Just in case you missed it, we wanted to alert you to an Education Week story about a report on how parents of high school students would like to be more involved in their schools, but those with children who attend low-performing schools say the schools do little to encourage parent involvement.

Over the years, I have heard parents from struggling schools complain that not only do low- performing schools do little to encourage parent involvement, some actively discourage parents from trying to get involved.

On the other hand, there is a dark side to parent involvement when "helicopter parents" or simply obnoxious ones think they are experts in education and believe they should take an active role in managing a school, wasting valuable time for many educators and administrators.

So, where do you find the balance between encouraging more parent involvement but not too much? What experiences have you had with too little or too much parent involvement?

Posted by Kevin Bushweller at 10:59 AM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In previous school years, I believe I used to step over the bounds of offering too much homework help to one of my sons by giving him answers when I should have made him struggle through assignments. But this year, I have turned a corner and I am now telling him, more and more, "sorry I can't answer that for you. You are going to have to figure that out yourself."

So, the other night, when he asked for help on some algebra problems, I showed him some examples and made sure he understood the concepts. I then told him he had the tools to figure out the problems. When he solved a particularly difficult problem with no help from me, I said "see, you can do this yourself."

The smile on his face confirmed to me again that genuine achievement, not false praise, is what will motivate him to do better in math.

What ideas do you have for striking that balance between helping too much or not helping enough? I am still struggling with finding that balance.

Posted by Kevin Bushweller at 3:57 PM | Permalink | 5 Comments | Recommend

At first glance, this AP story about Alabama schools doing away with nap time for kindergartners to allow for more instruction strikes me as somewhat ridiculous. Are 5-year-olds really too busy for nap time? According to the article, apparently they are.

"To be perfectly honest, there's so much in the kindergarten curriculum that we need the extra classroom time," [one principal] said.

Some schools have already phased out nap time, says the article, in favor of a reading/rest time that allows students to take a break and exercise their reading skills. Other schools have opted to allow naps for the first semester and phased in reading/rest time for the second semester, when students have had time to adjust to the length of the school day, the article says.

I don't exactly know where to stand on this. I'm sure that some kids are completely fine going all day without a nap, while others might struggle with fatigue and inattentiveness, which could make it very hard to concentrate, as a result of the switch. Adding an extra half-hour to instruction time doesn't seem like it will make much of a difference if the trade off is that students are tired and restless in class.

Does your school still have nap time for young students? Is it an important part of the school day, or would that time be better used in a different way?

Posted by Katie Ash at 2:07 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Here is an example of the way that schools are using the current financial crisis to teach students about the stock market and the importance of saving and investing at a young age. The program, called The Stock Market Game, allows students to use up to $100,000 of hypothetical money to buy, sell, and trade stocks over the course of a semester.

Most students are losing money these days when they invest, but the teachers see it as a good opportunity to talk about using the stock market to invest in the long term, not just over a 10 or 15 week period. Also, students have been able to pull from their own knowledge and experience to determine what stocks to hold on to and which to sell. As the article says:

Nery Trujillo wondered whether her team should hold on to Best Buy, because "people aren't going to go to Best Buy and buy Guitar Hero, because they've got to buy gas."

Sounds like a good way to get kids thinking about the stock market and illustrate how the current financial situation is affecting our economy.

Posted by Katie Ash at 12:00 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Last night after work, I still had Sean Cavanagh's Education Week story about how American culture discourages girls from cultivating high-level math skills up on my computer screen when my roommates—who are, notably, both women—came in to check their e-mail and catch me up on the day's events. As my first roommate began to log on to her account, she read the headline of Sean's story (American Culture Seen to Thwart Girls' Math Development) and to my surprise exclaimed, "That's so true!" which sparked a long discussion about their associations with math and gender.

Although I've read numerous studies about the link between girls' achievement in math and a stigma against it, I had never really felt that pressure in my own experience as a student. Math was always my weakest subject, but it never occurred to me to attribute my struggles with it to my gender. However, both of my roommates—one of whom attended an all-girls Catholic school and the other who was educated in the public school system—had stories about feeling like math was a subject that boys, not girls, studied and excelled in.

"Girls are better at art, boys are better at math," one of them said, recalling her feelings about it as a child, even though her older sister loved math and ultimately went on to become an engineer. "My teachers always told me I wasn't very good at it," the other said.

Although their stories took me a bit by surprise, they obviously aren't alone in their experiences. As the article says, a new study (PDF) shows that other countries are much better at encouraging girls to pursue math studies than the United States. Girls are held back in math by the societal stereotypes, experts say. Those negative stereotypes have a devastating effect on girls' motivation to study math, but on the flip side, having a supportive system of teachers and mentors who encourage girls to cultivate math skills can be a highly motivating experience for them.

What do you think? Are teachers doing enough to encourage girls to study math? What steps could be taken to undermine the stereotype that girls simply aren't as good as boys at the subject?

Posted by Katie Ash at 1:58 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Students in cash-incentive programs in both Washington and Chicago got paid last week, according to this AP article. It'll be awhile until we know whether or not these plans are actually working, although teachers in Washington say that they've seen less tardiness since the program has been in place.

I wonder whether students will be more motivated to earn more cash now that they've seen one pay day or whether interest in the program will wane as the year goes on.

What's your prediction?

Posted by Katie Ash at 12:18 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

My colleague Kathleen Kennedy Manzo recently wrote an article about Freedom Schools, run by the Children's Defense Fund or CDF, which have after-school and summer programs in disadvantaged communities in six states. The program aims to provide after-school homework help and boost children's reading skills and is rooted in community involvement. The tutors are university students who are trained to help kids and often take place in churches, community centers, and schools. So far, research suggests that the program has helped improved reading skills of those students who have participated.

“Freedom Schools have always been conceived of as parallel institutions to school, and we work alongside schools ... in helping children succeed in the regular school day,” said Jeanne Middleton Hairston, the national director of the program for the CDF. “It’s about providing a safe and nurturing place for the children to come during out-of-school time to get homework help, build cultural awareness, and develop a strong appreciation for reading and learning.”

Sounds like a great program that combines a lot of factors we talk about here to create an engaging environment for kids.

Posted by Katie Ash at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

PBS has launched a new Web site called Ready to Learn that provides resources for educators, parents, and caregivers to help children between the ages of about 2 to 5 learn how to read (or get ready to learn how to read).

The site includes tips on ways to integrate reading lessons into everyday activities such as going to the grocery store and driving in the car, book recommendations based on age level and theme, as well as printable and interactive games on the computer that help teach children basic literary skills.

By encouraging parental involvement, hosting games with familiar characters from PBS television shows, and providing a variety of activities for kids to try, this Web site does everything it can to help make reading fun for new readers. Also, the resources for parents—such as the child progress tracker, which tells parents what to expect—make it easy for parents to get involved in the learning-to-read process, which is a key component in student motivation.

If you have a child who is learning how to read or preparing to learn how to read, definitely poke around and see if you can find anything helpful. And if you do, let us know.

Posted by Katie Ash at 4:24 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

Back in September, Kevin wondered whether recent economic failures in the U.S. would provide an opportunity to raise discussions about the teaching of economic literacy. Since then, many other events have shaken up the economy in the U.S. and around the world, reinforcing the importance of teaching kids financial responsibility and economics.

This article in The Christian Science Monitor talks about how parents are using the recent economic downturn as a way to talk to their children about money. Just as adults are worried and nervous about what is going on, so are children, says the article, and talking to them about how to deal with the situation helps calm nerves as well as provides an educational opportunity to teach them about frugal living and the importance of saving and living within one's means.

This is an excellent example of how real events can turn into lifelong lessons for kids. Like Kevin, I wonder if schools will seize this opportunity, as parents are now doing, to teach children about finance and economics—and how they can prevent such financial crises from happening in the future.

For more information about how the financial crisis is affecting schools, check out this story by my colleague Michelle Davis.

Posted by Katie Ash at 1:40 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

It's not always just students who need to be motivated to be involved with school—sometimes parents and community members need a little motivation, too. As we've seen over and over again, community involvement is a key part of student engagement and success. That's why I think this program, which encourages community leaders to spend a day shadowing a principal in their school district, is really important. Seeing the ins and outs of how the school operates as well as what students are doing in class can really make the importance of community involvement tangible for leaders.

Posted by Katie Ash at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

This first person account on teachermagazine.org of a teacher who was able to get her class on task when she allowed them 30 minutes every Friday to listen to their iPods raises a couple of interesting points, some of which relate directly to issues covered on the Digital Education blog about technology's role in the classroom. Apparently, that half hour of listening time once a week was enough of a reward that teacher Jennifer McDaniel's 9th grade students would spend that time working diligently. However, when McDaniel shared her new technique with her colleagues, she was informed that allowing students to listen to personal electronic devices during school time was prohibited, effectively stopping the Friday tradition in its tracks.

I'm sort of divided on this issue. I think it's great that McDaniel was able to find a solution to calm the class down and keep them on track, but I do have a few concerns about listening to music while doing classwork. I know that listening to music is something that helps a lot of people concentrate—myself included—but I know it can definitely be a distraction for others, and I'm not sure that if 9th graders are given the choice of listening or not, they would choose to put away the iPod even if they could get more work done otherwise. Then again, if they're normally too busy talking to friends and goofing off, then maybe the iPod is a good way to keep them on task.

The other concern I have is—what about students who don't have iPods? That doesn't seem to be a problem in McDaniel's classroom, but I'm sure it would be in others. It seems like that reward could potentially leave some kids out.

This anecdote also speaks to a broader issue about whether or not electronic devices, like cell phones and iPods, have the potential to be learning tools or are simply distractions. What do you think? Is it fair to prohibit the use of those kinds of devices in the classroom? Or are we limiting our options by banning them altogether?

Posted by Katie Ash at 1:45 PM | Permalink | 1 Comment | Recommend

Quite some time ago, I wrote a blog post wondering how the election might increase motivation levels in the classroom. And according to this story, it looks like my colleague Kathleen Kennedy Manzo has done my homework for me.

The story talks about new online and tech tools that are helping students become more engaged in the election process. Both parties in this election are tapping into students' use of text messaging, online forums, and social networking sites to excite young voters and students, says the article.

The examples that Kathleen gives about how students are becoming involved in the election—by analyzing videos, using text-mapping tools, and others—are really interesting and definitely worth checking out. Also, the online resources students are using to analyze the candidates are good tools for anyone trying to make sense of the issues. Check it out.

Posted by Katie Ash at 2:08 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

If you've read the tag line for Motivation Matters, you know that our goal here is to document what works and what doesn't work to motivate students. And today we have an example of what works, sent in by Principal Paul M. Brennan of the Riverside Elementary West School in Taylor, Pa.

"Here is something that works for us in an elementary (K-4) setting. It is a proactive 'Behavior Report (PDF).' The kids really buy into it," he says. Apparently each teacher in the school chooses two students who have demonstrated good behavior for that month to be photographed. The kids' pictures are then featured in the monthly Student Behavior Report, which can be viewed online. The most well-behaved cafeteria table is also photographed, as well as students who have been well-behaved on the bus, who get a chance to have their photo taken in the principal's chair.

This is a great example of a way to motivate students to be well-behaved by putting a positive spin on good behavior. And as Mr. Brennan reports, it really helps cut down on behavior problems both in the cafeteria and on the bus—two places where problems are likely to occur. Also I have to say, the pictures included in the behavior report are absolutely adorable.

If you have any examples of what works, or doesn't work, to motivate students, please email them to me (kash@epe.org) or Kevin (kbushweller@epe.org). We'd love to feature them on our blog.

Posted by Katie Ash at 12:49 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend

In light of the recent wave of schools trying cash-incentive programs to motivate students, it's only fair to point back to a commentary written by Alfie Kohn, an outspoken critic of these kinds of programs and of testing in general.

Kohn explains that what is truly important in the classroom is not what the teacher does, but how it is perceived by the student. So if a teacher delivers a well-constructed lecture on a certain subject, no matter how good the lecture is, what really counts is what students gain from it. Likewise, if a teacher rewards a student in the classroom, what's most important is how that reward is perceived by the student.

We may think we’re emphasizing the importance of punctuality by issuing a detention for being late, or that we’re making a statement about the need to be respectful when we suspend a student for yelling an obscenity, or that we’re supporting the value of certain behaviors when we offer a reward for engaging in them.

But what if the student who’s being punished or rewarded doesn’t see it that way? What if his or her response is, “That’s not fair!” or “Next time I won’t get caught” or “I guess when you have more power you can make other people suffer if they don’t do what you want” or “If they have to reward me for x, then x must be something I wouldn’t want to do”?

We protest that the student has it all wrong, that the intervention really is fair, the consequence is justified, the reward system makes perfect sense. But if the student doesn’t share our view, then what we did cannot possibly have the intended effect.

Kohn delivers an interesting take on the view that motivating kids with incentives is fundamentally wrong, which is food for thought as more schools begin to explore to these kinds of programs.

Posted by Katie Ash at 12:10 PM | Permalink | Leave a comment | Recommend