A Solution to the ‘Summer Slide’

Finally! It’s summer—that long-awaited time to enjoy some extra rest and recreation. But did you know too much kicking back can be harmful to your student’s learning?

Studies show that students can lose up to two months of math and literacy skills over the summer. Although summer learning loss—also known as the summer slide—is a real problem, it doesn’t have to slow down your child at the start of a new school year. Let’s discuss some solutions.

Intro/Outro Music by Arianna Jonae - Drank It Up - https://thmatc.co/?l=BD246EF

Poor Community, Poor Schools

Most people believe that students do better in well-funded schools and that public education should provide a level playing field for all children. Nearly half of the funding for public schools in the United States, however, is provided through local taxes, generating large differences in funding between wealthy and impoverished communities (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000a). Efforts to reduce these disparities have provoked controversy and resistance.

The Culture of Overtesting Students

Due to the recognition that standardized tests can play a unique role in understanding student learning outcomes, schools have introduced more such tests in recent years. Although the goal of these additional assessments is to help students, it has sometimes had the unintended outcome of creating student fatigue, practice effects, and false positives in test results. Although some tests will always be needed in schools, too many tests can create problems. 

Students Disrespecting Educators

If you are tired of dealing with negative student behaviors day in and day out, you are not alone—in fact, you are firmly in the center of the average educator’s experience. Still, managing difficult student behaviors eventually sucks the energy from most educators, no matter how talented or experienced. Which leads us to the story which inspired this Podcast Episode.

 

A teacher and student at a southeast Los Angeles, California, high school came to blows Friday afternoon, and it was all caught on video. The footage shows Maywood Academy High School music teacher Marston Riley, 64, standing face to face with a 14-year-old boy at the front of a classroom when Riley punches him. It's at this point the two begin exchanging punches. The boy wound up on the ground wrapping his arms around Riley's leg. Riley, at this point, repeatedly punches him. The boy, who has not been identified, was taken to a local hospital where he was treated for moderate injuries and later released, according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Riley was arrested on charges of child abuse, the release said.