Does Your Student Have Homework Overload?

Does your student have endless hours of homework each night? Is there no time left over for family time? If so, don't feel like you are alone. In the past twenty-five years, homework assignments have risen by 51% according to a 2004 study at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. That is an average of 12 extra hours of homework per week! How do you get the time back for your family to spend together? Teachers do want feedback from parents especially on the topic of homework. Here are three ways to ease the homework burden for the whole family!
The Problem: Total quantity
The Solution: Teacher conference. Take the time to meet with your student's teacher(s) to let them know how long your child is taking to complete their work each evening and how long he can stay focused. Teachers sometimes don't understand how much time it takes to complete the nightly assignments and really don't want them working all night on their homework any more than you do. Once they know how long the homework is taking they will most likely cut back if they know the students are having problems. A good rule of thumb for how much homework a student should have each evening would be about 10-12 minutes for each grade level. You can also request that papers and tests be spread out so that your student doesn't get hit all at once with everything.
The Problem: Busywork
The Solution: Help your child learn to do the critical thinking portion of their homework first and then to move onto the mindless work. Let the teacher know that by the time the child does the "busywork homework", she is no longer able to focus on the parts that require the concentration. Ask the teacher to help the students prioritize the homework each night so that the critical thinking portions get done first.
The Problem: Projects that require parental involvement
The Solution: Allowing your student to do most of the project on their own when maybe it isn't as perfect as it could have been had you done more. The purpose of projects is for the student to gain knowledge along with good work habits. Having the parent take over and tell the student "how" to do it does no one any good. The goal of the parent with a school project is to help along the way and NOT to do the work for the student. The parent's role is to coach and teach the student concepts and to help them understand the subject matter at hand.
 posted by Jane    0 comments

Famous People with Learning Disabilities

If your child has just been diagnosed with a learning disability, he or she may be feeling a little bit iffy about their self-esteem. This may be due to the overwhelming (but untrue) notion in our society that scholastic difficulties severely limit a person's possibility of success in the work world. Of course, this is quite simply not true. There are plenty of well-known individuals with learning problems who have gone on to accomplish great things in their careers. Here are a few such examples who just might provide the encouragement and inspiration that your child needs to look to the future with optimism:
1. Whoopi Goldberg
Until she explained her difficulties with reading to a perceptive teacher as an adult, Goldberg had no idea she was dyslexic. She was then able to learn the strategies necessary that would allow her to make sense of written language. Goldberg went on to become an incredibly successful actress and comedienne. She is one of the few people in the world to have been awarded an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy. Goldberg is also the only woman to have ever hosted the Academy Awards. Her radio show, Wake Up With Whoopi, premiered on Clear Channel Radio at the end of July 1006. She has several upcoming movies slated for release, including It's Under My Skin and The Last Guy on Earth.
2. Tommy Hilfiger
Growing up in New York during the '50s and '60s, Hilfiger struggled with school because of his dyslexia. While reading proved difficult for him, he developed a keen eye for what lines and shapes suited the body. Hilfiger's sharp fashion sense and entrepreneurial drive helped him to launch his own label in 1982. Since then, his business has branched out to design not just men and women's wear, but children's clothing, shoes, home furnishings, and personal fragrances. Hilfiger has experienced continued success with an ever-increasing celebrity clientele, new store openings around the globe and company revenues in the hundreds of millions.
3. Jamie Oliver
This young, hip chef has made cooking cool for a new generation of Food Network viewers. While dyslexia problematized reading for Oliver as a student, he made it a point to finish every cookbook from the well-known Bay Area French restaurant, Chez Panisse. Oliver's learning disability has not stood in the way of his achievements; he has been the host of several popular cooking television programs, such as The Naked Chef and Oliver's Twist, and has written seven cookbooks, including the bestselling Jamie's Dinners. His latest television series-Jamie's School Lunch Project-documents his quest to revamp the menu of a British elementary school through the introduction of healthier cooking methods and the incorporation of organic foods.
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Choosing a Calculus Tutor in Orange County

As more and more attention is paid to mathematical education, calculus, which was once only taught to the most mathematically inclined high school students, is quickly becoming a staple of high school mathematics education. If your student is having a difficult time making the transition to calculus based mathematics, it might be a good idea to consider hiring a calculus tutor to give your student a little extra guidance and attention.

Let's face it--calculus is a pretty hard subject for any student to learn. While every form of mathematics that is taught prior to calculus has been known for thousands of years, calculus itself was not developed until the seventeenth century. This shows just how much of a leap there is between pre-calculus mathematics and calculus.

Many students can find themselves quickly overwhelmed when they start learning calculus. The subject requires a total change in the way that one views numbers and the way they interact. Calculus introduces such concepts as limits (numbers that approach infinitely closely to but never quite reach some value), derivatives (the instantaneous rate of change of a function), integrals (the opposite of the derivative), infinities, and other concepts that can stretch even the most agile of minds.

This puts the calculus tutor in a very precarious situation--not only must he or she be able to communicate with the student regarding the intricacies of the mechanics of calculus, but the calculus tutor must also be able to help the calculus student overcome the conceptual difficulties that are part and parcel of the early learning of calculus.

When evaluating a prospective calculus tutor, you must inquire about the level of calculus learning that he or she possesses. It is almost impossible for someone who has only had one calculus course to fully appreciate the subtlety of the subject and be able to present it in a manner that is easily digestible.

Therefore, a good calculus tutor should have a university degree in either mathematics or the physical sciences, as these are typically the only students who learn calculus to a high enough level to be able to communicate it fully. As with all types of tutoring, a calculus tutor must be a skilled communicator. Even the most mathematically gifted person makes a lousy calculus tutor if he or she is unable to communicate effectively.

It is a good idea to schedule a few introductory tutoring sessions where you sit in with your child and the calculus tutor so that you can observe how they interact and can make certain that the calculus tutor is able to interact with your student in a way that ensures that your student will benefit from the sessions.

A good calculus tutor must have a high level of proficiency in advanced mathematics and must also be a skilled and effective communicator. This combination of requirements means that it can be difficult indeed to find the right calculus tutor. However, if your student is having difficulties, the search can be well worth the effort.
 posted by Jane    0 comments

Tips to Becoming a Good Adult Reading Tutor

A reading tutor is someone who helps people, from preschool-aged children whose parents want to give them a leg up in reading to adults who are lacking the literacy skills that they need to succeed, learning to read. This article will focus on the skills necessary to become a reading tutor who works primarily with adults. While you will never get rich by becoming a reading tutor, there is little that is more satisfying than helping someone learn what is quite possibly the most important skill that they will ever have. Reading is so fundamental that we often forget just how important it is--we read street signs and menus without pausing for a second to consider what we are doing.
It is second nature for us to read constantly. Imagine what it must be like for someone who cannot participate in this most common of our daily skills. The best way to come to an understanding of this is to go to a foreign country (one that speaks a non-English language but uses Roman characters) and feel the hopelessness that comes with not being able to understand anything that is written. This is the life for adults who do not know how to read. A reading tutor works with sub-literate adults and helps them become proficient readers.
The first thing that you need to become aware of if you are considering becoming an adult reading tutor is that many illiterate adults are ashamed of their situation and many will go through life trying to fake it. The adults that you will be working with as an adult reading tutor are those who have decided to face their situation head on. Nevertheless, they are likely to be in a very fragile state and are usually hyper sensitive to any perceived pity or disrespect. An adult reading tutor works with real people, courageous people, who have admitted to a problem that they have and are willing to work hard to rectify it. These are people that are worthy of your respect, deserve nothing less, and will quickly perceive it if you feel otherwise.
A good adult reading tutor will first assess the skills that their client possesses. Very few adult
reading students have no reading skills at all. Most can read to a greater or lesser degree. Once the reading tutor has carefully assessed the skill level of the student, the reading tutor will plan
a curriculum that takes into account both the strengths and the weaknes
 posted by Jane    0 comments

How to Organize for School Success in Orange County

How many times has your child told you that night that they need a poster for a project that is due tomorrow and you have to run to the store at 7pm? What about the permission slip for a field trip that "forgot" to get signed the night before and now you find yourself rushing to the school that morning to sign it?
Don't worry. You are not the only parent going through this! The biggest problem most students have is a lack of organizational skills. Here are some strategies that might help make this your student's best year yet!
Issue: The homework gets finished nightly, but not handed in the next day. The homework gets haphazardly tossed into the backpack but then lost in a sea of papers by the next day.
Solution? In a two pocket folder, designated just for homework, the left hand side becomes the "assignments to do" side and the right side becomes the "work to turn in" side. For the early grades you can check with your student to see that the left side is empty and the right side is full. This will help train them for the later grades when they should be doing this on their own. This strategy also gives them the feelings of accomplishment thus helping to reinforce their self-confidence.
Issue: A large project is "suddenly" due tomorrow!
Solution? On the family calendar have each child mark long-term projects in a signature marker color along with important tests and anything else that needs to be prepared for in advance. Each night that can be looked at and short term goals can be attained over the long run rather than one BIG push to get it done the night before!
Issue: School news and activities are over before you ever hear about them.
Solution? Although older students need to be somewhat independent, parents still need to know what is going on with their school. Instead of snooping and having to go through the backpack when you student gets home, be in the habit of asking for all papers that require you to look at them when he/she is doing homework or at dinnertime. You might also have a pocket designated in their back pack that is only "papers for mom" so that they won't feel that you are constantly questioning them or going through the rest of their backpack.
Putting these into practice will eventually result in habits that are formed to help them with their organizational skills throughout their lifetimes.
 posted by Jane    0 comments

How to Select an Orange County Tutoring Service

Since the costs of university education continues to rise while student loans and grants are
becoming more difficult to obtain, the importance of securing college scholarships is paramount.
Scholarships to top colleges and universities are very competitive indeed. If your child is lacking in one or more academic areas it may be very difficult for him or her to secure sufficient financial aid to pursue a higher education. Many parents look to private tutoring to bridge the gap between their child's abilities and the skills that colleges and universities demand. For those who are considering hiring the services of an Orange County tutoring service, there are a few key concepts that must be considered.

One of the the most important things to consider when looking at an Orange County tutoring service is whether or not the service verifies the credentials of their tutors. It is possible to put anything at all on a resume, and it can be very time consuming and expensive to verify all of the information yourself.

A good Orange County tutoring service will do all of the legwork for you. By using an Orange County tutoring service that handles all of the verification details, you free yourself to concentrate fully on selecting the tutor that is most capable of meeting your child's needs. If the Orange County tutoring service that you are considering does not carefully verify the experiences and abilities of their tutors, it is time to seek another service.

Another important issue to consider when looking for an Orange County tutoring service is whether or not they take the time to make certain that there is a good rapport between the student and the tutor. They should provide for in-home consultations that give the student as well as the parents an opportunity to meet, discuss their needs and expectations, and evaluate how the student and the tutor interact. The parents should have veto power if they feel that the tutor may not meet their needs for any reason.

When evaluating an Orange County tutoring service, you should make an effort to talk to other
students and parents that have used the service. Ask if they felt that the student made sufficient progress, if the tutor was reliable, if the service was quick to handle questions and concerns, etc. While advertisements can promise the world, word of mouth is rarely inaccurate.

Considering the importance of high grades and test scores, it is no wonder that Orange County
tutoring services are in high demand. If you are seeking such a service, be sure to carefully
evaluate whether the Orange County tutoring service that you are looking at will meet all of your needs.
 posted by Jane    0 comments

Recommended Books About Learning Disabilities

One of the best and easiest ways to inform yourself about your child's learning disability is by reading a good book on the subject. There is a ton of literature available about learning problems, so it may be a bit of daunting task to choose something to start with. Luckily, there are many informed parents and specialists out there who have already waded through this flood of information, so you don't have to dive in on your own. The following is a list of written resources that have made it past the critical gaze of those in the know:
1. No Easy Answers: The Learning Disabled Child at Home and at School, Sally L. Smith, $23 (paperback), available at Amazon.com This has been the book that parents of learning disabled children have turned to for more than fifteen years now. Smith is the parent of a learning disabled child, the founder and director of the Lab School, and an education professor at the American University, so she's extremely well-qualified to write about this subject. The book covers a wide range of information, including a look at how learning disabilities are diagnosed and tips on how to make sure your child is getting the education he or she deserves. The updated version includes sections on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), ADD, and ADHD.
2. All Kinds of Minds: A Young Student's Book About Learning Abilities and Learning Disorders, Melvin D. Levine, $28.70 (paperback), available at Amazon.com
Even though this book is geared toward young readers, it's a valuable resource for both parents and children to learn from together. Levine is a professor of pediatrics at the University of North Carolina Medical School and a staunch child advocate. Here, he introduces different types of learning disabilities through stories told from the point of view of five elementary school students. Each student talks about their classroom experiences, their struggles and triumphs. This approach will help children with learning problems to see that they're not alone and that there are strategies that can they can implement to ease their scholastic difficulties.
3. Helping Children Overcome Learning Disabilities: A Step-by-Step Guide for Parents and Teachers, Jerome Rosner, $18.95 (paperback), available at Amazon.com
The approach of this book is different from most others on the subject. For starters, the author suggests that parents and teachers avoid using the label "learning disabled" and instead focus on the specific problems that their children or students face. Rosner is a professor of pediatric optometry at the University of Houston and has written several books on working with children who have learning issues. Readers will appreciate his accessible explanations of each type of learning difficulty, as well as his positive and practical solution-based approach.
 posted by Jane    0 comments