Teaching has to be one of the most rewarding professions there is. Helping to mold the next generation, seeing “the light come on” when they finally grasp an elusive concept, watching as their confidence and skills grow day by day— teachers cite all these things as what has inspired them to enter the field and what continues to motivate them in the classroom during every school year. Continue reading
Things are going well: your children are enrolled in a good school, doing well in their classes and seem to be happy. Then one day, your second-grader comes home in tears after finding out she was the only one not invited to Susie’s birthday party. Or your usually gregarious high-schooler becomes withdrawn and is noncommittal when asked about his friends. They’re experiencing something virtually every child encounters at some point during their school years: cliques. Continue reading
You check in on your kids, and it’s a typical scene: Your oldest is buried in a book and oblivious to “Sesame Street” blasting from the TV as your middle child recites along. Meanwhile, your youngest has taken the game controller apart. All children have their own ways of processing information, or what educational theorists commonly call learning styles. By getting a sense of how your child learns best—his or her learning style—you can help them study and learn more effectively to achieve and build on success at school. Continue reading
Whether it’s Pee Wee Soccer, Little League or “Friday night lights,” youth sports are an American tradition. And that’s a great thing: in addition to providing the physical benefits of exercise, it’s been consistently shown that kids’ involvement in sports boosts self-esteem, improves academic performance, reduces the likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors and teaches important social skills, including teamwork, goal setting and emotional resilience. Nurturing your child’s involvement in sports offers definite benefits, but also demands active parental planning and involvement to maintain a balance with other aspects of growing up. For parents of young athletes, maintaining that balance is almost a sport in itself. Continue reading
The pencil was the latest invention 450 years ago. Now we have devices that know our schedules, robots that learn and self-driving vehicles are coming down the road. It’s become increasingly important to ask ourselves: How do we choose good tech tools, and then use them carefully and wisely to do the job well? Continue reading
A well-rounded curriculum used to be “The Three Rs,” or “reading, writing and arithmetic.” Today, STEM, and STEAM are becoming the dominant measure of what students need to learn. But what exactly are STEM and STEAM, and how are they different from traditional learning? Do they offer any real benefit to your child? A closer look shows that STEM and STEAM education is an approach that offers students real benefits and will change how they learn and prepare for the future. Continue reading
As the old saying goes, “Nothing is constant except change.” All change requires some adjustment, from a new baby to a rescheduled dental appointment. This can be difficult for adults, let alone for children, who thrive on routine and have fewer coping skills.
From preschool to college, starting or changing schools is a dramatic—and a potentially traumatic—milestone for a youngster. School is the place where children establish an identity and relationships outside the family circle—changing schools requires them to establish them over again. Plus, we’re human: the unfamiliar is scary.
Attending college has long been a cornerstone of the American dream, and the majority of students hope to do so. But the path to getting there is a winding and long one: educators and college admissions officers recommend that planning for college begin when a child reaches sixth grade. For modern families, the three keys to navigating the path to college successfully are proactivity, organization, and communication.
Back in the day, homework was something kids could do before dinner—a page of math problems and maybe a chapter of reading, done with the radio or TV on and with plenty of time left over for other things. Not any more: it’s a more rigorous academic landscape, and homework is a continuation of a demanding workload. Helping kids manage the demands of homework efficiently for maximum educational benefit is now a priority for the whole family.
Sometimes education goes beyond the classroom. Learning doesn’t have to be limited to books and lectures. Teachers can also rely on real-world experiences to engage students and give them a first-hand look at what is going on beyond the four walls of the classroom.
Connecting to the world is a vital part of education, says Jason Underwood, head of school at High Meadows School in Roswell. It sparks curiosity and joy in students, which means they pay more attention when they are in class. “We’ve noticed that our kids really are successful academically and socially as a result of getting outside of the classroom and getting outside of themselves,” Underwood says.
