Repeating Grades?: Some Help Deciding

One of our blog readers, Allison Morris, wrote to us and said “I wanted to reach out to connect with you about an interactive flowchart that I helped create aimed to address the topic of grade retention and when it might be necessary to consider having a student repeat a grade.”  The flow chart is part of a May 21, 2013 post on Education News titled “Holding Them Back: Is Repeating a Grade Ever the Right Thing?“

I thought the whole piece was good and appreciate Ms. Morris sending it in. The article is especially important for this time of the year when parents may have to address this difficult question. As the article states:

In recent years, it seems as though more and more young students are being retained, or held back a grade, in their school. For parents who must decide whether to retain a slow learning child or send them into the next grade level, the contributing factors can be wide, varied, and difficult to sort through. Holding a child back a grade is a choice that’s most often based on one or more of three factors: Standardized test scores, poor social skills, or serious struggles with learning “the basics.” When these issues begin to make parents, educators, and school officials begin to consider retention, difficult decisions must be made. The choice to hold a child back a grade should not be taken lightly, as it’s a decision that will undoubtedly go on to impact the child’s education either way.

When you look at the chart please note that it is interactive and to see all the parts you need to click either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ on the questions. As you will see the chart does help a parent ask the important questions needed to determine if their child should repeat a grade. Sometimes talking to an educational consultant, friend in education or a tutor can also help in making this tough choice. One should also remember that summer school and/or tutoring over the summer months can be a great solution to get a child back on track. Sure it is not an easy thing to do for the parent or the child, but the benefits far outweigh making a child repeat a grade!

It should also be noted that despite the overwhelming evidence that repeating a grade is NOT beneficial to a child more and more states in the USA are pushing for it as reported in articles in papers like Huffington Post and the Associated Press.

Thank you Allison for sending us this!

Sunday Morning Shout Out

Lately, I have written two blog dealing with media and technology.  To me, it is the proverbial double-edged sword.   It has great benefits, but can also be detrimental if abused.  To me, it completely threatens unstructured playtime and time outside.  I know I am not alone in my concern. A survey or 900 moms commissioned by Busch Gardens® and titled “Natural Fun Takes a Backseat to Tech Time for Kids & Families” found that 85 percent of moms worry that their children don’t experience enough free, natural outdoor time.  In a term popularly coined by Richard Lou, author of the bestselling book The Last Child in the Woods, many parents worry about nature deficit disorder.  May I present the natural antidote? Immerse your child in nature!

Debra Manchester Macmannis, MSW have spent considerable time and research looking at this phenomenon and wrote about it in a blog entry.  In reviewing some of the work on the topic, she first cites the work of environmental psychologists Rachel and Stephen Kaplan, from the University of Michigan.  They are known for their work on restorative environments and health.  They found that office workers are happier and healthier when they have a view of nature at work; hospital stays are shorter when there is a view of nature for the patient; that children do better academically when they are exposed to nature; and that individuals walk longer when they walk outside in pleasant environments. In short, they found that nature serves to lessen the mental fatigue that arises when one must focus and work at length at something. It helps an individual sustain focus and sustain attention to task in academic and work situations, apparently including the exercise variety of work.  Macmannis also looked at a significant study that was done on ADHD.  In a 2004 report that was published in “The American Journal of Public Health,” Francis Kuo, PhD, found that kids with ADHD who participate in activities conducted in natural outdoor environments concentrate better and show less impulsivity.  Nature was found to lessen ADHD symptoms!

She goes on to discuss the other benefit of nature. She cites studies that indicate that children who spend time in nature get along better with other children; have enhanced imaginations; show improved cognitive abilities; better physical health; are less stressed out; show increased psychological maturity; and are more attuned to the environment and to nature.  What isn’t there to like about this remedy?

As summer quickly approaches, children may cheer and parents may wonder how are they going to occupy their children’s time.  Summer is the perfect season to instill healthier and new routines that emphasize open space over screen space.  Technology and media have their limits in most households, but nature is something that can be so limitless and far-reaching in its gains for our children, for adults, and for our families.

American History Today

Father Hennepin’s Discovery of Niagara Falls by Thomas Hart Benton, 1961

I used to love American and global history through high school and it was where I excelled.  Facts, figures, people, excitement, wars and exploration…I sucked it all in like a sponge. That was back in the day when students were told to memorize the facts and not question them in K-12 public education. Problem was that I was a bit naive and blindly believed everything I was told as fact.

That changed quickly in college and I started to see that the black and white of K-12 was actually many shades of gray. I came to understand that history is written by humans and we each tend to put varying degrees spin on what we see, experience, interpret and report. I still love history, but at times I do long to see it through the eyes of my childhood.

I led with all of this personal background, because the recent story in the London, UK paper ‘The Guardian‘  just makes me shake my head. The story reports about my governments order (see order here) for one of its major telephone companies (Verizon) to provide ALL customer records for their domestic and foreign calls.  Basically, spying on each and every American citizen! This really shows how little privacy and freedom those of us who believe we are living in the land of the free now have.  The report is pretty much being confirmed by the White House and they don’t seem to see anything wrong with this and even defend it.  To me it is just another example of our government using the ‘Patriot Act‘ and the far worse but less known ‘Military Commissions Act‘ to protect us from those evil terrorists.  Problem is…where does it stop and who is protecting us from ourselves?

Combine this with the current IRS scandal, attacks on journalistic freedom (thus the reason for a UK paper to break the Verizon news), trials of whistle blowers, covert trade deals, drones OK’d to be used against US citizens, Benghazi, The Great Recession and you certainly have some Obama history. Combined that with the wars and torture of the previous administration and I doubt this will be seen as a very positive era for the USA. In fact some parallels to the Rise of the Third Reich in the 30′s can sadly be drawn.

I suggest we all take a moment to look at all of this material and ask ourselves why we can’t have security and freedom at the same time? Is this the country we want to give to our children? Is it time to repeal the ’Patriot Act‘ and Military Commissions Acts? How accurate is the following excerpt from The Guardian article on this?

The court order appears to explain the numerous cryptic public warnings by two US senators, Ron Wyden and Mark Udall, about the scope of the Obama administration’s surveillance activities.

For roughly two years, the two Democrats have been stridently advising the public that the US government is relying on “secret legal interpretations” to claim surveillance powers so broad that the American public would be “stunned” to learn of the kind of domestic spying being conducted.

Because those activities are classified, the senators, both members of the Senate intelligence committee, have been prevented from specifying which domestic surveillance programs they find so alarming. But the information they have been able to disclose in their public warnings perfectly tracks both the specific law cited by the April 25 court order as well as the vast scope of record-gathering it authorized.

Julian Sanchez, a surveillance expert with the Cato Institute, explained: “We’ve certainly seen the government increasingly strain the bounds of ‘relevance’ to collect large numbers of records at once — everyone at one or two degrees of separation from a target — but vacuuming all metadata up indiscriminately would be an extraordinary repudiation of any pretence of constraint or particularized suspicion.” The April order requested by the FBI and NSA does precisely that.

The law on which the order explicitly relies is the so-called “business records” provision of the Patriot Act, 50 USC section 1861. That is the provision which Wyden and Udall have repeatedly cited when warning the public of what they believe is the Obama administration’s extreme interpretation of the law to engage in excessive domestic surveillance

Great Summer Reads for Elementary School Children

Summer is here and you want to keep your elementary students engaged and reading with these great summer books!

Popular Clone, by M.E. Castle
Protagonist Fisher Bas is a nerd, but he blames his bookishness on his family. With a Nobel laureate mother and a scientist dad, he’s probably right! Fisher uses his natural talents to overcome the difficulties of elementary school by cloning himself so he can send his clone to school while he stays home and plays video games. This book is a great read for those who are struggling to get into books or with social situations.

The Candymakers by Wendy Mass
This is a fun read about four elementary school students who set out to make the ultimate candy. Through their experiments, the reader gets to learn about candy making and science which is what this art is based on. This book is so engrossing, you won’t be able to put it down! Try some candy recipes of your own when you’re done.

The Worst Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure: Everest by David Borgenicht and Bill Doyle
This choose-your-own-adventure book is a great read for those who enjoy sport, adventure and travel. You will be the youngest member of a team who will be attempting to climb Everest. The team’s success depends on your choices, so think carefully! This is a cliff-hanging thriller from start to finish!

Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
This is a delightful account of a Chinese family’s legacy. Minli is enthralled by her father’s bedtime stories about a poor dragon and the old man in the moon. When she sets out to change their fate, and the fate of her family, she has an epic adventure filled with stunning illustrations and incredible characters. This is a really special book that you will find enchanting and touching.

Drizzle by Kathleen Van Cleve
If you loved the Wizard of Oz, you will adore Drizzle. It’s an eclectic mix of humor and imagination that will have you skipping through the crazy farm that Polly lives on. Here bugs can talk, rhubarb tastes like chocolate and the balance of nature keeps everything in check. When the daily drizzle ends, things start to go horribly wrong and Polly must restore the natural balance in order to save her brother’s life.

100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson
When Henry York opens a cupboard, he discovers a portal to a whole new world. This is the first in a trilogy that is as thrilling an adventure as you have ever been on. When Henry’s family goes missing, he discovers the 100 cupboard doors, each cupboard leads to a new world, but Henry must figure out which ones his parents are in and how to get back to his own world. This series is thrilling, scary and gripping, so be prepared to buy all three books before the summer is though!

Adam’s Lessons

Life: Post High School All-Star

From the time I was 14 until I was 17, I ruled my High School. I got along with everyone, I could do anything and succeed at it and I loved every minute of it. But, does an A+ GPA, dozens of awards and certificates, being a top football recruit in your state or even an involved and well-rounded student really get you anywhere in life? The answer would be a big fat NO!

For all of those who are looking to begin their application process, or who are beginning to be recruited by universities be prepared. Your high school resume can be as pretty and as pompous as can be, but what you need to be able to do is be outstanding in person. This is where everyone either rises to the occasion or falls to their demise. If you’re going to make yourself sound like the World’s greatest person on paper, GREAT.  However, can you imagine how many other people can do that? It is in the tens of thousands.  What matters after the paper is getting yourself known to the people who are in charge of your admission to your next stage in life.

I hate to brag, but I like to think that I have a tremendous resume, especially for being so young, but I still remember that there are many gifted writers in the World who can create the greatest hyperboles that you could ever imagine.  So to make myself stand out without my paper report, I meet with every single person I have to in person.  And even with this new exciting career I have in Kelowna technology blessed me by being able to have a video call interview with my new boss when I was in Toronto. Technology is your friend, but it can also be an extreme enemy of yours (I’ve had an encounter with this which nearly demolished my future). So let me precaution you because you don’t want to regret something you did when you were still a teen that follows you through the rest of your life and career.

Getting back on track though, how do you make yourself stand out in a crowd?  Well one of my favourite (pardon my Canadian spelling) stories of this comes from a new friend and co-worker I have, who I’ll refer to as Homer.  Homer is a delightful man who has quite the background from being a physical therapist, to then being a traveling salesman in Australia for a year to now being a leading individual in the restaurant industry.  But even still, all of us who came to the Winery are the best at what we do, so how did Homer stick out?  Well, he decided to post a video resume online along with his paper resume.  What this did is it gave the employers a chance to see what Homer was about, he showed his passion for the work, his keen sense of humour, as well as his moustache.  Even though I already let you know, we hired him within about five minutes of watching that video.

So what can you take away form this entry? Well, for starters don’t boost yourself up on paper if you can’t impress someone in person.  Also, you have to stand out from the crowd, and the best ways you can do that are based on simple psychology, do something different.  I mean think about it, you wouldn’t know Nikki Minaj without her ridiculous hair or her obnoxious “Roman” voice, yet her music is currently all over the radio (time will tell if she is just another passing fad).  Elvis wouldn’t have been the icon of Rock’n’Roll had he not been considered the Devil for shaking his hips in such a scandalous manner.  So what will you do to make sure that your intended school or place of employment will remember you and make them beg for you to come to them, rather than you competing against thousands of others?… That my friends, will be up to you.

Sunday Morning Shout Out

Unfortunately, there is no shortage of bad news in the news. The question is how to share it or not share it with our children. For me, it comes down to how do you want your children to hear about it. With school age kids, it seems only a question of when they will find out in school or through digital media.  As parents, it is better coming from us, as opposed to the kids on the bus who might not have the complete story or may embellish it with their imagination.

The website Childdevelopmentinfo.com, sponsored by the Child Development Institute’s “Positive Parenting” segment offers a list of  sage advice in an entry titled “How To Talk To Kids About Tragedies In The Media“. From keeping it minimal, yet factual for young school age children to giving them an outlet for all their varied feelings on a situation, this article gives specific tips for parents and adults negotiating these difficult times. Probably the most important tip is making sure they feel safe.  I wish there was not a need for such a list, but then again I am not Pollyanna living in Carebear land.

Kellogg Mini-Wheats Settlement

Image Source: http://www.courthousenews.com

Not much of a post today, but it might be of interest to some readers. While at the Gym yesterday I saw a news story about a proposed settlement of a lawsuit involving Kellogg, the company that makes Frosted Mini-Wheats. The Lawsuit claimed that Kellogg falsely advertised that its Frosted Mini-Wheats cereal improved kids’ attentiveness, memory and other cognitive functions to a degree not supported by competent clinical evidence. Kellogg stands by its advertising and denies it did anything wrong, but is going to reimburse consumers who bought the cereal. Below is some of the mumbo-jumbo from the site.

In summary, if you purchased Kellogg Mini-Wheats i the last couple of years Kellogg will provide repayment for up to 3 boxes of the cereal. You need to complete a form that can be found here.  No deadline has been established on submission yet, but I’d suggest filing ASAP.

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FROM THE LITIGATION SITE:
The Court did not decide who was right. Instead, both sides agreed to a settlement. By agreeing to a settlement, the Parties avoid the costs and risk of a trial and the Class will get compensation. The Class Representatives and their attorneys believe that the settlement is in the best interests of the Class Members.
You may have received notice concerning a prior settlement of this lawsuit. That settlement was overturned by the Court of Appeal and the case was remanded to the trial court for further proceedings. This settlement is the result of those further proceedings.
What Does The Settlement Provide?
Kellogg has agreed to create a fund of $4 million. The fund will be used to pay class notice and administration costs, attorneys’ fees and expenses, named plaintiffs’ incentive awards, and cash payments to Class Members who submit a Claim Form. Under the settlement, Kellogg also agreed to make certain changes to the Frosted Mini-Wheats marketing and labeling. Details are described in the Settlement Agreement, which is available here. Cash payments will be made if the Court gives its final approval to the proposed settlement and after the final approval is no longer subject to appeal.