The LD Child: Could Homeschooling Work? by Suzanne Stevens
Have you ever dreamed of leaping to your feet right in the middle of an IEP meeting and shrieking, "I quit?" When the nightly homework battle erupts into shouts and tears, are you tempted to crumple into a chair whimpering, "I can't take this anymore. I give up." All parents caught in this trap sometimes wonder if there isn't a better way.
Five Reasons to Stop Saying, “Good Job”
by Alfie Kohn
NOTE: This article was published in Young Children, September 2001;
and, in abridged form (with the title "Hooked on Praise"), in Parents Magazine, May 2000.
Hang out at a playground, visit a school, or show up at a child's birthday party, and there's one phrase you can count on hearing repeatedly: "Good job!" Even tiny infants are praised for smacking their hands together ("Good clapping!"). Many of us blurt out these judgments of our children to the point that it has become almost a verbal tic.
From Avoidance to Confidence
by Kathryn Stout
Is there something your student finds too hard? If so, he probably tries to avoid that task. When a student feels like a failure, he needs to experience success, not criticism. Come to his rescue with a method that will not only build his confidence, but also serve as a model for him to use when facing future challenges. Here are a few strategies for any task that has become too confusing:
Do What You Love
by Lynn Scully
In her columns, Lynn Scully offers practical tips and advice to parents and students of high school age who are planning for their future career or education.
The common rumor: Be involved in as many clubs, activities, community service organizations and sports as you possibly can to put on your College application.
The truth: Do what you love, you will do it well, and a college admissions board will be impressed. Or, it they are not impressed, perhaps it is because their school does not have the facilities that will allow you to continue to nurture your talents, in which case that particular school is not the one for you.
Unschoolers in College: Choosing a College
by Peter Kowalke
Starting this issue, Home Educator''s Family Times will be reprinting Peter Kowalkeâ?™s column about the transition from homeschooling to college. The story begins in the spring of 1998, when Peter's about to leave for college.
Dependence and Consequences
by Dave Marks
When children are four or five it's natural that they should expect their mothers to make their decisions for them and to speak for them. It's also natural for mothers and fathers, because they love them to want to make the decisions for their children, in many cases even when they are young adults. Adults know so much more than their children do about what they should study, what kinds of cars they should drive, the types of people they should marry and the careers that would be best for them. Of course, when we stick our noses into their young adult lives, they let us now in one way or another that we're not welcome in making those suggestions. As they should.
Homeschooling Your Child's Multiple Intelligences
by Carol McKeon
One of the first questions many home schoolers ask each other is what curriculum they use and why? While there are many well designed and highly recommended ones on the market today, most still follow the same generic outline for all students, a kind of one size fits all curriculum. ... Howard Gardner proposed his Theory of Multiple Intelligences in the now famous book, Frames of Mind. In his book, Gardner (1983) proposed that there were seven and more recently eight, distinct intelligences that worked succinctly to create a unique person.
Teacher for a Day
by Jeffrey A. Tucker
How awful we were to substitute teachers when I was in grade school! These "substitutes" â“ the very term implied dread mixed with malicious opportunity â“ didn't know our names, our lesson plans, the class culture, and had no pre-existing expectations for our behavior. We took full advantage, switching seats, hurling paper wads, goofing off, or otherwise just having a grand and very cruel time of it, knowing that if we all behaved badly as a class, in the aggregate, the punishment would be minimal. It was never worse than the day in band when we all switched instruments, and generated an hour worth of cacophony. To what end? It was just something we did because we could.
The Keys to Joyful Motherhood
by Barbara Curtis
You wonder one minute why you had them and the next how you ever lived without them. They're exhilarating and exhausting - even at the same time. Thy bring out the best and the worst in you even as you're sifting through the worst and best of them.
You have children in your life. And once you have children in your life, you'll never be the same.
Reading Tips for Parents
Shirley Minster
What can a parent do to keep a childâ™s reading skills sharp so that they can read and comprehend better? The following tips will help family relationships deepen as you discuss what your children are reading and in so doing, discover their perceptions as they share their ideas. Exciting adventures await you as you embark on this learning trip together.
Avoiding Science
by Theresa Bondora
Despite my strong desire to become a doctor, I assumed that I was incapable of doing real science. I changed my major to education with certification in science. I avoided the Chemistry and Physics and took the biological and biomedical classes. But as I grew older and more confident I decided to challenge myself with Chemistry I. I expected to have to drop the class but day after day it was easy.
