My 9-year-old’s previous school tried to teach him skills such as self-regulation and empathy, but in practice the whole thing felt like just another item on his busy teacher’s daily checklist. But when my son switched schools last year, I saw how effective SEL can be. Read more ›
Children vary in their development of speech and language skills. However, they follow a natural progression or timetable for mastering the skills of language. A checklist of milestones for the normal development of speech and language skills in children from birth to 6 years of age is included below. Read more ›
Even though it can be challenging for some kids to start a new school year, there are a few simple steps that parents can take to make the process easier and less stressful. As a former school principal and district superintendent, I’ve witnessed firsthand how some students struggle to settle into routines when a new school year begins. Read more ›
If you are the parent of a graduating senior who plans to attend college, you might feel you have done all you can to prepare them. Or, you might wonder whether your teen is ready for the challenges of college and independent living. The end of senior year can be filled with joy, but also with worry.
“It’s particularly normal at this life stage to be experiencing insecurity, fear, and concerns about the present and the future,” says Sharon Saline, PsyD, who specializes in families of children with ADHD. Read more ›
Dyscalculia (dis-kal-KYOO-lee-uh) is not as well known as dyslexia, but both are learning disabilities. Read more ›
A good kindergarten experience sets kids up for success in school and into adulthood. Students in smaller kindergarten classes are more likely to go to college than students from larger classes. And by age 27, students who had more experienced kindergarten teachers were earning more money than their peers who had less-experienced teachers in kindergarten. Read more ›
As pressure to raise scores on standardized tests has trickled down to the lower grades, kindergarten and even pre-kindergarten classrooms have focused more on academic skills. But debating whether a kindergarten or preschool classroom should be play-based or academic is the wrong question, experts say. Read more ›
Auditory processing disorder (APD) is a hearing problem characterized by deficits in how the brain processes auditory input. Children with APD struggle to make sense of what they hear — a symptom that is easily mistaken for other conditions and learning disabilities. This overview of APD clarifies common misconceptions and offers targeted strategies of support. Read more ›
Nonverbal learning disorder (NVLD), also known as nonverbal learning disability, is a neurological condition which typically emerges during childhood but can persist through adulthood. It is marked by one or more of a set of cognitive, and sometimes social, difficulties experienced by children of otherwise average or superior intelligence, such as visual-spatial struggles and motor-skill deficits. Some people diagnosed with NVLD also have trouble comprehending nonverbal information such as body language and facial expressions. Read more ›
One of the most important aspects of learning that might be least understood is human memory. We are tasked with passing on skills and knowledge to students—it’s the most important aspect of our job. Yet how many educators have earned degrees and teaching certificates without any mention of how memory works? Read more ›
