The former U.S secretary of Education John B. King had previously raised concerns about homeschooled kids. His concerns were well noted and gathered a lot of press back then.

Mr. King was quoted to have said that he had major concerns that homeschooled students were not “getting the range of options that are good for all kids.” He also emphasized on the fact that  some homeschooled families were doing a great job of schooling their kids properly; he was aware that some homeschooled kids were doing tremendously well with regards to their academics when they got into college.

The fact fact remains though that the decision to homeschool a child is totally up to the parents. The trend is increasing in popularity as time goes by, according to a research carried out recently on homeschooling.

However, the concern still remains that students who are homeschooled are being deprived of the kind of quick instructional experience that is available in the classroom and in schools, except that the parents of the kids are not really particular about it.

The school experience also involves building relationships amongst peers, teachers and to a larger extent mentors. These factors are really quite difficult to achieve in homeschooling. That is of course why parents make them a priority.

Regardless of the fact that a lot of homeschooling experts were willing to acknowledge many facts related to the success and popularity of homeschooling, there were also some concerns in-line with those of Mr. King. A top expert in the field of education, the President of the National Home Education Research Institute (NHERI) Brian D. Rav. Ph.D was against quite a lot of the narratives being put forward by Mr. King. He argued that homeschooled students as a matter of fact do have far more options than traditionally schooled kids.

Ray made reference to all the options available to homeschooling families, some which include home-education cooperatives created by parents to combine forces in providing tutoring services which are sometimes free, mentorship programs, as well as classes that hold in local libraries.

The director of federal relations at the Home School Legal Defense Association, Will Estrada posted the following remark on Facebook, “Government bureaucracies always seek more power at the expense of individual liberty. Education policy should be left to the states and localities.”

Estrada further went on to state that “The success of homeschooling shows that freedom works.” This implies that Secretary King was seeking to replace the God given freedom of parents to control the education and the upbringing of their kids with more government regulation.

In summary, Secretary King has highlighted some important concerns about homeschooling, although the general consensus is of the belief that the benefit of homeschooling if executed properly eliminates these concerns. The most important factor to consider in the upbringing and education of a child is the role parents have to play. Trying to enforce conventional educational systems on kids is simply trying to take the power of choice away from the parents.

Although the dates are often known, going back to school still takes a good number of teachers by surprise. Some teachers look forward to it but are always skeptical about the challenges they might face on the first week of resuming. The main worry is often about finding the right activities that would get students back into the rhythm. We carried out a research on different strategies used by teachers across the world and came up with a list of 10 back to school teacher ideas for the classroom. Identify what works best for you based on your context. Good luck!

• Map out a scavenger hunt

This idea is about hiding objects in different locations in the classroom and asking students to find them. It could be objects they usually use like pens, pencils, sharpeners, books etc. Another way of doing it is by focusing the activity around students and their friends; like finding out something about a classmate.

• Promise the class something nice

Kids like promises and gifts; always have this at the back of your mind as a teacher. This could be simply a school trip, a funny game, candies or any items that could trigger excitement amongst students.

• Make a Self-Portrait

A self-portrait could be using drawings or worded descriptions of themselves. This activity could also tie in well with the first idea mentioned earlier. At the end, get students to look at what their classmates came up with. This is much fun.

• Research alternative methods

Also research into other back to school methods from the internet. The best way to go is to visit large and active Facebook groups within different niches or subjects. Teachers are often posting questions and answers about their experiences. You can also ask questions or contribute to the topic. It’s a great way of always being updated with the latest methods.

• Make a Time Capsule

This is very common and equally a very fun idea. Teachers can ask students to write out their dreams and read them aloud. They can also put down things they hope to achieve during the semester. This can be placed in the time capsule till the end of the semester so that the students can see how much they have developed and achieved within that period.

• Start with a book read

This is another great idea for teachers. Start with an interesting book that is certain to make their resumption a memorable one. It could also be a book that tackles your subject from another angle. Check out trending books by age / class on Amazon or on relevant Facebook groups.

• Begin a guessing game

This is a great way to usher in a new topic in the classroom. It also gives you an idea beforehand of the level of knowledge students have on a particular topic. A guessing game will also enable you to identify students that are comfortable on some topics and will give you a good idea of class management.

• Share a story

Teachers can let student share stories about how they spent their holiday and interesting events that occurred. This would help in bonding and is also quite fun. Also remember to share your story to your class; especially those that could excite your students.

• Create a wall of happiness

Teachers can find out from their student what makes them happy. They can be asked to write them down and the answers pinned on the wall. Besides being a fun idea, it could also help in uplifting moods later on.

• Set a Goal

All students can be asked to set their goals for the semester for fun; this is a fun back to school activity which would have a long term impact.

If you have any great back to school ideas for teachers feel free to contact us so that we can make this list much complete. Let’s make a great impression welcoming students on the first day of school.

Bonus Idea: Remember students are coming back from a long break from studies and they might have lost the rhythm. Relax and don’t take things too seriously, they will get back into it over time.

There are many factors that affect how a child grows up. However there has been a significant amount of psychological research regarding how the ages of parents can affect many important aspects of a child’s development.

There is research that suggests that there are advantages for a child when their parents are older but this does not mean that older parents are in fact good parents. Parenting styles can differ whatever the parents age.

Increasingly children are being born to parents in their forties. Quite often the emotional experience  of childhood with older parents is very different from those with younger ones.

The average age of of first time mothers in the USA rose from 21.4 years in 1970 to 26 years in 2013.

In fact the number of births for mothers 45 and older increased by 14 %.( Figures come from U.S. Census Bureau report on maternity leave patterns )

Bearing the above in mind lets look at how having older parents can affect a child .

Advantages of Children with Older Parents

• Older parent give a child lots of attention .

Usually the children of older parents receive a lot of attention. They normally feel very loved and very wanted. As most older parents are settled in their professions they often are able to spend extra time with their children .

• Financially Stable

Often the older parents ( in particular those from middle class backgrounds) are financially secure and stable. They are able to afford more opportunities for their children being able to travel, attend private schools and participate in extra curricular activities .

• Emotionally stable

The children of older parents often grow up in a stable two parent family. The divorce rate among older parents is lower. This leads to a relaxed confident child .

Disadvantages for children of older parents

• Generation gap more pronounced

Children of older parents may feel self conscious or even embarrassed that their parents are considerably older than those of their peer group. They often worry that their older parents will not be able to participate as much in physical activities.

• Feelings of parental responsibility

Children of older parents often have to take on the  responsibility of looking after elderly parents much earlier in their lives than their friends. Often children who are just out of college have to take on duties helping elderly parents. Children also fear that their parents will die much earlier than their peers parents will. These children often feel the need to stay at home longer to experience family life for fear that their parents may die early.

• Older Fathers – The risks

It has long been established that having a baby when a mother is older does carry significant risks. However research is now showing that the children of older fathers are much more likely to have genetic defects. In particular the risk of a child developing Downs Syndrome, Autism and type 1 diabetes is much higher when the father is over 40 at the time of conception .

In fact whether parents are older or not does not define their parenting style  Age is not a factor whether you are “good “parents or not . However the children of older parents do seem to be more settled and successful in their lives both at school and as adults .

Critical thinking has become an essential skill in today’s world.Students need to learn to develop better critical thinking skills.It is almost too easy these days to go on the internet and find instant answers to questions . The result is that students are falling behind in their ability to ask the correct questions and analyze those answers.

What is Critical Thinking

This has been described as :

The ability to ask the right questions

To be able to read between the lines

Recognize that there is problems

Recognize the difference between suggested assumptions and clear details.

The ability to be able to differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information

Be able to identify bias .

Good critical thinking allows a person to consistently draw the right conclusions .It is not just the ability to criticize .

Create a critical thinking culture in schools

Two of the main methods that can be used in introducing critical thinking skills in the classroom are :

Socratic Questioning

This was developed by Socrates the early Greek Philosopher and is still relevant today .It relates to the importance of looking for evidence,questioning always ,analyzing and realizing implementation . There is no value in feeding students endless facts and content to remember parrot fashion .Students should be encouraged to ask questions about a subject and learn from the answers drawing up their own conclusions . Teachers should respond to all answers with a further question.Stimulate students to ask further questions and in so doing establish connections between various topics.In this way teachers can help students to discover facts for themselves .

RED Critical thinking

This was introduced by Watson and  Glaser in the 1930’s . The acronym for RED stands for :

Recognize assumptions  – separating fact from opinion

Evaluate Arguments -Ability to analyze evidence objectively

Draw conclusions – Arrive at logical conclusions .

Advantages of critical thinking in schools

• Improves problem solving abilities and helps in decision making by excluding guess work .
• Increases creativity
• By analyzing problems the right life choices can be made
• Organizational ability improves .
• Saves time .Critical thinking teaches how to prioritize time and resources allowing you to only analyze what is needed.
• Critical thinking teaches students how to be their own person and not to take everything they read on the internet at face value .
• Students who receive some training in critical thinking will adapt quickly to a university environment where such a skill is needed.

Young people need to know how to think not what to think .In schools in Singapore ,which are rated among the best in the world, at reading,maths and science ,students are taught critical thinking skills .

Finally a quote from  College and Career Readiness Survey 2015 “ California teachers say critical thinking skills,not scores on standardized tests,are the best way to assess whether students are prepared for success in college and the workplace “

Isn’t it perhaps time that more attention was paid to this philosophy by all schools today ?

There can be both advantages and disadvantages of looking older than you actually are. However when a child is still of school going age it can have distinct disadvantages. Looking older can be classified broadly into two categories.

Exceptionally Tall Children

Teachers, parents and classmates will initially raise their expectations for children who seem to be older than they actually are. Yet, there is a huge difference in the verbal skills of a three year old for eaxmple and a five year old. Children who are exceptionally tall for their age are expected to be able to express and explain their actions and fears. There is more tolerance for a three year old but perhaps not for a five year old looking three years old. Whilst classroom teachers who deal with the child on a day to day basis will be understanding and tolerant, teachers who are supervising in other school situations like in a playground may not be. This being partly due to their temporal interaction and lack of information about their age. They should be made aware that these children are still little kids trapped in a big body.

Children who are much taller than their age are often teased by other children. This is often the case particularly in preteens and teenagers. This is the time when self esteem is usually at its most vulnerable. Children do not like to be different from others. Teasing children that they look like a giraffe or a giant can be very damaging particularly to sensitive children.

Often when a child looks older and taller  than they actually are they get blamed for their actions since they are expected to be mature and know better. Teachers and parents can have unrealistic  expectations. Teachers seem to expect much more maturity from physically taller kids.

While in high school parents can actually discourage their children from dating a very tall teen. They often do not realize or understand that their fifteen year old  daughter is dating another fifteen year old who actually seems to be at least eighteen given his height.

Girls who develop early

Girls who develop physically earlier than their friends can experience many social problems while at school. Girls who experience puberty a few years earlier than their classmates are often mistaken for being older than they actually are. When a girl of ten is already wearing a large size bra people automatically think that she must be a few years older. Also these girls often become a source of curiosity to their classmates who have yet to mature. Playing with dolls when you have a C- cup is frowned upon whilst it’s accepted when you look ten still.

When girls who have physically matured early start to date they are often thought of as being promiscuous just because they have big breasts. Older students will take more interest in them thinking that in fact they are older .

It is also difficult to find suitable clothing for school when students are not required to wear school uniforms. All your young-looking friends are wearing the latest crop top to school but  for you it has just become a bit too suggestive.

As with kids that are taller than their age, girls who look older than their classmates may be teased. Teens in particular do not want to look any different from their friends  and hence their self esteem may suffer. This can be worsened if they under perform in class.

Both teachers and parents have parts to play in making sure that children who look older than their age are not teased or picked on for looking different.Talk to these children and make sure they are not being bullied and help them understand the advantages of their difference.