Happy New Year !

Well another year has come and gone.
Welcome to 2011!

Of course, the New Year is often a time when people decide to make resolutions - generally to make some improvements such as to quit smoking, lose weight, eat more healthy food, exercise more, etc.

While these are all fine goals, let me  propose another possibility.

One of the best ways to broaden our horizons is by reading.  Reading is not just educational, however, for it can reduce stress, make one feel less lonely, and improve one's general sense of well-being.
Looking outward can be so beneficial, even if the text is fiction.  There are often kernels of truth in most works.  And, of course, there is the added benefit of learning something new!

Just think, the average novel is 300 to 400 pages.  If you read just ten pages per day, you will be able to read the equivalent of ten novels in 2011!

Try reading a wide variety of material though  - not just novels.  Read a play or two, some poetry, a comic, a magazine, and local newspaper.  When reading short stories or poetry - you can be reading a novel in between, letting you absorb more from each short piece. 

The famous Canadian author Mavis Gallant once wrote the following:

"Stories are not chapters of novels. 
They should not be read one after another, as if they were meant to follow along. 
Read one. Shut the book.  Read something else. 
Come back later.  Stories can wait."
Gallant, Mavis. Preface. The Selected Stories of Mavis Gallant. Toronto, Ontario: McClelland & Stewart, 1997. XIX. Print.

At any rate, just a thought for the New Year.

Happy 2011 !

Happy Reading !

Merry Christmas !!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a prosperous New Year !!

Don't forget that books are great gifts and easy last minute purchases for those loved ones on your list.

Enjoy the holidays!

Communication

While reading a section of Dona J. Young's book "Business English" I came across the article concerning communication.
I wanted to add a few notes about communicating.

Communication involves both speaking and listening.
Sometimes, people tend to forget the balance. When one person speaks constantly without breaking to allow others to input ideas, there is no true communication.
He or she is delivering a speech instead of practising effective communication.
(There are times when this is appropriate, of course - but it isn't effective communication. Even the best professors or teachers know that after the lecture there should be time for questions, discussion, and true communication.)

Of course, if one is silent - there is no real communication either.

There are components of communication that don't involve speaking; however, they tend to add or detract from the actual spoken communication rather than "be" the communication.
Gestures, for example, can mean many things - and can be easily misinterpreted.
They can, however, add emphasis to a verbal point or help one become less (or more) intimidated.

I agree with the point that communicating is an art rather than a science. Simply learning rules and trying to apply them "blindly" will create an automaton like delivery. Also, we might spend so much time trying to generate our next speaking point that we forget to listen well enough to comprehend others.

Also, we communicate differently depending on the group and situation, and we have to be ready to adjust our approach. As Young points out, communication is a live process - meaning we must monitor and adjust our approach as we proceed in any given situation.

Just a few thoughts.

Fourteen years !!

It's hard to believe that it has been fourteen years!

I began L.T.L. Tutoring back in the fall of 1996. At that time, we were living in the south end of Guelph on Wilsonview Avenue - not far from College Avenue Public School and College Heights and Centennial Secondary Schools.

Of course, just as now, students came from all over Guelph and a few from outside of Guelph, too.

I feel very lucky to have been able to tutor students from 4 years old to older adults and every age in between.

Most of the students have been grade school or secondary school students aiming to improve their skills and grades; however, there have been others.

One summer, a brother and sister from Saudi Arabia came to improve their English skills.

Other adults have come to Canada from China, Libya, Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone - to name a few, and have arrived at L.T.L. to improve English skills as well.

Several adults have come to change jobs or improve their writing skills (and sometimes math skills) for their current job.

The students from Canada are most prevalent of course - and they have all been entertaining, enjoyable, and educational for me.

That's not to say that a few of them haven't been challenging, difficult, and stressful! Of course, education brings all those bits and pieces with it.

Still, to be able to watch students as they begin to weave their way into understanding - while trying to become more understanding myself - has been rewarding to date.

I look forward to the next fourteen years!

Back from Holiday

Well, Gay and I are back from our holiday on Manitoulin Island.

We had an amazing time - despite the rather cool weather and a couple of very very windy days!!

On our way back, we stopped in South Baymouth to visit the Little Schoolhouse & Museum.

They have lots of interesting old machines, methods for fishing, boating, farming, etc. in the larger building.

The little schoolhouse brought back memories of attending a one room school. I went to a one room school for the first couple of years of my schooling, and there were lots of similarities. The one I went to also had grades 1 to 8 and a big stove in the middle of the room. (The stove has been removed from the museum example.) We had a pump outside for water and a little shed for wood and wood chips for the stove to keep warm in winter.

Inside the museum schoolhouse there are examples of the children's work, old student desks, and lists of rules for school teachers.

For example, at one time - male teachers were not to be shaved in a barber shop and female teachers at one time had to ask permission to leave the town!!

Of course the rules for students have changed considerably over the years as well.

The school opened in 1898 with 11 students. It closed in 1962.

If you are ever on the island - it is a very interesting and educational visit.

Back to School !

It's hard to believe that the Summer Break is coming to an end.

With the school new year about to begin, there will be lots of excitement; but, also, lots of nervousness, stress, and tension.
It is important for parents to maintain as calm an atmosphere as possible. Students look to their parents as examples, and a calm methodical approach will go a long way in keeping the mood positive.
Messaging is another important component. Always try to speak in positive terms about going back to school, learning new things, catching up with friends, and discovering a whole new world! (Of course, complaining about our own "work" can quickly negate all this positivity - so try to model an optimistic pro-active approach. )

The next week may be a good opportunity to begin getting everyone back on schedule as well. Bedtimes, consistent meals, morning procedures, etc. should follow as closely as possible the new school routine.

A little planning and practice can really help calm those frayed nerves - for students and parents alike!
Here's wishing everyone a smooth entry into September.

Epictetus

I wanted to say a little more about the quotation on the website for July:

Only the educated are free

Epictetus (Greek Philosopher)

Epictetus was born around the year 55 (slightly before I was!) and was originally a slave.
He was eventually freed. (He may have considered himself free long before he was physically freed.)

He lived and studied in Rome (first as a slave) then became a teacher with his own school in Nicopolis in Greece.
He was a stoic and seems to have followed the older stoics.

In addition to the quotation above, his philosophy is very interesting in its ability to help guide people to a happier life.
We see many of the stoic ideas in more modern form - including Albert Ellis and his Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.

Epictetus believed that we are able to choose - even though he believed many things belonged to fate - the way we respond to them is up to us.

"No one is master of another's prohairesis [moral character], and in this alone lies good and evil. No one, therefore, can secure the good for me, or involve me in evil, but I alone have authority over myself in these matters." (Discourses 4.12.7–8, trans. Dobbin)

Our thoughts and our responses are within our control - and we can choose to be calm and take an active role to improve the events that happen to us, or not.

Now I am not suggesting that I agree with everything the Stoics, or Epictetus, said; however, I do think there is a lot to be learned from them.
Nor am I suggesting that I, myself, can always choose the right thoughts or responses to disturbing events.
What I do suggest is that we are all learning ( or should be!) and can find our better paths in time - and perhaps with a little guidance.
Those who choose not to learn or change will forever stay wallowing in their own self-pity and despair.

Education - learning - can be freeing on so many levels.

Keep learning, keep growing and exploring the world!

Math skills

Many skills are learned best by "doing."

In academic studies, math may be the prime example.
The best way to learn mathematics is by doing.

Each night you should set aside some time to go over past
material and practise a few questions from each section.

Reviewing the rules and procedures is important; however, you
don't know the math unless you can start at the beginning of a
question and successfully work through the steps to a correct final answer.

One final thought: Don't be afraid of math !

Journal Writing

I often recommend that my students keep a journal, but keeping a journal is good advice for anyone.
Sitting down to write something everyday helps focus your thoughts.
It is a pleasant way to revisit the day's events and to make sense of them for ourselves.

Start off small and easy.
You don't need anything fancy to keep a journal.
A small notebook and a comfortable pen - along with your thoughts.
Don't be hard on yourself. Let the thoughts flow, and don't worry about grammar & spelling at first.

Of course, you can write a journal on a word processor. This method gives you the advantage of grammar check and spell check; however, it might not be the best method for correcting your spelling and grammar long term. (Even good writers tend to admit they get lazy using the technology - and sometimes the technology is incorrect!)
Using it as an aid, however, may be ideal to correct your own written version.

Just a few benefits of journal writing:

• develops logical thinking skills
  
• aids in basic writing skills by accessing the writing world each day
• over time, most people tend to try writing more clearly - playing with words, being more inventive
  
• refines your thoughts, hopes, and beliefs which helps develop better speaking skills as well
• can be therapeutic, a cathartic release of everyday tedium or occasionally more traumatic events
• of course, recording joyous events lets you relive them for a moment or two - nothing wrong with feeling grateful for the good things in life!
• over time, you might look back at past journals and enjoy seeing what your thoughts were and how they have changed

Most of all, have fun with your journal!

Just as with reading, the more fun you have doing it - the more you will want to do it!