COJ Catholic Progressive School

These books are mostly written by teachers for teachers. They range form the latest research on students, teachers talking about overcoming inequality to help students learn, and great techniques every teacher can use in their classroom. 1. Other People’s Children by Lisa Delpit Why it’s worth the read: According to Lisa Delpit, teachers and students have to understand one other for classrooms to succeed. Delpit analyzes the cultural differences between teachers and students and provides some insight as to how teachers can leave cultural baggage at the door to really support students’ needs. Delpit’s follow-up book, Multiplication Is For White People, further expands on Other People’s Children, analyzing the effect of the education reform movement on schools. 2. Savage Inequalities by Jonathan Kozol Why it’s worth the read: It provides a shocking look into just how unequal school can be for students living in different ZIP codes. Kozol shows that even resources and opp

Programming is the new literacy all kids can benefit from. If you've got school-age kids, you know when they're working on reading and math. But if their homework includes loops, goto commands, and branches, don't be alarmed. They're probably learning to code, and that's a very good thing. From Code.org's Hour of Code to coding camps and afterschool classes, computer programming is hot -- and, in a technology-fueled world that's only going to grow, coding is an invaluable 21st-century skill. Some forecasters are calling coding the new literacy because of what kids learn in the process. Coding helps kids develop essential skills such as problem solving and critical thinking. Plus, it encourages them to become creators, not just consumers, of the technology they use. Even kids who don't go on to become computer scientists will benefit from learning to speak and understand the language of coding. Here are some of our favorite tools to make learning

Helping your children enjoy reading is one of the most important things you can do as a parent and it's well worth the investment of your time and energy. Kids will learn reading skills in school, but often they come to associate reading with work, not pleasure. As a result, they lose their desire to read. And it is that desire—the curiosity and interest—that is the cornerstone to using reading and related skills successfully. By far the most effective way to encourage your children to love books and reading is to read aloud to them, and the earlier you start, the better. Even a baby of a few months can see pictures, listen to your voice, and turn cardboard pages. Make this time together a special time when you hold your kids and share the pleasure of a story without the distractions of TV or telephones. You may be surprised to find that a well-written children's book is often as big a delight to you as it is to the kids. And don't stop taking the time to read al

10 Ways Christians Can Transform The Modern Culture Work on yourself first. The only thing we fully control are our own personal decisions. So, if we want to have any influence over culture or see any positive changes happen, we need to work on our own lives first. The best way to change your life for the better is to abandon yourself to God’s grace. Evangelize, evangelize, evangelize. When we get to heaven, I believe the first question we will be asked is “who did you bring with you?” Jesus’ mission statement is “go and make disciples”. If we call ourselves His followers, we can’t avoid evangelizing – it is a core part of our identity in Christ. What can we offer our world that is better than the Good News of Jesus? Pray. Then pray some more. Any true transformation will take place in the hearts of others because of God’s grace being operative in their lives and them choosing it themselves. So, pray for them. Pray for yourself. There is no spiritual power without prayer. Your

Many people have reservations about the importance of pre-kindergarten education. This was clearly manifest in 2006 when the California legislature unsuccessfully attempted to pass a law that would make pre-school education mandatory for all children. Many Californians did not agree with the importance of using tax payer funds to fund mandatory pre-school programs, including parents desiring to educate their children themselves. Research has show that children enrolled in Head Start programs benefit by receiving formal education before kindergarten. According to some studies, children enrolled in these programs are more behaved and have higher IQ scores upon enrolling kindergarten than their peers without formal education. Likewise, it was shown that children enrolled in Head Start programs learned quicker than children not enrolled in these programs. Critics of pre-kindergarten education claim the differences between children enrolled in pre-school programs and children not rec

You can learn these precepts the way most people do--by getting them wrong and setting yourself back. But it doesn't have to be that way. And the more quickly you pick them up, the more successful you can be. Much of the knowledge we gain in business and in life we learn the hard way. But if you can learn the lessons before you make the mistakes, you can gain the advantage that much earlier--and free yourself from the struggle of getting it wrong. Here are 18 useful business lessons you don't have to learn the hard way: 1. Stand for something. Stand for something, even if it means standing alone. Because often times the one who flys solo has the strongest wings. 2. The antidote to stagnation is innovation. Learn to view innovation as opportunities for creativity. 3. People do business with people who make them feel special. It's an old chestnut, but it's true: The only way to get people to care about you is to care about them first. 4. In order to get

A study suggests that cool kids burn out quickly. Is that why so many successful businesspeople aren't cool at all? When I look at Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg, there’s one word that doesn’t come to mind. Cool. Here are these immensely successful men who epitomize cool in the way that Donald Trump epitomizes Californian surfing life. Indeed, the more I think of the enormously successful, the ridiculously wealthy and the staggeringly powerful, I rarely think of them as anything other than wearing dad-jeans at the weekends and reading spreadsheets in bed. I wondered why this might be. And then I was struck by an article in the Independent that crowed: “Cool Kids Can Become Losers In Later Life, Study Finds.” Devouring this more deeply, I discovered this chilling thought was stimulated by a University of Virigina study entitled: “Whatever Happened to the Cool Kids? Long-Term Sequelae Of Early Adolescent Pseudomature Behavior.” We should all worry abo

Why Early Education Is Vital Everyone has their own view on when a child should start school; while many kids begin to go to preschool as early as age three, some places in the world delay schooling until kids are six or seven. In studies of the US educational system, however, data points overwhelmingly toward the notion that when it comes to preschool, the benefits are enormous. If you attended preschool, you possibly remember it as a time filled with play-dough, block towers, story time, and snacks. Even though it may seem like a glorified play time to some, preschool nonetheless touts huge long and short-term benefits for those who attend. In the short-term, kids are often more socially and academically prepared for beginning elementary school, compared to their non-preschool attending counterparts. And in the long-term, kids who went to preschool tend to test higher in an array of subjects, particularly reading comprehension. Even as adults, kids who attended preschool still