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Teacher Says
Evelyn Vuko
Washington Post Education Columnist
Tuesday, June 03, 2003; 2:00 p.m ET
Need help in guiding your kids through their school life, school work, or in becoming better students? Whether you are preparing your child for college, searching for the perfect summer camp or helping your child with their homework, today's free-for-all discussion is an opportunity for yout to vent out your frustrations and find answers.
Join Post Teacher Says columnist Evelyn Vuko on Tuesday, June 3 at 2 p.m. ET for a free-for-all discussion.
The transcript follows.
Editor's Note: Washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control
over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions.
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Evelyn Vuko: I enjoy being spontaneous and providing my readers with a ton of options and a free-for-all format allows me all that. So, put on your sneakers and roll up your sleeves and let's have at it. Welcome!
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Fairfax, Va.:
My son is about to turn 3. What programs are available to him in VA to prepare him for Kindergarten? Head-start? others?
Thanks.
Evelyn Vuko: Fairfax County Public Schools has an attractive and comprehensive website at www.fcps.k12.va.us Check them out for pre-school options. For summer learning events, check with your public library system and the public park service in your area.
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Lower Marian, Pa.:
My sixth grade daughter is not shy about expressing herself verbally. She thrives on being theatrical and breathless. But its like pulling teeth to get her to do her writing assignments for school. Do you have any suggestions about how to help her become equally expressive on paper?
C.W.
Evelyn Vuko: Dear C.W.: you have to tape this girl. Get out your video camera or crank up your old cassette player and get her live during one of her more theatrical and breathless moments. Or ask her to recount for you the latest episode of her favorite sitcom on TV. And take notes about the action changes in her recital. Then take this audio, video or verbal feedback and sit down at the computer or under a tree with a pencil and notepad and show her how she developed a story line. Make a simple line or bubble map to illustrate the action points. Then offer to sit down at the computer and be the keyboard meister while she dictates. Put her on autopilot for the next go-round.
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Silver Spring, Md.:
My son is a 7th grade students at a private parochial school in Montgomery County. We are interested in his attending the IB Program at Richard Montgomery for 9th grade. How hard is it for a student to be accepted into that program? What can he do to prepare? He is an excellent student in high honors classes (including Algebra), is fluent in one foreign language and finishing the first year of a second language, Spanish.
Evelyn Vuko: It sounds like your son has the ability and is already building the credentials to do well in a rigorous IB program. I'd suggest you contact the PTA at Montgomery HS and ask to be put in touch with a parent whose student is already in the program. You might also want to make an appointment with a MHS guidance counselor for specifics about their program. Buena suerte!
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Silver Spring, Md.:
Evelyn,
What is a good resource in finding summer camps for K-12 in the metropolitan area? School is almost out.
Evelyn Vuko: Try the National Park Service, The Montgomery County Historical Society, the Smithsonian. Call the Business Office at White Flint Mall on Rockville Pike and ask for the name of the person who sets up their summer camp fair in the spring.
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East Point, Ga.:
My child is hyper and is considered ADHD. I feel there needs to be a way of teaching that is different than the norm. Hyper children through no fault of their own cannot sit for long periods of time. As a result some are exceptional and not slow to learn as thought. How can we give them the best chance to succeed with a new way of teaching.
Evelyn Vuko: Hello, East Point, GA: Most kids have trouble sitting for long periods of time. I have trouble sitting for long periods of time. The key is to allow him natural movement--to move around periodically when his body and his bones and his attention spans are screaming for a break. Encourage your child's teacher to allow him to take periodic, non-disruptive breaks throughout the day. Start with 15 minute work sessions with two-minute breaks. Sometimes, of his own will, he will go longer without a break. Of course he's not slow, he just needs to move.
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Papa, Calif.:
Evelyn, as someone who has a trained eye on the issues confronting children and education, what do you believe are the most important new developments (positive or negative) in childhood education?
I think the ever-increasing attack (and that IS the right choice of words) on children by marketers and advertisers is one very problematic issue. Any others that you think deserve our attention as parents?
Evelyn Vuko: I think the movement toward giving, particularly unmotivated middle schoolers, more choice in how they will go about completing course requirements is one spectacular and long-overdue development.
Don't get me started on the negatives...but, let's start with the food industry. Why are they still putting preservatives, additives, glow-in-the-dark colors, hormones and chemicals in foods that are marketed directly at kids? Parents need to jump on this one with two feet. Then let's get on the blood and guts video game industry. There's no need for bloodshed to make a game fun.
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Virginia Beach, Va.:
What are some good listening exercises that I can do with young children to develop their listening skills?
Evelyn Vuko: Try my favorite drawing exercise. I've done it with first graders and tenth graders and they all love it. Draw a simple illustration in which three geometric shapes touch each other; like a square, circle and rectangle. Arrange them however you like but don't let your kids see your drawing. Then, tell them you will describe what you drew and they have to draw it only by listening to your words. With first graders, repeat your description twice. Then compare your drawing to theirs. Their drawings will often highlight just when the listening lagged. Then reverse your roles.
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Rockville, Md.:
What do you think about Montessori education?
Evelyn Vuko: Montessori education, in my opinion, is exceptionally good because, though classrooms might not appear so, the program is very highly structured and geared closely to the stages of child development. Depending on the teacher, there is also ample time for group interaction and individual choice in the day's events. Started in preschool, a Montessori education gives kids a very strong foundation for later schooling.
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Fairfax, Va.:
Evelyn,
My daughter turned 5 this April.I will be sending her to public school for Kindergarten.She did 2 years in Montessori school. She knows her numbers till 100. Can do simple additions and subtractions. She can read and write sentences. What will she learn in Kindergarten. Please suggest how I can make sure she does not forget these skills if her Kindergarten is not challenging enough.
Evelyn Vuko: Kindergarten in many public schools, especially in the Washington metro area, is more like first grade was 20 years ago. Reading and math are well-established and comprehensive programs now, not just the basis for games and fun. Before the school years ends, get yourself over to her new school and talk to the teacher, but make an appointment first. Again, check FCPS' website at www.fcps.k12.va.us for curriculum information about the kindergarten program. I think you will be delighted about just how challenging it will be for her. PS: Montessori was a great beginning!
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Ballston, Va.:
Hope I am not too late:
My third-grade son has recently become less interested in reading and more and more interested in video games. We curtail all screen time (tv, computer, and video) during the school week, and limit his time on the week-ends. It doesn't help our cause that "EVERYbody" he knows is allowed to watch, play video games, get tatoos (joke), etc. Not that I mind being a 'terrible' parent, I am more sad to see his original love (reading) take second place.
How can we help him through this peer-pressure ridden time?
Evelyn Vuko: You are going to have to learn to sing and dance. And don't fall for that old "everybody is doing it line." As a teacher for the last 100 years, I have often heard pride behind the griping in a kid's voice when he says, "my mother won't let me do that." You are the adult, set the boundaries, stick to them and smile. Make books more interesting by buying and reading kids books yourself, in plain sight of him. Then talk about how the characters were so great they knocked you out. Talk in a character's voice. Take great pride in being totally weird and theatrical to get him turned on to books again. Take him to meet authors at book signings. Share a cold ice at your neighborhood bookstore or go to a new one outside your area. Sing and dance and make books come alive again. And let the dog chew the plugs on the TV and computer.
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Chantilly, Va.:
What do you do to help your child deal with a large high school not known for giving anyone but A students and athletes much individual attention? My daughter gets As and Bs, is not an athlete, but she is used to getting personal attention and encouragement at her much smaller elementary and middle school.
Evelyn Vuko: Sounds to me like you are going to have to get a job at school or join the PTA to help develop programs that devote time to and reward kids with all kinds of talents. Don't let this practice continue in your school. Your daughter is not the only person in this position.
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Somewhere, USA:
re: what do you believe are the most important new developments (positive or negative) in childhood education?: You said- I think the movement toward giving, particularly unmotivated middle schoolers, more choice in how they will go about completing course requirements is one spectacular and long-overdue development. Wrong answer, in my opinion(I'm no expert, just average Joe)! Molly-coddling these kids(letting them have a say in what goes on) is at the root of problems in education. Since when do kids know best? These days, kids can't write a coherent sentence with any structure to speak of, and parents need to learn how to use the word NO, as in "No, you can't play that video game", and "No, you will not have any play time until your school work is done".
Evelyn Vuko: I'm not talking about molly-coddling. I despise molly-coddling. And I'm not talking about giving kids a choice as to whether they can complete the assignment or not. What I'm saying is that more and more these days, kids get a choice as to the TYPE of product they will produce that fits the class requirement. In one Montgomery County Middle School English class I know, for example, kids can chose to create a travel brochure instead of writing a standard book report on an assigned book. This kind of choice honors a kid's talent instead of limiting him. This is an excellent trend.
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Takoma Park, Md.:
My second grader tells us she is bored in school and doesn't feel challenged. She's in accelerated classes in Montgomery County but is still pretty far ahead of her classmates. Our fear is that she will become used to not challenging herself and start to coast out of boredom and become an underachiever. We've spoken to her teachers about it but they say when she's in the class she always seems interested and involved. She's a quiet kid who doesn't want to draw much attention to herself so she's not likely to tell the teachers she's bored.
Do you have any suggestions on how to keep a fast learner from being bored?
Evelyn Vuko: First, how much of the use of this "boredom" word is planned and designed specifically to make you crazy? Sort that out. Then, talk to her teacher and get a list of alternative activities your daughter can do when she's finished her assigned work. Then, when she announces she's bored at school, tick off the items on the list and ask which of these she tried.
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Washington, DC:
My nephew is 10. He lives in Philadelphia. I have tried inviting him down for the wknd., especially during the summer for sporting events & the like, but he doesn't seem interested. Our family is pretty close, but I feel like I don't know the kid anymore. Any suggestions in maintaining a long-distance relationship with a young nephew?
Evelyn Vuko: Drive to Philly. It takes 3 hours on a good day. I know, I do it regularly to visit my young relatives up there.
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Richmond, VA:
My thirteen year old nephew (and others in the class) are dealing with a bully.
A few weeks ago, at the bus stop, I stood behind some trees and watched as the bully called other kids names, pushed some and even punched another child. I decided to intervene. So I walked over and he stopped when he saw me. When the bus came I talked with the driver who told me that the child was a problem on the bus as well.
For about a week it stopped, then it started again. This time I got it on videotape. In your opinion, would it be more effective if I take it to the school or should I contact an attorney? Someone told me I should talk with his parents first, but I am a little concerned about that.
Evelyn Vuko: Go to the school first and tell them what you witnessed and ask them to help you make a plan to deal with it. Don't mention the video, you want them on your side, not threatened.
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Re: Food Industry and Kids:
Evelyn, I recently read Eric Schlosser's "Fast Food Nation", which provides a stunning indictment of the fast food industry and the way it packages its disgustingly produced food to kids. It really is a shocking read.
Evelyn Vuko: Then everyone should read it.
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Evelyn Vuko: We were all over the map today, literally and figuratively. Thanks for joining. Come back again on June 17th to talk about books and how to keep your kids reading over the summer.
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