I spoke to my daughter's
teachers yesterday about her school work. She has been in second grade in
a school in Madrid since last September. Before this she was at a school
in California. Her grades here are excellent considering they grade very
hard here. She got "Notable" in all her classes and a
"Sobresaliente" in English, go figure. The level of English
they study here is more like Kinder for ESL's.
A
"Notable" compared to the California is a little better than being at
grade level. "Sobresaliente" is from what her Science teacher
explained "super excellent" in all areas and only two students got
that in her class. She said that my daughter just didn't cut it for
"Sobresaliente". She even added that she just didn't have the
maturity or mental capacity. At times I don't understand some Spanish words, I
understood this. When I told her that my daughter was reading at 4th grade
level in California and she was even promoted to Second grade in the middle of
the year, she gave me an attitude that maybe the standards there were not that
high. This got me thinking of how we can better support our daughters in school.
Recognize Their Strengths
You know your kids better than anyone. What are their strengths, if their school work is not reflecting the strengths they have at home or have shown in the past then there is something else going on. My daughter is one smart little girl, and knew the concept of numbers since she was two, counted to 100 and learned how to read and answered comprehension questions with no problem when she was three. She has been reading at 4th grade level since 1st grade.
Are Circumstances Outside of School Affecting Them
As teachers we at times forget that school is not the only thing going on in their lives. For my daughter it has been the move to a non-English speaking country and the changes her parents are going through. Also here they have a classical way of teaching mostly lecture and the expectations of the teachers teach to the top kids and the rest have to swim or sink. There is a lot of responsibility put on the kids and on the parents. This has its good points and its bad points. My daughter had not been up to date in one of her notebooks since December and I had not received one notice about it. The teacher said it was my daughter's responsibility to know. Well yes it is, she is right, but she is eight and if she hasn't kept up I would have notified the parents. Her bird died this week and she was distraught, so when her teacher told me that she had been extra unfocused I knew why.
Listen to them
I spoke to my daughter last night and we talked about why it's being so hard for her and she explained that although she listens to the teacher at times she doesn't understand what she is saying. Although until she was three years old she spoke only Spanish once she started school in three months she was speaking English and started having problems with Spanish. We worked with her on the Spanish, but not even at a 50% level, so she slowly began to lose it. In June 2011 when we moved here she had a chance to practice Spanish over the summer. In September when she started school, she was still not fluent and in academic Spanish she was lost. Considering her circumstances she is doing excellent, she needs more support and it's obvious her Science teacher is not going to give it to her, so I will.
Be supportive when they do their Homework
By being supportive I don't mean sit with them and nag them or start doing the work for them, but guide them, be a sounding board for their questions, help them arrive at the answers on their own. The other day she was working on verbs and she didn't understand that she had to conjugate the verb. I explained that "correr" needs to be conjugated to the person who is running. I asked her how you say I run, she knew it was "yo corro" and the rest of the other conjugations. She just needed a guidance.
Make Learning Fun
I've always asked myself how we so effectively kill children's natural curiosity to learn. Before they start school they can't stopping asking WHY and then it becomes a chore. So I've decided to take her to the library more often than when I remember. Have her read every night for at least half an hour books that she enjoys and is genueinly interested in. Ask her comprehension questions and have her do a creative project to represent what she has learned. Watch science videos with her, so she understands the concepts and the vocabulary better. Take her to the zoo, the planetarium, the museums, everywhere where learning becomes exciting and natural again. Learning should be something they love, not something they have to do.
Recognize Their Strengths
You know your kids better than anyone. What are their strengths, if their school work is not reflecting the strengths they have at home or have shown in the past then there is something else going on. My daughter is one smart little girl, and knew the concept of numbers since she was two, counted to 100 and learned how to read and answered comprehension questions with no problem when she was three. She has been reading at 4th grade level since 1st grade.
Are Circumstances Outside of School Affecting Them
As teachers we at times forget that school is not the only thing going on in their lives. For my daughter it has been the move to a non-English speaking country and the changes her parents are going through. Also here they have a classical way of teaching mostly lecture and the expectations of the teachers teach to the top kids and the rest have to swim or sink. There is a lot of responsibility put on the kids and on the parents. This has its good points and its bad points. My daughter had not been up to date in one of her notebooks since December and I had not received one notice about it. The teacher said it was my daughter's responsibility to know. Well yes it is, she is right, but she is eight and if she hasn't kept up I would have notified the parents. Her bird died this week and she was distraught, so when her teacher told me that she had been extra unfocused I knew why.
Listen to them
I spoke to my daughter last night and we talked about why it's being so hard for her and she explained that although she listens to the teacher at times she doesn't understand what she is saying. Although until she was three years old she spoke only Spanish once she started school in three months she was speaking English and started having problems with Spanish. We worked with her on the Spanish, but not even at a 50% level, so she slowly began to lose it. In June 2011 when we moved here she had a chance to practice Spanish over the summer. In September when she started school, she was still not fluent and in academic Spanish she was lost. Considering her circumstances she is doing excellent, she needs more support and it's obvious her Science teacher is not going to give it to her, so I will.
Be supportive when they do their Homework
By being supportive I don't mean sit with them and nag them or start doing the work for them, but guide them, be a sounding board for their questions, help them arrive at the answers on their own. The other day she was working on verbs and she didn't understand that she had to conjugate the verb. I explained that "correr" needs to be conjugated to the person who is running. I asked her how you say I run, she knew it was "yo corro" and the rest of the other conjugations. She just needed a guidance.
Make Learning Fun
I've always asked myself how we so effectively kill children's natural curiosity to learn. Before they start school they can't stopping asking WHY and then it becomes a chore. So I've decided to take her to the library more often than when I remember. Have her read every night for at least half an hour books that she enjoys and is genueinly interested in. Ask her comprehension questions and have her do a creative project to represent what she has learned. Watch science videos with her, so she understands the concepts and the vocabulary better. Take her to the zoo, the planetarium, the museums, everywhere where learning becomes exciting and natural again. Learning should be something they love, not something they have to do.
