Yesterday's New York Times "Motherlode Blog", found here, featured advice from a middle school teacher on how parents can best and most productively interact with teachers when problems arise. The teacher, who is also the mother of two boys, acknowledges that as much as she dreads facing angry parents with issues, she has had her moments as an angry [...]
While walking down a busy city street a few days ago, I overheard a mother and her young teen son fussing with each other. The son was complaining that his mom had been on her phone rather than watching him play during a recent game. The mom barked, "Of course I was watching! I saw that every time they [...]
Here are more words of wisdom from Anne Williams-Isom and Jennifer Jones Austin, authors of “How To Choose the Best School for Your Son” (GCP, February 21, 2012). In this post, Anne and Jennifer tackle the sensitive and important subject of what to do when your son’s school alerts you that he is having difficulty with some aspect of [...]
"To Be Black at Stuyvesant High", an article in today's New York Times, found here, focuses on Rudi-Ann Miller, a 17 year old senior at Stuyvesant High School. Stuyvesant is a New York City public high school specializing in math and science whose admission is based entirely on the results of an entrance exam. There are 3,295 students in [...]
The New Hampshire Legislature recently voted to give parents more control over the subjects taught in schools and the manner in which they are taught. On January 4, 2012, the legislature voted to allow parents to request an alternative school curriculum for any subject which has course material which they deem "objectionable". If the parent objects to any curriculum [...]
Check out Scholastic.com's parent section, found here, for a ton of useful information about parenting. In addition to offering recommendations for children's books and parenting books, this site has sections on Child Development (with Age-by-Age guides to the various ways in which your child will develop, including academically, physically and socially), and School Help (with Grade-by-Grade guides, and many [...]
GCP is compiling a list of interesting sites for parents to browse and bookmark. We will add to the list whenever we find good ones, and encourage you to suggest your favorites as well. Here are a few, there are more to come: PBS Parents: Trust PBS, the people who bring you all of that wonderful educational children's programming, [...]
I'll bet you can easily name your favorite elementary school teacher, no matter how long it has been since your elementary school days. (Mine was Mrs. Portia Patterson, my third grade teacher at P.S. 116.) A good elementary school teacher can encourage you to love school and set you on the path to academic success. A recent study conducted [...]
Walter Dean Myers, award-winning author of "Hoops", "Monster", Fallen Angels," "Sunrise Over Fallujah", and many other young adult novels, has been named the nation's third Ambassador for Young People's Literature. As the new (and first African American) National Ambassador, Myers will tour the country for two years, speaking at schools and libraries about reading and literacy. Myers, 74, will [...]
Here's an important New Year's Resolution to add to your list: Get more engaged and involved with your son's education in 2012!!! According to research reviewed by the National Coalition for Parent Involvement, when parents are involved with their child’s education, the student earns higher grades and tests scores, has better social skills, and is more likely to enroll [...]