Math Coach

First Day As Coach I teach 6 kids for one hour per week. They are eager for math skills. They leave their classroom and we are to work on learning math strategies and gain ability in solving math problems. They are considered more capable, more willing to learn, more susceptible. Yesterday was my first day. [...]

Overheard From Kids

Kids Falling Behind. My young relative’s birthday party was yesterday. I complimented her for winning a recent math competition. I told her how disappointed I was to know so many 3rd and 4th graders who don’t know what 3×4 is or the answer to 23 minus 7. She said some of her classmates don’t know [...]

Schools Have ADHD

Schools cannot sit still in their chairs. They lose their focus. They are easily distracted. They are hyper and suffer from ADD and ADHD. Today’s Wall Street Journal has a book review of the book Rapt by Winifred Gallagher. It begins: “With so many things now demanding our attention- emails, Web sites, Blackberry alerts, incoming [...]

Of 4-Wheelers and Free School Lunch

I met with Sasquatch, the high school sophomore, again this week. Our one-hour visits are delightful. Mainly we quiz him, and me!, on general knowledge from the glossary of terms at the end of the book Cultural Literacy. As usual, he got 55% right, a figure I do not consider too pathetic. His sister returned [...]