Mr. McFarland's News

Living in the age of the internet, our students have access to as much information as they can handle.  Gone are the days of teachers possessing all the knowledge, and in 2 semesters each year, imparting that knowledge to a group of 25 students.  Anyone has access to the knowledge; the challenge presented to children in this generation is what do they do with that knowledge?  Researchers are finding that speaking about the knowledge students have helps them better understand the knowledge they have.  In other words, the amount of talk that students do on particular concepts is correlated with their ability to understand concepts.

According to research from an Educational Leadership article, one study found that in high-achieving classrooms, teachers talked about 55 percent of the time, but in classrooms in which students were identified as low-achieving, the teacher talked 80 percent of the time.   In the classrooms at Heritage, teachers utilize a lot of strategies to help students build their ability to speak.  Think-pair-share, inside-outside circle, and talking chips are just a few of the cooperative learning strategies teachers expose students to on a daily basis.

Knowing that the amount of talk that students do correlates with their achievement, it is important this opportunity is given to students at home as well.  We have concluded that the dinner table is the best time for our kids to share in my own household (although that does not happen every night)!  Certainly, schedules are busy with soccer, basketball, cheerleading, music performances, etc.  However, finding the time to visit about school is critical for the development of our students.  The following are some prompts parents could use to help get more out of the conversations:

·        Can you tell us more?

·        Would you say that again?

·        Can you give me another example?

·        Take your time, I can see you’ve got further thoughts about this.

·        Why do you think that?

·        Where could we find that information you just brought up?

I want to express my gratitude for our community’s support for our students.  Without continued support from home, our students would not be as successful.  Our Hound Dog parents do so much for our students and our school, and we truly appreciate the many ways our community supports us.  I hope everyone enjoys this winter break with some rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation.  Thank you for a great semester and I look forward to a wonderful 2^nd semester.

-Scott McFarland