GET TO KNOW THE GAMING COMMUNITY

The virtual world of online gaming has never been a part of my world, but I’m very aware that for kids, gaming communities are omnipresent and parents would be remiss to ignore their benefits as well as their potential hazards. On the bright side, children can exercise important life skills while gaming. They employ their imaginations and use problem-solving strategies while practicing social skills. However, there can be a dark side. Cyber-bullying is very real and very dangerous. Children can also have interactions with strangers, or even real-world predators.

Parent involvement is critical. So, if your children are running amuck in cyber-space, it’s time to grab the cyber-bull by the horns and get engaged with the gaming community. Here’s one way to get started close to home.

Its important to know which gaming communities your child plays in and which safety features are available on the gaming equipment. For example, some headsets have voice-masking features. Keep gaming consoles in an easy-to-supervise location and know that your child may have access to games in other places. Most cell phones today have Internet access. Tell your children and continually remind them never to give out personal information while gaming or agree to meet anyone outside of the game. You can research games’ ratings and content on the Entertainment Software Rating Board website, www.esrb.org.

Once you feel more comfortable in your knowledge of gaming and gamers, start a discussion with your children. The more often you talk with them about online safety, the more responsive they will become. Find out what kinds of people they play with and how much do other online gamers know about them. The best way to find out exactly what’s going on in your child’s cyber-world is to play the games with them. While playing, you can role-play how to respond if someone bothers you and get to know the type of players who are online and ways in which they interact.

Parenting tech-savvy kids can be intimidating, especially if, like me, you didn’t grow up with the same technologies. However, with a little hands-on learning and safety resources, you can protect your children from the potential dangers of online gaming communities. You may even find you like being a resident!

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.

WHY CHARTER SCHOOLS DON'T WORK

Educational historian and former assistant secretary of education, Diane Ravitch,  was once a proponent of charter schools and wrote books and articles making their case. However, in her book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education,  she explained why she has changed her mind. “Given the weight of the studies, evaluations and federal test data, I concluded that deregulations and privately managed charter schools were not the answer to the deep-seated problems of America education…Charter schools, privately run but publicly funded, cherry-pick a neighborhood’s best students and kick out under-performers, forcing surrounding public schools to teach a depleted talent pool.”

Charter schools, for the most part, are publicly funded schools that are annulled from the rules, regulations, and statutes that apply to traditional public schools. They operate under a written contract, or charter. These contracts specify how the school will be held accountable for improved achievement. Their design suggests that if they improve students’ achievement, their contracts will be renewed. Those that do not will be closed. Sounds great, however, as it stands, only a tiny percentage of charters have been shut down, and those overwhelmingly had their charter terminated based on misspent money, not student performance. According to a study for the U.S. Dept of Education, “Charter schools rarely face sanctions.”

The movement toward charter schools is expanding despite the absence of accountability. There is no strong or convincing evidence that charter schools have improved student achievement or that they are being held more accountable for academic outcomes than regular public schools. Charter school proponents point to a 2003 study by the RAND Corporation as evidence of success. It concluded that charter school students in California “…are keeping pace with comparable students in conventional schools.” This is not an endorsement. Indeed, given the promise to raise achievement, this statistic reflects failure.

In fact, a national study conducted by Stanford University economist Margaret Raymond found that 37% of charter schools got worse results than comparable neighborhood public schools, 46% did about the same and only 17% were superior to public schools. Raymond surmised, “if this study shows anything, it shows we’ve got a 2 to 1 margin of bad charters to good charters.”

California Charter School Association claims that California charter schools “get results because they are highly responsive to students needs, do a better job increasing student achievement and demonstrate commitment to quality standards.” This type of propaganda is nothing but a marketing tool. As consumers we are bombarded daily with astonishing declarations about products and services. We are weary from deciphering the snake oils from the real McCoys. Marketing schools in this way is turning education into a commercial transaction, rather than a democratic ideal.

I understand the public’s frustration with traditional public schools, and as an education and a mother I strongly seek better results from our educational system. Charter schools, however, are not the answer. They have been a costly venture on an unproven alternative while cutting public school resources - resources we have paid for.

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.

UNDERSTANDING CALIFORNIA’S NEW EDUCATION FUNDING FORMULA

In 2013, California adopted the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). LCFF decides how much money each school district gets. It also mandates that district officials solicit input from school employers, parents, and community groups. As a result, school districts across California are actively gathering information from and giving information to various stakeholder groups. However, many parents are still scratching their heads on how the new funding code affects their children, school, and community. 

 

Under the fairly new system, districts must develop and adopt a three-year Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) articulating how they will support all students to achieve academically, with specific focus on English Learners, Socio-economically Disadvantaged Youth and Foster Youth.

The law is in response to years of disinvestment in California’s public school system. California is ranked one of the lowest states in per pupil spending, 48th in teacher to student ratio, and at or near the bottom for funding of other adult staff such as custodians and office personnel. This translates into larger class sizes, fewer teacher aides, outdated facilities, inadequate technology, and few or no music, art, library, physical education or counseling programs.

According to former Redwood City Superintendent Jan Christensen. “Some of the inequity faced by  students stems from our state’s arcane school-funding system,” she said. “In California, some school districts are funded by the state, and others are funded by local property tax. Districts with the highest property values and the lowest number of students end up with many more dollars per student per year. Voters in these higher-funded communities also tend to approve ballot initiatives that bring further resources to local schools.”

These funding discrepancies impact every realm of education, from English language acquisition and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) proficiency to college and career readiness.

It’s important to note that LCFF changes how money is distributed, but does very little to change the actual amount of money that is going toward schools. Even with its implementation, California’s education funding will fall far short of other states and the chasm of educational inequity will continue to expand.

LCFF is a step in the right direction, but it cannot be the last. We must address the bigger issue of restoring justice to California’s education finances, including the devastating effects of Proposition 13. 

For more information on California’s new education formula, including whom it benefits and what does it mean for students, go to California’s PTA website, http://www.capta.org and search LCFF, or check out what the California Department Education has to say, https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/lc/lcfffaq.asp#FC

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.

REMEMBERING OUR TROOPS

On November 11, 2017, we honor and thank the men and women who serve our country. Veterans Day was instituted three years after the end of World War I. It ended at the 11^th hour on the 11^th day of the 11th month in 1918.

For most people, this is a much appreciated day off. Not so for our troops. They work diligently through holidays and weekends, twenty-four-seven, securing our safety and freedom.

America has been fighting two of the longest wars in our history. However, we may finally have a reason to be optimistic. President Obama vowed to pull the remaining 40,000 U.S. troops from Iraq this year, symbolically ending the 9-year war.

In May, an elite team of U.S. Navy seals killed the mastermind of 9/11, Osama Bin Laden, in Pakistan, initiating the dismantling of Al Qaeda and the beginning of the end of the 10-year old war in Afghanistan. The president also promises to bring 33,000 American troops home by the summer of 2012, and continuing withdrawal at a steady pace allowing Afghans to take over their own security by 2014.

One way we can all show our appreciation to American military heroes who are stationed around the world is to write them letters. If you have a family member or friend serving, this is the perfect opportunity to say, “We miss you and thank you.” Have the kids participate and they will develop a deeper meaning of service and sacrifice. Pictures drawn are very popular and photos are a nice personal touch. If you want to make it easier for a soldier to respond to your letter, enclose a self- addressed return envelope with a blank piece of paper inside it.

Visit www.packagesfromhome.org or www.amillionthanks.org for recommended guidelines and more ideas, such as things to donate, drop off locations and much more.

There are also books appropriate for children that reveal more about the war on terrorism and past wars.

The War on Terrorism series, by DianeYancey traces the day-to-day efforts of American armed service personnel in a nation that many of them hardly knew of prior to their deployment. The book describes the soldiers' daily routine, including the problems of hygiene, diet, shelter, and climate.

The Wall by Eve Bunting is a richly illustrated story about a father and his young son who visit the Vietnam Veterans Memorial to find the name of the grandfather the boy never met.

In Going Solo, children’s author Roald Dahl writes of his own experiences as a pilot during World War II.

However you decide to spend Veterans Day, you may enjoy taking a moment to reflect on our incredible fortunes as a free nation and remember who keeps, not only Americans, but millions of people across the globe secure. And then pray for peace. We need our troops home and we can certainly use some of the military budget to stimulate our economy.

Perhaps Charles Sumner said it best, “Give me the money that has been spent in war and I will clothe every man, woman, and child in an attire of which kings and queens will be proud. I will build a schoolhouse in every valley over the whole earth. I will crown every hillside with a place of worship consecrated to peace.”            

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.

One Easy Step for School Success – Be There!

Parents are often bombarded with advice on how to help their children succeed in school, but one critical factor often gets overlooked: The most faithful foreteller of success at school is very basic – showing up. Research shows the likelihood of dropping out of school skyrockets to 75 percent when attendance drops below 80 percent. This is a disturbing statistic and one that has not been given enough attention. The John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities (JGC) at Stanford University conducted several studies on the attendance patterns of schools in the Bay Area. According to their findings, the group most likely to be chronically absent are Kindergarteners. Further, children who miss 10 days or more of their first year in school, whether in preschool or Kindergarten, are more likely to establish poor attendance habits and to struggle with reading mastery. Frequent absences early in a child’s education can have long-term consequences.

It seems self-evident that kids who are at school get the most get the most out of it. What’s surprising is the impact attendance has on all aspects of a well-rounded education. Students with good attendance are more responsible and have better work habits. They also learn valuable social skills and develop a broader worldview. The academic upside is also compelling. Better student attendance is a statistically significant predictor of better academic performance and it is true for all socioeconomic and ethnic backgrounds.

For parents, understanding the importance of attendance is the easy part. Actually getting kids to school every day, on time is the challenge. Here are a few tips to help achieve that goal.

·      Lay out clothes, pack lunches and backpacks the night before.

·      Have a backup plan for getting the kids to school if something comes up. Ask a family member, a neighbor or another parent if you can rely on them to take your kids to school, or pick them up, when you need an extra hand.

·      Keep your kids healthy by ensuring they get enough sleep and teach them the importance of washing their hands frequently.

·      Make sure your children have the required medical immunizations. There are immunizations needed for Kindergarten as well as transitional Kindergarten, and seventh-graders need a Tdap (pertussis booster) vaccine. If you have questions, check with your pediatrician.

·      Keep track of your child’s absences. Many parents are surprised to see the number of days missed on their child’s report card. Sometimes we simply forget what took place weeks or even months ago. Writing absent days on a calendar may help you square up.

·      Have a chat with your kids about the importance of being present at school. One missed day of school can mean two days of falling behind. Missing school makes It more difficult to stay on track with assignments and every day in school is another chance to learn something new.

·      Attend back-to-school night. Most of the important events, dates and information you will need for the school year will be supplied at this meeting. Also, it demonstrates to your kids and their teachers that you are involved and engaged and that school is a priority.

·      If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask the office staff, teachers, and/or administrators.

Beyond the most important reason to attend school – to ensure learning and academic success – showing up on time, every day is a life-long lesson that all of us can benefit from.

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.

BULLIES BEWARE!

Kids are looking forward to a long summer filled with fun and adventure. Most parents, however, still have to work, which means their children will have a lot more free time on their hands. Whether kids are at summer camps, babysitters, or home with siblings, there tends to be less supervision which can be concerning in regards to the potential for bully behavior. It’s never a fun subject, but one that needs to be addressed at least a few times a year.


First, we need to know what bullying is. It’s not always clearly defined. Dan Olweus, Professor of Psychology and leading world authority on problems of bullying and victimization, defines bullying in the following way. "A person is bullied when he or she is exposed, repeatedly and over time, to negative actions on the part of one or more other persons, and he or she has difficulty defending himself or herself."


Direct bullying is the easiest to detect. It includes hitting, kicking, shoving,
name-calling, and using threatening or obscene gestures. Indirect bullying is much more surreptitious. Often bullies will get someone else to do the bullying for them. Rumor spreading, ostracizing, and
Cyber-bullying (using email, social media sites, and text messaging) can be particularly difficult for adults to detect. It helps to become “friends” with your children on their social media sites and peruse their phones for unwanted or inappropriate communications. It’s also a good idea to retrieve all electronic devices before bedtime. It may thwart a cyber-bully’s attempts and will undeniably lead to a better night’s sleep.


Like most things in life, signs of bullying and the roles people play are rarely clear-cut and when kids are involved in bullying, they often play more than one role. Kids can bully others, they can be bullied, or they may witness bullying. However a child is involved, it’s imperative that he/she speak to a supervising adult. If that adult doesn’t intervene, the child should find another grownup and keep telling until the bullying stops. Ideally, adults at camps or at home will give comfort, support, and advice even if they can’t solve the problem directly or immediately.


You may not be with your children during the day, but you can still help prevent bullying. Checking in often with camp counselors or other adult supervisors is a good place to start. Also, talking with your kids and asking about friends or any concerns are proactive and preventative measures. If your child seems reluctant to open up to you, ask another responsible person that you, as a parent, trust to start the dialogue.


Most bullying happens when adults aren’t around; therefore, children need to know how to stand up for themselves. Advise your kids to look at the kid bullying and tell him or her assertively to stop in a calm, clear voice. If speaking up seems too hard or not safe, the best thing for anyone being victimized to do is to walk away and stay away.


There is no silver bullet to eradicate bullying but we can reduce existing bullying problems, prevent the development of new bullying, and foster better relationships at school, at home, and in summer camps by being well informed and involved.


For more information on the Olweus Bullying Prevention Programs, visit, www.violencepreventionworks.org.

Other resources include: www.nobully.org, and www.stopbullying.gov.

Contact Margaret Lavin at www.elementarydays@gmail.com 

WHERE THE KIDS ARE, KEEPING UP WITH SOCIAL NETWORKS

We should by now all be familiar with Facebook and Twitter and have hopefully ‘befriended’ our online, socially active children in order to monitor their engagements with cyber-friends. However, tweens and teens are very socially savvy and shrewd at keeping their private lives private, even if it is to their own detriment.

New social networks are popping up all over the Internet and many parents may not be aware of their children’s cyber connections and the implications of inappropriate interactions. With Internet bullying, cyber stalking and cyber-torture, it is very necessary to educate ourselves in the latest cyber-sites that can open doors to cyber abuse. As an old-school mom, I’m still telling my child not to talk to strangers but this sage advice does not transfer to the obscure regions of the cyber-world. Here are just a few of the sites you may want to check out and talk with your kids about.

Instagram is a popular photo-sharing site owned by Facebook.  Users can create collages of their photos and share them across Facebook and other social media platforms. It may be slightly tamer than Tumblr, but users can still find inappropriate content and comments throughout the app.

Tumblr’s real appeal is its social network capability. It is teeming with teenagers, or those posing as teenagers, liking one another's posts, commenting back and forth and responding to questions – often from strangers. Tumblr can be funny or helpful, but posts are also uncensored and often pornographic.  

Ask.fm is a site where you sign up with a basic profile and picture and then answer questions posed to you by other users, both friends and strangers. While, "Are you a cat or a dog person?" is a common thread, darker and more sexual questions show up as well. Ask.fm has been in the news lately after harassed members committed suicide.  

Snapchat has also been in the news lately following reports of an alarming number of young people using the app for ‘sexting’ and bullying. Basically, the app makes it simple to share pictures and video clips for ten seconds and then the content disappears. However, it is possible to make a screenshot of a picture while it is displayed on the screen and so any pictures can become publicly available online at anytime. 

Shots of Me, an app that Justin Bieber is highly invested, has a direct-messaging feature where users can only send private messages to one another. This is in hopes of stopping cyberbullying. However, teens and anyone else can still be cruel in a private message. The app also shows user’s location unless that feature is managed in the app’s settings.

Tinder's developers describe the app as a “fun way to connect with new and interesting people around you." But it's mainly used to find dates and “hook ups”. In a nutshell, Tinder helps people find others in their geographic location. Users view each other’s photos and start instant messaging once both people have "liked" one another. Tinder's privacy policy allows teens as young as 13 to register.

There are ways to block social networks and software available to spy on your kids online, but I think the best way to stay connected – cyber or otherwise – with your children is to have some good old fashion face-to-face conversations. Then, as President Reagan famously said, “trust, but verify.”

Contact Margaret Lavin at elementarydays@gmail.com.