WHIZard Academy Academy has helped students better grasp concepts in math and English for the past 25 years. The academy tailors its programs to each individual's abilities, ensuring that students can learn at their own pace. Kindergartners up to high school seniors can benefit from programs in math, reading, writing, and foreign languages. They also have skilled tutors teaching their customized SAT and ACT prep classes, which can help students' chances when applying to college.
Eye Level Learning Center's tutoring equation is like a math problem its students might study: 1 teaching method + 3 subjects x 16 countries = 2.5 million enrollments worldwide. First developed in South Korea in 1976, Eye Level takes its name from their desire to see things from a student's point of view. Educators customize lessons to fit each pupil, and its self-directed method allows students to move at their own pace.
Children taking mathematics lessons build upon a basic foundation, then learn how to apply critical thinking to math concepts such as geometry and measurement to solve problems. English-session students learn basic grammar skills as well as advanced reading comprehension and writing skills.
Whether parents' goals for their children include academic improvement or advanced extracurricular enrichment, instructors watch over students as they work through difficult math and reading exercises. With expert guidance, young learners build the confidence they need to perform well in school and develop self-sufficiency with homework. The instructors also encourage students to work at their own pace, creating at-home study guides and monitoring their progress toward certain benchmarks agreed upon in meetings with parents.
The education gurus at Minds Ahead Academy specialize in developing and running four innovative teaching programs for children, while focusing on what they term "whole brain development." One of their main courses is BrainOBrain, which relies on two main learning models to coax kids through academic and personality development. Its advanced abacus and neuro-lingustic programs both introduce neuron-testing exercises aimed at improving children's skills in math, spelling, and other academics in a social setting. Alternatively, LanguageMinds and MindsBee courses, helmed by experienced teachers, guide children through interactive sessions in writing and reading comprehension. The TutorMinds program supplements its general academic skill-focused base with test preparation.
Signature service: Math and English Education and Tutoring
Staff Size: 2–10 people
Average Duration of Services: 1–2 hours
Brands Used: Eye Level Learning Center
Pro Tip: We'll help your child master crucial, foundational skills while inspiring critical thinking ability.
Learning to read, solve math problems, or master any school subject relies on one thing: the brain. With this in mind, the coaches at Learning Solutions eschew traditional tutoring methods that focus on one subject at a time. Instead, they use brain-training games and other mind exercises designed to hone a child's overall cognitive skills. The coaches work with students of all abilities, including gifted children. They also specialize in helping those with ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. LearningRx's team also works with adults and seniors.


The end of No Child Left Behind offers an opportunity for reinvention
In a rare moment of bipartisanship, last month Congress passed the much-anticipated Every Student Succeeds act and with a stroke of his pen, President Barack Obama ended the No Child Left Behind era. This shift offers a huge opportunity for the music education community.
No Child Left Behind, the largest attempt at education reform in our nation’s history, resulted in a massive surge in the testing of our kids and an increased focus in “STEM” (science, technology, engineering and math). While well-meaning, this legislation precipitated a gradual and massive decline of students participating in music and arts classes, as test prep and remedial classes took precedence over a broader liberal arts education, and music education was often reduced, cut, or relegated to after school. Little Brandon and Britney certainly didn’t have time for band; they had to prepare for their tests!
Taken on face value, Every Student Succeeds bodes well for music education and the National Association for Music Education, which spent thousands of hours lobbying on behalf of music teachers everywhere. The new act removes “adequate yearly progress” benchmarks and includes music and arts as part of its definition of a “well-rounded education.” It also refers to time spent teaching music and arts as “protected time.”
Music and arts educators now have some leverage for increased funding, professional development, equipment, staffing, prioritized scheduling of classes, and a more solid foothold when budgets get tight and cuts are being discussed. I can almost hear the discussions—”We can’t cut a core class now, can we?” In other words, music is finally at the grown-ups table with subjects like science, math, social studies and language arts.
Now that we’re at the table, we need a national conversation to redefine the depth and quality of the content we teach in our music classes. We need a paradigm shift in how we define outcomes in our music students. And we need to go beyond the right notes, precise rhythms, clear diction and unified phrasing that have set the standard for the past century.
We should define learning by a student’s intimate knowledge of composers or artists—their personal history, conception and the breadth and scope of their output. Students should know the social and cultural landscape of the era in which any piece was written or recorded, and the circumstances that had an influence. We should teach the triumphant mythology of our greatest artists—from Louis Armstrong to Leonard Bernstein, from Marian Anderson to Mary Lou Williams, and others.
Students should understand the style and conception of a composer or artist—what are the aesthetics of a specific piece, the notes that have meaning? They should know the influences and inputs that went into the creation of a piece and how to identify those. There should be discussion of the definitive recording of a piece, and students should make qualitative judgments on such against a rubric defined by the teacher that easily and broadly gives definition and shape to any genre.
Selected pieces should illuminate the general concepts of any genre—the 6/8 march, the blues, a lyrical art song, counterpoint, AABA form, or call and response—and students should be able to understand these and know their precise location within a score and what these concepts represent.
We should embrace the American arts as a full constituent in our programs—not the pop-tinged sounds of The Voice or Glee but our music: blues, folk, spirituals, jazz, hymns, country and bluegrass, the styles that created the fabric of our culture and concert works by composers who embraced them.
Students should learn that the written score is a starting point. It’s the entry into a world of discovery and aspiration that can transform their lives; it’s deeper than notes. We should help them realize that a lifetime of discovery in music is a worthwhile and enjoyable endeavor.
These lessons will require new skills, extra work outside of class, more research, and perhaps new training standards for teachers. But, it’s not an insurmountable task, and it is vital, given the current strife of our national discourse. Our arts can help us define who we are and tell us who we can be. They can bind the wounds of racism, compensate for the scourge of socio-economic disadvantage, and inoculate a new generation against the fear of not knowing and understanding those who are different from themselves.
It is time, music educators. Welcome to the table.
TIME Ideas hosts the world's leading voices, providing commentary on events in news, society, and culture. We welcome outside contributions. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors.


Wednesday, March 13, 2002
By MARK STEIGHNER
Special to the News
Once again a state budget crisis has prompted communities and school districts throughout Oregon to examine programs and make difficult choices, and once again art and music programs will be downsized or eliminated.
However, art and music, far from being frills, stand at the center of who we are as a culture and a community, and how we support or demean arts education strongly reflects what we value.
I have been teaching for nearly 25 years and know from personal experience how important, enriching and profoundly satisfying music and the arts are to students and to their audiences. I have seen students of all ages make a journey of self-discovery, grow in confidence, poise, leadership, and maturity, all due to their experiences in music and the arts. Setting aside this anecdotal evidence, I urge you to consider the following:
Music and the arts are positive, uplifting forces that allow students to process and cope with the vastly negative events of a troubled world.
Music is cathartic. The healing aftermath of Sept. 11 included musical tributes and memorials that allowed a sharing of grief and a feeling of solidarity. Wherever there is shared joy or sadness there will be music and art; and in a society that is increasing enamored of technology, music and art represent the best of our humanity.
For students, as well as for our culture, music and the arts help us forge an identity that is both unique and connected to an historical lineage. One of the most memorable moments I've had as a teacher was performing with students in the cloisters of Iona, Scotland, where music had been performed for over a thousand years in just the same way.
Students could feel a profound sense of connection not only with each other, but the countless generations of musicians before them. In that moment, they experienced a level of historical and cultural education that would impact them for years to come.
Music and art education help students develop creativity, mental discipline, and divergent thinking. Music stimulates the brain in unique ways and the study of music has been correlated with increased SAT scores and enhanced verbal skills.
Music and the arts are lifelong activities that can be enjoyed recreationally, practiced professionally, and improved continuously.
Make no mistake, to realize its full potential arts education must be approached with high standards, a rigorous curriculum, and strong school and community support. The Oregon Education Reform Act placed music and arts education as a core subject alongside English, Math, Science, and Social Studies and all students must demonstrate competency in the arts in order to obtain a Certificate of Initial Mastery. How that competency is acquired and measured is an opportunity and a challenge each district must meet.
Music and arts education -- besides being legal requirements -- are mentally and emotionally enhancing, affirming, stimulating, creative, and expressive for participants and their audiences.
These are values that I hope our community will continue to recognize, nurture and support no matter what the challenge.
Mark Steighner is choral and instrumental music teacher at Hood River Valley High School. He leads the HRVHS chamber singers to Ireland in late March for its third musical tour of the United Kingdom and Ireland in the past five years.
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Lawnmower torches Arbor Vitae on Portland Drive
The riding lawn mower driven by Norma Cannon overheated and made contact with dry arbor vitae owned by Lee and Norma Curtis, sending more than a dozen of the tightly-packed trees up in flames. The mower, visible at far right, was totaled. No one was injured; neighbors first kept the fire at bay with garden hoses and Westside and Hood River Fire Departments responded and doused the fire before it reached any structures. Westside Fire chief Jim Trammell, in blue shirt, directs firefighters. The video was taken by Capt. Dave Smith of Hood River Fire Department. Enlarge


Musical and Textual Content in Childrens Vocalizations
In this lecture-demonstration, a comparison of childrens informal and formal singing culture will be explored. While there is extensive research regarding teaching children to sing, and the developing childs voice as it relates to school and ensemble music, the field of childrens informal singing has been slowly developing.
A comprehensive review of the relevant scholarship from within the disciplines of music education, music pedagogy, ethnomusicology, communications, folklore (as well as anthropology, sociology, and psychology) in the field of childrens informal singing behaviors with attention to the nature of their songs, singing engagements, and the process of song acquisition and transmission will be discussed. Particular focus will be given to cross-cultural examination of childrens interactions with singing as it presents in several different countries.
- There are currently no refbacks.


Marshmallow Sculpture Activity
What could be more fun than playing with food? Let your child explore the concept of sculpture by using marshmallows and pretzel sticks to form an edible sculpture! He can learn more about balance, movement, and composition – and then eat his finished artwork!
What You Need:
- Pretzel sticks
- Large marshmallows
- Small marshmallows
What You Do:
- Invite your child to gather the ingredients for making his edible sculpture and begin experimenting by pressing the pretzels into the marshmallows and balancing them so they don’t topple over.
- Now he can brainstorm ideas for his sculpture. He can create a random collection of freestanding lines and shapes or form a recognizable shape, such as a person or animal.
- Encourage him to start a base for his sculpture that balances and will hold/support the rest of the edible sculpture.
- Now he can begin building up from the base of the sculpture adding more pretzels and marshmallows as he goes!
- When he’s satisfied with his finished creation, snap a quick picture so he can remember what his edible sculpture looked like. Then he can eat his sculpture, savoring the taste of his unique creation!
Sarah Lipoff has a K-12 Art Education degree and enjoys working with kids of all ages.


Earlier this month, Dr. Martha Burns presented a webinar titled “What’s in the Common Core, but Missing in Your Curriculum.” One of the exciting new changes that the Common Core State Standards(CCSS) bring is a great deal more emphasis on howstudents learn rather than focusing solely on whatthey learn. The emphasis of previous standards have focused more on memorization of facts rather than on higher order thinking skills. In this webinar, Dr. Burns reviews the learning capacities spelled out in the CCSS and describes the skills that students need to be successful as lifelong learners, e.g., the ability to evaluate, to adapt, adjust and critique, etc. At the foundation of these higher order abilities lie the foundational skills below. Together, these skills can be termed the “process of learning.”
· Executive control or self-control
Students with deficiencies in these foundational skills may be labeled as “trouble makers” or “at risk” and have difficulty keeping up in today’s growing classroom. Experienced educators have always recognized the importance of these skills, but the idea that they can be specifically addressed and improved is relatively new. Without the ability to remember the details of a non-fiction text, how would a student be able to evaluate and critique it?
Dr. Burns describes new insights in neuroscience that are contributing to our understanding of the process of learning and what can be done to strengthen these skills in all learners, even those with learning disabilities and other challenges. The idea that these skills are inherent in students and cannot be changed is simply untrue. With the right training, all students can become stronger, more capable learners.
One efficient way for students to practice the skills needed to meet the rigor of the Common Core Standards is through the research-based learning tools employed by Scientific Learning’s Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant programs. Dr. Burns concluded her presentation with a walkthrough of the programs, highlighting the aspects of the programs that speak directly to the foundational skills needed to create college and career ready students. She also describes what happens in the student’s brain when they are engaged with the software and the results that can be expected.
This new approach by the Common Core State Standards to draw attention to the “process” of learning, rather than just content, is important for all stakeholders to understand. With this new understanding comes a greater importance to use all of the tools at our disposal to help all learners succeed.


But most likely to be underemployed
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Gallup finds that the world's roughly 630 million would-be migrants are most likely to be young, single, educated, and relatively financially well-off. But they are also most likely to be underemployed and may feel they need to move to another country.
Gallup's latest findings on adults' desire to move to other countries are based on a rolling average of interviews with 401,490 adults in 146 countries between 2008 and 2010. The 146 countries represent more than 93% of the world's adult population.
Young People Want to Move Away
People's desire to migrate is strongly related to their age. Moving to another country permanently is a common dream among young people, with more than one in five 15- to 24-year-olds worldwide saying they would like to migrate if they had the chance. This desire declines sharply after age 25, about the time that many people start to put down firmer roots. By age 65, this desire dwindles to 4%.
With respect to roots, single adults (25%) are more than twice as likely as those who are married (11%) to say they would like to move to another country permanently if they had the chance. Age explains some of this, but even among the youngest adults (15 to 24), those who are married are less likely to say they would like to move.
More Educated More Likely to Want to Move
Potential migrants also tend to be better educated. They are more likely to have secondary or higher education, with about one in five in each of these two categories saying they would like to move to another country. This is not the pattern everywhere, however. In Northern America, those with an elementary education or less are more likely than their more educated counterparts to want to move.
Desire Gap Between Richest and Poorest
People who are more likely to have the means to move are more likely to desire to leave their countries for good. The desire to migrate rises with income, with people in the richest 20% income quintile of their countries the most likely to want to move. This pattern is evident in most regions, but again, Northern America stands out because the poorest income group is the most likely to want to leave.
Underemployed Often Most Likely to Want to Move
Adults who are unemployed or employed part time but want to work full time -- whom Gallup classifies as "underemployed" -- are nearly twice as likely to want to move as people who are employed at capacity or not in the workforce at all. People who are employed full time for an employer, self-employed full time, or employed part time and do not want to work full time are considered employed at capacity. Across the world, the underemployed are more likely to want to move, although this is true to a lesser extent in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
Gallup finds that worldwide people's desire to migrate permanently to another country is showing signs of cooling, but the hundreds of millions of adults who would still like move, where they would like to go, and who they are have substantial implications for labor forces in countries that send or receive migrants. The strong relationship between people's desire to migrate and their age and education reinforces how important it is to study what pushes or pulls these potential migrants before their desires become real brain drain or brain gain.
For complete data sets or custom research from the more than 150 countries Gallup continually surveys, please contact SocialandEconomicAnalysis@gallup.com or call 202.715.3030.
Results are based on aggregated telephone and face-to-face interviews with 401,490 adults, aged 15 and older, in 146 countries from 2008 to 2010. The 146 countries surveyed represent 93% of the world's adult population. One can say with 95% confidence that the margin of sampling error for the entire sample accounting for weighting and sample design is less than ±1 percentage point.
For more complete methodology and specific survey dates, please review Gallup's Country Data Set details.


The Transdisciplinary Effect Assessment and Treatment (TR-eatTM) model was developed by Elizabeth Clawson, PhD and Carol Elliott, OTR/L in their search to find a treatment model for children with complex feeding problems that was consistently successful, easy to administer and met the needs of the child and family. They found that “two heads” or should we say “two disciplines” were better than one.
Where it started
Elizabeth, who was trained at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, saw the value of behavioral psychology methods for children with feeding difficulty but also struggled with the limitations a stringent behavioral model had when it came to teaching skills. Elizabeth began working at Children’s Feeding Program at Children’s Hospital of Richmond in 1999. There she partnered with Carol, who had been working in the field of Pediatrics for 7 years and shared her expertise on oral motor skill development, sensory integration treatment and a passion for feeding therapy. Together, they developed the TR-eatTM model that blended behavioral principles with therapeutic skills to address even the most difficult feeding problems. In 2008 Elizabeth relocated to St. Mary’s Center for Children in Evansville, Indiana to develop a program that replicated the framework that she started in Richmond. Elizabeth and Carol have dedicated their professional practice to working solely with children who have severe feeding disorders. They have been able to watch for trends and evaluate long-term outcomes. Treatment at Children’s Hospital of Richmond and St. Mary’s Center for Children has been sought out by patients from around the country many of whom have not had success elsewhere.
The TR-eatTM model is research based and has outcome data to support it since 1999. The model has been used in a variety of clinical settings and found to have consistent positive results across all areas. The TR-eatTM model is based upon the following principles:
- This is a transdisciplinary model where disciplines work together and become crossed trained in oral motor skill treatment and behavioral interventions.
- The model is collaborative not consultative, all disciplines working together.
- Treatment is closely integrated with medical intervention and nutrition as this is typically the underlying cause of feeding difficulties.
- Positive reinforcement strategies are used to not only teach, but increase the rate of learning new skills.
- This is a child guided rather than child directed approach. We look for subtle signs from the child to find the “just right challenge” to work within. There is structure; however treatment is advanced at a rate where the child is able to develop skills and confidence.
- The program is respectful of sensory deficits. Although traditional sensory integration treatment is not directly incorporated into the model, however systematic desensitization (slow progression with sensory challenges) is used as part of treatment and found to be highly successful.
- The model is easily adopted in a variety of treatment settings.
- Treatment is systematic, structured and built on individual successes.
- It is easy to learn and teach caregivers.
- No specials tools or certification is needed.
Carol and Elizabeth began conducting workshops with the goal of helping therapists by sharing the TR-eatTM model, tips and experiences based upon their years of work in this field. The course provides multiples case scenarios, videos, hands on demonstration, written instructions and handouts that can be put to immediate use. Positive feedback from course participants has been overwhelming. We look forward to sharing our knowledge with you and reaching out to help more children with feeding challenges.
Treatment Centers Using the TR-eat™ Model:
The model was originally developed and tested over the 10 years that Elizabeth and Carol worked together at Children’s Feeding Program at the Children’s Hospital of Richmond. Care via this model has now been extended to the Midwest where Elizabeth directs the Behavioral Feeding program at St. Mary’s Center for Children in Evansville, Indiana. Both programs offer interdisciplinary assessment and treatment including feeding clinic evaluations, outpatient therapy, and intensive day program services. For more information and patient referrals please use the following contact information.


In the PTA room of Monte Vista Elementary, Alon Keller is reviewing concepts he's already taught a group of vivacious second-graders. In the past four sessions, they've build gondolas, walkers and gear cars out of Legos.
"What kind of gear is this?" Keller holds up a wheel-shaped Lego.
"It's a crown gear," a student yells out.
"Crown gear, very good. It looks like a sombrero. And we use it for what project?"
"Helicopters," another student shouts.
"So we made helicopters and we used crown gears. What kind of angle can you make between a crown gear and a spur gear? ... What kind of angle is this?" Keller says, holding his left hand perpendicular to his right arm.
In 90-minute Lego classes, Keller helps the students develop geometry and engineering language as they use critical-thinking skills. On Thursday, they built a train to travel on a monorail, and they had to option to design it for jousting or just for looks. By the time the children start working on their own projects they're so engrossed with their construction bricks, Keller has to stop them repeatedly to command their attention.
"This program addresses a lot of issues," says Romina Sparano, president of Monte Vista's PTA. "Yes, math and language are the foundational skills, but students don't just learn them in math and language classes. The kids really need the support of these other approaches."
The PTA decided to fund music classes for kindergarten and first grade. The school has music instruction for fourth- and fifth-graders.
And now that many districts are in the process of revamping their budgets to accommodate new funding models, Sparano wants administrators to take notice of this type of enrichment program.
"This is what I want to see in schools," she said.
Most districts in California are now in the process of gathering input from stakeholders as they develop their Local Control Accountability Plan, the master document that will guide districts for the next three years as they try to improve academic performance.
In re-drafting their spending plans, schools need to address California's eight priorities, among them student achievement, parental involvement, Common Core Standards and basic school facilities.
Sparano said the PTA decided to fund music classes for kindergarten and first grade to support language learning and auditory skills. The Lego engineering classes, offered through Play Well Teknologies, is aimed at helping the students develop critical thinking skills.
Play Well usually has classes as after school programs, so the Monte Vista lessons in the middle of the day are a first for them, Keller said.
During the classes, Keller tries to make sure students use appropriate engineering language.
"These are not bumps," he tells the students. "They're called teeth."
These are concepts they can apply later in life, he said.
"This is not just for Legos," he said. "This is the real language of engineering that can later be useful as they progress in science."
Monte Vista's principal Phil Menchaca likes the program and how the children are responding to the instruction.
"Now they're writing about their experiences," he said. The instruction "touches on every subject. Anything that gets the kids excited."
The student's enthusiasm is palpable. After a few minutes of being engrossed in their Legos, Keller raises a small locomotive created by Jeffere Lockwood with a red triangle attached to the front.
"Everybody, eyes on me. What kind of simple machine is this part?" he says, pointing at the red scoop. "What would you stick under a door so the door does not move?"
"A mat?" a student asks.
"A mat is for wiping your feet, but I see your logic," Keller said. "But what do you call this shape? If you're on a skateboard, what do you use to jump? A wedge. A ramp. A slope."
Any opportunity to create vocabulary.
The scoop Jeffere has attached to his locomotive could give him an advantage when it comes time to battle against another train. But the time to battle comes and it turns out Ernest Amparano's train gets going faster, and derails Jeffere's train. No matter, Keller tells him. Just keep trying with different techniques, until you derail your opponent.
Claudia Meléndez Salinas can be reached at 753-6755 or email@example.com.


The Contextual, Academic, and Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Kindergarten Students’ Mathematical Literacy Development
This ethnographic case study of a constructivist classroom examined the contextual, academic, and socio-cultural factors that influence kindergarten students’ mathematical literacy development. This study was done during the crucial junction between informal and formal mathematics and during the junction between informal and formal discourse that occurs in a kindergarten classroom. It also examined how disciplinary knowledge in mathematics is presented through classroom discourse. Five lenses drawn from the research literature were used to examine the data: (a) socio-cultural perspectives, (b) constructivist learning theory, (c) kindergarten curriculum, (d) language and discourse development, (e) mathematical process and content. A final framework was developed from the data collected. It included an (a) active restructuring of the environment (socio-cultural perspectives and constructivist learning theory), (b) language and discourse development, and (c) mathematical processes and content. This framework also delineated the elements observed in the classroom that support the final framework categories. The choice of curriculum should support collaboration between children and adults as well as collaboration between children. The choice of curriculum should encourage the complex use of language and support the transition to formal mathematical discourse (one of the dominant academic discourses). Children’s initiation and choice within the curriculum were found to be other key elements in this constructivist classroom. A system of continuous assessment and subsequent differentiation of instruction were two other essential elements in this reform mathematics classroom. Each of these key elements was shown to be important to foster mathematical literacy for all children. The role of socio-cultural perspectives ranging from Dewey’s structuring of the environment through Freire’s problem-posing curriculum to Delpit and Gee’s work on dominant discourses was highlighted in this complex study of a constructivist reform mathematics classroom. Areas for further research were also delineated.
School:University of Toledo
School Location:USA - Ohio
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:kindergarten differentiated instruction assessment language development informal mathematics mathematical literacy socio cultural constructivism socially mediated learning curriculum collaboration dialogue reform cont
Date of Publication:01/01/2004


By: National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
What is dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is a term that refers to a specific disorder in the area of motor skill development. People with dyspraxia have difficulty planning and completing intended fine motor tasks. It is estimated that as many as 6% of all children show some signs of dyspraxia, and in the general population, about 70% of those affected by dyspraxia are male.
Dyspraxia can affect different areas of functioning, varying from simple motor tasks such as waving goodbye to more complex tasks like brushing teeth.
What are the effects of dyspraxia?
Dyspraxia is a lifelong disorder that affects a person's development in the area of motor development. Though many challenges can persist throughout a person's life, the types of difficulties experienced can change.
- Difficulty with eye movements - they may move the whole head instead of just the eyes
- Difficulty using eating utensils and holding a cup while drinking
- Difficulty walking, hopping, skipping, throwing and catching a ball, riding a bike
- Delay in using spoken language and speech that is difficult to understand
- Bumping into objects
- Late establishment of laterality (right- or left-handedness)
- Difficulty doing fine-motor activities such as tying shoelaces or buttoning clothing
- Difficulty with handwriting
- Sensitivity to touch - may find clothing uncomfortable; and may find hair-brushing and cutting, teeth-brushing and nail-cutting unpleasant
- Poor sense of direction
School aged children
Dyspraxia can make it difficult for children to develop social skills, and they may have trouble getting along with peers. Though they are intelligent, these children may seem immature and some may develop phobias and obsessive behavior.
- Coordination difficulties can be particularly problematic in physical education classes and other sports activities.
- Speech difficulties can interfere with casual conversation, which can result in social awkwardness and an unwillingness to risk engaging in conversation.
- Writing difficulties such as poor letter formation, pencil grip and slow writing can make school work frustrating.
Teenagers & adults
- Completing household chores
- Personal grooming and self-help activities
- Manual dexterity needed for writing and typing
- Speech control - volume, pitch and articulation
- Perception inconsistencies - over- or under-sensitivity to light, touch, space, taste, smell.
It is important to note that a person displaying the kind of difficulties outlined above does not necessarily have dyspraxia. If a person continues to display these types of difficulty over time, testing for dyspraxia by trained professionals should be considered.
Dyspraxia and other developmental difficulties
Though not always, dyspraxia often co-exists with other learning disabilities, such as dyslexia (difficulty reading, writing and spelling) and dyscalculia (difficulty with mathematics); as well as AD/HD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). The symptoms from these learning disabilities can be similar to those of a person with dyspraxia; and regardless of whether there is an overlap in disabilities, the severity and range of difficulties can vary widely.
Other common difficulties facing people with dyspraxia include low self-esteem, depression, mental health problems and emotional and behavioral difficulties. Weaknesses in comprehension, information processing and listening can also contribute to the difficulties experienced by people with dyspraxia.
What strategies can help?
There is no cure to dyspraxia, however early intervention can help a person learn to deal with his or her difficulties. Depending on the severity of the disability, work with occupational, speech and physical therapists can greatly improve a person's ability to function and succeed independently.
Beginning at an early age, it is vital that parents offer their child patience and encouragement. It can be very frustrating to have difficulty communicating or moving, and a parent can ease that frustration by offering help and support in overcoming these difficulties.
All people with dyspraxia need help practicing simple tasks and can benefit from step-by-step progress into more complex activities. Encouraging easy physical activities that develop coordination can increase confidence. It is also important to encourage friendships to broaden a person's experience and understanding of social relationships.
Copyright 2007 National Center for Learning Disabilities Inc. All rights reserved. Used with permission.


The following guest post is written by the amazing Devany LeDrew. Devany is a former Kindergarten who now shares adventures with her children–most often playing, learning, and remembering–on her blog Still Playing School. Check it out.
Our 10 month old son has been crawling for a few months so he’s already accomplished a pivotal achievement in learning to read and write.
Wait, what? A milestone in infancy is vital for literacy development? Yes, because crawling is one of the first ways that babies practice crossing their midline!
- Five Activities for Crossing the Midline (and Why It’s Important)
Let’s imagine an invisible line running down the human body separating the left side from the right called the midline. When my baby crawls, he uses opposite sides of his body simultaneously. When my preschooler physically uses her body to cross that divide (by using her right hand to reach something on the left side of her body, for example) she is crossing her midline.
In both of these scenarios my children are using movements which cause their brains to communicate across their corpus callosum. This thick cable of nerves allows their two brain hemispheres to communicate. The practice is vital for higher level skills like reading and writing. By moving in new ways, we build and strengthen new pathways in the brain.
Most children will naturally learn to cross their midline as they grow, but some need occupational therapy to work on this task. There are creative, fun, and intentional ways to play while practicing crossing the midline!
Here are five to get you started!
1. Crawl, crawl, crawl
I encourage my preschooler to crawl with her baby brother by getting down on the floor to crawl myself! We build obstacle courses with pillows and soft toys to navigate while crawling.
2. Baby Cross Crawls
While you sing songs to your baby or child, intentionally touch his left foot to his right hand and vice versa. You can tap to the rhythm of the music or teach body part names in this way.
You can challenge your older child to touch her left knee with her right elbow and vice versa. This is trickier than it looks!
3. Wash Large Objects
My preschooler loves to help wash windows or our cars with special wipes or a sponge. I ask her to hold the tool with both hands wiping back and forth in large motions as she cleans so that she is crossing her midline frequently.
4. Dance, Sway, and Play with Ribbon Wands
You can create your own ribbon wands with a paint stirrer (or just hold a scarf in one hand for the same effect). Model how to cross the midline while dancing for your child by making figure eights and rainbow arcs with the ribbon. A great song to practice moving and grooving with is Shake Your Reader Ribbons by Pam Schiller
5. Play Passing Games
Challenge children to pass a ball from a friend on the left to a friend on the right by moving their arms but not turning their whole bodies. Friends may sit in a line or in a circle for this activity. For two children, have them sit back to back and pass the ball from the left side across their bellies and back over to the right.
For more from Devany LeDrew, please visit Still Playing School where she uses her background in early childhood to create a home based playful learning environment for her children. She is a former Kindergarten teacher who followed her passions to specialize in Educational Psychology & Literacy Education. She is the mother of three, grieving the loss of one. Follow Still Playing School on Facebook and Twitter.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Devany, for sharing! I learned SO much from this piece!
Looking for more activities to promote fine and gross motor in your little loves?
Stop by and follow these great educational Pinterest boards, filled with indoor fun ideas to engage children in fun activities to promote the development of these foundational skills:
- Sensory Activities | D @ Still Playing School
- Preschool Activities | D @ Still Playing School
- Handprint Projects | D @ Still Playing School
- foundations | teachmama
- movin’ and groovin’ | teachmama


As they learn to read, first graders spend a lot of time learning spelling patterns. These patterns can get complicated, and with so much new stuff coming their way, it's always helpful to get to know a few "tricks of the trade."
Let your child get some spelling practice in while creating a wacky postcard in this activity that has him using five different vowel "phonemes," or vowel sound patterns, that appear often in the English language. Word banks and example cards are provided below to give an idea of how the phoneme/vowel blend will translate to sentences for the postcard stories.
What You Need:
- 5 large, blank index cards or blank postcards (can be purchased at any post office)
What You Do:
- Collect a “sound bank” of vowel patterns. Some examples could be:
- Ow—town, about, mouth, sound, loud, our
- Oy—boy, noisy, joy, toy
- Ar—shark, party, bark, mark, park
- Ear—hear, sheer, steer, deer, fear, near
- U—brook, look, shook, wood, put
- Pick one set of vowel patterns. For this example, the "ow" vowel pattern (town, about, mouth sound, loud, our) will be used.
- Work with your child to write a short message or story onto a 4" x 6” index card—one sentence is just fine to start—that uses as many words as possible from that group. For example: "Our Aunt Sally took us on a train ride. The sound of the beachside town we traveled to was loud. She told us about the legend of the mouth of the river that made this destination famous."
- If your child can handle the writing, have him write the message on one side of the 4" x 6” index card. If not, it's fine to write for him for now, but do invite him to do this important final step: take a highlighter and highlight every word that includes an “ow” sound!
- Turn the card over, and invite your child to draw a picture on the front to illustrate the message. To protect the picture, cover it with a sheet of clear plastic contact paper, trimmed neatly to the edge of the card.
- When you're done, send it off, and don't hesitate to keep writing more!
Alicia Danyali, B.S. Elementary Education, taught primary-level students for four years at the International School of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The last four years of her teaching career, she taught at the Washington International School in Washington, D.C. She recently completed writing a series of children's picture books and is a mother of one young son.


William Gedney Bunce (1840 – 1916)
Born in Hartford, Connecticut, William Gedney Bunce served in the Civil War, 1st Connecticut Cavalry. He was discharged after two years due to a leg wound, which resulted in a limp the rest of his life.
Bunce began his art education under Julius T. Busch, a German-born artist residing in Hartford. After the Civil War, he moved to New York City where he studied under William Hart.
By 1867 he had moved abroad. He spent more than a decade studying in various European cities. He sojourned in London, Paris and Rome. World renowned sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens met Bunce soon after he had arrived in Rome. St. Gaudens had been informed of a fine studio that was being occupied by a young dying man. St. Gaudens met the supposedly fatally ill young man who turned out to be Bunce. Saint-Gaudens later commented: “We became fast friends. This was thirty-six years ago and still he is alive, as sound as a drum, as lively as a cricket, and likely to outlive those of us who expected to attend his funeral and occupy his studio in Rome.”
While in Rome in 1871, Bunce’s first paintings were sent back to the United States for exhibition, but it was not until his 1879 return to New York City that he received critical acclaim. His paintings were unique in that he composed them with a palette knife rather than a paintbrush. In 1880 his evocative Venetian canal scenes were praised, but a year later there were already warnings from the press of mannerism and unmotivated repetition. Nevertheless, he was recognized for his sense of color and apparent simplistic design.
Until World War I, Bunce divided his time between Venice and the United States, but he was more associated with Venice. Over the years he became something of an institution there. Acquaintances like Robert Blum and William Merritt Chase joked about his proud and cantankerous nature, which in 1881 had caused Venetian gondoliers to refuse him their services. But he also had loyal promoters and patrons, such as the dealer Daniel Cottier, the architect Stanford White, and Queen Victoria of England who had ordered one of his Venetian landscapes.
Bunce kept a New York studio on Washington Square for many years but ultimately moved back to Hartford, where he built a new studio and continued to paint until 1916. Bunce died on November 5, 1916 when he was hit by a car while crossing the street – one of the first victims of an automobile accident in Hartford.


All over the world, compulsory education is divided into three stages. The first stage is pre-school education. Pre-school education is followed by primary or elementary education. Secondary education or middle school is meant function as preparation for high school. Most of the countries around the world have compulsory primary education but there are some regions where they have granted permission to the parents to provide primary education to their children. The age at which a child transfers from primary to secondary or high school education is different in different places but mostly around age 11 or 12.
Southern New Hampshire University
American InterContinental University Online
Colorado Technical University Online
What is Elementary Physical Education?
The main aim of primary education is to provide children with the basic knowledge of literature, mathematics and lay the foundation of other social sciences like geography and history etc. Usually children receive their primary education in elementary or primary schools, where they consistently advance in classes and finally reach high school. Children are usually placed with one teacher who is responsible for their education for the whole year. That teacher is assisted sometimes by other teachers for the subject areas that don't come under the expertise of that teacher.
In the USA, primary school is more commonly known as grade school or grammar school. Primary education is comprised of either 6 or 8 grades and sometimes includes kindergarten as well. In elementary schools, teachers usually imply a looping strategy, in which the same teacher teaches the same group of students for two years. For example, if a teacher teaches grade 2 the whole year, then the teacher would go on and teach those students in grade 3 as well. And after that the teacher would revert back to grade 2 and repeat the whole process again.
Keeping the body active is important for the health of growing children; this may be done by offering recreational or sporting activities which may include jump rope or team sports like football, baseball or basketball etc. According to NASPE's recommendations school-age kids should avoid a sedentary lifestyle and should engage in physical activities lasting up to 60 minutes per day.
According to the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE), every child in USA has a right to have quality physical education and physical activity. Physical education is by far the best way to teach them the techniques and skills required for a healthy and active lifestyle by providing them physical activity. Teachers for Physical education assess different knowledge of the student and also their social and motor skills, and provide them the physical education accordingly. According to NASPE's recommendation, elementary school children should be provided with at least 150 minutes physical education per week, and as for middle and high school students the duration should be 225 minutes per week.
Compulsory Elementary Physical Education is the best way to ensure that school age children are getting the recommended daily exercise.


NROER is a solution developed to address the challenges faced by the education sector of our country. It intends to reach the unreached, include the excluded and prioritizes to extend education to all. It is a collaborative platform involving everyone who is interested in education. It offers resources for all school subjects and grades in multiple languages. It brings together all the digital resources for a school system such as educational videos, audio, images, documents and interactive modules and also allows you to contribute your own resources.
The Repository is based on the concept of Semantic Maps. It organizes its collections into the ever growing semantic maps of concepts. The map itself is a learning resource for teachers, through which they can critically assess the curriculum and aids them in the construction of their own unique learning themes for their classrooms. The digital resources are all mapped to subjects, which currently are divided into 5 categories namely, Math, Science, Social Science, Languages and Art Education. Each subject has a list of concepts. This enables access to a library from where teachers can access audio, videos, learning objects, images, question banks, activities/presentations and more related to the concepts. They can also upload resources which are subject to review by experts. In addition to this, NROER allows teachers to download, share, comment and rate media resources.
Objectives of NROER are:
- To store, preserve and provide access to a variety of digital resources to students and teachers.
- To enable the participation of the community in the development and sharing of digital resources.
- To enhance the quality of the education system of the country.
- To facilitate teachers to create and share contextual teaching and learning resources.
- To celebrate innovations in resource creation.
Features of NROER are:
- Open access to anyone who wants to access the resources.
- Resources are available for free.
- Resources are share-able.
- Resources are available in the form of discrete chunks in contrast to those available as bulk and make it difficult for a person to segregate information from them.
- Eliminates the need of research from several places, since all resources on any particular subject or topic you desire are present in one place and are comprehensive.
- Resources sometimes may need to be contextualized, by wraparound materials that support them.
- Resources can be added to the NROER pool, subject to proper licensing.
This initiative is also a significant step towards inclusive education. Opening access to all requires a debate on the issue of ownership, copyright, licensing and a balancing of reach with legitimate commercial interests. This is particularly important for public institutions and public funded projects. NROER frees itself of these boundations since it carries the CC BY-SA license which allows it to legally reuse, revise, remix and redistribute content. To contribute to the repository, one must ensure that they are hosting the resources under a Creative Commons license (CC BY-SA) and that the documents uploaded are encoded using non-proprietary, open standards.
Also, to ensure the smooth functioning and to properly avail the services of the Repository, one needs to take support of various ICT (Information and Communications Technology) tools, which enhance the utility and add value to it.
Hence, the NROER is a comprehensive digital repository for open Educational Resources (OER ), which in addition to providing opportunities for users to access and create educational resources also allows them to enroll in various online courses and participate in online contests.
I hope this will open doors to new ways of interactive learning for the students and teachers and will revolutionize the entire education system of our country. We are most willing to address any doubts you have related to the context and invite you to share with us any additional knowledge you may possess on the same. The Comment Box awaits you.


ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN:
Art and Antiques
May 7, 1991.
Jon Gnagy. Moon and Grapes, 1943. Oil-glazed tempera on panel. 10 x 14 inches.
You Were an Artist
by Liz Seymour
When Jon Gnagy's You Are an Artist went out of syndication in 1970, it held the world's record for the longest continuously running show on television. The formula was simple and irresistible: a man, an easel, a piece of charcoal, and a sketch that was completed and framed in fifteen minutes. At its height Gnagy's show reached 60 million households, and his learn-to-draw kitsstill in production todayreached even more. "Jon Gnagy," said Andy Warhol, "taught me to draw."
Who taught Jon Gnagy? From his youth, Jon called it the Art Spirit. Something inside him told him how to see and to recreate what he saw. That "spirit" turned my grandfather, a high school dropout from Pretty Prairie, Kansas, into, arguably, the century's most influential art instructor. But the journey wasn't easy.
In 1935, Gnagy (then an art director for an ad agency) suffered a nervous breakdown that proved a pivotal point in his life. "I began to ask what was happening to me . . . what was the nature of the various levels of consciousness I was experiencing,' he later wrote. "In short, I phrased the question: 'What is art all about?'."
He studied psychology, philosophy, physiology, and biology. The physics of light and color became an obsession. He developed a personal chart tracing the creative processes in the human mind.
Distilling his self-taught theories into a method of art instruction, Jon Gnagy began taking on students, but with the zeal of a missionary he longed for a larger audience. At the 1939 World's Fair, he saw a demonstration of television and soon began working and reworking a series of ten-minute lessons he hoped to bring to the air.
From feast to famine and back to feast again; an offer of a job as assistant art director came from Philadelphia. The move was made, the work and pay was good and soon the Gnagy family moved to the growing art colony of New Hope, Pennsylvania, where Jon could mingle with other artists and study for three hours a day on the commuter train. During the next eighteen years the smoking car of that little train was Jon's study hall. Reading every book on art and philosophy and joining interesting discussions with famous artists, authors, playwrights and composers in the Bucks County Genius Belt gave him better than art school or college education.
When, in 1946, the first TV tower was erected atop the Empire State Building, Gnagy was ready. NBC gave him a spot on "Radio City Matinee" alongside a chef making hollandaise sauce and a milliner trimming hats. The crayon melted under the lights, the chalk squeaked, but he was a hitwith almost everybody.
In 1951, members of the Museum of Modern Art's committee on art education sent an angry letter to the New York Times. "The use of superficial tricks and formulas found in the Jon Gnagy type of program," they wrote, "is destructive to the creative and mental growth of children." I think the phrase "superficial tricks and gimmicks" really stung. When my mother was going through her father's things after his death in 1981, she found a copy of the MoMA letter carefully preserved in a file cabinet, along with a Times article in which he rather stifly defended himself. "My purpose," he always said, "is to get as many people as possible to sketch on their own."
The principles my grandfather taught were too basic to be called tricks. After all, the cube, the ball, the cone, and the cylinderthe building blocks of every Thursday-night broadcastwere old news in Caravaggio's day. What was new, and startling in it's power, was the medium of television, which made those principles available on a scale never before seen in the history of art. The thousands of carefully shaded pumpkins, covered bridges, and cocker spaniels taped up on refrigerators weren't the products of stifled imaginations, they were shouts of amazement from people who had suddenly discovered, as Jon Gnagy said at the beginning of every show, "If you can draw these four simple forms, you can draw a real picture the first time you try."
The World of


Turn your associate degree
into a bachelor’s degree
A.A.T. in Elementary Education ---> B.S. in Early Childhood Education
A.A.S. in Child Growth & Development ---> B.S. in Early Childhood Education
Bachelor of Science
in Early Childhood Education
The early childhood education degree allows you to focus your educational training on working with young children ages birth through third grade. Graduates will be prepared to teach in public or private school settings where a teaching certificate is required.
Most courses are offered online, at Metropolitan Community College-Penn Valley Campus, or at Missouri Western’s Kansas City Northland campus. Most courses are offered in the evening or online to fit your busy schedule.
Who is this program for?
- Current elementary teachers with certificates and applied science degrees
- Childcare employees with certificates and applied science degrees
- College students who have earned an A.A.T. or A.A.S. in Child Growth and Development/Early Childhood
- Individuals who desire to become certified in early childhood education
Metropolitan Community College students have the opportunity to plan their A.A.T. or A.A.S. degrees to seamlessly transfer to Missouri Western.
Why Early Childhood Education?
The early childhood years are a time to lay the critical foundation for educational success. As an early childhood educator (0-8), you will have an enormous impact on building a solid learning foundation for young children.
This learning foundation assures young children the best academic and social base for future learning. Early childhood teachers help to provide the tools and the environment for their students to develop into responsible adults.
Research documents that teachers who have earned four-year university degrees are better prepared to provide high-quality preschool education (nieer.org, preknow.org).
As a result of state and federal legislation, there has been an increased emphasis on preparing early childhood educators. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, “Employment of preschool teachers is projected to grow 17 percent from 2012 to 2022, faster than the average for all occupations. Growth is expected due to a continued focus on the importance of early childhood education and the growing population of children ages 3 to 5.” (www.bls.gov/ooh/education-training-and-library/preschool-teachers.htm)
What can I do with my degree?
In addition to working as a certified teacher, the following is a partial list of the careers graduates could pursue:
- Early Interventionists
- Parent and Teacher Educators
- Child Care Center Directors
- Child Life Specialists
- Child Care Resource-and-Referral Agency Counselor
- Policy Analyst
- Staff Development Specialist
Why should I choose Missouri Western?
Quality: Missouri Western’s Northland graduates consistently pass the Praxis II exit exam at a rate that is above state and national averages.
Accredited: This program is approved by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the National Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. Missouri Western is a fully accredited institution.
Convenient: Take courses online, blended and face-to-face in the Kansas City region. Most courses in this program are online. A few are blended or entirely face-to-face, with some being offered at Metropolitan Community College - Penn Valley campus. Some courses may overlap with courses offered at the Kansas City Northland Campus.
Affordable: Completing your first two years of college at a community college can save you thousands of dollars. Pair that with Missouri Western’s low in-state tuition rate, and you have one of the most affordable ways to earn an early childhood education degree in the state of Missouri.
Griffon Rate: Now students from 51 neighboring counties, including Johnson and Wyandotte counties in Kansas, can receive a tuition rate equivalent to in-state tuition.
Scholarships: If you have completed 24 hours at a community college with a cumulative GPA of 3.5 or better, you may be eligible for the President’s Transfer Scholarship, the Griffon Scholar Scholarship or the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship (Phi Theta Kappa members only). If you have completed 24 hours at a community college with a cumulative GPA of 3.3 or better, you may be eligible for the Governor’s Transfer Scholarship. Additional transfer scholarships are available. For more information about Missouri Western scholarships, please call (816) 271-4361 or visit https://www.missouriwestern.edu/finaid.


Merle J. Isaac (1898-1996): His Contributions and Influence on Music Published for the School Orchestra
Tsugawa, Samuel, Journal of Historical Research in Music Education
The rise and development of instrumental music instruction in the public schools in the United States remains a superlative accomplishment of the progressive education movement during the first half of the 20th century. (1) Between 1900-1920, pioneer orchestra teachers such as Will Earhart, Joseph Maddy, and Osbourne McConathy created opportunities for students to participate in school orchestras throughout the United States. (2) Their vision, energy, and political shrewdness helped create the demand for orchestras in the schools. In fact, according to Birge, expanding the school orchestra during this period had a profound impact on how future instrumental music instruction in the schools developed. The growth of elementary school orchestras, grade and high school bands, and other instrumental class instruction received its "foundational beginnings" from the high school orchestra being established and accepted at this point as a viable course of study. (3)
At the end of World War I, school orchestra and bands grew as thousands of musicians trained by the military returned home with the abilities to serve as teachers and conductors. (4) Improving instrumentation, which changed the musical identity of a school instrumental ensemble, and the contest movement "played a large role in the stimulation of instrumental music in the public schools." (5)
In spite of these early successes, however, a philosophical and pedagogical void regarding how to teach stringed instruments remained throughout the 1920s and 1930s. At the center of this void was the dearth of published music and method books for student orchestras.
In 1920, a committee appointed by the Music Supervisors National Conference combed through several thousand works to determine appropriate selections for student orchestras. The results of this survey yielded a list of only 302 selections. A revised study published five years later expanded the list to 582. (6) Prior to 1930, much of the music published proved too difficult for school groups to perform. (7) By 1929, however, teachers began to share a glimmer of optimism. G.F. McKay noted in the 1929 MENC Yearbook, "Genius will appear which will give its energy and enthusiasm to the very specific problem of orchestral literature for the schools."8 This seemingly prophetic statement foreshadowed a change in the musical landscape for school orchestras.
I believe that the genius and enthusiasm McKay spoke of exemplifies the life and works of Merle J. Isaac (1898-1996). Isaac remains to this day a strong influence on the philosophical, curricular, and musical development of public school orchestras. Isaac's prolific output of arrangements, compositions, and method books span sixty years (9) making his name familiar to most school orchestra directors. (10) In addition, Isaac's articles and books provide sage advice on arranging, teaching, string pedagogy, and managing programs; consequently, providing a pedagogical and leadership model for current music educators. In a time when age-appropriate music and method books were in their infancy, Isaac was one of the first string educators to teach string classes in a heterogeneous setting and combine the use of a method book and compositions and arrangements suited to beginners to teach musicianship through orchestra performance, a model of instrumental music teaching still prevalent today.
[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]
The purpose of this article is to add to the scant body of knowledge about Isaac, his accomplishments, and contributions to music education. The availability of music and materials had a large impact on how school orchestras grew between 1930 and 1960. During this period, Isaac's arrangements, compositions, and method books provided a foundation for today's school orchestras to develop. This article will document Isaac's life and career, analyze his writings, philosophies, and music, and contextualize his contributions and influence on the modern school orchestra. …


Learning to play a musical instrument or to sing can help disadvantaged children strengthen their reading and language skills, according to research presented at the American Psychological Association's 122nd Annual Convention.
The findings, which involved hundreds of kids participating in musical training programs in Chicago and Los Angeles public schools, highlight the role learning music can have on the brains of youth in impoverished areas, according to presenter Nina Kraus, PhD, a neurobiologist at Northwestern University.
"Research has shown that there are differences in the brains of children raised in impoverished environments that affect their ability to learn," said Kraus. "While more affluent students do better in school than children from lower income backgrounds, we are finding that musical training can alter the nervous system to create a better learner and help offset this academic gap." Up until now, research on the impact of musical training has been primarily conducted on middle- to upper-income music students participating in private music lessons, she said.
Kraus's lab research has concluded that musical training appears to enhance the way children's nervous systems process sounds in a busy environment, such as a classroom or a playground. This improved neural function may lead to enhanced memory and attention spans which, in turn, allow kids to focus better in the classroom and improve their communication skills, she said.
Many of Kraus's study participants are part of the Harmony Project in Los Angeles, which was founded by fellow presenter Margaret Martin, PhD. In her most recent research, Kraus studied children beginning when they were in first and second grade. Half participated in musical training and the other half were randomly selected from the program's lengthy waiting list and received no musical training during the first year of the study. Children who had no musical training had diminished reading scores while Harmony Project participants' reading scores remained unchanged over the same time span.
Kraus's lab also found that, after two years, neural responses to sound in adolescent music students were faster and more precise than in students in another type of enrichment class. The researchers tested the auditory abilities in adolescents from lower economic backgrounds at three public high schools in Chicago. Over two years, half of the students participated in either band or choir during each school day while the other half were enrolled in Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps classes, which teaches character education, achievement, wellness, leadership and diversity. All participants had comparable reading ability and IQs at the start of the study. The researchers recorded the children's brain waves as they listened to a repeated syllable against soft background sound, which made it harder for the brain to process. The researchers repeated measures after one year and again at the two-year mark. They found music students' neural responses had strengthened while the JROTC students' responses had remained the same. Interestingly, the differences in the music students' brain waves in response to sounds as described above occurred after two years but not at one year, which showed that these programs cannot be used as quick fixes, Kraus said. This is the strongest evidence to date that public school music education in lower-income students can lead to better sound processing in the brain when compared to other types of enrichment education, she added.
Even after the lessons stop, the brain still reaps benefits, according to studies on the long-term benefits of music lessons. In one study, Kraus's team surveyed college students and asked them how many years they had music training. As they found with the elementary school students, college students who had more than five years of musical training in elementary school or high school had improved neural responses to sound when compared to college students who had had no musical training.
The Harmony Project provides instruments for the students who participate five or more hours a week in musical instruction and ensemble rehearsals. The project is year-round and tuition-free based on income, said Martin. Many of the programs build full-time bands in neighborhoods where the students live and the students agree to commit to the program from elementary school through high school, she said.
"We're spending millions of dollars on drugs to help kids focus and here we have a non-pharmacologic intervention that thousands of disadvantaged kids devote themselves to in their non-school hours -- that works," Martin said. "Learning to make music appears to remodel our kids' brains in ways that facilitates and improves their ability to learn."
The Harmony Project has launched programs in other urban school districts, including Miami, New Orleans, Tulsa, Kansas City, Missouri and Ventura, California.


Background/Purpose The development of fundamental movement skills (FMS) is associated with positive health-related outcomes. However, children do not develop FMS naturally through maturational processes. These skills need to be learned, practiced, and reinforced. The purpose of this study is to determine the effectiveness of motor skill interventions in children.
Method The following databases (Academic Search Premier, PsycArticles, PsycInfo, SportDiscus, and ERIC) were searched for relevant articles and appropriate key terms were used for the search process. Pertinent journals and article reference lists were also manually searched. Inclusion Criteria for the meta-analysis were: (1) implementation of any type of motor skill intervention, (2) pre- and post- qualitative assessment of FMS, and (3) availability of means and standard deviations of motor performance.
Analysis/Results A significant positive effect of motor skill interventions on the improvement of FMS in children was found (d = .39, p < .001). Results indicate that object control (d = .41, p < .001) and locomotor skills (d = .45, p < .001) improved similarly from pre- to post- intervention. The overall effect size for control groups (i.e. free play) was not significant (d = .06; p = .33). A Pearson correlation indicated a non-significant (p = .296), negative correlation (r = -.18) between effect size of pre- to post-improvement of FMS and the duration of the intervention (in minutes).
Conclusions Motor skill interventions are effective in improving FMS in children. Early childhood education centers should implement “planned” movement programs as a strategy to promote motor skill development in children.
See more of: Research Consortium


Music Boosts Test Scores
Students may want to put down their pencils and pick up their piccolos. A recent study shows schools with excellent music programs show better results on standardized tests in math and English.
Aired March 31, 2008
2 minutes (2.5 MB) | Download mp3
Research shows that quality school music programs boost performance on standardized tests. From the University of Kansas, this is Research Matters. I'm Brendan Lynch.
Students may want to put down their pencils and pick up their piccolos. In a time when emphasis on testing often has meant cutbacks for school music programs, a study by KU researcher Christopher Johnson shows that slashing music could undermine standardized test performance in math and English.
Christopher Johnson: "We picked schools that were elementary or junior high that were fairly well matched in every demographic, except what was going on in their music classrooms. We looked for classrooms that had outstanding music education going on and classrooms that were less than adequate."
Johnson, professor of music education and music therapy and associate dean of the School of Fine Arts at KU, found jumps of 22 percent in English test scores and 20 percent in math scores at elementary schools with superior music education. Results were similar in middle schools. One theory holds that higher scores result because music helps to develop attentiveness.
Christopher Johnson: "When you sit down and do a standardized test you are on task trying to concentrate and focus for an extended period of time. And there's really not a lot of things in school that require you to that. You can do a couple of math problems, get off task, look at the wall. You know, read a couple of lines in English and zone out. But if you zone out in band you're likely to be playing a solo. If you zone out in choir, you might sing a solo - that has to be just as mortifying."
Ultimately, Johnson says music education should thrive on its own merits.
Christopher Johnson: "It would be ridiculous to say, 'OK, put a good chorus in your school and your test results are going to go up 20 percent. That's not the reason we should have a good chorus in our school. The reason we should have a good chorus is because we should have one. Every kid should be able to sing in a good chorus and play in a good instrumental ensemble because of the things that music offers."
For more about music and test scores, log onto Research Matters dot K-U dot E-D-U. For the University of Kansas, I'm Brendan Lynch.
Tell Me More
KU professor finds link between music programs, academic achievement
LAWRENCE - Music has inspired people to dance, sing and create songs of their own for centuries, but can it also inspire improved academic performance? A recently published study by University of Kansas professor Christopher Johnson argues that it does.


(Last Updated on : 28/06/2011)
Adult education in India is the process to provide education to the adult and aged people who, somehow, had failed to receive the elementary education during their childhood. The effort of providing adult education in India has been in existence for the past several years, as it is one of the most important things in building an educated nation. Unless the adults realize the importance of education they would never understand the need to educate their progeny. Education is one of the stepping stones for building a strong nation. Hence adult education is promoted on a large scale in the Indian sub continent.
Adult education in India is mainly provided at night schools. These are situated in almost all the Indian cities
and villages. The provision for imparting education has been made at night because most of the people are engaged during the day. Apart from the night schools, the Government of India
had also set up some libraries so that the adults can study more to become educated, not just literate. Adult education is included among the most important responsibilities of the Government, as the eradication of illiteracy has been one of the major national concerns of the Government of India since independence. The government launched the programme of Social Education, under the Community Development Programme in 1952, as part of the first Five Year Plan. In the recent times, the government has launched the programme called National Literacy Mission (NLM) for spreading adult education in India.
A large number of initiatives have been taken so far for providing adult education in India. Machinery comprising male and female Social Education Organisers at grass-roots level and a Chief Social Education organiser has been created, apart from the Social Education Organizers' Training Centres (SEOTCs). The government has also established model community centres, rural libraries, Janata Colleges, youth clubs, mahila mandals and folk schools, for spreading adult education. The Council for Rural Higher Education was established and a Standing Committee of the Central Advisory Board of Education (CABE) on Social Education was also constituted in 1956. The government also started a National Fundamental Education Centre for providing high-level training facilities to the adults.
: The main objects of this programme are literacy, extension, general education and social consciousness. It was in the period 1951-1956.
Gram Shikshan Mohim
: This movement was started in the year 1959 in Maharashtra
. This programme was launched on an experimental basis into 25 districts of the state. The duration of the movement was very short as there was not any systematic setting due to which there was large scale relapse of neo-literates into illiterate.
Farmer's functional literacy project
: This project was accelerated as part of the Green Revolution with the objective of making farmers functionally literate in high yielding cultivation areas.
: This programme is initiated through the Central Board of Workers' Education and its institutes. However, the steps under this scheme could not be linked to the literacy schemes/projects being funded under the departments of Education of the states or by the Govt. of India.
Non formal education for youth
: In the starting of the fifth plan an educational system for the age group of 15-25 was launched. It was a significant even in the history of Indian education.
Besides these, several other programmes were also introduced by Indian Government
Education commission was a significant event which highly prioritised the step to remove illiteracy. The functional literacy of adult women project was started in the year 1975-1976. This scheme targeted at illiterate adult women to acquire functional skills along with literacy, to promote better awareness of health, hygiene, child-care practices and to bring about attitudinal changes.
A massive programme of Adult Education called the National Adult Education Programme (NAEP) for removal of illiteracy in the 15-35 age group was introduced by the Government of India on 2nd October, 1978. The aim of this programme was to educate 100 million adults within a time frame of five years.
The states in India also took up centre based projects under the state plan funds on the lines of RFLPs.
However, apart from the Indian government, a large number of NGOs have also been working to spread adult education in India and they have indeed done a great job so far.


Making Baby Genius
No More Mozart?
Oct. 10, 2001 -- Want to boost your baby's brainpower? When preschool interviews loomed for my toddler twins, I got to thinking about that "Mozart for Babies" CD. We'd played it twice and abandoned it when it got on everyone's nerves. The "Learn Your Colors" flash cards met a similar fate: The kids simply scattered them on the floor.
But with academic competition right around the corner, I wondered now if we'd revved up our babies' brainpower enough. Had we missed learning opportunities during the much-talked-about birth-to-3 age period?
New research has given parents a flood of information on how the brains of infants, babies, and toddlers develop, and the marketplace has responded with a slew of products that promise to give your child a leading edge. But this information seems only to have added to the confusion about how to best stimulate young children intellectually.
A Window for Learning
Thanks to science, we know that the auditory cortex -- the part of the brain that processes sound -- develops early, which is why it's easier to learn music and foreign languages before age 12. But what's the best way to teach young children music and language? Should I be waving Spanish flash cards at my toddlers?
Not at all, says noted child psychiatrist Stanley Greenspan, MD, co-author, with T. Berry Brazelton, MD, of The Irreducible Needs of Children. Instead of worrying about filling your baby's brain with information, concentrate on building a nurturing relationship, he says. Crucial early childhood learning -- everything from social skills and emotions to how to count to 10 -- occurs in the context of the parent-child relationship.
"What we've learned from new brain research is that kids need a lot more interaction than we thought before," Greenspan tells WebMD. "Flash cards are not very good. Anything that is memory-based is not very good. Things that are learned by doing and interacting are better."
So, being a sensitive, involved parent is more important for a child's development than scheduling vocabulary lessons. This was reassuring news, as far as I was concerned. The idea that learning takes place in the context of relationships made sense, too. When I played Spanish language tapes in the car, hoping the kids would pick up some phrases, they just sat in their car seats staring into space. But when their adored baby-sitter spoke to them in Spanish as she playfully changed their clothes, the kids laughed and smiled and seemed to be soaking up every word.


by Patricia Hughes
What are some of the changes in the sixth month of pregnancy. First, the fetus is moving a lot this month. The baby is still small enough to move freely in the fluid and changes positions often. She breathes in fluid and swallows it. This helps the baby develop the muscles used in breathing and eating.
The fetus continues remarkable growth and development. Fat is beginning to form under the surface of the skin. This will keep the baby warm and regulate body temperature after birth. Fine hair, called lanugo, grows all over the body. A waxy substance called vernix helps protect the baby’s skin in the watery environment of the womb.
The facial features look like a miniature newborn baby. The finger and toe nails are growing as well. Meconium is forming in the intestines. This is a black, tar like substance that you will see in the baby’s first stool. The baby has come a long way in six short months.
This mini baby looks almost fully formed. The lungs are not developed yet. If the baby were to be born now, she would spend months in the NICU. By the end of the month, the baby will weigh between one and one and a half pounds. She will be between eleven and fourteen inches long.
It’s important to continue to have regular prenatal care. The doctor or midwife will be able to monitor you and the baby. Complications are easier to prevent and treat if the mother has good care during the pregnancy. Most visits are the same. You will be weighed and your blood pressure will be checked. You will need to give a urine sample. The doctor will listen to the baby’s heart rate and measure the fundal height.
You will be feeling more movements this month. As the baby gets bigger, the movements get stronger and more frequent. You may begin to notice patterns in the time when the baby is active or asleep. Physically, you may experience symptoms such as indigestion, heart burn, bleeding gums, constipation and aches in the lower abdomen.
Some women notice an increased appetite around this time. Eat when you are hungry. Many doctors recommend six smaller meals spaced throughout the day. Choose healthy foods for snacking between meals. This will ensure the best nutrition for your baby. Eating healthy also helps control weight gain.
As your belly grows, you may find your abdomen itches. This is due to the skin stretching as the baby grows. Dry skin may make the itching worse. Body lotion may help with the itching. Apply a moisturizing lotion after you shower to help keep the skin soft and reduce the itch.
How do you plan to feed your baby? Experts agree that breast-milk is best for babies. There are many benefits to both mother and baby from breastfeeding. Talk to your doctor about breastfeeding. The key to success is knowledge and support. Read about breastfeeding to gain knowledge. Consider joining a support group such as La Leche League.
If you want to breastfeed, sign up for a class. These are offered at hospitals and birthing centers all over the country. Ask your doctor or call the hospital for information and to register for the class. These classes offer valuable information and cover common concerns. Taking a class will increase your confidence and help ensure success.
Don't forget to check out our next article: The 7th Month of Pregnancy
Patricia Hughes is a freelance writer and mother of four. Patricia has a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from Florida Atlantic University. She has written extensively on pregnancy, childbirth, parenting and breastfeeding. In addition, she has written about home décor and travel.
No part of this article may be copied or reproduced in any form without the express permission of More4Kids Inc © and All Rights Reserved.


The Oregon shootings raise the question of what can be done to reduce the frequency of gun violence. New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof argued in favor of smaller steps that might enjoy public support, such as requiring safe storage at home and a 10-year ban for anyone convicted of domestic violence or assault.
Kristof said the country would do well to tackle this problem as a matter of public health. To drive home that point, he made a grim comparison.
"In America, more preschoolers are shot dead each year (82 in 2013) than police officers are in the line of duty (27 in 2013), according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the FBI," Kristof wrote in an Oct. 3, 2015 op-ed.
A reader asked us to see if that was accurate. We found that it was, and for more years than the one he cited. We also stress-tested his comparison by defining preschoolers more narrowly than he did and for the most part, the comparison still holds up.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation tracks the deaths of law enforcement officers, whether they serve in the smallest sheriff’s department or a large federal agency. In 2013, 26 officers died in shootings. (Kristof was off by one because he included a non-shooting death.)
Counting the deaths of preschoolers is a bit more complicated. You have to decide the age range that defines a preschooler, and whether to include both accidental and intentional killings.
We learned from Kristof that he took preschoolers to mean every child from a newborn to 4-years-old, and he included gun deaths under all circumstances. Since public health routinely focuses on accidents, that is consistent with Kristof’s approach and gun violence normally includes homicide.
Kristof said he picked his age group based on the definition used by the U.S. Education Department. The agency’s guide to Title 1 services (aid for lower income children) leaves the range rather open-ended.
It says "For the purpose of Title I, children from birth to the age that the LEA (Local Education Agency) provides a free public elementary education may receive preschool services."
Some school districts might take children at age 5, in others, it might be 6. Kristof’s 0 to 4 seems defensible.
However, we also found that the CDC often considers preschoolers to be children from the ages of 3 to 5. We used both age groups when we pulled death statistics from the CDC’s WISQAR fatal injury database. This table using FBI and CDC data shows the results.
For the age range Kristof used, firearm deaths of preschoolers exceeded those of law enforcement officers in every year back to 2008. For the more restricted CDC age range, his statement held up in four out of the past six years.
Kristof said that more preschoolers are shot dead each year than are on-duty police officers. For children aged 0-4, that is accurate for the past six years. For children aged 3-5, the statement is true in most years, but not in every year.
We rate the claim Mostly True.


May 14, 2013
Dig Into Reading at your local library
Reading and math summer programs aim to keep children learning this summer
Colorado Commissioner of Education Robert Hammond and the Colorado State Library are urging educators and families to help students retain and develop academic skills by reading and practicing math skills during summer vacation. For Colorado's students, summer is a time of fun, but those months away from school can result in a loss of knowledge and reading ability. Summer reading and math programs include additional offerings to keep students engaged and excited about learning.
“Reading and mathematics are foundational skills our students need to be productive, successful citizens,” said Gene Hainer, assistant commissioner of the State Library. “Participation in these programs will help students retain and develop academic skills, so they are well-prepared to return to school in the fall.”
Public libraries across Colorado will encourage children, teens, and adults to read this summer through Dig Into Reading, this year’s summer reading program. The program invites people of all ages to explore everything underground while reading, attending fun events and engaging in activities like making your own fossils. Visit your local public library for more information and to register for the free program.
In addition to the summer reading program at public libraries, Find a Book Colorado is a tool that enables students and parents to create personalized reading lists to match a reader with books that interest them and provide the right level of challenge to support reading growth. It includes books for children in grades K-12 and books in Spanish. Parents can access Find a Book Colorado online from home.
New this year, is the Summer Math Challenge, a program that helps prevent summer math loss for students entering grades 3-6. Once signed up, parents can get daily emails with fun activities and resources. The program begins on Monday, June 24 and runs for six weeks. Enroll at quantiles.com/accounts/registration/.


Details about Literacy Assessment of Second Language Learners:
Experts in the field of assessment of literacy development of bilingual learners have contributed articles that provide tools to help classroom teachers assess literacy. In response to the increasingly diverse bilingual population of our schools, this book offers clear, research-based and class tested perspectives so that teachers can work with the literacy needs and levels of their students. Literacy Assessment of Second Language Learners views literacy as a social, linguistic and cognitive process. Abilities developed in one language are used and transferred to a second language. The approach to assessment is authentic and meaning based as compared to traditional, formal assessment. This text also takes into account the unique circumstances of second language learners. For educators of a Second Language.
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Rent Literacy Assessment of Second Language Learners 1st edition today, or search our site for other textbooks by Sandra R. Hurley. Every textbook comes with a 21-day "Any Reason" guarantee. Published by Pearson.


Geology is a sub-field of environmental studies and earth sciences that analyses the history and physical structure of the earth, its constitutive materials and the processes shaping it. Geology studies the chemical and physical properties of earth materials including minerals, natural gases and water. It also deals with earth hazards such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and floods.
Geologists combine applied tools from the fields of maths, physics, chemistry, or biology to study the geologic environment and its impact on human life. They often specialise in a particular geological research area such as earth processes, earth materials or earth history. Professionals also use their expertise in assessing environmental problems and identifying means and ways to solve or minimize those issues.
Academic programmes in geology present several specialization opportunities, with majors ranging from palaeontology, geological hazards, to petroleum geology, geo-informatics and economic geology. Besides theoretical knowledge, students also gain a strong understanding of field methods and data-collection practices. They interpret the results in lab sessions, use modern technology for research and improve their numeracy skills.
Graduates in geology work in a variety of settings, with the most common being industrial companies, environmental consulting firms, government agencies and non-profit organisations. Example job titles include: geo-hydrologist, engineering geologist, geophysicist, seismic interpreter, palaeontologist, petroleum geologist, etc.View all Master's Degrees in Geology


Gordon in the News: last updated 10/24/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2008
Office of College Communications
WENHAM, MA-On September 17, 1787, thirty-nine men signed the U.S. Constitution and forever changed the direction of the nation. On Wednesday, September 17, 2008, thirty-two Gordon College students will read the document out loud--every word of it--as they gather for POL104 class, American National Politics.
Because Wednesday is formally U.S. Constitution Day, students around the country will likely be studying the content and context of the formative work. But Gordon Associate Professor of Political Studies and Ipswich resident, Dr. Paul Brink, says he'd hold the oral reading in his class anyway, even if the day wasn't marked as a holiday.
"My main goal is for students to know the Constitution, and to have read and heard it with some care at least once," Brink said. "Both the right and the left see it as the bedrock of American politics and both also appeal to it again and again. So students need to have more than a passing acquaintance with it."
Hearing the document out loud, though, isn't always easy. It can raise many questions and issues for political studies students who, like many citizens, know only passing references to the Constitution. As a result, Brink calls the oral reading, "a great discussion-starter. It leads us to ask questions like, 'Should we read the Bill of Rights? Should these amendments be considered part of the Constitution? Would you have signed the Constitution without the Bill of Rights?"
Brink said his students also wrestle over the phrase in Article 1, the famous "three fifths of other persons" description, which was included for both determining a state's number of representatives and for taxation purpose--identifying slaves as only 3/5 of a human being.
"That's a hard question for our global students today," Brink said. "And more comparative questions emerge as well: the UK doesn't have a written constitution, at least not in a single document, and yet the country apparently is a healthy democracy. So how important is this thing anyway?"
Many of these questions, Brink said, will eventually be discussed in his class throughout the semester, but not on Wednesday. He won't allow them to interrupt the reading on September 17th. Instead, thirty-two students will hear it in one sitting, and hear it in their own voices.
To request an interview or for additional information on please contact the Office of College Communications at Gordon College at 978.867.4752.
Gordon College is a Christian college of the liberal arts and sciences on Boston's North Shore. The college offers majors in 37 fields and has graduate programs in education and music education. Leading the way in Christian college merit, Gordon is nationally ranked for its excellence in academics and its role in character building. These achievements recognize Gordon as one of the nation's top Christian colleges.


Yamaha education suite
Yamaha education suite refers to educational features found in many Yamaha musical keyboards, including "arranger keyboards/workstations" and digital pianos. Bascially, it's a series of keyboard lessons and graded by difficulty to help learning music and piano playing.
2 Features and versions
2.1 Music education topics
- notes and note recognition
- chord recognition and harmony
- Standard MIDI support
- playing left and right hand part separately
- Repeat points
- Grading mechanism
- Built-in songs (a lot in some models)
- Reduce tempo
- Singing (the keyboard sings notes by name)
- Chord dictionary (shows how to play chords)
In addition to education-specific features, Yamaha keyboards have other cognitive tool functionality, such as:
- Styles (auto-accompaniment)
- Display of notation of MIDI tracks
- Release date: 1998
- Features: Chord Dictionary, Smart Chord, and Easy Chord.
- Release date: 2000
- Features: Dictionary mode, Timing mode, Waiting mode, Minus One mode, and Both Hands mode.
- Release date: 2001
- Features: Guide Lights and Singing.
- Release date: 2004
- Features: Repeat and Learn, Tempo.
3.1 Introductions, presentations
- Yamaha Education Suite - Piano Keyboard Lessons for Beginners at know-your-keyboard-piano.com (retrieved oct 1 2011).
3.2 Video demonstrations
- Part 5: Yamaha Keyboard Quick Start Guide - Y.E.S. Yamaha Education Suite by YamahaCanadaMusic on YouTube. (not very interesting)