Tip of the Day!

Your child is an individual, not a classroom. See the world through their eyes - what's your student's learning style? #bettercomprehension

Learn Our ABCs!

Achieving Better Comprehension

Literacy is the cornerstone of education; every subject is impacted by a student's aptitude for reading and writing. Approximately 40% of children in the United States cannot read at a basic level.

Students who fully understand material will naturally perform better and engage more fully. For example, a  student struggling with science may not actually have difficulties with the content, but rather the act of comprehending the reading assignments.

Fostering a love of reading creates dedicated students who make time for books in their free time and become life-long learners. On average, for every ten students in 8th grade, only two read recreationally.

Accomplishing Bold Changes

Catering to each student's individual needs is a necessity for high quality education. Individualized education plans are proven methods of improving student achievement.

Students have unique learning styles, levels, and interests which should be cultivated in order to provide the highest quality of education available. For example, in a classroom of diverse learners, teaching to the middle of the classroom is not sufficient.

Expectations are always high for students, since even challenged learners can grow in a positive and supportive learning environment. No Child Left Behind, which sought equality of achievement outcome, was flawed because it catered to challenged students while abandoning advanced learners; equality of opportunity is critical to every student's success.

Advocating Balanced Communication

Education starts at the home. Students who read with their parents have dramatically better literacy rates, decreased social issues, and increased overall academic success.

Parental choice and input is one of the most important elements of any educational environment. Because children spend 70% of their time outside of school, parental education is one of the primary vehicles for student learning.

Open communication between teachers and parents is key to the educational partnership and the academic success of the students. In particular, student interests are best represented by the parents, not the government, or any school system - public or private.

Should Teachers Be Subject Matter Experts or Well Trained Educators?

Finding the Middle Ground with Alternative Master's Degrees in Alabama

            Highschool: junior year. The small classroom is full of brilliant students who fully appreciated their own abilities. I was enrolled in a dual AP course which taught World History and English literary analysis. As students in an advanced placement course at a private educational co-op, we wrote an average of three to six papers a week and we struggled through the work load. But despite the onslaught of academic analysis and carefully researched historical papers, we learned. Not only did I learn the essentials, I developed a passion for learning history.  Likewise, my literary analysis cultivated my ability to deliver well argued essays to make even my college business law professor impressed. But I'm convinced it was not the tests that drove me to learn, nor was the curriculum so compelling. My teacher inspired me to reach where I am today.

            Was my teacher a fluke of the system? She worked part time as a professor at a nearby university, studied in England for her Master's degree, and was completely in love with history. As far as I know, she never attended an educational course on child psychology, or secondary education must-knows. She was not trained as a teacher, she was trained as a historian. My teacher was a subject matter expert and it enabled her to spread that love of her field to her students. Would her style has been so effective in an elementary school or a middle school classroom? What is the other side to the story?

            My mother earned her Bachelor of Science and Master’s degrees in Early Childhood Education from the University of Montevallo. She later earned an Educational Specialist degree from UAB and is currently an Alabama state certified Reading Specialist (N-12) qualified to teach Early Childhood (P-3) and Elementary (1-6) Education. Her subject matter expertise is teaching children. As a person with firsthand experience, she is extremely good at her job. When a student has a problem understanding a history reading assignment, she doesn't explain the historical context, she asks them to read it slower, or read in their head like they were speaking out loud. Her current students love her, not for the passion she has for her subject, but for her strong dedication to them. So where is the middle ground between dedication to one field, while still knowing exactly how to educate students? How does Alabama find that middle ground? 

            Alternative Master's Degrees are one means through which an individual who received a Bachelor degree in a field unrelated to education can enter the educational field. Most Alabama universities with undergraduate programs in education offer an optional fifth year program in which students earn their Alternative Master's degree in early childhood, elementary, or secondary education. Generally these programs also include the certification process for the Alabama State Department of Education, so that by graduation, every student is prepared to enter the educational workforce. 

            The University of Montevallo boasts an incredible graduate education program for the Alternative Master's Degree.  Partnered with the subject matter undergraduate degree, the alternative masters program is a practical approach which develops a love for the subject in the educator while incorporating knowledge of how to develop individualized learning plans, teach to different learning styles, and nurture a love of literacy.

Tip of the Day!

Low achievement? Even challenged learners can grow in a positive and supportive learning environment #affirmyourchildtoday #equalopportunity

They're Not Your Boss...Or Are They?

Balanced Communication in the Parent-Teacher Relationship

            "The blame game." Everyone plays it; in fact you've probably played it since you were on the playground. Sally hit Johnny with the ball but said it was you. In the grown up world, the blame game can look like coworkers playing the field for their promotion at your loss. In education, the blame game has a lot of players but the top two contenders are parents and teachers. Student achievement via testing is a growing worry for parents and teachers alike. How much curriculum can be taught outside of the test material? How well did your child perform on the test when the teacher did not teach to the test? 

            Cooperation between parents and teachers is a critical necessity for the successful education of any student. Parents know their children better than anyone, but teachers see the children in an educational environment which brings out different qualities. It comes down to the fact that parental choice and input is one of the most important elements of any educational environment. Because children spend 70% of their time outside of school, parental education is one of the primary vehicles for student learning. (Facts About Parental Involvement)

            The blame game between parents and teachers is an unproductive and ineffective way to improve student comprehension and achievement. Accomplishing bold changes for a struggling student is a difficult process which requires the full cooperation between the educational system and the parents. The parents should always feel like they have autonomy when it comes to what they feel is best for their child and should make time to take part in their child's education in the home environment.

            However, parents should work with teachers to best understand the needs of their child in the context of their education. While parents may not be the direct supervisor of teachers, parents are the ones who should be consulted in regard to what is best for their child. Open communication between teachers and parents is key to the educational partnership and the academic success of the students. Student interests are best represented by the parents, not the government, or any school system - public or private.

Tip of the Day!

Coordination between teachers & parents: the key to educational partnership and the academic success of the students. #balancedcommunication

The More You Enjoy It, The Better You'll Be At It

Better Comprehension Through Recreational Reading

            When was the last time you read a book for fun? Think long and hard! No, the textbook you were flipping through does not count, nor does that audio tape you've started and stopped over a dozen times in your car driving back and forth to appointments. When you were a child, did you read recreationally? 

            Today, approximately 40% of children in the United States cannot read at a basic level (Read my source!).  If a child cannot fully comprehend the very words on the page, how can they string together a story with those words? Some might say that recreational reading comes second to technical prowess, while in fact, statistics show the converse. Fostering a love of reading creates dedicated students who make time for books in their free time and become life-long learners. Unfortunately, on average, for every ten students in 8th grade, only two read recreationally (Do something about it!)

            What can we do to change that statistic? Parental Involvement! Children spend 70% of their time outside of school at home. Affirmation and interest in what their student is reading can make students feel appreciated and encouraged, no matter their reading level. In the classroom, challenged learners might be left behind and advanced readers might not be developed to their full potential. Encouraging reading in the home takes learning outside the classroom into a positive and fun environment. 

            Good readers will become just as excellent writers, if not better. Creative reading lends itself into creative writing. Literacy is the cornerstone of education! Students who fully understands material will naturally perform better and engage more fully than a classmate who enjoyed the classroom hands on activities or lectures, but struggled to understand the reading material. 

            Individualized learning is so important to a child's literacy progress. Finding material the student finds particularly interesting is an important facet towards nurturing a love of recreational reading. If your child loves slimy disgusting reptiles, go to the library together and check out what kind of gross green books they have on the subject. While you're there, pick up a book you find interesting. It's never too late to be a recreational reader!