Lori's Corner

After School Tutoring: Making The Right Tutor Choice

elementallearningllc — Sat, 25 Sep 2010 20:19:24 +0000

Well, it’s that time of the year. The summer is over! The kids are back in school. The neighborhood pool is drained (at least up at our latitude). And now…the first progress reports are coming home from school, and parent-teacher conferences are just around the corner.

For those of us in the private tutoring business, we know what that means: the inevitable pickup in calls for after school tutoring services. That’s OK, mom and dad, that’s why we’re here! But venturing out to find a tutor can of course be daunting. Do you hire the kid across the street? After all, she got an A in algebra! Or that nice boy around the corner? We hear he may go Ivy. Or that out of work engineer you met at the gym? She must be good at math, right? Right?

My view is that, when choosing an after school tutor, you need a combination of subject matter expertise, combined with real life teaching experience. In other words, somebody who doesn’t just know the subject matter, but who has also made the art of relating the material to children in a way that they can properly internalize the material their profession. Your child’s after school tutoring experience needs to be with an educator.

Here is what we believe you should look for in your after school tutoring provider:

A certified teacher. Your after school tutor needs to be somebody who is skilled in the art of teaching. Don’t ever believe somebody who uses that old tired adage “Those who can, do. Those who can’t, teach.” My husband has an MBA from one of the top colleges in the U.S., so presumably he is one of “those who can.” But he will be the FIRST person to admit that he could not teach. Teachers have a unique and valuable skill set, and have seen all kinds of learners, all kinds of challenges, and have used all tactics of achieving learning breakthroughs with their students. Give them credit for these invaluable skills. Invite them to work as your child’s after school tutor. Pay them accordingly. Oh, and with so many schools having cut back on staffs due to budget shortfalls, you should be able to find a qualified educator who would be more than eager to work with you.
A customized experience. We don’t want to knock those name-brand tutoring centers. They are ubiquitous, with brick and mortar locations across the nation. They must be doing something right. However, our view is that your child will be better suited with an after school tutoring experience which is fully customized for him or her. A thoughtful tutor who starts with a clean slate, does a professional assessment of your child’s needs, goals, and learning style, and then builds a course of action specifically around your child will deliver a far superior result to somebody who simply says ‘here, do these worksheets…everybody else did them…trust us, you will improve if you do these.’ Huh?
An open-ended engagement. The after school tutoring experience should take place on your terms, preferably at your home (but ONLY when yourself or another responsible adult can be home at the same time…this is a saftety precaution for everybody involved), and under a financial arrangement which is completely flexible. If an after school tutoring provider asks you to prepay for a battery of assessment tests or a large block of sessions, or if they ask you to consider financing for the package, ask yourself who is really in control. Ask yourself if educating children is the primary motivation at play. Choose a provider who will allow you to purchase as many or as few sessions as you want (or can afford), and require them to let you pay-as-you-go. Life is dynamic. There is no reason to prepay for a boatload of sessions.

If you are considering an after school tutoring experience for a child, and if you can afford to invest in your child’s future, go ahead and pull the trigger. If the idea is already in your head, then trust your instincts…your child probably does need an after school tutor. Don’t be a cheapskate, but don’t get taken to the cleaners either. Look for an after school tutoring provider who can match you with a high quality tutor, with appropriate teaching experience and subject matter expertise, under a flexible financial arrangement.

Unlike many investments out there these days, this one will actually net you a positive and fulfilling return.

=======
Lori J. Skurka, M. Ed. is the Founder and CEO of EleMental Learning, LLC. EleMental Learning is an after school tutoring company founded in 2005. Since that time, the company and its tutors have provided thousands of private tutoring sessions to clients in California, Illinois, New York, and Connecticut. The company continues to expand into new territory, with the Washington D.C. metro area next in its sights. Lori can be reached at (312) 543-7562 or at questions@elemental-learning.com .

Perspectives From An Educator: Building Literacy Skills In Children

elementallearningllc — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:22:19 +0000

By Lori Skurka, M. Ed.

As an educator I have always recognized the importance and benefit of building a solid literacy foundation for our young children. In my years as a classroom teacher I was responsible for many 4^th,5^th, and 6^th graders who came into my class woefully lacking a proper foundation in literacy skills. In order to set the right path for our kids, I encourage all parents to recognize the primacy of developing reading, speaking, and listening literacy skills in our kids from the earliest ages possible.

Although I no longer teach in the classroom, I have been vigilant in transferring my literacy development techniques to my own children. There is not a day that goes by that my husband and I do not read at least one book—and usually quite a few more than just one—to our children. Their rooms are filled with scores of books, as is the rest of our home. The books are kept in cubbies and on shelves at the kids’ eye level, where they will feel encouraged to grab one as they roam the house looking for mischief.

As a rule, my husband and I read aloud with our kids at nap time and at bed time. Our kids know to expect this as part of their routine, and they almost always look forward to it. Sometimes they choose the books, sometimes we choose the books. As I used to tell the parents of my 5^th grade students, “It really doesn’t matter what book it is, as long as they or you are reading something.”

It is unfortunate that as children age parents often let the bedtime reading ritual fall by the wayside. They often sense that their children are too old, too busy, or too disinterested. Parents should be adamant that their kids make time for reading, no matter their age. To stop reading is to stop learning, so even if the child is swamped with schoolwork there should still be a commitment to reading for pleasure and personal pursuits too. I think the author Jim Trelease said it best in his book The Read Aloud Handbook:

“Reading aloud is a commercial for reading. …Think of it this way: McDonald’s doesn’t stop advertising just because the vast majority of Americans know about its restaurants. Each year it spends more money on ads to remind people how good its products taste. Don’t cut your reading advertising budget as children grow older.”

Some of the methods I have found effective for developing literacy skills in children are:

Turn on a “book on tape” while in the car, whether it is a short or long ride. This helps kids learn new vocabulary, use listening skills, and gain an understanding of an author’s voice while listening to the audio book. The books by Roald Dahl, E.B. White, Judy Blume, Louis Sachar, and Paula Danzinger are good choices. Books and CDs on tape are available by the hundreds at our wonderful Naperville Public Libraries.
Pick up books that have no text, also available in droves at the library. These books allow kids to use the pictures as context clues and orally tell the story themselves. The books by Raymond Briggs, Donald Crews, and Anno Mitsumasa are good selections. (This is not just for young kids. I used to have my 5^th graders write their own text to accompany the illustrations in these books as a language arts project!)
Orally tell stories to your children. Our kids love this! The stories can be personal (“Mom, tell me about your wedding day…”), factual (“Dad, tell me about how cars are made…”), or just downright silly (“Did I ever tell you about the time Snow White and the Seven Dwarves took on Scooby Doo and his friends in a soccer game?”). If you want outside help with this, both the your local Children’s Museum as well as the Public Libraries offer live storytellers at various times. Give them a call to find out more! Oral storytelling is not only beneficial for vocabulary development and recognition of language patterns, but it is also an excellent way for your kids to hone their listening skills.
Expose your children to as much non-fiction as possible. It was alarming to see how many 5^th graders coming into my classroom could not read and comprehend factual material in a text because they had rarely been exposed to it prior to school. Reading non-fiction helps kids understand that the process of reading for enjoyment and reading to glean new factual information need not be two separate and distinct concepts. If you encourage your kids to derive enjoyment out of reading non-fiction, then that will serve them well with their schoolbooks later. Good factual magazines that we enjoy with our own preschool age kids are Animal Baby, Your Big Backyard, Humpty Dumpty, and Time for Kids.
Help your children develop vocabulary and the drive to continually use new words and improve their speaking proficiency. Ruth Heller writes a collection of books that are excellent for introducing kids to these concepts. These books are picture books primarily geared towards younger children but are just as applicable to the middle grades too.

In summary, the process of developing reading, speaking, and listening literacy is like a seed that must be continuously watered. We have access to some of the finest schools in the state to help us with this process, but ultimate accountability for our children’s journey resides in the home. Devote as much time as you can to spending constructive literacy time with your kids, and you will both be richly rewarded.

———————-

Lori J. Skurka, M. Ed., spent more than a decade as an elementary classroom teacher. She now operates EleMental Learning, a private tutoring company. She can be reached at (630) 355-5112 or on the web at www.elemental-learning.com

Comments from pre-WordPress location for this Blog:

Edit Re: Perspectives From An Educator: Building Literacy Skills in Children

Thanks for the suggestions, Lori. Nice piece, good perspective.

By Jennifer on 1/26/2009 1:32 PM

Edit Re: Perspectives From An Educator: Building Literacy Skills in Children

Thanks Lori, great article. Here another technique I’ve used with my kindergarten son. I think it’s helped him gain confidence to tackle more difficult reading subject matters:

When we’re reading something tough, I will start out reading most of the words, especially the more difficult parts. For example if a sentence says “The construction worker’s jackhammer was in the truck.” I will read it as “The construction worker’s jackhammer was __ __ ____.” and point to the final three words and ask my son to complete the sentence. I’ll help him sound out the words if need be. That gives him confidence that he can help me read the story. Then as we go along I might start asking him to fill in the blank on a few more difficult words. Since he knows he already successfully figured out (the easier) words earlier in the story, he will give his best effort to try when I start giving him more difficult words to tackle. It gives him a nice sense of accomplishment when we finally reach the end of whatever we’re reading.

Again thanks for your thoughts on this topic. Best of luck with EleMental Learning In-Home Tutoring. Sounds like a great business.

By Roger on 2/23/2009 9:17 AM

Edit Clpostingguide

I recently came across your blog and have been reading along. I thought I would leave my first comment. I don’t know what to say except that I have enjoyed reading. Nice blog. I will keep visiting this blog very often.

Sarah

www.clpostingguide.info

By Sarah on 3/26/2009 6:29 AM

Edit Re: Perspectives From An Educator: Building Literacy Skills in Children

Great ideas. Thanks, Lori! Good luck with your business.

By Chad on 7/22/2009 1:30 PM

Edit thanks!

Lori,

Those were really helpful suggestions! Keep passing your wisdom along!

Perspectives From An Educator: All Day Kindergarten

elementallearningllc — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:16:37 +0000

By Lori Skurka, M. Ed.

In November 2007, our local board of education outlined its intention to standardize all-day kindergarten instruction across the district beginning with the 2008-2009 school year. According to the board, their enthusiasm is buoyed by a successful pilot program which has been running within the district, as well as research which supports the notion that all-day kindergarten enhances a student’s self-confidence and independence, leading to higher progress in social and learning skills.

The move represents a significant departure from the traditional half day kindergarten routine (which, in actuality, is not even a half day), which was intended to provide youngsters with an introduction to their elementary years and where they could engage in a few hours of age-appropriate social interaction. That being said, a significant percentage of districts both state-wide and nationally have embraced all-day kindergarten. And certainly we’ve all heard about Saturday school and other examples of academic rigor placed upon young students abroad, particularly in the Far East. It is worth noting that this practice is alive and well in Naperville within certain ethnic communities through their civic and religious centers.

Thus arguments are frequently heard regarding the necessity of “starting earlier” and “working harder” so that our students can simply remain competitive in the global landscape. But is asking a five year old to spend 30+ hours a week at school too much to ask of them? We examine both sides of the issue.

On the positive side, the primary overarching intention of all-day kindergarten is to better prepare students to succeed. The definition of success is of course in the eye of the beholder: an enhancement of learning capabilities, an increased score on some future standardized exam, or the ability to more effectively socialize with peers. Whatever the definition, there is certainly a body of academic research which supports the claim that today’s five year olds are mentally able to endure the additional time in the classroom and derive a lasting benefit from it. And there are parents who have put their kids through all-day kindergarten who will heartily vouch for the benefits it provided.

Furthermore, it is certainly true that children from some families where a certain degree of nurturing is not available will actually benefit more, socially and psychologically, from additional time in the classroom where age appropriate stimulus is available. For these students, extra time at home may just result in more television, more video games, or in some cases more neglect.

And, as alluded to earlier, we are a nation which is becoming a net outsourcer of skilled labor. Countless thousands of American jobs have been shipped overseas to harder working and better trained workforces who are able to provide more value for less money. If the United States hopes to maintain its status in the global marketplace, then we must impart academic rigor on our youth as often—and in this case as early—as possible.

But all-day kindergarten has its detractors as well. Academic research published by Rand Education, The Goldwater Institute, and other reputable institutions cites empirical studies which posit that the boost received by an all-day kindergarten student may be short lived, with much of the benefit dissipating within a few years.

So, not surprisingly, there is credible research available to support both sides of the debate. However, in researching this topic we found that detractors cite plenty of practical objections that strike closer to home and resonate even more than academic research.

First, many parents question whether their children (typically boys, whose psychological development takes a more roundabout path) are “ready” for all-day kindergarten. They have seen their children slowly adapt to the pre-school environment, which for most kids translates into just a few hours a day, three days a week. They just don’t foresee their child being able to transition to the additional time commitment of all-day kindergarten. For these parents, a half-day 5 day per week kindergarten seems a more logical way of bridging the gap from preschool to elementary school.

Next, some parents believe that the additional parent child “quality time” available when a child is in half-day kindergarten is of more benefit than all-day kindergarten’s additional academics. These parents prefer to spend the additional time with their children bonding and visiting destinations such as the zoo, the children’s museum, the YMCA, or local parks. For these parents the kindergarten year represents a way of preparing their child, and frankly themselves, for the transition to all day schooling.

And on a local level, there are parents who have expressed that our schools are too crowded to allocate additional classrooms to all-day kindergarten sections. Others have claimed that the district has enough on its plate right now resolving other issues such as the completion of the district’s controversial new third high school.

As my husband and I often say to each other, “the truth is somewhere in the middle.” It is my perspective that all-day kindergarten is absolutely the right choice for some while being inadvisable to force upon others. Some kids will benefit in the long run from the additional academic rigor, while other kids lack the maturity to stay focused for the entire day and will be frustrated by it. The best solution is to have both options available, with the choice ultimately being left to the parent(s).

The district has outlined a plan where half-day kindergarten will continue to be available in certain schools pending sufficient interest in maintaining it. It would be my hope that as many parents as possible who choose to stick with half-day kindergarten will be able to enroll their child at their nearest school, not just for convenience but also to enable the child to begin socializing with the peers they will be with during first grade and beyond.

———————-

Lori J. Skurka, M. Ed., has more than a decade of experience as an elementary classroom teacher. She now operates EleMental Learning, a private tutoring company. She can be reached at (630) 355-5112 or on the web at www.elemental-learning.com

comments made on pre-WordPress location for this Blog:

Edit Re: Perspectives From An Educator: All Day Kindergarten

We had a lot of trepidation about sending our daughter to all day Kindergarten. We weren’t sure whether she had the maturity and stamina to make it through a whole day. We were also worried that All Day Kindergarten would be a sort of glorified day care.

Now that we’re one semester into it, I have to say that it is definitely not glorified day care. There is no doubt that the kids in All Day Kindergarten are getting a richer academic experience than they would be in a half day format. But it is still plenty of fun, I don’t get the sense that it’s a drag at all.

But our daughter is still plenty tired by the time the day is over. Some days more than other.

All and all, I think I’m thumbs up. I can really sense that there is an additional academic benefit to All Day Kindergarten.

By Brenda on 1/29/2009 10:08 PM

Edit Re: Perspectives From An Educator: All Day Kindergarten

Thanks to Lori Skurka and EleMental Learning for taking an interesting look at this controversial issue. Our son went to an all day kindergarten program and I was very nervous going into it. Part of it was the loss of opportunity to pursue weekday social activities with him (playgroups and the other stuff Lori mentioned…parks, YMCA, zoo, etc.) But I think the main thing that bothered me was that I would have to “let him go” out into the real world…by that I mean all-day school 5 days a week…a little earlier than I was ready to. I guess maybe my concerns were somewhat of a selfish nature.

But in retrospect it was great. The time in school was well spent. He made amazing strides academically. He had a great teacher. He made great friends. Yes he got tired, but he slogged thru it. And we packed in all those special family opportunities on the weekends and it all worked out great.

By Jennifer on 1/30/2009 8:59 AM

Edit Re: Perspectives From An Educator: All Day Kindergarten

My district is very against the all day format, much to my surprise. Our governor recently stated that he plans to impliment all day kindergarten soon. I am a product of an all day kindergarten that I started at a young 4 years old. I also learned to read simple words and sentences by the end of the year (still 4). We did community service and even had a garden. I am not sure what happened to the food we grew (it was a small plot). We also learned spanish and french as our foreign language studies. We had our recitals and it was a wonderful experience that I still remember as an adult and mother now. When I moved into a different district after a few more years in the progressive district, I discovered that the new school system was quite a bit behind. Some school districts truly are overdue for a new system! My classmates and I always enjoyed our all day kindergarten and all the exciting things we were learning and doing. I would wish that experience on any child–because young children just want to learn and experience!

By tiffanymiller on 4/29/2009 9:01 AM

Edit Re: Perspectives From An Educator: All Day Kindergarten

I agree that all day K can be too much for certain kids, especially boys. We sent our son to a private half-day kindergarten even though he was old enough to go to the all day K in the district. The next year he started in All Day K and was able to get through it just fine. But we still doubt whether he could have made it the previous year…maturity wise, energy level wise, etc. There seems to be less of a stigma attached to being a year older than there used to be. (i.e. the “flunkie” stigma…people realize that just because you’re a year older doesn’t mean you flunked something) Do they still flunk people anymore anyway?

By Rob Miller on 7/30/2009 4:10 PM

What Are The “Best” Schools In Your Area?

elementallearningllc — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:09:38 +0000

By Lori Skurka on 1/1/2009 12:22 PM

Just for kicks we took a look at the list of “best” schools in the areas served by EleMental Learning. Many of the names which showed up on the lists are the usual suspects. However many of the schools which showed up on the lists were unexpected, and many schools we assumed would show up on the lists actually did not.

This led us to look a little bit more at the methodology and biases inherent in the way these schools attract pupils. Clearly, rankings based on objective, standarized testing scores will always be biased by ranking the schools according to what is deemed important to the testing entity administering the tests. Similarly, including magnet and prep schools alongside public schools in the rankings inserts biases along socioeconomic and subjective admission lines.

But nonetheless the rankings are interesting and not only help us to identify role models of academic excellence in our areas but also to have a clearer view of how schools receiving the most accolades may not be achieving those accolades on a level playing field.

Here are some links to top ranked schools in our service areas. Note that these links will launch a pop-up window, so if you have pop-ups blocked you’ll have to allow them for this purpose:

Click here for recent Chicagoland rankings.

Click here for recent NYC rankings.

Click here for recent comparison of Westchester schools vs. rest of nation (from a $ per pupil perspective).

Click here for recent list of top ranked high schools on Long Island.

Click here for link to all New York State school district report cards. (very comprehensive)

Click here for a list of the best public high schools in Connecticut.

Click here for a different list of best high schools in Connecticut.

Comments posted on pre-WordPress blog site:

Edit Re: What Are the “Best” Schools In Your Area?

In the Chicago data, the Sun-Times makes the following comment:

“Thousands of kids who were still learning English were required to take state tests for the first time, dragging down results in some schools with heavy immigrant populations. As a result, the number of schools that missed their federal No Child Left Behind progress targets based solely on limited-English students soared from eight to 66 statewide.”

While I don’t dispute that comment per se, I take exception to the apologist attitude behind it. If you read between the lines, it’s creating two categories of failed education:

1) Category of people who score low academically because they need remediation.

2) Category of people who score low academically because, well, they’re disadvantaged language wise.

That attitude carries over into our everyday adult society as well. I’m all for diversity, but it needs to be diversity that commits to assimilation into our society. It is NOT ok to immigrate here and then not prepare your kids to get educated, grow up, and enter the workforce without a commitment to learning English. If you don’t, you handicap them and collectively you handicap our society. To “excuse” kids for performing poorly on standardized exams because of their language barrier is to excuse this behavior.

Fine, if you can prove that the child has been living in the U.S. for less than a year then maybe I’m sympathetic. Excuse them from the exam. But if they’ve been living here for years, or in some cases all their lives, then stop apologizing for their POOR PARENTING. Language barrier or not, your kids are performing low on the standardized exams which are a decent (although not perfect) proxy for how ready they are to function in society. Let me give you a hint: Speak English to them at home. If you can’t speak English yourself, then learn it.

By Bill W on 1/25/2009 4:26 PM

Edit Re: What Are the “Best” Schools In Your Area?

It doesn’t matter how well you speak English. Just so ACORN can register you to vote Democrat, the government will be pleased.

By Rita on 2/21/2009 2:33 PM

Edit Re: What Are the “Best” Schools In Your Area?

I don’t think the concept of “best school” in the Naperville area (where I live) is going to last very long. The school districts, especially District 204, seem hell-bent on social engineering to create equality. Who cares about the inconveniences of distance and travel time.

“Weve taken care of everything
The words you hear the songs you sing
The pictures that give pleasure to your eyes
Its one for all and all for one
We work together common sons
Never need to wonder how or why

We are the priests of the temples of syrinx
Our great computers fill the hallowed halls
We are the priests of the temples of syrinx
All the gifts of life are held within our walls

Look around this world we made
Equality our stock in trade
Come and join the brotherhood of man
Oh what a nice contented world
Let the banners be unfurled
Hold the red star proudly high in hand.”
-Rush, “2112″
Inspired by Atlas Shrugged, by Ayn Rand.

By Bryn A. on 9/11/2009 8:05 AM

Edit Re: What Are the “Best” Schools In Your Area?

Actually, “2112″ was inspired by Ayn Rand’s “Anthem”, not by her “Atlas Shrugged”. Both are excellent, of course. Viva Neil Peart.

By Neil P. on 9/11/2009 8:17 AM

Edit Re: What Are the “Best” Schools In Your Area?

Lori,

You and your readers might be interested in an analysis I do of the top performing school districts in the Chicago area based on the ISBE report card data. There is also analysis of, and links to, a number of studies and lists of best schools. All this at QE203.org. My emphasis is on District 203, and you will see what a bargain financially the district is compared to its peers, as well the excellent academic performance of it’s students.

By Thom Higgins on 12/3/2009 3:48 AM

How Will Obama Shape The Future Of Education?

elementallearningllc — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:04:45 +0000

Originally posted 3/15/09

Although the Obama administration has allocated billions of dollars to the broad category of “Education” in its first (and only?) bailout program, and in its subsequent fiscal budget proposal, it is short-sighted to think that a precision effort at remedying the educational ills in America is underway. We think that is simply not the case. Open issues that scream for attention:

Teacher pay: Merit pay versus the tenure system. Merit pay seems to be gaining some traction, but two issues cloud the picture: (1) what is the criteria for judging “merit”? (2) How can the Obama administration advance a concrete plan for merit pay when doing so will run directly afoul of the NEA and his other supporters in the educational establishment? These are clearly treacherous waters. The Administration will find it very hard to build consensus here.
Reform of No Child Left Behind: The NCLB plan is oft-derided as being flawed in methodology, unfair in the inclusion of certain student categories in the test group (English language learners, certain special needs students, etc.), and prone to creation of a “teach to the test” culture in the schools. We don’t dispute those claims, but we also sympathize with the prior Administration’s stance that “doing something is better than doing nothing”. We support redefining the program to use more precise criteria in defining the test group and interpretation of the test results. And, although EleMental Learning currently does not participate in the NCLB remedial tutoring program, we also support ongoing federal funding for tutoring of children in schools which fail to make the grade as long as those schools are faced with real accountability. We think teacher merit pay and an expanded availability of voucher programs for students assigned to “failing” schools would help instill more accountability in the teacher ranks.
Utilization of federal funds allocated to education: Simply throwing a lot of money at “education” is too blunt of an instrument by which to judge the Administration. Within that broad category are a lot of interesting and worthy causes. In addition to the NCLB reform and expansion possibilities mentioned above, there also needs to be very careful consideration given to how funding will be divided amongst new school construction, existing school modernization, curriculum initiatives designed to prepare American students to better compete against the rest of the world, expanded funding for charter schools, and programs which may provide disproportionate federal funding for schools in poor/disadvantaged areas. All of these topics, especially the last one, are controversial and the public should force the Administration to be open and transparent in its plans on these matters.
Funding for educational programs in general: In most areas, local funding for schools comes in the form of property taxes. And property taxes are often calculated based on rolling historical values (such as 3-year rolling assessed value). Clearly, due to the falling real estate market, this tax base is going to be shrinking. And, along with it, is the average American’s ability to endure higher tax rates. While some of the slack can be made up (in the short run) by expanded budgets and deficit spending at the federal level, this is not a long term solution to America’s educational funding needs. The system is already cracking under the stress. Just this week California (already the highest taxed state in the Union) announced that it will lay off 26,500 teachers and another 15,000 support staff as part of the state’s burden to cut more than $8 billion from its school budgets due to fiscal crisis. This speaks to a broad systemic crisis that does not appear to be on the path to recovery.For more on the California story, click here.

So what is the conclusion?

What can be done and where is this going to end up? One old adage has always proven to be true and we think it is applicable here too: “If you decide to rely solely on your government to deal with a key issue, you are destined to be disappointed.” So what does that mean? It means that the course to a successful, quality educational experience for your children begins AT HOME. There is only so much you can personally do to influence the experience available to your children at school. But you have control over the home environment and you have the power to provide educational stimulation for your children (see our previous blog posts for creative ideas on this topic). There is one statement from Obama we think everybody can agree upon:

“If parents don’t parent and turn off the TV set and instill in their child a thirst for knowledge, we will not succeed.” -Barack Obama, 8/30/2008

Lori Skurka is the President and CEO of EleMental Learning, LLC, a provider of customized in-home tutoring services to families in Illinois, New York, Connecticut, and California. Prior to founding EleMental Learning, Lori spent more than a decade as a public school classroom teacher. She can be reached at (630) 355-5112 or on the web at www.elemental-learning.com

Comments posted on legacy blog system (pre-WordPress):

Edit Re: How Will Obama Shape The Future Of Education?

Well written, totally agreed. Obama doesn’t have the quick fix for education. In my opinion the ultimate problem comes back to teacher pensions and the social contract with the public to fund them. The public is not prosperous enough anymore, in general, to provide funding for bloated government bureaucracies and the pension plans of those bureaucracies. Increasing your taxation of the public at a time like this is NOT the answer.

By The Dude on 4/17/2009 12:38 PM

Edit Well put, Lori!

Lori – thanks for the article. Insightful. Thanks for your viewpoints! -Jennifer

By Jennifer on 5/9/2009 10:22 AM

Edit Re: How Will Obama Shape The Future Of Education?

I’m not sure how he’ll shape it, but whatever he has in mind I’m sure it’ll cost a trillion dollars….like every other big idea they have.

By Brenda on 7/7/2009 8:36 AM

Edit Re: How Will Obama Shape The Future Of Education?

Hopefully he’ll keep out of it. After hearing Obama’s “plan” for healthcare I’ve heard enough!

By Concerned on 7/22/2009 11:13 PM

Edit Re: How Will Obama Shape The Future Of Education?

Hopefully he will have better luck shaping the future of Education than he is having shaping the future of Health Care!

By BigMike on 8/14/2009 9:50 PM

Edit Re: How Will Obama Shape The Future Of Education?

I feel a lot better about Obama’s attitude towards Education after hearing his speech to students the other night. I’m glad the speech wasn’t politicized, and it seems he has a constructive attitude towards the importance of education (and reforming the areas that need to be reformed).

By Shari M. on 9/11/2009 8:00 AM

Quite Simply, “What’s Bugging YOU?”

elementallearningllc — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 04:00:45 +0000

Attention parents, tutors, students, teachers, administrators, and anyone else passionate about educating the youth of our nation!

We’ve got one simple question to ask you: What’s Buggin’ Ya?

If there’s one constant in today’s crazy world, it’s change. What is the educational controversy du jour in your household, your school district, your state, and in the national headlines? What’s got steam shooting out of your ears?

Let’s hear from you. Topics that get a lot of spirited debate may be used as fodder for future EleMental Learning editorials. Or we may just sit back and watch sparks fly. We’ll see what happens!

Note: This topic was temporarily posted on the EleMental Learning In Home Tutoring legacy blog system before being moved to WordPress. Here are some of the comments which were posted on the old system:

Kids these days!

Kids these days have very weak ability to convey the English language in its written form. They need to know it is NOT ok to go into the real world and write correspondence in “text message” style. DUNWIM? (That’s text message speak for “Do U No What I Mn?”). Sorry kids but that isn’t going to cut it in the real world! Pull your eyeballs out of your Crackberrys, your PSPs, and your XBoxes….and, oh, gee, I don’t know…APPLY YOURSELVES.

The real world doesn’t give out trophies for 6th place. Or for typos.

By Michael Corleone on 7/2/2009 2:31 PM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

Twitter. Twitter bugs me. I think it’s dumb.

By Sarah on 7/6/2009 2:20 PM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

In Illinois they are cutting funding for a lot of special needs programs. If I want to keep the same level of services for my autistic son then I suddenly am going to have to start footing almost all of the bill myself. Gee great timing, as if we’re all rolling in dough these days.

Good luck, everybody. We’re gonna need it.

(Idea: how about we cut some real pork out of the government? Such as politician junkets to places like the Galapagos Islands and Pelosi’s 8 day trip to Italy while “en route” to her 1-day stop in Afghanistan)

Galapagos story:
online.wsj.com/article/SB124650399438184235.html

Pelosi to Italy:
www.lasvegassun.com/news/2009/feb/22/pelosis-trip-italy-sets-bad-example/

Pelosi getting smack-downed by the Pope while in Italy:
thehill.com/leading-the-news/pope-lectures-pelosi-on-abortion-stance-2009-02-18.html

By Linda on 7/7/2009 8:50 AM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

By the way:

I won’t go into what I think about Obama…that isn’t my point.

But have you noticed who we have sitting on the bench to be backup President?

In order:
-Joe Biden: Buffoon. Period.
-Pelosi: Dear God.
-Robert Byrd: 91 year old confirmed former Ku Klux Klan member.

For that reason alone I wish Obama much health and success.

God bless America!

By Linda on 7/7/2009 8:56 AM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

Interesting article about the media usage habits of teens:

www.ft.com/cms/s/0/035e83fe-6f18-11de-9109-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

It’s sort of scary:
1) They don’t actually use twitter (thank God) because they realize that it requires time / effort / (and in some instances) money … and they are smart enough to realize that it is pointless. Which it is. That’s the only good news in the article.

2) They don’t read newspapers because they have no time to “read lots of text”. They would rather go online and see the summary or whatever.

3) Their free time is focused on movies, music concerts, and video games. OK, I guess I can’t fault that too much. That’s just kids being kids. I did the same stuff when I was that age. But they also say that online chat via video game consoles is becoming a better way of chatting with friends than via the phone. That part I find scary. Heaven forbid you go out on a bike ride or go to the batting cages with a friend, where you might actually have a legitimate human conversation and break a sweat. Rather than putting on some stupid headset and talking to your friends while you blast aliens in some fake digital world.

Meanwhile the Chinese are sending their kids to school 6 days a week, 12 months a year. Oh, and they’re supporting our country’s debt, currency, and spending habits too.

Parents, if there’s one thing you can do for your kids, get them a subscription to a good newspaper and ask them to spend 10 minutes a day reading it. I recommend the Wall Street Journal. Its articles are surprisingly relevant about LOTS of different things, not just Wall Street. I’ve been spending 30 minutes with the WSJ every weekday for the last 20 years and I can tell you for a fact my knowledge of the world has increased IMMENSELY because I have done this.

OK, enough rambling.

By Bernie on 7/13/2009 3:20 PM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

Here is the way the young 20-somethings at my workplace talk about the local nightlife:

Person 1: “Hey, have you ever been to ________?”
Person 2: “No, I heard it’s amazing.”
Person 1: “What about _________? Ever been there?”
Person 2: “Yes, it’s totally awesome.”
Person 1: “What’s it like?”
Person 2: “Well, have you ever been to __________?”
Person 1: “Yeah, I like that place.”
Person 2: “Yeah, well it’s kind of like that…..but better.”
Person 1: “Better, really?”
Person 2: “Totally.”
Person 1: “Did you ever go to _______ on Saturday like you said you were gonna?”
Person 2: “Yeah, I was there all night.”
Person 1: “How was it?”
Person 2: “Awesome!”
Person 1: “Really? My friend said it wasn’t any good.”
Person 2: “No, it’s like, totally chill.”
Person 1: “Sweet, I really gotta go there.”

The part that really bugs me is that this conversation doesn’t say a damn thing. It’s all about sounding cool and hip. Which apparently I’m not, because like I said…this bugs me!!!

By Liz on 7/30/2009 4:02 PM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

Tweet Tweet

By Woodstock on 7/30/2009 4:03 PM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

Here we are on September 11th and the people I work with are like “yeah whatever”. Most of them didn’t even realize it. How soon we forget.

Happy Patriot Day everybody.

By Brian L. on 9/11/2009 7:58 AM

Edit Re: What’s buggin’ ya?

Career politicians. They bug me. Regardless of party affiliation. They’ve proven that they’re all for sale. Whether to big corporations, the tort bar, the unions, the poor, illegal immigrants and their enablers, to whoever is buying…in exchange for votes and the ability for the politician to continue building their personal political empire.

That’s not the way America was supposed to work. But that’s the way it does work. Instituting term limits would help, a lot. It wouldn’t solve all of our problems (because the special interest groups named above would always be grooming replacements to take over for politicians who “term out” of office). But it would definitely reduce the sense of entitlement and the loss of moral compass which is so blatantly obvious in our leaders…especially in Congress.

Our governments (at all levels) have shown an inability and unwillingness to cut spending, even in the face of the worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression. Any private enterprise which displayed such an unwillingness to adapt would have bankrupted itself out of existence by now. It’s only because our government owns the printing presses (and because the Chinese have been willing, so far, to buy our national debt in the form of government bonds) that we’ve been able to perpetuate this charade.

I want government which provides essential services, run by people who have the public’s interests, not their own private interests (or the interests of those whose votes they can buy with money or favors), in mind. It is time to clean house.

Mental Health Workers In Pre-School Classrooms To Address Behavior Issues

elementallearningllc — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:53:41 +0000

Article Citation: “To Address Behavior Issues, Preschools Turn to Therapy”, Wall Street Journal, 9/9/09, written by Sue Shellenbarger.

Link to original article: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052970204348804574400612690410766.html#mod=todays_us_nonsub_pj

Interesting overview of the controversial new push, now offered in 29 different states, to embed mental health workers directly into preschool classrooms. These professionals work directly with students needing extra therapy or counseling to address behavioral issues at an early age in order to help them integrate better and improve their emotional well being.

Without addressing the funding issue, which we understand to be a fluid and changing situation under new governmental directives, this seems like a wise approach from an educator’s standpoint. Providing hands-on mental health counseling directly in the preschool classroom, where it isn’t uncommon for parents and other “helpers” to come and go regularly, and where the peer-perpetuated stigma attached to mental health needs (including the need for counselors/therapists) hasn’t yet developed, is reasonable and gives students with behavorial/emotional issues the best opportunity to succeed over the long term in a mainstream classroom environment.

Have you had any personal experience with a program like this as it relates to your own children, relatives, or other students in classes with your children? If so, what is your perspective on this? If not, would you have an open mind towards a classroom environment like this for your own kids?

Lori J. Skurka, M. Ed., has more than a decade of experience as an elementary classroom teacher. She now operates EleMental Learning, a private in-home tutoring company. She can be reached at (630) 355-5112 or via www.elemental-learning.com .

A Lot For Which To Be Thankful

elementallearningllc — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 03:38:26 +0000

Originally posted 11/25/09

As I typed the title of this post I stopped to wonder how many of today’s adolescents would have resisted the urge to put the preposition at the end of the phrase — i.e. ‘A Lot To Be Thankful For‘. I continue to worry about the texting and video-gaming culture America’s future leaders are growing up in. No, actually, the culture in which they are growing up!

Anyway, we’ve made it through mid-term conferences and at this point most parents have a pretty good feeling for where their kids are stacking up in the classroom. Even if you’ve learned that your child has a bit of an uphill climb in order to achieve classroom standards, he or she still has something for which to be thankful. That of course is you–a parent who is spending time on this site in a search to find what is best for the child’s progress. You taking the time to read this means that you care more about what’s best for your kids than the average Joe.

Two of my three children are school age, and their conferences generally went well. That said, there is always more we can do to help our kids excel. The conferences provided great opportunities to fully frame the picture in my mind of how each of my children interacts in his/her classroom environment. Even though I participate in volunteer activities at their schools, it is always great to have a formal meeting of the minds with the teacher. Hopefully that meeting of the minds confirms that you both know the areas of needed improvement to be the same. That was indeed the case in my kids’ conferences. But if not, then, well, that’s why we have the conferences…to get onto the same page!

So now I go forth, refocused and reenergized to help my kids improve. I go forth with assurance that my kids’ teachers are focusing on the same improvement areas, and I go forth with determination to mold my kids as best as I can.

As I sign off now, I can see our Nintendo Wii sitting in the corner of the family room. It’s autumn, it’s cold, windy, rainy, and prematurely dark outside. How easy it would be to sit the kids down and let them blast away at each other in a game of Star Wars Lego, or to immerse themselves in a meaningless virtual race of Mario Kart.

I shall resist. Anybody want to go to the YMCA to shoot some hoops or have a swim?

Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!