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The kids we lose, a documentary scrutinizing the channel from school to prison.
The National Center for Learning Disabilities (2017) declared that fourth-grade students with low reading proficiency are more likely to be incarcerated than students who are reading proficiently.
Dr. Ross W. Greene, through his non-profit organization, “Lives in the Balance,” funded the documentary “The Kids We Lose.” To this end, Dr. Greene collaborated with the independent production company “Lone Wolf Media”. This company is one of the leaders in factual entertainment.
The documentary graphically shows the evolution of children who are not fitting in the school system. The most compelling evidence of children not fitting in is that they won’t or can’t abide by school regulations. They rebel, and they act as if the world should be revolving around them.
In fact, they behave as if nothing else matters but having it their way!
For instance, Johnny doesn’t want to come back from recess. The bell rings, and children start to line up, but Johnny keeps playing with his cars on the playground.
Dialogue
Teacher: Johnny, it is time to line up, let’s go! (Johnny continues playing disregarding the invitation to line up).
Teacher: Johnny, put your car in your pocket, and please line up.
Johnny: I want to play!
Teacher: I understand, but it is now time to line up. You can play again during next recess. Come on, Johnny, you will be late for your class. Look, everyone is going in, and your teacher is waiting for you!
Johnny: Yelling and crying. I don’t want to, I want to stay here and play.
Teacher: I will have to call for Mrs. Summary (Assistant principal) if you do not come with me.
Johnny: Now rolling on the ground. I don’t care, I want to play and I don’t want to go to class! And, I hate my class and I hate everybody!
At this point, the Assistant principal and the behavioral specialist come and using CPI technics (1), bring Johnny back to school.
They are commonly called “children at risk” because they usually do not perform to the expected academic level due to behavioral challenges.
As a consequence, they might not graduate from High School while suffering through 12 years of schooling.
Through this documentary filmed across North America, Dr. Greene documents the methods used to bring these children “back in line”.
People who read this post also read: Lost at school – Part 1/2
Sadly, the documentary portrays children out of control and adults using different avenues to contain them.
Thereupon, the methods went from restraining the child, to send him back home, to in school or out of school suspensions, to handcuffing children, to involving the police, to placing children in solitary confinement or locked-door seclusion, to using a paddle to spank them.
This documentary is very difficult to watch! And it is even more difficult to realize that no better solutions are found and applied to change the course of these children!
Following the documentary, Dr. Greene explained his reactions after hearing from people who watched the video. Click here
On the next post, we will discuss “What is happening to Johnny?”
What to expect!
In the meantime, parents and children, eLearning-sofun is for you! If you have questions after reading this post, please send them below. We will answer every question.
“Learning is intelligence having fun!”
(1) CPI technics have been established by the crisis Prevention Institute offers nonviolent crisis intervention training designed to teach best practices for managing difficult situations and disruptive behaviors.
Students learn how to identify at-risk individuals and use nonverbal and verbal techniques to defuse hostile or belligerent behavior. To know more click here
Photo by Tadeusz Lakota on Unsplash
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The subject of this article, homeschooling and statistics were requested by Maple Steely. Thank you, Maple! As promised, here are the answers to your question.
Most of this article is based on the “General Facts, Statistics, and Trend” by Dr. Ray D. Brian from the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI). Research published on March 23, 2020.
Disclaimer: This article relates to the findings of Dr. Brian. Therefore, even though I will not mention Dr. Brian’s name throughout the summary of the findings. They belong to Dr. Ray D. Brian. However, I will cite other authors.
To begin with, religion or the educational background of the parents does not influence homeschooling. Therefore, parents from all walks of life homeschool.
However, a study by Noel, Stark, and Redford from 2013 mentioned that 32% of homeschool students are African American, Asian, Hispanic, and others. This percentage is trending upward each year .
Students in grades K-12 who are not attending a physical school are considered as homeschooled. In 2019, 2.5 million students or 3.5% of school-age children were homeschooled.
However, 3.4 million U.S adults, at one point were home for their studies. Therefore, if we add these numbers, 5.9 million Americans lived through homeschooling.
I know that I decided to homeschool my son when his first-grade teacher announced that he had to wait for the others in the class to catch up to his reading level.
You see, my son benefited from parents who read to him every day and taught him the basics of reading before entering first grade.
Consequently, he reached expected reading proficiency for a first grader in March.
As a result, my son was supposed to wait for the other students to reach his level by June.
It meant that he was not going to be challenged in reading from March to June. This was not acceptable to us, parents!
However, I am sure that parents have their own stories leading them to homeschool their children.
For instance, the reasons could be religious, wanting more than what public schools have to offer, choosing the curriculum, or providing a safer environment. All valid reasons when we want the best for our children!
Homeschooled students would only have to take State Standardized tests if the state requires it.
Therefore, the State Standardized Tests reports on reading proficiency will only include participating homeschooled students.
However, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is only voluntary. In fact, 4th, 8th, and 12th grade students are assessed on different subjects including reading.
If you want to know more about the 2019 NAEP results please refer to my previous article “Your child has challenges with reading?”
So yes, homeschool students perform 15 to 30 percentile points above public-school students on standardized academic achievement tests.
Singularly, this gap is even more important for African Americans. In 2015, these children scored 23 to 42 percentile points above their peers in public schools.
Due to these results, colleges are seeking homeschooled students as they also have higher SAT and ACT scores.
If you want to know more, please click here.
Of course, there is always a but!
Dr. Rachel Coleman, the Executive Director of Coalition for Responsible Home Education (CRHE), is not denying the fact that homeschooled students are well above average in reading than their peers but wonders if it is true in all subjects?
Over the years, in 1988, 1991, 2000, 2005, 2007, few studies were conducted to determine the proficiency level of homeschooled students.
If you want to know more about the results, please click here.
As the dates show, these studies are not conducted regularly. According to Coleman, only the state of Arkansas tests annually homeschooled students. Nonetheless, all of these reports point out to one issue.
The results from the chart are a bit dated, but they illustrate the point.
Homeschooled students have a higher level of reading proficiency than their peers in public schools, with 86% vs. 80%.
However, in math, the tendency is reversed. Homeschooled students have a lower level of math proficiency than their peers in public schools, with 63% vs. 69%.
Homeschooled students are less likely to go into a Science,Technology, Engineering, and mathematics (STEM) field than their counterparts.
7.7% and 5.1% of homeschooled students go into STEM programs compared to 17.8% and 15.6% of students in public schools.
Students in public schools also choose STEM fields more so than students in private schools with 17% and 14.3%.
The data collected from homeschoolers are sporadic and lack consistency because not all states require testing.
Also, the NAEP testing renders a global image of the proficiency level of students nationwide; besides, it is only voluntary. Moreover, NAEP uses a sample of 4th, 8th, and 12th-grade students, not all students.
According to Jesse Card, as of yet, there is no national standard for the evaluation of homeschooled students
Should we advocate for a homeschool national standardized test? Consequently, parents of homeschoolers would have accurate results about the level of proficiency of their children in all areas, i.e., Science, math, and reading.
I would love to hear from you on this subject. So please leave your comments or questions below.
Thank you for your trust, and by clicking on this link: www.eLearning-sofun.com, you can download my free book: “10 fun, simple yet effective technics for your child to read with pride and joy!”
“Learning is intelligence having fun!”
Lost at School – Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them By Dr. Ross W. Greene
Part 2/2
Here is part II of the book “Lost in School.” In the preceding article, we discussed the principles of Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS). For a refresher, please refer to the article Part 1/2 – Lost in School.
As promised, here is the CPS method in action with a concrete example.
Johnny is in class and is called on by his teacher to go to the board to show his work to the class.
Dialogue
Teacher: Johnny, could you be please go to the board and show your classmates how you responded to question number 5?
Johnny: “No”
Teacher: “Johnny, please, go to the board!”
Johnny: “No, I don’t want to.”
Teacher: “I am asking you to get up and go to the board. It is important that we all share our work.”
Johnny: Getting up and storming out of the room screaming: “This is stupid, I am not going to the board, and you all suck!”
According to Dr. Green here are the 3 plans one can follow to address this situation.
Johnny ends up in the principal’s office and gets a speech about the rules and gets his punishment. Then, he returns to class, and no one will discuss this again… until the next outburst.
The teacher finally did not consider it important for Johnny to go to the board or not. In this case, upon Johnny’s return, she would not mention it and would not call on Johnny again.
Upon his return, in the classroom, the teacher would ask for a moment to discuss what happened with Johnny.
Teacher: “Johnny, I noticed that you were pretty upset about going to the board. What happened”
Johnny: “It is dumb! Why do I have to go to the board?”
Teacher: “Students take turn to go to the board for 2 reasons:
I can see if you or your classmates understood the problem and how they solved it, and
I can assess if I have been doing a good job teaching you these concepts.
You see, if everyone answered the problem correctly, then I know that I did a good job. If not, I try to teach it differently so everyone can get it.
Johnny: “You are wondering if you are doing a good job?”
Teacher: “Yes, of course, I want for all of you to be successful, but I am wondering if I did a good job with you? Obviously, you left the room pretty angry, what happened?”
Johnny: “I don’t get any of it, and when you call on me, everybody can see how stupid I am.”
Teacher: “I am sorry to have put you in this situation, Johnny. Do you have a solution to this situation never to happen again.”
Johnny: “You could check with me first to see if I did it right.”
Teacher: “That is an excellent idea, but first, we want to make sure that you are understanding what you need to do and how you need to do it. Do you have a solution for that?”
Johnny: “I do not want others to see that I am not getting it, so maybe we can have a code. This way, you could come and help me without me asking in front of everybody.”
Teacher: “This is great, I can certainly do that! But you know Johnny, you can also come before or after school or whenever it works for you. Together we work ahead of time on what I will be teaching. As a result, you will be prepared. How does it sound?”
Johnny: “Yes, I would like that. Thank you Mrs. Garret.”
Did Johnny want to do well? Was his misbehavior coming from something else than not wanting to follow the rules?
Dr. Green (and also do I) believe that the misbehavior is just the tip of the iceberg. Fundamentally, a child wants to do well and follow the rules. Therefore, if he goes against them, we have to wonder why and ask him.
It is clear to Dr. Green that some students, mostly kids who are too often in trouble, might lack the skills to respond conventionally.
It would be like having an academic learning disability, but instead having a cognitive learning disability.
Consequently, it is not that they do not want to but that they cannot process conflicts appropriately.
Our role is to provide the child with the tools necessary to acquire these skills!
For this, it is necessary to engage in open communication without judgment or an agenda. Just let the conversation develop naturally.
However, let’s not forget that the goal is to address the problem and work together to solve it.
In the end, the child has to understand that his behavior was not appropriate, the adult has to understand the underlying reasons for the misbehavior, and that the solution has to satisfy both parties.
Now you just need to try it at home now!
I would love to hear how it went, please leave me comments on your experiences. Finally, by clicking on this link: www.eLearning-sofun.com, you can download my free book: “10 fun, simple yet effective technics for your child to read with pride and joy!”
In the meantime, parents and children, eLearning-sofun is for you! If you have questions after reading this post, please send them below. We will answer every question.
“Learning is intelligence having fun!”
So have fun on this new journey!
In our serie “Books to travel beyond,” we will start with “Lost at School”
Lost at School – Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them, by Dr. Ross W. Greene.
Part 1/2
As promised, here is a book summary of “Lost at School” from Dr. Ross W. Greene. He is an eminent American clinical child psychologist who is a New York best selling author.
He has been featured on Oprah Show, Dateline NBC, the CBS Morning Show, and the Public Broadcasting Services (PBS), among others, for his work on the book “Lost at School.”
Indeed, Dr. Ross W Greene developed the innovative Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) framework to handle conflict with children while teaching them the skills they are lacking.
We often hear that “school is not for everyone,” but are schools doing everything they can to include everyone? Dr. Greene, in his book “Lost at School,” challenges educators to go further than the usual “you do not follow the rules; here is your punishment.” But instead, collaborating with the child to find mutually agreeable solutions.
Indeed this book was written for educators in a school setting. However, as parents, you are the first educators of your children.
Unfortunately, parenting doesn’t come with a manual as soon as our child is born. Therefore, we learn, we fumble and do our best! Thanks to this book you will have different tools to deal with conflict or plain disagreements with your child at home.
This book is a response to conflict resolution with your child. By this token, I am challenging you to use the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) framework to apply at home!
People who read this post also read “Your child has challenges with reading”.
The CPS framework is based on a question. Are we asking too much from a child for his capacity to handle a situation? It is true that some children are more apt to handle conflictual situations than others. In fact, a child can respond calmly to a given request while another will explode, screams, hits, bites, or worse.
Even though 2 are obviously not ideal but nonetheless can find their place in dealing with discipline, the third one teaches skills a child might be lacking to resolve conflict.
Although this authoritarian approach can be applicable when safety concerns are at stake, if used as the only mean of discipline, it might exacerbate conflicts. Where is the child’s voice with this approach? How can a child develop the necessary skills to manage conflict when adults impose their will through punishment?
Even though this laxity can find its place, what are we teaching the child? Granted that we have to pick our battles and let go of some of our expectations, but systematically doing it will leave the child to fend for himself to learn right from wrong.
This solution requires the most work but the most rewards too.
As a result, notice if you detect a reduction of challenging behaviors at home!
In our next post, we will develop on plan B and how it applies to a concrete example.
If you tried plan B, please, let me know how it went. We are here for you!
Your child is a person who develops at his own pace. Consequently, allow him time to learn what is expected of him.
I would like to hear from you, and please send your comments, questions on the link below.
You can also download my free book: “10 fun, yet effective technics for your child to read with pride and joy! 😉
“Learning is intelligence having fun!”
P.S: Amazon links are affiliated. We perceive a small commission if you use the Amazon links. The commission keeps us diffusing free content. Thank you for your support! 😉
Dear parents, today we are sharing information about the expectations of the 21st-century learning framework (21st-CLF). Furthermore, we are exploring the implementation of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) in schools, which is the latest baby in education.
1 – Be aware of the functioning of the 21st– century educational system through 21st-CLF.
2 – Have a vision of what is expected for your child to accomplish during his 12 years of schooling with 21st-CLF.
3 – Understand what an educator is talking about when he mentions SEL.
4 – Implement SEL at home.
The Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR) who brought together international organizations, jurisdictions, academic institutions, corporations, and non-profit organizations, including foundations, designed the elements a student should learn for the 21st century.
Here is a representation of students’expectations throughout his formal education.
Knowledge: What we know and understand. The Common Core State Standards initiative in 2010 defines what students should know at each grade level throughout the United States. It is from there that educators derive their curriculum and lesson plans. Students are taught these subjects explicitly in class, such as ELA, mathematics, etc.
Skills: How we use what we know through creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration. This requires a higher level of involvement from the students. It is where they apply what they learn in different settings. This implies that students must be self-directed. Educators include projects or working in groups for students to develop these skills. Students, in turn, are assessed to determine the development of their thought processes.
Character: How we behave and engage in the world. Until recently, schools have been using a top-down approach when dealing with behaviors. The teacher set the rules, and the students had to behave. It is changing with the recent introduction of Social-Emotional Learning (SEL).
Social-Emotional Learning is meant to support students in recognizing and managing their emotions. We know that students who are not ready emotionally to learn will not learn, and no punishment for not paying attention or misbehaving will change this. On the contrary, it will probably make it worse. Let’s think about this: being punished for not feeling emotionally ready to learn? Hmm!
Therefore, educational organizations created a Core SEL Competencies.
To know more, please click here
People who read this post also read “Your child has challenges with reading”.
I was able to see Social-Emotional Learning in action for students ranging from Kindergarten to second grade. The SEL teacher combined mindfulness, yoga, and movements.
A group of students, led by their teacher, came to the SEL classroom. They sat quietly, cross-legged on a colorful carpet. The Social-Emotional Learning teacher was waiting for them calmly.
Once seated, students were guided to self-awareness. The teacher asked: Do you have enough space? Are you comfortable? Are you ready to start?
After everyone was comfortable, she asked each one of them how they felt today.
A thumbs-up (I am great),
A thumbs to the side (I am ok)
A thumbs -down (I am not good)
The student explained why he felt this way and the other students had to sit quietly listening. Once a child expressed his feelings, the others had to respond with a comment showing empathy, such as I am sorry you are not feeling well today!
The teacher followed up by guiding students through yoga poses. The emphasis was on movement, breathing, and being in the moment. During that time, they practiced social awareness.
For instance: who is next to me? Am I bothering him while doing my poses? What should I do if I do not want to be next to this student? How should I communicate this problem with my peer and my teacher? How can I go to the bathroom or get a drink without disturbing the group? When is the right moment to express my needs while in a group?
The teacher addressed concerns as they arose, thanking the students for asking these questions as they showed concern for others as well as awareness. Their thought process awaken to the consequences their actions could have on others.
Finally, the teacher read a story where characters faced moral challenges. While reading, she was asking questions such as: How does he feel? What would you do? Is he happy?
These interactions, led by the teacher, allowed students to develop listening skills, empathy, and problem-solving.
At the end of the class, the teacher led the students through a short guided meditation. The teacher had a Tibetan singing bowl in front of her and used it to start. All students were seated on the carpet listening to soft music and the teacher’s soothing voice. At the end of the session, she rang the Tibetan singing bowl. Students waited until the end of the sound to get up quietly, line up, and go back to class.
I could feel a difference in the level of tension in the classroom from the time students arrived to when they left. They came from their classes, cafeteria or back from recess where the pace was faster, their emotions running amok, and then the calm, mindfulness and self-awareness. A time for them to pause, refocus, and re-center on themselves!
Kids enjoyed this time, even the otherwise rumbustious students. I also noticed that these skills did not stay in the Social-Emotional Learning classroom. They spread out into their classroom, the cafeteria, and recess! At home too maybe?
It was wonderful being part of this experience, but you can implement this at home too. Set a time with your family to pause and reflect on your emotions!
You do not need a Tibetan singing bowl or know how to guide meditations. Many guided meditations from the internet can guide you. In our search engine, you can type Guided meditation for children or guided meditation for kids.
If you want to go further and read stories emphasizing perseverance, acceptance, true-self, dealing with emotions, seeing the world through different lenses and kindness.
Abracadabra!: The Magic of Trying by Maria Loretta Giraldo, illus. By Nicoletta Bertelle (Magination), shines a light on perseverance and the discovery of one’s inner magic. Ages 4–8.
All Are Welcome by Alexandra Penfold, illus. by Suzanne Kaufman (Knopf), follows a group of diverse children through a day at their school, where everyone is welcomed, supported, and encouraged, and friends from a wide variety of cultures share their traditions with each other. Ages 4–8.
Amina’s Voice by Hena Khan (S&S/Salaam Reads). Amina, a Pakistani-American Muslim struggles with whether she should hide her true self to try and fit in and be more American like her best friend has done, as she copes with middle school dramas and a devastating vandalism attack on her local mosque. Ages 9–up.
Being Edie Is Hard Today by Ben Brashares, illus. by Elizabeth Bergeland (Little, Brown, spring 2019). A girl imagines transforming into different animals to deal with the challenge of managing her emotions at school.
Being You by Alexs Pate, illus by Soud (Capstone, Oct.). Two children discover that they have a choice about how the world sees them in a story that delivers a message of love, self-discovery, and optimism.
For more options click on the Publishers Weekly <==
Thank you, and please leave a comment below! Your opinion, concerns, or questions matter to me!
You can also download my free book: “10 fun, yet effective technics for your child to read with pride and joy! 😉
Learning is intelligence having fun!
SEL is a good step in the right direction. Children learn to recognize and manage their emotions but are children really heard?
We will see on our next post how you and your child can go further than SEL in establishing a protocol of conflict resolution where both parties are heard and misbehaviors magically dissolve!
P.S: Amazon links are affiliated. We perceive a small commission if you use the Amazon links. The commission keeps us diffusing free content. Thank you for your support! 😉
Photo by Max van den Oetelaar on Unsplash
Today is a very important day! I need your help!
After having achieved my lifelong dream of becoming a Doctor in Educational Leadership, I set myself to create, eLearning-sofun’s website. Jean-Marie is dealing with technical support and made it all possible! Thank you darling!
The method will apply fun, simple, yet effective technics for your child to read with pride and joy!
The 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) revealed that 2 out of 3 students in 4th and 8th grade were NOT reading at grade level.
Therefore my goal is to to help mitigate this situation. I want for every child to apply reading principles by increments he can handle.
Unfortunately, children who cannot read or read undergrade level suffer not only academically but moreover emotionally.
I have been teaching for 15 years as a special education teacher and a French teacher. Therefore, I realized with sadness that a lack of literacy skills affects not only the child’s academic performances but also affects his life.
Your child needs time, a step-by-step method, and a “magic” ingredient for him to find pride and joy in reading!
I created a method based on neuroscience and pedagogy for children to access the principles of reading!
Therefore, I need your help to diffuse our website.
2 out of 3 children who cannot read at grade level is worrysome for their future!
I believe that together, we can give these children a chance to read proficiently and, more importantly, a fighting chance to excel in life!
Sharing this post could make a tremendous difference in a child’s life!
Thank you for diffusing our website eLearning-sofun.com.
“Learning is intelligence having fun!
