Report Card Celebration!

The leaves are changing, and it's time for the first report card! Yesterday, I received a GOOD NEWS report card attached to an e-mail from a parent whose child has "graduated" from my training program. There is nothing better than a family discovering a child's true potential and seeing that child begin to stretch themselves onward and upward in learning.

Now, if you read my previous blog, you know that there should be NO SURPRISES on your child's report card!!! IF you followed my suggestions:

• You have been communicating with your child's teacher(s) to be sure that you are all working together to support your child's academic success.
  
• You have implemented an effective behavior plan and that assignment book is coming home completely and accurately filled out every single day.
  
• You child is getting that homework done every night with your support and supervision; however, YOU are not doing the work for your child, and homework is not taking longer than is appropriate for your child's grade level.

Assuming that your child has the underlying skills needed for optimal learning and all of the above statements are true, then your child's report card should be cause for celebration -- for the entire family!


Just remember to celebrate hard work and effort and improvement; avoid simply saying "you're so smart". Carol Dweck at Stanford University has done extensive research showing that "if you teach students that their intelligence can grow and increase, they do better in school. Dweck's latest book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, gives parents and teachers specific ways to teach the growth mindset of intelligence to children."



What if the report card is disappointing for you and your child??? The FIRST question is: were you communicating with the teacher(s) frequently and consistently? Good Parent - Teacher communication = No Surprises on report cards. IF you WERE communicating well but are not seeing the desired results, then it' s time to find out WHY your child is not achieving academic success. Learning problems tend to get worse and more difficult (though NEVER impossible) to address over time. So, EARLY INTERVENTION is the KEY to SUCCESS.



Please note that, sadly, not all report cards are effective learning tools. Knowing that your child has a "C" in math is not helpful, but knowing that your child got a "C" in math due to missing homework assignments and/or poor test grades is useful information. Effective report cards contain a narrative from each teacher detailing HOW each grade was earned, and WHAT your child needs to change in order to improve the grade. If your child's report card lists grades only, please contact your child's teacher(s) to find out what your child needs to do in order to improve his or her performance going forward. And, let the principal know that you would like to see more useful information on the report card. Think of report cards as Job Performance Appraisals -- they should be tools to improve performance, not just required paperwork!


As always, please don't hesitate to contact me regarding your child's unique learning needs. I look forward to hearing from you!

Successful LEARNING TEAM = Parents + Teachers + Students

(Parent + Teacher + Student) x (COOPERATION + COMMUNICATION)
= SUCCESSFUL LEARNING TEAM

Parents often tell me that my attendance at Parent - Teacher Conferences is one of the most helpful services that I provide. By opening the lines of communication and by directing everyone's focus to the needs of the individual student, we are able to begin the school year working together "on the same page". Since a focused & cooperative learning team is critical in order to optimize school year success, WHY does parent - teacher - student communication often break down???

We can safely assume that:


*Students do NOT wake up each morning planning ways to be unsuccessful at school and plotting ways to upset parents and teachers.


* Parents do not start each day planning ways to MINIMIZE their child's success and plotting to make teachers miserable.


*Teachers do NOT wake up each morning planning to upset students and their parents.



In fact, most human beings wake up each morning hoping for a successful day filled with lots of positive interactions with others. So, why do students, parents, AND teachers frequently end up in tears of frustration??? When all 3 parties truly want the student to be successful, it is frustrating for everyone when the learning process is less than successful. Sadly, the tendency of human beings is to place blame. And, blaming leads to defensiveness, which is completely unproductive.



So, HOW can we set up our "Learning Team" for success???

# 1 ASSUME the BEST INTENTIONS -- not the worst. When you approach potential problems assuming that each party has the BEST intentions, it changes everything for the better. This is not just wishful thinking! Most of us want to be good people, and few of us have time to plot, plan, and conspire against others : )

# 2 COMMUNICATE EARLY & OFTEN -- My rule is "NO SURPRISES!" Parents & Students should not be surprised by interims and report cards. Teachers should not be surprised by unhappy parents. Parents & Teachers need to be sure to communicate the GOOD NEWS. When I taught in public middle school, far too few parents showed up to give the teachers positive feedback and appreciative words. Please DON'T be the parent who only shows up at school when there is a "problem"!

# 3 Use Tools & Resources to enhance Parent - Teacher - Student Communication:

• Parent - Teacher Communication Plan from the Parent Toolkit @ allkindsofminds.org
• Homework Help from the Parent Toolkit @ allkindsofminds.org
• Learning to Relate to Others from the Parent Toolkit @ allkindsofminds.org

E-mail is a great tool to facilitate frequent parent - teacher communication, but be sure to establish your relationship and rapport face to face. While an e-mail compliment is certainly great, nothing beats knowing another person has "gone out of the way" to compliment you in person. And, parents, be sure to let your school principal (and other parents) know when something good happens!


FYI -- Your COMPLIMENT to CRITICISM RATIO goal should be 5 to 1 -- that means that you must give 5 (FIVE) COMPLIMENTS to every 1 (ONE) criticism! The bare minimum ratio is 3 to 1. This applies to all of your human to human interactions: parenting, marriage, work, home, school, etc.

• HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT: To get into the COMPLIMENT HABIT, put a roll of pennies in your right pocket, and move a penny to your left pocket each time you give a sincere, heartfelt compliment to another person. Please share your results with me and other readers in the COMMENTS below!

Lastly,


THANK YOU for taking the time to read this! Please let me know which suggestions / tips / tools you are able to implement and how it works out. I'll be sending all of my very best thoughts for your success in building the best learning team EVER this year!


Leah Daziens
www.f-u-n-training.com

Q. How do I SUBSCRIBE to a BLOG? What is RSS? BONUS Computer Tool Suggestions

You can subscribe to a blog using RSS feed. If you aren't familiar with RSS feeds, then Google Reader is a great tool to start with. Subscribing to your favorite blogs and sites using Google Reader or Google Desktop keeps you posted on all of the latest at your favorite sites. You actually (or theoretically) save time, since all of the information is in one place in front of you.

My FAVORITE blog is LifeHacker.com closely followed by Consumerist.com. If you ever have to battle with Comcast, Verizon, or Dell – try the EECB (Executive E-mail Carpet Bomb) technique recommended at Consumerist.com – I had to use it with all 3 of those companies, and after hours wasted on hold and being transferred, I FINALLY had competent people CALLING ME to fix the problems; but I digress.

Somewhat off the subject of F-U-N-Training, but I believe it is a totally relevant topic since all of my clients use the internet to schedule sessions, etc.

Here are some computer tools I love (and I do not have any financial stake in any of them):

http://www.ccleaner.com/ -- a great tool to clean up your computer registry and unneeded files in order to SPEED it UP! FREE

http://www.defraggler.com/ -- Defragments your hard drive – MUCH FASTER than the MS Windows Defrag tool. FREE

http://www.mozilla.com – STOP using MS Explorer as your browser. Seriously, Mozilla Firefox is much more secure and a better product. FREE

http://www.roboform.com/ -- a safer way to keep all of those passwords and log – ins. FREE TRIAL

Given the security issues with Microsoft products, I prefer this to letting a browser "remember" my password.

http://www.clipmarks.com/ -- there may be better tools than this, but I LOVE that I can just CLIP and save a headline for future reference. Or, I can just clip and e-mail or print ONLY the part I want to send w/o all the extra garbage on the page.

*Norton 360 or MacAfee Security Center – You MUST have a COMPLETE and RELIABLE SECURITY software on your computer. BOTH OFFER FREE TRIALS, but then PLEASE be absolutely sure to PAY for your RENEWAL SUBSCRIPTION!!! I was just visiting in Florida, and I discovered my Aunt's computer was terribly slow, had no current anti-virus software, and was full of spyware. Norton now has a cool service, PC POWER BOOST, where a technician will log onto your computer remotely (with your permission) and make adjustments to your computer setup to make sure it is running as efficiently (fast) as possible. It's usually $69.99, but I received a special offer for just $29.99, which I think is a great bargain to have someone else get your computer in tip top shape. I HAVE NOT tried it yet, so be sure to check out all of the details for yourself. If the Special Offer link doesn't work for you, e-mail me, and I will just forward you the e-mail that they sent me.

 

Remember that children should NEVER be allowed to access the Internet unless they are CAREFULLY SUPERVISED. Internet Safety is a bigger issue than I have room or time for today, but be careful out there in cyberspace.

 

Independence Day -- Developing Independent Learners

INDEPENDENCE DAY certainly got me thinking about how important it is to remember that the ultimate goal of parents and teachers should always be to develop INDEPENDENT LEARNERS. UNLESS, that is, you LOVED the CO-DEPENDENCE of doing homework together this past school year -- complete with tears and frustration!

Ultimately, while some colleges MAY accept student / parent enrollment, most employers aren't hiring employee / parent teams! So, developing the ability to learn efficiently and independently is a requirement for more than making the upcoming school year more pleasant for all. LEARNING is a LIFELONG ENDEAVOR!!!

IF you've been caught saying, "WE were up (late last / all) night (doing homework / studying for a test / finishing the science project)", then you have a learner who needs to get started on the"JOURNEY to INDEPENDENT LEARNING". Developing an Independent Learner is a Journey -- NOT an instant process. However, once you have committed to the ultimate goal of INDEPENDENCE, YOU CAN GET THERE w/ effective short term goals and a comprehensive action plan.


The first step is to figure out EXACTLY "where the learner is" right now. Since this is the JOURNEY to INDEPENDENCE, we need to know our starting point as well as our ultimate destination. At F-U-N-Training, I determine that "starting point" by identifying the learner's strengths and weaknesses using a proven and comprehensive evaluation / assessment process: the Structure of Intellect / Integrated Practice Protocol ( SOI / IPP ) assessments and training programs developed by Robert and Mary Meeker and proven in over 30 years of use. The SOI / IPP tools enable me to identify both strengths and weaknesses in 27 Cognitive skill areas as well as evaluate visual and auditory processing, and sensory motor integration skills. When a comprehensive assessment is combined with parent and student interviews / questionnaires, I have a detailed map for our "JOURNEY to INDEPENDENT LEARNER", and I am ready to serve as CO-PILOT for the trip.

If YOU would like a map for YOUR LEARNER'S JOURNEY to INDEPENDENCE, please contact me immediately. I have just a few assessment appointments left in August, and THIS is not a journey to postpone.

The next steps involve working with parents to develop an action plan and working with the learner's classroom teacher(s) and school specialists to make sure that the learner's CURRENT needs are being met. These plans usually involve BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION, which is jargon to express the idea of rewarding the actions that we want to see more of.

We open the lines of communication with school personnel, so that we can track the learner's growth and make modifications to our action plan as necessary. While we may need accommodations to address CURRENT needs, our ultimate goal is always to REMEDIATE underdeveloped skills. True remediation / training of underdeveloped skills leads the learner to independence.

In future entries, we'll explore the use of Behavior Modification and how to develop a strong Parent - Teacher Partnership.

In the meantime, please check out my Parent Tips & Tools and Parent Resource List for lots of great learning activities your child could be doing RIGHT NOW!

Remember...
Learning is a Year-Round, Life-Long Endeavor!!!

Please Use Your Summer Learning Time Wisely : )