Staying connected to Your Child's School.

In today’s busy world, staying connected to your child’s teacher and school isn’t always an easy task. American and Canadian research has shown that the children of parents who become actively involved in their children’s education tend to do well in school. Studies have shown, for example, that increased parental involvement can boost achievement levels, make children more responsible learners, help them earn more credits in high school, ensure that they experience fewer discipline problems and improve their attendance. Clearly, building a relationship with your child’s school is a worthwhile activity.

Building a relationship between home and school requires an effort on the part of both parents and teachers. However, parents who take the time to establish this relationship will find that they have more input into their child’s education. Such a relationship will also give parents and teachers a better understanding of the pressures that the other party faces and provide each with a chance to articulate concerns and discuss responsibilities.


A child’s success in school is a shared responsibility. For that reason, communication between the home and the school is always a two-way endeavour. Today’s schools use a variety of tools—websites, newsletters, progress reports, e-mail and conferences—to engage parents and facilitate communication. Parents need to remember, however, that these tools, though extremely useful, are no substitute for actively participating in their child’s school by serving on the parent council, accompanying students on field trips, helping out in the classroom and volunteering on sports days. Share your time and experience where you can. A little goes a long way, and both your child and your child’s teacher will appreciate your efforts.


Here are some strategies and tips for communicating effectively:

1. Connect early: Rather than waiting for problems to arise, contact your child’s teacher early in the school year, introduce yourself and have a general discussion.
2. Volunteer: If your schedule permits, offer to help out in the school. Teachers will appreciate your support, and you will have a chance to see how your child and his or her teacher interact.
3. Visit the school: Many schools welcome parents on an informal basis. Find out if such visits are an acceptable practice at your child’s school.
4. Use technology: Take advantage of e-mail, websites, online tracking and monitoring programs, and the phone to stay in touch with your child’s school. Remember, however, that there is no substitute for face-to-face communication.
5. Communicate often: The frequency of your contact with the school will depend on your child’s situation. If you have serious concerns, weekly communication may be necessary.
6. Be positive: Both parents and teachers should communicate positive events and accomplishments to one another. This type of dialogue can do much to boost a child’s self-esteem.

Taking the time and effort to communicate with your child’s school in a variety of contexts and settings will help you to build a relationship with your child’s teacher and give you a chance to participate in your child’s education.
Visit the following websites for more information on school involvement:

• Communities and Schools Promoting: This gateway resource contains valuable information on the role that coordinated school-based and school-linked programs play in promoting the health, academic achievement and social development of students.
• Parents as Partners: This site contains describes best practices for facilitating parent involvement in schools, offers resources for parents and teachers, and provides a forum to help parents become engaged in their child’s school.

SOUCE: www.teacher.ab.ca

Connecting with your child's teacher?

Ever wonder what it really takes to start out on the right foot with your child’s elementary teacher?
While many parents think it means volunteering in the classroom and showing up for parent-teacher conferences, building a positive relationship with teachers actually begins with what you do at home to connect to your child’s education.
Teachers know which families support their children’s learning — and which do not. That’s because it shows up in the classroom every day through students’ work and the stories they tell. Just as your kids talk about school at home, children come to school innocently sharing stories about what mom or dad said about school, homework and teachers. And research shows, not surprisingly, that teachers have higher expectations for students whose parents are involved in their child’s education in productive ways.
Here are four ways you can show respect for and build a positive relationship with your child’s teacher:


1. Do your part: Teachers need your help with the basics and get frustrated when that doesn’t happen: Fill out school forms before the deadline – teachers and schools need this information to connect with your child; read the teacher’s newsletter so you know what’s going on in the classroom; get your kids to school on time every day; and fuel their little brains and bodies for learning. Make sure your children get 10-11 hours of sleep and eat a healthy breakfast every morning (protein, healthy carbs and less sugar) so they can concentrate, process and retrieve information for six and a half hours.  Sleep and diet impact your child’s behavior and learning more than most of us realize. Teachers notice and appreciate when parents prioritize these basic needs.

2. Connect with your child’s reading and homework: 
Teachers also know which parents are reading with their kids and supporting homework in productive ways. One of the greatest gifts you can give your children(and their teachers) is reading to, with or in front of them throughout their elementary years. Finding just 15 minutes to read every day influences your child in many ways. Read the class newsletter or website so you can reinforce at home what your kids are learning at school. Make sure homework is done, but don’t do it yourself – or correct it. Homework helps teachers identify which kids understand the material and which need a reteach.


3. Communicate effectively: Everything you write or say to your child’s teacher either strengthens or weakens the bridge you’re building. How you communicate with teachers plays a big role in whether your concerns are heard — and how quickly they are addressed. Use my Power of P3 to keep messages focused and productive. Start out on a Positive note whether you’re communicating via note, email, phone or in person. Be Professional (polite and respectful in your observations and feelings) and Persistent when needed. Discuss difficult issues on the phone or in parent-teacher conferences, not via email. And never go over the teacher’s head without letting him or her know you plan to do so. It’s not always easy to follow P3, especially if you feel frustrated about your child’s situation. But when blame and accusations seep into your communication, teachers will defend their actions rather than respond to your concerns.

4. Say “thank you” in words and actions: With higher standards, new teacher evaluations, and endless testing, teachers are under a lot of pressure today. Acknowledge and support their efforts by sending a thank-you note or saying thanks when you see them. Even better, have your child write a thank-you note. If you can, send in materials when teachers ask for them. Most teachers spend their own money on classroom supplies and appreciate whatever parents can give. And if you do have the time to volunteer in the classroom or at school, be as helpful as you can.
Showing up for conferences and volunteering in the classroom are important, but need to be combined with the above to build a positive relationship with your child’s teacher. And the beginning of a new school year is a perfect time to start.

(This article was written by ML Nichols and published in Books for Better Living on August 14, 2013)

www.simplesharebuttons.com.

 

Happy New Year.......... its the 21st day of 2015

I am here again. And I know its been donkey's years . I lost my laptop and also took a well deserved break.


I am back now (a pray a can blog consistently).  2015 promises to be a fantastic year. I have a lot of other goals which I am working on .


Happy New Year to all my readers and I  wish you all a PROMOTED 2015.

21st Century Learning

In the midst of the rapidly changing educational paradigms, teachers are continuously required to actualize their teaching pedagogy in such a way that it melts in with ethos of the new era. Teaching in the 21st century has its own idiosyncrasies that are, to a far extent, different from the ones that shaped instruction in the previous centuries.We are now living in a conceptual age that demands a host of new and complex thinking and cognitive skills and as such teaching priorities have to adjust to accommodate and foster these new demands.



Our students are no longer passive containers waiting for  their teachers to fill them in with teachable content.They have become active agents who can seek and access information and knowledge through different venues.They are equipped with the power of networks and can in a matter of few clicks crowdsource a topic and come up with all kinds of ideas.


Of course, the requirements for teaching in a conceptual age way transcend traditional ways of instruction. According to ISTE visual below, these requirements perfectly fit in within a blended learning space that makes use of both face to face and online teaching. There are different models of blended learning and here are some of them taken from ISTE visual:
Online
Instruction occurs via an online platform, with periodic face-to-face meetings.
 
Face to Face
Teacher offers primarily face-to face instruction, supplemented with technology in the classroom or computer lab.
 
Rotation
Students rotate between self-paced online learning and face-to-face instruction. Schedules are fixed  but flexible.
 
Flex
Most instruction is delivered online, with teachers providing as-needed support in small group settings.
 
Online Lab
Instruction takes place in a brick and mortar lab, delivered by an online teacher and supervised onsite by paraprofessionals.
Self-blend
Students take online courses to supplement their traditional school's face-to-face course catalog.

 
 SOURCE- www.iste.org

Yobe State School Bombing: State Closes Down Schools

The Yobe Government has closed down all public and private schools in the state, following  Monday’s suicide bomb attack on Government Science Secondary School, Potiskum.
The attack had claimed 48 lives and injured 79 others.
The state Commissioner for Education, Alhaji Muhammad Lamin, said in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Damaturu on Tuesday, that the closure was with immediate effect.
 
Lamin said that government decided to close the schools to enable it adopt more security measures to guarantee the safety of students, teachers and the school environment across the state.
Meanwhile, Sen. Alkali Jajere, representing Yobe South Senatorial District in the Senate, has appealed for a change in strategy by security operatives to contain insurgency in the state.
Jajere who spoke with journalists in Damaturu, said that the renewed attacks on innocent people of the state called for a change in strategy in the fight against insurgency.

 
“The number one responsibility of government is to protect the lives and property of the citizenry; government must live up to this basic responsibility.
“We are optimistic that with the necessary support and motivation, the Nigerian security forces can defeat insurgency,” he said.
The senator urged security agents to respect the rules of engagement in their operation, and called for synergy between law enforcement agents and the public, to effectively fight insurgency. (NAN)

SOURCE- Leadership News

Application Now On For The 2015 Yale Young African Scholars Program

The Yale Young African Scholars Program (YYAS) is an initiative modeled off of the Yale Young Global Scholars Program. This program is intended solely for African students attending secondary school on the African continent.

The 2015 Yale Young African Scholars programs will be hosted by Yale University in two locations:

Kenya: August 12 – 17

Zimbabwe: August 20 – 25

 The Yale Young African Scholars Program is a high-intensity six-day program designed for African students who will graduate from secondary school in 2017 or 2018, are 18 years or younger at the time of the program, and have the talent, drive, energy, and ideas to make meaningful impacts as young leaders, even before they begin their university studies. The Yale Young African Scholars Program is an official program of Yale University. 

There is no cost to students to participate in the Yale Young African Scholars Program.  

Participants are, however, responsible for getting themselves to the venue at the outset of the program and their return home at the end of the program. Participants will also be responsible for any incidental expenses they elect to incur. Admitted students demonstrating financial need may apply for a limited number of travel assistance grants, intended to help defray the cost of international travel between African countries. Students can only apply for travel assistance after they have received an offer of admission to YYAS.

The programs will help students recognize and understand global issues, strategize responses, and innovate solutions while learning from Yale faculty and African undergraduate and graduate students who currently attend Yale. Students will participate in a lecture series and a number of elective seminars on a variety of topics. The demanding academic content is designed to improve students’ analytical thinking, intellectual flexibility, and written and oral communication skills. These skills will be further utilized in small workshops designed to prepare students for the demanding application processes of U.S. colleges and universities.

On-site accommodation is mandatory, and will be provided for all students, along with three meals a day. There is no cost for students to participate in the program.

Follow this link to apply  https://apply.globalscholars.yale.edu/apply/

 

SOURCE - EDUPLACE

Why are they not writing legibly?

I have been in the mainstream class for 2 weeks now and what I have noticed is the fact that my pupils have very illegible handwriting.
I literally have to call some pupils to help me read what they have written.

 Photo Credit:.http://blog.upub.net

I will say, like  the bible says; in the beginning it was not so. The emphasis on beautiful and legible writing has weakened. Parents, teachers and pupils alike have stopped paying attention to handwriting.

PHOTO CREDIT: WWW.GRAPHOLOGY.IT


I am so big on handwriting maybe because I write very well. I am even of the view that my success in some examinations was due to my handwriting.


As a teacher I need to be honest, I love reading and marking the books of pupils the write legibly. I am not saying the child should be a calligrapher. But people should be able to read what you write without  needing to borrow a pair of reading glasses.
 
PHOTO CREDIT: WWW.GLOGSTER.COM



I think the technologies of this age have a role to play in this problem. I know some school of thought will argue that how much  Handwriting  is done in today's corporate world? Not much, but you will sign the typed letter right? and your signature will be affected by the way you write one way or the other.








We should all make an effort to help children write legibly. I commend all schools that have a specfic school handwriting they teach pupils school wide. This is a great way to improve handwriting school wide.

 
In schools where handwriting is not practised school wide, a class teacher can make it his/ her goal to improve the handwriting of specific pupils in their class.


Please don't forget to comment and share your experiences and other best practises on handwriting.