Friday, November 13, 2009

Interested?


It seems odd to me that so few parents seem to express their concerns about parenting their gifted child, yet if I ask them about a particular topic face-to-face, I can see their entire body respond with mixed emotions; relief for being validated, frustration about the issue at hand, or excitement to find someone who understands what they are experiencing. I'm convinced that there is a need for parents to have outlets and sources of support in their desire to guide their gifted children, but I'm vexed as to why so few seem to ask for it or seek it out. As a trained life coach, it is my sincere desire to assist parents, and ultimately ensure that no gifted child be left behind.
Inspiring a passion for learning can be especially tricky among these intrinsically motivated learners. As a teacher, one particular strategy I find helpful is to tap into their unique interests. I do this through Interest Inventories, conversations with them, and even home visits! We all know that child who fixates on spiders, for example, and reads every book they can find about spiders, draws pictures of spiders, writes stories about spiders, wants spider toys, spider shirts, etc. That passion and depth of understanding reinforces the love of learning. And, that's the desired outcome.
In addition to personal one-on-one life coaching, you may want to look into a group coaching setting through: www.mylifecompass.com/tricia4life

If you have a particular request for a topic on this blog, please email me at: tricia4life@comcast.net


Sunday, July 19, 2009

A New School Year Begins

     A new school year begins tomorrow!  Because I work in a school district that is on a modified year-round calendar, students will be arriving in the height of the monsoon season, but hopefully without as much drama as these amazing desert storms create.
     I feel passionate about working with this unique population of gifted students and derive so much personal satisfaction from witnessing their growth each year.  As a teacher of gifted children, I'm convinced that I learn far more from them than they learn from me.  I am very grateful and excited about the possibilities to create some truly meaningful opportunities for students to discover something wonderful about themselves, and to deepen their own desire to embrace each learning opportunity with a gut-level curiosity.
"Going Green" will be the theme to kick off the school year.  This will not simply be an assortment of lessons on the environment.  I intend to use this theme to integrate basic research skills and assist students in ferreting out the "truth" about controversial issues from many different perspectives through the implementation of debates.  I strongly feel that content is important to build foundations. However, being able to analyze and apply one's knowledge of content is a critical skill that must be fostered and taught.  If anyone has suggestions on these ideas, or resources to share, it would be greatly appreciated.

Saturday, April 4, 2009

Unique and Profound

     Blogging is a new experience for me and I've been remiss in keeping any kind of updates on this blog.  My sincere apologies!  I could make a lot of lame excuses, like how busy I am... who isn't? Or that my priority has been getting through graduate school.  However, with my graduation and a 6 week summer break just around the corner, I'll soon be out of excuses.

    There is also a sense that one can only Blog if they have something unique and profound to communicate.  I believe each of us posses this potential. So, I'll get over my stories about why I'm not keeping my Blog updated and just share my experiences as I feel they relate to parents of gifted children, as well as individuals who are thinking about enlisting the services of a life coach to help them THRIVE!

    I appreciate your requests for topics of concern or interest.  I want to thank my Website designer, Alex Landeen, for kicking me into gear about keeping a blog more current.   

    Spring is a wonderful time of renewal, growth, and change.  A perfect time to enlist the help of a life coach to get those goals into full swing.