Blog
Understanding & Enhancing Comprehension – (Part II)
Last week's post introduced concepts related to reading comprehension. (Enhancing Reading Comprehension: Part I) As previously noted, comprehension is an interactive process. The interaction involves ideas, concepts, images, background experience, fund of knowledge,...
Matthew Effects are Powerful – Act Early
Matthew Effects Are Powerful-Act Early A number of years ago a very powerful piece of research emerged in the field of psychology and education. This research, by Dr. Keith Stanovich ultimately became known as the “Matthew Effects.” The Rich Get Richer A...
The Grind of School
Let’s be honest, school can be a bit of a grind. This is especially so if you are the kind of kid who struggles with reading, spelling and writing. For those who do not have learning problems, school also can be a grind, as well, but they have a much easier...
Under the Big Circus Tent of Normal Variation
I live in the land of analogies and metaphors. Something is always reminding me of something else and an image gets created. One of my favorite metaphors is thinking of kids as under the big tent of “normal variation.” Under this circus tent you see a wide variety...
“One Man’s Ceiling…”
This week I couldn’t shake singing to myself, “One Man’s Ceiling is another man’s floor,” Paul Simon’s song reminding us it’s all a matter of perspective and relativity. What inspired this song running through my head? Let me tell you about Bradon, an 8 year old...
The Decoding Hurdle
Young children face many hurdles that they need to overcome. They come in succession. Getting over one leads to another. Some hurdles are more important than others and are not all equal in their level of importance. One particular hurdle I have been consistently...
Socializing in the Modern World
Most of us say, say over the age of 40, have in their mind a recollection of things like playing outside with friends for hours on end. Being inside was to be avoided at all costs. Not only that, being inside meant you were in proximity of your parents, and really,...
Travels in 3rd Grade Boy Brain: On the Rougher Side of the Road
It’s not easy being a kid. It’s particularly tough if you’re one of those types that are on the rougher side of the road. If you’re one of those types you have lots of people getting irritated with you or making fun of you. Let’s travel in George’s brain for a little...
504 Plan Musings
“504” plans have been so much on the school landscape for many years that we forget that the “504” did not originate with schools. 504 is part of the ADA (Americans With Disability Act) federal legislation. The guiding principle of 504 is that reasonable...
“If Only You Would Just Try Harder”
When it comes to kids and their various issues, it’s very hard for us to get past certain notions. An ongoing one is the notion that the child is just “not paying attention enough,” and that the child just needs to try harder and everything would be ok. This...
20 Reasons Kids Don’t Pay Attention
In no particular order here are 20 reasons why kids don’t pay attention: Perhaps the work is too hard. There may be are far too many worksheets – perhaps the kid has worksheet burnout. Maybe the kid is asked to write when he has little capacity to even write a...