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Archive for June, 2009

This is a story about two little girls, a piece of pink flowered cloth and the luxury of time during the long days of summer vacation. It is also a reminder that sometimes the best things we can do for kids is not too much …The story begins at a neighborhood garage sale, (be careful crossing the street) and involved the combining of allowance coins to pay they price of the cloth, and complex negotiations about shared ownership. (Where would the cloth be at night?)

The most difficult thing about the cloth however, was deciding what to do with it. The girls’ first idea, quickly discarded, was to turn it into doll clothes. These were not doll playing girls, and besides, sewing those tiny stitches was too hard when the sun was beating down. A trip indoors for a cooling drink resulted in the discovery of a fat pile of many colored yarns; some big-eyed needles, two pair of kid-sized scissors, and inspiration.

As the mother of one of the girls, I can attest that they were busy all day. As the light faded, a stack of neat, pink flowered, (almost squares) of carefully embroidered and edged cloths sat on the purple work table under the tree where they worked. That was just the beginning.

During the school year I often write about how teachers and parents and mentors can encourage relationships and learning, stimulate creativity and promote productivity in the classroom and programs for kids. I write from an awareness of the many challenges that kids, schools and families are facing in these difficult times, and most of all, I write in the hope that some of the ideas and information I share will help kids be engaged in their learning, connected to their school and community, and fully- involved in activities that they feel passionate about.

But now, with summer vacation just beginning, and many parents and organizations scrambling for ways (and dollars) to fill kids’ time, I want to change gears a little and offer this story about the girls and the cloth as a reminder that, especially in these times when so many kids lead highly scheduled, busy and complex lives, there is more than one way to fill a summer day, and as a reminder, that adults are not the only ones who can (or should) provide kids with fun, diversion and creative opportunities.

So back to the girls:

On the following morning, after careful consideration, the now embroidered pink squares were identified as placemats. And placemats this beautiful definitely belonged on a party table. This was the moment when the real work began and the idea for a grand party began to take shape.

By summer’s end, the girls and their younger siblings (who they coerced into all manner of participation) held a surprise party for their parents, all of whom just happened to be born in September. The party was the core of their summer activities. (And need I mention all the summer learning that came as a result?)

Working together, the girls planned a ‘great’ dinner, plotted ways to get the food  and other things they needed for the meal (”without anybody knowing”), shopped with their own money (even collected cans to recycle to earn more), and requested “cooking lessons” so that the food got cooked, and the cake baked.

It didn’t end there. A play was written and performed (and later published! - but that’s still another story), and several poems transformed into lyrics for the songs that were offered as the evening’s musical-comedy entertainment. No one knows where the rehearsals took place, but the performance and costumes were memorable. As were the gifts, each personalized for the recipient and made by hand (more garage sale finds.) The candles on the (slightly lopsided) cake were dull compared with the light of pride, delight and imagination that lit the eyes of the party-givers.

It is truly hard to say who was richer for the experience, but it is safe to say that a good time was had by all. And to think it all began with a piece of second hand cloth, and the unstructured time of long summer days to see it blossom into whatever it could become.

So, what were the lessons that I learned that summer?

Give children time - free time - empty as a blank page to be colored by imagination and filled with the discoveries found in their own world - within and outside themselves.

Give children time - to dream, experiment, discover creatures in the clouds and ants in the grass. Give them unstructured time to play, and just be.

Give children time so that their creativity can flourish, friendships can grow and their ideas can come to full growth.

And, as long as you are still reading, one more tip … give children books - or better still, let them choose their own at the library. It may not constitute their idea of free time, but it can’t hurt. After all, they might find patterns for placemats, recipes for cakes, ideas for gifts, or simply the gift of something wonderful to read.

Happy Summer.

Topics: Creativity, Quality Time | No Comments »

Solutions to the Dropout Crisis radio webcast, to be broadcast live on Tuesday, June 16, at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. (12:30 PDT)

Mentoring is one of the most effective and certainly the most economical dropout prevention strategies. But in order to have positive effects, mentoring needs to incorporate the right elements, i.e., The Elements of Effective Practice.  

Kate Schineller,  VP of MENTOR, will present a full program about mentoring, including who needs mentors; what the research says; and program design and planning. She will then introduce listeners to a successful mentoring program for children of prisoners, the Caregiver’s Choice Project, a demonstration project of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and administrated by her organization, MENTOR.

Materials including the slide show/PowerPoint are available online now! On the day of the broadcast, go to http://www.dropoutprevention.org/webcast and select this program. You may participate live and call in questions of our guest. If you are unable to join us on the 16th, listen to the archived version or subscribe to our program on Itunes.

Any questions, contact ndpc@clemson.edu.

Topics: Dropouts, Recommended Resources, Resources for Mentor, Upcoming Events | No Comments »

Overview: I would like to help facilitate a smooth transition for a group of special education eighth-graders in their move from the k-8 school where I work to the high school just across the street. I want to help these students by being supportive while encouraging new healthy relationships as well as a growing independence. I have included some of the actions I have taken this year to help specific students, but I would like to put together a simple, ‘bridge’ program that could be used to help Learning Center SPED students going into high school every year. Most significantly, I’d like, if possible, to include students in this ‘bridge.’ I’ll explain how this might work as we go along. 

My school’s general population: This school, as well as the high school where the students are moving, is in an affluent urban neighborhood with very low ESL rates, high TAG rates, and socially/politically powerful families. However, about half of the students I’ll be talking about come from families of relative poverty by comparison.  

This Year’s Kids- why they are at risk for dropping out: Tom, Fred, Quasha, Tara, and Belinda are eighth graders heading to high school. Their needs vary but each has utilized learning center assistance and each- in her or his own way- is at particular risk for dropping out. Quasha and Tara are of racial minorities, come from low-income families, and have high rates of absenteeism and tardiness. Tom, Quasha, and Tara all express negativity about learning, education, and their futures. Fred has built very few peer or staff connections in his time at our school, acts out frequently in class, reports that teachers don’t respect him, has experienced school violence, and has had a number of school changes over the years. Belinda, Tara, and Quasha are negative about their body types, which they see as different from the norm. All of the students have learning disabilities, while Fred is gifted in science and math as well.        

Relationships: Over the last two years- as long as I have been at this school- I have moved from level one relationships, characterized by simple friendly, validating comments, to level two, wherein I have offered continual, more personalized support but without spending much time thinking about the possible individual impact of the relationship, and level three, wherein I hear directly from the kids about what does and does not work in terms of support for them. For example, I have worked closely with Tom for two years. He lives with high functioning autism, an issue which, amongst other complications, makes relationships and emotional expression difficult. He often comes off as abrasive and unsociable till you get to know him. Even after two years almost all of the giving has had to be mine with almost no acknowledgement, let alone open appreciation, on his part. Yet one day a few months ago, as I was helping him get through the assigned To Kill a Mockingbird, he stopped me to ask: “Do I ever say thank you?” When I asked, “Thanks for what?” he answered that he wanted to thank me for “reading to” him and helping him “understand” every day. Of course overt thanks are not why we do this work but it sure didn’t hurt.   

As these kids get ready to go to high school our relationship is at the level four, relay point. I have helped prepare both them and their new LC teachers for what to expect with one another by participating in discussions and introductions.  Because I do work with many of our LC students, both in the LC and in mainstream classroom, I’ve gotten to know them well, and I am in a good position to help with this transition to high school.  

Goals: My short term goal with this bridge has been to help these children (and we often forget that people going into high school are still, however big, kids) have less anxiety around their move to high school. Long-term goals include helping them connect with people who can assist them to make good behavior choices, keep up passing grades, find and explore their passions, graduate ready to be life-long learners, and use their education to positively change and equalize society.

Available resources: My co-workers, many of whom have worked in PPS much longer than I and a few of whom have previously worked at the high school, are resources. These folks have connected me with the appropriate people there and have helped me answer some of the students’ questions. Of course, staff at the high school are now resources as well. Further, students I have previously worked with who transitioned last year, and even parents, are potential resources.   

Actions taken/ plan of action for future: A little earlier this year I got to visit the school where they will attend to get the lay of the land. I also borrowed a PowerPoint that a co-worker had helped put together with pictures of the high school, and info on basic rules, school structure, extra-curricular opportunities, credit requirements, academic assistance options, etc. We went over the PowerPoint with the kids and took questions, dispelling some myths and getting back to students later with answers to those we could not answer at the time. Each student received a small, easy-to-read map of the school and help forecasting for next year’s classes. The first week of school I’ll check in with the kids, ask each how they are doing, remind them of ways that they have been successful in the past- using planners to track assignments, asking teachers questions after the bell if they are uncomfortable asking in front of the class, finding a trusted adult if confused, seeking out a trusted peer: Tom and Fred have been good for one another on occasion in this capacity as have Tara and Quasha- and I am always available; they have been given my work email- etc.     

The more comprehensive ‘bridge’ program I envision could look like this: each year kids who have successfully transitioned the year prior from our program to the high school across the street could be brought over to talk to our eighth grade kids. The older kids will have first-hand experience, know the SPED teachers and many of the gen ed teachers, know the rules, school layout, procedures, etc. These kids could show the PowerPoint mentioned earlier, answer questions, give the incoming students a school tour at the new building, allow them to shadow for a day, and provide light-duty mentorship during the early part of the transition. All of this would be organized and supervised by someone such as myself, a LC staff who can problem-solve and take responsibility when students need assistance.      

Any suggestions? Thanks!

Topics: Uncategorized | No Comments »

I have written several times in this blog about the special challenges of educating and working with boys.

This workshop, offered by Lewis and Clark College, is quuite relevant to the work that so many of you are doing these days, so, though it is through another school, I felt it was well worth listing here. If you attend, please share what you learned.

Also, be sure to visit the website for ideas, resources and more information.

Helping Boys Connect Through Physical Challenge and Strategic Storytelling

Friday, June 26, 2009
9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Lewis & Clark
Albany Quadrangle - Smith Hall

How can we see boys as something other than as problems? How can we effectively help boys resolve the difficulties they face? This workshop will challenge you to see boys in new ways and provide you with the means to mentor young men to be more interpersonally engaged. Participants will learn about the research that underlies the BAM! approach as well as practice the adventure based activities and strategic storytelling methods used in BAM! groups.

Having worked independently for many years as advocates for boys, three Portland professionals teamed up to support boys and the adults who care about them. Peter Mortola, professor at Lewis & Clark and school psychologist; Howard Hiton, professional counselor in private practice; and Stephen Grant, social worker and school counselor, share a passion for boy’s issues. The result of their collaboration is a curriculum entitled BAM! Boys Advocacy and Mentoring, A Guidebook for Leading Strength-Based Boys Groups. (Routledge, 2008) BAM! groups encourage school-aged boys to accept broader perspectives on what it means to be male and helps them build the relational skills they need to become healthy men.

This workshop will give participants all that they need to effectively lead a BAM! group as well as ideas and strategies for working with boys in educational and counseling contexts.

This day of training is for:

• counselors,
• parents,
• mentors,
• coaches, and
• others who want to gain insights and skills for working with boys. 

Instructors: Peter Mortola, Howard Hiton and Stephen Grant
Noncredit or PDU/CEU: 7 hours, $195
Optional continuing education credit: CEED 866, .5 semester hour, $235 Cost includes a copy of the BAM! Guidebook and lunch.
For more information on BAM!, refer to the BAM! website.
Team discount: $180 per person for three or more individuals registering at the same time for non-credit/PDU/CEU only. All registrations must be received together.

Registration Information

Registration Form (pdf)

For more registration information

Topics: Boy Friendly Schools, Recommended Resources | No Comments »