If you haven't noticed already, Creative Tutors of Dallas/Highland Park is on Facebook! We post links to community activities for children in Dallas, Highland Park, and the greater DFW area; education related articles; blog posts written by myself and other Creative Tutors owners; articles related to parental concerns; comments from parents; and anything related to the welfare of children. Some of our recent Facebook posts have included links to scientific articles, numerous articles on the value of including the arts in our children's educational curriculum, announcements from the Dallas and Highland Park school districts, articles on district budget issues, articles discussing the importance of including recess in our child's school day, articles on the activities and accomplishments of area schools, and of course articles on tutoring. Please become a Facebook Fan today! Once we reach 100 fans, we'll begin offering valuable coupons for our tutoring services! You can also find Creative Tutors of Dallas/Highland Park on Twitter and find me on LinkedIn!

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Google recently launched a new internet Family Safety Center. This is a place to find great tools and tips for staying safe online. The Center offers resources for Google services, such as search and YouTube, to name a few. Family Safety resources and advice on how to use these resources while online are designed to help keep you, your children and information safe. Learn more at google.com/familysafety/.

This article is about the subject of Algebra and the challenges it poses for many Texas freshmen.  One particular teacher's class from Holmes High School in San Antonio was focused on in this article, but things said here probably ring true for freshmen all over the country.  Along with the struggles of simply understanding Algebra, the article also talks about what a crazy time of life the ninth grade is for teenagers who are experiencing some major changes.   According to this, many educators refer to ninth grade as "the critical year."  As a former ninth grade teacher, I can't help but agree.  I saw so much development in my students between their ninth and tenth grade years.  If they could just get through that crazy freshman year, they seemed to really grow up and be okay.  The ones that fail too many classes their freshman year though and do not move on  face serious challenges.  Will they be able to stay focused long enough to get through that year of school so that they can progress or will they get stuck there and eventually give up?  What this article says is that Algebra may be one of the classes prompting many students to do just that--give up.  I saw it many times.  When a student tries and still cannot succeed, they feel defeated and often eventually just decide the class isn't worth their time.  A child at this level often cannot seem to see past their daily lives down the road to the future which means they often miss out on the importance of their education.  According to this article, abstract thinking might not even be developed at this stage.  That means Algebra would be awfully tough.

Highland Park High School students once again performed strongly on the SAT and ACT. HPHS students' SAT scores exceeded both the state and national averages while ACT scores tied last year's composite score of 26.1. Since admissions tests are so important in applying for college, this shows that Highland Park students are in a great place. HPISD Superintendent Dr. Dawson Orr thanked teachers and parents for the high success rate. To see a five year glance at HPISD SAT and ACT scores, check out the given link or go to www.hpisd.org.

Ok, I know I have written about President Obama's speech already, but I had to share this article from a man named Greg Sellnow in Rochester, Minnesota. In this he basically says, regardless of your political affiliation, when did it become a bad thing for children to hear the president of the United States speak? I completely agree because I see the office of president as a place of respect no matter what. Even if the president in office is not the one I voted for, he is still my president and he is still, as Greg says, the "highest elected leader in the land" which we value so greatly. We live in America, after all, where we have freedoms and rights and we elect our leaders. I always taught my students that we are pretty lucky for that.

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