Me and my fan club!

Welcome to the eighth grade!

You are in for quite an adventure this year. Over the next nine months we are going to share a look at the history of this wonderful country. You are going to be surprised, have fun, be challenged and hopefully, learn something at the same time. I think you will enjoy my class while you learn. There are a few things you need to do if you hope to be successful in my class. Before I get to those, I would first like to mention something about grades. Passing my class is easy. If you do the assignments and participate in class you will pass. Getting an "A" on the other hand is going to require a lot of effort on your part. You are going to have to go above and beyond the basics to get an "A". It can be done but you are going to have to earn the grade but remember, grades are not as important as the learning! If you are passionate about the learning the grades will naturally be where you want them to be. If you are just going through the motions, well, don't count on learning as much or getting great grades. It is truly your choice.

About the Teacher

This is Mr. Eklund's nineteenth year here at Kenilworth! He has an Associate's degree from Glendale Community College, a Bachelor's degree from California State University at Northridge and a Master's degree from the University of San Francisco. He has Teaching credentials in Social Sciences and English, as well as a Multiple Subject (Elementary) Self- Contained classroom credential. He has lead the annual trip to Washington DC for the last seventeen years and will be doing so again this summer. Mr Eklund is married (36 years)to a wonderful woman who works as an RN at Kaiser in Santa Rosa, CA. and has three daughters. The oldest graduated from Dominican University of California, in San Rafael, California and is currently working as an RN in the Trauma Emergency Room The middle daughter graduated from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona and is currently working as an RN in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit. The youngest is working as a licensed Phlebotomist. AND as you may notice when looking around the classroom, Mr Eklund is a big Cheap Trick fan! 

Mr. Eklund is a MEAN* Teacher

A MEAN teacher insists that each student does the best she/he is capable of doing. A MEAN teacher insists that students hand in their assignments on time and takes points off for late assignments. A MEAN teacher does not accept incomplete assignments. A MEAN teacher requires each student to think carefully and to make her/his own decisions. A MEAN teacher holds each student responsible for her/his own behavior. A MEAN teacher makes students keep the classroom, themselves, and their belongings neat and clean. The world needs more MEAN teachers!

* MEAN = Making Excellence A Necessity

 A Message to Parents

Dear Parents,

We would like to remind you that magic words such as hello, please, you’re welcome, I’m sorry, and thank you, all begin to be learned at home

It’s also at home that children learn to be honest, to be on time, diligent, show friends their sympathy, as well as show the utmost respect for their elders and all teachers.

Home is where they learn to be clean, not talk with their mouths full, and how/where to properly dispose of garbage.

Home is also where they learn to be organized, to take good care of their belongings, and that it’s not ok to touch others.

Here at school, on the other hand, we teach language, math, history, geography, physics, sciences, and physical education. We only reinforce the education that children receive at home from their parents.

And finally, a question from Mr Eklund

We have all heard of Helicopter parents who hover over their children to the point that it is difficult for the child to thrive on their own. Hopefully this does not describe you.

Helicopter parents think they are helping their children but actually they are taking away learning opportunities. You see, failures are not necessarily a bad thing.  We tend to learn far more from our mistakes than we do from our successes. Even worse than the Helicopter parent is what is known as the Bulldozer parent (also known as a Curling parent in Canada).  These parents are so intent on clearing all obstacles out of their child's path that the child doesn't even have an opportunity to be independent at all. Students need to have the opportunity to fail.  When they are denied this opportunity they never learn how to deal with adversity. 

Encourage your student to do things for themselves but if you don't let them have the opportunity to learn from their mistakes you are not really helping them to grow. These opportunities help your student to become self-reliant and self-confident. Encourage that growth but stop clearing the obstacles out of their way. Sooner or later they must learn to deal with obstacles on their own and junior high is THE best place to start doing that. It is a safe environment to take some chances...so let them.  Don't be a Bulldozer parent. Your kids will thank you for it later.

So, my question to you...Are you a helicopter parent...or worse, a bulldozer parent? If you have to think about the answer then maybe it is time for you to let go a little bit and let your child try to fly solo for a bit. You will probably be pleasantly surprised by how well they can do on their own!

Mr Eklund's DC Trip Website