THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE

Posts Tagged ‘teacher training’

Image from: http://media.photobucket.com/image/classroom/Excal1971/classroom.jpg?o=23

Monday, May 16, 2011. I am so happy to know that integrity is where you find it, whether in the classroom or elsewhere. ~ Doc Meek

Delightful and heart-warming short video of a classroom test situation, from Values.com:

http://www.values.com/inspirational-stories-tv-spots/91-Classroom

Doc Meek, Mon, May 16, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

Sunday, May 8, 2011. Today I am grateful for my mother, and her mother, who shaped my life and gladly shared their intelligence and wisdom with me. I am also grateful for my spouse, Jeannette, who is a great mother and grandmother. ~ Doc Meek

Image from: www.HowToLearn.com

Happy Mother’s Day to all Mothers from Pat Wyman at
HowToLearn.com

As I count my blessings on mother’s day with two
wonderful children and a new grandchild, I want to share
this beautiful song with all mothers.

We would love to hear your special mother’s day stories
on our blog – leave a comment after watching the video.

Happy Mother’s Day

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=52GBd&m=1bUNfu6fEuPI2b&b=olpRfdKLnIfUZiqZu7Oazw ***

With love,
Pat Wyman
Founder, HowToLearn.com

The Center for New Discoveries in Learning, Inc., 4535 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV 89102

…………………………….

*** Video from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=taZzqFznpGw&feature=player_embedded

An original Mothers Day song by Eddie Kilgallon, for his mom and yours! http://www.eddieksongs.us/

Eddie is on the Advisory Board of Songs Of Love, and YOU can help by downloading this song at:

http://www.songsoflove.org/MothersDay

*** Here’s an animated version of Eddie Kilgallon’s beautiful Mother’s Day song (also the words are larger and clearer): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4krSmmRuus

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I did leave a comment on Pat Wyman’s website:

Dear Pat,

I am so grateful for your leadership of love and learning. This “Mother’s Day Song” is a treasure!

Thanks to you and to Eddie Kilgallon, who created the song.

Blessings and Gratitudes,

Doc Meek
docmeek.com
Sunday, May 8, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

…………………………….

Thank you, Pat Wyman and Eddie Kilgallon, for your leadership in learning and love!

Doc Meek, Sun, May 8, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

Wednesday, May 4, 2011. Today I am grateful for leaders like Pat Wyman and Stephen Guffanti, MD, who can show us ways to help kids learn, even when others say it is hopeless! ~ Doc Meek

Message from Pat Wyman, Founder, HowToLearn.com

Dear Doc,

Our Official HowToLearn.com ADHD expert, Stephen Guffanti,
M.D., has written a very practical book called, Does Your
Child Really Have ADHD?

He was kind enough to give us a nice long excerpt called
“A Tale of Two Viewpoints” about learning style
mis-matches which includes a deeply personal look into his
own life as a child with ADHD.

I am certain that you will find the information
exceptionally helpful and there is a video as well on
one of Dr. Guffanti’s patient’s, Charley.

Read Dr. Guffanti’s book excerpt here:

http://clicks.aweber.com/y/ct/?l=52GBd&m=1fRRiujVDuPI2b&b=4vEWSrcozy7fHhUbrtVloA

Warmly,
Pat Wyman
Founder, HowToLearn.com

The Center for New Discoveries in Learning, Inc., 4535 W. Sahara Ave., Suite 200, Las Vegas, NV 89102

…………………………………..

Thank you, Pat Wyman and Stephen Guffanti, for your remarkable contribution to learning and children!

Doc Meek, Wed, May 4, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

Prochaska, James O., John C. Norcross & Carlo C. DiClemente (1995).

CHANGING FOR GOOD: A REVOLUTIONARY SIX-STAGE PROGRAM FOR OVERCOMING BAD HABITS AND MOVING YOUR LIFE POSITIVELY FORWARD [Paperback]

Image/text from: http://www.amazon.com/Changing-Good-Revolutionary-Overcoming-Positively/dp/038072572X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1302471141&sr=1-1

Monday, April 11, 2011. Today I am grateful for those people who work with addicts (that’s all of us, to one degree or another, maybe) and help them (us) mover forward in our lives in a positive way . . . permanently. Dr. Prochaska and his fellow Ph.D.s/colleagues are such people. ~ Doc Meek

I wrote to an ex-alcoholic friend about Dr. Prochaska’s work, as follows: 

Dear B, Drs. Prochaska, Norcross & DiClemente put forward the idea that family or corporate interventions that rush/push addicts (or any of us) into changing their (our) behavior before they (we) are ready internally to make the change, are almost certain to fail.
From what you have shared with me, you know this already. This program greatly increases the success rate and greatly reduces recidivism (relapse).

Blessings and Gratitudes, Doc ………………………………………………………………………….
SIX STEPS OR STAGES for CHANGING FOR GOOD:
1. Precontemplation
2. Contemplation
3. Preparation
4. Action
5. Maintenance
6. [Self-management] Termination [the end of official formal therapy]
- Prochaska, James O., John C. Norcross &
Carlo C. DiClemente (1995). Changing for Good …………………………………………………………………………..

This inexpensive and powerful book has been read by many; here is one reader’s comment:

5 out of 5 stars. What a nice change!

Published on July 14, 2007 by Henry

Unlike most self-help books out there, this one is actually based on research for a change. Based on this PhD’s work on how people change, this guy has uncovered the different, predictable stages of change that people go through when they attempt to get themselves to change. Although the stages are fairly predictable, not everybody goes through them in the exact same…

THE AGE OF AUTISM: MERCURY, MEDICINE AND A MAN-MADE EPIDEMIC

Dan Olmsted (Author), Mark Blaxill (Author)

(33 customer reviews)

Image and text above from: http://www.amazon.com/Age-Autism-Medicine-Man-made-Epidemic/dp/0312545622/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301461231&sr=1-1

Wednesday, March 30, 2011. Today I am grateful for those who have the courage to warn us we are “fouling our own nest,” as they say of careless birds, eh? Dan Olmsted and Mark Blaxill are among the number warning us. ~ Doc Meek

Here is what one reader has to say about Olmsted’s and Blaxill’s book (review from amazon.com):

Image by somenametoforget

Image from: http://langwitches.org/blog/2009/04/14/what-is-in-a-fieldtrip/

Tuesday, March 29, 2011. Today I am grateful for those who labor to bring teachers ideas they can use to increase their effectiveness. ~ Doc Meek

Melissa Kelly

Image above and text below from: http://712educators.about.com/b/?nl=1

Here is the email message I received from Melissa Kelly recently:

Secondary Education

From Melissa Kelly, your Guide to Secondary Education Creating Effective Field Trips While field trips aren’t normally a required part of your curriculum, they can be extremely effective if planned and used correctly. This article discusses the pros and cons of field… Read more Top 10 Concerns of Social Studies Teachers In the last post, I focused on concerns that many science teachers share. This post focuses on the specific concerns of social studies teachers. Top Ten Concerns of Social Studies… Read more Creating an Effective Tardy Policy Dealing with tardy students is an important part of any teacher’s job. Finding a tardy policy that works for you is extremely important. If you allow students to be tardy… Read more Curriculum and Lesson Plans Curriculum is at the heart of education. This category provides a wealth of information, resources, and lesson plans for each subject area across the curriculum. Secondary Education Ads Field Trips Secondary Education Effective Leadership Middle School Teacher Education More about Secondary Education Assessments and Tests Technology and Education Learning Theories and Pedagogy Teacher Education and Enrichment Teaching Tips and Strategies Issues in Education This newsletter is written by: Melissa Kelly Secondary Education Guide Email Me | My Blog | My Forum Sign up for more free newsletters on your favorite topics Thank you, Melissa Kelly, for helping teachers to help their students! Doc Meek, Tuesday, March 29, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

MASSA

I’m 16 years old. She’s 14. My name is Karina. Her name is Massa. I live in Carpinteria, California. She lives in Todee, Liberia. We’re half a world away and our lives are dramatically different, but we’re both girls who have our entire futures before us. READ MORE

Image and text from: http://www. GirlUp.org

Monday, March 28, 2011. Today I am grateful for the Girl Up campaign by the United Nations Foundation. – Doc Meek

“UNITING GIRLS TO CHANGE THE WORLD”

See “Girl Up” video by Gina Reiss-Wilchins, Director of “Girl Up,” on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcp_FbVF1JU

…………………………………………………………………..

I did send Gina Reiss-Wilchins an email:

“Gina Reiss-Wilchins, Director of Girl Up” <greiss-wilchins@unfoundation.org>

Dear Gina,

I am delighted that you are promoting the “Girl Up”program.

I am delighted to be putting up “Girl Up” information on my blog website: http://www.docmeek.com

You can click on the specific post by title hereunder:

“Learn about GIRL UP from Gina.” ~ Doc Meek

This is the second posting of Girl Up on THE LEARNING CLINIC WORLDWIDE blog. Here is the first posting by title:

“Learn ‘Girl Up’ by the UN Foundation.” ~ Doc Meek

Blessings and Gratitudes,

Doc Meek

P.S. We all love seeing your 4-year old daughter Dylan on YouTube with you!

Doc Meek, Mon, Mar 28, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

Friday, March 24, 2011. Today I am grateful for the distinction between “behavior” and “the condition.” This has proven to be controversial so all the more worthy of presentation here.

When a child has some kind of “condition” such that his/her behavior is problematic or unpredictable, there is a tendency to not be able to make the distinction between “the behavior” and “the condition.”

For example, the emotionally unstable child (or the autistic child) may have an “emotional outburst” or a “temper tantrum” and scatter their basket of crayons/coloring books (whatever) all over the floor by throwing them off the table or desk.

There is a tendency for responsible adults (parents, teachers, teacher aides, caregivers) to “excuse” the behavior because they feel the behavior is is “caused” by “the condition” from which the child is suffering. And it well may be.

And love, care and concern for the child in relation to his/her condition often causes hesitation as to the appropriate response.

Regardless of what the “cause” is though, the child needs some realistic feedback, usually immediately. (Some advocate waiting until the child “cools off” a little and is not so “emotional” and their is merit in this in some cases.) To “excuse” the behavior out of love, care or concern is not usually helpful to the child long-term. Immediate feedback is usually the most helpful to the child long-term.

Almost always, the need is for the child to receive immediate feedback about his/her behavior, irrespective of his/her “condition.”

So in the case of the emotional scattering of crayons, books, toys, whatever, the adult should say to the child authoritatively, “Pick them up and put them back.” If the child is too young and or emotional to respond promptly, the adult takes the child’s hands in his/her own hands, and helps the child pick up the scattered items, much like the operator of a crane might make the machinery “do the right thing” by direct handling of the controls. Or perhaps it is more like a puppet show operator moving the puppets by direct action.

This is the way that the child moves most rapidly and appropriately towards more “responsible behavior” even if the child is not at the moment capable of responding appropriately on his/her own.

Here’s the catch though. The adult has to be calm. No angry yelling and grabbing of the child in anger will do the job. (This is because, obviously, the adult is now out of control and not behaving appropriately and the negative example is no help at all to the child, regardless of how the adult feels about the situation emotionally.)

If the adult calmly and dispassionately takes the child’s hands in his/her own and moves the child’s hands in such a way that the child’s hands grasp the scattered objects one by one, however awkwardly, and restores them to their place, the adult has “won the day,” regardless of how upset the child is.

It is easier (and far quicker) for adult and child to “behave” their way to a new set of behaviors, than it is for them to “discuss” or “believe” or “theorize” their way to a new set of behaviors.

What do you think?

Doc Meek, Fri, Mar 25, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

5 minutes A Musical Savant Shows Talent    by CBS 244,773 views

15 minutes Catching Up With Rex by CBS 88,713 views

Images from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCF1xSgyKXg&feature=relmfu

Friday, March 18, 2011. Today I am grateful to know that a child who was labeled severely autistic was found later to respond to music, even though he was super senstive to sounds and would hold his ears when exposed to singing.

Of course every autistic child does not grow up to be a musical genius. That is not the point of this article.

I use music in my private practice (Baroque music, about 60 beats per minute) to help open the channels of learning for children with a large array of learning problems.

Sometimes  the music is simply background music in a classroom that helps almost every child in that classroom to learn more easily and achieve more.

Thanks to those who know, and who have taught us, that music opens the mind and soul!

Doc Meek, Fri, Mar 18, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA

P.S. Here’s the book about Rex Lewis-Clack by his mother Cathleen Lewis:

Rex: A Mother, Her Autistic Child, and the Music that Transformed Their Lives – Hardcover (Oct. 28, 2008) byCathleen Lewis

P.S.S. Somebody told me that it is the “Ides of March” today. I know the reference is to Shakespeare and I do not know the full import of the phrase.

Can anybody “out there” give us some more information on the “Ides of March?”

Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jabru/4549490/

Wednesday, March 16, 2011. Today I am grateful for the knowledge of the neurology of learning.

“Reverse” language is actually “forward” language, however everybody has to kind of reverse themselves to get the hang of it in ordinary daily speech.

When someone says they had a good day or a bad day, the brain makes a picture of a good day or a bad day.

This results in one more picture in the “yellow sunshine place” in the brain, or in the “black box,” depending upon whether the picture was a good one or a bad one.

We have enough pictures that are not good in the black box already. We don’t need any more!

Someone estimated that by the time a child reaches grade one, he has 100,000 not so good pictures in his black box, and only about 3,000 good pictures in his yellow sunshine place.

Not good odds eh? When your brain is reaching for a thought, what are the chances of getting one from the yellow sunshine place?

These stacked odds are in the brains of children from normal families, with no history of neglect or abuse! Imagine the odds if the child has been witness to not good pictures all his young life, and may have even been directly abused?

Not good.

On the other hand you can daily right the balance.

I used to teach parent and teacher classes. I would day to them, “Ask me what kind of a day I had yesterday, OK?”

Someone would always oblige and I would reply:

“Let me tell you, it was not one of my best days. Not good. Not pleasant. Not great.”

So they all knew that I had not had a good day.

However, from a neurological learning point of view, here is what is happening inside the brain:

The brain cannot do a “not” without first making a picture of what comes next. In my example, as you can see, what comes next in each case is positive word or phrase (“one of my best days,” “good,” pleasant,” and “great.”)

So the yellow sunshine place got 4 more good pictures, even though I was describing a day that was not good.

Pretty good for a day that was not what I had hoped for, eh?

You can  use “reverse” (actually “forward”) language like that as a matter of habit and you will be filling your yellow sunshine place to the brim over time. This will stack the odds in your favor tremendously when you reach for a thought!

Thank you to whomever it was that realized that we can stack the odds in our favor, every day, simply by using “reverse” language!

Doc Meek, Wed, Mar 16, 2011, Sherwood Park, Alberta, CANADA