“One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me “Superman” did not exist.  Cause even in the depths of the ghetto you just thought he was coming …. She thought I was crying because it’s like …. (he’s) not real.  I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us.”

- Geoffrey Canada. “Waiting for Superman”

The movie is controversial ….. very, very controversial.  Seen by some as a scathing expose on our current educational system and by others as simply a hit piece on the educational unions “Waiting For Superman” is, at the very least, a movie that is worth investing two hours of your time to see.  Since it hits on a topic near and dear to our hearts (and the hearts of anybody who really cares about this country I suppose) we wanted to make sure that not only did we see as soon as we could be that we could share it with you as quickly as possible.

Here are 10 facts from the “Waiting For Superman” movie and book that really jumped out at me:

1. NCLB – With four years left to reach the act’s goal of 100% proficiency  in Math and Reading most states hover around 20-30% proficiency
2. Among 30 developed countries the US is
   • 25th in Math
   • 21st in Science
   • When comparing our top 5% against their top 5% we’re …. last
3. High School Graduation Rates
   • African American – 51%
   • Latinos – 55%
   • Whites – 76%
   • 60% of those who do graduate will still need to take at least one remedial class in college
4. In Pennsylvania (as an example) 68% of state prison inmates are high school dropouts.  It’s costs, on average, $33,ooo per year and $132,000 per sentence to house, feed and care for that prisoner.   That’s enough to have sent that prisoner to private school for K-12th grade (avg. tuition $8,300) with $24,000 left over.
5. Since 1971 educational spending per student (adjusted for inflation) has doubled while test scores have remained flat.
6. The Teachers Unions (National Education Association & American Federation of Teachers) are the nation’s largest political contributors (exceeding NRA, Teamsters, AARP, Chambers of Commerce) with 90% of that money going to Democrats.
7. Protecting Teachers:
   • In Illinois (for example):
     • 1 in 57 Doctors loses their medical license
     • 1 in 97 Attorneys will lose their law license
     • Only 1 Teacher in 2,500 has ever lost their teaching credentials
   • In NY
     • Average teacher disciplinary hearing lasts 8 times longer that the average US criminal case at a cost of $65 million dollars per year
8. A top teacher in the top quintile will cover 150% of the required curriculum in a year.  A teacher in the bottom quintile will only cover 50% of the required curriculum.
9. If we eliminated the bottom 6-10% of underperforming teachers and replaced them with just “average” teachers we could bring the average US student up to the level of Finland, which is the top performing country in the world.
10. By the year 2020
    • 123 million jobs will be high skill/high pay occupations
    • Only 50 million Americans will be qualified to fill them

Some great resources I came across during interview prep:

• Michigan Public Schools Financial Data – Michigan Department of Education
  • See page 7 for the teacher pay summaries that we discussed during the show
• Predicting Success In Football & Teaching
  • This is a great piece by Malcolm Gladwell (Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink, What The Dog Saw) on the process we use for selecting, training and evaluating teachers.  We’ve referenced it before on the show and it’s a must read piece for all parents out there trying to figure out the challenges of education reform.
• Will Richardson – Tech Teacher
  • Here’s a teacher that truly gets the importance of changing HOW we teach in the information, tech heavy age.
• How To Fix Our Schools : A Manifesto – Washington Post
  • This is a brief “mainfesto” for educational reform  written, in part, by Joel Klein (Chancellor, NYC Dept. of Ed) and Michelle Rhee (former Chancellor, DC Public Schools)
• Rebuttal to the “How To Fix Our Schools Manifesto”
  • This rebuttal is but one (and there are MANY) of the rebuttals out there both to the type of reforms indicated in the above referenced manifesto but also in “Waiting For Superman”.  This one was written by Kevin Welner, Director of the Education Policy Center.  His rebuttal (evidently he was still a bit worked up is continued here.

“When you see a great teacher you are seeing a work of art.  You’re seeing a master and it is as, I think, as unbelievable as seeing a great athlete or seeing a great musician” – Geoffrey Canada, President & CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone

This undoubtedly will be a story and movie that we will continue to discuss in the coming weeks and months.  I hope you enjoy our interview with Karl Weber, author and editor of the book “Waiting for Superman”.  After listening to the interview and/or seeing the movie please feel free to share your comments (positive or negative) both here and on our Facebook page.

Click the picture above to purchase or find out more about the book!

Click the recorder below to hear our informative interview with Mr. Karl Weber from “Waiting For Superman” …..

I ran across this anti-bullying website for kids and parents (primarily younger kids).  It’s got some good information on it and some scenarios that parents can work through with their kids.

I especially liked that it had some good resources, book recommendations, tip sheets, etc..

Best of all there are little animated scenes that you can read through (they have the script), watch online, download or print out and read comic book style.  Great resource for kids who need a more visual approach!  They also have little games kids can play and quizzes for after the videos have played

The scenarios are simple and short.  My only real complaint is that they are a bit stereotypical (jocks pick on music nerd, etc.) but other than that they are great!

]]> http://mygreatkid.com/autism/great-stop-bullying-site/feed/ 0 http://mygreatkid.com/autism/stuff-i-thought-was-interesting-today/ http://mygreatkid.com/autism/stuff-i-thought-was-interesting-today/#comments Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:32:54 +0000 Steve http://mygreatkid.com/?p=1194

• Acid syringe ‘could spell an end to dentist’s drill’ | Mail Online
  • This sounds cool and I’m all in favor of anything that’s faster and involves less pain.  However, the idea of squirting an “acid” filled syringe into my mouth (or anywhere near me really) sounds like the scheme of a Batman villain and makes me feel a little ….. terrified.  Maybe “drill” doesn’t sound as scary anymore.
• Super Bowl 2010: Megan Fox enrols a ‘hand double’ for sexy advert | Mail Online
  • Two things I thought when I read this a) I’d never heard of “clubbed thumbs” before  b) what a great message to send to all the girls (little and big) who see the “hot” girls on TV and Movies all the time ~ they’re not perfect either and they’re self-conscious about their looks too.
• How the Letterman-Oprah-Leno Super Bowl Ad Came Together – Media Decoder Blog – NYTimes.com
  • This might have limited value except that at the Super Bowl party I was at everyone was surprised to see Leno and Letterman together in a commercial.  Speculation quickly lead to the conclusion that this was a computerized trick but it turns out no ….. it was real.

Science Stuff

• How to measure attention span of a fly: Implications for ADHD, autism in humans
• Babies’ brains tuned to sharing attention with others
• Uncorrelated activity in the brain
• Can Your Bladder Really Burst?
  • What your body does when you just decide to “hold it”

Autism Stuff

• Distance education for parents of children with autism found effective
  • This one isn’t surprising as much as it is encouraging for parents who feel like they’re not empowered
• Combined approach may be better way to treat autism
  • Kudos to someone with an “official” sounding title and role saying what a lot of parents have been screaming for a while – stop focusing on your specialty and focus on what works for the child.

Parenting Shortcuts, Tips & Tricks Stuff

• Baby socks dulls noise and avoids floor scratches
  • So obvious I’m kind of annoyed I didn’t think of it myself.  This would also work for the bottom of kids chairs, tables, folding tables etc.  and just about anything that gets dragged frequently across the floors.
• Chicken Counting: Custom Cereal Boxes
  • Great idea that would work good for placemats, car trips, etc.
• Chicken Counting: A Playful Start to the Day
  • Not as good as sitting around and talking at breakfast but a good way to start the day if/when that’s not possible.
• “Unstick” burnt pots and pans with cola
• Let little kids “help” with cooking by placing the mixing bowl on the open dishwasher door or pour beverages over the open dishwasher door
  • More help, happier kids and less mess ….. that’s what you call a parenting hat trick.
• Keeps kids’ toothbrushes and toothpaste in reach with a sponge holder
  • Anyone who’s ever heard the sound of the toothbrush holder/cup tip over followed by “uh, oh” which immediately tells you that based on past experience someone’s toothbrush just fell into the trash or the toilet will immediately see the tremendous value in this idea.  For example, I see the value in this idea.
• Crank-operated camping lantern stands in for a night light — no batteries required
  • OUTSTANDING idea, I think I like the crank flashlight idea even more than the lantern.

You Missed A Show?

Missed a show?  How could you?

Okay, besides you have a family and the show is on early Sunday mornings.

Then here’s your chance to catch up.  I’ll be posting full breakouts of all the shows we did in 2009 but in the meantime check out any of the shows that you might have missed below:

1. Dr. James Gregg – Is Chiropractic Right For Your Family?
2. The Swine Flu & The Vaccine – What’s The Story & Is It Safe?
3. David Kirby – Vaccine Safety & The Impact Of Factory Farming On Our Diets
4. Peter Wright From Wrightslaw.com – Special Ed & Special Ed Law
5. Twitter – Why, How, Should We Care w/ Leslie Poston Co-Author Of “Twitter For Dummies”
6. John Gatto – The American Education System
7. Dr. Arthur Benjamin – Math Magic & Improving Math Education
8. Barbara Coloroso – Fighting Back Against Bullying
9. David Allen – Author Of NY Time Bestseller “Getting Things Done”
10. Dave Farrow – Guinness Book Memory Master Record Holder
11. Kim Stewart – Eating Between The Lines (Coming Soon)
12. Marianne Syzmanski – Toy Tips For Children
13. Carol Kranowitz – The Out of Sync Child & Sensory Integration

Many (and soon) all off these shows can also be downloaded at Itunes in the Podcast section under “My Great Kid”.

Thank you for listening to the show and following this blog and please let us know if there are any topics, or guests, you would like us to speak to in the future.

We spoke with Barabara Coloroso about her book “The Bully, The Bullied and the Bystander”.

We first came across her in the Costco Connection magazine, believe it or not, and thought she had some good information and good approaches.  Coincidentally enough in the last couple of months we’d had a couple of parents talk to us about bullying problems that their children were having and figured it would be a great topic to dive into a bit.

I have to admit that this is an interview that was a little frustrating for me.  Ms. Coloroso was great and her information is definitely worthwhile but some of her approaches and thinking just conflicts with mine.  Staci on the other hand loved her!

Which is the point of the show and this blog .. to explore new and different thinking and approaches and share information.

I’d be curious as to your feedback on the interview.

• Bully Handout – This handout is great!  I really like the idea of the Bullying Circle and how bullying can be adressed through it.
• Bully Handout For Teens – Similar to above … but for teens.
• The Net Neighborhood – Bullying, it’s not just for the playground any more.
• Extraordinary Evil – Bullying to Hate Crimes To Genocide – Okay, here’s where we started to part ways a bit.  I think our primary difference of opinion comes in the somewhat broader definition and motivation for bullying that Ms. Coloroso uses.  Still, an interesting read though.
• Three Characters and A Tragedy – Interesting
• Teaching Caring & Human Relationships

Bullying is a very serious issue for everyone and perhaps even more so (if that’s possible) for children with special needs.  What are your thoughts? ideas? success stories? approaches?

Any ideas for other resources concerning how to handle bullies?

This week we interviewed Dr. Arthur Benjamin – a Mathematician and Mathemagician. Now normally ….. Math would not be the kind of topic I would want to spend a lot of time talking about. So let me explain why I chose to pick this as a topic and Dr. Benjamin as our expert for the week.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Really, after about the 3rd Grade, Math and I never got along very well. While there were times when it clicked and I would find it really fun and fascinating …. those times were very rare and easily offset by the times I’d have that unpleasant academic drowning feeling. I remember swearing off Math countless times in High School as I brain strained through another seemingly pointless homework assignment or test. My main question most of the time was …. “When the heck (okay, I didn’t always say heck) am I ever going to use this stuff in real life?”. I realized at a pretty young age I wasn’t going to be an engineer or rocket scientist so I figured once you get past the basic math stuff …. why bother?

Besides I had a calculator and computers are all over so anything that I needed to have answered could probably be found somewhere. Unfortunately, my negative experiences with Math at a younger age kind of soured (or actually, it was more like my “math confidence” was smashed) to Math as I got older. Not unlike, I’m sure, a lot of you reading this right now I just figured that I “wasn’t a Math person” and figured life would go on easily enough with that reality.

The problem is of course that Math is everywhere – though it doesn’t always look the same as it did in my post lunch Algebra class. Statistics, probability, percentages and all the stuff we hear about on the news is easy to manipulate precisely because so few people understand or bother to do the Math. Once I had a child I realized that much of this stuff had a much greater importance than I had at first allowed room for years ago. I don’t like being lied to or swayed by the latest report but quickly realized when you start diving into the numbers there’s some Math education that would have been helpful. I couldn’t help but wonder why so much of my Math classes seemed to be focusing on finding “x” in problem, after monotonous problem (screw X – why does he keep getting lost) when if we would have been figuring out real stats and percentages, etc. in a real world context (can anyone same gambling?) it would have probably kept my attention longer.

So anyway, my son started having a bit of trouble with Math and I was having a hard time breaking out all of his test scores / bell curve scoring / standardized testing scores / etc. (hey my kid is 75 percentile – that’s a C, right?)

Even if you’ve sworn off Math and have no interest in EVER having

someone talk Math to you again ….. trust me, you’ll want to watch this video.  IT IS AMAZING….

• Arthur Benjamin does “Mathemagic”

• Arthur Benjamin | Profile
• Arthur Benjamin’s formula for changing math education
• Mathemagics–the art of mental calculation

“Parents will always be catalysts for education reform.”

def: Catalyst: An agent that precipitates -or- accelerates fundamental change

In what is sure to be a phenomenally informative show, this Sunday on the  “My Great Kid” Radio Program (Sunday 8:00am-9:00am, WAAM 1600am or online at www.waamannarbor.com;  A podcast will be posted after the show) we will be interviewing Peter Wright the founder of Wrightslaw.com and one of the nation’s most influential attorneys.

If you have a child with “special needs” or if you have a child who’s having trouble in school you literally cannot afford to miss this show.  If you have a friend that this applies to please tell them about the show.  Mr. Wright’s advice, website, books and conferences have been a critical part of my son receiving the education that he’s entitled to under the law since his earliest days of  Early Intervention.

This man is literally the guru of Special Education Law.

To learn more about Pete click here.

If you have any questions that you would like to have asked please send them to me at  steve@mygreatkid.com or post them to my Twitter page @MyGreatKid or call in live during the show at 734-822-1600.

Came across a site called Techno Dys a little bit ago and wanted to take this opportunity to reccommend that you add it to your RSS feed.  They throw up a post a day with different site recommendations (amongst other things) and many of them are real winners worthy of your attention including:

• Brightstorm – An online math video tutorial community.  This isn’t just YouTube video’s of math problems this is step by step almost person tutoring in a step by step process.  Great for a child having trouble with Math or for the homeschool parent that needs some help. Video’s cover Algebra, Geometry, Alegbra 2, Trig & Precalculus.
• Romaco Timeout – An online timer that ensures your children are not sitting on the computer for longer than YOU want them to (let’s face it this one is probably good for a lot of adults too).
• Go Animate – This site is AWESOME.  It lets you create your own little cartoons and animated stories using simple (relatively simple anyway) storyboards and templates.  Great potential tool for getting your child excited about reading / writing / creating because it takes it off the paper and puts it up on the screen in an interactive format (and after your kids go to bed you’ll want to try it yourself – trust me).  Sound FX, music clips, recognizable characters this site lets you do it all.  While the site is free like many sites there are upgrade options that you can pay for.  Here’s a short example animation …

The Swine Flu You Can Snuggle With

You’ve heard when life gives you lemons make lemonade.  How about when life gives you E. Coli make a stuffed toy?

All right, maybe it’s just me (I know my sense of humor is a bit off) but if you’re looking for the gift I guarantee they won’t have how about these for ideas …. Giant Microbes stuffed toys. Why hide from E.Coli when you can snuggle up in bed with it! E. Coli not your style how about …..

• Swine Flu
• Black Death
• A Brain Cell
• Scum
• Herpes
• The Mange
• Salmonella

Find them all here at Giant Microbes.com

On a serious note though they are all also great learning tools or reminders for your kids.  Sometimes just putting a face on something is enough to create the visual that will stick with your child.

“Hey Bobby, remember we wash our hands after we go to the bathroom to keep away Eddie E.Coli.”

Keep Eddie away, wash those hands!

Then you hang this little fellow by the mirror in the bathroom or on the door.

-OR-

Little Suzy gets sick with the stomach flu, then give her one of these to punch, squeeze, throw or simply say mean things to …

So cute ... but so annoying!

Hilarious, educational and great for kids and adults of all ages!