Soroban is something I am very excited about. It's Japanese abacus and an amazing system of becoming proficient at maths for all children.
My experience with it is very positive and the results I've seen with my own child have been very inspiring. I believe it helps working memory and the method of mental calculation -- anzan -- that it teaches can be very useful for children with different learning styles.
Here are some Soroban links: do your child a favour and sign up for Soroban classes. You need to see it as a longer term project that you commit to and much of the stress around maths will dissolve.
How to find Soroban classes in Canada and US:
Here are some links to Soroban schools:
IKOMA ABACUS SCHOOL VANCOUVER, BC. Canada
Click here for contact info and class location and schedules.
OREGON Abacus School
NEW YORK
Please advise me if you know of other Soroban classes. Note I am only interested in classes not abacus textbooks for sale. I believe children thrive better with an expert abacus teacher to help them.
International:
Singapore
Soroban Education Centre Singapore
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Over examined: another news report link
The second investigative journalism link I came across that may be of interest examines the testing situation in UK schools. The title says it all: Tested to destruction
I can only say how bonkers all this testing is when I recall the abject stress of having to take exams at age 16! Never mind sets of exams at 7, 11, 14. Pure madness.
It's bizarre that the resources that go into all this testing are not applied to help children with learning disabilities to overcome them.
This culture (and it's not limited to England) of assessment is increasingly bizarre and pointless since the supports and resources are not inplace to support children to overcome challenge. It's all about governments having excel worksheets full of figures that do little but stress out teachers and do a signicant disservice to children.
I can only say how bonkers all this testing is when I recall the abject stress of having to take exams at age 16! Never mind sets of exams at 7, 11, 14. Pure madness.
It's bizarre that the resources that go into all this testing are not applied to help children with learning disabilities to overcome them.
This culture (and it's not limited to England) of assessment is increasingly bizarre and pointless since the supports and resources are not inplace to support children to overcome challenge. It's all about governments having excel worksheets full of figures that do little but stress out teachers and do a signicant disservice to children.
roundup of recent TV/ documentary reports: PBS The Medicated Child
Here are some interesting and thought provoking links to television and investigative journalism reportage on various topics.
The first a PBS FRONTLINE follow up The Medicated Child provokes interesting quandaries around the diagnosis of Bi-Polar disorder in children and subsequent medicating of it. It's alarming viewing.
I'm not trying to make light of what's an intensely challenging situation for any parent but the sight of one child sat in front of a significant sized computer screen as his mum prompts him from the kitchen it's time to take his medication, followed by scenes of him wolfing down corndogs (excessive appetite is one of the side affects of the meds tho' the choice of what he's consuming clearly isn't) did make me wonder. There's more compelling viewing when the mother, who I admired immensely for the difficult decisions and situation she's facing, consults with his psychiatrist and bravely expresses her fear about her son's medication and inspite of it, still leaves his office with an increase of one of the meds.
We're not shown any of these parents being offered alternative supports or interventions other than medication. Yet as illustrated by the above example clearly they are open to suggestions and basically like any parent simply want to help their children however they can.
I realize these are serious challenges such children are facing, but it's alarming to watch mental health professionals prescribe medications willy nilly, whose efficacy and safety for children are not established. The parents are at the mercy of such professionals. Some of the research described and discussed certainly seems to have value and I'm not suggesting some complete anti-medication stance, but who could help but be alarmed at children taking 8 different medications on a daily basis.
The first a PBS FRONTLINE follow up The Medicated Child provokes interesting quandaries around the diagnosis of Bi-Polar disorder in children and subsequent medicating of it. It's alarming viewing.
I'm not trying to make light of what's an intensely challenging situation for any parent but the sight of one child sat in front of a significant sized computer screen as his mum prompts him from the kitchen it's time to take his medication, followed by scenes of him wolfing down corndogs (excessive appetite is one of the side affects of the meds tho' the choice of what he's consuming clearly isn't) did make me wonder. There's more compelling viewing when the mother, who I admired immensely for the difficult decisions and situation she's facing, consults with his psychiatrist and bravely expresses her fear about her son's medication and inspite of it, still leaves his office with an increase of one of the meds.
We're not shown any of these parents being offered alternative supports or interventions other than medication. Yet as illustrated by the above example clearly they are open to suggestions and basically like any parent simply want to help their children however they can.
I realize these are serious challenges such children are facing, but it's alarming to watch mental health professionals prescribe medications willy nilly, whose efficacy and safety for children are not established. The parents are at the mercy of such professionals. Some of the research described and discussed certainly seems to have value and I'm not suggesting some complete anti-medication stance, but who could help but be alarmed at children taking 8 different medications on a daily basis.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
PBS Misunderstood Minds page
Here's a good writing difficulties page from PBS Misunderstood Minds site:
Mel Levine describes what can inhibit writing development and offers some exercises where you can experience assignments from the pov of child with a grapho motor problem etc.
Well worth a read. He's a great authority on different learning styles.
Mel Levine describes what can inhibit writing development and offers some exercises where you can experience assignments from the pov of child with a grapho motor problem etc.
Well worth a read. He's a great authority on different learning styles.
Working Memory Study/Research
From today's Globe and Mail:
New research suggests our capacity to remember things is lower than previously thought.
Our working memories may max out at three or four items, according to a study published this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Earlier research had pegged that number at about seven. But the study by University of Missouri researchers suggests the true number is lower when people are not allowed to use memory aids, such as grouping items together or repeating them over and over.
Click here for entire article
New research suggests our capacity to remember things is lower than previously thought.
Our working memories may max out at three or four items, according to a study published this month in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Earlier research had pegged that number at about seven. But the study by University of Missouri researchers suggests the true number is lower when people are not allowed to use memory aids, such as grouping items together or repeating them over and over.
Click here for entire article
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Useful and unusual tool
Here's a useful and unusual tool.
Plus an excellent list of dyslexia research links here by the same crowd
How cool is that?!
We need more technological initiatives in the areas of dysgraphia, written output and dyslexia. Come on you all you pioneering programmers and glory bound geeks ... reflect on any difficulties you may have had at school and apply your current genius to creating software or better still freeware that can help other children and adults who continue to have these struggles.
Ghotit offers unique writing and reading online services for people who suffer from dyslexia, dysgraphia or people who are not native-English speakers. Ghotit’s first service is an online context sensitive spell checker.
Plus an excellent list of dyslexia research links here by the same crowd
How cool is that?!
We need more technological initiatives in the areas of dysgraphia, written output and dyslexia. Come on you all you pioneering programmers and glory bound geeks ... reflect on any difficulties you may have had at school and apply your current genius to creating software or better still freeware that can help other children and adults who continue to have these struggles.
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Should boys and girls be taught seperately?
ELIZABETH WEIL's feature from NY Times magazine:
Full article is here
The walls of the boys’ classroom are painted blue, the light bulbs emit a cool white light and the thermostat is set to 69 degrees. In the girls’ room, by contrast, the walls are yellow, the light bulbs emit a warm yellow light and the temperature is kept six degrees warmer, as per the instructions of Leonard Sax, a family physician turned author and advocate who this May will quit his medical practice to devote himself full time to promoting single-sex public education.
Full article is here
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Radio Broadcast: Dysgraphia: More Than Just Bad Handwriting
Many people have poor handwriting, but dysgraphia is more serious. Dsygraphia is a neurological disorder that generally appears when children are first learning to write. Writing by hand can be physically painful for people who have it. There are different kinds of dysgraphia. And it can appear with other learning disabilities, especially involving language.
Listen again to the program here
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Boy is empowered by his weakness
Michael Guggenheim's dysgraphia, a learning disorder that impairs his writing, spurred him to open a nonprofit that teaches homeless students how to use computers.
He is 12, a sixth-grader at Los Encinos School in Encino. He can't drive, vote or write much with a pencil, but he started a nonprofit when he was 11 and teaches computer skills to elementary students once a week.
He doesn't regard his dysgraphia, a learning disorder that severely impairs writing, as a disability. Instead, he has turned it into a driving force.
Read LA Times story here.
He is 12, a sixth-grader at Los Encinos School in Encino. He can't drive, vote or write much with a pencil, but he started a nonprofit when he was 11 and teaches computer skills to elementary students once a week.
He doesn't regard his dysgraphia, a learning disorder that severely impairs writing, as a disability. Instead, he has turned it into a driving force.
Read LA Times story here.
Chromosome abnormality linked to autism, study finds
Researchers have identified a chromosomal abnormality that seems to increase a person's chances of developing autism.
A group of U.S. researchers, associated with a group of Boston-based hospitals known as the Autism Consortium, conducted complete genome scans of 1,400 samples of DNA from families of autistic children.
They found that in one per cent of people with autism, or similar disorders, a portion of chromosome 16 is either absent or duplicated. This is not inherited from the parents.
Read the rest here
A group of U.S. researchers, associated with a group of Boston-based hospitals known as the Autism Consortium, conducted complete genome scans of 1,400 samples of DNA from families of autistic children.
They found that in one per cent of people with autism, or similar disorders, a portion of chromosome 16 is either absent or duplicated. This is not inherited from the parents.
Read the rest here
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