Recent Blog Posts
Community College or Four-year University: Which is better?
Choosing a college is a big decision, and sometimes families don't agree. Maybe Dad thinks it's best if their son starts out close to home at a two-year college, but Mom thinks their son should go away to school. Often, as parents, we come to these conclusions because of what we did. If Dad, who started at a two-year school, is successful, he might believe a … [...]
Dr. Linda Answers Your Questions | Not Reading in 2nd Grade?
Dear Dr. Linda, My daughter is in second grade and is still not reading. My husband and I are very concerned. My mother in law is a retired teacher. She keeps telling us to relax and that she will read because everyone reads at a different time of their life. Her teacher wants to test her to see if there are other issues that might be causing the problem. I agree … [...]
Stressed out Kids: Activities can Hurt School Success
Daniel wasn’t doing well in school, and he was very busy. Every week, in addition to school, he had drum lessons, tennis lessons, chess club, swimming meets, religious instruction, and karate. Not surprisingly, he was up to all hours of the night finishing his homework. Daniel’s Mom worried because Daniel kept having meltdowns and she didn’t know why. Daniel … [...]
School Success Requires Organization
A 3-hole punch is one of the most important items to buy for your six-year old, your 12-year old or even your child going off to college. Your child is going to have piles and piles of papers. These papers need to be organized. they need to be hole punched and filed in 3-hole binders. Some are necessary for the next test and some are notices about next week’s … [...]
Dysgraphia: Writing Disability Hurts School Success
Because of Writing Difficulties, Alex, a Sixth Grader, was Failing Every Subject To begin with, Alex was failing social studies because the tests came from the notes the teacher wrote on the board. Copying notes from the board was so difficult that Alex couldn’t read them. If that weren’t bad enough, Alex had no idea what the teacher was saying because trying … [...]
Homework: Three Tips for Getting It Done
Is Homework a Hassle in Your Home? Use these Three Tools to Make It Easier. Time Management. Be sure your child has enough time to do homework, and you have enough time to help if needed. To be sure, download this schedule template and fill it in with your family. You may want more than one. Maybe fill one in for each member of the family. By doing so, you may see … [...]
School Success: What if Your Child isn’t Learning?
Sometimes no matter how hard they try, your kids don’t get that A+ they wanted. School success seems impossible. Sometimes they have a learning disability. Learning disabilities are serious and need to be addressed or your child’s difficulties in school may never be solved. But how do you know if your child’s problems stem from a learning disability or something … [...]
Does Your Child Have a Learning Disability? Three Tips for Parents
When kids are forgetful and disorganized and have to use all their resources to survive each day, they may have a learning disability. Unless teachers and parents understand how difficult it is for such children, they won't be able to relate to them. Here's what 12-year-old Joey explained to me: "Those teachers are losin' it. They get nuts if you forget a pencil! … [...]
School Success Starts with Mom and Dad
Michael believed that if he tried hard and kept working at something, he’d succeed. He could succeed at school. He was sure of it. He said that nobody had told him this—not his parents, not his grandparents. How did he know? It was the message in his fortune cookie in a Chinese restaurant--so it must be true. It’s a cute story but in Michael’s case, … [...]
Does School Success Depend on AP Courses?
I read a "New York Times" article recently about AP classes in Newark, New Jersey. It seems, Newark, along with other school districts in the country have developed intensive programs in order to help increase enrollment and student performance on AP exams. Weekly or monthly summer courses, also called “summer camp” or “boot camp” have been established … [...]
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