I haven't written much about my job recently. I know there are some that read this blog who are school psychologists, and they probably wonder why I don't write a lot about what I'm doing. I do follow some expertly written professional blogs in my field and from time to time, am amazed at how smart some people are. The process of learning has always been difficult for me, and even in my own family, I am a lot of times "outwitted", "out-thought", and "outplayed" by my siblings.
However, there is much going on in research, and one interesting study I've recently read had to do with "timing" and reading fluency. The author of the study hypothesized that we all function rhythmically, especially when we read. Increasing fluency and comprehension in reading (after you can "decode" words) can be accomplished by helping children set an internal clock mechanism which will drive how quickly they respond to printed words. The study found that a child who has difficulty "keeping the beat", for example, clapping accurately to a metronome set 60 seconds a minute, also will have difficulty reading fluently enough for comprehension. In the study, those children were given several weeks of training (10 minutes a day or so) of learning to keep rhythms accurately and their reading fluency monitored. The outcomes were significant enough for this study to be published in a well-known research journal.
In my view, this is thinking outside the box at its best. I wonder what reaction from parents and school administration I'd get if I would work with a group of struggling non-fluent readers and duplicated this study. Parents might think it was a waste of time-it sounds a little crazy. I ran this idea by the Spouse, who gave me a look like, you MUST be joking. But what if some solutions to problems we encounter in life are exactly like this-so "odd" that we miss them? If this method would help my child become a better reader, I'd sign up in a heartbeat.
Here's a blog which addresses this, and other issues, but it's kinda technical, and may be of no interest to most of you:
http://www.ticktockbraintalk.blogspot.com/
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Press On
Have you ever tried to kick a habit? How about if your habit was a drug? Like, maybe, caffeine? I have had the unfortunate experience, this past week, of weaning myself off of this stimulant, which is found most commonly, in coffee, tea, cocoa, and soft drinks. I did a little internet research and discovered a lot about caffeine, including the fact that it acts as a natural pesticide and paralyzes and kills certain insects who feed upon the coffee bean plant.
Caffeine is a central nervous system and metabolic stimulant. It is used to reduce fatigue and restore mental alertness (www.wikipedia.org). I didn't realize that many drug manufacturers include caffeine in pain relievers because it helps the body absorb the medication faster, thus providing relief faster.
However, an unpleasant side effect to increased caffeine consumption is heart palpitations, and that my friend, is the problem. I have experienced a big increase in the number of palpitations, how long they last, and how severe they feel since Christmas, and I think it's due to increased coffee drinking (cold weather antidote) and the amount of diet pop I consume during the day. A doctor's visit was punctuated by two EKGs and a serious warning to quit consuming this drug. This verbal warning was enforced by the fact that I have to wear a Holter heart monitor on Monday, just to make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with my heart.
Heart disease runs in my family, so I'm taking the stern look from the doctor and the warning seriously. I've got withdrawal symptoms, but I'm doing better. You aren't supposed to kick it all at once, but I did, and the headaches and feeling of lethargy were enough to make we want to set up a caffeine IV, but I tried to hang in there. Caffeine-another thing on the list that I need to consume in moderation if at all. I don't want the consequences of feeling the old ticker dance a jig in the middle of my chest, so that's a powerful incentive.
There's always something, isn't there. Always something to work on, to improve, to sacrifice, to give up, to refine, to change, and to ultimately, better ourselves. Sometimes I don't like looking at everything I need to do because it's overwhelming. I'm a work in progress, but some days, I feel like instead of progress, I've stepped back about a mile. I know some of the rest of you feel that way too with things you are struggling with. Let me encourage you today to "stay the course", to, as the Apostle Paul says, "...press on toward the goal..." (Philippians 3:14). Do you need to refocus on a goal you have? Put one foot in front of the other, and let's get going.
Caffeine is a central nervous system and metabolic stimulant. It is used to reduce fatigue and restore mental alertness (www.wikipedia.org). I didn't realize that many drug manufacturers include caffeine in pain relievers because it helps the body absorb the medication faster, thus providing relief faster.
However, an unpleasant side effect to increased caffeine consumption is heart palpitations, and that my friend, is the problem. I have experienced a big increase in the number of palpitations, how long they last, and how severe they feel since Christmas, and I think it's due to increased coffee drinking (cold weather antidote) and the amount of diet pop I consume during the day. A doctor's visit was punctuated by two EKGs and a serious warning to quit consuming this drug. This verbal warning was enforced by the fact that I have to wear a Holter heart monitor on Monday, just to make sure there's nothing seriously wrong with my heart.
Heart disease runs in my family, so I'm taking the stern look from the doctor and the warning seriously. I've got withdrawal symptoms, but I'm doing better. You aren't supposed to kick it all at once, but I did, and the headaches and feeling of lethargy were enough to make we want to set up a caffeine IV, but I tried to hang in there. Caffeine-another thing on the list that I need to consume in moderation if at all. I don't want the consequences of feeling the old ticker dance a jig in the middle of my chest, so that's a powerful incentive.
There's always something, isn't there. Always something to work on, to improve, to sacrifice, to give up, to refine, to change, and to ultimately, better ourselves. Sometimes I don't like looking at everything I need to do because it's overwhelming. I'm a work in progress, but some days, I feel like instead of progress, I've stepped back about a mile. I know some of the rest of you feel that way too with things you are struggling with. Let me encourage you today to "stay the course", to, as the Apostle Paul says, "...press on toward the goal..." (Philippians 3:14). Do you need to refocus on a goal you have? Put one foot in front of the other, and let's get going.
Saturday, January 03, 2009
Books
Those of you who know me know that I love to read. I can get lost in a book quicker than you can say "Jack Spratt could eat no fat." It is an escape for me sometimes, but also, I am just fascinated with the development of the characters in a story. I like reading all kinds of material, from fiction such mysteries, to historical narratives, to books which challenge faith and conventional thinking. I usually have more than one book going at a time. I have them stacked beside the bed on a cedar chest which belonged to my mother. My favorite time of my day is when I get to crawl in bed at night, turn down the thermostat and turn on the electric blanket, reach for the old "bedlight" which hung on the headboards of numerous kids' beds in the home we grew up in, and get my book out.
Today I went through the books which had accumulated on the cedar chest. I found several I finished this year and didn't get put away, two books I'm in the process of reading, and, I made space for some newly purchased books I've gotten recently. You may ask, why do you buy them rather than get them from the library? One reason is because it takes me awhile to finish a book when I read it at night. I've got about 20-30 minutes before I get sleepy (under that electric blanket) and that's all I get done. I don't like having the pressure of trying to finish it before it's due back. I frequent used book stores-in fact, there's one right down the street from me called "Al's Old Books". Another favorite place I'd go frequently before it closed was the Delano Book Room. If you go on further east on Douglas, you will come across "Eighth Day Books", a delightful place to spend time in.
I struggle with a couple of things in this reading hobby I've got. First, I realize that whatever I read goes into the brain and the thought processes. You know the old saying, "Garbage In, Garbage Out". For awhile, I was attending a neighborhood book club, however, some of their monthly selections were not of my taste. I try to be careful about what I do pick up to read-I don't do "terrifying horror", ghosts and vampires, blood, slasher, X-rated romance, and I don't like to read language I consider offensive. The second thing I struggle with is prioritizing. I need to feed my soul. If I have 20 minutes to read before going to sleep, then what should I be doing? To that end, for the last several years, I have put down my current reading interest before the "sandman" comes, and picked up my little Oswald Chambers classic devotional book, "My Utmost for His Highest".
I may be behind some of you in my internet discoveries, but today I found this devotional classic online. Check out:
http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/01/03/devotion.aspx?year=2009
How wonderful! I would be able to access this site from work, say during a break in my day, and take a moment to just be still and think about what God might be saying to me. I hope you find this site helpful. There's also, at the bottom of the page, a schedule for you if you are reading the Bible through in a year. That's also a task I struggle with. Is there time in the day for everything? Depends on what your priorities are. Take a hard look at how you spend you time, and there'll be room if you make it so.
Today I went through the books which had accumulated on the cedar chest. I found several I finished this year and didn't get put away, two books I'm in the process of reading, and, I made space for some newly purchased books I've gotten recently. You may ask, why do you buy them rather than get them from the library? One reason is because it takes me awhile to finish a book when I read it at night. I've got about 20-30 minutes before I get sleepy (under that electric blanket) and that's all I get done. I don't like having the pressure of trying to finish it before it's due back. I frequent used book stores-in fact, there's one right down the street from me called "Al's Old Books". Another favorite place I'd go frequently before it closed was the Delano Book Room. If you go on further east on Douglas, you will come across "Eighth Day Books", a delightful place to spend time in.
I struggle with a couple of things in this reading hobby I've got. First, I realize that whatever I read goes into the brain and the thought processes. You know the old saying, "Garbage In, Garbage Out". For awhile, I was attending a neighborhood book club, however, some of their monthly selections were not of my taste. I try to be careful about what I do pick up to read-I don't do "terrifying horror", ghosts and vampires, blood, slasher, X-rated romance, and I don't like to read language I consider offensive. The second thing I struggle with is prioritizing. I need to feed my soul. If I have 20 minutes to read before going to sleep, then what should I be doing? To that end, for the last several years, I have put down my current reading interest before the "sandman" comes, and picked up my little Oswald Chambers classic devotional book, "My Utmost for His Highest".
I may be behind some of you in my internet discoveries, but today I found this devotional classic online. Check out:
http://www.rbc.org/devotionals/my-utmost-for-his-highest/01/03/devotion.aspx?year=2009
How wonderful! I would be able to access this site from work, say during a break in my day, and take a moment to just be still and think about what God might be saying to me. I hope you find this site helpful. There's also, at the bottom of the page, a schedule for you if you are reading the Bible through in a year. That's also a task I struggle with. Is there time in the day for everything? Depends on what your priorities are. Take a hard look at how you spend you time, and there'll be room if you make it so.
Friday, January 02, 2009
We don't know how it works
We had a very nice Christmas and New Year's this year-it was busy, but not exceptionally so. I did get some things done while I've been off the last 2 weeks. It sounds mundane, but I cleaned my clothes closet and got some things to Goodwill, I cleaned out and straightened the little portable linen cabinet we have in our bedroom, I turned the mattress on the bed and washed all the bedding, after a great deal of thought, I decided on a study for the women's group at church, I have been reading a couple of books I've meant to get to, and I've just been, at times, for lack of a better word, lazy. I know what awaits me on Monday, but I'm not dreading it-on the contrary, I think I'm more of a creature of routine than what I would like to admit.
On another note, my brother and his daughter, my niece, were involved in a motorcycle accident on December 30. Although they were not seriously injured, my niece spent the night at the hospital and had surgery to fix her wrist which was badly broken. Both were stiff, sore, and bruised, but oh my, it could have been so much worse. They were struck by a pickup as they were waiting to turn left at an intersection. Both were wearing helmets and jackets, which saved them from much more serious problems.
I can only thank God for His protection and watchcare over them, but to tell you the truth, I'm not sure how that works. For example, I'm a little uncomfortable when people say God spared them from a tornado that did little damage to their home while they survey the destruction of homes all around them. Bad things happen to all of us and how that's determined is something beyond my understanding. A couple of years ago, a member of our church was killed in Iraq-this after we prayed much for his safety. Had he come home, we might have said that God protected and saved him. But since he didn't come home to his family, what can we say about that?
Don't you hate the "pat answers" that sometimes come from the Christian community when things don't make sense? I do. I think sometimes the best I can do is to admit that I don't know. I don't have the answers. I don't understand. I don't get how life works. I don't know what I could say to those who have had family members who have died in similar motorcycle accidents. My heart goes out to people who have experienced loss and who have suffered much. I have been blessed knowing these suffering heroes of the faith - Jack, Shirley, Marjorie, A.D., Don, Lola, Marie, Lois, the list goes on.
We don't know what 2009 will bring, but it is a little tiny thread in the fabric of eternity-it is but a vapor, a breath, a second passing by. Why do we get spun up about trying to figure out how God works? His very nature transcends everything we are as humans. Yet He came, wrapped in human flesh to live as one of us in order to save us. Ponder, wonder, and just for a moment, let go of what holds you here. Minister to others freely but with no cliches or canned responses. Love freely, demonstrating a heart of compassion and mercy. None of us have it all figured out, but we don't need to in order to live life abundantly. God's grace be with you all in the coming year.
On another note, my brother and his daughter, my niece, were involved in a motorcycle accident on December 30. Although they were not seriously injured, my niece spent the night at the hospital and had surgery to fix her wrist which was badly broken. Both were stiff, sore, and bruised, but oh my, it could have been so much worse. They were struck by a pickup as they were waiting to turn left at an intersection. Both were wearing helmets and jackets, which saved them from much more serious problems.
I can only thank God for His protection and watchcare over them, but to tell you the truth, I'm not sure how that works. For example, I'm a little uncomfortable when people say God spared them from a tornado that did little damage to their home while they survey the destruction of homes all around them. Bad things happen to all of us and how that's determined is something beyond my understanding. A couple of years ago, a member of our church was killed in Iraq-this after we prayed much for his safety. Had he come home, we might have said that God protected and saved him. But since he didn't come home to his family, what can we say about that?
Don't you hate the "pat answers" that sometimes come from the Christian community when things don't make sense? I do. I think sometimes the best I can do is to admit that I don't know. I don't have the answers. I don't understand. I don't get how life works. I don't know what I could say to those who have had family members who have died in similar motorcycle accidents. My heart goes out to people who have experienced loss and who have suffered much. I have been blessed knowing these suffering heroes of the faith - Jack, Shirley, Marjorie, A.D., Don, Lola, Marie, Lois, the list goes on.
We don't know what 2009 will bring, but it is a little tiny thread in the fabric of eternity-it is but a vapor, a breath, a second passing by. Why do we get spun up about trying to figure out how God works? His very nature transcends everything we are as humans. Yet He came, wrapped in human flesh to live as one of us in order to save us. Ponder, wonder, and just for a moment, let go of what holds you here. Minister to others freely but with no cliches or canned responses. Love freely, demonstrating a heart of compassion and mercy. None of us have it all figured out, but we don't need to in order to live life abundantly. God's grace be with you all in the coming year.
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