Is E-Reading - story time or screen time?

In an article in the New York Times on Oct 12, 2014, Douglas Quenqua reflects on this statement.  Pediatricans have been promoting parents to read to their toddlers.  They do not recommend any screen tie for children less that two years old.  So what is a parent to do, when there are great interacive stories on the 'tablet' for their child?  Is it reading or is it the 'dreaded screen' time?

The first point is there is not enought data to determine if this is a problem or not.  But researchers say there is more interaction if the parent and child are reading together.  They turn pages together, they talk about  the pictures.  Researchers say that more time is spent on the devise than on the 'storeis' parents and children are reading.

Some studies were done that said children who used electronic books had a lower reading comprehension level that children who were reading with their parents.  Some electronic books  have buttons to press and songs to play so it can take away of the 'learning language' with the parent time.

Researchers say being talked to versus being talked at engages the brain differently.

So electronic books may be here to stay but they can't compete with the feeling of picking up your own book, turning the pages and making languge come to life.  A tablet is just an electronic devise and there is not the same thrill as opening a book.

Botton line- a little screen time may be ok, so don't sweat it if you want to skype or facetime a grandparent.

Signing off - the California Grandma to two grandsons who live in PA 

Dyslexia and How Your Child Can Succeed in School.

This article was found in the UT San Diego on October 7, 2014.  Written by Erinn Hutkin.

Dyslexia is a very common learning problem affecting  about 1 in 5 children at school.  Dyslexia really means there is a problem with reading.  Usually students have poor reading abilities and poor decoding skills.  Children in the classroom know something is wrong and become frustrated with school.  There is no cure but there are work arounds.

Dyslexia has a genetic connection so if parents had a hard time reading, or grandparents had  a hard time learning to read, have your child tested.  Dyslexia is not just reversing letters.  Usually students just have a hard time learning sounds.  Sometimes that can tell you the sound a letter makes but can't blend it together to make a word.

The best way to help is a multi-sensory approach for reading.  Small groups or one to one learning is best.  Certain extras at school are helpful such as "preferential seating, extra time on tests, audio books, spell checkers or note takers".  Your child might need extra help with emotional support and also support in an area where they can succeed and feel great about themselves.

Minecraft

Do you know what Minecraft is?  In the article, In Hit Games, Tech Giants See More Than Fun", by Nick Wingfield in the New York Times  dated Sept 11, 2014, Microsoft is trying to buy it for over $2 billion. I like this quote, 'Parents like Minecraft because it can be a creative outlet for their children.  Teachers like the game because it can bring lessons to life".

Minecraft was created in Sweden and is one of the top paid apps on the iPhone.  There have been almost 54 million copies sold.  Minecraft is a computer game where you build things with 'Lego' blocks. "Minecraft soaks up lots of time, as players can spend months building estates and entire countries,.."

Joel Levin a teachers liked it so much he uses as a teaching tool in his second grade technology class. He has set up a company to see 'custom-made versions of Minecraft to classrooms for educational purposes.

This game purpose is creation versus other games of destruction.  I have even signed up for a class on Minecraft so I can help students read.  I want them to build something based on a story that they write.  Of course it would involve writing a script.  The characters would have to be developed...

But again there is a trade off.  Is this technology really any better that many sets of legos in the basement where you and your child can build together?  Things to think about.

By the way, check out you tube and enter, "Minecraft" There are many videos to watch, I don't even know what are good ones.  But my students know.

Are you a Low-Tech Parent?

When my boys were small our TV broke and we did not replace it.  I don't remember missing it either.  We had just moved from Burlington, VT to San Jose, CA.  My boys were too busy playing outside, swimming at the neighborhood pool, or playing street hockey.

But my in-laws came to visit and could not believe we did not have a TV.  So they bought us one.  Well, one thing led to another and we had a Nintendo game player.  Then a play station or what ever was popular.  I was having war about homework versus on the 'TV'.  So I packed up the Nintendo and play station and put them in the attic.  They were allowed out during summer vacation and if I felt like it at Christmas break and spring break.  And I thought this was hard.

Today, parents have to monitor use of ipads, ipods, mobile phones, computers, tv's, ... So I was reading the New York Times and found an article, "Steve Jobs Was a Low-Tech Parent" written by Nick Biltonn.  I love the quote, '"So, your kids must love the iPad?" I asked Mr. Steve Jobs.. "They haven't used it, he toldme. "we limit how much technology our kids use at home."'

Wow, many CTO, venture capitalists, techies say, "they strictly limit their children's screen time, often banning all gadgets on school nights,.."

So I am just wondering what kind of technology rules you have it your house.  Is technology helping or hurting your child's completion of homework?

Lazy High School Student

Are you the parent of a child who is unmotivated to learn?  You are not alone.  There seem to be two types of students.  There are those who are signing up for more and more honor classes and school activities.  Then there are those teenagers who have time for ' television, video games, social media and friends, but not for school.

In this article by Adam Price, "The Underchallenged 'Lazy Teenager'", published in the Wall Street Journal on 8/12/2014, a psychologist, list some ideas to help parents.

1.  "Stop telling him how smart he is"  Does your child have trophies for sports for just showing up?  A high IQ is not really anything without the drive to work hard.  So appreciate your child and celebrate when they work hard.

2. "Stop doing the dishes for him."  Your child needs to participate with the household chores.  Your child is never too busy to take out the garbage or clean their room.  I also had my children learn to do their own wash.  This eliminated me having to decide what was dirty or clean around their room.  If they did not do their wash, they worry dirty soccer clothes to practice.  This was their choice.

3. "Don't let him off easy" Rules are rules and everyone must follow them or face the consequences.  This is so much easier to learn as a child versus as an adult.  It is hard to set limits and deal out consequences so it is best to discuss this in detail before starting a rule.  Today of course parents have given their teenagers cell phones which can show where they are at all times.  One of the easiest rules if you don't wake up in time to take the bus to school you must walk or take public buses to school.  Do not write an excuse.  Let your child see the consequence of not being ready in time.  I usually called the office and told them to help me with a great consequence at school.   My son always forgot to do his homework.  So I had the middle school teachers page him after school every day to go to the office when he did not have his homework.  Soon he did it.  He did not like going to the office to do his homework and not going home with his friends.

4. "Don't make him shine for you"  Enjoy your child for who he or she is.  They are becoming an adult and learn about them.  Going to the perfect college, being accepted at the most colleges, etc. are jus things to brag about to make the parent feel good.  Don't put pressure on your child.  If they don't want to go to college ask their plans for their life.  Share what things costs.  Car, instance, gas, maintenance, new tires -- if you give them a car you should share the expenses involved with this.  If you child is happy just to get into the local community college help them enjoy the experience.

There is no real cure for a lack of motivation to succeed at high school.  Maybe your child is just a late bloomer and needs to go through life the hard way.  Make sure they understand the consequences of not having good grades.  They will not get into college easily.  They may have to go to junior college or maybe trade school.  I found working helps students become motivated.  Go around with your teenager and pick up job applications.  Talk about eating minimum wage and paying taxes.  Perhaps life will be their motivator.

Found this comic and had to add it.

Making Math Education Even Worse

This is the title of an article in the Wall Street Journal on August 6, 2014 written by Marina Ratner.  She tells the story as a grandmother of a boy starting 6th grade in Berkeley, CA.

California has been know for having some of the highest math standards in the nation.  But now a lead writer of mathematics standard, Jason Zimba States, "the new standards wouldn't prepare students for colleges to which 'most parents aspire' to send their children."

Now there is a fear, because in the upper math classes have lower expectations for students with the new common core.  Now students might not have the skills to succeed in college math classes.

Two things I have experienced with the new common core.

1.  If your child has trouble reading, they will now to poorly in math as well.  The new common core has many more word problems.  Math use to be an universal language.  Students without an English background could still succeed in school in math.  Now with so many word problems the universal language of math is gone.

2.  If your child hates busy work, they will not do well in the the new common core math.  They must draw visual representations about what the math means.  They draw, draw, and draw.  "Simple concepts are made artificially intricate and complex with the pretense of being deeper--while the actual content taught was primitive."

So as parents, you might want to purchase textbooks such as Algebra one and Two, Geometry, Trigonometry, and Calculus.  Think about which college you would like your child to attend.  Check out the math courses they will need to get a degree.  Hire a tutor to help them learn the math that public schools will no longer be teaching.

Math in the New Common Core - Help!

The second grade student I was working with was doing well in math but he had trouble reading.  Now he is no longer at grade level in math.  Why, he can't read the problems.  Yes the new common core wants students to be able to read.  But now students who have trouble reading are feeling more of a failure because they can't do math either.

The New York Times article, "Math Under Common Core Has Even Parents Stumbling" by Motoko Rich, states that parents are finding math too difficult to do.  So now students don't just do the formula to arrive at the answer.  They must draw and explain their logic about how to solve the problem.

Math used to be like a foreign language.  A student just needed to learn the symbols and the formulas and they could be successful even if reading was difficult for them.  With the transition to common core happening so quickly, there are not textbooks available, so many teachers are just using workbook pages.

"The new methods (for math) are particularly challenging for student with learning disabilities, or those who struggle orally or with writing."  Much of the work is now busy work with students drawing 42 dots to solve the problem...

When I was involved with the common core with the county of Santa Clara, I noticed that special education students might never pass so of the area they were to master each year.  So I wondered what will happen to them.  Do they deserve to flunk classes?

I think each child will have to take a pretest to determine which skills they learned and remembered over the summer.  Then at the end of the year, the teacher can administer a post test and see how each child has improved over the year.  This will be a true test to show how much the teacher helped each student learn over the year.  Having every student take a 4th grade test at the end of the year doesn't show how the teacher helped a particular student learn 2nd grade and 3 grade material.  They may not have mastered 4th grade material but they did learn two years worth of material.

Parents will have to be in touch with their child's teacher and learn the math to help their child success during this transition to the "Common Core".