Learning During Lazy Days
Summertime Fun!
Well, we’re over halfway into June and already the heat is blasting in our part of the world. Kids and grandkids have already been on picnics, gone swimming and spent the night with sleep-overs at their friend’s houses. Today, with the weather sweltering outside, I heard the famous summertime phrase for the first time this year. “I’m bored!”
Time to utilize a little creativity and find fun projects for them that they don’t suspect are learning activities. Today, we’re going to learn how to make ice cream and pizza. How can that be a learning activity you ask? Well, how about teaching priorities for a start?
Should we start making ice cream first, or pizza? Let’s see, hum. . .
Ice cream takes longer to make ’cause it has to freeze firm. We’ll make the ice cream first, then we can make the pizza while the ice cream is setting-up. See, simple day-to-day activities can be teaching time – in a fun way!
These simple little actions can teach children so many important lessons without having to stand over them with a ruler. Yes, we can learn to use critical thinking skills to prioritize what comes first. But there are other important lessons that can be learned, such as:
It can be fun to have an activity at home with the family (especially if Mom is not too rigid or critical).
Ice cream (especially really yummy ice cream) doesn’t have to be $6 a gallon.
Homemade pizza costs less (and tastes better) than store-bought pizza. And it’s EASY!
It’s easier to stay home in hot weather than get into the sweltering car to go somewhere.
There are, of course, extra lifelong lessons that children can learn from the above project, like:
1) The science of how salt helps the ice cream get colder faster.
2) Why pizza dough needs to be spread-out evenly to cook best.
3) How cleaning-up while the pizza is baking means less work when everybody’s full.
These are such simple things that we adults take for granted, yet, so many children don’t have parents who will take the time to share these important skills and explain the reasoning behind them. Someway, somehow, we are going to have to find ways to teach ALL young people as many skills as possible.
And just because I put some pretty pink images in the picture for this post, doesn’t mean that boys and young men can’t enjoy these learning activities just as much.
Before I get back up on my soapbox, let me just add one lesson we’re going to put into effect here today: playing in the hose can be almost as much fun as getting into the swimming pool.
Grammy Brennan
Summer Education Fun
Summertime Learning!
Before I got so ill, I ran a survey on the site to find out what you, my readers, wanted to know more about.
#1 ANSWER:
How to help kid’s succeed in school!
Well, now that I’m “back with bells on”, I want to help you make the most of summer vacation to help your young-un’s have a fun time while you help them get smarter and smarter.
Most children are extremely resistant to ‘formal learning’ during vacation time. How many kids do you know that absolutely LUV summer school?
So the trick is to get them involved in learning experiences that help them learn new things and keep their minds sharp. This is much mo’ better than the slow brain leak that usually occurs during the lazy, hazy days of summer.
And it prevents that old problem “I’m bored!” So it’s really WIN-WIN!
School news generally slows down during the summer, so we’ll have plenty of time to try some neat learning tricks, to keep kids alert, and, especially NOT BORED!
Because this is an election year, there will probably be lots of education issues for me to share with you during the summer months, but at least two or three times a week, I plan to spell-out fun and learning activity suggestions.
I hope you’ll join me! And please share what works at your house, to keep kids active, learning and involved during vacation time.
Brennan
A New Surge of Teen Pregnancy
Warning: strpos() [function.strpos]: Empty delimiter in /home/brennank/setourteachersfree.com/wp-content/plugins/seo-image/seo-friendly-images.php on line 225
Congratulations on Your Teen Pregnancy?
Here’s a story that will, hopefully, make parents sit up and pay attention.
The New York Times asks the question, “Is There A Teen Pregnancy Pact in Gloucester, Massachusetts?”
Columnist Katy Zezima shares the story of a huge surge in teen pregnancies in the town, with 17 teens now pregnant and many more requesting pregnancy tests.
“At least 17 girls at the public high school in the seaside town of Gloucester, Mass., are expecting babies, and a Time magazine report says nearly half became pregnant after making a pact to do so and raise the children together.”“Local officials . . . acknowledged that many of the 17 pregnancies — a total four times as many as last school year at the 1,200-student school — had been intentional.”
The story goes on to explain that the social and financial climate in Gloucester has been severely impacted by economic downturns. While I don’t want to get into the pros and cons of sex education and handing out contraceptives to teens in this post, the article does emphasize that those programs had been eliminated due to budget cuts.
Teen Pregnancy Mindset?
Far more important, in my estimation, is the mind set of those girls.
Mayor Carolyn Kirk is quoted as saying:
“It’s the social environment these girls are coming from,” she added. “They think that a baby can give them love or give them status or fill an empty space in their life, and these girls are very, very young. And I think if you talk to any teenage mother who is caring for an infant, the road is not easy.”
Even more frightening is that the article reports many more teenagers coming to the local clinic requesting pregnancy tests.
Teen Pregnancy Not A New Issue
Why should we be concerned about teen pregnancies in one little town? Teen pregnancy is NOT a new issue.
Time Cover December 1985
Over the last several years, there has been a steady decline in the rate of teen pregnancies, but 34% of teen girls still become pregnant annually, with variations among ethnicities.
There are powerful reasons to be concerned about “pregnancy pacts”.
- The emotional neediness of teens who want to deliberately become pregnant is not unique to Gloucester.
- Economic and social upheavals are more and more widespread throughout the country.
- Teens are notorious for copying peer behavior.
- Teenage mothers have many financial and social disadvantages that they do not anticipate
- The children of those teenage mothers suffer from those same disadvantages, including lagging behind in early development.
I don’t want to be an alarmist but, after years of a steadily declining teenage birth rate, this alleged “pregnancy pact” could signal an upsurge in teen pregnancy, and the accompanying negative financial and emotional lifestyles that it leads to.
What Works?
Is this 1999 poster funny?
It is overly-simplistic to say that only growing older (past the teen years) will stop teen pregnancy.
I know that I don’t have all the answers, but we MUST take these social, emotional and financial considerations into account as we work to straighten-out our public schools.
As Don says in The Kingsland Plan we all need to become informed, and aware, and take positive action, to combat these social issues, as well as curriculum problems.
Until next time,
Brennan
Reborn for Education Reform
Rising From the Ashes for Education Reform
I wanted to start this post with a picture of the mystical Phoenix being reborn.
The first thing I would like to do is thank my readers who stuck by me during my recent brush with illness/death. Your kind wishes and financial support for our animal sanctuary rescues meant so much to me at a time when I didn’t know how many days I had left. In fact, my medicine (which has since been changed) was damaging my kidneys and I am now recovering. Each day I am stronger and stronger and I’m more determined than ever.
Over the last year, I concentrated on bringing you the latest news and statistics regarding the plight of students in our public schools.
- Drop-out rates on the rise
- Students graduating from high school barely able to read and write
- Violence increasing in our schools
- Teen suicides increasing
- Drugs permeating our culture
- Testing, testing, testing with no time for teaching
- Vouchers PROVEN not to be effective for learning
- And many other problems
While I was so ill, on the days I was able to read, I continued my research and found even more disturbing news.
- Many people don’t believe there is a problem in our schools.
- Those who are aware of the problems don’t know how to fix them.
- The group who wants to abolish public schools is becoming larger and more vocal.
- The average parent has NO IDEA how to make things better for their students.
- Teachers know how bad things are but haven’t been able to unite to fix things.
After my most recent scare, I have been reborn with new determination.
Instead of just bringing you the latest news and statistics, from now on, I’ll be helping to unite parents and teachers to SAVE OUR SCHOOLS!
I will continue to bring you the latest news and information on the education front. (Along with my opinions, of course.) But, in addition:
I’ll bring you information about the steps you can take to:
-
Join the nationwide movement
Actions to make a difference in your local schools
Methods and information for contacting your local politicians to FORCE improvement in education
Other easy, step-by-step actions you can take to help your students and schools locally and nationally
This problem seems overwhelming, but it can be fixed. You can do it! I can do it! Together, WE can do it!
Stay tuned! And again, Thank you, Friends!
Brennan
The Drop Out Rate Debate!
Disagreement Over Drop-Out Rates Among Educators
I’m still feeling very poorly, but today’s topic got me so riled-up that I simply HAD to write a short post. Another school year is over. Nothing is getting straightened out in our schools and now, instead of concentrating on fixing the problems, educator groups are now arguing over who has the drop out rates right.
In an article in Education News, Martin B. Solomon, PhD has written an article saying that graduation rates aren’t as low as being claimed by EdWeek.org, and others. He claims their testing criteria are inaccurate and don’t account for students moving out of any particular school and so forth.
I wish I had more energy, to really counteract his claims one by one. Perhaps when I feel a little better.
In the meantime, just let me say that he concludes by saying that New York’s graduation rates are much higher than claimed. He also actually claims that USA graduation rates are closer to 92% for whites, when you disallow the statistics for poor children, children with family or financial problems, etc.
There also is a general misunderstanding about the reasons for dropouts.It is questionable as to how high graduation rates can possibly be as long as so much poverty exists.When the causes of dropouts are examined, the vast majority are likely caused by societal factors, outside the control of the schools and closely correlated with poverty.These include family financial problems requiring a kid to drop out and work full time, pregnancy, incarceration, drugs, gangs, unwillingness to exert the necessary effort and, in spite of heroic efforts by teachers, some students get so far behind in schoolwork that they have no hope of catching up and drop out.Some dropouts are surely caused by poor teaching and boring classes.But preliminary research seems to show that this is not a major factor.Therefore, one must ask the question, how high can the graduation rates ever become?
Dr. Solomon seems to think that everyone bemoaning the failures of our schools is unaware of societal issues impacting on education. Nothing could be further from the truth. In “Set Our Teachers FREE! A Plan to Save Public Education”, Don Kingsland points out how much those same social problems listed by Dr. Solomon are having such an effect on our schools. BUT, Don (a Master Teacher) offers a WORKABLE SOLUTION, not just a condemnation of other’s claims.
I guess feeling poorly has made me somewhat less patient with idiocy. A 92% graduation rate claim is so over-the-top that I was sputtering. Of course, in Dr. Solomon’s defense, that statistic is allegedly among white students who have no social, economic, or emotional issues to contend with. And I suspect that an overwhelming preponderance of the school-age population is NOT blessed with that particular cocoon.
I also take issue with the claims that New York’s graduation rates are higher than claimed. Malarcky!
I’ve already posted numerous articles about the INCREDIBLY LOW requirements for graduation in NY. Students are being graduated just for attending class, whether they take tests, or do assignments, or not. In fact, those standards have been published in national newspapers and across the internet numerous times.
What good is a 92% graduation rate, when that only includes such a TINY minority of the population? And what good is a diploma when there are NO requirements for getting it?
Finally, even if our graduation rates weren’t so dismal nationally, what good is that diploma when so many of those graduates still can’t read or perform basic math?
We need to stop wasting time and energy making elitist claims and START FIXING THE PROBLEMS!
Brennan
Sorry I’m Sick!
I hope to be back in a couple more days!
Wish me luck!
Brennan
