Monthly Archives: June 2012

Why music education is important in school!

When we hear about music and other art programs in our school curriculum, most of us are guilty of putting it aside. For example, the focus is then put on the basic or standard studies in schools such as reading, writing and arithmetic. Little do a lot of us know that the importance of including music in that list is as crucial as the others.

Programs are being cut from school budgets at an alarming rate to save money, i.e. physical education, art and music classes. There is already a whole generation of teachers and parents who haven’t had the advantages of arts in their own education. Many teachers don’t know how to include any kind of art in their teaching these days and parents don’t know how to ask for it.

Studies have shown that including musical studies such as learning to play an instrument or class sing-alongs and even drama have impacted the way children learn and process knowledge. There’s lots of evidence that kids immersed in the arts do better on their academic tests.

The connection of math and music is in the note reading for instance. Quarter, half and whole notes can be applied to fractions, and numbers as well as symbols can also apply to mathematics. The word reading in songs can apply to languages arts, just to mention a couple of ways music is useful in academics.

In 2006 a national survey found that in the five years after enactment of NCLB, that 44% of the school districts increased time spent on academic classes like English language arts and math and decreased time on other subjects. The follow-up analysis in Feb. 2008 showed that 16% of the school districts decreased class time for music and art. In California participation in music courses dropped 46% from 1999-2000 through 2000-2004 and total enrollment increased 6%

Music is an integral part of our everyday lives. It can come in the form of tunes sung by our children when they wander through the house, background music to a TV show or major motion picture, songs on the radio, or arrangements performed at a school orchestra or band concert. So why is it that something fundamental to and so impactful on our lives gets minimal attention at school?

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Common Core Educator Support

The California Department of Education has developed resources for educators implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in California classrooms. Professional learning modules developed by California teachers and other experts provide strategies and resources.

The Curriculum Support and Reform Act of 2011 (AB 250) requires the California Department of Education to oversee the development of professional learning modules (PLMs) that support educators in delivering curriculum aligned to Common Core State Standards to all pupils. These modules will be available online at no cost.

The legislation required that a task force develop criteria to guide the development of the PLMs to provide critical information and strategies as the common core academic content standards are implemented. These criteria would be based on the CA Standards for the Teaching Professions and developed in consideration of the National Staff Development Council’s Standards for Staff Development. The PLMs are to make use of and build on existing professional development programs.

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Common Core Standards, California Adoption

Common Core Standards are a set of academic standards that states across the United States follow. The California Board of Education adopted the standards in August 2010, which means that children in Kindergarten through 12th grade in the state are required to follow the same educational curriculum as children in other states that adhere to the CCS.

Purpose

The standards provide a framework to prepare students in schools in California and elsewhere for college and the workforce. California state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell has said that the standards give a “consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn” and that they make the U.S. more competitive with other countries.

Development and Implementation

The Common Core Standards were developed by California in conjunction with the other states that have adopted them. The federal government had no role in the standards’ development or implementation in California or elsewhere, and individual states choose whether to adopt the standards

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Characteristics of First Grade Students

Every child’s development is unique.  In general the developmental milestones below are a general estimate of typical development. If a child is ahead of schedule or behind these estimates, he may still be within average ranges of development.
 
Socially and emotionally
-love to be first
-are most concerned with themselves, self-conscious
-are competitive, sometimes a “poor sport”
-do not like to lose….anything!
-are loud, especially when upset
-do not always think before they respond
-can be moody
-want friendships but can be bossy and not understand why their friendships are rebuffed
-are fascinated by rules but do not always follow them and tend to invent their own to win
-are very sensitive to criticism but thrive on encouragement, love, and attention
-have a strong desire to perform well, do things right
-generally enjoy caring for and playing with younger children
-tend to prefer playmates of the same gender
-can be very helpful with chores
-determine what is “good” and “bad” based on parent and teacher opinions.
-begin to develop a moral sense (such as understanding honesty)

Your child is beginning to become more aware of others’ feelings. They may offer a toy to an upset child, or even to adults when they are upset. They will follow the rules of games such as “Mother, May I?” and early board games such as “Chutes and Ladders.” They will show a preference for specific friends and adults.

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Why Common Core Standards are good for our children and our nation!

If you haven’t heard of Common Core Standards, you will be soon.  As our nation struggles to improve our educational systems, state by state, it became evident that the educational standards set by individual states varied dramatically across the United States.  What constituted a proficient in one state was considered advances or emerging in other states.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative is a state-led effort, launched more than a year ago by state leaders, including governors and state commissioners of education from 48 states, 2 territories and the District of Columbia, through their membership in the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). The standards were developed in collaboration with teachers, school administrators, and experts, to provide a clear and consistent framework to prepare our children for college and the workforce.

The Standards are designed to meet the goal of preparing all students for success in college and their careers. This will result in moving even the best state standards to the next level. Since this work began, there has been an explicit agreement that no state would lower its standards.  As a country we need college and career ready standards because even in high‐performing states – students are graduating and passing all the required tests and still are not prepared to enter the 21st century work force.

What are educational standards?

Educational standards help teachers ensure their students have the skills and knowledge they need to be successful by providing clear goals for student learning.

Why do we need educational standards?

We need standards to ensure that all students, no matter where they live, are prepared for success in postsecondary education and the workforce. Common standards will help ensure that students are receiving a high quality education consistently, from school to school and state to state. Common standards will provide a greater opportunity to share experiences and best practices within and across states that will improve our ability to best serve the needs of students.

Standards do not tell teachers how to teach, but they do help teachers figure out the knowledge and skills their students should have so that teachers can build the best lessons and environments for their classrooms. Standards also help students and parents by setting clear and realistic goals for success. Standards are a first step – a key building block – in providing our young people with a high-quality education that will prepare them for success in college and work. Of course, standards are not the only thing that is needed for our children’s success, but they provide an accessible roadmap for our teachers, parents, and students.

Information Adapted from: http://www.corestandards.org/

What are Preschool Learning Foundations and why do parents need to know about them?

If you have a child in preschool or entering preschool it’s important that you know that all preschool programs are not created the same.  Many programs are nothing more than supervised play, with no organized curriculum or very little organized curriculum that is loosely aligned to developmentally appropriate activities.  It is important that your child’s school has a developed curriculum that aligns to the preschool learning foundations.

The creation of these foundational standards was a critical step in the California Department of Education’s efforts to strengthen preschool education and school readiness and to close the achievement gap in California. They describe competencies—knowledge and skills—that most children can be expected to exhibit in a high-quality program as they complete their first or second year of preschool. In other words, the foundations describe what all young children typically learn with appropriate support.

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Rebounding Skills

Suppose you get home from grocery shopping and discover your six-year-old is eating candy you didn’t buy. It might be tempting to just scold him, send him to his room, and let it go at that. After all, it’s only worth a dollar, and you’re tired. But you’d miss an opportunity to turn this “miss” into a second chance.

It would be better to take away any uneaten candy, put your little shoplifter back in the car, drive to the grocery store, hunt up the manager, and tell your kid to apologize. Pay for the candy and deduct it from the child’s allowance. Then, if the culprit is truly sorry, be sure to express your forgiveness—and God’s forgiveness, too.

You’ve just boxed out the opposition and put your kid in position to rightly rebound. Because there will come another time in that grocery store or when he’s passing a coveted pair of Nikes or—who knows?

The Bible tells us that parents have the primary responsibility for the spiritual development of our children. And nowhere is the job given only to mothers and grandmothers. As Moses told the people of Israel, “Repeat [the command of God] again and again to your children” (Deut. 6:7). Why not begin today?

adapted from Men of Integrity Devotional Bible with devotionals by the editors of Men of Integrity magazine (Christianity Today, Intl), Tyndale House Publishers (2002), p 391

A Heritage of Integrity

What better motivations exist for us to be people of integrity than that our children will be blessed for it! Parents who live with integrity and truthfulness, are wonderful examples to their children. Granted, this does not always guarantee that children will turn out perfectly, but children will nevertheless receive a great blessing from having such parents.

So what does it mean to “walk with integrity”? It means that “walk the talk.” In other words, plenty of people know the right thing to do, but when the right time comes, they don’t do it. They know they should tell the truth, for example, but if telling the truth will hurt, they opt for a lie instead. Children learn best from models they see and hear, but if they learn to bend the truth whenever needed, they set themselves up for problems in life. But if they learn to live with intregrity as modeled by their parents, relatives, teachers, and other role models, then they will have been greatly blessed.

WISE WAYS:  Are you willing to walk with integrity in front of your children or those over whom you have influence? What kinds of blessings will they have from following your example?

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