November is such a wonderful month full of cool days, crunchy leaves underfoot, and glorious colors all around! It's full of all good things to eat like pumpkins, cranberries, turkeys, and peanuts. Peanuts, harvested in the fall, are ready to make their way to our homes fresh for the Thanksgiving holidays. In the home, the peanuts are made in candies, cookies, and the famous peanut butter sandwiches. Are peanuts nutritional? You bet!  Peanut butter is a very high in calories, yet very healthy food. Most of the fats contained in peanut butter are monounsaturated which have been shown to improve the cholesterol profile by lowering "bad" LDL cholesterol. This, in turn, decreases the risk of cardiovascular diseases. Peanut butter contains high quantities of dietary fiber, proteins, Vitamin E and B3 (which reduces cancer risks), together with Vitamin E, iron, magnesium, potassium, copper, and calcium. So, does peanut butter benefit our body's health? Yes!

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Prime Minister Winston Churchill visited his old school, Harrow School, on October 29, 1941. He wanted to hear the old songs that he enjoyed while attending the school. The School, however, wanted to hear Churchill speak. He reluctantly approached the podium and said "Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, give up. Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." Then he quietly sat down.

He gave what has to be the best advice ever for the young person who is applying for a scholarship. Try, try, and try some more. Never give up. Applying for scholarships is difficult, time consuming, and very tedious. All scholarship applicants will face stiff competition. But, it's true, the profits are worthwhile. By writing and rewriting applications, one will begin to recognize the certain methods to be used on the application process, and the practice greatly increases the chances of scoring a scholarship. No one is saying that scholarships are impossible. They aren't. They do require practice and commitment to acquire one. With this in mind, review a few practical words of wisdom.

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From:  TEA The STARR The Next Generation Information

Beginniing in spring 2011, students will start a new voyage with the launch of the next testing program called the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness or STARR.

What is STAAR?

STARR is a more rigorous standardized testing program that will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) for elementary, middle and high school students.  The new STAAR program will emphazie "readiness" standards, which are considered most important for success in the grade or subject that follows for college and career.

What tests must you take in high school?

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In the last blog, the necessary guidelines for using Facebook properly in the classroom were discussed as well as a preview of the plentiful teaching materials to be found by both the educator and the parent.

Here are some of the benefits that may be obtained by using Facebook as a teaching tool in the classroom and at home.

Facebook gives such an imitating atmosphere totally opposite of the formal atmosphere of the classroom or the necessary feeling a student has when doing homework. The student realizes that they are an active participate on a level playing field. There is no judgment, censorship, or preconceived ideas. Facebook isn't owned by any one person but belongs to the group collectively.

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In order for a person to be a productive leader, they must possess certain qualities that define them as an effective person for leadership.  The first trait of an effective leader is character. Character is developed as a person matures from a child to an adult. It is the sum total of that person’s interaction with other people. Character defines a person’s values. As a leader, one must be able to define one’s values to determine if they have the qualities needed to motivate others and to inspire others to perform to the best of their abilities. Thus, an effective leader knows his values, is comfortable with his values, and will use those values to base decisions and lead. If a leader is not positive about his values, he will be led to self-serving decisions and will fail miserably as a leader. If fact, he will not become a leader but a manipulator. The second trait of an effective leader is consistency. The dictionary defines leadership consistency as a steadfast adherence to the same principles, course, or form. If an educational leader is consistent, they will create an environment that produces security in their followers.  Everyone knows what to expect, how they are expected to perform, and the results of performing to those expectations. Teachers who are clear about their expectations in a classroom have few discipline problems enabling them to spend all their time teaching and very little time solving behavioral problems. Their classrooms are safe and secure. Administrators who, like the teachers, are clear about their expectations will produce high-energy, safe, and productive schools.

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In the spring of 2012, STAAR – the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness – will replace the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) program.

The Texas Education Agency, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, and Texas educators worked together to develop a new assessment system as set forth by the 80th and 81st Texas legislatures. The focus was on increasing postsecondary readiness of graduating high school students and helping to ensure that Texas students are competitive with other students both nationally and internationally.

There will be two cut scores, and they will identify three performance categories:
•    Level III: Advanced Academic Performance
•    Level II: Satisfactory Academic Performance
•    Level I: Unsatisfactory Academic Performance

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Many reports have suggested binaural beat therapy can affect mood, anxiety, and even improve symptoms of developmental delay. Unfortunately the majority of the reports and articles making the aforementioned claims are in the form of empirical data. Peer review literature utilizing 30 minute long treatment sessions with a frequency of 2 times per week for 4 weeks reveal interesting findings. A relatively small sample size of 15 volunteers with mild anxiety reported lower inventory scores on pre- and post-study, State-Trait Anxiety Inventories. However, the scores were not statistically significant. Statistical significance indicates that an occurrence of the data was probably the result of a causative factor and not simply a chance result. Therefore data that is not statistically significant means the results were not most likely due to chance and not reliable. Altern Ther Health Med. 2001 Jan;7(1):58-63.

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