Chinese Kids - Purpose of Education

Chinese and American adolescents' perceptions of the purposes of Education - interesting read, I am not sure that I agree with it 100%.

A disturbing article from the Economist Nearer to overcoming.

And of course, Chinese Students - What can be Learned from them for Getting Good Grades?

Education to me is key for getting ahead in our society, and I worry about schools that have 60% drop out rates. I did my student teaching in one, it was a great experience that has had a profound impact on me, but also sad in the students who drop out.

School Fundraising - Not Fun!

An article from the WSJ brought back memories of School Fund raising with an interesting title - Little Lomans

Lomans refers to the main character from a Death of a Sales Person, Wily Loman.

The problem I see with most school fund raisers is they don't raise much money. Our local school district is talking of budget cuts in the millions, and fund raisers if you are lucky bring in a couple of thousand dollars. Bake Sales a couple of hundred. Some school districts ask the parents to donate directly as this Steve Lopez of the LA Times wrote about Ponying up for a public education.

When I was in High School, I was selling waxless candles. They arrived late, and then delivering them to people and explaining they had ordered them was embarrassing. I had sold door to door and my neighborhood had many retired people on fixed incomes. After that, I refuse to sell anything that would embarrass me. That's probably one of the major reasons that I have a 100% return policy. If you don't like the Learning Chinese Products you bought, just return them. I appreciate if you don't take advantage of the policy (some people do unfortunately).

The big fund raiser at my daughter's school is Bingo every Saturday night, so I start my shift in a couple of hours.

A Nation Still At Risk - Education

Shaming statistics:

• 75% of High School Students don't graduate in Detroit.
• 30% nationwide of students don't graduate from High School in the US
• There are schools in Los Angeles that have a 60% drop out rate (I did my student teaching in one. Nice kids, but so sad).

I find the overall state of Education in the US sad. The US seems to do a poor job with the lowest performing, and a great job with the higher performing students. With the disappearance of most high paying jobs that need limited education in the US that can support a family, this is a big concern as a society. As a parent there is a lot you can do to help your child. Many Chinese in the US have figured out the system enabling their kids to go to great colleges/universities.

Some articles in the new section School Tips & Education Articles:

• Chinese Students - What can be Learned from them for Getting Good Grades?
• Time Management Tips for Middle School Students
• Rubric - What it is and how use it to improve your grade!

So why do I care about this? I have a Teaching Credential and education is highly important to my family. And yes, may be someday I will go back to teaching, because I do enjoy making a difference. That is the great feature of teaching, that you can make a difference in a person's life that can change their life, it usually makes up for all the negatives.

Reference/Resources:

• Fear, despair in L.A.'s poorest schools
• Op-Ed Contributor: A Nation at a Loss
• Study Suggests Math Teachers Scrap Balls and Slices
• First to Worse - California's School Special Report on Frontline
• School Tips & Education Articles
• A series of LA Times articles about the drop out rate
• Grades, Study Skills, and College Admission Books

Dual Piano Performance - Wow!

Amazing performance of dual piano players my family went to today.
Tengstrand-Sun Piano Duo

Husband and wife team. Husband is from Sweden, she is from China. He first performed at 7, she at 6. Amazing piano ability. So crisp and clear!


Related Books:






Yang the Youngest and His Terrible Ear by Lensey Namioka
Our Price: $4.50
Nine-year-old Yang and his family have immigrated from China to Seattle and the father is a professional Violin Play. He has been giving Yang Violin lessons for years, and Yang hates the Violin. Yang discovers Baseball! A great story about fitting in and getting used to a new country and culture.

Singapore Math Texts

I read a while ago how a school district in Maryland was using Singapore's Math Texts. California has now approved them for use in the classroom, and a school in Hollywood has been getting great results. Going from 45 to 76% on being at grade level in 2 years. LA Times article - At L.A. school, Singapore math has added value

California Home Schooling Update

California's Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger per the SF Chronicle - Governor vows to protect homeschooling The article has a lot of interesting detail on the history of home schooling and some of the politics behind it with the California educational establishment. Home schooling has become more mainstream with graduates going to top universities and competing in the national spelling bee. It's an area I would like to learn more about.

Teacher's Loyalty Oath

In California public school teachers are required to sign a loyalty oath. Recently a Quaker who had altered the loyalty oath to add the word non-violent and crossed out bear arms was fired. She has since been reinstated. The story from the SF Chronicle - Fired Quaker Teacher Rehired

China's College Degree Challenge

LA Times Article - Degree no Job Guarantee in China.

The complaint is many colleges in China do not do a great job of educating. Same issue in India. So of the mass of Engineers that are graduated from a Chinese univeristy, per a McKinsey report, only 10% would be suitable to work in a multi-national.

Education is extremely important in the Chinese culture, including going to the right university. In the US, that has built a booming industry for study aids, academic advice, and college admissions.
A huge interest in China is getting into Harvard. A book about how one parents got their Child into Harvard became a best seller. I don't carry that book, but one I do in English is 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays that is a a great read. So is How They Got Into Harvard by The Staff Of The Harvard Crimson. Softcover. My daughter dreams of going to Harvard , and if she gets in her Grandmother has promised to pay the tuition. She has been on the Harvard campus tour twice.

				50 Successful Harvard Application Essays
				Our Price: $12.95
				50 Successful Harvard Application Essays. What worked for them can help you get into the college of your choice. A compilation of fifty effective and diverse college application essays that offer students insights into what makes an essay compelling. English. Paperback. 180 Pages.

				How They Got Into Harvard by The Staff Of The Harvard Crimson. Softcover
				Our Price: $12.95
				How They Got Into Harvard by The Staff Of The Harvard Crimson. 50 successful applicants share 8 key strategies for getting into the college of your choice. Softcover

Importance of Playing

NY Times Article Taking Play Seriously. The worry is children spend to much time inside, and not enough playing. 11 page article which is worthwhile reading.

Chinese Children Game Instructions for something different!

Chinese Asian Representation in Colleges

The challenge is Asian's, as a percentage are over represented at the best colleges in the United States. 10-30%, even if they are only 4% of the population. So in order to keep the right racial mix, Asian students at many colleges need to have higher test scores than any other ethnic group, including white, to attend. In state colleges, many states have banned the use of racial quotas for college admissions including California and Michigan. The result at UC Berkeley has been an increase in Asian students attending. An article about Asians at Berkeley called Little Asia on the Hill that I just found from the NY Times! Last time I found the article my blog died, with a post I had been working on for over an hour. Which resulted in a much shorter post :-) My daughter's school sent 30 students to UC Berkeley last year, and her choir graduates seem to go to UCLA or UC Berkeley.

One Chinese student even filed a lawsuit against Princeton for discrimination in admissions. Good quote "are the Chinese being treated as Jews were in the 1920-1940 for College Admissions?"

Another related post:
Chinese American Education Expectations

My opinion. The historical definition of race is getting all messed up and institutions have not caught up with how fast society is changing in an extremely positive way. Examples include mixed races, adoptions, etc. The competition for getting into colleges is getting more and more. Grades, Study Skills, and College Admission Books is a new section I just added.

Organizing for Schools

Great article in the NY Times on Giving Disorganized Boys the Tools for Success. Basic point is by being organized including the infamous back-pack (black hole) will lead to better grades. The a students being tutored range from Middle School to High School.

Great quote from the article:

“I would ask, What’s the class that troubles you the most?” she said. “I would ask to see the binder, and it would always be the messiest.”
Ms. Homayoun Green Ivy Educational Consulting based in the San Francisco area.

Related Products:

A Is For Admission by Michele A. Hernandez
Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez
How to Get Straight A's In School And Have Fun At The Same Time
50 Successful Harvard Application Essays

Chinese American Education Expectations

It's an obsession among many Chinese in the US for their kids as is getting them into the right school. Harvard, Stanford, Berkeley are preferred.

At a dinner at my daughter's Elementary School, the Principal was very proud that graduates of the associated High School went to Loyola, Citrus, Mt. Sac, Cal State Fullerton, and equiv. The problem was for the Chinese parents, those colleges were either community colleges or local colleges, or state. Good colleges, but not at the level of a Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, MIT, or even UCLA. This type of misunderstanding probably explains why most students left the school after fifth grade to go to public schools for Middle and High School.

After school programs are also done by many ethnic Chinese parents in order to help their children's chances into great schools. As well as the outside activities. And yes, some students do get burned out with all the extra activities they are doing.

I have started a new Category for School Advice Books such as getting good
Grades, Study Skills, and College Admission Books .

Related Products:

A Is For Admission by Michele A. Hernandez
A Is For Admission updated and revised by Michele A. Hernandez. The insider's guide to getting into the Ivy League and other top colleges. A former admissions officer at an Ivy League university reveals the secrets of being admitted to the nation's best schools, covering such topics as the importance of SAT scores and how applications are reviewed and interpreted. English. Paperback. 266 Pages.

Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez
Acing The College Application by Michele A. Hernandez. Offers a step-by-step guide to the college application process with an analysis of the common application, a detailed study of application essays, and a look at common myths and misconceptions about the on-campus interview. English. Paperback. 262 Pages.

How to Get Straight A's In School And Have Fun At The Same Time
How to Get Straight A's In School And Have Fun At The Same Time by Gordon W. Green Jr., Ph.D. English. Paperback. 224 Pages.

50 Successful Harvard Application Essays
50 Successful Harvard Application Essays. What worked for them can help you get into the college of your choice. A compilation of fifty effective and diverse college application essays that offer students insights into what makes an essay compelling. English. Paperback. 180 Pages.

Will AP or IB Really Get You College Credit?

IB is something I just found out about this year. International Baccalaureate. It's a way for schools to increase their academics. It's similar to AP, but has it's own exams. There is a debate at the Washington Post to be a debate going on about the pro's and cons of it. The challenge I have heard on IB is you need to take classes outside of the regular school year to complete it (hello summer school). Of course there is a Freshman at my daughter's school who is taking Calculus. And all Eighth Graders in the school districts in my area are supposed to be taking Algebra in 8th Grade. Of course if you can't pass Algebra, you become a drop out.

Here is a link to the excellent four part series the LA Times had on a LAUSD School investigating the drop out rate. I believe one of the problems a student had was not being able to pass Algebra. Or was that one of my students I met during my student teaching.

A sad comment my Master Teacher made on the movie Walkout, was LAUSD still has the same problems for Latino students (low results). He graduated a year before the events in Walkout happened. I would love to read a copy of the essay, a tale of two schools by Paula Crisostomo who is now works at Occidental College. The schools being compared were Palos Verdes and Garfield. And the latest walkout was about immigration and became less and less of a political statement as the days progressed with the last ones having some of the kids throwing gang signs which lost the original purpose.

Almost 1/3rd of High School Students Don't Graduate

Article in Costco's Magazine mentioned this. At some schools the drop out rate is 60%. LA Times a while ago had a great series of articles that looked at one High School in LAUSD on this. Recent LA Times editorial on this. And in our increasing skills required society, what becomes of them? Challenging topic that I worry about. Their is the top tier of society who has figured out how to work the system, so their children get the best education possible, and then the lower tier that does not understand the system.

Special Education - The balance

Special Education is a legal nightmare from what I can see. In my opinion, courts are making decisions that is making it challenging for schools on how to allocate money. The problem is legislatures are happy to pass on this hot potato of an issue to the courts which do the best they can based on the existing laws. This may not be best for the children, but that is not the courts mission, their job is to interpret the laws. Interesting article When Should Taxes Pay Private Tuition? about a parent who is suiing so a public school district will pay the private tuition for his child to go to a private school (his child has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and other learning disabilities). Here is one from Google News Special Education: When Should Taxes in case the first link requires a subscription. In my experience subbing, Special Education Classes was usually a good experience and a pleasant change from classes where the kids were deliberately trying to give you a bad day.

Environmentalism and Children

Great on Children influencing parents on the Environment!

Inconvenient Youths

'Mom, we gotta buy a hybrid!' Kids are becoming the green movement's stealth weapon, pressuring their parents on everything from lightbulbs to composting. Inside the push to create the littlest eco-warriors.

By ELLEN GAMERMAN
September 29, 2007; Page W1

Jim and Robyn Dahlin knew replacing the roof of their home in Greenbrae, Calif., would be expensive. But they hadn't planned to spend an extra $15,000 on solar panels. For that, they have their 8-year-old son, Luke, to thank.

Direct Link or through Google News for Inconvenient Youths the rest of the article Youths. Schools have a huge impact on children and being green is part often part of the curriculum.

Back To School Night Suggestions

Tis the season for Back To School Nights and your chance to spend a few minutes with your child's teacher. Some suggestions to help you make the most of your Child's Schools Back to School Night

Preparation:
1. Find out if your child can go with you

2. If your child is not, get a map so you know where you are going for middle school and High School especially, and have your child draw the best route.

3. Have them right down the periods, subject and name of the teacher

4. Bring something to take notes with and write with.

5. Remember you usually only get 10 or so minutes per class, so your time will be limited.

6. Find out for K-5 where the student has one teacher the entire day, what are the room numbers for the next year (example: if your child is in 4th grade, find out the room numbers for the 5th grade).

Actions:

1. Greet the teacher and shake their hand saying you are so and so's parent, with your name.

2. Ask the teacher how your student is doing, but you probably won't get a good answer from middle school and high school (your child is one of 180 or so students they have, and unless they are either extremely good or bad, most teachers won't remember).

3. Look around the room, especially if there are projects.

4. Get advice from K-4 teachers on whom they recommend for next year for teachers.

5. Visit the teachers who are one year ahead for K-5 to look at projects (and find out what the competition is doing). At my daughter's school, the projects some of the 5th grader supposedly (with how much parental help) did was amazing. One was a working saw mill.

6. If your child is not doing well or you have concerns, schedule a parent teacher conference at another time than back to school night so the teacher can be prepared.