Reading Equals Success

I read an intriguing blog post by Dan Brown a teacher and author of The Great Expectations School: A Rookie Year in the New Blackboard Jungle. He is also the author of an education blog called Get in the Fracas. This excerpt posed a very interesting observation:

"I have a clutch of students who read for pleasure, yet bizarrely hand in assignments only sporadically. Let’s call them “Readers.” These are the kids who take home The Kite Runner and read the whole thing in two days—then never write any of their journal responses. Their grades do not reflect their abilities. However, these students always score at or near the very top of the class on these standardized tests."

"I have many more students who hand in almost all of their assignments, yet they— according to their own pronouncements— dislike reading and never do it except when forced. They are the moaners and groaners when new books are distributed in class. They are always at or near the bottom of the statistical heap. Let’s call them “Worker Bees.” "

Unfortunately, this is the norm for many schools. When you think about it, most kids only read when they are told. But, how do you get them to read voluntarily. I have a laundry list of items you can try.

• Start reading to them at at early age. By early I mean when they have no comprehension of words. As they mature they will more easily understand the meaning of words.
• Visit the library, have your child to get their own library card, and frequently check out books.
  
• Select a book pertaining to a topic they enjoy. Your more apt to read something that peeks your interest.
• Have them to join a book club. This is also good way to enhance socialization and speaking skills.
• Participate in the reading programs at school. There are always reading competitions at school which give prizes away for reading a certain number of books.
• During the summer participate in the summer reading program at the library.
  
• When children authors come to town bring your child to meet them.
• Have them play computer games which involve reading.
  
• Read the book first then take them to see the movie which is based on the book.
• Have the older child read to the younger child and vice versa.
  
• Use interactive books such as the Leapfrog Tag reading system.
  
• Read the book with your child and then discuss later. This fosters parent child bonding. How about going out for dinner while discussing the book.
  
• Have reading competitions at your home to see which child can read the most books. Have incentives for winning that will entice them. You can even have ribbons or trophies.
• Go to Borders, Barnes and Noble or other book stores and have them look at inventory of books for sale. You don't necessarily have to buy the book. You can read the book there as well. You can also jot down the name/author and see if it is available at the library.
  
• Attend story time. Libraries, Borders and Barnes and Noble have free story time where an adult reads to the children.
  
• Utilize a variety of books: magazines, newspapers, comic books, touch and feel, books with cd's, books that have sound, bilingual books, etc.
• If they have a favorite book that they read over and over again, let them do so.
  
• Have them to use the internet and find topics of interest to read about online.
• Go to the children consignment sales and stores to purchase books for a fraction of the original cost.
• Associate what your child does daily to topics they can read about. If they like to dance then get a book on dancing, if they like to play football then get a book on football, if they like a certain entertainer then I am sure you can find a book about that entertainer. The sky is the limit.

Readers are leaders and worker bees just follow the crowd. Let's get our children to be "readers" and not "worker bees".

Exercise and Academics are related

So, I notice that once children go to middle school there is no more recess. You still have physical education (PE), but it is not given throughout the entire school year. So what is the meaning of that! We have overweight children and pinned up energy with no where to go.

Exercise and academics go hand in hand. Physical activity is an important part of maintaining good health and encouraging a creative mind. When the body is healthy and stress-free, ideas are more natural, listening skills improve, and thinking is clearer. Students will work harder and complete their assignments because after all of that energy is released they tend to be more focused.

As we get older we seem to exercise less. But, children have that natural tendency to keep moving. We need to assist them in the development of their bodies and mind. Here are some tips to get your child to become more active:

Play outside in the neighborhood: Remember when we were kids our parents use to tell us to "go outside and play". We didn't have cartoon network, nickelodeon, or computers. We were creative and found other things to do. Riding a bike, playing tag, skateboarding, skating or just walking can help children release a lot of that pinned up energy.

Join a sport: Playing sports is a great confidence builder and promotes a mindset of working together as a team. Some studies even show that exercise makes you smarter. Find a sport that your child wants to play and have them try it out. But, quitting should not be an option. They should stick with it until the end of the season. Children tend to want to give up too quickly once they see there is a bit of a challenge. Endure through the tough times and they will appreciate the reward in the end.

Do family activities: Spending time with family is something that is very important. I'm sure you have many memories of fun times with your family . Take time to do fun things which encourage healthy activity: walking, dancing, swimming, roller skating, ice skating, a day at the park/beach, or even going to the gym together. And, don't think you have to leave your house to have fun. There are fun games on the Wii that are also physical. My girlfriend gave my children the Michael Jackson Experience game. Now talk about a workout...try keeping up with Michael Jackson as he dances on the screen.

Parents get active: So, what about putting down the phone, moving away from the TV, and getting some sunshine and fresh air. Take some time to play with your kids, no matter the age. Believe me they will enjoy it...even if they act like they don't. I know it's hard, but your sanity and even more important their well being depends it. It's natural for children to emulate what they see. So, what better person to imitate than mom or dad.

I hope you feel encouraged and enthused to maintain a healthy lifestyle for yourself and your family. It starts with us, the parents, and the children will follow in our footsteps. Exercise and have fun!

Math Websites - FREE worksheets

Worksheets are a good tool to use in order to practice your math skills. Yes, they can be somewhat boring, but you will certainly find out whether your understanding of the math topic is acceptable. If you miss more than 15% of the problems then I would suggest you go back and review the material with a tutorial or teacher assistance. The Khan Academy is a great website which contains tutorials that cover all areas of math. He also incorporates other topics such as biology, finance, physics. And, the wonderful thing about his site is that it is all FREE.

There will be more worksheets that incorporate puzzles, coloring, and trivia for the elementary school age. You may even see some at the middle school level. But, once you approach high school those type of exercises diminish. So, sorry...with age comes maturity and higher expectations.

I have found these sites to be very helpful in obtaining FREE math worksheets that cover a spectrum of topics.

http://math.about.com/ - Kindergarten - 12th grade
http://www.math-drills.com/- Kindergarten - 8th grade
http://itech.pjc.edu/falzone/course/0024handouts.htm - 7th grade - 12th grade
http://www.dadsworksheets.com/ - Kindergarten - 8th grade
http://www.kutasoftware.com/ - 8th grade - 12th grade
http://superteacherworksheets.com/ - math, reading, writing, grammar, etc.
http://www.mathgoodies.com/lessons/ Kindergarten - 8th grade
http://www.edhelper.com/ - Kindergarten - 8th grade

If you know of other websites please free to post.

The American Math Challenge

It's back the American Math Challenge http://www.americanmathchallenge.com/ Students compete LIVE with other students across the nation in a web based math challenge powered by Mathletics. The goal is to earn points by completing as many mental math problems in 60 second intervals as possible. Cool prizes are awarded. This is a fun FREE way to promote mental math. The contest is October 26th - 27th.

11 Things kids will not learn in school

I was forwarded an email in regards to Bill Gates giving a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.

I don't know how true this is (if this actually came from Bill Gates), but I certainly agree with many of these statements. Suck it up, learn from your mistakes, take action, and reap your reward. But, don't have a high level of expectation when you have not put forth any or minimal effort. What do you think?

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it! (this is my daily anthem)

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about yourself-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

The White House Fellowship Program

The White House Fellowship is one of the nation's most prestigious programs for leadership and public service. Each year, 11-19 exceptional young men and women are selected to spend a year in Washington, D.C. to gain first-hand experience in the process of governing the nation at the highest levels of the Federal government.

Candidates need to be promising young leaders who are excelling early in their careers and are committed to leadership and public service. Thus, this is not for students but rather for individuals already into their careers.

Learn more about the White House Fellowship http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/fellows/

Download the application http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/fellows/apply1

Deadline is February 1, 2010

College Bound - Follow your Dreams

Middle school is not to early to start thinking about college. And, as far as I'm concerned your never too young to start thinking about college. I have had elementary school students express to me what university they want to attend. That's a wonderful thing. Enhance their dream and do all you can to make it come to fruition. Before you know it your child will be a junior in high school...then it's graduation time.

Ask your child what they would like to do once they become an adult. Every child has a dream...didn't you. Even as adults we are still reaching for our dreams. Here are some things that we can do to help cultivate that dream.

• Find a mentor - someone who works in the field that the student is interested in. This can be people whose services you already use: your doctor, pediatrician, attorney, dentist, minister, accountant, businesss owner, etc. Your chlid may be able to shadow that person and see the daily routine. There's nothing better than being involved first hand.

• Talk with someone who is new to that occupation - 2 years or less. Their outlook will be different from someone who is a veteran in that field.

• Use your inner network and see if any friends or family are in that line of work...your child can talk to them about their current experience. Most people are very open to talking about themselves and their career. You may never get them to be quiet.

• During the summer or even on the weekends see if your child can provide some volunteer work or possibly get an internship. They may not obtain direct experience in the field, but you will be able to network with current employees, have a realistic picture of what occurs on a daily basis, and open the door for other opportunities. This is priceless. Some companies do allow children over the age of 16 to participate in internship, volunteer, or mentoring programs. It doesn't hurt to ask.

• Go on the internet, see what length of schooling is required, what types of courses you will have to take, if there are any licensing/certificaion requirements after obtaining the degree, and research the salary. All of this data is very essential in determining if the occupation you choose is the right one for you. For instance, if you are required to be in school for 8 years and your not to keen on being in school for long periods of time then you may have to reassess your goals. If your interested occupation/major requires classes in chemistry, biology, and labs, but you hate science then you may want to do some rethinking . So, take a look at the full picture (the good and the not so good). Because, ultimately, you want to enjoy your career of choice.

• And, most importantly, see what the future holds for that field. What's hot today may not necessarily be in demand in a few years.

Once your in the mindset of attending college then you just need to start taking action. If you attended college tell your child about your experiences both good and bad. Children love to hear stories involving their parents. Sure, they may change their mind a few times but at least they will be better equiptted to make a knowledgable decision. Check out this website which steers middle and high schoolers in the direction of being college bound.