Learning Journey, Issue 7

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Teaching the Whole Student Dear Meyers Learning Center
Families and Colleagues,
Are we really entering the final weeks of
the academic year? It seems like it flashed by in
fast­forward. Speaking of hard­to­believe
milestones, this spring, Meyers Learning Center
reaches our 10­year anniversary in business! We
are grateful and proud of how our company has
evolved this past decade, and we're committed to
moving forward with the same deep level
of commitment to our families, our staff, and our
mission: teaching practical tools to enhance
learning, confidence, and success. We plan to
celebrate our anniversary with a festive Open House
at our Los Altos center in August...more information
to come.
We're also gearing up for summer, with a full array
of workshops for students (and two new ones for
parents) starting in July. Please see the "Summer
Workshops" section below and contact us with any
questions you have. We hope to see you or your
child in one of these classes. And it may seem
early, but families and tutors are already reserving
spots for fall tutoring schedules. Please contact
MLC or the tutor you're working with, to share your
intentions about tutoring for the 2015­2016
academic year. August will be here before we
know it. We look forward to hearing your feedback,
including requests you may have for content in
future newsletters. Here's to a happy finish to the
2014­2015 school year and a wonderful summer!
Sincerely,
The Meyers Learning Center Team
April, 2015
In This Issue
Summer Workshops
Bay Area Parent
Award
Feature Article:
Raising Self­
Advocates
Tutor Spotlight:
Leah Ball
Student Spotlight:
Ella C.
Announcements
Three days left to
participate in Bay Area
Parent's Best of the Bay
competition. Please see
below and click the link
to cast your vote!
Have you been
to our new location in
downtown Los
Altos? Stop by for a visit
and meet Chris, our
Center Director, Andrea,
our Center
Administrator, or any of
our wonderful tutors. Summer Workshops
We're offering a dozen different workshops this summer, from Executive
Functioning to reading, writing, and math. We also have two Parent Workshops!
Please see below for the topics, and find more details on our website
at: http://meyerslearning.com/services/workshops
School Readiness Boot Camps: TMOSS (Time Management, Organization, and
Study Skills)
Writing For Purpose and Pleasure
Upper Elementary School
Middle School
High School
College Essay Writing 101
Critical Reading Skills for Middle School
Mathtastic
Grades: rising 3rd and 4th graders
Grades: rising 5th and 6th graders
Pre­Algebra Algebra
New this year: Parent Workshops!
School Prep (Executive Functioning) Boot Camp for Parents supporting school­
aged students
Reading Readiness: Parent Workshop for Supporting Young Readers Parents can also create customized summer workshops.
Visit: http://meyerslearning.com/services/workshops to learn more. Bay Area Parent Award
Meyers Learning Center has been honored to win "Best Tutoring Program in
Silicon Valley" for four years in a row by Bay Area Parent Magazine.
We would very much appreciate your renewed support for our 2015 run.
The survey will take about 2 minutes to complete. Voting closes on
Thursday night, so we'd love your vote before then! 1) Click on this link: http://bayareaparent.com/content/best­of­the­best­ballot­sv.html
2) Toward the bottom of the page, click on "next page" until you get to Page 3:
"Classes & Camps"
3) There is a drop­down menu for "Tutoring or Educational Support Program",
choose "Meyers Learning Center"
4) Click on next page until you get to Page 7: "Submit"
5) At the bottom of page 7, type in your email and hit "Submit." None of your
information will be shared with any third parties. If you receive future emails,
simply unsubscribe to stop them.
Thank you for your time and support!
Raising Self­Advocates by Ali Zidel Meyers, MSW Executive Director A parent comes home from work at 7:00pm, ready to relieve her babysitter and spend a couple of precious hours with
before bedtime. She finds her 4th grader slumped over a math textbook and her 7th grader staring at the computer s
case of writer’s block. A chorus of “Mom! I need you!” erupts. Exhausted and hungry, she heats a bowl of leftovers f
sits down to help the 4th grader. After two hours of problem­solving and bed­time routine, she finds her 7th
seat, now with a heading on his document and a working title. It is 9:00pm. His eyes are heavy. They start talking, an
ensues. She realizes he’s beyond the point of return. They both are. “Give me your notes,” she says. “Go to bed. I’ll Who among us hasn’t chosen the path of least resistance when we’re drained? Balancing competing demands is a t
century life, complicated further by the exhausting demands of the Silicon Valley lifestyle. “Helping” our children with
not only relieve the pressure of conflicts around homework, but anxieties we have about the many elements of our ch
touted as imperatives by the media, parenting experts, and contemporary child­rearing literature. We know it’s impor
to do well in school, but—as we’re told­­they must also sleep, exercise, socialize, problem­solve, innovate, lead, and on…. Silicon Valley parents find themselves in a culture that prizes Ivy League admissions and a narrow vision of success.
children to achieve, achieve, achieve, at the cost of physical, mental, and spiritual health. Even the most grounded pa
sadness and frustration at a kind of peer pressure where conversations of children’s achievement can devolve into di
up­manship. Parents may start “supporting” their children in ways that do not serve the child, figuring that’s what ever
doing, so why not?
Fast forward a few years. Mothers and fathers contact professors to haggle over grades for their adult children. They
staff to complain about anything from minor roommate disputes to a lack of variety in the dining hall salad bar.
disturbing trend toward interference, with parents monitoring student college performance and even contributing direc
coursework. These behaviors don’t emerge spontaneously when a child turns 18. The stage is set, early on. Jean T
professor of psychology at San Diego State University, writes: “What you have is a generation who expects their pare
for them. And they expect that because their parents have always done things for them.”[2]
Despite best intentions, parents who become overly involved in their children’s education risk stealing their autonomy
agency. Intense parental involvement has been linked to stress, depression and dissatisfaction, not only for children
mothers and fathers.[3] It’s hard to see kids struggle. We have natural impulses to shield or save them from what we fear they cannot handle
times when parents must step in; when our children’s safety is called into question, when their health or mental health
they find themselves in danger or cannot find a way out of suffering, we must intervene. But too many of us are tossi
our children when they don’t need rescuing. They simply need to learn how to swim. One of the most effective tools kids is lessons in self­advocacy.
The term “self­advocacy” emerged in the late 1960s, when people with disabilities and their supporters began collect
to fight for their rights as citizens and human beings. They raised their voices, identifying and asserting their needs in
that had been ignored for too long.
Self­advocacy: What, Why, and How
Self­advocacy is a person’s ability to effectively communicate, negotiate, or assert his/her interests, wishes, needs, a
starts with self­awareness. Students who know themselves know their strengths and challenges. Why self­advocate? Learning what they need in order to be successful (and asking for it) helps students throughout journeys and beyond. Teachers are not mind­readers, and sometimes students’ needs are overlooked, because the t
know that a problem even exists. When teachers see that a student is caring, motivated, and willing to ask for assista
generally eager to help. Self­advocacy is also useful in relationships. Children can gain insight about what they bring to others (contribute) in what they need from others, for healthy bonds. By articulating their needs and becoming aware of the needs of other
develop into healthy adults with healthy relationships. Finally, self­advocacy matters in the workplace. Can a person b
he doesn’t have the tools to do his job? Can someone grow in a company if she doesn’t have the voice to assert hers
salary increase, negotiate for better working conditions? Self­advocacy is a critical tool our children need, to develop into healthy, self­assured, autonomous adults. Here are
to consider as you support your child in developing self­advocacy skills:[5]
For all ages:
Set a positive tone by role modeling resilience to challenges. Teach positive self­talk.
Support critical thinking by addressing strengths, weaknesses, and needs. Problem­solve with your child by aski
questions, brainstorming, and solution­building.
Identify and leverage support systems (teachers, counselors, tutors, you…).
Provide specific encouragement and recognize consecutive efforts made.
Elementary School
When your child comes to you with a problem, ask how s/he thinks s/he can solve it.
Teach your child about assets and deficits—and how assets can be leveraged in service of deficits.
Build compensatory skills, accommodations needed to succeed.
Practice how to communicate and ask for help in a positive way. Use role­play and humor to rework situations that were uncomfortable in the past or to simulate solutions for curr
Middle School
Use all strategies above.
Promote self­advocacy through teacher meetings.
Build self­awareness regarding your child’s strengths and challenges. Help him or her identify strategies or tools
contribute to his or her success, then ask for/employ them.
Tell your child that it’s appropriate to inform a teacher of strategies that support success: “I can’t seem to grasp t
sample model. Could you discuss each step you demonstrate? I think I’d do much better in your class with that h
High School
Use all strategies above.
Promote self­knowledge by asking open­ended questions, increasing awareness of strengths, and ways to lever
dealing with difficulties.
High schoolers should be encouraged to participate in the process that defines their learning, especially in the de
IEP or 504 plans, if relevant.
They should know their rights, be able to present a comprehensive description of their assets and deficits, and c
to teacher meetings.
Join me in championing the capacity of our kids to learn about and express themselves as advocates for their own le
our children to know and articulate their strengths, challenges, and needs will help them move through the world with
honesty, and strength. This is the best kind of “help” we can give our children, the kind that empowers them…and us
Do you have a story of advocacy in your own child’s life? I’d love to hear it! Please email me at: ali@meyerslearning.
[1] http://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/2013/11/09/parents­overly­involved­college­students­lives/mfYvA5R9IhRpJytEb
[2]
http://www.vancouversun.com/touch/news/Helicopter+parents+increasingly+hover+over+kids+college+workplace/78
rel=7940116
[3] http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/22/hover­no­more­helicopter­parents­may­breed­depression­and­incompetenc
children/
[4] http://drc.ucsc.edu/self_advocacy.html
[5] Adapted from “Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities” Self­Advocacy: Strategies for All Ages By Marcia Brown Rub
Tutor Spotlight: Leah Ball Leah holds a Master of Arts degree in Teaching English as a Second Language from San
Francisco State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Spanish literature with a minor in
French literature from Santa Clara University. She has nine years of experience teaching in a
variety of subjects. Leah also supports students in time management, organization and learning
skills. She received an educator award at Foothill College, and her teaching was also featured
in an article in the San Jose Mercury News. Leah has been published in Spanish and English
and has won writing awards as well. What is your favorite ice cream?
I often make homemade coffee ice cream with my trusty Krups La Glacière ice cream
maker. The fruit in our garden goes into the ice cream maker too­­plum, raspberry, blood
orange and Meyer lemon are other favorites.
Name a book you've read and loved.
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book of all time. Name a place you've visited that had a significant impact on you.
Paris has a huge influence on me because of the French ability to create beauty in the
smallest every day things. From a heart­shaped tea strainer to a wall­to ceiling unicorn
tapestry, the French surround themselves with loveliness. Why are you an educator?
I love teaching because I get to share the "ah­hah!" moments that my students have
when their minds are broadened or they discover a wonderful new idea or skill.
If you could meet any person, living or not, who would it be?
Abraham Lincoln. He displayed such tremendous courage, fortitude and intelligence in
the face of adversity. I would love to have a conversation with him.
What accomplishment of yours has given you great satisfaction or pride?
I hand knit most of my clothing and I wear my knits to work, because I love practical art
pieces that add sparkle to every day life. Student Spotlight: Ella C. Ella is a confident fourth grader who attends school in Campbell, California.
How would a friend or teacher who knows you well describe you?
Funny and smart.
What qualities should a successful student possess?
She should study hard and keep trying.
What is your favorite ice cream?
Chocolate!
Name a book you've read that you loved.
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing, by Judy Blume. Name a place you've visited that had a significant impact on you.
My trip to Tahiti: I got to swim with sharks and sting rays!
If you could meet any person living or not, who would it be?
I would choose Jesus.
What accomplishment of yours has given you great satisfaction or pride?
I can read much better than before since I started working with my tutor, Miss Chris. Thanks for reading our Spring, 2015 newsletter.
And thank you for helping Meyers Learning Center Celebrate 10 Years in
Business!
Our Mission:
Meyers Learning Center tutoring teaches practical tools to enhance learning,
confidence, and success.
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