As 2019 comes to its end, I wanted to take the time to express how thankful I am for all those who have come alongside me.  This idea that "I did it on my own" is just not true.  We all have help, encouragement, assistance and a second set of eyes making our success possible. 
When I think of the times this year, I spent on the phone venting to a friend or asking advice from a colleague, I realize that those moments helped me, pushed me forward and made me rethink issues or problems.  The people in the background that never get mentioned on your business card or Facebook page are exactly the ones I want to thank for an easier year.  You made my load lighter, my nights more restful and my spirit less anxious. For that reason, I am grateful because without your readiness to listen, counsel and perform a menial task, I would not be where I am today.
 Appreciation is the attitude of knowing that you had help along the way.  Humility often is associated with a grateful heart.  I believe that the success I have had this past year and the decade I have directed TLP Education must be shared with countless people, tutors, friends, family members, colleagues, parents and students.  Thank you. Thank you for partnering with me to live out my dreams.  I am truly thankful.

After The Rain is Only Part of the Story

     This story is amazing, but the story about how this story came to be is even more amazing.  In November of last year, I had a gentleman inquire about taking Spanish lessons with me. He joined my small beginner's  adult class in a coffee shop here in town.  He couldn't help telling me that his wife and himself had plans to visit Cuba in  March of the following year.  He wanted to learn Spanish...period. His enthusiasm was contagious, and before I knew it his wife had enrolled in the class as well.  Hoping they were not learning Spanish just for travel, I made sure they had basics to get  around.  It is not uncommon for travelers to  take a couple of months of classes to gain a bit of vocabulary and confidence and then, not continue to become speakers.  However, I was wrong about this man.
    When he and his wife returned from their trip to the Key of the Antilles, I was happily entertained by his stories and adventures.  He was particularly excited to tell me of a art studio he had encountered.  An art teacher had opened his small studio to teach disabled children.  What a wonderful soul! My student couldn't wait to offer monetary assistance to this teacher. He wasn't sure how to get the funds over to the art teacher, but he quickly figured out how to fund raise. He told me that he had designed a tee-shirt from a motto he saw on the wall of the art studio. It read, "The only disability is to have no heart."
Like a flash of lightening, he called me one morning to tell me he had come up with the story you see before you.  He wanted to tell the story of two young kids. He presented it to me.  We had coffee many mornings to discuss making this story a book...a book that he wanted me to translate into Spanish.  I was honored.
     A trip to another country sparked a flame to do good, to be creative and to share a message of kindness.  As a teacher, it is a reward to see my students take what they learn and be innovative.  When you read "After the Rain," you will enjoy the heart and soul that went into telling John and Sofia's story whether you speak English or Spanish.  Enjoy. Disfruta.

Crayons, Pencils and Gluesticks, Oh My!

Please raise your hand if buying school supplies makes you smile?  For me, I become quite giddy.  Going down the aisle of backpacks and lunchboxes energizes me with new hope. Looking over the many new supplies and tools that teachers and students have an opportunity to use and the classic standards that no one can go without. 
Stores, as soon as July, put up banners and colorful advertisements to ring in the new school year. Yes, as a teacher, September is our New Year's! New students with fresh faces and possibility for days.  I can't tell you how good it feels to know that I get to start fresh and they get to too.  

I have made it a habit to center my school year around a theme or specific goal.  This practice has helped me to sort out the non-essentials tools or supplies from the truly important ones for better teaching and educating young minds.  This summer, I spent several mornings drinking my coffee and contemplating what I wanted to convey to my students.  What would be the take-away from every lesson? What did they absolutely need for learning?

“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”  Aristotle imparted to me the great wisdom of ancient days passed.  I need for my students to understand that speaking a new language, or learning any new concept was a matter of time given to it.  Listening. Repeating. Listening some more. Repeating some more...until the very concepts become the very speech or action that was first introduced.  

Time should be on the top of the supply list. Now, when you think of time spent in learning, I charge you to remember that time must be a tool used for learning not the actual learning itself.  The magical moment when act becomes habit is the transformation of lesson into the second-nature.  Time is the tool we use to take  information in and make it easily accessible to draw a conclusion, respond to a question or create a masterpiece.  Once in this haven of long-term memory, rest assured that you will have a HABIT, LANGUAGE, or SKILL supplied.

Responding Positively

I had the opportunity to read the research for "employability" by Kent University, Canterbury, England.  It was a fascinating read and eye-opening because it mentioned nothing regarding test scores, GPA's or course study.  What the researchers found is that employers look for certain characteristics and personality skills rather than transcripts.  There were ten items mentioned in the dissertation but number nine was especially impressive to me.   

It is important in any work environment to be surrounded with positive people. No end-of-the-year evaluation will contribute a negative attitude as one of your strengths.  The difference most evident in people is their attitude. We are labeled very quickly if we are "positive" or "negative" people.  The amazing thing about having a positive attitude is that it can make problems seem so much more practical.  Basketball coach legend, John Wooden was known for his positive attitude and the well-spring of wisdom that attitude brought forth.  He said, "Don't let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do." 

Individuals that are given a task, conflict or problem are able to look at it expecting the most favorable outcome.  Expecting the most favorable outcome motivates you to respond in a manner that WILL bring about a favorable outcome. A positive disposition drives our actions.  As we navigate through the steps of problem-solving, approaching each stage positively will ultimately result in a satisfying conclusion.  Saint Augustine figured it out that "faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe." 

Starting out positive will move you through the process of problem-solving in such a way that you will seek the best solution. Sounds like the kind of people I would love to work with!

Sorry for the delay or should I say Sumimasen.

I spent 13 days in Japan sight-seeing, learning and studying the culture and language. In the days I was in Tokyo to Hiroshima, I learned fluently ten words that after a month I still can say and recognize.  The sounds of these words in another language have become synonyms...I hear it and I know.


One of my goals in traveling to Japan was to experience the "fear" and "timidness" my student feel when they are learning Spanish.  I put myself in their shoes.  I was heavily relying on my cheat sheet to remember what words I needed but after a while I throw it aside and just focused on the words I was hearing the most. After all, I was committed to what was commonly said and not what I believed I should know.   I decided on 10 words that I just kept hearing and like magic, they transformed into extended vocabulary.  The following words were excuse me, delicious, good morning, hello, good evening, where is?, please, good bye, 1,6, yes, no and thank you very much. I was speaking to natives...slowly and not perfectly. However, they responded. They understood me and they understood that I was a novice.  I wanted my students to know that anyone they speak to will understand them and know they are a novice. 

Being a beginner is the scariest part of learning a language.  I was going to battle the intimidation with an attitude of goal-setting.  Each day, I added on a new word so the amount of practice was limited to one new word and very successful.  I knew the word from the day before and I piled on the new word.  This system of "sheltered" vocabulary which I have done with my students for over 25 years, really worked.  My goal was to move as many words to my long-term memory so that I would be fluent in those words.  If I heard them, I understood them. I could say them because I knew them.  The best part of this experiment was when I returned home and when a friend of mine asked me in English a question, I replied, "Hai."  Yes to me came in more than one form.  Real language learning is about using small amounts of language repetitively in different circumstances in order to recall without hesitation. 

How to Get into College as a Home Schooler

Over the years, I have worked with many different home schools and I was very

interested in what was the next step for kids who were home educated throughout high school.  Were they destined to be stay-at-home parents or blue collar employees?  Were they going to inherit their parents' business or go on to a vocational school?  I never imagined them being college bound.  

However, the tide has changed and now many home educated children are entering four year academic institutions.  How you might ask? Well through several avenues...the most common is taking classes at junior colleges to create a transcript history.  This is accomplished most of the time prior to graduation.  By taking classes at the local community college, the student is able to take courses that will be accredited to them as general education and build their academic resume for the university of their choice.

Another road traveled is the home school college counselor.  This is the latest out reach into the home school community.  A college counselor who specializes in home school students will be able to direct them in the best possible way to increase their chances into being accepted into a four year institution.  The counselor makes sure that the family is looking at schools that welcome home education.  They prepare the student in the areas of the application that need to be stressed in order to make themselves more appealing to the application boards.  A family who utilizes a counselor who specializes in home education will by-pass many of the mistakes and red-tape made navigating the collegiate world.  

TLP Education has been helping home education get their kids into college for several years now.  We hope to see our home educators and home school students this Monday at Ontario's Home School Fair.

Join us for the 30th Annual Homeschool Fair
Memorial Day, Monday, May 27, 2019
9 a.m. - 4 p.m.
Ontario Christian High School
931 W. Philadelphia St. Ontario, CA

Life Learners

I have heard for many years now that we must encourage our children to be "Life Learners."  As noble as this catch-phrase is, I find that the only time in our lives that we real dedicate to learning is childhood and early adulthood.  After our jobs and families set in, we put learning aside.  We might dust off our thinking caps for mandatory CE's, but as a whole, we settle in quite comfortably in the "old-dog-can't-learn-new-tricks" category.  Learning is essential for our brains.  They need to be used in daily analysis, evaluation and creating in order for each passing year to be purposeful and stimulating.

Taking-in information, storing that information and then applying it to new situations is the process of creativity or learning.  Learning is not passive but deliberate and active.  When you are conceptualizing, applying,synthesizing and evaluating information/skills for the purpose of reaching an answer, conclusion or outcome, your brain is doing what it was meant to do.   In other words, it is a conscious systematic and analytical search engine better than "Google." 

You want to make dinner tonight.  You have chicken and pasta.  You have no idea what you want to do with both ingredients that has not been made before ad nauseam. The database in your computer has endless amounts of information ranging from the gestation period of chicken to the best restaurant in Venice, Italy.  All this information is there, but not all is needed for your problem.

Now the search in on! The purpose of a search engine is to analyze, to evaluate, and to apply for you.  It searches through the mass amount of information on the internet based on key words you have imputed to sort out what is applicable.  This analysis of information has purpose.  The computer knows only to return a list of documents, i.e., recipes for your specific problem.  Our brains work the same.  We move through stages of searches and steps of elimination of information to achieve the right answer to the problem...we learn.

Just like the new upgrades in apps and software, we need to continue introducing our brains to new information.  Keeping the process of learning continuous helps our brains "upgrade."  Any skill/knowledge or advancement in a familiar skill/knowledge, as silly as you might think it is, works.  Reading literature of a modern author then discussing it with others, taking a foreign language, learning how to paint or dance, constructing or shaping artwork can engage your mind and make you a true testament of being a "Life Learner."

Embracing New Ideas

How many times have we worked with individuals that are reluctant to any change?  I remember my family room had white walls.  I did not choose this color or desired to have white walls;  that is just how the builder painted them.  After years of staring at "eggshell" white, I decided to paint my walls.  My newly-wed husband was reluctant to paint the walls due to an irrational fear of change.  He couldn't fathom what he would do if he didn't like the color.  This reluctance was the topic of many discussions.  His inability to embrace the new idea, painting the walls, kept him from moving through the higher levels of critical thinking.  He was unable to come up with a solution...a compromise.  When we are unwilling to embrace new ideas, we find ourselves pigeon-held.   Conclusions cannot be reached. Innovation cannot be created.  Problems will not be solved. Interpersonal skills are not practiced.  Next time you shut down a new idea, think about what you might be losing...the next Social Media phenomenon or super tech or maybe a trip of a life-time.

Critically Speaking about Thinking

     The classroom is a place where academia and character are taught.  As educators, we are not interested in shoving an extraordinary amount of information in the heads of our students so that one day they can win at "Trivial Pursuit."  We are concerned with the development of the whole person.  My years teaching foreign language were filled with lesson planning and grading.  However, I had decorated on my wall each and every year the same objective..."Intelligence Does Not Equal Character." Of course, I wanted my students to excel in Spanish, but more than that, I desired that they would take the information presented and use it critically in all aspects of their lives.
      Countless faculty meetings and parent-teacher conferences echoed the same complaint; they are NOT critically thinking.  The honor students to the barely-getting-by students were all demonstrating a lack of self-sufficiency.  Parents were inevitably over-compensating for their children, and teachers were conveniently "spoon-feeding."  Now "what is best for the child is not always convenient for the parent [or teacher]."  After twenty-some years in the traditional classroom, I had middle school kids enter my class with no idea how to problem solve.  Preadolescence does lend itself to some quirky personalities, but as a whole, I had to deal with moving students through the
stages of Bloom's Taxonomy on a daily basis.  I gave them the toolbox, the lesson.  I gave them the tools, the stages of learning.  Nevertheless, I had to help them know how to use each tool for its most efficient purpose.  See, if you use a saw like a hammer, you might be able to pound in a nail.  However, it will not be as efficient as using a hammer.  It isn't that the saw can't be used to pound in nails; it is just not its best function.  I purposed each September to instill that my students were using "saws to cut and hammers to nail."  I was certain that in the future someone would expect my students to know the difference between a "saw" and a "hammer," at least metaphorically speaking.

Cap + Gown= Adult?

I apologize for the delay in writing, but I have to say February was a busy month.  I think if you are the parent of a senior in high school, you are seeing graduation closer than ever now.  Your child is going to be a part of the "adulting" class.  The day is coming where they will need to fend for themselves in such a way that has been defined as an "adult."  So as I pen these thoughts, I would hope you all take the time to run through the checklist of last minute "adulting" items.

1. Can you soon-to-be adult navigate a banking website?
2. Can they write a check (if need be)?
3. Can they send a letter or package in the mail?
4. Can they return a purchase online or in a store?
5. Can they drop off and pick up a prescription?

For the seasoned "adulter," we often forget that our children might not know how to do these very necessary activities because they have been done for them or we just assume they know because they are computer savvy.    However, it is in fact, our responsibility to mentor our children into this long stage of life.  There are nuances that come from experience and not from a textbook.  They might not master it all before graduation but starting now will at least get them thinking about "adulting."

Healthy Competition

Everyone knows that person who is a sore loser or worse a sore winner.  Those do not know healthy competition.  Whether you compete against others or with yourself, the gauge must be set on healthy.  How do you know if your competitiveness is constructive and productive?   Consider the following questions: 

1.      After a competitive bout, do you dwell on your failures or your success to the point that no other topic can be raised?

2.     Does the focus of your free time involve some aspect of compensating a failure in your abilities to compete?

3.    Are you thrilled in the defeat of your opponents?

4.    How long do you see your competitive career lasting?

After answering these questions, examine closely your responses.  Do they seem balanced? If another responded like you have, would you want to associate with them?  Now, think of your children.  Are you instilling the competitiveness that will make a reasonable adult?

Learning by Numbers

     Why doesn't my kid get it? Why are other kids so much more ahead of the curve? Why can't he read faster, spell better or just learn his multiplication tables??? WHY???

     Learning, anything, is developmental.  The process of learning is about moving information or skills into your long-term memory.  We can do this with repetition.  The more often we see/ use/ hear the word or task, we learn it.  As a foreign language teacher for over 25 years, I have to remind my students of all ages that the target language will come but it depends on the number of repetitions necessary to move the vocabulary into their long-term memory.

  I, as the instructor/facilitator, can only guess how long it will take.  Each person has a set amount of times necessary for the transfer of information to be placed into the recall section of the brain.  Recalling is being able to draw information without hesitation.  As you are able to store and retrieve without hesitation, then innovation can take place.  INNOVATION. CREATIVITY. NEW IDEAS...Critical thinking.

     If you want to learn more about critical thinking in the classroom to the marketplace, please email me Liz@TLP.education for a copy of my booklet: Thinking Outloud. 

 

No Money to Travel

International camps help ME how???  If you want to know the truth, cultural exchanges educate the host more than the student.  Being part of programs like Oui-Connect.com, you and your family get out of your comfort-zones in the comfort of your own home.  Explaining the whys of American culture, gets you to think, I mean really think, about what it means to be American.  You might not have a good answer. You might just not know. However, the journey you take navigating your international student might be the best research. See your culture in the eyes of another for a few weeks; I bet it will change your life! 

Your student's excitement for what you consider ordinary will make you want to know more about the traditions and customs of the U.S.  One thing, I find intriguing in being part of international programming is being able to go to places I would not visit.  The simple fact that I want to show each student a national treasure, a part of Americana, makes me actually appreciate all that is around me.  

Enjoying the art, history and architecture of your city or region with your student will be an experience of a life time.  Aha moments that will be shared both here and abroad.