Sr Dad

Senior Dad #60- Holiday Cheer  play >

Senior Dad #60- Holiday Cheer

12/2/2009 | Download File (101.20 MB) - right click to download

Buy fresh and support local farmers. Senior Dad Stan Goldberg visits the Alemany Farmer's Market with his family for the family's weekly visit.Sara Bennett co-authored “The Case Against Homework” with Nancy Kalish. Both have been guests on my show in the past. On this show I share with Sara some of my homework wins and losses and she shares with us what the last 3 years running stophomework.com was like.The Spark Program identifies at-risk middle-school students who need to be motivated by the relevancy of school and matches them with people in industry that are employed in the student’s “dream job”.  The student then becomes an intern at that profession for one semester going to the job after school hours. Chris Balme, Co-Founder and Executive Director, shares the genesis of Spark and what they are doing to reduce dropouts.  What type of job does a child want?

Senior Dad #58- Common Sense  play >

Senior Dad #58- Common Sense

6/17/2009 | Download File (23.93 MB) - right click to download

When school districts create short lists to evaluate their progress with their small schools, or want a road map to move toward small learning environments, or a coach or consultant to help them refine their small school directions, these short lists have one thing in common. That common element is Inquiry and Learning For Change, based in Oakland, California. John Watkins, Principal of the firm joins me to talk about small schools and a wide range of topics about how our schools and learning environments are changing and the political conditions that may help or inhibit this process. John Watkins- A thinking man’s perspective.Ellie Goldberg tells us about school food and allergiesA young reporter reveals the Tactile Dome

Senior Dad #56- Healthy, Happy Kid!  play >

Senior Dad #56- Healthy, Happy Kid!

5/4/2009 | Download File (26.95 MB) - right click to download

Amber LamprechtLearning and reading are unquestionably tied together. No doubt someone can learn without knowing how to read but it makes the acquisition of information a lot harder. Amber Lamprecht specializes in teaching different types of learners how to read. One of of techniques she uses is multi-sensory learning. We discuss this as well as how the 20 percent of our population that are dyslectic-thinkers need to be trained to use their talents to learn to read. We also focus on the effects on children when we delay addressing the issues around learning to read until later grades. Amber shares with us what parents should look for as signs that their child may need additional help in learning to read. Amber Lamprecht- it’s not as simple as ABC.Ellie GoldbergIf your child has allergies, it is important to have the child’s school engaged as a good- health partner. When starting a new school, the time to get acquainted with the school is the springtime before. Ellie Goldberg shares with us in a Senior Dad Brief that lasts 10 minutes 50 seconds. “How to prepare for a new school year for a child with allergies.”Mel Levine on Individual Education plan for all.Stan and a reporter give a crop report.

Senior Dad #54- Head Start, Then, Now and the Future  play >

Senior Dad #54- Head Start, Then, Now and the Future

3/9/2009 | Download File (34.14 MB) - right click to download

Todd Risley, noted researcher was one of the team that named “time outs”, a tool that parents have been employing as a technique to help them retain their sanity as their children grow. Todd’s major work, along with researcher Betty Hart, was a study that showed convincingly that the more a parent talks to their child, between birth and age three, the larger the child’s vocabulary, and the higher the child’s IQ. Start behind, stay behind. I recently learned of Todd’s passing in December 2008. As we remember the contributions of Todd I am broadcasting my interview with Todd from December 2006. The interview was conducted while Todd was home in his beloved Alaska. Todd told me he was at the end of the power grid, that after his house, technology ended. He was not far from being correct. The phone call dropped ten times during the interview and we had to pick up context and continuity on the fly. In the process I learned about his research, his misconceptions about Head Start, and the warmth and good nature of the man himself. Although the man is gone, his research, if implemented, will help scores of children to have better lives. Thank you Todd.Edward Zigler is Director Emeritus of the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University. He was the youngest member of the planning committee for Head Start and later served as its director. Recently he has been a member of President Obama’s Childhood Transition Team.Ed speaks to us about the past and the future. We talk about the persistent economic education gap, about charter schools, preschools, early childhood education, and developing integrated educational communities. Arguably there are a few educators in America as well qualified as Edward Zigler to help us chart the direction of American education for the future.Stan tells of no more Princess’s

Senior Dad #53- Less Money, More Issues  play >

Senior Dad #53- Less Money, More Issues

2/12/2009 | Download File (25.30 MB) - right click to download

This show has two “Briefs”. Mel Levine chats with me about “Trust”. I am also joined by Susan Barnes the founder of “Classes for Causes and we learn what is happening there. The last story on the show is from Mike Henry an involved parent. We here the frightening escalation of punishment his son received from the school district and in a post script I share another “Racism” story in it’s not racism, it’s EGO.

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