middle school students

New Common Core standards will focus on critical thinking over memorization

Feb 27

With the onset of the Common Core teachers in classrooms all over the country are expecting their students to do more than calculate the correct answers in math class. Students are expected to work through problems and demonstrate how they arrive at answers. After conferring with classmates, they also must critique the reasoning of their peers.

Math instruction will be infused with Common Core, academic standards that are set to hit California classrooms in the 2014-15 school year. The Common Core guidelines were developed by a nationwide consortium of educators and other officials. They are designed to emphasize critical-thinking skills over rote memorization and better prepare students for college and career. No more multiple-choice answers, the whole point of Common Core is to support teachers to prepare students for college and beyond.

Schools throughout California, in private and public institutions, are working to incorporate the new benchmarks into daily lessons in time for the statewide launch, which is set for fall 2014. The shift will drive systemic changes in instructional practices and outcomes from kindergarten through high school. The overarching goal of Common Core is to transform how students are taught, particularly what they must do to master math, English and other subjects.
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National Assessment of Education- 2011 Results for Private Schools

Oct 08

Our school recently participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for reading and mathematics. NAEP is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our nation’s students know and can do in core subjects at grades 4, 8, and 12. Several different breakdowns of private school results are available for the 2011 results, they are Lutheran, Catholic, Conservative Christian and other Private Schools. For reference, private schools make up 25% of the nation’s schools and educate a bit over 9% of our youth so measuring and comparing student achievement from this population is statistically relevant when looking at student progress.

In 2011 Students from private schools on average outperformed students from public schools in mathematics and reading achievement at both grades 4 and 8. Students from Lutheran, Catholic, and Conservative Christian school on average performed higher than public school students. The graph below compares student achievement from the various sub groups.

An annual report reveals that student-owned mobile devices, including tablets, are on the rise

Sep 07

As we begin this school year, there continues to be a need for our schools to change the way we foster learning in this generation of students. Our students are vastly different than the students of 5 or 10 years ago, their needs are changing rapidly because of the ever increasing technological advances, social media, educational programs, informational technology and the accessibility of devices to access the internet. These 21st century learners, or digital natives live and interact with their world in vastly different ways that their parents or teachers who are digital immigrants. The article below was written by By Laura Devaney, Managing Editor of ESchool News and shares some statistical information supporting the changing needs of students and the need for our educational system to change to meet their leaning needs.

More and more students own mobile devices, including tablets, and indicate a strong desire to use those personal learning tools in school to increase collaboration and access to resources, according to the annual Speak Up Survey, which is facilitated by Project Tomorrow.

“Students, perhaps without realizing it, are already seeking out ways to personalize their learning,” according to the report. “Looking to address what they perceive as deficiencies in classroom experiences, students are turning to online classes to study topics that pique their intellectual curiosity, to message and discussion boards to explore new ideas about their world, or to online collaboration tools to share their expertise with other students they don’t even know. Students now expect in their learning lives the same types of personalized interactions that adults already experience in our everyday lives.”

Lutheran Schools Tops in the Nation on “The Nation’s Report Card”

Jul 06

Accountability! Results- what difference does it make? We are becoming a data-driven nation in regard to our schools. Whether you agree with that direction or not, it is where we are at this moment in our nation’s history. Parents want to know if their child is receiving a quality education.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as “The Nation’ s Report Card,” is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America’s students know and can do in various subject areas.

The report is in and the news is GREAT for Lutheran schools. In five of the eight categories Lutheran Schools finished in first place among nine other categorizations. In the other three we finished second. The groups included the following: public, other religious, nonsectarian, Catholic, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dept. of Defense, State Department of Education, Lutheran, and Conservative Christian.

The Importance of Art in Education

Jul 05

The arts are essential to every child’s education. Similar to English, math, science and the other core subjects, the d visual and performing arts) are challenging subjects with rigorous content and achievement standards at the state and national levels. They require highly qualified teachers who challenge all students, not just those who are considered artistically talented, to perform works of art, create their own works, and respond to works of art and the ideas they impart.

In addition to studying the arts for their own sake, experiencing and making works of art benefits students in their intellectual, personal, and social development, and can be particularly beneficial for students who are at risk of not succeeding in school. Research studies point to strong relationships between learning in the arts and fundamental cognitive skills and capacities used to master other core subjects, including reading, writing, and mathematics.

Involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork. A 2005 report by the Rand Corporation about the visual arts argues that the intrinsic pleasures and stimulation of the art experience do more than sweeten an individual’s life. According to the report, they “can connect people more deeply to the world and open them to new ways of seeing,” creating the foundation to forge social bonds and community cohesion.

Teaching our older children winning ways to say no to peers

May 30

The word no often seems to be one of the first words out of the mouths of young children. In fact, parents may hear the word no far earlier and far more often than they prefer. But as children grow older and want to fit in and belong with other children, they may continue to say no to adults, but have increasing difficulty saying no to their peers.

Many young people feel tremendous peer pressure on a wide front. That’s why saying no to their peers is not a simple matter for them. They may fear that they will be rejected or branded in negative ways if they do. As parents, teachers, and other caring adults we need to give students some strategies for saying no, and suggest appealing and convincing words they can use in the various situations they face.

First, capitalize on the fact that just as young people want to be a part of the group, they also have a strong need for autonomy. They want to be seen as individuals. They want to assert themselves. Therefore, tell them that they always need to establish their individuality, and they can do so without offending classmates or losing friends. It’s all a matter of style. Suggest they say simply, ”Nope, I’m not interested” or “That’s not my style” or “That’s not for me.” Also tell them to add “No thanks,” nobody should be offended. Read More…

Words That Hurt, Words That Heal

Mar 23

Every now and then you run across an idea that changes the way you look at things. And sometimes it’s really annoying because if you change your perspective you often have to change your conduct. That’s the way I felt after reading a book called, “Words That Hurt, Words That Heal” by Joseph Telushkin. It’s all about gossip and other uses of words that hurt people. He makes a powerful case for the advice of moms everywhere: “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.” And to prove how hard it is, he challenges his reader to go twenty-four hours without saying an unkind word about or to anyone.

He reminds us about the awesome power of ego-destroying criticism, brutal anger, nasty sarcasm, hurtful nicknames, humiliating betrayal of secrets, malicious rumors or careless gossip. “Unless you’ve been a victim of terrible physical violence,” he says, “chances are the worst pains you have suffered in life have come from words.”

Ethical speech — speaking fairly, respectfully, responsibly and carefully about others — is an easy duty to neglect. For one thing, talking about others is kind of fun and often quite interesting. Even if you don’t start such conversation it is easy to play into it. But we have to remember that what we say about a person often has a significant impact. It affects attitudes, dispositions and conduct. It shapes reputations.

Chiding us for choosing our clothes more carefully than we choose our words, Rabbi Telushkin urges us to use our words as we would a loaded gun. At the very least, we can moderate the harm we cause by thinking about how the person we’re talking about would feel if he or she overheard the conversation.

As parents and teachers we work tirelessly to help our children learn these truths. Developmentally students go through stages and this type of language is sometimes used. Working together we strive to model appropriate responses to our children teaching them to be caring and understanding when communication or resolving conflict with others.

Thanks for Telling Me the Truth, Dad – Middle Grades are Hard

Mar 22

Jenny was 14 and miserable. Her freckles and braces were bad enough but now her face was breaking out. Her dad saw her looking in the mirror and sobbing. She was in such pain. He stayed up all night writing a note he slipped under her door.

“I wish I could tell you everything is all right,” he wrote, “but I know it isn’t because you’re genuinely unhappy. I wish I could tell you that looks don’t matter and that everyone will see the incredibly beautiful person inside, but at your age it does matter.”

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Janie Andrich

21st Century Education