What are the Benefits of Parent Involvement in Education and what does the Current Research Reveal?

Each day of our lives we make deposits

in the memory banks of our children.
(Charles R. Swindoll)

It’s a tricky business working out exactly what level of involvement in your child’s education is ‘just right’. Too little and your child doesn’t flourish, too much and your child doesn’t develop independence and resilience. So what do we know about the involvement of parents in their children’s education?

According to Henderson and Berla (1994), “the most accurate predictor of a student’s achievement in school is not income or social status but the extent which that student’s family is able to:

1.       Create a home environment that encourages learning;

2.       Express high (but not unrealistic) expectations for their children’s achievement and future careers; and

3.       Become involved in their children’s education at school and in the community (p. 160).”

Similarly in more recent research carried out by Karen Smith Conway and Andrew Houtenville (2008), they found that parental involvement has a substantial, strong, positive effect on student achievement. The conclusions from a report, A New Wave of Evidence, which was a synthesis of research on parent involvement over a decade, found that, regardless of family income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to:

·         Earn higher results and test scores and enrol in higher level programs;

·         Be promoted, and ‘pass their subjects’;

·         Attend school regularly;

·         Have better social skills, show better behaviour and adapt well to school; and

·         Graduate and go onto postsecondary education.

Also Henderson and Berla (1994) found that when parents are involved that:

·         Children consistently complete their homework;

·         Children have better self-esteem, are more self-disciplined, and show higher aspirations and motivation toward school; and

·         Children from diverse cultural backgrounds tend to do better when parents and teachers work together to bridge the gap between the culture at home and the culture at school.

One of the most important areas of parental involvement is in the area of reading, where research shows that student achievement is directly linked to reading ability and parent involvement in reading to and with their children.

·         Did you know that listening comprehension comes before reading comprehension and that you must hear a word before you can say it or read and write it? According to Jim Trelease, author of New York Times bestseller, “The Read Aloud Handbook”, there’s a “word reservoir” in a child’s brain and one thing that parents can do, is to pour as many words into that brain so that it overflows into speech, then reading and writing.

·         Did you know that by age four, high-income children have heard 45 million words from their families and low-income children have heard just 13 million? That’s a 32 million word difference according to Hart and Risley’s “Meaningful Differences”.

·         Did you know that children learn an average of 4,000 to 12,000 new words each year as a result of book reading?

·         Did you know that children read on one level and listen on a higher level and it’s not until Year 8 that the reading level catches up to the listening level?

·         Did you know that children who grow up in homes where books are plentiful go further in school than those who don't and have the highest reading scores.

·         Did you know that research shows that those children who watch the most television, know the least. The average child spends 1460 hours a year watching television, DVDs and playing computer games, equal to watching “Gone With the Wind” 392 times a year.

Desforges’ research (2003) on parent involvement in their children’s education found that :

·         Children with higher scores on measures of achievement, competence, and intelligence had parents who held higher educational expectations and aspirations for them than did parents of children who did not score as high.

·         Parents of higher scoring children used more advanced levels and styles of thought and language in interactions with their children than parents of children who did not score as high. These advanced levels and styles of thought and language included the use of more advanced organising information, more detailed instruction, and more verbal variety.

·         In addition, the parents of higher scoring children provided more explanations and reasons when correcting their children’s behaviour or performance. Finally, they provided better problem solving strategies which the children adopted (pp 84-87).

According to Olsen and Fuller (2006) there are many benefits to parents too:

·         Parents increase their interaction and discussion with their children and are more responsive and sensitive to their children’s social, emotional, and intellectual developmental needs.

·         Parents are more confident in their parenting and decision-making skills.

·         As parents gain more knowledge of child development, there is more use of affection and positive reinforcement and less punishment on their children.

·         Parents’ perceptions of the school are improved and there are stronger ties and commitment to the school.

·         Parents are more aware of, and become more active regarding, policies that affect their children’s education when parents become more involved in the school.

So is there such a thing as “too much involvement” in your child’s education? The answer is not definitive but a “maybe” and “it depends”. Parents should avoid ‘fighting their children’s battles for them’. At some point, as children mature into young adults they need to acquire the very skills that they will need later in life to be successful in their own right, motivated, resilient, independent, and autonomous in their own thinking. When children are very young they require lots of support but as they grow they need to develop effective problem solving strategies for themselves. Parents should be there as a sounding board and to offer help if it’s needed but should avoid solving the problem for the child. By the time students reach Year 10 to Year 12 they should be developing greater independence and resilience, better preparing them for their tertiary education, future career and life ahead. Ultimately it’s the life ahead for which we are preparing our students.

Successive research has demonstrated that there is substantial and compelling evidence regarding the crucial role that parents play in the development of intelligence, achievement and competence in the education of their children. At Somerville House we encourage parent involvement at every stage of your child’s educational journey because we know it benefits each and every child, parent and school. The more that students, parents and the School work in concert, the more our students will flourish and thrive.

Finally as Hattie notes in his book,  “Visible Learning”, parents have major effects in terms of the encouragement and expectations that they transmit to their children….It is not so much the structure of the family but rather the beliefs and expectations of the adults in the home that contributes most to achievement( pp70-71).

Karon Graham

References:

1.       Becher, R.M. (1984). Parent Involvement: A Review of the Research and Principles of Successful Practice. ERIC. Accessed at:  http://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED247032

2.       Desforges, C. and Abouchaar, A. (2003). The Impact of Parental Involvement, Parental Support and Family Education on Pupil Achievement and Adjustment: A Literature Review. Research Report No. 433. Queens Printer. London, England. (pp 84-87)

3.       Hattie, J. (2009). Visible Learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London, England. Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

4.    Henderson, A.T. and Berla,N. (eds) . (1994). A New Generation of Evidence.  Washington DC.  Committee for Citizens in Education. Harvard Education Press.

5.    Henderson, A.T. and Mapp, K.L. (2002). A New Wave of Evidence: The Impact of School, Family, and Community Connections on Student Achievement. Austin,Texas: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory. Accessed at: http://www.nea.org/bare/print.html?content=/bare/17360.htm

6.       Olsen, G. and Fuller, M.L. (2006). The Benefits of Parent Involvement: What Research Has to Say, Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall. Accessed at:  http://www.education.com/print/benefits-parent-involvement-research/

 

Words can really hurt us.

"Friendship makes prosperity more shining,and lessens adversity by dividing and sharing it." (Cicero)

Well it’s official, words really can hurt us. Lisa Raffensperger’s recent article in the  NewScientist, “Words can never hurt me?”, confirms what most people already know, that taunting and cruel words actually hurt us in a physical way as well as psychological way. (Raffensperger: 2012, 37).  Researchers like Naomi Eisenberger at the University of California have discovered areas of the brain – the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) to be precise – surges with activity when we are physically hurt. As Eisenberger notes, ‘this is an important part of the “pain network”, determining how upsetting we find an injury’.  The more distressing we find an injury, basically the more the dACC lights up.

Does our brain and body react to insults and social rejection as much as physical pain? It seems so. Researchers, Ethan Kross at the University of Michigan and Nathan DeWalll of the University of Kentucky, found that the parts of the brain’s sensory centres reflect similar physical discomfort as a result of a wound, as that of heartbreak. In other words, ‘heartache can literally hurt’. Some people, on the other hand, are more resilient and are able to deal with emotional upsets more pragmatically and take setbacks in their stride. Young people who have experienced more traumas in their early years tend to have a more heightened sensitivity to emotional upsets which continues most of their lives and these people feel more physical pain than others.

Adolescents, particularly, can be sensitive to a whole range of social emotional issues and to social rejection. Psychiatrists believe that as the brain of a young person is still developing, it has a more exaggerated response to any perceived slights or injustices. This will come as no ground-breaking news to most parents of teenagers.

Is there anything we can do to alleviate this type of pain? The answer, luckily, is a resounding ‘yes’. Giving emotional support and comfort to those people experiencing painful social rejection can ease the physical pain felt, according to the researchers. As parents and educators we can:

·         Support young people through difficult emotional times and surprisingly it helps us too become more resilient to setback in our own lives

·         Listening empathetically to our students when they share emotional upsets

·         Acknowledging the upset and offer advice if  your child asks for it

·         Comfort young  people in times of need and suggest some strategies with other friends; and

·         Seek medical help if necessary, some short term medication may assist – even panadol has been found to help reduce the effects of psychological pain.

Bibliography

Raffensperger, L. (2012). Words can never hurt me? NewScientist. No2893, December 1, pp37-39

Karon Graham

 

Seize the Day: Life According to my Dictionary

Life gives us brief moments with another…

But sometimes, in those brief moments
We get memories that last a life time.

 Some people keep a diary, I keep a dictionary. Yes, a dictionary.  Don’t ask me how this happened because I couldn’t tell you but my dictionary is full of memories and mementos of years gone by. My dictionary isn’t a particularly expensive book and it’s somewhat battered around the edges now, but the memories stored in it are priceless.

These memories represent the passing thirty years in different schools and small and big moments in my personal life. The first page includes my name and under it is written, “Carpe diem – Seize the day”, which is something that stirs me and motivates me, to always make the most of every moment.

There are happy holiday snaps, postcards from exotic places that I or good friends have travelled to over the years, funny cartoons that make me laugh out loud. The Far Side collection is my favourite. 

A man is sitting on an airplane looking out at the clouds drifting by in the sky. There is a panel at his right hand, which has all the usual buttons: volume, channel, light switch, steward alert and on the left side is a button that reads: ‘wings stay on’ and below this: ‘wings fall off’. The caption reads:

            “Fumbling for his recline button,

              Ted unwittingly instigates a disaster.”
             (Okay, maybe this is a ‘location’ joke.)

Photos of family events feature in the dictionary, which record moments of absolute bliss and success with my family – everything from learning to sailboard, floating on Blue Lake at Straddie in a dinghy, children playing netball, rugby and cricket, accepting awards at Speech Night, graduating from university and most of all, just enjoying family events.

Photos and notes from good friends who make me smile, fill my dictionary. Good friends are like diamonds that sparkle in any light and even in darkness. Good friends are the ones who know all about you and like you anyway. The gift of their friendship calls out to me from the pages, reminding me that even on the darkest of days, there can still be a reason to smile and to hope for a better future.

There are thank you cards from parents, students and colleagues. Beautiful Valentine’s Day cards, special Christmas cards also kept for reflection, including a lovely Christmas card written by Riordon, David and Natarsha Turner at the end of my first year at CCPS, which I treasure.

A potpourri of photos of school related events like Anzac Day marches, graduations, formals, semi-formals, Foundation Days;  photos of Professor Ian Frazer, and who can forget his description of going to a ‘pirate school’?  Who can forget superstar, John Newcombe and the amazingly ‘young’, grand Dame Elisabeth Murdoch?

Poignant photos found in my dictionary, remind me of generous people in my life, like that of the School’s Patrons – Judy Henzell and the late Joan Ford, Cec and the late Noelene Munns – all people who have given so much to Caloundra City Private School. How can we ever repay their kindness?

Perhaps the saddest of these mementos are those that mark the death of someone very young. It reminds me of how fragile life can be and the transiency of all that is precious to us. One that always makes me pause to consider this fragility is of a past Year 11 student who died tragically in a car accident in 2001. Her beautiful face smiles out from the pages and the inscription below written by her grieving parents reads:

            “Gone from our sight

               But never our memories
               Gone from our touch
                But never our hearts.”

 

We really can’t take too much in life for granted, can we? Nothing lasts forever. All things come to an end and in my mind, it is all the more reason to ‘seize the day’ and make the very most of every moment. With this in mind I will be embarking on a new journey in 2013 and look forward to this new chapter in my life.

 I take with me many wonderful memories of CCPS – mainly of the people that I have been fortunate enough to know:  wonderful teachers, fabulous administrative and auxiliary staff,  amazing students (past and present), and supportive and caring parents. To the outstanding executive team of Ms Stuart, Mr Maguire, Mrs Frisby and Mrs Short I thank you for your amazing skills, talents, loyalty and leadership of the School.

 My creed, (also found in my dictionary), is very simple and this creed is one that I borrowed from George Bernard Shaw and would like to share:

            This is the true joy in life,

             The being used for a purpose
            Recognized by yourself as a mighty one.
            The Being a force of nature
              Instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments
              And grievances, complaining that the world
               Will not devote itself to making you happy.

 I am of the opinion that my life belongs to 

           The whole community and as long as I live,
            It is my privilege to do for it what I can.
            I want to be thoroughly used up when I die,
             For the harder I work, the more I live.
            I rejoice in life for its own sake.
            Life is no brief candle to me.
            It is a sort of splendid torch
            Which I have got hold of for the moment
            And I want to make it burn as brightly
            As possible before handing it on to future generations.

 

Thank you to everyone who has been part of my journey at Caloundra City Private School. I am leaving you now, but you will always be a part of who I am and part of you will always live in my heart. I wish you all the very best for the future.

Thank you for all of the wonderful experiences I have shared with you on this journey.

Karon Graham

Celebrate Life!

The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.(Oprah Winfrey)

Celebrate life!  Don’t let the moment pass without celebrating that special event, that special success, or that special milestone. Life should be full of celebrations of the big moments as well as the little moments of personal significance.

It’s so easy to get caught up in all ‘that’s not right’ in the world rather than what is right. It’s so easy to not see the forest for the trees. I use to watch the news but I rarely do these days. Some comic once quipped that the evening news always commences with ‘Good Evening’ and then the presenter proceeds to tell you why it’s not. So now I get my news over the internet and choose what news stories I read. Isn’t it better to do as Barbara Hoffman suggests?

Stop worrying about the potholes in the road and celebrate the journey!

In my mind there are lots of things that we can celebrate every day and maybe some of these you may already celebrate too.

Celebrate our families and the ones we love.

Celebrate good friendships and the joy of friends in our lives.

Celebrate the beautiful part of the world in which we live.

Celebrate the weather – how lucky are we to have warm, sunny weather most of the year?

Celebrate good health or the recovery to good health.

Celebrate our freedom and the lifestyle that we sometimes take for granted.

Celebrate this great School and all who share it with us.

Celebrate every blessing that comes our way.

Celebrate life!

 

Life is a celebration of awakenings, of new beginnings,
and wonderful surprises that enlighten the soul.

 

Karon Graham

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

“The secret of health for both mind and body is
not to mourn for the past,
worry about the future, or anticipate troubles,
but to live in the present moment,
wisely and earnestly.”
(Buddha)

Live for the moment. It sounds reckless doesn’t it? If we think about this proposition a little more though, life is really a continuum of moments, a series of decisions that we make, most of them seemingly insignificant, but in the course of our personal history, the collective decisions we make lead us to our destiny. Why should we live for the moment?

Many years ago, there was a popular song written by Bobby McFerrin, called “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”. The very simple lyrics struck a chord with many people. We are not able to change the past, so let it go. We are not able to predict or know with certainty the future, so there’s no point stressing too much about that either. Yes we can make plans for the future, but remember that events can often conspire against our best laid plans. So maybe there is something to McFerrin’s lyrics, ‘don’t worry, be happy’.

In Andy Andrews’ book, The Butterfly Effect, based on the theory of Edward Lorenz, he explains how one decision, one small act or one change can have a ripple effect elsewhere. When the disaster of 9/11 struck the World Trade Centre, some people, who would normally be at work there, had made a decision a week ago, or the day before, or even on the day to do something that meant they were not on the upper floors of the World Trade Centre when the planes struck.

One man decided that he would take his daughter to her first day of school and another, Larry Silverstein, had made a doctor’s appointment, which his wife insisted that morning that he should keep rather than rescheduling. Chef Michael Lomonaco decided to drop in at the optometrist in the lobby of the World Trade Centre to see if he could change his appointment time, instead of travelling up the lift to the 106th floor to his restaurant, where he would normally be preparing for the day ahead. All of these people were spared almost certain death by the decisions they had made the week before or because of spur of the moment decisions made that day.

Not all decisions take on such significance though. According to a survey by Columbia University decision researcher, Sheena Iyengar, the average person makes approximately 70 conscious decisions every day. That’s a lot of decision making happening in our lives. Multiply 70 decisions by 365 days and that means, on average, we are making around 25,550 every year! It’s no wonder that these decisions collectively determine our destiny and the destiny of other people in our lives.

What influences our decisions is quite interesting too. Arnaldo Oliveira, an expert in decision making process, argues that the essence of decision making integrates both the beliefs about specific events and peo¬ple’s subjective reactions to those events. He identifies three factors influencing our decision making. Firstly there may be more than one possible course of action possible for us to consider. Secondly, decision makers form expectations concerning future events based on degrees of confidence and probabilities for the future. Thirdly, we consider the consequences associated with possible outcomes, which reflects our own personal values and current goals.

Author, John Hunt has an interesting theory about people, which may influence how they make decisions and what decision they make. He writes about people either being a ‘sunset’ person or a ‘sunrise’ person and he believes that everyone falls into one of these two categories. Hunt explains:

“A ‘sunriser’ gives out energy; a ‘sunsetter’ sucks it away.
A ‘sunriser’ goes through life open to the idea that the best may still be coming. A ‘sunset’ person is heavy in the knowledge that the best is past. For him or her, the future is in a calibrated decline.”

In essence, beliefs influence our actions and often can result in a self-fulfilling prophecy where our decisions influence eventual outcomes. In other words, what you believe will come true because you will subconsciously and consciously act in ways that cause the event to happen. Self-fulfilling prophecies are powerful, and real.

A simple decision about whether to let your child learn a musical instrument, or learn to sing or dance or paint can significantly influence the course of their life. A young child who struggles to learn, to speak or write, may benefit greatly by learning to play a musical instrument or play chess or to learn to draw or to play a particular sport. Not only does it open a whole new world of opportunities for your child, but it may very well be the one thing, in which they excel and experience success in their life. We never know where such a decision will lead.

There’s no escaping it, the more opportunities we give our child at the youngest possible age, the more likely they are to excel, not just at school but in life in general. A small decision can have an untold impact on the future. We never know where the decisions of today will lead; ultimately, it may very well depend on our beliefs and expectations and (maybe) on whether we are a ‘sunsetter’ or ‘sunriser’. I will let Theodore Roosevelt have the last word on decision making:

“In any moment of decision
the best thing you can do
Is the right thing, the
next best thing is the
wrong thing, and
the worst thing
you can do is
nothing.”

Karon Graham

Teachers Create the Future

A teacher affects eternity;
he or she can never tell
where his or her influence stops. ~
(Henry Brooks Adams)

There is a saying, that every good teacher is a student of students. Understanding young people (as many a parent will testify) is not an easy or straightforward task. Good teachers get to know their students very well indeed – they learn as much as they can about their students - their interests, passions, hobbies, their family, likes and dislikes and what they love to do, how they like to learn and what they like to learn. Good teachers make learning fun.

I read a funny quote the other day by Donald Quinn, who wrote that if a doctor, or lawyer, or dentist had thirty people in their office at one time, all of them asking questions, all of whom had different learning needs, and some of whom, didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, some of whom were questioning the advice given, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he or she might have some conception of the work, the stresses and life of the classroom teacher.

Apart from the humour, this anecdote is quite thought provoking. If we think about this idea a little more, teachers actually teach the people who will become all the other professions we know. Teachers around the world are now teaching, the future prime ministers, the future doctors, lawyers, dentists, politicians, CEOs, the future innovators, artists, musicians, scientists, builders, the future business leaders, architects, writers, researchers and the future humanitarians of the world. Our future and the future of humankind, actually lies in the very hands of our teachers today.

Teachers create the future by their very being a teacher. Most great ideas come from unexpected places and gifted teachers seize and opportunity to create the ‘teachable moment’ whatever the circumstances. Teaching young people to think creatively about problems, helps them later in life to be creative in their thinking, to look at the world differently, and see a solution or idea that has not occurred before that moment. As Albert Einstein, brilliant creative thinker and scientist once wrote:

It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken
joy in creative expression and knowledge.

A gifted teacher inspires all of their students, (not just the clever ones), by tapping into their natural curiosity, by engaging them in conversations around an interesting topic or theme. They make learning come to life in the minds and hearts of their students. A gifted teacher makes learning fun in many creative ways and ignites in his or her students a passion for learning, an interest in the world in which they live, of times gone by, and a thirst for learning that can be sustained their whole life through.

The educational journey, which we share with our students for a relatively short time in their lives, is a journey of discovery – a journey of self discovery, as much as the, ‘getting of wisdom’ and a discovery of the world we live in and our place in that world. No journey is without its twists and turns and ups and downs. Teachers can help students through these difficulties and move them forward to a better place. Gifted teachers show how adversity can become an opportunity. Gifted teachers show students how one’s mind is capable of great feats, complex thinking, wonderful accomplishments, creative problem solving and insightful and inspiring thoughts.

Teachers who inspire realize there will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how we use them.
(Author unknown)

In appreciation of International Teacher’s Day celebrated on Friday, 26 October in Australia, students have put together a collage of thank you notes for their teachers. Here is just a small sample of some of the thank you messages from our students to their teachers at CCPS.


“I love all the teachers who teach me and I want to keep them forever! (Skye)

“I love how you always have fun and exciting lessons; you are a great teacher and I love having you teach me.”

“You are the best teacher because every day we have with you is fun.” (Celeste)

“ You are awesome; you teach us awesome stuff and I really, really like the Go Figure.” (Briana)

“”Thank you for helping me in class and for telling me, what’s right and what’s wrong.” (Lauren)

“I love how you teach me about things I didn’t know.”

“You’re the best teacher ever because you’re cheerful every day.” (Ruby)

“Thank you. I enjoy coming to school because you make it fun for me to learn.”


The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." (Dan Rather, American anchorman CBS News)

Thank you to all the dedicated and caring teachers everywhere - you really do affect eternity!

Karon Graham

Ordinary People Achieve Extraordinary Things - Why aren't you?

“The greatest results in life are
usually attained by simple means and
the exercise of ordinary qualities.
These may be for the most part
summed up in these two:
commonsense and perseverance.”
(Owen Feltham, English writer)

If I was to ask you to name the five wealthiest people in the world, or to name three people who have won the Nobel or Archibald Prize, or to name the last five winners of the Brownlow Medal or the Dally M Medal or the last five winners of Best Actor in the Academy Awards, would you struggle? How did you go? Many of us would have trouble answering one of these, let alone all of these questions. (Okay, there may be a trivia savant out there, who scored 100%, but it’s not me and it’s probably not you.)

Even though it’s interesting or important to us at the time, as life moves on, we care little, and remember less of the past successes of these great people. Their successes eventually fade into oblivion, the applause evaporates into the ether and their achievements and awards are often forgotten altogether.

If on the other hand I was to ask you to name three teachers who helped you through school, or three friends who have stood by you through a difficult time, or five people who have taught you something worthwhile, or to name five people who have made you feel special and appreciated, or five people you enjoy spending time with, then the challenge is much easier, isn’t it?

As Charles Schulz, creator of the “Peanuts” comic strip (one of my favourites) muses: the lesson here is that the people who make a real difference in your life are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards; they are the ones who care about you. They are ordinary people, who have affected your life in an extraordinary way.

Perseverance, persistence, and patience are qualities that ultimately can affect our destiny. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of a life built on these three qualities is that of the great American President, Abraham Lincoln. If ever there was a lesson in not giving up, it is the story of Abraham Lincoln. His perseverance, his persistence and patience is both inspirational and legendary.

Lincoln was born into poverty, was beset by personal tragedy, (when his fiancée died), suffered a nervous breakdown, experienced multiple business failures and bankruptcy, and lost eight elections before rising to the highest possible office in the country as the President of the United States in 1860. Lincoln never gave up; he persisted when many others would have given up in the face of such heartbreaking obstacles.

Yes, most of us, who consider ourselves to be, just ordinary people, can achieve extraordinary things if we have a mind to, and if the circumstances unfold in a way, to allow us to seize the opportunity in front of us. It’s not only about what we achieve ourselves, but it’s also, how we might make a significant difference in the life of another person, or lots of people for that matter. English theologian, Julies Hare wrote:

“Be what you are.
This is the first step towards becoming
better than you are.”

There are many people who don’t see themselves as ‘talented or gifted’ and it’s to these people, I say ‘go for it’. Each of us is unique and each person has different skills, interests and talents. Find your passion and pursue it. You will never know what you’re capable of, until you give it your very best shot. Perseverance, persistence, patience and practice will see you improve, and over time, achieve what it is that you want in life. Ordinary people really do achieve extraordinary things!
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUT1ADtIHQU)

“Our imagination is the only limit
to what we can hope
to have in the future.”
(Charles Kettering, American inventor, engineer, and businessman)

Karon Graham