Parenting and Learning Issues

Paying for academic performance has become a consistent debate surrounding public schools. Should children be monetarily rewarded for their grades? What are the pros and cons of financially rewarding teachers for their students’ performance?

Amidst all of these questions, a new theory has entered into the ring. Some believe that parents should also be financially remunerated for their child’s public school success. To explore this possibility, some public schools across the country are experimenting with controversial cash incentives for parents, hoping that the “bribe” will help parents take on a more active, and much needed, role in their child’s learning.

Will Paying Parents Boost Student Performance?

According to investigations from Time Magazine, programs providing cash motivation to parents have been seen in public school districts in nearly every state. While the moral and ethical appropriateness of such agendas continues to be clouded with controversy, recent studies show that these tactics actually work!

Specifically, a non-partisan social-policy research group, MDRC, found that cash-incentives actually helped increase lower-income students’ performance and retention rates. In their study, MDRC discovered that families who were offered financial incentives for positive performance earned both increased grade point averages alongside enhanced feelings of confidence.

Adding to the reports of Time Magazine and MDRC, CNN also examined the potential advantages of financial rewards. Teachers of various public schools in Des Moines, Iowa were simply fed up with watching students

While many public school classrooms have traditionally taught all children using the same lessons and techniques, recent studies show that a child’s unique learning style should also be taken into consideration. Considering that each child has his or her own learning style, public schools are now experimenting with programs to accommodate the individual needs of every student, gifted, normal, or special.

The Various Styles of Learning

According to Learning Styles, a program devoted to helping each learner understand more about his or her own unique cognitive processes, there is no “right” or “wrong” way to engage in an optimal pattern or routine of learning. As each individual has his or her own intellectual strengths, educators and parents should utilize a child’s strengths in order to teach him or her to succeed.

The various styles of learning are typically referred to as “multiple intelligences.” Although a very recent and often debated theory, many educators and public school leaders are slowly recognizing the potential benefits of incorporating the multiple intelligences approach. As many experts support, by allowing students to recognize and understand their own unique methods of learning, teachers can more appropriately use a variety of techniques to adapt lessons for a range of individuals. Additionally, understanding and accepting the various types of learning most often helps to improve the speed and quality of each child’s comprehension and learning. Currently, there are seven identified basic modes/styles of learning:

• Visual – Visual learners prefer learning with

Through educational research, today’s teachers know much more about learning styles than their predecessors. Subsequently, public schools are starting to create programs that accommodate different learning styles, with kinesthetic learning coming to the forefront.

Kinesthetic, derived from kinesthesia, refers to one’s movement sense. As a result, a kinesthetic learner is essentially a student who learns most effectively from movement-based or motion-oriented activities. According to experts, kinesthetic learners are typically identified as individuals who demonstrate excellence in areas of sports, dancing, hands-on tasks, physical activities, and motor skills.

Due to their unique activity-based learning style, many kinesthetic learners often struggle to remain motionless in a quiet and still classroom. As a result, public school leaders are seeking to implement new and innovative kinesthetic lesson plans.

This TED Talk describes kinesthetic learning.

The Signs and Unique Needs of Kinesthetic Learners

According to experts, every child tends to exhibit a certain form of “learning style.” For example, some students are auditory learners, wherein these types of children learn best from oral instructions and verbal commands. Other students are visual learners, who encounter the greatest benefits from pictures, charts, or other forms of sight-based structures.

Among the most common type of learning styles among younger children, however, is the kinesthetic style. As kinesthetic learners demonstrate an aptitude for movement-based activities, many children who fall into the kinesthetic category struggle to adhere to the

In this in-depth article, we dive into the ongoing clashes between parents and school boards surrounding the allocation of educational budgets in public schools. As educational funding becomes an increasingly contentious issue, it sparks impassioned debates and heightens tensions within local communities.

Explore the underlying factors driving these conflicts as we shed light on the differing perspectives of parents and school boards. Discover the priorities and concerns on both sides, from parents advocating for enhanced resources in specific areas such as special education, extracurricular activities, or classroom technology, to school boards grappling with the challenge of balancing limited resources across various educational needs.

Investigate how these battles impact the educational landscape, as decisions on budget allocations have far-reaching consequences for student opportunities, teacher support, and overall school performance. Delve into the role of advocacy groups, community engagement, and government policies in shaping the outcome of these budgetary struggles.

School boards are typically responsible for making the final financial and budgetary decisions for their schools and districts. However, in an increasing trend, many community members are expressing outrage over some of these budgetary choices.

Opponents to board-based educational decisions argue that board members have been far removed from the classroom setting and are out of touch with the real problems of their local schools. In addition, fueled by the recessionary setbacks, community members are fighting for more rights in their local district’s decision-making processes.

Fighting for a Voice

As the Los Angeles Daily News reports, the

As advanced math programs and higher elective courses are being slashed with public school budget cuts, many parents are concerned that the reduced programs will not provide enough support for their math-minded kids.

Most public schools, especially middle and high schools, allow younger students to move beyond their grade level if their math skills are advanced. Subsequently, in light of funding cuts, some students are realizing that they have exceeded all of the higher level program requirements provided by their school. Ultimately, parents are seeking to find answers and new opportunities for their advanced students who can benefit from more challenging math courses.

Public Schools and Math Performance

While there are many math-minded students who desire more demanding and complex courses, studies show that most average-level students are continuing to struggle in the standard public school math programs. As the American Education Finance Association explores, nearly one-third of the country’s college freshman are reportedly unprepared for their college level math requirements. Expanding on this, some local community colleges and universities have even demanded more successful math preparation classes from their public schools.

For example, as the Maryland Gazette states, their local Frederick Community College has requested that nearby high schools focus on more college-prep math. As the Gazette reveals, the number of freshmen who have been required to take remedial math courses upon entering FCC has continued to rise for the past five years. With this data, educators at both the high