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In Summer Programs

The Summer Slide: A Ride You Don’t Want to Take

kid playing video games representing falling behind academically during the summer

School is almost out for the summer.

Although summer break is a reprieve from enforcing early morning wakeup calls, packing lunches, and managing car pools, parents trade these tasks to focus on ensuring there is a balance between learning and leisure activities. It can be a struggle to counter the “summer slide.” Unlike the term implies, a summer slide isn’t the newest attraction at Waterworld. It’s the loss of academic skills, particularly in reading and math, that occur when children are home for the summer without stimulating activities to fill their time.

Summer Robotics Camp at The Dorris-Eaton School

Summer

While parents intuitively know that a variety of events are needed to keep their children occupied, they may not realize the cost of a summer focused on being busy rather than being stimulated.  Duke University summer-learning expert Harris Cooper collected and analyzed over a century’s worth of academic studies and “concluded that, on average, all students lose about a month of progress in math skills each summer.”  However, after monitoring the progress of students from kindergarten through high school for over 20 years, Johns Hopkins University researchers found that “the better-off kids held steady or continued to make progress during the summer-- but disadvantaged students fell back.”  Why?  Parents of well-to-do students tend to enroll their children in quality summer schools and camps.

Summer programs that review, apply, and extend concepts learned in school keep the mind active.  Writing, literature, and math workshops offer opportunities for students to practice their skills and enjoy learning.  Experiences that require students to problem solve and/or expose them to new ideas and skills keep their minds active.

Summer programs that review, apply, and extend concepts learned in school keep the mind active

In addition to high-quality camps, parents who model the importance of reading and require summer reading see improvement in their children’s ability to comprehend material.  When families discuss the books they have read, it creates an opportunity to share perceptions.  Frequent trips to the local library and participation in a summer reading program are valuable as well.  Equally important are educational trips to parks and local museums to broaden horizons.  Even the annual summer vacation can enhance learning when children prepare the trip budget, use a map to determine the best route to travel, and prepare a guided tour of the locale.  Keeping children meaningfully involved staves the summer slide and minimizes struggles over screen time.

Give your children an educational advantage this summer by purposefully selecting an array of summer sessions, workshops, and camps that keep their minds actively engaged.  The “summer slide” is one ride you don’t want your children to take.

admin
In Early Childhood Education

Quality Preschool Education is Important

Hand puppets at The Dorris-Eaton preschool in Alamo, CA

Research clearly shows the lifelong impact of brain development during the early years.

Linked to success throughout life, early experiences of children from birth to age five have a profound effect on the nature of their development as well as the quality of their brain’s architecture.

Enter the world of preschool. How important is it?

Kids running on the playground at Dorris-Eaton Preschool in Alamo, CA

Kids running on the playground at Dorris-Eaton Preschool in Alamo, CA

There are some who believe that enrolling a four-year-old in music, gymnastics, and dance classes will offer all of the early experiences necessary for success.  However, what preschools do that individual classes don’t do is teach children how to be students.  Preschoolers don’t automatically come with the ability to take turns and compromise, be respectful of others, raise their hands, and share the attention of a teacher.  Students who enter kindergarten with these skills—coupled with the ability to easily separate from parents—tend to be the ones who are ready to learn and gain the most during the kindergarten year and beyond.

Preschoolers don’t automatically come with the ability to take turns and compromise, be respectful of others, raise their hands, and share the attention of a teacher.

Experts have found that students who attend high-quality preschools enter kindergarten with better pre-reading skills, richer vocabularies, and stronger basic math skills than those who do not.  So what defines a high-quality preschool environment?  Results of studies highlight stimulating activities that promote teacher-to-student and student-to-student interaction; a sequential building of instruction and curriculum; a well-designed outdoor play area to promote the development of gross motor skills and opportunities for social interaction; and a variety of activity areas with well-stocked materials such as books, art supplies, blocks, puzzles, and other manipulatives.  But by far, experienced, well-trained teachers are the key ingredient.  Teachers with college degrees with specialized early-childhood education and training have more positive interactions with children, provide richer language experiences, and are more engaged with their students.

So continue with the valuable music lessons and gymnastics, but in order to provide your child the best possible outcome for early brain development and educational readiness, make sure to include a high-quality preschool experience.

admin
In Early Childhood Education

Ready or not — kindergarten here I come.

Most parents don’t take a cavalier approach with their child’s first formal educational experience.

However, overanalyzing every move a four-year-old makes isn’t productive either. So, how do parents determine if their child is ready to begin kindergarten?

The first consideration is usually age because most private and public schools have a cut-off date: the date by which a child must be five. However, experts agree that chronological age is only one piece of the puzzle. It should not be the determining factor. A child’s social/emotional, physical, academic, and learning preparedness are the considerations which should help guide the decision.

Dorris-Eaton T.K. class in Alamo, CA

Being ready to learn can be critical to success at school.  For a child about to enter kindergarten, look at how well he communicates and listens.  Does he speak in complete sentences most of the time and understand and follow two-step directions?  Is he focused and attentive when a book is read?  Is he able to wait when the need arises?  Can he successfully follow a routine?

Does your child wonder about the world around him and ask questions?

Another consideration is academic readiness.  Being curious is key.  Does your child wonder about the world around him and ask questions? After hearing a story, is he able to reasonably retell the story and connect it to his own life?  Letter and number recognition shows readiness.  A conceptual understanding of math includes the ability to count, recognize one-to-one correspondence, and identify quantity—groupings which show greater than and less than.

Sometimes there is a tendency to overemphasis a child’s cognitive ability. A child’s social/emotional development is critical to enjoying school and being successful.  Can your child express his feelings?  When interacting with other children, how well does he share, take turns, compromise, and problem solve?  Assess your child’s independence.  Is he able to separate from you, dress himself, and take responsibility for his belongings?

Fine- and gross-motor skills are also important.  Does your child use drawing or writing tools with control and intention?  Can he copy a straight line, circle, and triangle? When drawing himself, does his picture have a head, body, arms, and legs?  In terms of gross-motor skills, look at how well your child catches and bounces a ball.  Is he able to hop on one foot, jump, and run in a straight line?

It can be difficult for parents to objectively assess their own child’s readiness for kindergarten. So, seek the opinion of skilled educators, childcare providers, or adults who know your child well. Meld their assessment with your own so that you can make an informed determination as to whether your child is “ready or not” to begin kindergarten.

admin
In Academics

Today we will cut and paste students.
Today we will cut and paste, students.

typerwriter representing writing and importance of grammar

Do English grammar and mechanics matter?

A writer’s purpose is to convey a clear message, rather than inadvertently offend or solicit laughter from the reader, as in the example title of this article. Is a mistake really that important? Yes. An awareness that omitting a comma affects meaning is critical, especially if the document is for business purposes or a formal contract. Being unclear or vague can carry significant monetary ramifications or important policy implications. Two well-known court cases, Kevin O’Connor v. Oakhurst Dairy and District of Columbia v. Heller, have been litigated with the decisions hinging on the use of a comma. In one suit, substantial back pay of $10 million is at stake, while in the other, the Founding Fathers’ Second Amendment intentions regarding “the right to bear arms” were questioned…all based on the placement of a comma. Grammar and mechanics (capitalization, punctuation, and spelling) truly do matter.

US Supreme Court representing importance of grammar in contracts

The U.S. Supreme Court

It's not just a bureaucratic issue for lawyers or law makers.  According to the most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, three-quarters of both 8th and 12th grade students do not possess the skills necessary to be considered proficient in writing.  Forty percent of the graduating class of 2016 who took the ACT college entrance exam lack the reading and writing skills to successfully complete a college-level composition class.  Improving writing skills is not a new focus for American educators. However, the Common Core State Standards, currently used in two-thirds of the states—including California, was supposed to remedy this deficiency.  Common Core State Standards require students to be taught argumentative, informational, and narrative style essays.  Despite six years of implementation, however, college freshmen continue to need to enroll in remedial classes to acquire basic writing skills.

A strong language arts program not only teaches grammar and mechanics, it contains an exemplary writing program so that students apply the concepts learned.

Clearly, communicating effectively and writing critically are important.   A strong language arts program not only teaches grammar and mechanics, it contains an exemplary writing program so that students apply the concepts learned. Quality programs require students to write frequently.  Schools with smaller class sizes enable teachers to routinely meet with students to discuss the nuances that foster clear communication. Students not only receive continual feedback, they respond to the critique by rewriting their work to better clarify its meaning. Schools where all teachers assess and grade work based on content as well as the organization of ideas, grammar and mechanics, and writing style cultivate effective communicators.

Education matters.  However, it’s not just any education.  Talk to your children and determine how often and what language arts instruction they are receiving. How frequently are your children writing and what type of critique are they receiving?  Enroll your children in a school whose curriculum and assignments enable them to notice the faux pas in statements like, “Today we will cut and paste students.” rather than being the person to make the error.

admin
In Extracurricular

Wikileaks has done more harm than good.
Debate that one.

Microphone on debate podium

Debate has been one of the fastest growing extra-curricular activities for middle-school-aged students in the East Bay.

Participants in debate no longer grapple solely with the traditional controversial issues of school uniforms, gun control, and affirmative action. Instead, they address complex state, federal, and global problems currently being discussed by adults. “The U.S. should adopt a single-payer health care system.” and “Sanctuary cities do more harm than good.” were two topics by The East Bay Debate League.

Microphone on debate podium

The Dorris-Eaton Debate Team

Debate teams prepare to be on either the proposition or opposition side of an issue. Thirty minutes prior to facing their opponents, students are assigned the “side” they are to present. Sound stressful? Debaters don’t think so. They find the tournaments thrilling because participants must think on their feet, work as a team, and speak forcefully to prove their point. The communication, analytical, and public speaking skills gained and honed by being on a debate team produce confident teens.

Teams begin by researching the subject, using credible sources that will enable them to distill the complex issue into compelling points.

Teams begin by researching the subject, using credible sources that will enable them to distill the complex issue into compelling points. Students develop a thorough understanding of the problem and analyze available statistics so they know what data to use, how to use the facts, and when to use the numbers to their advantage. Knowledge of the United States Constitution, current or precedent-setting court cases, and local laws can all come into play during a debate. The ability to think quickly to refute the opponents’ claims is as important as the strength of one’s own argument.

Not impressed yet? Debaters must work collaboratively and be effective communicators. Each individual of the three-member team is responsible for the research. Together they evaluate and prioritize the material gathered. This requires the ability to constructively give and receive feedback, and in some cases “park your ego at the door.” Likewise, an honest assessment of each member’s speaking skills occurs when determining the speaker order.

Finally, those who participate in debate are or become excellent public speakers. Eye contact, effective gestures, voice, tone, and inflection are all taught and practiced via debate. The first two speakers on each team have 5 minutes to make their case, with possible point deductions for too few or too many seconds over the allotted time. The “closer,” or last speaker, has 4 minutes to drive the case home. Yielding the floor to the opponent who is trying to undermine your stance requires poise under pressure. Listening to the other side and punching holes in their argument without being offensive is a skill. Presence and composure are hallmarks of debaters.

If you’re having a hard time imagining adolescents in this role, sign your middle school student up for a debate class. However, be sure you’re up on your facts when your child uses the new found skills on you.

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