They're Baaaaaaack!

Today is the first day back to school. I woke up ridiculously early, with excitement (nervousness?) to go to my schools and see all my kiddos. The FDOS is always so chaotic and fun for me. Of course, I get to hold kindergartner's hands, sooth the cryers (moms, I'm looking at you!), see my 6th graders from last year now towering over me in height from just one summer's growth, and see all the teachers all nice and fresh and ready to change the world. Here I go.

But not everyone experiences an easy, breezy, beautiful cover girl FDOS. Some kids have difficulties transitioning back into the groove of things, including the homework ritual. So, without further ado, parents, here are some tips for back-to-school homework challenges. Teachers and school psychs, if you have others, do share!

Elementary (K-5):

1) Ensure the homework workload is appropriate. In general, students should be working on 10 minutes of homework per grade level. For example, a 1st grader should have about 10 minutes of homework, a second grader should have about 20 minutes of homework, and so forth. This does not include shared book reading time, which is often about 30 minutes or more a night. If your child is spending more time on homework than this general rule of thumb, have a conversation with the teacher about the level of difficulty or workload. Tell the teacher how long it takes your child to do the work and then ask the teacher if that is typical. It is good feedback for the teacher if skills are not automatic for your child, then s/he knows what concepts to re-teach. Homework is designed to reinforce concepts, not teach new ones for the child to struggle with at home.

2) Develop a homework routine. Provide a consistent workspace and time for homework. Have a discussion with your child about when and where s/he will be able to focus best. Some children need to be sitting with parents or siblings to get help on homework, and some children prefer to do it in their rooms in an area free of distraction. In general, homework should be done before dinner time, but there is flexibility in when they should start. Some children are still in "school mode" and like to get it done right away, some need exercise or a snack first.

3) If you child complains about homework, consider developing an incentive system. Some children are motivated by a sense of completion or getting a grade back on homework, while others are not. You can set up a simple incentive system together, such as allowing a fun activity after homework is completed. This is called the "Premack Principle": First you do X, then you get Y. This is often sufficient to spark your child into action. Some children show more resistance, and benefit from a more elaborate system, such as earning points for doing their homework, earning bonus points for not complaining about homework, and so forth. These points are then redeemed for rewards that the family decides upon together. To prevent sibling rivalry, use the incentive system will all family members, even if the other sibling is doing his/her homework without any issues. It never hurts to reward good homework habits.

4) Do not accidently step over your bounds and end up doing your child's homework for him or her, for the sake of getting it done. It is better to leave items undone with a note to the teacher saying that your child did not understand the concept than to give the answer to your child. Giving the answer deprives your child's teacher of needed feedback to tailor instruction to your child's needs.

5) Check your own attitudes about homework. If you didn't like homework when you were younger, chances are you may implicitly impart this message to your child. The messages you send about homework can be subtle. If you say, "Just get it done/over with" or "I know it's just busy work", you send that message to your child that homework does not have value. Instead, emphasize that homework is a way to share with you all the interesting things they have learned in school, and teaches good work habits. Praise the process, not the outcome. "I like how hard you are working on your math facts" or "Look at you working through that tricky question and not giving up!" sends a message that learning is a process, not a product.

6) Acknowledge and address difficulties if homework becomes a nightly struggle. Tell your child that you can see that homework is frustrating for him/her and resolve to figure it out together. You may need to enlist the support of your child's teacher, or the school psychologist. School sites often have student success teams in which key stakeholders get together and problem solve academic difficulties and put interventions and supports in place. Sometimes, there are after school tutoring programs, modified assignments, or additional community resources that can be tapped into to help your child.

Secondary School: Middle & High (6-12th grade)

In addition to all of tips above, there are a few special considerations for students in secondary school:

1) Parents should think of their role as changing from the elementary years as a "Homework Manager" to the adolescent years as a "Homework Facilitator." Chances are, if your child developed good homework habits in elementary school, they will continue into the secondary grades. Offer yourself as a support or resource if they get stuck on assignments, and check in periodically to make sure that they are feeling competent in their homework. If the first progress report of the year comes back with low homework grades, then you can have a discussion with your child about changes that need to be made in your role.

2) If your child struggled with homework in elementary school, chances are they may experience more challenges in middle and high school because they will have more teachers and subjects to juggle. In this case, you may need to have a conversation with your child that you would like to support them in making homework an easier and more fun process for them and brainstorm supports. Again, you may be looking at incentive systems as well as increased communication with teachers for the student who is not motivated by completion or grades alone.

3) It is important to impart the message that you are involved in their homework because you care. Teenagers often want to have a sense of control, and sometimes see parent monitoring as a negative trait, that they don't trust them or are trying to control them. Reinforce that you are involved because you want them to do well in school and feel proud of their work. Assure them that you will not need to manage their homework routines when they start showing responsibility.

4) If your child complains that they don't want to do homework, check to make sure that it is not because they can't do their homework, or they have difficulties writing down assignments, planning for long-term assignments, or remembering what to do. Often, adolescents would rather look defiant than incapable. Collaborate with your child's teachers in the areas they are resisting homework to make sure there isn't a larger problem underneath the resistance. Your school psychologist is another resource for better understanding your child's challenges and problem-solving interventions to support him/her.

5) Teenagers also need homework routines. They may be more involved in determining the time and location than in the elementary years. They may say that they have more energy to do homework at night, or they want to do homework with friends. As long as they are completing their work and going to bed at a reasonable time, this can be allowed. You can also let your teenager suffer the natural consequence of staying up super late--they will be tired and cranky the next day and may think twice about procrastinating in the future.

6) If you are finding yourself in a nightly battle over homework, and it is putting a strain on your relationship with your teenager, consider outside assistance. At times, there are peer tutors at the school who can work with students on homework. College students often offer tutoring and study skills assistance. Since many teens are socially motivated, working with an older peer on homework may be a good solution to removing yourself from the negative interaction.

And I'm off....get ready for the famous Kindergarten quotes of the day...

This Week, with Debbie Downer

Husband is so great. Whenever there’s a news show about education, he TiVos it for me and we watch it together. Even on our 1st anniversary, while vacationing, he noticed that CSPAN was covering an education debate and we watched it together. He even lets me yell at the TV, and pauses for my commentary. Now that’s true love, right? So many times, I would love to hop in the TV and shake the politicians who don’t get it.

Case and point: This morning,“This Week with Christiane Amanpour” had its yearly education debate. I say yearly, because they NEVER talk about education on these shows except for the one week before school starts. Education gets the shaft in coverage on the news. So this morning, I got all excited for my 8-minute segment about education.

Then, Arne Duncan, Education Secretary opened his mouth. Allow me to summarize:

We need to do what works and not do what doesn’t work!

Randi Weingarten, president of American Federation of Teachers added,

We should start doing what works and stop doing what doesn’t!

Michelle Rhee, chancellor or DC schools:

We should keep good teachers and get rid of bad teachers.

AAARRRG. I suppose it is hard to get to anything of substance in 8 minutes, to their credit. There was some banter about teacher evaluations and student performance that had some actual substance, but if I was left with only stupid talking points. Mind you, none of those talking points mentioned mental and physical health as a component in student achievement.

*Dusts off soap box*

People. You can’t learn if you don’t feel well emotionally or physically. You can be the best teacher in the world, but if your students come to you with trauma and bad health, you have a greater challenge. Poverty is no longer a sentence for underachievement, but it certainly makes things harder for teachers, who have to be teacher, social worker, mom, educator, and advocate. What is the incentive for teachers and school psychologists to work in poorer schools, with less resources and more challenges? I mean, other than the obvious great sense of civic pride, social justice, and great cocktail conversations (e.g. “Today I talked a kid with a knife down from a flagpole. How was your day?).?*

*Sigh*

The politicians just don’t get it. They aren’t at the schools every day, trying to close the achievement gap from a janitor’s closet or shoddy classroom with outdated computers that don’t print, and no materials or support. Wake up, people. As my dear Internet BFF Mrs. Mimi says, “You can’t fire poverty, so they fire teachers.” Are there crap teachers I wish would go away? Yes. Are there super teachers who should get paid CEO salaries for all they do? Yes. But blaming the teachers is not right. So, what should we do? I don’t want to be all Arne on you and say “let’s be innovative and do new things!” and have no substance.

My answer is simple and biased.

In high poverty schools, hire more mental health professionals. It’s a simple Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs situation. If you don’t have your primary needs of safety, food, health, and belonging, you are less free emotionally to learn. Think of a time when you just found out a friend or family member died. Maybe you have a time in your life when you were a victim of a crime—think of your emotional state. Or even think of a really difficult time in your life when you weren’t sure if you could pay your bills. Did you feel free to sit down and read a novel for fun? Were you inclined to do algebra algorithms to soothe yourself? Or did you need support from another human being to get back to functioning normally? Well imagine you are a kid with trauma or worries and you don’t have strong coping skills or an adult to support you. You are not ready for learning. Often, our teachers in poor areas become de-facto counselors as well as teachers.

I am always struck by the contrast between my poorer schools and my more affluent schools. Each year, I return to school by going to my multiple sites and sitting in on professional developments. Year after year, in the poorer schools, we talk about sparking motivation and a sense of safety and belonging in students, and we try to garner outside resources we could pull in to help our students. In my schools in affluent neighborhoods, we talk about new composting programs, new PTA-sponsored programs, and how hard it is to show improvement in test scores when the majority of the school is already at the top.

Is anyone else depressed? So sorry to be all Jonathan Kozel on you. I’ll leave you with this palate-cleansing image:



Now, we go forth and do the good work that we know makes a difference. Even if our test scores don’t always show it. Oh, and grab yourself an awesome spouse who lets you rant about education all the time. It really helps.

*Awesome side note: At my reading for The Teachable Moment, a presenter overhead an audiance member say, "Wow, I had no idea school psychologists were so...gritty." Spread the word. We are full of courage and resolve. Also, covered in grit.

There is Still Time. Go Get this Book.

Back to School. I love the clothes shopping, seeing my colleagues again, and of course, seeing the middle schoolers now taller than me. Each year, I start out with the best intentions to be more organized, more efficient, and less stressed than the last year. To that end, this summer, I started researching good resources for educators--for both teachers and school psychologists alike. With Response to Intervention (RtI) becoming all the rage, (albeit kind of at a glacially slow pace in some schools and districts), school psychologists are more and more needing to have a good understanding of class-wide interventions and curriculum. I know, we are usually the gate keepers to one particular intervention (special education), but we really are evolving from gate keepers into key masters and key mistresses of all interventions through RtI. Should I get make us all Key Mistress shirts and sell them on the blog? No? Too much?

Anyhoo. As a reader of many blogs, I am always looking for ones that offer practical, research-based advice for teachers. We all know that theory and practice are disconnected sometimes, especially for new teachers. As school psychologists, we often consult with teachers about particular students, but at times, the solution can be classroom wide and help all students. And I give you, the mother of all practical resources: The Cornerstone: Classroom Management That Makes Teaching More Effective, Efficient, and Enjoyable.



This book is by Angela Watson (formally Powell), one of my go-to gals for interventions. She has a website for teachers and writes a great blog. She put together this fab resource in her SPARE TIME. The book covers everything from organizing your room at the beginning of the year, figuring out all your procedures for managing paperwork, setting up a class-wide positive behavior classroom management plan, to specifics for running centers, handling peer conflicts, and bathroom breaks. I mean, this woman has thought of all contingencies.

I sat down with Angela in her Florida home one Saturday afternoon with mint juleps, and interviewed her. Actually, I'm lying. I wish I was in Florida with a mint julep. I emailed her and asked her these burning questions:

1) What gave you the idea to start your blog and create The Cornerstone book for teachers?

When I first started teaching, I visited lots of teacher message boards to see what other people were doing. I didn't have a lot of ideas of my own yet, but I shared some of my basic classroom management strategies and people were like, wow, I never thought of that--it's so simple and yet it totally works! Eventually I noticed teachers were asking the same type of questions over and over (How do you get kids to be quiet in the hallway? What can I do about their disgustingly messy desks?), so I thought it would be easier to type up one response and put it on a web page, then just link people to my answer. That was 2003, and Ms. Powell's Management Ideas for Teachers was born! Over the years, I kept adding new classroom photos and printables. The blog and book just felt like the next natural steps.

2) Um, when did you have the time to write this gem? I mean, seriously, are you the world champion of time management and organization?

The book's motto is "Learn how to create a self-running classroom that frees you to teach" and I apply the same principles to my life: all my routine tasks are basically self-running which frees me to, well, do what I love and share it with other people. I cook large, simple meals 2 or 3 times a week and eat variations of the leftovers on the other days. My beloved Roomba vacuums for me. All my bills are automatically debited from my account online and I only run errands if something can't possibly be handled on the Internet. Even my cat's life is totally self-running: she has an automated litter box cleaner, an automatic waterer, and a food dispenser that puts out 1/2 cup every twelve hours. I spend a total of 5 minutes a week on cat upkeep. My husband is old-school and thinks I'm a bit over the top, but you can't argue with what works.

3) How do you think school psychologists could use this resource? (I know for one, that the movement to RtI means that school psychologists will be in the classrooms more than ever, and need resources for teachers)

Since working in a school somehow means you're destined to be surrounded by massive amounts of paper, I think the ideas for easy-to-maintain organizational systems, avoiding the paper trap, and keeping documentation records will be useful for school psychs. I also think it will help them relate to children in a large group setting; the story you tell in The Teachable Moment about your disastrous first attempt at conducting a whole class discussion is really common! It takes a special skill set to keep 30 squirming or surly kids engaged, and I've tried to convey some innovative ways to do that through the book.

4) Pretend I'm a first year teacher. What is THE most important thing they don't teach me in teacher preparation programs?

Having clearly-defined, modeled, and reinforced procedures will truly save your sanity. Otherwise you will spend four hours preparing a fabulous lesson, only to have it ruined by a kid who gets up in the middle to use the noisy pencil sharpener (leaving shavings all over the desk and floor), which will serve as the impetus for seven other children to suddenly decide that they, too, have impossibly dull pencils and must race over to sharpen them right. this. second, and then make a meandering trip over to the water fountain on the way back to their seats. There are lots of different ways to solve practical problems like these, so I've suggested a bunch of different options so teachers can choose what works for them, and then use a basic set of steps to introduce the expectation to students and train them how to be successful at meeting it.

5) Your book is super practical. Where have you been all my life? Do you find most education resources to be theory-based rather than practical? Where can teachers and school psychologists go for additional resources when they are in the trenches and nothing they learned in graduate school seems to be working as planned?

I love that teachers don't have to rely solely on formal professional development classes anymore--you can find pretty much anything you need online. I have a fabulous network of people that I rely on for ideas and resource recommendations through their websites, blogs (Google Reader is a lifesaver), Twitter feeds, and Facebook. The edu-tech gurus call this creating your own personal learning community or network (PLC/PLN). There are so many new resources being created daily for teachers, and lots of them are free. I love to explore online, and then compile the best stuff I find on my website.

6) Anything else you want to share? Please say new book, please say new book....

Yes, book #2 is in the works! The Cornerstone is the practical guide to managing a classroom, but there's actually something even more critical to effective teaching: the right attitude. It's so easy to get discouraged, frustrated, and bogged down in all the bureaucratic nonsense that teachers have to juggle, especially in urban classrooms. I'm hoping to share ways teachers can establish a mindset that will get them through even the toughest of days.

You know you want this book. Click on the Cornerstone icon on the right side of this blog under "Go on, Buy Yourself Something Pretty." Mama gets a 4 cent kickback, I think. In 10 years, I could buy a latte.

Whatcha Doin' on Sunday?

Friends, for those of you in the San Francisco Bay area, I am hosting a book reading for The Teachable Moment book I edited! Joining me in reading a little sumthin' sumthin' will be two of my favorite school psychologists/contributors to the book. Come one, come all, this Sunday, August 22nd at 3pm to hear yours truly read from the book and schmooze with other fabulous educators! I would love to meet readers of the blog.

The event is at Diesel, A Book Store in Oakland at 5433 College Ave (Rockridge area--by the Rockridge BART for you SF peeps). As an added incentive, husband is baking his world famous chocolate chip cookies.

For those of you not in the Bay Area, go on and charter your jet and come for a long weekend. San Francisco is lovely this time of year (you know, cruelly RIGHT when school starts)

More deets are here

p.s. What should I wear? Channel Shoshona Shauenmbaum, therapist from United States of Tara, or Nicki, second sister wife from Big Love? ;) Or maybe sport one of my power IEP school psychologist costumes?

Back To School Tips...For US!

Friends, how did it happen? How is it back to school already? In a previous post, I wrote about the three summer phases, the last being the most glorious--the relaxation phase. I have gotten so good at Phase 3, it's a shame to give it up, really. This summer, however, I did not master my goals of becoming bilingual, learning to reupholster vintage furniture, or finishing my book. I know, its shocking. But I did master removing all nasty spider-infested junipers from my yard on a juniper murdering spree involving a power saw. I also read a bunch of YA fiction books (for research!) about vampires and teens with superpowers (for research!). Lastly, I baked an apple pie from scratch. I mean, that's gotta count for something from the gal whose cooking repertoire is limited to spaghetti, wheat thin nachos (yum), and those cookies you can cut from a log of dough and pretend you made. If only I had one more month of Phase 3...

HOWEVER, I think I failed to mention (repressed?) in my previous post about Phase 4: The Panic Phase. Apparently it occurs right about...*glances at watch*, one week before school starts up again. How will I get up with an alarm 5 days a week? Will my brain work again? Am I ready to take on breaking the cycle of poverty and closing the achievement gap from my janitorial closet?

A few years ago (wow! my blog is so established--almost 4 years, peeps!), I posted a list of things parents can do to help their
their kids with a smooth back to school transition. I am reposting it now, but this time, with notes for US.

Before School Starts
1) Mark your calendar with important dates.
Ok, so we all know the important dates, like that looming FIRST DAY OF WORK one in our iCals or old skool planners. But let's also mark the holidays, shall we?

2) Buy school supplies early. Try to fill the backpacks a week or two before school starts.
No problem, right? Retail therapy. It's good. It does help the B2S transition for me to get all new supplies. Oh sure, I'm hemorrhaging money right now because of Target and Office Depot, but I feel more ready to return to school having a trunk full of Moon Sand, new play therapy games, and an unreasonable amount of new writing utensils.

3) Reestablish the bedtime and mealtime routines at least one week before school starts. Include pre-bedtime reading and household chores if these were suspended during the summer.
Gak! That means this week I cannot stay up until midnight watching United States of Tara and sleeping in? I do not like this. Not one bit. But I'll do it. I'll do it for the children.

4) Turn off the TV. Encourage your child to play quiet games, do puzzles, color, or read as early morning activities instead of tv. This will help ease your child into the learning process and school routine. If possible, maintain this practice throughout the school year.
Again with the TV hating? Perhaps this one is only for the children, right? I'm rationalizing again. Fine, I'll read over breakfast. I do have this one last YA fiction book I need to finish...(for research!)

5) Visit school with your child in advance if your child is young or in a new school.
Oh hell no! I am not visiting the district office or my school sites. I remember them well.

6) Designate a clear place to do homework.
Read: designate a clear place to write psychoeducational reports/grade papers/lesson plan. Ok, that's fun, and may involve me purchasing that great Mid-Century Modern secretary desk I've had my eye on.

Overcoming School Anxiety

1) Let your child know you care. If your child is anxious about school, send personal notes in the lunch box or book bag. Reinforce the ability to cope.
I am going to tell my husband to put notes in my test kits that I will have to lug around.

2) Do not over react. If the first few days are a little rough, try not to over react.
I will try.

3) Acknowledge anxiety over a bad experience the previous year (e.g. bullying, difficulty with academics or making friends). Contact the school to confirm that the problem has been or will be addressed.
Hm. N/A, for most of us, I hope!

4) Arrange play dates or get-togethers with some of your child’s classmates before school starts and during the first weeks of school to help your child reestablish positive social relationships with peers.
Oh yeah, I got this one. My school psych friends and I have been taking weekly walks together all summer. It is good to remember that you will see your super-colleagues again soon and get to socialize.

5) If problems arise, you may want to contact the school to set up an appointment to meet with your child’s teacher and school psychologist. They may be able to offer support or suggest other resources.
Oh, that's me. Um, yeah, I guess I need to work on sprucing up my janitor's closet to be ready. Here's hoping for a rodent and vermin free school year!

Please, please, post your own Back to School Tips. I am in Phase 4 just thinking about it.

Mistakes Are Not My Cup of Tea.

This fine Sunday morning, I decided to break out of my normal routine of lounging around and frittering away time on Facebook to take a Hula dance class (p.s. Ow.) I came home, already sore, and began to complain to my husband about how I shouldn’t break my routines. Sure, exercise is good, but did you know that hula is actually like holding a squat for an hour with your hands up while moving your hips? Ow. Anyhoo, after I demonstrated a few moves to my husband to illustrate my point, I realized that I needed to take a rest. So I started another one of my favorite Sunday rituals, preparing a cup of tea.

My tea is always so wise. It has these little sayings on the end of the tea bag that I always read, like a fortune cookie. I get a little un-Zenned when I get one I’ve had before. Thankfully, today I got a new one:

Wisdom comes from experience and experience comes from making mistakes.

Good one! I think my tea was trying to tell me that Hula class was a mistake and it is a NO in the future. Or maybe I’ve turned my tea into a projective task...It did get me thinking about mistakes though.

Raise your hand if you like making mistakes. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Yeah, I thought so. No one likes making mistakes. I am often telling my students that mistakes are how you learn, but can I appreciate it when I make mistakes? Yeah, easier said than done. One time, in my younger days as a school psychologist, I made a mistake that cost the district $30,000. Oopsie! But that is a tale for my memoirs. I do have to say I never made that mistake again, so I guess I did learn. But I beat myself up pretty bad for a while. It still stings a little. Sure, my mistakes now after 10-ish years of practice are fewer and far between, but they are still there, and I don't always take my tea's advice to think of it as a way to become wiser.

We have all probably worked with kids who are too hard on themselves too. A metaphor I often use with kids who are always beating themselves up for making mistakes is to think about a baby learning to walk. When the baby first learns, he or she makes all kinds of mistakes and falls down. Do we say, “Stupid baby! You should have known better than to fall down!” I reaaaaaally hope no one out there is saying “yes” to that rhetorical question. It’s true though, we have patience for young kids and other people trying new things, but can we as adults walk the walk too, and be okay with making mistakes?

Think about your role as a parent, teacher, school psychologist, or random lurker reading this blog because you googled “tea” or something. Can we be as patient with ourselves as we are with the kids we work with? I know right now, many of us are returning to school, or have just gone back to school, and are faced with 1000 decisions every day. Especially if you are a new teacher or school psychologist, do not be afraid to make mistakes, and do not be afraid to ask for help. Mistakes are feedback. Feedback is how you learn. I think what my tea is trying to say is to try new things and reframe each mistake or wrong decision as a little slice of learning toward your wisdom pie.

I know that if I keep up with Hula class, I’m going to be free to have all kinds of pie (wisdom or otherwise) with my tea in the future.