Getting ahead in English

Learning English is not just about learning spellings and meanings. It involves grammar and comprehension and many other parts. Sometimes, just English lessons at school are not enough to help a child better her/his English skills. A child needs constant and consistent help to improve vocabulary, comprehension and grammar. Some strategies that help in improving English skills include reading aloud as this will help the child with their listening skills. Having conversations with the child and writing on various topics will also go a long way. Pinecone Learning Center has a very systematic method in improving a child’s English skills. They have a Reading Program which includes an early comprehension series designed to promote reading for meaning. These beginning comprehension booklets provide a variety of exercises while developing new vocabulary. The curriculum continues with more advanced comprehension that contains great variety in subject matter. You can find out more about their reading program at http://www.pineconelearning.com/reading_program.html. They also have a systematic Math program which is designed to help your child learn Math in a systematic, sequential way. You can learn more about their Math Program at http://www.mathtutorsbayarea.com/. You can call this learning center in San Jose at (408) 270-4548 to schedule an appointment to meet with Ms. Hobbs, the instructor.

What is the Common Core?

(Excerpts from a recent report issued by EdSource – www.edsource.org)

What is the Common Core? How does this affect California?

The Common Core Standards Initiative is the latest effort to create rigorous, common academic standards among states. Federal policymakers and business leaders across the country are calling for states to adopt a common, rigorous body of college- and career-ready skills and knowledge in English and mathematics that all K–12 students will be expected to master by the time they graduate. The Initiative has garnered the participation of 48 states since its official creation in April 2009.

Currently, there is a wide variation among states in their standards and expectations for what students should be learning. Some refer to this as a “crazy patchwork” of expectations and often not sufficient to produce high school graduates with strong skills and knowledge, especially in English language arts and math. This is jeopardizing America’s ability to succeed in the global marketplace.

The standards, claim critics, both among and within states -- including California -- suffer from lack of rigor, clarity and focus. Some refer to the latter as being “a mile wide and an inch deep.” These critics are concerned that when states require too many standards, teachers can cover them only superficially, lessening students’ mastery of key skills. Fordham’s review of state standards found this to be a common problem: “Kitchen-sinkism is alive and well, as states refuse to make choices and instead develop encyclopedic standards that no teacher could possibly cover in the course of a year.”

According to Common Core supporters, several states would end up with more rigorous standards as a result of adopting the Common Core. And if states put in place all of the components of standards-based reform, they would be able to prepare more students to take on complex, high-paying jobs. The initiative’s website puts it this way: “This work presents a significant and historic opportunity for states to accelerate and drive education reform toward the ultimate goal of children—from states across the country—graduating from high school ready for college, work, and success in the global economy.” Implicit in this line of thought is that America’s economic competitiveness would increase as well.

In its effort to compete for an RTT grant (see below), California enacted a law in January 2010 that requires the State Board of Education to consider adopting the Common Core as the centerpiece of the state’s K–12 academic content standards. The board will need to consider several questions: Are the Common Core standards better than California’s existing, highly rated standards, and based on what evidence? Should the state endorse one set of expectations for all high school graduates? Can California afford to implement the standards and how would it do so? Can it afford not to if the vast majority of other states implement them?

Finally, global economic forces might compel California to reconsider the varying expectations that it has for its high school graduates. The high school graduation requirements in this state may be too low, effectively giving students a mistaken impression of what constitutes adequate preparation for adult success. (See chart comparing requirements for high school diploma versus eligibility for public college on following page). These are issues that California might face regardless of the State Board of Education’s decision on the Common Core, but they are pertinent to that decision as well.

The board will need to make informed judgments as to whether the Common Core will give students more of what they need to know for the future than the state’s current standards, and what the implications might be for the state’s minimum requirements for all high school graduates. In addition, if the Common Core is substantially different from the state’s current standards, the board will need to decide whether adopting it will be worth the disruption to state assessment and accountability systems and to district and school curricula. If the proposed standards diverge substantially from California’s current standards, this will create a need for new frameworks and instructional materials and at least one-time training sessions for existing teachers and principals. The cost to the state in that case could be substantial.

In this fiscal climate, California has not budgeted for the cost of implementing new standards. Even if California could share the cost of some of those activities with other states that had adopted the Common Core, there would still be costs to California in the next few years, a hard thing to contemplate at a time of severe reductions.

Tutoring helps

Are you one of those parents who feel that just because your child is in one of the junior classes, it is "okay" if their grades are not too good and that "they will catch up eventually…..just give them time"? It is a well meaning attitude, but you may be doing more damage than good. Many of the foundation skills for most subjects that your child will be learning later in life are built in the lower classes and if your child has not understood the basics well, he/she may struggle later with their lessons.

Not all children need tutoring services at a young age but it would be a good idea to touch base with the teachers from time to time to see how they are progressing. You could also sit with your child while they do their lessons and you will be able to figure out if they need extra tutoring help. All children learn at different levels and at different speeds. Sometimes a child may not be up to the level they should be at their age. Pinecone Learning Center is a tutoring service in the Bay Area which provides tutoring services in Math, Reading and Comprehension

Their Math Program and Reading Program have been created after a lot of research with a follow-an-easy method and consistent pattern, where levels are gradually made more difficult so that the child can progress at his or her pace from one level to the next. You can call this learning center at (408) 270-4548. Visit their website at www.pineconelearning.com for more information.

TIPS FOR READING COMPREHENSION: Highlighting and answering questions

1. Read story through completely and carefully
2. Read all questions
3. Re-read story and underline or highlight facts from questions
4. Make notes in columns
5. Circle unfamiliar words and LOOK THEM UP
6. Use sticky notes for definitions next to word, or reminders
7. Answer questions, looking at story and highlights, notes and definitions
8. Check your answers – is this really in the story?
9. Check all spelling, punctuation and to see if answer sounds right.

I know, I know – this is tedious and takes time. Do it though, you need it. I know very few students that have good comprehension plus a grasp of correct grammar and sentence construction in answering the questions.

As you practice this procedure over and over, you will not only answer more correctly, but will eventually be able to more automatically (mentally) highlight important details that you anticipate might be asked about. This is true reading comprehension. The attention to detail in your answers will also come more automatically – correct grammar, punctuation and double-checking to see if you truly answered the question.

Pinecone provides daily practice in these procedures including vocabulary development, grammar and test-taking skills.

Don’t play the blame game

Some parents are under the misapprehension that they have failed as parents if their child is not doing well at school. They blame themselves; they blame the teachers, the schools, the system, even the children. Playing the blame game is easy but it’s not going to help your child. Instead, take a different look at tutoring. You did not study to be a teacher and maybe up to a level you are able to help your child, but your child may need the help of a certified and experienced tutor at some point.

You also may have a hundred chores to do during the course of a day and squeezing in time to sit with your child may sometimes be impossible. Due to these reasons the tutoring that you give your child may not be consistent. At a tutoring center, a tutor is there to do just one thing, Tutor your child! So if your child needs help with his/her lessons enroll him/her in a good tutoring center like Pinecone Learning Center.

This learning center in San Jose has a very good tutor, Ms. Vivian Hobbs. She has been involved with children's education and research on best methods for learning and has enjoyed grand results with her previous learning program. Noting the trouble areas in kids and those lacking in concentration or attitude, she has spent years collaborating with colleagues and formulating ways to make improvements including closer alignment with state school requirements. Visit her websites at www.pineconelearning.com and www.mathtutorsbayarea.com to know more about her teaching methodology. You can also call her at (408) 270-4548.

What is CAHSEE, the High School Exit Exam?

A summary of an article by Bob Nichol, education manager for the Silicon Valley Education Foundation.

What exactly does the CAHSEE test? First, here’s what it’s not. The exit exam is not a college entrance. Instead, its purpose supposedly is to test whether students have mastered the academic skills necessary to succeed in the adult world. However, since it is first administered in the 10^th grade, it does not cover most of the material taught in high school. It focuses on material taught in middle school and the first two years of high school. Here is a breakdown of the topics and their weighting in each of the two parts of the CAHSEE.

Mathematics: (80 multiple choice items)

· Grade 6-7 Statistics, Data Analysis and Probability: 12 items

· Grade 7 Number Sense: 14 items (fractions, decimals, percents, exponents)

· Grade 7 Algebra and Functions: 17 items (graphing, exponents, roots, equations)

· Grade 7 Measurement and Geometry: 17 items (perimeter, area, volume, conversions, Pythagorean theorem)

· Grade 7 Mathematical Reasoning: 8 items (estimation, making generalizations from data)

· Algebra I: 12 items (equations, graphs, word problems, slopes, systems of equations)

Language Arts: (72 multiple choice items, 1 essay writing sample)

· Grade 9-10 Reading: 45 items

· Word Analysis/Fluency/ Vocabulary: 7 items

· Reading Comprehension: 18 items

· Literary Response and Analysis: 20 items

· Grade 9-10 Writing: 27 items

· Writing Strategies: 12 items

· Written and Oral English Conventions: 15 items

Statewide, about 81% of high school sophomores pass the Mathematics exam and about 81% pass the Language Arts exam although only about 65% pass both sections. This percentage steadily increases as students retake needed parts of the exam during their junior and senior year until a little over 94% of seniors have passed both parts. Students with disabilities have a pass rate

Students who do not pass all or part of CAHSEE have at least five opportunities while still in high school to pass the exam. About 45,000 members of the Class of 2009 did not meet the requirement but this number dropped dramatically for 2010 with fewer than 25,000 students failing to meet the requirement. These students were eligible for summer school remediation programs prior to attempting to pass the exam at a later date.

Pinecone covers all of the topics thoroughly for the math portion and all but Literary Response and Writing Strategies in the Language Arts program which can be included with our private tutoring.

Expect big things from your child

Every parent wants their child to excel in school with good grades, show respectable behavior and gain confidence to face the world when they are out on their own. Mine were not so different. I had two kids and I knew that they had shortcomings at school with some difficulty in studying certain subjects and finding the courage to say that they needed extra help. So I decided to get them enrolled for school tutoring classes which paid attention to their falling grades and helped improve their foundation skills with expert guidance in a friendly environment.

Improve your child’s basic learning pattern

Pinecone Active Learning Center in San Jose offers comprehensive programs for Math and English comprehension that is regarded as extra homework help for children in pre-school right up to Junior High. My kids have been in the program for almost 2 years and it has made such a tremendous difference in their confidence, leading to better understanding of concepts and good grades. Their standards and expectations for the children (and the parents) are high and most of the time they rise to the occasion. Their passion for the program and for the children comes across in so many wonderful ways. Pinecone Active Learning Center has played a huge role in the development of children’s education in the California Bay Area.

If you think that your child has learning disabilities, you can enroll him/her in this tutoring center in San Jose. Call (408) 270-4548 or Come visit our location at: 5988 Silver Creek Valley Rd. #60 San Jose, California, 95138. Visit the websites at http://www.pineconelearning.com/ and http://www.mathtutorsbayarea.com/.