By: Kris Koonar
If you are concerned about the education your child is receiving at either a public or private school, you may have considered the option of home schooling. There are many advantages to home schooling that are easy to think of, but in making your decision you must also consider the disadvantages. Yes, despite all the bonuses you can think of in home schooling your child, there are many disadvantages to the process.
Home schooling is a process that requires a massive amount of time and dedication. If you want to home school your child you must be present for a large part of the day. Kids are kids. Depending on how motivated by academic success your child is, he or she may not require constant supervision. However, in many studies, parental supervision is the key behind the success of home schooling programs.
Parents must also possess instructional skills or access to someone who can teach effectively. Simply putting your child in a room with textbooks will most likely result in home schooling failure. In addition, you will have to purchase materials that public and private schools provide for students.
There is also the need to be able to serve as guidance counselor as your child may require specialized instruction due to a learning disability. Public and private schools usually provide these services with qualified individuals.
One important benefit of an academic institution is the opportunity for children to become properly socialized. Attending school with other children from all walks of life leads to the development of social skills. One of the disadvantages of home schooling is the relative isolation children have from their peers.
Many parents find comfort in blaming the educational system for the shortcomings in their child's academic performance. If you choose to home school you will be accepting full responsibility for the outcome of your child's education. This is more of a burden than it seems. Studies have shown that many home schooling ventures fail due to the fact that the home generally lacks qualified educators. Many parents have gripes about teachers, but the fact is that they generally have to teach large classes filled with children with diverse learning needs. In addition, certified educators have taken teaching classes and have passed state examinations to receive their teaching certificates.
When you approach the issue of home schooling you must examine both sides. Sure, there are plenty of advantages, but if you forget to look into the disadvantages, you may be setting yourself up for failure.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Education. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label Education. Tampilkan semua postingan
Senin, 21 Juni 2010
Minggu, 20 Juni 2010
For Parents of Special Needs Students: Raising a Successful College Graduate
by: klmiller
Children with special needs have experienced more frustration and academic failure than most other children. Yet, some of them become successful college students who graduate with a specialty in a chosen field.
Sadly, most do not. Only about 57 percent of students with disabilities graduate from high school, and only about 10 to 15 percent of those graduating attend college.
What are some reasons students succeed in college? How can parents help their child be among those who accomplish this challenging undertaking?
Parental expectations are a key factor
Children who are raised with the belief that they have the skills to be successful at the college of their choice, if they desire to pursue a college education, have a great advantage! They prepare all of their lives for the experience of college. All through their school years they make powerful decisions that lay the foundation for college success.
Students who believe they will be successful college students study more, they have higher grades, and they seek the guidance of mentors who can guide them to develop strong skills. They “play full out” in school, taking challenging classes and honing their academic skills.
The type of mentoring children receive from their parents is the genesis of the personal coping beliefs and habits that ensure college success. Parents lay the foundation of academic achievement from the moment their child is born. Parents who mentor and support their child all through their lives to believe in their innate intelligence and skill encourage the kind of decisions good students face every day as they pursue their path through the huge array of facts, procedures, skills and habits that support the ultimate acquisition of academic literacy.
When mentored to know he or she will be successful, a student develops personal attributes that support success. Research by the Frostig Center in Pasadena, California provides some insight into these qualities.
Personal qualities that support academic success
Students who have the following personal qualities are much more likely to thrive in college. You can read more detailed descriptions of the qualities that insure college success here.
• Self-awareness and self-acceptance
• Proactivity as opposed to reactivity
• Perseverance
• Skill in setting short and long-range goals
• Use of effective support systems
• Strong emotional coping strategies
Taking specific action increases the likelihood of succeeding in college
Students need to be aware of specific action steps they should take to increase the probability they will be admitted to and graduate from the college of their choice.
Ideally, parents and children should begin to take specific action steps by the time the student reaches 8th grade. For the student, this involves taking the most challenging classes available, while maintaining strong grades and a great attitude toward academics. Completing extra or optional assignments in classes to stretch his or her knowledge, and pursuing activities about which the student is passionate such as sports, artistic, and/or volunteer experiences builds the self-confidence, proactive mindset and time management skills that characterize highly successful students.
Parents should encourage their child to learn from successful adults who are rich sources of information about the nature of their careers, the training they completed, and the strategies they use to be successful. Family friends, teachers, coaches, and neighbors are valuable allies to a student who is eager to learn about the kinds of opportunities available to them as adults.
Students should explore the world of work through paid jobs, internships, and volunteering. They will learn about the working conditions of specific jobs, develop the perseverance needed to commit to a challenging endeavor, and learn valuable interpersonal skills such as cooperation and functioning within an environment that requires meeting high expectations.
It is necessary for students to take a proactive role in their school careers. They should learn how to communicate their strengths and needs to adults. They should attend their IEP meetings and advocate on their own behalf.
Transition planning
Students who qualify under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are entitled to receive support services that help them make a transition from high school to postsecondary activities. These services may include coursework, related services, community experiences, development of results-oriented employment and/or adult living objectives in their IEPs, and a functional living skills assessment, when warranted.
Beginning when the student is 14 years of age, the IEP team must consider services that are designed to facilitate the student’s transition to adult living. At the age of 16, the IEP team is required to include results-oriented objectives, matched to a student’s postsecondary goals, that provide support to transition to adult living.
Parents should work with their school’s special education coordinator to determine the range of services available, and express their opinions about services and experiences they would like to have provided for their child.
Summary of performance
Students who are eligible to receive special education services are legally entitled to receive a Summary of Performance (SOP) during their final year in high school. The school district is required by federal law (Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 2004) to provide to high school seniors who will be graduating with a regular diploma, a summary of their academic achievement and functional performance. This information will be used by colleges as a basis to determine accommodations granted to a student.
The school district may use their own format to document a student’s strengths and needs. It is very advantageous to a parent to have a template that illustrates the kind of information a complete SOP should contain. It is advantageous to have a history of specific accommodations that were provided in high school and to include these in the SOP. Parents can download a copy prepared by a national coalition of disability rights organizations here.
~~~~~~
Only a small percentage of students with special learning needs attend college, but parents have the opportunity to insure that their child is one of the successful ones. The most valuable step parents can take is to mentor their child to believe in their intelligence and talents and know in their heart they can meet the challenge of obtaining a college education. This belief supports the effective action steps that parents and students take throughout their school career to ensure a college diploma.
Children with special needs have experienced more frustration and academic failure than most other children. Yet, some of them become successful college students who graduate with a specialty in a chosen field.
Sadly, most do not. Only about 57 percent of students with disabilities graduate from high school, and only about 10 to 15 percent of those graduating attend college.
What are some reasons students succeed in college? How can parents help their child be among those who accomplish this challenging undertaking?
Parental expectations are a key factor
Children who are raised with the belief that they have the skills to be successful at the college of their choice, if they desire to pursue a college education, have a great advantage! They prepare all of their lives for the experience of college. All through their school years they make powerful decisions that lay the foundation for college success.
Students who believe they will be successful college students study more, they have higher grades, and they seek the guidance of mentors who can guide them to develop strong skills. They “play full out” in school, taking challenging classes and honing their academic skills.
The type of mentoring children receive from their parents is the genesis of the personal coping beliefs and habits that ensure college success. Parents lay the foundation of academic achievement from the moment their child is born. Parents who mentor and support their child all through their lives to believe in their innate intelligence and skill encourage the kind of decisions good students face every day as they pursue their path through the huge array of facts, procedures, skills and habits that support the ultimate acquisition of academic literacy.
When mentored to know he or she will be successful, a student develops personal attributes that support success. Research by the Frostig Center in Pasadena, California provides some insight into these qualities.
Personal qualities that support academic success
Students who have the following personal qualities are much more likely to thrive in college. You can read more detailed descriptions of the qualities that insure college success here.
• Self-awareness and self-acceptance
• Proactivity as opposed to reactivity
• Perseverance
• Skill in setting short and long-range goals
• Use of effective support systems
• Strong emotional coping strategies
Taking specific action increases the likelihood of succeeding in college
Students need to be aware of specific action steps they should take to increase the probability they will be admitted to and graduate from the college of their choice.
Ideally, parents and children should begin to take specific action steps by the time the student reaches 8th grade. For the student, this involves taking the most challenging classes available, while maintaining strong grades and a great attitude toward academics. Completing extra or optional assignments in classes to stretch his or her knowledge, and pursuing activities about which the student is passionate such as sports, artistic, and/or volunteer experiences builds the self-confidence, proactive mindset and time management skills that characterize highly successful students.
Parents should encourage their child to learn from successful adults who are rich sources of information about the nature of their careers, the training they completed, and the strategies they use to be successful. Family friends, teachers, coaches, and neighbors are valuable allies to a student who is eager to learn about the kinds of opportunities available to them as adults.
Students should explore the world of work through paid jobs, internships, and volunteering. They will learn about the working conditions of specific jobs, develop the perseverance needed to commit to a challenging endeavor, and learn valuable interpersonal skills such as cooperation and functioning within an environment that requires meeting high expectations.
It is necessary for students to take a proactive role in their school careers. They should learn how to communicate their strengths and needs to adults. They should attend their IEP meetings and advocate on their own behalf.
Transition planning
Students who qualify under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act are entitled to receive support services that help them make a transition from high school to postsecondary activities. These services may include coursework, related services, community experiences, development of results-oriented employment and/or adult living objectives in their IEPs, and a functional living skills assessment, when warranted.
Beginning when the student is 14 years of age, the IEP team must consider services that are designed to facilitate the student’s transition to adult living. At the age of 16, the IEP team is required to include results-oriented objectives, matched to a student’s postsecondary goals, that provide support to transition to adult living.
Parents should work with their school’s special education coordinator to determine the range of services available, and express their opinions about services and experiences they would like to have provided for their child.
Summary of performance
Students who are eligible to receive special education services are legally entitled to receive a Summary of Performance (SOP) during their final year in high school. The school district is required by federal law (Individual with Disabilities Education Act of 2004) to provide to high school seniors who will be graduating with a regular diploma, a summary of their academic achievement and functional performance. This information will be used by colleges as a basis to determine accommodations granted to a student.
The school district may use their own format to document a student’s strengths and needs. It is very advantageous to a parent to have a template that illustrates the kind of information a complete SOP should contain. It is advantageous to have a history of specific accommodations that were provided in high school and to include these in the SOP. Parents can download a copy prepared by a national coalition of disability rights organizations here.
~~~~~~
Only a small percentage of students with special learning needs attend college, but parents have the opportunity to insure that their child is one of the successful ones. The most valuable step parents can take is to mentor their child to believe in their intelligence and talents and know in their heart they can meet the challenge of obtaining a college education. This belief supports the effective action steps that parents and students take throughout their school career to ensure a college diploma.
Move to Learn – Unlock the Potential of the Brain
By: Dr. Kari Miller
There are about as many nerve cells in the brain as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The unique set of connections between neurons that each of us develops determines how we view the world, shapes our future experiences, and indeed, determines who we are. Successful students have developed rich, connected networks of neurons. Many factors encourage neurons to branch and communicate with each other. In this newsletter, our topic will be the vital role of movement in brain development.
In our quest to fathom intelligent behavior, we have failed to appreciate that learning does not occur strictly in the mind. Learning and creativity are a “whole body” phenomenon and cannot occur independently. We teach “to the head” only, asking students to sit in chairs for long periods of time, listening and looking almost exclusively at abstract symbols, even when they are very young. We don’t fully appreciate that the mind cannot excel without the support of the body. We don’t “get it” that we must move to learn.
What is the role of movement in learning?
Movement stimulates the growth of neural networks upon which learning depends. It affords us the opportunity to explore our world and gather the sensory data that fuels the development of intelligence, in other words, it provokes learning. Movement provides feedback that the brain requires in order to learn. Movement allows us to express knowledge and therefore advance to the next plateau in our understanding.
What can parents do to encourage stronger learning in their children?
Not very many years ago, children played in their yards for hours each day. They ran, climbed trees, built forts, made mud pies and pretended to fly. These experiences developed rich neural networks that supported brain development in these children. Young people today spend far less time moving. They watch considerably more television and play significantly more video games.
We can integrate movement into our children’s daily lives and augment their capacity to succeed. In particular, children who have learning issues benefit from the systematic inclusion of movement into their daily lives.
Each “body” learns in its own unique way. The following activities can be stimulating to the development of strong brain networks. Allow your child to experiment during homework time and find the particular combination of activities that are most effective.
Most students remember new information better when they talk, write or draw. Encourage your child to “teach” new information to others in the household. For those students who anchor information best by writing, provide them with a white board and erasable markers or encourage them to take notes on paper. It isn’t always necessary to keep notes or read them later in order to anchor information in memory. The act of writing down the information promotes the development of connections among concepts. Demonstrating the concepts of the learning is another powerful way to incorporate the new learning into existing neural networks. Allow your child to act out what has been read, build a model, draw a diagram or chart, sing or dance.
Many students attend, concentrate and learn better when engaged in a repetitive, low concentration task such as doodling, folding paper, rocking, or squeezing a ball. Your child can also try walking around the room while reading or studying. Suggest to your child that he or she do this every 15 minutes while completing homework.
Because the mouth is an important site of neural integration and is closely tied to brain development, some students find that chewing can be a highly integrating activity that promotes concentration and understanding. Chewing gum can actually be an effective way to focus! It’s best to keep it simple. Crunchy, spicy, salty or sour foods can be effective concentration boosters. Have your child try carrot sticks, sugar free gum, pretzels or a small sour candy.
Encourage your child to engage in cross lateral physical activity for five minutes every hour. Cross lateral movements engage hand and foot on opposite sides of the body. Most of these movements are more effective when done standing. The addition of rhythmic music provides a boost. Some cross lateral movements students enjoy are:
http://www.edarticle.com/homework/move-to-learn-a%80-unlock-the-potential-of-the-brain.html
There are about as many nerve cells in the brain as there are stars in the Milky Way galaxy. The unique set of connections between neurons that each of us develops determines how we view the world, shapes our future experiences, and indeed, determines who we are. Successful students have developed rich, connected networks of neurons. Many factors encourage neurons to branch and communicate with each other. In this newsletter, our topic will be the vital role of movement in brain development.
In our quest to fathom intelligent behavior, we have failed to appreciate that learning does not occur strictly in the mind. Learning and creativity are a “whole body” phenomenon and cannot occur independently. We teach “to the head” only, asking students to sit in chairs for long periods of time, listening and looking almost exclusively at abstract symbols, even when they are very young. We don’t fully appreciate that the mind cannot excel without the support of the body. We don’t “get it” that we must move to learn.
What is the role of movement in learning?
Movement stimulates the growth of neural networks upon which learning depends. It affords us the opportunity to explore our world and gather the sensory data that fuels the development of intelligence, in other words, it provokes learning. Movement provides feedback that the brain requires in order to learn. Movement allows us to express knowledge and therefore advance to the next plateau in our understanding.
What can parents do to encourage stronger learning in their children?
Not very many years ago, children played in their yards for hours each day. They ran, climbed trees, built forts, made mud pies and pretended to fly. These experiences developed rich neural networks that supported brain development in these children. Young people today spend far less time moving. They watch considerably more television and play significantly more video games.
We can integrate movement into our children’s daily lives and augment their capacity to succeed. In particular, children who have learning issues benefit from the systematic inclusion of movement into their daily lives.
Each “body” learns in its own unique way. The following activities can be stimulating to the development of strong brain networks. Allow your child to experiment during homework time and find the particular combination of activities that are most effective.
Most students remember new information better when they talk, write or draw. Encourage your child to “teach” new information to others in the household. For those students who anchor information best by writing, provide them with a white board and erasable markers or encourage them to take notes on paper. It isn’t always necessary to keep notes or read them later in order to anchor information in memory. The act of writing down the information promotes the development of connections among concepts. Demonstrating the concepts of the learning is another powerful way to incorporate the new learning into existing neural networks. Allow your child to act out what has been read, build a model, draw a diagram or chart, sing or dance.
Many students attend, concentrate and learn better when engaged in a repetitive, low concentration task such as doodling, folding paper, rocking, or squeezing a ball. Your child can also try walking around the room while reading or studying. Suggest to your child that he or she do this every 15 minutes while completing homework.
Because the mouth is an important site of neural integration and is closely tied to brain development, some students find that chewing can be a highly integrating activity that promotes concentration and understanding. Chewing gum can actually be an effective way to focus! It’s best to keep it simple. Crunchy, spicy, salty or sour foods can be effective concentration boosters. Have your child try carrot sticks, sugar free gum, pretzels or a small sour candy.
Encourage your child to engage in cross lateral physical activity for five minutes every hour. Cross lateral movements engage hand and foot on opposite sides of the body. Most of these movements are more effective when done standing. The addition of rhythmic music provides a boost. Some cross lateral movements students enjoy are:
- Touch hand (or elbow) to opposite knee.
- Lazy 8. Use one hand to trace a large infinity sign in front of the body, following the hand with the eyes. Alternate hands and continue.
- Cross the arms in front of the face in the shape of an “X” tracing a lazy 8. Be sure to watch the path of the 8 while tracing it.
- Karate Cross Crawl: Kick while punching or chopping with alternate hand and foot (right hand chops while left foot kicks).
- Cross Crawl Sit-ups. While lying on the back with hands clasped behind the head for support, sit up and touch the right elbow to the left knee. Alternate touching elbow to opposite knee.
- Double Doodle. Draw a design with both hands simultaneously. Be sure the designs are mirror images of each other, rather than facing the same direction.
http://www.edarticle.com/homework/move-to-learn-a%80-unlock-the-potential-of-the-brain.html
Sabtu, 19 Juni 2010
Barriers to learning English
By : Shenton Thomas De Silva
JOHOR BARU: Efforts to raise flagging English language proficiency levels in Malaysia are being hampered by children’s poor reading habits as well as the cultural factor.
That is according to an English Language lecturer from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, who cited the two stumbling blocks as sources of frustration for many English teachers in the country.
Abdullah Mohd Nawi, from UTM’s Faculty of Education, even went so far as to say that English books may soon be phased out in the country within the next ten years.
“Students nowadays will not read any literature that does not directly feature in their exams.
“If they do pick up a book, it is either a comic book or manga.
“The sad truth is that students do not read any of the good and substantial reading materials available,” said Abdullah.
Asked whether the poor reading habit among Malaysians was a cultural phenomenon or a symptom of the education system, Abdullah cited the former.
“Studies have shown that Malaysia has one of the best education systems in our region.
“So, as far as I am concerned, the poor reading habit is a cultural factor,” said Abdullah who is also publicity and promotion head for the Sixth Language for Specific Purposes (LSP) International Seminar 2008.
It was held at the Persada Convention Centre in Johor yesterday.
The seminar was attended by more than 100 local and international teachers and presenters.
The purpose of the seminar was to address the issue of how English could be effectively used in specific fields .
On the education system, Abdullah said that in spite of the holistic learning and development approach advocated for students by the Education Ministry, the school system was still an exam-oriented one which placed no emphasis on additional reading, apart from school books.
“I believe that we can benefit from the American education system (which fosters holistic learning),” he said.
On the question of whether Malaysia would become a more proficient English-speaking society in 10 years, Abdullah expressed cautious optimism.
“My hope is that we will develop into a nation that is wholly bilingual.”
Source:
http://abdullahmnawi.wordpress.com/2008/05/07/new-straits-times-110408/
Langganan:
Komentar (Atom)