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Capital Region BOCES
Archive for 2014
A look of alarm crossed my son’s face when I suggested there would be only learning gifts under the tree this year. “That’s a horrible idea,” he said, as visions of flash cards, “boring educational books,” dictionaries and maps danced through his head. I assured him he had nothing to fear – most of the […]
Students have greater access to reading materials as electronic devices are incorporated into classroom learning, but some educators question how well students comprehend when reading in a digital format. The question is, can students actually “go deep” with digital reading? “Deep reading” is a concept frequently connected to Common Core Learning Standards. It’s slow reading, […]
In our electronic world, everyone can be a writer. From blogs to Facebook posts to tweets, there’s a place for everyone who has access to the internet to publicly express themselves. But does everyone do it well? No, hardly. Chances are you’ve cringed at a Facebook post or email riddled with spelling and grammatical errors. […]
Shorter days and longer nights are the norm in the Northeast this time of year. Instead of begrudging the diminished daylight, use the coming December solstice as an opportunity to help your child learn some science. The winter solstice is considered the start of winter in the Northern Hemisphere – or at least the astronomical […]
The suggestion that we “do something different” this Thanksgiving was met by a long silence. “Why would we do something different?” asked our daughter, her tone incredulous. The start of college this past August has meant a time of significant adjustment for our oldest child. She and our two other children have only ever known […]
Thanksgiving and Pilgrims usually go together. For most people, the holiday conjures up images of black and white garb with buckles on the hats and shoes*. At this time of year, we ponder a primitive feast 400 years in our past shared between a handful of English settlers and their Wampanoag neighbors. But, Thanksgiving isn’t […]
Seniors deep into completing college applications are wrestling with one of the most personal parts of the process: the college essay. While grades matter and extracurricular activities count, many college counselors will tell you that a college essay is where you can truly set yourself apart from the rest of the pack. “Let your life […]
They’ve been called master architects and engineers, but they’ve never spent a day in an actual classroom. Instead, they perfect their innate talent by watching and doing. They’re beavers, an animal we became curious about when we noticed several trees down alongside a small pond near our house. They leave in their wake a telltale […]
Research supports the idea that gratitude is good for us. It helps us form, sustain and strengthen supportive relationships, and contributes to the feeling that we’re connected to a caring community. This is true regardless of our age. According to researchers at The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, “Evidence from […]