Thanks Google Street View!
on Oct 13, 2009 in Underachievers learning learning styles why children underachieve learning difficulties learning style Student There I as, trying to find my house on Google Street (along with everyone else in Vancouver!) when I realized what a great learning tool it is. As regular readers will know, I am somewhat directionally challenged, I get lost a lot. But I am also a v...

Are you an Edu-Parent?
on Oct 5, 2009 in Parental role Parental support Dr. Patricia Porter Parental roles parents I have been struggling to find a name for parents who go that extra step to help their children learn. I want to differentiate between the teaching that goes on in school and the learning that happens in the home. Why do I want to do this? Because I...

The myth of Reading Readiness
on Oct 3, 2009 in Uncategorized I read recently that most schools start teaching children when they are six years old because this is the age when most children are ready to learn how to read. What an outdated idea. I admit, in the 50’s and 60’s there was this notion of...

Learning Assessments – who needs them?
on Oct 1, 2009 in 5 Step Process Advice for parents Diagnosis and assessment Dr. Patricia Porter parenting advice “Does anyone know where I can get my child’s learning assessed?” This was a plea from a mother of a nine year old non-reader. She felt that a learning assessment might give her the power to get extra help for her son. She is right,...

Do children suffer from NBT?
on Sep 29, 2009 in Parental role learning learning styles schooling Dr. Patricia Porter learning needs learning style Recently I read (Margaret Wente in the Globe and Mail) that the head of a small private school often diagnosed new students as being NBT- ‘Never Been Taught’. She stated that many of the children who came to her school were not learning...

Back to school stress – signs to watch for.
on Sep 23, 2009 in Uncategorized By now the initial excitement of starting school is beginning to wear off. Your child has probably overcome the many of the small anxieties he or she might have had about the new school year. Your child is beginning to settle into the new class and...

30% of children are not ready for school
on Sep 18, 2009 in 5 Step Process learning skills why children underachieve educational policy schooling Student This is the startling finding of a recent study at the University of B.C. They found that only 70% of children entering kindergarten were able to follow instructions or tell a story- basic skills that children need if they are going to learn. They e...

15% of Preschoolers At Risk For Learning Problems.
on Aug 28, 2009 in Parental role Parental support Uncategorized why children underachieve cognitive learning skills Dr. Patricia Porter learning difficulties ready to learn A recently published research report found that 15% of children aged between 5 months and five years of age suffered from abnormally high levels of depression. The research noted that these children often had mothers with a history of depression. T...

15% of Preschoolers At Risk For Learning Problems.
on Aug 28, 2009 in Parental role Parental support Uncategorized why children underachieve cognitive learning skills Dr. Patricia Porter learning difficulties ready to learn A recently published research report found that 15% of children aged between 5 months and five years of age suffered from abnormally high levels of depression. The research noted that these children often had mothers with a history of depression. T...

Another 7 Early Warning Signs You Might Be missing!
on Aug 26, 2009 in Uncategorized Actually you are probably not missing these signs as they are so apparent, but you may be missing the reason why they are there! In my last post I wrote about seven early warning signs that your child has a learning difficulty and is underachieving i...