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We’ve had such a great response to the Wrightslaw Conference and so much fantastic support from the business community that we’ve decided to add a special BONUS to this conference for FREE!!!!

FREE March 11th Pre-Conference Friday Night  “Experts Sessions” We’ve gathered some of the top experts in this state to share their expertise on a variety of Parenting and Education topics which will help you, help your child and help your family.  Trainings and sessions with these experts frequently cost hundreds of dollars but they’ve agree to share some of their expertise with you on this special night … FOR FREE. Don’t miss out!!!

• Stephanie Cork – RLAC – “Orton-Gillingham & Other Reading Intervention Strategies For Special Needs Children”
• Tom Kendziorski – The ARC of Oakland County – “Social Security, Transitions and Planning A More Secure Future For Your Child”
• Jamie McGillivary – Beaumont HOPE Center & Healing Haven – “Stress Reduction For The Special Needs Family”
• Aubry Dodge – Behavioral Consultant – “Fixing Wrong Behaviors: Functional Behavior Analysis & Behavior Intervention Plans”
• Dean Norton -  Mac Professionals – “The IPad Educational Revolution & Education Technology”
• Dr. Linsk – Integrative Medicine & Pediatrics – “The What & How of BioMedical Interventions For Kids With Special Needs”
• Dr. Wycoff – Wycoff Wellness Center - “Another Way Of Looking At, Understanding & Treating Allergies”

This Friday night “Pre-Conference” Experts Night is our thank you to all of you and a rare opportunity to get some great information from some of the top experts in their fields FREE OF CHARGE. So please join us for this special night.

Click here to view a flyer for this event – Friday Night Speakers – please feel free to download it or share it with your friends!

*** You don’t need to have a ticket to the Wrightslaw Conference to attend this special Friday night speakers night.

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Okay, two hilarious stories this week … or at least they’d be funnier if it wasn’t for the fact that they’re true which makes it actually a little sad.  I understand we need to keep kids safe but sometimes I wonder if the best way to keep them safe is to keep our stupid adult rules as far away from them as possible.  Two great cases in point …..

“By requiring written permission from the parents, parents would be aware that their children had Chapstick …..”

Written permission …. for Chapstick?

Are we really seriously doing this to our kids ….

(The letter) from a first-grade teacher, simply said, “Do not send Chapstick or cough drops to school with your child.”

So not only do they need to have chapped lips but now they also can’t sooth that cough.  But wait …. it gets better than just Chapstick!!!

(other) non-medicine item requiring a parent’s note. Hand sanitizer, sunscreen and baby wipes are also on the list.

So we’re going to be busting kids at school for “carrying” Chapstick, hand sanitizer, sunscreen and baby wipes (which actually seems like kind of a strange thing for kids to be carrying at school … but I digress)?

The schools do not punish students for carrying contraband lip balm, Sessoms said. When teachers find moist-lipped scofflaws, they simply call the children’s parents and inform them of the policy.

CONTRABAND lip balm?

Ok good, they don't share Chapstick ... but look it's made them crazy!

A couple of years ago if we would have made this story up folks would have yelled about us being cynical and sarcastic.  As bad as having your kid busted for sneaking contraband wild cherry Chapstick into the school that’s nothing compared to the kids trying to sneak PENCILS and PENS into class …

students would no longer be allowed to bring writing implements to school. It said pencils would be provided for students in class and any students caught with pencils or pens after Nov. 15 would face disciplinary action for having materials “to build weapons”.

Pencils or WMD's ?

To their credit the school district immediately scrambled to distance themselves from this silliness and said the situation has been “handled”.

Does our military know about this trend of using pencils “to build weapons”?  Maybe we couldn’t find the WMD’s cause they were all hidden in aisle two of Staples!

So there you go … killer chapstick, hand sanitizer and sunscreen and if they don’t get you the weaponized pencils will.

Oy … sometimes you just have to laugh and shake your head.

Ok, but here’s the point.

It’s too easy as parents to sometimes create rules and protections for our kids that might make logical sense in the moment …. but when you step back you realize you may have just lost your mind.

So from time to time we need to step back and ask ourselves what things are we protecting our kids from that upon review might be a bit overprotective (or flat out crazy)?

We ALL do it. Mom’s and Dads. Young and old. New parents and old parents.

We get so caught up in the “protection” portion of the job that we isolate our kids from some of their most powerful life teachers … failure, pain, discomfort, embarrassment. Unfortunately all of these teachers come with learning materials that frequently end in cuts, bumps, bruises and broken things (bones, feelings, hearts, lamps …. prize family heirlooms).  But without these teachers our kids never learn how to pick themselves up, dust themselves off and then get after it again … this time a little smarter (maybe while covered in a Band-Aid or two).

Personally I can mark some of the greatest adventures or moments of my childhood because they’re bookmarked with that burning sting and bubbling of peroxide, shredded knees or elbows or that one time when I was brought back to consciousness by the faux leather smell of my neighbors couch and a pounding headache (Which was significant only because the last thing I remembered prior to that moment was that sinking feeling when my “Batman” batarang – a  broken railing decoration – missed the branch in the tree I was swinging around in.  So, instead of swinging higher in my pursuit of my friend who was the Joker …. I instead found myself flying backwards, and quickly downwards, through space. But hey, its not like I remember my not so soft “landing” …… or the next twenty minutes leading up to that return to consciousness on that faux leather couch.)

How about you .. weren’t some of your greatest life lessons learned in that “oh no!” instance that immediately follows your well crafted plan falling apart?  Do we really want our kids to grow up with their life lessons starting off with – “so I was sneaking my Chapstick and hand sanitizer into school ……” come on, our kids deserve better than that!

** If you’re looking for a site that celebrates the fact that our kids are not all helpless, inept little creatures in need of constant bubble wrapped protection to prevent injury, maiming and death … here’s one of my favorites and a site I highly recommend – “Free Range Parenting”

(source: Schools’s Ban Chapsticks)

(source: Insanity! Teacher Bans Pencils)

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“We want people that can feel the Math ….”

Use computers to make MATH education work, come alive and dramatically change the way our kids see Math in the real world…

And while we’re at it …… why stop with just Math?  Think of how many other subjects we could revolutionize by embracing, instead of running away from technology in the classroom.

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Just A Reminder …

That the Conference isn’t until March 12, 2011 but tickets are selling quickly now …. so don’t miss out on the Wrightslaw Special Education Law & Advocacy Early Bird Tickets!

The early birds are grabbing up the tickets to the Wrightslaw conference.  We did a slow roll out yesterday just to test the pages and tickets started selling immediately.

For all of the details about the conference click – here.

The early bird special is only good for the first 100 ticket buyers so if you want to come to the conference please don’t wait too long to get those tickets.

Last time we sold out at 500 people and were turning people away because we literally could not add any more people to the room.

This year we’ve changed venues (last time Wayne County so this time Oakland County) and while we have a beautiful venue it’s going to be a smaller venue with fewer tickets available.  So check those calendars and get those tickets!!

Get Your Tickets NOW!

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“One of the saddest days of my life was when my mother told me “Superman” did not exist.  Cause even in the depths of the ghetto you just thought he was coming …. She thought I was crying because it’s like …. (he’s) not real.  I was crying because no one was coming with enough power to save us.”

- Geoffrey Canada. “Waiting for Superman”

The movie is controversial ….. very, very controversial.  Seen by some as a scathing expose on our current educational system and by others as simply a hit piece on the educational unions “Waiting For Superman” is, at the very least, a movie that is worth investing two hours of your time to see.  Since it hits on a topic near and dear to our hearts (and the hearts of anybody who really cares about this country I suppose) we wanted to make sure that not only did we see as soon as we could be that we could share it with you as quickly as possible.

Here are 10 facts from the “Waiting For Superman” movie and book that really jumped out at me:

1. NCLB – With four years left to reach the act’s goal of 100% proficiency  in Math and Reading most states hover around 20-30% proficiency
2. Among 30 developed countries the US is
   • 25th in Math
   • 21st in Science
   • When comparing our top 5% against their top 5% we’re …. last
3. High School Graduation Rates
   • African American – 51%
   • Latinos – 55%
   • Whites – 76%
   • 60% of those who do graduate will still need to take at least one remedial class in college
4. In Pennsylvania (as an example) 68% of state prison inmates are high school dropouts.  It’s costs, on average, $33,ooo per year and $132,000 per sentence to house, feed and care for that prisoner.   That’s enough to have sent that prisoner to private school for K-12th grade (avg. tuition $8,300) with $24,000 left over.
5. Since 1971 educational spending per student (adjusted for inflation) has doubled while test scores have remained flat.
6. The Teachers Unions (National Education Association & American Federation of Teachers) are the nation’s largest political contributors (exceeding NRA, Teamsters, AARP, Chambers of Commerce) with 90% of that money going to Democrats.
7. Protecting Teachers:
   • In Illinois (for example):
     • 1 in 57 Doctors loses their medical license
     • 1 in 97 Attorneys will lose their law license
     • Only 1 Teacher in 2,500 has ever lost their teaching credentials
   • In NY
     • Average teacher disciplinary hearing lasts 8 times longer that the average US criminal case at a cost of $65 million dollars per year
8. A top teacher in the top quintile will cover 150% of the required curriculum in a year.  A teacher in the bottom quintile will only cover 50% of the required curriculum.
9. If we eliminated the bottom 6-10% of underperforming teachers and replaced them with just “average” teachers we could bring the average US student up to the level of Finland, which is the top performing country in the world.
10. By the year 2020
    • 123 million jobs will be high skill/high pay occupations
    • Only 50 million Americans will be qualified to fill them

Some great resources I came across during interview prep:

• Michigan Public Schools Financial Data – Michigan Department of Education
  • See page 7 for the teacher pay summaries that we discussed during the show
• Predicting Success In Football & Teaching
  • This is a great piece by Malcolm Gladwell (Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink, What The Dog Saw) on the process we use for selecting, training and evaluating teachers.  We’ve referenced it before on the show and it’s a must read piece for all parents out there trying to figure out the challenges of education reform.
• Will Richardson – Tech Teacher
  • Here’s a teacher that truly gets the importance of changing HOW we teach in the information, tech heavy age.
• How To Fix Our Schools : A Manifesto – Washington Post
  • This is a brief “mainfesto” for educational reform  written, in part, by Joel Klein (Chancellor, NYC Dept. of Ed) and Michelle Rhee (former Chancellor, DC Public Schools)
• Rebuttal to the “How To Fix Our Schools Manifesto”
  • This rebuttal is but one (and there are MANY) of the rebuttals out there both to the type of reforms indicated in the above referenced manifesto but also in “Waiting For Superman”.  This one was written by Kevin Welner, Director of the Education Policy Center.  His rebuttal (evidently he was still a bit worked up is continued here.

“When you see a great teacher you are seeing a work of art.  You’re seeing a master and it is as, I think, as unbelievable as seeing a great athlete or seeing a great musician” – Geoffrey Canada, President & CEO of the Harlem Children’s Zone

This undoubtedly will be a story and movie that we will continue to discuss in the coming weeks and months.  I hope you enjoy our interview with Karl Weber, author and editor of the book “Waiting for Superman”.  After listening to the interview and/or seeing the movie please feel free to share your comments (positive or negative) both here and on our Facebook page.

Click the picture above to purchase or find out more about the book!

Click the recorder below to hear our informative interview with Mr. Karl Weber from “Waiting For Superman” …..

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On last weekend’s radio show we discussed the movie Waiting for “Superman” and the need for education reform. Two weeks ago it was school nutrition with Chef Ann Cooper. In both interviews we discussed the need to hold politicians accountable for their promises. So with that in mind this weekend we’ll be interviewing Brian Calley from the Snyder-Calley Gubernatorial ticket in Michigan.

Join us this Sunday and ask Mr. Calley the questions YOU want answered

248-848-1310

You can’t hold the politicians accountable if you don’t know what they’re promising.  For those folks out there that don’t feel you really know what these campaigns are all about ….. here’s your chance to find out first hand.

• Call.
• Ask your question.
• Get your answer.
• Judge for yourself.
• Hold them accountable.

Don’t miss the show and this important interview this Sunday at 9:00am on 1310am WDTW.

If you can’t call in send us your question to Steve@MyGreatKid.com or hit us up via Facebook and Twitter.

* If you missed our previous interview with Rick Snyder back in August, listen to it here.

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In our inaugural show on 1310 WDTW we had the great opportunity to interview Chef Ann Cooper – The Renegade Lunch Lady (this was after the unfortunate incident where I accidentally stuck my foot in the urinal which we discussed in the beginning of this same show – sorry Chef Ann).  Now I’ll admit, at first blush when Staci brought me the idea of interviewing a lunch lady it wasn’t very exciting to me ….

Sure, we talk about education and the importance of education and sure ….. the lunch lady is a part of the school/education team at our schools but let’s be honest when we think of raising our kids Reading and Math scores the mystery meat selection at lunch isn’t the first thing that springs to mind.

But, maybe it should be…..

After all, we all know how important nutrition is for our kids and the lunch (and for many kids even the their breakfast) being served at school is for some, their biggest, healthiest meal of the day.  Beyond that it’s also critical to their energy levels in the afternoon and a regular opportunity to expose kids to different foods. Not to mention the frequently missed opportunity to expand their understanding of nutrition and how that food impacts everything else in their lives.

Basic stuff? Sure.

Important lessons to understand? Sure.

Something we really need being passed along by the lunch lady? After talking a look at the high obesity levels in our country and poor nutrition in our country – maybe.

Especially if that lunch lady has the credentials, mission and high level of passion for food and nutrition that Chef  Ann has ….

Click the link above to check out her blog

Check out some of Chef Ann’s cool recipes (including snack recipes for “Pizza Wheels”, “Granola”, “Apple Date Bars and “Congee”)

Chef Ann isn’t a fan of the USDA Food Pyramid so she came up with her own resource – The Food Wheel. Click the pic above for more details.  I have to admit, I think her wheel is easier to understand and better laid out than the pyramid.

Learn more about the school lunch programs, how they work and how you can make changes within the system ~ here’s three GREAT resources!

Click the picture above to check it out for yourself ..

Click above….for details

Click above to read the guide

Salad Bars at schools.  Ridiculous?  Maybe so … except in the schools that have tried it and are getting great results.

Click the link below to listen to our interview with Chef Ann Cooper on the “My Great Kid Radio Program”!

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The Animaniacs was one of those great all-time cartoons – for kids and adults!

A Steven Spielberg production for Warner Brothers that ran from 1993 – 1998 it gave us great characters like Pinky & The Brain, Slappy, Skippy Squirrel, Hello Nurse, Dr Otto Scratchansniff, The Goodfeathers, Buttons and Mindy and often pulled in timely pop culture references.

How could you not LOVE this GREAT show! Fun for kids and fun for adults.  Best of all, while there was a lot of goofy silliness in the show there were also a lot of sneaky educational value in there too, like this ….

and this one …..

Doesn’t seem fair to the kids that they have show like Dora and SpongeBob today, huh?

Or am I wrong? Are today’s shows better?

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I wanted to share with you a great site that I’ve been using with my son this summer, it’s called:

(click me to check it out)

It’s a site that allows you to quickly and easily create math worksheets for addition, subtraction, multiplication, division or a mix of all of the above.  In addition to that it also allows you to churn out great worksheets for money and time.

Now, I’m not going to lie to ya’ this isn’t the fanciest site in the world nor is it terribly groundbreaking.  Yes, there are a number of similar sites out there.  What I like about it though is that it’s:

• Free – which fits my budget
• Relatively free of advertising ( rare w/ free sites)
• Quick to use
• Easy to use
• Easy to customize
• Got good customizing options available

Too many of the Math worksheet sites out there are so cluttered or confusing it takes forever to just get a sheet.  Many of the others don’t let you customize your sheets easily.

I really recommend it for Time and Money because it churns out sheets that are clear and easy to read with real looking coins and clear numbers for the clocks.

We’ve used it mostly for Time and Money review along with kicking out a mixed sheet of general Math every couple of days.

It has some other features which look useful but we haven’t used as much this summer including: a flashcard maker, pre-made sheets (honestly it’s so easy to create your own I haven’t used the pre-made sheets yet), a recently added word problem generator (only easy level currently), fill in the blank multiplication tables and a cool quick Maze generator (which we’ve used for Brain breaks).

If you’re looking for a quick worksheet creator for Math through roughly 4th – 5th Grade I give this site two big thumbs up!

Do you have any sites that you like for this kind of work?

Sample Worksheets

• Find Total Value Of Your Money – Easy Level, Showing Both Sides of The Coins, All Coins
• Draw In The Clock Hands – Medium Level, Medium Sized Clocks
• Adding – Find The Missing Amount, Number Range 1 to 100
• Word Problem Sample

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