Ask a teacher: What's the deal with these $*#%ing fundraisers?

How many fundraisers have you gotten this year? Five? Ten? Did you lose count? I lost count a while ago. So what's the deal with these fundraisers? Aren't schools well funded enough on their own?

Eh, the short answer is not exactly. The long answer is that budgets are really tight and earmarked months in advance. But fundraisers? That's just money growing on trees for schools. As long as the random teacher fills out what they might use as a fundraiser at the beginning of the year, a process very similar to throwing spaghetti at the wall and seeing what sticks, they can continually come back to the fundraisers when they need things.

There's been a crack down in my state this year on fundraising, but again, as long as you put a possible description of what you might do on a list at the beginning of the year, you're usually good to go ahead with whatever fundraiser you have.

The gimmicky ones, like selling wrapping paper and magazine subscriptions are an easy go to for schools. The prizes are already included for overachieving families who go above and beyond the call of fundraising. Sure, schools get less of a cut because there's a middle man in the process, but it's much less work than organizing incentives for your individual school. The prizes get talked up big by teachers who get the kids all excited and then you've got a kindergartener complaining that they just neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed that cheap SpongeBob shirt. Sure you can buy them one at the store, but the cheap one at school is the one that everyone else is getting and they have to have it.

Fundraisers are an easy bandaid over the shortfalls in budgeting at schools across the nation. Schools that can afford to do so nickle and dime their parents through these fundraisers as a means to pay for programs that hopefully lure in the parents that have the disposable income to be nickle and dimed. My school does not do many fundraisers like these. Our school is 100% free lunch. Mom and Dad aren't going to be purchasing the minimum rolls of wrapping paper to just hit the small goal per student. We don't even bother anymore. Most fundraisers end up entirely funded by the teaching staff at the school, like when our band sells Amish food (don't ask, it's just delicious and there's no calorie info so I assume there's zero calories and oh God I ate a whole pound of fudge).

Money that my school uses on basic things like pencils and paper, at schools that can afford fundraisers is then used to fancy things that make the school look better. It's a way around that whole "free" education thing. Because when buy $50 worth of delivered groceries just so your kid can get a cheap prize and won't complain about how all the other kids, you can bet all the other parents are doing so, too. I've had multiple parents comment that they'd rather write a blanket check at the beginning of the year than have to call grandma and grandpa hocking cheap candles one more time, but there's the problem. You can't just write a check and be done with it because public school is meant to be free.

I wish I could tell you it was okay to just not do the fundraising. I've got a kindergartener at a school that can afford to nickle and time parents and boy have they. My son comes home super excited about some random toy he might get and I'm sucked into buying a subscription to National Geographic or something random just to try to hit the quota. Do what works for your family, but I know the sting of that peer pressure all too well. I may or may not have bought half a dozen scented candles myself. Mostly may. At the end of the day, I just can't stand the thought of my kid being the only one who didn't get the minimum prize because I didn't want to play the fundraising game.



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Emilie is a high school English teacher with two children. She holds a Bachelors in English and a Masters in Secondary Education. After completing student teaching at an urban, Persistently Low Achieving (PLA) school, she was placed at another PLA school in the same school district. Her Ask a Teacher column can also be found over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes.

Ask a Teacher: What do reading levels mean?

Reading levels are a huge issue. There's all kinds of ways to assign a level to reading from Lexile to grade level. Most of them are an attempt to make an objective measure of a wildly ranging ability. Many parents are interested in finding their children's reading level then want to find the "2nd grade books" or similar at the library to give their kids books that are on their level.

The first thing I'll tell you is to try not to focus on the reading level. Within reason, of course. Don't go out and buy Crime and Punishment for your kindergartener. When your child brings you a book at the store or the library, don't discourage them by telling them it's the wrong level. For fun, at home reading shouldn't be forced into fitting a certain level.

If the book is "too easy" it might just be on a topic your child enjoys. Just because it's a breeze for them to read doesn't mean that they aren't benefiting just from the act of reading for enjoyment. If the book is "too hard" this is a great time for you and your child to work together to read the book.

Reading levels can tell you a lot, but they can't tell you how much your child enjoys reading. Never be discouraged by a "low" reading level score. Maybe your child was having an off day or they were otherwise distracted during the test. Pay attention to what your child can tell you about the book they are reading for fun rather than what an arbitrary test says they might be able to tell you.

If you are worried about your child's reading, the best thing you can do is expose your child to as many books as possible. As a parent, modeling your own reading is a great way to encourage your child to read. Reading aloud to your child, even after they are able to read on their own, is also beneficial. Try to keep it as fun as possible and not a chore. It may take some time to figure out the best books that work for your child which is why the library is an excellent resource for readers of all levels.

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Emilie is a high school English teacher with two children. She holds a Bachelors in English and a Masters in Secondary Education. After completing student teaching at an urban, Persistently Low Achieving (PLA) school, she was placed at another PLA school in the same school district. Her Ask a Teacher column can also be found over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes.

Ask a Teacher: What should I send for the school food drive?

It's that time of year again. Your child's school has either already started or is about to start collecting food. How can you make this a good experience to help your child appreciate the spirit of giving? How can you not be running around at the last second throwing together a bag of canned green beans and canned pineapple? Here are some things that most shelters and food banks need so you can help out the most.

1. Formula - A lot of people tend to forget that babies need to eat, too. It doesn't need to be a fancy name brand, but if you remember to pick up soy or one of the other special versions, that won't hurt either.

2. Baby food (NOT glass jars) - Speaking of babies eating, they eventually need more than just formula. While you might have been a master of Baby Led Weaning, baby food is a necessity for many families. Plastic containers are better and aren't likely to shatter in your kid's backpack when they take it to school.

3. Canned meat - Things like canned chicken can be really helpful. Eating protein can help people feel fuller longer and not everyone is a vegetarian.

4. Spices - It gets old eating food without spices. Even when you're down on your luck, you deserve a little deliciousness in your life.

5. Juice - People need to drink something and juice can provide some helpful nutrients. Also, there are kids with them sometimes and they deserve a treat drink every now and again.

6. Shelf stable milk - Milk is a HUGE part of my children's diet. If we are ever down on our luck and in need of help, this is the number one thing we'd need as a beverage. I know most families are the same as us.

7. Cereal - Cereals are a quick and easy breakfast. Add in some shelf stable milk and you can help a family have a balanced breakfast.

8. Snacks - Popcorn, granola bars, anything shelf stable that is good to munch on. People get hungry in between meals. Having a little something to snack on is important.

Remember there are two main reasons schools do these drives. First, to help the community. Without these drives, many food banks and shelters would be without the resources to help everyone. Some are STILL without the resources to help everyone even with the help of the schools. Second, it's to help teach your children about compassion and to give to those who are going through a bad time.

If your school does not have a drive, see what you can do to start one. If you're looking to do something different, I would highly recommend a coat drive. In some schools, you'll find kids waiting for the bus in nothing but a pair of school pants, t-shirt, and sweatshirt in freezing temperatures. They're not being foolish, they just don't have a coat. Our entire district has done a coat drive for the last couple years and it has been very successful. Helping out whenever you can is a great lesson to teach your children.


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Emilie is a high school English teacher with two children. She holds a Bachelors in English and a Masters in Secondary Education. After completing student teaching at an urban, Persistently Low Achieving (PLA) school, she was placed at another PLA school in the same school district. Her Ask a Teacher column can also be found over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes.




 

Ask a Teacher - What'd you do today?

We've all had that conversation with our kids. You excitedly pick your child up from the carpool line and the first question you ask is "What do you do at school today?" The answer most often is "Nothing."

Why do they do that? You've been gone from them all day and you just want to hear what they did all day. But they just finished a long day at school and they're ready to not be in school mode. Pushing and saying "C'mon, you had to have done something! What'd you do today?" is only going to produce an irritated "NOTHING!" in reply.

Instead of launching into questions at pick up, it's a good idea to give your child a little bit to decompress. When you get home from work, the last thing you want to talk about is work. Your kid is the same way.

Wait until dinner time or when you have a quiet moment to ask, but don't just ask what they did today. If you asked me what I did today, I'd stare blankly and try to figure out which part you want me to tell you. Help them out by focusing on one thing. My go to is "What was your favorite part of school today?" Sometimes this doesn't work and my son just tells me he liked recess the best. You can also focus on one part of the day, such as asking about what book was read in class or what they did in science.

Getting kids to open up can be difficult at first, but it's an important habit to start with your child.


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Emilie is a high school English teacher with two children. She holds a Bachelors in English and a Masters in Secondary Education. After completing student teaching at an urban, Persistently Low Achieving (PLA) school, she was placed at another PLA school in the same school district. Her Ask a Teacher column can also be found over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes.

Ask a Teacher: When should I intervene if my child is having friend / social problems at school?

Resident teacher Emilie Blanton from Teaching Ain't for Heroes helps us navigate the difficult terrain of first friendships.


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Q: When should I intervene if my child is having friend / social problems at school?


A: It happens. People stop being friends all the time. For kids, this can become an ongoing issue as they deal with the inability to escape their new Not Friend during the school day and the fact that children are inherently less socially developed than adults. Most of the time, adults don't handle this transition well, so it's inevitable that children navigating this social dilemma will have their own problems.

The best idea is to speak with the teacher before it becomes a classroom issue. If there already are problems going on in the classroom, contact the teacher as soon as possible. Try to use whatever mode of communication the teacher prefers, be it email, phone call, or a note in your child's folder. It's important to try to remain objective when you contact the teacher. It's hard to not be upset when your child is hurt, so planning ahead what you want to say is probably the best idea.

Oftentimes students have group work or work in partners and teachers can assign these groupings. Making a teacher aware of social issues isn't just to blame the other child, it really is important so a teacher doesn't unknowingly pair your child with their former best friend and current archenemy. While teachers can pick up on friendship cues, sometimes the dynamics change so quickly, it's hard to keep track.

At home, talk to your child and encourage them to make the teacher aware of things that make them upset or uncomfortable. This is a good time to go over the difference between tattling and actually needing an adult.

Remind your child that not everyone will want to be their friend and that's okay. They won't want to be everyone else's friend, either. Remind them of the other friends they have and the opportunities to have to make new friends.






 

Ask a Teacher: How do I get my child school-ready after summer break?

Our resident teacher, Emilie Blanton, who blogs over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes, answers the summer-old question, how do we prepare our kids for another year at school after a few months of a totally different (in some cases) schedule?


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Parents are rejoicing across the nation as the new school year approaches. Some of our southern friends are already back in session! Somehow summer always seems so long until you're staring at the calendar wondering how the first day of school approached so quickly. What can you do to help your children begin the new year well?

First, try to get them waking up a little earlier. This isn't a problem with my children who seem to think 5 a.m. is an appropriate time to start the day, but if you have older kids who have started the magical sleeping in, see if you can give them at least a few days adjustment before the harsh reality of getting ready for school is upon them. It might help you get back in the swing, too. Some schools start early and parents might have gotten used to sleeping in a little later as well.

If this year is your child's first year of school or their first year in a new building, try to get them there before the first day. Some schools have Meet The Teacher days or orientation. However, if you're like me, these actually conflict with your work schedule. If that's the case, call up to school some time when you are free and see if you can at least get your child into some common areas like the cafeteria or the main entrance at least. Sometimes it helps that the building isn't some great unknown. If you can't swing that, some pictures from the school website are better than nothing.

Try to call school before orientation or the first day to ask about fees that you might not know existed. While everyone is guaranteed a public education, it's not actually free. Some school related fees can run in the hundred and parents can be surprised by this reality. Do you qualify for fee waiver or free/reduced lunch? Now is a good time to find out if you haven't already. If you don't know, ask. It's better to be told no than to qualify and never get the assistance. School related expenses can be much more costly than people realize.

Don't forget the practice some simple school related activities. Don't bog your child down with "Now it's HOMEWORK TIME!" but try to integrate some reading or writing into your day. Most students experience at least a little Summer Slide. Getting them back in the swing of school related skills can help your child avoid playing catch up for the first few weeks. It can also save them from the horrible hand pain of the first day of school that I've discussed before.

Brace yourself! The school year is almost here!








 

Ask a Teacher - How do I keep my kids learning over the summer?

It's midway through summertime, and you may find yourself in a slump, particularly when it comes to educational activities for the kids. Teacher Emilie Blanton, who blogs over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes has some great suggestions for you.

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I often have parents ask what they can do to ensure their children are still learning over summer vacation. It's true that students sometimes experience minor losses over summer break, at least as far as testing is concerned. However, summer shouldn't be about drilling new skills or introducing concepts children aren't ready for. Summer is a great time to use your children's natural curiosity and thirst for knowledge to help keep them on their toes for the coming school year. Here are a few things you can do with your children to make the summer as useful as possible.

1. Have a routine.
First and foremost, have some kind of set schedule that you can at least vaguely stick to. It doesn't have to be super structured like a school day, but knowing Monday is Park Day, Tuesday is Library Day, and so on can help kids immensely. It keeps them feeling secure because they know what to expect. It gets you out of the house for at least a little while so you don't have to yell "STOP TATTLING ON YOUR SISTER!" for four hours straight from your living room. Hopefully it wears them out and they sleep better, too.

2. Hit up the library!
It's free, y'all. Go there. Enjoy storytime. Check out books about whatever they want. Grab a book for yourself. The library is one of the best things a child can experience. Get them their own card and let them experience the joy of checking out their own books. Clear off a shelf on your bookshelf or buy a dollar store crate and keep your library books in them so you don't have to hunt all over the house for them. And if you go once a week for your routine, you won't have to worry about forgetting a due date since you'll be back there next week anyway.

3. Make them write.
Remember when the beginning of school would roll around and your hand would cramp up the first day because you weren't used to writing in so long? Help your kids avoid that ride on the struggle bus. For older kids, have them keep a journal and write in it daily. They can write what they did. They can write what they like. They can write "I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO WRITE!" enough times to fill a page, just have them putting pencil to paper at least once a day. For the younger crowd who aren't as adept with writing yet, try having them write individual words or sentences. They can help you write the grocery list (I know it will take longer, but it will be worth it), write down their favorite animal they saw at the zoo, anything to keep their writing skills growing.

4. Have some type of group activity.
It could be camp, the aforementioned story time at the library, an organized playdate, sports, anything. Just make up some excuse for your kids to interact with other kids. Kids are not naturally polite. Social manners are a skill just like reading and writing. They need practice waiting their turn, not interrupting, sharing, and everything else that's vital to a group learning environment.

5. Give in to their random curiosity.
You want to learn about lemurs? Let's find a book at the library! You want to know how car engines work? Let's watch a YouTube video together! You want to read all the Chronicles of Narnia? Knock yourself out! Summer is a great time to let kids run wild with their imaginations and interests. Try not to force a given curriculum on them over summer break. Instead let them learn something because they want to. They'll have plenty of time to fit into assigned curriculum. Summer is a time when they can pick anything they want to learn about. They can develop a love of learning, the actual skill of learning, that will last them their whole life.

Above all, try not to stress out. They might forget a few letter sounds or their pencil grip might slip a little, but most of the first two weeks of school is geared toward fixing those minor skill losses. And if you have to sideline the routine because of a doctor appointment or you never quite set that playdate, don't sweat it. The fact that you're taking initiative at all is a huge advantage for your child.







 

Ask a Teacher - What do you do all summer?

Summer break is upon us and as such, our resident teacher from Teaching Ain't for Heroes answers the age-old question...you're a teacher, what do you do during the summer months?

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Okay, it's not quite time for my summer break, but I'm close (TWO DAYS)! A lot of parents wonder what teachers do over summer break.

My summer break this year will be just less than two months thanks to a full week after students get out where teachers will attend meetings. In that time, I have some teacher-y things to do before the new school year starts. I have a requirement to get 24 hours of Professional Development (PD) according to the Kentucky Department of Education. Six of the hours are provided by the school right before students return. The rest is up to me to find on my own, though some PDs are strongly recommend either by the school or the district. I generally get more than 24 hours just because there are interesting sessions I want to attend. We used to get paid for additional hours, but that's generally not the case anymore unless your specific school is footing the bill, at least in my district.

My school offers a 12 hour retreat, broken up over two days, that will make up the bulk of my required hours. The other six hours will be an English PD about integrating science and social studies readings into the English/Language Arts classroom.

This summer I'm also adding in coaching as my coworker who used to coach track and cross country is moving schools. Back in April I ran my very first (AND LAST) full marathon and earned the label of "runner" despite never running track or cross country. Ever. I stepped into the role and will be leading morning running practice for my student athletes.

Since I'm a coach now, I'm taking extra PD hours for CPR training and a course called Fundamentals of Coaching that helps with how to not injure your student athletes and what to do if they end up injured anyway.

In the past, I've taught summer school and an extra program for incoming freshmen called Summer Bridge. This is my first year in four years that I won't be doing either of those things. Instead, I'm taking a vacation with my family to the beach and enrolling my own kids in summer school. I caught a little grief for choosing swim lessons over teaching opportunities, but at some point I have to put my own children first. They love swim lessons and I just shelled out some serious cash to join a local pool. I have wonderful plans to go there every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday for swim lessons and enjoy glorious naps for my nearly two year old when we return. We'll see how that works out. I'd like to get a few zoo visits in as well.

I try to cram all the fun stay at home mom activities that I can into the summer. I always attempt the same for winter break, but it's always too cold and dreary. In the summer, it's always so hot and melty, but I can usually fit some fun things in before high noon hits.

The summers always feel short and rushed. I have the added bonus of needing to complete and upload 12 weeks worth of activities and curriculum before the summer is over. This will slip away from me and I'll forget until the first week of August, but it will be a dark storm cloud threatening my summer. Before I know it, it will be time to welcome my new batch of freshmen and make way for my brand new challenge of now teaching sophomores as well. This summer hasn't started and I've already planned most of it away.



 

Ask a Teacher - How Do I Get My Child to Behave?

In the girls' classes they had this thing called "Shining Star". In addition to their green and yellow and red cards that got flipped for everyday decisions, the teacher would pick one child a week as the best child and send them home as the shining star. Oh, the tears. THE TEARS, GUYS. Shining star was absolutely the bane of my existence, escalating to an unparalleled scale when one of my twins brought home shining star months before the other twin. THE TEARS. Anyway, this system, while very well intended...didn't quite work out for us.

Emilie Blanton, who blogs over at Teaching Ain't For Heroes, has some suggestions on the best ways to reward a child for good behavior, and how to supplement that system at home.

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How can I help my child behave during school?

Every kid is different. If my contributions have a common theme, it would be just that. Every single kid is different and one size does not fit all. It's with that in mind that we had to reevaluate how we were motivating our son in Pre-Kindergarten.

My son's teacher has a system that works really well. Students move up and down a ladder based on their behavior. They start neutral green and can move up with good behavior and down with bad behavior. Students who are green or better receive a stamp at the end of the day to let their parents know. Students who receive a stamp every day that week visit the treasure box on Friday.

The problem for us was that five days in a row was a lot for our son. His teacher and I were both frustrated by his behavior. He wasn't intentionally being bad, he just wanted to play. He would be good on Monday and Tuesday, but if he didn't get a stamp Wednesday, he didn't seem to care about Thursday or Friday.

At our house we devised a color chart that he colored in with his behavior color. Instead of focusing on five consecutive days, we focused on five days, period. If he was good Monday and Tuesday, but then didn't do so hot Wednesday, he still cared about filling in good boxes for Thursday and Friday. He could earn things like a book, an iPad App, a toy from the dollar bin at Target, and so on.

We also had a bad decisions bar that filled up with five no stamp days. After five no stamp days, he lost a privilege that he had to earn back. The bars helped him see his overall behavior and give him a more achievable goal to reach.

There are kids in my son's class who are completely capable of five consecutive good days in a row and maybe next year, my son would be one of those kids. He's just not this year and rather than fret about him being "that" kid in class and wondering why other kids were able to meet the goals set by the teacher, we made our own goals.

If your child is struggling with behavior in the classroom and the teacher's system isn't a good fit for them, making a complementary system to help encourage good behavior and discourage bad decisions is great. What we did might not work for you and it may take some time to get it just right. We'd tried giving and taking away privileges on a day by day basis before trying the chart, but it didn't work for us and we moved on to something that did. Helping your child be successful is about finding ways to facilitate success rather than react to negative behavior. The ultimate goal is to remove these incentives once the behavior becomes habit. It's a lot easier to start with baby steps and work your way up than to expect giant leaps that your child can't or won't take.








 

Ask a Teacher - What the Hell Is That Scary Math Problem on the Internet? Why Does Common Core Hate Me?

So, earlier in the week, I saw a really weird thing that I didn't quite understand, and I shared it and was ready to clutch my pearls (FINALLY!), but alas, it was not to be. Turns out that silly math problem going around the internet is a bad example, but even if it wasn't, IT'S STILL NOT HARD, and IT ACTUALLY MAKES SENSE. It's true. They even convinced me (since I taught myself to do it later in life but didn't even know it) and I LOVE me some one-carrying.

Emily Blanton of Teaching Ain't For Heroes takes us through the SUGGESTED common core practice that is the "new" way.

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I'm sure you've seen it by now. There's some picture floating around Facebook about "Common Core" math with the "Old Fashion Way" and the "New Way" to do math. In case you haven't seen it, here it is:






Yes, lots of people are losing their minds over this. And you know, it might look confusing at first, but it doesn't take much to figure out that this is a way to introduce metacognition to students to help them with their mental math. You do this in your head and you don't even realize that you do it. This blog post is the best explanation I've seen of how you do it all the time. When you go to the store and buy things, you don't bust out a calculator or get a pencil and paper to do it the "Old Fashion Way" carrying your ones and such. You make the numbers easier to manage in your brain.

Who taught you to do that? Did you learn to do it on your own? I mean, maybe you did. Maybe a parent told you. I know I learned it at school. If no one ever taught you to do that and you never figured it out on your own, people doing mental math must look like freaking wizards. Which is exactly what a lot of students who into high school math without learning mental math see their math teachers.

Math isn't the only place where students need mental exercises. We do it in English and Language Arts as well. How do you make inferences? When did you learn how to make them? Someone taught you or you picked it up naturally. Some students make it to high school completely at a loss of how to make inferences without being walked through it.

Yes, there are "easier" ways to do math using pencil and paper. However, the purpose of assignments in school is not to find the right answer. The point is to teach students how to find the right answer. If the purpose was finding the right answer and nothing else, you never would have had to show your work back in algebra. But you had to show your work so your teacher could see if you made a mistake along the way so they could help you fix it. Learning mental math is the same way. And practice makes perfect, so get used to seeing it for awhile.

I'd also like to point out that the example being passed around was likely made up by someone who doesn't actually teach this method. The first thing someone teaching this would say would be to cancel the twos in the ones position.



 

Ask a Teacher - What's with All the Professional Development?

If you're like me (a parent who is not a teacher), you see "professional development" (I can use scare quotes because see first part of the sentence) days as a nuisance and sometimes you wonder if they are really necessary. Teacher Emilie Blanton from Teaching Ain't for Heroes says they are and better than that, she tells us why.

What's with all the professional development?


With the abundance of snow days in my district this year, it has been brought up by multiple parents across social media that professional development days should be used as make up snow days. A common thread is most of these assertions is that teachers don't need all this time without students.

But do they? Disregarding the weather issues going on in my state, the professional development days do serve a vital purpose in the education of your children. Professional development can be used in a variety of ways. It can be a time to take continuing education type courses in all types of subjects, meet with fellow teachers to analyze current student learning, and even catch up on planning and grading for classes we're teaching.

The majority of a teacher's work week is spent in direct contact with students, teaching and conferencing with their classes. Most teachers get a planning period, but that time isn't generally enough to get copies, plan lessons, and grade all the student work. It's true that we can always take work home, but most of us are parents as well and have a limited amount of time to spend with our own children as it is. That time also doesn't allow us time to grow and learn from fellow educators the way professional development courses can.

The majority of professional development can be taken care of during the summer, but the best teachers are those who continue to grow, learn, and change throughout the year, not just during the summer.

Professional development opportunities should not take precedence over student learning. Using too many substitute days to attend courses isn't good for students, especially if those days all happen directly before end of course testing. It can be frustrating and inconvenient when professional development days create havoc in a parents' life by making them have to take a day off work. Ultimately, the professional development days help students in the long run.




 

Ask a Teacher: How to Get the Whole Story

Sometimes, when kids come home from school or even playdates, they have some...odd stories to share. I know mine have told me about teachers "yelling" at them, or saying something mean. Heck, it's happened to me on multiple occasions. Once, my daughter slipped on tile floor during a tantrum and I made a grab for her so she wouldn't bang her head, only I was in heels and stumbled myself, falling and putting a hole in the wall. The story that reached her daddy was: "Mommy got mad and kicked the wall."

She was three at the time, saw my stern, all-business, gonna-save-my daughter face, confused it with anger, and was falling herself as I fell, and when she got up there was my foot in the wall. Makes sense. I can see her version.

Anyway, sometimes what kids remember is not exactly what happened. So how do you get the whole story? We asked resident teacher, Emilie Blanton, who blogs over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes.

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Kids remember the darndest things. Or they remember things in really odd and unflattering ways. This happens to parents all the time. It happens to teachers as well.

At some point, your child is going to come home with a really strange, possibly shocking story involving their teacher. It's going be easy to jump to conclusions. For example, my son came home and told me that his teacher told him he needs to brush his teeth in the morning because his breath smells bad.

I immediately jumped to conclusions and thought she'd singled out my son and made him feel bad. He was already brushing his teeth in the morning. I started trying to figure out how his fantastic Pre-K teacher would think that's okay to tell my son. I got a little irrational while talking about it with my husband demanding to know how she'd even know since he's in the afternoon class. I went through his normal lunch trying to figure out what would make his breath smell so bad.

At after school pick up the next day, I waited a bit to talk to his teacher only find out they sang a song all about why you should brush your teeth, including how it makes your breath smell good. I got irrational over nothing.

When these instances happen, it's important to keep a cool head and ask calmly what happened. Oftentimes kids have these weird filters that make no sense to adults. Sometimes starting out with "You know, Johnny said the craziest thing..." instead of an accusatory tone can keep help you get the whole story without the teacher getting defensive. You'd be surprised what kind of things students spout off about their parents. Keeping an open mind and remembering there's probably a perfectly good explanation can save a lot of stress and embarrassment for all parties.

There are "bad" teachers out there who may speak or act in a manner you don't find appropriate. If that is the case, discuss that situation with the teacher in question. If the behavior doesn't change, involve administrators as needed, but always try to discuss the issue with the teacher first.

What are some crazy stories your kids have come home with? What really happened?

 

Ask a Teacher: How Do You Feel About Homework?

As the holidays draw near, homework becomes more and more of a chore. But how much is too much? Our teacher Emilie Blanton who's usually over at Teaching Ain't For Heroes has the answer.


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As a parent and educator, I believe homework is vital and serves an important role. However, and this is a big however, there can be too much, which defeats the purpose in the first place.

My son is four and attends Pre-K at a local Catholic school. He has homework once or twice a week and overall, it has been a positive experience for us. You're probably thinking I'm crazy for appreciating homework at the Pre-K level, but there are some advantages to it. First, it reinforces the idea that learning happens at home as well as at school. It helps students practice skills they've already learned. If done correctly, kids have fun while practicing school concepts at home. Importantly for our family, it gives us a guideline of what is age appropriate "work" to do. I teach high school, but that doesn't mean I understand the ins and outs of what's appropriate for a four year old to be able to master.

Homework can be done wrong. Homework done the wrong way is what creates headaches and nightmares for parents, as well as students. Homework is not the time to learn new material. Homework is for additional practice and nothing more. At the younger grades, homework should be more about creating good habits than overloading students with too much work. We get maybe 10 minutes total of homework a week and it's only 10 minutes because my son gets distracted or spends time talking to me instead of writing what he's supposed to write. We don't push too hard and he doesn't resist. It's a good set up for now.

Even if a student isn't being asked to learn something new at home, lengthy homework, especially at the younger grades, can really damage a student's confidence and love of learning. After being at school for several hours, another hour of homework is unreasonable for anyone, but especially young children.

As a teacher, I use homework as a time to practice skills we're learning that need more practice. I'm not in the habit of making busy work. When students do busy work, I have busy work to grade, as well as the expectation that I make more busy work. Who has time for that? No one. Not my students and certainly not me.

When it comes to doing age appropriate work, I have no idea what four year olds are capable of. Yes, I know my son best, but I also see the epic Facebook-crafting that makes me think my child should be composing symphonies. Instead of beating myself up that my child is not the next brilliant genius, I'm having fun watching him grow and increase his skills. It's also important to remember that not every parent knows what to do to help their children become lifelong learners. Without assigned homework, some students may never do any reading or writing at home at all.

If homework is creating headaches and drama in your household, it's time to talk to the teacher and discuss more reasonable expectations. If your kindergartener is stuck at the table for an hour every day, that is not appropriate. Even though the teacher is the educator, you ultimately do know your child the best and you know when they are exhausted and frustrated. If things don't change after talking to the teacher, it's time to talk to a school counselor or administrator and talk about how you can ensure your child is successful.






 

Ask a Teacher - What's the Deal with Common Core?

Emilie Blanton over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes graciously comes over and answers school questions for us once a month, and this month's is a doozy. What is up with Common Core?

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You've probably heard about it in the news. Common Core is a newest buzzword with parents, despite being heavily discussed in the education world for more than three years.

Judging by the posts I see on Facebook, Common Core is the new thing to blame for all the ails of education. Parents post pictures of worksheets and complain about how horrible Common Core is.

Let's start with what Common Core is NOT.

Common Core is not:

a set, assigned curriculum
assigned worksheets
a way to remove autonomy from the states
about added homework and stress for students and parents
"Obamacare for Education" or whatever that means (oh, Facebook...)
In 2001, George W. Bush signed No Child Left Behind into law. The act was designed to ensure 100% proficiency in the entire nation by 2014. That's next year. That's right, by 2014 all students were going to be perfect! You're perfect all the time, aren't you? Surely every child in the United States of America, the greatest nation on this here planet, can be perfect, too! NCLB wasn't the beginning of the Accountability Movement in education, but it was a heavy straw added to the breaking back of education.

The measure for proficiency was on a state by state level with tests created by the states over standards also created by the states. So California makes their standards of "stuff the average students should be able to do by the end of the year" and tests them over it. Kentucky does the same, and New York, and Texas, and New Hampshire, and Florida and on and on and on. No two states are the same and no two tests are the same. This creates a problem when families have the audacity to cross state lines and students proficient in Kentucky are suddenly severely behind in another state. What's worse, the idea of "college ready" isn't stable across the country and countless students are accepted into universities, go in debt in student loans and promptly drop out or are kicked out because they just weren't ready, keeping their enormous education tab while they reassess their lives.

As 2014 edged closer and closer, the Common Core was created for a few reasons. First, the states needed to agree one reasonable expectations for grade levels that will create individuals who are ready for postsecondary education and the workplace. This agreement will help students who move between states first, but it will also make an ending point for 12th grade that students need to reach in order to move on from public school. Without cooperation, students moving between states are left to flounder while universities will continue to have more and more freshmen drop out because they can't handle the workload.

Instead of making sure that no child was left behind, the Accountability Movement of the 1990s created a further gap of haves and have nots. Parents who had the means could secure a spot at a charter school, private school or even public schools that are more selective in who they allow in. These students continued to learn at deeper levels, similar to the education you probably remember. Students at struggling schools, or "Persistently Low Achieving" schools were more and more focused on test scores to the detriment of the education the students received.

The expectations were leveled by grade creating a scaffold that students would build on each year in order to grow and develop. The expectations are not unreasonable. They're just different. Different is not inherently bad, but it does take some adjustments and getting used to.

Those "Common Core Aligned" worksheets? They're not endorsed by the government or required. Companies are looking to make a buck off teachers and parents trying to make sure that they are teaching the "assigned curriculum" that doesn't exist. The curriculum is not assigned. There are a set of skills a student must be able to demonstrate. In kindergarten, there is no "Do this worksheet because it's required." Instead, this is an example of a literature reading standard for kindergarten: "CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.1 With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text."

The same standard is built upon the following year in first grade with the following adjustment: "CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.1 Ask and answer questions about key details in a text."

And again in second grade with a further adjustment: "CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.1 Ask and answer such questions as who, what, where, when, why, and how to demonstrate understanding of key details in a text."

The standard grows each year until the final version of the standard in high school: "CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.11-12.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the text leaves matters uncertain."

All four of those examples are the same literature reading standard, Standard 1, which I shorter for my students as "Cite text evidence." The skill is begun in kindergarten and grows to an actual, useful skill that is required in any English 101 classroom.

That's it. That's all the Common Core is. It's not a way to control the masses or brainwash your children. It's not a plot to increase homework or make children cry. It's nothing to do with irrelevant or tricky worksheets. It's not some socialist agenda designed to dumb down your children. If anything, the level of work required for Common Core will help your students.

There's a lot of misconceptions about Common Core and pundits aren't helping the dialogue by creating fear and misinformation about it. Teachers are still working to grow and adapt to the massive change in curriculum. The adjustment can only go as smooth as people let it. While people continue to kick up a fuss about Common Core without understanding what it is, the adjustment will take longer and it is the children who will deal with the consequences.

If you'd like to see more of the Common Core State Standards for various subjects and grade levels, this is an excellent source: Common Core State Standards Initiative.





 

Ask a Teacher: What Do I Do If my Child Is "Struggling"

Today, Emilie from Teaching Ain't For Heroes gets personal. She talks about what parents should remember should their kids get a "struggling" assessment in a certain area during the early grades.

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I received my son's first report card. As a teacher, I've prided myself on knowing how to teach and when to teach various things. My first fieldwork experience was with kindergarteners (22 of them), so even though I teach high school, I felt that I had experiences that could help me teach my son.

My son received all checks and his report started out glowing. His teacher talked about how he was sweet and hardworking. She said that sometimes he's disruptive with talking, but he's easily corrected.

And then she said that he was struggling with printing and letter sounds. My pride took a hit with that word "struggling" because I know what that word means in my teacher jargon. In my classroom, I use struggling for kids who are below grade level and in danger of being left behind. I don't use struggling lightly. Struggling is for kids who are missing basic skills necessary to master standards.

It stung. I've been doing everything right. We read every night. He practices writing at home. We always do his homework (yes, homework in preschool!). He loves learning. He loves playing school. He's said he wants to be a teacher, just like me.

But he's struggling.

The idea of a range of normal is just that, a range. There's early readers and late readers and kids who fall somewhere in the middle of that enormous spectrum.

Not every kid can be advanced and perfect at everything they do. It's hard to accept that your child isn't the best in their peer group.

Despite my son's struggles in the first term of preschool, it's unlikely that he'll struggle in the same way that many of the students I have known do. He may not be an early reader like I was, but that doesn't mean that I have failed in someway. Every kid is different and will learn at their own pace.

As parents, it's so easy to get hung up on the successes of our children that we forget that they are individuals who don't need to be measured against their peers.

The fact that so many of us Facebook craft our children's lives so that they appear perfect doesn't help. Hey, I'm guilty. I held my phone just right so that the part about disruption and my son's struggles wasn't visible when I posted a picture of his report to Facebook. When you find yourself feeling down on yourself as a parent, remember that just out of frame, others' lives aren't perfect either.






 

Ask a Teacher: What to Do About Bullies?

Now that school is back in full swing, you may be noticing some social problems you'd hoped you wouldn't have to deal with. Namely, bullying. Teacher Emilie Blanton from Teaching Ain't for Heroes gives advice on what parents can do about this common, but shitty, reality.

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Bullying is a huge issue in schools. It's been an issue. It will continue to be an issue. Bullying will involve your child at some point in their lives. I get so many questions about bullying, I decided to tackle several of them at once. Bullying is persistent, aggressive behavior that is meant to emotionally or physically harm another individual. Bullying takes on many forms, from passive aggressive insults to outright physical assaults. All forms are serious and dangerous and need to be stopped.

How do I keep my child from being bullied?

Unless you lock them in a bubble, there's no way to shield your child from bullies. Even if you homeschool your child, there's the park, birthday parties and the eventual real adult world filled with bullies to deal with. Someone is going to attempt to bully your child at some point. Bully-proofing your child is important. Building up your child's confidence is the first step. Give them a happy, safe home to come to. Encourage them to advocate for themselves. Teach them the difference between tattling and advocating. Be there for them. If their attempts to stand up for themselves fail, be there to back them up. Realize that sometimes they have to fight their own battles and always be an open, caring person for them to talk to. You can't protect them from everything, but you can give them tools to help keep them happier.

Help! My child is being bullied!

Again, teach your child to advocate. Approach the teacher first and let them know what you know. Be as specific as possible. "Little Johnny is making my daughter uncomfortable. He pokes her and pulls her hair. It needs to stop." Don't vaguely state that Little Johnny is bullying your child, say what exactly is going on. The more specific you can be, the better. This part is important. Not all teachers will take action. Make sure you are recording when you talked to the teacher and what was said. Email is perfect for this. If the bullying is still going on, move a level up and seek out a counselor or administrator. The next step after that is the school board. Record everything and be as specific as possible.

Remain calm as you talk to each person. It is hard. Your child is being targeted and it feels horrible. Be firm. Be confident. Hold your head up and demand respect for your child's well being. Screaming and yelling won't get anything done faster, but that might be what you want to do. It's okay to have a strong reaction to your child being targeted. Staying calm will help you remember everything you want to say. If you need to, when speaking to someone in person, bring notes or index cards with important information. There's nothing wrong with having reminders to help you. I go into meetings with notes and you can, too. If you get flustered, take a moment, breathe and begin again. Your child deserves to feel safe and it's okay if you need to take a little longer than intended to ensure that safety.

I've failed. My child is a bully.

You haven't failed. Not all bullies are budding sociopaths bent on tyranny and extra milk money. Bullies come in all shapes and sizes, from all types of families. Your child stumbled while learning to walk. They're going to stumble while learning to be a decent human being. Haven't we all?

If you are contacted about your child being a bully, don't go on the defensive. It's okay to be concerned. It's not okay to try to explain it away. Regardless of the reason your child may be bullying others, it does need to stop. If you explain it away to the teacher or administrator, you might start explaining it away to your child and they'll think the behavior is okay. Talk to your child. Impress upon them the importance of empathy. Remind them what it feels like when others are mean to them. Break out that old phrase "treat others as you'd want to be treated!" Just don't brush it off. Don't say "Well, kids will be kids." Yes, kids will be kids, but it is on us to make sure that they grow and develop into decent human beings capable of love and compassion.

The other parents are bullying me!

They probably are. I know people say that middle school is when bullying is the worst, but I'd posit adults are the worst bullies. There are mommy bullies, work bullies, frenemies and more. Hold your head up. Don't get sucked into the drama. It's hard to resist. I know. I've been there. Be a positive example to your child about how one deals with bullies. Be confident and avoid the people who cause the worst stress.


 

Ask a Teacher: How Can I Help my School?

Emilie over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes addresses how parents can help their school systems at the beginning (and throughout) the year. Thanks, Emilie!

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School is about to begin across the US (or has just started depending on where you are). Whether you know it or not, there is a need at your school. One of my most common questions I get as a teacher is what individuals can do to help out at their school or other local schools. Here are some simple ways you can help out and make a difference.

1. Buy a few extra supplies from your supply list.

Every year, there is at least one kid whose parents won't or can't buy their child's school supplies. Often times the teacher either has to pay for these items out of her own pocket or the child has to use secondhand supplies. It might seem minor, but when everyone else is getting out their brand new Crayolas and you're using half-sized store brand crayons, it can be sad for that child. Often stores have a buy one, get one sale going on so close to school anyway, so pick up an extra pack of crayons or extra pencils while you're on your Back to School Target run and give them to the teacher explaining that you bought extra on purpose.

2. Donate old books, magazines or other texts to a local school.

I know you remember cutting stuff out of old magazines in school. Where do you think those magazines came from? Sometimes teachers have subscriptions or doctors offices donate their old periodicals. If you happen to have any old magazines or any old texts, call up a local school and let them know what you have. There is often a place for teachers to look through donated materials that people bring in. You don't even have to be affiliated with the school to do this, so if you have elementary aged children but high school level texts, you can call the high school and drop off the items. The big thing is to let the school know that you are coming.

3. Buy or find some extra school clothes.

If your school has a uniform or dress code, pick up some extra polos or pants the next time you see a sale. This is something I'd encourage you to do throughout the year if you're able to. If your school has no dress code, pick up any generic clothes you can on the cheap. Look through your children's old clothes and see what's still presentable to donate to the school. Remember that not all children are "average" sized and some times even your adult sized clothes can work. As long as the clothes are clean and intact, your donation could mean the world to a kid who has an accident at school or maybe even has come to school in the exact same shirt since the school year began.

4. DonorsChoose

So maybe none of those ideas are what you're looking for. If you'd like to just donate money and leave the shopping to someone else. You can search for schools in your area and pick what project you want to donate to after reading about the teacher and her class. I recently submitted a DonorsChoose project (no, I'm not plugging myself, I'm already fully funded!) and I was very pleased with the experience on my end. The teacher first has to pick out resources that are purchased for the teacher, so you don't have to worry about your money being used for any nefarious purposes.

5. Ask the teacher.

If all else fails, ask the teacher what she needs. Maybe there's a student who never has lunch and she could use some shelf stable food to keep in her room to help him out. Maybe a student has had a family emergency and has some specific needs. You'll never know unless you ask!




 

Ask a Teacher: What Do You Do With Twins?

This is a question close to my heart, since I asked it. My identical twins have never, and I mean never been separated. Not once. Not in their whole lives. At almost-five, it's gotten so that they won't allow it. Even if one really wants to do something, and the other really doesn't, instead of separating, they will hash it out and compromise...or burn the place down in fiery tantrums of tears that they cannot bend the other one to their will.

Kindergarten is coming. Florida prefers separation of twins. Should I? Or should I continue to keep them together?

When they went to preschool last year, I saw them blossom. From clinging to each other, to playing on completely different sides of the room, one inside-one outside, whatever. They made their own separate friends, they socialized as individuals as well as a team. I was really pleased.

Are they ready for separate classrooms?

I leave it to Emilie, who not only is a teacher blogging at Teaching Ain't For Heroes, but also is a twin, herself.

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I am a twin. My twin sister and I were born back in 1984. Look at how adorable we were!

We love each other and we definitely have a bond. As an educator, I've had several sets of twins. Darlena, the eponymous Unlikely Mother at Tales of an Unlikely Mother asked me what I recommend when it comes to twins going to school.

First and foremost, you have to accept one thing. They are going to be separated at some point and they need that separation. A lot of when they need to be separated will be dependent on a number of factors.

Have they been in a school setting before? Skipping daycare and preschool and then immediately starting twins in kindergarten apart is a recipe for unnecessary tears and heartache. They're away from Mom for the first time and now they're losing their wombmate, too? That's a lot of change to accept all at one time.

The first time my sister and I went to a daycare setting, we were separated. I don't remember much from that experience beyond crying so hard that I almost threw up and desperately wanting my sister. It was too much, too fast. After establishing a feeling of safety and security at a daycare or preschool, that is a time to experiment with separating twins. Not all daycares and preschools are big enough to have multiple classes for each age and you don't want one of your children to be with older or younger children when it's not necessary. Also, not all children go to daycare or preschool period. However, if a set of twins is able to experiment with being separated that early, they may be able to be in separate classes. 

If your twins have not been to preschool or daycare, or their preschool or daycare program wasn't big enough to experiment with separation, I believe it is in the best interest of the twins to begin kindergarten together at least. My sister and I had kindergarten together, but by that time, we'd been separated at least part of the time in preschool and we were perfectly fine socializing with other children. Stay active and engaged with your children's kindergarten teacher so you can assess how the twins are doing throughout the school year. 

What happens next is entirely dependent on the personalities of your twins. Do you have a twin that "takes care" of the other one? At some point, you need to move them away from each other. It's best to stay as involved at school as possible in the first few years of school to see when the best time to do a split with your children is. In schools with tracking, your twins may end up in the same class for tracked subjects, like math and reading, but separate for elective classes. This is a great way to introduce and test out separation. Spending part of the day separate is a good way to transition to spending the whole day separate. 

My mother was adamant about keeping us separated starting in the first grade and I'm grateful for it. My sister has a tendency to take care of me and I would have never learned valuable skills if I'd relied on her during my entire school career. By high school, because of tracking, we ended up mostly in the same classes and by that point we were individuals and being together in class was perfectly fine. However, my sister and I are not some gold standard for every set of twins to strive to meet. When in doubt, see if the school will let you separate your twins on a trial basis to see how they do. You won't know after the first day how it will be, just like tears on the first day of daycare doesn't mean you're abandoning your child to be tortured every day. 

If you follow only one piece of advice from this, please separate your twins before high school. In high school, students don't travel in packs like they do in middle and elementary school. If twins have never been separated before high school, they'll be separated in high school purely because of how schedules are made. High school is a big enough shock without that being the first time you're away from your wombmate. They can't stay together for ever, so it's best to make the transition as smooth as possible by being proactive at your children's school.

Ask a Teacher - Parental Involvement

In this month's edition of Ask a Teacher, Emilie Blanton, who blogs over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes, answers the question: How much parental involvement do schools want to see? 
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Parental involvement is a complicated subject surrounded by tiny landmines. Is there such a thing as too much involvement? Ideally, no. However, there can be a wrong way to be involved.

Positive, proactive parental involvement is, with very few exceptions, always a good thing. Working together with educators to ensure the success of your student is best for all parties involved. So what does positive, proactive involvement look like? There isn't a set guideline for how often your can call or email, nor should there be. You and your child are individuals, so trying to fit your family's needs into a prescribed schedule isn't the best idea.

How often to contact a teacher depends on a number of factors, such as your child's age, services needed, and behavior/performance in a given class. An elementary homeroom teacher will have less than forty students and can speak with you more frequently without taking time away from other students' parents. An elementary elective teacher will likely be working with several grade levels and classes in each grade. An high school teacher can have nearly 150 students in a given day. A student with an A, while wonderful to talk about, may not need a weekly parent check up, barring other issues such as evaluating a student for giftedness.

I've found the best course of action for parents who contact me is to do so through email. I'm already awkward on the phone anyway, but email is optimal for me for a number of other reasons. First, we're not tied to a set schedule. You may have work while I'm on planning period and I'm not at school into the evening for later phone conversations. By dropping me an email, I can get back to you as soon as I receive the email and we're not left playing phone tag for the next several days. Next, both of us now have an easy to access record of the communication. You can show your child exactly what the teacher has said. Unfortunately, there are some not so great teachers out there. These emails can provide the evidence you need to bring to the administration.

There's nothing wrong with contacting a teacher for good things. In fact, the best thing for both of us is for or first interaction to be a good one. This is what I mean when I say positive and proactive. I want to hear from you before Little Johnny is failing my class. If we're already acquainted, it makes those troublesome communications go much smoother. It lets me know you're an ally and that you will be a team player in the success of your child.

But can you really contact me too much? Honestly, yes, BUT, and this is a huge but, if you're contacting me too much, odds are it's the wrong kind of contact. Here are a few things to keep in mind to keep your communication positive:

• Get the teacher's side of the story before making judgments based on something your child told you happened. I'm not saying Little Susie is a liar. I'm saying think about how Little Susie might describe some "negative" interactions with you to someone she wants to get on her side. There may be added context needed to understand the full story. 
• Don't start by going over the teacher's head. If you have a problem, speak with the teacher first. It's awkward for everyone involved if you first call an administrator or counselor and the teacher is blindsided by the issue. If the teacher isn't resolving the issue or you have a personality conflict, that's when it's time to involve a third party.
• If you're calling, be aware that it may take more than 24 hours for a teacher to get back to you. We can only call during the school day while we are on planning period. Sometimes these periods are eaten up by meetings and we are not able to call you back right away. We are not avoiding you, we're just busy. This is why email is optimal for me and a number of teachers. 
• Be cognizant of the fact that your child is not our only student. If you ask me about a grade, I have to actually pull out my gradebook to look it up so that I can give you the most accurate information. This doesn't mean that I don't care about your child. This means I have over a hundred students and I don't have all of their grades memorized every single day.
• If your district has an online gradebook option, try to utilize that instead of calling or emailing for a daily or weekly grade check. I don't mind answering grade check questions, but if that's all you want, most districts offer a way for you to check all of your child's grades at once. If the gradebook is not updated at least once a week, checking in on the teacher is a good idea. We are human and sometimes we fall behind. I personally keep a written gradebook that I update daily and update my online one once a week. Sometimes updating the online gradebook gets put on the backburner in favor of grading more assignments and passing them back to students in a timely manner.

When it comes to parental involvement, it's best to err on the side of offering too much. I'd rather deal with overinvolved parents than the opposite. Remember that your child will make mistakes. No one is perfect and it's okay for them to have shortcomings. Teachers are not out to get your child anymore than parents are out to get their own child. I can't stress enough that it's not about how often, but how you approach the involvement that is the key to the success of your child. We're a team when it comes to the education of your child. You want your child to succeed and I do, too. It's best if we work together to achieve this goal.

 

Ask a Teacher: How Does Differentiation Work?

Emilie over at Teaching Ain't for Heroes is our resident teacher, and she takes questions from parents about pressing school issues. If you have a question for her, leave a comment here or on our Ask a Teacher Page where you can also see the other questions that have been answered.

This week, she's dealing with differentiation.

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I was recently asked "How does differentiation work in practice?"

First, let's cover what differentiation is and what it is not. Differentiated instruction is providing students with multiple learning styles and levels the opportunity to access and develop skills in the classroom. Differentiation is not handing a student with a higher skill set uninstructed work to keep them "busy" while helping other students. This is important to remember as it seems some parents expect that latter. I'm not sure if they're just remembering their own schooling and some bad pedagogical practices they experienced, but handing a student higher level work without instruction is a recipe for disaster.

In the lower grade levels, differentiation looks a lot like station work and task rotations. I know it's been awhile for most of us parents, but if you remember your kindergarten and first grade classroom, it was likely split up into different sections based on content. I personally loved the reading carpet the best, shocking I know. During "free time" students have the option to visit various sections to work on whatever they want. Inevitably, your child will pick what they like best, but a good teacher will encourage them to visit sections where they may be struggling. They don't need to visit the areas they are struggling with daily, as that gets exhausting for them. School should be fun at least some of the time. During non-free time, teachers in lower grades will use station work as a way to meet the needs of a variety of students while being able to instruct the class as a whole.

The further your student moves in school, the more differentiation looks like choice within the classroom. My classroom is obviously not divided into content sections as I only teach English. Instead, I offer students choices as far as what book they read and how they wish to be assessed on their work. A cool tool to use with higher level grades is something called the "Comprehension Menu". This is a tool that allows teachers to see what students know and what they need to work on while giving them the option of how they wish to show that information. Comprehension Menus offer students options based on learning styles rather than skill level.

To help your child with differentiation, it's important to know your child's strengths and areas for growth. It's important to know what your child already knows, but it's just as important to know HOW they know what they know. Look into what type of learning style your child may have. Are they kinesthetic? Auditory? Visual? Some combination? Help your child identify the way they learn best and encourage them in those areas.

Even with differentiation, your child is going to be bored at some point. Taking notes is boring, but it's a valuable skill to have. Talk to your child about why they might be feeling bored. I dread note taking with an unholy passion, but I'm still glad that I know how to do it. If your child is beginning to lose focus because of boredom, it's time to talk to the teacher and see what a normal lesson/day is like for your student. I won't lie and pretend that all teachers are perfect or all classrooms are model classrooms. However, it's important to remember to get both sides of the story and see how you and your child's teacher can work as a team to help your child the most.