Help for Students with Social-Emotional Challenges

  “Thanks for returning our call, Mrs. Merchant. Yesterday, Ryan let out an ear-piercing scream after slamming her books on the floor. This behavior is unacceptable…she was only asked to present her show and tell item in class. She will surely lose recess for the next three days. Hopefully, Ryan will simply obey the next… Continue reading

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Advice to the Elementary School – ME!

Building confidence is something that starts at a young age. Now that I have had the opportunity to “live a little,” I wanted to write a letter to myself in elementary school.  I was a shy and quiet kid, but I always had supportive parents, extended family and teachers along the way to guide me. … Continue reading

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Is Your Student Receiving Formative Assessments?

“You got a C?…are you kidding me!  I didn’t know you were struggling in this class!”   Parents, too often, you find yourselves in this position—my child is struggling and I didn’t even know it. You may have studied your child’s progress on the school website, cancelled plans for extensive homework assignments, even called in… Continue reading

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3 Keys for achieving goals with confidence 

Our confidence rises when we achieve success in something.  However, success is not always easy to measure.  An effective approach for building confidence is by developing challenging goals that are easier to measure.  For example, a goal could be to learn a particular skill.  This can further be broken into segments with measurable outcomes, i.e.… Continue reading

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5 Tips to Improve Critical Thinking Skills

Live long enough and you will understand that the entire life is full of making decisions.  Those decisions are often followed by actions which directly impact the outcomes we seek.  Therefore, achieving desired outcomes depends on making good decisions which require critical thinking skills.   Critical thinking is a valuable skill that anyone can improve… Continue reading

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Give Latin a Chance!

You’re looking over the language options for your school. German, Spanish, French… Latin? “Isn’t that a dead language?” you ask yourself.  Let me be the first to tell you: studying Latin is an incredibly rewarding endeavor. It is by no means an easy road, but it will enrich your education in the long run. English… Continue reading

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When Will I Need This? Lessons You Can Still Take From Dull Assignments

Suppose you’re sitting in history class learning about Chinese dynastic system. Like some students, you may ask yourself: “When am I ever going to need this?” After all, you want to be a chemist. It’s a valid question. When will you need the dearth of information you absorb in school every day? The truth is, maybe never. It all… Continue reading

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“…excellent tutor!”

“James is an excellent tutor. He plans ahead, comes prepared and on time, and is very respectful and professional. He has established a great rapport with my son. He understands my objectives for the tutoring and also my son’s needs and adjusts accordingly. As much as he is flexible, James also is persistent and sets… Continue reading

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The Learning Method of Reggio Emilia

What is Reggio Emilia? Reggio Emilia is an early childhood and primary educational approach championed by Loris Malaguzzi of Reggio Emilia, Italy just after World War II. The approach asks parents and teachers to recognize children as “rich in potential, driven by the power of wanting to grow” (Wurm, 2005). Children exhibit a desire to grow. Children are naturally curious questioners… Continue reading

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Three Easy Ways You Can Help Your Child Be A Critical Thinker

Having worked with diverse students and families on issues in education, I notice many parents have one similar concern. They want their children to think critically and be global thinkers, but aren’t sure what they can do as parents to help. Watch your children grow with these three easy steps towards cultivating critical thinking!   Read Everything with Your… Continue reading

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