About a year ago, I was given an article called “Spinach in your
Teeth”. At first glance, I thought…”maybe I have green stuff in my teeth often”
and this parent is giving me a hint! But after reading on, I realized the
catchy title took me much deeper…
You know, kids truly say the darndest things – they are so
honest…sometimes brutally so! I love the days when a middle schooler says, “I
like your shoes” or when a Kindergartner says “you have a pretty dress”. But,
there are some days when I have to laugh (instead of cry or hide) when a Second
Grader says “your shoes don’t match” or when a Preschooler says “why is your
hair like that?”
After reading this article, it makes me realize that the children
tell me these things because they care about me (or maybe their filter isn't completely developed), but regardless, I feel better knowing they are being
honest with me.
I liked the comparison of feedback to criticism. As the article
states, few of us have an easy time either giving it or receiving it! We know
that in our heads we need feedback; but our hearts don’t want to hear it.
Feedback is truly a caring gesture!
So, if you and I are having a wonderful chat or simply saying
hello…please let me know if I have toilet paper on my shoe, marker on my face,
or spinach in my teeth! I’ll know the feedback is meaningful and important and
that you care!
I have been spending my free time reading this
summer…magazines, educational journals, and all kinds of books. One book I have
enjoyed is Uncle Dan’s Report Card.
This book is a parenting book that reveals how children were
raised in the 20th Century America, a time Tom Brokaw called raising
the “Greatest Generation”. The author, Barb Unell, found her Uncle’s report
card from 1914, a time when “everyone worked together with a common purpose: to
raise a great generation of hard-working children who respected their elders,
behaved responsibility, and believed in a better future for themselves, their
community, and their country.”
The grade report had two parts – a school side focusing on
academics and social, as well as a home side focusing on books read, helping
mother, helping father, care of teeth, things made, money earned, truthfulness
and honesty, habits of kindness, promptness, and more!
This book paints a wonderful picture of how home and school
MUST work together to give the child the guidance and parameters he or she
needs to grow and develop into a responsible citizen at school and beyond. I
believe it paints a picture of the partnership we strive to achieve at Oakhill
– in 2012 versus 1914, of course!
Prior to reading this book, I ran across a wonderful,
heartfelt letter written by one of our very own 4th grade teachers,
Trish Stripling. Trish had no idea the impact her note would have on me, her
parents, and anyone who has had the opportunity to see it. Her note, written
the last week of school, captured the importance of the parental involvement in
school life.
Dear Families,
This final newsletter is a
special edition of The
Stripling Scoop.
It is my letter of thanks to all of you for the
privilege and pleasure of spending this past school year with your child.
When I was a little girl,
my mom was the perennial volunteer - room mother, girl scout leader, field trip
chaperone, etc. I grew up with such happy memories of holding my mom’s hand at school
events, smiling at her in the halls, and enjoying sharing my school experiences with
her.
When I became a teacher (in
my early 40s) and began my career in public schools, I was saddened by the changes
I saw. There are still many, many caring parents who step up to volunteer, but
the opportunities for them to do so are limited by the many constraints placed on
public schools today. My heart ached for my students, and their families, who I knew were
missing out on wonderful school memories.
Then, Oakhill and I
found each other. So many times this year I have reveled in the strong family presence and
enthusiastic participation at Oakhill’s many and varied events. I so enjoyed
watching my students build memories like I have of my school days. I am certain
that my mom’s commitment to my education played a primary role in my love for school, and
for learning. You have all done the same for your children. Trust me - comparing you to
my mom is the highest compliment I can give.
So, thank you, from the
bottom of my heart ~ not only for your volunteer spirit, but for rekindling in me those
wonderful memories, renewing my love for the whole school experience, and
reaffirming my belief that every child’s education can and should be caringly crafted
and nurtured by the partnership of parents and teacher. What a gift you have given
me this year.
Most gratefully,
Mrs. Stripling
Trish’s letter says it all. Oakhill is here for your child and his
or her educational journey, but we are also here for you – the entire family.
Working together, we can give your child everything he or she needs and
wants…we can bring Uncle Dan’s Report Card to life once again.
We hope to bring the authors to Oakhill this fall during a PTO
meeting, but in the meantime, I encourage you to read this wonderful book.
I have always been fascinated by one room school houses and 20th
century school memorabilia; hence the old school desks in the hallway – this
book brought the nostalgia of yesteryear into today’s school environment.
Stepping in as “Admissions Director” while ours is out on
maternity leave has been a wonderful opportunity that I’m grateful to be able
to experience. There’s nothing like meeting prospective families for the first
time. They come to their first tour of the school prepared with inquisitive questions
about every facet of the building and the learning that happens inside. They
are interviewing us as much as we are interviewing them. Let’s face it,
choosing a school for your child is not an easy task…. Think about all of the
choices… public, private, parochial? Will my child thrive in a small or large
classroom environment? Do I choose a school that is close to home or am I
willing to make a drive? Do they offer extracurricular activities? What does
your school offer that another doesn't? Will my family fit in? Do you have
extended care/tutoring services? Do I choose to pay tuition when I pay taxes?
In an interesting article
by Sarah P. Daignault of the National Business Officers Association (a
professional association for independent school business officers), she aims to
tackle the age old question of Why Are Independent Schools So Expensive? And Are They Worth It? In the
article, Daignault breaks down Independent school tuition explaining all of its
components, which can include: salaries and benefits, classroom supplies,
administrative costs, facility enhancements and maintenance, financial aid,
auxiliary services and more; all things necessary to run a top notch
educational institution. While touring with prospective parents, I give all of my
reasons why an Oakhill education exceeds the cost of the tuition, but I always
get the feeling that if I had a personal testimonial it would really bring all
of these ideals, that I know to be true, to life. One day, I received an email
from a past Oakhill family. I always love to get updates on our students and
their many successes once they've moved beyond our walls. This family was
really able to “quantify” their Oakhill experience and put it into words that I
wish I could share with every prospective that walks through our doors.
Dear Oakhill,
Joel Roney (Oakhill 1998-2007,
Early Learners through seventh grade) is going to Drury University in
Springfield this fall. He will major in Theatre, Biology and Arts
Administration (a business major for the arts) and minor in Spanish. Yes,
all of this is possible with his 28 hours of college credit from his high
school IB curriculum and three classes over the summers at Maple Woods.
Why does he want to do all of this? Joel says: because he
can. This is the same reason he gave for taking an extra high level IB
class (the very hard engineering math with only three people in the
class). I guess it is the Mt. Everest phenomenon. See what Oakhill
creates? I feel fortunate I talked him out of the math minor!
Now for some fun Oakhill
math! Figure $8,000 per year for K-7 (8 years)=$64,000. The amount
I paid for Early Learners, Pre-School and Pre-K would have been paid elsewhere,
if not at Oakhill. Tuition was not that much in the late ‘90s, but let’s
use it for the sake of argument. Joel got Drury’s Dean’s Scholarship for
$11,000, Drury IB Scholarship for $3,000, Drury Theatre Scholarship for $3,500
and the Bright Flight for $1,750. That is a total of $19,250 yearly over
4 years which = $77,000. Joel is covering $77,000 of his own
education. Tuition at Drury is $21,000 per year, so he will cover all but
$1,750 of his tuition yearly. (Room and Board seems to be about the same
at the colleges we checked out, so that’s why I did not include it in my
calculation- that and the fact that I will buy less food at home and the water
bill will be much lower).
So
considering the Roney family and our #2 son, we came out more than $13,000 to
the good for an education that instilled in Joel a love for learning, a strong
work ethic and confidence that he can accomplish great things! Honestly,
the intangibles alone are worth the 64K!
As I observe classrooms, view lesson videos in the Day in the Life presentations, and listen to the students applaud in the Tuesday Town Meeting when asked, “How many of you like math?” I am proud…of our math instruction.
Mrs. Driskill gave me a math article titled “Mathematical Swindling” by Eugene Maier. The article made me think about my own mathematical abilities. I was confident in math, got A’s in my classes, did what my math teacher told me, and coveted the right answer. I was a math swindler! As the article states, I “remembered computational procedures and techniques and applied them to textbook exercises during a weekly quiz”.
It wasn’t until I taught math that I truly understood the majority of the concepts. I knew how to calculate and recite math facts, but there is so much more to math than just this! Math includes the way you think about numbers, the way you manipulate numbers, the way you use the memorized math facts, and the way you recognize how numbers are used in real life applications.
When teaching math, it is important to focus on concepts, on specific objectives, and “how” to best teach these concepts and objectives to meet the developmental needs of each student. Conceptual understanding, memorized algorithms, and developmental approaches mix and mingle to create true mathematical awareness. For instance, 4x5=20 is not the same as 5x4=20. Four sets of five are very different than five sets of 4 although the answer is 20 in both examples.
Research indicates that students are not truly able to think abstractly about math until they reach 10 years of age…somewhere during their 4th grade year. Throughout Early Childhood Education and Elementary Education, teachers move the students from the concrete to the semi-concrete to the semi-abstract manipulation of concepts. New concepts are best understood through hands-on exploration and discussion versus a “this is how you do it” approach.
With this said, math practice is another very important piece and one I do not want to dismiss. This includes class work, timed tests for math fact recall, homework, and Study Island.
In class, we will be developing each student…each mathematician…through concept building, algorithm exploration, and developmental math tasks. At home, we encourage ongoing computational practice, as well as weekly repetition through our Study Island program.
This is our second year utilizing Study Island as a supplemental piece of our math program with emphasis on standardized testing format. We have a building license for this web-based program which is accessible to students at school and at home. If you have internet access, your child can log on to Study Island. Although we have been using this resource at school, we now encourage you to use it at home.
Your children have the log-in information for the site – www.studyisland.com. If you have questions about this resource, feel free to contact your classroom teacher, Trish Stripling (Study Island Coordinator), or Study Island at support@studyisland.com.
Here is another excerpt from the Mathematical Swindling article.
“As part of a research project to assess children’s understanding of mathematics, an elementary school girl had been interviewed. The girl had no difficulty reciting subtraction facts. However, when the interviewer provided her with a collection of tile and asked her to demonstrate the meaning of the statement “16-9=7” with the tile, the young girl was at a loss. Finally, when urged by the interviewer to do anything at all with the tile to portray the statement, the girl used the tile to form numerals; much in the same manner she would have recorded this subtraction fact with paper and pencil. There were no meanings behind the symbols, yet this young lady would have made short work of a page of subtraction exercises.”
To end, I am very proud of the thinking that goes on in the classrooms with regards to math! Math should not be a mystery. Math should not be watered down to facts. Math deserves so much more, and so do our young mathematicians!
