Parent Perspective with Sarah M: Graphic Designer & Mother of Two

It’s always so beneficial anytime we get to sit down with a parent and we know that all parents love hearing others’ perspectives, both for contrast and commiseration. Today, we’re excited to speak with our friend Sarah Mangerson. She’s a seasoned graphic designer, former Art Director at The New Yorker magazine, mother of two brilliant girls, and an active member of the Williamsburg Northside School's Parent Association.

Intelligentsia: Can you tell us a little about your children and their learning styles?

Sarah: My daughter Abigail is 12 and currently in seventh grade. Our younger daughter, Ella, is in second and she’s a December baby, so she is the youngest in her class. They are both good at math and both struggle with writing. Abby is a very focused student, a voracious reader, and excels at math and science. She is not shy, nor has she ever been. She is crushing it with remote learning. Ella is sensitive, but an active participant in class. She struggles a bit with reading, but is catching up quickly with help from the school learning specialist and some additional tutoring support. She is a mathematician and also loves science. A long day on Zoom is difficult for her. But then again, it is difficult for all of us.

What kind of tutoring support have they had?

Abby started working with Claire [Intelligentsia tutor] in 4th grade. She was a strong reader, but her spelling and writing needed some help. Claire helped her with her organization and executive function, as well as focused work on spelling and writing. It was really the first time we ever saw Abby struggle a bit. Williamsburg Northside, where both our daughters have been since they were in the 2s program, doesn’t assign homework until the 2nd grade so it wasn’t until the 3rd grade that it started to catch up with Abby. She had great grades, but everyone knew she could do better, particularly with the fundamentals (math facts, spelling, grammar). Abby also needed help with the standardized tests that started in the 3rd grade, she was very nervous about them and wanted to succeed. Claire helped with that too. Ella began working with Claire last year, focusing on reading.

What was the learning environment at home before COVID hit?

Pre COVID, in the 6th grade, Abby had her own room with a desk so she had her own space to work in. I would help her with homework when needed, studying for tests and helping with bigger projects, but she was pretty independent with her schoolwork. 

Ella, was in the first grade, so while she had her own room, it was never needed for homework. Claire and Ella worked on the rug, which was super sweet. Ella liked to read in her bed, beanbag chair, or on the sofa in the living room. Most, if not all of her schoolwork was done at school during the school day. We would read together each night and that was about it. 

What was it like when your school first transitioned to remote learning?

We happened to be in Chilmark [MA], which is where we were for spring break, so we had more space from the start. We set up a folding table for Abby in the loft and Ella worked in the kitchen. My husband Josh had space in the den, which is where his office is all summer anyway. We were very lucky that way. Initially, the kids loved not having to commute and rolling out of bed and going straight to school, but the novelty wore off very quickly. 

Our school had the policy in place that your grade, as it stood in the 3rd quarter, could not go down, you could only improve it. We did not tell Abby this. She did very well. There were a few nights where she really struggled with a heavy load (generally it was very manageable for her) and we let her off the hook. It was just too much, emotionally, and this all seemed temporary at that point. 

We had Claire come twice a week because I was so occupied by helping Ella that I didn’t have much left for Abby. Ella had quite a hard time on Zoom, and once she lost focus, it was very hard to bring her back. By spring, we could bang it out by lunch, which was really great. 

Abby was on Zoom the entire school day, while Ella had a nice balance of on- and off-screen activities. Thankfully, I wasn’t working much so I was able to help her all day long. This year, they both are on-screen most of the day and the teacher is working with in-person and remote students synchronously. This is, I imagine, a very difficult thing to pull off for a teacher, but they are all doing great! 

How has tutoring helped you, as a parent, during this time?

Claire has helped enormously with Abby. We butt heads a bit, so it is nice to have a caring third-party check in with her once a week about her schoolwork. We are really trying to let Abby have full autonomy at school. Claire helps with that. She is also helping with Ella. Ella is tired with me by the end of the day (sometimes by mid-morning!) and it is nice to have an academic check-in, one-on-one, with her tutor.

We know that middle school can be a very important time for the development of executive functioning skills. What functions became most crucial for Abby to work on with Claire?

At Northside, the middle school curriculum starts in fifth grade. It was really hard for Abby to get organized. Claire helped SO MUCH. I really think learning to manage her time, schedule, and workload that first year has been critical to her success. Abby finishes her homework in less time, has less build-up (we are still working on this), and has been doing very well overall. Managing several teachers and multiple homework assignments a day was really tricky at first.

And Ella? Are there any skills she’s worked on, or have those functions remained mostly parental responsibilities?

Ella is working on keeping her workspace clean and organized. She is, at this point, familiar with her schedule for the day and gets her materials ready on her own. I still print the required worksheets she needs, but she can log in to her classroom apps with little to no problem. She can also navigate between Zoom meetings by herself.

How do you see the role of a tutor for your children and is there a difference in that role between the two of them? Has that role changed as schools have gone remote?

Abby and Claire have a special relationship after working together for so long (3+ years). They work very hard, but also have moments of pure silliness. Abby can also share her feelings and experiences with Claire without judgment. Claire is definitely part of Abby’s support circle. 

Claire and Ella and still getting to know each other––it was definitely better for Ella to work with Claire in person. She is Zoomed out by the end of the day, but last week it went quite well and Ella is learning that Claire can help her finish classwork, which will be great.

What are YOU learning right now?

To be very grateful for all that we have: a safe space that accommodates us, all the necessary equipment and supplies, the wifi access, my ability to help, Josh’s ability to work from home, our health (I fully recognize that many parents do not have access to these things)…and that our school truly has amazing teachers. It is a rare opportunity to have a look into what happens in a classroom each day! I am also incredibly aware of the social-emotional aspect of in-person learning that my girls are missing right now. That’s become a daily frustration for me—I am learning that my kids really should be IN SCHOOL, which requires national leadership to get out of this health crisis. We made the choice to stay home—our school also offers in-person classes—and it wasn’t an easy one, nor am I sure it was right. It just felt safer at the time. I cannot wait for them to be back in school, with their teachers and friends.

Can you shout out one of your favorite educators and why they meant so much to you?

Oh wow. I have two. One was my art teacher in high school, Mr. Doolittle. He introduced me to photography, drawing, taught me architectural lettering, ceramics, basically pointed me towards my future career. He was wild, quirky, demanding, and fun. The second was Dr. Bill Ryan at the University of Oregon. He introduced me to Graphic Design (pulling me away from photography), further encouraged my love of magazines, encouraged me to stay on an extra semester to work on FLUX (the SOJC capstone magazine class), got me my first internship in New York, and became a close friend for many years. Of all the people I know, he may have been the most proud when I started at The New Yorker. I think they both gave me the confidence to be creative and independent, which is really everything, isn’t it?

Parent Perspective with Karen B: Brooklyn Educator & Mother of Two

With so much up in the air as we navigate the new school year, we wanted to talk with educator and parent Karen Block, MST about what her family’s experience has been like from spring to fall. We’ve been lucky to know Karen for the last year+ and she comes to us with an impressive teaching background and significant education consulting experience.

Intelligentsia: Could you tell us about your journey as an educator?

Karen Block: In my late twenties, I applied for the NYC Teaching Fellows program. I started teaching in Far Rockaway in a self-contained 1st/2nd grade class while I was going to school for my master's in both childhood education and special education. I spent the next fifteen years teaching at P.S. 8 The Robert Fulton School (Magnet School for Exploration, Research, and Design).

And you’re also a parent, yes?

I have two daughters, ages 7 and 10. They are in first and fifth grade. 

What was the learning environment like at home before COVID hit? What does it look like now?

My younger daughter is an avid reader and loved being in school. She always wanted to play the math games she learned in school or would sit in her free time to write stories. Covid hit and the learning was completely asynchronous. She hated it. She avoided doing the assignments and it was a battle to complete assignments.

My older daughter struggles academically so, before Covid, I would do a lot of pre-teaching/ re-teaching with her. During read-alouds, we alternated between reading for pleasure to reading for understanding. When we did the latter, we jotted notes about the character, talked about themes, etc. Covid hit and then there was no separation between home and school. For our relationship and both our sanity, I hired a tutor twice a week and became completely hands-off.  

Creating a balance of allowing them to keep in touch with their friends and limiting screen time has been the biggest challenge. We created a contract that outlined their responsibilities as a student (reading for a specific amount of time, fifteen minutes on a digital reading program, homework, and studying for my older child) as well as around the house (making their bed, putting away their backpack, shoes, coat, etc.). This allows for clear expectations so it's not the constant negotiations like it was at the beginning of the pandemic.  

My girls are back in school full time now so it's created a sense of normalcy for them again. I hope it stays this way.

What habits have helped the most with remote learning?

We were fully remote at the beginning of the year and we approached it as if they were back in school. We set an alarm and the girls would get dressed and have breakfast before the day started. We only ate during the designated lunch and snack times and they only worked at their designated workspaces. During independent reading time, they could find an alternate space to read similar to how they were allowed to find a cozy reading nook in school. 

Is remote learning more challenging for younger children?

It is definitely more of a challenge to keep younger children engaged. So much of the school experience is the social interaction and without that, the learning dynamic becomes difficult. If my kids weren't in school full-time I would have investigated a pod for them to work with. Peer collaboration is so important in their learning. It's hard to do that over a screen. 

What are YOU learning right now?

My older daughter's tutor is a big advocate for the Science of Reading. I had always worked at Balanced Literacy schools and my daughters' school is also a balanced literacy school. I knew that balanced literacy didn't work for every child but as a teacher, I always tried to supplement on my own. I recently read The Knowledge Gap by Natalie Wexler and then new reports came out about how Luch Caulkins [Founding Director of the Teachers College Reading and Writing Project at Columbia University] was stepping back from a leveled reading approach and looking more towards phonics instruction. I wish I had educated myself more years ago. I had so much professional development on guided reading, the reading and writing workshop model, I never thought to expand beyond those circles in terms of literacy. I wish I had but I'm glad to be educating myself now.

Can you shout out one of your favorite educators?

Mrs. Altomare, my sixth-grade reading teacher. I was painfully shy and she took the time to get to know my interests and introduced me to like-minded friends. She also taught speed-reading. It's never taught anymore but such a useful skill!

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Karen Block has over 14 years of experience as a special education teacher. She holds an MST in Childhood & Childhood Special Education from Pace University and is also a graduate of the NYC Teaching Fellows program. Karen specializes in helping parents unpack the academic and evaluative language of both individualized education plans and private evaluations in order to determine practical at-home and in-classroom solutions. When she’s not busy helping students, you may bump into her exploring Prospect Park with her daughters! Interested in working with Karen? We can connect you!

Talking Test Prep with Hemal Pathak

For 10 years, Hemal Pathak has been one of Intelligentsia’s most trusted tutors. In addition to being an oft relied-upon math and science subject tutor, Hemal is one of our test prep maestros. In fact, he’s become so adept at preparing students for standardized tests, he’s started working on his very own online test prep platform. He’s calling it Cyngulum and we had a chance to chat with him about this exciting development before it’s released to the world.

Intelligentsia: You’re building an online test prep platform, Cyngulum. What are you focusing on as you develop it?

Hemal Pathak: I'm focusing on standardized testing in science - mainly Biology and Chemistry for now. The approach is to combine the recall effect, spacing, and scaffolding to help students retain information over longer periods. Another key aspect is learning to use online resources and searches to answer questions. In other words, to apply Google’d facts to a problem or question rather than just copying an answer. The content is at the level of Regents tests and SAT Subject Tests.

For the uninitiated, can you define the terms “recall effect,” “spacing,” and “scaffolding” in the context of test prep?

The “recall effect” is a well-documented relationship between recall and the transfer of information from short term to long term memory. Essentially, research has shown that answering certain kinds of test questions actually produces a long term memory for that content. There's some evidence as well for transfer of those retained ideas to new problem types and even to as yet unstudied material in the same subject.

“Spacing” refers to improved retention when content is studied and in a way that produces a delay between study sessions. The platform forces students to work through a practice test and then repeat it after a delay or space between study sessions.

“Scaffolding” involves taking a complicated idea or skill and breaking it down so that there's room for explanation at intermediate steps. It involves making problem-solving an assisted process so that students are not overwhelmed by complexity and gradually learn to figure things out on their own with less and less help.

Those ideas are simple to understand when broken down, but they seem based on some fairly complex science. I know you hold a PhD in neuroscience—has that expertise factored into the platform development?

Yeah, very much so. I tried to focus on ideas in learning that are supported by cognitive neuroscience studies - controlled studies with at least some support from fMRI data in humans and more detailed work at the level of genes and proteins in mice or other organisms. In my view at least, the more evolutionarily conserved a mechanism is and the more evidence there is at the cellular and molecular level, the more likely it might work out to be correct. Overall, that kind of thing - relating neuroscience data to actual learning - is really hard to know with any certainty, but it looks like there's some good support for it thus far.

Was this concept brewing for a while or did it come to you spontaneously?

I think it was brewing for a while. I kind of noticed that I remembered things really well after having practiced with multiple-choice tests. I assumed it was an approach I'd invented, but it turned out there's a massive amount of research in that field going back decades. I had played around with various versions of it for a few years and decided to focus on it more in the past year. Some of the things like scaffolding came up when I was in Ed school through the New York City Teaching Fellows

That's right, you were previously a teacher in NYC. Where and what did you teach?

I taught Biology and Neuroscience at Stuyvesant High School.

How long have you been helping students prepare for standardized tests?

I've tutored on and off for a long time, but I'd say about 12 years at near full-time.

Where do existing test prep platforms fall short and what will yours do better?

I don't think they combine the ideas in quite the same way or leverage online searches to help in problem-solving in the same way. I also have the advantage of having developed the materials with actual students over the past 10 years or so. I think the content we provide is better tuned to common pitfalls in student thinking and offers support in areas in which students seem to need it the most.

What are some of the pitfalls you see most often?

I view that as specific to the content. There are key hurdles in getting to the point where a student can connect the properties of water to transpiration in plants or osmosis across cell membranes. You can weight the number of questions and the extent of the scaffolding based on knowledge of which "intellectual hurdles" are the highest for most students.

Will the platform automatically adapt its content to address those intellectual hurdles?

No, [though] that's something I'm still considering. Right now I'm leaning towards the presentation of the content in a specific order as being more important.

Why is that?

Part of the reason for favoring order is that the ideas are presented as clues leading to future ideas. Adaptive models end up shuffling what's presented in a way that makes it hard to produce that feeling of insight that I'm aiming for as a student goes through the subcategories within a subject.

Do you envision this platform being used alongside other support, or as a replacement for existing methods?

I see it being used alongside other tools. Some ways it has proven useful are to prevent summer learning loss or to provide additional homework assignments during the school year.

What’s behind the name Cyngulum?

It’s a reference to an area in the brain that uses testing to transfer information from short term to long term memory...the cingulate gyrus.

Care to shoutout an educator who made a difference in your life?

The most relevant one for this would be Mr. Keller, my 7th-grade bio teacher. All of his test prep was in the form of practice questions.

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Want to test prep with Hemal? No need to wait for the release of Cyngulum. In addition to one-on-one tutoring, he’s teaching our small-group test prep classes this fall, focusing on the spring/summer 2021 SAT and ACT exams. Contact us today to learn more.

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Hemal Pathak holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of Pennsylvania, having studied the biophysics of chloride channel activity in acquired temporal lobe epilepsy. As a tutor, he has helped students in all levels of math and science classes, as well as for all parts of the ACT & SAT. He regularly helps students achieve their highest scores on all math and science AP & SAT subject tests.