The Answer Sheet: parents


Posted at 05:01 AM ET, 05/09/2013

Poverty and student achievement: Are we comparing the wrong groups?
By Valerie Strauss
Many impoverished students succeed academically every day. Why do some make it and others don't?

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:01 AM ET, 05/09/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  'Looking for Answers', Blaming The Parents?, Student Achievement and Poverty

Posted at 08:17 AM ET, 04/16/2013

How to talk to children about deadly Boston Marathon bombings
By Valerie Strauss
This is the third time in seven months that I am running this post. How parents and teachers can help young people cope with the horror of the Boston Marathon.

By Valerie Strauss  |  08:17 AM ET, 04/16/2013 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Boston Marathon bombings, For Parents and Teacherss

Posted at 05:00 AM ET, 01/31/2011

Legislation: Teachers should grade parents
By Valerie Strauss
In the you-can’t-make-this-stuff-up category, a Florida (of course) state legislator is pushing legislation that would require some elementary school teachers to grade parents on how involved they are at their children's schools.

By Valerie Strauss  |  05:00 AM ET, 01/31/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  bill for teachers to grade parents, florida bill teachers, florida legislature, florida schools, legislation teachers parents, parents, teachers, teachers grading parents

Posted at 10:30 AM ET, 12/20/2010

Willingham: When teachers speak unwelcome truths about your child
By Valerie Strauss
Cognitive scientist Daniel Willingham writes about why parents should listen to their child's teachers -- especially when they don't like what they hear.

By Valerie Strauss  |  10:30 AM ET, 12/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham, Daniel Willingham | Tags:  daniel willingham, parents, report cards, teachers

Posted at 01:30 PM ET, 12/02/2010

A system to tell how your kid is doing in school
By Valerie Strauss
Here's an assessment that can help parents figure out how well their kids are doing in school. And students can use it themselves if they are so inclined.

By Valerie Strauss  |  01:30 PM ET, 12/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers, Guest Bloggers | Tags:  how kids learn, learning, parents, report cards, teachers, teaching and learning

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 10/12/2010

Teaching college kids to 'pilot their own helicopter'
By Valerie Strauss
Oberlin College President Marvin Krislov writes that colleges make a mistake when they urge parents to drop their kids off at college and quickly drive away. The trick is to strike a balance between too much parental involvement and too little.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 10/12/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  College Life, College Life, College Life, College Life | Tags:  adjusting to college, college admissions, helicopter parents, marvin krislov, oberlin, oberlin college, parents, university of michigan

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 09/01/2010

Why paying parents to attend school events is wrong
By Valerie Strauss
Veteran teacher Larry Ferlazzo writes about two new programs to pay parents to attend school meetings, explaining why this is a bad idea and what schools can do instead to promote parent engagement.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 09/01/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Parents, Parents, Parents | Tags:  daniel pink and drive, larry ferlazzo, parent university, paying parents, paying parents and schools

Posted at 03:24 PM ET, 07/20/2010

A how-to-get-through-college book for parents
By Valerie Strauss
The author of "The Naked Roommate" has written a book about college life but not for kids. Rather it is for the parents, who are now more involved than ever in their child's college.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:24 PM ET, 07/20/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  College Life | Tags:  college and homesickness, college freshman, college life, harlan cohen, parents and college, the happiest kid on campus, the naked roommate

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 07/06/2010

Ravitch's 'modest' vision for school reform
By Valerie Strauss
Education historian Diane Ravitch answers her critics and provides a "modest" vision for school reform.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 07/06/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Diane Ravitch | Tags:  bridging differences, death and life of great american school system, diane ravitch, ford foundation, michael edwards and small change, new york city public school parents blog, ravitch and new book, ravitch's book, stphen koss

Posted at 06:26 PM ET, 06/24/2010

Parents fight -- literally -- at kindergarten graduation
By Valerie Strauss
A kindergarten graduation is interrupted in California because parents turn an argument into a physical fight.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:26 PM ET, 06/24/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Parents | Tags:  brawl at graduation, graduation brawl, kindergarten graduation and parents and fight, parents argue at graduation, parents fight at graduation

Posted at 11:00 AM ET, 06/02/2010

'Beach Week' is upon us: the event and the book
By Valerie Strauss
There's Beach Week, the annual celebrations now upon us in which high school graduates spend a week unchaperoned and create all manner of havoc. And there is "Beach Week," the new novel by Susan Coll, which describes in painful detail what actually can happen at the real thing. Read and learn.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:00 AM ET, 06/02/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Student Life, Student Life | Tags:  all about beach week, beach week, beach week is here, parents and beach week, planning for beach week, susan coll, susan coll novels

Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 05/14/2010

California may jail parents if kids are truant
By Valerie Strauss
The California Senate passes a doozy of a bill that would send parents to jail for up to a year if they can't get their kids to school enough of the time. Really.

By Valerie Strauss  |  03:00 PM ET, 05/14/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Parents | Tags:  california considers sending parents to jail, california passes truancy law, california's truancy bill, parents and jail and kids and truancy, senate bill 1317, truancy, truancy and california

Posted at 06:05 AM ET, 05/07/2010

Naval Academy prof wins Maryland parent involvement award
By Valerie Strauss
A U.S. Naval Academic history professor who helped lead an effort to reform two Anne Arundel County middle schools--even though his five children are too young to be middle schoolers--won Maryland’s statewide award for parent involvement. And a Montgomery County parent is one of the finalists.

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:05 AM ET, 05/07/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Parents | Tags:  Comcast Parent Involvement Matters Awards, Comcast parent involvement, Maryland and contest and parents, Maryland contest for parents, Naval professor wins award, parent involvement, parent involvement award

Posted at 09:09 PM ET, 03/30/2010

How about merit pay for parents?
By Valerie Strauss
One teacher's idea: Take funding for merit pay and move it from the teacher column into the parent column to provide more incentive for parents of low-performing students to follow-through in helping their children succeed.

By Valerie Strauss  |  09:09 PM ET, 03/30/2010 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Teachers, Teachers | Tags:  parents, teachers, teachers unions

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 11/12/2009

Should parents be required to volunteer at their children’s school?
By Valerie Strauss
This isn’t just an academic question.A bill was introduced in the Ohio legislature last year that would force parents with kids in underperforming schools to volunteer for 13 hours each school year--or face a $100 fine. It didn’t pass, but this year, there is a bill requiring parents to attend at least one conference with a teacher each school year but before Dec. 31, or face a $50 fine. Today The Answer Sheet’s Group of moms takes up the issue of parent involvement in schools. Should it somehow be made mandatory?

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 11/12/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  The Group, parents volunteering at school

Posted at 11:30 AM ET, 09/30/2009

Packing School Lunches for Picky Eaters
By Valerie Strauss
My mother was a magnificent cook invited into the kitchens of the finest chefs in France. Every dinner was a delicious experiment. But she insisted that my two sisters and I eat the lunch served at school. Now I know that my mother didn’t pack us lunches because she didn’t want to. It was too annoying a task.

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:30 AM ET, 09/30/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Parents | Tags:  parents, school lunch

Posted at 06:30 AM ET, 09/14/2009

Why Don't Kids Talk About School to Parents? .... Is It O.K. That My Kid Reads The Same Book Over and Over?
By Valerie Strauss
The Answer Sheet likes to start the week by answering questions from readers. Email The Sheet with any school- and kid-related question you would like to see answered here. Q) Why do kids always say “Nothing,” when parents ask...

By Valerie Strauss  |  06:30 AM ET, 09/14/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Reading, Reading | Tags:  parents, reading, rereading

Posted at 11:55 AM ET, 09/03/2009

Is Your Kid 'Sexting'?
By Valerie Strauss
It is easy to dismiss stories about celebrities whose private nude pictures are splattered over the Internet as a problem that won’t cross your personal world as a parent. Think again. Look at these statistics, from a public survey...

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:55 AM ET, 09/03/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Parents, Sexting, cell phones

Posted at 11:05 AM ET, 08/31/2009

The First Chat
By Valerie Strauss
Thanks for all the questions sent to The Answer Sheet for our first chat about a range of issues. Read a transcript by clicking here....

By Valerie Strauss  |  11:05 AM ET, 08/31/2009 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Tags:  Spanish, foreign language, homework, parents, physical education, school, sleep, students