Posts Tagged ‘children’
Learn Why Children Are Better At Learning Languages And How They Can Use These Skills In Creating A Better Tomorrow
There have long been many questions on why children are more efficient in learning a second or even a third language when compared to adults. Scientists might finally have a concrete explanation on why children are best at learning new languages.
With the aid of animation technology and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), brains of several children have been studied by researchers from UCLA. Their discovery pointed to the children’s ability to process language information on a region of their brain that is different from the region that adults use.
The Brain and Its Role in Language Learning
There are various areas in the brain which control different functions. For instance, actions like driving a car or riding a bike no longer requires people to consciously think of moving their hands and feet in coordination.
These actions are done because of people’s automatic brain functions. To connect this to learning a new language, children actually use this automatic area of the brain in learning; thus, a second language to them is much like second nature. Adults who want to learn of a new language use a different area of their brain.
This is why it is best to become bilingual or even multilingual during childhood since the brain operates a little differently as compared to normal adult brain functions.
There are still chances for people who are under 18 to catch up and learn new languages. This is because the opportunity to inculcate skills and information into the deep motor region of the brain is open until the age of 18; but with each year that passes, the window to this brain closes slowly each time. This would explain why adults have to think in their native tongue and translate words into a second language unlike children who would think automatically in another language.
Studies of the neurology of acquiring a new language have been proven to be useful. Learning the different geographic locations in the brain where information and skills are stored for both adults and children would give language educators the chance to improve their lesson presentations and instructions. For instance, children who learn accents and sounds at an earlier age would be far better off than people who consciously study these sounds at a latter part of their lives.
Other Benefits of Learning a Different Language Early On
Learning a foreign language is much easier for children than most adults and in addition to this great advantage, children have also been proven to do better in school, have better problem-solving skills, are more open to diversity, and score much higher on standardized tests. This is according to Francois Thibaut who is in charge of The Language Workshop for Children. There are nine schools around the East Coast who have participated on the said workshop. Thibaut is known as an expert in foreign languages for babies and children.
Through the efforts of people like Thibaut, more and more parents are becoming aware of the importance of teaching a different language to their children. And since globalization now includes being able to communicate more clearly even to foreigners, immersing the future citizens (or today’s children) to different languages would help equip them with the necessary language comprehension skills.
Future ambassadors are better able to handle situations if they learned different languages early on. Therefore, the future of the world depends on how much children of today learn from the most important aspect of most cultures-language.
The language machine offers a wide variety of language courses including Spanish, German, Italian and French Lessons London.
Do Mainstream Schools Teach Children to Learn?
When people find out that I never graduated high-school, they are often shocked. They know I am very smart and knowledgeable, and they think that means I should not have dropped out of school. This probably means that they either think a person cannot learn outside of school, or that a smart person would not choose to drop out of school.
Not only can a person learn outside of school, I believe that a person can and usually does learn better without institutional schooling. In turn, a truly smart person would neither go to school nor send their children to school–at least not to the mainstream public schools.
In my experience, mainstream schools do not teach children to learn. The goal of these schools is not education, but rather socialization and indoctrination. The point of mainstream schools and standardized education is to turn unique, free-spirited individuals into standardized, obedient workers.
Children are naturally inquisitive and curious, but the mainstream education system does not want children who think for themselves and ask questions. The mainstream education system wants children who unquestioningly believe what they are told and unquestioningly do what they are told. To that end, the mainstream education system attempts to destroy children’s innate curiosity and free-spirit.
Instead of letting children naturally learn what they want, the school system shoves an “education” down the children’s throats, which unfortunately turns many of them off to learning. Unfortunately, after going to school, many children associate learning with the disgusting authoritarianism of school. Students begin to falsely view learning as bell schedules, hall passes, mandatory class assignments, standardized curricula, and all the other unpleasant and authoritarian aspects of institutional schooling.
Children who are not forced into school, and ones who are smart enough to refuse to go, are not turned off like the others. These children love to learn. They enjoy researching topics of interest. They become curious about new things that they encounter, and like to look up information about these things. For example, many mechanically-inclined children like to order build-it-yourself kits for various items, from a birds nest to a whole home computer. In another example, many youths spend hours at a time rummaging through Wikipedia articles, merely out of personal interest.
Schools teach children to not learn. People learn better without school. Even if you go to school, do not rely on it solely; augment your education by also learning out-of-school. Whatever you do, good luck and have fun!
Scott Hughes owns and operates Unschool.info which is an informative website about unschooling. You can discuss these ideas and other education-related topics at the Education and Learning Forums.
ADHD Children Can Improve Concentration and Grades With Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements
ADHD children who receive concentrated Omega 3 fish oil supplements which contain Omega 3 fatty acids show definite improvements in their school grades and ability to focus on given tasks. Being hyperactive these children find it difficult to focus on any given task and they move from one activity to another without completing any of the tasks completely. They find it difficult to focus on any activity for any length of time.
Often ADHD children are written off as being mentally weak because they do not perform to their full potential. But this is not true, the facts are often different. Often ADHD children are very bright intellectually and under perform because of their inability to focus and concentrate. Omega 3 fish oil supplements can change that and help these children become calmer, focused and better able to achieve their full potential.
This has been shown in studies conducted in the UK which investigated the effects of concentrated fish oil supplements on ADHD children. The results observed in the study were extremely encouraging. Over the period during which the children were observed their reading levels and other skills were measured. Their ability to concentrate, their reading levels as well as things such as hand writing improved. Over a period of six months the children were given concentrated Omega 3 fish oil capsules with meals twice daily. Their behavior was monitored in school and by parents at home. The improvement observed was very gratifying for the parents and those conducting the trial.
Many factors affect the brains ability to focus on given tasks. Two important factors being environment and diet.
An environment that is free of distractions and conducive to concentration is important. Diet also affects the child’s ability to focus and this can easily be modified to correct any problems. By modifying the diet to include the necessary vitamins, minerals and other supplements such as concentrated fish oil which is rich in Omega 3 fats the child’s ability to concentrate can improve. The child will become calmer, be better able to concentrate and achieve their full potential intellectually.
The human brain is the center of our intellectual ability. It controls our body and thoughts. The human brain is almost 70% fats and almost 20% of these fats are the Omega 3 fat DHA. The Omega 3 fats DHA and EPA are essential fats, which means they are a required part of our diet as our bodies cannot manufacture them. Without these fats in their diet the bodies of children cannot develop and maintain the brain and its functioning.
Omega 3 fatty acids are generally obtained from cold water oily fish and populations who eat more fish have been shown to have higher intellectual ability generally. These fish manufacture the oil in their bodies from the algae in their natural environment.
It is essential to get sufficient Omega 3 fatty acids for the good health of the body and particularly the brain and nervous system. These Omega 3 fats can be obtained from food sources other than fish such as whole grains and nuts. These include flax seed and walnuts. Where fish are not available or there is an aversion to eating more fish dietary supplements of concentrated fish oil capsules are an excellent alternative.
These Omega 3 fish oil supplements can provide the necessary Omega 3 fats that are lacking in the diet. Children with ADHD have been shown to improve their concentration, reading skills and general school performance within six to twelve months on such supplements. Supplementing the diet of children with ADHD for six to twelve months has been shown to improve their ability to concentrate, their reading skills have improved and their overall school performance has improved.
As a parent or care giver to any child who has ADHD you can improve their ability to focus, concentrate and their school grades by giving them Omega 3 fish oil capsules which are rich in the Omega 3 fats DHA and EPA. Choose a product that is pure and concentrated and has the highest levels of DHA and EPA fatty acids.
ADHD children can benefit more from natural supplements such as Omega 3 fish oil capsules than many pharmaceutical drugs.
Henry “Pops” Hugo recommends natural health supplements for children. Visit http://www.omega3life.info/ to get more information about concentrated Omega 3 Fish Oil Supplements suitable for your children.
Healthier Children are Happier Children!
Children of Alzheimer’s sufferers want to know their risk
Children of Alzheimer’s sufferers want to know their risk
Greg was a teenager when his grandfather told him and his brother, with increasing anger and frustration, “Dean, get out there and milk the cows!”
Read more on CNN
Children Problem ? Tips to Succeed in School
Have you ever wonder why your child is performing poorly in school? And why your neighbor’s child is always a top scorer? Did your neighbor do something which you do not aware of? Well, you should stop pondering right away! You will never be able to figure out by just thinking. To find out the cause, you will need information from either your child or the professionals.
Below are some great tips which you can apply to help turn your child’s academic grades in school from ‘F’s to ‘A’s.
1. Do you know what has gone wrong?
Sit down with your child and try to make the atmosphere as relaxing as possible to talk to your kid. Find out their thoughts and feelings about school. Are they finding study a chore? Are they bored by the syllabus in school? Are they socializing well with classmates? Have they been bullied in school? Are the teachers providing them with enough guidance and motivation? These are some important questions you should be asking as they will lead you to find out the real reason behind their poor performance.
2. Visit your child’s school
It is just too important for parents to understand their child thoroughly and know how their worlds look like. If you get to know that the problem actually started from the school, you will have no other option but to pay the principal a visit to solve the problem once and for all. If the problem can be resolved there and then, the solution would turn out to be an easy one. However, if the problem is too serious and may not be able to be resolved in the short run, it would be more practical for parents to put their child in another school or even better, home school their own child.
3. Learning disability
Many parents may choose to believe otherwise, but a child poor performance in school may be due to learning disability. Some common disability diagnose in children are dyslexia, attention Deficit Disorder, the inability to write, read or even do simple arithmetic. Studies have shown that at least one in every ten children is suffering from some form of learning disability.
If you are not sure, consult a professional who can diagnose your child. You may also like to do your own research by attending talks given by experts on related areas, searching through the internet and getting more information from the library. You can help your child better when you are armed with more knowledge.
4. Make learning a fun process
You child may find going to school a chore and waste of time. Whatever that related to school is simply no fun. The teachers in the school may not have made the process fun for the children to learn and hence, to solve the problem, you just have to do the job yourself.
It is no harm trying different ways and methods in teaching and getting your child to learn. Incorporate some games into the learning process so as to make it fun and to create the enthusiasm in them about education. Games like flash cards and board games are very common and effective.
You can get these teaching aids in the market. You can also easily get them by printing them out through certain websites in the comfort of your own home. In fact, you can obtain a lot of free and great information on parenting tips on some of these great websites, children’s problems, worksheets and educational games / activities for your children. Making your children’s learning process fun is important as they can enjoy their learning process which in turn helps them to retain more information.
Every parent want to give the best to their children, so never leave the problem to another person to handle. Your children’s future and happiness lies in your hand and it is you as parent who can make their future a better one. You have to be your children’s coach, mentor and teacher in order to guide them through their lives successfully.
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Jeff Boo is an Educator with many years of teaching experience and a Father of a pair of twins. Both he and his wife are very experience in handling children, so do log on to their informative blog at http://www.childrenproblemshelpdesk.com. If you are truly concern about your children’s learning journey, log on to http://www.essentialsforparents.com and sign up for your FREE instant access to the Children’s Resources Centre!
New Testing Requirements for Children With Disabilities a Plus for Virginia Schools
Previously, the Virginia schools were required to test, under the No Child Left Behind Act, many of its children with disabilities in reading, math and science, regardless of their ability to do so. Unless they were severely disabled, the children had to take state-required tests for their grade level — whether or not they had the skills and understanding. Thus, many of these special students failed the tests. Testing grades were third, eighth and 11th on an annual basis.
This caused several problems that were frustrating for both the Virginia schools educators and the children:
• Their test scores were pulling down the school state rankings. Virginia schools are required to meet annual student achievement goals based upon these test scores. If they do not meet the goals, Virginia schools experience many possible sanctions, such as losing students to better scoring schools, reorganizing or closing.
• It made the students feel like failures, since they do not have the capacity to participate fully in the testing process at their grade level.
• Virginia schools educators had no accurate indicator as to how well these students were progressing or failing. Since the testing was created for the non-disabled child at grade level, there was no accurate benchmark or test to show how these disabled children were progressing and what might be needed to do a better job for them.
In April 2007, the U.S. Education Department modified its rules governing the testing of special education children. For those Virginia schools students who are not apt to reach grade level achievement within the same timeframe as their peers without disabilities, they will be able to take a modified test.
Special tests will be written for individual students on their grade level content but at their level of understanding and ability. Otherwise, a Virginia schools fifth grade, disabled child with a third grade understanding will take a test at a third grade level of comprehension on the fifth grade content. To ensure the new regulations are not abused, schools can test up to an additional two percent of students, who meet the eligibility requirements, under the modified testing rules.
The federal government will give states more than $21 million to cover the cost of creating the new tests and guidelines for their use. The new tests are slated to be put into service by the 2008-2009 school year.
With the new changes, state rankings of the Virginia schools will more accurately reflect the true achievements (or lack thereof) of each school. Additionally, Virginia schools teachers will be able to use the test scores to target problem areas for each of these children. The students can more fully participate in the testing process, showing teachers and parents what they have learned and how they are progressing.
The new modifications for Virginia schools testing are a welcomed change by students, educators and parents alike, making the Virginia schools testing a more useful tool — not just a hit or miss measurement.
Patricia Hawke is an expert researcher and writer on real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations and education for relocating families. For more information please Virginia Schools
“How can a father help his children do better in school?” asks FESS PARKER, TV Father of the Year. ….. 1967 Encyclopaedia Britannica Ad, A5198.
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This Item is an original Magazine ad, taken from a vintage magazine of the year indicated. The ad is suitable for framing and displaying in your home or office. The scan of this item was taken through plastic film, however it is an accurate representation of the item. The nominal size is 10.5 inches by 14 inches…. More >>
“How can a father help his children do better in school?” asks FESS PARKER, TV Father of the Year. ….. 1967 Encyclopaedia Britannica Ad, A5198.