Now More Than Ever, Classrooms Need Parents : Teacher Offers Tips for Being the Best Volunteer Ever

As states continue to slash education budgets to accommodate declining tax revenues, schools respond by trying to squeeze even more out of their beleaguered teachers: class sizes grow, planning periods are cut, each student gets less attention.

What can we do? Project Appleseed, a non-profit public education advocate, is asking parents across the country to lend a hand in their child’s school on Nov. 17, its 18th annual National Parent Involvement Day. Not coincidentally, it falls during American Education Week, Nov. 13-19.

“Volunteers and adult assistants in classrooms make a huge difference, especially with schools and teachers under so much stress,” says Paddy Eger, a veteran teacher, parent trainer and volunteer, and author of Educating America 101: Strategies for Adult Assistants in K-8 Classrooms (www.paddyeger.com).



“With a little training and a handful of strategies, most adults can effectively assist both teachers and students," Eger says. “One hour a month or a week helping students is a small investment of time that has big returns.” 

Sometimes, however, the best-intentioned volunteers become yet another pair of hands tugging for attention on the teacher’s sleeve. Volunteers working with small groups of students, such as tutoring sessions, also risk wasting precious instructional time if they’re not prepared and don’t know how to manage the group.

In more than 20 years as a primary and intermediate grade teacher, Eger has developed a number of simple strategies that allow volunteers to both maximize their usefulness and minimize distractions to the teacher. Her suggestions don’t replace training provided by the school, since that’s tailored to the teachers’ needs, but they will greatly enhance time spent working directly with students.

They include:

If you have questions for the teacher: Schedule a meeting that’s not at a time when students are in the classroom. Do not expect to meet with the teacher unannounced for “just a minute.” Also, if the teacher provides materials for an activity, don’t expect him or her to walk you through it. Take time to read the directions and gather supplies days before your classroom visit.


Establish a consistent meeting place: If your group will meet regularly, ask the teacher before your first visit to help you establish a place that you can use every time you visit. Nothing kills an activity faster than spending valuable time looking for a place to work.


Choose your seat wisely: Don’t sit at one end of a rectangular table. Sitting in the middle seat along one side allows you to see all of the students and reach out to touch their work. It also makes you part of the group, and allows you to speak in a softer voice. For round tables, sit so you – not the students – face nearby tables or other distractions.


To help children become active listeners, don’t repeat questions: If the student says he doesn’t understand the question, ask him to repeat what he thinks he heard. If the student is still confused, ask another student to rephrase the question. Once again, ask the first student to repeat what he just heard.


Be prepared for a change in plans: Have a “pocket activity” ready in case a schedule change means you’ll have less time with the children. This is a simple game, such as a math or spelling game, or a book or news article that can be started or stopped at any time without losing its value.

Assistants, especially those who’ve taken the time to prepare, can have a big impact in a classroom, Eger says.

“Assistants provide the extra hands and help to gather materials, lead small groups, prepare enriching activities and manage day-to-day tasks,” Eger says.

“While they can’t solve all of the problems associated with drastic budget cuts, they can help ensure students feel as little of the sting as possible.”

About Paddy Eger:

Paddy Eger is a 20-year teacher from Washington State whose years as a trainer in the Parent Cooperative Education Program created the basis for her. She graduated from the University of Washington with a degree in elementary education.


S.A.F.E. TIPS FOR PARENTS AND TEENS DURING NATIONAL TEEN DRIVER SAFETY WEEK

Every seven days, 68 families needlessly have to bury a child before his or her senior prom and college orientation. If you divide the total number of hours in a year by the number of teen driving deaths, the outcome is one teen driving tragedy every two and a half hours in the U.S. That is why National Teen Driver Safety Week was enacted by Congress in 2007 and takes place the third week of October each year.

It’s a known fact that car crashes are the leading killer of youth, America’s most precious resource, ages 16 to 19, as more than 3,500 teenagers are killed each year on U.S. roads. In an effort to lower those numbers, Tire Rack Street Survival <http://www.streetsurvival.org/> , a national non-profit teen driver program, has committed to saving lives nationwide for nearly 10 years by teaching young drivers the skills they need to stay safe and ‘arrive alive.’

As National Teen Driver Safety Week kicks off October 16, Wade offers the following S.A.F.E suggestions for parents and teens on the road:

• Study the Basics: Teach your teen how to perform a quick vehicle maintenance check to ensure everything is working properly. Teen drivers should know where their spare tire is located, what to do in emergency situations and the importance of staying current with the oil change schedule, as outlined in the owner’s manual. Are the car’s tires inflated correctly? Is there sufficient tread depth on the tires to insure a safe stopping distance should an unexpected distraction occur? For correct tire inflation specs and for more tire-related information go to www.tirerack.com <http://www.tirerack.com> .
• Agree on Limits: Remember, your teen’s license is not about your convenience – it’s about his/her life.
• Set limits on your teen’s driving, particularly in high-risk situations such as prom night, social outings and especially in inclement weather.
• Do not let your teen ride with a young driver that has less than one year’s driving experience.
• Remember, the greater the number of teens in the car, the greater the level of distraction.
• Form a Plan: Have a clear understanding of where your teen is driving at all times, who he/she is riding/driving with and what route they intend to take. Confirm check-in times with your teen so he/she can provide updates to their plans.
• Establish a Backup: Sometimes teens make mistakes and get themselves into situations where other teen drivers have been drinking and they feel stranded. Make sure your teens have a responsible adult they can call, with a code word, if they feel they shouldn’t be driving, or are riding with another young driver who is driving recklessly or under the influence. Safety first, questions later.

“Having teens behind the wheel doesn’t have to be a terrifying occurrence for parents,” said Matt Edmonds, vice president, Tire Rack. If you prepare young drivers with the knowledge and training they need to anticipate and understand how to deal with dangers on the road and their vehicle’s capabilities, they’ll have a much higher chance of avoiding an accident.”

Tire Rack Street Survival schools are conducted by local members from regional chapters of the BMW Car Club of America (BMW CCA), the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA), Porsche Club of America (PCA) and others. The community-run program enrolls local students in neighborhoods across the country and teaches them to improve their driving competence by learning to control their vehicle through hands-on experiences in real-world driving situations in their own vehicles; all with an experienced coach at their side.

Community leaders or concerned parents interested in requesting a Tire Rack Street Survival school in their area can request one at www.streetsurvival.org <http://www.streetsurvival.org> or by calling (864) 329-1919.

About Tire Rack Street Survival®

Formed by the BMW Car Club of America Foundation (www.bmwccafoundation.org <http://www.bmwccafoundation.org> ), the Tire Rack Street Survival® safe teen driving program (www.streetsurvival.org <http://www.streetsurvival.org> ) was launched in April 2002. Tire Rack Street Survival® is built upon the premise that 'safe driving is learned by doing', and teaches students to avoid accidents by thinking and looking ahead. Tire Rack Street Survival® is unique in that it offers students instruction in their own cars so that they learn the limitations of themselves in their everyday vehicle.

What Do Math and Exercise Have in Common? Expert Reveals the Answer Should Be "Your Kids"

Carrie Scheiner is not ashamed of being a bit of a math nerd.

But don’t let her degree in Math education from Rutgers University fool you – she is also a big fan of physical fitness, and her passion for both has led to her to think of exercise for kids in a completely new way.

"As adults, we don’t think about it, but much of our exercise regimens revolve around counting," said Scheiner, creator of Exploracise, an exercise DVD for kids and parents (www.exploracise.com). "So I began thinking about how much more fun, and healthy, math could be for kids if we combined it with exercise. That was the genesis of my combination of the two disciplines."

Scheiner believes her approach actually addresses two of the most pressing problems in the United States today.

"Research shows that exercise improves learning and multi-sensory learning techniques improve the recognition and recall of information," Scheiner added. "One-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese and 61 percent of fourth graders are not proficient in math. That being said, it just makes sense that we start approaching these problems head-on, and we can create an economy of scale in time and resources by doing it at the same time."

Scheiner believes that parents should encourage kids to get off the couch and exercise, too, which is why she has also devised a list of tips for parents who want to see their kids exercise as they learn. They include:

Count Along – It’s not just about counting to ten when you touch your toes. There is so much more you can do when your kids are having fun. It can be as simple as having them do the same thing you do – sets of 10 repetitions of any exercise – and then have them add up all those 10s when they are done. It will help them get comfortable tabulating simple equations in their heads.

Shapes Can Be Healthy – When I was a kid in gym class, they made us do arm circles, but there are so many other shapes that can be explored. Triangles, rectangles and even more complex geometric shapes can be combined with exercise in a variety of ways. Be creative and don’t be content with your kids using their arms like windmills. Make it fun for them and it will help to create healthy exercise habits that will last a lifetime.

Scavenger Hunts – Hide and Seek is a time-honored game, and with a little twist, you can use it to make math and healthy eating fun. Hide some healthy foods around the house, and set your kids to the task of finding them, but write down the calories and fat for each healthy food. When they find them, have them match up the foods with the numbers.

"It’s all about getting kids to put down the video game controllers and to get off the couch," she said. "We owe it to our kids to start them off in life with healthy habits that we never learned as kids. As adults, we had to teach ourselves to work out and eat healthy. It wasn’t something that most of us learned when we were young. With this approach, you can help your kids develop intellectually and physically, as well as help them establish healthy habits that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives."

About Carrie Scheiner

Carrie Scheiner has a lifelong love of helping others, and is passionate about helping children learn math and healthy lifestyle concepts. She won the award for best student teacher for secondary math while receiving her Bachelors of Arts in Math and Secondary Education at New Jersey’s Rutgers University, where she also earned a Masters of Science in Statistics. She has combined her love of math and her passion for healthy eating and exercise to help the next generation overcome its current educational and health crises. (www.exploracise.com)