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Click here for a list of free materials for teaching language, math, science, music, and art. The comments and the threads at the bottom contain additional tips.
Frequently educators shrug their shoulders when asked about their students' poor results and say nothing can be done because students from poor backgrounds just can't learn very well. But the success of some American schools proves that this excuse is baseless. Take, for example, Knowledge is Power (KIPP) schools. The vast majority of KIPP students are low-income and black or hispanic. KIPP students are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. Yet more than 80 percent of KIPP grade 8 graduates go on to matriculate from a college or university. If 66 KIPP schools serving more than 16,000 students can do it, then other schools can do it too.
And, by the way, KIPP schools are free.
Kate Tennier has an interesting op-ed in the National Post today that takes a critical look at all-day kindergarden.
She asks whether this Ontario policy decision is just a move to fill emptying classrooms caused by declining enrolments in the province. She also questions whether it is beneficial to kids in the long term.
The article suggests that parents be given a choice of how to educate their children either at home or in school.
Not the kind of parental engagement that most of us think of. Does the Ontario Education Ministry have a Parent Reaching Out Grant for this??
Here's a fun activity that will provide a bit of practice for you and your kids with adding and subtracting. As well, it may give you a bit of a shock. The principle behind this seeming magic is an interesting bit of arithmetic. If you can't figure it out, leave a comment and we'll enlighten you.
The latest Harris-Decima poll reveals that almost half of Canadians say that the country's public education systems are inadequate. Even though provincial governments have been making strenuous efforts to solve their education problems for years, including throwing huge amounts of money at them, things are if anything getting worse. Why Canadian Education Isn't Improving explains why this is so, and then provides the way forward.
Many parents are desperately worried about their children's schooling and searching for ways to salvage their education. Unfortunately, when they start asking around they often get all kinds of conflicting advice and end up puzzled and confused. School for Thought can help.
Wondering why so many boys are struggling in school? Searching for a good remedial math program? Unsure of your legal rights? Our newsletter archives, sorted by topic, contain a wealth of information. In addition, the Ask Aunt Malkin columns in our newsletters answer many common questions. As well, Aunt Malkin is more than happy to provide personalized advice.
Just don't expect run-of-the-mill answers!
Click here to read an SQE article published in the Guelph Mercury. The article documents the phenomenal increase in the amount of money the Ontario government is spending on its education system, despite a significant drop in student enrolment. The article also investigates the almost unbelievable increase in the number of education bureaucrats who earn more than $100,000: from 788 in 2003 to 5913 five years later. It looks to School for Thought as if very little of the government's increased spending is making it all the way down to the classroom.
Click here for a fun activity that provides practice in learning where things are in the world, as well as a few extras like national flags and photos of important landmarks.
Seems that the Michael Moore school of film has started an epidemic of documentaries.
The Cartel is a yet-to-be-released feature documentary about "how American public education primarily serves its employees, not its children," says the film's official website. You can view a video sample of the trailer. The background story is here and a review is here.
While this documentary looks at American education, there are still enough parallels to Canadian education that might make it worthwhile viewing. Let's hope the Toronto Film Festival and other Canadian film venues think so too. While school kids in Canada are force-fed "An Inconvenient Truth", this one looks as if it might shake things up on the education scene.