Love & Logic
About ten years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Jim Fay present his Love and Logic
strategies. Over the past ten years I've incorporated those
strategies into my home and professional life. Although I admit I'm not completely successful in following the program 100% of the time, I do try to follow the suggestions.
Last week I presented an overview of parenting with love and logic at our parent information night series. The night seemed to go quite well. I explained about
helicopter parents, drill
Sergeant parents, and Love and Logic parents. We had over twenty parents represented and anyone who wants to know more on the topic can check out one of the books from my lending library.
Labels: Parenting
What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Many people may think that a school plods along year after year without change. The only difference some people notice is the name on a door after a retirement party. Well, what have we done at Algonquin lately?
- Reading Minute - A school wide initiative to develop better summarizing skills. The teacher, and sometimes students, bring in a short article of interest. After reading and listening students write a one sentence summary of the article. The initial work shows that this is a skill many students need practice at. I recommend that parents try this one at home.
- SSR - Silent Sustained Reading will start school wide on Monday, March 19th. They class periods have been adjusted to allow 21 minutes of SSR per day. Student can read books, articles, manuals or other resources to increase reading comprehension. With SSR the average student will read an additional 1,823,000 words per year. Our hope is that the benefits of the extra reading will give our students an edge as they pursue more education.
- Olweus Bullying Prevention Program - The Olweus program will kick off on Monday, March 19th. The program was developed by Dan Olweus of Norway. Algonquin will be the first school in Michigan to use the program. The research associated with this program shows a reduction in bullying behavior. Our hope is to make Algonquin the best possible place for kids to come to school.
- Genre Units - The school has purchased units developed in Macomb County to help improve the language arts classrooms. Students are already reading some of the new books as part of these units. (The Cay, Ghost Canoe)
- Parent Connection - Parents can check student grades on-line.
- E-Mail Announcements - Parents can now sign up to get e-mail information from the school. Some notes seem to get lost on the way home :)
I hope that everyone knows that as a staff we are always looking to make Algonquin better. The dedicated staff and myself are looking at more positive changes for next year.
The question shouldn't be what have you done for me lately, but what are you doing next?
Is the Education of Boys in Crisis?
The administrative group in Algonac is doing a book talk on the book "The Minds of Boys". The book gives some startling facts on page 22.
- Boys get the majority of D's and F's in most schools.
- Boys make up 80% of discipline problems.
- Of children diagnosed with learning disabilities, 70% are boys.
- Of children diagnosed with behavioral disorders, 80% are boys.
- Over 80% of schoolchildren on Ritalin or similar drugs are boys.
- According to the Department of Education, our sons average a year to a year and a half behind girls in reading and writing.
- Of school dropouts, 80% percent are young males.
- Young men now make up less than 44 percent of our college population.
As a male who made it though the educational system these facts took me by surprise. Who is to blame for these issues? Do schools need to adjust for the needs of boys?
The study of the brain in recent years makes it clear boy's and girl's brains are different. How does a teacher or parent use this information?
By the way, this book is available to the community through my lending library.
Labels: Book Talk
