Mainstream Education - Parenting Hub

Advice from the experts

Why kids prefer camp over school

Camp and school are very similar in that both are learning environments for children. However, the differences between the academic and experiential learning context explains why many children not only prefer camp, but also why they gain more personal growth in the camp environment. Here are 8 differences between camp & school: 1. Experiential learning method Learning is practiced on a daily basis at both camp and school. While school is more about textbook learning and studying for exams, camp promotes learning via experiential education. At camp, children get to physically participate in an activity and attain a skill from it. This method of learning seems to be what many children prefer. 2. Informal atmosphere School provides a formal environment, which children may find intimidating and conformist. Camp, on the other hand, is a very casual environment which allows kids to learn while still having fun and without too much restriction. The quote, “What we learn in fun, we never forget” is all too true for the camp environment. 3. Supervisors are role models Learners at school are supervised by their teachers with whom they often cannot develop a friendship, nor are they offered any opportunities to do so. At camp, kids are cared for by young adults called camp counselors. These counselors are specifically trained in child psychology, and as young adults with a passion for children they easily become role models and friends to the children in their care. 4. Diverse friendships Some schools restrict their learners from making friends beyond their age group, and the class barriers often prevent kids from different grades and schools from mixing with one another. Whereas, holiday camps accommodate children from around the world of all ages, of all cultures and races. This exposure to diversity is healthy for children, and it allows kids to make friendships freely and to expand their worldview – all with appropriate supervision. 5. Bullying prevention Schools have become the prime ground where bullies are born and begin terrorizing other children. The reason for this is probably because teachers are expected to spend more time teaching and performing administrative duties, rather than paying careful attention to their learners and their individual needs. At camp, the counselors supervise the children around the clock which allows them to deal with bullying as it happens and it also allows them to spend quality time with each child to attend to their personal needs. Additionally, many camps have a higher staff to child ratio than schools, which helps to create a bully-free environment. 6. Fostering Independence Learners at school are controlled by their school rules which promote discipline and order, and understandably so. However, kids also love the freedom to choose, of which there is little opportunity at school. Camp, on the other hand promotes independence and balances this with discipline. Children may choose the clothes they wear, the activities they want to participate in, the friendships they make and the food they eat. 7. Physical activity is promoted Learners spend most of their school day behind a desk rather than outdoors, which many children find frustrating and uninspiring. At camp, kids are always on the go, out and about, having fun and being active without the distraction of technology. Not to mention that the increased exercise they receive at camp benefits their ability to learn, concentrate and the quality of their sleep. 8. Less anxiety and more stress management Mention exams and assessments and watch how quickly children develop anxiety. The schooling environment can put a lot of pressure on kids, whether it is peer pressure to do well, or the usual exam stress. Camp is a more anxiety-free environment, and when children to do express their anxiety, they are encouraged to communicate with a counselor and also taught coping mechanisms to help them handle their stress. Obviously, school cannot be avoided, but the camp environment is a child’s sanctuary when school closes for the holidays. Together, both school and camp experiences provide many opportunities for a child’s academic and personal growth. Therefore, camp is well worth considering for your child to receive the benefits of both experiential and academic education.

October 2, 2017

Crossing The Midline

There are many terms that teachers, psychologists and other professionals may use that, at times, are perhaps not explained effectively leaving parents at a loss to the significance of these difficulties. It is important to understand what the importance of these conditions are, (especially if they have been mentioned in your child’s school report) what they mean, and the possible consequences and repercussions thereof. The midline is akin to an imaginary line going down the middle of one’s body from head to toe. Midline crossing is important for many skills to develop later on. For example, midline crossing is important for a youngster to develop the ability to use one hand to write across the entire page. This will also determine whether the youngster will have the necessary skills to read the length of the sentence across the page from left to right A child who can’t cross the midline, for instance, would use his/her left hand to write or paint on the left-side of the page and his/her right hand to write or paint on the right-hand side of the page which can hamper the learning process. Crossing the midline is also an indicator of bilateral co-ordination which is the ability to use both sides of the body and brain simultaneously. This is important for gross motor skills such as climbing stairs, walking, riding a bicycle and swimming. In addition, bilateral co-ordination is also important to read, write and learn. In other words, the right and left brain have to work together, for example in reading the left brain’s task is to decode a word whilst the right brain facilitates the understanding and meaning of what was read. Midline crossing is therefore essential for a youngster to develop as it is a very necessary skill for learning in all areas of life.

August 28, 2017

Setting your child up for Term 3 success!

The much-anticipated July school holidays seem to have flown by. Alarm clocks have been quiet and daily homework seems to be a distant memory. School uniforms have been hibernating and lunch boxes, shelved. It is almost time to oil the gears and get ready to start the school run once again. It can be a stressful time for parents and learners. Cindy Glass, Founder and Owner of after school remediation franchise, Step Up Education Centres, gives the following helpful hints to parents to ensure that the holiday-school transition is a positive experience for all. 1. Choose your words and actions carefully Your child will look forward to going back to school if you create a feeling of positive anticipation for him. Chat about friends and new experiences that lie in wait. Be positive about your expectations for the term, assure your child that you are there for him and that, together, you will face any challenges that may arise. 2. Set positive goals Take some time to dust off the term 2 report. Look at each subject and, together with your child, decide on realistic goals for term 3. Remember, you cannot build your child up by breaking him down, so make this exercise a positive one. Decide if he needs extra assistance and be open to understanding what he may need to achieve his goals. All negative behaviours or attitudes towards academic work stem from fear! Fear of failure, fear of consequences. Use this time to seek to understand your child. Be excited about his potential to achieve his goals 3. Get the bits and pieces sorted Check that uniforms are clean and ready. Label anything that may still need it. Stationery, sport gear, exercise and text books need to be sorted and ready-to-roll. It is important to do this in good time to avoid a stressful rush at the last minute. 4. Start making healthy lifestyle choices A healthy diet and exercise routine go a long way to ensure a positive academic experience. Start going to bed a little earlier as well. Sleep is as important as healthy food choices. 5. Reinstate routine Nobody enjoys routine during the holidays. Spontaneity is enjoyed, and so it should be. The school term, however, places demands and expectations on every learner and a positive routine is needed to ensure that your child is able to cope effectively with the pressures of school life. Life is not a straight road and sticking to routines can be challenging. If you focus on following a routine as much as possible, you will all reap the benefits. hilst you enjoy the last few days of the school holiday, do yourself a favour and start preparing for the beginning of a new term. It will be worth it!” Cindy concludes. About Step Up Established in 2016, Step Up Education Centres is a dynamic after-school remediation and tutoring franchise with a difference. Step Up offers children an opportunity to succeed in a schooling system that is, at times, very unsympathetic. From the moment, a child walks through a Step Up Education Centre doors they feel different. They no longer feel silly or stupid. They no longer feel misunderstood. They no longer feel judged. After just one lesson they feel hope. They see possibility. After a few sessions, they walk taller, feel smarter, do better. Why? Because Step Up believes that every child has potential…And our passionate educators will not give up until they reach it!

August 7, 2017

University Application Survival Kit

With university application season now in full swing for Matrics who want to pursue further studies next year, stress levels in homes across the country are rising as a result of the demanding administrative requirements associated with the process. But it can be made significantly smoother and less onerous if learners take some time to put together an application survival kit before starting to complete their applications, an education expert says. “When applying for a place at a higher education institution – whether online or in hard copy, whether at a public university or a private institution – there are a number of things you will need and can get ready before you even look at the application forms,” says Dr Felicity Coughlan, Director of The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest private higher education provider. Coughlan says learners should prepare hard copies as well as an electronic folder containing all the documents and information they are going to require, as well as keep a log to track applications and all the log in credentials and passwords they will amass to application portals if they are applying to more than one institution. Learners need to make it easy for an institution to accept them by ensuring their applications are complete. “Given limited spaces at universities and fierce competition for popular courses, it is of course imperative that learners keep their options open for next year, by applying to more than one institution and for more than one course. Putting all your eggs in one basket may mean that come 2018, you find that your marks just didn’t make the grade to ensure you get access into your first choice of course or institution, or that you just missed the cut for admission due to high demand for limited space. “But while it is highly advised to have a Plan B, C and even D in place, this means that you need to keep quite a few balls in the air during the application stage. Your application survival kit will help you not to drop them,” she says. Coughlan says that once learners have prepared all their documents and information, they will be able to respond to application requirements in one sitting. “Additionally, you need to ensure that scanned copies of documents are as small as possible to ensure they are not rejected due to an institution’s mail server settings, so do not save them as image files. Also ensure that the names of all documents tie back to you, by including your name, ID number and descriptor of the document in the file name.” Coughlan says that most applications to reputable institutions will require the following: A certified copy of your identity document. Ensure that in the scanned copy the document, the picture, certification stamp and writing are all very clear and easy to read. A certified copy of your Grade 11 school results as well as your April or Prelim Matric results. Your NBT number or results or both. A certified copy of the fee payer’s identity document as well as proof of banking details and residence. A certified testimonial from a school or equivalent if you are applying for residence. Application letters, forms and portfolios for those programmes that require them. All your contact details – telephone numbers, residential and postal addresses as well as a reliable mobile number and e-mail address (consider using your parent or guardian’s details if you are not good at responding to texts and mails). All the contact details of your next of kin, parents, guardians or sponsors – you will need telephone and residential, postal and e-mail details. Coughlan says the application process can further be streamlined and made more manageable if learners also ensure that they: Use easy to remember passwords and login details for online applications and keep records of all of them for each institution. Keep a record of reference numbers sent to them. Carefully track dates and requirements and keep to them, so that they don’t lose out on a place because they forgot, for instance, to pay the application fee. Complete the forms in absolute and correct detail, because mistakes can lead to them losing out on a place if it looks like they were trying to mislead the institution. Have all the information close at hand when filling in applications, so that they are not logged out while searching for something. Use the correct codes for courses as provided, so that there is no misunderstanding of exactly what is being applied for. “The higher education application process is a job in itself, and a matriculant’s first taste of the new responsibilities and challenges that will come after their school years,” says Coughlan. “It is a great opportunity to start taking responsibility for and control of one’s future, and can be an empowering adventure if tackled correctly. And of course, most importantly, learners should start the process right now and ensure they have left their options open, and definitely not leave things until later in the year or even next year, when their chances of acceptance into a programme or institution will be significantly diminished.”

July 19, 2017

Ditching Maths Myths

The best start parents can give children to ensure they master maths throughout their school careers, is to ensure they banish negative attitudes towards the subject right from the start, an education expert says. “Parents and caregivers must ensure they don’t pass on their own negative feelings about maths, or any other subject, because they themselves struggled in the past,” says Barbara Eaton, Academic Development Co-ordinator for the Schools Division at ADvTECH, Africa’s largest private education provider. “Children should be allowed to embark on their maths learning in the secure understanding that they are competent and capable, without any kind of pre-emptive fear for the subject,” she says. Eaton notes South Africans regularly hear about our country’s dismal performance in international maths and science benchmarking tests. “Those of us who work at the Pre-Primary level are well aware that the results of the children at prep and college levels will not improve if we do not focus on the correct teaching of maths concepts within the three to six-year age group,” she says. But she warns that early learning should be age-appropriate and concentrate on ‘hands-on, brains-on’ activities. “Early mathematical experiences have to be presented in kinaesthetic and concrete ways, leading to semi-abstract activities in Grade 0. We certainly do not favour worksheets for children at this young age,” she says. Eaton adds that while many young children enter Pre-Primary school with knowledge of counting, numbers and shapes, it is also important to expose them to more challenging content. “Young children are ready to learn more advanced concepts as long as they are presented in an engaging and developmentally appropriate manner. This does not equate with ‘pushing down’ the curriculum content to younger and younger children, as that could have the opposite of the intended effect.” Eaton advises parents to take a keen and active part in getting their children excited about maths, and says that the foundations of later maths mastery can be achieved through play-based activities in the early years. Activities which promote the acquisition of maths concepts include: Singing number songs and rhymes. Counting out everyday items such as plates and cutlery for supper, potatoes for cooking, biscuits for tea. Matching how many times you clap with items such as bottle tops. Baking, which involves counting and measuring of ingredients. Drawing attention to numerals on gates, cars, busses – anywhere in the immediate environment. Sharing out sweets amongst the family or the teddies at the play tea party, which teaches division. Dividing fruit, veg and cakes into pieces and talk about halves and quarters, which teaches the concept of fractions. Working out how many sweets we need if everyone is to get two, which teaches multiplication. Matching, identifying and counting coins, and giving coins to spend on small items in the shop. Comparing the sizes of clothes and shoes that the family members wear and arranging them in ascending and descending order. “Research tracking American, British and Canadian children found that children who entered pre-school with a strong grasp of numeracy, counting, relative magnitudes and ordinality achieved better maths scores in later years, and that these skills were more predictive of general scholastic achievement than were language, attention or social skills,” says Eaton. “But parents should not, in an attempt to ensure their child’s future maths mastery, try to get them to learn something now, with difficulty, which they will manage more easily later. Helping your child at this stage does not entail the teaching of isolated maths skills through memorisation, rote or the reliance on worksheets. “Parents and guardians who want to make a substantial contribution to their children’s performance later in life can ensure they lay a solid and positive foundation in the early years, simply by making maths meaningful and relevant to everyday situations. Quite simply, maths should become child’s play.”

July 13, 2017

Subject Choices: Plotting Your Future Options in Grade 9

In coming months, Grade 9’s will have to select the subjects they want to pursue from next year until they write their final Matric exams. While making the call is an exciting exercise for some, others struggle with the commitment, especially when they are not yet sure what they want to study after school. “Subject choice season requires some serious soul searching and big decisions, which are too important to leave until the day when you are presented with a checklist to indicate your choices. It should already be top of mind now for learners who want to give themselves the best chance for success in Grade 12 and beyond,” says Nola Payne, Head of Faculty: Information and Communications Technology at The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest private higher education institution. Payne says time really is a learners’ friend at this stage, and it is important that the subject choice conversations should start between them, their parents, guardians, teachers and friends. It is also important to not try and make decisions based on crystal-ball gazing, but to use the various resources available to assist with this choice – particularly when learners are unsure about their vision (or lack thereof) for their future, she says. These resources include: 1) EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGISTS “An educational psychologist associated with a higher education institution, whether public university or private, or even a professional in private practice, can be approached to do an aptitude test,” says Payne. “These professionals are trained to use reliable assessments to gauge where the learner’s talents, interests and strengths lie, and can be used as a strong indicator of the career directions and options the learner should consider.” 2) INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORS By spending time speaking to advisors at higher education institutions, learners will get a good idea of the range of potential qualifications they can pursue, and what the entrance requirements are. “Your first stop is to visit the websites of various institutions of higher learning, and thereafter, you can further discuss your options with an advisor at the University or Private Higher Education institution’s careers centre,” says Payne. She says that once the learner has an idea of what qualifications or careers excite them, they will be able to make informed matric subject choices. “Your subjects should be very carefully selected and the decision must not be based on doing what your peers are doing or choosing all the easier subjects in the hope of scoring better marks,” she says. Instead, the following factors need to be taken into consideration: IF YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO STUDY Look at a range of different institutions and courses within your field of interest to allow yourself some choice and a Plan B after matric. Always consider a second option to avoid disappointment should you not be successful in your application for your first choice of a qualification. IF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO DO AFTER MATRIC Choose subject combinations that will leave you with options and room to manoeuvre. If you struggle with Maths and Science, consider keeping only one of them so that you can focus your efforts and achieve good results. Maths Literacy should only be considered as a last resort, as many courses require Maths and you could be rejected based on the choice you made in Grade 9. FIGURE OUT WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY As you spend time at your desk every day, going from class to class, and completing your homework, be alert to which subjects you feel most comfortable with. Do your research and find out how your favourite subjects manifest in the working world, because they might be relevant to a field that you are not yet even aware of. DETERMINE YOUR STRENGTHS Choose at least two subjects that will boost your average. Admission to higher education is performance-based, so it makes sense to do very well in some subjects rather than badly in all of them because you chose only gateway subjects in an effort to keep your options as open as possible. UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENT ROUTES TO SUCCESS You may think you won’t stand a chance of getting good enough grades to enter higher education after matric, but there are now many options for further study. The South African National Senior Certificate and the Independent Examinations Board (IEB) have four levels of pass, so even if you do not get a degree pass, you could still qualify for diploma or higher certificate study. Diplomas and higher certificates are normally vocationally or career-focused, and give you access straight to the world of work and even degree study. “The key to making the best matric subject choices for your future self is to ensure you do your research thoroughly, and at a comfortable pace so you don’t have to rush the decision,” says Payne. “These choices will have a profound impact on access to preferred qualifications and the career possibilities thereafter. This is one of the first opportunities teenage learners will have to practise strategic decision-making that will have a lasting effect on their lives, and it should be looked at as an exciting first step into their future as adults, and also a valuable learning and problem-solving lesson.”

June 27, 2017

Grade 11: The Year that TRULY holds the Keys to your future options

With mid-year exams only a few weeks away, an education expert has warned Grade 11 learners to take this year, and their preparation for it, just as seriously as Grade 12 – if not more so. “Parents, learners and even teachers mistakenly think that Matric is the most important year of schooling, yet Grade 11 is just as important and these years should not be considered as separate milestones, but rather as a 2-year event,” says Nola Payne, Head of Faculty: Information and Communications Technology at The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest private higher education provider. The reason for this is because many institutions – whether public universities or private institutions – make provisional offers for admission based on Grade 11 results, she says. Therefore, learners should give Grade 11 their best effort, and not wait until next year to throw their hats into the application ring. “Applications for university open in the March of your matric year, but because this is too early for you to have any meaningful matric marks, institutions often use the exam marks from your Grade 11 year as an indicator of your ability to succeed in the course,” says Payne. “Therefore, if you did not put enough effort into your Grade 11 exams and have the mindset that you will delay the hard work and study until Matric, you may be unpleasantly surprised to find out that it is already too late.” Payne says that many learners have in the past been disappointed when they receive rejection letters in their Matric year, which would then require them to put in even more effort to improve their marks to a level where they might have a better shot at acceptance. Additionally, learners often underestimate the difficulty of Grade 11, under the mistaken impression that the real challenges will only follow a year later. “The work is just as – if not more – challenging than Grade 12, which is often regarded as a revision year. A lot of content is delivered in Grade 11 and can become overwhelming if you don’t resolve early on to keep up and master things as soon as possible,” she says. Payne notes that higher education institutions usually give one of three replies to applications submitted based on Grade 11 marks: Provisionally accepted Waiting list Rejected “Once rejected, it is very difficult to have your application re-evaluated, even if your Grade 12 marks have improved dramatically, and especially for those courses which are in high demand,” she says. However learners whose applications in their Grade 11 year are rejected do have some options left to them, notes Payne. These include: Applying for the same or similar course at a different institution which may still have space available; Applying for a different type of qualification at the same institution, for instance instead of applying for a degree course, applying for higher certificate or diploma in the same field, or a degree qualification in a similar field, and Working on improving school marks, particularly when placed on a waiting list. “The waiting list is often a ‘cream of the crop’ selection which is applied once results are known. So if there are 100 people on the waiting list and your marks are in the top 10, you have a better chance of being accepted,” says Payne. She warns that Grade 11 is usually not identified early enough as the year when delivery of content assessed in the Matric exams begins, and that Matric final exams often contain more Grade 11 content than that which is covered in Grade 12. “Learners will find that many of their Grade 12 months are spent practising and revising Grade 11 work. Additionally, exams throughout Grade 11 will mirror the types of assessments one can expect in the final assessment. “In addition to ensuring timeous placement in a field of study at one’s institution of choice, working hard in Grade 11 also means that learners are able to make the best of the opportunity to practise the study and exam writing skills that will allow them to give the performance of their lifetime when the Matric exams roll around.”

June 10, 2017

The Importance of Spelling and Handwriting in a Digital Age

It’s a fair question for parents to consider: why should my child learn to master the skills of spelling and handwriting in a world governed by spellcheckers and keyboards? Isn’t the mere notion of teaching these skills as archaic as attempting to master trigonometry without the use of a scientific calculator? Edublox reading, maths and learning clinic investigates the importance of handwriting and spelling in the learning process and shares some tips on how to identify problems that children may be experiencing. “Over the last 30 years, we have witnessed many technological changes in the educational landscape. Certain skills, like spelling correctly and being able to write legibly by hand, however, still remain universally relevant,” says Susan du Plessis, Director of Educational Programmes at Edublox. “Although various spell checkers and autocorrect functions may serve as proofing tools in order to communicate clearer messages, it should not deter children from learning the skills in the first place,” she adds. Du Plessis’s view is one that many educators agree on. In an article published in The Guardian, Edouard Gentaz, Professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Geneva, articulates how pens and keyboards bring into play vastly different cognitive processes. “Handwriting is a complex task which requires various skills – feeling the pen and paper, moving the writing implement, and directing movement by thought. Children take several years to master this precise motor exercise: you need to hold the scripting tool firmly while moving it in such a way as to leave a different mark for each letter*.” If children do not master these skills, their spelling is likely to suffer as a result. According to the authors of the book Introduction to Learning Disabilities**, handwriting errors can cause a word to look like another word, where slow, laboured writing of letters may cause a student to forget the word he or she is trying to write. Du Plessis continues: “The skill of spelling embraces many subskills – the ability to perceive the whole in its individual parts, auditory perception of letter sounds and auditory memory, and decoding skills. Together, spelling and handwriting are important foundational skills in the learning process.” According to Du Plessis, the problem with teaching spelling in a digital age is that good language and strong spelling skills have become optional in the way that we communicate on social media and through the various devices available to us. Search engines are also incredibly forgiving and simply suggests the correct spelling of search terms without even prompting the user to consider where they went wrong. “Traditionally, spelling does not allow any room for ‘creative’ answers or ‘style’; a word is either spelled correctly or it is misspelled. It’s important that parents encourage their children to learn to spell correctly and to use spelling applications and emoticons as secondary tools in the communication process,” she explains. If parents notice that their children are struggling to spell despite an effort to do so without the help of digital tools, there might be underlying shortcomings that a reputable learning clinic can help to resolve. If the problems are caused by poor handwriting, which includes illegible or exceptionally slow writing, a child might be struggling with dysgraphia (a Greek term that encapsulates symptoms like trouble with pencil grip, mixing up cursive and print, and inconsistent spacing between words). “Ironically, there are many online programs that are wonderful tools in a reputable learning clinics’ toolkit when it comes to reading and consequently spelling,” adds du Plessis. “Parents must look out for programs that aim to resolve learning and spelling problems and not simply enable the child to manage them better. Search for something that is visually engaging and fun to work with and one that tracks progress so that parents are aware of the child’s improvement.” “Proper spelling and neat handwriting have definitely not become outdated skills. Especially with the rise of the digital age, parents should pursue solutions if their children are struggling and to value these ‘manual’ skills; without it, we may see language take a back seat in years to come,” concludes du Plessis. *Chemin, A. (2014). Handwriting vs typing: is the pen still mightier than the keyboard? [Online] Available from: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/dec/16/cognitive-benefits-handwriting-decline-typing [Accessed: 2017-04-04]. ** Hallahan, D. P., Kauffman, J., & Lloyd, J., Introduction to Learning Disabilities (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall)

June 9, 2017

Your Child’s Language Development and How it Affects Later Success

I recently attended a fascinating lecture by Suzy Styles, who is a professor of Psychology and Linguistics at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. Her research is all around how language modulates brain development, shapes sensation and co-creates our conscious experiences. There were a number of things she discussed that are fundamental bits of wisdom for parents and educators to be aware of. Babies’ sensory systems are already in place before birth, and by the time the baby is born they have already been primed for the kind of auditory world they are going to emerge into including large amounts of information about their native language. Babies at birth can already recognize a story that has been told to them in the womb, can tell the difference between different languages and can recognize their mother’s voice. The sounds that they hear in the womb and in early life are literally changing the structure of their brains as they make new connections. Prem babies often have difficulty with language later on. This is due to the nature of the sounds that they are hearing outside of the womb when they should still be in it… The sound of the mother’s voice and heartbeat are replaced by aircons and ICU noises and unfiltered speech. Prem babies need to have the sounds of the womb simulated in order to have optimal auditory development. When we speak to babies we naturally hyperarticulate vowel sounds (we do this when we speak to foreigners and Siri too!). Babies LOVE this! It matches the way they are hearing at this developmental stage and is linked to faster hearing skills later on. Even the toys that we give to children can make a difference to their language acquisition. For example, babies who have teething toys that get in the way of their tongues are unable to recognize sounds like “t” that use the tongue tip. Between around 6-12 months babies lose the ability to distinguish sounds that they don’t hear regularly. For example, Japanese babies can no longer tell the difference between “ra” and “la”, and Spanish speakers can’t tell the difference between “ba” and “va”. This means that these early years are the optimal time for a baby to be exposed to another language. However, babies only learn a new language (or even words in their own language) in interaction with real live people. Television and radio do not count, no matter how good the program they might be watching. The only time that babies learn from a recorded sound is when they are exposed to it together with an adult who discusses it with them or interacts with them and the show – using the TV or radio as a prop for interaction. Up to six years old children still have some neural sensitivity to adapt to new languages. The benefits of learning a second language go beyond just social convenience. Studies have shown that bilingual people (and only those who have learned their second language early in life) recover better from strokes and don’t show early symptoms of Alzheimers. The more you talk to a baby and the more interactive and fun this is, the more their hearing is increased. Whenever emotion is involved in learning there is more consolidation of the learning. Their studies show that children of professional class parents are exposed to around 30 million more words than a working class child by the time they reach school. And this directly correlates with school performance later on. Hearing more words has a protective effect against later learning disabilities. It is not enough for the child to just be around chatty adults – the speech actually has to be directed at the child and needs to be fun. Even reading to a baby only makes a real difference if the reading is fun and interactive (NOT instructional). It needs to be like a game, for example making jokes that violate expectation. The book is more like a prop for some kind of linguistic interaction with the child. The more fun the experience, the more the language ‘sticks’. Children are affected by our attitudes to learning and how much fun is involved at all ages. Children who are judged on what they say in class will disengage and have lower grades. In terms of language development, the greatest predictors of whether children will do well in school are: Interaction. How much and how fun and how child-directed the experiences are. The number of words they are exposed to. Whether their caregivers use instructional speech (tie your shoe, put on your clothes, eat your food) or expanding type speech (ooh, I see you’re putting on your shoes. Those are the same shoes you wore yesterday. And the ones you nearly left at the beach last week. You love those shoes, don’t you? You would have missed them if we hadn’t found them…) The core lesson for me that comes out of all this research is that we need to be present with our babies and children – engaging them in fun, interactive ways and exposing them to as much of our linguistic worlds as we are able. KEY ACTION POINTS: Speak to your baby in utero. Sing to her, read to him, tell them what you’re thinking and feeling. If you have a multi-lingual family, have the other parent or grandparents chat to the child in a different language while they are still in the womb and beyond. If you want your baby to learn another language make sure they are exposed to it before 12 months old (or definitely before 6 years old) in fun, interactive ways with a caring adult. Prem babies can have improved language skills later on if you are able to simulate womb sounds in the hospital – filter the mother’s voice, expose the baby to a recording of her heartbeat, and cut out as many of the sounds of the hospital as possible. If this is done for

June 9, 2017

Private Doesn’t Always Mean Perfect: How to Choose the Right School for your Child

With registrations for the new school year now open, thousands of parents are considering sending their children to private schools. While many of them would not have considered this option before, the rapid expansion of the private offering is seeing an influx into this sector. However an education expert warns that just as they would do with public schools and higher education, parents must do their homework before simply signing up with any school by virtue of it being a private one. “Just as with public schools, quality and performance vary from school to school, and it is incorrect to assume that just because a school is private, it is automatically the best choice for your child,” says John Luis, Head of Academics at ADvTECH Schools, home of 91 private schools across South and Southern Africa, including Trinity House and Crawford Schools. He says the philosophy, approach and capacity of various private schools are vastly different, and that a school should be selected only after consideration of the specific needs of the child to see how they match to potential schools. Additionally, parents should carefully scrutinise promises against track record. “Parents must firstly make sure that the overall ethos of the school is a good match to the family and the child,” he says. “When visiting schools – a non-negotiable part of the process of selection – parents should observe the learners and their interactions among each other and with teachers. One should ideally get a good sense that the environment is safe and stimulating, and that the school has all the resources and facilities one expects from an environment in which academic excellence can become possible.” Luis adds that parents should also look at the long-term performance of schools and their students, to ensure that learners are equipped not just to excel at school, but also to flourish in higher education and beyond. Very importantly, parents should find out from the school how they are incorporating the very important 21st Century Skills as identified by the World Economic Forum into their teaching methodology and curricula, says Luis. “Schools should no longer be operating in the way they did ten or even five years ago, with the approach of imparting knowledge top-down, and learners being exam-focused parrots. That does not serve us in the real world out there anymore, and will do so even less in future. Globally schools are moving towards empowering learners with the kinds of skills they need for our new workplaces – skills such as being able to creatively problem-solve, research, communicate and self-manage.” STEPS FOR CHOOSING A PRE-SCHOOL Trudie Gilmore, Assistant General Manager at ADvTECH Junior Colleges, says there are few things that instil more anxiety and apprehension in parents than the task of finding the right school for their child’s first foray into education. “The choices can be overwhelming, the deadlines are impossibly early, and the pressure to get it right is huge,” she says. She advises parents to structure their search as follows: Start your search at least one school year prior to attending, and note that many schools take applications as early as just after a child’s birth.Schools should have viewings scheduled throughout the year, and you should attend these at all of the schools you have identified. If you missed the boat on timing, call around and arrange as many visits as you can. Most have waiting lists, and there are often last-minute openings. Be persistent by checking back in and being proactive. The Viewing. You can attend an Open Day or Expo to hear about the philosophy, admission process and much more, then submit the application and registration fee. You can view the school while classes are in session, and we recommend that you bring your child to spend time in the classroom. Be ready with a notebook on the viewing, and bring a list of all your questions to be answered. Know how often and how long you’d like your child to attend. Children usually attend preschool anytime from 3 months to 6 years of age. Most schools should offer half-day and full-day programmes. Check that you are happy with the programmes for both the morning and the afternoon if your child will be there for the full day. Gilmore says parents should check for the following to ensure that a pre-school programme is well-run: Assess the quality of children’s relationships with the staff. Pay close attention to the language used in the classroom and the friendliness of the staff. View a few different classrooms while school is in session to see how the teachers interact with the children. Home-to-school connections are important. Preschools that have high family involvement are often the schools with the strongest programmes. When families are involved, children do better, teachers feel supported and everyone works together for the children’s learning and development. High-quality preschools have structure: They follow a specific philosophy or model and have specific guidelines for addressing challenging behaviour. Discipline policies should emphasise positive approaches to teaching children new skills and proactive strategies for behaviour management such as classroom rules, routines and social-emotional lessons or curriculum. STEPS FOR CHOOSING PRIMARY AND HIGH SCHOOLS Morag Rees, Principal of Crawford College Sandton, says that to be academically excellent, a school should not only provide enriching, empowering and meaningful learning opportunities which challenge students’ thinking, assumptions and abilities, but should also ensure that these learning opportunities provide a foundation for further study and successful future lives. She advises parents to consider the following when looking at schools: The culture of the school, which includes things such as diversity, community awareness, priorities (e.g. academics, leadership development, cultural activities and/or sports), student interaction, and commitment to learning. Travelling distance is also a consideration – especially if the child and parents want to be fully involved. Teaching philosophy and school ethos should align with the learner and parents’ expectations. The school’s track record over the long term, which means not just looking at last year’s matric results. The options available to learners

June 9, 2017

Matrics: Public University or Private Institution?

With the rapid growth of private higher education in South Africa, prospective students now have a wealth of options when choosing not only what to study, but also where. But these students must do their homework before they settle on a course or university, to ensure that they select the best path which is most likely to lead to success for them as individuals, an expert says. Dr Felicity Coughlan, Director of The Independent Institute of Education, says the general public is increasingly becoming more aware of the benefits of pursuing a degree or other qualification through a private higher education institution, despite the fact these institutions are legally not allowed to call themselves private universities. “People are beginning to understand that public universities and private institutions are subject to the same oversight and regulation, which means that you will be getting the same quality education regardless of whether you opt for a state-funded university or a private institution. “Having said that, it is of course very important to still check on individual institutions and choose yours wisely, because just like the quality varies between universities, with some ranked top in Africa and even the world, while others are beset with serious challenges, in the same way quality varies between the offering at different private institutions,” she says. Coughlan points out that with the realisation that prospective students can pursue the same qualifications and degrees at private institutions, registered and accredited in the same way as those at public universities, there has been a consistent and substantial increase in students who opt for private higher education over the past five years. “Although some have ascribed this to the challenges in the public sector, students are specifically choosing private study for a number of pull reasons, rather than push factors from the public sector.” Coughlan says that while some prospective students have very specific reasons for electing to study at a university, based on their unique needs, requirements or background, others are increasingly opting for private study due to one (or a combination of) the following factors: Not needing to relocate to a new city in order to pursue their dreams is a big drawcard for some, while also being easier on the pocket. With smaller campuses and classes, access to support and staff is vastly improved, as is interaction with fellow students. Because a large percentage of lecturers are not only academics but actively working in their industries, students get up close and personal with the real world of work and opportunities while still studying. As private higher education institutions receive no state subsidies, they are reliant on student fees, which means that students are treated as valued customers, and generally receive good service. Additionally, if they do not offer value for money and a credible, quality educational offering, they face having to close their doors. Many private institutions offer niche qualifications that are not available elsewhere, and equip students for emerging careers such as game development. “Success rates are generally much better in smaller environments, because it is easier to access help and support timeously when needed,” says Coughlan, “which means that students usually complete their degrees within the prescribed period, and enter the workplace sooner than others who may have to repeat one or more years.” She adds that because employability is a key success factor for private higher education institutions, most qualifications offered are closely related to the requirements of the career in the real world of work, and an increasing number of career focused postgraduate qualifications are becoming available. The tools of the higher learning trade also look different in the private sector. “Assessments can be more interesting, because the marking load on lecturers is lower so there is less reliance on things like multiple choice questions. Additionally, technology use is often flexible and tailored to student needs, because it is possible to do that in flexible environments.” In the end, prospective students must ensure they investigate all their options – in the public sector, in the private sector and by course offering. “Things have moved on significantly from the days when the only credible qualification was a 3-year degree from a public university,” says Coughlan. “Parents, schools and teachers should assist learners in their process of identifying everything offered on the higher educational buffet before making one of the most important decisions they will ever make.”

May 12, 2017

When children read well, yet lack comprehension

A common reading disorder goes undiagnosed until it becomes problematic, according to the results of a five-year study published online in the journal Brain Connectivity. Dyslexia, a reading disorder in which a child confuses letters and struggles with sounding out words, has been the focus of much research into reading. That is not the case, however, with the lesser known disorder Specific Reading Comprehension Deficits or S-RCD, in which a child reads successfully but does not sufficiently comprehend the meaning of the words According to lead investigator Laurie Cutting at Vanderbilt’s Peabody College of Education and Human development, a person with S-RCD will explain it like this: “I can read Spanish, because I know what sounds the letters make and how the words are pronounced, but I couldn’t tell you what the words actually mean.” “When a child is a good reader, it’s assumed their comprehension is on track. But three to ten percent of those children don’t understand most of what they’re reading. By the time the problem is recognised, often closer to third or fourth grade, the disorder is disrupting their learning process,” Cutting said. Researchers have been able to pinpoint brain activity and understand its role in dyslexia, but no functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI studies, until now, have examined the neurobiological profile of those who exhibit poor reading comprehension despite intact word-level abilities. Neuro-imaging of children showed that, while reading, the brain function of those with S-RCD is quite different and distinct from those with dyslexia. Those with dyslexia exhibited abnormalities in a specific region in the occipital-temporal cortex, a part of the brain that is associated with successfully recognising words on a page. Those with S-RCD, on the other hand, did not show abnormalities in this region, instead showing specific abnormalities in regions typically associated with memory. “That there will be defects in the brain areas concerned with memory makes sense,” says Susan du Plessis, director of educational programs at Edublox Reading and Learning Clinic. “Several studies have confirmed that reading comprehension relies heavily upon both working memory and long-term memory. “Short-term memory holds information in the mind for only a few seconds while it is being processed. Long-term memory is where such processed information is permanently stored. Working memory is an intermediary and active memory system in the information processing area of the brain. It is an important memory system and one that most of us use every day,” explains Susan. Sentence comprehension depends heavily upon adequate working memory. For example, working memory is required to comprehend sentences that are complex in structure such as, “The clown that is hugging the boy is kissing the girl.” It helps us interpret sentences that are lengthy, “Do every other problem on page fifteen and all of the problems on page sixteen before checking your answers in the back of the book.” We use working memory when preservation of word order (syntax) is important to correctly understand a sentence like; “It was the boy’s ball and not the girl’s that was dirty.” “The good news is that weaknesses in cognitive skills can be attacked head-on,” says Susan. “The key is to identify the specific weaknesses, such as a poor working memory, and to strengthen these mental skills through training and practice.” If you suspect that your child has a cognitive deficiency, Susan suggests that you get appropriate help as soon as possible. “The gap between children with and those without cognitive deficits gets wider and wider and may become more difficult, and later impossible to close,” she says.

April 28, 2017

Is your child coping in class?

We’re a couple of weeks into the new school year, this is a good time to assess how your child is coping at school. A child who is struggling to grasp new concepts or cope with the workload could be challenged in one or more developmental areas. There are three areas of human develop that can influence a child’s ability to learn, namely physical, emotional and cognitive development. While these three areas are distinctly different they are connected in many ways. Due to this interconnectedness, your child might present with a problem in one area, but its cause actually lies in another. It is important to understand these development areas in order to assess where your child is excelling and where they may need help. Your child’s physical health can influence how they perform at school. Children are naturally exuberant; a child that is exhibiting signs of listlessness or lethargy could be experiencing health problems. A healthy diet, moderate exercise and good sleeping patterns are tantamount to the health of your child. General practitioner, Dr Linda Baigent, says that the human body needs a good balance of carbohydrates, protein and fats as well as vitamins and minerals to develop and function properly. “Many vitamin deficiencies result in poor functioning of our nervous system and an inability to concentrate,” Baigent adds. “Children require more sleep than adults and a good night’s sleep is extremely important; nine to ten hours is vital for primary school learners. If your child is going to bed early but still seems tired, they may be a restless sleeper and may be suffering from allergies, post nasal drip, an iron deficiency or ear problems” advises Dr Baigent. “This warrants a trip to the family doctor.” Your child’s emotional development relates to their feelings, how they handle situations and processes their emotional reaction to them. Emotional intelligence or EQ is a person’s ability to measure, identify and control their emotions. When your child reaches a maturity level where they are able to control their emotions, they are likely to be able to handle times of stress or disappointment better, show empathy to peers in difficult times and feel more confident about themselves and their abilities. Educational psychologist Annemi Scheepers says, “Problems at home can be challenging for your child to handle and may filter across to affecting their performance at school. Sibling rivalry, fighting between parents, divorce, the death of a close relative or an emotionally unavailable parent (though physical or mental illness) are just some of the problems which may occur in the home environment and affect your child in the classroom.” Within the school environment, an emotional problem may be a school yard bully, lack of social skills (no friends) or teacher/child conflict. Scheepers also notes that a physical illness which has not yet been diagnosed could also affect a child emotionally. Cognitive development refers to your child’s ability to learn, reason and solve problems. Cognitive skills like concentration, perception, memory and logical thinking are mental skills which are used to acquire knowledge. “These can be described as a child’s tools for learning,” explains Susan du Plessis, Director of Educational Programs at Edublox. “When a child struggles to acquire knowledge in certain areas, it may indicate a cognitive skill deficit.” If you know what to look for, cognitive problems are easy to spot. Does your child reverse letters like b and d or confuse numbers like 65 and 56? Do they have trouble with sequencing and putting letters in the incorrect order, for example write ‘act’ instead of ‘cat’? Speak to your child’s teacher to find out if your child struggles to copy correctly from the board or if they battle with story sums. If you suspect a cognitive deficit, du Plessis suggests that you get appropriate help for your child as soon as possible. “The gap between children with and without cognitive deficits gets wider and wider and may become more difficult or even impossible to close,” du Plessis says. Du Plessis offers the following advice to parents when selecting a clinic to help their child’s cognitive development: Have your child assessed, but budget wisely. The assessment is the first step; your budget should go towards helping your child. Go to your first appointment with a critical mind and ask questions such as, “What method will be used to help my child? What is the theory behind the method? Can you show proof of success? Will my child be safe? Will my child enjoy it?” If they hate going, they won’t learn anything. Get your full money’s worth. While tutoring your child, the teacher or therapist should not answer calls or leave the room to check on dinner. Assess the help. You should see visible results and ultimately an improvement in schoolwork. If this isn’t evident, the method may not be working for your child.

April 26, 2017

Are You Allowing Your Child’s Creativity To Flow?

Our creativity is directly linked to the way that we think and is a direct expression of who we are. In terms of being creative from an art perspective, some of us are more creative than others. However, we do need to understand that every one of us is creative in one or other form, from being able to problem-solve, through to our ability to connect with people, all the way through to expressing ourselves on canvas or building and making things with our hands. There are a number of ways in which you can encourage and strengthen your child’s creativity : Encourage independence. Independent thinking and freedom of expression will carry through into your child’s drawings and will interpret into everything that they do. Constantly being entertained by television without being encouraged to find things to do on their own only stifles their creativity. Teach them how to set aside time for themselves to do whatever they want to (obviously within the confines of your house-rules) – this could be playing outside just running around, riding bicycles, playing dress-up, putting on a play for their parents or drawing and colouring in pictures. Allow your child to make their own decisions : being allowed to think for themselves and come up with a solution that suits their immediate needs, builds your child’s confidence and encourages them to think out of the box, instead of merely following instructions. Provide your children with a creativity corner if at all possible, equipped with everything that they may need to get their creative juices flowing – colouring in pens, paints, paint brushes, sponges, coloured paper, scissors, glue, ribbons, string and any materials that allow them to experience various textures such as fabric, tree bark, pine cones, acorns, dried flowers and leaves. There is no end to what they can use to express their creativity in a natural way. Work with them to come up with ideas on what they can make with these materials and encourage any ideas that they come up with. A small reward system, such as a gold star or place of pride for displaying the best drawing of the week, will also encourage them to produce their finest work, even if drawing and creating is something they don’t really want to do. Of course, playing with your child even if for just an hour or two a day will certainly develop their ability to come up with their own creative ideas and build up their self-confidence as you praise and encourage them to use their ideas. Telling stories is another way of expressing and developing their creativity. Setting aside time before bed at night where everyone gets a turn to tell a story or expand on a segment of a theme that is set aside for that night, not only encourages family time, but extends on your child’s ability to express their ideas in a fun and safe environment. Encouraging creativity from an early age cannot be emphasised strongly enough. Through independent thinking and enhanced problem-solving, we can only strengthen every aspect of our children’s development as we love and nurture them into free-thinking, self confident adults.

April 25, 2017

Helping Your Teen Decide on Their Future

Any parent that has been through a matric exam with their child will be able to tell you that it’s a stressful time. Not only do parent and teen have to cope with an enormous workload, but the teen is now also expected to be able to answer the “what are you studying next year?” question posed by friends, family, teachers and everyone else they know. While some teenagers have been preparing for this day, and know exactly where their life will take them next, many teens have no idea as to what they are supposed to do once they close their school text books for the last time. For these teens, a seemingly innocent question is the source of sleepless nights. As a parent, you don’t want to see your child suffer – you want to help them; guide them through life’s many obstacles. And while you only mean well, you could very easily stress out your already stressed-out teen even further if the situation isn’t approached in the correct manner. To help alleviate some of your teen’s worries, and to help them make the best choices for their future, be sure to heed the following advice: Don’t put any pressure on them The worst thing you can do right now is to put pressure on your teen to make life-changing choices. The first and foremost reason is that they could resent you for it. They could also decide to not make a decision, simply to spite you. An even worse alternative is that they choose a course in haste, only to regret their decision later. And unless they’re paying their own way, keep in mind that you’ll be the one who would’ve flushed thousands of Rands down the drain should they decide to drop out. Consider career guidance Guidance from an outside party won’t only be objective, it might also bring to light career options that neither you nor your teen has ever considered. There are a few options available to you – you could either go to any of South Africa’s universities that offer aptitude tests, or do an aptitude test online. The alternative would be to sit with your teen to help them decide on their passion; that one thing they excel in and love to do. This might not lead to a career choice, but it will help steer them in the right direction at the very least. Educate your teen Have you considered that your teen is simply overwhelmed by the wealth of information at their disposal? Perhaps they are familiar with what a university, business college, university of technology or specialist school is, but they don’t know which one is right for them. Sit them down, find out what they know, then fill in the gaps. Map it out for them, so that the information is presented in bite sizes and easily digestible. Tell them about their options Studying isn’t the only option open to school leavers. And even if further studies is your preferred choice, you have to let your teen know there are other options. Being aware of them might be enough to free up your teen’s mind to help him or her decide on a career path. So what are these options? Volunteering, travelling, interning and working while travelling. Some of these can be done from home; others would require flying the nest. Interning would be most helpful when trying to decide on a career, because it’s basically ‘trying out’ a career. Whatever you do, remember that this is not your future – it is your teen’s future. It’s their dreams and aspirations. They are the only person who would need to deal with their decision in five or 10 years’ time. So keep it about them; don’t make it about you. This advice was brought to you by Boston City Campus & Business College.

April 21, 2017

Confessions of an Educational Advocate

When I graduated with my MA my favorite job was working in a program as an educational advocate for children who were wards of the state of Missouri. Once trained by the state I oversaw the education of 40 children for a period of three years. Half of the children were early childhood age and were enrolled in our on-site program, a local Head Start and an early intervention program run by the local school district. The other 20 were school age and attended the local public school, a magnet school, or were transferred out to the district they came from to maintain some level of consistency. As the children’s advocate I spent many days in the schools. In addition it is a favorite saying of mine is that you have not been to a Parent-Teacher Conference until you have been to 15 in a row. I want to share with you what I did that I feel made me successful as an advocate. First I contacted school personnel before school started. This included each child’s teacher for the year and all of the other professional staff including: Principal, School Secretary, the Ancillary teachers PE, Art, Music and Title I, Nurse, School Social Worker, the Psychologist, Librarian, School Chef, and the head Janitor. I gave each of them a business card and told them the best way to reach me was via telephone; on the back of each card were the names of the children. Secondly, I kept in touch with the teacher regularly. For me as an advocate that was weekly. However for the average parent monthly should suffice. I also let teachers know if something was happening that could cause mental, emotional, or physical distress to the child in their class. These things could include that the child was worried about something, the house pet was sick at the Vet, or they had fell down the stairs. This gives teachers a heads up that something is wrong and helps them to meet needs they otherwise may not have anticipated. Thirdly. I helped supervise homework time. As an educator I realize that a child’s time in school is not so much about learning as it is about instruction. Learning actually takes place as children take the instruction and put it into practice on their own which is the purpose of homework. I set up with my fellow co-workers a set homework time that stayed consistent. They and I would move around the room and help children to process what the teacher had instructed them on in class. We did this by asking open ended questions such as:” What are the steps the teacher talked about in class today?”. This helped children to tie what they did in school back to what they were doing then. Lastly, I attended Parent-Teacher Conferences. I approached these conferences as a chance for the teacher and I to get on the same page when it came to the children’s expectations. I knew what homework had be hardest for them so I sought information on how to help them to process better. I came with a list of five questions I wanted answered about that particular child’s classroom performance, peer interactions, and overall school well-being. Then I took notes regarding our discussion and used these notes to inform my co-workers of the school progress of each child. We then worked as a team to help each child with their areas of challenge and weakness. This helped both homework and school progress improve. Educational advocacy is all about being supportive of both your child and the teacher. Teachers are your team members. It is their job to instruct the children. As parents and caregivers it is our job to ensure children are learning what the teachers are laying out for them. It is also our job to ensure the educators are doing a good job making sure their instruction is meeting the needs of the children. Parents need to work hard not to take sides between children and teachers but, instead find a way to mediate. I loved my time as an educational advocate and I hope these steps help you to feel confident as you advocate for your children. Please let me know what you think of this article and the steps that are outlined here.

March 15, 2017

How to make “back-to-school” activities a breeze.

It’s never too late to start planning for a productive school year ahead. With a little creativity and a range of helpful back-to-school tools at your disposal, you can take the stress out of family scheduling and ensure weekday routines stay on track throughout the school year. Epson, the global leader in printing technology, provides some useful tips to get the ball rolling in the right direction. Put a name on it – Replacing lost school clothes, books and other items can be an expensive process. Help your kids keep their belongings safe throughout the school year and beyond by using iron-on name tags to label clothes, and adhesive labels for stationery and books. The Epson LW-400 label maker allows you to print and save custom labels to your choice of different fonts, colours and sizes . Best of all, Epson’s label tapes are water-resistant and highly durable. Create a ‘drop station’ – Avoid the hassle of last minute homework surprises and parent notices crumpled at the bottom of school bags by creating a family ‘drop station’ – a designated area in the home where the kids can hang up their school bags and place any important letters or homework to be done in wall mounted folders, along with a white board for jotting down to-do lists and goals for the week. Get the kids to tick off completed tasks on the white board, which helps get them into a routine of getting things done on time while instilling a sense of responsibility. You can find ready-made calendars and goal planners here, or simply design your own using basic software already available on your PC. Make vision boards – Along with goal charts, vision boards will help kids to visualise what they would like to achieve over the next three, six and 11 months – whether at school, at home or in their social lives. Gather everyone around a large table or on the floor, get the kids to print and cut out pictures and words from the Internet, or from magazines, that represent specific things they want to happen over the next year. Provide each child with a large empty canvas or board to stick their pictures on to, and hang these up where they will be seen and reflected on every day. Creating a space for the kids to display what they really want in life will help make their goals a reality. Give them something to look forward to at lunchtime – Getting kids to eat healthily is no easy task, especially with junk food options readily available at school tuck shops and in vending machines. You can easily turn boring fruits and veggies into fun characters, simply by getting a little crafty in the kitchen. You can also save precious minutes on school mornings by preparing everything you need the night before. Encourage them to think positively through the day by including printed notes with inspirational quotes and sayings for them to read during their lunch breaks. Design a custom on-the-go homework kit – Make sure homework is done no matter where the kids go after school – whether it’s after care or even a friend’s house – by giving them a homework kit stocked with everything they might need to get their work done – pens and colouring pencils, rulers, scissors, erasers, extra paper, calculators, and even times table charts. You can find beautiful printable charts online, as well as free printable motivational pages to use as a decorative feature for the inside of the kits. Epson’s Ink Tank System printers, like the Epson L382, offer low-cost printing with high-quality results, allowing you to print over 13,000 pages in black and 6,500 pages in colour, before needing to refill the ink. Get back into the swing of things with these nifty #BacktoSchool tips from Epson. With a little help from your Epson label maker and home printer, there’s no limit to what’s possible in the year ahead. Visit www.epson.co.za for more information about Epson’s innovative range of printing, scanning and labelling products. The Epson L382 printer is available in selected retail and e-tail outlets at a recommended retail price of R3 179.82 excluding VAT. The Epson LW-400 label maker is available in selected retail outlets and e-tail outlets at a recommended retail price of R1 130.70 excluding VAT. For more information about this product and other Epson printers visit www.epson.co.za

February 7, 2017

Starting Tertiary Education…What’s to Know?

The prospect of finishing high school and starting tertiary education is a daunting one for many students. They’re forced to leave the friends, teachers and surroundings they have spent years with for a whole new environment. Although this can be a little overwhelming, it can also be an exciting and rewarding time. If your child is starting tertiary education, give them a chance to read over this and see if anything strikes a chord. You will need to be more independent With the move into post-compulsory education comes more freedom: uniforms are a thing of the past, you can come and go when you please and can choose subjects that interest you. But keep in mind that greater freedom brings about greater responsibility, which means that you are responsible for staying on top of assessments and turning up to classes — and no one will chase you up if you miss a class or forget to hand in an assignment. You might also need to manage competing priorities such as your part-time job and new social circle. Bear in mind that many institutions also keep attendance registers. If you’re not paying for it yourself, it can be very easy to justify “taking a day off”, especially if there is no detention to fear. Heed the warning though, someone will be taking note and you owe it to yourselves and those counting on you, to succeed! Learn to budget Depending on your circumstances, you may be working off a very tight budget. Get into the habit of budgeting for travel, food and the “occasional” social event, as it can be very easy to spend your money when you’re studying. You may become familiar with the term “student food”, which is what people often resort to when on a budget. This usually incorporates some combination of beans on toast, instant noodles, terrible coffee and lots of tap water! You will have to adjust to a new learning and teaching style There are a number of different class structures at tertiary level, including lectures, tutorials, laboratories, practical workshops and field work. Lectures consist of the lecturer speaking to a room full of students. Tutorials are much smaller and feature a more interactive and personal style of learning. Workshops, laboratories and field work allow students time to obtain certain practical skills and knowledge. Instead of studying the same subjects for a full year, subjects change each study period. You will also find that learning is more self-directed, which means that you will be expected to do a significant amount of independent study and research in addition to attending classes. Get out ahead of it. Unfortunately this is a lesson often learned too late. When you have to read 2 Jane Austen novels in one night, you’ll realise how important it is to systematically get through your reading material, ahead of time. At this level, entire forests are felled to provide reading material for each student, so be prepared and don’t get snowed under by a pile of paper. Get used to being around different people. In school, your classmates were all roughly the same age and mostly from the same area. At tertiary level, students of all different ages and backgrounds will form your peer group. Some may come straight from high school while others will be mature age students returning to study. There are ways of behaving and talking that once applied to high school and may not translate too well into tertiary level. Learn to ask questions of each other and respect (not necessarily agree with) the opinions of others. Yours is not the only answer that may be relevant. Speak up! This level of education can cost a lot of money, especially if your college is an independent organisation. If you are unhappy with your experience, speak up, but go through the right channels. At this point in your life, you’re bridging the gap between being a learner and being a participant in society. This is a great chance to learn how to work within an organisation and to ensure that your right to a quality education is respected! Be an adult as often as you can In South Africa, we are considered an adult by the time we are 18 years of age. Most of us are well aware of this long before that age, but it is a difficult thing to navigate still being dependant on your family for food, shelter and education, while asserting your independence as a young adult. Prepare to encounter this conundrum at some point in your tertiary education and handle it maturely. Understand that they will still have expectations of you, if they are still supporting you. Measure your autonomy and independent mind-set with responsibility and respect and hopefully it will help reduce the impact of any conflict that may arise.

February 2, 2017

Children Suffering From Migraines In Sport

“A new fact on migraines and participating in sport” Claims that participating in sporting activities is detrimental for migraine patients are untrue – a new study found that participating in sporting activities actually has health benefits for migraine patients. The study, recently published in the Sports Neurology Journal ascertains that under Neurological supervision sporting activities can be safely integrated into the lives of migraine patients. This is the first time empirical research has been done to review known risks involved with participating in sporting activities by migraine patients. “It was a study that sampled patients with; epilepsy, migraines, and multiple sclerosis”, says Dr. Elliot Shevel, South Africa’S migraine research pioneer and the medical director of The Headache Clinic. Shevel confirmed that as long as there is proper supervision in place for migraine patients, playing sport is not harmful. Dr. Elliot Shevel says that migraine patients are often discouraged from participating in sports based on theoretical detrimental effects, when in actual fact they can and should be encouraged to participate in sports provided that the exercise does not trigger the pain. Where exposure to prolonged sun triggers the pain indoor sports should be pursued. With schools re-opening and sporting activities being part of the academic experience, children that suffer with migraine should take the time with parents and teachers to work out which sporting activities suit them best. To find out more about how migraines affect your child, call 0861 678 911 or visit www.theheadacheclinic.net

January 20, 2017

Ambidextrous kids – disorder or gift?

I watched a film once where the main character was completely ambidextrous – he could write a poem with one hand while drawing a picture with the other. How I would have loved to have a skill like that. So why is it that teachers push kids to choose a dominant hand? The reason teachers and OTs will encourage a child into one-handed dominance is predominantly for practical reasons in the classroom – the sooner they choose a hand, the sooner they perfect their control with that hand, and the sooner they will learn to write quickly and efficiently. I strongly disagree with this. The majority of children will naturally slip into right or left dominance at around 7 or 8 years of age and shouldn’t be forced into writing exercises before the body is naturally ready. Unfortunately this doesn’t fit in with the school curriculum, which requires kids to be practicing pre-writing skills from as early as 3 or 4. Very very few children are truly ambidextrous (and usually this only happens when one hand is injured for a period of time or some other environmental factor), but there are a fair amount who are mixed-handed (i.e. They will tend to use one hand for certain tasks and another hand for different tasks e.g. Writing with the right hand and cutting with the left hand). The schools will try to discourage this as sometimes it slows kids down as they’re still trying to decide which hand to use for what and not getting on with the task at hand. There are some things that will be helped by choosing a dominant hand – for example crossing the midline or bilateral integration, but these can easily be included in a child’s life with some simple exercises to ensure that they don’t miss out on any brain integration that may come from choosing one hand as dominant and using the other as a helper. For example, pushing a car round a track, holding the car with one hand and the track with the other; reaching over the body to grab something on the opposite side of the body; holding paper with one hand and cutting it with the other; or my personal favourite, playing “Twister”. In OT they will essentially do these kinds of exercises with a child, but it will cost you. If you hop onto Google you can find plenty of exercises like these and do them yourself. You can have a lot of fun and your child never needs to wonder about why he/she is in “therapy”. Most researchers on the subject agree that it is useful for everyone to sometimes try using their less-preferred hand for tasks normally done with the dominant hand as it improves brain function and dexterity! Being mixed-handed can also have great advantages in sports like baseball and snooker where you can switch hands to get a better shot. The only real concern with a child who isn’t naturally finding a dominant hand is a learning disorder known as dysgraphia, which involves problems with motor skills. This disorder would not only affect their ability to choose a hand to write with, but would also manifest with other noticeable problems such as struggling with the concepts of right and left, difficulty catching a ball or skipping or even basic motor movements like walking and jumping. It is unlikely that your child would have problems of this nature without you noticing them and they definitely would be picked up in an assessment with an OT if you choose to have one. The other thing to consider is that your child may be gifted. Around 48% of gifted children are ambidextrous at some stage of their development. Take a look at some of the other criteria for gifted kids and if you think your child is, then it is definitely worth getting an IQ test done as gifted children do need additional stimulation in order for them to develop optimally. · Unusual alertness, even in infancy · Excellent memory · Learn to speak early and have an unusually large vocabulary and complex sentence structure for their age · Understand word nuances, metaphors and abstract ideas · Enjoy solving problems, especially with numbers and puzzles · Often self-taught reading and writing skills as preschooler · Highly sensitive · Thinking is abstract, complex, logical, and insightful · Idealism and sense of justice at early age · Longer attention span and intense concentration if something interest them · Preoccupied with own thoughts—daydreamer · Learn basic skills quickly and with little practice (1-3 repetitions) · Asks probing questions · Wide range of interests (or extreme focus in one area) · Highly developed curiosity · Interest in experimenting and doing things differently · Puts idea or things together that are not typical · Keen and/or unusual sense of humor · Desire to organize people/things through games or complex schemas · Vivid imaginations (and imaginary playmates when in preschool) If your child is still in preschool, he/she may just not be ready to choose a dominant hand and making a child ‘wrong’ for this seems unfair and unnecessary. Ultimately you will have to make a decision based on your own child whether your child would benefit from having an assessment or if it is worth waiting to see what naturally develops. Please remember to trust yourself. You know your child better than any teacher or therapist and if you feel that their opinion is incorrect, trust that. You can always get a second opinion or even just hold off on getting an opinion at all. Whether your child’s ambidexterity is a gift or a disorder is often determined by how it is handled, and that is up to you as the parent.

December 15, 2016

Matric Stress – When is enough, enough?

As hundreds of thousands of young South Africans are busy writing their Matric exams this month, they have entered into what is, for the majority, the most stressful, charged and demanding experience of their schooling experiences. A certain measure of pressure to perform can certainly be highly motivating. But the line is thin, and it is all too easy for the pressures of writing these final schooling exams to mount unbearably, putting matriculants at risk of being overwhelmed just at the time when they most need to feel confident, alert and focused. People react to stress differently, and students experience different kinds of stresses. Some have high expectations of themselves and may become anxious and fearful that they won’t achieve their own goals. Others may feel extreme pressure from others to perform, such as from parents or teachers they really want to please. What is important for both parents and students to understand is that stress is going to be a factor over the next few months, and it needs to be consciously managed so that it does not derail the efforts of our current Grade 12’s. We asked Claudia Raats, Research Psychologist and Academic Development Manager from SACAP (the South African College of Applied Psychology) to provide some essential tips on monitoring and managing stress: 1. Know Yourself “The question of when is Matric stress, too much stress, needs to be answered individually. It helps for both parents and students to reflect on this. Naming the fears and anxieties, and identifying the sources of the pressures the student feels brings important awareness to particular danger areas for the individual. When the triggers are known, they are easier to anticipate, monitor and manage. It’s also helpful identify the individual’s habitual reactions and behaviours when they are under stress. What works to help relieve stress for you? What makes stressful situations worse for you? If this is clear to you then it is easier to identify when you need to take a different action such as going for a run or whether you need to temporarily avoid engagement with a particular person. Some people react to stress by trying to distract themselves by getting involved in an absorbing activity such as watching TV or playing digital games. While it may result in temporary relief from the stress in the short term, it can potentially create more stress if it causes the student to get behind on their study plan. If this is the case, a different way to release stress needs to be found.” 2. Look After Yourself “A balanced mental and emotional state provides us with resilience in the face of stress, enabling us to manage our reactions better and recover quicker when the stakes have got too high. Our mental and emotional well-being is inextricably linked to the state of our physical health. It is vital for students to get enough restful sleep every night, to be physically active regularly, to eat healthily and to have some time set aside in their busy study schedule for relaxing and socialising with supportive, encouraging people. Parents can play a vital role in helping their child to achieve this balance over the next months. They can ensure that healthy foods and drinks are available in the house. They can encourage their child to get out and take a walk with them when they’ve had long hours at their desk. They can help to promote healthy sleeping habits, and also provide a loving, compassionate connection full of encouragement.” 3. Avoid Stressing Yourself Out by Listening to Your Inner Critic We all have an inner critic which is the negative internal voice that often comes out when you are stressed and anxious. It is very important to be highly aware of negative self-talk that only inflames your fears, anxieties and stresses. It is also helpful to have strategies to quickly and effectively silence this inner critic so that you can restore a state of balance. When you find yourself aware of running thoughts like ‘You will never pass Matric’ or ‘There’s no way you’re going to get an A’ or ‘You’re just not bright enough’ or ‘You won’t amount to anything’, you will have identified the voice of your inner critic. It often echoes the voice of a critical parent, or an intolerant teacher or a bully who has impacted on you. The best way to deal with this downer-character is to become aware of it, gain insights into where it came from and then challenge it with evidence from your real life that it is wrong. For example, if you are busy studying Maths and your inner critic pipes up with: ‘You can’t do Maths, you’re going to fail this’ you can challenge this negative thought it with the reality that since you are busy studying Maths at Matric level, you have passed a lots of Maths tests and exams, and therefore you can do it. Don’t hesitate to talk back to your inner critic and show it the proof of your success. You can also dilute the impact of your inner critic when you engage in positive self-talk. Regularly affirming that you are smart and that you can do it builds confidence, increases your energy and puts you on the road to success – after all, everything starts with an idea. Let your Matric exam experience start with the idea that you can ace it. Find success quotes and ‘can-do’ statements that inspire you and make you feel motivated, and put them up in places where you see them often during a day. Another effective tactic to take power away from your inner critic is to externalise it. It might seem silly in the written word but in practice this works well. If you are battling an inner critic, disempower it by giving it a silly name and calling it out. ‘Hmmm, Negative Nancy is at it again’ or ‘Oh look, Pessimistic Pete has come out to play’. Of course, you

November 11, 2016

Reading and writing: Confidence is the key

Many parents find themselves in a daily battle with their little ones over reading and writing homework. It seems like no matter how much you try to correct your kids they just don’t seem to be improving and they don’t appear to want to learn. Homework often ends up in a screaming match or at least a battle of wills. Let me tell you about a research study that I read recently. It was about kids with really bad handwriting. They took a group of kids with terrible writing and divided them into two groups – one group got the usual teacher feedback of red lines through their work, admonitions, and pleas to try harder. With the other group, the teachers were told to ONLY focus on what the kids did right – so to underline their good words and praise them for these, to point out what they had done well – even if all they could find was one letter that was formed nicely the teacher would tell the child – look at that “a” over there, now that is a beautiful “a”. They were not to comment AT ALL on their poor performance. Within two weeks the group with positive feedback had improved by 100% and the other group had degenerated. So the moral of the story is this… Kids cannot learn under stressful situations (such as a shouting or even disapproving parent). When we are stressed, the blood vessels to our prefrontal cortex (the part of our brain used for thinking, problem solving and learning) constrict and all the blood is redirected to our hindbrains (which are purely for fight and flight reflexes). So a child who is shouted at literally CANNOT learn. It is impossible. They don’t even have enough blood in the part of their brain necessary for learning. In order for your kids to improve in reading and writing what they needs most is not extra practice or more instruction or help, but a better learning environment. 90% of reading ability is not skill but confidence. The kids who read and write well are the ones who believe that they can. As a parent, you need to focus on the relationship with your child – on who your child is as a person, not on what he/she can do. We will all have areas of strength and weakness, but what everyone wants most is to be heard and understood. So next time you sit down with your little one to work on homework, think about what he/she might be going through. Homework may have become something that their brain automatically associates with stress and so they’re stressed before you even get going which makes them more likely to get it wrong. Discuss this with your children. Tell them that you realise they must be stressed about it and it isn’t easy to learn to read and write, particularly at a young age. Apologise for shouting in the past and let them know that you’re human and also lose your temper and get frustrated, but that you’re going to try to do better, just like them. Then take some time for both of you to do some stress-relieving exercises –do some breathing or visualisation, go for a short walk, have a cup of chamomile tea, and make sure you’re both feeling relaxed to start. Your child WILL learn to read and write, but at what cost. Let them learn a little more slowly if necessary, in their own time, and focus on caring about your child and what he/she is going through. Studies show that whether a child learns to read at age 4 or age 9, their reading and comprehension levels by age 11 are exactly the same. There really is no rush, other than the unnecessary pressure that the school may be putting on them. A child who learns slowly, but with love, care and confidence will go on to become an adult who loves reading. One who learns under stress will always associate reading with pain and this is much more likely to squash their overall educational achievements in the long run. And be gentle and kind to yourself too – new parenting doesn’t happen overnight and you will find times when you have other things on your mind and your stress levels are higher and you crack. This is normal. Stop. Take a few deep breaths. And apologise. Children learn a lot from our mistakes and how we handle them!

November 3, 2016

Setting the stage for a successful Matric

At the end of this month, the country’s latest cohort of aspiring matriculants will begin to write the 2016 National Senior Certificate examinations, the most important, and probably the most ‘knife-edge’ experience of their education so far. It is a six-week event that doesn’t just test what these South African teens have learnt and mastered over the past years; it also puts their self-esteem, their outlook on life, their courage and their resilience on trial. We asked Raydene Naidoo, Counselling Psychologist and Head of Work Integrated Learning at SACAP (the South African College of Applied Psychology) to provide some essential tips on how the current Grade 12’s can prepare themselves optimally for the mental, physical and emotional rigours ahead: Know Yourself “Before you plan, before you draw up your study schedule, it’s important to take the time to do some self-reflection. You need to think about things like how much sleep you need, the activities that are important to supporting your well-being and whatever else you need to operate at your best academically. Think about, and then also make a list of your strengths and your weaknesses. This is very important because you want to make study plans and devise a schedule that optimizes your strengths and mitigates your weaknesses. For instance, it doesn’t help to decide to follow a recommended study schedule that involves four-hour blocks of dedicated study time if you are prone to get restless after an hour. It might work well for your friend, but if you do that, you are likely to study effectively for just one hour, and then waste three hours of every four-hour block you have scheduled with your struggles to keep focused and still. You need to know yourself well, so that you are empowered to customize a study schedule that works optimally for you. If you know that you are distracted after an hour, you can devise a schedule that gives you regular short breaks that enable you to return to your desk and effectively pick up when you left off.” Identify your peak times “We all have particular times of day when we are most effective, and this differs from person to person. For instance, some people are raring to go in the mornings while others struggle to get themselves started. Some fade in the evenings and others find that they are highly productive at night when life around them is quieter and still. Once you know your peak times, schedule your most challenging studies exactly then, while topics and subjects that are much easier for you can be scheduled during your off-peak hours.” Don’t just think about it, create your study timetable, share it and commit to it “Give real form to your study timetable. Map it out in a graphic form. Make sure it includes your study breaks and covers all the work you need to do. Stick it up prominently in your study space so that you can see where you are at any moment, at a glance. Think of it as your trusty guide over the next weeks – there to help ensure you don’t get any last-minute surprises or setbacks that feel like disasters. Sharing it with your peers and family members can also help to keep you on a committed track. Monitor your progress on a daily basis. Some shifts and adjustments may be necessary in practice, but you need to make sure at all times that you have got all your topics and subjects covered according to the priorities.” Plan for balance “Yes, the most important thing you need to do over the upcoming weeks is study and it does take precedence over a lot of other things in your life at this time. However, you still need some balance in your life, and you can plan for this. It is important to look after your mental and emotional well-being as this affects your intellectual performance. Even though you need to be very focused on your studies, you will still need time to relax, time for physical activity and time for socializing. While you will probably have to cut back on those times, you shouldn’t eliminate them completely. While you may not be able to spend three hours playing soccer four times a week, you can find the ways to schedule four ten minute runs around your neighbourhood that will help you to keep active, relieve stress and re-energise you. While you won’t be able to ‘binge-watch’ the latest TV series, you can still make the time to watch a favourite programme every now and then. And while, late-night parties are probably not the best idea while you are studying for matric, you can still schedule shorter, lower-key occasions in the company of friends that give perspective and provide support.” Commit to your well-being “Studying for, and writing your matric exams will probably rate as one of the most stressful experiences of your life. There’s no better time than to care deeply and well about yourself. The upside is that in being tested this way, you have the opportunity to discover new and deeper aspects of your strength and resilience. You can think of the experience as being on a ‘Hero’s Journey’ where you want to be facing challenges with all your wits about you so that you can achieve the best results possible. For that to happen, you need to ensure your physical and emotional health. It’s important to eat healthily, get enough sleep, be physically active and feel connected to the people who support your success in life.” Parents play an important role in supporting their matriculants and ensuring that they go into the exams in the best frame of mind possible. Naidoo has some tips to help parents best support their matriculant: When facing a stressed and anxious matriculant, replace a ‘been there, done that, now you can too’ approach with ‘I understand’ and encouragement; Acknowledge your child’s efforts. Noticing and affirming their choices such as turning down

October 26, 2016

Help your child become an ‘Academic Olympian’

As the 2016 Olympic Games came to an end, we can reflect on the achievements, camaraderie and celebration of sport on the global stage. In addition to the great successes, Edublox reading, maths and learning clinic, highlights important lessons that can be learned from the Olympic athletes, which is applicable to a child’s academic and sporting performance. The Olympic Games is a prestigious sporting event and the highlight of any Olympian’s career. No athlete wins a medal or even qualifies to participate at the world’s largest sporting event without committing the majority of their time to perfecting their craft. It takes years of preparation to build a strong physical foundation and develop the necessary skills to compete on the highest level. “The same goes for a child’s academic performance,” says Susan du Plessis, director of educational programmes at Edublox. “Children have to be able to read and concentrate in order to grow and develop academically. For children to learn how to read or improve their reading, they have to understand the language, as well as master the foundational skills of perception, memory and logical thinking. Children have to work hard and train their learning abilities with as much vigour and determination as athletes in order to become ‘Olympic students’,” says Du Plessis. Another characteristic of an ‘Academic Olympian’ is the ability to concentrate. Concentration is a skill that can be taught, just like riding a bike. “Concentration and memory go hand in hand and play a major role in a child’s all-round development. These two aspects not only affect a child’s academic accomplishments, but also influence the performance of young and upcoming sportsmen and women on the sport field,” explains Du Plessis. After his enrolment at Edublox, Stelios Charalambous, a Grade 3 learner experiencing learning challenges, surprised everyone with a dramatic improvement in all of his subjects on his second report card of the year. “When we received Stelios’ report card, we were ecstatic! His marks had jumped by 20% in all of his subjects,” says Christa Charalambous, Stelios’s mother. “Another big change we’ve noticed is that he is more confident and had improved significantly on both the rugby field and the tennis court,” she adds. Du Plessis shares a few easy tips for parents looking to help their children become ‘Academic Olympians’ from a young age: Improve reading Your child’s fluency in language is a key determinant of his reading ability. Talk to your child and explain to them what you are busy doing while shopping, cooking and working in and around the house or even while taking a walk. This will help enhance your child’s vocabulary. Read to your child as often as possible. Language develops through repetition. You can read the same book over and over again before moving to another book. Teach your children nursery rhymes to stimulate their brain and improve memory. Improve concentration Let your child build age-appropriate puzzles from a young age. Progressively read longer and more in-depth stories to your children. Let your child play outside. This often improves the child’s ability to concentrate more than when playing indoors. “Mastering the fundamental skills of reading and concentration is important for every child’s academic growth and development,” says Du Plessis. “Regardless of whether they find it difficult to read and concentrate or not, it is essential that all children work hard, similar to Olympic athletes, so that they can transform into great Academic Olympians,” she concludes.

September 2, 2016

The real price of not addressing your child’s learning problems

Failing or delaying to address a child’s learning difficulties has far-reaching implications for both parents and children alike. Edublox reading, maths and learning clinic, warns that the real cost of withholding learning intervention programs from children with learning difficulties should not be underestimated. This could result in long-term financial burdens when learners have to repeat a grade, while they often pay the price academically, emotionally and socially. “While parents tend to spend money on exciting hobbies, or sporting activities in areas where their child is flourishing, they often find it difficult to acknowledge and prioritise resolving their child’s immediate academic issues,” says Susan du Plessis, Director of Educational Programs at Edublox. “Parents put off addressing their child’s academic problems as they tend to hold on to the hope that the next report will be better. Their child’s busy schedule, full of extracurricular activities, also leaves no time for homework or attending extra classes” says du Plessis. “Children often pay a steep price for not being able to learn at a level that is expected of them,” says du Plessis. “Besides not being able to pursue a career of their choice one day, children with learning difficulties often develop emotional issues that can cause long-term psychological damage,” she adds. Research by Dr. Marianna Alesi, published in the Journal of Psychological Abnormalities, found that students who experience repeated failure, such as those with learning disabilities, are more likely to have anxious symptoms and to use avoidant behaviours. This, explains Alesi, creates a vicious circle where a learner’s self-esteem is negatively impacted by their learning ability and it can affect all aspects of their future development.* Parents often underestimate the true value for money that effective, solution-driven and scientifically proven educational intervention programs provide for children with learning difficulties. Recent research by Old Mutual indicates that if a learner repeats a year at a state school it could cost an estimated R 37 500 for school-related expenses alone; excluding additional food, recreation and transport costs.** “When looking at the cost of an additional year of school fees, the economic choice to invest a marginal amount in solving an academic issue early on becomes much simpler,” says du Plessis. Parents concerned about the affordability of getting specialised help for their child’s learning woes are encouraged to take a look at their monthly expenditure, and prioritise their expenses by making use of various budgeting tools available online or to consult a financial advisor.*** Alida Smit is a parent that can attest to the psychological and financial benefits of early intervention at a reputable and professional reading clinic. Today an owner of such an establishment herself, she once struggled to find help for her son, who was diagnosed with dyslexia. “My son’s confidence blossomed and his attitude towards learning changed completely when he was exposed to the right intervention and development programs. If I got to the clinic sooner, I am sure the cost would be less and the emotional impact far less significant. When my daughter started experiencing some of the same challenges, I was able to help her immediately without having to exhaust many options. Not only was the cost significantly less in this process, but she benefitted much sooner, and did not go through the emotional and psychological roller coaster of emotions,” she says. Today’s challenging economic environment is forcing parents to cut down on costs wherever possible. The financial implications of an academically struggling learner are, therefore, often overlooked as parents feel they cannot afford professional help for their children. Du Plessis advises that parents who want to save money should do research to evaluate various learning support programs available based on their track record, quality control measures, and the realistic timeframe of improvement. “By temporarily reducing little luxury expenses such as restaurant meals and pricy entertainment, parents can provide their child with the opportunity to excel at school,” says du Plessis. “The best solution for parents is to get help for their children as soon as possible. Nip learning difficulties in the bud; it makes sense from a financial perspective and helps build your child’s self-confidence,” says du Plessis. “As parents, we have a responsibility to not only provide our children with an education, but to ensure that they have a wide array of choices when it comes to possible career paths after school. The temporary financial sacrifice for resolving your child’s learning difficulties is actually a long term, emotional and educational investment towards your child’s future success,” du Plessis concludes.

August 3, 2016

Questions To Ask Your Child’s Teacher

The third term is upon us and meeting with professionals working with your child is a priority. It can be very daunting, especially for parents whose children may have learning challenges. Frequently, the professionals end up talking and the parents try desperately to follow the conversation and very often only pick up on the negative information. A small but interesting fact: it takes 9 or more positive remarks to cancel out the effects of a negative one. Sadly, many parents leave these meetings feeling overwhelmed and too often, disappointed. Being prepared is one of the best steps one can take. Here are some questions to help you find out your child’s strengths, where their difficulties lie and how you can help your child. Hopefully, this will allow you to leave these meetings with ideas, empathy and positive information about your child and what you can do. Of course there will be areas of concern, but as a parent you will feel more confident in how to handle them. What does my child enjoy? Who are my child’s friends? How is he/she socially? Interactions and communication? Is she/he liked by her/his peers? What are my child’s strengths (socially, emotionally, physically and mentally)? What value does my child bring to the class/sessions? Are there areas in which my child shows a particular interest or possible talent? What are my child’s differences – instead of saying ‘problems’ or ‘difficulties’ – (socially, emotionally, physically and mentally)? Does my child participate? (This can mean anything from being a team leader, team player, active member, dedicated, diligent, a motivator. Remember, an extroverted and an introverted child will play different roles in these situations. What is important is that they are involved.) How is my child learning and functioning in a classroom environment or sessions (individual or group) – does their behaviour differ in different subjects (P.E, music, computers, languages, maths, etc.)? What will you be teaching my child? Areas of focus. How will you do this? What methods or approaches will you use? Can I implement these at home? Expectations (i.e. homework – time, assistance and outcomes) What type of homework will you give, and what are the deadlines? (what is due weekly/daily or projects/exams/assessments) Is my child managing to complete the work (in class and homework)? Do they have the current abilities to work in class or in sessions effectively? How can I, as a parent, be involved and assist? How can I check up on grades, assignments? (Remember you are entitled to see ALL of your child’s work). Bring up your own concerns, observations and ask questions related to your child. Remember your child will be different in different environments. It is important to know about any major discrepancies. What is the best way and time to contact you (the teacher or professional)? I hope with this information you and your child can gear yourselves for the forthcoming term. I suggest scheduling a meeting with your child’s teacher and other professionals as soon as possible. I wish you all the best for your upcoming meetings.

August 1, 2016

Could you be the reason for your child cheating?

Mrs M, with her short straight black hair and angular face, peered suspiciously at us, pacing the grade five class, blurting out English words at timed intervals. It was our job to translate these into Afrikaans and spell them correctly within the allocated time. I’d studied for the test as I always did and I probably could have aced it. But I was afraid. You see, I’d confused praise with love and I believed that if I failed that love would be withdrawn. Love: The lifeblood of every child. And so I cheated. The vocab for the week was posted up at the back of the class and I snuck a look at every opportunity. I thought I got away with it. Then the next day, there she was pacing the class again, this time calling out the marks for everyone to hear as she handed back test papers. Starting from the highest mark to the lowest. Full marks. Not me. Ok, I must be next. Nine out of ten. Not my name. Come on, come one. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. Zero. Slam, my paper lands on my desk. The whole class goes silent. Somebody gasps. She grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the class to discuss my crime in privacy. ‘Why?’ I wonder after she has already humiliated me. I start to cry. I don’t stop for hours. By the end of the day she calls me back into her class, says she thinks I have learned my lesson and tears up the paper. I never cheat again. But not because I’ve somehow become more moral from the experience, but because my terror at losing that love has just intensified. It’s one thing to not do well but cheating and getting zero would definitely be the end of me. I wondered later what those teachers must have thought of my parents. They probably thought that if I went home to get my test signed I’d have had a beating. But the beating I believed I would’ve gotten was way worse than any physical pain. It was the beating of rejection of my being. There was no way I could stand that. No child could. And so I empathize with children who cheat. I wonder what fear has brought them to that point. I wonder why parents and the schooling system are so focused on marks that they forget the real reason for testing a skill – To see if the work has been taught properly and understood. I wonder why nobody explains this to children, and why report cards and test scores are held up as measures of self worth. I wonder too why we berate children for cheating without acknowledging this trait in ourselves. How we ignore our own failures when we cheat on our diet or cheat on our spouse, cheat our employers out of time as we scour Facebook or cheat the tax man to save a few bucks. How is it that we expect our children to have higher moral standards than ourselves. Why are we are unable to look past their misdemeanors and see the fear and pain and panic just below the surface? What are we teaching them really? The brain is a very efficient organ. It will always find the quickest path to a desired result. If it perceives that the quickest way to get love and approval is to cheat (rather than to risk trying the honest way and possibly failing) then cheating will happen. Is your child’s fastest way to love and approval through good marks? Then you’re setting them up for cheating at some point in their lives. Think about the messages that you are giving with your praise or bribery, or with your withholding of affection when kids don’t do well. If we want our children to pass honestly, then we need to change the messages that we’re giving them around what testing means, around their true worth regardless of performance, and around the unwavering love that we have for them regardless of their behavior.

July 28, 2016

Handwriting Problems

Handwriting is the most obvious feature of “the second R,” and is a means to an end. Students who can write legibly and with reasonable speed are not deterred by weak handwriting skills from expressing themselves. Thus it is obvious that handwriting should become routine as rapidly and efficiently as possible. It should not be stressed at the expense of more important skills, such as those necessary to speak, listen, read, spell, or compose well. What is a Handwriting Problem? A handwriting problem exists when a student writes illegibly or extremely slowly. Everyone occasionally produces some illegible letters, but some students do so frequently enough that understanding what they have written is difficult; at this point, the difficulty would be considered a problem. Also, most children write quite slowly when they are first learning to print or write in cursive; slow handwriting should be considered a problem, however, when a student’s writing speed interfered with his or her other work. Problems with handwriting are also known as dysgraphia, a term coined from the Greek words dys meaning ill or difficult and graphein meaning to write, and is used to describe a severe problem with handwriting. Synonyms for dysgraphia include motor agraphia, developmental motor agraphia, special writing disability, specific handwriting disability, specific learning disability in handwriting. Problems Related to Handwriting Though IQ is not related to handwriting, spelling apparently is, according to Introduction to Learning Disabilities by Hallahan et al. Students with poor handwriting are likely to have poor spelling skills. Two ways in which handwriting may contribute to misspellings are: Handwriting errors may make a word look like another word; Slow, laboured writing of letters may cause a student to forget the word he or she is trying to spell. The first problem is one of legibility and the second is one of speed. Handwriting skill is also related to some perceptual and perceptual-motor skills. Wedell found that young students with handwriting problems had greater difficulties with position in space, drew poorly when drawing required crossing from one side of their bodies to the other, and did not benefit from handwriting tasks as much as other students. In her book Learning Disabilities: Theories, Diagnosis, and Teaching Strategies, Janet Lerner states that some of the underlying shortcomings that interfere with handwriting performance are (1.) poor motor skills, (2) faulty visual perception of letters and words, and (3.) difficulty in retaining visual impressions. The student’s problem may also be in cross-modal transfer from the visual to motor modalities.

June 9, 2016

Are your kids getting too much homework?

Homework is an essential part of learning independent work and self-discipline… and I think that kids are getting far too much of it. Homework should be given out with this specific purpose in mind and not because there is so much schoolwork that it can’t fit in to the school day. If kids are getting too much, it is your responsibility as a parent to take a stand. Get together with other parents in your child’s class and have something to say about it. Play, fresh air, fun and down-time are as important to a child’s development as formalised learning and discipline, particularly in the Foundation and Intersen Phases. This fits in to what I have said before about too many extra murals: Children, like all human beings, need time to be – not busy performing or excelling or proving their worth, just being. So how much is too much? If you look logically at the typical day of a school child this should become obvious: 6am-7am Waking and getting ready for school 7am-2pm School time 2pm-3pm Sport / extra murals 5pm-7pm Dinner, bathing etc. 7pm-8pm Story time or quiet time 8pm-6am Sleep (children of 7-10 years need around 10-11 hours per night) This only leaves between 3pm-5pm for homework AND games, TV time, outdoor time, playdates etc. I would say that anything more than around half an hour per day is unreasonable at Primary School level, and certainly not more than an hour. Look logically at your child’s day and make sure there is always down-time, unscheduled time, time to just be. Life needs to be in balance and we need to help our kids with this by not overscheduling their time, by taking a stand on homework and by modeling this for our kids by getting enough rest and down-time ourselves.

June 2, 2016

Grade 9’s: Don’t leave subject choice decisions to the last minute

Grade Nines preparing to enter their final phase of schooling next year will in coming months be expected to select the subjects that will see them through to matric. But that decision is too important to shelve away until the time comes, an expert says, and it should already be top of mind for learners who want to give themselves the best chance for success in Grade 12 and beyond. “Towards the end of the year, Grade 9-learners will be given the opportunity to select which subjects they will take in their last three years of school and be tested on during the National Senior Certificate Exams in 2019,” notes Nola Payne, Head of Faculty: Information and Communications Technology at The Independent Institute of Education, SA’s largest and most accredited private higher education institution. “It is an exceptionally hard choice to make, and many factors need to be taken into consideration,” says Payne, adding that these choices will have a profound impact on the qualifications to which learners will have access and, as a result, the careers they will be able to follow. “Choosing subjects should not be based on a gut feel or a kneejerk towards easier subjects. They must be chosen very carefully, and only after proper research about the implications of choosing certain subjects and not others. The best way to go about making subject choices later this year, is to immediately start considering one’s options constantly, and refining them in the coming months. “This is one of the first opportunities learners of this age will have to practice strategic decision-making that will have a major impact on their lives. It should be looked at as an exciting first step into their future as adults, and also a valuable learning tool.” Payne says the process can be made much less intimidating by sticking to the following guidelines: ALREADY KNOW WHAT YOU WANT TO STUDY? THEN STUDY UP ON ENTRANCE REQUIREMENTS. If you are clear about what you want to do, check out the websites of both public and private higher education institutions to verify their requirements, and let that guide your subject choices. Very importantly, look at a range of different institutions and courses within your field to allow yourself some choice and a Plan B after matric. DON’T KNOW? THEN LEAVE AS MANY OPTIONS AVAILABLE AS POSSIBLE. Those who are not yet sure about their future direction should choose subject combinations that will leave them with options and room to manoeuvre later, including Maths and Science. Learners who struggle with precisely these subjects, should consider keeping only one of them to focus their efforts. And Maths Literacy should only be considered as a last resort, Payne says. CONSIDER WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY. As you spend time at your desk every day, going from class to class, and completing your homework, be alert to which subjects make you come alive a little more than others. Determine which subjects mirror your interests and career dreams, and include them. And carefully research how your favourite subjects manifest in the working world, as you may potentially have more – and more interesting – options than you are currently aware of. CONSIDER WHAT YOU ARE GOOD AT. Choose at least two subjects in which you can do really well. Admission to higher education is performance-based, so it makes sense to do very well in some subjects rather than badly in all of them because you chose only gateway subjects. DON’T SELL YOURSELF SHORT. You may think you won’t stand a chance of getting good sufficient grades to enter higher education post matric. But remember that the South African National Senior Certificate has four levels of pass. While one of them is the degree pass, you could also qualify for diploma or higher certificate study. These two qualifications, which are normally vocationally or career-focused, could give you access straight to the world of work and even degree study if you wanted to do it later. There are also options in public and private FET Colleges, or you may even be entrepreneurial and want to start your own business. “The key to making the best subject choices for your future self is to ensure you do your research thoroughly, and at a comfortable pace so you don’t have to rush the decision. Don’t leave it until the end of the year, when you might be tempted to just tick the same boxes your friends are ticking, and in the process set yourself up for frustration and disappointment,” says Payne.

May 3, 2016

Cookie	Duration	Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	1 year	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional	11 months	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	11 months	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy	11 months	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Duration	Description
_ga	2 years	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gid	1 day	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form.

Cookie	Duration	Description
_gat_gtag_UA_18530557_4	1 minute	No description
pron_ip	session	No description
pvc_visits[0]	1 day	This cookie is created by post-views-counter. This cookie is used to count the number of visits to a post. It also helps in preventing repeat views of a post by a visitor.
tk_ai	session	Gathers information for WordPress by themselves, first party analytics tool about how WP services are used. A collection of internal metrics for user activity, used to improve user experience.