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Perhaps like you, my husband and I were fed up with the high cost of satellite and cable that filled our TV with advertisements and programs we did not want. We complained, but their solutions were more packages filled with even less of what we wanted. A friend alerted us to some fantastic solutions which I will share with you here.
We purchased the Roku 2 XD from Best Buy, but later discovered it was available from Amazon for less. Roku 2 XD Streaming Player 1080p. The directions were very easy, and we were able to install it without paying for a professional installation.
Note: What you will need with the Roku 2 XD is a high-speed internet (like DSL or cable), a wireless router, HDMI cable (for high-definition video. If you prefer to use a wired Ethernet connection, choose the Roku 2 XS 1080p Streaming Player instead.
With this device you have several options such as Amazon movies, Netflix , Hulu (see comparisons & costs), Disney (which is free) and much more. We took all the free stuff, and added Netflix for $6.67 per month… far less for so many more choices than $86.39 per month we were paying with satellite. We are excited…How about you?
We later learned that there is a Roku 3 Streaming Player available that Best Buy did not inform us about. Since we did not install this one, I can not giving a review.
We also installed the Clearstream 4 HDTV Antenna, and purchased it from Best Buy. But later discovered we could have purchased it from Amazon for less: Antennas Direct ClearStream4 HDTV Antenna
We are excited about this choice as well. This Antenna has a 65 mile+ range. We are able to pick up 28 channels on our TV for FREE. That could result in more or less channels for you depending on your location.
Installation was easy, so we did not need professional assistance. If you also choose this option, be sure to visit Antenna Points website so that you get the best reception possible.
In Conclusion, we are highly excited about the Roku 2 XD and the Ultra Long Range HDTV antenna. With the Roku, there are no advertisements unless we request them. It is like walking into a video store with a large variety of choices, but within the convenience of your own home. The streaming player keeps track of what we have watched, so we can return to it, or watch the next series. The antenna has the advertisement interruptions, but it is free. We highly recommend them both.
Robert P. Hillmann is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago, with a bachelor’s degree in history. He did extensive research concerning the “New world Order”, and what is happening to the world economy. For anyone wanting to know, and to prepare his book is a must read. This article is a review of Hillmann’s book titled”Reinventing Government: Fast Bullets And Cultural Changes.
Following are a few very interesting, well documented, and informative excerpts from his book. They are not necessarily in the order as presented in the book. However the wording is the same.
The book is based upon the personal papers of University professor of international law, Quincy Write. The Quincy Write Papers are held the Department of Special Collections at the University of Chicago Regenstein Library. There in excess of 140 boxes of these records containing thousands of original documents—many on U.S. Governmental letterhead—concerning the creation of what Wright referred to as the “new world order”.
The letters and documents in Wright’s papers paint a picture of 20th Century historical events and people that many scholars have been reluctant to address. My goal in writing this paper was to outline the period and bring to light some of the events and people that for one reason or another have been overlooked. (writes Robert Hillmann)
Defining The Term
In early March 1993 President Clinton created what is now called the National Partnership for Reinventing Government (NPR) and named Vice President Al Gore to serve his point man in a drive to reinvent government in the United States (1)
There are three main differences between the system that Follett described and Socialism as Marx, Lenin, Stalin and other 19th and 20th century Communist leaders viewed it. The first was the creation of the “socialized will”. This could only be achieved over a long period of time using incremental adjustments. Communist leaders on the other hand believed that it could be accomplished quickly from the top down, first by violent revolution and then the elimination of anyone left that disagreed with them.
The second difference between the two was that while most Socialists and Communist leaders believed in a classless society, Follett advocated an aristocracy to rule over what she referred to as the “mob.”
The third difference between Follett and Socialist leaders like Lenin and Stalin is not as apparent as the other two. It involves the route that the Russian Revolution took after its initial success. Vladimir I. Lenin began forming a Socialist nation-state from which revolution could be exported to capitalist countries around the globe. Joseph Stalin continued to expand on this program causing a rift between those that believed in world government as the primary goal of their efforts and those who saw Socialism as their primary goal. (70)
Historical Origins And Those In Charge
It is a Forbes magazine article that provides the most valuable insight into its origins. In it Mary Parker Follett, an early 20th century educator and business management consultant from Boston, is identified as being the “mother” of reinventing government theory (29)
As World War I was coming to a close, Communistsand radicals of every stripe were laying the groundwork for a Socialist worldgovernment that they hoped would emerge from the ruins of the old world order. As it turns out, large banking interests and others of great wealth, in Britain and the United States, were thinking along similar lines—of course their brand of Socialism would have two classes not one. In 1918, with the help of Albert Bushnell Hart, Follett wrote a book called The New State: Group Organization the Solution of Popular Government. Folett outlined the social political and educational requirements necessary to build a world government and it was the banking interests to which her book was addressed. (31)
By the late 1890’s American educators such as John Dewey, J.E. Russell—both of Columbia University—and Woodrow Wilson of Princeton University joined with wealthy businessmen such as Andrew Carnegie, J. P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller (both engineers of the Federal Reserve) in pushing this globally oriented agenda.
The Council On Foreign Relations (CFR) and the Royal Institute of International Affairs were only the first of many such organizations to come—all of which had as their most basic goal the education of people in the necessity of world governance. (CFR & Jeb Bush)
Roosevelt, an ardent supporter of the League of Nations, was a committed internationalist. His political appointments reflected this internationalism and a close relationship between government officials and groups like the Council on Foreign Relations.(135)
He (Eichelberger) said that Roosevelt felt that the only way for the world government to be successful would be for it to be dictatorial in nature. By this he meant that the U.N. using the strength of its four main members , the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and China, was going to have to force its will upon the remaining nations of the world. (213)
One of the main obstacles to U.S. participation in the League Of Nation (precursor to the U.N.) was the U.S. Senate’s (Thus the 16th Amendment) objection to American involvement in a world political organization that would clearly limits its rights as a sovereign nation. Having learned from their previous mistake, it was decided that this time economic integration (The Federal Reserve) & (one world Currency) would precede political integration.(196)
The WTO, which negotiates and implements trade agreements operates out of Geneva, Switzerland. The WTO consists of a ministerial conference, a general council and a director-general–none of whom is elected by or are in any way answerable to the people. This is a classic example of “democracy” as defined by Mary Parker Follett. (page 68)
Once again, following the Shotwell model, economic union would proceed political union. This began with the Canadian-U.S. Free Trade Agreement in 1988 which was quickly, expanded by George Bush, into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).…In October of 1997, Bill Clinton made clear the goal of these free trade agreements when he declared that a great tide of change was sweeping the globe and that”...isolationist voices must be ignored as efforts proceed to fully integrate the political and economic future of the Americas.“(314)
In the article Dziedizic noted that NAFTA”…is nevertheless replete with implications for regional security cooperation. (317). He then went on to describe a regional military force whose main opponent would be civilian rather than military. Its primary mission, according to Dziedzic, would involve illegal immigration, contraband weapons and illegal drugs.(318)
The Transformation Of Education
Before such a plan could be implemented, however, common people would need to be specially educated to accept both an international government and their new station in life. One of the ways advocated to accomplish this task was to edit history books to reflect more global perspective. This idea was first put forward at the first Universal Peace Conference in 1889 (36)
Melching and company say that one of the major obstacles in the way of public-sector re-engineering is “America’s constitutionally embedded reluctance to authorize governmental innovations (the checks and balances which constrain government).”(9)
Osborne ad Gaeble make a similar comment in “Reinventing Government” when they state. “Just a Columbus never knew he had come upon a new continent, many of today’s pioneers—from governors to city managers, teachers to social workers—do not understand the global significance of what they are doing:(15) The last step in the process is to quickly implement your plan. This approach is described as “slow trigger, fast bullet”(16)
Under the old system children were taught, in their history classes, about how people came to America in search of religious freedom and how they fought a revolutionary war to escape tyranny. They were also taught about the Constitution and its Bill of Rights. This was to come to and end. In order for a two-class society to properly function the lower class would have to forgo more than just a liberal education—they would also have to give up their individual rights. In order to achieve this, the history of the Republic could no longer be taught the way it he had been in the past. Walter Karp, contributing editor of the Harper’s magazine, commenting on industrial education stated that, “With economic “interdependence” as its subject and a “socialized” worker as its goal the new “democratic” curriculum had little place for history. For political history, which recounts the diverse deeds of men, there was to be no place at all. ” (39)
She (Follett) felt that government based on individual rights had no place in modern political theory and disliked the system of checks and balances because it prevented power from being concentrated in the hands a small group of people. (51)
The training for the new democracy mus be from the cradle through nursery, school and play, and on and on through every activity of our life. (69)
People however, were not going to be told that the solution to the problems of world peace was the creation of a world government until they had been properly prepared. (173)
“My point (says Wright) was that excessive loyalties to certain sacred cows such as sovereignty, nationality, neutrality, and domestic jurisdiction is ruining civilization.”(194)
The early 1920’s were a growth period for the textbook revision program. “The ICIC planned a positive program for the future. It made recommendations to local school boards to governments for official campaigns to revise textbooks, and requests for support were sent to major international governmental agencies”(103). ….”It is strictly forbidden to make or except applications for emendations referring to personal views of a moral, political, or religious order.“(105)
Tony Blair, while speaking in Chicago on 22 April 1999 mentioned that national constitutions were also to be targets of the reinventing process. (345). Nowhere is that more true than here in the United States. The U.S. Constitution with its system of checks and balances and the concept of individual rights, enshrined in its Bill of Rights, makes it an impossible document for the supporters of global government to deal with.
Reinventing the basic law of the land is no longer the sole preserve of the federal judiciary. Today government officials (and law enforcement) routinely Oregon the limitations placed on their authority of the Constitution. (page 79)& (351)
Group Identity Instead Of Individual Identity
In seventeenth and eighteenth century theory of democracy it was the individual that was considered to be the base unit of society and therefore it was individual rights that were paramount in documents like the U.S. Constitution…..Follett went on to state that “But there is no such thing as the ‘individual’ …(54) and since there was no such thing as the individual, it would naturally follow there should be no such thing as individual rights.(55)
The concept of individual rights had many flaws according to Follett’s political philosophy, not least of which was the fact that they believed that people were too stupid to make informed decisions. …The New State she proclaimed that, “Ballot-box democracy is what this book is written to oppose.” (57)
The solution to this problem, according to Follett, was to eliminate the individual as the basic unit of society and replace him with a group organizations (57) Group rights would now take the place of individual rights. Under the old order, man was endowed with certain God given rights—under the new system the only rights that man had were those that the group would bestow upon him. (59)
It makes it possible for a very small number of people to control a very large number of groups.
In Follett’s vision of democracy there would be two classes of people…”those who govern and those that are governed.” (62)
Military Transformation And Disarmament
Political and military control of the world during the transition period was to be in the hands of the four great powers that the Commission thought world make the largest contributions to the war effort—Britain, China, Russia, and the United States. (199) It was also planned that during the transition period membership in the world organization was to be expanded to include neutral countries and the defeated Axis powers. Prior to being allowed into the new world order, however, the Axis powers would have to undergo a period of extended military occupation during which the people in these countries were to be psychologically prepared for participation in it. (200)…In the permanent order to be established, abstention or withdrawal will be impossible. (201) The reports also made it clear who was going to pay the lion’s share of this global reconstruction project–the American people(202)
The World State that this new organization was advocating was to consist of an executive body, a legislature, a judicial branch (with jurisdiction over the individual), and a World army …so recruited and so based that no individual, group, or nation could seize control of it, (249) It was also noted that, “Upon the achievement of world government. all national armaments save limited quantities for international policing should be abolished, and the manufacturer of armaments, save those required by a world army and for internal policing, should be banned.”(250)
National armed services are being re-engineered in order to be able to properly interact with global and regional military forces while at the same time working with state and local governments. Like the regional and world forces, they too are preparing for major operations against civilian populations. This new type of mission is referred to as Operations Other Than War (OOTW) (336)… By December 1994, however, this had changed (not operating in the U.S.) . The West 95 “Operations Other Than War” conference openly discussed how these forces could be used in the U.S.(337)…by 1998 mufti-national forces were training for warfare in major urban centers, such as Chicago. under the code name “Urban Worrier”.(340)
Some of the most radical government re-engineering is occurring at the local level. Over the past ten years, numerous summits and conferences, sponsored by various United Nations agencies, have been held to outline plans for local government in the twenty-first century/ These plans cover such things as housing, healthcare, population control, land use, transportation, and almost any other aspect of life that can be imagined (357)
The main goal of these local re engineering projects is to institute what is called “Sustainable Development“. The origins of this idea can be traced to the Earth Summit held in Rio D Janeiro in 1992. Agenda 21, the United Nations Center for Human Settlements (Habitat), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Sustainable Cities Programme further developed this concept (362)
large corporate interests are the driving force behind it (Sustainable Development). Both require the creation of a new regional governing body that will control all development involving residential building plans, commercial development and transportation planning which includes limiting the use of the personal automobile and expanding mass transit. The also have two other things in common: the first is that the new regional governing bodies will have control over taxation and how the money is spent, and the second is that they will not be accountable to thetaxpayers.(364)
How much taxation will it reuire to force the bulk of the drivers off the road and on to mass transit? The london Planning Advisory Committee (LPAC, a local Agenda 21 troup in the U.K. has come up with an estimate. According to the LPAC, it will require the equivalent of about $12,000 (U.S.) per car in additional taxation each year to significantly reduce traffic (386)
More Goals
“Once crises open the door, radical and rapid change can proceed.”(18)
2. A national identity card would be necessary and it must be an integrated access card or as it is more commonly referred to as a “smart card”.
Closing (Page 89)
Others have been reluctant to address both the persons and events revealed here. However, illuminating these obscured facts can elevate understanding of the ideas essential to individual freedom and free enterprise. Those ideas of liberty are the opposite of the ideas of serfdom revealed in this monograph and fostered by the advocates of Socialist world government.
Ideas essential too individual freedom and flourishing lives include:
The individual is the fountainhead of rights
The individual is the basic unit of government
Individual judgment and individual ownership of property are the basis of liberty’
The American Revolution was a uniquely moral revolution
Voters need representatives who are elected and accountable to them
Attributes of individual sovereignty may not be limited
Political freedom must rest upon economic freedom
Individuals, not groups, participate in republics, not democracies
Americans are not obligated to finance any global reconstruction porject
Withdrawal from insufferable social contracts is a basic human right.
Understanding the look and feel of fast bullets and culture changes can equip us to dodge the first and resist the second as the central planners spin out their reinvention of government. Having read first their books and now their papers, we can see clearly that we are simply dealing with some new-time thugs who desire old-fashioned rule over all. If this is a battle that every generation must wage and win, so be it. Floy Lilley, J.D., The University of Texas at Austin
End Notes
1 Letter from Al Gore to the Service to the Citizens Conference dated June 18, 1993 (Originally referred to as the National performance Review. The name was later changed to National Partnership to Reinvent Government.
9 Jerry Mechling et al. “Customer Service Excellence-using information Technologies to Improve Service Delivery in Government” A Summary Report by the Program on Strategic Computing and Telecommunications in the Public Sector), The President and Fellows of Harvard College. June 1993 page 13.
13 Melching, Governing. February 1994 page 50
18 Ibid, page 50
24 Report of the First Service to the Citizen Conference: Richmond Virginia June 1993
28 Dans Wechsler Linden, “The mother of them all” Forbes. January 16, 1995 pages 75-76
29 Ibid pages 75-76
31 Mary Parker Follett, The New State: Group Origination the Solution of Popular Government” originally published: (New Your: longmans, Green Co. 1918v- Reprinted by the Pennsylvania State university press 1998) page 15. The New State can be found online: http://sunsite.utk.edu/FINS/Mary_Parker_Follett/Fins-MPF-01.html
36 Merrill F. Hartshorn, “The Improvement Of Instructional Materials” Approaches in an Understanding of World Affairs 1954. 25th Yearbook of the National Council For Social Studies-National Education Association, (Menasha, Wisconsin: George Banta Publishing Co. 1954 page 443
39 Ibid, page 82.
50 Mary Parker Follett, The New State, p. 162.
51 Ibid page 172, pages 165-166
54 Ibid page 21
55 Ibid page 172
59 Ibid pages 137, 282
62 Ibid pages 141
67 Ibid page73-74
68 Ibid page207
69 Ibid page 363
70 Encyclopedia Britannica, “Socialism in one country” 1999
100 Letter from Edward Carter to Mrs. William G Hibbard o4 October 1927, Wright Papers, box 10 folder 3
103 Merrill F. Hartshorn, “The Improvement Of Instructional Materials”. page 445
135 Letter from Schoenfeld to Wright 20 May 1926 and Kellogg to Schoenfeld 11 May 1926, Wright, Wright Papers, box 8 folder 1.
159 Clark Eichelberger, Organizing For Peace, page 108
173 Commission of Enquiry Statement o2 October 1939 page 2 Wright Papers, box 5 folder 12
191 Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, Building Peace, page 6
193 Letter from Wright to Shotwell, 01 July 1940, Wright Papers, box 23 Shotwell folder.
194 Letter from Wright to the Daily Maroon, 16 February1940, Wright Papers, box 94 Maroon folder.
196 Letter from Shotwell to Wright 01 April 1940, Wright Papers, box 5 folder 12
197 Richard N. Gardner, Franklin Roosevelt and World Order: The World We sought and the World We Have, United States Embassy-Madrid, Spain;
199 Commission to Study the Organization of Peace, Building Peace, page 22 also see Richard N Gardner, Franklin Roosevelt and World Order: The World We Sought and the World We Have.
200 Commission t Study the Organization of Peace, Building Peace, Page 65
201 Ibid page 65
202 Ibid page 15
312 Henry A Wallace, “Tribute To Russia” (Forward by Corliss Lamont) published by: The Congress of American-Soviet Friendship. pages 9-11 Full text online
249 Chicago Daily Tribune 08 August 1946 page 4
250 Ibid
259 Walter Trohan “U.N. New Order Propaganda to Gegin at Cradle,”Chicago Daily Tribune 11 August 1946, part 1 page 11
314 Laurence McQuillan, Clinton: “Tide of Change” Sweeping the World, Reuters Friday October 19, 1997, 4:50 PM EDT Buenos Aires 317 Col. Michael Dxiedzic “NAFTA and North American Security” Institute for National Strategic Studies-National Defense University, Strategic Forum No 18, January 1995, online
318 Ibid
335 J.R. Wilson, “ARPA Unveils Technology Plan” Military & Aerospace Electronics December 1994, Vol. 5 No. 3, page 29
317 Advertisement for West 95 Operations Other Than War” Military & Aerospace Electronics December 1994, Vol 5 No. 3, Page 29
340 “Marines land here to study for urban battles of future” Chicago Sun-Times May 5, 1998 Online: http://suntimes.com
343 M.J. Zuckeman, “Targeting Cyberterrrorism” USA Today October 20, 1997 page 17A
Former Assistant Secretary of Housing under George H.W. Bush Catherine Austin Fitts blows the whistle on how the financial terrorists have deliberately imploded the US economy and transferred gargantuan amounts of wealth offshore as a means of sacrificing the American middle class.
** This video is sped up by 20% to make watching more efficient, and it is uploaded uncut from the original interview. **
Fitts documents how trillions of dollars went missing from government coffers in the 90’s and how she was personally targeted for exposing the fraud.
Fitts explains how every dollar of debt issued to service every war, building project, and government program since the American Revolution up to around 2 years ago — around $12 trillion — has been doubled again in just the last 18 months alone with the bank bailouts. “We’re literally witnessing the leveraged buyout of a country and that’s why I call it a financial coup d’état, and that’s what the bailout is for,” states Fitts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nU7wGe2A6k&feature=share
Testing is not the major measure of learning. Timo Heikkinen, a Helsinki principal with 24 years of teaching experience. “If you only measure the statistics, you miss the human aspect.” “We prepare children to learn how to learn, not how to take a test,” said Pasi Sahlberg,
Play is a big part of teaching (Whole Brain Teaching). “Play is important at this age,” Rintola would later say. “We value play.” Children spend far more time playing outside, even in the depths of winter. Homework is minimal.
“Finland spends about 30 percent less per student than the United States”, and provides more individualized attention.
As a workshop leader for the education department at University of North Florida, and a workshop leader for home school parents, I have noticed many things. One of the hardest things to do is to let go of the public school model which is failing our kids, and to adopt more successful methods they have never experienced.
The Conventional Method
The Conventional method typically used in Public Schools, and their mandated curriculum, is left brain teaching (workbooks, flash cards, lectures, sit down at a desk work). It it is effective with about 45% of the children. The other 55% are like round pegs forced into square wholes. This is particularly true with active children, hands on learners, children with ADHD and those with learning disabilities.
Whole Brain Teaching
With Whole Brain Teaching one reaches all the learning styles so that about 90% o f the children are learning. With this method , children learn faster, retain more, stress is reduced (a major cause of learning disabilities), drop out rates decrease by 90%, brain health health is improved, and they love it. Whole brain teaching simply means involving as many senses in the learning process as possible (games, play, and real life experiences). It can be easily done in the classroom. However home schooling lends itself to this method very easily, because when you home school, the whole world is your classroom.
A trip to the grocery store becomes a lesson in weights, math, and reading.
My little brother was fascinated by monopoly which turned into a lesson in reading, math, and money counting.
Building a fort or dollhouse with your child becomes a lesson in geometry, architecture, measuring, reading….
Cooking together becomes a lesson in measuring and reading
Finland now has the best education in the world, and Play is a major part of their education. “A class of first graders scampered among nearby pine and birch trees, each holding a stack of the teacher’s homemade laminated “outdoor math” cards. “Find a stick as big as your foot,” one read. “Gather 50 rocks and acorns and lay them out in groups of ten,” read another. Working in teams, the 7- and 8-year-olds raced to see how quickly they could carry out their tasks. “
1. Ring Around The Phonics is an excellent board game for parents, teachers and tutors to teach language arts (phonics, reading, comprehension, listening skills, communication skills, spelling, vocabulary, foreign languages and more) . It involves the left and right brain (whole brain) in the learning process.
Because word meanings from the time of our Founders have changed, just reading it does not equate understanding it. For example: a dictionary from 1828 defines
WELFARE, n. [well and fare, a good faring; G.]
1. Exemption from misfortune, sickness, calamity or evil; the enjoyment of health and the common blessings of life; prosperity; happiness; applied to persons.
2. Exemption from any unusual evil or calamity; the enjoyment of peace and prosperity, or the ordinary blessings of society and civil government; applied to states. ( In other words, The government cannot show favoritism to one State or special interest group over another) http://machaut.uchicago.edu/?resource=Webster%27s&word=welfare&use1913=on&use1828=on
But a modern dictionary describes the word welfare as the government giving money to the needy. Other, words like Democracy and Republic, have also been turned upside down.
At 1.16 in the following video, Judge Napolitano explains the Welfare Clause
In the following video, the Judge explains one of the most misunderstood Clauses: the Commerce Clause
Its History
The history of the Constitution and the Federalist Papers are not only interesting, but are essential to a true understanding of the Constitution and your rights. Before the Union many of the larger colonies took advantage of the smaller ones, and Foreign Countries also took advantage of the individual colonies. So that was one of the main reason for the Union (protection from abuses…strength in numbers). However the Founders and the Colonists were well aware that all governments are potentially dangerous. A guard dog can be an asset if controlled , but can also be dangerous if not controlled…such are governments.
This and many other historical events are explained in Justice Joseph Story’s book, A Familiar Exposition Of The Constitution Of The United States. as he explains the related Constitutional clauses. Justice Story was not only a Supreme Court Justice, but he was born three years after the Declaration of Independence, his father served in the Revolution, and his book was once a well recognized school text book.
We have been educated to believe that the Supreme Court is the “Keeper of the Constitution”. However Supreme Court Justice Story warned, “our cherished freedoms and Constitutional government might perish in an hour, by the folly, or corruption, or negligence of its only keepers, THE PEOPLE. if the people did not trouble to learn the history, purpose, and meaning of their own Constitution.” You see, not only can States take the government to trial for unconstitutional laws that harm its people, but so can citizens take the government to trial if harmed by an unconstitutional law.
Many teachers and parents complain that today’s schools and textbooks do not teach children how to think, but instead teach them what to think. Preparing the children for multiple choice questions actually discourages them from thinking outside of the box. Teaching children what to think instead of how to think is indoctrination, does not prepare them for unexpected real life situations, and makes them vulnerable to cults and propaganda.
Please allow me to provide you with some true stories.
True Story One: One day while tutoring a young child who was gifted, and naturally an analytical personality something very interesting happened. I was teaching him about the comprehension skill, “Cause And Effect“. He was sipping on a glass of tea, and I asked if it was ready made tea, or did his mom make it from scratch. He said it was ready made, so I then asked what would happen if your Mom added water to the tea before giving it to you? To my surprise, he answered, “it would improve the taste”.
Instead of correcting him, I asked him to explain. He proceeded to tell me that the tea she started with was in powder form (not canned as I was thinking) , and” if she did not add water, it would taste awful”. If I had not been willing to listen to him, and simply told him that was the wrong answer, I would have weakened his natural tenancy to think for himself. I would have been training him to conform.
Second Story From Ancient Times: Plato was talking to his colleagues, and told them knowledge comes from within. Therefore, he explained, it is our job to bring it forth. His colleges replied, “Oh no. Children aren’t borne knowing. We must impart knowledge to them. ”
To demonstrate his point, Plato had a five year old child brought to him. He simply asked the boy a series of questions. Without any information, only Plato’s questions, the little boy solved a very complicated algebra problem.
Methods Used To Teach Critical Thinking
1. One can teach critical thinking by using Plato’s method. I simply go through my lesson looking to see where I could ask a question instead of giving a statement. The more questions, the better.
2. The Classical Method of Teaching children teaches memorization in their early years, and analytical thinking begins in the middle years.
The Socratic Method teaches analytical thinking by group discussions and evaluations. None of this is possible with multiple choice questions that have only one right answer.
The following method is referred to as a Heart Talk, and can be strengthen intuition as well as logical deduction.
Discussions are best done in a circle rather that the typical classroom setting which is designed for a lecture.
Have a topic for discussion in which you have prepared several open ended questions so as to facilitate discussion. Discussion, and not lecture, is the important thing when teaching analytical thinking. The topic can be part of a previous reading assignment, a current event, the Constitution, prayer, God, bullying or any number of things.
Have an object that can be passed around the circle. I use a small stuffed heart for this purpose.
Explain to the children that whoever is holding the heart has everyone’s total focus, and is the only one who should be talking. Everyone else is to listen with their full nonjudgmental focus on the person with the heart. Also explain that they have the right to pass by simply passing the heart to the next child, and there are no right or wrong answers, so no one is corrected, judged or criticized for their answers. It is, however, OK to have a different point of view.
If the children are not use to discussions, they might be reluctant to participate. So it is wise to break the ice by beginning with very simple questions, like what did you have for breakfast? Once they are comfortable that they will not be put down for their answers, they will be eager to contribute.
As the discussion begins, an open ended question is asked, and the heart is given to someone in the circle.
The teacher is a facilitator in these discussions, and participates on an equal level with the students. If one person begins to dominate the discussion, you (as the facilitator) can say something like that is interesting, but it is time to pass the heart so others have time to participate. If a student criticizes another child, simply remind them that there are no right or wrong answers. If a child wants to ask a question of another, they have to wait until the heart passes into their hands (they can write their question down if they are afraid of “forgetting”).
Before starting a new question, allow the heart to pass around the circle once with no one responding so as to be sure everyone has finished discussing the question asked . Then it is time to ask another open ended question.
If the answers begin taking the discussion in a new direction, it is often a good idea to allow this, because it can lead to some unexpected answers that the children are curious about. But this is a judgement call that facilitators mush decide in each situation.
It is important that children associate reading with phonic sounds as soon as possible. So as soon as your child has learned the phonic sounds of Ss, Aa, Mm, Rr, Nn, Dd and Tt, they should be able to read the following free early reader book. The attached PDF file is an early reader book from the reading/ phonics game, “Ring Around the Phonics”. Download it for free as many times as you like. Book: Book Sam and Dan
Below are three ways to use the book, “Sam and Dan”.
Once he/ she is able to read “Sam and Dan” allow them to color it. This is a good exercise for helping them learn to write because it develops finger dexterity.Note:
If you want to make sure you are enunciating the phonic sounds correctly you can hear and see them enunciated free in video format.
To learn more about Ring Around the Phonics (“The reading and phonics game children literally beg to play click here.
You know we all have those days in which our children need a little motivation. You know, “do I have too?”, or “I would rather play today” For that matter we educators can sometimes use a little motivation when faced with such lack of enthusiasm. So here are some fun ways to motivate.
I. There is an Important Link Between Play And Learning
As we watch children playing, it often looks like a waste of time that might be fun, but otherwise of little value Yet studies reveal that young children learn best while at constructive play. There is a scientific reason why the Conventional Method (workbooks, flash cards, lectures) is often not effective. This method teaches to the left brain only because it is delivered in in serial order through verbal media either in speech or in print. The Conventional Method unintentionally shuts down the right side of the brain.
Movement of our body makes information flow from the left brain to right and back again at lightning velocity. Teaching to the whole brain (Total Physical Response) has been found to be far more effective. By physically involving the children in the learning process (games, real life experiences, choices…active learning), studies show children actually learn faster, retain more, drop out rates decrease by 90%, and it reduces stress. According to Dr. Daniel Amen, Physician: Child/Adolescent/Adult Psychiatry, Nuclear Brain Imaging CEO: Amen Clinics, Inc., whole brain learning/ teaching improves the health of the brain. This does not mean that workbooks need to be eliminated, but the evidence is clear that we need to be doing a lot more whole brain teaching.
II. The Power Of Choice In the college text book, “Social Foundations of Human Behavior” (pages 591-601) fascinating studies were conducted exposing how important choice is in the success of any project (groups, classrooms, businesses, organizations, ext). You see when we are told what to do, we are not always eager to co-operate. However when we are involved in the planning of any project, we are invested in it. It is our creation, and we are more likely to protect it. Children are no different than we adults in this respect.
Following are some ways we can actively involve children in the lesson and its planning:
Leave interesting educational items around the house. Amazing Math Projects You Can Build Yourself (Build It Yourself series) has lots of interesting projects to excite the little ones. For example, open the book to the chapter on angels, and place any necessary tools next to the open book. (in this chapter you would need an angle measure placed next to the book). Note: this is a technique often used by unschoolers). Sit back, and let the display do the work for you…no pushing or coaxing should be used.
One mother told me that her children had all learned to read, and learned to love reading with the active game, Ring Around The Phonics. She said that even though her children now all read quite well, she keeps it handy, and when her kids complain about doing their more advanced lessons… Well, she pulls the game out, and teaches her language arts lesson using Ring Around The Phonics. “They haven’t a clue…they think they are playing” :-), she explained.
Real Life Homeschooling: Coupon Math is an article written by a home school mom. She beautifully explains how she uses a trip to the grocery store to teach reading, and math.
Cooking in the home kitchen can provide a wonderful opportunity to teach your children about measuring and fractions.
Nile Stanley PhD., Reading Professor at the University Of North Florida, teaches children with poetry and song. Creating Readers with Poetry , by Dr. Nile Stanley is an interesting book
Feel free to share your ideas about how to motivate children to learn in the comment box bellow. We all benefit from your success stories, and things you have learned.
The following information is a result of resources we have gathered on Dr. Aman’s famous brain SPECT research. It is most notable that he was able to take two patients that were pronounced “brain dead”, and revive both of them. Brain SPECT imaging provides for more effective diagnosis and treatment for people who suffer from learning, emotional or behavioral disorders. We are excited to provide you his questionnaire and information to assist.
Disclaimer: The following information and tools are not intended to be a diagnosis, and need to be discussed with your physician for further evaluation. We are, however, providing as much of Dr. Aman’s information free to you without violating copyright laws. Where copyright laws may interfere, we are providing you links to his website for more research.
Because there is an increasing number of emotional problems (anger management, depression, obesity, Schizophrenia, aging, fatigue, ext.) , and learning disabilities (ADD, ADHD, Aspergers, ext. ) families are looking for answers for themselves and loved ones. Until recently, it has often been trial and error as to what medication, what diet, and other adjustments were needed. Families and patients struggled sometimes for years looking for answers that left them little hope. Dr Aman, with his brain SPECT scan research, has now taken much of the guess work out of it.
Because of his research, it is now easier to pinpoint areas of the brain that are not receiving enough oxygen and blood flow by the symptoms that are demonstrated. Dr Aman has created a free questionnaire (PDF Format) to help families and physicians. He says, it is not as accurate as a scan, but it is the next best thing when a scan is not possible.
For example, one child suffering from Aspergers may become highly agitated if presented something he was not expecting. That is an indication that the Frontal lobe is effected. Another child might be diagnosed with Aspergers, and is slow to answer questions, slow to walk or to talk. For these children the Cerebellum is the suspect. Some of these children might have both symptoms demonstrating that both the Frontal Lobe and the Cerebellum are not receiving enough blood flow. Knowing which part of the brain is affected is critical, because it determines what procedure will be most effective, and much less likely to inflict more injury.
ADD and ADHD have been a real smorgasbord of confusing solutions. That is because there are actually six different kinds of ADD/ ADHD. An acceptable treatment for one type can do more harm than good for another. Treating depression has been equally troublesome. We all know cases where an antidepressant worked fine for one person, and sent another to commit suicide or even murder. Again, having the brain scan eliminates much of the guess work typically associated with diagnoses. (If a scan is not available, the questionnaire is the next best thing)
In the following link, you will be able to view actual brain scans. The holes you are about to see are areas where the brain is deteriorating because of not enough blood flow and oxygen: SPECT Imaging For Brain Health Folks, this is an excellent tool to teach children about drugs and their effects. 🙂
After you have answered the questionnaire (see links above), you will be given an evaluation tool that will help you determine which areas of the brain may be effecting performance. To assist you, we are providing the following information which is to be used after you have completed the questionnaire, and determine what parts of the brain you want to know more about.
Prefrontal Cortex Problems: Inattention, lack of forethought, procrastination, impulsive, dis-inhibited, poor judgement, lack of empathy, disorganization
Some Conditions Affecting Low PFC Functioning: ADHD, brain trauma, schizophrenia, conduct disorders, depression, some dementia, antisocial personality.
Anterior Cingulate (AC)
ACG Functions: Brain’s gear shifter, cognitive flexibility, cooperation, go fro idea to idea, see options, go with the flow, error detection.
ACG Problems: gets stuck, trouble shifting, inflexible, worries, holds grudges, oppositional, obsesses, compulsions, argumentative, excessive error detection, some forms of addiction.
Some Conditions Affecting the ACG: OCD, addictions, eating disorders, PTSD, anxiety disorders, PMS, chronic pain, oppositional defiant.
Basal Ganglia (BG)
BG Functions: sense of calm, sets anxiety level, motivation, motor related, mediates pleasure
BG Problems: Tension, nervousness, anxiety/panic, predicting the worst, tremors/ticks, addictions, conflict avoidance, no motivation
Some Conditions Affecting The BG: Anxiety disorders, OCD, Movement Disorders, Tourette’s/ticks, PTSD
Deep Limbic System
DLS Function: Mood control, motivation, attitude, appetite/sleep/, Bonding, sense of smell, Libido.
DLS Problems: Depression, poor motivation, poor attitude, sleep/appetite issues, tends to isolate, lack of smell, negativity, guilt, hopelessness.
Some Conditions AffectingThe DLS: depression, pain syndromes, clinic mood disorders
Cerebellum (CB)
CB Functions: Motor control, postture, gait, executive function (connects to PFC0, speed of cognitive interaction (like clock speed of computer), organization.
Some Conditions Affecting CB: Trauma, alchol abuse, autism, aspergers, ADHD
NOTE: Whole brain teaching (physically involving the children in the learning process), like Ring Around The Phonics, and real life experiences, improves brain health because it exorcizes the whole brain. With whole brain teaching, children learn faster, retain more, dropout rates decrease by 90%, and stress is reduced.
More Resources
Note: There are also several conditions, including some normal learning styles, that are misdiagnosed as learning disabilities. You will be able to learn more about them at this link: Conditions That Can Mimic Or Create Learning disabilities
Dr. Aman’s studies show that by improving the blood flow to the injured part of the brain, remarkable results occur. Dr. Aman provides solutions, and further assistance on his website: Aman Clinics . We have purchased several of his products, and highly recommend his High Performance Brains (Six Disc Video Series), because it explains things in detail showing the related brain scans, and possible treatments. On his website he has supplements, a valuable questionnaire that includes the possible treatments, and more information. If you are not sure what to purchase, give them a call.
Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to leave your comments or questions below.
Experience how to nurture children’s learning to read through games. Develop best practices from the learning theorist Vygotsky’s research on play as a powerful scaffold for developing language and thinking.
Perhaps like you, my husband and I were fed up with the high cost of satellite and cable that filled our TV with advertisements and programs we did not want. We complained, but their solutions were more packages filled with even less of what we wanted. A friend alerted us to some fantastic solutions which I will share with you here.. The directions were very easy, and we were able to install it without paying for a professional installation.
instead.
.
available that Best Buy did not inform us about. Since we did not install this one, I can not giving a review.
” (pages 591-601) fascinating studies were conducted exposing how important choice is in the success of any project (groups, classrooms, businesses, organizations, ext). You see when we are told what to do, we are not always eager to co-operate. However when we are involved in the planning of any project, we are invested in it. It is our creation, and we are more likely to protect it. Children are no different than we adults in this respect.
has lots of interesting projects to excite the little ones. For example, open the book to the chapter on angels, and place any necessary tools next to the open book. (in this chapter you would need an angle measure placed next to the book). Note: this is a technique often used by unschoolers). Sit back, and let the display do the work for you…no pushing or coaxing should be used.
, (b) picture books like 
, (c) analytical children often are fascinated with 
, (d) and don’t forget to lay out a few favorite novels in the assortment, (e) The 
is interesting to children because it has graphics, and explains many interesting things that intrigue the inquisitive minds.
, by Dr. Nile Stanley is an interesting book
, because it explains things in detail showing the related brain scans, and possible treatments. On his website he has supplements, a valuable questionnaire that includes the possible treatments, and more information. If you are not sure what to purchase, give them a call.