Ready for a New School Year

To be ready for a new school year we must plan ahead of time.  We must plan and must prepare for what could take place throughout the year.

There will be supplies that will be needed like backpacks, paper, pencils, and erasers.  Supplies that, though they may seem as common sense to most, are either out of reach for some due to financial factors or, for others, are expected to be supplied to the students by the schools.

There will be transportation needs like walking with a buddy, getting a ride from a friend, or taking public transit to and from school, in addition to other student activities that they may participate in either on or off campus.  How will you get to where you need to be? To school? To practice? To the study groups?  Students and parents must plan and coordinate these transportation logistics ahead of time.

There will be nutritional needs that also take priority in a child's education.  Proper nutrition plays an important role in the development of the child, as well as amount of energy that will be available for them to complete tasks from staying awake in class, to making the team, and even study sessions.  From breakfast to lunches, dinners and snacks, preparing to meet the nutritional needs of students should be a priority.

With the proper supplies, coordinated transportation, and right nutrition, students will have more energy focused on paying attention in class, and less energy worried about who can they get writing materials from, what are they going to eat when they become hungry, and how are they going to get home after school.

It takes time to plan ahead for the new school year, but it is worth it when it is done together between students and parents, classmates and neighbors, adult and children.  We can collaborate together and be ready for the school year if we just take the time.

Author - Manuel R. CortezRodas (Educator)

Copyright 2013.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

Year End Evaluation

Evaluating Education as the Year Ends

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas

As the year comes to an end we as educators should take a look back at the year in its entirety, the new school year, and look ahead to the new year.  If we have the fortune to be given a winter break, we should truly take the time to reflect on these three phases.  We cannot be ready to teach if we have not learn, and we cannot learn if we do not study.  It is part of our responsibility as educators to study, learn, and teach so that we can fully prepare our learners.

Evaluating the current school year

From the first day of school to the last day of the year, the current school year should be evaluated.  We should reflect on how we prepared to open the school year for our students, and how we welcomed them into our classrooms.  By now we should have a clear understanding of the educational level that our students have as individuals and as a classroom.  Students who are well prepared should be encouraged to continue pursuing further self-learning, while at the same time encouraging them to help other classmates by sharing their knowledge.  Students who were not prepared, have not caught up to their classmates, and are having a difficult time reaching the level required, should be our primary focus, and should be directed to further school resources and programs in order for them to reach an equal level of education.

Evaluating the year in its entirety

From the first school day of the year to the last day of the year, the year as a whole should be evaluated. We begun the year with a group of students who should have been able to learn, acquire, and demonstrate the knowledge necessary to advance to the next grade level.  During our summer break we should have taken the time to review, improve, and realign our lesson plans.  We have also began a new education cycle, with a new group of students, as we open a new school year.  It is this new group of students that we are now working with so that they learn, acquire, and demonstrate the knowledge necessary to advance to the next grade level.

Preparing for next year

From what we learn in our evaluation of the current school year and the year as a whole, we can gain the knowledge and develop the tools that we will need to help our students succeed.  Performing these evaluations will help us prepare for the next year.  As we are in our winter break, and as we do during our summer break, it is our responsibility as educators to continuously review, evaluate, and prepare so that we may also continuously maintain in our presence the students whom we are serving.

Copyright 2012.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.

Winter Break

Year End Review

Author: Manuel R. CortezRodas

Approaching Winter Break

  As we approach the winter break in most of our schools, it is a good time to take a look back at what has been accomplished since the school year started back in August. We have gone from the first day of school, to thanksgiving day, to the soon up coming winter festivities.  We have had our students for three months during which we have tried our best to educate them.  There have been lesson plans and homework that has been handed out and turned in.  There have also been quizzes, tests, and assignments that have been graded using the designated rubric.  By now we should be able to know where our students stand, and where they are going to go if they stay the course.

Year End Evaluation

  A good evaluation for the end of the year must take into account that it is not the end of the school year, but rather the end to the year.  This has the advantage of taking place before the half way mark to the actual school year.  Each student began the year at a different starting point.  Part of our responsibility as educators is to get them going at the same level and pace as the classroom as a whole.  As we close the year, and look back on three months of education, we should take the time to do a proper evaluation.  This evaluation should be done at the student, classroom, and curriculum level.

Preparing for the New Year

  This is a time to look forward toward the new year.  A time to look ahead to what our students still have to learn.  As we approach this winter break, we must approach the beginning of the new year as a time to press on with our educational goals.  Our students depend on us to instruct them properly and help them to plan their educational paths.  By preparing for the new year we can demonstrate to our students that, although we must make adjustments along the path, the overall goal is still the same.  Our goal is to educate, and to provide the best education for our students that we can offer them.

 

Copyright 2012.  MRCR Educational Consulting Firm.  All Rights Reserved.