“What can I as a parent do to help my child succeed at school?”

Being proactive and responsible parents, you ask this question often, which we appreciate. It is a timeless topic, and it is one we the faculty returned to at a recent faculty meeting, prompted by a short pamphlet we read on the topic.

Our pamphlet had nine key tactics to suggest, many of which resonated loudly with our school’s own communications; I have taken about half of their suggestions and merged them with another six representing our own views here at Saklan. I hope you find them useful.

First, Take every step possible to ensure your child is in class on time every single school day. Only illness should pre-empt this. Saklan teachers heartily endorsed this: a child who arrives late is scrambling to catch up all day long! A child who arrives late interrupts and disrupts the learning of all other children in the class. A child who misses a day misses a whole chunk of the day’s learning—is truly at a loss. Teachers are required to spend a great deal of their time preparing lessons to compensate, and must take time out of class, out of other children’s learning, to catch up those who miss school.

Second, Parents can model daily an attitude toward school and learning that is infectious and inspires student motivation. Offering sympathy to your child by telling him that you always hated Algebra, and that it has proven worthless to your career, is not an example of this kind of positive attitude. Telling her what you loved about school, and showing enthusiasm for the subjects your child is “getting” to learn; this can go a long way to strengthening student effort and perseverance.

Third, Emphasizing to your child that he be a good listener, and expecting of your child that she follow multiple step directions, can be a great reinforcement for school success. In my family we remembered that the annual ritual of choosing a Christmas tree was becoming problematic because our boys liked to run away from us and hide in and among the trees; this year, we spent twenty minutes playing a Simon Says and Red Light/Green Light game prior to heading for the Christmas tree lot, and it made a big difference for their listening and attention when we gt to the lot.

Fourth, Stress to your child the value of organization and tidiness. Help them do schoolwork in a structured fashion at an orderly desk or tidy kitchen table; ensure that the work they turn in has a “finished” look to it.

Fifth, Remind them frequently, and really mean it when you tell them, that mistakes truly result in learning. You can say things such as: “We’re not going to blame you for making a mistake, but we do want you to take a look at what you’ve learned from the mistake so you can avoid repeating it.” Not getting something right the first time is not a mistake—it is a true learning experience. Students need to develop the skills to persevere through challenges, and not abandon effort when not entirely succeeding. A favorite book, by Wendy Mogul, is entitled The Blessings of a Skinned Knee; I heard her speak recently where she reported that she intends her second book to be The Blessings of a B-. But if you teach, or if you model, that mistakes are somebody else’s problem, or that mistakes are to be denied, ignored, or rationalized, you deny the true power of this valuable learning experience.

Sixth, Never overestimate the value of teaching and expecting of your child that she work, really, really work, at getting along with others and showing true respect for others. Consider your own workplace experience; at the end of the day, who was the greater problem player, the employee who lacked certain skills, or the one who never learned to get along with others?

Seventh, Simple as it is, it bears reminding: promote thinking every day and in every way. “This includes thinking before acting; applying what is being learned; and thinking continuously about ways to achieve, solve problems, overcome obstacles.” Ask her how to figure out a complicated problem. Last night my 7 year old son asked how many inches long was the Golden Gate Bridge, and at first I blithely ignored the question—it was a foolish question to ask in the car as we drove in the dark. But actually, it is a great question to chew on and derive an approximate answer to, which we proceeded to do, arriving at 144,000. (What actually stymied us was the followup question from my three year old son—rather than asking how long the bridge is, Nate demanded to know how short it is).
Eighth, Support your children in finding their passion—encouraging them to try different things, pushing them to continue at a project to develop a stronger discipline for it, and then celebrating their excellence. Nothing is better than intrinsic motivation for excellence, and nowhere is intrinsic motivation stronger than in pursuit of something we love. When we get “in the zone,” when we find ourselves in a moment of true Csikszentmihalyian “flow”, the world is our oyster and nothing can stop us from learning whatever it takes to advance—this is what we want for our kids.

Ninth, Instill responsibility in your child for himself and his studies. It is your child’s duty to do her homework; it is your child’s obligation to take care of his backpack; and while you can help or offer advice, you cannot and should not assume that responsibility yourself. Here at Saklan we try to crystallize this in the simple but central project of carrying the backpack- this is for our students to do, not our parents, each and every day, to ensure they “feel” their responsibility on their backs as they enter and exit the campus. Even our preschoolers can benefit from this, carrying their lunchbox in a pack on their back into school, and hanging it on their hook each morning!

Tenth, Show curiosity about the school life of your children. Ask them about their day, ask open ended questions and pursue follow-ups, and pay attention when they answer, rather than drifting off to other mental topics (tempting as that can be sometimes). A great time to engage in these conversations is when kids are in the backseat of the car on a medium length drive—conversations frequently flow more easily when eye contact is not required and there is nothing else to do or distract. Frequently I am in conversation with families from outside Lamorinda about the prospect of enrolling at Saklan, and I actually offer the suggestion that the added car time necessitated by travel to Moraga will benefit them as a family by providing regular opportunities for these “car chats.”

As important as it is to inquire of kids about their school lives, we must still acknowledge that kids may not have the energy or desire to answer our inquiries. Among the very many valuable lessons of my own personal mentor, child psychologist and author Michael Thompson, is that we must respect how very genuinely challenging and exhausting school is for kids. Never suggest to your kids that school is easy, that this is the easiest time in their lives, or that our jobs as adults are much more demanding than their “jobs” as kids. If your children respond tersely to your well intended inquisitiveness, bear in mind that the kaleidoscope complexity of their lengthy day may be just too much for them to relay to you every afternoon.

Eleventh, Seek trust, camaraderie, and open communications with your children’s teachers. Assume good will, and seek first to understand, and then to be understood. Confusions or disappointments are best first expressed to the teacher herself, and not ever with your children.

Twelfth, Attend to school communications and events, and volunteer at school regularly. Another way to demonstrate your interest in your children’s education and to model a good attitude is to read carefully school and classroom newsletters, to be present at school and school related events. Research suggests parents who volunteer on behalf of their children’s schools have children who perform better—their children really “feel” their parents investment in their education, and its prioritization rises accordingly. Note that this is still true for middle school students, as much as they might express at times an eagerness for parents to “get lost.”

Jonathan Martin

Head of School

Elementary Science Science:
by Rebecca Bozzelli, Science Teacher

I love teaching science. My enthusiasm comes from my fondness for the subject and my enjoyment of teaching, in general. As I teach it becomes my role to empower the students to discover on their own. The science classroom is a fantastic resource with many scientific tools and materials as well as living creatures such as fish, mice, and frogs.

I believe in using a hands-on approach to learning as much as possible, both inside and outside the classroom. Galileo Galilei once said “You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him discover it.”  For instance, the fifth grade is presently learning about weather so we built barometers, rain gauges, and wind socks in order to go outside and measure the weather conditions. Every science class, we collect our data and forecast the weather. This week, sunny skies ahead.

The hands-on experiments and activities are followed by a discussion and, depending on the grade, there may be a lecture, relevant worksheets and a lab report. The sum of these parts helps the students to learn and understand. The first step is to explore and experiment; conclusions are then made and together everything is reviewed. Next, I teach the lesson of the day, address any misconceptions, and tie in the necessary vocabulary.

Science class is more then experiments. I feel that it is important to integrate art, music, plays, riddles, current events and much more to keep science interesting and aid the students in their learning. As much as possible, I bring in the front page when the headline news has a science connection and I also encourage students to bring in science news to share with the class and then post in our classroom Science in the News Bulletin Board.

I also have Moraga Creek to be thankful for. Located directly behind Saklan Valley School, the sixth grade and I take the short walk to the creek to study its formation, ecosystem and water quality. Recently, each sixth grade student was assigned to research, report and draw one organism from Moraga Creek. The class then designed a large poster of these different organisms and drew connections between each species.

Teaching Science at Saklan is a delight, but it is also something I take very seriously. Even though my days are filled with trips to Moraga Creek, forecasting the weather and lots of hands-on science experiments, the best part is watching the students learn.

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Sun - Nov 09 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM		Open House 2PM - 4PM
Fri - Nov 14		End of Trimester I
Fri - Nov 14 12:45 PM - 1:45 PM		Author visit: Paul Feig Grades 5-7
Sat - Nov 15 -- Sun - Nov 16 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM		Basketball Clinic Sports court
Tue - Nov 18		Professional Development Day NOON DISMISSAL
Fri - Nov 21		Parent Association Meeting After flag at the church next door.
Mon - Nov 24 -- Fri - Nov 28		Thanksgiving Week NO SCHOOL