Dr. Carol's Blog

The brain is designed to change and make new connections all the time. In fact, learning to read proves the ability of the brain to form new connections. The brain has an amazing capacity for working groups of neurons to specialize (for example in pattern recongition) and the capacity for automaization. Reading actually proves neuroplasticity.

This is a great way to marshall resources and focus energies in a positive way to help the world. Read below and feel free to add more ideas.

Carol

Pay It Forward Day – April 29, 2010 Holidays don’t seem to mean as much as they used to. Over time, some of our most sacred celebrations have degenerated into commercialized celebrations of greed, materialism, manipulation, hype, and “B.S.” It’s not a pleasant observation, but we know it’s true. However, we have an opportunity to reverse some of that cultural damage – to start something new, pure, positive, and nearly impossible to corrupt. A new holiday is growing in popularity all over the world, and it has the potential to be one of the only remaining celebrations of true goodness left.

Pay It Forward Day.

Pay It Forward Day may be one of the only holidays that “keeps it real,” that focuses on what holidays should focus on – being a decent human being instead of a selfish jerk. The “Pay It Forward” (PIF) concept was first articulated by Benjamin Franklin, one of the greatest of the founding fathers, who realized that the world would be transformed if just a few people started doing good deeds and asking that those who they helped would pass along good deeds to others. The concept is simple, but profound. You go out and do something good for people. Instead of expecting them to “pay you back,” you ask them to “pay it forward” to others: “Repay me by being good to others.” It’s that easy, and it works.

The book and film of this name (Pay It Forward) helped to popularize the idea, but there are those of us who see it as much more than a fad. It really should become the standard way of living and looking at the world and our place within it. Pay It Forward Day celebrates this concept and encourages everyone to Pay It Forward every day, with maybe just a little bit more effort than usual on April 29, and to spread the message of PIF on this day in particular.

Many cities across the country are declaring April 29 officially as Pay It Forward Day, and encouraging people to do extra charity work, community events, and private acts of kindness. Many events and projects have resulted from the PIF movement:

- The national Pay It Forward foundation – www.payitforwardfoundation.org

- Charley Johnson has sent 750,000 Pay It Forward bracelets around the world – www.payitforwardtoday.org

- Artists “Painting For Hugs” to raise money for elementary schools with struggling art programs – www.ipaintforhugs.org

- Pay It Forward Public Speakers – www.donovannichols.com

- Flower planting events in communities like West Mifflin, PA www.hotmetaldiner.com/news.html

- Childrens Books raising money for the American Cancer Society – www.squeekyandlouie.com

- Road trips to do good deeds for strangers – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd8m1Kqgbjg

- Individuals inspiring young adults to make a difference and take action – www.bakerleadership.com

- Popular guides to making a difference (Doing Good Works: Small Acts that Make a Big Difference)

- Teachers and Students Paying it Forward – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=162740999853 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=162740999853

- Point Park University & Body Christian Fellowship Collects Gift Cards For Charity – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pomc_iB-f1s

- Country Singer Jimmy Wayne is raising awareness of homeless children and teens by walking half way across the USA – http://meetmehalfway.jimmywayne.com/index.cfm?id=3 http://meetmehalfway.jimmywayne.com/index.cfm?id=3

- Places you can donate your old gift cards that have some change left on them and they will donate them to charities – www.giftcardgiver.com

- Web sites that give new ideas on how to pay it forward – http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=193359979433 http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=193359979433

- Books that help kids rid negative thoughts at an early age – www.idontstink.com

- Schools that are empower children with academics, mentorship and life skills – www.virtuousacademy.org

- Secret Agent L doing Random Acts of Kindness – www.secretagentl.com

- The Kingdom of Bhutan Caring for Animals – www.rspcabhutan.org.bt

- Artists signing prints and helping raise money for fundraisers – http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31139432&op=1&o=global&view=global&su bj=1790712839&id=1077519674> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31139432&op=1&o=global&view=global&sub j=1790712839&id=1077519674

and many more..

One of the great things about PIF Day is that the entire concept centers around positive action, making a difference. It has no particular religious or cultural affiliation, although it speaks to the ethics and morality of every religion and culture. Money can sometimes be involved, but it is up to you how much to spend and how to spend (and hundreds of ideas are free). The flexibility of the holiday is perhaps the most important part. It is up to you to decide how best to celebrate – from a personal observance in which you simply think more than usual about how you can help others, to a large community project like garbage cleanup, fundraisers for a worthy cause, etc. However you celebrate it, please consider supporting this important day of true giving and caring, beyond the commercialism and hype that many other holidays have degenerated into.

It’s up to you to decide the best way to celebrate PIF day, but here are some ideas to get you started (ideas courtesy of www.givewithoutremembering.com):

- Be the designated driver.

- Try to start a neighborhood cleanup event for PIF day.

- Ask the kids in your life what they would like to learn more than anything else. Then, do your best to get them started.

- Find someone who has a goal to accomplish something that you have done. Tell that person everything you can about what you learned in your own process.

- Stop yourself the next time you start to criticize someone else, and pay that person a compliment instead.

- The next time you find yourself criticizing someone’s plan or dream, stop yourself. Re-focus and try to help your friend come up with ways to make it work.

- The next time you head in to work on a low-energy Monday, make it your goal to improve the day for someone else.

- Keep track of the number of times you can make people smile in a day. Try on a regular basis to beat your own numbers.

- Think of a cause or group that makes you feel deep sympathy and compassion (children, animals, the elderly, victims of crime, the poor). Go visit them and get involved or contribute to that cause in some way .today.

- Name one person who stood by you during one of the worst times of your life. Now pick up the phone and call that person – right now. Thank that person from the bottom of your heart.

- Identify a person who is facing a special challenge in your home or in your workplace. Write and deliver them an encouraging note – right now.

- Drive slower than usual, put more distance between you and the car in front of you, and let people cut in front of you in traffic. No one waved a green flag and no one will wave a checkered flag. It’s not a race and your car probably does not have a roll-cage, so focus on safety.

- Hold the door open for the next person you see. Be courteous with a smile and say, “go ahead, after you.”

- Compliment someone’s tattoo or piercings. Some people with body art feel that they are looked down upon, especially by older generations. Show that you are open-minded, and that they are accepted.

- Bring food for everyone to your next meeting.

- Ask to meet the cook or the chef at the restaurant where you eat and thank her or him for a great meal.

- Donate all your old glasses, hearing aids, cell phones, cameras, computers, pda’s and other assorted devices to the Lion’s Club, Salvation Army, or a local halfway house or homeless shelter.

- Donate your old books to the local library.

- Write a note and compliment an ethical politician or a helpful government worker, and deliver it to them with a copy to their boss.

- Donate a dead or old vehicle, bicycle, or recreational vehicle to a needy organization or family (and yes, take the tax write-off).

- Visit a nursing home and say hello to the elderly (you may need to call ahead first, depending on the protocol of the home).

- Donate blood.

- Make something useful out of recycled materials.

If you wish to reprint, feel free, please link back here. www.givewithoutremembering.com

The brain is designed to change and make new connections all the time. In fact, learning to read proves the ability of the brain to form new connections. The brain has an amazing capacity for working groups of neurons to specialize (for example in pattern recognition) and the capacity for automation. The ability of people to read therefore proves neuroplasticity (the ability of the brain to continue to grow and develop and change through the lifespan).

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has set aside up to $350 million of Race to the Top funds to support a consortia of states in developing and implementing a new generation of assessments. According to Ronald Cowell via The Education Policy and Leadership Center, the U.S. Dept. of Education will fund development of tests that measure critical thinking and a broader range of content. Measuring executive functioning, academic skills, language, intelligence, processing, and now critical thinking will give us an even better understanding of strengths and weaknesses for students.

Today at Total Learning Centers we have the opportunity to train teachers in how to teach students to improve the brain’s executive functioning – memory, focus, processing speed. Research is very clear without strong memory, processing both auditory and visual, processing speed, focus, as well as problem solving and higher order thinking skills.

It is very exciting to change the paradigm of teachers from their usual focus on skills to beginning with HOW to learn. Once a student improves executive functioning skills the academic skills are much easier to remediate.

Diane Hartman and I had so much fun with the North Allegheny Parent Support Group this morning. We presented a simulation on reading, memory, focus, and anxiety and we all felt deficits in all areas. We laughed, we moaned, and we had sweaty palms together. It was a great experience because the parents were so open and ready to try each and every activity we asked them to do. I often say that parents are the unsung heroes in our fight for our students’ abilities – we had the opportunity to be with those HEROES today. Thank you Karen for facilitating that experience for us. I hope we can come back there often!