Denise Pope speaks at Parenting Conference

Denise Pope of Challenge Success will be the keynote speaker at this year's:

San Ramon Valley Council of PTAs      

Parenting 2014 & Beyond...

 Annual Parenting Conference

This year’s keynote speaker, Denise Pope, Ph.D., will talk about "Striving for Balance: Strategies to raise resilient kids in a fast-paced world." 

Denise Pope, Ph.D., is a Senior Lecturer at the Stanford University School of Education. For the past fourteen years, she has specialized in student engagement, curriculum studies, qualitative research methods, and service learning. She is co-founder of Challenge Success, a research and intervention project that provides schools and families the tools they need to raise healthy, motivated students.  She lectures nationally on parenting techniques and pedagogical strategies to increase student well-being, engagement with learning, and integrity.  

After the keynote presentation, participants will have the opportunity to attend their choice of a morning and an afternoon small-group seminar, focusing on a variety of current parenting topics. Detailed descriptions of the seminars are on the registration page and can also be found here.

$45 registration includes the keynote, two seminars, continental breakfast, and lunch. 

I've heard Denise speak many times and highly recommend going to this conference to hear her message.  I've taken her parenting class at Stanford, I believe in Challenge Success and what they promote about reducing student stress and finding family balance.  If you can't attend for the whole day, but can be there for her keynote address, please do so! 

Saturday March 8, 2014 8:30 AM - 2:30 PM PST
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WhereDougherty Valley High School
10550 Albion Rd
San Ramon, CA 94582

Detailed descriptions of the seminars are on the registration page and can be found here.

Second Grade Homework Letter

I recently received this letter:

"I am an incredibly frustrated Mom right now who's just at the tip of trying to figure out if there is something wrong with my son, or me, or the homework he's given in general. He's a smart, pretty typical 8-year-old boy in the 2nd grade. I know I'm grasping here, but am a bit desperate... I was just wondering if the amount of homework he's given for 4 nights seems accurate or a bit much. I just don't have any point of reference, so thought I'd ask and see what happens. Here's roughly the amount he's been given every week since a couple of weeks into September. It's posted on Sunday afternoon and is due on Friday morning:

Read each night for 10-15 minutes. Pick one of the books you read, or a chapter from a book, to complete the Worksheet attached below.

Math worksheets plus, practice taking the math facts test! Students should be able to complete both sides in 5 minutes by the end of 2nd grade!

Spelling. Only work on your spelling group's word. Monday: Print, cut out and sort your group's pattern words. Show and explain your sort to a parent before writing it on the Word Sort worksheet. (Nightly sort is encouraged.) Tuesday-Thursday: Choose 3 activities (total for the week) to complete from the Spelling Homework Choice Board.

Write a letter to someone you care about, explaining why they are important to you. OR Write a Valentine's Day letter to a person of your choosing. Make sure you write in complete sentences and use expensive words!

I'd appreciate ANY input you might have. I'm aware the policy for the district is 30-45 minutes a night for 2nd and 3rd graders which is SUPPOSED to include reading. We/he can sometimes spend that much time on the writing alone (getting him to hash out his thoughts, then having him actually put pencil to paper and write the sentences out, legibly)."


This was my response to her:

Hi,

It looks like a lot to me and each child will be different in how they complete the homework. I suggest reviewing the SRVUSD policy here.  I've highlighted in red the sentences that I feel are the most meaningful. Feel free to copy any parts of the policy to your son's teacher.

What worked for me when my kids were that age was to focus on the reading (making it fun and pleasurable - usually a cozy, un-rushed snuggle time with a book before bed). If you read for 20 minutes before bed, then have your son spend only 15-20 minutes more on some of the other homework earlier that day. If it doesn't all get done, simply write a note at the top of the page telling the teacher your son spent the recommended 35-40 minutes on homework for that day.

Timing is everything. My sons always needed to let off steam when they got home from school. The first thing I did was feed them and made them run around outside for a long time, playing. Later, when they had settled down, they tackled homework. I wrote many notes on the tops of their unfinished papers while they were in elementary school telling their teachers that play time and family time was more important that day than overloading them on homework.

If you are stressed about their homework, they will be stressed. Don't over emphasize it. It's just homework, and they aren't graded on it until middle school. I know it can seemingly take over a family's life. Don't let it. Focus on what is really important - family time, play time, adequate sleep, eating well, friends, relatives, etc...

Feel free to give the link to my blog to any or all teachers you encounter.

Take care!
Kerry

Grass Roots Groups to Discuss Homework Issues

I recently received this email:

"I am amazed at how my son is drowning in homework this year. Is there a group of people at Monte Vista High who are working toward or vocalizing the need to reduce the homework load? I was thinking of talking to the administration but wanted to check with you to see if you know of a more effective way to approach this issue. It is really quite ridiculous!"

Perhaps this blog can become a way for people, especially those in the SRVUSD, to connect and form small groups around the issue of homework.

A small group can make a powerful change. In 2007 I invited ten friends to my home to discuss "The Homework Myth" and that led to my friend Julie and I taking our concerns to the district. A few months later a homework task force group was formed that rewrote the old, outdated policy. I was lucky enough to be on the task force. Now I think our policy is better, but can still be improved on.

See the side bar for a link to our current policy. You can always refer to the policy when talking to teachers or administrators with your homework concerns.

To my readers with students in any school in the SRVUSD: feel free to contact me at kerryleadickinson@gmail.com with your homework concerns. Let me know what school you or your children attend and I will put you in touch with each other.

Back to School, Back to Homework

The 27,000 students in my boys’ district begin school tomorrow. By this time during the summer, most parents and students have mixed feelings about going back to school. I’ll be glad to get into a regular routine again, and the excitement of a new school schedule and seeing friends will encourage my kids as they begin a new school year.

But I will dread watching my boys get frustrated and panic-stricken over the inevitable long and dreary homework assignments and tests likely to come sooner than later.

To help prepare myself for this, I’m going to reread our district’s homework policy. You can read the SRVUSD homework policy here. If you access the link, you will see that I have highlighted my favorite parts of the policy in red.

I think all parents and older students in any district should acquaint themselves with their district’s homework policy at the beginning of every school year. In fact, I think it should be included in the registration materials. I helped rewrite my district’s homework policy and you can read about that experience here.

If you or your child finds yourself in a homework situation you aren’t comfortable with during the school year, feel free to reference parts of the district’s homework policy in your communications with the teachers or administrators.

Enjoy the homework free moments you have with your children this school year. Make sure you don’t over schedule your child. Ask him or her before signing up for activities. A child gains much from downtime, boredom and relaxation. Give your child the gift of free time this school year.