Pressure to Excel Can Create Too Much Tension For Teens

By Mary Niederberger, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

When is enough, well, enough?

For teens in the race to try to get into the colleges of their choice, the decision can be excruciating, the process exhausting.  There’s always one more Advanced Placement course to squeeze in, one additional activity or sport to add to the list. And then there’s community service and part-time jobs to consider as well.

“I feel like I should challenge myself as much as possible,” said Marika Countouris, 17, a junior at Woodland Hills High School who is taking three advanced placement courses — English, calculus and U.S. history — and is a member of the marching band, on the swim team and has a lead in the school musical. She also takes private voice and piano lessons and sings with her church choir.

“You never know if you are looking at a college and there could be that one person they are looking at and it’s either you or them and they have that one more activity than you and they get in,” Marika said.

As high-achieving students push themselves further and further, parents, educators, counselors and physicians find themselves questioning: How much is too much?

Balance, not burnout
The issue was the topic of a panel discussion last month at Mt. Lebanon High School, which held a forum called “Striking a Balance: Helping our kids thrive, not just survive.”

The panel included professionals and students who gave their views to an audience of parents and community members.

The point of the discussion was to try to figure out the balancing act between pushing students hard enough to succeed but not so hard that they crack.

The discussion followed an airing last spring by the PTA council of the film “Race to Nowhere,” which depicts the hectic lifestyle of American teens as they strive to be the best in academics, athletics and other areas, while sometimes burning themselves out in the process.

“Do kids need to compete in a complex world, yes. But at what cost? There’s always a balance to be struck,” said Jeff Longo, student assistance program coordinator at North Allegheny Senior High School and a counselor at Outreach Teen & Family Services Inc.

Mr. Longo and other educators said that some students can easily handle multiple advanced classes and activities and athletics. But others cannot — and should not feel the pressure to do so at any cost.

Jennifer Winge, dean of admissions at The College of Wooster and a member of the Mt. Lebanon panel, said she understands the mixed messages teens are getting about college acceptance. She said while most colleges look for students who have succeeded in rigorous academic programs, they aren’t necessarily looking for a laundry list of activities.

“I ask the students what was their most meaningful activity,” Ms. Winge said. “I say tell me about your involvement with that organization.”

However, she noted that the Common Application — a college application used by more than 400 colleges, including the Ivy League and other exclusive colleges — used to have four lines for activities and now has 10 lines.
“There is pressure to fill those spaces,” she said.

Pressure points
Marika said she put the pressure on herself, starting in about eighth grade, when she decided she wanted to major in musical theater in college and wanted to get into a good school. She said her parents sometimes worry about her packed schedule, and she admits that she often feels overwhelmed but said she reminds herself that her extraordinary efforts will pay off.

Jonathan Pletcher, clinical director of adolescent medicine at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh of UPMC, said students such as Marika, who are self-motivated, are an exception.

Dr. Pletcher said he sees stressed-out teens daily and he believes the root of the problem lies in the fact that teens are trying to meet expectations set by their parents, peers or society.

“My experience is it’s quite the exception that the teen is motivated themselves and it’s not some outside force,” Dr. Pletcher said. “If not parents, it’s the media, community or other teens who reinforce the message that students need to compete to be the best, not only in academics but in many other areas as well. It may be about winning the dance competition or getting onto that travel basketball team.”

At the Mt. Lebanon panel discussion, high school teachers Tom Jackson and Dan Petrich talked about pressure in the community that compels parents and their children to get involved in numerous activities and to excel in academics.

“It’s hard to live in a community and make independent decisions because you hear parents talking about how many activities their kids are involved with,” said Mr. Petrich, a father of three who lives in Mt. Lebanon.

Emma Pellicano
In addition, he said the wide array of AP classes offered at the high school prompts students to feel pressure to take all of them. “We want to offer courses that are challenging to kids, but if kids feel the obligation to take all of them, no one can sustain that,” he said.

Students on the panel said in most cases they have made the choices that have loaded their schedules and they’ve watched their peers do the same. Pressure from their parents comes into the equation when parents try to manage the students’ progress or performance in the courses and activities they’ve chosen, the students said.

“Parents need to stop freaking out all of the time about everything and save the freakouts for the big stuff,” said Emma Pellicano, a Mt. Lebanon senior, who is taking two AP courses, is a standout on the girls basketball team and plans to attend Allegheny College.

Zeke Kaplan
Emma and classmates Zeke Kaplan and Nate Bateman said one of the biggest stresses for students is the constant attention that parents pay to grades. Online programs allow instant access to grades as soon as they are posted by teachers, and parents often see their children’s grades before the students do.

Zeke, Nate and Emma said parents should not “freak out” about one bad grade but instead give their teens the chance to work their way back to a better overall grade in the course.

Mr. Jackson agreed with the students about online grade posting.

“Kids don’t have time to fix their own problems,” he said. “There’s less places for them to hide.”
The backdrop to the academic pressures are the social pressures students feel to fit in, be considered “cool” and be accepted.

Nate Bateman
Zeke, who is editor-in-chief of the high school literary magazine, said sometimes social pressure is more intense than the academic pressure and sometimes it comes more from parents than peers. He said social pressure causes students to drink or try drugs to fit into a popular crowd.

“I definitely think that if you were desperate to be cool then you could start up the party lifestyle, and I feel as though the parents are in many cases the ones partially to blame,” Zeke said.

Dr. Pletcher and Mr. Longo said they both have seen students who engage in risky behaviors with drugs and alcohol to be accepted into socially popular groups. But they’ve also seen teens who abuse drugs and alcohol to withstand the pressure of their schedules and the expectations they face.

They cited the use by teens of prescription drugs Adderall and Ritalin, which are prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but provide enhanced energy when used by those not diagnosed with the disorder. They’ve also seen teens using alcohol and marijuana as stress relievers.

“Marijuana is alive and well, I can tell you that,” Mr. Longo said.

Take time, step back
Both Mr. Longo and Dr. Pletcher said they believe teaching teens to live a balanced lifestyle will better prepare them for college and life than a hectic lifestyle packed beyond their capabilities. Both suggest parents and students take time to evaluate their schedules and to choose coursework and activities that are meaningful and challenging — but not burdensome.

“There is no manual on this. Parents need to be in tune with their kids,” Mr. Longo said. “They need to learn how to push, but not too much.”

And, they said, parents need to learn to let their children fail. Both the adults and teens on the Mt. Lebanon panel agreed.

“We don’t need to be nagged about things we know we need to do, like college applications and school projects,” Emma said. “Even if it means I have to stay up most of the night to meet a deadline. I’ve learned from that. The next morning isn’t too much fun.”

One mother who has learned to back off is Terri Kisan, a McKeesport mother of seven who, by her own admission, participated in the rat race with her three older children, ages 20, 18 and 17, by encouraging them to take numerous AP courses for which they received college credit, signing them up for competitive swim leagues from an early age through high school and getting them involved in theater arts and music activities.

But with her four younger children, ages 14. 12, 10 and 8, she’s decided to forgo organized sports, instead encouraging them to play outside with neighbors.

“I pushed to have [the older children] tested for the gifted program and I pushed the AP classes and all of the activities,” she said. “Everybody played basketball in the winter and baseball in the spring.” But she started to notice burnout in her children and in her family.

“It just became too much. We were tired. We were up late. We weren’t eating well. So we changed. It was scary at first. I worried that I was depriving them of something,” said Mrs. Kisan, who became a McKeesport Area school director in December.

“The jury is still out, but I think in the end, you get to the same place. You get to wherever you need to be, but I don’t think you have to be busy all day.”

Do You Suspect Your Child Might Have a Disability?

By Janet Mainz, Clonlara Educational Advisor

“What do I do now?” This is the question many parents and guardians ask themselves when they suspect their child has a disability. The path from identifying the signs of a potential problem, to the evaluation, and to diagnosis can be a scary and uncertain one. Parents are often unsure what to do when they suspect their child has a disability. There are resources and places parents can turn to for support and information. First, it is important to remember that you are not alone. According to Wikipedia (n.d.), of the estimated 6.5 billion people counted in the 2004 census, almost 100 million of those people are considered disabled (“Disability,” para. 56). If you suspect your child has a disability, there are several steps you can take to ensure they are properly evaluated. This article will explore two possible avenues on how to get your child assessed for disabilities. The first is the public school system or “public agency,” and the second is through a private entity.

It is important to remember that even though your child is homeschooled, they are still entitled to services, including evaluation through their public school district where your child’s private school resides. If you are considering using your local school district, you will need to contact them to request an evaluation. Generally the special education director for the school district can direct you to the appropriate professional on staff to answer your questions. According to IDEA, the Individual with Disability Education Act of 2004 (section 300.301), a parent, child, or public agency may make a request for an initial evaluation to determine if the child has a disability. The evaluation must take place within 60 days of receiving parental consent to the evaluation. The initial evaluation must include the procedures for determining if the child has a disability and the educational needs of the child (U.S. Department of Education, n.d). It is important to note that accepting the public school’s help in diagnosing your child does not mean you have to enroll your child or accept any other services from the public schools. Moreover, it is wise to copy all documentation and correspondences that occur between the public agency and yourself. The policies involved in requesting an initial evaluation varies within school districts.

Equally important, there are circumstances when a family requests an independent initial evaluation. One reason is that a family would like to remain independent from the public schools. Requesting an independent education evaluation can be obtained in two ways. First, according to IDEA (section 300.502), the parent or guardian can request the public school district to provide information about where the family can obtain an independent education evaluation. It is important to note, however, that the public agency is allowed to ask why the family would rather havean independent evaluation rather than use the public agency. The family may decline to answer, without affecting their right to receive the information from the public agency (U.S. Department of Education, n.d). The public school may or may not be required to pay for an independent education evaluation. Please reference the law for the specific circumstances when the public agency is responsible for paying for the educational evaluation. Second, a parent or guardian can circumvent the public school entirely and seek out professionals who are approved to diagnose disabilities. Depending on the reasons for concern, there are a variety of professionals a parent or guardian can turn to for an evaluation. These professionals include, but are not limited to, an audiologist, an occupational therapist, a clinical psychologist, an educational psychologist, a school psychologist, a psychiatrist, a speech-language pathologist, or a physician. Sometimes it might be necessary for the child to see more than one professional for an appropriate diagnosis.

Furthermore, the evaluation procedures will vary in length and complexity, depending on the type of concerns in question, the opinion of the evaluator, and the child’s performance in their homeschool environment or community. Also, according to greatschools.org, it is important to note that one assessment is not enough to diagnose a student with an impairment (“Special Education Evaluation: An Overview,” n.d., para.10). Multiple measures are often used to appropriately evaluate all the skills and deficits of a child. Likewise, no single measure can access the multitude of skills and deficits a child might possess. A thorough explanation of the assessments given, and why they were chosen, should be outlined to the parent or guardian. The professional shall provide a detailed report of assessment results, including the determination outcome; that is, do they meet the federal requirements for a diagnosis in an area of special education?

Also, keep in mind that whether or not you go through the public schools or seek an independent evaluation, it is important that the assessments administered seek to explain the reasons why you are referring your child in the first place. Consequently, if you suspect your child of having a hearing loss, an evaluator will most likely not administer “The Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration.” Likewise, it is important to choose an evaluator qualified to diagnose children with the type of disability you believe they have. For example, a clinical psychologist can diagnose a person with attention deficit disorder, but an audiologist is often the professional to turn to if you believe your child has an auditory processing disorder, a type of learning disability. Above all, the professional you select for your evaluation should listen to your concerns and provide you with information on who would be the most qualified professional to diagnose your child.
Following the completion of the evaluation, your child will or will not be given a diagnosis. If you do not agree with the diagnosis or the lack thereof, you are free to seek additional opinions or testing, depending on the findings. Most importantly, the information obtained can be used to tailor your child’s education and can provide a clearer picture on how best to educate and serve your child’s educational, mental, physical, and emotional needs.

For many parents, finding out that their child has a disability can be devastating. The steps to diagnosis can seem daunting and confusing to many. Parents or guardians should remember that many other parents are in the same predicament, and that there are many supports and services available to walk them through this process. IDEA is the federal law protecting students with disabilities. Individual states have mandates in addition to the federal laws. Check on your state government’s website for their special education rules and regulations. A list of support agencies and a link to the IDEA legislation follow this article.

Resources
Disability. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disability
Great Schools Staff. (n.d.). Special Education Evaluation: An Overview. Retrieved from http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/legal-rights/666-special-education-evaluation-an-overview.gs?page=1
U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Building the Legacy: IDEA 2004. Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/
Special Education Support and Advocacy Groups:
1.) http://www.wrightslaw.com/
2.) http://www.children

What’s Happening at Clonlara School? Our Upcoming Events:

2012 Winter Writing Contest, sponsored by Clonlara School and New Point Learning Center

Writing Workshop: February 4th, 10am – 2pm at New Point Learning Center

Entry Deadline: February 17th at 5pm

Grades 7-12. Creative writing, research writing, poetry and ACT response categories.  A valuable writing workshop will be offered and prize packages for all seven categories.   For more details visit our writing contest page.

Garage Sale – sponsored by Progessive Education Consortium, hosted by Clonlara School

February 11, 2012, 9:00 am – 3:00 pm

Fund raising event!  Help the Progressive Education Consortium raise funds for their student members to attend a field trip together.  We are hoping that our students can attend the NCACS conference in the spring, or maybe camp together.

Open House

February 16, 2012, 6:00-7:30pm

Visit our campus to learn about how we can help your student thrive in our progressive and unique academic environment. You can tour our facility, meet with our teachers and get answers to your specific questions about your student.  We will also have visual arts on display and a dance demonstration.

“Play Again” Film Screening and Discussion – sponsored by Progressive Education Consortium, hosted by Clonlara School

March 1, 2012, 6:00-8:30pm

Join us for the PEC sponsored film screening and discussion about the film Play Again from Bullfrog Communities.  6:00 arrival and tours, movie will start promptly at 6:30.

PEC Lecture Series, “Interactive Metronome Improves Focus” – sponsored by Progressive Education Consortium, hosted by Clonlara School

March 14, 2012, 6:00-7:30pm

Join us for an Interactive Metronome presentation and free hands-on participation.  Paul Sikorski, from Michigan Peak Performance, will be here with a power point presentation, research studies, and the actual metronome.

Open House

May 8, 2012, 6:00-7:30pm

Visit our campus to learn about how we can help your student thrive in our progressive and unique academic environment. You can tour our facility, meet with our teachers and get answers to your specific questions about your student.

Community Service Enchances our Student’s Learning

Many high school programs incorporate community service projects within their curriculum.  More and more high schools are relying on these types of activities to add a hands-on look at the outside world.   Clonlara School is no different, although we have made it a requirement and started doing community service at the inception of our high school program in 1983.  Per Pat Montgomery, our founder, “It has always been a part of both the campus and the home based curriculum for older kids.”   Each high school head teacher has run the program differently.  Currently students have to meet a 45 hour, per year, requirement.  During the year we do several things as a group, and then students will supplement their hours by doing service within the community that they have arranged on their own.  So far in this school year our students have worked at Sunseed Farm, which is a local CSA farm and they have participated in Operation Good Cheer.  Independently we have students who volunteer at PetCo, a local public school library, in their places of worship, various other places and work on project right here that benefit our school.

Pictures of our students in action at Operation Good Cheer:

One parent spoke about the value of students doing community service activities versus participating in food drives or collection activities.  Not that she thought those activities didn’t have merit, but she felt that the students getting out in the community really opens their eyes to what others face, while they are living a life filled with cell phones, game consoles and rides to and from school daily.   Plus she felt the value when they are actually doing the work versus a parent buying a bag a groceries for the student to donate was of greater value.  Thankfully, this parent is very active in helping our teachers arrange different activities for our students to participate in.

Edutopia thought the question of community service being a part of high school was a valuable enough question to ask – http://www.edutopia.org/poll-schools-require-community-service.  It seems, as of this writing, that 44% of respondents (out of over 1600) felt there was value in a high school incorporating community service.  There is strong evidence that community service for students is valuable.  We see some of those benefit here in our building when our students return with smiles on their faces and pride in their steps.  They indeed do feel good about themselves and the work they have given – whether it’s from their heart or because we say they have too.  Participating in community is a learned skill, and reinforced skill.  If we teach students to do and/or reinforce what families are doing in their own way at home, then it begins to be a part of a student’s thinking.  Never being exposed the opportunity doesn’t mean students don’t want to or see the value in volunteering, it simply means they may never have been given the chance.  And obviously, the benefits are not just for the students.

For over 25 years our high school program has found success in having community service as part of our programs.  That will continue and who knows where it may lead one of our young students.

Student Responses to RSA Animate – Changing Education Paradigms

Fabulous!!!!   Most of us have probably seen this, but someone gave me the great idea of, “get your student’s response.”  So today, we showed this video to a group of about 12 high school students and asked for their response.   These students are in a small, private setting.  In a multi-age, progressive learning environment.   Every student on our campus has an individualized plan that meets their learning needs, styles and interests.  Most of the students chose to respond in short format and/or with a drawing – although that does not mean their response was any less “right” than the students who chose to turn in a written response.  So…..

Watch the video and then see what our kids think.

VIDEO:  http://comment.rsablogs.org.uk/2010/10/14/rsa-animate-changing-education-paradigms/

RESPONSES:

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Written Responses:

I believe public-school-style teaching is often difficult and sometimes impossible for someone to learn by. There is no individual attention or instructions. Kids are treated as if thousands of them can learn in the exact same way. Here at Clonlara, they understand kids all learn differently. The teachers work hard to find new ways to motivate us to learn. Here we get individual attention. We aren’t handed a text book and we don’t have boring packets of questions shoved down our throats. What we do is look at the credit we needs and choose what we want to learn in each needed subject. The school is completely our own. Personalizing schooling is key. And that’s what Clonlara does.
–Lisa

At Clonlara, we are snowflake kids

All children are not the same. Just like snowflakes, each child is different. In public school, people are treated like cattle. We all start school when we are about 5. School is where we start to “learn”, yet what we are taught in public school is how to memorize things in a book and answer questions when the “correct” answers are in the back – and DONT LOOK!!! But here at Clonlara, we are all doing something different and individual. Our classes are tailored to our learning styles. Most of us here don’t take standardized tests, but we all do projects to show how much we have learned – not just memorized.
–Bennett

These responses summarize that our students seem to feel that have a little bit more freedom here than in other environments (mostly they compared to public school).  We try to teach that with freedom there comes responsibility and accountability.  We try to teach there is consequences to your choices.

WE’D LOVE TO HEAR WHAT YOU THINK!!!  Either about the video or our student’s thoughts.   To see more of our student’s work visit their blog at http://clonlarathoughtz.wordpress.com/.

Alternative Education Students ARE Getting into Top Colleges

It’s college application season, and we know it is more than possible for students educated outside of the public school system to get into great colleges and it’s worth examining what’s needed to make that happen. Those of us in alternative education are a resourceful bunch, and we know that there’s more than one way to skin a cat (or produce a well-rounded student). That’s a good thing, because it will take a little savvy to navigate the college application and acceptance process.

We should first point out that colleges each have their own guidelines and policies regarding homeschool and alternative education students. For this reason, the process of putting together application materials is a little more demanding for alternatively educated students, because they don’t have the same materials provided to them that public school students do. Some universities require extra paperwork and even extra test scores or reference letters; others don’t ask for anything more than what a “traditional” student would provide. As far as the baseline requirements for acceptance go, these vary by state and by school, but generally speaking students need:

•    Three or four years of study in the core academic subjects (Math, English, Science, Social Science)
•    At least two years of a foreign language
•    Community service hours
•    Activities or extracurriculars that indicate a special interest or ability in some area

(College Guide has a very informative list of thirty colleges and their application requirements for homeschooled students.)

So how do alternative education students (particularly homeschoolers) prove that they meet their dream college’s requirements? Where public school students have transcripts generated for them by their high schools, alt. ed. students are left to their own devices to compose a comprehensive record of their accomplishments. Some homeschoolers dual-enroll with public schools and graduate with a diploma and/or a transcript from that school. Many alternative schools (like Clonlara School) provide transcripts or some other kind of academic record for their students, whether they plan to go to college or not—these kinds of records are also required to apply for many jobs and volunteer opportunities.

Each school or family takes a different approach to this task, but it is widely accepted that the transcript or academic record should be as detailed as possible. In the “Tips for Home Schooled Students” section on its website, Princeton University states that “The more you can document for us and describe what you have done during your high school years, academically and otherwise, the better.” All academic work, extracurricular activities, professional pursuits, community service, tutoring, special projects, and any other activities that have contributed to the student’s learning should be included. One homeschooling mom kept track of all of the books her children read in the course of their high school home educations.

While homeschooled and alternative education students generally don’t run into any issues writing their essays that public school students wouldn’t, there is one other aspect of the college application that can present a special challenge: the reference letter. This isn’t too troublesome for students who go to alternative schools, but it can be a little tricky for homeschoolers, since their teachers are often their parents, and a parent’s letter could seem too biased. Collegeboard.com recommends asking “at least one unrelated adult who knows you well to write a recommendation — the leader of a club you are a member of, an employer or the manager of a volunteer program.” Coaches, tutors, outside instructors, orchestra conductors: these are all great people for writing reference letters.

Though public school students receive many supports from their schools during the college application process, alternatively-educated students are fully capable of putting together remarkable applications and getting into the country’s greatest universities.

Bonding in the Rain

by Martha Rhodes

Building on the article “What Clonlara Students Learn Outside the Classroom,” let’s look at what happens when Clonlara students use the out-of-doors as a classroom………………………..

The first week of school our entire student body, and staff, attended an all school camping trip.  This year we went to Friend’s Lake in Chelsea, Michigan.  Imagine the benefit of taking 30 kids camping in the pouring rain (which it rained both days we were gone), complaining the entire time, sleeping on the floor in wood cabins, cooking over an open fire, and having no indoor plumbing.   At the time the trip was planned it sounded like a good idea – everyone but me, the principal, was to attend.  As the trip got closer the staff thought it would be good for the students to see me in a different environment than school, but I argued my son (who attends the school) wouldn’t get the full benefit from his mother being present.  To no avail…………I got out voted.

The bonding that happened in the rain really was amazing.  Being outside of the classroom really was a different experience.   I saw students who would normally not interact with each other help get a fire started, help each other cook dinner, and try things to keep themselves busy in the rain that some may not have attempted in another situation.  Everyone laughed, including me.   I saw students having great conversations with each other and with the staff.   And I got to see my staff in a totally different light.   I’m not sure any of us learned much about the ABCs and we didn’t take any academic books, but we learned how to get along, we learned about each other, we learned how to be a little more tolerant, we learned a few new things, and we learned that we could ‘do it.’

I really do have the most amazing staff and students in Ann Arbor!!!  I have a new appreciation for the staff and how they do their jobs – a whole new perspective and respect.

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As it turned out, there wasn’t enough room for me to spend the night (plus I had to go home to let the dog out) but I returned early the next morning with coffee for the staff and all was forgiven.   Going into the trip I kept thinking of ways to get out of it, but afterwards I’m really glad that my staff insisted.  It was truly an eye opening experience.  Wonder where we will go next year????

What Clonlara Students Learn Outside The Classroom

By Marie Schutt

An education can’t be defined by the walls of the classroom. In their 2008 study titled “Developing Citizens: The Impact of Civic Learning Opportunities on Students’ Commitment to Civic Participation”, Joseph E. Kahne and Susan E. Sporte surveyed high school students in Chicago to examine the impact that volunteerism and community service have on students’ civic involvement. They found that students who were more active in school and extracurricular activities, and who felt more like they belonged at the school tended to report “higher levels of commitments to civic participation”. These, and the results of similar studies, all seem to point to one overarching trend: that the kind of hands-on learning that happens through volunteering and community service has positive effects on academics, citizenship, and personal development.

The 2010 New York Times article “The Benefits of Volunteerism, If The Service is Real” discusses the many personal benefits of volunteering if the intention is genuine. The article cites another study carried out by Kahne and colleagues, this one in California, where they found that high school students who were engaged in community service of some kind were more likely to be involved in civic service in their lives after graduation. Most striking, perhaps, in terms of students’ personal growth and citizenship, is the finding that students who were involved in volunteer work (whether it was required or not) were more likely to indicate that they’d vote when eligible than those who weren’t. Students were asked about voting twice: once at the beginning of their high school career, and once at the end. Those who weren’t involved in volunteering and answered no to the first time were much more likely to answer with a ‘yes’ the second time if they’d spent time involved in some kind of civic or community service in between. The study also found that students who had some kind of outlet to discuss and reflect upon their service experiences tended to get more out of the work.

At Clonlara we not only recognize that community involvement is crucial to a student’s education; we require it, for graduation from both our campus and our home-based programs. And though some may argue that required or mandatory community service defeats the purpose of volunteering, we have already come up with our own solution to this problem: our students pursue their interests and passions in their volunteer work and civic involvement. As with many other aspects of their Clonlara educations, students get to choose how to how and where to serve their communities (although we do place limits on volunteering through churches or religious organizations.) Their service is meaningful, and allows many of our students to try out potential career paths. For students who have never held a job, community service provides valuable working and skill-building experience.

Clonlara Campus students have put many hours of their time into a diverse array of projects, including the following:

- Food Gatherers (a program that distributes millions of pounds of food to needy families in Washtenaw County)
- Growing Hope (a program that supports and advocates sustainable food and health equity)

-Great Strides (a therapeutic riding stable)
- University of Michigan Spectrum Center (a center for student-centered education, outreach, support and advocacy for LGBT issues)
- The Michigan Abilities Center (a center for healing, teaching, and innovative equine therapy)
- The Young Actors Guild (an Ann Arbor production company and resource for education through drama)
- Peace Neighborhood Center (provides support/programming for children, families and individuals experiencing social/economic difficulties)

We’ve also had students pursue projects on their own in their communities, including creating art for donation and installation at a local library to promote the message “reading is cool” and working with the “Planned Pethood Adoption Program” at the local Petco. Students also help out around the school with yard projects and clean up, and some students also do their community service work through their families’ place of worship.

 

While almost all American public schools mandate some kind of community service for graduation, these programs don’t always meet their full potential to foster the kind of character-building and civic awareness that we see develop in our students. We do find that an hour requirement is necessary, but the point is not to simply rack up volunteer hours until the numbers add up. It is simply to ensure that our students have adequate time to learn through service in the world beyond their homes or classrooms.

Sources: http://aer.sagepub.com/content/45/3/738.short

Learning Styles – Which One, or Ones, Match Your Student

Clonlara School recognizes that children are smart in many different ways. There isn’t just one expression of intelligence, and it can’t be quantified with one number. Each child’s learning needs are as unique as his or her personality, so taking a “one size fits all” approach to education doesn’t make much sense. This is why families choose to homeschool: children’s educations are tailored exactly to their learning needs, by educators (often parents) who know them best. The beauty of homeschooling is that it is a direct educational response to each student’s unique intelligence gifts.

Defining intelligence can be a tricky business. In an interview with Simon Hanson at Brain Connection, Howard Gardner challenges what he says is the ‘standard view of intelligence: “The standard view of intelligence, held since the beginning of the century by most psychologists, is that there is a single intelligence. We are born with it, we can’t change it very much, and psychologists can measure it with a simple instrument. I feel that each of these claims is wrong.” Instead, he argues, there are several distinct types of intelligence, and “From an evolutionary point of view, it seems probable that each intelligence evolved to deal with certain kinds of contents in a predictable world.” (From his website’s FAQ) Gardner pioneered the theory of multiple intelligences with the publication of Frames of Mind: The theory of multiple intelligences in 1983, initially listing seven and then adding the eighth, Naturalistic intelligence, in 1999 (source). Elsewhere in his FAQ, Gardner recommends observing students’ behavior and filling out questionnaires in order to determine a student’s learning strengths and weaknesses.

At Clonlara School, our campus instructors utilize a learning styles inventory to assess a student’s strengths and weaknesses. The test we use gives multiple scenarios as possible answers (for example, “When you study for a test, would you rather: a) read notes, read headings in a book, and look at diagrams or illustrations b) have someone ask you questions, or repeat facts silently to yourself c) write things out on index cards and make models or diagrams”) and tallies up students’ scores in different categories to determine the student’s learning style. A summary of the different learning styles is available here.

Too often, children whose learning styles do not conform to the educational models of our institutions are labeled “problem children” or are funneled into remedial or disciplinary programs that don’t actually help them. A student who is constantly fidgeting, moving around in his or her seat or even getting up to visit different areas of the classroom during instruction cannot be simply dismissed as a disruptive presence who deserves a time-out, but considered rather as a child who might score highly in the Bodily/Kinesthetic category. Having to sit still and passively listen for long periods of time would be difficult for such a student. If tactile and physical activities like drama, games or building projects were integrated into the material, would this student be more focused? Maximizing a student’s education by catering to different learning styles helps everyone, because it allows students to use their strengths while working on their weaker learning styles. Employing multiple intelligences and learning styles in teaching also provides educators with a greater array of teaching options.

Have you taken a multiple intelligences inventory? Whether you’re a student or not, it may be worth your while to learn a little more about how you uniquely process information. The one we use and recommend can be found here.

Clonlara Campus School Answers the Question, “Why Do I Have To Learn This Stuff?

Did you know that school starts up in less than two weeks? The first day of classes on Clonlara’s campus is September 6th, and while we can’t wait to see our students again, we’re also incredibly busy gearing up for another great school year. Will your child be joining us on campus this fall?

If your child is constantly asking “Why do I have to learn this stuff?”, don’t fret—it doesn’t mean your child is lazy, or a bad student. It means that they need instruction that supports this line of inquiry, and encourages exploring how the information they’re taught connects to the world outside the classroom. If your child is creative, confident in being him- or herself, curious, and lively—your child will fit right in at Clonlara School.

Our Campus program focuses on taking a student-centered approach to learning. Though even the child’s coursework can be tailored to his or her abilities, interests, and learning pace, our students don’t learn in an individualized vacuum. They are active members of both the Clonlara campus community and the community at large. These world experiences combined with project work create a well-rounded student who is prepared for both college and a career.

It’s true that our students are well-prepared for the testing and other requirements needed to get into college, but we never force our students to focus on cramming material that will show up on standardized tests. Rather, our students enjoy full intellectual freedom, and learn from day one to take ownership of their educations. As Plato says: “Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge, when it is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind…”

Intrigued? Please stop by our Quiz for students, and if you get an “A” for two or more items, give us a call or email us to get started on exploring our enrollment process. If after learning more about our program you would like to move forward, there are a couple of steps we can take. If you would like to explore Clonlara with your child before our school year starts, please call us at 734.769.4511 or email us at campusinfo@clonlara.org. If classes are in session, we will schedule a campus tour to show you around our facility, meet with program teachers, and answer any specific questions you may have. We then have prospective students participate in a three-day visit: Day One is for observation, and Days Two and Three are for full participation. During this time, prospective students have hands-on experiences in the classroom. It is important that all sides—parents, student, and Clonlara—agree that a Clonlara Campus education is the best fit for the child. If this is the case, we will move forward to an interview, then filling out admissions paperwork and working together to set up the student’s academic plan.

The new school year is almost here, but it’s not too late—come find out how our Campus Program can serve your learner!