Above Grade Level Langley

Although it's tough to find a silver lining in these dark days of the pandemic, doctors are noticing one very positive trend among kids: there is a significant "decrease in common respiratory illnesses, including the flu, colds, and RSV. Experts credit that to practicing safety health measures like hand-washing, social distancing, and mask wearing." On the flipside, there has been an obvious uptick in mental health issues among kids, including elevated rates of depression and anxiety. https://www.parents.com//the-pandemic-is-leading-to-a-dec/

Many parents are wondering, "When will kids be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine?" Well, Pfizer's vaccine has been authorized for those 16 and above; Moderna's vaccine has been authorized only for those 18 and above. For those under 16, clinical trials are currently underway. According to Emily R. Levy, M.D., Pediatric Critical Care Specialist and Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist at Mayo Clinic:... We have extended the age group that we’re testing these in to include kids. Depending on the exact vaccine, I think the Pfizer one now is enrolling kids over 12. Some of the other ones have gone down to 5 years of age. The current hope is that at the very least a vaccine variation for kids 12 to 16 years old will be available by the start of the 2021-2022 academic year. https://www.keyc.com//clinical-trials-underway-develop-ch/

3 seemingly innocuous phrases that math instructors should avoid: 1. "This is so easy!" (Demotivates struggling students.) 2. "You're so smart." (Praise instead for effort or determination - not intelligence.) 3. "You should already know this!" (This is a tough one for harried, time pressured classroom teachers to avoid. However, "A past year’s teacher may not have covered something adequately, or a student may need additional remediation.")... https://www.edutopia.org//3-phrases-can-demotivate-student

#MATHCONFIDENCEMATTERS Many recent studies have revealed that students as young as 6 years old already suffer from "math anxiety." Now a study has confirmed that anxiety in the super young ALSO undermines math performance. This is why it is SO important to give even young kids CONFIDENCE in their math abilities - and to make doing math fun! As per article below: "If math anxiety reduces learning from the very beginning of school, the implication is that math anxiety can lead... to cumulative gaps in knowledge over the school years. Not surprisingly, students who feel anxious about math might finish school with lower math grades and avoid career choices in math-intensive fields." https://thenextweb.com//yes-math-anxiety-is-a-thing-here-/

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which country is the best at math of them all? Latest TIMMS results just came in, comparing 64 countries' students, & Singapore outperformed all participating nations in both math and science. Canada, sadly, did not score well in either math or science for one of the grade levels tested, grade 4, and we did not participate in the Grade 8 level tests, leaving the overall picture incomplete. https://www.nst.com.my//study-singapore-students-best-worl