You kiss your kid/tween/teen in the morning and let them go off to school, while you make your way to your day, and you sometimes dont hear from them till that valuable dinnertime hour where you can sit and discuss each others' day.  Fact is though, that most kids dont tell their parents alot of what went on at school that day.  They may give you the good stuff (ex. a good grade) or something, but how do you know what they've been up to all day???

To give you a little insight, parents, the single biggest thing on most kids' minds when they are at school is TO NOT LOOK STUPID.  They would rather die than to look stupid in front of their friends, peers, and teachers.
This is why so many kids like to sit in the back of the class (less chances of getting called on) and most would rather die than getting something wrong in class and oh my goodness....getting laughed at!!!! (Kill them now)

Teachers normally do a great job of getting kids to feel at ease and comfortable in class.  So how to help your kid avoid looking or feeling stupid?  PREPARATION!  The little time invested in this is well worth the effort, because:
Advantage#1 - There is nothing that boosts confidence more than a kid who has read up on and knows a little something on the topic before even walking into class.
Advantage #2 - More facility with the subject, therefore LESS time (or none at all) on homework....they can get it done in class!
Advantage #3 - Ask better & more insightful questions in class.

I dont know about you, but that seems worth it to me!

Easy, Practical Ways of Learning a Language

With so many students in Core, Extended and Immersion Language Programs, and with many parents and guardians who do not speak the language their child is learning, the task (including homework and assignments given) can seem especially daunting.  The teacher is there during the period, but what about afterwards?  The teacher isn’t always available to answer questions or to help the student learn how to pronounce the word, how to write it properly, or to oversee in which directions the accents go.

Well, here are some tips that you may find especially helpful:

1)      Recorded Books – this is a great resource where students can pick any book and not only have the visual of the book in front of them, but can listen to the words and how they are pronounced by hearing a recording of the book. 

Who is this good for?  This is good for students of any and all ages, especially those who are visual and auditory learners.

Where is this available?  Any local library should have these readily available; otherwise, I am quite certain you can easily have the library order it.

2)      Films, tv and documentaries - Watching tv, videos or youtube videos of films, documentaries and short videos in the new language, preferably ones with subtitles.

Who is this good for?  All students who spend any time online or watching movies (so pretty much everyone)

Where is this available?  Online, or at your video store (just make sure that when you’re checking the DVD jacket, it says that it has subtitles).  You may also have some luck finding these on itunes.

3)      Electronic Translators – These are such a great tool to look things up quickly and most of them will either show you the answer in the new language or will say the answer out for you.

Who is this good for?  Students who love playing with little gadgets.  I have seen many of my ESL students use these and it works amazingly well for them.

Where is this available?  Any electronics store.

4)      Internship in the country where the language is spoken – Students can easily score summer (or sometimes yearly) internships in a chosen country, sometimes even arranged by the school.

Who is this good for?  Anyone who wants to be completely immersed in the language and culture, and would like to gain some work experience at the same time.

Where is this available?  There are several school-based and non school-based internship programs available where students can exchange locations with the other student and their family, keeping costs in check.

5)      Study groups – Study groups are a great way to learn, to speak and to communicate with others who are of the new language or who are also trying to learn the language.  This is such a great way to create a supportive team environment and to really work together to get to know other people interested in the language like you are.

Who is this good for?  This is great for social learners, who like to interact with others with similar interests, and who want a supportive team environment.

Where is this available?  Best bet would be to ask your school guidance counsellor for help on this one, or even in putting you in touch with existing groups.

A recent conversation with a parent made me realize something: What sort of accountability is there on the part of a tutoring company to ensure results for their clients?

The woman mentioned that she had previously hired a tutoring company (which shall remain nameless), and not only were they unimpressed with the company, but the materials they gave her daughter to work on were far below her level, and did not further enhance the girl’s skills at all.  Furthermore, the parent was so dissatisfied with the results, that she did not even finish the program which was fully prepaid for in order to receive a discount.

Now, a lack of an improvement on the child’s behalf could be attributed to one or a combination of several factors. However, the fact remains that the company providing the tutoring service needed to ensure that they have completed their professional duty in ensuring that they did everything they could to at least ensure that the child had understood the information.  Otherwise, what good is your service and how do you justify your price tag?

One last point I wish to make on this.  Parents: Ensure there is a conversation between yourself, the student, and the company at the beginning of the transaction regarding the specific expectations and targets of the program, the tutoring methods, and the follow-up results.  Otherwise, how can one reasonably gauge success?



With so many tutoring companies using different methods, how do you ensure that your children are getting the most from the program that you enroll them in? How did you decide what companies to use ? Are you happy with the results?

The Brain Is Our Most Powerful Tool….We Just Never Got The Instruction Manual

Something incredible that I learned from the study of excellence, NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is that the brain is the most powerful tool in the universe; it just depends on how well you use it. 

Just Ask Your Brain
See, what I have learned through NLP is that we are all looking for answers to certain questions and so it's the QUALITY of the questions we ask ourselves that are most important.  And the beauty of this finding is that it can be applied to any and all aspects of life….especially education.  Upon researching this further, I came to discover that our brains are so incredibly powerful, it's just that no one ever gave us the user's manual for it, so we haven’t been able to properly utilize it!

 

NLP…..Not Taught In Schools

Another thing is that NLP is not taught in schools, mainly because it is considered to be “too much” for kids.  Well, I disagree.  Students would benefit tremendously from any and the interesting thing is no educational institution teaches it, except for the Learn Today Program (www.learntoday.ca)  We not only explain to parents, guardians and students what it is, but we APPLY it as well…and this makes for a really amazing difference in our work and in the results shown for students’ performance (whatever age).

We are essentially, always searching for answers, and since our brain is going to do all this work anyway, we might as well be sure of the quality of the questions we are asking. 

Bear In Mind

Some things to bear in mind when asking your brain a question:
1) Give it detail and be specific.  It isn’t very helpful to just ask "Where can I get a job"...be specific and give details such as what are the things you would want in your perfect job?
2) Give it some time - your brain is searching for the answers for you, just give it some time to come up with the perfect answer.  Don’t like the answer, ask it something else.
3) Once you get your answer, jot it down so you don’t forget it.

Give Your Kids The Best

As many parents and guardians out there know, we MUST empower our kids, tweens, teens and young adults to ask themselves great questions and they will be utterly amazed at the responses.  We need to get them used to USING and APPLYING NLP in their studies.

For more information on what NLP is and how we use it, email me (Christine) at Christine@LearnToday.ca or call 416-522-3162 or come to our informal greet and chat on Saturday June 25th @ noon to the Second Cup at Bayview & Laureleaf.

When any student (youth or adult) enters the classroom, they need to ensure that they are prepared.  This is, in fact, one of the first things a teacher looks for when students are filing into the classroom, and is directly correlated to student success.  After all, how can you be successful at something when you’re not prepared??

Top 3 items a student needs to bring to class:

1)      Agenda – this is where they will actually COMMIT to writing down their homework, points to remember and assignment ideas when they are mentioned in class.  If a student just listens to what the teacher is saying but does not bring his/her agenda and write it down, the chances of them forgetting what was said 10 minutes later increases exponentially.

2)      Class materials – this could include anything from the course textbook, papers to write notes down on, and supplies to highlight and write important ideas.

3)      Thinking cap – being focused in class on the subject at hand (instead of wondering whom they’re going to ask to sign their yearbook or worrying about having plans for the weekend) is so important.  If a student is not focused and is not thinking about the subject matter at hand, they aren’t ready and they are not going to be nearly as effective in the classroom.

If a student can remember to bring these three vitally important items for every class, they are already ahead of the game!

Happy Learning!

A recent conversation with a relative stranger who is a parent made me realize something: What sort of accountability is there on the part of a tutoring company to ensure results for their clients??

The woman I spoke with had said that she had previously used a tutoring company (which shall remain nameless) and not only were she and her daughter unimpressed with the company, but the materials they gave her daughter to work on were far below what she was able to do, not furthering the girl's skills at all.  Further, the parent was so dissatisfied with the results, that she did not even finish the program (which she had prepaid for in order to receive a discount).

Now, a lack of an improvement on the child's behalf could be attributed to one (or a combination of) several factors, but the fact remains that the company providing the service needs to ensure that they have completed their professional duty in ensuring that they have done everything they can to at least ensure that the child has understood the information.  Otherwise, what good is your service and how do you justify your price tag???

One last point I wish to make on this.  Parents: there should be a conversation with parents, students and the company at the beginning of the transaction regarding the specific expectations of the Program, the tutoring and the follow-up results.  Otherwise, how can one reasonably gage success?

People sometimes start off by saying "I will try this" or "I will try that" and then when they are in the midst of it and the going gets tough, they just throw in the towel and say forget it!  I definitely recommend kids and people in general to check out and try new things and if you dont like it, leave it alone.  But when what you're looking for is to cultivate your leadership skills in an area, thats not the way a person with passion gets somewhere. 

People who are really sure of themselves and have a vision (doesnt have to be a very clear one at first but they have a vision) really can get around ANY problem.  These are people who are COMMITTED and will DO ANYTHING to achieve their vision.  No matter what field you get into or you are in, there will always be obstacles to overcome and this is one way that the Universe tests you to see whether you are committed to your vision or you have a non-chalant or too much of a relaxed attitude toward it.  Those who are committed are the ones who consistently really get somewhere!

I can guarantee you that all of the greatest leaders and businesspeople in the world today have had many obstacles to overcome, but they used each of those obstacles as stepping stones to learn their industry and their craft and to get that much better at what they do.  Just read up on any of them...if you find one who had everything just handed to them without even having to really work at it or keep it and make it larger, please let me know!

Do what you like, just be decisive in doing it because Henry Ford's quote that I have sitting on my desk at school still rings true: Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right!

People are always looking for things to make their lives better because people genuinely want to be genuinely happy!  So when I'm asked (fairly regularly) what are the best ways to figure out what it is that you actually want, I would probably say to think about what interests you already have and think about turning one of those into your ideal job or career.

See, often times people think that in order to make a living, they need to be doing something different from what their current passions are.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  As Donald Trump (yes, The Donald) once said, figure out what you love to do.  You can always find ways to make money doing it.

I'd like to give you my example: I had three great loves: Education, Entertainment, Entrepreneurship.  For the longest time, I didnt understand how these three things could (or should) work together, but after ALOT (and I mean, alot) of soul-searching and trail-and-error, I discovered that I could bring my experience as a teacher and my love for music, movies, and fashion to an educational and entrepreneurial endeavour.  Hence, the birth of this business.

So while I dont love his hair, The Donald is right, find ways to make money doing what you love to do!

When I'm first asked how I help people, the first thing I say is that I help you figure out what it is you REALLY want.  I like to make people shed their "should" selves (thats the part that says that I want 'this' because everyone around them thinks they should want it).  I ALWAYS remind my clients that one day they too will be on their deathbed (pretty morbid, I know, sorry) and that this is their opportunity to do what they want to, say what they need to, and treat people well, because even a person who is for example, in a perpetually bad mood is that way for a reason and probably has some things in their lives that they need to work out. 

When I first started off as a coach, I was wondering how I was going to help people start things off and work on writing out their goals.  What I came to find is that people usually have a pretty good idea of what they want...they're just not entirely sure of how to go after it or who to turn to for help.  Your family and your friends are great resources and sources of support, but kids, parents and people in general need help in STAYING ON TRACK to achieving their goals.

In all my years of teaching and coaching, the 2 single greatest tools for success in goal-setting and to achieving your goals for absolutely anyone:

1.   COMMIT to the process
2.  CONSISTENT and STRATEGIC ACTION to the ends you want to achieve