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When Students Struggle

Livia McCoy
Livia McCoy taught science to students with language learning disabilities for many years. She currently serves as Dean of Student Support at The Steward School in Richmond, VA. Her students are bright, college-bound adolescents who learn differently. Livia sees each student as an individual with great potential to learn, and feels her job is to help them figure out how to be successful in school. Livia says, “I blog about the many smart students who struggle in school because of learning differences or attention issues. I share what I have learned helping these students, their parents and teachers to see how they can experience success in school.” Livia welcomes comments on her blog at SchoolFamily.com.


How to Advocate for Your Child with Learning Disabilities at the Beginning of the School Year

Sep 13, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in Parent Involvement, Livia McCoy, Learning Disabilities, Back to School
If your child is learning disabled, now is the time to make contact with his or her new teachers. Speaking from a teacher’s perspective, the beginning of the school year is extremely hectic! It is very easy to overloo... Read more
Fear of the Unknown Creates Anxiety

Sep 06, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in Parent Involvement, Livia McCoy
Recently, my grandson started kindergarten. He loved the first day of school. Even so, he did not want to go back the second day. He was worried because the teacher told them they would have a fire drill the next day. Bec... Read more
Executive Functioning -- How it Affects a Student in School

Aug 31, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in Organization, Livia McCoy, Kids Learning
There is a great article you might enjoy reading: Executive Function—A New Lens Through Which to View Your Child. What I like the most about it is that it focuses on how a better understanding of your child's stren... Read more
Don't Let Technology Keep Your Child from Getting Enough Sleep

Aug 23, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in School Success, Parent Involvement, Livia McCoy, Kids Learning
My students sometimes have trouble staying awake in school. They tell me they do not get much sleep at night. When I question them about it, I often find out that they are "sleeping" with their cell phone. That is such a b... Read more
Children, Sleep and Long Term Memory

Aug 16, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in Sleep, Livia McCoy, Extracurricular Activities
Scientists now have evidence that long-term memories form during sleep. For years we have suspected that sleep was important for learning and memory. This data now confirms that suspicion (See Science Daily, Sept. 16, 2009)... Read more
Getting Started on a Task - How to Help Your Child

Aug 08, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in School Success, Livia McCoy, Kids Learning, Homework, Fun Learning Activities
Some children have a hard time getting started on a task. They sit and stare at the worksheet or book and do not know what to do. There are several things that may be going on. They may know what they are supposed to do, b... Read more
What Happens When We Learn?

Aug 01, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in School Success, Livia McCoy, Learning Disabilities, Kids Learning
Many people ask me to help them understand why their child is having trouble learning in school. This is a very complicated question! Many things have to happen before learning can occur. The first step in the learning pro... Read more
Take Advantage of Real-Life Learning Experiences

Jul 25, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in Livia McCoy, Kids Learning
There is nothing like a real-life experience to make you want to learn something new. In the education world, we call this "authentic learning." My grandsons found a pill bug (sowbug, roly-poly bug) under the house where we... Read more
Using Text-to-Speech Software to Proofread

Jul 18, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in Livia McCoy, Kids Writing, Kids Reading
Summertime writing projects are a great time to work on proofreading skills. My students hate to proofread their work! I guess it's because it takes longer to finish it if they take the time to proof it. However, it is a w... Read more
Learning to Accept Help

Jul 12, 2011 - Posted by Livia McCoy in Summer Learning, Livia McCoy, Learning Disabilities, Kids Math, Fun Learning Activities
Some of my summer school students feel like accepting my help means I am doing the work for them. They would rather turn in lower quality work and do it totally by themselves. This is admirable -- that they want to do the w... Read more