tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27376144497718211612024-03-18T12:28:47.900-07:00East, West, and EducationThis blog is for teachers, parents, students, and anyone who wonders about the purpose of school and the direction of education in the 21st century. It examines issues in contemporary parenting and education, often with a cross-cultural angle.East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.comBlogger87125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-16098493630404530312019-08-28T01:50:00.003-07:002019-08-28T01:50:48.732-07:00From Coverage to Learning: Making the Shift in Indian Schools<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="mso-outline-level: 1; text-align: center;">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">“But
if thought corrupts language, language also corrupts thought.” – George Orwell<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">I walk into a Standard 9 classroom. It’s a Physics Class on “Force and
the Laws of Motion.” Dressed in a bright blue sari, the teacher stands at the
front of the room and patiently explains Newton’s first law of motion. Then she
asks a question based on it. A few diligent children in the front two rows seem
to be taking down notes. Two very bright boys call out answers in response to
the teacher’s question. In the back of the class, however, one boy stares
vacantly out the window, gazing at the tree in the distance. Another girl is
busy drawing an elaborate design on a piece of scrap paper at the back of her
notebook. While the hot midday sun streams in through the window, a number of
students fidget in their seats, looking confused and lost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">The teacher smiles wearily
at the class, and then bravely marches on to introduce the next law and ask the
next question.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I chatted with the teacher after class, I asked her why she didn’t
slow down to check for understanding and review concepts, when so many students
seemed to be having difficulty following what she was teaching. “But I need to
cover the portions,” she responded, “I don’t have time to stop.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">When I started
visiting Indian schools as an education consultant, perhaps what struck me most
forcefully was the tremendous emphasis on “coverage.” The phrase “cover the
portions” is used so widely across our schools, and it has seeped so deeply
into the psyche of our teachers, that it seems to dictate what happens in the
classroom. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">In schools across
Tamil Nadu, teachers use a certain kind of language. They worry about “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">covering the portions</i>,” and they spend a
lot of time thinking and talking about “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">revisions,
exams, and marks.</i>” They also try to “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">get
through the text book</i>” and “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">ensure
that students do the book back questions”</i> (or in normal speak, the
questions at the back of each chapter in the text book). They make sure that
they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“clarify doubts</i>” by giving
students the right answers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">While they use the
verb “teaching” a lot, they rarely use the verb “learning.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Rarely do I hear
teachers use words such as “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">learning,
thinking, imagining, wondering, analyzing, and creating.”</i> I keep looking
for these words in our conversations, but like beautiful flowers that bloom
very rarely, they remain elusive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Having taught for many
years, I know from experience that just because I have taught something doesn’t
mean that students have learned it. Teaching and learning are not synonyms,
though ideally learning should be the outcome of good teaching. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Similarly, coverage
and understanding are not synonyms either. A teacher can “cover” the portions,
but that does not mean that students have understood anything. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Furthermore, in many schools
across our country, the end goal of education seems to be “scoring on exams.” A
“good school” is one with “good results.” But “high exam scores and good
results” are not synonyms for “long term success and happiness.” (In fact, studies
show that the correlation between a student’s exam scores in school and his or
her long term professional and personal success and happiness is surprisingly
weak.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What I wonder,
however, is how the language that we use shapes the way we think about
education. If we changed our language, would we also change our thinking and
behavior?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">What would our education
system be like if teachers felt less pressure to “cover portions” and more
pressure to ensure that students are engaged and learning? What if we didn’t
just “clarify doubts” but actually pushed our students to think more deeply and
ask more questions? What if we worried less about preparing our students for
exams and more about preparing our students for life? What if we shifted our
language to regularly include words like <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">learning,
imagining, questioning, wondering, analyzing, inferring, creating, and thinking</i>.
What would our education system be like then?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="mso-ansi-language: EN-US;">Perhaps then, the
teacher in that physics class on the laws of motion would be free to slow down
and check for understanding. Perhaps she’d even have the time and motivation to
come up with imaginative ways to teach each concept so that every child could
access it. And the outcome of the class would not be mere “coverage,” but would
instead be “deeper engagement, thinking, and learning.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<!--EndFragment--><br /></div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-73478503640015590682016-11-07T05:16:00.003-08:002016-11-07T05:16:49.006-08:00BOOKS EVERY TEACHER MUST READ!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Reading:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Book Whisperer</i>, by Donalyn Miller<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Reading in the Wild,</i> by Donalyn Miller<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Book Love</i>, by Penny Kittle<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Proust and the Squid:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The Story and Science of the Reading Brain,</i> by Maryanne Wolfe (brilliant
and beautiful, but more complex than the titles above; this is one of my
all-time favorite books)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Reading in the Brain</i>, by Stanislas Dehaene (a little more scientific and technical, but a very interesting read.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Early Childhood (Great for parents as well)<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Your Child’s Growing Mind</i>, by Jane Healy<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Einstein Never Used Flashcards,</i> by Hirsch and Golinkoff<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What Every Kindergarten Teacher Should Know</i>, by M.B.Wilson<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Math:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>What’s Math Got to Do With It?</i> By Joanne Boaler (some interesting insights, even though I'm generally critical of Jo Boaler's approaches, which have fuelled so much of contemporary "reform" Math instruction in the US)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Number Sense</i>, by Stanislas Dehaene (quite scientific, little
more difficult but interesting)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Teaching Character<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Mindset,</i> by Carol Dweck<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How Children Succeed,</i> by Paul Tough<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Whole Brain Child,</i> by Daniel Siegel<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On
Schools/Education/Learning more generally<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The One World Schoolhouse</i>, by Salman Khan (founder of the
Khan academy)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Education Nation</i>, by Milton Chen<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Why Children Don’t Like School</i>, by Daniel Willingham<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Beyond the Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting & Education
for the Global Age</i>, by Maya Thiagarajan (Lots of great info on math, reading, memory and other hot-button education topics.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Assessment<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Embedding Formative Assessment: Practical techniques for
K-12 teachers</i>, by Dylan Williams<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Learning and the
Brain/Neuroscience<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>How the Brain Works</i>, by Donald Kotulak<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Jossey Bass Reader on the Brain and Learning</i>, Edited by
Kurt Fischer<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Shallows: What the Internet is doing to our Brains,</i> by
Nicolas Carr <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Brain Rules</i>, by John Medina<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On the Importance
of Nature for Children<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Last Child in the Woods</i>, by Richard Louv<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Curriculum
Design and Pedagogy<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Essential Questions: Opening Doors to Student Understanding,</i> by
Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Understanding By Design</i>, by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Making Thinking Visible</i> (multiple authors)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Cultivating Intellectual Character,</i> Ron Ritchard (I found this book really interesting, and it certainly had a big impact on my teaching.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On East-West
Differences in Education and Learning<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>The Cultural Foundations of Learning</i>, by Jin Li (very
academic, but very interesting)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Beyond The Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age</i>, by Maya Thiagarajan</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>On Multiple
Intelligences<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Frames of Mind,</i> by Howard Gardner<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Multiple Intelligences</i>, by Howard Gardner<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Emotional Intelligence</i>, by Daniel Goleman<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>Other Important
Books for Educators<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Quiet,</i> by Susan Cane (on introverted children)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Rapt: Attention and the Focused Life, </i>by Winifred Gallagher
(on focus and attention)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i>Flourish,</i> by Martin Seligman (on Positive Psychology)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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<o:p> What books would you add to this list? Please let me know!</o:p></div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-14235251174635272582016-11-02T21:20:00.001-07:002016-11-03T08:01:31.887-07:00And the real culprit is...overstimulation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Bleary eyed. Heads down on their desks. Yawns.<br />
<br />
Why are these kids <i>always</i> so tired?<br />
<br />
Everyday, my students walk into class looking exhausted. When I ask them how they're doing, invariably the response I get is, "I'm so tired." And increasingly, kids tell me that they feel anxious, overwhelmed, and stressed.<br />
<br />
Parents and teachers tend to assume that the culprit is too much schoolwork. If we assign less homework, the kids will be fine. If we have fewer assessments, the stress will dissipate.<br />
<br />
But I don't think that schoolwork is the primary culprit.<br />
<br />
The primary culprit for rising levels of exhaustion, anxiety, and stress is overstimulation, something I've written about <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2013/04/are-our-kids-having-too-much-fun.html">here</a>. Students today have too much going on in their lives -- and between the floods of emails, digital notifications, pings on their phones, visual images, tweets, back-to-back enrichment activities, social engagements, assignments, deadlines, commitments, sugar binges, sports tournaments, and snapchat -- they're just so overstimulated that their bodies and minds can't actually handle it. (The same is true for many working adults as well, I think. We're just way too overstimulated.)<br />
<br />
Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think that speed is always a good thing. And I'm not sure that "<i>efficiency</i>" and "<i>productivity</i>" (all words that describe machines and the mechanization of society) are the goals that we should be working towards. The fact is, we're not machines, and our job is not to "<i>process</i>" vast quantities of information and "<i>perform</i>" one task after another. If you ask me, human=machine is a destructive metaphor.<br />
<br />
We're people. We're human. We're reflective, contemplative, emotional, irrational, and complex. And that's what makes us so interesting and creative.<br />
<br />
And the reality is that our bodies and minds haven't yet caught up with the frenzied pace of an overstimulated digital and global world. And while we may think that "<i>working like a machine</i>" is a good thing in this age of machine-like multitasking, efficiency, and speed, the fact of the matter is that we're destroying ourselves by trying to be more machine-like, more overstimulated, more busy than we can actually handle.<br />
<br />
So my goal for my own children is to lower the levels of stimulation that they encounter at home.<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>They don't need sugary snacks and lots of treats; they need vegetables.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>They don't need social media; they need cuddles and real life, face-to-face conversations with their parents and grandparents.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>They don't need a flood of bite-sized superficial bits of information, they need old-fashioned books, the longer the better.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>They don't need back-to-back enrichment activities, they need time at home to read, daydream, play, and rest.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>They don't need so much breadth -- so much exposure to so many, many different things all at once; they need depth in their lives. Let's do less, much less, but let's do it better.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>They don't need to "work like machines" and "multi-task" and "be efficient." They need to work like humans -- slowly, reflectively, contemplatively, creatively. You know what? They need some time to daydream, imagine, and think. They need to slow down.</li>
</ul>
<br />
And here's the catch. If they have a little more time to get their homework done, slow and sustained academic work may actually <b><i>help</i></b> them feel more centred, more focused, and more calm. Like I said, I don't think that it's academic work that's the problem. It's all the other stuff .... the hyper-stimulated world that our kids live in.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-25090263504069374142016-11-02T20:43:00.002-07:002016-11-02T20:43:53.552-07:00What Does It Take To Be A Great Teacher?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<h3 class="post-title entry-title" itemprop="name" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 22px; font-stretch: normal; font-weight: normal; margin: 0.75em 0px 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;">So what really makes a great teacher? Last year, I asked my graduating class this question and their reply was interesting: great teachers are ones who care about students.</span></h3>
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<br />And this, to me, I think is the most important and rewarding part of teaching. Great teaching<i> always </i>happens in the context of a strong, supportive, and mutually respectful relationship. When a student knows that a teacher genuinely cares about his or her well-being and learning, then the student becomes deeply invested in the learning process. The more I think about it, the more I think that the teacher-student relationship is, in fact, the most essential pre-requisite for great teaching and deep learning.<br /><br />I would add that the next essential element is a deep passion for one's subject matter and the teacher's own love of learning. If teachers are to inspire students, they need to be inspired themselves. They need to be scholars and model intellectual excitement for their students.<br /><br />And finally, teachers need to work hard. Great teaching is very hard work. It's intellectually, emotionally, and even physically draining.<br /><br />Increasingly, I find all the raging discussions about pedagogy somewhat irrelevant. Some great teachers are constructivist, others may use a more traditional approach. Some great teachers may run tightly ordered classrooms with lots of rules, others may run more relaxed classrooms. Some great teachers may engage their students in lots of activities, others may choose more traditional lectures and discussions. Pedagogy, I think, is important, but in the larger scheme of things, it's not what defines a great teacher. The reality is that kids can learn in a wide range of ways, and great teaching can happen in many different forms.<br /><br />However, what great teachers have in common are the following:<br />- They care about their students. And their students know it.<br />- They care about their subjects, and they demonstrate a deep love of learning themselves.<br />- They work hard. Very, very hard.</div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-91605876281841767892016-09-05T06:46:00.001-07:002016-09-05T06:46:16.929-07:00What can one book, one child, one teacher do?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-81584502646581627212016-08-20T19:31:00.002-07:002016-08-20T19:33:02.720-07:00WHAT TEACHERS IN SINGAPORE KNOW: 5 LESSONS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2016/08/five_lessons_from_teaching_in_singapore.html">Here's a blog post</a> that I recently wrote for Ed Week's Global Learning section. I hope you enjoy it!<br />
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And a taster extract:<br />
Lesson #1: <b style="font-family: ff-dagny-web-pro, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 26px;">Lesson #1: Educators don't need to accommodate short attention spans; we need to train kids to extend their attention spans.</b><br />
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Many of the Singaporean educators I spoke with, particularly elementary school teachers, described the benefits of making young kids complete long and demanding academic tasks. Kids spend hours learning how to write thousands of complex Chinese characters. From grade two onward, they take exams that last for 90 minutes in each of their four major subjects. Yes, that's right: seven year olds<i>can</i> sit down and concentrate on math for an hour and a half.</div>
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When I expressed surprise (or shock and horror, to be more precise) over this, parents and educators agreed that Singaporean kids experience significant educational stress because of the exam system, but none of them seemed to think that it was asking too much to make a young child sit down and focus on a single task for an hour and a half. "These tests and activities help train our children to shut out distractions, focus their minds, and concentrate," said one teacher. Said a parent, "It is important to teach our children to focus for extended periods of time. That's a very important skill."<br />
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<a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/global_learning/2016/08/five_lessons_from_teaching_in_singapore.html">Read the whole article here.</a></div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-90251536831290954792016-08-05T18:45:00.000-07:002016-08-05T18:45:38.614-07:00It's not just about IQ and EQ; 21st century kids need CQ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Although it's not cool to admit it, most parents care deeply about their kids' IQ or Intelligence Quotient. I've heard parents of toddlers boast about how "smart" their kids are. (For the record, I think that IQ is a very narrow concept, which doesn't adequately reflect the many different ways in which our children can be intelligent; it does not, for example, measure a child's musical ability or imagination.)<br />
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In the last decade, we've also started to care about EQ or Emotional Quotient. Of course, we all want emotionally stable and sensitive kids who get along with others. Without a doubt, our ability to foster and maintain good relationships is key to our happiness and success, personally and professionally.<br />
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We're all trying to raise kids who enjoy learning, study hard, relate well to others, and manage their emotions effectively. We know that IQ and EQ matter for professional success, and perhaps (particularly with EQ) for long-term happiness.<br />
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Well, guess what? In a global age, we've got a new quotient that is equally important. We've got CQ or Cultural Quotient, a measure of someone's cross-cultural competence, or in other words, their sensitivity to different cultural viewpoints and their ability to work effectively in different cultural contexts.<br />
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Consider how global the workplace is these days -- companies are global and workforces are diverse. And opportunities are global too. An Indian graphics designer based in Chennai might do freelance work for a client in France, for example. Our kids need to be equipped to cross cultural borders and navigate a global, intercultural world.<br />
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And in addition to the practical implications, CQ can help us create a less prejudiced, kinder and more humane world. And that's very important.<br />
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As a global educator who has taught in the US, Singapore, and India, I think that parents can and should consider ways to help a child develop their CQ.<br />
We can help our kids empathize with others from different contexts.<br />
We can help our kids view an issue or story through different cultural lenses and from different perspectives.<br />
We can help our kids understand beliefs, values, norms and conventions of different cultures.<br />
And we can help our kids judge others less and empathize with them more. Ultimately, we want to foster open-mindedness and empathy.<br />
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Here are some suggestions:<br />
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1. Read multicultural books to your kids when they are young. <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2015/08/top-picture-book-recommendations.html">Here are some options</a> to start with.<br />
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2. Buy multicultural books for your kids to read independently as they grow older. <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2737614449771821161#editor/target=post;postID=5739913027604467564;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=5;src=postname">Here's a great list</a> to start with.<br />
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3. Encourage kids to learn more about other cultures through food -- take them to different kinds of restaurants or try cooking different cuisines at home.<br />
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4. Encourage kids to learn about the stories and beliefs behind different religions; these foundational stories will help your kids understand other people's world views, and it will help your child develop a respect for other people's beliefs. <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2011/09/stories-we-tell.html">Here is a post </a>on the impact of foundational stories from around the world.<br />
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5. Teach your child a foreign language.<br />
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6. Travel -- if you can afford to take your children on trips to different places, this is a great way to help them develop their CQ. If you can't travel to another city or country, then find opportunities within your own city -- perhaps there's a Chinese New Year celebration in your city's Chinatown neighborhood, or perhaps there's a Korean play that your kids can watch in a neighborhood theatre. Seek out these opportunities.<br />
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7. Remember that it's important to cross borders and shed prejudices within your own city or country -- for example, Hindu kids in India could learn more about Islam and get to know their Muslim neighbors better. CQ is about crossing borders -- of race, religion, language, culture, and socio-economic status. It's about relating to someone whose context and life is a little different from your own. You don't have to fly across the world to develop CQ -- sometimes, the most difficult borders to cross are the ones right around us.<br />
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So parents, don't just focus on IQ and EQ; consider ways to help your child develop his/her CQ as well.<br />
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-71531618544917360922016-08-04T19:02:00.002-07:002016-09-02T08:17:59.806-07:007 Life Lessons: A Letter to My Students<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: times; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">Graduations remind me of diving boards: parents and teachers become spectators, waiting to see each student jump, spring, and dive into “adulthood” and the “real world.” And we teachers believe, perhaps naively, that we’ve prepared you for the real world. We’ve given you formulas and algorithms, we’ve introduced you to Orwell and Bronte, we’ve taught you about wars and revolutions, we’ve taught you to read, write, speak, and sing…. We’ve prepared you for that dive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">But in reality, there isn’t a dive that sends you into the pool of adulthood. Growing up isn’t as sudden or as simple as that. It’s a life-long journey, and for the most part, you swim along just as you did in high school. But -- perhaps not unlike the way your heart sank when you bombed a test, or the way you cried when your friend betrayed you, or the way you tossed in bed wondering if your crush would ever be reciprocated -- you might sometimes feel as though you can’t swim fast enough, or the pool seems too long and too deep to navigate, or you lose your way and hit your head on the pool walls, and ouch, it hurts.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">As you navigate the complex world of independence and adulthood, I’d like to share with you some of the lessons that I learned along the way. These lessons may or may not resonate with you – but I offer them to you anyways, with all my best wishes and best intentions.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times";">I have learned</span></b><span style="font-family: "times";"> to empathize more and judge less. Everyone has challenges of some kind – sometimes heartbreaking challenges – so judge people less, empathize with them more, and be kind, be kind, be kind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times";">I have learned</span></b><span style="font-family: "times";"> that forgiveness is always better than anger. Forgiveness is liberating, but anger is imprisoning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">As the poet Jallaludin Rumi reminds us,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">“<i>Anger may taste sweet, but it kills.<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times";">Don’t become its victim.<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: "times";">You need humility to climb to freedom</span></i><span style="font-family: "times";">.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>I have learned</b> that when we skin our knees on the sidewalks of life<span style="font-family: "cambria";">*</span>, we bleed, whether we’re rich or poor, gay or straight, Jew or Christian, Hindu or Muslim, Black or White, Indian or Chinese. I hope that as you venture into a world where people define themselves by how they are different from others, often with violence and hatred, you will remember our common humanity.</div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times";">I have learned</span></b><span style="font-family: "times";"> that there is value in sticking things out: sticking out relationships, jobs, places, and projects. In a world with so much mobility and so many choices, this can be harder than it seems. Continuity and commitment, endurance and perseverance, or “grit” -- to use the word of the day -- all matter. We need our roots as much as we need our wings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times";">I have learned</span></b><span style="font-family: "times";"> that you’re never quite prepared for those moments when adversity hits – when the pool feels too deep and the currents too strong, when you feel as though you may drown, or worse, you yearn to drown, when you are hit with loss or betrayal or failure or terrifying fear. But, prepared or not, you have to keep swimming and stay strong. Don’t fall apart when life gets tough; be resilient and brave.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times";">I have learned</span></b><span style="font-family: "times";"> that it is important to nurture relationships – to make an effort with people you care about and people you work with. Stay close to your families, nurture your friendships, and cultivate your professional networks. Give gifts, attend your friends’ weddings (even if they’re far away and it’s inconvenient), go to their baby showers, be there for them when things go wrong, reach out often and stay in touch. In a globalized world where people are scattered everywhere, like raindrops, relationships may start to feel ephemeral and transient. Make the effort; you will be grateful for all those relationships – familial, personal, and professional -- down the road.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "times";">I have learned</span></b><span style="font-family: "times";"> that it is important to cultivate your own intellectual life. Your mind is rich and wonderful – nourish it and care for it. Knowledge and imagination, books and ideas, can enrich and sustain you. Like fire and energy, like a bird in flight and a mountain climber scaling heights, the life of the mind is thrilling. Read widely, read deeply, and read often.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">Take care of yourselves always.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">Ms.T<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times";">* "when we skin our knees on the sidewalks of life, we bleed" - Taken from Billy Collins' wonderful poem "<i>On Turning Ten</i>."</span></div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-81628040338984813632016-08-01T21:19:00.000-07:002016-08-14T07:03:36.488-07:005 Back To School Resolutions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Most people make their new year's resolutions on January 1st. But not me. My year begins in August, with the start of a new school year.<br />
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I've got a bunch of resolutions, both as a teacher and as a parent. But let's start with the parenting resolutions first:<br />
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<b><u>#1: Establish good homework routines for my kids (and remember that my little one is only 8!)</u></b><br />
Why is it so hard to give a second child the same attention that we give our first? When my son was 8, I spent lots of time helping him manage his time and organize all his materials. I checked his homework and made him redo drafts of sloppy work. I want to make sure that I do the same thing for my daughter, despite the fact that I'm feeling a little burnt out and exhausted. She still needs lots of help with organization and skills, and I need to make time for her.<br />
Fortunately, my son, who is now starting grade 6, has developed good homework habits, so I think I will encourage him to work more independently while I focus my attention on helping my daughter.<br />
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<b><u>#2: Remember how important nature and free-play are, even for older kids.</u></b><br />
As my kids grow older, I find that the pressures around them seem to grow too. There's more homework, there are so many options for scheduled activities at school, and time seems to be so limited. However, I want to make sure that I still leave lots of time for my kids to play outside with their friends and to read for pleasure. I think that "a green-hour" (ie time in nature) is SO important for kids. So, as my kids choose their activities and plan their weeks, I'm going to encourage them to sign up for fewer activities and preserve some time to play freely outdoors and to read for pleasure.<br />
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<b><u>#3: Put away my laptop and phone, and engage more directly with my kids.</u></b><br />
Lately I've been finding myself becoming increasingly addicted to my devices. And that scares me. Last week I snapped at my daughter because she wanted to read with me, but I was too busy checking my facebook account. Now, you tell me what's more important?<br />
So my resolution this year is to create "<b>No Tech Zones"</b> for myself. When I come home from work, I will have a no-tech hour, where I can engage with my children with no distractions. And similarly, from dinner till bedtime will be a "no-tech zone." We'll all focus on real human engagement -- something that's becoming increasingly endangered not just in schools but in homes.<br />
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<b><u>#4: Focus on Wellness.</u></b><br />
By the end of the last school year, I was an exhausted mess. My back constantly hurt, I was taking way too many advils for headaches, and I found myself feeling increasingly cranky. Let's face it: teaching is one of the most demanding and exhausting professions in the world. And adding parenting and book promotion to the mix, makes my life even more exhausting.<br />
So this year, I'm going to schedule in the following:<br />
- a morning yoga/stretching/mindfulness routine (I think I might add some brief 5 minute stretch and mindfulness breaks into my classroom routines as well.)<br />
- Long walks or runs in the evening, when my kids are playing outside. I need a green hour just as much as they do.<br />
- And more time for my own independent reading at nights and on weekends. Nothing relaxes and revives me like a good book!<br />
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<b><u>#5: Enjoy the year!</u></b><br />
Often, I think that I am so lucky. I love my job; <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2016/04/for-my-students-why-i-teach.html">I teach fantastic kids</a>. I love being a mom and watching my own kids grow. And I enjoy all the writing and reading I do. I want to remind myself to slow down a bit and enjoy all the kids whom I work with and all the wonderful bits and pieces of my life.</div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-14050392031648412902016-06-21T19:14:00.000-07:002016-06-21T19:14:55.154-07:00Summer Freedom!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Today is the last day of this academic year. As the summer stretches out ahead of me, I feel tremendous excitement and relief.</div>
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Now, don’t get me wrong. I love my job, and I’m a big proponent of hard work, schoolwork, homework, and all kinds of work. But by the end of the academic year, I’m totally and completely worn out. Schools are possibly the most structured and disciplined places on our planet. During the school year, faculty and students alike are governed by schedules, timetables, and syllabi. We think in terms of hour-long blocks that end with a loud bell. Our thoughts are always, necessarily, fragmented. Just as we’re working through a particularly difficult piece of poetry, the bell rings. All of a sudden, students have to march to a Chemistry class and wrestle with the periodic table, while I have to run to another class and teach a totally different text. And then, all year long, students and faculty alike march from one set of assignments to another, from one set of assessments to another, from one reporting period to another. Much as I love school, I do find the degree of structure overwhelming.</div>
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So, summer is a welcome break. As I contemplate two months of freedom, I realize how important unstructured time is for all of us: faculty and students alike. While structured learning is very important, a whole different kind of learning takes place in the summer. We can spend a morning immersed in a book, with no bell to interrupt the experience. We can immerse ourselves in a particular project or learning experience without the constraints and demands of school. We can play! Play with ideas, play with words, play in the sand and play at the beach. We can engage in an activity for the pure pleasure of it, without worrying about external assessments and judgments. We can do what we love, what we want, instead of being forced to do what everyone else (administrators, exam boards, parents, teachers) tell us to do. Oh, the joy of summer!</div>
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Unstructured time is, I think, critical for deep thinking and creativity. All people, teachers and students alike, need long stretches of unstructured time to imagine, dream, and think. It is this mental space and time that allows us to be reflective and creative. Additionally, we all need downtime to recharge our batteries. And, very importantly, we all need time outdoors, time to connect with nature and our physical environment. The beauty of the academic year is that we have this time built into every year. Every academic year begins anew in August, with renewed vigor and intensity. And then every academic year winds down in June, giving way to the luxury and freedom of summer.</div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-80786332609848543912016-06-14T23:52:00.000-07:002016-06-16T07:48:06.504-07:00Can schools vaccinate against hatred and extremist ideologies?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5135px;">I recently received an email from my former professor at Harvard, Fernando Reimers, where he wrote about his feelings regarding the Orlando shootings. He said:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5135px;">"I don't know about the background of the perpetrator or whether education could have vaccinated him against the sick ideas that led him on his path of hatred. I do think schools everywhere could do much more to prepare children and youth to embrace the beauty that lies in human difference, and to prepare them to challenge extremist ideologie</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5135px;">s.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5135px;">The goal to educate all was first articulat</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "helvetica neue" , "segoe ui" , "helvetica" , "arial" , "lucida grande" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.5135px;">ed by Comenius as a way to overcome the intolerance and discrimination he had experienced. Much has been achieved in including all children in school inspired by that goal. We have work to do to ensure that teachers and schools indeed advance peace and understanding."</span></blockquote>
<br />
I couldn't agree more. As educators and as parents, we have the power to help our children understand that they must stand for peace and understanding. We can help our children to judge others less and empathize with them more, and we can help them to stand up for peace, tolerance, and diversity. <br />
<br />
Here's an extract from <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2015/11/a-letter-to-my-students.html">a letter I wrote to my graduating students:</a><br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="font-style: normal; margin: 0px;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">"I have learned</span> that when we skin our knees on the sidewalks of life<span style="font-family: "cambria"; font-weight: normal;">*</span>, we bleed, whether we’re rich or poor, gay or straight, Jew or Christian, Hindu or Muslim, Black or White, Indian or Chinese. I hope that as you venture into a world where people define themselves by how they are different from others, often with violence and hatred, you will remember our common humanity." </blockquote>
</blockquote>
*<i>Skin our knees on the sidewalks of life is a line from Billy Collins' poem "On Turning Ten" </i></div>
</div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-90044525895628625232016-06-13T19:40:00.001-07:002016-06-13T19:40:51.498-07:003 Things I've Learned in Singapore<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">Here's an extract from an interview with Multicultural Kids. To read the entire interview, click <a href="http://multiculturalkidblogs.com/2016/05/03/beyond-the-tiger-mom-interview-with-maya-thiagarajan/">here</a>. </em></div>
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<em style="box-sizing: border-box;">How has researching and writing 'Beyond The Tiger Mom' influenced your own parenting/teaching style?</em></div>
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One interesting thing that all the Chinese moms I interviewed stressed was the importance of greetings; Chinese kids are expected to stop whatever they are doing at home to greet elders (parents, grandparents, visitors). The moms believe very strongly that these greetings teach kids to value and respect their elders, and that these greetings are very important for family unity and harmony. I think living in Singapore and interviewing parents here has made me think much more deeply about ways to create family unity and harmony.</div>
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Academically too, I think I’ve been very influenced by Singaporean culture. As I say in the first chapter of my book, the parents I interviewed influenced how I think about math education and the importance of early math skills.</div>
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Additionally, as a parent and an educator, I also think a lot more about how to extend my kids’ (and students’) attention spans. In the US, teachers are routinely taught to accommodate short attention spans by entertaining kids, making everything “fun,” and moving quickly from one task to the next. Here in Singapore, educators and parents don’t accommodate short attention spans; instead they deliberately train kids to extend their attention spans and concentrate more fully on a complex task for a sustained period of time.</div>
</div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-71760159451730710972016-06-06T21:41:00.000-07:002016-06-06T22:05:08.265-07:00Home Learning Cultures: What, how, and why?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--xXuFbSSoaU/V1ZReTVBbbI/AAAAAAAAATg/yQ4q_LTZsoE7FJF-45HInltPcFR1MFCEwCK4B/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-07%2Bat%2B12.45.22%2BPM.png" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="168" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/--xXuFbSSoaU/V1ZReTVBbbI/AAAAAAAAATg/yQ4q_LTZsoE7FJF-45HInltPcFR1MFCEwCK4B/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-06-07%2Bat%2B12.45.22%2BPM.png" width="320" /></a></span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4; text-align: justify;">Have you ever wondered about the culture you create in your home? I'm not talking about culture in terms of race, ethnicity, heritage or religion. And, I'm not talking about how loving or dysfunctional the family is (although this is, undoubtedly, the most important aspect of any family).</span></h3>
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I'm talking about the kind of values and interests a home embodies. What does your home say about who you are and what you value? What kinds of objects are on display in your house? What do you have up on your walls? What kind of activities does your family do for fun? What do people talk about at the dinner table? What messages do the physical, verbal, and behavioral culture of your home give your child?<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b style="font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 1.4;">As Peter Drucker, the business guru says, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast," and I think that's true. The culture of the home shapes kids far more than any specific strategy, class, or task that we impose upon them.</b></blockquote>
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One of my closest childhood friends lived in a home permeated by technology. His dad ran a software company, and his mom was also extremely computer savvy. They always had the latest technology and the best computers, and as a family, they preferred movies to books. My friend himself was always playing around on his computer -- not on mindless games, but on really sophisticated stuff. He started programming really young, and unsurprisingly, he went on to become a very successful software engineer. In his home, dinner table discussions would often revolve around computers, new technologies, and cars.</div>
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My own childhood home was full of literature, poetry, and art. Big, dusty bookcases crowded with books about art and architecture, museums and travel. Other bookcases overflowed with works of fiction -- great literature from India and the West. We were a reading family, and we were an artsy family. Neither of my parents cared much about technology. They just weren't into machines. We had a small TV that was never switched on. Our house was also a quiet house. I don't remember much music or noise. Everyone in the family seemed to enjoy silence and solitude.</div>
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<br /></div>
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I often consider the kind of home that I'm creating for my children. What kind of culture are they living and breathing everyday. How can I make sure that the culture of my home reflects my love of learning, reading, and ideas?</div>
<br />When I talk to parents about learning, I often discuss what <b>" a learning culture" </b>looks and feels like at home. </div>
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Parents can create <b>a math culture</b> -- with legos, tangrams, math conversations, math games, and math exercises. </div>
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And they can create a <b>reading culture</b> -- with bookshelves everywhere, conversations about books, and lots of time for reading. </div>
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And importantly, parents can ensure that everything about their homes signals to kids that <b>learning is beautiful, enjoyable, and important.</b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-39318980955071492942016-05-28T23:36:00.000-07:002016-06-12T20:37:55.633-07:00Whose Stories Matter? <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; line-height: 150%; text-align: justify;">A few months after I started teaching at an international
school in Singapore, I sat down at my desk with a cup of hot coffee and a pile
of short stories that my ninth graders had written.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The first story was about a New Yorker named Joe who is
caught in the middle of a gory murder mystery. At one point in the story, Joe
runs his hands through his light brown hair in an exasperated gesture, as his
blue-gray eyes twinkle. Joe is clearly White. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The second story was a tragic narrative about a young
teenage girl named Sienna who is grieving over the loss of her mother. Over the
course of the story, Sienna meets a young man named Steve, who offers her
comfort. Early in the story, Sienna’s blonde hair flies in the wind, and later,
she glances at Steve, and her soft hazel eyes meet his piercing blue ones.
Clearly, Sienna and Steve are both White too. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Here’s the interesting part: both these stories were written
by Asian students who had spent their entire lives in Asia. As I worked my way
through the pile, I realized that <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">all</i>
my students – my Chinese students, Korean students, Indian students, and
Japanese students -- had crafted Caucasian characters in Western settings. This
particular class was about 70% Asian, and many of my students had previously
attended local Chinese and Indian schools. Yet every single story had a White
protagonist. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I was surprised. In a decade of teaching White students in
the US, I never had a single White student write a story about a non-White
protagonist. In contrast, year after year in Singapore, all my Asian students
write stories about White characters in Western settings. The default character,
at least as teenagers see it, is a White one. And the default setting seems to
be a place in America or Europe. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I joked about this with my students when I returned their
stories: Who’s going to tell me a story set in Singapore with a protagonist named
Mustafa or Mei-Jia? Don’t Asians fall in love, solve mysteries, and deal with
conflicts? Don’t Asians have stories to tell too? Some of my students laughed;
others shifted uncomfortably in their seats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Had they, through a steady consumption of Western children’s
books and Western media, internalized the belief that stories about Whites are
better stories? Visit any toyshop or bookshop in India or Singapore, and you
will encounter blonde haired dolls, Ladybird readers with Peter and Jane, and
posters of smiling White children playing and reading. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Or, was their choice of Western characters and settings
actually a function of the language that they were writing in? Would an Indian
child writing in Hindi craft a story about a Caucasian named Joe who lives in
New York City? If my Korean student were writing in Korean instead of English,
would she have been more likely to set her story in Seoul and narrate a romance
between Ji Hoon and Min Seo? Would Singaporean children writing stories in
their mother tongue – Mandarin, Malay, or Tamil – create White characters in
Western settings? Perhaps the issue was that the history and culture associated
with the English language somehow demanded the protagonists be Western.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I am not sure whether my students’ inability to imagine
Asian characters in Asian settings is a function of the language in which they
are writing or of their social conditioning. Perhaps it is a blend of both.
What I do know, however, is that my Asian students respond very well to books
by Asian authors set in Asian contexts. And I also know, as an English teacher
who scours libraries and online book shops for titles, that there are too few
Asian books for children. When my students read stories by Amy Tan, they nod
and laugh, as they recognize the foods, smells, tastes, and sounds that Tan
describes. When they discuss the mother-daughter relationships in her books,
they often say things like, “that sounds so familiar.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">I see this recognition in my own children’s reading
experiences as well. When I buy picture books with Indian protagonists and
Indian settings for my daughter, she scrutinizes the pictures carefully. She
loves the pictures of mischievous Neil Hariharan in Anushka Sankar’s humorous
book <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">“Excuses, Excuses</i>.” And when she
first encountered Pooja Makhijani’s book, “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My
Mother’s Saris,”</i> she turned to me and said, “the girl looks like me.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Moving to Singapore jolted me into recalibrating my own
storytelling. Of all the recent stories I’ve concocted for my daughter, her
favorite is about a beautiful fairy named Sarita who has chocolate brown skin
and long black hair that shimmers like black silk. Sarita is queen of the fairies
in Fairyland, and she, together with her band of fairy friends, manages to
defeat evil witches, tame terrible monsters, and save Fairyland from all sorts
of awful fates. Often my daughter becomes a character in the story as she too
somehow ends up in Fairyland to help Sarita in her magical quests.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Given that many Asian students, particularly in Singapore
and India, live and study in English speaking contexts, maybe it’s time we
provide them with English stories that are set in Asia so that they begin to
see English as a global language that they can claim <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">as their own</i>, a global language that can tell their stories as well
as it tells the stories of Joe, Sienna, and Steve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Our children deserve a wide range of children’s literature
about Asian characters in Asian countries. We need to write and publish these
stories for them, both in English and in Asian languages. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="font-family: "times new roman"; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman";">My hope is that down the road when I grade my students’
stories, I will be able to read about Li Jing’s search for love as her black
hair flies in the wind and Hassan’s brilliance at solving mysteries as he
navigates the back lanes of Kampong Glam in Singapore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<br /></div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-73678203673291774912016-04-26T01:56:00.002-07:002016-05-11T21:05:56.851-07:00Rigor versus Creativity: Are they mutually exclusive?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
The Singapore local system prides itself for its "rigorous" program. And if you've ever looked at the exam papers for primary school kids on this island, you'll be amazed at the level of rigor. The word problems involve a tremendous amount of conceptual complexity, multiple steps, and hard calculations. The exams that these kids take are hard.<br />
<br />
Firstly, let's clarify what we mean by rigor. It's all the rage in education circles around the world, and the East certainly prides itself in the rigor that it offers kids. Rigor, I think, refers to three things:<br />
<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The level of challenge of the problems/tasks/assessments that kids are expected to do.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>The level of precision and quality expected of kids, especially when it comes to basic skills like mathematical problem solving, critical reading, and analytical writing. </li>
</ul>
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>In order to ensure that kids can meet academic challenges and display strong academic skills, a rigorous education often requires teachers to explicitly teach concepts, assign homework, and provide detailed feedback. Rigor involves lots of practice with the goal of mastery. Rigorous education is often associated more with traditional exam-focused instruction than with constructivist project-based progressive education.</li>
</ul>
<div>
One look at Singapore's exam system for sixth graders is proof of its rigor.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
But what about creativity? The major criticism leveled at the Singaporean exam system -- and perhaps any exam system -- is its lack of creativity. Exams are the antithesis of creativity because they require students to provide the answers that the examiner is looking for. There's no room for questioning or original thought or experimenting on an exam, not even on a well-designed exam. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
What does a creative system look like: it's open-ended and exploratory. Kids ask questions of their own, they design and create, they work on collaborative group projects and presentations that involve multiple disciplines and a range of skills. In an English class, kids might write poems and act out a range of interpretations of a dramatic scene; in a Science class, they ask questions and design their own experiments; in a math class, they discuss various strategies with group members to solve a math problem. The US, known for constructivism and progressive education, embraces these kinds of creative projects. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And these projects are great -- they inspire kids, they get kids excited, they teach kids to work together and ask questions, they give kids the freedom to innovate or experiment...so what's the problem? <b>The problem is that without a rigorous skill based education, these constructivist projects might end up being superficial and shallow. They focus more on giving a kid broad exposure and less on ensuring mastery.</b><br />
<br />
If kids don't have strong skills and lots of rich content knowledge, they might end up just skimming the surface and not really learning anything deep. Without a rigorous skill-focused education, kids' reports and projects might involve sloppy writing and bad grammar; when they read, they might focus more on their feelings and less on actual literary analysis. Additionally, they will almost certainly have weak math foundations full of gaps; it's really hard to gain a strong math foundation without a systematic, sequential, and rigorous program. And as any student can tell you, group projects often mean that a few kids do all the work and learn a lot, while the other kids do very little and learn nothing. So yes, they offer creativity and inspiration, and kids certainly learn a lot from well-designed projects and explorations, but constructivism is not perfect either.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<i>So, here's my question: </i>why can't an education provide kids with both academic rigor and creative freedom? <b>Why can't we teach basic skills and core content-- critical reading, analytical writing, mathematical problem solving, core science content -- in a rigorous, more traditional way, but ALSO give kids sufficient time and space to pursue projects, engage in open-ended discussions of literature, write their own poetry, and design their own experiments? <u>Why can't we do both? </u></b>Why do educators and education systems pit rigor and creativity against each other, instead of agreeing that both have value, and that in fact, they can complement each other?</div>
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com282tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-57399130276044675642016-04-16T22:04:00.000-07:002016-08-05T18:42:57.058-07:00The Best Multicultural Reading List for Kids in Grades 2 to 6 - MUST READ BOOKS<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Here's a list of my own kids' favorite books from all around the world. I believe SO strongly that kids need to see themselves and others reflected in literature, and this list offers kids like mine -- global South Asian kids growing up in Singapore -- a wide range of books that reflect both the familiar and the foreign in wonderful ways. </div>
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<br /></div>
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BOOK LIST: FICTION<br />
<br />
Charlotte’s Web (US)</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Folk of the Faraway Tree (England)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Where the Mountain Meets the Moon (China)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";">
</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Starry River of the Skies (China)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Mudskipper (Singapore)<br />
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">-Sherlock Sam series (Singapore)</span></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->A Single Shard (Korea)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Noodle Pie (Vietnam/Australia)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Listen, Slowly (Vietnam)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Just A Train Ride Away (India)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tiger Boy (India)<br />
Thai-riffic (Thailand, Australia)</div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Danger By Moonlight (India, Italy)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Flora and Ulysses (US)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Number the Stars (Denmark)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Giver (US)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Esperanza Rising (Mexico, US)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I Lived on Butterfly Hill (Chile)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Garbage King (Ethiopia)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Clay Marble (Cambodia)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E.Frankeweiler
(US)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Oliver Twist (UK)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Red Scarf Girl (China)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Chinese Cinderella (China)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->I Am David (Europe)<o:p></o:p></div>
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</span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Oranges in No Man’s Land (Lebanon)<br />
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;">-The Ash Mistry Series (India/UK)</span></div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-76923119696042251142016-04-12T02:54:00.000-07:002016-04-12T02:57:29.257-07:00Tuttle News Flash: Reviews of "Beyond the Tiger Mom"<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<img align="left" alt="9780804846028.jpg" height="206" hspace="12" id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3503" src="https://us-mg61.mail.yahoo.com/ya/download?mid=2%5f0%5f0%5f1%5f118657%5fAC%2fFCmoAACKXVuxVhwSEQGMm7d8&m=YaDownload&pid=7&fid=Inbox&inline=1&appid=yahoomail" style="border: 0px;" width="132" /><b id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3509">Beyond the Tiger Mom</b></div>
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<i id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3497">East-West Parenting for the Global Age</i></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3517">by Maya Thiagarajan</span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3495">ISBN: 9780804846028; $18.95 paperback; February 2016</span></div>
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<b id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3490"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3489" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #c00000;">“The best book I’ve read in years! […] When was the last time you read a book about education and parenting that really had you thinking and making changes to the way you do things in your home? <i id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3492">Beyond The Tiger Mom: East-West Parenting for the Global Age</i> has had this affect on me! […] Now that I’ve read<span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Beyond The Tiger Mom</i> and had a little while to let the information sit in my mind,<span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3520"><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3519">I want to read it again</span></span></span></b><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3494" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #c00000;">.<b id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3493"> There’s so much information I’m certain I’ll get a deeper understanding and more to think about with a second reading. And this time I’m going to underline key phrases and take more notes. This is one book that I’ll be keeping and referring to as the children grow. Maya has also included many resources that I can seek out and read for more background information. […] Whether your children are in a public, private, homeschool, or other form of education, there are things that can be learned from this book.” </b></span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">—<b><span style="color: #c00000;"><a href="http://www.castleviewacademy.com/beyond-the-tiger-mom/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Castle View Academy</a> </span></b>blog<b><span style="color: #c00000;"></span></b></span></div>
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<b><u><span style="font-size: 10pt;">PREVIOUS PUBLICITY/ENDORSEMENTS:</span></u></b></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10pt;">“…one of the most fascinating books I have read in a long time.…a must read for anyone who wants to know more about education and the best way to educate a child.” —<b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://craftymomsshare.blogspot.com/2016/03/beyond-tiger-mom-book-review-with-math.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Crafty Moms Share</a></span></b> blog</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10pt;">“Whether you want to train your child to expand their attention span, aid in your child reaching optimal educational success or are just looking to enrich your child in a different way of learning, this book is definitely for you.” —<b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://thebabyspot.ca/beyond-the-tiger-mom-east-west-parenting-for-the-global-age/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">The Baby Spot</a></span></b> blog</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10pt;">“Perhaps, while waiting for the child’s tuition class to end, mum (or dad) could read this book. You’ll chuckle over parental excesses, probably identify with most of them, devour the parenting and teaching tips at the end of each chapter, find community with parents featured, and come away reassured that your style of east-west parenting — whether you’re a Tiger parent or not — is the right way to raise your little Asian Tiger.” —<b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://singaporemotherhood.com/articles/2016/02/my-parenting-style-maya-thiagarajan-author-beyond-the-tiger-mom/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">SingaporeMotherhood.com</a></span></b></span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">“With her knowledge and experience of what works and what doesn’t work best for children’s education, she has written this extensive, easy-to-read guide.” —<b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="https://tokyo5.wordpress.com/2016/01/30/review-25-tiger-mom/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Tokyo 5</a></span></b> blog</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Tiger-Mom-East-West-Parenting/dp/0804846022/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?tag=8asia-20" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">“’Beyond the Tiger Mom’”</span></a><span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span>severed [sic] as a good reminder then to help me keep a broader perspective on child-rearing and teaching philosophy. That things I took for granted as universal parenting laws—like reading to your kid—isn’t really as universal as I thought. This doesn’t mean that I’m not going to read regularly to my child—I am, I’m a writer after all—but it reminded me that math—Kumon here we come!—and hard work are equally important keys to success…What I enjoyed most about Thiagarajan’s book was that it gave good perspective on the whole East Vs. West debate and what is really at stake…” —<b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.8asians.com/2016/02/23/8books-review-beyond-the-tiger-mom-by-maya-thiagarajan/" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">8Asians.com</a></span></b> blog</span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10pt;">“Thiagarajan’s extensive research is captured in her book to create a parenting guide that looks at the strengths and weaknesses of both Asian and Western parenting styles while dispelling the myths that often come to stereotype both…Thiagarajan offers accessible and practical advice at the end of each chapter with specific tips for Asian and Western parents to bring out the best in their children. She explores topics such as how to help children achieve their maximum academic potential, train children to expand their attention spans, find the ideal balance between work and play, view failure as a learning experience, establish tech-healthy habits, and prime children for success early on.” —<b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.biculturalmama.com/2016/02/beyond-tiger-mom-east-west-parenting-guide-giveaway.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">BiculturalMama.com</a></span></b> blog</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></div>
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<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-size: 10pt;">“Being well-acquainted with Western and Asian approaches to parenting and education – and their stark differences – she synthesizes both in her book, bringing together the best of the East and West.” <b><span style="color: blue;"><a href="http://simplymommie.com/2016/02/beyond-the-tiger-mom-book-review.html" rel="nofollow" style="background: transparent; color: purple; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">SimplyMommie.com</a></span></b> blog</span><b><u><span style="font-size: 10pt;"></span></u></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10pt;">“Whether it’s talking about memorization, critical thinking skills or how to balance, here is a well-written, soundly argued book that should be of enormous interest to educators and parents alike.” —<b><i>Expat Living</i> magazine</b></span></div>
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<span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3559" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;">"Beyond the Tiger Mom<span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span>is a brilliant book—hard-hitting and brutally honest but also balanced, insightful, and funny. It avoids cliches and draws on years of research and personal multicultural teaching experience. It's also wonderfully practical, offering specific tips for how to combine the best of East and West." —<b>Amy Chua, Yale Law Professor and author of<span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span><i>Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother</i><span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span><i>The Triple Package: What Really Determines Success</i></b></span><i><span style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></i><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3562" style="color: #333333; font-size: 10pt;"><br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3561" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">"In this exquisite book, Maya Thiagarajan distills her observations about parenting as a global citizen who has lived, studied and taught in India, the United States and Singapore. An accomplished teacher and skilled writer, a reflective parent, and above all a cosmopolitan, Maya has produced a unique book that every parent trying to make sense of how best to help our children grow into global citizens should read." —<b id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3563">Fernando M. Reimers, Ford Foundation Professor of Practice in International Education, Director of the Global Education Innovation Initiative, Harvard University</b></span><br /><br /><span id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3564" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial;">"Maya Thiagarajan brings a unique East-and-West perspective, and a refreshing balanced discussion, to hot-button issues in child rearing. Her interviews and ethnographic analyses deliver a wealth of insights into Asian vs. Western parenting decisions on topics ranging from math drills to self-esteem." —<b id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3566">Katharine Beals, author of<span class="yiv4018267924apple-converted-space"> </span><i id="yui_3_16_0_ym18_1_1459325448498_3565">Raising a Left Brain Child in a Right Brain World</i></b></span></span></div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-79266179938995426672016-04-11T09:39:00.001-07:002016-04-11T09:49:31.440-07:00It's about the relationship: Kids I Love<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On some days, I wonder why I became a teacher in the first place.<br />
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There's no money.<br />
Papers keep coming in, and the marking never ends.<br />
<em>Where's your thesis? Work on your transitions. Why are there still comma splices in your writing?</em><br />
At three o'clock, I'm utterly and totally exhausted.<br />
<br />
What is it about this profession that keeps me coming back to the classroom, year after year?<br />
<br />
When I first started teaching, I taught because I wanted to create a more just and equitable world.<br />
Over the years, I taught because I loved literature, poetry and language, and I wanted to share my passion for words with others.<br />
<br />
Most recently, however, I've realized that I teach because of the kids. One of the biggest lessons that I've learned about effective teaching is that you <em>have</em> to teach because you care about kids. The kids have to matter more than the texts, more than any outside goals or ideologies, more than just about anything.<br />
<br />
Ultimately, teaching is about forging a strong relationship with kids, meeting them where they are in the learning process, and then, to borrow Kahlil Gibran's words, "leading them to the thresholds of their own minds."<br />
<br />
I think good teaching is also largely about being yourself. When I think back to the teachers and professors who moved me, I remember teachers who told stories, who gave advice, who made me smile. Professor Bertolini, for example, related Shakespearean plays to his own life; when we read texts about life and death, he told us how he felt when his parents died and he was forced to confront his own mortality. The best teachers and professors were not afraid to be totally and completely human.<br />
<br />
Teaching is a uniquely human profession, and to be a good teacher, most of all, you have to be a living, breathing, honest human with passion and feeling and energy and idealism. You have to share your experiences and questions, your ideas and even your failings. You have to be compassionate and kind. You have to be real.<br />
<br />
And this, perhaps, is what I love most about teaching: the relationship between teacher and student. And I'm extraordinarily fortunate. Over the last few years, I have taught some of the coolest kids in the world.<br />
<br />
Kids who work very hard, who demand so much of themselves.<br />
Kids who smile and laugh and say thank-you at the end of class.<br />
Kids who see me during lunch because they want to do better on their papers.<br />
Kids who take a stand and argue their position with spirit and conviction.<br />
<br />
Kids who respond emotionally to literature -- the student who genuinely admires Atticus Finch and says he wants to be like him, the student who cried when Tom Robinson was unjustly convicted, the student who was never fully convinced that Romeo <em>really</em> loved Juliet, the student who read <em>The Kite Runner</em> and exclaimed that he had finally found a book he loved.<br />
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Kids who get totally engrossed in the heat and energy of a good discussion.<br />
Kids who stand up and share a poem with their peers, despite the knocking knees and trembling hands.<br />
Kids who listen quietly.<br />
<br />
<br />
So why do I teach now? I think it's because of the kids I love.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-83122246613992299052016-04-08T19:28:00.001-07:002016-04-08T19:43:41.642-07:00How Teens Learn: 3 Things all Parents Should Know<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WFOtuZPS084/VwhhaW3tkPI/AAAAAAAAATE/fqDnJpwQAAo2-jXQOAxVO188xrxN8aL4A/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-04-09%2Bat%2B9.53.26%2BAM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WFOtuZPS084/VwhhaW3tkPI/AAAAAAAAATE/fqDnJpwQAAo2-jXQOAxVO188xrxN8aL4A/s320/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-04-09%2Bat%2B9.53.26%2BAM.png" width="212" /></a>Spring break, unfortunately, is rapidly coming to an end. I've read a few wonderful books over break -- some great fiction, and one really interesting non-fiction book about the adolescent brain. In her book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Teenage-Brain-Neuroscientists-Survival-Adolescents/dp/0062067850/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1460166796&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Teenage+Brain">The Teenage Brain</a>," neuroscientist Frances Jensen offers parents and educators insights into the neuroscience of the developing adolescent brain as well as the implications of this science.<br />
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(Parents: Be warned though -- Jensen includes a number of anxiety-producing stories in the book as well, as she looks at reckless teenage behavior and the vulnerability of the teenage brain.)<br />
<br />
<u>Here are 3 Take-Aways from Jensen's Chapter on Learning:</u><br />
<u><br /></u>
1. <b>Mastering Key Skills and Information Takes A LONG Time: Mere Exposure is Insufficient, Mastery Requires Repetition and Practice.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
Jensen quotes Nobel prize winner John Eccles, "Long periods of excess use or disuse are required in order to produce detectable synaptic change." Jensen comments on this by saying, "What Eccles failed to realize is that the repetitions he observed...those 'long periods of excess use' ... were the the brain at work, learning and acquiring knowledge. After repeated stimulation, a brain cell will respond much more strongly to a stimulus than it initially did. Hence the brain circuit learns. And the more ingrained the knowledge, the easier it is to recall and use."<br />
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I've written about how learning requires sustained effort in a particular area over time, both in <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2016/03/the-key-to-academic-success_60.html">previous posts</a> and in my book "Beyond The Tiger Mom." I appreciated Jensen's detailed discussion of the science behind this phenomenon, and I think that contemporary educators need to think carefully about the science here. Too often, educators assume that merely exposing kids to interesting stuff is sufficient -- but if we really want them to master key skills and content, we need to ensure that they get sufficient practice and feedback.<br />
<br />
2. <b>The Teenage Years are a "Golden Age" for the Brain</b><br />
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Jensen writes, "Memories are easier to make and last longer when acquired in the teen years compared with adult years."<br />
<b><br /></b>
This makes total sense intuitively: We remember the music from our teen years so well, we remember things we learned in adolescence so clearly. So what does this mean for our kids and their learning?<br />
<br />
Jensen writes: "The teenage years are the time to identify strengths and invest in emerging talents. It's also the time when you can get the best results from remediation, special help, <b>for learning</b> <b>and emotional issues."</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
What kids learn -- both intellectually and emotionally -- in their teenage years will have a tremendous impact on their later years, so this is a time period when we want to make sure that our kids are getting both a rigorous academic education but also, and very importantly, a thoughtful emotional education. The teenage years are a great time to get kids to think about relationships, emotional control, ethics, goodness, and truth. The values, ideas, and behaviors that they absorb at this terrific stage will impact them throughout their lives.<br />
<br />
3. <b>Teens need a lot of help with organization, time management, and focus -- We've got to set limits for them.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is something that every parent and educator who works with teens knows: many of our teens need a lot of help managing their time, dealing with all the distractions that permeate the teenage world, and focusing.<br />
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Many teens, if left to their own devices (pun intended), will waste their time on social media, gaming, and a host of other unproductive activities, only to find that it's almost midnight and they haven't done any of their homework. Then they show up at school the next day, exhausted and frustrated.<br />
<br />
So what can parents do? Jensen offers these practical suggestions:<br />
- Remind your teen to stop and think about they need to do and when to do it.<br />
- Give your teen a calendar and suggest that they write down their daily schedules. By doing so on a regular basis, they train their own brains.<br />
- Set limits on the amount of time your teen can socialize virtually. Jensen recommends taking a hard line here: "If your teenager fails to comply, take away the phone or the iPod, or limit computer use to homework...Also insist on knowing the user names and passwords for all accounts."<br />
<br />
Jensen writes, "The fewer the temptations for your teen, the more their brains will learn how to deal <i>without</i> the constant distractions."<br />
<br />
<br />
In conclusion, Jensen's book is well worth a read. The science she describes is fascinating, and the implications are profound (though sometimes frightening).<br />
<br /></div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-21266567757134028932016-04-07T08:52:00.000-07:002016-04-11T00:15:18.729-07:00Tuition Fever: Madness in Singapore?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
During a recent conversation with a friend, we began chatting about the tutoring frenzy in Singapore, which I've written about before <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2013/04/shadow-education-helpful-or-harmful.html">here</a>.<br />
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While it's common knowledge that local Singaporean kids engage in hours of tuition, often in all their major subjects, it may come as a surprise to some that kids in international schools attend almost as much tuition as their local peers.<br />
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Divesh Shah, of the famed Math Vision Center, tutors <i>thousands</i> of international school kids in math and Science. Many of his pupils are young -- they start as early as grade 2. And now, apparently, there are also a host of tutors for English, History, and Economics. High school kids, apparently, are even skipping school to attend tutoring sessions... Why would any high school student require extra tuition in every subject?<br />
<br />
I can't help but wonder at this phenomenon. I can understand tutoring in a subject or two -- when a child is really struggling. But tutoring in every subject? How is that helpful?<br />
<br />
Here are my thoughts on the subject:<br />
<br />
1. If parents and teachers work together in the early years to <b>ensure that kids have strong academic foundations/skills,</b> then kids should not need tutors when they get to middle and high school. Much of this tutoring frenzy, particularly for international school kids who move around alot, may be the result of major academic gaps in the early years.<br />
<i>Parents: help your kids build strong foundations in math, reading, and writing early on, and high school will be a whole lot easier.</i><br />
<br />
2. <b>Relying on tutors can be</b> <b>dangerous</b> <b>in the long run</b>. Kids have to learn to study and work independently at some point. They've got to be able to use resources available to them on the web and in books to help them, and they've got to be proactive about seeking extra help from teachers at school. There are no private tutors in university, and there are no tutors in the workplace. So, getting kids to rely so completely on tutors may backfire down the road.<br />
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3. <b>Calm down everyone! </b>If kids are attending these tutoring sessions just because everyone else is doing it, and if anxiety is fueling this tutoring craze, then parents and students need to take a deep breath and calm down! By all means, kids should get customized, individualized help in subjects where they're really struggling or the school isn't delivering at all, but beyond that, they should have the confidence and courage to study and work on their own. </div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-81969029846380291642016-04-05T23:54:00.000-07:002016-04-07T17:09:20.075-07:00Warning: The Ivy League May Be Bad For You<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I just read <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/08/qa-the-miseducation-of-our-college-elite/377524/">this interesting article</a> in the Atlantic. In the article, titled "<b><i>The Ivy League, Mental Illness, and the Meaning of Life,</i></b>" former Yale professor William Deresiewicz asserts that the ivy league fever that grips affluent and ambitious teenagers and their parents is a recipe for misery on many levels: kids jump through hoops, turning into "sheep" with no real depth and substance; kids have inflated but fragile egos that can't survive in the real world; kids end up depressed.<br />
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Given the intense competition that I witness around me in Singapore, I do think that Deresiewicz' argument has some value. Will going to Harvard or Yale really make you a happier person in the long run? In many ways, the answer is probably no. These brand name schools will give you definite advantages when it comes to status, networks, and getting your foot in the door. But happiness...? I'm not so sure.<br />
<br />
As parents, there is a real danger in telling a kid that he or she "must" get into a "top school." Defining success in very narrow terms is dangerous for so many reasons: it gives kids all the wrong messages. It tells them that success is conditional, love and approval are conditional, and if the kid doesn't get in to one of these "top schools," she will feel as though she has failed terribly and let her parents down. So right from the start, this obsession with certain "brand name schools" can lead kids to depression.<br />
<br />
As for Deresiewicz' assertion that kids become "sheep" in this process -- there is probably some truth there too. Every kid needs to hug a tree, save a poor village, and rebuild houses in a disaster area -- not because he cares about the environment or poverty or natural disasters, but because he feels as though it looks good on a resume. That's just plain wrong.<br />
<br />
And when you've graduated from Harvard, you feel as though you've got to do something spectacular -- you've got to make a lot of money and live a certain lifestyle. And that pressure and burden doesn't necessarily lead to happiness. And it doesn't free the imagination. It is, if anything, limiting. (Not that I feel sorry for Harvard grads. I don't. They're a privileged and entitled bunch. But, a Harvard degree is not a key to happiness, by any means.)<br />
<br />
My thoughts on the ivy league frenzy -- it's a game, and it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. As a parent and teacher, I'd rather my own kids and my students learn because they love learning and serve because they believe in the cause they're serving. I'd rather they apply to colleges that will be a good fit for them, regardless of brand names. I want them to have a broad sense of possibility and a deep love of learning. And most of all, I want them to be physically and mentally healthy and happy.</div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-75955901342029062822016-04-05T03:22:00.000-07:002016-04-07T08:02:05.589-07:00Experiential Learning: Is experience the best teacher?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
We just got back from a beautiful weekend in Krabi, Thailand. <br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aqGMmGuVt30/VwO9diXMeFI/AAAAAAAAAR8/gV6slSvkoT86fuI5c6l8cIhdaORVDquaQ/s1600/IMG_1025.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aqGMmGuVt30/VwO9diXMeFI/AAAAAAAAAR8/gV6slSvkoT86fuI5c6l8cIhdaORVDquaQ/s400/IMG_1025.JPG" /></a><br />
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As we dove off a boat with our snorkel gear on, we found ourselves face-to-face with rainbow colored fish, their bright blue, sparkly yellow, striped black scales shining as they swam around us. Below us, spongy coral waved their tentacles; above us, hot sun and blue sky.<br />
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As we emerged from our snorkeling adventure and clambered back on the boat, my daughter whispered to me, "Ma, that was amazing. I never knew the ocean was that enchanting."<br />
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Now we've read lots of books about marine life together, and I've taken my kids to the aquarium in Singapore, but this was <i><b>the real thing</b></i>. They were experiencing the beauty, mystery, and wonder of the ocean firsthand.<br />
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In many ways, experience <i><b>is</b></i> the best teacher. For certain things -- perhaps the most important things -- experiences are what shape us, change us, and make us who we are.<br />
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If we want our kids to understand the natural world and develop a desire to preserve and protect the environment, then we've got to let them experience nature first hand.<br />
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If we want our kids to love art and culture, then we've got to let them experience the arts and cultural traditions firsthand through travel, celebrations, cultural outings, performances, and artistic experiences.<br />
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If we want our kids to understand issues of social justice, then we've got to get them out in the field doing service, seeing how other people live, and witnessing first-hand the inequities around us.<br />
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For all of the above, experience is the best teacher. <b><i>Experiences will make our kids interesting and humane; experiences will fuel our kids' desire to learn, explore, advocate, and act.</i></b><br />
<br />
While experiential learning is fantastic, I know that experiential learning, too, has its limitations.<br />
<br />
For basic academic skills and content, explicit instruction and book learning are crucial. Skill and drill are necessary. No child masters fractions and decimals by camping and traveling. No child fully understands the structure of an atom or cell just through interesting experiences. For kids to master academic skills and content, they need direct instruction, practice, and review.<br />
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<b><u>BUT </u></b>a real, true education must combine academic work with experiential learning to give kids not only the skills and knowledge they'll need, but also the <i>desire</i> to do wonderful and purposeful things with their lives. </div>
East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-92022014336180871262016-03-29T21:33:00.003-07:002016-04-07T05:47:29.209-07:00Reading Magic: Why you MUST read to your kids!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">There are few things I love as much as cuddling up with my kids and sharing a good book with them.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">This week, since we're all on spring break, we've been reading Linda Sue Park's "A Single Shard" together. Initially, my kids were reluctant to read a book that is set in Korea in the 12th century. "It seems boring," my son said, as my daughter nodded vehemently. <i>But </i>they were hooked after the first chapter!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">Park's characters are so real, so believable, and so likable, that no young reader can fail to empathize with them. And the story unfolds beautifully. I've been admiring the writing as we go along too -- the narrative is carefully crafted and layered, and Park's use of figurative language is pure pleasure to read!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">In honor of my own love of shared reading with kids, I've put together <a href="http://mayathiagarajan.blogspot.sg/2016/03/books-every-kid-must-read-before_29.html">this list of book recommendations </a>for kids ages 7 to 12. These are some of my all-time favorites, and they make great read-alouds. (Note: Research clearly shows that even older kids benefit greatly from read-alouds and book discussions.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">So why do we need reading? And why is it SO important that we read to our kids and help them discover the magic of reading? Well </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">here's what I say in </span><a href="http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Tiger-Mom-East-West-Parenting/dp/0804846022/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1448976351&sr=1-1&keywords=beyond+the+tiger+mom" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px; text-decoration: none;">Beyond the Tiger Mom</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "tahoma" , "helvetica" , "freesans" , sans-serif; font-size: 13.2px; line-height: 18.48px;">:</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HmE14dWGXCk/VwPCpLSIBuI/AAAAAAAAASU/VJTLtmyzT0ICSumfV3QdUugR1HAGjJT_g/s1600/Attachment-1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-HmE14dWGXCk/VwPCpLSIBuI/AAAAAAAAASU/VJTLtmyzT0ICSumfV3QdUugR1HAGjJT_g/s320/Attachment-1.jpeg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Books, stories, and poetry are part of our shared humanity; they help us understand and make sense of the human experience. Across time and place, in a wide range of languages, humans have been telling stories, crafting poems, singing songs, and expressing their deepest feelings and fears through the spoken and written word. While our technologies and lifestyles may have changed unrecognizably over the last millennia, the words of Kabir and Kalidas, Li Bao and Cao Xueqin, Milton and Shakespeare still resonate today – a broken heart then is not unlike a broken heart now; the ache and longing of love one thousand years ago is much the same as the ache and longing of love today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">I have so many memories of intense and moving reading experiences as a child and a teenager. I remember clearly my induction into the world of readers. One hot summer in Chennai, when I was almost seven years old, the sun filtered through the leaves of the mango tree outside our house and glinted off the pages of my book. I sat with my back against the trunk of the tree, reading each page with studied concentration. I held my breath, my heart pounding in my chest, as I wondered whether or not Joe, Beth and Frannie would ever escape from the clutches of Dame Snap. The children had climbed up the ladder to one of the magical lands at the top of the Faraway tree, and they had, unfortunately, gotten trapped in a terrible land. Would they find their way out? Every day that summer, I retreated to the shade of the mango tree and read. Every night, I fell asleep dreaming about magical lands and fantastical adventures. By the end of my summer vacation, I had finished reading <i>The Folk of the Faraway Tree</i>, my first chapter book, and I had become a reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">Now, as a parent and teacher, I feel a sense of deja-vu as I watch my own children and students enter the world of books and stories. When my eight year old son laughs out loud as he reads about the terrible fate of Augustus Gloop, that “big fat nincompoop” in Roald Dahl’s <i>Charlie and the Chocolate Factory</i>, I am reminded of the humor and laughter of childhood reading. When my five year old daughter begs me to read her one more chapter from <i>Charlotte’s Web</i>, I am reminded of the way books draw us into their worlds, allowing us to imagine all kinds of possibilities. And when one of my ninth graders clutches <i>The</i> <i>Kite Runner</i> tightly in his hands and tells me that he has never loved a book so much, I am reminded again of the power of books and words to move us, literally, to tears.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "times new roman";">As a parent, there are plenty of reasons to surround your child with books and provide your child with the space and time to read, read, read. When you see your son or daughter curled up in bed with a book, don’t dismiss it as a waste of time. That time is precious. Your child is learning more than you know.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-56016923024237689182016-03-29T20:12:00.000-07:002016-04-07T05:47:19.611-07:00Books Every Kid MUST Read Before Turning 12<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2737614449771821161.post-50325762002503138602016-03-28T01:58:00.002-07:002016-06-05T20:15:22.341-07:005 Top Tips: How to listen so your child will talk <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Lately
I’ve been worrying about one of my high school students. Chun <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">(name changed</i>) is academically
successful and well liked by her peers. In school, she smiles and chats with
friends and teachers, her face successfully concealing the storm that rages
within her everyday. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Chun
and I have a good relationship, and she sometimes confides in me. In one particularly
troubling conversation, she confessed her attempts to harm herself and
disclosed her deep feelings of despair, anxiety, and futility. I asked her
whether she had talked to her parents about her feelings – did they know the
depth of her anxiety and depression? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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“<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">My parents don’t listen to me, they never
really have</i>,” she said, her voice trailing off.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My
conversation with Chun reminded me of the pressing need to create strong
relationships with our kids when they are young and receptive. If we build and
strengthen close relationships with our kids when they are young, then perhaps
they will trust us and talk to us when they are older</div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><u>5 Top Tips : How To Listen To Your
Child:<o:p></o:p></u></b></div>
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<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="text-indent: -18pt;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman'; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"> </span><span style="font-family: "times new roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal;"><b>
</b></span></span></span><b style="text-indent: -18pt;">Here’s a great rule for life:</b><span style="text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Judge
Less, Empathize More</i></b><span style="text-indent: -18pt;">.</span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-align: justify; text-indent: -18.0pt; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As parents, we tend to judge and evaluate everything our kids
say because we want to help them do better. But in our desire to help, reform,
advise, teach and instruct, we often forget to really hear what our kids are
saying and what they are feeling. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So
next time your child tells you anything, don’t pass judgment. Instead, just
listen carefully and try to understand how your child feels. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Prioritize
your relationship with your child and think long term.</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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In
today’s world, we parents are often so anxious about short term goals, that we forget what really matters in the long run. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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At
the end of the day, our children’s happiness matters more than their
achievements, and our relationship with them matters more than their marks and
scores. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they are teens and adults,
we want them to enjoy being with us, and we want them to willingly share their
lives with us.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So
next time you’re anxious, think long term. Don’t nag and instruct, but instead
sit down and listen. Listening is the foundation for a strong and close relationship.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br />
<b><i>Create Rituals in your day, where you have time to chat with your kids:</i></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Bedtime -- when you can cuddle up with your little one and listen to her talk</li>
<li>Tea-time -- when I was working part-time and had the luxury of doing this, I used to love sitting at the dining table with my kids when they got home from school and chatting with them about their day. I'd play soft music, they'd eat their snack, and I would have a cup of tea. And we'd enjoy each other's company. And most importantly, I'd listen!</li>
<li>Car-time -- If you drive your kids to school in the morning, that can be a great time to ask a question and listen to your child talk. </li>
</ul>
<div>
Note: I would advise putting away all phones and laptops during these ritualized talking/bonding times.</div>
<br />
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Ask Kids Questions, a</i></b><b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">nd master the art of the follow-up question</i></b></div>
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<br />
If you get into the habit of asking kids questions, they will get into
the habit of telling you more about themselves. Ask them open-ended questions
and let them talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Show them that you’re
interested in their lives.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Ask
them how their day went, how they’re feeling, and what they think…and then (and
here’s the hard part!) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">keep your mouth
closed</i> and listen to their responses. Try to really hear what they are
saying and feeling.</div>
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<br /></div>
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When
your child tells you about something that happened in school, don’t immediately
offer advice. Instead, ask follow-up questions: Why did you do that? Do you
think you did the right thing? How did that make you feel? What did the other
kids do? What did she say next? What were you thinking at the time?</div>
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<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></b>
<b style="text-indent: -18pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Put away your digital devices, look at your
kids, and give them your full attention.</i></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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A
few days ago, my seven-year old daughter gave me the best piece of advice I’ve
gotten in a long time. I was on my laptop looking at my twitter feed. She
wanted to chat, but I told her to wait a minute while I read an article. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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She
shook her head at me and said, “Mama, I’m far more important to you than all
the people you are following on Twitter, so please shut down your laptop and
listen to me instead of them.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m proud to say I did – I held her tightly on
my lap and I listened carefully as she told me all about her day at school.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; text-justify: inter-ideograph;">
And <a href="http://www.smartparents.sg/en/parenting/listening-actively-to-6249170">here's an article in SmartParents.SG </a>that I contributed to ... also on listening to your kids.</div>
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East, West & Educationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05633245657029718870noreply@blogger.com3