Computer technology has an important role to play in children’s education especially those children with learning disabilities. The advanced technologies provide lot of easy learning techniques and tools for the children to experiment with. Schools from Kindergarten level onwards should accommodate proper technology changes in their curriculum to pave way for a revolution in dealing with the education of disabled children.

New technologies are emerging in the form of computer software packages that are specially created and are more expressive to cop up with the learning patterns of children. Children’s education should introduce and explore the applicability of this technological revolution in terms of new learning experiences at the earliest… Read more

Math is not just a subject that your child learns for an hour a day in school and then puts away like a textbook until tomorrow. You can help math make sense to your child by showing that it is everywhere in his or her world.

There are many excellent ways to help your young child build math skills at home. Take a few minutes to try a few of the suggestions below, and then see what else you can add to your repertoire. Once you start, you’ll find ways to help your child use math in almost everything you do… Read more

Surveys show excessive levels of cheating, lying, stealing and drunken driving among teens and young adults. There are increases in risky behaviors including delinquency, pregnancy, violence and substance abuse in America’s youth.

Unethical behavior can be seen far too often in today’s workplace. Employee fraud: “Costs firms $600 billion a year. (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, 2002 Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse).” Fraud also “Costs employers 20 percent of every dollar earned, according to U.S. workers surveyed in 2002 by Ernst & Young. (The CPA Letter, October 2002)”. Teaching character to children at an early age can… Read more

This was such an important comment made by a reader, that we felt the need to repost it here:

The school district where I was an Elementary Counselor was proactive on their approach to the prevention of Child Abuse and Child Sexual Abuse. The district hired a Community Mental Health Specialist to present a program on Personal Safety.

She had her partner dress as a bear and together they acted out several scenarios depicting “good touch” vs. “bad touch”. This program was designed using a very age-appropriate curriculum and was presented to all the children from kindergarten through fifth grade in all thirteen elementary schools. The presenter emphasized how important it was to tell an adult they could trust if they’ve ever been touched in a “bad” way… Read more

There are a variety of ways in which an educator employs classroom management strategies, strategies necessary in maintaining a positive and respectful learning environment. As an educator, it is not only a good idea, but vital to understand the dynamics of your students and how to adjust and control the atmosphere of the classroom. Here are some brief explanations and definitions of five major classroom management strategies that may be helpful to you in managing your classroom.

Proximity Control is the arrangement of the classroom that allows an educator to easily approach any desk in the room. Students can be monitored by simply walking around the desks and work can be proctored quickly by glancing over student shoulders. When a student is off-task, it is a simple movement around their area that will cause them to feel the pressure to immediately fix the “problem” instead of abusing the freedom of a desk or chair in the back of the room.

Positive Reinforcement is the use of positive motivation in the classroom. By not only recognizing, but rewarding positive behavior, an educator will motivate students to pursue desirable behaviors. This is also an excellent way to encourage a positive environment for students to learn as well as enabling students to build confidence in themselves… Read more

The government needs to allocate more funds for programs such as its “Five A Day” campaign to promote healthy eating. Forcing food companies to balance unhealthy messages with healthy ones will help even out this lopsided advertising expenditure; but without taking further action the government is neglecting that it is under their guidelines that food companies are able to operate and make billion dollar profits. $9.55 million promoting fruits and vegetables is a joke when compared to the $11.26 billion spent by the food, candy, beverage and restaurant industry in 2004.

Obviously, it would also be the government’s responsibility to ensure the food industry operates in accordance to the regulations previously stated. It is their job to regulate the food advertising industry as it exists only in accordance with national trade laws and regulations.

Local governments should revise zoning laws to permit construction of more sidewalks, parks, bike paths, and playgrounds. Many children lack a proper place to safely exercise, this would solve that problem, while also promoting exercise in the community… Read more

A child develops in many different ways during the first eight years of their life. The often quoted “First 5″ mantra has been recently expanded to the first eight years. During these eight years, a child develops socially, physically, intellectually, creatively and emotionally at a tremendously greater pace than at any other time of their life. This is when it is of the utmost importance for parents to do whatever they can to help with the development of their child.

• Socially – Your child will begin to form attachments, play with others, learn to share, and be able to create lasting relationships with others.
• Physically – Development of your child’s motor skills takes shape. Play is very important, as it stimulates these motor skills to properly develop.
• Intellectually – Your child will begin to question things in the world around them. This is when the ability to process information and make sense of it starts to take shape.
• Creativity – Your child will begin to exhibit creativity, often artistically, musically or in other “left brain” activities.
• Emotionally – Your child will begin to learn how to understand their own feelings and emotions, and start to develop self-awareness and self-confidence.

As a parent you have to recognize your role as teacher, and your child’s role as your “young pupil”. With this understanding of your role, development will be far more productive.