense, talky, stagnant lessons result in inattentive students – guaranteed!
So a recent study shows that children with better concentration spans have a better academic success rate. In my view this study tells us more about the way we teach than the virtues of concentration:
Toddlers who are better at concentrating, taking directions and persisting with a game even after hitting difficulties have a 50 per cent greater chance of getting a degree when older, a two-decade long experiment found.
The study tracked 430 kids from pre-school to 21-years-old, monitoring academic and social development, behavioural skills and behaviour at home and in the classroom.
Parents were asked to watch how long the children would play with one particular toy while at home, while teachers were instructed to give the class a task and then monitor which toddlers gave up and which ones kept persevering until they had completed it.
Results of the study by Oregon State University were published in the online journal Early Childhood Research Quarterly.
Tags:ADHD, attention spans of children, Child Development, Children and attention spans, Children and concentration, Concentration and disability, Education, hearing tests, language disorders, mat sessions, Parenting, speech tests, stare into space during class
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August 7, 2012
Cleaning up after a Lego session can be an intricate task. Often there will be a piece or two hiding somewhere you least expect. But one place I haven’t looked for Lego is in a child’s nose:
Isaak Lasson can finally breathe easy after three years of sinus problems.
The cause? A single wheel-shaped Lego piece that he got stuck up his nose back when he was 3.
At least that’s what his dad, Craig Lasson, said he thinks. His son started having a hard time breathing back then.
“I felt so bad,” the father told KSL-TV. Isaak “was sleeping with his mouth open, trying to breathe.”
Numerous doctors looked at isaak’s nose and prescribed antibiotics.
But last week, a new doctor noticed that Isaak seemed to have something foreign stuck up his schnozz and asked what it might be.
“I put some spaghetti up there, but that was a long time ago,” Isaak told the doctor, according to KTLA-TV.
But it wasn’t pasta that was up Isaak’s nose, just a ball of fungus encasing a Lego wheel.
“We think he bent it in half — it’s pretty flexible — and that it opened up once it got into his sinuses,” Isaak’s father told reporters.
Although Craig Lasson momentarily worried he was a bad parent for needing three years to figure out the Lego problem plaguing his son’s sinuses, he said he is happy that Isaak is eating and sleeping better than he has in years.
Click on the link to read The School Campaign Against Milk
Click on the link to read Teachers Should Stop Blaming Parents and Start Acting
Click on the link to read The Benefits of Reality TV on Kids
Click on the link to read Study Reveals Children Aren’t Selfish After All
Tags:a Lego wheel, Child had Lego piece up his nose for 3 years, Children, Craig Lasson, Education, Health, Humor, Isaak Lasson can finally breathe, Isaak Lasson Lego, Lego problem plaguing his son's sinuses, Lego stuck up his nose, News, Parenting, sinus problems, wheel-shaped Lego piece
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July 27, 2012
How did milk suddenly become public enemy number 1?
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a national vegan and physician group based out of D.C., has filed a petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking for milk to be banned from school lunches, according parenting site BabyCenter.
According to the report, PCRM claims that the beverage is “…high in sugar, high in fat and high in animal protein that is harmful to, rather than protective of, bone health.”
Despite the American Heart Association’s recommendation that children between ages 1 and 8 drink around two cups of reduced-fat milk a day, the PCRM asserts in its petition there are better ways for youngsters to get their calcium.
“Children can get the calcium they need from beans, green leafy vegetables (e.g., broccoli, kale, collard greens), tofu products, breads and cereals. Additionally, a wide variety of non-dairy, calcium-fortified beverages is available today including soy milk, rice milk and fruit juice, all of which provide greater health and nutritional benefits compared with dairy milk.”
Click on the link to read Teachers Should Stop Blaming Parents and Start Acting
Click on the link to read The Benefits of Reality TV on Kids
Click on the link to read Study Reveals Children Aren’t Selfish After All
Tags:American Heart Association, and milk, Anne Goetze, banning milk from school lunches, Childhood Obesity, Education, Health, Is milk bad for kids?, Is milk bad for you? Is milk good for you?, Lunch Box, Milk In School Lunches, Milk In Schools, national vegan and physician group, News, Parenting, petition with the U.S. Department of Agriculture asking for milk to be banned from school lunches, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
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July 27, 2012
There is a new philosophy which has surfaced in many schools. It is driven by good intentions but is unlikely to reap any rewards.
This philosophy maintains that every child is a born leader. Just like every child has the potential to contribute to society, so too, every child has an innate, yet untouched, ability to lead.
This line of thinking has inspired schools to appoint many different leadership positions such as class captain, house captain, prefects etc and rotate these positions, thereby giving every member of the class a chance to assume a leadership role.
What could be wrong with that?
Two things.
Firstly, what is the point of offering leadership positions if they are going to be devalued by being handed out to every member of the class, regardless of their abilities? Isn’t the whole point of these positions to honour children that have a long and distinguished record of setting a good example and working hard? What is the point of having a class captain if the person taking on the role has a record of misbehaviour, truancy and possesses a poor work ethic?
Secondly, who says every child can be a leader? This is simply untrue. Most people are not leaders – they are followers. True leaders are very rare – just look at some of our lackluster politicians! Appointing certain children in leadership roles will not only not work but will most likely put an unfair set of expectations on children that neither asked for, nor earned such responsibility.
The notion that we should aspire to be leaders is something I find very troubling. I believe we should all aspire to be caring, considerate, respectful and hard working. If we are not a leader, that is fine. We can’t all be leaders, just like we can’t all be good at drawing or playing sport.
Schools that are trying to turn all their students into leaders would be better served trying to turn their students into good citizens.
Click on the link to read Kids Don’t Need Gold Stars
Click on the link to read Experts Push for Kids to Start Driving at 12
Click on the link to read Kids as Young as 3 are Getting Tutors
Tags:Class captain, Education, Followers, Giving every child a prize, House Captains, Leaders, Leadership in schools, Prefects, Rewarding kids for no reason, School Captain, School Rules, Student Leaders
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July 3, 2012
I love this research. I am a proud daydreamer – always has been, always will be.
Daydreaming has the capacity to drive teachers insane. In my day it lead to bad reports and vicious lectures. Nowadays it often leads to recommendations for an ADHD diagnosis and the resultant daily dosages of Ritalin.
Well, throw those blasted tablets in the rubbish bin. Daydreaming is here to stay:
Daydreaming could help children concentrate – and even perform better in tests, researchers claim.
The children also feel less anxious and more motivated to perform, according to a review of studies on the value of time to reflect.
Education should focus more on giving children time to think, claim researchers at the University of Southern California.
Research indicates that when children are given the time and skills necessary for reflecting, they often become more motivated, less anxious, perform better on tests, and plan more effectively for the future.
It is also important in helping us make sense of the world at large … and contributes to moral thinking and well being.
Tags:ADHD, Child Development, Concentration, Daydreaming is good for you, Dayfreaming helps you concentrate, Dr Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Education, News, ournal Perspectives on Psychological Science, Research into daydreaming, Ritalin, Schools, Teachers, University of Southern California
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July 3, 2012
Twelve year-olds can’t even make a bed. Why we would trust them behind the wheel beats me:
The Confederation of Australian Motor Sport has developed a pilot program designed to teach children to drive properly before having potentially damaging lessons with a well-meaning parent.
The two-hour course for students aged 12 to 18 includes classroom instruction on road safety, driver attitude and an off-road driving lesson.
CAMS president Andrew Papadopoulos said the course aimed to reduce Australia’s road toll, especially among young adult males.
Mr Papadopoulos wants the pilot rolled out at schools across the state.
“We do sex education from an early age, we don’t expect them to go out and have sex at that early age,” he said.
“It’s a matter of learning.”
Kids already drive at school – they drive their teachers crazy!
Tags:Andrew Papadopoulos, CAMS driving lessons to 12 year olds, Child Development, classroom instruction on road safety, Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, Driving Habits, Driving lessons, Education, Experts want children driving from the age of 12, Parenting, pilot program designed to teach children to drive properly, Sex Education
Posted in Child Development | 2 Comments »
July 2, 2012
Here’s a novel suggestion – Instead of arranging tutors for your toddlers, spend more quality time with them. Whilst I am all for starting early when it comes to reading and writing, the most crucial thing for pre-school children (and for all children for that matter), is spending quality time with their parents.
Still, that wont stop school readiness programs from thriving:
THE age of children seeking the help of tutors is getting younger and younger, with parents now forking out thousands of dollars to have preschooolers privately coached for school entrance assessments.
As part of dozens of school readiness programs across Sydney, children as young as three are learning how to count, sound letters and write their name to prepare for big school.
Parents hope it will give their child an edge in school entry interviews at private and Catholic schools and in the best start kindergarten assessment, which evaluates their skills when they start school.
Begin Bright early learning centre director Tina Tower said more than 600 children were enrolled in school readiness programs across five centres around Sydney.
Children attend weekly one-hour classes at a cost of $26 from age three.
“They learn all the foundations and develop a really good attitude to learning so when they start school they don’t encounter any problems,” Ms Tower said.
It sounds like the school readiness program for toddlers is more comprehensive than the school readiness program for teachers.
Tags:age of children seeking the help of tutors, Anna Cindric, Begin Bright early learning centre, Child Development, Competitive Parents, Education, entrance assessments, Parenting, pre-enrolment interviews, reschooolers privately coached for school, school entry interviews at private and Catholic schools, school readiness programs fpr 3-year olds, Tina Tower, Too young to have a tutor, Tutors
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