How to Teach and Work with Children with Dyscalculia using alternative learning methods?

Students with learning disabilities are a challenge for educators as these children need individual attention, alternative learning styles and strategies to achieve success. 4 to 6 percent of all students classified as having specific learning disabilities in schools. Dyscalculia is one of those learning disabilities among children.

Dyscalculia is also called math disability as it involves innate difficulty in learning or comprehending arithmetic. It includes difficulty in understanding numbers, learning how to manipulate numbers, learning maths facts, and a number of other related symptoms.

Having a learning disability does not mean being unable to learn. It does mean that the person will have to use adaptive methods to process information so that learning can be accomplished. Recent research studies tells us that we can teach these students and put into a position to compete. Using alternate learning methods, people with dyscalculia can achieve success.

Success for these students requires a focus on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning. Although math learning difficulties occur in children with low IQ dyscalculia occurs in people across the whole IQ range, and sufferers often, but not always, also have difficulties with time, measurement, and spatial reasoning.


Two major areas of weakness can contribute to math learning disabilities:

1. Visual-spatial difficulties, which result in a person having trouble processing what the eye sees 
2. Language processing difficulties, which result in a person having trouble processing and making sense of what the ear hear.

Helping a student identify his/her strengths and weaknesses is the first step to getting help.

How is teach and work with Dyscalculia childrens?
Parents, teachers and other educators can work together to establish strategies that will help the student learn math more effectively. Help outside the classroom lets a student and tutor focus specifically on the difficulties that student is having, taking pressure off moving to new topics too quickly. Repeated reinforcement and specific practice of straightforward ideas can make understanding easier.

Alternative learning methods:

• Allow use of fingers and scratch paper
• Practice estimating as a way to begin solving math problems.
• Use diagrams and draw math concepts
• Provide peer assistance
• Use of graph paper for students who have difficulty organizing ideas on paper.
• Use of colored pencils to differentiate problems
• Work with manipulative
• Draw pictures of word problems
• Use mnemonic devices to learn steps of a math concept
• Use rhythm and music to teach math facts and to set steps to a beat
• Schedule computer time for the student for drill and practice
• For language difficulties, explain ideas and problems clearly and encourage students to ask questions as they work.

Help students become aware of their strengths and weaknesses. Understanding how a person learns best is a big step in achieving academic success and confidence.

'Learning Disabilities Association' 

Why you need to help your child build self esteem?

Self esteem or self confidence is one of basic skills which play an important role in the life of a person. This basic skill is nourished and developed from the early childhood and parents plus teachers can help build self esteem among children. As a parent or a teacher, you have a great influence over the self-esteem of your child.

What is self esteem?

Self-esteem refers to how you feel about yourself. It includes such things as your self-confidence, self-respect, pride in yourself, your independence and your self-reliance. All the ways you feel about yourself and your abilities are wrapped up in the term "self-esteem".

In general, the more positive your self-esteem, the more successful you will be at dealing with life. The same holds for your children. The more positive their self-esteem, the more confident and proud they will be. They will try harder, be happier and have greater self-respect. They will make friends easier and will be more giving. Children with positive self-esteem are more secure and loving than children with negative self-esteem.

Negative self-esteem is related to low self-confidence, insecurity, underachievement, anxiety, depression, acting-out behavior, sleep problems and being a loner.

Self-esteem is your child's passport to lifetime mental health and social happiness. It's the foundation of a child's well-being and the key to success as an adult. At all ages, how you feel about yourself affects how you act. Think about a time when you were feeling really good about yourself. You probably found it much easier to get along with others and feel good about them.

Factors affecting child self esteem:

* How much the child feels wanted, appreciated and loved
* How your child sees himself, often built from what parents and those close say
* His or her sense of achievement
* How the child relates to others

Self-image is how one perceives oneself:

The child looks in the mirror and likes the person he sees. He looks inside himself and is comfortable with the person he sees. He must think of this self as being someone who can make things happen and who is worthy of love. Parents are the main source of a child's sense of self-worth.
Lack of a good self-image very often leads to behavior problems:

Most of the behavioral problems that I see for counseling come from poor self-worth in parents as well as children. Why is one person a delight to be with, while another always seems to drag you down? How people value themselves, get along with others, perform at school, achieve at work, and relate in marriage, all stem from strength of their self-image.

Healthy self-worth doesn't mean being narcissistic or arrogant; it means having a realistic understanding of one's strengths and weaknesses, enjoying the strengths and working on the problem areas. Because there is such a strong parallel between how a person feels about himself and how a person acts, helping your child build self-confidence is vital to discipline.

Throughout life your child will be exposed to positive influences builders and negative influences breakers. Parents can expose their child to more builders and help him work through the breakers.

Useful links:

* Building Your Child's Self Esteem

* 12 ways to help your child build self confidence

* 16 Techniques For Parents And Teachers

Quotes about learning and education

These quotes are a  reminder for teachers who want to enhance their teaching all the time.

• The job of an educator is to teach students to see vitality in themselves.-- Joseph Campbell
• Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.-- W. B. Yeats
• The objective of education is to prepare the young to educate themselves throughout their lives.-- Robert Maynard Hutchins
• There is a brilliant child locked inside every student.-- Marva Collins
• A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.-- Henry B. Adams
• Information cannot replace education.-- Earl Kiole
• We all need someone who inspires us to do better than we know how.-- Anonymous
• The kids in our classroom are infinitely more significant than the subject matter we teach.-- Meladee McCarty
• Teaching is not a profession; it's a passion.-- Unknown
• Your heart is slightly bigger than the average human heart, but that's because you're a teacher.-- Aaron Bacall
• Aim for success, not perfection. Never give up your right to be wrong, because then you will lose the ability to learn new things and move forward with your life. Remember that fear always lurks behind perfectionism.-- David M. Burns
• A professor can never better distinguish himself in his work than by encouraging a clever pupil, for the true discoverers are among them, as comets amongst the stars.-- Linnaeus
• A teacher effects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.-- Henry Adams
• Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.-- Mark Twain
• An idea can turn to dust or magic, depending on the talent that rubs against it.-- Bill Bernbach
• Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work.-- Aristotle
• It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.-- Alec Bourne
• It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.-- Aristotle
• Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten-- B. F. Skinner
• Good teaching is one-fourth preparation and three-fourths theater.-- Gail Godwin
• Education is the best provision for old age.-- Aristotle
• Learning without thought is labor lost; thought without learning is perilous.-- Confucius
• The mark of a true MBA is that he is often wrong but seldom in doubt.-- Robert Buzzell
• If I were asked ... to what the singular prosperity and growing strength of Americans ought mainly to be attributed, I should reply: To the superiority of their women.-- Alexis de Tocqueville
• Children need models rather than critics.-- Joseph Joubert
• The true teacher defends his pupils against his own personal influence. He inspires self-trust. He guides their eyes from himself to the spirit that quickens him. He will have no disciple.--Amos Bronson Alcott
• It is the responsibility of every adult... to make sure that children hear what we have learned from the lessons of life and to hear over and over that we love them and that they are not alone-- Marian Wright Edelman
• Education is more than filling a child with facts. It starts with posing questions.-- D.T. Max
• If people did not do silly things, nothing intelligent would ever get done.-- Ludwig Wittgenstein
• Upon the subject of education, not presuming to dictate any plan or system respecting it, I can only say that I view it as the most important subject which we as a people may be engaged in.-- Abraham Lincoln
• It's okay to make mistakes. Mistakes are our teachers -- they help us to learn.-- John Bradshaw
• It's not what is poured into a student, but what is planted.--Linda Conway
• It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge.-- Albert Einstein
• Instruction begins when you, the teacher, learn from the learner; put yourself in his place so that you may understand… what he learns and the way he understands it.-- Soren Kierkegaard
• If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all.-- Thumper's father (Bambi 1942)
• A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him.-- James Baldwin
• That is the difference between good teachers and great teachers: good teachers make the best of a pupil's means; great teachers foresee a pupil's ends.-- Maria Callas
• A word as to the education of the heart. We don't believe that this can be imparted through books; it can only be imparted through the loving touch of the teacher.-- Cesar Chavez
• The highest result of education is tolerance.-- Helen Keller

More at: The Really Big List of Education Quotes & Links

So you want to be a great teacher?

I love to read and bookmark the teaching or learning blogs and whenever I am succeeded to find a site or blog I am happy to share it with my blog readers. Today's blog review is for teachers who love their profession and want to get useful information or suggestions from other experienced teachers to become great teachers.

'So you want to teach' is a teacher's blog who is trying to become a great teacher. Blog is loaded with useful articles. It includes the useful tips and ideas to manage classrooms, dealing with students, how to enhance your teaching etc.

Joel (the blogger) says: 'This blog is different -I strive to keep a personal atmosphere and writing style, while freely transferring practical information in meaningful and positive ways.'

He further says: 'I began teaching band in 2002. Though I had a lot of information, my classes were out of control. I was tired, frustrated, disrespected by students, lonely, and on the brink of quitting.

I had had enough. I resigned from my school district right before spring break of my second year and made it my personal mission to learn to be a great teacher.

So You Want To Teach? is the ongoing story of my quest for educational excellence.'

Popular post section seems quite interesting and valuable for teachers as it includes:

• Top 5 (Plus 14) Character Traits Of Superior Teachers
• 9 Reasons To Quit Teaching (And 10 Reasons To Stick)
• 5 Habits of Highly Effective Teachers
• Are Classroom Rules Needed?
• How Do I Keep My Students Quiet?
• Fun Back to School Activities
• Habit 2: Classroom Habits
• New Teacher Survival Kit 

You can start browsing the site by going directly to the popular post titles or just click the 'Start' tab to go for 20 classic articles.

What are the situations when parents start annoying teachers?

I am a parent plus teacher and I can judge the situation when parents are not co-operative and make situation annoying for teachers. Parents can help teacheres following the rules and regulation established by the school authorities, as most of the conflicts happen because parents don't care about following it.

These are situations when parents start annoying teachers and they wished parents wouldn't do:
Bring their kids to school late
"When a child is late every day by more than 15 minutes, it takes them out of the routine and ritual of the morning," says Otis Kriegel, a veteran New York City teacher and founder of theK5.com, a website that provides tips for parents of elementary-school-age kids.
"If a child is struggling in class, either academically or emotionally, this is more detrimental to their success."
It's also not OK for kids to miss important school days — state tests, curriculum-related field trips and the like, Kriegel says. Also, please get your child back to school when classes resume after vacation (if you have to miss a day, he says, miss the last day before break).
Fail to stay on top of homework and class communications
Katje Lehrman, a kindergarten teacher in Los Angeles, urges parents to check their kids' backpacks every day. "Children often use their backpacks the way homeless people use shopping carts," she says. Chances are very good they contain notices, incomplete homework, toys that should stay at home, and other things. I've even found fruit decomposing in a backpack when it started to leak in the closet.
Have a 'Goldilocks' problem with homework — be too much or too little involved
Phillip Done, a teacher and the author of "Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind," says homework that's full of mistakes is OK. "If you do it for them and it comes back perfect, the teacher doesn't know what to work on," he says. "Better full of mistakes than perfect."
Just as you don't want to do your kid's homework, make sure you also encourage and monitor it, says Candice Broom, who's both a parent and a substitute teacher at an international school in Laos. And please, don't ask a teacher to assign more homework. That's just weird (and yes, parents do it).
Expect the teacher to do more than teach
Teachers are responsible for a lot of students. They are not responsible for, say, your child's jacket. "I often have parents e-mail or call and ask me to go to the lost and found to find their child's clothing," says Courtney Graham, a San Francisco-area teacher. "I even had a parent leave a message one morning right after school started to ask me to check to be sure her child's shoes weren't too tight, and if they were, to go down to the lost and found and find him a bigger pair to 'borrow.'"
Abuse e-mail or phone calls
Phillip Done knows a teacher who received more than 200 e-mails from a parent. Other teachers talk about receiving updates on, say, how many pieces of toast Elmer ate in the morning, and his resulting energy level — that sort of thing. E-mail is for letting the teacher know your child has a doctor's appointment, or that his lunch is in the office, Done says. If you want to talk about concerns you have with your child, make an appointment instead. (And yes, you can use e-mail for that.) Also, new technologies like Facebook are fun, but please don't "friend" the teacher.
* At our school we teachers offer a consult timing at late evening to discuss learning related matters but it is a very common practice that many parents call us just to know if tomorrow shool is closed or not? (They often don't check the diaries, notices or holiday routines)
Hijack the morning or afternoon
Teachers don't have free time right before and after school. They're readying the classroom, planning lessons and doing other vital things. That's not a good time to chat with a teacher about anything. If you need a meeting, or want to talk about something, arrange an appointment.
Behave badly at birthdays
Though most parents know not to celebrate their own birthdays in school, sometimes they throw parties for their kids that are disruptive. Julie Rebboah, a former teacher and president of Lightning Bug Learning, wishes parents wouldn't send cakes that need cutting, or jugs of juice that need to be poured. Presents and balloons are for the party at home. "And please don't be mad at me when we can't have a full birthday party at school," she says. "My job is to teach, and the kids are at school to learn."
Wait until the last minute to ask for assistance
If your child needs individual tutoring before a test, or has an academic problem that needs to be solved, don't wait until the last minute. Dr. Richard E. Bavaria, Sylvan Learning's senior vice president for education outreach, cringes when he sees that happen. "Any time adults wait to alleviate an academic problem, the child is ill-served," he says. "When you suspect a child is having a problem, get help right away before the child's learning and confidence are affected."
Believe the worst about a teacher or school
In his 40 years as an educator, Bavaria has heard his share of crazy rumors — that there's a suspension quota a principal has to fill, or the biology teacher makes kids dissect live frogs. He and other teachers urge parents to assume good intentions on the part of the school.
Forget who the teacher is serving
Some parents devour the teacher's time and energy not because their student is in need, but because the parents feel in need of TLC. As warm and wonderful as many teachers are, they are not a parent's support system.
Putting yourself in teacher's shoes would bring solution to these annoying situations.
Fortunately, most parents are considerate and understand that teachers are juggling a lot, several teachers told me. In case you've been accidentally annoying, don't fret. You can make up for it.
 
Sources (with the courtesy of): By 'Martha Brockenbrough'-10 Things Parents Do to Annoy Teachers -MSN 's 'Moms Home Room'

Importance of body language in teaching

One of my teaching assistant was once praising another teacher while commenting on her body language. Body language is an important tool which can help you to be a good teacher, friend or a popular confident personality. In our teaching profession we are given many trainings or participate in workshops to make our teaching more effective, techniques to make use of our body language can trigger our success as a teacher and I also believe that skill development should be a continuous process.

Safe and family friendly media usage

As a parent and teacher I am always concerned about the media exposure for kids. It is our duty to think and take steps towards safe and family friendly media usage.
I believe that we need trustworthy information to guide the new generation. Media has become an important part of our lives and the best way to get most and healthy outcome from it to train our kids. We cannot cover their eyes but we can teach them to see.

If you want to be a well informed parent or teacher then MPPA Motion Picture Association of America is the first place to check for useful issues, classification or ratings about the films.
* Check the 'Parental Resources' section.

More useful sites and links:

1- Common sense media

Mission: (In their own words)

'Common Sense Media is dedicated to improving the media and entertainment lives of kids and families.

We exist because media and entertainment profoundly impact the social, emotional, and physical development of our nation's children. As a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization, we provide trustworthy information and tools, as well as an independent forum, so that families can have a choice and a voice about the media they consume.'

By signing up for the site you get the stuff in your inbox:
- Age-appropriate best bets for your kids
- Weekly email alert with the latest picks, reviews & advice
You can Post your own reviews and share them with friends.

They believe that "Parents need to know about media content and need to manage media use."

2- www.kids-in-mind.com enables adults to determine whether a movie is appropriate for them or their children, according to their own criteria.

3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE & PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10. We also explain in detail why a film rates high or low in a specific category, and we include instances of SUBSTANCE USE, a list of DISCUSSION TOPICS that may elicit questions from kids and MESSAGES the film conveys.

They do not "condemn," "critique" or "criticize" movies. And they don't "praise" or "recommend" movies either, so you are free to make your choice.


3- Rotten Tomatoes offers a fun and informative way to discover the critical reaction on movies neatly summarized via the Tomatometer.

Over 7 million readers each month use RT as a dependable, objective resource for coverage of movies and DVD. It offers more than 250,000 titles and 850,000 review links

Tips to increase your child's intelligence

These tips may seem very simple but applying these useful techniques can increase your child's intelligence. You can judge the importance or effectiveness of these tips by analyzing that few years ago when family bonds were strong and we had much time to spend with our children, atmosphere was most suitable for the growth of intelligent and healthy personality.

Either you are a parents or teacher, you can help your child grow healthier, and more intelligent by applying these techniques:

* Talk a lot
* Listen more than you talk
* Hug a lot
* Take walks
* Read together
* Make just a few rules and stick to them
* Say “I love you” at least once a day
* Sing — even if it's off key
* Keep your sense of humor
* Tell stories about your childhood
* Listen to their questions and give answers
* Celebrate special times
* Use “please” and “thank you”
* Never call names or belittle
* Smile a lot
* Never, ever yell
* Remember how big you look
* Praise good efforts
* Think of guidance instead of punishment
* Ask questions instead of jumping to conclusions
* Use “do” much more often than “don't”
* Avoid criticizing or blaming
* Or scaring
* Admit your mistakes
* Play games
* Keep a schedule
* Allow lots of room for their mistakes
* Look for the funny side
* Practice patience
* Call someone if you feel you are getting out of control
* Give your full attention when they talk
* Get on their level when they talk
* Look them in the eye
* Express appreciation often
* Read, read, read
* “Hang loose”
* Learn to say “I'm sorry”
* Wonder at life
* Get to know an older person
* Rock
* Swing
* Let the kid out in you
* Keep promises
* Remember when you were a kid
* Exercise your faith and share it
* Say “no” only when you mean it and will stick by it
* Do kindnesses for others
* Experience lots of things
* Enjoy each child's uniqueness
* Tell the truth
* Take pride in your community
* Be an example of the kind of person you want them to be

Tips are courtesy of: Lane H. Powell, Ph.D., 1996 (from 'Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Pediatric Hospital)

Tips to set limits for disciplined kids

There should be an effective strategy to apply discipline rules at home or school either you are a teacher or parent. Frustration, anger, and occasional acting-out are few behaviors, we can notice among every child. But do we set limits towards applying discipline regulations or rules for our kids?

Our approach towards facing these kind of bahaviors is normally unhealthy, so better to keep these tips in mind while teaching discipline to our kids.

Tips

1) Always consider your child's developmental level when setting limits. It is unfair to expect more than a child can do. For example, a 2 or 3 year old cannot control the impulse to touch things. Instead of instructing them not to touch, remove fragile objects from reach.

2) Set the punishment to your child's developmental level. If you send your toddler to the bedroom for more than 5 minutes, the child may totally forget the reason, due to a short attention span. See time out.

3) Be consistent. Do not change rules or punishments at random. Punishments will obviously change as the child gets older, so make sure you explain why the rules change.

4) Make sure all caregivers are consistent with the discipline strategy. If one caregiver accepts certain behaviors while another will punish for the same behavior, the child is likely to become confused. Eventually, the toddler may learn to play one adult against the other.

5) Remember that you are a key role model for your child. The more even-handed and controlled your behavior is, the more likely your children will pattern their

Tips suggested by: Health at New York Times

Useful studies:

* Training Young Brains to Behave