Category: Journal

Discussing the benefits of Individualized Homeschool Education and Public Education from a Certified Teacher’s perspective

Introduction
After making the shift from Public School Educator to Private Homeschool Teacher, I have noticed the impact that each type of education can have on student learning. I remember the awe that overcame me as I looked at my homeschool student, and realized that with this time, attention, and personalized feedback, we were going to create an extremely strong foundation for life-long learning. I had similar revelations in the school district while I watched students work together in ways that made me believe that even if I was no longer their teacher, they would have the skills to collaborate with others to seek the knowledge they need; they could also be life-long learners.

Parents are looking into homeschool education now more than ever. Some sources claim that the number of families choosing homeschool for their students has increased by 75% since 1999. When parents go to research information on homeschool versus public education they are inundated with articles and opinions validating superiority of one type of education. If families are given an opportunity to discover the benefits of both, they can make educated decisions on what’s best for their child. Parents can use this understanding to cultivate life-long learners.

The Benefits of Public Education
#1 Peer Collaboration
Connecting with and learning from other students is one of the highlights of public education. The number of students in a classroom makes it possible for teachers to create opportunities for students to work together and deepen their learning. When students are participating alongside each other, there is a interweaving of ideas, thoughts, and challenges that transpires. I remember the learning that could occur when my students would discuss their justifications, help each other, or participate in activities together. While some homeschooling programs include online platforms or other forms of socialization with peers, it is quite different than the collaboration that happens in a public classroom. Classroom students have daily chances to practice connecting with others, trying on different roles of leadership, and exploring problems with a broader perspective. Public education allows students to build cooperative learning skills for their future. They see their peers as a source to learn from and learn to process peer feedback. Students build confidence in knowing how interact, question, play, and learn with their peers. Learning to do this with peers is an adopted skill that transcends the classroom.

#2 Resources
Schools have several resources to for students to become successful learners. Teachers often have curriculum books, specialized classroom materials, and support staff. Oftentimes, these resources are paid for by the school district. The time it takes to gather resources and determine if those resources are quality ways to teach concepts can be daunting; especially if a parent or tutor is taking on several subjects each day in homeschool. Luckily, most of the curriculum that has been implemented in a public education system has been evaluated, reviewed, and justified with the students and grade level in mind. Students are more likely to be learning in ways that are supported by educational research. Specialized support is also available to students from the district. At times, students would leave my classroom so that they could receive special services like speech therapy, occupational therapy, and assistance with English Language acquisition. I saw students receiving aide in areas that they would not be able to afford if it was needed privately. Schools can provide a public platform for assisting a student with special learning needs regardless of economic background.

# 3 Diverse Populations
Public schools are filled with all types of students. I have had students who are hyper, sweet, gifted, funny, foreign, and mute. The list goes on. Classrooms are a place where students must often shift their view of the world to include and respect other’s existence and thinking. Students get opportunities in a classroom to learn tolerance of others’ ideas- creating a foundation for compassion with others. If I were teaching any subject, I had students of varying levels, learning disabilities, cultures, and backgrounds. Students would add to the discussion and their diverse set of skills or perspectives would lead to a more intricate learning experience. In homeschool, I see times when my student has limited perspective without opportunities to hear others’ ideas or approaches to probles. Students in public education are exposed to varying strengths, weaknesses, personal interests, and backgrounds and their education is expanded with broader perspectives because of it.

The Benefits of Homeschool Education
#1 Individualized Education
The most exciting part of homeschooling for me has been the ability to work one-on-one with my student. In public education, I would worry over how I was going to address every student’s needs. I would question whether or not they understood the content during the time I had scheduled for the lesson. I would sometimes feel discouraged that I couldn’t venture into their curiosities because I was limited by state standards. Now, each thing that I do with my student is completely tailored to her learning needs. This is a benefit of homeschool- the individual child is the center of the classroom. Parents and tutors can address specific needs, explore topics of interest, and explore facets of learning that are not available for every student in a public education setting.

#2 Personalized feedback
I have noticed that an individualized education increases motivation and allows my student to understand information in less time. Although each student learns at their own pace, it is certain that students can progress through learning at a more rapid pace with a one-to-one ratio than if they were in a regular classroom. Teachers understand that when they can give meaningful feedback, that their students can make adjustments to their learning, resulting in progress. The personalized feedback and the focused attention given in a homeschool setting is a benefit that cannot be matched in a regular classroom. I am able to give my student, who normally shied away from participation in a classroom for fear of being wrong, the individual support to persevere through her learning. Struggles are no longer barriers she takes on silently but instead, become talking points for feedback and growth.

#3 Modeling Life-Long Learning
Homeschooling creates opportunities to model what life-long learning is to a child. When I dive deeper into my student’s interests, I often learn with her and she clearly sees me learning alongside her. Educators hope to ignite a love of learning within students. A lifelong learner has an ability to take on the world and its ever-changing demands. In a public classroom, teachers have requirements by law to adhere to standards. These standards have been dissected and have curriculums to address them; I had scripts, practice problems, and reading programs. This didn’t take much learning on my part once I’d spent a year in one grade. My students never had the opportunity to see me struggle through learning new information. When I began homeschooling, my student’s interests and skills guided my teaching. Some of the interests that she wanted to explore, I did not have a background in; I had to learn the information alongside her. Homeschooling allows a shift from the teacher being omniscient, to the teacher exemplifying what she teaches: that if you want to understand something, you follow your curiosity, skills and connections until you acquire the knowledge you seek.

Final Remarks
As a teacher who has the opportunity to experience both public and homeschool education, I can whole-heartedly say that the discussion should not forcibly be for one or the other. There are distinct educational gains for students within each approach. Respecting the benefit of both types of education could lead to parents making the most of public education and homeschooling. Parents who choose homeschooling can make efforts to create opportunities for peer collaboration. Parents who choose public education can find methods for educating their students in an individualized manner. This can be through exploring a students’ topic of interest, learning alongside the student, or employing tutors to address their individual needs. Essentially, if parents take the time to educate their students in the topics that interest and find ways for students to excel in areas- even if parents lack the knowledge- they can find a way to get the best of both worlds.

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When I began teaching, math was the subject I dreaded. I thought that kids hated math, and that would make it not fun to teach. In reality, young students love math. It is very concrete in elementary school and there are many hands on materials that teachers use to keep students engaged in learning. As I changed grade levels, I noticed at some point, my students fell out of love with math. It was “too hard,” “boring,” or “never going to be used.” It was important to me to rekindle my students’ love for math. Yet because I didn’t love math myself, I felt challenged by this task. As I began to teach math and find new resources, I developed a better understanding for the topic and my love for math grew. Now it is one of my favorite subjects to teach!

It may seem like it is harder to find inspiration for encouraging students to love math than reading or other subjects, but there are actually great math resources out there to delve into just as there are great books for kids. One trick that I have used to great success in my classroom is games. My students loved to play games, especially against me. Even simple dice games multiplying or adding the two numbers to see whose roll was the highest are exciting to students. The math in life can be a game as well. Have your kids figure out the tip at a restaurant, or tell you how much you will pay if an item is 20% off. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that the discovery of how to do this yourself is actually quite exciting for students. And in that vein – encouraging that excitement is helpful as well. Math language can be so important – I never let myself say that a math concept is hard, or that I can’t do it- even to myself anymore. Instead, I say this is a problem that takes a lot of thinking, or a problem that is really interesting. If it’s a real stumper, I say it is a problem I will have to come back to.

Meanwhile, the following short list of resources can be used to inspire an affection for math in your students at home.

Web Resources:

A Family’s Guide: Fostering Your Child’s Success in School Mathematics – Developed by The National Council for Teachers of Mathematics, A Family’s Guide is a great handbook for parents and guardians that begins with preschool and continues through grade 12. This resource explains what your student needs to know at each grade level. The guide also gives you some ideas on how to encourage your child to embrace their inner mathematician.

MathMovesU – Parent Resources – The Parent Resource section of MathMovesU is a treasure trove of math education research, a dictionary of math terms, math games, and practice pages. The games and practice pages link math to real world topics that are interesting to students, like sports and fashion. The Mathionary is very helpful when you can’t remember some of those 7th Grade math terms. Sponsored by Raytheon, information about scholarships can also be found on this website.

Math.com – Math.com is an awesome site for both students and parents. You can get homework help, math lessons, or learn about online math courses for your student. Your child can also use this site to practice math concepts from basic operations through calculus and statistics.

Books:

The Number Devil – Young Robert’s dreams turn towards math, as he and the Number Devil solve problems related to numeration. This humorous novel is sure to be a hit with your middle school student. This book is in the same vein as The Phantom Tollbooth and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.

The Man Who Counted: A Collection of Mathematical Adventures – First published in 1938, The Man Who Counted is full of real life mathematics. The hero uses math to solve problems and settle conflicts. While appropriate for upper elementary students, middle school students will enjoy seeing how math can be applied to solve real problems.

I Hate Mathematics Book – The opposite of a math textbook, I Hate Mathematics book is filled with math games and puzzles. This book includes lots of ways to trick family members and friends using math, including how to cut a cake into 11 pieces with just four cuts.

Toys:

4M Math Magic Puzzles and Games – A set of more than 15 math tricks and puzzles, this kit will get your student thinking about math in a fun way. Do one or two yourself to amaze your child, and then let him or her amaze you! Challenge your child to explain how the tricks work.

Prime Club – Prime Club is a beautiful, award-winning math game that will charm your whole family. The color-coded board game helps make learning multiplication and division easy. Ask you student how they solved problems to check for mathematical understanding.

Three Sticks – A board game that focuses on the mathematical concept of geometry. Practice geometric concepts without using terms, or as an added challenge, discuss the geometric ideas they use. An additional challenge would be to find the area and perimeter of the shapes.

Apps:

Algebra Touch – A great review app for pre-algebra and algebra, this app has both an explanation for a concept followed by a practice session. Students can practice simple to complex algebra topics using this app. It is available for $1.99

Math 42 – This app is great resource for your middle or high school student. With step by step guides, in app graphing calculators, and test modes, your student can practice for in class assessments or the SATs. This app is available by monthly subscription.

Number Line – An award-winning app, Number Line focuses on fractions, decimals, and percentages. These concepts can be very abstract for some students, but this app makes practicing them fun and engaging. Number Line is a free app.

Keeping your child’s love of math alive as it begins to get more abstract is key to ensuring future math success. Make math fun, relatable, and a part of your daily routine. These recommendations can be used to encourage and engage your student in math outside the classroom. Inside the classroom, hopefully teachers who have rediscovered their own love for math can keep that love going. I know it’s become a pleasure for me!

By Laura Rowe – A certified elementary and middle school teacher who came in loving reading and writing, and now loves math and science too!

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One of the biggest reasons students and families call us is that they have been struggling with bad grades and are unsure how to turn it around. Often bad grades then create an academic mindset that ends up contributing to the problem, or, frankly, causing it – so we have given a lot of thought to how to think about grades and, more abstractly, to deal with challenges in school and in life.

In that vein, some of the most interesting research we have come across is from a researcher at Stanford University named Carol Dweck. Dweck is now rather famous (in small circles) for having written a fantastic book called “Mindsets.” Her theory was to divide students into two groups – those who consider intelligence a natural or native aspect of who they are, and those who consider intelligence something that is worked at, that can grown and change. Her research unequivocally shows that those who consider intelligence a trait which is earned and worked at fare far better in school and when meeting challenges than those who consider it something they are simply born with or without.

“I asked, ‘What makes a really capable child give up in the face of failure, where other children may be motivated by the failure?"

The answer, says Dweck, was in how they viewed their ability. Here is how The Stanford Alumni Magazine explains it:

“Dweck posited that the difference between the helpless response and its opposite—the determination to master new things and surmount challenges—lay in people’s beliefs about why they had failed. People who attributed their failures to lack of ability, Dweck thought, would become discouraged even in areas where they were capable. Those who thought they simply hadn’t tried hard enough, on the other hand, would be fueled by setbacks. This became the topic of her PhD dissertation.

Dweck and her assistants ran an experiment on elementary school children whom school personnel had identified as helpless. These kids fit the definition perfectly: if they came across a few math problems they couldn’t solve, for example, they no longer could do problems they had solved before—and some didn’t recover that ability for days.

Through a series of exercises, the experimenters trained half the students to chalk up their errors to insufficient effort, and encouraged them to keep going. Those children learned to persist in the face of failure—and to succeed. The control group showed no improvement at all, continuing to fall apart quickly and to recover slowly. These findings, says Dweck, “really supported the idea that the attributions were a key ingredient driving the helpless and mastery-oriented patterns.” Her 1975 article on the topic has become one of the most widely cited in contemporary psychology.”

A really interesting point here is that this goes in the face of decades of self-congratulatory so-called self-esteem guidance that has encouraged parents and educators to constantly praise students for their intelligence no matter what. The other disruptive idea in her research is that students who consider themselves naturally “smart” are often simply one tough challenge away from losing that sense of identity, since it is not built on a true foundation – and such a challenge can often become a traumatic event.

Instead, Dweck cautions parents and educators from praising “smartness” without linking it to effort.

I am reminded of the great book by William James “The Varieties of Religious Experience” – one of my favorite books from my early twenties. In it he speaks of those whose religion is essentially “healthy-mindedness” and the dangers of what he sees as that most American of traits – general positivity. The problem explained James, was thus:

“healthy-mindedness is inadequate as a philosophical doctrine, because the evil facts which it refuses positively to account for are a genuine portion of reality; and they may after all be the best key to life’s significance, and possibly the only openers of our eyes to the deepest levels of truth.”

We are going to come back to these ideas in future journal posts, but for now, it’s worth it to remember the ideas of these past and present thoughtful commentators. Sometimes life is going to be hard, but those who meet that challenge through hard work and a renewed determination are far more likely to overcome challenges in general than those who feel that the difficulties of life are a reflection on their own faults. In the long run, the only fault that truly keeps us from succeeding is believing that effort isn’t important or effectual.

We try to keep that lesson in the back of our mind when we teach. Yes, bad grades may happen here and there at some point in life. Yet, with every difficulty comes an opportunity to grow. In the end, those who have faced the most difficult challenges and carried on are the ones who will grow the most. So while we don’t recommend aiming for bad grades, they are, in fact, wonderful reminders that we have a chance and an area in which we can become even more determined, even more skilled people than we are today.

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As children get older, the focus of English education shifts from learning how to read to learning how to understand and work through more and more difficult texts. For many there are moments when this shift challenges them and reading becomes “boring” and they check out. Yet this is just the time when the act of reading itself is actually most interesting – it is a puzzle again. And learning how to tackle tough texts is a feeling of enormous empowerment.

In my experience, students usually have a good instinct for what something means. “You know, it’s just there,” they usually say. Helping them identify how the meaning they sense exists not only on the page, but also in their minds, is the challenge of learning how to read complex passages and texts. The fact is that many adults aren’t sure how they read either, or what helps them read better sometimes and not others.

Fortunately, reading well is a simple list of practices that anyone can implement. The effort takes time in the beginning. Like any habit, reading attentively requires training. I can promise, however, that surprisingly quickly, the practice becomes natural.

Most good reading takes at least two passes through the text. The first is a perusal in which the mind gets the most superficial information available. Only the second reading starts to grasp what is really going on and why it is important. Most teachers expect that students will read texts thoroughly, which means twice, at least initially– the first time thoroughly and the second time to review and gather the information. As reading improves, students get better at tracking information during the first reading.

Overall, every one knows to look up unfamiliar words and get the overall argument of the text. Most people need to read some sections more than once, either because they are tired and distracted or because the argument is dense and complicated. It’s totally normal and expected. The suggestions below for reading non-fiction and fiction are guides to reading attentively, to becoming a reader.

Reading non-fiction
The title should tell you about the general topic and possibly a particular aspect of it. State what you expect of the text based on the title.
Do some “pre-reading” by checking out the information on the back cover, in the table of contents, and from reviews. Scan the opening and closing paragraphs of whatever section you have to read to get some sense of what it’s going to discuss.
How is the text organized? Understanding the organization before beginning can help navigate the information. Is the information provided through a narrative or an argument? Chronologically? Thematically? By steps?
Are there key words that appear? Words in bold, italicized, or that repeat need to be understood, even more than unfamiliar words. Try to define them.
Key words are often in important sentences that are explaining major steps in the text’s development. Can you identify these sentences? Do they offer the logic of the text?
Can you summarize each paragraph in one sentence? That should be possible, especially with textbooks, and confirms your understanding of that passage. If you can’t, it’s worth it to stop and go back and take the time to digest the paragraph. Go through it slowly and try to pinpoint where you “tuned out’ or found it confusing. Now go slowly through this part? What is it exactly that is confusing here? Is it the grammar of the sentence? Is it the vocabulary? Give yourself the time to understand the little pieces, and the big picture will take care of itself.
If analogies are being used, try to connect the parts to see how the analogy works (or doesn’t).
Does the author recognize alternate points of view? Can you think of one for some aspect of the text?
Does the author seem to have a point of view about the subject? What words or sentences suggest that? Are there sentences that seem to be joking, disdainful, shocked? How can you tell? Ask about those sentences in class and the teacher can help explain how the language is influencing your perception.
At the end of reading, take some time to write notes about what the book is about to you. Do you think the information is true? Why does it matter? To whom does it matter? What changes through knowing this information? Reading a chapter on the Battle of Waterloo in a history textbook or cell division in a biology textbook can still provide answers to these questions. What about the Battle of Waterloo seems to relate to recent situations that would make it a relevant event to know about, two centuries later? What impact does cell division have on human life? Do a quick online search if you can’t think of anything. The current relevance of “boring school topics” is often surprising.
Reading fiction
With fiction, reading is understanding something beyond the plot. It’s about capturing some subtlety of the characters’ feelings/motivations, and learning why something is funny, sarcastic, foreshadowing, etc.

Take a minute to ask what the title means and implies. Later, revisit the title of the work and try to understand how it represents the work you have read.
Are there quotes, epigrams, or forewords (not editor’s or author’s introductions) before the story begins? What do they say? Do they introduce a theme (love, war, family, death) or a character or a narrator’s point of view? Try to write a sentence about these early moments as they will probably be relevant to the rest of the story.
Observe the story’s organization, its divisions, transitions, ellipses…How are connections made between sections?
At some point while reading, ask yourself what you expect to have happen next. Try to write it down. Later, check back and see if the reading offered a surprise. When did the surprise occur? If no surprise, why might the author remove that element?
Try to sketch a description of at least one character. Consider not only the way s/he looks, but also how s/he speaks, where s/he lives or is found in the story, what s/he desires or despises, how others treat the character, and if the character is meant to be liked by the reader or not. Make a list of all the pages where you gather this information.
Track characters, places, thematic statements. I recommend that students write in pencil on the inside back cover of their novel. List a name and then all the pages where that character occurs, or if two characters fight a lot then all the pages where that happens, or whenever a book/film/favorite something is mentioned, or every time there is a rainstorm or fire or ladder or other such potential symbols. Locations are useful to track because they often present new scenes.
Locations do a lot of work. Inside/outside, city/country, street/forest, home/school/shop, bedroom/living room are all packed with meaning. A play that was set on a NYC street corner where a character asks the other for directions was about two cultures intersecting; they were literally at a crossroads. Keep track of scenes that seem to recur in certain settings. Something is being implied there.
Can you identify a symbol? What does it stand for? What does it do in the scenes where it occurs?
Look up references within the text that you may not know, or don’t know much about, such as places, names, events, or dates. They are often important clues to understanding the work.
At the end of reading a section for homework, what seems like the most important scene? When done with the whole book, what do you think the climax is? Is it resolved?
At the end of a text, fiction or non-fiction, consider why it was an important text for you to read, from the teacher’s point of view, as a part of the class overall, and how it might influence your thoughts about life going forward. Flipping back into the text is normal at this point, because you are realizing what wasn’t clear, or finding the passage that was really important.

Again, some things will simply be confusing. That’s okay! Make a note of those passages. Try to identify specifically where the text stopped making sense, what step did not follow from the previous, or where you did not understand the sequence of action. Taking the time to study the most confusing moments instead of feeling dejected by them or trying to skip them is where the heart of learning takes place. It’s where growth happens.

If you can’t figure out the tough parts on your own, ask about those places in class and the teacher will be delighted. Working with concrete places of confusion leads to the best class conversations. It will also help you pay attention because the discussion is about something you want to know. There’s a misapprehension that not understanding the text suggests you are a bad reader. That’s not true. When you can present specific places that you don’t understand, you show what a careful reader you are. Asking for further information makes you a better student. After all, if you already understood it, you wouldn’t need to be in school.

Good reading!

Charlotte Kent, PhD. lives and works in New York City, where she helps people of all ages improve their writing.

It was a little after 9 a.m. when first grader Veronica bounced into the classroom with her big bright smile and charming personality. “What are we going to be doing today,” she asked as she took her seat. It is important to know that Veronica was one very smart little girl and she was accustomed to things just coming naturally to her. She was the type of child who would be reading words at three, riding a bike after just being shown how and communicating with friends as if she was a natural born leader. As she took her seat at my table and I quickly explained that we would be reading words from a list to determine which reading level we should begin testing her on. She smiled up at me with her half crooked smile and said, “easy peasy!” I listened as she read word after word and not stumbling until she reached the fourth grade level. I slid the first book over to her which was at a fourth grade reading level and she watched as I checked off each word that she read correctly, which evidently was every word. After reading the story I asked her some questions about the story that she read and when she couldn’t answer them I just pushed it out of the way and moved her down a level. After all this was a fourth grade book and that would be a lot to expect from any first grader. I kept moving down one book level after another with Veronica reading perfectly and scoring 100 percent but never answering the questions. I decided to take the first grade reader questions with a different approach. After reading the book I simply asked her, “can you tell me what the book was about?” She looked at me with her big oval eyes and said very matter of factly, “it’s supposed to be about something?”

The very next morning I met with Veronica and asked her some simple questions about some of her favorite things. She always seemed to answer in very short sentences or even one word replies which was very unusual for her. It was at this moment that I realized I wasn’t the only one who was worried about yesterday. Veronica was beginning to question how good of a reader she was and losing confidence was not something that she could afford to do at this young age. I made sure to boost her confidence by telling her how well she did on the test yesterday and how impressed I was with the difficult words she was reading. This seemed to calm her anxieties and she quickly started telling me that she just loved everything about Disney World, from the rides to the characters to the movies. This was like music to my ears because not only was I a big Disney fan myself but it was definitely an easy topic to find reading material about. Over the next several days I pulled Veronica to the back table during reading centers and we started making a list of everything that she knew about Disney and she filled me in on the times that her family went there and the rides they went on. I also told her about some of my trips to the Disney parks and once I felt that we had built up a bond and were comfortably speaking about the topic I showed her some books that I had just happened to pick up at the library. She began looking through the books which ranged in grade level material as well as genre. Finally when she picked up a book all about the Magic Kingdom she smiled and asked, “can we read this together?”

Over the next several days I did read that and several other Disney books with her. I always made sure to be asking her questions as we went. Since she already knew so much about the topic she answered mainly from her own experiences so I began to ask very specific questions that she could only find in the pages of the story we had just read. At first she seemed hesitant and unsure how to answer so I began to model for her how I would find the answers. Sometimes when we got to a particular ride that she really enjoyed I asked her to close her eyes as I read and see if she could tell me about the part the author was describing. I also asked her to draw pictures about the part of the story that I was reading so that I could see what she thought it looked like. At times when the author had a different outlook on something than she did I would add my own drawing based on the author’s picture and we would discuss how they were alike and different. I also explained that she had so many wonderful ideas but that sometimes it’s interesting to see how an author wants you to look at something. We discussed at length about how the rides were all described as being fun and great but that some people don’t always agree. I think that was the moment that the door to comprehension began to open for Veronica because she looked up at me and said, “so even though I don’t like the ride the author may like it a lot and want to tell people how fun it can be even though it’s not.” I couldn’t hold back a small laugh as I said, “exactly!” After that Veronica read many more books and during group time with other students she would begin to explain to them how the author is telling you a story and that you may not always agree with an author but you have to look at what they are trying to tell you. I sat back and thought to myself Walt Disney used to say, “it all started with a mouse…but for Veronica it all started with an interest in a book about a mouse.”

As I reflect on my experience with Veronica I realize that the most important thing I did for her was teach her to love reading and to read with a purpose. At first, I did this by finding a topic that she was truly interested in and had background information to bring to the reading. In effective teaching, we use a three tier system: I do, we do, you do. First, you as the teacher model a desired effect, then the teacher and student do a task together which leads towards independence, and finally the child will be able to complete the task independently. I used this approach with Veronica by modeling for her what reading for understanding looked like, then working with her to discuss the different parts of the text, and finally having her be able to do it by herself and ultimately putting her into situations where she felt like she could share what she had learned with others. Perhaps the most important thing I did with Veronica was teach her to use illustrations to remember key parts of the text. These pictures became not only a reference point for her but also a springboard towards retaining information and making meaning from it. The most important thing I realized is that Veronica was not the only student that day. In her own way she taught me the power of a great teacher and provided me with the opportunity to reflect on my own teaching.

-Suzanne Chiorando has her Master’s Degree in Elementary Education, Special Education, Literacy, and English as a Second Language. She is a teacher and author of the published short story, “Mateo’s Tale,” which is a modernized version of the story, “Aladdin.”

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In our business, which is so focused on the process of teaching and learning, we, as teachers, often forget the importance of reminding our students that standardized exams are as much about strategy as they are about knowledge. In the case of an exam like the SHSAT, often it is even more essential to understand the types of questions and formulas the test uses than it is to have a knowledge base of the subjects tested.

This fall I tutored five students on the SHSAT exam, a test that, if mastered, allows eighth graders into the exam high schools of their choosing. Each of these students was unique and had very specific strengths and weaknesses. Every individual was exceptionally bright, but in a myriad different ways, which made it incredibly difficult to assess their intellect, or their capacity to function at a specific exam high school, through a single, standardized exam.

The student who struggled the most with the math portion of the exam, for instance, was a kid who had skipped a year of math based on her extraordinary ability to comprehend mathematical concepts (as decided by her sixth grade teacher). This student (let’s call her Rose) performed terribly on her first diagnostic SHSAT on the math portion of the exam, not because she couldn’t grasp the subject as a whole, but because the concepts tested on the exam relied heavily on a student’s comprehensive knowledge of seventh grade math. Rose never learned seventh grade mathematical concepts, because she was deemed so advanced that she skipped right to the eighth grade, and then ninth grade work. Mathematically, she was advanced, but on this particular exam, she was at a disadvantage. We worked together during our study sessions on key concepts and formulas that she missed by skipping that year of math. Because she had a bright, mathematical mind, she picked up concepts and strategies quickly, and was able to increase her math score from the diagnostic to the actual exam by twenty five percent.

Another student, also highly intellectual, struggled with slight Asperger’s syndrome. He had the misfortune of being placed at the start of the year in a class with a math teacher who did not understand him, nor his style of learning. Because of a lack of attention on the teacher’s part, my student was convinced that many of the questions on the exam were placed on there just to stump him. He had a great deal of anger, and frustration when it came to the math on the SHSAT, and he allowed that frustration to get in the way of his progress. He would give up before honestly assessing the problem. After really listening to the student, and working together on his personal learning style, he was able to figure out a process that worked for him. For this student, it was less the content, which he actually understood quite well, when he was able to tackle it head on, and more the emotional block, which prevented him from objectively trying to solve the problem.

All students have their individual strengths and weaknesses when it comes to academic learning. It is unrealistic to think that one, standardized exam can work to assess thousands of students’ academic abilities, or potential for learning. Our job as tutors, teachers, or parents is to teach kids that they have all the tools they need; they are enough, just as they are. They just need to figure out the strategies that work best for them in order to understand the concepts, and the tricks of the exam, as well as to overcome the fear and anxiety associated with an exam that they feel can heavily affect their futures.

By Emily Tuckman

Teacher and Tutor

To learn more about how we can help with private tutoring, please click here!

When I was younger I was not a big reader because I was a slow reader. No matter what though, my mother tried to encourage me to read by allowing me to read ANYTHING of interest to me. When I was in 6th grade, I picked up a book and read it and could not put it down. From that moment forward, I was on a search for books that I would enjoy reading and maybe also learn a little from as well. I loved books related to history and books about love stories. Becoming a teacher made me realize how important it is to find various types of books in order to address topics, meet various learning styles and help uncover student interests. I thought a great way to use what I have learned from my own past would be to share with other children who may be struggling to find something they like, need a book related to a particular topic or simply want to try something different. These books all have the theme of Historical Fiction. Below is another collection of books to keep you reading!

Lyddie by Katherine Paterson

Grade/Age: 3rd-7th/8-12 years

Book synopsis: This is a story of a young girl who takes on responsibilities that are far beyond her years. She becomes the matriarch of the house and sets out on a mission to do whatever she can to one day bring her family back together on their family farm.

My review: This book is a great story of hope and courage. It follows the life of Lyddie and all she goes through to try and keep her family together as well as become an independent woman. It takes place during factory life and industrialization and is a great resource for students to read related to this content.

Two Suns in the Sky by Miriam Bat-Ami

Grade/Age: 5th grade and up/10 and up

Book synopsis: This is a story that takes place during World War II. It is the story of a 15 year old Yugoslavian Jew who flees Europe with his family. They come to the United States and find refuge at a refugee camp in Oswego, New York. While at the camp the main character Adam, meets a girl, Chris, who lives in Oswego but comes from a Catholic family. She feels trapped, he is escapee fighting for his life and yet this book beautifully shows the strength of love and the need for companionship in order to navigate life’s lessons.

My review: This book is great for anyone who loves a good love story, but also is interested in history. It gives you a glimpse into the life of two teenagers growing up during one of the world’s most terrible times in history. It allows students to learn about the challenges we may face in life and how to navigate them. It is reminiscent of a modern day Romeo and Juliet. Once you start reading it, you cannot put it down.

The Friendship by Mildred D. Taylor

Grade/Age: 4th-6th/9-11 years

Book synopsis: This is a story of a group of black children and an elderly black man. The black man and white store owner have a friendship that is tested when the ideas of racism begin to come more prominent in the South. The store owner expects to be addressed a certain way and the elderly black man expects to be treated as an equal, especially after what he had done to help the store owner.

My review: This book is a great source for students to see the challenges races faced during such a terrible time in our history. It is also one story in a short book, no chapters. This makes the story more fluid. This book is also part of a series of other stories with the same characters.

Days of Courage The Little Rock Story by Richard Kelso

Grade/Age: 4th-6th/9-11 years

Book synopsis: This book is written about the Little Rock Nine to be integrated into Little Rock Central High School. This story is however written from the view point of one of the girls and her experience being one of the nine girls to integrate into an all-white high school in 1957.

My review: This book is a great way to teach students about tolerance while using language that is easy for students to understand. It also allows for students to relate to one character who may be close in age with themselves.

Dear America: Dreams in the Golden Country, The Diary of Zipporah Feldman a Jewish Immigrant Girl, New York City, 1903 by Kathryn Lasky

Grade/Age: 4th -8th/9-14 years

Book synopsis: The story is written from a young Russian girl’s point of view. The story is written in diary format as Zipporah keeps track of her family and life. She discusses what it is like to be an immigrant from Russia to New York and what life is like in New York.

My review: This diary is part of series that connects to different times in history. Reading a diary is fun for children and makes the reading relatable when it is as if you are reading something someone is writing directly to you. It is a great supplementary text to any historical topic students may be learning about at a given time.

The Devil’s Arithmetic

Grade/Age: 6th and up/12 and up

Book synopsis: This book follows a young girl named Hannah back in time to a Polish village at the peak of the Nazi regime. She is connected to this terrible time in history through her grandfather who continually tells stories about his experience. She learns through first-hand experience what it was like to be alive during this time.

My review:

Out of the Dust

Grade/Age: 4th and up/9 and up

Book synopsis: This is a story about a 14-year old girl named Billie Jo who lived during the Dust Bowl. It is written in free-floating verse from the point of view of the main character. She recounts her mother’s death that left her with a scared hand and her father who is dying from skin cancer. It is the tale of one family that represents what life was like during the dust bowl.

My review: This is a sad and touching story that brings to life a terrible situation in our country’s history. Since it is told through the eyes of a 14-year old and her life story, it becomes real to the reader and you empathize with what she is going through. It is a great depiction of a tragic time, but written beautifully for children ages 9 and above.

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

Grade/Age: 5th-7th/10-12 years old

Book synopsis: Kit Tyler is forced to leave her Carribbean home and move to her uncle’s colonial Puritan town in Connecticut. This book takes place in 1687, and Kit, a girl who wears satin and lace and talks back to her elders is looked at very differently by those of the strict Puritan town. Kit befriends an old Quaker woman who has been deemed The Witch of Blackbird Pond. What will happen to Kit and her new friend, as they have both been deemed outcasts of this strict religious village?

My review: This story is a great story to address the ideas of suspicion, accusations and choice making. It allows students to explore differences in who we are as people and why it is important to be open to all kinds of people and not just assume that there is only one way to live.

Salem Witch Trials by Michael Martin

Grade/Age: 3rd to 8th/8-14 years old

Book synopsis: This graphic novel addresses the story of the Salem Witch trials and the accusations made against the people of Salem through pictures and words. It tells the story of those accused and the trials they had to withstand to find out if they were in fact witches based on the beliefs of the Puritan town.

My review: This book is a great opportunity for students to learn about a very dreary topic in our country’s history through an unconventional form of storytelling. This non-fiction book is motivating and enthralling for students. It keeps children engaged and wanting to learn more about the topic. It is great because it is a part of a series where there are multiple non-fiction stories being told through graphic novels.

Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe

Grade/Age: 7th and up/12 and up

Book synopsis: This story follows through the eyes of white teenager name Hiram Hillburn. The story addresses historical events of racism in the 1950’s. The central idea of the story is the lynching of a young teen named Emmitt Till. The story challenges Hiram to questions his beliefs and standing up for what is important.

My review: This book is great introductory to a very tragic situation in our history during a time of Civil Rights movement. It gives students a story that is more relatable to their age range and challenges students to really think about their own beliefs and standing up for what they believe in.

By: Central Park Tutor Nina Krisel Berke. I currently teach in Manhattan on the Lower East Side. I work for a District 75 school and teach middle school age students with Autism. Every job I have held, whether in a classroom or at a day camp, has been working with children. I love seeing a child’s eyes light up when the succeed and helping them figure out the best way toward success. I studied general elementary education at SUNY Cortland. I graduated the program in 2009. After completing that program I went and got my master’s in Special Education. At New York University and graduated that program in 2010. This past July 2013 I completed an annotation program at Bank Street with a focus in Autism. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

To learn more about how we can help with private tutoring, please click here!

Paragraph We have just begun exploring other blogs out there who we think are interesting and in that effort we came across an interesting program called Can Cubs. CanCubs is an English-based pre-school and kindergarten playgroup in Shanghai. We have begun a dialogue with them to see in what ways the environment in Shanghai mirrors that of NYC, and in what ways it’s different – from competition for kindergartens, to academic expectations for little ones, to parent expectations, to our perspective as educators on what works best.

You can see here my interview with CanCubs founder Mathew Foster. Worth checking out for another perspective on how to raise our pre-schoolers…and how we are all dealing with many of the same pressures, hopes and challenges.

And you can read his review of our book, “Puzzles For Young Children,” by clicking here:

The Best AABL Test Apps For The Ipad

The AABL private school entrance test is given on an ipad, so students who have become familiar with ipad use are a step ahead of the game during test-time, and of course ipad apps can also help children learn how to develop and express the reasoning skills asked for on the test.

There is not yet a comprehensive AABL ipad app which walks through every aspect of the AABL. However, we have put together a list of ipad apps to share with you which correlate to the different kinds of reasoning skills which the AABL examines.

When preparing your child for the AABL, we recommend walking through each of these apps. Kids generally love them, and they will do wonders for your child’s ability to navigate the material come test day. That being said, please do not consider this list definitive or exhaustive.

More important, please remember that one on one prep in which a parent or teacher explains, models and works cooperatively on how to solve the AABL problems is a vital aspect of thoroughly preparing students for the test.

That being said, these apps really are a terrific help. We have broken them down by reasoning type.

Overview

The AABL ERB App – this is for you as a parent to understand the test and less so for your child.

Verbal Reasoning ABA-Problem Solving-What does not belong? What Doesn’t Belong-Fun Deck Brainy Skills Inferencing Game

Quantitative Reasoning Learning Patterns-Pattern&Logic Game for Kids Learning Patterns Pro Little Solver-Preschool Logic Game

Early Literacy Endless Alphabet Bini Alphabet: ABC Kids Games! Reading Eggs Rhyming Words Center

Mathematics Monkey Math School Sunshine Busy Shapes and Colours Busy Shapes Todo Math

Of course, if you have suggestions for other apps we aren’t aware of – do email us!