parental expectations in children

State Schools Chief Torlakson Announces Plan to Implement Common Core State Standards Presented to Governor and State Legislature

Aug 02

Excerpts from a press release from the California Department of Education, March 2012

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson today announced the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Systems Implementation Plan for California was presented to executive and legislative branches of state government.

Standards define the knowledge, concepts, and skills students should acquire at each grade level. The CCSS were developed through a state-led initiative to establish consistent, clear education standards for English-language arts and mathematics across the nation. The standards are research-based and internationally benchmarked—i.e., they are informed by the practices of academically high-achieving nations around the world. The CCSS are designed to prepare students for success in college and careers not only in the nation, but in the competitive global economy.

The CCSS Systems Implementation Plan for California describes the major phases and activities in the implementation of the CCSS throughout California’s educational system. The first phase involves increasing awareness of the CCSS, introduces the initial planning system to implement it, and establishes ways to collaborate with interested parties. The second phase outlines a transition period by building resources, assessing needs, establishing new professional learning opportunities, and expanding collaboration between stakeholders. The third phase will include the implementation of new professional learning support; fully aligned curriculum, instruction, and testing; and the integration of these elements for all students.

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.

Teaching Older Children to Say No to Peers

Mar 27

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.

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.”

The Role Parental Expectations Play in Student Achievement!

Mar 04

As parents, you can easily become frustrated when you feel that your child isn’t successful in school. As educators we share and understand that frustration. Teachers sometimes feel it, too. Yet, rather than just assume a child could do better, we know it’s best to seek out, by all means possible, exactly what each child is capable of doing.

We know that children can live up or down to adults’ expectations. If we say to a child, “I know that you can’t possibly do better,” we are telling him or her to give up. On the other hand, if we set unrealistic goals for a child and he or she tries hard, yet fails, we can do some real damage to that child.

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Janie Andrich

21st Century Education