Year: 2013
Five Big Differences Between Traditional and Developmental/Progressive Private Schools
Many L.A. private schools are a hybrid of educational philosophies, a blend of school types (traditional, developmental and progressive) that define each institution. However, there are schools that are purely traditional or progressive and have chosen not to incorporate a mix of educational philosophies. Any of these school types can offer an academically challenging, intellectually rigorous learning environment. Selecting a school depends on your preferences as a parent and finding the best fit for your kid.
Here are 5 differences between traditional and developmental/progressive schools:
1. Traditional schools tend to teach critical thinking in conjunction with heavy content acquisition. Developmental/Progressive schools are more focused on the process of learning than detailed content acquisition. Teachers are interested in what students know in traditional schools. Developmental/progressive schools want to know what students think.
2. The curriculum at developmental/progressive schools includes more project based learning, where kids work in groups and projects can take a week or more.
3. Traditional schools have more homework, tests and quizzes. They tend to use textbooks more often than developmental/progressive schools.
4. The report cards and grading systems are very different. Developmental/Progressive schools tend to use narrative written reports for elementary school. Traditional schools use grades and/or numeric evaluation methods.
5. Academic achievement is celebrated in traditional schools. Honor lists are posted, students discuss grades. Developmental/progressive schools de-emphasize the focus on public display of individual academic success.
LA School Scout’s Private School Admissions FAQ
My friend and colleague, Sandy Eiges of LA School Scout has a great new FAQ about private schools on her blog!
Click on LA School Scout and you’ll see a yellow box at the top of the site with the FAQ. You can listen to audio of FAQ or read the short text answers. Definitely worth checking out since it has lots of helpful information! You can see my previous blog interview with Sandy here.
Guest Blogger Susanna: The Los Angeles Private School Mom’s Alphabet (yes, it’s snarky!)
The Los Angeles Private School Mom’s Alphabet (we’re not totally exempt…only for the most obnoxious stuff)
A is for ass-kissing for admissions
B is for buying your way in
C is for carb-free
D is for donations
E is for Einstein- every parent has one
F is for frenemies
G is for gardening- organic and by a professional gardener
H is for hidden costs
I is for injectables
J is for juicing
K is for karma- it’s going to be a bitch
L is for luxury items needed for the auction
M is for middle school hysteria
N is for never ending donations
O is OMG. Enough with the drama already!
P is personal everything: trainer, chef, assistant
Q is for quack doctors to make you look younger
R is for running every committee
S is for social climbing
T is for two-faced- best watch your back outside of committee meetings!
U is for the underserved students we raise money for once a year
V is for vaccination controversies
W is for world travel on every vacation and long weekend
X is for the number raised with the annual fundraiser- no one knows the amount
Y is for yoga pants
Z is for the zen you achieve when you realize elementary school won’t last forever.
Susanna Morgan’s attend a Los Angeles private elementary school. Susanna’s definitely not June Cleaver. A parenting non-expert and mom of two boys, she returned her pearls to her ex-husband’s family as part of their divorce. And now she’s reclaiming the life she wants. The pearls are off…
BTB Celebrates 2nd Edition With Jenny Feldon, L.A. Private School Mom, Author of “Karma Gone Bad”
On Wednesday morning, Porcha and I along with a group of about 20 authors, moms, bloggers and friends gathered at Akasha Restaurant to talk about getting published. Of course, we missed Anne Simon, my step-mom and co-author who lives in Virginia. From Blogs To Books was the theme of the event I co-hosted with Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff, who writes the eco-lifestyle blog, Mommy Greenest and is one of the new authors who spoke about publishing.
Over coffee and scones, we heard Jenny Feldon tell us about the ups and downs of signing her first book deal. Her blog, Karma Continued, is one of my favorites and is what led to her book deal for the just-released memoir, Karma Gone Bad.
Jenny is friendly and articulate. We met a few years ago through our blogger group. She’s wanted to be a writer since she was a child and her passion shines through every word. Her insight into finding a book agent, dealing with rejection and landing a publisher were invaluable. But, that was just the start. Writing the book was an intense, all-consuming process for Jenny that began every morning at 4:00 a.m. before her young kids woke up.
Karma Gone Bad begins with Jenny reluctantly leaving NYC and her life as a newly married Upper West side urban professional, because her husband has taken a job promotion in Hydrabad, India. Upon arriving in India, she is hit with extreme culture shock…loneliness, food poisoning and months of subsisting on peanut butter sandwiches. Her visions of life as a glamourous expat wife are squashed immediately, like the gigantic mosquitos she must constantly swat away when her husband is bitten within the first week and contracts a life-threatening illness. After a tumultuous first few months, that almost ends her marriage, Jenny realizes that it is not “India that needs to change, but her.” This memoir is absolutely captivating, an I-can’t-put-down book for any mom and a work of non-fiction that will also make a great book club selection, holiday gift or vacation reading for a girls getaway. Visit KarmaGoneBad.com for more information. Buy the book at Chevalier’s, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
My friend, author and parenting humorist, Sarah Maizes has just published her second kid’s book, On My Way To Bed, a lively, hilarious story about getting her daughter, Livi, to bed. The second in a series, Sarah told us how she found a publisher for this beautifully illustrated book. She described the numerous book signings, author appearances and pressure to write the next book. She’s been on the Today Show! What’s next? A Livi doll to go with the third book! Go Sarah! The preschool-early elementary school set will delight in this topsy-turvy bedtime story. Visit SarahMaizes.com for reviews and author information. Buy the book at Children’s Book World, Amazon and Barnes and Noble.
I think I’ve already told you that the Second Edition of Beyond The Brochure: An Insider’s Guide To Private Elementary Schools In Los Angeles is a lot thicker than the First Edition. That’s because we’ve added 3 new chapters, more sample written applications, more letters of recommendation and new test questions. We’ve expanded the list of school and added a chapter on the Pasadena region. Throughout the book, you’ll hear Anne Simon’s voice, her calm wisdom that only comes with 30 years as a private school headmaster. So what are you waiting for? Get your copy now at Chevalier’s, Children’s Book World or Amazon.
Rachel Lincoln Sarnoff is a former magazine editor, mom of three and the founder of Mommy Greenest, a popular eco-friendly lifestyle blog. But what I love most about Rachel’s blog is her balanced, nonjudgmental approach to how we can all eat more healthfully, use chemical free products and avoid damaging our beautiful earth. Rachel’s new book, The Big List Of Things That Suck: An Essential Encyclopedia Of Eco-Information To Help You Shop, Talk And Live Better Without Annoying Your Friends, is a funny guide about how to live an eco-friendly, sustainable life without becoming a “sustainabully”. How cool is that? Visit MommyGreenest.com to buy the book.
Thank you to Emi Jay, Gaia Herbs and The Wonderseed for your fabulous gift bag donations!