Month: August 2023

“Boy, You’re in Hot Water”

by | Aug 18, 2023 | , ,

Recently, 8-year-old Marty showed some signs of misbehavior when his mom exclaimed, “Boy, you’re in hot water now.”

Marty started having a meltdown, screaming and crying, “I don’t want to be in hot water!!!!!!!  I  It will hurt me!!!”

Seven-year-old Marissa became upset after her mom told her that her dad was not going to be home for dinner because he was, “tied up in traffic.”  “Why are they tying him up,” Marissa cried? “What did he do?  Who’s tying him up???”

When Walter started to get frustrated with his math assignment, his dad told him, “Oh, come on Walter, it’s a piece of cake.”  Walter looked at his father like he had lost his mind, saying his math work was a piece of cake.  What did he mean by that?

Georgette came home from school upset that children were making fun of her on the school bus.  “OK, Georgette, tell me about it.  I’m all ears.”  Horrified, Georgette started picturing her mother growing ears on her head, which then shut the conversation down.  Her mother was simply too weird to talk to her about anything.

Freely interspersed within our everyday language, we sprinkle different expressions and other figurative language such as similes and metaphors.  Such language can be quite lively and descriptive.

For many children, though, they don’t readily translate and they have no idea what’s being said leading to a form of communication breakdown.

What’s the solution? It’s not to stop using them.

One answer is that you make sure you are aware of your usage with such language. If your child’s eyes start to glaze over in confusion, then back up and ask, “Do you know what that means?”  If not, then clarify.

Takeaway Point

Make no assumptions about figurative language.  Many children will have no idea what different expressions, similes and metaphors mean.

Use the opportunity for enhancing your child’s language facility.

Don’t miss that boat!

Strike while the iron is hot!

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To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email – rselznick615@gmail.com. 

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

(***Please note:  All blogs represent the opinion and perspective of Dr. Richard Selznick.  Comments and questions are welcomed, but are blocked by the hosting site.  Please email questions or comments: rselznick615@gmail.com)  

“Brief Tip:  Getting Clear on Remediation”

by | Aug 11, 2023 | ,

Most children referred for assessments are related to struggles with reading, spelling and writing.

Parents feel a sense of desperation and don’t know what direction to go.

Once the issues are identified, the remediation, unfortunately, can be a bit scattershot.  This is embodied in the statement a teacher recently told a mom, “Well, we do a bit of everything…a little comprehension, some decoding, and writing stories.  We’ll touch all bases.”

For the struggling children, I prefer a different mindset. Rather than a “touch-all-bases” approach approach, I go in a different direction.

To get clear on the remediation, start with the concept that there are are two fundamental types of reading problems:

  • Type I: The child has trouble with reading rate, accuracy and fluency.  The bulk of these are what largely fit the definition of dyslexia.
  • Type II: These are children who read fluently, but have difficulty understanding what they read.  Usually, they have trouble with inferences, interpretation of language and drawing conclusions.  Confusion reigns.

For either type, tutoring is a great way to go, but only if the tutor is clear on what the problem is and that they are committed to a laser-focused approach.

Scattershot may work for the children who are not in the Type I or Type II categories, but for the rest, it’s important to get clear.

Know what you are targeting.

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email – rselznick615@gmail.com. 

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

(***Please note:  All blogs represent the opinion and perspective of Dr. Richard Selznick.  Comments and questions are welcomed, but are blocked by the hosting site.  Please email questions or comments: rselznick615@gmail.com)  

 

All Aboard the Curriculum Ship

by | Aug 3, 2023 | ,

Is your child falling off the Curriculum Ship?

The Curriculum Ship  leaves dock in early September and starts steering its course until mid to late June, when it arrives at port somewhere on the other side of the ocean.

Not slowing down even when some passengers are falling off the side of the boat, the ship must go full steam ahead.

Marianne, age 9, is barely treading water while she watches the ship leave her behind, having fallen off the ship in early October.

Upset by what is happening in school, Marianna’s mom said, “This week they are reading science stories about photosynthesis. Photosynthesis,” she exclaims, “she can’t read or pronounce the word!!!! She has no idea what’s going on.  Yesterday she got a worksheet packet all  marked wrong. Marianne was beside herself, feeling horrible. How  does a 9-year-old deal with all this failure?”

Looking at the worksheet packet, I could feel my blood pressure rising. Beside “photosynthesis,” there were many other words on the page that Marianne could not read on her own.  Yet, that was what she was being asked to do.

Clearly she was in over her head and quite frustrated.

I tell the mom the work is simply too hard and that it was analogous to asking someone to lift 50 pound weights when they could only lift ten.

“I know,” she responded.  “It took her two hours to complete the worksheets last night and she still got an F along with those frown faces at the top of the sheet.”

I tell her, “It’s the Curriculum Ship. The message is swim harder if you want to keep up with the ship.”

Children face rough waters when they are not in the green zone (See last week’s post:  Green-Yellow-Red Zone)

The Curriculum Ship doesn’t bother to consider which passengers have fallen over board and need to be rescued.

The ship must reach the other side.

That is its mission.

Takeaway Point

The Curriculum Ship is tough to deal with.  Advocate where you can by having an open relationship with the teacher.  Point out where your child is in over their head.  Ask to cut back on the “frowny faces,”  especially when good effort is shown, as in the case with Marianne.

(There’s a lot more that can be said about this, but it’s a start.)

(***Please note:  All blogs represent the opinion and perspective of Dr. Richard Selznick.  Comments and questions are welcomed, but are blocked by the hosting site.  Please email questions or comments: rselznick615@gmail.com)  

Copyright, Richard Selznick, Ph.D.  2023, www.shutdownlearner.com.

To Contact Dr. Richard Selznick for advice, consultation or other information, email rselznick615@gmail.com.

To receive future blog posts, register your email: https://shutdownlearner.com.

 

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