The economy has done more than take away jobs. It’s forced families from a wide range of socioeconomic backgrounds to be homeless, hungry, and lose the comfort of  having other basic needs. Nearly three-quarters of all U.S. households with income below the federal poverty line spend over 50 percent of monthly household income on rent (Endhomelessness.org.)

We are often reminded of the number of Americans losing jobs, or graduating into a bad economy, or taking low-level, minimum wage jobs just to get by. However, what about the students in these families? We also hear a lot about poor student performance on standardized tests, college grads who graduate without critical skills, decreases in school budgets, and the lack of student proficiency in literacy and STEM subjects. We’ve known for decades that students don’t do well if they are hungry, sleep-deprived, or stressed. As more families hit the poverty line, is it any wonder that more students aren’t successful?

“The results are plain to see,” writes Mark Naison in his article “America’s Teachers See Growing Poverty Up Close.” “After ten years of No Child Left Behind, three years of Race to the Top, and twenty years of Teach for America, we have seen no change in the global standing of America’s schools and no reduction in the test score gap between racially and economically disadvantaged groups and the rest of the population.”  Teachers on the frontline of teaching kids in “generational poverty” or those “made newly poor by the economic crisis” are an untapped resource in finding an answer to education reform.

Naison illustrates the picture that many educators see in today’s schools, a perspective he believes many “education reformers” don’t have:

• Many students who live in poor and working class neighborhoods don’t have a secure place to stay, moving from apartment to apartment, experience bouts of homelessness, and move in and out of foster care.
• Students may disappear from school for days or weeks at a time, sometimes not returning altogether.
• Those who attend class often fall asleep in class from sleep deprivation due to crowded homes and homelessness.
• Many students go hungry, and fear the weekend when they don’t get school meals.
• Many live without healthcare.

As many questions about education reform remain unanswered, consider what you can do to give legislators the perspective of a teacher. Is there more you can do to illustrate the struggles and achievements of your students? What would you do to solve the problem of poverty in the classroom? What can you do with your resources to make a difference in a child’s life? How can you use academic coaching to coach a child who is having a hard time at home and in school?

 

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Source:

“America’s Teachers See Growing Poverty Up Close,” By Mark Naison. 17 January 2012. Beyond Chron. Accessed on 18 January 2012. http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=9812#more

Many parents and educators equate a student’s high self-esteem with high achievement. However, according in the article “In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, finer-tuned praise,” empty praise is out, and a new vocabulary that supports challenge is in. So, how can we work with students to hold them accountable to high expectations while helping them to believe in themselves to risk, to try, to grow, and to deliver quality work?

Research shows “unearned praise does not help students but instead interferes with significant learning opportunities.” Students learn to accept challenge and move beyond difficult obstacles when they are encouraged by educators with words like “persistence,” “risk-taking,” and “resilience.” Studies also show that praising effort over intelligence is another way students can learn to enjoy challenge. An academic coaching question you might ask a student is:  on a scale of 1-10 (1=lowest) how much effort did you exert on this assignment, preparing for this test or participating in this class?  If the answer is under 5, the student may be developing more slacker tendencies which will impede their progress over time.

Rocky Hill Middle School started the school year by teaching their 1,100 students about brain development. Teaching students about how the brain makes connections and continues to grow can give some students a sense of control over their learning. Students should be encouraged to look inward to cultivate their own judgment and motivation to learn, rather than rely on outside feedback, according to Alfie Kohn, author of “Punished by Rewards.”

How can you help students look inside when confronted with a challenge, instead of waiting for outside encouragement?

How can you adjust your vocabulary to support a student’s effort instead of intelligence?

How would your classroom dynamic change if students had to find their own answers? Are you, as a parent, teacher or counselor ready to release the reigns of control somewhat so that you can become the academic coach and champion of your child’s best effort?

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Source:

“In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, finer-tuned praise,” by Michael Alison Chandler. 15 January 2012. The Washington Post. Accessed on 17 January 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/in-schools-self-esteem-boosting-is-losing-favor-to-rigor-finer-tuned-praise/2012/01/11/gIQAXFnF1P_story.html

If you’ve ever been in an argument with a teen, it might have felt like anything but productive. However, researchers found that if parents turn the argument from heated to healthy they are providing their kids with critical training they need for handling peer pressure, engaging in respectful confrontation, and offering solutions in reassuring ways, according to the NPR story “Why a Teen Who Talks Back May Have a Bright Future.”

What does effective arguing look like? The kind of arguing that should be rewarded is calm and persuasive, opposed to arguments with yelling, whining, threats, or insults, says the head of the study Joseph P. Allen. Parents in the study reacted in a variety of ways. The ones that modeled the healthiest reactions were the ones who initiated a discussion with their teen when confronted with a problem. When parents or teens are passive instead of active, problems fester under the surface and often grow greater with time increasing anxiety and stress for all concerned.

Allen says the best way for parents to practice effective arguing is to listen. Whether or not the student or parent agrees with the other one’s argument, when either one of the arguers makes a good point it should be acknowledged, and the best way to show this is by listening.

Practicing and promoting healthy, respectful debate is a lifelong skill that will serve students in school, college, career and life.  Parents who engage in this important, though sometimes hard to initiate, practice will likely produce young adults who are self-assured, able to advocate for what they need, and debate amicably and respectfully with those around them.  Where can you as a courageous parent provide an academic coaching opportunity in the car or in your home to demonstrate healthy debate?

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Source:

“Why A Teen Who Talks Back May Have A Bright Future,” by Patti Neighmond. 3 January 2012. NPR. Accessed on 5 January 2012. http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/01/03/144495483/why-a-teen-who-talks-back-may-have-a-bright-future?ps=cprs

Over the last 44 years, the percentage of youth arrested between the age of 8-23 has taken a sharp increase. Today, nearly one in three people will be arrested by the time they are 23, according to a study recently published in Pediatrics.

People were shocked when the original stats came out 44 years ago showing that 22 percent of youth would be arrested by 23. However, the fact that now 30.2 percent of youth will be arrested by age 23 might not come as such a shock to some. Today’s youth face a new breed of problems that the youth of the 1960s didn’t have. They also continue to have some of the same behaviors that with time have grown from minor offenses to criminal charges. They also continue to have some of the same behaviors that with time have grown from minor offenses to criminal charges including many who are serving time for possession of marijuana.

Youth will be arrested for things such as truancy, vandalism, underage drinking, shoplifting, robbery, assault, and murder, according to the Associated Press. One thing I learned working for two years teaching inmates in prison, is that when a young person fails to find his passion in school or out, gangs and deviant behavior take precedent.

“Society is a lot less tolerant of these teenage behaviors,” said criminologist Megan Kurlychek. One way to combat these patterns is to work with sixth and seventh graders on becoming more emotionally intelligent– developing self-awareness, managing strong emotions, being self-motivated, developing social skills —  and learning what their true gifts and abilities might be.

Early social and emotional learning is key in students’ success. If we can teach students who are transitioning into middle school the tools they need to explore their changing world, we can expect great things as they discover new things about themselves and the world around them. My books People Smarts for Teenagers and Gifts and Talents for Teenagers give transitioning students the tools to identify their strengths and weaknesses, learn their learning style, understand their peers and much more.

Source:

Study: Nearly 1 in 3 Will Be Arrested by Age 23.” 19 December 2011. The Associated Press. Accessed on 21 December 2011. http://www.9news.com/rss/article/236826/328/Study-Nearly-1-in-3-will-be-arrested-by-age-23-?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Some college students might be anxiously anticipating their holiday break, while others are becoming overwhelmed with countdown to their last holiday break and beginning of their last semester. A new class of graduates may be asking: What lies ahead? Will I get a job in my field? Will it make me happy? Did I pick the right major?

Mitchell Zuckoff recently shared a few words of encouragement in the NPR story “For Nervous Seniors, Some Pre-Graduation Advice” that his graduating journalism class is usually only privy to.

He says, every December, most of the seniors “hijack” the class and start spilling their hopes and fears for their entrance into the world of work. He believes a good time to have the conversation about what lies ahead is six months before graduation day, rather than the days leading up to it. His class receives the following advice:

• “Imagine a ladder whose bottom rung is about 6 feet off the ground. That’s the reality in most fields, where the perks — be they prestige, excitement, money, or best of all, meaningful work — attract more applicants than there are jobs. It’s always been this way, I explain, and they should embrace it rather than complain about it.” He goes on to show them they have two options to get to the rung: get a boost or learn the skills to get up their on their own.
• He also suggests they start “weaning themselves from the good life and the safety net many of them enjoy.” When they enter the world of work, they won’t have the support system, flexible hours, or general leniency they’re used to from their friends and professors. “…Accept the fact that being overlooked or underestimated is a part of life.”
• He closes saying: “Last, I tell them to keep in touch, because I know how good they are, and how much the world needs them, even if no one knows it yet.”

Did you receive any words of wisdom from a professor that helped you transition from college to the world-of-work? Did you hear anything you didn’t want to hear? Or, are you an educator who shares wise words with a transitioning class? Share your stories in the comment box below.

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Source:

“For Nervous Seniors, Some Pre-Graduation Advice,” by Mitchell Zuckoff. 12 December 2011. NPR. Accessed on 12 December 2011. http://www.npr.org/2011/12/12/143586972/pomp-circumstance-and-some-counsel?sc=fb&cc=fp