Blog John Silver

Empowered Teachers and Parents:

Three Easy Steps to Coach Yourself to Daily Inner Well-Being

As an elementary school teacher who has had a chance to sample different school environments both in America and in an international context, I have observed an interesting shift in my own search for a deep personal sense of wellbeing.  Let’s be honest, teachers and parents have challenging roles to play today.  Where can we go to find solutions to relieve the stress caused by work and home environments? Are there any options for our inner well-being to keep us grounded in a sense of fulfillment and balance in our lives?

To try answering these questions for you, I will give you another question to use as a reflection. Why not going back to those very sources of challenge in order to reclaim your own right to inner wellbeing?  This new idea may cause you to get a bit confused, but I invite you to reflect on this for a minute longer.

 Teacher or parent, you already have those skills to identify and evaluate causes for all sorts of problems you are facing daily regarding your students and children.  Knowing that each situation has some obvious or hidden roots will lead you to more investigation, right? So, why shouldn’t you apply the same principle here?  If your inner well-being and sense of personal or professional fulfillment are jeopardized or lost altogether, where can you look for the roots of this problem?  Where else, but the very place in which you pour our daily energy and effort to make a difference: the classroom or the home environment.  Go back and look closer at your daily working routines.  Here are a few suggestions for you: 

Start Questioning Your Situation with Honesty.  

What daily structures serve me well and what needs to go out the window?  How did I nurture my inner well-being or sense of fulfillment today? Start making a simple list of things that stand in your way of fully experiencing daily well-being: not having enough time, too many deadlines, not valuing the importance of inner well-being in personal or professional life, and so on.  Just be true to your self.  This exercise is priceless.

Play a Fun Game with Yourself.

Try a personal detective game using your own life and challenge as a background story for greater expansion of thought and transformation.  Let it be fun and use your creativity, maybe you can even journal about it.  Divide a page into two columns. In the first column, use each question you have found in the previous step and then write down your answers in your second column.  This is your visual guide to empowerment. I found that it is essential for us to reflect on this sort of questions with deep honesty because all answers are already there, at our fingertips, awaiting creative solutions.  

Start Reinventing Your Daily Experience

With your visual list in front of you, you can now take the next step in this amazing journey of daily life empowerment and balance.  Get creative by dreaming a well-being daily routine just for you, visualizing all the elements necessary to bring you inner calm, less stress and more mental focus while working on your difficult tasks, and more joy to share with the children in your self-discovery process.  One thing to note here: this brainstorming exercise should be fun and effortless.  If it is not, you have not yet given your teacher or parent self permission to embrace their inner magnificence.  What should you do then? Slowly read this article one more time and start re-inventing your daily work and home life in a new creative way. 

Cezarina Trone is a transformational life coach, an international educator ( e-classroom web address: www.freewebs.com/mstronek1/ ) and author. Her personal interests in yoga, meditation and other creative approaches to teaching and learning have led her to share well-being coaching techniques with teachers, parents and others by motivating them to re-invent their life vision and embrace powerful change. Other life coaching areas of her interest are: women’s empowerment, international life transitions, creativity coaching, emotional wellbeing, spiritual life coaching, relationships/career & youth coaching. WEBSITE: wwww.cezarinatrone.com & BLOG: www.cezarinatrone.wordpress.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/empowered-teachers-and-parentsthree-easy-steps-to-coach-yourself-to-daily-inner-wellbeing-923976.html

With the quarter drawing to a close, grades are due, conferences are around the corner and stress levels are running high. Here are a few stress-busting tips to get through the next few weeks.

Get Moving
It is commonly recognized that physical activity jumpstarts the mind and helps students of all ages pay closer attention in class and expend some of that extra energy they would be spending goofing off. Not only will your classes be more productive, but you can also reduce stress throughout the day by joining in the physical fun.

At the beginning of each class period, have your students hop around the class, do jumping jacks, line dance or just run in place for a few minutes. Leading the pack in this activity will maximize the energy in the room and give your mind a break for a few minutes. The sillier it is, the more you and your students will enjoy it.

OR Slow It Down
If you don’t feel comfortable letting loose with your students, overly rambunctious students can’t handle that freedom or your older students are “too cool” to participate, try an opening meditation to begin each class. You can all take a few moments to relax and refocus after the hustle and bustle of running between class or switching gears from social studies to science.

Secret Stash

Keep a few things that always make you smile in your desk. It can be anything from pictures of your kids, your dog’s first collar, a mini-Eiffel Tower from your trip to Paris, a bottle of sand from your summer getaway, lotion that smells like heaven, an Ernie Banks baseball card or your favorite candy.

On your most trying days, take a momentary mental break from your class and your students and your crazy life by taking pleasure in your hidden treasures.

Prioritize
At the end of each day, make a To Do list for the following day. You can use different colors to mark items in order of importance. One color for MUST DO today, one for SHOULD DO today, and one for CAN DO if there is time. (Avoid red; it will only stress you out more).

You’ll get a sense of satisfaction from crossing items off the list, and you’ll force yourself to think about what really NEEDS to get done and what can wait for another day. By holding yourself to a daily list, you will prevent the anxiety that would come with overwhelming weekly or monthly lists.

Take things one day and one project at a time. You’ll be less stressed in no time.

Elvis has left the building
If your lunch schedule, free period and school permit, actually LEAVE the building once in awhile, even if it’s just for a few minutes. Read a book at a park, grab a quick sandwich, or even listen to the radio in your car. You’ll be amazed how freeing it is to have a few moments without interruptions or anyone vying for your attention.

Rule 1: Don’t let this stress-reliever become a stress-inducer. Do not feel guilty about taking some time to yourself. Don’t go so far away that you’ll worry about getting back to school in time.

Rule 2: Remember that this moment cannot last. You do have to return to school after these stolen moments of peace, no matter how difficult it may be.

If you absolutely can’t leave campus, you can create your own oasis in the classroom. When you have a few minutes or more between classes, shut the door and turn out the lights. This should give you a break to regroup.

Crock Pot Sensations
Never underestimate the stress-relieving power of not worrying about dinner. Throw one of these pre-made meals in the crock pot before you leave for school and come home to a delicious, guilt-free meal for you and your family.

How do you relieve stress? Trade your favorite stress buster tips with others on the TeachHUB community.

TeachHUB.com is a complete online resource center specific to K-12 education. Thousands of education tools, classroom strategies and teacher recommendations have been organized in one central location for ultimate convenience. For more helpful teacher tips and free articles, visit http://www.TeachHUB.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/todays-top-6-stress-busters-for-teachers-929933.html

You work hourly, daily, continually, and purposefully toward creating a school experience that is satisfying for your students. But what about you? What are you doing to ensure that your school is a wonderful place to teach as well as learn? Here are 12 tips to help you make the most of your school days:

Amp Up Your School Social Life

1. Don’t Hunker Down: Escape from your classroom once in awhile.

While sometimes we need to insulate ourselves, take a quiet moment or maximize our classroom downtime, it’s also imperative that we actively, consistently, and intentionally seek time and space with peers. Use this brief change of scenery and moment away from the classroom to come up for air.

2. Let’s Do Lunch: Eat lunch with your peers, not alone at your desk.

The time you have in school is rarely your own. Lunch is one moment in your day when you get to seek others out. Don’t let this daily opportunity escape you.

3. Total BFFs: Make friends with colleagues.

According to Gallup, people who have a best friend at work are seven times more likely to be engaged in their job. That means that laughing, talking, and sharing time with your colleagues is a part of your job! If this goal isn’t part of your priorities, it should be.

4. Make Peace, Not War: Resolve lingering personal conflicts with colleagues.

What degree of stress walks into the building with you each morning because of a workplace conflict with a colleague? How much energy and joy does this conflict sap from your overall satisfaction with teaching? How would your energy change if this conflict was resolved? You know the answers to these questions. Now go and address it!

Make the Most of Me Time

5. Pencil It In: Schedule moments in your days when you’re NOT available but are in control of your own space and time. Even for a moment.

Making time for yourself is not a bad thing. Catching your breath, taking a moment’s peace, and re-energizing is not only good for you, it’s good for your students and colleagues. They want you peaceful and focused!

6. Loosen the Digital Leash: DON’T email during every free moment.

Little by little, your computer may be eating away at what little spare time you have. Take a weekly technology audit of your time. How much “free” time are you spending on the computer? How else could you spend this time that would better feed you and your energy?

The previous was an excerpt from the TeachHUB.com Top 12 series.  For the complete article as well as other articles with in the series, please click here.

Nathan Eklund is both a freelance writer for TeachHUB.com and K-12 teacher. TeachHUB.com is a free, online resource center for all educators provided by the K-12 Teachers Alliance. This resource center is meant to be the solution assistance for all your classroom challenges and is made available by teachers, for teachers. Please visit TeachHUB.com for more information.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/top-12-ways-to-enjoy-your-job-as-a-teacher-930039.html

School districts are required by federal law to pay for a large portion of special education programs and services.  These programs and services cannot be altered or cut in any way because it is federally mandated, unlike all other programs for the rest of the students. The short explanation is that federal law mandates it, as set forth in the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act  [20 USC 1400 et seq.].  This law, also called IDEA, enumerates the required needs for students with disabilities.  We all agree that students with special needs must be accommodated, additional care is necessary.  However, most of us do not know the details of the funding and spending on this issue.   In addition to the IDEA federal mandate, the State of California also sets forth special education funding apportionment in its Assembly Bill 602 SELPA [AB 602].
 
If you read these codes on its face and believe that the state and federal government will fund the programs as set forth in the requirements, then you’re not alone.  Must of us assume that this mandated federal and state law will come from separate federal and state funds.  Most people who I asked assumed that special education is funded entirely by federal government disability funds.  It does make sense since it is a federally mandated requirement.  The state and federal statutes require schools to provide ”free and appropriate public education” for special education students.   
 
Here is the shocking news, local school districts are responsible for this “free and appropriate public education.”  In fact, IDEA section 1400(c)(6) cites that states and local education agencies are responsible for providing the education for students with disabilities, but that the Federal Government will have a role [emphasis added] in assisting the state and local education agencies.  
 
If you sample a school district’s budget, you will find for example [PVPUSD] it receives $5,049M from the state [AB 602] in addition to the federal IDEA grant which is approximately $2M.  However, the actual costs for the special education programs in this district total approximately $22M.  This district has reported a deficit spending for special education in the sum of $12.5M which is almost double the amount it receives in funding from the federal government and state, combined.  This school district has to find and fund $12.5M in excess of the sum provided by the government funding. 
 
How could special education needs add up to such a colossal amount and cause such a deficit for local school districts? In the code, you will find that required programs such as one-on-one aids are mandatory for each qualifying special needs child. Transportation, specialized at-home care and a host of other services are also required under the law.  
 
I asked the California Department of Education why local school districts are not receiving more funding for special education requirements.  I asked how the local special education funding from the state is apportioned.  Becky Robinson of the CDE Special Education Department stated that “all funds, federal or state, must be approved by the governor.”  I checked, she is right.  The Budget Act of 2008-2009 AB 1781 (chapter 268) sets forth the budget for special education as determined by the state budget and the governor. 
 
At a time when teachers and administrative staff are being laid off en masse, it is difficult to understand why school districts are forced to spend an additional $12.5M on special education program requirements, when state budget cuts are forcing school districts to cut teachers and programs elsewhere.  $12.5M could solve all of the local budget woes and keep the teaching and administrative staff employed for the benefit of the entire school.  The answer is that special education programs are depleting the school districts’ budgets as administrators make cuts to prioritize the federally mandated programs for special education. 
 
Another item for budget in the statute that I should mention, is the special needs education conflict and dispute resolution.  There are law firms that specialize in representing students with disabilities and negotiate the settlement for district’s alleged failure to comply with the established statutes and regulations under the federally mandated IDEA.  This means that the statutes for special education inherently set forth guidelines for legal action following administrative proceedings should a parent identify a violation of their child’s “free and appropriate public education.” 
 
Many school districts have greatly suffered from lawsuits brought by parents who claim that their special needs child’s rights were not met under the code.  Case in point, Porter v. Board of Trustees of Manhattan Beach Unified School District et al., 307 F. 3d 1064 (9th Cir. 2002), 537 U.S. 1194, 123 S. Ct. 1303, 154 L. Ed. 2nd 1029 (2003). 

In the case of Porter, the parents of a student, who had been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, charged that  Manhattan Beach Unified School District failed to provide their child with a “free appropriate public education.”   This lawsuit resulted in the school district paying over $6.7M to the family of the student.  In addition, as part of the settlement, control of the student’s education was transferred to a Special Master, Ivor Weiner, Ph.D., resulting in the cost of just under $1.1M to pay for the education of the student at the direction of the Special Master. 

The problem is that whether or not this school district properly complied with the federally mandated programs and services for this student, the school district was forced to make cuts elsewhere to pay for this legal settlement.   Why has the federal government mandated such broad standards for special education and then leave local school districts to oversee, manage and fund these programs? 

Since the subject of budgets and special education is not a topic that people are willing to discuss, reform in this regard is unlikely.  Certainly, special education programs and services are not to blame for this problem.  This problem belongs squarely on the lap of the federal government under the mandated IDEA laws.   

Ericha Parks is a veteran investigative journalist and reporter. She is a contributing columnist for several national news services as well as political websites. Ericha is a consultant for California education legislators and school districts.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/special-education-funding-in-california-is-causing-deficit-in-school-district-budgets-938935.html

For the 30 million student athletes in America, sports can be an excellent way for high school students to build relationships, stay in shape and learn valuable skills about teamwork. But high school sports aren’t always fun and games. With scholarship hopes, parental pressures and an ultra-competitive atmosphere, some student athletes may begin to crumble under the pressure.

Pressure

How much should ride on throwing a ball in a basket, hitting a home run or running fast?

In many ways, high school sports have evolved into a high stakes game that puts student athletes under a tremendous amount of pressure. It may start in little league with over-eager dads and coaches lightheartedly inspiring kids’ major league dreams, but it doesn’t always end there. Student athletes don’t want to let down their parents, their teammates, their school, or with high profile sports, their town.

These pressures are coming at a time when most high schoolers’ confidence and self-image are in question. Children and teens want to live up to the potential that their parents see in them. They also want to ease the burden of college tuition. Earning an athletic scholarship would fulfill both of those goals.

According to The Sports Scholarship Handbook, only 1 in 50 high school athletes receive athletic scholarships. Consider the pressure to be that one along with those from school work, other activities and social lives; that is a lot for a teenager to handle.

The drive to win, to be the very best, can inspire greatness in children and adults alike, but that winner-take-all mentality can also set unrealistic expectations. It is this kind of mindset that can sap the fun out of sports.

Rather than create these pressure-filled pastimes, shouldn’t we use high school sports to foster well-rounded young adults?

Physical Dangers

In order to be successful in high school sports these days, students are required to commit to one sport and play on club teams all year.

When athletes play one sport day-in, day-out all year round, they put themselves in danger of damaging joints, tearing muscles, or causing stress fractures due to the constant repetitive movements. Despite these dangers, coaches continue to warn students that they risk their roster spot and any college hopes by playing multiple sports.

A recent study demonstrates the alarming increase in these repetitive stress injuries. The study tracked the number of “Tommy John” surgeries, procedures done on pitchers to repair damaged elbow ligaments, and was completed by the American Sports Medicine Institute, Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Center, in Birmingham, Alabama.

“Before 1997, Tommy John surgery was performed on only 12 of 97 patients (12%) who were 18 years or younger,” coauthor and research director E. Lyle Cain, MD said.

“In 2005 alone, 62 of the 188 operations performed were on high-school athletes, a third of the surgical group,’’ Cain said. “The reality is that this surgery is successful and that’s good. But a disturbing trend of younger kids needing the surgery is troubling.”

Ironically, playing multiple sports can help athletes to be in better physical shape, develop multiple muscle groups, and keep them from burning out on their chosen sport.

Detavius Mason agrees in his article for The Guilford Orthopedic and Sports Medical Center titled “Age of Specialization: One Sport Vs. Multiple Sports.”

“Kobe Bryant, Roger Federer, Tom Brady, Lebron James, Alex Rodriguez,” Mason wrote. “When these names are brought up, a few things come to mind: excellence, transcendent talent, winning, but the thought of them specializing in one sport should not. Kobe & Federer were soccer players, Brady played baseball, Lebron played football and A-Rod played basketball, football and soccer.”

He ends with advice to parents and coaches: “So allow your child to participate in multiple sports … Participating in multiple sports also allows them to see if they are talented in another sport, less stress on the body, overall athleticism increases, gain more friends & social interaction, and there is less pressure to be perfect.”

In extreme examples, some sports can endanger an athlete’s general health. Whether students are trying make weight for wrestling, stay slim for dance or bulk up for football, sports can trigger some dangerous eating and exercise habits.

The Out-Crowd

High school sports can also create an “in crowd” mentality that excludes those who don’t make the cut.

Let’s face it, not all kids are athletic superstars. Does that mean they don’t love the game and want to be a part of the team? Does that mean they should miss out on the social and physical benefits of organized sports? Though some kids stay involved as managers or fans, well-organized recreational options are few and far between.

These exclusions also extend beyond general skill level. With club sports being an unofficial requirement to make many high school teams, underprivileged students are put at a distinct disadvantage because they cannot afford membership fees and travel expenses that club teams require. When try-outs come around, coaches are more likely to favor club players that they’ve seen play for years over unknowns who have only practiced on the playground.

John Cochran, a parent from Newton, Mass., argues that all students should have the chance to play high school sports regardless of skill level.

“Studies have shown that students who participate in high school athletics have higher grade point averages, fewer discipline problems and greater self-esteem,” Cochran wrote in his editorial for Newton’s Wicked Local newspaper.

“By cutting everyone except the very best players, only a small fraction of students will ever benefit from those [government allocated] resources.” he wrote. “If the prevailing philosophy is taken to its logical conclusion, public high schools should provide inferior educational opportunities to students who are not at the very top of their class.”

The Solution

My goal is not to ban high school sports, but to return sports to their original purpose: fun. If we can change the general outlook on these sports – letting kids play multiple sports, refocusing on recreation instead of cutthroat competition, and creating a fair playing field for all would-be athletes – then high schoolers can really go out and play.

Annie Condron is the Editor in Chief at TeachHUB.com and the author of The “Top 12 Ways to Motivate Students” which is part of a new, exciting series made available by TeachHUB.com. This series is meant to provide fun and insight relevant to K-12 education. TeachHUB.com is a new, online resource center designed by teachers, for teachers and is tailored to address the everyday needs of teachers both inside and outside of the classroom. To view the entire TeachHUB Top 12 series as well as other teacher recommended education tools, visit http://www.TeachHUB.com.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/k-12-education-articles/extreme-sports-how-much-is-too-much-940756.html