Academics & School Life Articles

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  • A Cheat Sheet on Cheating
  • Senior projects are coming due and finals are coming up. Spring has sprung, and with spring comes Spring Fever and Senioritis and skipped classes and missing assignments. There is one thing,...

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  • All About Backpacks
  • Your child riffles through his backpack to find homework assignments, his MP3 player, lunch money and his Game Boy games. He shoves it into the bottom of his locker, shoves it under the seat on the...

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  • Assisting Students to Overcome Test Anxiety
  • Every human copes with anxiety at one time or another. It is a basic emotion that we feel when something is perceived as a threat. Anxiety is a valuable tool, which humans use to avoid danger....

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  • Changing Schools Isn't Easy: Tips for a Successful Transition
  • It isn’t easy for students to make the transition into a new school, especially if they have grown-up in a close knit community. Changing schools can be very stressful, fill them with anxiety and,...

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  • Does Your Child's Teacher Make a Difference
  • School improvement is always in the news. Teachers demand smaller class sizes. The government calls for standardized testing. Researches want changes in curriculum and parents are confused as to what...

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  • Educators and Childhood Obesity
  • Obesity in childhood is rising to epidemic proportions in America and educators should be concerned. The statistics of obesity in children are alarming. Using the 95 percentile and higher of body...

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  • Help Your Child Achieve Success in Middle School
  • Middle school is for children between the ages of 10 and 14 years. At this time children begin to change emotionally and intellectually. They look at the world in a different light and the way they...

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  • Helping Young Children with Printing and Cursive Writing
  • Is your child experiencing difficulty printing or writing? Is he unable to print or write legibly, even though both you and his teacher have given him extra help and encouragement? There are many...

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  • Homework Helps
  • School has started throughout the country and is well into the first month-some schools are starting on their second. With school comes homework-the bane of most students’ school existence....

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  • Homework Tips: Taking the Work out of Homework
  • Kids hate homework. It seems that almost every night of the week they are overloaded with assignments and projects. Teachers give children homework to ensure all class work is completed and so they...

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  • How to Get the Best Supplies for Your Money
  • School supply lists can seem unending, and the price can add up very quickly. But do we really need to get everything on the list right away? When should we start looking for school supplies, such...

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  • Is Your Child Happy at School?
  • As a parent, you’d love to have your child share all of his feelings with you. It would be so easy if he just told you everything that happened to him so you could help him learn to cope with all of...

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  • Is Your Child's Teacher a Bully?
  • We’ve all heard about kids being bullied by peers. Kids taunt, tease, pull hair, shove and push each other on a daily basis. In recent years, schools have taken steps to stop bullying and many have a...

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  • Keep Morning Stress at a Minimum: Establish a Routine
  • Morning! It can be a time of stress. The kids are fighting over who gets to use the bathroom first, scrambling to find clothes to wear to school and wolfing down breakfast as they head out the door....

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  • Making Sense of No Child Left Behind
  • The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has met with mixed results and mixed feelings. Some think it is just a waste of money. Some love it because our children will be able to compete in a changing...

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  • Middle School Homework and Study Habits
  • The report cards came home and you’re disappointed with your child’s scores. You know he has the ability to do better, but aren’t sure how to get him to give his best effort. What should you...

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  • Parent-Teacher Conference Dos and Don'ts
  • Finals are over and done, and grades have arrived. Now comes the dreaded time to discuss the grades. It's Parent-Teacher Conference season again! Parent-Teacher conferences can be nerve-racking...

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  • Preparing Your Child for the First Day of School
  • It seems like school was just dismissed for the summer, yet here we are facing another year of back to school. For some kids, this will be the very first time they attend school. Be aware that your...

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  • Promoting Childhood Literacy
  • The number of American adults who are illiterate is astounding. People who lack the ability to read well have a tough time succeeding in life. Thousands of students across the nation, from every walk...

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  • Public or Private?
  • Daniel attended private school until sixth grade, when he was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism. Even though Daniel set the curve in all of his classes the school...

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  • School Lunches ... Hot or Cold?
  • First there were four, now there are six, no one knows how many more there may be in the future. The four original food groups were tossed out a long time ago. The food pyramid, also, seems to be on...

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  • School Violence: Can It Be Stopped
  • It’s a fact that violence in schools is prevalent in today’s society. We hear of school shootings, swarmings and attacks on children for their clothing, shoes and milk money. Students have been...

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  • School's out for Recess
  • Recess used to be the best part of school; that and lunch. But today, a shocking two-thirds of public elementary schools do not have any recess at all! Part of the problem, according to...

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  • Se Hablan Otras Idiomas?
  • In the late 1990s, the Salem-Keizer school district in Oregon began requiring every student in its high schools to take at least two years of foreign language. (At that time, our choices were...

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  • Simple Math ... a Simple Gift
  • Math affects every aspect of our lives-from balancing the checkbook to estimating the amount of sales tax at the grocery store. While we may not use Algebra regularly (and no one can convince me...

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  • Teach Your Child to Write Well
  • When American children head off to junior kindergarten, they must be ready to learn. It is your responsibility as a parent to prepare your child for school. Parents should coach their children in...

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  • Teacher Tenure: A Double-Edged Sword
  • Teacher Tenure (the policy making it almost impossible to fire teachers) has noble roots. It was created to prevent a complete administration change when a new superintendent or principal arrived at...

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  • Teachers Packing Heat
  • After the recent school shootings (and thwarted school shootings) in the past month-just as after all school shootings-discussion has turned to the validity of the “Gun Free” zones. Questions swarm...

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  • Teaching Children a Love of History
  • Parents and grandparents are responsible for teaching children a love of history. To begin, relate anecdotes and stories of family to your child. Bring out old family photographs, birth and death...

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  • Teaching Your Child Study Skills
  • Many children who have the capability to get good grades experience frustration because of low academic scores. The reason for this is that they don’t have the necessary study skills. In order to...

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  • The First Day of School
  • The first day of kindergarten is a rite of passage for any student. Every mother cries and takes pictures. Everything is new-new backpack, new pencils, new experiences, new clothes, new school,...

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  • The Importance of Ninth Grade
  • Students who are entering ninth grade do not realize the importance of the critical decisions they will be making during the next four to five years. The junior year of high school, ninth grade, is...

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  • The Pros and Cons of Seat Belts in School Buses
  • Recently the news has been full of school bus accidents where children have been seriously injured or killed. Those who are for seat belts in school buses are adamant that the devices will prevent...

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  • Tips for Easing Your Child's Back to School Stress
  • Do you remember the roller coaster of emotions that you experienced as a child when the day for going back to school approached? You were probably disappointed that the summer had come to an end. At...

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  • Tips for Purchasing Back to School Supplies
  • In just a few days, kids from all over the US will be going back to school. Now is the time to take them shopping for school supplies. Though you may not have your school list yet, there are some...

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  • When Bad Report Cards Happen to Good Kids
  • It’s mid-term season once again, and semester (or quarter or trimester) grades will be coming out in the next few months. Some students are happy to come home during this time, eager to show their...

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  • Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?
  • One of the sensations on YouTube highlights the state of our education system. The spot was recorded during Miss Teen USA Pageant. Miss Teen South Carolina, Caitlin Upton, was asked: “One out of...