Archive for November, 2008
Listen and learn from each other
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Saturday, November 29th, 2008
In the Oregonian, and on the NPR website, I discovered that “a non- profit called StoryCorps http://www.storycorps.net/ is asking Americans to record conversations with people they care about – a sibling, a grandparent, a neighbor, even a stranger.” The idea is part of NPR’s National Day of Listening celebration, to offer a “more meaningful way to kick off the holiday season.”
For those of you who have not already discovered StoryCorps: (The Conversations of a Lifetime), the website is a treasure trove of conversations about our “experiences, our history, hopes, and humanity.” Since 2003, tens of thousands of everyday people have interviewed family and friends through StoryCorps, and their stories can be heard regularly on the radio, and on the website.
Since the goal of StoryCorps is to “Celebrate (and share) each other’s lives,” I recommend that you give yourself the gift of stories by taking the time to listen to some of the conversations. I promise you will go back again and again to hear more.
Then, plan a StoryCorps style project with your kids. What a better way to get to know them, their ideas and dreams and background, and, also, have them get to know you better, than by planning, conducting, recording and sharing an interview.
For more information on how to conduct and record interviews, go to www.nationaldayoflistening.org and download a do-it-yourself guide
The following tips to get you started are included in the Oregonian article
- Prepare five or 10 questions. (I have edited the questions to make them more suited to a kid audience, and to open up some conversational possibilities.) “What are some the most important lessons you have learned in life? Tell me about the best day of your life. What makes you happy? Who is the most important person in your life, and why? What would you like to be when you grow up, and how will you get there?”
- Find a tape recorder, video camera or computer and practice using it. Pick a quiet interview location.
- Start by introducing yourself and your interview subject.
- Listen carefully; ask follow-up questions.
- Distribute copies of the interview to family, friends, (share), and consider uploading it at www.nationaldayoflistening.org/#share and to OUR community blog.
It will be nice to hear from you.
Topics: How To's, Quality Time | 1 Comment »
The Trouble With Boys (from the Oregonian Blog)
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
Amy Wang of The Oregonian staff posted this piece. I think this is a great addition to the conversation on THIS blog about boys and school.
”Recently a new book, “The Trouble With Boys,” by Peg Tyre, caught my eye. With two young sons at home, I had to read it.
Tyre, a journalist who also is a mother of two sons, argues that today’s boys are suffering from the law of unintended consequences — that decades of work to ensure a level playing field for girls have been so successful that boys have been left on the sidelines. Among her observations and conclusions:
• Many preschool programs do not make enough allowances for boys’ greater need to burn off energy, which Tyre argues sets boys up for classification as behavioral problems at a higher rate than girls. Classrooms are not spacious enough for children to move around freely; teachers often expect children to sit quietly for long periods and/or allow them to do only structured crafts and activities; and schedules don’t build in enough outdoor free-play time.
• Many elementary schools have had to sacrifice recess and physical education — a key way for boys to recharge, Tyre says — to fulfill the academic mandates of No Child Left Behind. And men are underrepresented in the teaching ranks, depriving boys of crucial role models.
• By secondary school, many boys are disengaging. One boy interviewed for the book told Tyre that academics and extracurricular activities are viewed as a “girl thing.”
• Girls are applying to college in significantly higher numbers than boys, to the point where Tyre found that some admissions offices have quietly instituted unofficial affirmative action programs for male applicants.
• Overall, Tyre says, boys are far more likely to be labeled with learning disabilities and as disciplinary or behavioral problems and placed in special education classrooms.
Tyre has her critics, who say she’s part of a backlash movement against feminism. She counters that she’s not trying to take anything away from girls’ achievements — rather, she fears boys are being pushed into the second-class citizen status that used to be held by girls.”
What do you think? Post your comments below.
Topics: Uncategorized | 2 Comments »
Photo of the Year Contest: An Opportunity for YOUR Kids to Show Their World
By jqwaller | Friday, November 14th, 2008
The 7th Annual Photo of the Year amateur photography contest is underway. Photo of the Year is a benefit for the MESD Outdoor School Program, which has been providing natural science education to sixth grade students in Portland for the past 42 years. Visit our website for all details and to enter the contest.Participants in Photo of the Year are supporting photography, education, and an appreciation for the natural environment all at the same time. While the contest is open to all demographics around the world, we have made special effort to allow young photographers and classrooms of students to participate as well through our Youth Category.
Have a Photo Contest in Your Classroom or After School program.
Photographs can enhance your classroom in many ways. Photos expose places, faces and things that your students may never have seen or imagined. They can bring color and beauty into a grey day; they can help express and share ideas—especially for visual learners. They hold the past and capture the present. They are fun to take and fun to look at. And, when entered into the Photo of the Year contest, they are a way to support an Oregon school program.
Whether you choose to submit photos or not, a class photo contest is a great way to encourage students to think critically about photography. As both photographers and judges, students have a chance to learn about the elements of a photograph, and to establish their own criteria for what makes a “good” photo.
To start the contest, invite students to bring in photographs they have taken and display them around the room. Then, the group can collectively choose the five best photos and submit them in digital format to the Photo of the Year Contest along with the $15 donation fee.
In doing so, your class becomes eligible to win “Photo of the Year” and a $500 grand prize. And the entire time everyone involved is supporting the MESD Outdoor School Program.
For ideas and information about how to take great photos, check out this blog entry - Get to Know the World Through Someone Else’s Eyes
Topics: Inspiration, Quality Time, Things to do | No Comments »
MORE Ideas for Encouraging Boys to Read
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, November 13th, 2008
Thanks to all of you who have responded to my post about boys and literacy. Thanks to author Rosanne Parry for sending links to two great sites that are filled with ideas, suggestions, and book recommendations specifically for boys.
Guys Read is a website with a mission - “to motivate boys to read by connecting them
with materials they will want to read, in ways they like to read.”
Created by children’s book authorJon Scieszka, this site includes a great list of Guy’s Picks books for all ages, as well as everything you need to do to start your own Guys Read Group. Highly recommended!!!
Guys Lit Wire is a blog ”helping you find the reading material YOU want. ” Though the blog is big and messy and hard to follow, it is loaded with great resources and suggestions.
Check out these resources, and please send us YOUR suggestions.
Topics: Boy Friendly Schools, Literacy | 1 Comment »
Boyz n the Book: Johnny can read, but won’t and who can blame him?
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Thursday, November 6th, 2008
A thought provoking article in a recent Weekly Standard magazine points out that there are far more women than men in college these days. The article, Boyz n the Book: Johnny can read, but won’t and who can blame him? (by Mary Grabar) states that “a generation ago, women made up less than half of students. …In 2005 that made up 57 percent of fall enrollments, and the Department of Education estimates the gender discrepancies will increase every year in the foreseeable future.”
Why? The article suggests that the problems that boys are having with reading create a set of problems with study habits and school performance that affects their future success in school.
And, it suggests that their reading problems may be connected to a lack of male influence, and books written to appeal to their interests. “Socially … boys have few male reading role models at home or at school.”
Boys like action, danger, competition, conflict, tests of strength, and strategy,” in their play and their books. This may explain their love for video games, especially those that “present a quest in which the imperiled hero tries to find clues or treasures so he can go on to the next level.” But, the article points to a “lack of ‘masculine’ books that appeal to boys on such topics as sports, war and competition.”
Research on children’s reading interests “consistently shows that boys like to read nonfiction, especially historical nonfiction, (biographies, books on important wars/battles), adventure stories, books on sports, books on facts, and science fiction. Yet, most of the books assigned in school are novels or memoirs.”
Pair this with the fact that most librarians and teachers are women; that mothers read to children more frequently than fathers, and that “those responsible for promoting reading … promote those virtues that appeal to girls, … games and books that tend toward the virtues of cooperation and sensitivity,” and a possible answer to why boys don’t read as much as girls (and therefore are less academically successful) begins to take shape.
The research in this article makes it clear that if we are to encourage boys to love reading, they need books that provide masculine themes and role models. They need stories about soldiers, heroes, male athletes and adventurers. They need to find what they love in books … AND YOU CAN HELP.
Men, please tell us about your favorite books. What books turned you on (or off) to reading? What books do you teach in your classrooms? What books inspired you? Which were the ones you could not put down? Which are the ones the boys you work with love the best? What books would you recommend for the boys you know?
If you could suggest one way to get boys to read, based on your experience, what would you suggest?
Please share your answers and comments here – click on the COMMENT button below. Thank you in advance for your responses.
Topics: Boy Friendly Schools, Literacy | 4 Comments »
YES WE CAN!
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
No matter what your political affliation, I hope you will agree that last night was an inspiring one. I was thrilled by the long lines of voters, the huge crowds, the tears, the cheers, the geniuine excitement and air of hope and promise. For the first time in a long time (at least for me), election night feels like a new beginning. With all the news and all the issues, I want to point to a little article in today’s Oregonian that offers good news to OUR kids - kids at risk.
Portland’s voters give kids five more years of services
The children’s levy will pay for early education, mentoring and child abuse prevention
Portland voters overwhelmingly renewed a five-year property tax levy that pays for grants to nonprofit organizations that provide early-childhood education, after-school care and mentoring programs. The levy also will pay for services for foster children for the first time.
The levy was passing 70 percent to 30 percent in partial returns.
“I think Portland voters have proven that although these are tough times and concerns about jobs and mortgage payments are on people’s minds, I think they recognize a good long-term investment in the city’s kids,” said City Commissioner Dan Saltzman, who spearheaded the levy and leads a committee that approves the grants.
My question: In what ways will this money be spent? Is your organization waiting for dollars to fund specific projects or services? Please share stories about the impact these dollars can make for the kids you work with. Click COMMENT below to respond.
Topics: In The News | 1 Comment »
Mark your calendars! OSBA 62nd Annual Convention
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Monday, November 3rd, 2008
Oregon School Board Association
62nd Annual Convention
November 13 - 16
Portland Marriott Downtown Waterfront Hotel
Every child deserves a future that embraces a world of new opportunities and knowledge. Our schools must prepare every student to succeed in the world, providing the skills and insight that will help them adapt and learn throughout their lives. As leaders in our schools and communities, you must believe in the promise of the future - and you must believe your work helps to make every future count. Click here for information and registration
Among the many offerings at this year’s convention, (click here to view the schedule of events) two are related to our project, Making Connections:
1. Making Connections: Strong relationships keep kids in school
Making Connections is an online relationship-building tool created by Oregonians for Oregonians who work with kids. One-on-one students/adult relationships make students more successful in school and more likely to graduate. Making Connections was developed to lower the turnover rate among adult professionals and volunteers. Panelists explain how the lessons, activities and support from peers helped them create connections with students, improve their experience and enrich their community.
Time: Friday, November 14 at 11 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Location: Willamette Room
Presented by: Emma Burkhart, teacher, Rigler Elementary
Brendan Bassett, lead program coordinator, Metropolitan Family Service
Toni Plato, program administrator,
Portland State University
Jeff Renfro, project manager: Making Connections, Innovation Partnership
I will be presenting on Saturday – I hope to see you there.
2. The third R: Relationships
School districts need relationship help! This session explores the importance of relationships to schools and community. Although research shows that rigor, relevance and relationships are the keys to educational success, the first two get the bulk of our time and money. This session teaches you how to achieve this essential competency and explores how school districts can support teachers and mentors in building strong, culturally competent relationships. The content and strategies are based on research collected by a panel of 30 community leaders and professionals from education, business and government.
Time: Saturday, November 15 at 2-3:30 p.m.
Location: Medford Room
Presented by: Tobi Kibel Piatek, education consultant,
Portland State University, Graduate School of Education
Topics: Resources for Mentor, Resources for Teacher, Upcoming Events | No Comments »
Kids need goals
By Shelly Brock | Sunday, November 2nd, 2008
I try to address each of the problems that are individualized to each of my children’s personalities. My daughter has ADHD. She and I work together to create techniques to help her concentrate. For example, when she is listening to a teacher lecture she tends to drift off and not remember what was said, so I taught her to repeat each word being said, in her mind, as they say it. This is an effective trick.
All of my foster kids are dealing with many …issues (covered in the course). For a lot of the problems I have found that giving them a structured environment, cognitive awareness, and positive feedback helps begin the journey of re-socialization.
Many of these kids have never had someone talk to them about a direction in life. It is my opinion that kids need to always have a goal that they want to reach. I’m a firm believer in the saying “idle hands are the devil’s playground.”
I especially believe that kids need to start thinking about the things they want to be when they grow up early in life. I’m not saying they need to know what they really want to be in a definitive form. I’m saying that the seed for being able to see the big picture of life helps them to strive to reach their full potential because they have goals.
I believe a big part of our responsibility to our kids is to teach them all the possibilities in life and give them all the opportunities and tools to explore them. There is a power in positive thinking and it is contagious. When a child knows that you believe they can do or be anything they want to be, then they in turn will know that they can … and they will.
Topics: How to Help, Relationship Strategy | 1 Comment »