« February 2006 | Main | April 2006 »
March 28, 2006
Schools Are Often Like Families
Sunday night I received a phone call from one of our district superintendents. Every once in a while I get a phone call at night or at 4:00 AM. They're usually about kids getting caught breaking into a classroom or someone wanting to know if the buses are going to run if the roads are flooded. Those are not necessarily difficulut to deal with. Certainly they are not fun, but the issues can be dealt with, a decision or two made, and we move on.
Sunday's call was not like that. The superintendent was calling to tell me he needed help at his school the next day. A student had been killed earlier in the day. The details were still sketchy, but the whole community would be reacting and on Monday he would have schools full of upset children.
He's right. I've been through some of these before. I never anticipated it when I went into education. I thought my job would be the love of teaching joyful, happy kids. Mostly it is, but I have found that things happen. Choices are made. Consequences occur. Accidents happen. I don't like it. I can't control it, but it's there nontheless.
What I have found is that schools often become an extended family especially in small communities. Teachers and principals become mom and dad for the day. Counselors listen and grieve too. The situations are never easy. It takes everyone's effort, but academic school stops while other learning and healing take place.
When we stop, help, listen and heal with our kids, when we do that together, all of what we feel and know becomes integrated into what we learn to do to take care of ourselves, each other, and ultimately to live fuller, richer lives.
I'm so sorry about the loss of a child, and I am always so moved by the way people respond when something like this happens. Thank you for being there, for being family.
Posted by Dr Joni at 07:20 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2006
Preschool for All
I have rarely gotten into the political arena in my writing, but today I break the rule. I have seen a couple articles recently about how awful having a preschool program for children (proposed by Propostion 82) will be. I must take exception to this characterizaation.
I read a study recently. I know, I need to get a life, but it was an interesting study about kids and parents. The study indicated that the amount of time a mom spends with her child, birth to out of the house, in planing and learning activities is 26 minutes a day. I would say for teenagers you may be lucky to get 26 seconds, but for want of a good discussion, we'll go with the study results.
26 minutes is not much time to learn language, reading, writing, ethics, or anything else a mom wants her child to learn. She's also busy making sure food is on the table, the house is clean, she may be working, or her child needs to go to the doctor and she becomes the taxi. She may want to spend more time, but there are more and more demands on that time.
A few days after reading this study, I was out visiting our infant/preschool program. The whole time I was there I watched infants, toddlers, and preschoolers receiving one on one to small group interaction with adults. The focus was learning and playing. For three and a half hours a day, five days a week children are acquiring skills-language development, learning how to problem solve, and interacting with others. Three and a half hours is a whole lot more than 26 minutes a day.
I am not advocating taking over the loving and caring role of moms. I'm a mom, and I would never give that up. I want that for their needs as much as mine, but could I use some help for their learning? You bet. Even as a mom who is knowledgeable of what happens in schools, with four children and a full time plus job, I didn't always have enough time to help my children with all of their learning needs. You do the best you can, but it may not be as much as could be provided in another way.
I don't know if Prop. 82 is the absolute best way of doing this. All bills are flawed in someone's view. I'm sure there are questions to be worked out if it passes, but I can tell you I absolutely support access to quality preschool for all children.
Posted by Dr Joni at 07:40 AM | Comments (0)
March 16, 2006
LA Workshop
Parents, teachers, and administrators assembled in Los Angeles last week at the annual CACE Conference. CACE stands for California Association of Compensatory Education. I hadn’t attended this conference before, but I was glad I did this year. It was well worth my while.
Most of us in education are concerned about the best way to deal with implementation of all the requirements for No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The CACE group is specifically working to help parents, teachers, and administrators of all schools with NCLB but focuses mostly on schools in high-poverty.
What I found was a dedicated group of folks doing just what the rest of us are, trying hard to help their children learn. Each one wanted to do the very best they could for their own children or the children they serve in their schools.
I had been asked to do a workshop session on parent invovlement. When I do a workshop, I usually ask questions like, "What do you see as success for your child?" I ask that of anyone in the group who’s a parent. I also ask of the educators in the group, "What do you see as success for the children in your class/school?" I get many of the same answers-successful, happy, responsible, motivated kids. I don’t get answers like: score at the proficient or above proficient level on the 5th grade STAR assessment. I don’t even get read, write, and do math.
Reading, writing, and assessment are school vehicles to successful, happy, responsible, motivated kids. These skills, taught in school and reinforced at home, are the building blocks to being able to creating a life for yourself as an adult. They are the tools for reading your email, balancing your checkbook, and trying out a new recipie as well as the ones needed for running a company.
Today in schools we use curriculum that is geared toward standards of learning. A few years ago we used the curriculum in textbooks. Whatever the materias we use, we are teaching to build skills and abilities in children so they can think, plan, and determine what they want to do with their lives.
I found the CACE group in downtown LA to be just as interested in the success of their children as another group I work with in Red Bluff, CA. Weither it's inner city or rural outbacks, it’s about children. It’s about their success. It’s about schools and parents working together to make sure that happens.
Posted by Dr Joni at 07:56 AM | Comments (0)
March 13, 2006
Playbook and Huddle Sessions
Last week I had the pleasure of doing a workshop at Jackson Heights Elementary School in Red Bluff. A group of delightful parents showed up for an evening to find out about how they could help with their children's learning. Some parents had been at the first session we’d had a month or so before. Some were new. Some had been coming to the intervening “Huddle Sessions� for parents and some had not. Their status didn’t matter. What mattered was they came, and we could talk about kids and learning.
My first question was the question I usually ask. “What fun, learning things have you done with your child this week?� And the second question followed, “What was successful?�
One good story from a parent about learning games in the car was followed with another about Rosario’s child listening to stories about Mexico and being able to answer questions when the Mexican Consulate visited the area. Everyone was impressed with nine-year-old David’s answers.
What followed my opening questions and their stories, was a discussion about report cards. I know it may not be anyone’s favorite topic, but, like taxes, report cards happen regularly. I work hard to make sure things are fun and meaningful for any group I work with, so once we got through an overview of what report cards look like today versus what they looked like when we went to school, we moved on to activities.
What I think most parents want to know is; if my child didn’t do well in an area what can I do to help? How can we fix it? That’s where we spent most of our time.
Kids having trouble reading are encouraged to do activities with their parents to support reading such as “read the room� or word hunts. Those having trouble spelling get to play hangman or Scrabble. Those with math issues may be adding the number of silverware at dinner or playing a license plate math game in the car. Activities selected greatly depend upon the needs and grade level of the child.
Several parents said they were really grateful to have activities specifically related to their child’s needs. “This is great,� said one mom. “I wish I’d had this with my other ones.�
For me, it was a great night. Parents got ideas to help their children and kids would benefit both at home and at school. What could be better?
For possible workshops in your area contact us at www.edsuccess.com
Posted by Dr Joni at 07:08 PM | Comments (0)
March 12, 2006
It's a Wedding
For those of you who keep up with my family and their exploits, there’s big news for the Samples kids. Jennifer, the middle child, is getting married on Sunday. We had the wedding rehearsal this week, and it’s going to be a lovely wedding. She and Jordan have done a great job to bring together friends and family to help them celebrate.
I didn’t realize I’d have such an interesting reaction. I was talking to a friend earlier in the week that has girls in college. He said, “You’ll have to give me pointers. I have no idea how I’ll handle their getting married.�
I wanted to say, “Not well,� but he may not have my reactions. Funny thing is, I love Jordan. He’s a wonderful young man, and I’m sure he and Jennifer will be happy. It’s not about Jordan or Jennifer. My reactions are about my child growing up. To me she’s still four and needs to have her hand held to cross the street. My eyes tell me she’s not, but my heart is back there somewhere with her running in the park and sliding down the slide. This may be a rite of passage for them, but it is for us parents too.
My friend will discover what I’m discovering, you don’t lose them. They’ve just morphed into something else, and you have a unique opportunity to add to your family. Best Wishes to the newlyweds.
******************************************************************
I wrote this then couldn't get into the website to post it.
Tonight is Sunday and the wedding was wonderful. The rain stopped, the sun came out (well, sort of), the location was perfect, and everyone had a great time. To my friend I would say: Before the wedding I was sad. During the ceremony I cried. After the ceremony I couldn't have been happier for the two of them. It was all, every bit, worth it.
Posted by Dr Joni at 09:32 PM | Comments (0)
March 07, 2006
Spelling Still
A couple days ago I mentioned the art and science of spelling. It must be my week for paying attention to it because I had another opportunity to discover my spelling abilities, or lack of them, yesterday.
It was a busy, crazy day, but I was scheduled to be the Table Topics person at Toastmasters. Now the Table Topics person needs to be prepared for two things. He, or in this case she, needs to have some topics for people to talk about and they need the word of the day. Our theme was to the the crazy weather, so I had several topics in mind for people to talk to, but I had yet to look up a word.
The first word that popped into my head for a crazy weather day was precipitation. Speakers could then find a way to weave the word into their talk. The wordmaster is supposed to not only provide a word, but its pronunciation, spelling, and definition. Well, you can do those things only after you find the word in the dictionary.
I ran out to our front office to check. I couldn't find the word in the first dictionary. It's a smaller dictionary than the great big Webster's we have. Maybe it wasn't in there, only in the back of my head I couldn't imagine that. I tried Webster's. Couldn't find it, which was my first clue.
"Denise," I said to one of our first desk folks, "How do you spell precipitation?"
"Percipitation," she said.
"That's the way I'm spelling it, but it's not here," I said. Then as I wrote the word in my head and said it again, I realized I was spelling it wrong. "Shoot, it's pre. No wonder I can't find it."
"That's what dictionaries are for," said Denise as I was mumbling under my breath about not being able to spell. She's right. Dictionaries are for spelling and pronunciation and definitions, but after all those spelling tests I took in school, I generally expect to be able to spell most words without having to look them up.
Guess there are a few I still need to check on. Think it will precipitate the rest of the week? Looks like rain to me.
Posted by Dr Joni at 06:46 AM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2006
To Spell or Not to Spell
"I'm late, I'm late for a very important date." Well, I'm going to be late if I can't find the phone number for the person I'm supposed to meet. I had talked to this gentleman earlier in the week about some information I needed for a project. We'd agreed to meet Thursday afternoon or Friday morning. It depended on what time my workshop got through on Thursday, and I would call and let him know what time I'd be through. No problem. I put the possibiles in my calendar thinking at the time, I should put his phone number too, but it's on my yellow tablet and I'll have it with me so no problem.
Thursday afternoon and I'm going to run late. I need to call and confirm Friday morning. Of course, his phone number is on my yellow tablet, but not the one I have with me. It's on the other one. The one sitting on my desk, out in my car, or who knows where. I call my office, they locate his phone number in the phone book, call him, and reschedule for the next morning.
Friday morning I look in my calendar, but I have no location to meet him. I also don't have his number or my yellow tablet. So, like most smart people, I look it up in the phone book. I can't find it. There are Toms and Bobs and Bills, but not anyone I'm looking for. I can't find it anywhere, but my secretary had said she'd found it in the phone book. I have an old one and they moved. Maybe they're not in this one.
So I call the office. My secretary isn't in. Our receptionist says she'll look it up. I spell the name. She looks in her new phone book, not there. She checks my secreatary's rolodex, not there. I'm beginning to get concerned. I need to contact this person or I'll be late. I call a couple people who know him. Maybe they have his number. They aren't in. Time is getting close, and I'm going to look like a flake.
I finally find someone who has the number just as my office calls to tell me they found it. It seems I had been spelling the last name wrong for the last two days. It was in the phone book right where it was supposed to be. It was in the rolodex. It was on my yellow tablet which I found within ten minutes of getting the number. I called, made the appointment, and appeared calm and collected.
In the meantime, I'm realizing the value of spelling correctly. I had misspelled the name and wasted a great deal of my time as well as several other people's time in the process.
We often take spelling lightly. I don't know how many kids and adults I've heard say, "I don't spell very well, but who cares." Or my son's favorite, "The spell checker will take care of it."
I love a spell check, but it doesn't pick up things like: I when up the stares to the attack.
Spelling counts. We spend a great deal of time teaching children to read and write. Spelling may seem like a bit of an after thought. Sometimes those weekly spelling lists seem like such a boring thing to do, but over time they pay off. Kids who can spell become adults who can write, spell, and make themselves clearly understood.
Activity: Write your kids notes, correctly spelled of course. Have them write back to you. Find out what words they misspell. Play games to practice spelling them or add one of their own words to the weekly spelling list. Make it a bonus word and if they get it right for you, it's a special treat for them.
Posted by Dr Joni at 09:22 AM | Comments (0)
March 01, 2006
Parents Are Parents Are Parents
Last night I had this wonderful opportunity to work with a group of foster parents in Yuba City. Leah Eneix, the Program Specialist from Yuba College, had gotten my name from a friend. She'd called and asked me to come talk to her group about activities parents could do with their kids.
Of course I was delighted, and even more so when I met the group of people who were taking her class in foster care education. I hadn't realized there was such a program, but I can tell you I'm glad there is. It isn't easy to be a parent anyway, but several of these folks were parenting under even more difficult circumstances then usual.
Christina and Brian, with two of their own, are planning to foster parent medically fragile children. Brian's sister, Kelly, is already doing so. They have plenty of experience since Brian and Kelly's mom has been doing foster care for years.
Phyllis and Mary are dealing with grand and great grandchildren. Edna and Bill are each working with their own and their grandchildren, while Shirley and John have eight of their own and now have adopted two more.
How do you thank people who have willingly taken on the responsibility of raising children who aren't their own and who may have significant challenges. I know, you can't fully, but most people who do this don't do it for the thanks. We do these things because we want to and because of what we believe we can do for kids. Gee, sounds like why a number of us went into education.
Last night this group did some fun activities around playing and learning. I believe they got several new ideas for their kids. I know I did.
Try this one. If you've got young ones learning letters of their name, let them make a bracelet or necklace of beads. There are all kinds of beads at the hobby stores these days. Be sure to get the ones with the letters and show them how to string the beads so they can get the letters of their name in the right order into their art work. Cereal or soup with alphabet letters are fun too, but they don't quite string together well. Wearing your name around on your wrist is a fun way for a child to show people their name as well as tell someone who they are. Great for word and letter recognition too. Thanks John.
Great group. I enjoyed it and truly appreciate what they do.
Posted by Dr Joni at 06:02 AM | Comments (0)