Does your child have a Devil’s Workshop?

January 8th, 2010

The proverbial saying ‘An empty mind is a devil’s workshop’ is apt in the context of teenagers and children. Kids spend a lot of time watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Internet. It pains to admit that teens are increasingly falling prey to the commercials broadcast on TV and elsewhere. Drugs and alcohol have become sort of style statement. empty_mind

Though issues like drug abuse and teenage pregnancy are troubling the whole of United States, often we miss the root of such burning issues. Any guesses? Call it boredom or idleness, teens across the world waste their previous time after school. Earlier, circumstances were quite different. Kids, after school, would either do their homework or go for their jobs.

The World Wide Web has opened a whole new world of entertainment and information for teenagers. There are innumerable websites that host valuable information. Wikipedia, for instance, contains information about almost everything. But can the same be said about social networking websites like MySpace or face book? While online interaction with people across different continents and culture can expose kids to a whole new environment, abuse of the same can lead to wastage of time, and health problems (sitting for long hours in front of the laptop/desktop).

Boredom can be definitely dealt with. How? Parental Involvement is a simple solution for addressing idleness among kids and teenagers. After-school jobs can keep kids occupied, thus preventing them from wasting time in unnecessary activities.

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Online tutoring can keep kids occupied while helping them learn new concepts and deal with the difficulty they face solving math problems or understanding a chemical equation. An online math tutor can spend 45-60 minutes with your child and teach the desired subject matter.
The next time you find your child sitting idle, visualize the devil’s workshop!

Pedestrian safety Rules: Does your Child know these?

December 27th, 2009

Road accidents that involve pedestrians have become commonplace, blame it on increasing traffic or congested roads. Reckless driving, driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and unnecessary accelerating to overtake someone have contributed to the growing cases of road accidents.

It, therefore, becomes important for parents and teachers to teach road safety rules to children. Pedestrian safety rules, in fact, should be made a part of the school curriculum. Children are not going to learn pedestrian safety rules unless we teach them. Listed here are some of the rules that teachers and parents can teach children.

Crossing the road with an Adult

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Children should be instructed to cross the street only when there is an elder person with them. As children appear short to drivers of heavy vehicles like trucks and buses, the company of an adult can possibly reduce the chances of fatalities. In the absence of an adult, children should be taught to ask the nearby policeman or traffic policeman to help them cross the street.

Understanding Traffic Signs

Children should be able to figure out the meanings of the ‘WALK’ and ‘DON’T WALK” signs. Elders should teach them the meaning of the red and green signals. Zebra crossing should be used to teach kids when to cross the street.

Look on Either Side

Parents should demonstrate to kids the importance of looking to the left, then to the right and again to the left before crossing a road. It takes just a few seconds to avoid a possible mishap.

Use of Sidewalks

Sidewalks are generally elevated from the driving street in order to protect pedestrians from possible accidents. Children should be taught to use the sidewalks.

Pedestrian rules, if followed, can save the lives of millions. The lessons children learn at a young age become a part of their lives when they grow up. That is why it is best to teach them at an early age.

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells Jingle All the Way!!!

December 25th, 2009

Christmas has arrived. Santa Claus is coming with all the goodies. It’s time to celebrate, thank God for all His blessings, wish our family members, and most importantly, help others.

Children love to receive gifts from their parents and elders. While you can surely gift your child a nice bicycle or a baseball bat, you must also try to give him the most precious gift- Knowledge.

Education is something that would be with your child all through his life.  John Dewey put it correctly “Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself”.

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What could be better than to see your child get quality education and grow up to become a successful person in the field he chooses? A new year is about to come. It’s time you decide what’s best for your child. Compromising on education is not something that would do any good to your child.

Your child needs a helping hand to guide him through the difficulties he faces while solving a math problem or a chemistry equation. While it is best if you can be by your child’s side and guide him, busy work schedules hardly allow parents to teach their children.

Why do we need Math?

December 12th, 2009

In the words of Albert Einstein “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school”.

Teachers come across some so called ‘rebels’ in school who ask questions like ‘Why do we need to learn Math?’ or ‘what good would this do when we grow up?’. While most teachers would talk about Read the rest of this entry »

Mental Math: Math is FUN

December 9th, 2009

Long division problems are a nightmare for everyone- children (who have to solve them), teachers (who have to demonstrate solutions to such problems), and finally parents (who have to help their children with homework).

Most teachers prefer using Read the rest of this entry »

Forget Sudoku Welcome Kenken

December 9th, 2009

How about a fun puzzle whose inventor believes in ‘the art of teaching without teaching’? Derived from the Japanese word that means ‘cleverness’, KenKen or KenDoku is a logical puzzle invented by a Japanese math teacher Tetsuya Miyamoto in the year ’04.

KenKen combines the logic of Read the rest of this entry »

Education System: Then and Now

December 9th, 2009

A few days back I had a friend and her husband drop in at my house. They wanted to have a discussion on the changes taking place in the current education system, schools in particular. They believed that the current schooling system was more productive than the one that existed in their time.

I could not deny the fact that most of us use our schooling system as a benchmark for measuring our kids’ schooling. However, there is no scientific proof that this formula would work. This led to Read the rest of this entry »

The Bitter Truth: Worsening US Education System

December 7th, 2009

In the article titled “U.S. Teens Trail Peers Around World on Math-Science Test”, Washington Post elaborates the state of US students. CNN echoes the same in its article named “U.S. students behind in math, science, analysis says”.

These are just some of the articles that explain the growing concern among parents and educators in the United States. Isn’t it ironical that a country that is the most developed in the world fails to keep up with its counterparts as far as the school educational system is concerned?

A country’s future depends on the development of its children. Someone has rightly said Read the rest of this entry »

Online Tutoring Benefits: Convenience

December 3rd, 2009

How often do you find time to sit with your child and offer him basic math or English help? Thanks to our fast paced lives, finding time for our loved ones, especially children, has become a dream.

Working parents find themselves struggling to find time for their kids while managing their wok and other chores. Children, among other things, need a lot of attention. And this, in turn asks for Read the rest of this entry »

Is your child not motivated?

November 25th, 2009

Lack of motivation can be a major hurdle in your child’s progress. Online Tutoring can surely help, but it is also the responsibility of parents to motivate their children from time to time. Here are some of the well-researched factors, which if followed, can yield results in short time.

Express Love

Children love being loved. Loving your child yet not expressing it, would do no good. Verbal encouragement and support can help your child develop interest in various fields. Children devoid of love and encouragement do not display Read the rest of this entry »