http://coachmerich.com Life Coach - Educational Consultant Thu, 15 Apr 2010 18:35:56 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Who enjoys reading a boring book, watching a dull movie or listening to a speaker that rambles from the podium? No one, because the human spirit wants to be entertained, gracefully challenged and left to dream about wondrous things.  Coachmerich defines education as an energy that captures a student’s mind. A style ... http://coachmerich.com/10-steps-that-motivate-students-to-learn/ The Piton Foundation produced a narrative called The Achievement Gap – Colorado’s Biggest Educational Problem, which stated: “Research has repeatedly demonstrated the link between a student’s economic background and academic performance. Children from poor families perform worse than those from more affluent backgrounds. Poverty is strongly tied to race and ethnicity, ... http://coachmerich.com/the-achievement-gap-%e2%80%93-is-our-educational-perspective-part-of-the-solution-or-part-of-the-problem/ This article appeared in AARP's January/February 2010 Bulletin.  "You'd think that Indianapolis teacher Dan Stroup would have major writer's cramp by now. That's because every past and present student of his eighth-grade Bible class receives a personal, handwritten birthday letter from him every year. "I want them to know that I not ... http://coachmerich.com/the-pen-man-and-respect/ Savvy teachers are keenly aware of the role that emotion plays in the educational process. Using emotion to involve students is not difficult when students are given “something” to be emotional about. Teachers, for example, who lack passion and curiosity often leave students bored and uninspired, which are among the ... http://coachmerich.com/education-is-energy/ With a third of this nations high school students dropping out of school each year, both federal and state governments are searching for ways to fix the leak. Identifying “good teachers” is high on the repair list, which raises a question. What is a good teacher? Depending upon who you talk ... http://coachmerich.com/what-is-a-good-teacher/ What follows are excerpts from an article appearing on December 23, 2009, in the San Jose Mercury News that was written by two San Jose State University professors, B. Kumaravadivelu and Revathi Krishnaswamy.  As the California legislative battle lines are drawn over school reform, and as attempts are being made to ... http://coachmerich.com/state-school-reform-%e2%80%98it%e2%80%99s-the-teaching-stupid%e2%80%99/ Archimedes, the Greek mathematician who lived from 287 to 212 B.C. said, “Give me a lever and a place to stand, and I will move the earth.” Leverage is "doing a lot with a little" and may be defined as the ability to influence a system, or an environment, in a way that multiplies the ... http://coachmerich.com/give-me-the-circle-of-education-a-willing-mind-and-i-will-move-a-student-forward/ “Co-active teaching” is a collaboration between teacher and student. The purpose of this arrangement is to generate mutual respect, interest and participation, which leads to the creation of educational moments. Image your students: Being aware of the qualities that move a class forward and hold it back. Being mentally present. Making conscious choices. Being in harmony ... http://coachmerich.com/co-active-teaching-revs-up-the-energy/ Unbelievable as it may sound, every year, nearly one third of all the high school students in this country, drop out. A massive leak in our educational system is filling our cities, towns and neighborhoods with those who are likely to: be unemployed, receive public assistance or be involved with ... http://coachmerich.com/are-we-heartless/ "Research suggests many kids get powerful drugs they do not need," says Duff Wilson of the New York Times. Below are excerpts from his article that appeared in the San Jose Mercury News on 12/12/09. "New federally financed drug research reveals a stark disparity: Children covered by Medicaid are given powerful anti-psychotic medicines at a ... http://coachmerich.com/study-poor-kids-likelier-to-get-antipsychotics/