Answers to Questions About Learning and School
Parents send their children to school and trust that the "magic" of learning happens. Parents often think they know about school because they went to school. People who have worked in school know it is quite different from what they remember from childhood.
When children have no problems in school, parents don't think to ask questions. When children have difficulties, parents often don't understand the situation and try to deal with the consequences of the problems. This page attempts to simply answer common questions that many parents have about school and how their children learn.
Questions about:
- School
- Why don't my child's teachers teach what my child needs to know?
- Who decides what my child will learn?
- What is taught in each level of school?
- What does it mean that my child's school is in crisis?
- Is this a good system of grading schools?
- What are educators doing?
- What is the difference between remediation and intervention?
- Educators
- School Safety
- Learning
- Cognitive Development
- Language
- School Readiness
- Reading
- Math
Information about:
About school...
- Why don't my child's teachers teach what my child needs to know?
- Who decides what my child will learn?
- What is taught in each level of school?
- What does it mean that my child's school is in crisis?
- Is this a good system of grading schools?
- What are educators doing?
- What is the difference between remediation and intervention?
When students do not have important and basic skills, teachers go back and teach those missing (deficit) skills. This is called remediation. This may mean going back 2 or more instructional years. An example is that a 4th grade student might receive instruction from 1st grade content. Current laws do not allow teachers to remediate in class, because that takes time away from standards instruction. Intervention is when students get more help with the current (standards-based) skills instruction. Teachers do not go back to a point where the child is able to understand instruction. Intervention does not mean a child will learn what is being taught. It may only mean that the child completes the assignments on the current content.
Click here to listen to recordings of Dr. Jennifer Little discussing various topics relating to education.
