All Kinds of Minds

If you are looking for a great resource to better help students with difficulties with language, attention and memory, the website All Kinds of Minds by Dr. Mel Levine. He has written many great books, including "The Myth of Laziness"  -- and there is a ton of great info on his website for free!

Why is parenting so embarrassing?

This is more of a rant, but I've had quite a few not-so-stellar parenting moments recently. Last Friday I had to participate in a sign language competition against my son's kindergarten class and got my butt kicked -- not too surprising, since I hadn't practiced at all. Bryce asked me later -- how do they expect parents to practice, they have to work and cook? Later that night, I sat through 2 and a half hours of a play for the same child, just so he could sing a "song" that was five lines long with 50 other kids. Very frustrating! The next day, I took my kids to a talk about childhood nutrition at the museum that they did not want to attend. I ended up being coaxed into hula hooping in exchange for a pedometer which my children then stole and used to map out the local library. This really is a typical weekend for me! Oh, and I forgot to add that my teen-age son filmed my hula-hooping and threatened to post it on facebook, but I think he recognized that would be too embarrassing for him as well!

If you only watch one movie this year . . .

I had read the book. I had watched every single video posted on Education Nation. I had stalked out the director's blog like nobody's business. But it wasn't until I watched the movie Waiting for Superman that I realized that this is the single most important movie to come along in quite some time. If you have kids, work in schools, care about kids, or care about the state of our country, make this the one movie you simply must see. Because it wasn't available in my city, I missed most of the fury over the film, participating vicariously through trailers and blogs. Now that the film has been released on DVD, you can rent it for $5 on itunes. You can buy it for $15 on itunes, or I'm sure it's available through netflix, etc.

When you watch this movie, try not to miss the message. Because of the political storm that so many states are in right now with education, it's easy to get caught up with the pro-union v. anti-union, or pro-charter v. anti-charter. The director has stated on his website that the charter school analogy is only that -- an analogy. The kids in the film are waiting to see if they get accepted into a high-performing charter by participating in a lottery, but we as parents are "gambling" on our kids every day -- based on where we live, what we can afford and the options we do or don't have. That is the message. And if you don't get seriously fired up by Geoffrey Canada -- founder of the Harlem Children's Zone -- you should seriously check your pulse.

I really am going to get better at posting on my blog! I really like the outlet, and I feel like so much is going on in education right now that there is a lot to say!

Are we really surprised this teacher won't wear the mik?

You may have heard the disturbing story of a Florida teacher who in 2008 had a kindergarten student with autism "voted" out of class by his peers. According to court documents, the teacher had the student stand in front of the class while his peers stated why they "hated him". The Florida State Department of Education settled the lawsuit this student's mom filed for $350,000. This mom is still fighting, however, determined to have the tenure system in her state dismantled. Can we really blame her? Click here for the newsbrief.

But this teacher wasn't done. After this incident, and after she had been suspended (never without pay) and was then back teaching, she and two other teachers refused to wear the amplification system that had been installed in the elementary school in order to meet 504 requirements for a student. She is now being pursued by the Office of Civil Rights, who administers 504s.

If this makes you mad, please read the Newsweek cover story by Michelle Rhee titled "I'm Not Done Fighting: The Battle For School Reform Begins Now" by clicking here. School reform  -- one retirement at a time.

Books for struggling students

There are a lot of great books out there for helping us help kids who struggle. I found a great one at Barnes and Noble the other day. The title is "School Success for Kids with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders". It was only $16, plus I bought it at the fundraiser for Rocky Mountain (go panthers!). They also have a great companion book for kids with ADHD that I love. What sets these books apart is that they are geared to the school setting. Many times there are great books out there for kids with various mood disorders, but they aren't necessarily geared toward school. This book has a great deal of info about Response to Intervention -- namely, the Top 10 Quality Indicators for Schoolwide and Classroom Interventions:
1. A problem solving framework is used
2. Intervention is sought early
3. Consequences are used rather than punishment
4. Staff is prepared, ethical, and from different disciplines
5. Language and reading needs are examined
6. Academics are paramount
7. Each school has a full continuum of support in the least restrictive environment
8. Data drive decisions
9. Both classroom management tools and behavior change tools are used
10. Parent partnerships are valued.

How does your school rate?

 

School Pride

"School Pride" is a great new show on NBC -- if you like the concept of Extreme Home Makeover -- take it and apply it to schools. What I loved about this show is that it shows the kids individually. To our surprise, kids who are in poverty and live in one of the toughest communities in the country (Compton), really do care about school and will help to make it better (deep gasp). In this episode, it shows the team members who are helping to clean up the school confront the principal about the fact that there is a warehouse full of supplies that the teachers desperately need. The school (Enterprise Middle School) has been nicknamed "Enterprison". There is mold in many classroom, absolutely mind-numbing bathroom facilities, and a football field full of gopher holes which has caused the players to sprain their ankles. If you missed it, watch it on their website by clicking here.

 

Do Parents Favor Kids who are Average Weight?

I was pretty interested in some new research that suggested that parents are more likely to purchase a vehicle for college-age children who are average weight than those who are overweight. Since this is just one isolated study, we can't draw too much from it. I saw the study in a research journal and then the Today Show picked it up in a more consumer-friendly way. See the story by clicking here.

I'm not sure about the validity of this study or how much you can generalize from it, but I do know one thing for sure. The news anchors probably don't know "better"; however, the psychologist and psychiatrist should definitely know to use "person first" language. That is, you should never refer to a child as an "autistic kid" or "ADHD kid"; rather, that is a "child with autism". The person is first -- the disability second. We would never say "cancerous kid", so why would we say "overweight kid"? How about "a child who is overweight"! That drove me nuts during this entire segment!