Published: September 8, 2009
Image: iStockphoto
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This week sees kids going back-to school.With this is mind I found this an interesting read Class Conflict: Should parents meddle in their kids’ classroom assignments
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Emily Bazelon Slate writes:
The hard truth about meddling is that when parents insist on a particular class assignment for their children, they can end up helping their own kid at the expense of someone else’s. Class assignments are a zero-sum game: If your kid gets the teacher you like and escapes the mediocre or rotten alternative, another kid will be taking his place. For sure, parents talk themselves around this. They say it’s their job to put their own kids’ interests first. Or if they have an older child who has had a run-in with a teacher, they figure the family has already done its time and now deserves a break. Or they talk in code about how a teacher or a combination of classmates is just not the right fit for their child, though they’re sure the setting will do everyone else’s just fine. link to continue reading
No more pencils
No more books
No more teacher’s dirty looks…………….
By the end of this week millions of children across North America will finish school for 10 – 12 weeks. Summer vacation may have made sense when life was more rural and the kids were needed to help on the farm, but just how relevant is it today? With the recession in full swing what priority will day camps, and family vacations assume? For many two parent familes in full time employment and already struggling financially, comes the added headache, juggling and expense of day care. And what academic impact does the long break have on kids who are struggling in school?
What do you think, is it time for a change?
News in mid-April of an unpublished study suggesting that college students’ use of Facebook was related to lower college academic achievement probably sent more than a few parents reeling. Now a new study may allay parental concern. [continue reading…]
Published: April 24, 2009
 New research from Baylor College of Medicine indicates a positive effect of chewing gum on academic performance in teenagers.The study examined whether chewing Wrigley sugar-free gum can lead to better academic performance in a “real life” classroom setting. Major findings include:
The researchers found that students who chewed gum showed an increase in standardized math test scores and their final grades were better compared to those who didn’t chew gum.
Students who chewed gum had a significantly greater increase in their standardized math test scores after 14 weeks of chewing gum in math class and while doing homework compared to those who did not chew gum. Chewing gum was associated with a three percent increase in standardized math test scores, a small but statistically significant change.
Students who chewed gum had final grades that were significantly better than those who didn’t chew gum.
[continue reading…]
