How to know if your child could benefit from a tutor

There are a variety of tutoring options available for your child. / Courtesy of BrandPoint

Written by

For News-Herald Media

For many parents, slipping grades and missed assignments can be sure signs that their child is in need of help academically.
And whether your child needs assistance to get up to speed with the rest of the class or is looking for help to get ahead on their SATs, there are a variety of tutoring options available.
“Keep the lines of communication open with your child’s school,” said Amanda Bates, an English teacher and coordinator of the Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) program at Rim of the World High School in Lake Arrowhead, Calif. “If your child seems to be struggling, reach out to his/her teacher and have a frank discussion about what you’re seeing at home and what they experience with your child in class to determine the areas your child needs help in and what the best course of action may be.”
“The drop of a single letter grade, diminishing enthusiasm about school or complaints that school is ‘too hard’ can all be signs that your student is dreading a particular class or subject,” said Adriene White, center director for Sylvan Learning-Long Beach. “The issues they are having can be clues that they need help with time management and study skills, test preparation or with a particular academic subject.”
“If your child is spending excessive amounts of time on homework, it could be a sign that he or she doesn’t understand the skill or concept needed to complete that homework,” said Dr. Dominick P. Ferello a professor in the College of Undergraduate Studies at Argosy University, Tampa. “If your child is laboring over words when reading out loud and can’t retell the story they just read in their own words, your child likely needs help with reading.”
“There is a range of tutoring options available to parents,” said Bates. “For some students, there may be a volunteer or specialist at the school who can assist with their needs. For those who may need help outside of the classroom, your child’s school or school district should be able to provide you with a list of private tutors and tutoring centers that can provide more in-depth assistance for your child outside of the school day.”

Best Sites for Designing Holiday Cards

posted by Suzanne Kantra on November 27, 2012

If you're like me, you prefer to create customized holiday greeting cards rather than pick up a stack of generic cards from the drugstore. A custom card says so much more about you — whether it's the personalized message, a picture of the kids or simply the ability to choose your own color and design.
There are plenty of sites that offer high-quality custom cards, for mailing, emailing or, in some cases, both. But a few stand out for offering the best combination of selection, quality and price. These are my picks.

Shutterfly and Tiny Prints

Whether you're interested in one of the many photo-centric designs on Shutterfly or one of the beautiful, stylized cards from the extensive selection on its sister site, Tiny Prints, you'll find the same great value proposition. Cards start at less than $2 a pop, and you can have them mailed out for you for an extra $0.55. Of course that way you won't be able to add a personalized message, so you can also choose to have cards sent to you with your return address on the envelopes (an additional $0.24 per) or order return labels ($0.29 per).

Paperless Post

Paperless Post creates a new level of class for e-cards, with its beautiful virtual stationery, elegant envelopes and animated simulation of opening a "real" card. The site offers a wide selection of cards, including designs you can customize with your own photos or logo. There are a few free designs, which you can also send for free to up to 1,000 recipients. Most designs, though, cost a few coins in Paperless Post's virtual currency — coins cost $0.07 to $0.20, depending on how many you buy.
New for this year are PAPER designs, cards that can be sent electronically and in the mail, so you can mix and match based on your friends' preferences. PAPER cards can be customized like the e-cards. A single card is $4, a box of 10 is $16, a box of 20 is $27 and the savings add up as you buy more cards. There is no option for Paperless Post to send your cards directly to recipients.

Pingg

With one of the largest selection of card designs to choose from, you're bound to find something to your taste on Pingg. Card designers include members of the Pingg community and well-known designers, like Martha Stewart. There are plenty of free cards but the recipient has to view an ad before viewing your card and you'll be limited to 250 recipients. Upgrade to pingg Plus for $10 per month and you can send to up to 2,500 recipients ad-free. Pingg also gives you the option of having your cards printed and sent for $2.50 per card plus postage.

Tutoring starts back up after Thanksgiving break

Enjoy the holiday!!

The All-in-One: A Perfect Family Computer

posted by Suzanne Kantra on November 09, 2012 in Computers and Software, Computers & Accessories, Family and Parenting, Kids, Seniors, Guides & Reviews :: 0 comments

An all-in-one computer solves a number of problems in my house. First, it's easy to make sure it stays in the family room, so I can monitor the sites the kids are visiting; laptops have a way of disappearing into the kids' rooms. Second, they serve as a second information and entertainment center for everything from homework to games to movies.
With Microsoft's launch of its touch-friendly Windows 8 operating system last week, the all-in-one has become even more attractive as a family PC option. The home screen is now filled with live tiles that show information that's updated in real time, so anyone can see things like weather, calendar appointments and recent photos at a glance without needing to open the application — a huge time-saver in the morning.
The touch interface is also easy for young kids to use, especially those like my four-year old son who has grown up on touchscreen devices. When I unboxed the HP Envy 20-d010t TouchSmart all-in-one I received for testing, he took to it immediately, spending hours playing Agent P Strikes Back, a Perry the Platypus game.
So if you're in the market for a new family computer, check out the recent crop of Windows 8 touchscreen all-in-ones. There are plenty of great all-in-one options to choose from. These are my picks.

Dell Inspiron One 23-inch Touch

It may be a bit bare bones when it comes to style, but the Dell Inspiron One 23-inch represents the best value for an all-in-one touchscreen model ($779.99 on dell.com). It comes with a 23-inch, Full HD, LED-backed touchscreen (1920 x 1080), an entry-level Intel Pentium G645 processor, Intel integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. That's more than enough for word processing, watching videos, editing photos or any other everyday computing task. And if you need more power, the Inspiron One 23-inch is configurable up to a Intel Core i7-3770s, 8GB of RAM and a 1TB hard drive ($1,399.99). You can't configure it with a discreet graphics card, something that makes a difference when gaming or editing video.

HP Envy 20-d010t TouchSmart

A step up from the Inspiron One 23" Touch, the HP Envy 20-d010t TouchSmart ($799.99 on hp.com) offers a more attractive design and a few higher-end options. The base model comes with a 20-inch, Full HD, LED-backed touchscreen (1920 x 1080), an Intel Pentium G40 processor, Intel integrated graphics, 2GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive. For those looking to play games or edit video, you can opt into a Intel Core i3-3220 processor, 2GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 630M discreet graphics card, 8GB RAM, 16MB of SSD cache and a 2TB hard drive ($1,609.99).

Acer Aspire 5600U

Representing a good mid-range value is Acer's 23-inch Aspire 5600U ($999.99 on us.acer.com). It comes loaded with an Intel Core i5-3210m processor, 6GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive and Intel integrated graphics. The 23-inch Full HD LED-backed touchscreen (1920 x 1080) reclines up to 80 degrees for easy touchscreen control. Extras include NFC (near field communication) and Bluetooth 4 for easy connectivity to wireless speakers and smartphones.

Sony Vaio Tap 20

The Sony Vaio Tap 20 may be on the pricey side at $999.99 (on sony.com), but it's unique in that it has a built-in battery so you can use it for almost three hours without plugging it in. And its 20-inch touchscreen (1600 x 900) IPS LCD can fold flat for playing board games or watching videos on your lap. The base model comes with an Intel Core i5-3317u processor, Intel integrated graphics, 4GB of RAM and a 750GB hard drive.

Apple iMac

Of course, Windows 8 isn't for everyone. Those looking for a computer running Apple's Mac OS X operating system are bound to be happy with the new line of iMac all-in-one computers. Apple has taken an already attractive design and made it exceptionally thin; it's now just 5mm deep at the edges. You can choose from a 21.5-inch Full HD LED-backed LCD (1920 x 1080) or 27-inch (2560 x 1440) IPS LCD display, though no touchscreen option. The base model ($1,299 on apple.com later this month) comes with an Intel Core i5 processor, 8GB of RAM, a 1TB hard drive and 512MB NVIDIA GeForce GT 640m graphics card, making it more expensive than similarly configured Windows 8 models.

Finding Quality Science Articles And Educational Resources For Kids

Rayshell Clapper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online
If you’re looking for some great websites with science articles for kids, look no further. Whether you’re a teacher, parent, or just an adult who wants to help children learn to love science, we’ve put together a list of websites that provide great science articles for kids.
RedOrbit.com, of course, is a great place to start. Though we do not yet have an area just for kids, many of the articles and blogs are definitely kid friendly and deal with kid issues. As the website grows, so will this area and more science articles for kids will be available. Sometimes the best science articles for kids are those that connect kids to the adult world. RedOrbit definitely provides a variety of articles and blogs for all ages. Here are a few sections on our site to get you started:
1. Reference Library: Here you will find encyclopedia articles on a variety of themes. Great for homework!
2. Education Videos: Here is where you will find our latest video series called “What Is.” These are quick and easy videos that explain many things such as gravity, planets, and science.
3. Image Libraries: Our image libraries provide great images and descriptions that can be used for lesson plans and homework. There are topics ranging from stunning space images to technical science diagrams.
All of these sections are updated with new material on a daily/weekly basis.
Another great resource is NASA’s newly launched Wavelength online resource center. Here, students and educators alike have access to hundreds of activities, laboratory exercises, and media coving the wide variety of science topics in NASA’s science program. The material is categorized by age group, so whether you are looking for media aids to use in a kindergarten classroom or ideas for conducting a high school physics lab, the information you want is easy to find. And once you have found the perfect activity, detailed instructions – including lists of needed materials and estimated costs – are included for both students and educators.
National Geographic for Kids is a great place to find more science articles for kids because science is one of the focus points of National Geographic. What’s great about National Geographic is that a parent can start with the National Geographic for Little Kids (focused on toddlers), then move to National Geographic for Kids (focused on elementary school ages), finally moving onto the National Geographic Magazine and National Geographic Traveler Magazine (focusing on adults). Obviously, National Geographic for Little Kids and National Geographic for Kids will be stock full of science articles for kids. Plus, it’s National Geographic, so any adult working with children can trust the source and information, and the magazine publishes some of the most stunning and inspiring photos, and kids love visuals.
ScienceNews for Kids is an entity of the Society for Science and the Public. One of its main goals is educating the public, especially kids, about science. For great science articles for kids, check out this website. It’s geared specifically toward kids with information that grabs their attention. This website is definitely worth exploring.
Obviously, several other websites exist that provide great science articles for kids including Time for Kids and even a database on the American Chemical Society website.
With RedOrbit, National Geographic for Kids, and ScienceNews for Kids, any parent can trust the information, and all kids can find the science articles they want. Hopefully, this will help searchers find what they need.
Note: these are not websites we necessarily suggest or promote; rather, these are websites that have provided great information in a kid-friendly fashion.

USC Education Dean: How Seattle brought me up

Education » From Crosscut.com

October 11, 2012

Print Email

Karen Symms Gallagher, Dean of USC's Rossier School of Education

 

 

By Karen Symms Gallagher

I was 11 and living in Seattle’s Greenlake neighborhood when my dad died. My brother Jeff was 9. We had no family in Washington, and my mother turned to the community — to our neighbors, to the church, and to the schools to help her raise two young children.
She took a job in the mailroom of National Insurance (which later became SafeCo), and my brother and I became latchkey kids, with the mothers in the neighborhood watching over us. You’ve heard the phrase “It takes a village” and it truly does. In so many ways, Seattle and its people shaped who I am and my life’s work to transform education to serve all of our young people, especially those living in low-income and undeserved communities.
When I was a girl, our neighborhood families helped my brother and me continue to participate in scouts and clubs, and even took us to father/daughter and father/son events. My teachers and counselors at both John Marshall Junior High and Roosevelt High School were integral. In particular, my eighth grade science teacher and school counselor, Mr. John DuGay, took me under his wing and put me on the path to college.
At Western Washington University, it took a lot of small scholarships and me working two jobs to graduate. I restacked books in the library and served desserts and salads in the dormitory commons to help pay my way. I majored in political science — a funny idea for a woman in the late 1960s. At that time, I was one of only three women to do so. And, I was the first in my family to graduate from college.
In graduate school at the University of Washington, it was the same thing for me: more hard work and jobs to make ends meet. By this point, I had married my husband, Pat Gallagher, whom I had met at WWU. Teamwork was critical, as we were both teaching and attending graduate school at UW. I launched my teaching career at Shoreline's Kellogg Junior High — got RIF'd — went to Renton's Dimmitt Middle School, and ended up at Kenmore Junior High in the Northshore School District before leaving Washington for additional graduate school.
My educational journey isn’t so different from other urban students today in Seattle. As we all know, life isn't necessarily fair; you have to go with the hand you are dealt. My mom taught me to rally the troops and get the support you need – even under less than ideal circumstances. It has made me dedicated to building education environments where every student, regardless of personal circumstance, can learn and succeed.
You see, today I am the Dean of the University of Southern California’s Rossier School of Education, where it’s my privilege to help prepare teachers who are remaking our public education system. We do this work on our campus, and increasingly online through our Master of Arts in Teaching program. This fall we opened a charter school in downtown Los Angeles called USC Hybrid High, which uses an extended class day and school year -— as well as online tools — to ensure that 100 percent of our students graduate college-ready and career-prepared.
Later, when I was in graduate school in Indiana, I found myself relying on friends for the use of an apartment for my infant son and me when Pat had to live in another city for a work opportunity. Another friend stepped up to baby-sit at important times while I was working on my dissertation. The point is — in Seattle or anywhere — don’t be timid about asking for help at any age or stage.
Second lesson: make it public. I’m a big believer in stating my goals out loud. From an early age I said I would go to college, even though I wasn’t quite sure what that meant. I was not going to embarrass myself by not making it happen.
I also said out loud to my mom that I wanted to get my Ph.D. She was baffled. She didn’t think it was a good idea — but I said it . . . and I did it. So, make it public. Say it out loud.
Over the years, my family and I moved around the country seven times, each time for a better opportunity. I miss Seattle, of course, and come back as often as possible to visit family and friends. I’m in town this week for the Husky-Trojan football game and to meet with USC Rossier students and alumni in the area.
Now, for me in my role at USC, saying it out loud means living up to our commitment to innovate, educate and transform education for a new generation of students. That means leading the way in true, high-quality online higher education. It also means serving students from incredibly diverse backgrounds and economic circumstances, from rural and urban communities and from over two dozen countries. We have shown that it’s possible.
So when I speak to students, teachers or anyone, I challenge them to not be discouraged no matter where they start. Say your goals out loud and keep the promises you make to yourself. It’s not easy. So don’t forget to ask for help.

Premium on education shifts the middle-class starting line

Updated: 11:15 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 | Posted: 6:23 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012
By Dan Zehr

Gone are the days when a high school diploma served as a surefire ticket to a middle-class career.
The rise of technology in the workplace and the globalization of the economy have hollowed out the marketplace, widening the gap between more- and less-educated workers.
Many of the routine, middle-skills jobs that once provided a middle-class existence have been replaced by technology or pushed to cheaper markets overseas. And for a large share of the well-paying occupations that remain, skill requirements have soared.
Workers who have taken at least some college courses accounted for just 28 percent of the workforce in 1973, according to the Pathways to Prosperity Project at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. Today, that ratio has shot up to 59 percent.
The recession and lingering high unemployment have exacerbated the education premium. When broken out by education levels, the only group of workers to gain jobs since the start of the recession were those with at least a bachelor's degree, according to study released last month by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce.
For those who had jobs, compensation levels predictably rose with education level. According to U.S. Census Bureau data issued in 2011, the median earnings for someone with a high school diploma were $21,569 a year in 2008. That jumped more than 50 percent for someone with an associate's degree. It doubled, to $42,783 a year, for someone with a bachelor's degree.
Simply put, the premium today's employers put on education has shifted the starting line for a middle-class life.
To account for that, Austin Community College and other groups have sought to accelerate education and skills-training programs in high school. With programs such as its Early College Start, Early College High School and ACC Tech, the college is pushing more-advanced education earlier.
The idea, says Mike Midgley, ACC's vice president of instruction, is to give students more proficient sets of skills by the end of those four "high school" years, perhaps leaving with a certificate or even an associate's degree. Essentially, Midgley and his colleagues want to get students closer to the middle-class starting line in the same amount of time it traditionally took to just get a high school diploma.
In similar college-focused programs around the country, he said, some students have completed two years of college before leaving high school. But even getting a start helps.
"What we have seen is students who complete (an ACC) course while in high school are significantly more likely to continue on at a college after high school, because they've already begun that process," Midgley said.
Even for those who don't move on to a bachelor's degree program, more education typically means more income. Generally speaking, ACC has found that the single largest earnings jump comes between those with just a high school diploma and those students who have completed a single year of further study, Midgley said.
"The biggest bump is that one year of college, and we think it correlates with a solid technical knowledge base in one area," such as automotive or networking skills, he said.
From a community-wide perspective, higher education levels correlate strongly with lower unemployment, according to an Aug. 29 report from the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. The report compared the education requirements of online job postings with an area's education levels, producing an "education gap index" for the country's 100 largest metro areas.
In Austin, where the education gap index was 1.08, the unemployment rate for May 2012 was 5.8 percent, according to the study. In McAllen, where the education gap index was a wider 1.14, the unemployment rate was 10.8 percent.
The same correlations held true even after accounting for the current tight labor market, which leaves many educated workers stuck in jobs for which they're overqualified, according to Jonathan Rothwell, the study's author and a senior research analyst at Brookings.
About 34 percent of Austin workers are over-educated relative to their occupation, he said, and they make less money than their educational peers. Yet the metro economy as a whole did not appear to fare any worse, he said, and the same tended to hold true in other metro areas.
"My sense is that the demand (for more-educated workers) continues to outrace the supply, and we're a long ways away from any kind of elimination of the advantage for education," Rothwell said. "While some degrees pay more than others and probably are more in keeping with current trends and demands, any college degree provides an advantage."
On the flip side, he said, that typically means a disadvantage for workers with less education — whether due to the higher skill requirements of today's employers or due to the recession forcing more-learned workers into occupations typically filled by workers with a high school diploma.
Administrative assistants used to need little more than high school, good literacy skills and a quick typing finger. Today, Rothwell said, "it's hard to compete if you have just a high school diploma when you're going up against people with college degrees."
That's not to suggest a growing economic boon exists at every step along the educational path. College gets more and more expensive, skewing the cost-benefit analysis of higher education. And starting wages across the board — including for 23- to 29-year-old college graduates entering the workforce — have been largely stagnant over the past decade, said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute.
But the simple fact remains that, on an individual level, more education almost always means more income.
Dan Zehr covers economics and finance for the American-Statesman. Contact him at dzehr@statesman.com or 445-3797.

Earn Cash Back for College

	Earn Cash Back for College with Upromise You’ve seen the headlines: College costs are going up. If you have a baby today, tuition will be three times as expensive by the time your li’l one turns 18.* Freak-out time? No, ma’am. You have it under control—with help from Upromise.

Join the millions of Upromise members who have saved over $670,000,000 towards college. The cash you earn through Upromise can be used to save for college, pay down existing student loans, deposit into a high-yield savings account, and you can even request a check. You can earn money by spending the way you normally do: Shop Online: You can now earn 5% or more cash back on eligible online purchases at over 800 partners through Upromise, including Macy's and Target.¹ Dine Out: Earn up to 8% cash back when dining at thousands of participating restaurants.² Book Hotels & Travel: Earn up to 5% cash back when booking flights and hotels through Upromise.com.³ Did we mention it’s free to join? Talk about an easy A. Join Upromise free today. All the smart kids are doing it.

Easy Ways to Raise Money for Your Child's School

 

 by Christina DesMarais on September 27, 2012

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, almost two-thirds of states provided less per-student funding for K-12 education in the 2012 fiscal year than they did in fiscal year 2008. So many parents support school fundraising efforts to keep important programs in place and make sure teachers have what they need to educate kids properly.
But fundraising doesn’t need to mean hitting up friends and family for overpriced cookies or wrapping paper. Several online options exist that let you help schools without going door to door.

Schoola

Schoola.com is a Groupon-style program that connects parents with local and national businesses for deals on everything from clothing to food to personal services. Local school groups can use Schoola to set up the deals and share them with parent communities online. Schoola handles the purchases, fulfillment, and sending checks to merchants and schools. Supporters, for their part, can designate a percentage of their purchases to be donated to specific schools.
This week, from Sept. 24-28, Schoola has a special initiative going on called “Shop for America's Schools, The World's Largest School Fundraiser.” As part of it, big brands like ProFlowers, Omaha Steaks, Walgreens and Shutterfly are offering discounts as high as 50% with a percentage of the sales going to schools that purchasers choose.

GoodTwo

GoodTwo is another online program that lets fundraisers run custom offers from local and national businesses and its campaigns give to schools and other non-profits between 10% and 25% of each sale.
Setting up a fundraiser takes just a few minutes. To do it, you complete an online form where you explain your mission and fundraising goals and upload photos or videos. You also choose deals on restaurants, services and shopping to offer supporters and then push your fundraising page out on Facebook, Twitter, email or your web site.
GoodTwo charges businesses that offer deals on its site a fee that includes the cost of credit card processing but no money is taken from the fundraisers themselves—if the offer says $5 is donated to a school from a purchase, that’s what it gets.

Shoparoo

If you’ve ever collected box tops as a way to bring extra dollars into your child’s school, Shoparoo is an easier alternative.
Shoparoo is a free iPhone and Android app that you use with your phone’s camera to scan grocery store receipts, which Shoparoo uploads and processes.
Shoparoo makes its money (and hence, the donations it gives to schools) because major consumer goods companies pay it to turn the receipt data into anonymous market research reports such as: "Families in Phoenix are 20% more likely than the rest of the country to shop for soap at a supercenter than a traditional grocery store." It also lets brands promote themselves by giving special offers such as "Receipts containing purchases of Brand-X products earn double donations during August."
The app, which works on any Apple or Android smartphone or tablet (Android 2.2 or later), is location enabled; so when you fire it up, it will suggest schools near you, which makes finding your child’s school a snap.
Every time you open the app you can see how your school's fundraising efforts are progressing. In August 2013, Shoparoo will mail a check to the school's principal (or charity headquarters) based on the total amount raised by registered supporters as of midnight Pacific Time on July 31, 2013.

On Teaching and Tutoring

Monday, 03 September 2012 10:24

On Teaching and Tutoring (Part 3)

Written by Sam Blumenfeld

• font sizedecrease font sizeincrease font size
• Print

Tutoring is undoubtedly the most effective way of teaching anybody anything. It is the method that has been used since biblical times for fathers to teach their sons. In the Middle Ages nobles hired tutors to teach their heirs long before schooling was invented. Indeed, schooling did not become the dominant mode of education until the industrial revolution when the state got into the education business. In the United States, schooling started in New England with the common schools and private academies. Protestant denominations created schools that have become today’s prestigious prep schools for the rich. But because of the egregious failures of American public schools, tutoring is now being used by more and more parents who want their children to get the education they need.
I got involved in tutoring by happenstance. I had become aware of the reading problem back in the early 1960s and realized that schools could no longer be relied on to teach a child to read in the proper phonetic manner. Rudolf Flesch, with his famous book Why Johnny Can’t Read, published in 1955, made us aware that it was the whole-word method being used in the schools that was the cause of the reading problem.
In 1973 I decided to write a history of the reading problem, The New Illiterates, and bring the story up to date. After doing a detailed analysis of the "Dick and Jane" reading program (the basal readers written by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp and published by Scott Foresman), I concluded that the look-say, whole-world method indeed caused reading disability and dyslexia. What parents needed was an easy-to-use phonics program that they could use to teach Johnny and Sally to read at home. So I followed up The New Illiterates with a book in which I showed parents how to teach their children the three Rs at home in the traditional manner. Its title was How to Tutor. It’s been in print since 1973 and has been used by thousands of parents to teach their kids at home.
In that book I told parents and tutors that the most important ingredient in tutoring was patience. I told them to never scold a child if he or she was having difficulty learning what you were teaching. Simply find a better way to advance that knowledge. Also, I advised never to teach anything that later had to be unlearned. That is why I strongly recommended teaching cursive writing first, and print, or manuscript, later. When children learn to write cursive first, they can always learn to print very nicely later on. But if you teach print first, most children will never be able to develop a good cursive handwriting. Why? Because they have to unlearn their bad printing habits in order to be able to write in cursive.
I began tutoring when I lived in South Boston in the 1970s. A U.S. district judge had imposed forced busing on the public schools and many parents in South Boston were reluctant to put their children on busses taking them to schools in other communities. So they began looking for tutors, and I made myself available.
The first child I tutored was a 9-year-old girl named Emily. That’s not her real name, but I have no idea how to contact her now, 37 years later. But I kept a journal of the experience and here is what I wrote at the beginning of our sessions in October 1975:

First session with Emily O’Mally, 9 yrs old. We covered all the material in the first four lessons in How to Tutor. She is learning slowly but thoroughly. She sounds out every letter before she reads the word, as if to be sure of her final response. So she is learning to put the words together on the basis of the letter sounds. Occasionally she will reverse letters because the sequential pattern of letter sounds is not yet automatic. But she does this infrequently. Apparently she had sight-reading instruction in the first grade at the Tuckerman School and the Perry School. She could read dad when she sounded it out in isolation. But in a sentence she read it as father. So even a small amount of whole-word instruction creates habits that have to be unlearned. But this is not the big problem with her.

Five days later I wrote:

Emily is making great progress. It’s almost impossible to keep up with her. And her appetite to learn more is insatiable. We spent a full hour and a quarter at phonics with no let up. When I suggest a break, she wants to go on. Today we covered all the consonants in combination with the short “a” and got through short “e.” The next session will complete the other short vowels and the consonant digraphs.

We started on writing today. I gave her a writing notebook. She’ll have no trouble. She is easy to teach and soaks up everything like a sponge. She’ll be an avid reader. Intensive phonics — or alphabetic drill — is the fastest and easiest way to learn to read. It teaches accuracy and precision and is a tremendously effective way to improve pronunciation.

After nine days of tutoring, I wrote the following:

Emily has mastered the short “a” consonant combinations sufficiently so that we can move on to the other four vowel sounds. ... As she learns the other four vowels, her knowledge of the consonants will be reinforced.

She is a careful learner, sounding out each letter before committing herself. Whenever she guesses, she guesses wrong. So she is learning to rely on what she really knows. ... So in nine days she has mastered short “a” and the consonants. Since she is of average intelligence, with no special precocity, that should be a measure of progress we can apply to others.

Several days later I wrote:

The phonics drill is very important, especially when there is conceptual weakness. She lapses into whole word guessing when she is tired and can’t think of the letter sound. Basically she is a rote learner and therefore she learns best by drill. The introduction of new vowel letters tends to throw her off her consonants. There is, of course, a normal percentage of error even for an adult. Also, her whole-word guessing habits are difficult to get rid of. She read Ken as Karen. But when I made her sound it out, she pronounced Ken correctly. ... This is only the fifth session. And she is hard at work mastering all of the short vowels.

We have covered the first twenty lessons in How to Tutor. That’s not bad progress for five sessions. It will take a good deal of drill before she is proficient in all that she has been taught until now.

By January 1976, after only three months of tutoring, I could write the following:

This was the best session yet with Emily. We covered the long “o” spelling families. We discuss words, and now she is becoming quite linguistic. She is very good at defining words and has a marvelous curiosity about the meaning of new words. She even corrects me. But she paid me the highest compliment by saying that she wants to learn what I want to teach her. She likes the way I teach. My theory was that if knowledge was imparted in a well-organized systematic way, she would respond positively, she would love words, she would love language, because the world of language would be open to her and she would be like Alice in Wonderland because she had the key to intellectual riches and treasures. And this is only the beginning. It was a matter of convincing her that I was not trying to trick her or pull open the trap door.

She is learning to use her mind because I have made it easy to use it. For example, when she saw the word “home” she wanted to say “house” because that is what her teacher told her it was. But I then showed her what house looked like. She uses the slate I bought her to write things out. She also wants to learn cursive writing, because that’s the grown up way.

Her intellectual curiosity is growing. She understands the irregular words and enjoys getting to know them. I show the greatest respect for her intelligence and the results are positive. I give her straightforward answers to her questions. She has become a joy to teach.

Several months later I wrote:

Emily is the brightest star simply because I’ve gotten to her early, before she could be made into a royal mess. Her first year of sight reading left her with enough misconceptions and bad habits. But now she is on the road to proficient reading. ...

Some children require more drill than others. Emily requires a lot of drill because she easily forgets what she has learned unless there is enough drill. If I have learned anything from the present experience it is that there are no shortcuts to sure knowledge even with the best of methods. I have tended to rush her through many different sounds without sufficient drill. So now we shall go back over the same ground, but with greater thoroughness.

By June of 1976 Emily was reading books. She had mastered sufficient phonics skills so that she could improve her reading of English in narrative form, with occasional drills in some of the spelling patterns. Also, at this time Emily’s mother decided that her daughter had had enough of tutoring, and thus ended our sessions. Many years later I ran into Emily on Dorchester Avenue. She was married and wheeling a stroller with a young child. She was happy to see me, and I was glad to see that she was doing well. I could not but help think that I had played a very important part in her life as a tutor. That’s the enduring satisfaction one gets from tutoring a young mind and helping it become a human being’s most precious possession.
Tutoring Emily taught me first, that my methods worked very well. Second, that progress is rarely always in the one direction. You sometimes have to take a step backward in order to take two steps forward. I learned that our schools have created such bad reading habits that the student’s mind is permanently prevented from developing its full intellectual capacity. I learned how difficult it is to undo the damage done by the schools. But I also learned that the damage could be undone through perseverance and hard work on the part of both tutor and pupil. Later, in writing Alpha-Phonics, I incorporated all the lessons learned in tutoring Emily and others.

Premium on Education Shifts the Middle Class Starting Line

Small Type
Gone are the days when a high school diploma served as a surefire ticket to a middle-class career.
The rise of technology in the workplace and the globalization of the economy have hollowed out the marketplace, widening the gap between more- and less-educated workers.
Many of the routine, middle-skills jobs that once provided a middle-class existence have been replaced by technology or pushed to cheaper markets overseas. And for a large share of the well-paying occupations that remain, skill requirements have soared.
Workers who have taken at least some college courses accounted for just 28 percent of the workforce in 1973, according to the Pathways to Prosperity Project at Harvard University's Graduate School of Education. Today, that ratio has shot up to 59 percent.
The recession and lingering high unemployment have exacerbated the education premium. When broken out by education levels, the only group of workers to gain jobs since the start of the recession were those with at least a bachelor's degree, according to study released last month by Georgetown University's Center on Education and the Workforce.
For those who had jobs, compensation levels predictably rose with education level. According to U.S. Census Bureau data issued in 2011, the median earnings for someone with a high school diploma were $21,569 a year in 2008. That jumped more than 50 percent for someone with an associate's degree. It doubled, to $42,783 a year, for someone with a bachelor's degree.
Simply put, the premium today's employers put on education has shifted the starting line for a middle-class life.
To account for that, Austin Community College and other groups have sought to accelerate education and skills-training programs in high school. With programs such as its Early College Start, Early College High School and ACC Tech, the college is pushing more-advanced education earlier.
The idea, says Mike Midgley, ACC's vice president of instruction, is to give students more proficient sets of skills by the end of those four "high school" years, perhaps leaving with a certificate or even an associate's degree. Essentially, Midgley and his colleagues want to get students closer to the middle-class starting line in the same amount of time it traditionally took to just get a high school diploma.
In similar college-focused programs around the country, he said, some students have completed two years of college before leaving high school. But even getting a start helps.
"What we have seen is students who complete (an ACC) course while in high school are significantly more likely to continue on at a college after high school, because they've already begun that process," Midgley said.
Even for those who don't move on to a bachelor's degree program, more education typically means more income. Generally speaking, ACC has found that the single largest earnings jump comes between those with just a high school diploma and those students who have completed a single year of further study, Midgley said.
"The biggest bump is that one year of college, and we think it correlates with a solid technical knowledge base in one area," such as automotive or networking skills, he said.
From a community-wide perspective, higher education levels correlate strongly with lower unemployment, according to an Aug. 29 report from the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program. The report compared the education requirements of online job postings with an area's education levels, producing an "education gap index" for the country's 100 largest metro areas.
In Austin, where the education gap index was 1.08, the unemployment rate for May 2012 was 5.8 percent, according to the study. In McAllen, where the education gap index was a wider 1.14, the unemployment rate was 10.8 percent.
The same correlations held true even after accounting for the current tight labor market, which leaves many educated workers stuck in jobs for which they're overqualified, according to Jonathan Rothwell, the study's author and a senior research analyst at Brookings.
About 34 percent of Austin workers are over-educated relative to their occupation, he said, and they make less money than their educational peers. Yet the metro economy as a whole did not appear to fare any worse, he said, and the same tended to hold true in other metro areas.
"My sense is that the demand (for more-educated workers) continues to outrace the supply, and we're a long ways away from any kind of elimination of the advantage for education," Rothwell said. "While some degrees pay more than others and probably are more in keeping with current trends and demands, any college degree provides an advantage."
On the flip side, he said, that typically means a disadvantage for workers with less education — whether due to the higher skill requirements of today's employers or due to the recession forcing more-learned workers into occupations typically filled by workers with a high school diploma.
Administrative assistants used to need little more than high school, good literacy skills and a quick typing finger. Today, Rothwell said, "it's hard to compete if you have just a high school diploma when you're going up against people with college degrees."
That's not to suggest a growing economic boon exists at every step along the educational path. College gets more and more expensive, skewing the cost-benefit analysis of higher education. And starting wages across the board — including for 23- to 29-year-old college graduates entering the workforce — have been largely stagnant over the past decade, said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute.
But the simple fact remains that, on an individual level, more education almost always means more income.
Dan Zehr covers economics and finance for the American-Statesman. Contact him at dzehr@statesman.com or 445-3797.

Parents of college students

This was recently published in the DailyWorth.com


Why Kids Should Chip in for College
by Cari Wira Dineen
When I was in high school, I worked as a waitress, slinging hot cakes and hash at my local IHOP. My plan: to drive off to college in a lightly-used red sports car.
Then my father presented me with my college tuition bill. He asked me to pay the first monthly installment: $1,600.
Power Point
“Parents have decided to use the college experience as an opportunity to teach their children not just about overall responsibility, but also about fiscal responsibility,” says John Kenney, head of Legg Mason’s Global Asset Allocation Group.

My sports-car dream was dashed, but I gained something more important that my parents wanted for me: the awareness a degree doesn’t just come with hitting the books—it costs serious cash.
Surprisingly, a growing number of parents agree:  A recent survey from Legg Mason found that among affluent families, 72% believe that children should pay a portion of their college expenses.
It’s a good instinct: When kids contribute, they gain a sense of financial responsibility. As my dad said to me, “Now you’ll be less likely to slack off or flunk out.”
But with the unemployment rate among teens at close to 24% these days, is it realistic to expect  students to find a job, let alone help pay their way in college?
Let’s talk about it.


Share the burden. Did you pay some or all of your college education?

Register Now for Fall Tutoring

All ages for one-on-one tutoring in all subjects via Skype, library, or home.

Email: maryecoles@gmail.com

Referrals: http://www.Manta.com   under On the Go With Coles Tutoring Services
Visit http://www.Linkedin.com/in/maryecolesonthegowithcoles

206-419-1450 Leave a message for a call back.

The Best Back to School Bags for laptops

With school just around the corner, thought this information from Suzanne Kantra the founder of Techlicious would be of interest to you.


The Best Back to School Bags

posted by Suzanne Kantra on August 09, 2012 in Family and Parenting, Computers and Software, Computers & Accessories, Baby & Toddler, Travel & Entertainment, Travel, Guides & Reviews, Back to School :: 4 comments

If you’re sending your child to school with a laptop this year, you’ll want a backpack built to keep it safe. These bags go above and beyond mere protection from falls, guarding their electronic gear against would-be thieves and even providing a back-up power source to get your child through a day of classes.

Pelican ProGear U105 Urban Laptop Backpack

If you’re worried about your child’s laptop taking a beating during the day, the Pelican ProGear U105 Urban Laptop Backpack will keep it safely housed. The backpack has an impact-resistant frame and polyethylene compartment to protect laptops up to 15.6 inches, plus an impact-protected front pocket for a tablet or phone.
Price: $139.95 on pelicanprogear.com

PowerBag Backpack by ful

A battery charger built into the PowerBag Backpack will ensure that your child’s various electronic devices always have juice. He or she can make use of the built-in Apple, microUSB and Mini-USB connectors or plug the cord that comes with their device into the USB port. Pressing and holding the powerbag logo, turns the charger on and off and reveals how much charge is left in the 3000mAh battery. When the bag needs a charge, simply plug into a wall outlet. Additional batteries are available in 9000mAh, 6000mAh and 3000mAh capacities. The backpack weighs 3.1 pounds and comes in black, blue and red.
Price: $110.30 on amazon.com

Pacsafe Slingsafe 300 GII

Your child can relax knowing his or her gear is safe in the PacSafe Slingsafe 300 GII. It has slash-proof, lockable straps for securing the bag to a chair, zippers with clips to make it harder for pickpockets to open and a slash-proof bottom panel. The Slingsafe 300 GII comes in blue, green and black and has an internal pocket to protect a laptop up to 13 inches.
Price: $77.30 on amazon.com

Mobile Edge Edge Netbook ScanFast Checkpoint Friendly Backpack-13”

This checkpoint-friendly backpack makes it easy to sail through security for students that plan on lots of weekend getaways. The backpack will fit laptops up to 13 inches in its padded internal sleeve. External pockets make packing phones and other gear easy. There’s even a headphone port for easily routing the wire while keeping your phone or player tucked away.
Price: $36.11 on amazon.com

Kaboo The Olivia

If your child has opted to go the etextbook route or likes to take notes on a tablet, Kaboo’s The Olivia is a great choice. More purse than school bag, The Olivia will travel with your child easily all day. There are plenty of pockets for other gear and lots of space for notebooks and books. You can even stash a 13-inch laptop in the main compartment, but it won’t benefit from any impact protection. Comes in turquoise and black.
Price: $99.99 on amazon.com

Share on emailShare on twitterShare on facebookShare on

Beautiful Brains

Beautiful Brains

Moody. Impulsive. Maddening. Why do teenagers act the way they do? Viewed through the eyes of evolution, their most exasperating traits may be the key to success as adults.

ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/10/teenage-brains/dobbs...

Character development

Character Education
By Brent Sitton
Every parent wants their child to develop positive character traits. One way to supplement your child's
character education is to act as a filter for the movies and television shows your child watches, and to review
the books your child reads.
The following categories are modeled after "The Book of Virtues for Young People," an excellent book for
children in its own right, written by William Bennett. When developing a curriculum of character education
for your child, it's helpful to review each children's book, television show, and movie for both positive and
negative examples of each of the ten virtues outlined in "The Book of Virtues for Young People." The stronger
the message, the more it will contribute to your child's character education.
Following are some ways in which the virtues can manifest as character traits in children's books, movies, and
in television shows:
Self-Discipline: A character discusses his feelings of anger rather than impulsively striking out. Or, a character
gets his chores done before he goes out to play.
Compassion: A character understands the pain or suffering of a friend, and steps in to help, even when it
means she can't attend the party she was looking forward to.
Responsibility: A character admits it was his baseball that broke the window, and offers to pay for a
replacement. Or, a character keeps her promise to babysit her younger sister, even though she'd rather go to
the movies with her friends.
Friendship: A character stands up for her friend in front of her peers, even though it's not popular. Or, a
character befriends the class bully in an effort to get him to change his ways.
Work: A character approaches her job with a positive attitude, and does her very best even when her boss is
being unfair. Or, a character makes up a game to get through an unpleasant task, and takes pride in her work
even though it goes unnoticed.
Courage: A character is afraid of the raging waters, but takes the risk and dives in to save her family. Or, a
character stands up for what he believes in, even though it's unpopular.
Perseverance: A character continues to strive to make the basketball team, even though he's a foot shorter than
the other players. Or, a family works together to keep their home, even though the father has lost his job and
the mother is ill.
Honesty: A character admits to himself that he isn't trying his hardest. Or, a character talks to an adult about a
friend in trouble, even though the friend will get angry at her.
Loyalty: A character sticks with his losing soccer team in the hope of helping them become better, rather than
joining a winning soccer team. Or, a character stays at her friend's side during a serious illness or hardship.
Faith: A character reaches out to God to help him in his time of need.
When evaluating character traits and virtues in kids' books, movies, and television shows, also look at negative
behavioral influences. Ideally, these influences will be minimal. Consider, for example:
Violence: Does the character hurt himself, another person, or an animal through his words or actions, and does
he act without remorse?
Profanity: Does the character use foul language, sexual language, or take God's name in vain?
Nudity: Does the movie, television show, or book show or describe suggestive styles of dress or partially
clothed or nude characters?
Sexual Content: Do the characters engage in implied or overt sexual behavior, or do they engage in aberrant
sexual behavior?
Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco: Do the characters use or abuse legal or illegal substances?
Scary Elements: Are the scenarios depicted gratuitously frightening?
Negative Behaviors: Does the character show disrespect to his parents? Or, does he neglect his homework?
Or, does he frighten other children?
By evaluating both the positive character traits and negative behaviors of movies, television shows, and books,
and selecting those that reinforce the values and virtues that are important to you, you'll go far in developing
your child's character education.
About the Author
See Author Box
Brent Sitton is the founder of http://www.DiscoveryJourney.com, with Character based Childrens Book
Reviews. Reviews contain related, fun and educational kid activity.
http://www.discoveryjourney.com/bookchild.htm -http://www.discoveryjourney.com/kidactivity.htm.

What is your opinion of this quote?

"Average people allow time to impose its will on them; remarkable people impose their will on their time." from Jeff Haden, Owners' Manual '9 Beliefs of Remarkably Successful People'

Need ESL tutoring or papers reviewed and edited?

ESL tutoring and reviewing of papers are part of our services. Ready to begin?  Contact now:
maryecoles@gmail.com

What has been your experience with tutoring?

Unfortunately, we have unethical individuals in tutoring.
Our standard is communication with the teachers/counselors to understand how the student is performing in the classroom, the teacher's expectations, and how we can facilitate his advancement in the particular subject area. The out come is excellence in education which addresses the whole child as they move forward in this world.

Summer Tutoring

Do you need tutoring for your child or an adult? Summer is a great time to catch up on weak areas in learning, to maintain knowledge that has been acquired during the school year, and to enrich learning.

Register now for Summer tutoring.

• Email: maryecoles@gmail.com
• Phone: 206-419-1450
• Serving: Greater Seattle Area/everywhere with Skype
• Subjects: Reading, Comprehension, Speed-Read, English, Grammar, Writing,
                   Literature, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Social Studies, Foreign Languages, SAT,   

                   and GED
• Referrals: Always appreciated.
 linkedin.com/in/maryecolesonthegowithcoles