Very experienced Montessori Teachers needed

Brainy Academy is seeking very experienced certified Montessori teachers with 10 years of Montessori teaching experience or more. This is a flexible position that allows an experienced Montessori teacher to continue to teach full time while earning an additional income through consulting work. Primary responsibilities include helping train new Montessori teachers, creating curriculum, helping set up classrooms and visiting Brainy Academy classrooms to help create ongoing teacher training and quality control. Ideal candidate has an AMS certification, a bachelors or a master’s in education and at least 10 years of experience working for an AMS or AMI school. Hours are flexible and a schedule will be created based on candidate’s preferences.

Position may transition into a full time position if desired. Please send a copy of your resume to info@brainyacademyny.com

Regents Preparation in Sheepshead Bay for Earth Science and Living Environment

Regents Science Prep Classes: Living Environment and Earth Science

Regents workshops are being conducted in our Sheepshead Bay location.

Living Environment on June 2nd from 9 am to 4 pm. Covers the entire exam, taught by an experienced NYC high school science teacher specializing in this subject. Cost is $149, includes all materials and registration fees.
Earth Science on June 9th from 9 am to 4 pm. Covers the entire exam, taught by an experienced NYC high school science teacher specializing in this subject. Cost is $149, includes all materials and registration fees.
Call 347 450 3123 or email info@brainyacademyny.com to register

On the American system of education

On a recent family vacation to an exotic faraway land I traveled in a tour group with a world famous oncologist. An attractive, youthful woman in her early 40′s, with a thriving career, three well behaved young girls and a loving husband she was to me a picture of accomplishment, a portrait of how much women can achieve in the post feminist era. As we spoke one afternoon the subject of education came up, and of course our mutual grievances about the New York City public school system was touched upon. She told me a fascinating story about a woman who recently worked with her, and this story has haunted me for weeks afterwards. I think this is one of those stories I will never forget.

My doctor friend had hired a fellow recently. A brilliant young woman, a model of the American dream. This young lady was the daughter of immigrants from a 3rd world country, and had herself been born outside of the US. Her parents worked long hours in blue collar fields while their daughter excelled in school. She graduated as a valedictorian from a top NYC high school, winning the top prize in a prestigious science competition along the way. She excelled in Harvard undergraduate and finished a top medical school. She then graduated from a residency with a top hospital. By the time my friend hired this young lady as a fellow it was clear and apparent that this woman was on her way to becoming a true star in the medical field. Or was she?

Within days of hire it became clear something was very wrong. The young woman was unable to do basic tasks such as handle patients or direct the staff. She was even unable to answer her emails on time or assign reports to be typed up in a timely manner. This young woman, a model of brilliance and achievement couldn’t do tasks an intelligent high school student would do with ease. My friend and the other members of staff knew something was very wrong. Was it a brain tumor? A nervous breakdown? Was the reason physical, psychological or both? Working in a top hospital in the nation they were very lucky to have access to the best medical care in our system. They ordered a battery of tests. One by one all possible reasons were ruled out. She had no brain tumor, she had no evidence of a nervous break down or severe depression. There was nothing wrong with this young doctor. She was perfectly healthy and fine, except that she couldn’t handle the tasks assigned to her, and was unable to actually be a doctor.

Then my friend, never one to pass up a challenge began to dig deeper. She looked at the young doctor’s college and medical school transcripts, and even at her high school records. She looked at the science prizes her fellow had won. She contacted her professors. The picture that emerged was… disturbing. This brilliant young doctor had proven time and again that she had two very important qualities. First was an amazing memory. Second was an ability to work restlessly for about 18 hours a day. None of her projects had a single strain of original thought. All had been restatements of someone else’s work. Her college grades were stellar, and this was because in most of her pre-med classes she was required to memorize rather than understand. Her medical school did not assign grades, but if they had chances are they would have presented two very different pictures. On the one hand, those classes where route memorization and recall were required she would have excelled in. In those classes were original thought and problem solving had been required she would have failed in. By the time my friend began to dig into the young woman’s residency it was clear she could not keep her as a fellow. By residency a picture of a woman who couldn’t keep up emerged, but she had managed to slide in by nothing but sheer ability to memorize and extreme work ethic. She fired the woman and although she tried to help her find another job she could not do so in the medical field. It was clear and apparent that if this young woman was responsible for lives it would end badly. In the end nobody is quite sure what happened to her, as everyone who worked with her lost touch.

This is not an exaggerated illustration I created to make a point. This is a very real story. This is obviously also a very extreme case. But it did make me think. How often do we encourage our children to memorize rather than to understand? What does it say about our school system that the young woman who succeeded so well in it was the one who could not understand but rather memorize? What does it say about how we educate our children? Is this what we truly want? Or need in our society?

I sometimes find myself slipping back into a soviet way of thinking. Drill, drill, drill was the best method to learning. But is that still the case? After all, every piece of information one might ever need can now be found within seconds at our fingertips. But a computer, no matter how fast and how connected is still incapable of performing the feats of problem solving a simple human brain can. So when I think about education I understand that memorization has very little to do with it anymore. Of course, some facts must be remembered. Facts and understanding have always been two essential components of education. But to continue to innovate we must continue to problem solve. To lead we must teach our children to understand. This is what education in the 21st century has to be.

What we must as parents remember, is that there are many paths to success for our children. But every path is paved with ability to think, problem solve and process information. It is our responsibility to give these tools to our children, so that they can build the life they want to live. And to build a better world for us all.

At Brainy Academy we do not use the drill method. We work with children ages 2 to 12 and we create various pathways to teach children how to think and to problem solve effectively. If you’d like to learn more about our programs please contact us at (347) 450 3123.

Viktoria Altman
Mother of 2 boys
Owner of Brainy Academy of Sheepshead Bay
President of Brainy Academy Tutoring and Enrichment Services

Should I prepare my child for NYC Gifted and Talented test now?

Its early April and Brooklyn is finally starting to wake up. I am glad to see the sun shining just a little brighter, the birds singing just a little louder and the children seem to be growing quite a bit faster. But its April and that means every few days I get a phone call from a concerned parent. “Do you do G&T prep?” they ask. “Should we start now?”

I understand and appreciate these parent’s concerns. After all our local school system leaves much to be desired and scoring well on a gifted and talented test allows a bright child admission into a special class or even a special school, where they will be challenged and receive more attention. However, my response to these questions is always “No, its too early to prepare.”

The truth is, if you walked in to Brainy Academy tomorrow, if you put your checkbook on my desk and if you attempted to write me out a check to prep your child for this test starting in April or in May or any time before September I would try to talk you out of it. It’s not because I don’t enjoy running a profitable business… But as a mother who’s been through the system and an educator that’s helped prepare dozens of kids I know that preparing too early could lead to unintended disaster. I know over prepping to be the number one reason why children who could do well on the test do not.

What do I mean by over prepping? Let’s take a step back and look at the test first. The current nyc elementary g&t test is an iq test broken up into two distinct portions. The first is the NNAT2 and the second is the OLSAT. Your child spends a portion of his time on each test, is graded one a curve and must do well on both tests in order to get a passing score that will allow admission into either a district program or a city wide gifted school. Simple enough (and if it’s not feel free to stop by my office, I will be happy to explain how the system works). But what are these tests? They are iq tests administered to hundreds of thousands of children throughout the world. They are not simple memorization tests. What is being tested are your child’s abilities to reason and to think clearly. Ability to create patterns, ability to observe evidence and draw conclusions. Basically the ability to think. But as complicated as this sounds there are about 12 distinct types of questions on the entire test. That’s it… Just 12 questions. Every single question that will be given to your child follows the model of one of these 12 prototypes (if you aren’t sure what that means stop by my office and I’ll show you what some of them look like). It takes an average child about 12 to 14 sessions to cover and recover every single question and all of their variations. As the test progresses the questions grow in complexity, the first few of the same type are simple, the next few are harder and the last few are very difficult. If you understand what is being asked, and you understand what kind of response should be provided this is more than half the battle. But in the end the hardest questions can only be answered if you not only understand the question but also have some natural ability or affinity for this type of question.

And here is the moment of truth. Neither I, nor my competitors are capable of performing miracles. We simply can’t take a child who would have gotten a 50 on this test and get them to a 99. It can’t be done. I am sorry, I wish it could be. However here is what those of us who understand the test and how to teach it can do: We can take a child who would have gotten a 90 and get him to a 99. We can take a child who would have gotten a 75 or an 80 and get them to a 90 or a 95. This makes a difference between a general program and a gifted program. And it could make a huge difference in the environment your child will be educated in. This is the big secret in preparation… The other big secret is that long term studies show absolutely no difference between children who attended NYC G&T schools and those who didn’t. See this book for more in depth information. So even if you don’t get into one of these great schools, don’t despair. In the long run your involvement in your child’s education makes much more difference than what school your child will attend. Having said that, as a mother I would prefer my child to go to a citywide gifted school, and I understand you do too.

So now let’s take a look at preparation again. Imagine you had to learn how to answer 12 different types of questions, fairly simple questions once you understood what was being asked. And imagine that you spend not 2 month learning these questions, not 3 months, but 9 or 10 repeating the same thing over and over and over again, as my competitors try to get you to do. How would you feel? Frustrated? Bored? Like you really didn’t want to ever see these questions ever again? What would you feel the day of the test? Would you feel like you were playing a fun game with your proctor and it was important to “win” or would you gaze to the side because you were so terribly sick of seeing these questions over and over again for almost a year. It is unfortunate how many bright kids we have coming in September for their test prep and they are already bored with the test itself. They start elsewhere and transfer to us. And my teacher’s big dilemma is not teaching to the test… its to interest the child enough to want to do well on the day of the test.

So ok, you say. What am I supposed to do? It’s April and this test is very important… I have a terrible zone school my child simply can’t attend. Here is my advice as an educator and a mother: play manipulative based logic games with your child. Patterning, sequencing and all the rest of the skills can and should be taught using manipulative first, so that the child can “get” it using real world examples, and only after that using paper based means similar to the exam. And here comes the shameless plug: in my Montessori classes we teach children all the logic and critical thinking skills using manipulative work. Then when they start the test prep all they have to do is transition from using these skills with manipulative to using these skills on paper. Simple and logical (we are big on logic around here). Unlike our G&T prep program, Montessori classes run the entire year and you can start any time (we have no contract options to make enrollment easy). In addition to logic your child will learn reading, writing and mathematics (all using child friendly manipulatives). But you don’t need to attend my class to learn these things. If you have time and availability of effort you can do many of these things at home. At the bottom of this post I include a few sources of materials to get you started. Many of the materials we use are created by our in house psychologist who administered the olsat and NNAT test for 5 years in Moscow.

And as for my own children? My eldest one got into the citywide gifted school after attending a Montessori program. And my little one, the one who is due to take the next test… I could start him today if I wanted to. I could assign him the best teachers and ensure he got more prep than any child in this entire city. But I understand how much harm that would do. My little one attends my Montessori program and will be starting his prep in September.

Viktoria Altman
Mother of two amazing boys
Owner of brainy academy

Sources for manipulatives:
http://products.lakeshorelearning.com/math-learning-products
http://www.alisonsmontessori.com/Mathematics_s/35381.htm

Why we don’t use “smart boards” in our classrooms.

Often new parents come in before class starts and ask me to take a peek in on our classroom. When parents and I tiptoe into the doorway, quiet, so as not to interrupt eager learners arriving early to set up their favorite materials, many parents point out almost immediately a complete lack of any electronic media in our Montessori classes.

This is true. In some ways we are very old fashioned. Our children learn to count by using large colorful beads. We teach addition by using special number rods. We teach children to read by allowing them to physically combine letters into words. We teach logic by creating a pattern with colorful cubes, and asking a child to replicate it. For the entire two hour class, our students see no cartoon characters, and nothing flashes on a screen. The only loud noise you hear is the laughter of children sharing in on a joke with their teachers. The only media used in our Montessori classes is a CD player softly playing classical music during snack time.

As a mother of two boys I adore those two hours every day. When my sons too seem to fall into a soft and focused rhythm where passive media watching turns into active fascination in learning and absorbing new materials from our talented and soft spoken teachers. Our classrooms are peaceful. That is our aim.  Learning should be peaceful and focused.

So when you are choosing a place for your child to spend a few hours a day, don’t be fooled by flashy expensive screens. Remember, children learn by touching, moving and holding. Look for a peaceful place that offers an escape from a media rich world.

And remember to always pause and listen if you hear Mozart at snack time.

Viktoria Altman, mother of two amazing boys, owner of Brainy Academy

BIG changes with placement for G&T test

In addition to  restructuring the G&T test in the fall of 2012 NY city board of ed has decided to also change the placement rules.  These are very big changes that will affect all applicants and will outdate certain test preparation strategies.

Change 1 – composite score now matters.  Previously a child could answer 73 questions correctly or 84 questions correctly.   As long as they scored in the 99th percentile they were considered equivalent to all other children who scored in the 99th percentile on the test. Now placement will be done for children who have scored the most number of correct questions first.  First all children who got the 84 would be placed, then the 83 and so on.

As a result of this change the test becomes much more difficult to prepare for, and every additional point matters.  The significance of the lottery has been greatly reduced.  In order to get the best chance possible of being admitted to a gifted and talented program the preparation should be more intense.  As we have always said preparing for just a test is not enough.  Now more than ever a child’s preparation must incorporate a complete preparatory system, including early reading and mathematics training which will help develop their capacity to learn and think logically.  In essence simply imitating a genius’ test taking ability is no longer enough.  Your child must learn to think like a genius in order to get the best results possible.  Parents can no longer afford to focus on just test prep at the expense of other aspects of child’s development.  Brainy Montessori classes incorporate a wide range of preparatory materials and techniques.  Children who have been attending Brainy Montessori classes and have only started g&t prep in October do SIGNIFICANTLY better at g&t test trials than children who have only been attending g&t preparation sessions.

Change 2 – no more guaranteed placement in G&T programs.  Previously the city guaranteed placement in a G&T program, even if it was not your first choice program.  This is no longer the case.

Change 3 – significantly weakened sibling priority.  Siblings only get preference in their “score group.”  So of all the children that answered 84 questions correctly siblings will be placed first.  However, before any sibling scoring 84 has been placed all children, including non siblings who scored an 85 will be placed.  For siblings especially this emphasizes the importance of early learning approach to taking this test.

Big changes for the Gifted and Talented Test

In an unprecedented move NYC board of ed has announced even an even bigger overhaul of the Gifted and Talented test administered to pre-kindergarden students than previously suspected.  Students who receive a grade of 97 or above on this test qualify for admission to the city’s 5 citywide gifted and talented schools (Anderson, NEST, TAG, STEM and BSI).  Students who score 90 or above qualify for admission to district wide gifted programs.

Brainy Academy has learned that effective this year the new portion of the test, highly complex NNAT will count for 66% of the test score, and the OLSAT (previously 75% of the test) will only count for 33%.  This move was implemented in order to cut down on “test prep” affect and in order to encourage more fairness in the testing process.  Brainy Academy’s “Brainy Montessori” classes focus on developing all of the important logic skills sets, school readiness and more.  We believe that prepping a child for just one test is an ineffective way of prepping a child to succeed in school.  Because of emphasis on logic and learning, rather than solely prepping for any particular test, children who have been attending Brainy Montessori classes will be ready do well on the new, more complex test and will be ready for any future changes the NYC department of Education might implement.  Teaching a child logic is our goal, doing well on the test is a positive side effect.

Rosh Hashanah Program (September 17th and 18th)

What will you do with your school age child for Rosh Hashanah? Brainy Academy is announcing a full day program on September 17th and September 18th. Schedule is as follows:
– 8 am to 9 am – Drop off, music and movement, board games
– 9 am to 11 am – Science with Lego (explore physics by constructing machines using special Lego Educational products)
– 11 am to 12 pm – Lunch (bring your own or we will order from a Deli for you)
– 12 pm to 2 pm – Math and Logic puzzles and games, other fun math activities.
– 2 pm to 4 pm – Jewish themed Arts and Crafts, Learn about history of Rosh Hashanah in a fun and interactive way
– 4 pm to 6 pm board games and pick upcost is $200 for both days, $120 per day, 5% sibling discount available (must reside in the same household). Space is extremely limited, please reserve as soon as possible.

Teacher child ratio – 2 teachers to 12 students, 12 students maximum in the group.

Mad Science Program

The amazing mad science program will take place at Brainy Academy from August 27th to August 31st.  Most camps shut down for this week, so this is an amazing opportunity to finish your summer with an exciting week!

In the morning from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm participate in the Crazy Chemworks session.  Combine elements to make them fizz, crackle and change color!  We’ll delve into molecules and chemical reactions that produce light, gas and even slime that you’ll get to keep!

At 12 o’clock children will have lunch (see info below).

In the afternoon from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm participate in the NASA academy session.  From our earth’s atmosphere to the outer reaches of our solar system, join us on a quest for exploration!  Comets, planets, stars and more are all waiting to be discovered.  Learn about the four forces of flight and the challenges of space travel as you construct your own rocket and participate in a launch!  Each day will include awesome hands on experiments and take home items.

On Friday the 31st we finish off the exciting week with a trip to Manhattan Beach playground to launch our rockets (the cost of this trip is included in your price).

This is suitable for kids grades 1 to 5

“The Homework Club” – convenient drop off care!

Starting September 10th Brainy Academy presents a new program called “The Homework Club” – convenient drop off care in the heart of Sheepshead Bay. Hours are Monday Through Friday from 2:30 pm to 8 pm on school days, Saturday and Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm, and 8 am to 8 pm on school closure days.

Drop off your child (ages 5 to 12) at the homework club when it’s convenient for you!

Your child will work on their homework and school projects (and summer projects) under the supervision of an experienced tutor. After their homework has been completed, your child will engage in arts and crafts, building with lego, board games, chess, music and movement activities and much more!  Drop offs are available for as little as 1 hour.  Brainy Academy is known for small groups, experienced tutors and a safe environment.

Price:

Option 1: subscription of up to 20 hours per month $200 (charged on the 1st of every month)

Option 2: subscription of up to 30 hours per month $300 (charged on the 1st of every month)

Option 3: pay as you go $15 per hour for brainy academy students

Option 4: $20 per hour for all other students

* reservations are strongly encouraged. To make a reservation call or text 347 450 3123 as far ahead as possible or email info@brainyacademyny.com.

We are located at 1733 Sheepshead Bay Road, between shore parkway and voorhies, suite #49.

What will you do with your free time?

– Get a manicure
– Go to Bally’s across the street
– Have lunch with a friend
– Go shopping
– Run errands
– Have dinner with your spouse
– Take a nap