| Comments about Multiple Intelligences and Emotional Quotient by Steve McCrea, teacher As a teacher, I've been trained by the Broward County Public School system to look for multiple intelligences and abilities and to teach to those modes of learning. In practice, the assessment tests (FCAT and SAT) look at a narrow band of those abilities. In April 2003 I asked What Should Schools Teach? What Should Students Learn (click to see the web pages). I particularly enjoy the reply given by Cary Elcome, a creative ESOL instructor currently working in England. bradstow2@yahoo.co.uk .... I compiled a list of learning abilities in my www.mathForArtists.com web site, using materials collected in a course about "How to Teach Math in Grades 6-12" taught by Dr. Sally Robeson at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Robeson has a dynamic approach that is creating able and creative teachers for the school system. I recommend www.6seconds.org, a web site devoted to describing and training teachers to use better teaching methods. Here is material that I pulled from that web site... Emotional Quotient, Multiple Intelligences and other aspects that are not currently assessed by FCAT and other standardized tests. The information appearing here is taken from other web sites and permission is being sought to show this material here. This material will be removed by May 1, 2005 if permissions have not yet been obtained. From 6seconds.org Over 50 cited statistics and findings which show that emotional intelligence skills are a core need for life, school, and work. Compiled from a variety of sources from the network, this is a great document! Compiled by Joshua Freedman and Anabel Jensen, Ph.D. Life • "There is convincing evidence that psychological states do affect health. Depression, grieving, pessimism all seem to worsen health in both the short run and long term" (Martin Seligman, Learned Optimism, 1998). • Success depends on "mature adaptations" including altruism, humor, self-management, and optimism/anticipation. People do change over time (George Vaillant, Adaptation to Life, 1995). • As much as 80% of adult "success" comes from EQ (Daniel Goleman, 1995). • 75% of careers are derailed for reasons related to emotional competencies, including inability to handle interpersonal problems; unsatisfactory team leadership during times of difficulty or conflict; or inability to adapt to change or elicit trust (The Center for Creative Leadership, 1994). • 85-95% of the difference between a "good leader" and an "excellent leader" is due to emotional intelligence (Goleman, 1998). • Impulsive boys are 3-6 times as likely to be violent as adolescents, and impulsive girls are 3 times more likely to get pregnant in adolescence (Block, 1995). • Optimism is a skill that can be taught. Optimists are more motivated, more successful, have higher levels of achievement, plus significantly better physical and mental health (Seligman, 1991). • The chronically sad/depressed are 2 times as likely to contract a major debilitating disease (McEwen, Stillar, 1993) (Robertson & Ritz, 1990). • People who accurately perceive others’ emotions are better able to handle changes and build stronger social networks . • Children’s abilities to handle frustration, control emotions, and get along with other people is a better predictor of success than IQ . • Emotions and reason are intertwined, and both are critical to problem solving (Damasio, 1997). • Social and emotional abilities were four times more important than IQ in determining professional success and prestige . School • After EQ training, discipline referrals to the principals dropped by 95% (Johnson & Johnson, 1994). • Social and emotional skills create higher achievement (Ornstein, 1986; Lakoff, 1980). • Improved emotional skills increase "on task" behaviors (Rosenfield, 1991). • Increased social and emotional skills reduce discipline problems (Doyle, 1986). • "The basic unit of human memory is information in context connected to feelings. This means that how someone learns is as important as what someone learns" (Maurice Elias, 1999). • Emotions give a more activated and chemically stimulated brain, which helps us recall things better (Cahill et al, 1994). • After 30 social-emotional lessons, hostility decreased and pro-social behavior increased (Grossman, Second Step). • EQ training increases focus, learning, collaboration, improves classroom relationships, and decreases both negative "put downs" and violence (Anabel Jensen, Self-Science Pilot Study, 2001). • "Emotions are more important and powerful to the brain than higher-order thinking skills" (Eric Jensen, Brain Based Learning). • People who have poor abilities at reading body language are less academically successful (Katz and Hoover, 1997). • Children with highly developed social skills perform better academically than peers who lack these skills (Grossman, et al, 1997). • Students who are anxious or depressed earn lower grades/lower achievement scores, and are more likely to repeat a grade (Kovics and Baatraens, 1994). • Children’s written/spoken narratives are more accurate, detailed, and coherent when preceded by emotional content (Liwag and Stein, 1995, cited in Frey 1999). • Emotions are crucial to sensory development because they facilitate the storage and recall of information (Rosenfield, 1988). • Stress and threat cause the brain to downshift; this reduces the opportunity for neuron growth and causes learning to be inhibited (Ornstein and Sobel, 1987). • Low levels of empathy are associated with poor school achievement (Nowicki and Duke, 1992, cited in Frey 1999). • Children who respond to setbacks with hope and resiliency vs. anger and hopelessness achieve higher academic and social success (Dweck, 1996). • Students who believe their teachers support and care about them are more engaged with their work (Skinner and Belmont, 1993); they value their work more, and have higher academic goals (Goodnow, 1993, cited in Frey 1999). • Children who are able to delay gratification are more popular, earn better grades, and had an average of 210 more points on their SAT tests (Shoda, Mischel, and Peake, 1990). • Scores on a test of hope are more accurate than the SAT at predicting college grades (Snyder, 1991); the same is true of a test on optimism . • Teachers can help students lessen their frustrations, prevent behavioral problems, and accelerate learning by providing students with information and skills to make appropriate choices (Dewhurst, 1991; Meyer, 1990). Business • The reasons for losing customers and clients are 70% EQ-related (e.g., didn’t like that company’s customer service) (Forum Corporation on Manufacturing and Service Companies, 1989 - 1995). • 50% of time wasted in business is due to lack of trust (John O. Whitney, Director, Deming Center for Quality Management). • In one year, the US Airforce invested less than $10,000 for emotional competence testing and saved $2,760,000 in recruitment (Fastcompany "How Do You Feel," June 2000). • In a multinational consulting firm, partners who showed high emotional intelligence (EQ) competencies earned 139% more than the lower EQ partners (Boyatzis, 1999). • American Express tested emotional competence training on Financial Advisors; trained advisors increased business 18.1% compared to 16.2%, and nearly 90% of those who took the training reported significant improvements in their sales performance. Now all incoming advisors receive four days of emotional competence training (Fastcompany "How Do You Feel," June 2000). • After supervisors in a manufacturing plant received training in emotional competencies, lost-time accidents were reduced by 50 percent, formal grievances were reduced from an average of 15 per year to 3 per year, and the plant exceeded productivity goals by $250,000 (Pesuric & Byham, 1996). • Top performing sales clerks are 12 times more productive than those at the bottom and 85 percent more productive than an average performer. About one-third of this difference is due to technical skill and cognitive ability while two-thirds is due to emotional competence (Goleman, 1998). • UCLA research indicates that only 7% of leadership success is attributable to intellect; 93% of success comes from trust, integrity, authenticity, honesty, creativity, presence, and resilience (cited in Cooper and Sawaf, 1996). • At L’Oreal, sales agents selected on the basis of certain emotional competencies significantly outsold salespeople selected using the company’s old selection procedure by $91,370, for a net revenue increase of $2,558,360. Salespeople selected on the basis of emotional competence also had 63% less turnover during the first year (Spencer & Spencer, 1993; Spencer, McClelland, & Kelner, 1997, cited in Cherniss, 2000). • The most effective leaders in the US Navy were warmer, more outgoing, emotionally expressive, dramatic, and sociable (Bachman, 1988, cited in Cherniss, 2000). • Workers with high work pressures and poor time management skills are twice as likely to miss work; employees who have strong self-management skills cope better with work pressures (Essi Systems, 1997). ________________________________________ Here's my letter, sent to 6seconds.org I'm a teacher of reading and math at a middle school in Fort Lauderdale. I'm sure there's a better way to rate schools than simply by looking at test scores for reading, math, writing and science. (The FCAT rates our schools and our students.) Your web site appears to point the direction to a "new assessment' of students and schools. how well do the schools prepare students for EQ? I've written a short piece about expanding the FCAT and I'd like to mention dimensions that could be taught and assessed in schools... Is there a multiple choice or essay test to help students assess their evolving EQ? I'm specifically writing to request permission to distribute your essay to my students and for permission to post your essay on my web site www.newFCAT.com as well as a link to your web site. Steve McCrea www.newFCAT.com mistermath@comcast.net Publishers Weekly In Frames of Mind (1983), Gardner first set forth his influential theory of Multiple Intelligences, contending that each of us is equipped with eight or more separate types of intelligence (including linguistic, logical-mathematical, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal and intrapersonal varieties). In this combative update, geared mainly to educators, psychologists and other professionals, Harvard education professor Gardner adds to the list a new naturalist intelligence, which involves attunement to the environment, its flora and fauna. He further proposes that there may be a spiritual or existential intelligence (knowledge of transcendental and cosmic matters), but adds that this awaits scientific verification. Critics will undoubtedly pounce on his ideas, but Gardner has his ammunition ready: he argues that accumulating neurological evidence supports MI theory, and cites a study by Harvard Project Zero (of which he is codirector) reporting that schools across the U.S. applying MI theory boast improved student performance and parent participation. Gardner also outlines two of his new educational approaches: "individually configured education," tailored to individual differences, and "Teaching for Understanding," designed to assess students' comprehension at each step. He also throws down a gauntlet: "If we ignore the differences [in how people acquire and represent knowledge], we are destined to perpetuate a system that caters to an elite--typically those who learn best in a... linguistic or logical-mathematical manner." His book is certain to fuel debate. (Nov.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information. GO TO Barnes and Noble and search under “Howard Gardner” Library Journal In his seminal work, Frames of Mind, Harvard psychologist Gardner argued that intelligence comprises more than one or two properties. Since translated into seven languages, the book proceeded to spawn debate. Besides language and math, Gardner posits five other types of intelligence: musical, kinesthetic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Here he considers three new possibilities: naturalistic, spiritual, and existential. Three chapters take up issues and misunderstandings commonly found in applying multiple intelligence theory in education, business, and the arts. A chapter on creators and leaders shows the breadth of Gardner's knowledge and interests, and one on achieving understanding through performance proves his pragmatic orientation as a teacher. Besides references, appendixes include schools and other contacts. This valuable book by a leading psychologist and educator is essential for most libraries.--E. James Lieberman, George Washington Univ. Sch. of Medicine, Washington, DC Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp? userid=0713SjvAAH&isbn=0465026117&TXT=Y&itm=3 This material is copyrighted by other web sites and permission is being sought to exhibit these words here. Here's an example of students who are developing their interpersonal skills... and intrapersonal skills... Posted on: Thursday, February 10, 2005 Students resolve own conflicts By Treena Shapiro Advertiser Education Writer Honolulu Advertiser When conflicts arise between Leilehua High School students, they often turn to some of their classmates for help resolving their differences. How students acquire the skills Lessons learned: Counselor Candace Wada, who oversees the program, said, "I've learned the students are very powerful. They have it in them (to settle disputes). We just have to get it out of them." Keys to success: The peer element. "A lot of times the students don't want to hear from us, the adults," Wada said. "They can relate to each other on a different level. It's kind of cool to watch." How they do it: The counselors begin recruiting mediators for the following year each April, requiring each student to apply and get two teacher recommendations. Once they have been accepted into the program, students come to school early twice a week to learn mediation skills. Mediation takes place during class time, but mediators can choose to stay in class if they are taking an exam or have a lesson they can't miss. During mediation, the mediators first meet with each student individually, then bring them together to try to bring a resolution to the dispute. Almost all cases end in some sort of agreement, Wada said. The school's 6-year-old peer mediation program has freed administrators and counselors from dealing with lesser infractions, while students are given an outlet to work through their problems. As for the 17 peer mediators, they say the program allows them to meet new people, gain confidence and learn how to better resolve conflicts in their own lives. Junior D.J. Tanda, who became a mediator after having to go through mediation himself, said he likes the program because "you learn a lot for yourself, you become a better person and you get to help other people." The mediators come in early to learn how to help their fellow students deal with rumors, relationships and verbal harassment, and how to teach anger management. Last year, the students mediated 137 cases. The goal of the mediation sessions is to have both sides come to some sort of agreement. In the case of a relationship problem, that could mean a resumption of friendship or an agreement to avoid contact with each other. In addition to individual sessions, the students visit classrooms to teach others about conflict resolution and anger management. Britney Choy, also a junior, describes herself as laid-back and a good listener, and classroom presentations were initially a challenge. "I wasn't too good with public speaking, and this has helped me," she said. Choy said one of the hardest things about mediating is that she is not allowed to give the disputants advice, but rather she must ask questions to lead them to their own conclusions and "give them a reality check." As Tanda explained, "We're trying to help them realize their mistakes, realize for themselves what they did." Senior Matt Gertin said peer mediation teaches students to be active listeners who make good eye contact and are able to restate and rephrase what they hear, an important skill when disputants barrage mediators with their versions of a story. "It's hard to remember sometimes," he said. Another hard thing is remaining impartial. As senior Melissa Kenigton said, "It's people's nature to pick the side you believe is right, and you want to give other people an ugly look," she said. "This has really helped me learn to be neutral." Kenigton added that mediators have a special status at the school, and she likes being a role model. Vice principal Malaea Powell said administrators now rely on the program to settle the majority of disputes on campus. Administrators and counselors often have limited time to talk with troubled students, while peer mediators can delve deeper into problems. "They're being helped by their peers, people they know they can trust," she said. Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014. ------------------------------------- Maybe we should leave some kids behind? I went to a school in the British system. At age 14 you decide whether or not to take the tests that lead to college. If you pass the O levels or Ordinary Levels, you move to the A or Advanced Levels, which you take at age 17 or 18. If you don't go to University, you go to trade schools and prepare for a profession.... you can be a professional without going to univeristy and you get status because you complete a term of apprenticeship. Why not create a clear path to vocational schools in the USA? Not as a last resort but as a clear choice? Why not start introducing skills of carpentry in middle school, even carpentry and plumbing? --Steve -------------------------------------------------- 'No Child Let Behind' already has failed In "Isle parents stick with underachieving schools" (Star-Bulletin, Feb. 16), education reporter Susan Essoyan reveals the failure and the fallacy in the No Child Left Behind Act. Her story says that though "46,492 Hawaii students were eligible to transfer, only 147 did so this year." That is strong evidence of near-total failure. The fallacy is in the claim that the problem of underachieving schools can be solved by "allowing" millions of children throughout America to leave their friends and neighborhoods for distant, unfamiliar schools. Not surprisingly, almost all children reject this "solution." Meanwhile, the under- achieving schools will continue to be underachieving. Nor will parents want their children to withdraw from nearby schools. Only those who can afford to drive their children to non-local schools will do so. As a result, those children who most need better schools are least likely to get them. It is another low-cost, low-benefit and high-publicity program. It's aimed at getting votes, not helping children. Jerome G. Manis Honolulu Monday, February 23, 2004 ---------------------------------------------------------- Research supports small school districts The Star-Bulletin's Feb. 19 editorial states that "Gov. Lingle has not connected the dots" to prove that smaller school districts improve student achievement. However, the only evidence offered to the public in counterpoint to the governor's proposal are the opinion of Randy Hitz, dean of the University of Hawaii College of Education, as well as one analyst from the Education Commission of the States, whose research specialty is inclusion of English as a Second Language students in state assessments, not district size analysis. Hitz states, " ... there is no such body of research on small school districts." His comment is dead wrong. There is research as current as January 2004 -- last month -- validating the governor's proposal to create smaller school districts with their own school boards. (See: http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/article/414.html). Extensive supporting research can be found in the ERIC database. Conversely, there is absolutely zero research showing large districts lead to better student achievement. We don't need studies to tell us that. We have firsthand experience with the dismal failure of the Hawaii Department of Education to use $1.9 billion in taxpayer monies to achieve more than bottom-of-the-barrel student results. Laura Brown Education policy analyst Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Monday, February 23, 2004 More information that might be useful... By A.A. Smyser Saturday, April 12, 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teaching children to stand tall Pride and discipline infuse teens enrolled in New Zealand's 'Tu Tangata' program -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sixth article of eight A New Zealand math teacher said the time he spends disciplining his 13- and 14-year olds is down from 35 percent to 5 percent. An English teacher said his time on discipline is down from 20 percent to one. The local police say they see less of these adolescents from Parkway College, a high school, than they used to. Has something changed? Yes, indeed. There is a new program for community involvement called Tu Tangata, meaning Stand Tall. Parkway College teaches 458 students in what we in the U.S. would call grades eight through 12. It is located in the pleasant, single-home, lower-to-middle-income community of Wainuiomata, about nine miles south of Wellington, the capital of New Zealand. Seventeen percent of its students are Maori (New Zealand Polynesians) and 11 percent are Pacific Islanders. Throughout New Zealand both groups have poorer educational records than European students. But at Parkway the absenteeism rate for the eighth- and ninth-graders has dropped from over 30 percent to less than 6 in the past two years. The symbol of New Zealand's Tu Tangata (Stand Tall) community-involvement program depicts a student being guided by the sure hand of a community elder. Two audit reports -- one for the Ministry of Education, one for the Regional Health Center -- agree that Parkway seems to be on to something positive. Results were called "more far-reaching than expected." Six area schools have begun implementing similar programs. Fourteen others are considering it. Nine of the sparkplugs behind the Parkway experiment will be in Hawaii April 14-22 under the auspices of the Queen's Health Systems to make presentations to Leeward and Windward Oahu health and school officials. The health aspect is that it seems to be a way to combat alcohol and drug usage among adolescents by improving their self image. They "stand tall." Tu Tangata is pretty much the brainchild of Kara Puketapu, who calls himself a Maori interventionist rather than an activist. From 1977 to 1983 he served as New Zealand's first Maori secretary for Maori affairs. He previously had been with the State Services Commission, involved in improving government management. In 1983 he formed his own private enterprise, Maori International, focused on helping Maoris establish themselves in business. One group his firm assisted now owns 34 percent of the national Quality Inn hotel chain. Others are in fishing businesses. He is bi-lingual in English and Maori, served two years with the New Zealand diplomatic corps in London and did a year of field work with Pueblo Indians in New Mexico as a Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth Fund, New York. At a younger age he was a top rugby player. Along with other Maori leaders Puketapu came to believe youth education is crucial to improving the lot of Maoris in New Zealand. They further came to believe there is too much segmentation among the places where young people learn -- home, school, their marae or tribal community center, church and sports clubs. Tu Tangata was pioneered at Parkway in 1995 to focus on Maori students. At the school center, a big assembly room,its Maori community counselors worked with Maori students, including primarily those who for disciplinary reasons had been asked to leave their classrooms. The program has been re-cast to work with all students in the seventh and eighth grades by having a Tu Tangata representative in each classroom at all times. These are 15 adults from the community who agree to help at low wages as part of keeping the budget tight. They do the same lessons as the students, get to know them and sit with those who may need help with a problem in one course or another. They don't have to meet any educational qualifications. They are not responsible to the teachers but seem to have developed good relations with them. They can be transferred where they don't by Tu Tangata Enterprises, which employs them. Last month I sat in on a morning break where teachers and Tu Tangata community representatives gathered for coffee, tea and snacks. I sensed what is confirmed in the audit reports: that their relations are good in part because the results are so rewarding -- better-motivated students, more time to teach. All this is under the guidance of a highly motivated school principal, Rosalie Goldsworthy, who will be in the delegation to Hawaii, and her staff. They were eager to explain to this visitor what they are trying to do. Teachers interviewed for the evaluation reports said the program has a settling effect on their adolescent students, makes the school a warm place, and has brought the students to more maturity and greater achievement. Onereport also contained some fascinating student quotes about the To Tangata education support officers called ESOs: "It's when a lady comes into the class and helps you with things." "ESOs are on your back to do things and behave." "If you are lonely you can speak to someone at Tu Tangata." "The center is open all the time." "The center is a place where you can hang out and play computer games or have coffee and noodles." "ESOs fill in a worksheet about your work output and attitude which is weighed against a scale." These worksheets are a crucial element. Conduct and work output charts for each student are entered into a computer where they can be accessed by teachers, the student or the student's parents but no one else. They focus on English, science and math courses. A time management column may contain comments like "causing disruptions" ..."easily distracted" ... "needs to keep on task." Work output assessments don't overlap the grades the teacher will give. One auditor noted that Tu Tangata frequently allows problems to be talked out in a group instead of in isolation. It also brings more parent involvement and helps establish high expectations for students -- the Stand Tall concept. Tu Tangata ESOs frequently meet parents even away from schools -- in shopping malls, for instance -- and chat about their children. As I watched, heard and read about Tu Tangata one thing bothered me. Years ago the Kamehameha Schools in Hawaii pioneered the Kamehameha Early Education Program (KEEP) which focused with similar intensity on kindergarten and lower grade students. It boosted test scores remarkably but after students left the program and went into the higher grades they fell back. The trustees of the Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate discontinued the program because of its high expense and disappointing long term results. There is at least talk that an adaptation of it might succeed if carried into higher grades. Tying community, family and school more closely together was not one of the elements of KEEP. Parkway conforms with national education goals and the national curriculum framework. It is funded under the national system of per capita grants per student administered by local school boards except for national teacher salary setting. The $192,000 annual cost of Tu Tangata at Parkway is funded from a multiplicity of government and community purchasers and donors interested in improving student outcomes. One of these is a $45,000 drug and alcohol grant even though these are mentioned only in health classes. The audit noted a need for better coordination among government contributors. Puketapu contends long-term savings in truancy officers, imprisonment costs and crime reduction will more than justify Tu Tangata expenditures. In Hawaii, the Queen Emma Foundation, created by a 19th century queen, operates Queen's Health Systems which in turn oversees Queen's Medical Center. Its present board chair, Kenneth Brown, an architect who is Hawaiian, is broadening its health mission for Hawaiians by considering health and personal well-being as interactive. Brown and Puketapu served together here on the East-West Center's Board of Governors. Puketapu is still a governor. Years ago Brown arranged visitations between Maoris and Hawaiians to promote cultural revival. Queen's is ready to fund a Hawaii pilot of a Stand Tall program like Tu Tangata. Another Queen's initiative is to promote a Polynesian Union. Two hundred Maori and Hawaiian leaders met in Honolulu in February to hold discussions and hear from experts in matters of their concern. They will repeat in New Zealand next February.Brown says the Union plans to invite other Polynesian areas to join. ========================== Here's an example of HANDS on VISUAL Teaching... Pyramid is geometry lesson By Treena Shapiro Advertiser Education Writer At Bishop Museum for the next few months, the public can see a high school geometry project of gigantic proportions — a 20-foot-high Sierpinski Pyramid. Damien Memorial School students have been working since late November on a hands-on geometry project, which required them to assemble 4,096 miniature paper pyramids into a 20-foot-high pyramid for display. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser The painstaking pyramid construction required Jon Bromberg's Damien Memorial School geometry students to design the perfect pattern for a tetrahedron on paper, which they could cut out, fold and tape into little pyramids, 4,096 of them, plus extras to replace those that weren't perfect. Those pyramids were arranged by fours to make larger pyramids, which also were grouped into fours for even bigger ones and on and on for six levels. "The whole project takes about 700 man hours," Bromberg said. Students started working on it after Thanksgiving, doing a little work on it during every class. Yesterday they spent all day carrying the pieces to Bishop Museum and putting the pyramid together. The project teaches students the national standards for geometry: congruency, symmetry, surface area, volume and what happens when you alter the sides. They learn fractal geometry, too, as well as teamwork and leadership. Ron Loo, 15, said the project has been an effective way to learn the geometry theorems and formulas the students have been taught in class. "Usually when you do a project, you mess around, but this has to be real precise," he said. Nature's numbers The Sierpinski Pyramid will be part of Bishop Museum's "Nature's Numbers" exhibit, which along with "A Forest Journey," will be on display from Jan. 29 to May 8. "Nature's Numbers" will feature several math exhibits, a Kiddie Kaleidoscope, a Tetrahedron Topple and other hands-on activities designed to help children discover the nature of math. On Saturdays, students from Damien Memorial School will make presentations on how they built the Sierpinski Pyramid. Call 847-3511 for more information. Unlike other class projects where students work independently, this project forced all students to contribute and everyone stayed focused on a central point, he said. Kaione Mau, 15, agreed that the pyramid was a good addition to the curriculum. "It makes the class more interesting and easier to learn," he said. John Pinpin, 15, said the project also taught students a lot about patience. After folding 4,096 tetrahedrons, students found that they had to remake several of them after arriving at the museum, since some were damaged during the short walk from school. But those setbacks did not take away from the fun. "I'd rather do something like this (than book work)," he said. "The way I learn, I like it to be more hands on." Brother Greg O'Donnell, president of the Catholic boys' school, said he thought the project was terrific. "Geometry is a tough subject to instill enthusiasm in, and what I'm looking at here is a bunch of enthusiastic kids." Bromberg, 62, who was a Navy test pilot and aerospace executive before becoming a teacher four years ago, said he is probably the only teacher who has taken on this project twice. The first time was two years ago at Corona High School in California, after he read about the pyramid in a professional journal. He also is helping Damien students build an electric car. "I love large-scale projects," he said. Reach Treena Shapiro at tshapiro@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8014. A Checklist for Students to impro9ve their writing Posted on: Thursday, January 20, 2005 EDUCATION SNAPSNOT Checklist for kids can aid writing By Treena Shapiro Advertiser Education Writer These days the standardized tests your children take don't just require them to bubble in an answer. In addition to writing out reading and math answers, the Hawai'i State Assessment includes a writing section that asks students to write responses to prompts, such as the third-grade question: "Imagine that you are as small as a mouse. (Think about the things you could do and how things would look to you being that small.) Explain to a friend whether you like being as small as a mouse." To figure out what is expected of your child's written responses, see these excerpts from the writing checklist that third- and fifth-graders use to revise and edit their first drafts. Meaning and Ideas • Does your meaning make sense? • Did you include only those details and examples that support your ideas? Voice and Audience • Does the writing sound like you? • Did you say what you think and feel? Clarity • Do the words say what you mean? • Do your sentences begin in different ways? Source: "Teacher's Guide for Interpreting the Hawai'i State Assessment: Fourth Edition" |
| newFCAT.com Return to HOME "I wish a lot of guys I've dated could have gone to a dating coach. It's funny -- we take classes in school for things like auto shop, which I've never used. But I sure wish I would've had a class to prepare me for the horror of dating." Eva Mendes, LIFE, February 18, 2005, p. 12 |
| It's a new attitude First version of this page Multiple Intelligences, EQ, and other areas to assess, measure. Teaching to the Test FILM What does "FCAT" stand for? My students tell me that FCAT means: Floridians Can Achieve Together I don't understand. Why is it a bad thing for students to show that they can do basic math, read a variety of material and write a clear sentence? FCAT is a great way to prepare for success and happiness in life. (This is a paraphrasing of a college professor's viewpoint.) GET YOUR newFCAT kit What's in the NewFCAT kit? 25 wrist bands that remind us to "Work Together!" A class mascot (a furry stuffed animal toy) A VHS Video with "music for studying" and tips for two types of learning styles (VISUAL ACTIVE or SOCIAL INTERACTIVE) a poster to color Ask for your kit today! We hope you will create your own kit or send $10 to cover the cost of creating and mailing these kits. If you want to sponsor a kit to another school, call! Let's practice on FCAT Explorer Practice at Teachers to Teachers Why do we call this website "NEW" FCAT? Because we had to look at the test in a new way... to see that it is a valuable part of the assessment process. We hope that portfolios will eventually be included in the FCAT, but until then, let's upport students by being POSITIVE! A positive Mental Attitude (PMA) is the best way to prepare! We support Tsunami Relief by giving away a Wrist Band with every newFCAT kit >>> (We buy the wrist band from www. promotionalworld.com at 1-888-556-7766 and then pass them on to you as our gift.) No Child Left Behind? Maybe we should leave some of the kids behind until they figure out that it's worth their time to get involved? Public schools are preparing to meet the challenge of new federal law ------- By Patricia Hamamoto PRESIDENT George Bush signed the No Child Left Behind Act last Jan. 8. It reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, which has guided efforts to improve education for all students, particularly disadvantaged students from high-poverty communities. For the last 40 years, improving educational achievement has been elusive. In fashioning this legislation, Congress and the president had these guiding principles: accountability for student performance, focusing on what works, reducing bureaucracy, increasing flexibility and empowering parents. NCLB requires annual testing in reading and mathematics of all public school students in grades 3, 8 and high school by the 2005-2006 school year, annual report cards on school performance, every child being able to read by the third grade and a highly qualified teacher for every classroom. Its goal is that all students become 100 percent proficient in 12 years. Anything less means children will be left behind. The NCLB act requires states to provide separate, measurable objectives for all students and for specific groups, such as disadvantaged students receiving free or reduced-price lunches, ethnic minorities, special education students and those with limited English proficiency. Hawaii is developing a statewide accountability system for all schools to determine adequate yearly progress, or AYP, based primarily on a statewide, standards-based assessment in reading and math. Beginning in the 2002-2003 school year, the state will provide school report cards to inform parents, voters and taxpayers how each is progressing toward our goal of 100 percent proficiency. Schools that fail to make progress will get extra help. Our Department of Education has designed a support system, a "critical ally team" led by the complex area superintendent. This team will include stakeholders and experts to help the school focus on what works and make the changes necessary to meet standards. There will be consequences for schools that don't perform. >> Students in schools that do not make AYP for two consecutive years will have the option of transferring to another school that does. The lowest- achieving students from low-income families will have priority. >> If a school fails to make AYP for a third year, parents and students may opt for supplemental education services, or tutoring at home. >> After receiving extra help, schools that fail to make AYP for a fourth year may be reformed. For example, a new curriculum may be mandated. >> After five consecutive years of failure, the state may restructure or reconstitute the school. Hawaii began preparations for NCLB soon after it passed. The DOE plans standards-based exams that meet NCLB requirements, beginning with the new Hawaii Content and Performance Standards II test that grades 3, 5, 8 and l0 took last April. DOE also plans to develop, field test and fully implement reading and mathematics assessments in grades 4, 6 and 7 by the 2005-2006 school year. NCLB also requires science exams for at least one grade within three grade spans (3-5, 6-8 and 9-12) and we plan to meet this requirement by the 2007-2008 school year. School choice and supplemental education services have made the news lately. We plan to make both available to parents and students in the coming school year. To accommodate additional transportation and supplemental education costs, we will set aside 20 percent of federal Title I funds. The DOE is working on preliminary guidelines and criteria, ranking students from highest to lowest in academic needs and income status. The U.S. Department of Education must approve these guidelines, but they should go out to schools for use in the coming school year. We're also working on guidelines and criteria for transportation for school choice and supplemental education services, which schools and parents should get this year, too. These will identify which students qualify and how and where services will be provided. We've also written a prospectus describing requirements for tutorial assistance for interested service providers whom we'll ask to provide written proposals. Parents will be able to request services from a list of approved providers that will be reviewed and updated annually. Last, we're developing guidelines to help schools communicate with parents. We submitted Hawaii's Consolidated State Application for No Child Left Behind describing how we plan to meet its requirements last June 12. The U.S. Department of Education notified us on July 3 that Hawaii's plan was fully approved. The plan is available on the DOE Web site, www.k12.hi.us/-~challeng/nclb/. We will receive all federal funds allotted to Hawaii through NCLB. The challenge to meet the intent and purpose of the law is awesome. We will meet the challenge. No child will be left behind. ---------------------- Patricia Hamamoto, superintendent of the Hawaii Department of Education since last December, is a graduate of Maryknoll High School and Cal State Long Beach and a former principal of McKinley High School. Sunday, July 28, 2002 ++++++++++++++++++++ LOGO on a shirt... http://www.cafepress.com/ robotlunch.17138964? zoom=yes#zoom http://www.cafepress.com /robotlunch/487213 Reasons to Vote Bush #4: Leave Some Children Behind The Democrats keep harking on about the “No Child Left Behind” program leaving kids behind. They have promised to fix the program. But think about it. Some kids are rude. Some kids smell. Some kids come from poor families and have shoddy shoes and dirty underwear. Wouldn’t you rather leave them behind? http://www.bigfib.com/ issue29/world4-en.html Posted In Teaching/Education Leave Some Children Behind? If a student is unwilling to learn, and if the student is pathological in their drive to disrupt the classroom, maybe it's better if he stays uneducated. If that kid is going to grow up to be socially disruptive no matter what we do, then education gives him more tools to cause mayhem. Keep him stupid. Keep him from acquiring the tools to do real damage to society. That was my education thought-of-the-week. I spent Monday to Wednesday with some 8th graders. It was a week where I broke up my first in-classroom fight then learned the next day that the fighters had barely been punished. It was a week of throwing kids out of class daily. It was a week where the disruptive kids prevented me from letting down my guard, having fun and building a rapport with the classes. I'm not happy about my thought-of-the-week, and I will fight to break through the "bad" students' cynicism and combativeness, but maybe there are some people who are just lost causes, and maybe we need to protect ourselves against them. We definitely have to do a better job at making students and parents responsible for conduct at school and defining consequences for bad behavior. November 25, 2001 05:45 PM http://givelove.shrednow.com /archives/000814.html Do we need to promote house calls by teachers? Maybe... Students can better show their abilities in their homes Fast facts about FACT How FACT works at Kaunakakai Elementary School: » Teachers make personal visits to the homes of each of their students at the start of the year, bringing school supplies and getting to know the families. » Grade-specific workshops are offered each month on campus, offering fun activities for students and strategies for parents to help their children succeed. » A second round of home visits takes place in the spring to discuss student progress. » The visits are voluntary for both families and teachers. » The program is credited with boosting school attendance, student performance and parental involvement. Sunday, February 6, 2005 Teacher house calls help school on Molokai A program inspired by a project in California gets parents involved By Susan Essoyan essoyan@starbulletin.com It wasn't a typical choice for a boy celebrating a birthday. Rather than have a special dinner at home, Jake Sakamoto chose to spend the evening of his 10th birthday in a writing workshop at school with his classmates and their parents. "I wanted to go," explained the fourth-grader at Kaunakakai Elementary School on Molokai, who turned 10 on Jan. 27. "It's fun and I learn lots of things." Such a commitment to school is rare at any age. For Jake, the seeds were planted early, by his first-grade teacher, Malia Busby, and her colleague, Malia DeCourcy, who both attended the school as children themselves. Concerned about spotty attendance and a nonchalant attitude toward school work in their rural community, the "two Malias" decided to try a new technique. They stepped out of their classrooms and into their students' homes. The teachers paid a personal visit to each student's family at the start of the year, bringing along school supplies and inviting them to monthly workshops on campus to learn strategies to help their kids succeed academically. "Education has changed so much since the time we were in school, and so much more is expected of the kids," DeCourcy said. "The whole point with the home visits is to set it up as a positive rather than a negative." The results were so encouraging that other teachers followed suit. This year, all but two teachers at this small school on Molokai's south shore are volunteering to make home visits and hold workshops. For teachers already overburdened with the demands of bringing student performance up to stringent new standards, the idea of devoting more after-school hours to the job can be daunting. But enlisting the help of parents can ultimately make things easier. "The benefits really outweigh the time it takes to set up the workshops and do the home visits," Busby said. "I know my attendance really shot up." DeCourcy and Busby found that their pupils did more homework, and did it better than before, as their parents took a more active role and learned the newfangled techniques used in today's classrooms. The personal bonds created through the "Families and Classroom Teachers" program also paid off in other ways. "Any kind of behavior problem is really nipped in the bud," said Jake's fourth-grade teacher, Jennifer Wada, who has taught for a decade. "The constant contact (with families) keeps the kids on an even keel. I know FACT makes a difference because in all these years of teaching, I have never felt so supported by parents." DeCourcy got the idea for home visits from a National Education Association workshop, which highlighted the effects of such visits in schools with chronically low achievement in Sacramento, Calif. That pilot project, which began several years ago, has spread to schools at all grade levels in districts across California and nine other states, according to Carrie Rose, director of the Sacramento-based Parent Teacher Home Visit Project. "It's just been amazing," Rose said in a phone interview last week. "We've been followed in a couple of different independent studies, and the results have shown that schools that run home visit projects have experienced an increase in test scores, an increase in attendance and a decrease in disciplinary problems." The program is voluntary, and teachers in California are paid their hourly wage for time spent on home visits. State funding ended with recent budget cuts, but money from local school districts, teachers' unions and private groups have kept it going, she said. On Molokai, teachers are donating their time. Until this year, they also dipped into their pockets for the supply kits they brought to families, from dictionaries to crayons. An $11,000 grant from the Harold K.L. Castle Foundation is covering the cost of supplies for home visits and workshops for the school this year. Castle Foundation Executive Director Terrence George said his organization normally doesn't fund on Molokai, but was so impressed with the teachers' efforts that it wanted to help. "The reason that this project is so potentially important for the state is that it appears to have built a relationship of trust between teachers and parents, and provided parents with user-friendly ways of being engaged in the education of their kids in the public school system," he said. "We believe that every child can be a great student, regardless of their background," he said. "But if parents themselves have not done well in school, it's hard for them to learn what positive role they can play. This program gives them that role in a way that's easy and comfortable for them." Kaunakakai School is gathering data to document the impact of the program this year, tracking parental involvement and student performance as part of the grant. A few parents have turned down home visits, but most embrace the idea. Parent Elisabeth Lum is a convert. She said the program is breaking down barriers that separated the roles of teachers and parents when her daughter, Ihilani, now a fifth-grader, started school. Her entire family has been involved in FACT since her son, Akeakamai, now a third-grader, was in first grade. "I'm a true believer," Lum said. "It's built an open communication between teachers and parents. It's not intimidating for the parents. It's like a collaboration. Everyone is brought together." Workshops offer practical tips for parents, such as how to help rambunctious youngsters focus. One technique, for example, is to tape two manila folders together into a three-sided cubicle, or "office," that sits on the tabletop and minimizes distractions. Even something as seemingly simple as the sounds of the alphabet are taught differently these days. The letter "y," for example, is no longer pronounced "yuh," but instead as a shortened version of the sound "yee," which makes it easier for kids to blend it into other sounds. At the workshop held on Jake's birthday, students began making their own books while their parents learned how to help improve their kids' writing and prepare for statewide tests coming up this spring. "I find that it's very rewarding because outside of the classroom, you have the tools to help your child at home," said Cathleen Shimizu-Sakamoto, Jake's mother. Kaunakakai is a small school, with fewer than 250 students, and its classes also tend to run small, with fewer than 15 students each, which has made the program more manageable. Still, ramping it up schoolwide has been a challenge, and Busby said offering stipends in the future might help. "It's a strain to put on a new program every single month," Wada acknowledged. "The teachers have been generally positive, but I do think the time commitment is so great it may need to be scaled down a bit." Some are offering their workshops over breakfast to keep their workday from stretching too long into their own family time. And two teachers decided that they just couldn't commit to making home visits twice a year and a monthly regimen of workshops. Scott O'Brien, who is in his first year at the school, called FACT "a great program" but declined to take part because of the time involved. While other grade levels have two teachers each, he is handling the whole fifth grade -- 25 students -- by himself. He said he didn't feel ready to take on so many home visits and a regimen of monthly workshops on his own. "I do have parent meetings on my own schedule," he said, "and an overnight field trip to get the parents involved." the.honoluluadvertiser.com/ current/ed/typo Damien Memorial School students have been working since late November on a hands-on geometry project, which required them to assemble 4,096 miniature paper pyramids into a 20-foot-high pyramid for display. How can MI and EQ be used in a Class for SAT Prep? |
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