Thursday, December 19, 2013

Tutor Doctor Longmont: Simple Strategies for Encouraging Shy Students



Shyness is a complex emotion that is sometimes difficult to understand. What’s important to remember is that it usually elicits feelings of anxiety, fear, embarrassment, apprehension and tension in your student. Being confrontational only exacerbates the problem, but there are ways in which you can help your student to build confidence and participate in class activities. When your students don’t participate, they miss out on vital social and academic skills.
Be Understanding
Students aren’t shy because they choose to be. Accepting their feelings as valid is the first step to overcoming them. According to family therapist, Rose McAloon: "Be sure not to criticize your child for being shy. And don't compare her with other kids or her siblings who may be more socially adept. Instead, respect her feelings and fears and work around them."
Discuss ways in which shyness can be practically overcome. Role-play scenarios like how to start a conversation with someone your child would like to get to know better or how to deal with bullies. Having an arsenal of prepared responses will help your child to feel more confident. You can also ask them about situations which made them uncomfortable in their daily interactions at school. Discussing the ways in which your students could have responded will help them to feel more prepared.
Meeting strangers
If you bump into a friend and want your child to greet them, but they are too shy, don’t apologize. Preempt this behavior by chatting with your friend for a few minutes before you introduce your student. When your student sees that you are comfortable, they are more likely to respond or make eye contact.
Small groups
Most shy students find large groups intimidating. Instead, arrange for one-on-one meetings with new people or new friends.
Preparing your student for large events will help to ease their discomfort. If they have to perform at a school concert, practice their part until they know it by heart. Then get them to perform it in front of your family, then add some friends so that they are accustomed to performing in front of a crowd.
Get them to visualize their performance, the stage, and all the people in the audience. They should visualize themselves giving a successful performance and feeling confident. The same technique can be used to great effect when preparing for presentations.
Small challenges
Try to give your student small, confidence-building challenges every day. Be sure to only give them challenges that they can cope with as failure only helps to reinforce shy behavior. Be patient and understanding and never push them too hard. While you should encourage them to move outside of their comfort zones, let them move at their own pace.
Always build their confidence with praise. Focus on the positive and don’t be over critical. Focus on their positive attributes and help to build their confidence.
Get a tutor
If your student is not participating in class, you can help to build their confidence by getting an in-home tutor. Here they can work in the comfort of their own homes which helps them to feel secure and confident. They can overcome gaps in their knowledge and feel more confident when answering questions in class. 



Find the Best In Home Tutoring in Longmont, Firestone, Erie, Frederick Niwot, Dacono, and Mead.  Our Tutors focus on Tutoring Algebra, Math, English, Science, Chemistry, Biology, SAT Prep, Test Prep, Homework Help and Foreign Languages

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Monday, November 18, 2013

Tutor Doctor Longmont: Setting Computer Time Limits for Students



How much screen time is too much? As students are increasingly obsessed with screen time, parents need to set limits on how much TV and online time their students are allocated. Allowing unfettered access to the online world may cause students to live lives that are too sedentary and may also affect their social development.
Why limit screen time?
While allowing your students to spend as much time as they like watching TV or online does keep them quiet and happy, it can also have negative effects on their health and behavior. The sedentary lifestyle encouraged by time online can lead to childhood obesity and an increased incidence of diabetes.
Too much screen time can lead to irregular sleeping patterns. This, in turn, can lead to attention deficits, poor academic performance and weight gain.
According to the May Clinic: “Elementary students who spend more than two hours a day watching TV or using a computer are more likely to have emotional, social and attention problems. Exposure to video games is also linked with an increased risk of attention problems in children. Watching excessive amounts of TV at age 4 is linked with bullying at ages 6 through 11.”
Children under 3 should not be watching TV or playing with phones or tablets. According to the BBC: “Dr Aric Sigman is warning that screens "may produce" an increased level of dopamine in children's brains. He suggests this could lead to a dependency on screen media when they are older.”
In France, TV shows aimed at an audience younger than 3 are banned to protect younger children from too much exposure.
According to a study by Public Health in England, children who spend most of their time in front of a screen have a lower self-esteem and are more prone to emotional problems.
How to limit screen time
1. If you think your student is spending too much time online, limit their access to the internet to just a couple of hours a day. It’s important that you discuss with them why they should limit screen time and the rules around accessing the internet and watching TV.
2. Don’t eat in front of the TV, but take meal times to connect as a family. Be a good example by unplugging regularly yourself.
3. Be more active as a family. Plan activities that get your family moving and out of the house.
4. Don’t leave the TV on in the background as this will prove to be distracting. Move TVs and computers from bedrooms into common areas.
Not only is it important to limit screen time, it’s also important to keep tabs on what your student is being exposed to online. You can enforce screen time limitations by programming phones, computers and tablets to switch off after the designated time allowances have been reached. 




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Find the Best In Home Tutoring in Longmont, Firestone, Erie, Frederick Niwot, Dacono, and Mead.  Our Tutors focus on Tutoring Algebra, Math, English, Science, Chemistry, Biology, SAT Prep, Test Prep, Homework Help and Foreign Languages