Things you won’t read about in other places and perhaps you should
Did you know?
There are about 46 million abortions worldwide every year.
There are about 126,000 abortions worldwide every day.
On a worldwide average, each woman will go through at least 1 abortion in her lifetime.
Only 22% of abortions take place in developed countries.
Only 26 million (56.5% of the 46 million a year) are legal.
It started when my sister, who is 3 years younger than I am, brought home her prescription glasses. I was about 15 and thought it was cool. Kids are like that. They think strange things are cool. From time to time, I would steal her glasses and try them on. I was shocked to discover that the TV looked different, and that the whole world looked clearer.
When I was 16, I brought home my first prescription glasses. I was very happy. For a long time, I checked what the world looked like with and without my glasses, and I was a bit disappointed that the optometrist had told me to wear them only when I needed to watch TV, movies or to sit far away from the board in class.
Surprise, surprise, once I had my glasses, I got to be one of the top kids in my class in 11th Grade, after having been kicked out of school in 10th Grade for having failed too many subject. It was as if the glasses had helped me to see my homework better.
Read Do Glasses Make You Smart? »
Every person in the universe is searching for happiness. Our thoughts about ourselves, our self esteem, are part of that one “map” that everyone is looking for, the one we think fits us all. But we all have different experiences and mindsets. Therefore, we each use a different map to guide us to our own happiness.
The single-sex school originated during the 18th century, when rich families sent their sons to “special” schools. Only later, in the 19th century, when the awareness of the value of education increased, were girls also sent to study. Single-sex schools were very popular in England and now also in Australia.
Today, the single-sex schools are popular among religious populations and even more during high school.
Supporters of single-sex schools believe they help kids concentrate on their academic work and avoid the sexual distractions of adolescence.
Critics believe that some social skills relating to the opposite sex reaches its peak development during teenage and that if teens do not have enough practice, this limit their social skills and their ability to relate later on.
Last week, in Self Esteem Mini-Course (part 1), I wrote about the definition of self-esteem. This week, let us explore how school promotes low self-esteem in children and shapes our society in the opposite way.
Since our self-esteem is based on our perception of ourselves and school is the place we spend most of our time between the ages of 6 and 12, every school experience either increases or decreases our self-esteem.
I believe that every parent wants their kids to have high self-esteem, so I have decided to publish a few posts over the coming weeks about self-esteem, what it is and how to increase it, so every parent reading this will be able to help their kids develop this very important emotional strength.
So first, what is self-esteem?
Self-esteem is a reflection of a person’s overall appraisal of their own worth
In other words, self-esteem is the score each person gives their abilities and skills.
Read What Is Self Esteem? »
This is great! A couple of weeks ago, I posted my thoughts on ADHD in ADHD Must Be Contagious. This started quite a bit of a discussion on a site dedicated to ADHD families, in a post titled “Life coach wonders if ADHD is contagious”.
The author, who has kids with ADHD, agreed with some of my points, but did not agree with others. Others made some strong comments, describing their own experience as hyperactive individuals or their relatives.
I believe that awareness is very important and we need to discuss our agreements and disagreements regarding ADHD in order to find a solution for us all – kids, parents and teachers.
Read The War on ADHD »
Kids are like fish. No, not because they are pretty and cute (although they are pretty and cute) but because their ability to grow depends on their environment, much like fish.
Did you know that fish will grow to the size that will be supported by their surroundings?
If you put a fish in a small bowl, it will grow to fit the size of the bowl. If you take the same fish into a small pond, it will grow bigger. If you move it to a lake, the same fish can grow to be big, really big.
Kids also have this fishy characteristic. For them, life is a fish bowl and they depend on the grown ups in their life to find a good size bowl to call home. They also depend on the grown ups in their life to “clean the water” and supply them with “food”.
Read Kids are Like Fish »
Two hundred years ago, collecting information was the name of the game. The world was ruled by those who mastered the skills of information gathering. Knowledge was power.
In today’s world, the TV world, the world of live broadcasts, of information at your fingertips, a fast track world loaded with information, the advantage changed sides. Today, the world belongs to those who master the regulation of the flow of information. Today, it’s not how much you know but how effective you are at finding what you need in the overwhelming rush of new facts coming straight at you from all around.
In a research done in 1971 by Gergen, he found that there are four things that need to happen for us to accept a message:
1. Authority: The person who is giving the message needs to be in a position to do that – knowledgeable, experienced, in power
2. Familiarity: The person who is giving the message is presented as someone close to us who knows us well – family, friend…
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