Archive for December, 2008
Be the Change: Sign Up to Volunteer Soon
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, December 30th, 2008
Hands On Greater Portland and United Way of the Columbia-Willamette are organizing a Weekend of Service January 17 – 19 in honor of Martin Luther King Jr.
There will 33 ways to volunteer over the course of three days. Thirty three service projects to better our community. (And, if you believe as I do, that encouraging kids at risk to do something for someone else, 33 ways to spend time doing something meaningful with and for the kids you care about.)
Projects that you can participate in include being a Big Brother or Big Sister for a day, building new bicycles from donated parts, sprucing up the children’s section of the Hillsboro Public Library, and creating greeting cards for sick children, stock the pantry at the Oregon Food Bank, and much more
For more information, to see the list of projects, and to sign up, visit the website
Topics: Quality Time, Things to do, Upcoming Events | 1 Comment »
Web Resources Can Lead to Great Learning and Fun
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Friday, December 26th, 2008
Every semester, Making Connections students suggest resources that they use and recommend for other teachers and mentors who work with kids at risk of dropping out. Here are two great suggestions for web based tools. Each is a wonderful site on its own. Combined together, they can be the basis of an exciting, personalized learning project, These sites are perfect for teachers and/or mentors; whether you are working in a classroom, after-school program or one on one.
There are many ways to make the most of this idea (and I hope you will share yours), but one thing is for sure, providing kids with access to the ideas, information, images and inspiration linked to these sites, can lead to hours of fun and learning, for kids (and adults) of any age, and learning style.
WebQuest.org is a “great educational technology tool!” A WebQuest “is an inquiry-oriented lesson format in which most or all the information that learners work with comes from the web.”
This site contains everything you need to know to set up and work through a web-based research project, including numerous and varied resources, a forum where you can ask questions, or even post your own WebQuest ideas, and a searchable database of completed projects and examples you can adapt to your own classroom or program.
Suggestion: Create a WebQuest about jobs – the kinds of work that people do, and the skills and education they need to do their work.
The Teacher’s Guide Virtual Field Trips
There is lots of great stuff here, but my favorite part of this site is the list of Virtual Tours of Museums. This is truly a treasure trove of information, images, inspiration … for everyone. A mentoring pair can visit this site, choose a museum to visit together, and spend days exploring and discovering (the horse, the history of rock and roll, the art of Russia …)
Keep in mind that each museum presents information in different ways, so you may need to spend some time checking out what is available, but one thing is for sure, whatever the interests, background, age and attention span of ‘your’ kids, there will be something to capture their attention.
TIP: Type Virtual Tour into the search box on the museum sites to access in-depth information.
Note: On both of these sites and the sites that they link to, you will find numerous teacher, kid and family resources, lesson plans, ideas and more.
SHARE YOUR CREATIVITY - tell us how you used these sites to work with kids in your classroom or program.
Topics: Recommended Resources | No Comments »
At least one answer to the question, What Should I Do Now?
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Friday, December 19th, 2008
When I first considered writing this recommendation for a website, I worried that it was not a good idea because not all kids have access to computers. However, after a week of snow and cold, and plenty of time to think back to my days as a parent with young snow bound kids at home, I decided that ANYTHING I can do to make the time at home more fun, less BOOOOORING, and more educational is worth the blog space. And, once the kids are back in school and once again in after school programs and mentor relationships, this site will still be worth knowing about.
PBS Kids Go is a lively and kid appropriate website filled with fun, educational and holiday things to do - for kids, with kids, about kids. Each game or activity on the site is related to PBS characters such as Arthur, Maya and Miguel, and the Cyberchase kids.
The site has really well designed things to do. In this season of cold and winter breaks away from school, after-school activities and mentor programs, (not to mention a full week of snow days so far), the games on this site are a wonderful way to keep kids involved and learning. I think many of them artfully combine learning (science, cooking, culture, mysteries, even economics) and fun. Kids can save their scores and login to continue a game they enjoy.
The site also has lots of holiday music and videos, eCards that let kids send greetings and keep in touch with friends, Speak Out (an opportunity for kids to share their ideas), resources for teachers and parents, videos in English and Spanish, TV schedules and lots more. Basically, it contains the answer to the age old question - what should I do now?
PBS Kids Go is part of PBS Kids – which offers an even broader array of activities, music, games and more, related to PBS children’s programming. This site and the related PBS Parents and PBS Teachers is definitely a resource that mentors, teachers and parents should be aware of.
Do you have any favorite resources to recommend to help kids make the most of time away from school? Tell us … use the comment feature below. Thanks
Topics: Recommended Resources, Resources for Mentor, Resources for Teacher, Things to do | No Comments »
Please Help: A Student’s Plan and What She Needs to make it Happen
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, December 16th, 2008
NP, a student in the online course is seeking help and resources for a Somali child. She has asked me to post this request for help.“I would like to be better able to communicate with student who I am currently observing in Kindergarten class right now. He is from Somalia. He doesn’t speak or understand much English, and his parents speak very little too. As a newcomer, he doesn’t understand the rules or culture of his new community. I notice that it is hard for the teacher and students to communicate to him, and I can imagine how frustrated he must be inside. I also notice that he is slowly picking up little things here and there, and he does respond to the signals from the teacher.I would like to find ways to help this boy communicate and become more comfortable in his classroom and new culture. I have generated a list of ideas in this course, but I need help finding resources, suggestions and people who can help me help him. Histeacher is working hard to get a translator in the class so this student and parents can begin to understand what is going on. I know this will help, but so far no translator has arrived.
He enjoys playing basketball at recess, and is learning the rules of by watching the kids and participating in the game. So, I think it would be great to see him get involved in a basketball league. I know he is just in Kindergarten but I think this can really help socializing him with the other kids.
Another great resource he could benefit by (hypothetically, because I don’t know if there is such a thing) would be to send him to an after school program where they speak Somali.
In the perfect world, there would be a place where he could go after school to learn the basics, a center where he could go and relate to other students and mentors in his community. It would be wonderful to have a place where the language and culture are familiar, and where he could meet other kids who are struggling in the same situations. Is there such a place?
Another idea would be to a have a buddy system (again in the perfect world) where someone older than him, someone also from
Somalia could help him in his studies and socialization. It would be wonderful if hehad someone he could relate to and ask questions.
Please, Please, Please any suggestions or comments are welcome…this is something I have been struggling with because I want so badly to have endless ways to help him (and other kids too of course) …but I don’t know where to go for help and resources. Please post ANY ideas and suggestions below. Thanks in advance.
Topics: Culturally Competent, Help Wanted, Questions | 1 Comment »
Snow Day: Fun for Everyone?
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Sunday, December 14th, 2008
Odie in the snow -a black lab on a white background. A picture of happiness.
Snow days are fun? Maybe, but maybe not.
These days, as I write this blog, I think more and more about the challenges of kids at risk, and kids in poverty. The more I learn, the more aware I become that what I always took for granted, such as snow days are fun, is not true for every kid.
When mykids were in school, snow days meant sleds and snowmen, hot chocolate and hot baths. Today in my neighborhood, a dozen kids, dressed in ski clothes, warm boots and hats, are building snowmen and dragging snowboards around in the well tended little park in the center of our community … definitely having fun.
Last week, looking for inspirations for this blog, I started calling around to some of the mentor organizations in Portland, asking about plans for kids over the holiday break. I am sad to say, I learned that there is not much out there. After school programs close, mentors take a winter break, there is no school lunch, no after-school programs, no activities, no learning, and … no warm and busy school to come to. Lots of kids, I realize, will be home, some alone, some bored, some hungry, some cold …
Today, as I enjoy the snow, and know how filled with joy kids and teachers around Portland are today, just thinking that tomorrow may be a snow day, (and only five, maybe only four more days till break) I can’t help thinking that a snow day, or a much anticipated break from school, is not the same for everybody. Even holidays are just not as simple as black and white.
Topics: Kids at Risk | No Comments »
Poetry: Another Way Create Shared Meaning with Kids
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Friday, December 12th, 2008
This idea is from Making Connections student Emma B. She says that the results of this activity were remarkable.
In Linda Christensen’s book , Reading, Writing, and Rising Up: Teaching About Social Justice and the Power of the Written Word , she describes a process for helping students create their own poems modeled after George Ella Lyon’s poem, “Where I Am From.” The students read the poem and discuss it. Then, they brainstorm their favorite foods, family sayings, celebrations, items found around their homes, people important to them, and places they like to visit. The brainstorming sessions can lead to rich classroom conversations and sharing.Many teachers used this poem at the beginning of each school year as a getting-to-know-you activity—with amazing results. However, this works at any time to help kids feel more connected. (Note: Try this as a way to discover how kids celebrate their holidays.)More ideas:• A sixth-grade teacher has students write “I Am From” poems in October and shares the results with family members at the fall parent-teacher conference. He says, “It took some time for parents to really feel comfortable with a new teacher with their kids. The “I Am From” poems made conversation with the parents really relaxed, because we were going over these funny things that the kids were interested in that surprised them. Sharing the poems made all the difference.”
• A high-school teacher uses the “Where I’m From” poems to get to know her students and their families.” It is such a safe way to experience poetry. Plus, it requires so much thought about what really matters in one’s life and what the things are that have truly shaped the students into the individuals they have become.”
For instructions and examples of this activity, see: Where I Am From Poem.
Topics: Creating a Positive, Culturally Competent, Recommended reading | No Comments »
Help get at-risk kids on track for college
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Tuesday, December 9th, 2008
The goal of this course, and all the ideas on this blog is to find ways to help at risk kids stay in school. But a frequent question from students in the course is, WHAT NEXT? What happens to these kids after high school? For some, even those who are successful in high school, the idea of college is outside of their zone of comfort and familiarity.
With this question in mind, I found this article about a special life skills workshop being run by business school students in Tennessee (love that Google). College students are helping kids to learn about college, what it takes to get there, and what it can mean for the future. Its an inspiring idea - well worth sharing. Does anyone know about similar programs for Oregon kids?
Lipscomb students get at-risk kids on track for college
By JAIME SARRIO • November 10, 2008
Deon Brown is only 12, but he already has a pretty good idea of what he wants to do when he grows up. “I want to go to MTSU and be a third-grade teacher at Carter-Lawrence,” he said.
Deon, a sixth-grader at Rose Park Middle, has a long way to go before he gets into college, but thanks to some students at Lipscomb University, he’s getting a clearer picture of what it is going to take to get there.
Deon is one of about 25 Nashville students taking part in a special life skills workshop put on by Lipscomb’s business school students. The youth are learning how to apply to and finance college, how to pick a school and how to dress for interviews and other parts of college life. “The focus was on how to be prepared for college,” Deon said. “It’s a lot of work, and you’ve got to have good grades.”
Deon and others were picked to take part in the seminar because they attend Youth Life Learning Center, a faith-based after-school program for urban students. Lipscomb partnered with the organization to satisfy a new university-wide initiative that requires students to complete community service before they graduate.
Students work to better lives
Through the seminars, which took place during the last few weeks of October, Lipscomb students worked in teams to prepare four workshops. The Lipscomb students played charades with the students and conducted personality surveys to get a real feel for where they wanted to go in life.
“Having a group communicate with each other and work together, that was probably the biggest experience,” said Reid Mayo, a junior majoring in marketing and oral communication. “It wasn’t easy, but I enjoyed it and I think the kids enjoyed it, too.”
The sessions will wrap up with a final workshop Tuesday on dining etiquette and a fashion show featuring appropriate clothes for college and business life.
Many of the students that attend Youth Life come from poor neighborhoods and don’t have a lot of support at home. Though the organization is for kindergartners through 12th-graders, lead teacher Thomas Howard said middle and high school students participated in the Lipscomb workshop.
“A lot of their parents didn’t have the opportunity to go to college; they don’t know what it takes to get into college,” he said. “A lot of time the students say they want to do what their parents have done.”
Marquis Newhouse, 11, said he walked away from the seminar believing he should follow his dreams. He wants to animate cartoons, and now he knows his future might include stops at Nashville School of the Arts and Austin Peay State University.
“I learned to trust my instincts and always believe in what you can do,” Marquis said. “If you say you want to go to college, you should believe that.”
Contact Jaime Sarrio at 615-726-5964 or jsarrio@tennessean.com.
Topics: Getting kids to college, How to Help | 1 Comment »
Talking to Kids: How to Create Shared Meaning about Education
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Friday, December 5th, 2008
One thing for sure, it takes a lot of caring and energy to build strong relationships with kids. One of the key elements is simply talking to them. Make the most of the conversations you have by talking about education - but talk to kids in a way that is meaningful to them, and connects to their world view. Try some of these tips:
- Encourage kids to talk about their experiences, what they value, and what motivates them.
- Teachers: give students assignments that provide opportunities for them to talk or write about their values and what motivates them.
- Mentors: help students connect their classroom assignments to what is happening in their lives.
- Once you know what a kid values and is motivated by, talk about how education can help him or her to reach that goal. Provide real life examples.
- Tell kids what education meant to you and your family when you were growing up; ask what it means to them and their families.
- Reflect on the concepts you use with in the classroom and in conversations. Take the time to define terms in multiple ways with an emphasis on creating explanations that motivate kids and reflect their worldview.
- Ask kids what a word or concept mean to them, how they would use them, and how they would help a family member understand the word or concept.
- Establish a climate where young people feel comfortable asking questions for clarification.
- Teachers: an effective way to do this is to ask students to submit questions anonymously. Then take the time to answer each question.
- Mentors: talk to students about the struggles you had learning something and share how asking questions helped you to learn concepts and advance your education.
- Teachers and mentors: ask kids to paraphrase what was said to see if there is shared meaning.
- Regard students’ ways of speaking and thinking as resources, not problems. Involve kids in the construction of their own knowledge—help them discover their learning style and needs, provide ways to help them take responsibility for learning experiences, and plan together to set and meet educational goals.
- Create opportunities for kids to discuss their goals and aspirations, share what they want to learn about, and find ways the school can help them.
- Listen to kids as they discuss ideas together.
- Promote candid discussion about topics relevant to kids’ lives, and challenge them to solve real-life problems—stretch students beyond the familiar.
- Develop a large “bag of tricks” to get to know your students and families well.
Topics: How to Help, Quality Time, Relationship Strategy | 1 Comment »
A Taste Of Success
By Tobi Kibel Piatek | Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
“I don’t accept excuses about kids not learning. You can’t blame the kids … If a child does not succeed; it means the adults around him or her have failed.”
Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of Harlem Children’s Zone, a nonprofit providing education and support programs for poor families in Harlem.
Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about the challenges of educating tough kids, kids from poverty, kids who don’t want to learn, and kids who seem beyond the reach of what our schools can provide. I’ve been reading a lot, and turning to the media for ideas. One of the messages that keep coming up is that to reach those kids who are hardest to connect with, we need to find ways to make what they learn meaningful; to connect their learning to their real lives and real goals. In other words, find ways to motivate kids to want to learn. All good advice, but how?
A blog is a great venue for sharing other people’s great thoughts and ideas. And this message, an essay for This I Believe, by Geoffrey Canada, on the NPR website not only contains an inspiring message, but expresses what I BELIEVE far better than I can. It is also a recipe for success (listen, you’ll see what I mean.)
PLEASE TELL US: What motivated you to stay in school? What motivates you now? Please share your thoughts, and your ideas for ways to motivate kids.
Topics: How to Help, Inspiration, Recommended Resources | 1 Comment »