If you have a question or would like help researching a topic, post it here. Many parents are often struggling with an issue that comes up at school or home. You can leave it anonymously or leave your name. You can also email me directly to goasktheteacher@yahoo.com
11 comments:
I have two questions.
First a preschooler one. I have a three-year old son that I recently put into a 3-4 yr old preschool class ... for a day. I took him over to where some other kids were playing and asked if my son could play too and backed off. In five minutes three other older kids surrounded him and told him to leave then calling him names like poopy head, pointing and shoving him. Obviously the teacher and aide were not doing much to help the "new kid" and said the other kids were rude, but just being kids. So I walked out with my son.
While it is easy for me to find a new preschool class, sooner or later my son is going to have to deal with the cretins of the world. We have run into the same thing at the playground -- occasional hitting and one kid who bit my son so hard it left bruises. My son is huge for his age and from day 1 we have taught him to be very gentle and respectful with animals and people because of his size. But it breaks my heart that his gentleness means that despite being physically larger he stands there eyes full of tears while other kids are horrible. I worry that it affects his self-esteem as he gets really withdrawn and shy for a while after he's been accosted physically or verbally by his peers.
How can I teach him to defend himself against bullies -- even at such a young age? It is really tempting to now teach him how to protect himself with his feet and fists and I completely regret teaching him to be so peaceful if it means he is unable to defend himself.
The second question. Does being in a "good" school district actually matter? We are supposedly in a good area, but had a study that came out saying the kids here use as many drugs and drop out just as often as other "bad" areas. It's just that test scores are significantly higher since we don't have as many ESL kids as other (more affordable) nearby areas.
Your second question is easier: It matters more that your children are in a good home rather than just a good district. Both are best, of course, but you will teach your children your values and they will face challenges no matter where they go. Drug exposure is measured in those surveys but low crime rates and safety are just as important and most often found in better districts. It does matter and you should find the best district and area, but this does not take the place of strong families caring about their children and raising them right.
For the first part of your question, I love the story and the issue. I will give it more thought and will publish it in my column next week in the OCRegister in the Local section on page 2. Readers, feel free to give me your comments as I prepare my own.
One note to the parent, continue teaching your child what you think is best. Only you know how to raise him to fit best with your values. You are doing a great job, I think, and I will give you more advice soon.
My son and I have a disagreement about the there, their , and they're rule. "Their holding me against my will." Whats the correct there to use and why?
"They're holding me against my will" is the correct one to use. They're is a contraction of the two words: they are. In this sentence you are really saying "They are holding me against my will." The other two words have individual meanings and uses as well. Their is a possessive, so if it belongs to a group, you use their or theirs. There refers to a place. If it is somewhere, it is there. Hope that helps!
Dear Ask the Teacher,
When I was in second grade or so I was introduced to a book, by way of a read aloud, that I never was able to finish. Perhaps the other kids didn't take well but 20 some odd years later I'm asking you about it.
The novel began with the main characters, a little girl and her brother as I recall, being visited by their (paternal?) aunt. Upon her arrival they are perplexed that she is dry when it is raining quite heavily, to which she explains that the rain drops don't fall in every location at once.
As it proceeds they discover that their aunt is really their father's (?) half sister and the queen of another world in which they no doubt enjoyed quite an adventure that I'm quite certain I don't know what they were :(.
Any suggestions on the identity of this novel, obviously written before the mid-eighties?
Thanks for any assistance.
I have a question: I have noticed an increase of online classes offered at our local colleges the past few years. In looking at the class cuts currently happening at our colleges, is it less expensive for colleges to offer online classes vs classes on campus?
I wish to ask you to describe his or her teaching style as a basis for understanding how you interacts with students.
What are the greatest challenges to you as a teacher? How do you address these challenges?
What have been your greatest successes as a teacher? What factors contributed to these successes?
What are the types of resources and support you are given in the classroom? Are these resources adequate for you to be an effective teacher? In what areas would you like more resources and support, and what impact do you believe these additional resources and added support would have on your teaching and on students' learning?
What effect has the No Child Left Behind Act had on your teaching and your students' learning? Provide both positive and negative examples to describe the effect you think it has on classroom life.
In what areas have you improved as a teacher over the course of your career? In what areas would you like to gain more expertise or develop more skills? How do you think gaining this expertise or developing these skills would benefit your students' learning?
How might research in educational psychology, such as theories about how children learn or how the brain functions, influence your approach to teaching?
Hi,
A group of my friends are having a debate over a claim; we would like a science teacher to evaluate this claim for validity, and also if this is taught in science course? Please state if you are a science teacher, sceintists, etc.
Idea -> Hypothesis -> Repeatable Test -> Theory -> Rigorous Proof -> Theorem -> Universally Accepted -> Law. This is the chain of events.
My daughter is in 10th grade Honors English Literature. She has to compare W.C. Bryant's two poems "Monument Mountain" and "Indian Maiden's Lament." Her teacher wants her to explain how the two maidens are related. I say they are not blood related, that perhaps the one in "Maiden's Lament" was the childhood friend of the one who killed herself in "Monument Mountain." Either way, we are stumped and can find nothing. Any suggestions? THANKS!!
Couldn't the teacher be asking how they are alike, as in related by similarities, rather than actually related?
I wasn't sure how to post a question, but my question is what can school do about parents, (moms in particular) who bring their chidren to school half dressed? They come in silky pajama tank tops, pajama bottoms, flip flops, and no bra. They stand there in hall ways talking on cell phones using foul language all the time. I don't understand how they think this is appropriate behavior or dress for a school. What can schools do to get rid of this inappropriate behavior?
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