Living Cause and Effect - Epigenesis - APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

Living Cause and Effect

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Behavior must be looked at from varied and integrated perspectives. All that a child experiences weaves his/her cloak of response. Each thread, be it genetic, environmental, physical, emotional, cognitive, chemical, energetic, cultural, spiritual, perceptual, contributes to the nature and weave of this fabric of BEING. To understand behavior is to understand the interplay of cause and effect. The APOGEE Learning™ paradigm has and continues to support children, teens and adults across the age span by creatively exploring this interplay of cause and effect to determine a course of action and supports that address each identified need. Programs are tailored to each individual and may include, nutritional guidance, exercise, specific academic supports, study skills, sport activities, music, art, dance, creative writing, and the special talents and/or interests of the student. When one, at any age, understands what may trigger a positive or negative response, one moves toward becoming an empowered self.

image: bcrw.barnard.edu/.../ uploads/2008/03/dna.jpg

The Observations

"No, they are not the same" was my hue and cry. My identical twin sons born to me were not the same. Yes, they split from the one egg, yes, they contain the genetic code of each parent, but from the very start of the split, they were positioned differently in the womb. Each twin experienced everything in utero from a different position in space. They each had very different birth experiences. Yet, all I had been taught in my undergraduate and graduate studies of physiology and psychology in the 60's, did not seem to consider these 'different' experiences as holding significant influences on their growth, development or perceptions. As a student of psychology and education, guided by the works of Jean Piaget, I observed. What I observed over the last four decades was that ALL influences. Holding a view that a particular experience, for the 'experiencer' holds no significance, may indeed be a misguided judgment of the observer.

When my third son was born, three years later, again, I had a whole new opportunity for observation. Each of my sons, in their own particular way, has taught me the meaning of life, care, unconditional love, and the significance of each and every experience, each and every relationship, each and every exposure to stress, be it environmental, physical or emotional.

There is more to the story of the 'differences' that developed, as each twin son made different choices, developed different interests, went to different schools, yes, very much an epigenetic accounting of growth and development. Matrix, hologram, kaleidoscopic emergence, epigenesis, are very much a part of the story that is yet to be fully told.

Man is born with potential, the propensities that come from origination, yet man was never meant to be limited to this origination, if he was, he would not have been given 'Free Will.' It is the breaking of this 'will' that enslaves.

Equipped with two decades of 'hands on learning,' post graduate work, along with continued studies of consciousness, creativity and learning, I initiated APOGEE Learning™ in 1983, a holistic, inclusive paradigm that has successfully served learners across the age span for what will soon be three decades.

As I read of the "Epigenetic theory," and its defined findings, I found a deep accord with my own observations... "an emergent theory of development that includes both the genetic origins of behavior and the direct systematic influence that environmental forces have, over time, on the expression of those genes. The theory focuses on the dynamic interaction between these two influences during development." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epigenetic_Theory) From these perspectives, one can more fully appreciate why APOGEE Learning™ has brought about such outstanding change, benefit and growth for learners across the age span.

APOGEE Learning ™ is a system of learning and educational therapy that considers the visual, auditory, motor, psychological, attitudinal, kinesthetic, cognitive, biochemical, nutritional, neurological, educational, vibrational and reciprocal factors that relate to learning and creativity. It addresses the Academics and the Arts.

Through the use of Cognitive Kinesiology™ the student is brought closer to understanding the integrative action of the mind-body energy system. The student experiences the communication between the mind and body and comes to more fully appreciate the power of one’s own inner resources.

The assessment experience provides the student with opportunities to explore how behavior and stress patterns affect mind-body energy. The student is given the opportunity to more fully appreciate the interrelationship of the physical, mental, creative, and spiritual self. The student comes closer to understanding how his or her learning and creativity are influenced by what he or she has experienced, feels, attracts, knows, thinks, believes, wants, enjoys and fears. To know these aspects of self is to know the keys or locks to learning and creativity.

APOGEE Learning™ allows us to better understand and implement the supports, modifications, adjustments and educational approaches that are needed to assure effective learning and stress management.

and so the intent and goal of
The APOGEE Achiever™ Program...

With autonomy, mastery, and purpose
creative, caring, free thinkers
and doers are developed.

All inquiries are welcomed. All posts will receive a response.

The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~ Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:
http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

•Learning styles honored and supported•
•Readiness experiences provided•
•Task analysis applied•
•Student interests as motivators•
•The Whole Brain approach to study and mastery•

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663

1-866-ACU-TONE

For information on Qualifications and Experience:
Rose Marie Raccioppi | LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-marie-raccioppi/20/509/293

To listen to a recent interview by the Progressive Radio Network of
Rose Marie Raccioppi
go to: Pure Imagination - 08/31/11 - Pure Imagination
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/pure-imagination/2011/8/31/pure-

A Post Script Post

Your Soul Revealed

• Deepak Chopra
• December 1, 2011

The soul is disguised when you are tired or stressed; you are pulled outside yourself; your attention is dominated by externals; you let others think for you; you act out of compulsion; you are influenced by fear and anxiety; you struggle and suffer.

Theses conditions have to change before the soul connection can be reestablished. Death provides access to the domain of the soul, but Vedanta declares that the soul has a great deal to offer before death. Life is conducted under the gaze of the soul.

Your portion of pure consciousness has certain universal qualities: It is constant; it never loses sight of you; it is connected to every other soul; it shares God’s omniscience; it is untouched by change; it lives beyond time and space.

So it isn’t only tender, loving, quiet moments that reveal the soul. Rather, it’s those moments when the soul’s own qualities come to the surface that are most important.

The soul is revealed when you feel centered; your mind is clear; you have the sensation that time has stopped; you suddenly feel free of boundaries; you are keenly self-aware; you feel merged with another person, either in love or silent communication; you feel untouched by aging and change; you feel blissful and ecstatic; you have an intuitive flash that turns out to be true; you somehow know what is going to happen; you sense the truth; you feel supremely loved or absolutely safe.

If there is only one reality, as the rishis declare, then life is not a struggle between good and evil, but a tangled web where all actions, good and bad, move us closer to reality or deeper into illusion. Karma spins the web. Hell, like every other location in consciousness, ultimately reflects the state of our own awareness, and freedom from hell is won, like every other achievement, by coming closer to the reality of the soul.

Adapted from Life After Death: The Burden of Proof, by Deepak Chopra (Harmony Books, 2006).

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/your-soul-revealed.html#ixzz1fPNAEbXO

When a Song is Sung

Are You Singing Your Song?

• posted by Deepak Chopra
• Nov 14, 2011 5:00 am

Whenever people actually find their own song to sing, their deep-seated sense of self-doubt begins to be released, leaving a space for creativity to fill. The song turns out to be beautiful; people find that they can sing it without being punished and even earn a living being themselves.

In every case, the song is socially positive and acceptable. Beneath the fear of being unique, each of us has a powerful craving for as much uniqueness and specialness as possible.

Why is it that at first the prospect of being ourselves is so horrifying? Deep down, as much as we might deny it, all of us have been hurt by having our childhood wishes trampled on, but we accepted it “for our own good.”

A child needs and demands to be respected as a unique person, but being small and helplessly attached to his parent’s approval, he will sacrifice his own feelings to win the reward of their love.

For most of us, our parents fed us their own concept of “being good,” and we conformed to that even if it rankled our still-selfish childhood egos. We were all taught to be good before we wanted to be good. This may sound like a fine distinction, but in later life it makes all the difference between freedom and slavery.

A gap was created between true and false emotions, between what I should feel and what I actually feel. The process is subtle but treacherous. If it goes on long enough, one forgets what it is like simply to be, to let happiness and sadness come when they will, to give or keep as the moment dictates.

Adapted from Unconditional Life: Discovering the Power to Fulfill Your Dreams, by Deepak Chopra (A Bantam Book, 1991).

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/are-you-singing-your-song.html#ixzz1dntnsHi4

And so... as it prevails...

Rose Marie Raccioppi

A child's song is sung with delight. It is heard in the scamper of joyful steps. It is felt in the knowing smile. It is the light shuffle of skipping, dancing, jumping, hopping. It is the colors upon paper, the words shared, the questions asked, the wonder experienced, the world perceived. And so here shared is the special song of a seven year old...

Blue Jay Angel

A flower
A bird
An angel of heart
With magical beauty
A creation has its start
Wings of feathers
And touched with love
By all of God’s grace
Here and above.

Grace Page Boyle
7 years of age



Image, Blue Jay Angel, Pen and Ink, ©Grace Page Boyle, 2010-2011.

an added word
Grace loves, flowers, birds and angels.
She created Blue Jay Angel
to express her love for these beautiful gifts of Creation.

Thank You Grace for sharing your love.
Your song is sung
Your song is heard.

Cause and Effect ~ Judge confirms Prozac caused teen to murder

Peter R. Breggin, MD

Judge confirms Prozac caused teen to murder based on Peter Breggin M.D.'s court report and testimony to the Provincial Court of Manitoba, Canada. Boy sentenced and to be released in 10 months

"This is a landmark legal confirmation of the scientific fact that the newer antidepressants like Prozac, including the SSRI and SNRI antidepressants, can cause violence and even murder." ~ Peter R. Breggin MD

(PRWEB) November 08, 2011

Final sentencing for the teenager who inexplicably murdered his friend while on Prozac occurred November 4, 2011. The case involved a Winnipeg, Canada teenage high school student with no prior history of violence who, while chatting in his home with two friends, abruptly stabbed one of them to death with a single wound to the chest according to court documents. Provincial Court Judge Robert Heinrichs based his decision upon psychiatrist Peter R. Breggin, M.D.'s report and formal testimony to the court according to the Judge's Opinion.

In the case of “Her Majesty the Queen and C.J.P” (Citation #2011 MBPC 62), in the Provincial Court of Manitoba, Canada, Judge Robert Heinrichs gave the boy a three-year sentence, less time already served, so that he has only 10 months remaining in jail. The judge additionally required community supervision for four years.

Psychiatrist and expert witness for the defense Peter R. Breggin, M.D. said, "This is a landmark legal confirmation of the scientific fact that the newer antidepressants like Prozac, including the SSRI and SNRI antidepressants, can cause violence and even murder."

Dr. Breggin testified that the boy’s primary care physician and his parents alerted the prescribing psychiatric clinic to his deteriorating condition, which included agitation, anger and mood swings. But the clinic continued the Prozac and then doubled it. Seventeen days later, the teen knifed his friend to death, according to court documents.

Provincial court judge Robert Heinrichs read Dr. Breggin’s report and listened to his expert testimony in court. In his written opinion, Judge Heinrichs found “Dr. Breggin's explanation of the effect Prozac was having on C.J.P.'s behaviour both before that day and in committing an impulsive, inexplicable violent act that day corresponds with the evidence; as Dr. Breggin states in his report, there was no significant deliberation or organization by C.J.P. that afternoon.”

Earlier in the year on September 16, 2011 Judge Hendrichs issued his opinion that the sixteen-year-old should be tried as a youth instead of an adult. The judge found that “his mental deterioration and resulting violence would not have taken place without exposure to Prozac." Also confirming Dr. Breggin’s lengthy report and testimony, the judge found , "He has none of the characteristics of a perpetrator of violence. The prospects for rehabilitation are good."

In his report and testimony, Dr. Breggin found that the boy's symptoms were consistent with a Prozac (fluoxetine) Induced Mood Disorder with Manic Features and that he would not have committed the violence if he had not been given the antidepressant. He also testified that the teen had improved dramatically when removed from the Prozac after a few months in jail and that he was no longer a danger to himself or others. He brought numerous independent scientific studies to court confirming that a large percentage of youth exposed to the newer antidepressants will develop these hazardous adverse drug reactions. He also noted that the observations and even the wording of his own earlier scientific publications had been included into the information now found in the official FDA-approved labels. Dr. Breggin’s scientific articles concerning antidepressants can be found on his website at: http://breggin.com.

The defense attorney in the case was Greg Brodsky of Manitoba.

Peter R. Breggin, MD is a psychiatrist in private practice in Ithaca, New York, and the author of dozens of scientific articles and more than twenty scientific and popular books. His two most recent books deal with medication induced violence: Brain-Disabling Treatments in Psychiatry, Second Edition, and Medication Madness: the Role of Psychiatric Drugs in Cases of Violence, Suicide and Crime. Dr. Breggin's home website is http://www.breggin.com where many of his scientific reports on antidepressants and other subjects can be retrieved. On April 13-15, 2012 in Syracuse, New York, the annual conference of Dr. Breggin's 501c3 nonprofit international organization,the Center for the Study of Empathic Therapy, will be held. The conference will include a panel of lawyers, experts, survivors and families concerning antidepressant-induced violence, suicide, and crime.

And here an added word

Living Cause and Effect

Rose Marie Raccioppi

Behavior must be looked at from varied and integrated perspectives. All that a child experiences weaves his/her cloak of response. Each thread, be it genetic, environmental, physical, emotional, cognitive, chemical, energetic, cultural, spiritual, perceptual, contributes to the nature and weave of this fabric of BEING. To understand behavior is to understand the interplay of cause and effect. The APOGEE Learning™ paradigm has and continues to support children, teens and adults across the age span by creatively exploring this interplay of cause and effect to determine a course of action and supports that address each identified need. Programs are tailored to each individual and may include, nutritional guidance, exercise, specific academic supports, study skills, sport activities, music, art, dance, creative writing, and the special talents and/or interests of the student. When one, at any age, understands what may trigger a positive or negative response, one moves toward becoming an empowered self.

and so the intent and goal of
The APOGEE Achiever™ Program...

With autonomy, mastery, and purpose
creative, caring, free thinkers
and doers are developed.

All inquiries are welcomed. All posts will receive a response.
.
The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~ Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:
http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

•Learning styles honored and supported•
•Readiness experiences provided•
•Task analysis applied•
•Student interests as motivators•
•The Whole Brain approach to study and mastery•

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663

1-866-ACU-TONE

For information on Qualifications and Experience:
Rose Marie Raccioppi | LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-marie-raccioppi/20/509/293

To listen to a recent interview by the Progressive Radio Network of
Rose Marie Raccioppi
go to: Pure Imagination - 08/31/11 - Pure Imagination
http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/pure-imagination/2011/8/31/pure-imagination-083111.html

The Genius of Jobs

The Genius of Jobs

By WALTER ISAACSON
The New York Times
Sunday Review
The Opinion Pages
Published: October 29, 2011

What is the difference between intelligence and genius?
Steve Jobs’s biographer has an idea.

ONE of the questions I wrestled with when writing about Steve Jobs was how smart he was. On the surface, this should not have been much of an issue. You’d assume the obvious answer was: he was really, really smart. Maybe even worth three or four reallys. After all, he was the most innovative and successful business leader of our era and embodied the Silicon Valley dream writ large: he created a start-up in his parents’ garage and built it into the world’s most valuable company.

But I remember having dinner with him a few months ago around his kitchen table, as he did almost every evening with his wife and kids. Someone brought up one of those brainteasers involving a monkey’s having to carry a load of bananas across a desert, with a set of restrictions about how far and how many he could carry at one time, and you were supposed to figure out how long it would take. Mr. Jobs tossed out a few intuitive guesses but showed no interest in grappling with the problem rigorously. I thought about how Bill Gates would have gone click-click-click and logically nailed the answer in 15 seconds, and also how Mr. Gates devoured science books as a vacation pleasure. But then something else occurred to me: Mr. Gates never made the iPod. Instead, he made the Zune.

So was Mr. Jobs smart? Not conventionally. Instead, he was a genius. That may seem like a silly word game, but in fact his success dramatizes an interesting distinction between intelligence and genius. His imaginative leaps were instinctive, unexpected, and at times magical. They were sparked by intuition, not analytic rigor. Trained in Zen Buddhism, Mr. Jobs came to value experiential wisdom over empirical analysis. He didn’t study data or crunch numbers but like a pathfinder, he could sniff the winds and sense what lay ahead.

He told me he began to appreciate the power of intuition, in contrast to what he called “Western rational thought,” when he wandered around India after dropping out of college. “The people in the Indian countryside don’t use their intellect like we do,” he said. “They use their intuition instead ... Intuition is a very powerful thing, more powerful than intellect, in my opinion. That’s had a big impact on my work.”

Mr. Jobs’s intuition was based not on conventional learning but on experiential wisdom. He also had a lot of imagination and knew how to apply it. As Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge.”

Einstein is, of course, the true exemplar of genius. He had contemporaries who could probably match him in pure intellectual firepower when it came to mathematical and analytic processing. Henri Poincaré, for example, first came up with some of the components of special relativity, and David Hilbert was able to grind out equations for general relativity around the same time Einstein did. But neither had the imaginative genius to make the full creative leap at the core of their theories, namely that there is no such thing as absolute time and that gravity is a warping of the fabric of space-time. (O.K., it’s not that simple, but that’s why he was Einstein and we’re not.)

Einstein had the elusive qualities of genius, which included that intuition and imagination that allowed him to think differently (or, as Mr. Jobs’s ads said, to Think Different.) Although he was not particularly religious, Einstein described this intuitive genius as the ability to read the mind of God. When assessing a theory, he would ask himself, Is this the way that God would design the universe? And he expressed his discomfort with quantum mechanics, which is based on the idea that probability plays a governing role in the universe by declaring that he could not believe God would play dice. (At one physics conference, Niels Bohr was prompted to urge Einstein to quit telling God what to do.)

Both Einstein and Mr. Jobs were very visual thinkers. The road to relativity began when the teenage Einstein kept trying to picture what it would be like to ride alongside a light beam. Mr. Jobs spent time almost every afternoon walking around the studio of his brilliant design chief Jony Ive and fingering foam models of the products they were developing.

Mr. Jobs’s genius wasn’t, as even his fanboys admit, in the same quantum orbit as Einstein’s. So it’s probably best to ratchet the rhetoric down a notch and call it ingenuity. Bill Gates is super-smart, but Steve Jobs was super-ingenious. The primary distinction, I think, is the ability to apply creativity and aesthetic sensibilities to a challenge.
In the world of invention and innovation, that means combining an appreciation of the humanities with an understanding of science — connecting artistry to technology, poetry to processors. This was Mr. Jobs’s specialty. “I always thought of myself as a humanities person as a kid, but I liked electronics,” he said. “Then I read something that one of my heroes, Edwin Land of Polaroid, said about the importance of people who could stand at the intersection of humanities and sciences, and I decided that’s what I wanted to do.”

The ability to merge creativity with technology depends on one’s ability to be emotionally attuned to others. Mr. Jobs could be petulant and unkind in dealing with other people, which caused some to think he lacked basic emotional awareness. In fact, it was the opposite. He could size people up, understand their inner thoughts, cajole them, intimidate them, target their deepest vulnerabilities, and delight them at will. He knew, intuitively, how to create products that pleased, interfaces that were friendly, and marketing messages that were enticing.

In the annals of ingenuity, new ideas are only part of the equation. Genius requires execution. When others produced boxy computers with intimidating interfaces that confronted users with unfriendly green prompts that said things like “C:\>,” Mr. Jobs saw there was a market for an interface like a sunny playroom. Hence, the Macintosh. Sure, Xerox came up with the graphical desktop metaphor, but the personal computer it built was a flop and it did not spark the home computer revolution. Between conception and creation, T. S. Eliot observed, there falls the shadow.

In some ways, Mr. Jobs’s ingenuity reminds me of that of Benjamin Franklin, one of my other biography subjects. Among the founders, Franklin was not the most profound thinker — that distinction goes to Jefferson or Madison or Hamilton. But he was ingenious.

This depended, in part, on his ability to intuit the relationships between different things. When he invented the battery, he experimented with it to produce sparks that he and his friends used to kill a turkey for their end of season feast. In his journal, he recorded all the similarities between such sparks and lightning during a thunderstorm, then declared “Let the experiment be made.” So he flew a kite in the rain, drew electricity from the heavens, and ended up inventing the lightning rod. Like Mr. Jobs, Franklin enjoyed the concept of applied creativity — taking clever ideas and smart designs and applying them to useful devices.

China and India are likely to produce many rigorous analytical thinkers and knowledgeable technologists. But smart and educated people don’t always spawn innovation. America’s advantage, if it continues to have one, will be that it can produce people who are also more creative and imaginative, those who know how to stand at the intersection of the humanities and the sciences. That is the formula for true innovation, as Steve Jobs’s career showed.

Walter Isaacson is the author of “Steve Jobs.”

~

...and so an added word...

Thank You Steve Jobs

by
Rose Marie Raccioppi

The creative, risk taking, visionary is not always the ideal school student. The student who questions the status quo and looks to innovation may not find an alluring enough attraction to 'book learning' that has little relevance to particular goals and aspirations. Hundreds of students that have availed themselves of the understanding and the supports inherent in the offerings of APOGEE Learning,™ have been empowered to understand and work with their learning style, their particular way to brain storm, plan and act, move to resolve and/or completion in ways that did not always follow the 'customary' study approaches taught in his/her school of attendance. Steve Jobs exemplified a unified, integrated approach to inquiry, exploration, experimentation, execution and completion. Form and function have been consistently inclusive of a pleasing aesthetic. I have had the pleasure of my first APPLE in 1979 and have enjoyed the benefits of change in each subsequent model. Yes, the mind of a scientist, the temperment of an innovator, the heart of a humanist, the soul of a missionary, defined a journey and we the recipients of his genius have been gifted with a technology that has been life changing.

Teacher - Teacher - We Remember!!

The joys of REUNION, October 9, 2011, are ongoing as the 5th grade class of 1963, PS 106 Bronx, continue to express the fond memories of the school days past. Honor has been bestowed upon the meaning of care and devotion. Each reflection, each smile, each outreach, each realized right intention, individually and collectively celebrate the gift of teaching, the gift of friendship, the gift of heart.

Developing a YES I CAN attitude - Empowerment Training for Children - APOGEE Achiever™ ~ WHOLE BRAIN ~ RSA Animate ~ The Divided Brain

Left Brain ~ Right Brain

Whole Brain

When one considers what is put forth here by Dr. Iain McGilchrist one fully appreciates the unity, the communication, the balance, that is sought and created by the whole of the brain. Each half in complement, not in competition of the other. When students present a particular difficulty, be it cognitive, emotional or physical, the best 'remedy' to assure progress, to assure reason, to assure creativity, to assure healing and ultimate resolve, is the whole brain in response.

APOGEE Learning™ was founded and developed to provide those experiences, those approaches, those explorations, that integrate the academics and the arts. APOGEE Learning™ supports the whole of learning that serves and enhances both understanding and application. It is in all of its manifestation a whole brain system.

A number is a symbol. It has a particular configuration, a particular meaning. It represents itself and it represents the parts that define it. Let us further consider that all numbers have their start from the value of ONE. It is this 'one' that is repeated, added, multiplied to become many or that which is more than 'one.' There is the physical representation of a number value, by its 'design', by its object referent, by the measurement it denotes. It is physical, conceptual and symbolic. It is of parts, it is of the whole. Many students, in their early learning of numbers, take comfort in the stability and consistency that numbers represent. 1+1=2, be it written, spoken, or demonstrated. A 'truth' is mastered and a feeling of power in mastery prevails. However, when numbers become part of a word problem, where language implies interpretation, difficulties often ensue. Here is where math most obviously calls for the integration of both left and right brain into a whole brain consideration.

Some students present themselves with a tendency to process more with right brain orientations, while others process more with left brain orientations. Either extreme can make learning of particular skills and/or subject matter more difficult. Orientations, learning style, problem solving strategies are all taken into consideration and are viewed from the perspective of how they contribute or detract from reaching a resolve or a completion of a task.

Be it learning to be masterful in school, on the playground, on the sports field, on the dance floor, at the piano, with any musical instrument, on stage, off stage, one needs to integrate responsive movement with discernment. Approaching each new learning, each new challenge, with a healthy interplay of right and left brain is to assure command and ultimate mastery.

With whole brain approaches the student learns to consider an assignment, a problem, a challenge, a goal, a quest, understand the ways of approach, the means toward resolve, attainment or completion.

and so the intent and goal of
The APOGEE Achiever™ Program...

With autonomy, mastery, and purpose
creative, caring, free thinkers
and doers are developed.

All inquiries are welcomed. All posts will receive a response.
.
The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~ Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:
http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

•Learning styles honored and supported•
•Readiness experiences provided•
•Task analysis applied•
•Student interests as motivators•
•The Whole Brain approach to study and mastery•

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663

1-866-ACU-TONE

For information on Qualifications and Experience:
Rose Marie Raccioppi | LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-marie-raccioppi/20/509/293

Young Minds and Questing Hearts

Young Minds and Questing Hearts
5th Grade Class of 1963
PS 106, Bronx, New York

When impressions are made and memories held our consciousness is formed. The RNA/DNA of one's heritage, the nurturing care received during one's prenatal term, our beginning years, the joys and tears of one's days are all brought to bear on each of us as a learning child.

To have the young minds and the questing hearts of 5th graders look to you for several hours of the school day for acceptance, for understanding, for praise, for support, indeed defines the honored position of a teacher. Here pictured is my 5th Grade Class of 1963, PS 106, Bronx, NY. Forty eight years later, on October 9, 2011, a Reunion in celebration of friendship, love and gratitude.

This event, a most heart touching Reunion 2011, has validated my long held perspectives and have sounded anew the words I wrote in 1988, five years after I initiated my private practice as an educator consultant/therapist. Yes, it is with "Wisdom of All" that we as caretakers of children are to be guided.

Wisdom Of All

Oh how the mind conceives the thought
With restlessness your heart is wrought
For there is a just and kingly goal
Distant yet touching your crying soul
Be burdened not by task and deed
Lest you be lost to the greater creed
Inspired by self and the knowing within
Shall you pass the haunt, the doom of the din
Listen dear child to thy self sovereign and wise
Heed not to temptation, deception and lies
For it is the tear of joy that you shall weep
When the Promise you vow, you do keep
And when you reach and court the dream
With God's love stand thou supreme
Deception takes not your abiding soul
You have reached a kingly goal
As many may doubt and may berate
You shall prevail for love is thy fate
Guide the children, know their call
With God's tender love and wisdom of all.

Rose Marie Raccioppi

We as parents, as educators, as coaches, as family, as neighbors and friends, are to appreciate our own perceptions, beliefs, orientations and practices as they may impact upon the learning growing child. We are to be aware of and sensitive to the myriad of needs of the learning child, as too, aware of our own needs and aspirations. To have the opportunity to reunite with my 5th graders of 1963, is to have care, friendship, love, and the meaning of teaching defined as ONE.

I invite you to view a slide show put together by one of the students 'all grown up.' Feel the delight and share in the smiles... just a click away...

Our 5th Grade Class Reunion - October 9, 2011 Slideshow & Video | TripAdvisor™

and so the intent and goal of
The APOGEE Achiever™ Program...

With autonomy, mastery, and purpose
creative, caring, free thinkers
and doers are developed.

All inquiries are welcomed. All posts will receive a response.
.
The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~ Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:
http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

•Learning styles honored and supported•
•Readiness experiences provided•
•Task analysis applied•
•Student interests as motivators•
•The Whole Brain approach to study and mastery•

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663

1-866-ACU-TONE

For information on Qualifications and Experience:
Rose Marie Raccioppi | LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-marie-raccioppi/20/509/293

A Bouquet for the Teacher - 48 years later...

1963 ~1983~2011

October 9, 2011 was indeed a marked CELEBRATION of time and the gifts of friendship. It also marked the anniversary of October 9, 1983, when "Rose Marie Raccioppi Day" was proclaimed by the Rockland County Legislature, in honor of my community service and leadership on behalf of children with special needs. Through the initiative of George Nardone, indeed, an outstanding 5th grade student of 1963, and the connections made via FB, a Class Reunion was put into place. Here I am in my kitchen unwrapping the beautiful bouquet presented to me. A happy happy camper am I!! Held within every fiber of my BEING are the SMILES shared on this most most beautiful day. YES, Life is Good and time is a gift!

The many smiles and memories shared this day have come to validate each of my long held perspectives of what is of value that a teacher brings to her students. Here 48 years after their 5th grade placement at PS 106, Bronx, New York, they gathered at my home to share in a Class Reunion of Joy. Yes, remembered was a particular lesson, a particular event, a particular day, a particular impression, but most importantly they remembered the respect I held for each of them, the faith I had in their abilities and potentialities, the personal touch in response to their interests and needs. As each in their own special way, expressed their 'impressions' of me as their 5th grade teacher, tearful joy was brought to heart.

I invite you to view a slide show put together by one of the students 'all grown up.' Feel the delight and share in the smiles... just a click away...

Our 5th Grade Class Reunion - October 9, 2011 Slideshow & Video | TripAdvisor™

and so the intent and goal of
The APOGEE Achiever™ Program...

With autonomy, mastery, and purpose
creative, caring, free thinkers
and doers are developed.

All inquiries are welcomed. All posts will receive a response.
.

The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~ Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:
http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

•Learning styles honored and supported•
•Readiness experiences provided•
•Task analysis applied•
•Student interests as motivators•
•The Whole Brain approach to study and mastery•

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663

1-866-ACU-TONE

For information on Qualifications and Experience:
Rose Marie Raccioppi | LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-marie-raccioppi/20/509/293

A Shared Perspective... A Defined Paradigm... Teaching Students to Think in a Rapidly Expanding Universe...

South Orangetown Central School District

Dr. Ken Mitchell, Superintendent

Earlier this month, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to a trio of American astronomers who have discovered through the tracking of distant supernovae that the universe is expanding at a faster rate than previously believed. This is not unlike the amount of curriculum content that New York and other states are expecting our students to learn. Since the 1950’s there has been a continual expansion of content requirements within each curriculum and across all content areas, yet the amount of time that we spend in school has remained essentially the same.

In spite of this discrepancy, our students have kept pace with teachers helping them to discern what is essential and what might be tested. This coincides with the fact that more students than ever are attending school and for a longer period of time. Prior to the 1960’s students of diverse backgrounds, English language learners, and students living in poverty, in spite of what some people might remember, did not populate the halls of the American high school to the extent to which they do today. Even with a homogeneous student body, the graduation rate was only around 50%. A small percentage of these graduates went on to college with less than a quarter of them graduating with a degree.

Today, we hear that our students need to be “college and career ready” so that America can be globally competitive. This readiness must happen in spite of the fact that the organizational architecture of the public school has not changed, the curriculum continues to expand, and the population that attends school presents more challenges than ever before. Of course, there will be more tests in this era of accountability that will take a different form and be based on national Common Core Standards.

In South Orangetown, we have an aligned curriculum and use assessment, not merely as a tool to determine grades, but as a mechanism to determine how well students have learned content or acquired skills. With that information, we adjust our lessons accordingly, although this often becomes difficult to do when teachers feel pressured to cover the content of a rapidly expanding curriculum.

We have accepted the reality that not all curriculum content can be “covered” well. Yes, it can be disseminated, but there is a good chance that it will be forgotten shortly after the assessment as the brain tends to dump data that it no longer considers useful or for which there has been neither meaningful engagement nor emotional connections. The brain is efficient, unlike those who mandate additions to the curriculum.

To help embed learning by making it more meaningful, district instructors have been encouraged to employ approaches that require students to use information or skills that we teach or to which we provide access to think both critically and creatively to solve problems. In some cases, we present a problem and ask them to find solutions – a task that will undoubtedly be asked of them as they venture to college or in a career.

Gone are the days when American workers are paid well to perform routine tasks that require little independent thinking. Machines, robots, computers, and cheap offshore labor have provided leaders of the free market with greater opportunities for profit without paying high wages and benefits to American workers. This reality has changed our world and economy.

Recently, parents contacted me indicating that their child would learn better in an instructional environment in which there were direct transactions between the teacher and his students – a straightforward dissemination of information – and the students and the teacher – demonstration of content retention on a test. In the experiences and mental models of these parents and many adults of previous generations, this is how school is supposed to work. In such a model, there is control, predictability, certainty, and a clear cause and effect.

This instructional model no longer works in a world in which there has been an explosion of information with immediate access to it. This instructional model no longer works in an information age in which knowledge workers are required to solve problems, create alternatives, understand the complexity of systems, and perform a host of critical thinking processes while technology transforms our society and workplace at an unprecedented rate.

If we want our children to be prepared for a complex future that will likely be packed with more information than ever in our rapidly expanding universe, then we need to require them to become independent thinkers who will have the skills and capacity to manage vast volumes of information with critical and creative thinking. This will require an acceptance and understanding that there is too much information for anyone to absorb and retain, and even if one had the capacity to do so, what good would it be if there was no independent ability to use it in a productive way?

and so the intent and goal of
The APOGEE Achiever™ Program...

With autonomy, mastery, and purpose
creative, caring, free thinkers
and doers are developed.

All inquiries are welcomed. All posts will receive a response.
.

The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~ Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •

For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:
http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

•Learning styles honored and supported•
•Readiness experiences provided•
•Task analysis applied•
•Student interests as motivators•
•The Whole Brain approach to study and mastery•

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663

1-866-ACU-TONE

For information on Qualifications and Experience:
Rose Marie Raccioppi | LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-marie-raccioppi/20/509/293

Building Mindfulness ... children and the NOW...

Building the Mindfulness Toolbox
by kiwilog

Ulcers. Migraines. Panic attacks. Are today’s pressures slowly killing our children?

Tara Parker-Pope, in her New York Times “Well” column, recently profiled the phenomenon of “back-to-school” headaches.

“For kids around the country it’s back-to-school time. But for many of them, it’s also the return of headache season,” laments Parker-Pope.

While going back to school is nerve-racking for many kids (and their parents), it’s not the only time of year I hear complaints about headaches and stomachaches severe enough to cause families to bring their kids in to see me. Every day in my practice, I see at least one child suffering from physical symptoms of stress. Teens with chronic headaches, eight year-olds with recurrent abdominal pain, a three year-old with a bleeding ulcer. What’s going on?

Some have blamed our society’s new obsession with over-scheduling young ones. Judith Warner’s treatise on turbo-charged moms, “Perfect Madness,” takes parents to task for pushing their children too hard as a side-effect of martyred motherhood. School and travel sports teams have year-long seasons now, kids are booked several weeks ahead for play-dates, and kindergarteners have homework every night. While we work on addressing these societal ills – see my piece last month on the value of “free play” – we’ve got to find ways to help our kids build their virtual toolbox of mind-body skills to help them cope with life’s worries.

A few of my favorite mind-body relaxation therapies for kids? One of the most promising and appealing modalities is Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction, developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Jon and his wife Myla have also published a wonderful book to teach parents how to work with their kids from this perspective: “Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting.” Yoga, guided imagery, biofeedback, music therapy – these too have solid evidence supporting their use in the pediatric population to help children cope with stress. Another favorite resource is Dr. Amy Saltzman’s CD, “Still Quiet Place.” Amy does a wonderful job creating a variety of mind-body experiences for children and families, and the recording is a terrific tool to engage youngsters in the practice of mindfulness.

One of my favorite ways to bring the concept of mindfulness into my kids’ lives has been through reading stories. Since they were very young, my children have loved listening to stories we tell them about “the old days.” Though they’re getting older now, we still try and make time to read stories together before bed. There is magic in telling and listening to stories.

Hans Christian Andersen, the bard of Copenhagen, was immortalized as a master storyteller, played by Danny Kaye, in my wife’s favorite movie of all time. I’d like to think we’ve all been mesmerized from time to time by storytellers. Stories are a way many of us pass on tales of our past, our culture, and moral lessons to our children. Native American storytelling, an integral part of American history, teaches children about the ways we interact with nature and about the importance of ancient wisdom. There are modern-day storytellers as well. Jim Weiss is one – I heard him a few years ago at a children’s health fair; he had the kids in the palm of his hand after two minutes. I also had the privilege of meeting Vered Hankin at an integrative pediatrics conference. If you think there’s no one around today weaving tales “like they used to” – you’ve got to listen to Vered’s work. Her stories come alive – they’re almost 3D. The power to me is the hypnotizing transportation to other places. This is truly mind-body therapy. And it is a very useful tool to help young children (and us old kids too!) cope with stress.

And what better way to help our children learn about mindfulness than through stories? Not just via the act of storytelling and listening but through the telling of specific stories that weave in messages about mindfulness. Jon Muth’s “Zen Shorts“ is one of my all-time favorites. On the surface, the author introduces three contemporary Western children to a decidedly-Buddhist giant panda, Stillwater, but along the way, he gracefully weaves in three Zen philosophy tales. My personal favorite (though not my kids, of course!) is about letting go. Karl, the youngest child, goes to visit Stillwater, but he’s quite mad at his older brother, Michael. Karl spends the day being mad at Michael, as Stillwater tries to educate him about enjoying the moment and releasing his anger. The parable Stillwater shares with Karl to illustrate the point goes something like this:

Two monks are walking along a country path. They soon are met by a caravan, a group of attendants carrying their wealthy and not-so-kindly mistress and her possessions. They come to a muddy river, and cannot cross with both mistress and packages – they must put one down and cannot figure out how to do so. So the elder monk volunteers to carry the woman across the river, on his back, allowing the attendants to carry her things, and then all can go on their way. The woman does not thank him, and rudely pushes him aside to get back to her caravan. After traveling some way on their own, the younger monk turns to his master, and says, “I cannot believe that old woman! You kindly carried her across the muddy river, on your very own back, and not only did she not offer thanks, but she actually was quite rude to you!” The master calmly and quietly turned to his student, and offered this observation: “I put the women down some time ago. Why are you still carrying her?”

The story resonated with me as I read it, and both kids asked many questions about the literal events and about their meaning. We spoke about different religions – Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism. They understood at a basic level the similarities and differences – though they interestingly both focused on the similarities. But it was the very nature of questioning that struck me as so apropos. I was reminded of a verse (15) from the Tao Te Ching:

Do you have the patience to wait

till your mud settles and the water is clear?

Can you remain unmoving

till the right action arises by itself?

This concept of mindfulness, of being in the present, is so important to both children and adults. I think children mainly do live in the moment. Both the past and future are strange concepts until they age a bit. Perhaps we should learn to keep more of this “now” with us as we age. It would serve us all well.

-KIWI columnist, Dr. Lawrence Rosen

In full accord with the NOW
the intent and goal of
The APOGEE Achiever™ Program...

All inquiries are welcomed. All posts will receive a response.

The APOGEE Achiever Program™
The Academics and the Arts
~ Soar To Success ~

•Individualized Subject Tutoring•
•Study Skills and Mastery Strategies•
•All Learning Styles•
~Reading~
~Mathematics~
~Writing~
~Organization~
~Communication Skills~
~Assignment Management~
~Stress Management~
~ Acu-Tone™ Sound Therapy~
~Relaxation, Breathing, Attention and Focusing Exercises~
~Achievement Goals~
~All Ages ~ All Grades ~ All Subjects~
~PSAT~ SAT ~ All Test Preparation~
~Coaching~
~Family Therapy~

• Inquiries welcomed •
• Call or post •
• All Questions Answered •


For more information on services
provided for all learning needs:

http://www.apogeelearning.com
http://www.acu-tone.com

APOGEE Learning ~ A Whole Child Paradigm

•Learning styles honored and supported•
•Readiness experiences provided•
•Task analysis applied•
•Student interests as motivators•
•The Whole Brain approach to study and mastery•

Inquiries Welcomed
Call for your FREE Introductory Consultation.
845-359-9056
toll free: 1-866-228-8663

1-866-ACU-TONE

For information on Qualifications and Experience:
Rose Marie Raccioppi | LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/pub/rose-marie-raccioppi/20/509/293