A Little Struggle is Healthy

By this point, there is no doubt that you have had to witness your child struggle with one or two learning opportunities or homework assignments in sixth grade. Is this normal? Yes. Is this intentional? Absolutely. Allow us to explain.

Learning happens when a child, or any person, is stretched. The illustration above shows the three zones as they pertain to learning, and our goal is to constantly be in the yellow.

Red Zone (Panic Zone):  In this zone, work is too hard. A student in this zone would not be able to complete any of the homework or classwork, and learning will not happen. Even when using their resources, a student in this zone would not be able to complete any of their work. 


Yellow Zone (Stretch Zone): The yellow zone feels a bit uncomfortable, but it is crucial if a person is going to be stretched. On classwork and homework, this would equate to a few problems that are a struggle for the child, but not all. Although this is an uncomfortable zone, the student should be able to persist and eventually attempt the problem--emphasis on the word attempt.

Blue Zone (Comfort Zone): This zone feels the best, but learning is muted. There are times where we intentionally give assignments that align with this zone, such as multiplication facts or some reading task that demands little persistence. It's okay to be in this zone from time-to-time, but a student who finds all their work in the blue zone is not reaching their capacity as a learner.

Question to consider: Are we, both teacher and parents, comfortable allowing a student to be a bit uncomfortable so that they learn? 

Thank you for pushing your child and for allowing them to struggle from time-to-time. Learning can be uncomfortable, but it's how we teach our children to work through that feeling that makes a difference. Thanks for being our partners in your child's education.

Homework...Yikes!

Homework. For some, the word alone equates to battles and stress, while for others it brings routine and structure. No matter what your thoughts are about homework, giving homework has been a staple that has been woven into the educational fabric for as long as any of us can remember. This year, we hope to make homework as stress-free as possible, while also doing our job to prepare your child for the  demands of middle school. Please use this post as our official communication about our expectations, and beliefs, about homework.

Homework should be:

• no more than 50-60 minutes each night. If your child is taking longer on a consistent basis, please communicate that to us. 
• done independently. I know you feel like you should be helping your child with homework, but we should be giving them homework that is on their independent level. If you are being asked to help them, please let us know so that we can adjust or get to the bottom of the issue. 
• done to the best of your child's ability. That means the page should be clean, accurate, and represent their best work. We look at it this way: if your child were an adult and turned in something that is less than their best at work, their job performance would be sub-par. Whenever something is turned it, we believe it should be their best!
• about learning good habits. Help your child to develop good habits when completing their homework. Often times, students who have success with homework are also students who have a good homework routine at home. 

In the classroom: 

• we check in homework each day. Although it is not graded on a daily basis, we do look at it for quality and effort. 
• we sometimes collect homework, at random times, for a grade.
• we have students owe time at Friday Fun if it is not finished. 
• we try to differentiate it so that students are able to complete homework that is at their independent level. 

You are our partners in your child's education, so please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions. 

Visit Us!

Families,

Hopefully the back-to-school cobwebs have warn off and your family has found their school week rhythm once again. If you haven't done so yet, mark your calendar for Open House. Grade 6 Open House will be on September 30th from 6:30-7:30. Unfortunately, because we are pressed for time and we both have ~50 students, we will not be able to go into detail about your child's progress when you stop by. We would, however, like to encourage you to use the time to get a feel for what their day looks like, meet the teachers, and enjoy watching your child share what they have been learning about. We look forward to seeing you.

Be well,

Derek and Christina

Have you ever gotten really annoyed with the math that your students have brought home in the past? We get it, it's brand new, it's very different than what we all learned, and it's complex work--often appearing to be too many steps to be efficient and practical. As the standards have shifted, we invite you to take the time to develop an understanding about what this means for your child mathematically. It's good to ask why we teach the way we do, and we hope the link below helps to clarify some of that for you. Enjoy!

WHY we teach like this?