What a busy month it has been!  And, it has passed all too rapidly.  I had the opportunity this month to spend a few days in Yosemite National Park.  What a spectacular place and what a way to find perspective in all that we do.  The beauty and grandeur make all problems and troubles seem insignificant.  I hope you will have time this summer to spend some time with nature.   It has a way of rejuvenating and recharging us. 

It has been nice to talk with some of our homeschooling parents by phone over the last few weeks.  I appreciate the phone calls and am pleased to learn that e-Tutor is a help to those who have decided to teach their own children.  One question that is frequently asked regards the number of lessons students should complete each day.  We suggest no more than four each day.  Students are encouraged to use printed materials and hands on activities in addition to the e-Tutor program.  While e-Tutor provides stimulating topics of interest to most students, there is an important element that should not be left out and that regards the use of good literature and reading material.   There will always be the need for good books, journals and newspapers and our students should be learning from them as well as from texts and interactive web-based programs such as e-Tutor. 

Please watch for us at two upcoming conferences for homeschoolers in Indianapolis and in Salt Lake City.  We enjoy meeting our subscribers at these conferences.  They also give us an opportunity to share e-Tutor with others.

Finally, enjoy the warmth and joy that May and early June bring. 

Vision without action is a daydream.  Action without vision is a nightmare.

Japanese Proverb

Today's student is in many ways a superior one.  Because of access to information and attitudes, students are rising to intellectual heights probably never reached before.  Yet, adolescent suicide is at a higher rate...many young people turn to drugs to turn off reality... some are victims of child abuse...others develop eating disorders (such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia)...some suffer emotional blocks because of their parents' divorce....others feel alienated and lost because they are latchkey children...many, too many, just give up and drop out.

These are disturbing effects of today's pressures on children and youth.  They show that the pressures can be so intense as to cause a significant portion of young people to crack under them.

Throughout time the individual at every age of life has experienced pressure, anxiety, and fear to some degree.  When they occur in reasonable amounts, these conflicts can stimulate growth and learning.  The emotionally healthy individual finds ways to deal with conflicts as they arise and becomes more mature through each experience.

It is when the pressures are too many or when they come before the child is able to cope with them that they result not in learning but in varying degrees of mental or physical disturbance.

Children learn better when they are self-confident and have a good self-image than when they are unsure and fearful about themselves.  While routine learning can survive quite a bit of pressure, creativity and originality can quickly be stifled by relatively small amounts of tension.

As a parent, you want your child to learn from the experience of pressure as part of the process of growing up.  You also want to do whatever you can to help your child cope with the pressures in life and to prevent the pressures from becoming insurmountable. 

Obviously, you cannot eliminate many of these pressures, even if you really wanted to.  But you can help your child face them, and you can avoid adding to them to make them worse.

• Provide guidance in dealing with pressure. 

• Let your child know you care.

• Be a positive force in your child's life, not a major pressure point.

• Teach your child to live with limitations.

• Help your child find time to be alone...time to think, to dream, to plan, to make decisions.

• Ground your child in a system of values.

• Encourage your teenager to develop self-responsibility.

Adapted from National Education Association

Kind words can be short and easy to speak; but their echoes are truly endless.

Mother Teresa

You cannot discover new oceans unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.

Anonymous

Why don't parents get the help they need?  Here are some of the reasons:

1. A feeling of isolation.  Some parents believe they are the only ones who have ever had the problem.
2. Denial.  Some parents hope that all behavior is "just a stage."  If they ignore it, it will go away.
3. Over-responsibility.  Some parents take too much responsibility for their children's behavior.  They don't want to burden others.
4. Need to be a perfect parent.  Many parents think they should be able to handle any problem alone.
5. Belief that others don't want to help.  Some parents believe no one cares about them or their problems.
6. Lack of energy.  Parents today are tired.   Seeking outside help may require more energy than they have.

Missouri PTA

The Right Work

When deciding what to work on, consider these suggestions:

• Be strategic.  If it's not on the company's goal list, don't do it.  Challenge program elements.  As:  Is this necessary to achieve the goal?  Stress results, not completion of tasks.

• Negotiate results and measure them.  Measure things that your organization's leaders care about.  Show how relationships contribute to the bottom line.  Tie your work to company sales.

• Do the right things right.  Follow the 80/20 rule...20 percent of your efforts will generate 80 percent of the results.  Do the right 20 percent.

Earl Palmer Brown Public Relations, Philadelphia

Page 4

With confidence, you can reach truly amazing heights; without confidence, even the simplest accomplishments are beyond your grasp.

Jim Loehr

As secure as we feel sitting behind our computers, we increase the possibility of developing cumulative trauma disorder from repetitive motions.  Minor adjustments in the workstation setup or a change in work habits could prevent future injuries. Some suggestions to follow:

• Arrange objects you use regularly within arm's length to avoid stretching and turning your head.
• Adjust your chair to allow your back to remain straight, shoulders relaxed and feet flat on the floor.  If needed, use a pillow or rolled up towel for back support.
• Float wrists above your keyboard and keep them straight when typing.
• Choose a height for your monitor that is comfortable, from eye level to 45 degrees below eye level.  Stay at least 16 inches from the screen.
• Stand and stretch your body throughout the day.

The Dartnell Corporation, 1999

Page 5

A hundred times a day I remind myself that my life depends on the labors of other people, and that I must exert myself to give, just as I have received and am receiving.

Albert Einstein

Great Links for May!

Lives, the Biography Resource :  Links to thousands of biographies, autobiographies, memoirs, diaries, letters, narratives, oral histories and more.
http://amillionlives.com

An Adventure in Looking:  New York City's Museum of Modern Art presents an interactive Art Safari that capitalizes on a child's innate creativity and curiosity about animals.
http://artsafari.moma.org/

Big-Time Life Planning: This Web site walks middle- and high-school students down the confusing path of defining career goals, determining the necessary standardized tests, choosing a college, and applying for financial aid.
http://www.adventuresineducation.org/

Project Exploration:  Paul Sereno and his expedition team bring you science in action as they trace earth's history into China's Gobi Desert in search of new discoveries. http://www.projectexploration.org/

Not Just for Kids:  This Web site should change its name to the Kids' and Adults' Domain. Geared towards Web-savvy children, Kids' Domain offers goodies, games, contests, and freebies for children as well as their parents and teachers.
http://www.kidsdomain.com/kids.html

Bugscope:  Get a bug's-eye-view with the Bugscope project, an educational outreach program for K-12 classrooms. The project provides a resource to classrooms so that they may remotely operate a scanning electron microscope to image "bugs" at high magnification.
http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu

Have a wonderful month!

From the Staff at Strategic Studies Corporation

 
 
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