DrLindasBlog.com is all about parents and kids, packed with up-to-date information for helping your child with school success. Linda Silbert, Ph.D., an education specialist, covers everything from reading to test preparation, from ADHD to homework.
Articles by Dr. Linda Silbert include topics such as homework, choosing a tutor or coach for your child, ADHD symptoms, SAT tricks and traps, parenting, dyslexia, underachievement, and lots more.
Children rarely succeed on their own. They get most of their direction from you, their parent. Sure, teens, in particular, are influenced by other teens. And teachers and other family members play a big role too. But you’re number one!
They learn how to become responsible, how to follow rules, even how to make decisions from you. Follow these seven strategies, and you’re on your way to helping your children be successful at school and in all areas of their lives. [Read more...]
Just so you know, that as with any sport, the opposition uses traps and tricks on occasion. Indeed, on some of the harder questions, it would seem that the SAT question writers are out to get you. However, if you have the right attitude, that’s okay. It’s just part of the game.
Here are a few examples from the math test. [Read more...]
Whether your SAT test preparation consists of working on your own, in a group or class, or one-to-one with a qualified SAT tutor, a good attitude will help you get a higher score.
Of course a positive attitude doesn’t give you more knowledge but it does make taking the test less stressful. Stress makes you too tired to think clearly. Stress can actually make you forget what you know.
Play the SAT game. [Read more...]
A concerned Mom was telling me the other day about her daughter whose IQ is very high but whose grades are lousy. I told her that lots of other kids have the same problem and that we do have strategies that work.
Who are the underachievers?
Underachievers are kids who have a lot of potential but don’t live up to that potential in school. Underachievers span all social, economic, and ability levels. Many underachievers have very high IQ’s. Teachers and parents often accuse underachievers of being lazy, of having attitude problems, or of not caring about themselves. Sometimes these kids get into trouble at school and at home. Nobody realizes that underachievement is the issue.
How do I know if my child is an underachiever?
Sometimes it’s easy to tell. [Read more...]
It’s spring break this week and your kids have nothing to do. They’re glued to the TV. You’re going to tear out your hair if you hear even one more “Sponge Bob Square Pants” rerun. They need something creative to do.
If left to themselves, children are creative–often more creative than we are. However, it seems we’ve created an environment for children that doesn’t allow for much creativity.
Lots has been written about the causes: Television, computer games, mind-numbing toys, highly structured free time, the emphasis on skills and knowledge for school testing, and teaching for mandated “No Child Left Behind” tests.
It goes without saying that children need knowledge and skills, but they also need to learn how to think creatively, that is, to create new ideas from scratch. Creativity is, after all, an important life skill.
Even if your child’s teacher is restricted by “teaching for tests,” you can encourage creative thinking at home. So turn off the TV. Turn off the computer games. Suggest activities and games that promote creative thinking.
Try these activities: [Read more...]
We often laugh when children’s perceptions are different from ours. Art Linkletter, a well-known radio and TV personality, now in his 90s, hosted the popular “Children Say the Darndest Things.” Laughing at kids was so popular that years later Bill Cosby had Linkletter asking kids questions on his show.
Linkletter and Cosby chatted with one child after another. The humor resulted from wildly different interpretations of words and phrases. From prayers to geography, from metaphors to popular songs, we laughed because the children didn’t get it. It was disjointed.
In the entertainment field, disjointed is funny. In school, disjointed isn’t funny. In the classroom, disjointed means confusion and possible failure. When a child doesn’t get it, he often fails. An effective teacher continuously looks for clues and expressions of disjointedness to use as the basis of re-explaining. He’ll use other words, drawings, or demonstrations so children get it.
Parents can do the same thing at home. [Read more...]
Many ADHD children struggle with reading. Some have dyslexia. Even if your child doesn’t have a reading disability, his lack of focus gets in the way of reading comprehension and recall.
Difficulties with reading jeopardize not simply your child’s grade in language arts but in school in general. It’s hard to get a good grade in social studies if you aren’t reading well. Even math requires reading. Parents, you can help your child focus on reading with the following tips. [Read more...]
Homework has become one of the biggest issues for parents and kids. It brings with it anger, frustration, tears, fears and family disharmony. And it affects the success your child has in school.
Jack, a nine year old, often spends all afternoon and evening doing homework, sometimes until eleven o’clock at night. In addition, he always needs help with it, so his mom and dad got him a homework helper from a tutoring service.
Jack’s Dad: “When I was in fourth grade I came home from school and played ball with the kids on the block. Then I ate dinner with my family, did my homework and went to sleep. I have two masters degrees; I did fine. The only thing Jack has time for is homework and dinner. My mother was a teacher and she said Jack has more homework in one night than she used to give in one week.”
Homework usually didn’t begin until seventh grade. But, even then most kids didn’t need to carry home all their books home from school. They didn’t need a homework helper because they got their homework done at school during study hall.
Even high school kids could usually get their homework done and still watch “Dick Clark’s American Bandstand” on TV They also had enough time to be in the school show, or in the marching band, or on a sports team without having a complete meltdown. Rarely did parents have to help them.
Maybe it wasn’t enough for today but it certainly wasn’t too much. How much homework should my child have? [Read more...]
So many children today have a hard time focusing. They can’t stay on task. They’re easily distracted. Learning and school success are at risk. Perhaps he’s hyperactive. Or maybe she’s just “zoning out.”
Some hyperactive kids can’t control their behavior. They act impulsively. Shawn blurts out answers at school. Brittany makes poor choices without thinking. Some of these kids have ADHD. Others don’t.
But whether your child has ADHD or just can’t focus, these strategies will help parents help their children to be more successful at school, to learn more, and to be more cooperative at home. And a note to teachers: several of these strategies will work in your classroom too. And you can certainly suggest them to parents. [Read more...]
Do hear a lot of grumbling at your house when high schools kids struggle with geometry proofs and can’t see the point?
Are geometry proofs really necessary? Do they have a purpose other than passing the math test and doing well on standardized tests? Is this a life skill your kids will use?
Unless your child majors in math, it’s highly unlikely he’ll ever need to the specific skill required in completing geometry proofs. And chances are he’ll soon forget how to do them.
So what’s the point? Why do we make kids go through this ordeal?
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