A QUEST FOR INDEPENDENCE

From the cradle to the grave, we are continually trying to obtain and protect our autonomy. The innate yearning for independence is indeed the reason we fought the Revolutionary War and why our founding fathers wrote America’s most sacred document, the Declaration of Independence. This Fourth of July, we will celebrate America’s 236^th year of independence. As a teacher and parent I often reflect on children’s need for the same.

Allowing children to develop independence fosters social competence, emotional confidence, financial know-how, self-reliance and a host of other beneficial life skills. As a result, many books and articles have been written suggesting various techniques and methods for building children’s independence. From my readings, I procured five pointers that are practical and easy to implement.

Communication

Every time you do something for your child, whether it be tying their shoe or writing them a check, explain part or all of the process. When they are practicing a new skill, furnish lots of praise. Also, create plenty of opportunities for children to share their opinions and views whether about the playground or politics and whether you agree with their opinion or not.

Practice

Practicing various skills lead to good habits. For instance, have your kids practice conversing with adults, starting with you. First model, then have them order food at a restaurant, ask for help from other adults (eg, their teacher or a police officer). Together, offer to help an older neighbor or younger child and reiterate the importance of good manners with every endeavor.

Making Lists

Share your shopping list and other ‘to-do’ lists. Get kids into the habit of making their own by facilitating homework, chore, and wish lists. Have the whole family make lists of future goals and post them on the fridge.

Doing Chores

A chore chart is useful and you can make your own. First, list things that need to be done to keep your home running smoothly (ex, make beds, clear or set the table, fold the laundry, etc). Then, assign the chores to each family member with a proper allowance attached. If children are old enough to ask for money, they are old enough to earn it. More importantly, children who make and manage their own money learn to make better decisions. Finally, call a family meeting to explain the chart and place it in somewhere for all to see.

Making Choices

Always give the kids a choice. You can keep it simple by only allowing two options - the blue or red shirt, or the chocolate or strawberry ice cream. Allow kids to make mistakes. Lessons are learned when errors are made and corrected. Unless the consequences are dire, accept the blunder and demonstrate how to gracefully accept mishaps. Then, brainstorm solutions.

The pay off? The more independent your children become, the more freedom you have. I hope these few tips are helpful and I wish you and your family a happy Independence Day with a house full of self-sufficient, self-reliant, confident, and well-adjusted individuals.

A TALE OF TWO CALIFORNIAS

Charles Dicken’s classic novel, A Tale of Two Cities opens with the lines, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” This historic fiction tells the plight of a revolting underclass and their thirst for equality. The ambivalence of French aristocrats toward the impoverish peasants is ominously similar to California’s elected officials ambivalence toward our impoverished public education system. For far too long, officeholders on both sides of the isle have recklessly razed public education through underfunding schools and demoralizing teachers.

California continues to be the 9^th largest economy in the world. Our academic standards are among the most rigorous in the country yet our investment in education is among the lowest. We rank 46^th among 50 states in per-student spending.

The funding discrepancy among school districts in San Mateo County is blaringly unbalanced. For example, according to Ed-Data.org, per-pupil state and local revenues for Millbrae school district for the 2009-2010 school year was $6,747. Hillsborough school district was more than double that, spending $13,966 per student.

To add insult to injury, on March 15^th more than 1,500 teachers in the greater Bay Area and nearly 20,000 teachers statewide received pink slips, the equivalent of a lay off notice.

Cynthia Dolmacio is a 16-year veteran teacher with three children. This is her fourth year in a row receiving a pink slip from the Brisbane School District. “I grew up [in Brisbane] and attended our public school as do my own three children,” she said. “After teaching 12 years in another district, I came here to be a more integral part of our children’s education.”

Unfortunately, her efforts to support her community have not been reciprocated. “Each fall I set up a classroom for a year filled with learning and joy [and] at the end of each school year, I pack it all up and haul it all home…this affects not only me and my own family but affects our whole community. Each year I form bonds with my students, their families and my colleagues and each year it ends in tears.”

Teachers, administrators, and classified staff have worked tirelessly to make up for the budget shortfalls but news of more teacher layoffs, more kids crammed into a classroom and the elimination of librarians, school nurses, counselors, coaches and every extra-curricular education program is despairing and disgraceful.

No one is advocating for a revolt on the scales of the French Revolution, however, this blatant punishing of educators and the children they teach needs to be addressed and corrected so that all our children receive a high quality education, not just those whose parents have deep pockets. There is a Chinese proverb that moralizes, “Tell me and I’ll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I’ll understand.” California representative have been told of the devastation their cuts have inflicted. They have been shown the disproportion of funding. Now, we must get involved. For more information on San Mateo County elected officials, voter registration, voting options and more, visit www.shapethefuture.org. To contact State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Torlakson, or the California State Board of Education members, go to www.cde.ca.gov. To learn about the efforts made by the California Teacher’s Association, visit, www.cta.org.

SUMMER HUNGER

Most kids now free from the shackles of formal education: sleeping in, playing all day and eating at their leisure. However, there are many children whose summer does not have such appealing prospects. They are anxious. Not attending school means not knowing where their next meal is coming from and there are thousands, yes, thousands in San Mateo County.

Eight-year-old Angela is one. “My parents both work but they don’t get paid very much. With the rent, we can’t pay for food,” she said. “It’s hard for us. There was this time when I came home from school I was really hungry but there wasn’t anything to eat.  When you’re hungry it feels bad. I was kind of worried.”

According to California Food Policy Advocates’ 2010 Nutrition and Food Insecurity Profile for San Mateo County, 19,520 students in San Mateo County participate in the free or reduced-price lunch program and 7,015 students participate in the free or reduced-priced breakfast program.

Whatever your views on subsidies school lunch and breakfast programs; you have to agree with Angela, when you’re hungry, it does feel bad. Fortunately, San Mateo County has the Second Harvest Food Bank. They will provide food to more than 35,000 children in San Mateo County this summer.

Second harvest Food Bank launched its Share Your Lunch campaign this month to raise awareness about childhood hunger during the summer and ensure that local children get enough to eat. “Childhood hunger is a serious problem that can hamper children’s healthy growth and development, which affects their ability to do well in school,” said Kathy Jackson, CEO of Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties. “We want to make sure children have enough nutritious food to eat this summer so they can stay healthy and start school in the fall ready to learn.”

How can we help this magnanimous program that safeguards our less fortunate neighbors?

According to spokesperson Caitlin Kerk, the community can join Second Harvest in preventing childhood hunger this summer by supporting Share Your Lunch. They can give online at www.SHFB.org or by calling 866-234-3663. Every $10 donated provides a meal for 20 children.

“I really love the food from the Food Bank,” said Angela. “It’s great because now we get to eat and pay the rent. I don’t worry as much and get to eat when I come home from school. My favorite food is a turkey sandwich with toasted cheese. I put a pear in there when my mom’s not looking!”

Families who are concerned about feeding their children this summer can call Second Harvest Food Bank’s Food Connection hotline at 800-984-3663 to learn about food assistance programs that can help.

LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX!

Teaching middle school brings new, poignant meaning to the adage “Spring is in the air!”  This week, my eighth grade students are receiving compulsory edification of the birds and the bees. I’m mighty grateful I’m not the instructor. Teaching sexual education to pubescent young adults is not desirable, but is nevertheless necessary.

Parents agree. A survey of California parents conducted by the Public Health Institute found that 89% of California parents – including 86% of evangelical Christians and 71% of people who self-identify as “very conservative” – support sex education that includes instruction about both abstinence and contraception. This support is consistent across racial and ethnic groups.

If you are part of this 89% then you will want to become familiar with BACHE (Bay Area Communities for Health Education). They have released an online “Parent Toolkit” that includes 9 steps necessary to get comprehensive sex-education implemented in your child’s school. The Toolkit is available on BACHE’s website athttp://bacheinfo.org/Toolkit.

The information is enlightening and empowering. For example, California law prohibits abstinence-only sex education in public schools. In spite of this, there are many school districts in the Bay Area that are not complying.

Since 1992, the state has required all public schools to teach HIV/AIDS prevention education. Sex education, also known as family life education, is not required, but if schools choose to teach it, they must satisfy certain requirements. Under California Education Code, sex education in public schools must be science-based, medically sound, free of bias and age-appropriate. If parents do not want their children to receive sex education, they can withdraw them from instruction.

As a parent, you have the right to review all school materials relating to sex education. Materials to request include any books, pamphlets and any other curricula used during instruction. Simply ask the administrator for lesson plans. You can also consider any school board policies and administrative regulations regarding sexual health education.

It is also a good idea to supplement at home. According to With One Voice 2012 (WOV2012), in a series of national surveys commissioned and released by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, teens continue to say that parents have the most influence on their decisions about sex. For more statistical information and other resources, go to www.thenationalcampaign.org.

I believe a well planned, comprehensive sex education course should assist teens in formulating healthier relationships and healthier decisions. If done properly, it should include curriculum that incorporates decision-making skills, includes information about condoms and contraception, and details the benefits of delaying sexual activity. This type of sex education has proven to be effective and is endorsed by the American Medical Association.

Still a bit uneasy and skeptical? Perhaps renowned pediatrician and author Dr. Benjamin Spock can put it in perspective.

“Does sex education encourage sex? Many parents are afraid that talking about sex with their teenagers will be taken as permission for the teen to have sex. Nothing could be further from the truth. If anything, the more children learn about sexuality from talking with their parents and teachers and reading accurate books, the less they feel compelled to find out for themselves.”

SUMMER FUN AND EDIFICATION

It's summer and kids have commenced sleeping in, staying up late and enjoying a two-month homework reprieve. The life of leisure is enviable, however, we know as parents we want our kids to keep their educational edge, stay out of harm's way and out of our hair!

American schools were traditionally designed to fit the needs of farmers. Children were released from school in late spring to help with planting and in fall to help with the harvest. Although today only 3% of our population makes their living in agriculture, this calendar still remains the standard.

As a result, exhilarated school children are freed from their academic entailments in June. Parents may not be as thrilled. Along with finding sitters and keeping kids safe, summer learning loss is a concern. Studies have proved that this loss is especially prevalent for students with special needs or of low social economic status.

Math and spelling skills are most affected - possibly a result of the lack of opportunities to practice. In addition, children who struggle in school often have low self-esteem. That is the bigger issue. I am a firm believer in self-fulfilling prophecy. If a child knows he can succeed, and sees proof of his success, he will have the confidence to continue to do well. As an educator, I believe social skills are as valuable as academic ones. Kids need to interact and communicate appropriately with peers as well as adults.

Most children understand that language in the classroom is different than on the playground. However, recognizing when it is appropriate to use colloquial expressions and when to employ proper English can wane over the summer months.

The solution – summer camps! They are a valuable intervention for academic and social enrichment and a much needed resource for working parents.

Thankfully, they are abundant in the Bay Area and include anything from learning a new language to creating video games. There are also sports camps for children of all abilities and religious camps for just about every religion and denomination.

When deciding, there are a few questions you may want to keep in mind: How much can you afford? Do the hours and weeks available coincide with your schedule? What kind of activities will your child enjoy?

Before you make your final decision, consider visiting the camp, meeting the camp director and talking to other families who have attended.

Summer camps have already started registration, so the time to have a family Pow Wow and investigate your options is now. Once your family has made a decision and the kids have been signed up for summer sojourns, you can focus on the end of the school year.

Roman philosopher Seneca wrote, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” Thousands of years later, this ancient adage is still very applicable. It’s not difficult to conclude that children prepared academically as well as socially will have more success and students who are successful in school are offered more opportunities.

SIGNS OF GANG INFLUENCE

Kids on every school campus show their allegiance to our Bay Area sports teams by darning their colors and logos, so I was surprised when I saw a couple of eighth grade boys wearing Cincinnati Reds Caps. Knowing these two boys, I was sure they were not fans and would bet they’ve never even been to Ohio. I asked them the significance of the caps and received a typical, eye-avoiding answer of, “I don’t know.” 

Now, I am aware that the line between gang apparel and the latest fashions worn by pop stars and rappers is blurred. However, I do have enough street smarts to know that no child can be totally safe from gang influences.

Always the sleuth teacher, I Googled Cincinnati Reds Caps and my eyes were opened. According to various websites, Cincinnati Reds memorabilia is the second most gang-affiliated sports wear. Los Angeles Dodger clothing is number one. I investigated further and here’s some of what I discovered.

What to look for…

The Los Angels Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds and Oakland Raiders clothing, bandanas and other accessories have distinct meaning to gangs in the Bay Area. If your family is not a fan, but these team’s logos are being worn excessively by your teen or tween, they’re heading for trouble. Also, obsession with wearing only one or two colors is a red flag. This may include hair coloring, nail polish and other accessories.

Graffiti on notebooks, in bedrooms, or on backpacks can be a signal of gang influence or affiliation. Also, if your child’s behavior changes; if they are skipping school, have new, undesirable friends, or require much more privacy, it’s time to get seriously involved. Recruitment usually starts in middle school, but can be as young as eight.

Where to turn…

If you have questions or concerns, talk to your child first and then talk to an expert. Don’t be afraid to seek out the help of a your local police, crime prevention officer or school counselor. These people can give you support and information to help stop gang-related behavior before it escalates.

What to do…

Take a stand and get involved. If you see gang activity or graffiti in your neighborhood, report it to the local authorities right away, and keep reporting until something is done. Really monitor what your kids are doing. Listen to their music, check their backpacks, poke around their bedroom. Invite any new friends and their parents over under the guise of a get together.

After-school programs, church, sports teams, and clubs can all teach valuable life lessons and most importantly, keeps your children busy and safe. Often parents ‘take a back seat’ when their kids reach junior high. In fact, this is the time to be even more engaged. They are at a very vulnerable age and need your experience, love and guidance to navigate the unchartered waters of the teenage years.

Don’t be lulled into complacency by believing the stereotypical image of a “gang-banger.” Kids from all racial backgrounds and income levels are being lured in. As Maya Angelou advises, “When you know better, you do better.”

PYGMALION SYNDROME

George Bernard Shaw’s play, Pygmalion, which later was adapted into the award winning musical My Fair Ladyhighlights the correlation between proper speech and societal status – speech being perhaps the most important clue in determining class.

Without sounding too much like a linguistic snob, I hope to convey the importance of recognizing when it is appropriate to use colloquial expressions and when to use proper English. In the academic world, this is referred to as formal and informal registers.

The register of a language is the choice of words used in particular situations, much like determining when to wear your Sunday best, or a t-shirts and jeans. Like organizing a wardrobe, language acquisition takes time, instruction and management. For example, in a classroom, a formal register is used and the words spoken should be carefully constructed. When e-mailing, texting, or twittering, an informal register is acceptable. These novel types of social media have made informal language use the predominant form of communication. However, access to proper forms of communication is needed in order to take tests, write properly, and, perhaps most importantly, make a presentable impression.

Most children understand that language in the classroom is different than on the playground. However, the use of formal register may wane over the summer months, when proper speech often takes a back seat. It is to your children’s advantage to keep that formal register within reach.

Insisting on “please” and “thank you” are the first steps. Correcting grammatical errors helps too. Clarify the proper use of  “may I” versus “can I,” and coax kids into saying “Mom and I,” instead of “me and Mom” for instance.

Point out when you are speaking formally with a client on a business call, and when you transition to informal conversation with friends.

During dinner, make a game of translating jargon into proper speech. For instance, tell your kids that back in the day their “foxy” father could really “tear up the floor.” See if they can decipher the meaning. Ask them to share some of today’s vernacular. You may learn more than you bargained for!  Surprise them with your own erudition of modern lingo. Ask them to “stop trippin” about unfair teachers, or to “chill” when they argue over doing the dishes. For some on-line ammunition, go to www.teenchatdecoder.com.

Try a formal speech dinner night once a month, week, or more often, depending on the age of your children, and your own flexibility. Go crazy! Get dressed up, keep elbows off the table, address each other as “sir” and “madam,” whatever makes it fun, and gets the desired result of acquired proper speech. You may become the politest family on the block.

My constant classroom mantra is, “Adults are nicer to kids who are polite.” I also let my students know that kids who have an influential grown up on their side have a huge advantage in almost every aspect of academic life. Then I warn them to speak and write correctly, or risk failing my class. That works too.

I think the key lies in compassion. If we remember the ‘golden rule’ and habitually set a good example of respect and kindness, it will be reciprocated. It is especially powerful with young, vulnerable adolescents. As Eliza points out to Henry Higgins in Pygmalion, “…the difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she’s treated.”

SLACKING IN SCIENCE

No need to complain about sending jobs offshore. We are recruiting skilled workers from other countries to fill the many science and technology jobs right here in our backyards and it doesn’t look as if this trend will end anytime soon.

According to the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released by the U.S. Department only 22 percent of eighth-graders in California are proficient in science. Just 2 percent of eighth-graders in the nation have the advanced skills that could lead to careers in the field of science.

Some experts partially blame the federal No Child Left Behind law, which puts more emphasis on math and reading than it does on science, history, arts and other subjects. These critics contend that schools narrowed their focus to comply with the law and they are right. According to a 2008 report from the Center on Education Policy, average instructional time for science decreased by one-third (or 75 minutes per week) since the implementation of the No Child Left Behind.

We can complain about the quality of science teachers, but who can blame a college graduate majoring in science for skipping an undervalued and underpaid teaching career when they can demand six figures from a host of Silicon Valley technology companies. They will never see teaching America’s future scientists as prestigious or lucrative.

“This tells me that we need to work harder and faster to build capacity in schools and in districts across the country,” said Education Secretary Arne Duncan. “We need to do things differently – that’s why education reform is so critical.”

This vague, political jargon may calm some water but does not specifically address the sea of educational troubles we face as a nation, particularly in Silicon Valley where science and technology is the core of future job prospects. Technological innovation accounted for almost half of U.S. economic growth over the past 50 years, and almost all of the 30 fastest-growing occupations in the next decade will require at least some background in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

"It's important to move the needle because every job that pays a living wage includes STEM literacy and science as a component," said Linda Rosen, who leads a group known as Change the Equation, www.changetheequation.org. In fact, even with the unemployment rate at 10.5% in California, across the STEM fields, job postings outnumbered unemployed people by almost two to one.

Perhaps this is why unemployment rates are less than the state average in Santa Clara County - 8.2 percent according to California Employment Development Department. Between March 2012 and April 2012, combined employment in the South Bay counties of San Benito and Santa Clara rose by 4,300 to reach 907,200 jobs.

What can we do to ensure our children have access and success in STEM curriculum? Start by encouraging communication among parents, teachers and school administrators.

Here are a few questions you may want to ask at the next school board meeting.

  

1.              Do teachers and school administrators use national or state standards as guidelines?

2.              Do teachers at different grade levels work together to clarify what standards will be learned when?

3.              Are teachers given encouragement, time, and resources to update their own skills and knowledge.

To supplement at home this summer, check out Scientific American education website,www.scientificamerican.com/education.

THE MARKETABILITY OF EDUCATION

Outside of privatizing the military, public education is the most profitable market in America. The goal of corporations vying for public schools is to use our tax dollars to boost company stock, not improve public education.

These private interest groups demonize teachers and persistently deceive parents by falsely decreeing the failure of public education. Don’t believe them. Their interest is not with the children. It is with turning a profit. In fact, the data proves that public school students have been making progress, not failing. Let’s take San Mateo County as an example. According to STAR (standardized testing and reporting) fourth grade students have made significant growth in both language arts and math. In 2006, 35% scored advance in math, 50% scored advanced in 2011.

In 2006, 24% of 4^th graders scored advance in language arts. Five years later, 49% scored advance. In fact, across all elementary grades students have made progress, even middle schoolers. In 2006, 26% of 8^th grade students scored advanced in language arts. In 2011, 41% scored advanced. For more information on recent STAR test results, visit http://star.cde.ca.gov.

Privately owned, publically funded schools have an agenda and it is not to educate every child in America. They have a selective admissions process that segregates the student population, precluding students with learning disabilities and requiring aptitude entrance exams. Disguised as reform, these schools are being controlled by corporate managers who see very clearly the profit margin of privatizing them.

Even so, according to EdSource, an independent, non-for-profit research organization, charter elementary schools had lower API (academic performance index) scores than traditional public schools, further proving education is better left in the hands of professional educators and community members not corporate executives looking for a net gains.

Public school teachers understand that they often have challenging students and cannot choose only kids who have all the advantages it takes to come to school prepared to learn. More importantly, they also know that no underprivileged child chose their condition. It is a moral imperative that every child receive a quality education, even those – especially those - who are disadvantaged.

Public school teachers and the public school system are not the root of all evil. They are on the side of children. Everyday parents turn over their most precious possession, their children, to teachers, entrusting them with the task of preparing their kids for a successful future. And even with schools being drastically underfunded for years, public school teachers have shown resilience, courage and professionalism, as have their students. The result is well-informed, well-read, knowledgeable children and we have the data to prove it.

Founding father Thomas Jefferson understood the correlation between the education of every citizen and retaining a free society. “Convinced that the people are the only safe depositories of their own liberty, and that they are not safe unless enlightened to a certain degree, I have looked on our present state of liberty as a short-lived possession unless the mass of the people could be informed.”

Let’s keep informing the masses by leaving education to professional educators, not CEOs.