My Boarding School Blog

Kids belonging to the adolescence stage are the most difficult students to handle. Their transition from being a kid to a grown up does not usually come smoothly. As any parent would know understanding what they are going through- physically and emotionally plus all the stresses of peer pressure and the desire of belongingness make them very vulnerable to the slightest criticism, comment or disapproval.

For teachers these are challenging times like when Mrs. Kaufman, a teacher of 17 years at Seth Low Intermediate School in Brooklyn, learns first hand how to mediate between fist fights and cajole students whose self esteem has been dumped low by bullying or humiliation from other students. It takes a lot of courage and strength to be strong to withstand ridicule, pranks and other humiliating acts by middle school students on a daily basis. Unfortunately some teachers cannot bear the challenge and give up easily.

A significant rise in teacher attrition is happening in middle schools in the city. The main causes are student’s impulsive behavior, unpredictable bouts of anger and violence and poor academic performance.

Researchers in Philadelphia learned that 34.2 percent of newly hire middle school teachers quit after their first year. Most teachers who quit are highly qualified teachers on an academic level. They match the job description for teaching the middle school curriculum but they often lack the training in class management and adolescent psychology.

In an attempt to give middle school teachers an edge to handle the most difficult of students the New York State offers certification that focuses primarily on how to teach young adolescents effectively as well as fun things to do in NYC. Knowing techniques on how to adapt to them psychologically will help teachers to integrate teaching styles fit for their needs.

New teachers who are part of the program, Teach for America, are the common new recruits for middle school teaching. While most of them leave after their 2 years contract, a handful will stay and will be toughen by the experience. Most of them share that showing a stern face and strict implementation of the rules are less likely to work in middle school students. Instead if you will reach out and level with them they will begin to open up to you. But it usually a long painstaking process to make this achievable your patience will be tested and your emotions push over to the brink. Part of becoming a teacher for middle school is the ability to withstand cruel jokes, offensive remarks and spontaneous fits of anger.

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Learning is a dynamic process that does not always take place in a four walled classroom. Most educators say that learning is best achieved from experiences and interactions with people outside of school. Traditional learning tools in classrooms are sometimes perceived as boring and monotonous for students. They need an edgy, refreshing and a new way of learning that can enhance their creativity and cultivate the hunger for knowledge. Educators need to create a richer source where students will engage into and start learning.

At Ashmount Primary School in North London, student log on to the Internet and start their Math classes in different way than most traditional schools do. They learn math from their math professors all across the globe in India. Ashmount School is one of the few state schools in Europe that outsources teachers from other countries, mainly in India, through the BrightSpark Education.

BrightSpark Education trains professors in India to teach Math to their students online. They offer quality teaching as the London based company is the one who trains these Indian professors to teach online. The advantage of learning online is that the kid feels confident and in control of how he learns when he do it online. Studies have shown that students who utilize online learning in math develop twice the rate in national tests.

BrightSpark math teachers follow standard lesson plans but they are free to use their own structured teaching style online. Students are more enthusiastic in learning online because it gives them the feeling of exclusive teacher and student learning session that builds trust and fosters open communication which can facilitate effective learning.

But not all agrees to the benefits of online teaching as some believes that outsourcing online teachers is a risky step since they cannot empathize well with the student because of cultural difference and communication barrier with the use of just a headphone and a webcam. For some teachers they just feel threatened that they may lose their jobs to foreign teachers who teach online with a lower salary.

Parents are taking it in a more positive way especially towards online tutoring for their kids. It gives them the option to supplement what their kids learn in school and they can choose among different tutors online based on their qualifications and price per hour. Everything is recorded and documented so parents can review the effectiveness of an online teacher’s style. It will also give their child a peek into the window of the world exposing them to different cultures and values of other nations without leaving home.

Online teaching has its advantages and disadvantages but by trying it out both parents and students can experience the opportunity to see whether it will work for them or not. Whichever way it goes, it is still an opportunity that a student will definitely enjoy.

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Students are one of the busiest people in the world. When the school week starts it signals a long process of extended hours of studying at night, after school research and countless group meetings. To accomplish everything that needs to be done one must have control over his time. Success in school doesn’t just rely on high grades but how well you can cope and manage your time to juggle everything that needs to be done in time. Academic excellence reflected by scores on tests and exams is just one component of school work. Group activities, research and other extra curricular activities are also part of a school’s curriculum in promoting development of well rounded students that will later on become successful individuals in their chosen fields.

Here are some useful tips in organizing your time.

1. Accomplish a to-do list everyday. Listing your tasks for the day will help avoid forgetting some things. Be sure to prioritize based on importance and urgency.
2. Use time wisely. When you have spare time like when you are commuting your way to school, try to catch up on some reading. By doing this not only have you reviewed for the upcoming tests you will also manage to make use of your spare time wisely.
3. Exercise your right to say no. High school and college are known for the pressures of belonging in the hip crowd or having a group of friends you can hang out with and go to places with. But you can’t always go out with them especially when exams are due the next week or a term paper is on the way. By practicing saying no to going out and instead stay at home to finish the necessary school work will make your schedule of things to do back on track and you are likely to finish these tasks on time. By then you can go out with your friends and you’ll feel much better without the burden of worrying for unfinished tasks.
4. Set deadlines. It would be best to have a realistic time line wherein tasks are viable to be accomplished. Have a calendar handy as you think of a realistic goal for a deadline for different tasks. The need to adjust these deadlines might happen so keep in mind that you’ll need to be flexible in the event that the project might take longer than usual.
5. Prioritization is a must. When you list your tasks to do you might end up overwhelmed with the amount of work that you need to do and might even panic because time is not enough to accomplish all these tasks. This is where prioritization comes in. Prioritizing the most important tasks first will help you accomplish more. Breaking down tasks in smaller amounts each day will also go a long way into finishing it on time.
6. Get plenty of rest and sleep. Most of the time it is tempting to stay up late to finish a long list of school work but by doing so you’re taking your body for granted and this may lead to sickness and fatigue which will further deter you from finishing the tasks you have lined up for the week because you will be to weak to work on them.

In college there are support groups that can help you cope with the amount of stress and school work. In Carleton College, they have a wellness center where staff psychologists help students cope with college work and other stresses of school life.

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Home schooling also known as home education or home learning is typically learning at home. Parents act as the teachers for their children instead of going to educational institutions run by government or private sectors. Home schooling is legal in most states in Canada and in 50 states in the U.S. There are a number of reasons why parents choose to home school their child like improved academic test results, lesser peer pressure, improved character, and inexpensive education compared to most private schools.

Home schooling dates back in the 17th century in Europe where families has resorted to home schooling their children due to lack of income. Nowadays parents have other reasons why they choose homeschooling instead of the traditional way of schooling. Parents are now starting to take a stand and gain control of how to develop their children’s abilities. Although homeschooling is legal in the US there are still laws that govern homeschooling, these are private school laws, home education laws and equivalency laws. Home schooling is growing in popularity among other countries like Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan.

Can I save with Home Schooling?

The common misconception is that more parents choose home schooling because it is cheaper. Although it can be a little less expensive compared to private schools if you know where to find resources and how to use them effectively, home schooling might just work well with your family budget. There are package curriculums available from various institutions it may run from a few hundred dollars to around a thousand. To give you an idea of home schooling curriculum here is an example, an elementary grade program from Calvert School can cost around 500 to 600 dollars and as high as 1,400 dollars from Laurel Springs. These are just estimates but if you would really want to give your child the best home schooling education you need to be resourceful and learn your way through the Internet because it can be a very rich source of information and most of the time it’s free or is widely available at a lower price.

If you are a hesitant parent and is concerned of your ability to teach your child at home you can seek help from other parents whose children are home schooled in forums and support groups available all through out the state. This will help you to choose among the different curriculums and where to get tips that can help enhance your teaching style and develop your child’s talents and skills more effectively than what traditional schooling can do.

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Character education supports the emotional, social and ethical development of students. It is initiated by the state in cooperation with schools, districts and educators to promote important values to students at an early age. Character education also known as civic education teaches students to be the best they are which can facilitate a positive behavior towards learning.

School is not just aimed for academic excellence it also gives importance to character development above all. Students that will potentially become leaders of nations and innovators of change will need to be grounded with the right values to be able to be successful individuals with dignity and honor.

The goal of delivering character education to students materialized into the creation of the Student Citizenship Act of 2001. In this legislation, it requires all local education agencies (LEAs) to teach character education to its students. The Student Citizenship Act of 2001 lists twelve traits to incorporate in teaching character education. These are good judgment, courage, kindness, integrity, respect, perseverance, responsibility, respect, self discipline, good citizenship, accountability for school safety, service to others and respect for school personnel.

Character education is essential to be integrated in children’s studies as they spend most of their time in school. Schools and other educational institutions should have the initiative to help promote students to become caring, and respectful to their peers, teachers and other school personnel. This will prevent the prevalence of school violence and troubled students. The emotional, social and moral development of an individual is equally important in education because this serves as the foundation for academic achievement.

Schools that implement character education such as CEP’s National Schools of Character show improved behavior, better social interaction, and increased academic performance. Various researches have been conducted to study the effects of character education in the academic performance of students and it reveals a significant results. The Oregon State University researchers discovered that the Positive Action program, teaching social and emotional skills plus character development to primary school students, improves test scores by as much as 10%. Other relevant key points showed marked improvement on state reading and math examinations. Student suspensions dropped by 70% and there were less absenteeism.

Character education does not have to be a class on its own rather it should be infused in every class. Methods of teaching character education are available for teachers and educators to utilize and implement with the school’s curriculum. Developing effective character education also needs an active participation from parents and student’s families. Character development is the primary responsibility of parents and by taking a step towards character education we are greatly helping them out. Any adult in the school can teach character education, not just teachers and professors. School personnel like bus drivers, cafeteria vendors and counselors can have a chance to teach good moral character by means of setting a good example.
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