Pinecone Learning

I had the Los Gatos Kumon Center for 15 years and had about 240 students at my peak. Many of them stayed with me for 8-10 years (from 4 through high school). I thought the calculation skills in the math program were excellent and my students all scored at the highest in this area. However, I felt we were not addressing other very important needs, so I worked with other educators (including Kumon instructors who had moved on) to develop the current progam I have.

In Pinecone Math, we spend as much time on word problems and reasoning skills as we do on straight calculations. This is a critical piece missing from Kumon and one the kids are not learning very well in school. It will become increasingly important as our global economy emerges.

Pinecone Reading includes reading comprehension, vocabulary development, Test Taking skills and -- my favorite -- English Grammar! Every aspect of English grammar is included in the program and this helps the kids put sentences together accurately to form the basis of good writing.

The programs consist of over 700 booklets that are sequential, step-by-step so each student can be at just the right level and move at his or her own speed. I monitor each student carefully and work one-on-one when necessary, although we try to develop independence too.

Contact:
Vivian Hobbs, Director
Pinecone Active Learning
www.pineconelearning.com
vivian@pineconelearning.com
408 270-4548

The Kase for Saterday School

The Wall Street Journal ran an article on March 20^th entitled “The Kase for Saterday School”. The headline stated: “Kids in China already attend school 41 days a year more than students in the U.S. Now, schools across the country are cutting back to four-day weeks.” It went on to say that schools in China receive 30% more hours of instruction, Singapore classes operate 40 weeks a year, and Saturday classes are the norm in Korea and other Asian countries.

Charter schools in the U.S. such as KIPP (Knowledge is Power Program which has 80 schools around the country) understand the vital importance of extended instruction time. Middle-schoolers receive 60% more instruction time than public schools including 8-10 hour days, Saturday morning classes and abbreviated summer breaks.

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently reported that American youngsters spend an average of 7.5 hours per day using entertainment media which translates to 53 hours a week versus 30 hours in school.

Getting back the competitive edge

Adding hours or days to the school year might make an improvement, but there is also the problem of the typical school day in America. There is an enormous amount of time spent in a typical American school day on gym, recess, lunch, assembly, changing classes, homeroom, lining up for the art room, looking at movies, writing down homework assignments, quieting the classroom, celebrating holidays, preparing for plays, student drives, and on and on. Although these activities can be productive and meaningful in their own right, they don’t do much to enhance test scores, prepare a student for high school or provide the vital minutes that students need for practice to master concepts.

The Journal states that “Nearly every young American needs to learn more than most are learning today, both for the sake of their own prospects and on behalf of the nation’s competitiveness in a shrinking, dog-eat-dog world.” The nation’s competitiveness is not fairing well with recent international test scores which show about 90% of our states receiving D’s or F’s on the international scale. Until the government, the local districts, the teachers unions and the American families can agree to needed revisions in the length, number and content of elementary school days, families will need to provide their own resources for the added practice time and learning time for their students.

Pinecone Active Learning is one source for helping students truly master important Math and Reading Concepts. Children who find it difficult keeping up with their school work or need extra coaching with Math and Reading can enroll in Pinecone Active Learning Center. To know more about this tuition center, visit their corporate website at http://www.pineconelearning.com/ or call (408) 270-4548 to fix an appointment and discuss your child’s needs and requirements.