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| Useful Information for Students, Parents, and Teachers The articles on this page will be changed regularly. Check back from time to time and learn something new!
In this edition of Useful Information, I want to share exciting new discoveries about how children learn, with practical advice on how to maximize a child's ability to learn and maintain a healthy curiosity. These discoveries have come because medical science can now look into our brains and see what is happening as we think, feel, or react. Researchers have discovered that many things that are common in our children's lives may harm their growing brains, limiting their ability to learn well. As parents and teachers, we owe our children the best learning environment we can provide. Please consider adjusting your household routine, diet, even decor, to accomodate and support healthy brain growth for all our children. Learn about Learning Disabilities In the Age of the Internet, there is no excuse for not knowing about such an important topic as learning disabilities. The National Institutes of Health estimates that fifteen percent of the population has a learning disability. Learning disabilities often run in families. People with learning disabilities are usually of average or above average intelligence, so no shame should be associated with these conditions. Learning disabilities cannot be cured, but strategies exist to allow a person with a learning disability to overcome the limitation. Students who have an undiagnosed learning disability may suffer needless emotional distress for failing to learn certain things as their peers do. So if you have children of any age or are yourself an adult who has difficulty with learning certain things, start researching to learn the different kinds of learning disabilities, how to recognize their symptoms, how to get tested if a learning disability is suspected, and how to compensate for a disability if one exists. Some useful sites to get you started: Or contact your doctor or school. People with properly diagnosed learning disabilities are entitled by law to have accommodations made at school and in the work place. Know your rights. Also, see the resource below for a warning. Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens point out that some doctors are too quick to assume a learning disability like ADHD and to prescribe drugs. Diagnosing such disorders cannot be done just on the basis of hearing about symptomatic behavior and require tests which need to be carried out by a specialist in such disorders. The Mind of Boys Science is now confirming what school children have always known (or at least suspected): the brains of boys are different from the brains of girls. For the first three months of growth in the womb, male and female fetuses have essentially the same brain structure. Then, as the male body begins to generate testosterone, the male brain begins to grow in different ways than the female. Studies have frequently shown that boys behave, on average, differently than girls. For example, boys are more competitive, girls more social. Boys tend to have better spatial imaginations, girls better language skills. Now brain scans can show us how the brains of boys differ from girls and we begin to understand that many of these differences are based in the differences in brain structure, rather than socialization. Boys get the majority of D's and F's in most schools Boys make up 80% of our discipline problems Of children diagnosed with learning disabilities, 70 percent are boys. Of high school dropouts, 80 percent are young males. Young men make up less than 44 percent of our college population. [page 22]
The authors blame much of this on the way we educate our children, problems caused by the ways we teach, not any bias against boys. They also blame the environment in which children live and learn. What follows are just some ways you can help overcome these problems and give your son the best chance at doing well in school and life. Bonding and Attachment As boys grow from infants to their first school experiences, they need "a secure base of bonding and attachment in the home. This is important for many reasons, but until recently it has not be recognized that it is essential for healthy growth of the brain that promotes the ability to learn. "Bonding is the powerful emotional connection between parent and child that begins from the first moment they see each other, touch each other, become close and intimate. Attachment is the actual ongoing process of affectionate caregiving that nurtures the instinctual bond throughout a lifetime" [p.70]. In other words, loving the child and making sure the child knows he is loved through physical affection. Inadequate bonding and attachment hinders development of portions of the brain that can cause children trouble in regulating their emotions, developing cause-and-effect thinking processes, and enjoying a good sense of self during later school years. Well-attached children enjoy a number of advantages, including the ability to learn more successfully. The authors suggest ten strategies to promote attachment [pp. 76-78]. These are good for both boys and girls, but boys are especially vulnerable to deficiencies in attachment. Some of the strategies include Bursts of attention, giving undivided attention to the child for many minutes at least five times a day. Lots of affirmation. Verbal Mirroring: describing in words what your child has just done or repeating what he says, in an affirmative way. Physical Play Leadership: letting the boy take the lead as much as you lead him. Imitate him and let him imitate you. Enthusiasm Predictability Choice making Appropriate Discipline: avoid punishments that involve frightening the child, yelling, name calling, and spanking, especially during the first eighteen months of life.
Create a Boy Friendly Environment Boys need more space than girls. When they play, they spread out more, are more active, and thus need more room for their brains to develop fully. They also benefit from sufficiently bright lighting. This is because boys rely more on their vision in learning tasks than girls. There should visual stimulation. There should be music, because music promotes learning in all children. Music engages the whole brain, whether children are listening or creating it. Finally, boys should not be indoors all the time. Outdoor experiences are more complex and stimulating, which is especially helpful for a boy's learning growth. [pp. 91-105] What to Avoid There are things that need to be avoided to allow boys' brains to grow and learn [chapter 5]. Head injuries: This may seem obvious, but it is mentioned because brains are fragile and can be injured by activities that don't seem dangerous. The authors make a point to warn about the risk of damage from soccer headers, those plays in which the player redirects a high kick by having the ball hit his head. Minimize Monitor Exposure: Boys should not spend more than one hour a day in front of a monitor, whether TV, video games, or computers (including educational use). The brain needs to combine all the senses while learning, the screen reduces all to two-dimensions of sight only. Replace monitor time with outdoor activity, reading, music making, and social interactions. Children younger than 18 months should watch no TV. Food and Drink: Boys need to drink adequate water for best brain function. But they should not drink sweet drinks, even fruit juices as much as water. Caffeinated sodas are not good at all. Reduce the Carbs: This is generally viewed as good weight control advice, but it also applies to children who need more protein right before learning tasks to be mentally sharp. Carbohydrates, by contrast, can cause lethargy and reduce alertness. Reduce Sugar: While sugar provides a surge of energy, this soon passes, making it hard for the learning centers to work while stimulating adrenalin, making it harder to sit still while learning.
Changing the Classroom While parents can't directly control the classrooms of their children, they can lobby for certain changes that have been shown to be beneficial, especially for boys. Recognition of Differences: Schools need to recognize the differences in the brains of boys and girls. Girls, for example, are a grade and a half more advanced in language skills than boys of the same age. Using the same grading scale and assignments for boys and girls gives the boys an unfair disadvantage. Let There be Movement: Boys are generally more active than girls and often find it impossible to sit still and listen to a teacher talk. Studies have shown that just allowing boys to squeeze a Nerf ball during class reduces fidgeting and disruptive behavior and helps them stay focused on the lesson. So does letting the boys stand and move at regular intervals. Same Sex Classrooms: Boys can benefit from a class that is just boys, provided the teachers adjust the content and procedures of class to make use of the boys' strengths and minimize their weaknesses.
Give Children a Team of Supporters Children require individual attention from a caring and knowledgeable adult in order to succeed at any learning task. No parent can do it all, so enlist the help of relatives, friends, and professionals, like tutors, to make sure each child has the right kind of attention. This not only gives the child resources for learning, an example to follow, but also the self-esteem building quality of loving attention. A professional tutor can be part of this educational team. A tutor can help motivate a child who claims to be bored with school or uninterested in academics. Regarding homework and tutors, the authors have this to say: "Over the last decade, research into educational resiliency has confirmed that the single most impressive cure for lack of motivation to learn among students is consistent, specific, and helpful one-on-one contact with an educational mentor. The 'master' today may be the tutor, the tutorial school, the special learning coach, the mentor, and the family members who become tutors."
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