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Teaching From Home: What Novels Should My Child Read in Elementary School?

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April 22, 2020

April 22, 2020

Teaching From Home: What Novels Should My Child Read in Elementary School?

by: John Crowder

John Crowder, Owner of Crowder Education in Pocatello, Idaho

I remember, years ago, reading an article about what young children (i.e., children in elementary school) should read. The article promoted the idea that it didn’t matter what your child read, as long as they were reading. Other articles and ‘studies’ said that, in order to overcome gaps in reading, what students read had to be relevant to them; characters in novels should speak as they do, using the latest slang terms popular at the moment. Otherwise, the argument went, students would become uninterested and not spend enough time reading.

These arguments, while probably well-intentioned, are wrong. In fact, it does matter, and it matters very much, what your child reads. There are a few reasons for this, some having to do with character development, but in this article I want to focus solely on the academic development of your child.

The ability to read and to understand what you’ve read is the fundamental skill that needs to be acquired through schooling, whether formal or informal. Success in every subject, history, science, economics, government, even math, depends on a student being able to read and comprehend. Reading good literature, as opposed to ‘fluff,’ will help your child achieve maximum success by providing the following:

Richer Vocabulary: Reading classic literature will expose students to a much richer vocabulary than what they’ll see in books filled with popular slang expressions.

Critical Thinking: Classic literature, literature that has stood the test of time, is classic for a reason. Classic literature exposes one to the great ideas that humans wrestle with, from the meaning of justice to the concept of duty to rights vs. responsibility and more.

Ability to Express Yourself: Readers of good literature see examples of how to construct an argument and how to express themselves both verbally and in writing.

One set of books that I highly recommend for elementary school students is the Great Illustrated Classics series. These abridged versions of classic tales provide students with all of the advantages noted above and have the added benefits of helping children develop a love of great writing while providing an outline of books that will be on their reading lists in middle and high school.

These books were a staple in the private school that I operated for over a dozen years. I saw over and over again students’ reading and writing skills reach very high levels. Many of them scored consistently in the 90th percentile and above on standardized tests. They developed a love of good literature. They were able to articulate ideas around fundamental questions at a much earlier age. By middle school they were winning scholarships and cash prizes in writing and speech competitions.

What students read matters. I encourage you to help your child excel by introducing them, in elementary school, to good literature.

The Great Illustrated Classics, and other classic works for children, can be found at Amazon.com by clicking the link, below.

(Disclaimer: Some links in this article lead to businesses with which the Pocatello Chubbuck Observer has an affiliate agreement. By following the link and purchasing from them, the Pocatello Chubbuck Observer may earn a small commission at no additional charge to you. This helps us to continue to create content that you can use. Thank you for supporting the Pocatello Chubbuck Observer!)

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Teaching From Home: Two Math Curriculums That Work!

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April 3, 2020

Teaching From Home

Two Math Curriculums That Work!

John Crowder, Owner of Crowder Education in Pocatello, Idaho

Teaching math is probably one of the most difficult challenges for any teacher, whether you are teaching in a classroom setting or teaching your children at home. I’m going to let you in on a secret: It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, learning math can be a joy for your students. You might be asking yourself, “How can this be?” The answer is simple: Many of the textbooks and techniques used to teach math are completely ineffective and illogical. Find the right curriculum, and as your child experiences success, he or she will begin to enjoy the subject.

You see, there are certain principles that are universally applicable to learning any skill. Unfortunately, in many math courses, these principles are completely ignored. Three of these principles include:

Learn the Basics: Whether you’re learning to make a layup in basketball, learning a language, or learning math, there are always basics that need to be mastered…memorized. In math, this means you need to memorize your math facts. If you don’t know your times tables or other basic math facts, you’re going to fail.
Learn Incrementally: It should be self-evident that it’s easier to learn material by taking one small piece at a time, and building up to more complex problems. Take the quadratic equation. To solve a problem using this formula you need to understand order of operations, how to work with signed numbers, fractions, radicals, and the rules for solving equations. By learning one procedure at a time, then gradually adding in another, though, it becomes easy.
Continually Review: When I was playing basketball in high school and college, I regularly practiced basic skills, as did my teammates. When you don’t practice what you’ve learned, you forget it. This is as true in math as in any other skill. To stay at the top of your game, you must continue to review and practice what you’ve learned.

As I’ve mentioned in previous articles, I’ve been teaching math for two decades now. In that time, I’ve seen a lot of math books that aren’t very good. But, I’ve also seen two that are exceptional. In fact, these have been used by many homeschooled students to achieve tremendous success. They are:

A Beka – The A Beka curriculum is being used by my 5th grade daughter right now. It provides constant review of previously learned concepts. When I was operating my private school, I used A Beka math exclusively in grades K through 3.

Saxon Math – John Saxon, the creator of Saxon Math, is credited with employing and emphasizing the concepts of incremental learning and continual review. From the very beginning, when students were introduced to Saxon Math they experienced dramatic improvement. I used Saxon Math in my private school for grades 4 through 12. One caveat – I don’t recommend later editions of Saxon Math. Make sure you obtain anywhere from the 1st through the 3rd edition to get the full benefits of John Saxon’s system.

Both of these curriculums can be found at Christian Book Distributors (CBD). Check them out online today, by clicking on the link, below.

Please note that the Pocatello Chubbuck Observer is a proud affiliate of CBD. You can help our newspaper by purchasing through this link, as we may earn a fee for items purchased, with no increase in cost to you.

Editorial: Trump Was Right

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March 20, 2020

by: John Crowder, Editor and Publisher of the Pocatello-Chubbuck Observer

John Crowder, Publisher, Pocatello-Chubbuck Observer

Trump was right.

You wouldn’t know it by listening to or reading what most of the mainstream media is saying, but the coronavirus epidemic is an unmitigated vindication of the major policies that President Donald J. Trump campaigned on and has been implementing since he was elected.

Trump was right about borders.

President Trump campaigned on strong borders.

As countries around the world now race to secure their borders, and as cities and states issue orders confining residents to their homes or locking down entire states and nations, it is clear that having secure borders is vital to protecting a country’s citizens in the face of a pandemic.

Trump was right about manufacturing jobs.

President Trump has been bringing manufacturing jobs back to the United States.

An article appearing online today on the Voice of America (VOA) website, written by John Xie, is entitled, World Depends on China for Face Masks But Can Country Deliver? (See article, here: https://www.voanews.com/science-health/coronavirus-outbreak/world-depends-china-face-masks-can-country-deliver.) The article points out that the world is dependent on China to produce this, now critical, item. Yet, China’s demand for facemasks in their own country during the pandemic has risen to the hundreds of millions per day. This is just one of many vital products now produced outside the country. The coronavirus pandemic has shown that manufacturing jobs in one’s own country is not just good economic policy, it’s a matter of national security.

President Donald J. Trump (White House Official Photo by Shealah Craighead)

Trump was right about the free market and opposition to socialism.

Trump said in his 2019 State of the Union speech, “America will never be a socialist country.”

The United States is responding to the current crisis better than any other nation on earth. We have entrepreneurs and innovators working to produce critically needed products and developing new methods of doing business as we quickly adapt to circumstances. We have the resources to help Americans get through the economic difficulties and loss of income that a crisis such as this produces. Why? Because of the free market. It is the free market system that has allowed us to build an unprecedented level of prosperity, and that enables everyday Americans to innovate and find unique solutions in times of crisis. You don’t have this capability in socialist nations.

We will learn from the pandemic.

We will get through this pandemic, and, hopefully, learn important lessons from it. When it’s over, let’s not forget one of the most important lessons:

Trump was right.

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