Motivation, Not IQ, Matter Most in Math
In this article from TIME, the author discusses that while higher IQ can give an initial boost, hard work and effort are what is needed to succeed in math especially in middle and high school. We see this often at Gideon. Children who initially struggled through...
Gideon Gold Star – Avery
Avery went from struggling in math to excelling beyond grade level. You can too!
Global Report Card
A really cool website, Globalreportcard.org, has compiled a massive amount of data to compare ANY school district in America against the state, nation, and even international students. While we hear about how our national education is failing our students, maybe it's...
Sucessful School Turnaround with Some TLC
Here's a great video I just found on Valerie Strauss's Washington Post education blog from PBS News Hour about how one LA middle school was turned around with small changes such as monitoring attendance closely with calls to the parent - especially in a pivotal year...
Online Videos Aid Mastery Learning
While I still think putting pencil to paper is crucial while working out math problems, I heartily agree with some of the ideas espoused by the online Khan Academy's founder, Salman Khan. From MIT Technology Review: In much of the developed world, Khan writes, schools...
60 Minutes Piece: 3 Million Open Jobs Due to Skills Gap
This is an interesting piece on why the entry level (and other) jobs are open in many manufacturing companies. "I can honestly say it's probably an entry level problem. It's those basic skill sets: show up on time, read, write, do math, [and] problem solve. I can't...
Why Students Should Learn Cursive (and Math Facts and Word Roots)
Yes, Yes, and Yes. I could not agree more! In this article from TIME, an English teacher describes her negativity towards being required to have her students memorize word roots only to discover how beneficial it was. And that they didn't hate it! Fancy that! In an...
Beating Back the Math Demons
Here is a lovely story about how persistence, practice, and patience can overcome a severe math anxiety. From nytimes.com, a 6th grade math teacher, Marilyn DePietto, speaks about how through learning and memorizing the basics and through daily practice in tutoring, a...
Is txtng bad 4 kidz gramr?
Textspeak has become popular among young and old alike. The speed at which you can respond with simple shortcuts like PLMK (please let me know) mimics a quick conversation. In case you aren't up on all the acronymns, here's a reference to help you decipher tricky...
Persistence Predicts Success
One of the big benefits of a program like Gideon is the ability to train a child to focus on a task for period of time. Another great skill learned through repetition (when needed) is perseverance through difficult tasks pays off by making that task easier! We feel...
Reading to Your Baby: Storytime Is Good
From WashingtonTimescommunities.com: By Brighid Moret June 15, 2012 – The picture of a child on a parent’s lap with a picture book open in front of them is common, but when it comes to infants, is it more entertaining for the parent than the child? The answer is no....
Math Teachers Feel Poorly Prepared
From Joannejacobs.com Many teachers say they’re not well-prepared to teach math, according to an excerpt from a new book, Inequality for All, by William H. Schmidt and Curtis C. McKnight. In first through third grade, teachers feel prepared to teach only...
Spelling Bee Words: Could you spell them?
From WashingtonPost.com: Posted at 04:24 PM ET, 05/30/2012 By Valerie Strauss Fancy yourself a good speller? See if you would have been able to spell the words given to 278 young spellers in the second round of the Scripps National Spelling Bee, which started...
Bedtime stories: 6 children’s books best read out loud
By Alex Smith From TODAY.com updated 6/14/2012 4:40:09 PM ET Because I’m a working father of two kids still in their single digits, my days are pretty full. Since my workday starts relatively late in the morning, I'm able to give my wife a break and drop my children...
Will ditching smartphones boost student’s reading skills?
In the age of Googling on your phone for a quick answer or 24-hour news channels giving you two minute stories, are we really thinking deeply anymore? While I enjoy both quick fixes, we ought to spend time regularly analyzing complex subjects if for no other reason...
1963 to 2011: How kindergarten math has changed
Interesting blast from the past! Critics of the American education system note how we teach SO many topics each year while not going into great depth of any. Higher performing countries teach less topics per year and do not need to repeat them over several years as...
Something so simple, yet so helpful for preschoolers
Great tip to boost your child's skills while reading stories together! I love how simple this is to do. This would be great for any child. While we know that most 4 year olds are capable of starting to learn their letter names and sounds or beyond, this is a great...
Home reading turned struggling readers into confident ones
From JoanneJacobs.com June 16, 2012 Giving 40 books to each student in second and third grade for their home libraries — 1,000 books over two years — turned struggling readers into confident readers, writes Justin Minkel, who teaches in Arkansas, on Education Week...
Why summer reading is essential for your children
From golocalworchester.com: Saturday, June 09, 2012 John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester Education Contributor All children look forward to the summer time as a break from the daily routine of going to school. However, for many children, it’s a time when, as the...
Should we still teach handwriting?
From Luria-learning.blogspot.com Should we still teach handwriting? I have been thinking recently about if it is worth taking the time to teach handwriting. Let me be honest. For the past four years, I have not taught any handwriting in 4th or 5th grade. There was no...