Our nation expects teachers to pump out socially and academically competent students each year. Not only do they expect these standards, but they expect teachers to do it with minimal resources and income. Then when teachers fail to meet our expectations, parents and policy makers become angry at the teachers. However, because teachers are not … Continue reading Parents Need To Inspect More and Expect Less From Education
After much research on kindergarten and how it effects future success, this post answers the age old question: If my child has a summer or fall birthday, can I (or should I) send them to kindergarten the year they are turning 5?
I know there's a million of these posts floating around. However, I have yet to find one that really boils down to the most wanted ideas. I also don't typically post every week, but the count down to Christmas is winding down! Monetary Gifts Every year teachers across the United States have to figure out … Continue reading The Ultimate Teacher Gift List
School is starting back up and it's no surprise that disagreements between parents and teachers are going to happen. As a parent myself, I can honestly say that educational topics create emotional reactions. And why not? As a parent you want the best for your kiddo. And shipping them off for most of the day … Continue reading 5 Common Parent-Teacher Disagreements and How To Fix Them
Many families have heard or used the advice that if your students is struggling to read, the "best thing you [parents] can do is read more." While students certainly have to read to become better readers, students need specific skills to successfully read a book. Without those skills, trying to read a book is going … Continue reading The Myth That Parents “Just Reading More” With Struggling Readers And How To Better Practice Reading
While homeschooling is still considered a parent's right at the federal level, states still have very different requirements for their homeschooled students. This is due to states having the federal mandate to ensure the children that reside there are educated. These two federal laws often clash. How can a state ensure it's students are educated … Continue reading List of states that require homeschoolers to take state assessments
This infographic is a follow up to a recent article published on Enable Teachers titled: This Is What Parents Need To Know About greatschools.org Ratings. After talking with several parents about the article, many said they did not know about the various data that greatschools.org used in their ratings. Additionally, parents did not understand how … Continue reading 8 Pieces Of Data That Parents Miss On greatschools.org (Infographic)
Explicit writing instruction is hard to come by. Historically, teachers have encouraged students to write and read more to become better writers. That definitely is true, but for a large portion of our young writers, they need more explicit or direct instruction. Telling students how to write is not considered explicit instruction. Explicit instruction is … Continue reading How To Create An Explicit Writing Curriculum or Unit
Great Schools has done a fantastic job providing a user friendly experience for parents to rate their local schools. It's even started integrating with websites like Zillow to help home buyers avoid bad schools. However, can a school's worth be boiled down to just one number? Parents want to know their child's school is going … Continue reading This Is What Parents Need To Know About greatschools.org Ratings