2013 King George Fall Festival

Rain did not dampen the excitement at the 2013 King George Fall Festival. The KGHS cafeteria was alive with laughter and conversation. I watched as families ambled throughout the gym and purchased handmade crafts and other merchandise and talked with merchants about their offerings. Lots of people stopped by my table to inquire about my tutoring their children and to learn about the study skills and writing workshops VCLA offers. I talked so much my voice was hoarse before the end of the day!

We had several "giveaways," including a drawing for two $50 gift certificates. Congratulations to Keith Lee and Christine Quick - each won a $50 gift certificate toward tutoring or a workshop at VCLA. Another giveaway was the "thinking cap" - a paper hat designed to look like the human brain; the caps were a big hit. One little lad helped me by distributing the brains to all of the elementary students he saw. Thanks, Nathan!

This introduction to neurology generated lots of questions about how the brain works and was the perfect introduction to my giving a mini lesson about the importance of drinking water and getting enough sleep. I have a "Grow a Gruesome Body Part" brain by Ganz. It's one of the toys that when you drop it into water it will grow to about four times its original size. Remove it from water and it will shrivel into a tiny, hard blob that is not conducive to learning. I use the plastic brain to explain that the human brain requires water and rest, and it will learn and remember more, if we treat it well.

I always incorporate that tidbit of information into my lessons. I believe firmly that children need to understand the science behind learning, how the brain functions, and why certain learning strategies are more effective than others. Children are curious creatures who aim to please. If they understand the "why" behind a directive, they are more likely to incorporate it into their lives. I am fascinated by the complexity of the brain and truly enjoy reading the literature that documents the research on learning and brain development. I like to share that research with my students and boost their metacognition skills - their thinking about thinking - the first step in helping to ignite a passion for learning.

If you missed out on getting your child a thinking cap, don't despair. Send me an e-mail, give me a call, or stop by the office. I will get one to you!

Congress needs to live the 7 Habits

Why is it so difficult for our congressional leaders to act like leaders? The citizens of this country pay them to lead, yet our "leaders" behave like unruly children. 

I once asked a member of the House of Representatives why politicians couldn't reach consensus. His answer? "It's sport."

Sport? 

Really?

Dear Congress: It is not "sport" when our government shuts down because 700+ adults (paid to lead) cannot give and take. It is not "sport" when you complain that our students are not keeping up with their peers in other countries, yet you cut education funding. It is not "sport" when the elderly must choose between food and the fuel bill. It is not "sport" when people lack affordable healthcare and die from disease that could have been prevented. It is not "sport" when people lose their jobs and homes because the financial elite manipulates the economy. 

Here's my four-part solution: 

1. Term limits - Those elected to the executive or legislative branches of the U.S. Government will serve no more than two non-consecutive six-year terms. All benefits will end when the terms end; individuals will be permitted to pay for COBRA benefits.

2. Vacations/recesses - Members of the executive and legislative branches of our government will not be allowed to play until they finish their work. Congress and the president must reach consensus on all issues or no breaks - period; 

3. Benefits - The Congressional budget, including salaries and benefits, will be reduced by the average percentage of the cuts to all education, health, and welfare programs. The president's salary and benefits will be cut by the same percentage, too; and

4. Leadership skills - Newly elected representatives must enroll in a leadership class and complete at least 10 continuing education credits each year. Representatives will earn one CEU for each week "working" in the following organizations (no photo opps allowed) in their respective districts: a public school classroom, a food bank, a health department or free clinic, a Veteran's hospital, a low-income housing project, and five other education/health/welfare organizations that depend upon federal money. 

I suggest the newly elected enroll in one of the Franklin Covey seminars and read one of the 7 Habits books:  the late Stephen R. Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families, or his son, Sean's, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens or 7 Habits of Happy Kids. The leadership principles are not hard to learn and live: 

Habit 1: Be Proactive
Habit 2: Begin with the End in Mind
Habit 3: Put First Things First
Habit 4: Think Win-Win
Habit 5: Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
Habit 6: Synergize
Habit 7: Sharpen the Saw

While some may view these habits as cliches, they remain good principles to incorporate into one's everyday life. Even elementary school children are learning these leadership skills through the Franklin Covey "Leader in Me" program. 

I teach a class based on these seven habits (I have no financial interest in Franklin Covey and have not been paid to write this BLOG), and I've seen the transformation they can make in children. Last semester, a group of students (each with a strong opinion) reached consensus on an issue within 30 minutes. If a group of high school freshmen can do it, why can't Congress do it? 

Please, Congressional Representatives, learn to be true leaders; appreciate your good fortune; and keep "sport" out of the legislative vernacular. It's not "sport" to ruin lives. 

Kicking around the idea of weekly workshops to discuss K-12 education issues

Would you be interested in attending weekly meetings at VCLA...perhaps one morning a week from 10 a.m. to Noon to learn about K-12 education issues? The topics (and format) presented at the meetings would be participant driven: book discussions, presentations, Webinars, etc.

What do you think?

Which day of the week would be best?

Will you help me think of a catchy name?

I truly want VCLA to be a family affair...a place where every member of the family is learning, growing, and achieving!

I am eager to hear from you!

The Bully and the Bullied: Tiered Intervention and Supports

The Council for Exceptional Children will host a three-part Webinar series about bullying:

The Bully and the Bullied: Tiered Intervention and Supports
A Three-Part Webinar Series

• Bullying Behavior: Prevention and Intervention
  Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2013, 4-5 p.m. ET
• Students Who Are Bullied: Prevention and Intervention
  Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2013, 4-5 p.m. ET
• Functional Behavior Assessments of the Bullies and the Bullied: Tiered Intervention Plans
  Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013, 4-5 p.m. ET

If you would like to participate in this Webinar series as my guest (no charge) at my office in King George, please let me know by October 1. If there is interest, I will register. The series is listed as professional development, but I think parents would benefit, too. To learn more, visit 

http://cec.informz.net/z/cjUucD9taT0zNTA3MTc5JnA9MSZ1PTEwMzMxNzQwNTcmbGk9MTkwODQwNjQ/index.html

Remember - Please call me at (540) 625-2184 or send me an e-mail by October 1, if you plan to join me!

Educator is passionate about student learning!

Carolyn Berry has been advocating for students with disabilities since she was a young child. Her first "job" was to organize backyard carnivals to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. “I loved it,” she says. “Every year my neighbors and family members would play the games I had set up and buy lemonade and cookies my mother and I had made. I raised no more than $50 each year, but I learned a lot about disabilities, entrepreneurship, and the importance of volunteer activities.”

As a teenager, she babysat for a young boy who had muscular dystrophy. That led her to volunteer as a counselor at camps for students with muscular dystrophy and intellectual disabilities. “I also volunteered each Labor Day Weekend to answer the telephones during the telethon Jerry Lewis hosted to raise money for MDA,” Carolyn says.

Fast forward to today and she is the director of the Virginia Center for Learning and Achievement, a center that provides tutoring and other academic help for students of all abilities and consulting and coaching for parents, teachers, and administrators.

“Consulting, coaching and teaching are great jobs for me. I am very passionate about helping students learn, and coaching and consulting give me the opportunity to utilize the skills I've developed and the knowledge I've absorbed throughout the years," she says. Plus it fits perfectly with her personal mission to empower those around her to achieve goals beyond their dreams.

Her passion for the students is hard to miss. She becomes quite animated when she talks about assessing students and figuring out which strategies would be the best to incorporate into her lesson plans.

“My leisure reading is the stack of educational journals that sit on the end table,” she says. “I belong to several professional organizations, so I receive three or four journals each month. I love to read the articles because that’s how I learn about classroom strategies and how to implement them.”

Carolyn says it is important to use research-based strategies in the classroom. “They are a blueprint for student success. If students need more intensive instruction, teachers already know the next steps. There is no guessing.”

To learn more about research-based strategies, contact Carolyn Berry at carolynberry@vclatutoring.com or (540) 625-2184.