Good Answers to Tough Questions: A Book Review

I am not being paid to write this review and wanted to share some information about these great books. I recently read the books from the Good Answers to Tough Questions Series by Joy Berry. The author has written books to help parents and children deal with issues for the past thirty years. Her classics are broken into six series which are:

Teach Me About (ages 1-3)
Let’s Talk About (ages 4-5)
Help Me Be Good (ages 5-7)
A Fun and Easy Way (ages 7-10)
Winning Skills (ages 11-12)
Good Answers to Tough Questions (age 6-12)

In the Good Answers to Tough Questions series, I read the books on Moving, Disasters, Death, Divorce, Trauma, and Substance Abuse. These books were well written, easy to understand, and written in a positive way that would not make the reader uncomfortable. I would highly recommend these books to parents and teachers.

As a teacher, I really liked the book on Disasters. It broke the disasters down into natural disasters and manmade disasters. Then when it describes each type of disaster, the author tells how to prepare and survive each one. I like the way these were given in easy to follow steps. There can be a class discussion about each step.

The book on Substance Abuse is also a good book to use in a classroom of older children. The book deals with the different types of substances that can be abused. It also gives children a way to handle different situations such as being tempted to abuse drugs or if around those who are abusing them.

Children who are facing personal issues like moving, death, or divorce will really find these books to be helpful. The facts are given clear so that a child can understand. This would help parents who are feeling emotional when dealing with these issues along with the child. If this was read together, it could open the lines of communication between the parent and the child.

In addition to the great stories in these books, the illustrations are great too. They would appeal to readers of all ages. There are some humorous ones also to look for as your read along.

If you get a chance to use this in a classroom, I think the lessons you can develop from them will be successful. If you have used this, please let me know what you think.

Carnival of Education 10/7/09

The Educarnival v2 Issue 8 is up on the midway at Epic Adventures are Often Uncomfortable. Don’t miss out on all the fun! See what is going on in the Edusphere. My article on Quality Not Quantity is there but there are lots of other great articles to read too! See you there and don’t eat too much cotton candy!

Useful Information In and Out of the Classroom 10/09/09

Here are some interesting sites that I’ve found this week, thanks to my Personal Learning Network (PLN). As a teacher, I feel we have to keep up to date concerning research in our field and current issues in the education system. I hope some of these inspire you, inform you, and even have you asking questions. Thank you for coming by and visiting!

Kid’s Science Challenge – “is a nationwide competition for 3rd to 6th graders to submit experiments and problems for REAL scientists and engineers to solve. Play science games, watch videos, and enter to win awesome prizes and trips!”

Creative Park – “Canon’s Creative Park for Creative Minds, a free, online resource that can help bring fun, easy craft projects into your classroom. The Creative Park Web site offers ideas and templates for any lesson plan with projects ranging from 3D Paper Crafts, to scrapbooks and calendars and even tips on digital photography! It is a simple and interactive way to help teach students about geography, history, social studies, sciences and more.”

You Can School Program - provides information on the free in-school programs that the (National) Guard offers public and private high schools. The website also features interactive online modules (http://www.youcanschoolprogram.com/content/modules.html) that give students a taste of what would be covered in an in-class presentation. Through these online interactive games and exercises, students can learn about helpful life and school skills like budgeting basics, study techniques, test taking skills and health and nutritional awareness.

Manga High – “At Mangahigh, we offer maths education for the networked student who loves games. Instead of ‘force-feeding’ dry maths content with anachronistic textbooks, Mangahigh intrigues and entices students with unique, curriculum-compliant maths casual games, while building competence with our complementary maths eLearning system, Prodigi®. Prodigi® and the maths games work in symphony to introduce mathematical concepts as part of game-play and promote automaticity through repetition. Enthusiastic students find new challenges at Mangahigh, and hone aptitudes that will lead them to exam excellence and success in higher education and beyond.”

Great Museums – collection of 12 videos that enables you to tour some great museums

Original image: 'Hammers' http://www.flickr.com/photos/70977041@N00/2351531409 by: Lewis Meyer

Horrible Wyndham Experience

We are spending a few days with my parents at their Wyndham Time Share in Daytona Beach, FL and had a horrible experience with them. First of all, my parents are giving us this time share but we have no idea how the program works, how to pay the fees, how to make reservations, or anything else about the program.

At 1pm, we had an appointment with the Wyndham people and we were told this was an evaluation of the program and would last 45 minutes plus we would get $75 American Express gift card. We showed up on time to meet with a man named Jimmy. He left us alone in a small room for about 20 minutes while he found our account number and how many points we had. He proceeded to tell us that my parents wasted their money by only buying points every other year and how by just having one week every other year, we might as well just throw our money in the trash and how stupid this was. When I told him I wasn’t prepared to buy more points until I knew more about the program, he jumped down my throat to tell me that he wasn’t trying to sell me more and to get off my high horse. (Now I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable with him.)

Then we moved upstairs to a big room with lots of tables where people were meeting with sales reps. Jimmy told us to ask him questions and we asked how the program works. He told us that he wouldn’t lie to us and that Wyndham had a policy that if anyone lies, they get fired. He told me that they would contact us but I let him know that they didn’t have any contact information so how could they do this. Then he asked me to give him an email address and phone number. We asked for some written information to look at and he let us see a sample directory. Again he left us for about 10 minutes alone and then returned to ask us what questions we had. We asked for a copy of this book and he said before we left, they would give us a gift and a book. He also told us that it would take 2-3 hours to tell us about the program so we needed to wait until someone contacted us and sent us some information and also look at the book we would get when we left. When I asked him for our member number and contract number, he showed it to me and I wrote them down. Then I verified it on another paper he had and he laughed at me and told me that I was too much of a perfectionist and I needed to calm down. (That did not make me feel very happy with him.)

We sat and chatted for about 30 min. when my stepmom asked him if he could find a way to help us stay in the rooms we were in instead of having to move on the third day. He told us to go downstairs to talk to a woman named Rebecca and she would help us. When my dad asked him if Rebecca was down there today, Jimmy told him that she was. Then he asked what country we were from so I told him my father was born in China. At one point in the conversation, he made fun of the Chinese by pulling his eyes to the side so they could be “slanted.” (I was so offended that I was speechless.) At about 2pm, he leaves us alone again, without telling us where he is going or why he is leaving us. At 2:15 he stops by to say thank you, have a nice day.

Now we have been there for over an hour and we are freezing in this cold room. My 90 year old dad is shivering and he is miserable. Finally at 2:30 (90 minutes from when we arrived), I go to an office where this man is working on a computer and ask him if someone has forgotten us. He goes and gets someone who said he knew about us but he was busy. Then they send us to a room to pick up the gift we were promised. When I ask about the book that Jimmy said we would get, they said there weren’t any books and I had to call a 1-800 number to get one myself. Now we are pretty upset because we sat there for 90 min. and still had no idea how this program worked. We asked several time for Jimmy’s supervisor because obviously Jimmy lied to us but the man refused to get anyone. When my husband said he would complain to the real estate commission and the attorney general’s office about this, the man said that was a waste of time because they couldn’t do anything. We finally left because I didn’t want my father to get upset and have another stroke. Then to top it off, we go to see Rebecca about our room, and we are told that today was her day off ! (Jimmy lied again! Does this mean he will get fired?)

Needless to say, this is not the end of it. I will be contacting some people when I get home. Maybe I am unreasonable and it won’t change the way I was treated, but maybe it will help other people. There was no excuse for the way we were treated. Not to mention that I am paying for a program that I totally do not understand and they refuse to explain it to me but I know they will insist on getting their money each year!

Thanks for listening to me rant. Usually I am easily impressed and needless to say, I’m not impressed with Wyndham. Usually we stay at Hilton and Hampton Inn hotels and now I see why. We have never been treated this way at other hotels. If this hadn’t been a gift, I don’t think I would have bought into this time share. If you are thinking about it, all I can say is run to the nearest door and escape while you can.

Original image: 'YARGHHH!' http://www.flickr.com/photos/95257089@N00/1767258349 by: William A. Clark

The Importance of Involving Parents

In Engaging Parents for Improved Student Success from Change.org's Education Blog, David Flatley states,

“Parents are universally accepted as a child’s first teacher. It’s intuitive, and we usually know it from our own experience. Schools that embrace this reality and recognize the important role parents play in their child’s education are better able to create curriculum and build relationships with parents that have a profound effect on a child’s journey through school.”

When I read this, I wanted to stand up and cheer. I am amazed when I talk to many teachers that they just don’t seem to understand the importance of parents as a way to be successful in the classroom. I want to scream, “Parents are on the same team! We work for the same goal! Hello, people but without the parents we would not have a job!”

When I teach my grad courses I always talk about the importance of communicating with the parents on a regular basis, developing a rapport, and getting to know the family. As I talk, I see their eyes glaze over and they tune me out. The ones that don’t tune me out are quick to give me all the excuses about why this can’t be done. I know it can because I did it for 30 years! I think the issue is more of not wanting to rather than not being able to.

I have mentioned this before and I will mention it again in future blog posts but the parents were a big part of my program. They gave me support and even guidance when it came to working with their child. Let’s face it, they know their child more than I do and know what works and what doesn’t at home, so why not apply a lot of the same principles in the classroom? Why do I want to reinvent the wheel? If there was problem, I felt proud when a parent was able to call me to discuss the problem rather than involving the administration and making the problem become a complicated situation. Usually between us, we were able to solve the problem.
I want to share a Facebook message from a parent of a student that I had many years ago. The student is now a preacher and recently went to Israel on a trip (I am so proud of him!). The parent wrote to me,

"Not meaning to be mushy but YOU made me stronger and YOU made my son .successful and strong....If he gets knocked down , he just gets up and keeps on going...
You not only taught him the three R's but YOU TAUGHT HIM HOW TO BE A SURVIVOR...and he is one!"

(Thank you so much Jeanie! Your words mean the world to me and so does your family!)

I’m not sure this parent realizes how much she had taught me the years her son was in my class. She never gave up. She never gave up on her son or me. Whenever I talked to her, she was constantly telling me how much she appreciated me and giving me a pep talk when I was feeling discouraged. It was a joy to pick up the phone and talk to her about her son. It wasn’t always a bed of roses but I felt like I was not alone in her son’s struggle to learn. I’m hoping that he felt the same way because we attacked his learning problems with a team approach (the student, his mom, and I were a team and we were going to win!). My student sometimes got discouraged and so did I and so did his mom. Luckily all three of us didn’t get this way at the same time and we helped each other up during these times. This parent had so much faith in my ability to help her son learn and so much faith that her son would learn that I was determined not to let her down.

All these teachers who are not making parents a major player in their classroom are really missing the boat. When you feel things are just not right in the classroom or as good as you know it should be, I wonder if you are involving the parents enough.

I have visited a number of charter schools and the ones I have been to seem to really involve the parents. One of them makes parent involvement a requirement in order for the student to attend that school. Obviously the administration and the faculty have a strong interaction with the parents and I have noticed that these charter schools seem to be very successful. I’m sure the parent factor is not the only reason for their success but I’m feel it plays a big part.

If you haven’t made parents a major player on your team, I suggest doing so right away. I know that they played a big part in my class being successful.

Original image: 'Silhouette of a family of five' http://www.flickr.com/photos/13010608@N02/3082540785 by: Robert Crum