Parenting Archives - Page 9 of 29

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

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.

Sep 29 2020

Engaging Our Children in Daily Assignment Assessments

As many students begin their school year in a remote classroom, teachers and parents can help their children understand their learning intentions and identify effective assessment strategies for demonstrating learning. Assessment definitions typically include these key ideas:

Measures the outcomes of teaching and learning
Gathers and uses information about students’ knowledge and skills
Relies on empirical data

A More Comprehensive Definition

An assessment also relies on gathering, analyzing, and using evidence and information from multiple sources about learning outcomes in ways that best support students, inform instruction, make educational decisions, and improve learning outcomes. It is most effective when it benefits both the giver and receiver. What if there was a way to document a “return on assessment?” This chart describes what happens when students are engaged IN the process of assessment as compared to the benefits when they are empowered AS assessors. [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.

Sep 01 2020

Your Child’s Goal Setting for Academic Successes

Behavior: Do We Really Understand Series: Part 3 of 3

During the last two weeks, we have considered what motivates a child’s classroom behaviors. This chart was developed with a behavioral specialist to help students and their parents support growth milestones and academic success. It is just an example. I encourage you to modify the targets with your child’s teacher to meet your child’s needs and individual situation. The philosophy behind the chart is student engagement, monitoring behavior, providing space for conversations about what is expected versus what is really happening, and leveraging agreed upon incentives. The point system neutralizes conflict between the student and educator and/ or a parent. Consistency is the key to success. [Read more…]

Danielle Gentry

Danielle’s first step in education did not begin with education at all. It began with her first love for science. She received a B.S. in Biological Science, with a concentration in Molecular Biology. Her five years of experience as a chemist in the biotech industry at SYVA and Dade Behring Diagnostics include both areas of quality control and research and development. Her contributions were qualifying products for release to sell to the diagnostic market as well as developing new diagnostic technology for immunoassay detection. Danielle’s subtle transition to discovering her passion for education was through the birth of her daughter. She became a stay at home mom. Her uber volunteerism at her daughter’s elementary school gained her access to her path of education. She now holds a multiple subject teaching credential and M.A. in Education from National University. She has over ten years of experience at Sakamoto Elementary School as an educator in kindergarten, sixth grade, second grade, and a 2/3 combination class. Her teaching is rooted in a constructivist model while fostering independence and accountability in the classroom.

Aug 25 2020

Help Students Express Gratitude and Brainstorm Solutions

Behavior: Do We Really Understand Series? Part 2 of 3

When considering our students’ misbehaviors, let me pause this scene for just a minute and zoom in closely as to what is really going on here. It’s a total conflict of mental desire and physical action. The classic case of knowing what the right thing to do is, but not wanting to do it. So, the real question becomes what is causing the conflict? And perhaps at six or seven years old it’s probably safe to assume that not all students know how to articulate their needs. [Read more…]

Danielle Gentry

Aug 18 2020

Understanding Students’ Behaviors

Behavior: Do We Really Understand Series? Part 1 of 3

The saying that has been cycling around my head goes something like this. Look around you. The five closest people in your life are those who you most likely emulate. They influence your thoughts, behavior, and overall choices in life. With that said, if you find yourself asking questions such as, Why did ____ do that? Doesn’t she know better? How many times do I have to tell you to ___? Chances are if you look around your circle, or your child’s circle, you will find someone in it who either mirrors the behavior or triggers it. Our actions are really not a mystery. However, changing them is a whole other story. This solution can very easily work at home for distance learning. [Read more…]

Danielle Gentry

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