#parenting teens Archives - Page 9 of 14

Nov 17 2020

Navigating Politics with Middle Schoolers

A three-part reflection series on parenting middle schoolers during the pandemic on the home front, facing political realities with pre-teens, and practical considerations regarding school re-opening.

“Mama, Mr. Williams (the Principal) is totally unfair! For the Boys’ Junior Varsity and Varsity Basketball teams, he always announces their scores the next day during morning announcements and says ‘Good job,’ or ‘Great effort,’ or ‘Congrats on the win.” But when it was the Girls’ Basketball season, he didn’t say anything during announcements! Why is it like this?!” exclaimed my upset 7^th grade daughter in January 2020.

As the rest of 2020 unfolded, it seemed there was no escaping politics – gender equality, COVID-19, racial injustice, the Presidential election and its aftermath – it’s all accessible as soon as kids turn on the tv, listen to the radio, or log-on to the computer for classes. Innocuous as it may have seemed, that incident regarding basketball announcements was my daughter’s introduction into politics. The notion that her team received unfair treatment – that the Principal treated the boys’ team differently from the girls’ team – made my daughter question how the decision was made to include boys but exclude girls. Yup! That’s politics! So how do we navigate politics in a way that is appropriate and responsible with our pre-teens? [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

Discovering the joy of teaching while in high school, Jaime pursued her B.A. in English at Santa Clara University. She also received a teaching credential and a M.A. in Education Administration from Santa Clara University. Jaime taught English Language Arts at Rancho Middle School, motivating and inspiring young people to become effective communicators and contributors in their community. From being a Middle School English Language Arts/English Language Development teacher to becoming a stay-at home mom, Jaime is an education consultant who presents literacy workshops. Her workshops focus on a combination of her ten years of teaching expertise with tried-and-true experiences that she uses with her own children. Jaime is also a Teacher Consultant with the San Jose Area Writing Project. Jaime’s mission is to share effective reading and writing strategies with families to encourage literacy.

Nov 03 2020

Jaime Koo, Mama Best Friend (MBF)

The first of a three-part reflection series on parenting middle schoolers during the pandemic on the home front, facing political realities with pre-teens, and practical considerations regarding school re-opening.

Most people are bashful when it comes to tooting their own horn, but Friends, I am really proud of this recent acknowledgement – I’ve recently been conferred with the honorary title MBF, otherwise known as “Mama Best Friend.” You see, this designation comes from the notoriously difficult, the most critical and defiant, the extremely hard-to-please individual – yes, that’s right, my 13-year-old daughter. It has taken me a lot of hard work in these 13 years to earn the title, and to be granted this distinction during the COVID-19 pandemic is both extraordinarily humbling and extremely gratifying.

What did I do to receive such an honor, you ask? Well, we’ve come a long way, my daughter and I. Allow me to provide some examples: When trying to maintain discipline and order when she was a toddler, she would commonly shriek “I hate you” or scream “You don’t love me anymore!” Once, when she was 8 years old, she got so angry that she impulsively opened the front door and ran down the street. When she was about 10 years old, I was driving my daughters to a doctor’s appointment and so did not pay attention to her demands. All of a sudden, she got enraged and started repeatedly kicking the back of my driver seat, all the while screaming “Why aren’t you listening to me?” [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

Oct 27 2020

Online Social Activities for Teens

Students returned to school remotely in August. Since their return, our primary focus has been to ensure that all of our students are socially and emotionally ready to learn each day. Our elected student leaders meet afterschool to create creatively engaging activities for students throughout the school year. [Read more…]

Yvette King-Berg, College Readiness

Yvette King-Berg, is the Executive Director of Youth Policy Institute’s Charter Schools. She was the former California Charter Schools Association Vice-President of School Development and Outreach-Southern California. Ms. King-Berg has over thirty years of experience working with teachers, students, parents, and organizations in a variety of positions including Director, Assistant Director, Curriculum Advisor, Bilingual, and Title 1 Coordinators, classroom teacher (K-12) in Pasadena and LAUSD. She has been married for twenty-three years, and is the proud mother of her son, EJ, who attends UC Berkeley.

Aug 11 2020

Performances Document Student Learning

Measuring Academic Progress series, Part 3 of 3

Welcome to another school year of changed schedules and routines as our students modify their daily lives in response to social distancing and the coronavirus. Most students will be asked to use alternative assessment strategies that include authentic performances in learning.

Alternative Assessment Examples

RUBRICS: Scoring scales for assessing learning using a defined set of criteria ranging from spelling to creativity

CHECKLISTS: A register of essential goals and learning outcomes during learning

LEARNING CONTRACTS: Agreements between students and teachers that describe mutual learning goals, strategies for achieving them, and expected outcomes of learning

SELF ASSESSMENT: Review of learning when considering evidence of learning, progress towards mastery, lingering confusion, and a plan of next steps to improve outcomes

PEER REVIEW: Provides an alternative perspective on learning that relies on rubrics, checklists, or open-ended prompts for feedback and advice

CONCEPT MAP: Graphic models of learning that illuminate the progression of knowledge from essential content, to applications, and creative/constructive processes of learning

PORTFOLIOS: Compilations of learning in an evidence-based system of process, progress, and outcomes [Read more…]

Laura Greenstein, Ed.D.

Laura Greenstein has been an educator for over 30 years serving as a teacher, department chair, and school leader in multiple grades and subjects. She combines this background with her experience as a school board member and professional development specialist to bring fresh and original ideas to educators about teaching, learning, and assessing. She consults with schools and districts and presents at workshops and conferences locally and nationally. As an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut and the University of New Haven, she teaches Human Development and Assessment to undergraduate and graduate students and more recently, Teaching, Learning, and Assessing with Technology in the 6^th year Digital Literacy program. She has a B.S. from the University of Connecticut, an M.S. from the State University of New York at Oneonta in education, a 6th year from Sacred Heart University in administration, and an Ed.D. from Johnson and Wales University in Educational Leadership. Her website, http://www.assessmentnetwork.net, is a valuable source of information on issues and topics in assessment. She is the author of multiple books on assessment including What Teachers Really Need to Know About Formative Assessment, Assessing 21st Century Skills: A Guide to Evaluating Mastery and Authentic Learning, Restorative Assessment: Strength-Based Practices to Support all Learners, and Sticky Assessment: Classroom Strategies to Amplify Student Learning.

Aug 04 2020

Starting Middle School During COVID-19

While my older daughter is finishing up middle school, my younger one is just starting 6^th grade this fall! Even though she has heard all about the middle school experience from my older daughter, my younger still faces her own set of concerns, especially in the context of COVID-19. Here are some of the paradigm shifts we have discussed with her to prepare her for middle school. [Read more…]

Jaime Koo, Encouraging Literacy

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