Parenting and Learning Issues

Children can be cruel and it is not uncommon for grade school students to come home in tears after someone called them a name on the bus ride home. Unfortunately, many parents do not understand the potentially damaging effects of bullying not only on a child’s confidence and self-esteem but also on his academic performance.

Shocking Statistics About Bullying

According to StopBullying.gov, a website managed by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, nearly 50% of students in grades 4 through 12 experienced bullyings within a given month, and more than 70% of students admit to having seen bullying occur in their school. Verbal and social bullying are the two most common types, including things like name-calling, teasing, spreading rumors, stealing belongings, sexual comments and gestures, or physical violence. Physical bullying happens less often than social bullying and cyberbullying, though it is becoming increasingly prevalent, is still less common.

While many people assume that a little bit of bullying is harmless – it may even be helpful for the child to teach them how to stick up for themselves. In reality, however, an estimated 160,000 children miss school on any given day due to fear of bullying by other students. Every day, more than 280,000 students are physically attacked in schools and one out of ten students who drop out of school mentions repeated bullying as a factor. Bullying can have a serious impact on a child’s educational experience, and not just by causing him

Many people ascribe to the basics of astrology, reading their horoscopes in the newspaper or taking online tests to see what their sign says about them. But does the time of year in which you are born have any actual influence on your life? Numerous studies suggest that children born at certain times of year are healthier, happier, and more successful than others.

Winter versus Summer Children

Researchers suggest that the month in which your child is born can have an impact on everything from health to success with a future career. The biggest differences were noted between children born in the winter and children born in the summer. There are some studies that say that children born between the months of June and October are more likely to be taller and have bigger bones than children born during the winter – this is likely related to the amount of vitamin D exposure during the pregnancy. On average, children born during the summer were 0.5cm taller than children born in the winter based on results from women who were 37 weeks pregnant.

Not only does the month in which you are born affect your size, but it can also affect other things like your likelihood of developing food allergies. Autumn and winter babies develop food allergies at a higher rate than other children. Asthma may also be a factor that can be attributed to birth month, especially in children born during the autumn. During the winter, people spend

Part of your job as a parent is to push your kids to do and be their best. Sometimes this means limiting television privileges until your child finishes his homework. Other times it means taking time out of your own day to drive your child to see a tutor. There is no doubt that going the extra mile to ensure your child’s academic success is important, but what about other things? Should you encourage your child to join a sports team?

What Are the Benefits of Participating in Sports?

For children, playing sports is more than just a way to spend time after school – it can have a serious impact on the child’s mental and social development. Below you will find a list of some of the many benefits associated with team sport participation for children:

• According to a study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, teenagers who participated in team sports were smoke, do drugs, have sex, and carry weapons than those who did not.
• Being part of a sports team teaches your child how to work with others toward a common goal – it takes the combined effort of the whole team to win a game.
• Participating in sports can give children and young adults a sense of belonging. This is especially important during middle school and high school where cliques can form quickly, leaving children who are less socially gifted on the margins.
• The results of several research studies show that

A commonly cited statistic suggests that as many as 20% of high school dropouts are gifted students. Does this statistic surprise you? On one side of the coin, you might think that gifted students would be more likely to excel in school than traditional students. On the other side of the coin, it makes sense that gifted students might drop out of school if they are not properly challenged. If you are the parent, guardian, or teacher of a gifted student then it is your duty to make sure they are pushed hard enough to meet their maximum potential.

Myths and Misconceptions

The statistic quoted earlier could be interpreted in different ways. Some might assume that gifted students will excel no matter what kind of schooling they receive while others might be able to see that gifted students are often bored in traditional classrooms which leads to a higher dropout rate. Before getting into the details regarding how to properly challenge a gifted student, it is important to address some common myths and misconceptions about gifted students.

This video discusses teaching gifted students.

• Gifted students will do fine in normal classrooms. According to a study conducted by the Fordham Institute, over 50% of teachers have not received any professional development in regard to teaching gifted students. Furthermore, nearly 75% of those same teachers admitted that the brightest students in their classrooms are often bored or

Every year thousands of American schoolchildren compete in school spelling bees. Kids in grades three to eight compete to spell increasingly challenging words in a tradition that is nearly as old as the U.S. education system itself. School spelling bee winners typically go on to regional spelling bee, which, in turn, funnel winners to the Scripps National Spelling Bee, held each spring in Washington, DC. Top spellers can earn tens of thousands of dollars in prizes and scholarship money.

Being a spelling bee champ takes more than luck. And, while children who are avid readers and who show skills in writing and reading comprehension usually do well, the most successful competitive spellers have identified some “tricks of the trade” that have helped them achieve the top prize in spelling.

This video offers some spelling bee tips and tricks.

Look at Other Languages

Top spellers study with a purpose. English is a unique language because many English words originated in other languages. The most successful spellers focus their study efforts on learning important foreign language root words and spelling conventions. Here are some of the languages that have most influenced English as well as spelling tips and examples from each language:

Latin

Latin has been the most influential language in English. Words related to science and medicine are often based on Latin words. To help spell Latin words, remember a few simple rules. First, the u