Educate the Parents

The 25 words all two year olds should know

2012-02-21T05:50:00.001-08:00

I read in the papers this week that there are twenty five words every two year old should be able to say. If they can’t say these words, there is a problem. Well I am proud to say that my two year old (three in May) does not regularly use all of these words.

One of the words (or rather phrases) is ‘all gone’. I know most parents repeat this to their child about fifty times a day. I don’t. I guess that means that there is also something wrong with me.

I have a couple of friends whose children don’t drink juice. I must remember to tell them that something is wrong with their children as I doubt their children were shouting out ‘juice’ at the age of two.

My son can speak in very clear sentences when he wants to – No, let’s go this way, That’s Hayden’s car, so really I am not worried. And he can say much more complicated words than these. I am just worried about the constant interference in how we bring up our children. Luckily for my children my husband and I tend to ignore them.

Educate the Parents: Avoiding homework

2011-12-08T03:10:00.001-08:00

Educate the Parents: Avoiding homework: When I was in primary school I remember having homework but not when I was really little. Changed days. I used to finish my homework in a...

Avoiding homework

2011-12-08T03:10:00.000-08:00

When I was in primary school I remember having homework but not when I was really little. Changed days. I used to finish my homework in about ten minutes and then run out to play. These days it takes ten minutes to read the instructions.

So much to my seven year old’s delight I often miss half of it out. First there is the reading book, which is boring and which he gets nothing out of. Anyway he’s read it at school already. What is the point of reading it again? He’s not a goldfish.

So we tend to skip that part. Reading is not a homework task in our house. Instead we sit down together at bedtime and he reads a book to me, a book which is write a bit more advanced than his homework book, which he finds interesting and which occasionally has a ne word for him to learn.

I don’t know any child who nags their mum to do homework but I get nagged to sit down and read with H. And if he had his way he would be reading to me all evening.

Then we have maths games which require sitting and reading instructions, locating a dice and counters and sometimes cutting out also. By that time we’re both fed up. On son’s insistence we did one this week. It involved five minutes of reading rules and about two minutes of maths.

So usually we skip his reading book and maths game. Instead we read together and go on maths websites. And son thinks he’s pulling a fast one on me!

Breakfast clubs

2011-12-01T12:12:00.001-08:00

Daughter has just told me about kids in her class who have chocolate for breakfast. Not the evil cocoa pops but the real deal – a bar of chocolate. Mine get cereal and toast.

Meanwhile I have just been reading about a trial scheme in Toronto to feed children up.

68% of the children, in what is regarded as a poor part of Toronto, were coming to school without breakfast.

20% missed both breakfast and lunch.

Since the school introduced a breakfast and lunch club the number of twelve and thirteen year old pupils failing to achieve the minimum reading level fell by 50% and the number achieving high reading scores increased by 10.

The figures were just as good in science. The percentage of students failing fell from 44% to 28%.

Impressive figures.

The Tortoise and The Hare

2011-11-24T04:30:00.001-08:00

We all remember the fable from which we get the saying “Don’t cry wolf”. But why does nobody remember The Tortoise and the Hare? Education policy, particularly in England, has in recent years been focused on getting kids to read and write as early as possible.

This really does seem a bit daft when you take into consideration that the countries where pupils are doing well academically tend to be the ones where kids begin learning to read later.

Teachers appear to panic very quickly and seem to treat children as if they are all the same and that by a certain age they should be achieving this and that, not taking in to account that some kids might still achieve but maybe a little bit later than others. I don’t think the introduction of the EYFS in England has helped that.

Perhaps they should simply have more faith in the ability to engage children at different stages and stop taking this attitude that after the child hits seven there is no hope for them.

I had two friends at school who did not do well academically but a few years after leaving school they got themselves sorted out and applied to well reputed universities. They both graduated in academic subjects (no degrees in juggling there) and have very good jobs.

The tortoise does really come first sometimes.

How to get your child to love maths – part 1

2011-11-16T02:43:00.000-08:00

If anyone is suffering from insomnia I have the solution. I can give you H’s maths homework. The maths games he is expected to do are so boring that they could turn anyone in to Rip Van Winkle.

Needless to say we gave up doing them a few weeks ago and the fact that I have not ticked and signed the relevant sheet to say we had completed them, is not because I forgot. We just haven’t bothered.

Instead we have been having fun with maths. We started off by suggesting a game of Sum Swamp and we play this from time to time. Sum Swamp is an excellent game you can play with all the family and is a bit like Snakes and Ladders but instead you have three dice – two with numbers on and one with a + or – on each side. Instead of rolling a dice and seeing a number, children roll three and have to add or take away the numbers.

Suggest a game of Sum Swamp in our house and you are met with cheers of “Yeessssssss!!” as they all run in to the dining room. A bit different from the response we get when we mention his homework maths games.

The only problem is he is getting a past this stage and the mental maths is more suitable for his five year old brother but it is still good for him and good for us as a family to play games together.

So now I have introduced him to two websites Topmarks and Tutpup. At parents’ evening we were told that him as his friends are competitive and like to compete to see who finishes their maths first so TutPup should suit him down to the ground.

A good Saturday afternoon film

2011-11-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

Recently Daughter and I had an afternoon to ourselves in the house. We baked cakes, we hung out a bit and then for a change we decided to watch something online. I am not one for watching TV but I just fancied relaxing for a change.

We checked the various websites – BBCiPlayer, Film 4 etc. and eventually I found something I thought would be good and which would both of us would enjoy.

Then we cuddled up on the couch and hit play.

The film we watched was brilliant. Daughter was dying to know what happened next and kept getting excited, asking questions. Two year old, who incidentally was with us, emptied the colouring pencil box on to the settee but we didn’t care. We were engrossed.

The film was brilliant – excellent acting, fantastic storyline, everything we could possibly want from a Saturday afternoon film.

At the end of the film we discussed how brilliant it was. Daughter wanted to go back in time, to be there and discover what really happen.

As I have blogged about here I love history. The film of course was a historical one about The Princes in the Tower, the two sons of King Edward IV of England, who disappeared from the Tower of London in the late fifteenth century.

That’s how to get kids interested in history.

August babies

2011-11-14T03:08:00.000-08:00

Another day and another bit of research about August babies. For those of you (if there is anyone) who hasn’t read this research, you can read about it here.

What annoys me is the evidence people give that this is not always true. People cite great examples of people doing well, Gordon Brown being a popular one.

Except this argument has one almighty big hole in it.

Gordon Brown went to school in Scotland.

Scotland’s cut off date is not the end of August, it is the end of February.

So Gordon Brown was not one of the youngest in his class. He was somewhere near the middle.

Being born in August does not affect how you do in school. Being the youngest in the class does.

English readers please take note.

Outward Bound

2011-11-11T02:41:00.000-08:00

Recently I went up to Loch Eil Outward Bound Centre reporting for the Times Educational Supplement. Loch Eil is an outward bound centre a few miles north of Fort William and is run by The Outward Bound Trust.

It is a place where young people can go for a few days or a few weeks and take part in outdoor activities.

Having reported on similar work before I really have come to the conclusion that all young people should have some kind of outward bound experience, whether it is with the Outward Bound Trust or as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

I am relatively sporty but am not keen on outdoor pursuits, partly I am sure because of the dreary Scottish weather but I do see the benefits. Years ago I climbed Ayers Rock and then a few weeks later went canoing down the Katherine Gorge in Australia and I remember well the way it made me feel.

Being at Loch Eil reminded me of this and confirmed to me that I want my children to have similar experiences. Achieving academic qualifications has its place but nothing beats the positive benefits kid get from working in a team in sometimes harsh conditions, pushing themselves further than they would normally do and working on the belief that anything is possible.

History teaching

2011-11-10T02:04:00.000-08:00

I am a bit behind in my magazine reading so have only recently got round to reading last week’s Times Educational Supplement. In this issue Henry Hepburn interviewed Neil McLennan, president of the Scottish Association of the Teachers of History.

Henry asked Mr Mclennan if history is still also about World War II and the Nazis. I studied history to ‘o’ grade and so I totally see where Henry is coming from. We spent two years learning about both world wars and the period in between. This wasn’t history, it was government propaganda in disguise.

It wouldn’t have been so bad if we as a country had learned anything.

Prior to ‘o’ grade we did learn about other aspects of history such as the Window Tax. We didn’t just learn about the social and architectural implications of this law we went through the law in fine detail. Yawn!

Despite being a history lover, this really put me off history, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.

Thankfully Mr Mclennan’s reply was that they have been working hard to eradicate what he refers to as “the nazification of the curriculum in Scottish history classrooms”.

Good. About time.

Team leaders

2011-10-25T08:51:00.000-07:00

Do you remember at school when it came to sports and the teacher would make two kids team leaders and tell them to take turns picking their teams? And there was always at least one or kids who were always last picked.

And do you remember how in school many people hated gym and would do anything to avoid it particularly in secondary?

Has nobody in education ever connected the two?

I could give you lots and lots of statistics about young people losing interest in sport and how secondary schools are trying everything to get pupils interested, but really, you’ve heard it all before.

I was one of those kids who was last to be picked. And really after quite a few years of that anyone would lose interest in sports. I’ve never been interested in being part of a popularity contest. Once I left school I became interested in sports in its own right. Most kids won’t go down that path though.

Going back to my day I think we can excuse the teachers. I really don’t think they knew any better. But nowadays? Come on guys think about it.

I expect most PE teachers were good at sport and school and never had to go through the humiliation of always being the last chosen and knowing that nobody wanted you in their team, but class teachers – really, do you not recall this from your school days. Have we learned nothing in thirty years?

If we want to get and keep children interested in sports we need to stop making sports an activity for the popular.

Oh and in case anyone thinks this is sour grapes because of one of my children being picked last, it’s not. Thank you R, from A. She really appreciated it.

Boasting

2011-06-17T09:45:00.000-07:00

My son starts school in August and the school had an afternoon event last month for the children to meet their teachers and find out what class they were in. I can’t decide if D’s teacher has been very bad this year or very good as many of the kids in her class of next year are right characters. How she will keep a straight face I just don’t know.

I asked one mum if her son was looking forward to starting school. She replied yes but that she doubts he will be top of the class. “Who cares” I said. She then told me about a couple of mums who were telling her how advanced their children were and how their little darlings were reading and writing and doing sums already.

Now the mum I spoke to is very, very intelligent. Much more intelligent than I am. So I don’t think she has anything to worry about.

I also suspect that the other mums knew this too. How sad that they felt the need to boast so much and try to make her feel inadequate.

And how sad that these parents are obviously pushing their children so much at this stage when there are more important things to be doing, when their children should be spending their days splashing in puddles and pretending to be Ben Ten.

End of term

2011-06-16T03:23:00.000-07:00

End of term

A few years back I visited a school in England where children where put up a year once they had sat their SATs. I wrote a piece on it and was very impressed by the system. It meant kids were not wasting the last couple of weeks of the summer term bringing games into school and when they returned in September they hit the ground running as the term goes.

This year we are taking our children out three days early to go to France. So instead of playing their Nintendo DS in a classroom and waiting for the bell to ring my children will be:

- travelling the length of England and half of Scotland and no doubt asking us geography related questions.

- discovering Birmingham – I’m sure we can find some culture there.

- spending a bit of time in Sussex and enjoying the English countryside

- learning French (it’s a long journey and they already know quite a bit)

- asking lots and lots of questions, some of them sensible, many of them not.

Losing interest in history

2011-03-15T01:03:00.000-07:00

I read a report the other day that stated that English children are losing interest in history. Ofsetd have found that many pupils lack a chronological understanding of history and are unable to link events. Schools are dropping the subject, and because it is not compulsory past the age of thirteen, many pupils are dropping it.

As someone who loves history and who has a history book in the planning, I find this sad. But I also wonder whose fault it is.

My memories of history at school are of spending lessons learning about the different parts of the Corn Law and such like. An Act would be noted down and we would have to learn everything that that Act covered.

That’s not history, that’s law.

Then there was ‘o’ grade history where we spent two years covering the two world wars and the years in between.

By fourth year I’d had enough and didn’t bother with the Higher.

And despite going to school in Scotland I have no recollection of ever being taught about the Treaty of Arbroath.

I can’t comment on today’s history curriculum but one thing I do know is that if you make the subject boring kids will turn off. And history certainly isn’t boring.

Review of 'My first chemistry kit'

2011-03-13T15:50:00.000-07:00

From what I gather, James Galt has a good name as a toy manufacturer so when I was asked to review their ‘My First Chemistry Kit’ I was more than happy to oblige. While I could probably explain the basics to my children, and I did do Higher biology, anything beyond basic chemistry and physics is beyond me. In a few years time when they hit secondary school, they are going to have to rely on natural ability because I don’t think I am going to be much help.

The kit comes with a booklet of eight activities to work on with the children and I was pleased to see that you get a bit more than I expected for your money. Some of the experiments involve putting mixtures aside for two weeks and we currently have a container of a gelatine mixture sitting in the kitchen.

The box states that the set is for age five and above so I opted for letting my eight year old, six year old, and nearly five year old join me as we gathered round the kitchen table.

Having a four and a half year old there really wasn’t a problem, although I wouldn’t advise letting children younger than that get involved.

The first activity was entitled, “The case of the disappearing powders’ and memories of first year science came flooding back. Although in a good way. We discussed the differences between solids and liquids before moving on to dissolve various liquids in water.

Moving on, we used pH paper to find out whether something was acid, base or neutral and made a potion with the gelatine, which is still sitting in the kitchen (to be left for two weeks). We used the magnifier to examine granules of salt and dissolved it before leaving it to dry out to see if the salt returns.

At this point I meant to tell you what else we did – the experiments with the test tubes, the fun with the microscope, how we made a rainbow disc, but I must be honest and say that by this point my head cold has got so bad that I went to bed.

Obviously me having a head cold is not good but what is good is that this kit is more than one afternoon’s work. Our kids have received a fair number of toys in the past nine years and often the box may look large but the amount of time spent on the toy isn’t. At this point in time we are only on activity four so half way there.

The kit contains enough tools and powders to keep families busy – test tubes, several pH papers, gelatine, bicarbonate of soda. The booklet is easy to follow, giving instructions as well as providing ideas for further ‘experiments’.

The only negative thing was the microscope. It may look the part but it requires a very strong light in order for it to be used.

But to be honest I think for the price (£10.99) I think it is well worth the money. I liked the concepts it introduces to children and the fact that it demonstrates that science is not something foreign, to be kept to a school science lab. Suggestions are made for how household products can be used for scientific experiments.

The most impressive aspect was that for your money you get more than an afternoon’s entertainment. So with regards value for money, it gets the thumbs up from me.

Weighing pigs

2011-03-07T00:21:00.001-08:00

Weighing a pig doesn’t make it fatter’ is, I have been told, a teacher’s saying, and what a great saying it is. It refers to the obsession with assessment of children. Sorry did I write obsession. I really meant the ‘act of’. Honestly.

Politicians are preoccupied with assessing children, so much so that English schools in particular have been accused of teaching to test. If it’s not in the exam they’re not interested in teaching it.

I listened to four MSPs on Thursday night – one education secretary and four hopefuls. Three of them were very keen for more assessment in primary schools.

Under the 5 to 14 curriculum we had national assessments in Scotland but I have spoken to teachers who told me that they didn’t need assessments to see how a child was doing. They knew anyway.

The politicians’ argument is that parents want to know how their children are getting on. But this can be done without branding them and putting them under pressure. What’s wrong with a good, honest talk at parents’ evening?

Last night's TESS pre-election debate

2011-03-04T02:38:00.001-08:00

One of the things I was surprised at last night was how polite every one was, in particular the politicians. I have been told that when the English TES held a similar event, things were a bit different. SMPs must be more refrained.

When booking, we were asked two questions for a poll – who we thought we would vote for, and who we thought will be in power after the election. The same questions were asked at the end of the debate.

For the first question the winner was the SNP with 40%, for the second question the winner was Labour with 63%.

Without going into too much detail, the SNP did come across as very confident whereas sadly Labour did seem a bit uncertain about what they were going to do, particularly with regards the new SEQIA, and Mike Russell did use this to his advantage.

So based on how each of them came across last night I can understand why so many voted SNP. But people still think Labour is going to win, which is interesting.

Grilling the MSPs

2011-03-03T02:12:00.000-08:00

Tonight I will be attending the TESS (Times Educational Supplement Scotland) pre-election debate at the National Gallery in Scotland. With the Scottish elections approaching this is an opportunity to quiz Michael Russell, Education Secretary and his counterparts in Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats and the Greens.

I haven’t had a chance to put any questions together but here’s a few topics I hope turn up:

- the education budget is no longer ringfenced meaning there is a constant fight for funds

- since the SNP announced that all three and four year olds should have ‘access to a nursery teacher’ local authorities saw this as the green light for getting rid of full time nursery teachers and instead making them floating positions with one nursery teacher covering several nurseries. This is despite evidence that children who have regular access to a nursery teacher do better in school.

- the fact that the maximum class size promise has been abandoned

- what is to be done about the low levels of literacy in Scottish schools. Children reaching secondary who can barely read and write

I shall report back tomorrow.

No you're not rubbish at maths

2011-03-02T03:49:00.000-08:00

On a few occasions recently both my oldest children have voiced opinions that they were not very good at something at school – maths, spelling etc. This is an opinion which I don’t like.

I have a postgrad in a maths subject, and being a journalist I guess I can say I’m good at English, but at no point in primary school do I recall knowing that I was good or bad at anything. I just did the work.

But today school is very different. Parents and teachers feel the need to find a child’s strengths early on.

In my opinion this can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If a child grows up believing he or she is rubbish at maths, they are not going to have the confidence to tackle maths adequately.

When I speak with teachers at parents’ evenings I tell them that I want my children to enjoy school work and that that is my focus, not being good at it. Maths is fun (honestly) in the same way doing a crossword or Sudoku is fun. My focus is for them to enjoy maths.

I also think teachers get it wrong. A child who may be a poor speller one year, may have vastly improved the next.

And I’m glad that when I was in primary school nobody told me what I was good or bad at, for I strongly suspect I didn’t impress them all that much with any area of the curriculum.

Going to the theatre

2011-02-28T02:38:00.000-08:00

On Friday I was lucky enough to be invited to the National Theatre of Scotland’s fifth birthday event in Glasgow. Afterwards while sampling some of the delightful food they had put on for us I spoke to a lady from the National Theatre about taking children to the theatre. She has a daughter a little older than mine and so was pleased when I said I like taking my children to the theatre.

She told me that there is a considerable research which has found that the number one reason why adults go to the theatre is because they were taken as a child. Schools may take them but this has no effect. It needs to be a family affair.

I can totally understand that. I think it is great that schools make the effort to take children to the theatre but I can totally see why going to the theatre for fun won’t enter many children’s heads.

Recently we told the children the story of Greyfriar’s Bobby and we all sat and watched the 1962 version of the film, with the children laughing at what they thought of as strange accents.

Schools can make subjects seem boring and so we want to show the children that all these stories are fun and exciting. My children already have a good knowledge of history and they view it as something to discover rather than something to learn.

The theatre should be the same. But there is an assumption that schools are more likely to go than families. Recently I tried booking a few shows but found that many were only showing during school hours.

A rethink needed.

Educate the Parents: Should I buy my daughter an ipod touch?

2011-02-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

Educate the Parents: Should I buy my daughter an ipod touch?: "Daughter wants to an Ipod touch. Eldest son wants one too which led to this conversation – Junior: Can I get an Ipod Dad. It’s great. It doe..."

Should I buy my daughter an ipod touch?

2011-02-26T00:37:00.000-08:00

Daughter wants to an Ipod touch. Eldest son wants one too which led to this conversation – Junior: Can I get an Ipod Dad. It’s great. It does everything

His dad: Everything?

Junior: Yes, everything! It even cleans the toilet.

That’s not made up, honestly. He’s got a wicked sense of humour, my boy, years ahead of himself.

Anyway at six he’s not getting an Ipod, nor the ereader he’s asked for. We’ll focus on improving the reader first of all.

But should I buy my nearly nine year old an ipod touch?

At first we said no. She doesn’t play with her Nintendo DS all that much, although that’s not a complaint. While my six year old would happily play on it all day, daughter will play on it for a while and then forget about it.

I feel that she only wants one because two of her friends have them, but at the same time I don’t want her to behind with technology. While I don’t think these things are as important as some people seem to, I do realise that my children are growing up in a different age from when I was young.

At the moment we’ve decided she’s not getting one quite yet. Maybe next year.

Reverse psychology

2011-02-25T01:24:00.001-08:00

In six months time this year’s four and five year olds will be starting school. Some will be crying, many will be nervous, and a few will be clinging to their mum’s coats, asking to go home again.

My child however will be running into the school as fast as he can, asking his teacher to lock the door and not let that woman in.

I keep suggesting that he doesn’t go to school in August. Instead he can stay at home with me and we can kiss and cuddle all day. This is usually met with a scream of ‘Nooooooo”. For some reason he doesn’t want to and would rather go to school.

I now have a child who keeps taking his school shirt out of the wardrobe to wear and who has asked if he can start earlier.

Reverse psychology’s a great thing.

Educate the Parents: Class sizes

2011-02-24T06:06:00.000-08:00

Educate the Parents: Class sizes: "I don’t think it was a surprise to many when the TESS reported on January 7th that 13 out of 32 councils have scraped the maximum 20-pupi..."

Class sizes

2011-02-24T06:05:00.000-08:00

I don’t think it was a surprise to many when the TESS reported on January 7^th that 13 out of 32 councils have scraped the maximum 20-pupil class size target for early secondary English and maths. Despite the SNP's pre-election pledge to reduce class sizes in primary schools, it has never materialised with the goal posts having been moved.

We would all like smaller classes. It’s a nice idea, but in my opinion there is much more to worry about. Good quality teaching and children who can be disciplined are much more important factors. Speaking to teachers who have been in the job for a long time, I am told that things are much worse nowadays and that discipline is a huge problem.

Now I have read the argument that in high achieving countries such as South Korea and Japan class sizes are large but that is hardly comparing like for like. The culture is different there and education is deemed more important by the vast majority of families. They also don’t have our behaviour problems.

There may be research which proves that class size does not impact on educational attainment, but we all know that research is not always accurate. What about common sense – the more chance a child has of receiving one to one, the higher the chance he will do well.

Not a stupid question

2011-02-23T03:27:00.000-08:00

The other day I was having a coffee with some friends, one of whom has a child going to school in August. To preserve that child’s privacy we shall name the child Tom. So Tom say’s to his mum “Will I still be called Tom when I go to school?”

Brilliant, absolutely brilliant. But I don’t mean in a funny way. I commented to the mum that I thought it was great the child had asked that question and how much I love that stage.

Children at that stage should questions everything in life and everything about themselves, and I view it as a sign of an inquisitive mind. When you’re four there should not be any stupid questions.

Enid Blyton

2011-02-13T13:14:00.003-08:00

A has just finished reading the last in the Malory Towers’ series, and it brought back memories of how I loved them when I was her age. Like me she mispronounces Alicia’s name, although unlike me she has no excuse as I have told her how it is pronounced.

About a year ago I started to encourage her to read Enid Blyton books as today’s equivalent (a large series of books on about twenty different fairies) really didn’t engage her. When we sat reading together I could tell that she just wasn’t into them. And it didn’t surprise me; the stories were very slow.

It had been a long time since I had read an Enid Blyton book so I did cringe at a few things – the use of the word shan’t being one, but I still thing her books are great for kids.

Finland’s literacy figures have fallen slightly. Recently I read that they are attributing it to fewer boys reading for pleasure. We regularly ‘forget’ to do H’s reading homework. At the moment we are reading a chapter of Horrid Henry a night together so he really doesn’t need it. I also want them to think of reading as something fun they do with their dad or me, not something to be done for the teacher.

When Harry Potter first hit the bookshops many primary teachers were very against it, not wanting children to read it. So many of them were against the books that I remember hearing someone question a primary teacher on whether she was for or against them. It was obviously a big thing amongst teachers.

I know that the fact that it was about magic bothered some people but having half watched some of the films I have not been struck by any satanic messages running through the storylines.

Instead of pushing children to be reading and four, shouldn’t we just be encouraging them to be enjoying books?

Exam factory

2011-01-30T08:11:00.000-08:00

Recently, while reporting for the Times Educational Supplement I had the pleasure of visiting Cumbernauld College’s Kirkintilloch campus to report on their artist in residence Pearl Kinnear. Pearl has worked with the students and helped them get involved in community projects such as that at the Croy Miners’ Community.

I liked their attitude – Pearl’s and the college’s. They weren’t doing this to improve grades. They were doing it to get young people involved and to get them enjoying learning so that the college wasn’t simply an exam factory.

Whatever happened to enjoying history, maths, or science? Whatever happened to reading? In the recent Pisa survey it was noted that fewer Scottish children read for pleasure than in many other successful countries.

I find learning fun. Which is why I keep on learning. Who honestly wants to spend their lives learning if they don’t think it is fun.

Rasputin

2011-01-18T01:51:00.001-08:00

I love Boney M. Always have. And I happily admit to having seen them a few years back in the Paisley Town Hall. And they are so educational too.

Over dinner one night, number two child and I were talking about Russia, he being the child who is fascinated by countries and who gives his sister a geography lesson using the world map on his wall.

Number two child was fascinated to hear about Russia, and about Rasputin and the Russian royal family. Cue a chance to go on Youtube and show him a bit of Boney M singing Rasputin.

As someone who loves history, it was great to see how interested he was and how amazed he was at the story of this undesirable man and the effect he had on the ladies, and the various methods used to try and get rid of him. I hope he continues to love history for he now no longer wants to visit Russia.

Educate the Parents: Starting school

2011-01-16T08:15:00.000-08:00

Educate the Parents: Starting school: "This week I registered child number three for school. Before I went in I told him he was to speak for himself. After taking his brother’..."

Starting school

2011-01-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

This week I registered child number three for school. Before I went in I told him he was to speak for himself. After taking his brother’s homework bag to the office and telling the office lady whose it was, we went through to the library where D told the lady his name and spelled his name out for her. I got him to do most of the talking and she even half looked at him when she asked for out postcode. But we’re not at that stage yet.

I don’t think that much has changed since I was little. Adults still like to do the talking for children. And they still suddenly turn round when child is bigger and complain because child can’t speak for himself. Conversation is not something which comes to us at the age of sixteen/eighteen/whatever other age is deemed normal. It is a learned skill which develops with age.

Photophobia

2010-12-28T12:28:00.003-08:00

Well that’s the nativity plays over for another year, and as always we were not allowed to video or take pictures of our children. Does this annoy you? If so check out this blog – www.takealiberty.blogspot.com. It is run by Stuart Waiton, a lecturer at the University of Abertay, Dundee.

Waiton urges us to sign his petition which opposes the restrictions and regulations placed on parents taking photographs at nativity plays and school events. I have signed.

For anyone unsure, there is no law against taking photographs of children – your children or otherwise. More people need to know about this. I know several people who have been threatened by the police, or been under suspicion from the police for taking photographs with children present.

I want to keep paedophilia out of my family’s lives. I resent these people who are making it part of everyday life, telling us that we can’t take pictures for risk of a paedophile getting hold of them.

Finland

2010-12-14T06:43:00.000-08:00

I read this week that schools in Finland have been so inundated with requests for visits from teachers from other countries to come and see why their education system is so good, that they are no longer participating.

Now it has long been established that Finland has one of the best education systems in the world, and has very low illiteracy rates. On top of this, international surveys put it pretty high up the top ten with regards maths and science.

Many of the reasons for Finland’s success are well established – graduate educated teachers; waiting until they are seven before the children are taught to read and write; no mandatory exams before he age of seventeen so that the emphasis is put on learning, rather than teaching to exam.

A visit to Finland may result in British teachers learning more, but sadly, I doubt it would result in many, or even any schools implementing any of these. The changes need to be made my national government, and it doesn’t matter who we have in power, the changes that would be needed would be far too great for any party to implement.

Thinking for ourselves

2010-12-05T13:06:00.000-08:00

I recently read an article on Parentdish where Sally Whittle stated that she had already told her five year old daughter’s school that unless she was falling behind she would not be doing homework with here. Now parents appear to fall into two caps – those who run up to the school to complain if their child hasn’t had homework for the past two nights, and those who, having read the research, doubt the effectiveness of set homework.

But what I found interesting about this article, apart from the huge number of comments, was the anger from a commenter named John.

John criticised the writer for daring to have an opinion different from the teachers. He gets angry that someone may choose to do thing slightly different.

How sad that there are people who don’t question the ‘experts’ and who take what they say without questioning it. As a parent I would say that the best parenting decisions I have made have been because I ignored experts, whether that be teachers, midwives, health visitors, other parents.

Did John not think that perhaps the writer was making an informed decision? Certainly more informed than the parents who decide that their primary aged children must study until midnight each night.

Dumbing down teaching

2010-12-01T02:36:00.001-08:00

Michael Gove it to take teacher training out of universities and into schools, the headlines tell us. This, we are led to believe will be a good thing, with trainee teachers gaining more on the job experience.

While I am all for on the job experience, I do worry that this will result in teachers have less knowledge of educational theory. More knowledge of educational theory is needed not less.

It is thought that an estimated ten percent of children are dyslexic. So in a class of thirty, three are likely to be dyslexic. Yes despite this the level of knowledge teachers have of this subject tends to be minimal.

Parents I know whose children have Asperger’s have told me horror stories of the ignorance of teachers on the subject.

Surely more educational theory is needed, not less.

Alcohol education

2010-11-30T02:09:00.000-08:00

Last week I attended an alcohol and mental health conference in Glasgow. It was a

fascinating day and although I already knew the statistics for Scotland with regards alcohol, mental health and suicide, even I was shocked at the extent of the problem and the contrast to other European countries and even England.

But I would also say that this conference had a lasting effect on me and my opinions on alcohol education in schools. The speaker pointed out that for a small group of children, particularly when the education sessions are delivered in primary schools, these sessions are not educational, they are terrifying.

Think of the ten year old who, on hearing about the health risks of alcohol thinks “That’s my mum”. As one social worker said to me afterwards, “These children have to go through the rest of the school say, feeling sick and worried because it has just been pointed out to them that their parents who are heavy drinkers are likely to develop cirrhosis of the liver”.

These education sessions are well meaning, but perhaps we need to remember that in any one class there is likely going to be at least one child who is already living with the effects. Terrifying these children is not the answer.

Do you wish you lived in England?

2010-11-28T12:37:00.000-08:00

Sitting on Avril’s bed last night she asked me “Do you ever wish you lived in England?” A bit taken aback I asked why. “Because the queen lives there” she replied.

Well, okay, for an eight year old I suppose that is a good enough reason.

Neither a republican, nor a royalist, I have no strong opinions on the Queen either way. But I do think it is nice to enter a little girl’s world where kings, queens, princes and princess represent a fairytale world. While the papers may be full of reports on Kate and William’s forthcoming marriage and there are many people voicing their opinion on the cost, whether it will last, and whether the extra bank holiday is a good thing or not, to Avril this is simply a case of pretty girl meets her prince.

Anyway back to the Queen. Avril jumped for joy (literally) when I told her that the Queen speaks on television on Christmas Day. So this year for the first time in a number of years we will be sitting down to listen to the Queen’s speech on Christmas Day, with at least one child listening quietly.

Poor punctuation

2010-11-21T13:36:00.001-08:00

I’m writing a book on grammar and punctuation at the moment. It will be a homework guide for parents which parents will be able to use to help their primary aged children with their homework. It will be published in the spring by The Schoolrun website and will be available as an ebook.

As a writer, poor punctuation in particular really annoys me. The rules are pretty simple and it’s not hard to remember what an apostrophe is for and when to capitalise a word.

Spelling in English is different. The English language is a complicated one to learn as there are so many spellings which break the rules. There are countries in Europe which have virtually no recorded incidents of dyslexia. Granted this could be due to lack of diagnosis but it is also likely to be due to a simpler spelling system. Think of the words fought and got. Both rhyme but the spellings are totally different.

But while the vast majority of the general public are not bothered by the grocer’s apostrophe, I am sure there would be an outcry if local councils put up signs which were full of spelling errors.

We do appear to have become somewhat lackadaisical about grammar and punctuation in this country and it is getting to the point that some people now question whether it actually matters.

People will often say that grammar and punctuation are getting worse and that young people nowadays barely know what a noun is. As a writing tutor I can honestly say I haven’t found this. I have had some older students whose punctuation was awful.

In the book I will also be looking at how knowledge of the subject has changed, particularly since the introduction of the National Curriculum and the equivalent in Scotland. That will be interesting to say the least.

The junkies we won't have in this house

2010-11-15T02:37:00.001-08:00

For various reasons Alan and I have been really proud of the four children this week. In different ways they have really excelled at school and nursery. We of course praised them, told them we were proud of them and basically left it at that. We did not buy them new bikes/hand them twenty pounds/run out to buy them each an Ipad. The reason is my dislike of star chart junkies.

Now I don’t know if many teachers call this syndrome by this name, but I do know many dislike it, whatever they want to call it.

A while back I read an article written by a secondary teacher. He despaired of parents who give their children so many rewards that the rewards soon become meaningless. He wrote of one parent who couldn’t understand why her little darling wasn’t doing well at school. “But I just bought him a new DS six months ago” she complained.

The DS had been bought as a reward for doing well in school, obviously the latest in a long line of expensive rewards given which were no longer having the desired effect.

Like star charts they have their place, but they do appear to be overused nowadays. We are always careful not to barter with the children. They may try their luck. “If I do my homework will I get a biscuit?” “No, you’ll do your homework because you have to do it”.

One of the loveliest comments I received about my daughter was when a teacher said that Avril wasn’t competitive like many of the children; she loved learning for the sake of it. That is what I want my children to do – to love learning.

For those of you who think I am talking rubbish, read this study which confirms what that secondary teacher had found, and which I totally agree with - www.telegraph.co.uk/education/6563040/Classroom-rewards-do-not-work-work.html.

Playing the game

2010-11-09T03:44:00.000-08:00

Avril and I have decided to start a new sport together. Or rather I decided, put the idea to her, and Avril being her adorable self thought it was a great idea. Let’s hope she still thinks it is a good idea a few weeks down the line.

We’ve opted for badminton, partly because it is an easy sport to get into, but also because I would like a sport we can do together, and which she can pick up at any time of her life. I am more than happy for her to do other sports, but like the idea of us leaning something new together.

But I also want her to have the right attitude to sports and to exercise – that it’s fun. Last year I went to a CPD session run by Positive Coaching Scotland. I was reporting on it as part of my job. They gave some interesting statistics. By the age of 13, between 70 and 80 per cent of children in Scotland drop out of sports. Of all these kids that are winning medals, many will give up sport all together.

The idea of the session was to educate teachers on Positive Coaching Scotland’s campaign to make sports more about enjoyment and less about winning. It’s not that winning shouldn’t be on the agenda, it’s that it shouldn’t be the only thing on the agenda.

A lot of what they said made sense, particularly when I think of people I know who were very in to sports when they were young, but who as adults do absolutely no exercise whatsoever. The desire to win can take over so much that people don’t see the point of playing for the fun of it.

I was pleased to see teachers being educated on this. A variant of this theory has been around for a long time, but appears to have been misunderstood in press reports are to be believed. There really isn’t anything wrong with a child being congratulated for winning the egg and spoon race. That is not what this is all about. What Positive Scotland Coaching are saying is – play football because you like playing the game, not because it is something to win at; take up a sport for the enjoyment it brings.

We may enjoy badminton. We may not and I may be posting about another sport in a few weeks time. But we will enjoy giving it a go.

A Grand Day Out

2010-11-07T14:27:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I had a day on my own with the children. Alan hadn’t been out with the camera for a bit so I said to him to head off and that we would amuse ourselves. Getting around on public transport with four children is getting easier, probably because the older two are now in school and old enough to help a bit. But I still won’t venture on the tube with them all. I made the mistake of taking the buggie on the tube once before. I won’t repeat that experience.

We even went out for lunch, and amazingly it all went like a dream. Usually Alan and I spend a few minutes retrieving food from underneath the high chair, but we left the café as clean as it was when we entered.

Our destination for the day was Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum. My children love art galleries, museums and castles. Take them to any place like that and they’re delighted.

With Alan and I both loving history it is probably no surprise. And I do love that my six year old gets his King James’ mixed up – “Was that James I or James IV Mummy?”

But yesterday was as much about science as it was about history. On our way out, a girl stopped us to tell us about the children’s events downstairs for National Pathology Week.

Hayden donned a lab coat, and did some stuff with a test tube; Avril looked through a microscope and learnt about DNA; and Darrell impressed me with his knowledge of chess, and built a lego castle.

History I love, science I don’t, although even I learnt something new on Saturday – we have 46 chromosomes in our body. But even though I don’t have any interest in science, I encourage my children to have an interest in it. I want their education to be wide and for them to find their own niche in life.

For some, our day at the museum would have been a no-go area. A few weeks ago we bumped into a lady we knew, when we were heading for the train through to the Impressionists Exhibition at the National Gallery in Edinburgh. “Oh my children would have hated that” she said to me.

Mine loved it, and we ended up going into the main exhibition.

By the time my children reach adulthood they will be able to read and write well, whether they can respond to a times table question within five seconds will not matter. But they will have something more important – a love of learning, and a well rounded education which is the parents’ responsibility to give, not the school’s.

My children aren't clever

2010-11-01T16:17:00.001-07:00

From what I have seen, the thing to do these days is to tell your kids they are clever. More than clever, they are brilliant, and can do anything they want and become anything they want. Secondary teachers tell stories of parents, who, on hearing that their little darling hasn’t passed the exam they sat, blame the teacher. At no point does it enter their heads that it could be said darling’s fault.

Every so often the newspapers will publish details on some latest piece of research that has found that this is having a detrimental effect. Children are growing up expecting the world to fall at their feet and that everything is within their grasp. When they grow up, reality hits them. Hard.

While I am all for positive reinforcement, I am more a follower of Professor Carol Dweck’s philosophy. While Dweck, like several other social psychologists believes that IQ is not fixed, what makes her different is the focus on fixed and growth mindsets. People with a fixed mindset believe success comes from talent alone, so someone who does well in a maths exam, does so because they are good at maths, With a growth mindset, someone does well because they studied hard.

There is research to back this theory up. I won’t go into detail here but basically it involved one group being told they were clever when they did well, another group being told they worked really hard. The ones who were told they worked really hard consistently performed better.

We shouldn’t put our children down. And I do think children need confidence. But I think I agree with Dweck. My children aren’t clever, they work hard.

Active learning

2010-10-25T12:32:00.000-07:00

Recently a client sent me a link to a newspaper article about a school which was taking the children to a local castle regularly, getting them involved in the local history of the area and using the castle as a basis for learning. She pointed out one of the comments which an online reader had made. The school was in a not so good area, and while the other commenters wrote that it was great these kids were getting involved in some local culture, one reader took the view that these kids were going to come to nothing anyway, and that they would be much better off in the classroom learning the three Rs.

Well firstly how sad that these children are being written off before they have even left primary school and by people who have never met them. I could go on and on about this but I won’t. I don’t believe in any child being written off.

But also I thought we had left those antiquated views behind in the nineteen seventies. Most of the country has moved on from the days when learning through topics was frowned upon. The relevance and benefits of topic work is now well established due to common sense getting a say. We all learn more and remember things better if what we learn is interesting and taught to us in an interesting and lively matter.

Active Learning may be one of the buzz words of the noughties but it really does work. I love history and studied it in school but the majority of history which I know about was not taught to me. I learnt it myself.

Those children will go back and read up more about the castle they visited, they will use their visit to learn about the history of their area and use it as a basis for writing projects.

I have visited enough schools and seen how they work to know that my children are lucky that they are learning in this way. I don’t consider it a waste of time.

Career choices

2010-10-16T12:45:00.000-07:00

Darrell wants to be a jedi when he’s older. Hayden, now older and wiser, has decided against being an astronaut, and is now in favour of being a footballer. Avril, taking a break from her art ambitions, is going to be a scientist.

I vote for Darrell’s choice. I think being a jedi sounds like a great idea and shows he has some of his mum’s philosophy on life. Why go for sensible?

On a recent trip to the hairdresser’s Avril got asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. Artist or hairdresser was her reply. “Oh, encourage her in to hairdressing, there’s always jobs in hairdressing” she told me.

At the ages of 8, 6, 4, and sixteen months I think there is plenty time for sensible options. If they ever come. When I was little I wanted to be either an author or a pianist. Well no matter how many times I play “Three blind mice” or “Frère Jacque” I’m kidding nobody.

I believe you should follow your passions in life. I have, and I am happy with that choice. Others I know who went for the sensible option, are miserable in their jobs, or counting down the years to retirement. The day will come when my children sit down and weigh up their career options. That is when the sensible option will be pondered on. But for now, I’m going to speak to Hayden again about becoming an astronaut.

And the competition winner is.....

2010-10-15T11:53:00.000-07:00

Hazel Hiram wins a copy of Penny the Postie. Send me your address Hazel and I will get your book sent out to you.

Penny the Postie book review

2010-09-29T03:32:00.000-07:00

Book review of Penny the Postie

We have a house full of books, and shelves full of books for all ages. But we are always happy to add to them, which is why when Guernsey Post asked me to review Penny the Postie by Keith Robinson I was more than happy.

I was sent this book to read with Hayden who will shortly be six. Hayden is now at the age where he is looking for a bit more from a book – more excitement and more emphasis on a storyline.

So, this is a book about Penny (a postie obviously) who one day notices a strange looking postbox. Checking it out, she falls inside where she lands on a desert island and has all sorts of adventures (think Mr Ben). Pirates, crocodiles, haunted caves, and a treasure map all feature.

Hayden loved this book. It has all the ingredients to capture the imagination of a child his age, the illustrations kept him amused, and he quickly became engrossed in the story.

Educationally, there were several things I liked about it. Ages ago I read about the importance of having pictures in books written for children who were old enough to read. Too often once the children can read, the pictures go, and his can be offputting for children. Why not have both?

The level of language was appropriate for Hayden’s age. He knew some of the words, but not all of them – not a bad thing for a five year old.

I liked the fact Penny was a girl. The adventures she has challenge stereotypes in a very non-confrontational way.

Free with the book is a set of stamps worth £2.95 set out to look like a treasure map. I can confirm that this had the desired effect. Before sitting down to write this review I discovered that they were missing. So with Hayden I had to search the house for the treasure map as he tried to remember where he had put it.

If you would like to win a copy of Penny the Postie leave a comment below. All names will be put into a hat and Hayden will personally pick the winner out on Sunday 10^th October.

Penny the Postie

Shouting

2010-09-27T04:53:00.001-07:00

My daughter was initially not so keen on her new teacher. “She shouts a lot” she would tell me. “We could hear her shouting last year from our classroom” I was told. Now Avril is not a child teachers tend to shout at much. She tends to be well behaved, but not as much as her brother who has come home with so many behaviour awards lately that as well as asking him for his lunchbox when he comes in, we ask him where today’s awards are. But like me she daydreams a lot and I imagine the odd shout to bring her back is required.

When we first got word of this new teacher I would tell people (jokingly) that it is because we never shout at our four. Whether they think it’s because they are so well behaved, or because we are ~~bad parents~~ so laid back, I don’t know. But it set me thinking on how much we shout at our children.

I often make a concerted effort not to shout. I walk to the bottom of the stairs and call up instead of shouting from the living room. I speak to them calmly instead of shouting at them to do something.

From my own childhood experiences I believe shouting should be used sparingly. If you always shout, it no longer becomes shouting, it simply becomes your normal tone.

But then there are times when I have seen parents act calm when I want to shout at their children. If little Tommy is still kicking the waitress after being asked not to, then will somebody PLEASE take the child and shout at him to stop. PLEASE!! Asking nicely sure isn’t working.

Do you shout more than you would like to? Or do you successfully parent without shouting?

Educate the Parents: Different strokes

2010-09-15T02:29:00.000-07:00

Educate the Parents: Different strokes: "

Different strokes

2010-09-15T02:25:00.000-07:00

Recently I visited a primary school in what some would classify as a bad area. The headteacher spoke of a boy he once had, who he thought was clever. Giving him that year’s Standard Grade paper to sit in primary seven (unofficially) he was not too surprised that he passed.

So far, so good. Role on a few years and here’s the sad part. The boy left school with no qualifications. Not one Standard Grade. We discussed this and voiced the same opinions – disappointing – yes, surprising – no.

I have many other stories of the same ilk which I could recount. Many of the bright sparks from my primary days quickly burnt out. Many of the slow burners are now shining brightly.

With the introduction of the new Curriculum for Excellence many teachers think that the increase in cross-curricular work in secondary schools will help them retain the pupils they ‘lose’. They hope these kids will continue to do well. But I think this ignores the fact that learning is not linear and some kids will simply do well at different stages of their education. It also overlooks the fact that some children do well early on because they are being pushed by their parents. At some point these children will get fed up of being pushed. And often the parents also get fed up of the pushing. In countries where they don’t start learning to read or write until seven, the children simply take less time learning to read, and they very quickly outperform countries were they send them to school early.

Will making secondary teaching more like primary teaching, with less rigid subject, be the answer? I just don’t think so.

Bedtime Stories

2010-09-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Bedtime stories in our house take a while. I have four children, three of whom are old enough to voice a request for their own story. Having read research some time ago that you should read to children even after they can read, the fact that my eight year old is a competent reader does not get me off the hook there.

But one thing I have never done is replace this with a taped story. It has always struck me as a bit of a cop out – the microwave meal version of bedtime stories. I like to sit down and look at the pictures and read together with said child. Isn’t that what bedtime stories are all about?

Recently my job as a journalist took me to a primary school which has had great success with Storyphones, a digital audio system which allows children to walk around listening to recorded stories. What I found interesting was the impact it has on children’s literacy, helping them with structure, characters, and the retelling of stories, generally improving their reading. It changed my thinking a bit and I was impressed by the benefits it had.

So will I now be going down the express route with regards bedtime stories? Certainly not. I don’t think my children would allow it. But I am now checking out CD players for number one son’s birthday in October. I don’t think taped stories should replace adults reading to children, but I do think it is a good additional extra.