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

Improved Reading is a Guarantee!

• All Inquiries Welcomed •
• All Questions Answered •
http://www.2learnnow.com

Steve Jobs and the 7 Rules of Success

Steve Jobs and the 7 Rules of Success

By Carmine Gallo | Entrepreneur
Fri, Oct 14, 2011 2:36 PM EDT

Steve Jobs' impact on your life cannot be underestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect -- computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach, I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire. For entrepreneurs, Jobs' greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his success.

Over the years, I've become a student of sorts of Jobs' career and life. Here's my take on the rules and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our "inner Steve Jobs."

1. Do what you love. Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.

2. Put a dent in the universe. Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.

3. Make connections. Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.

4. Say no to 1,000 things. Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on each product. What are you saying "no" to?

5. Create insanely different experiences. Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?

6. Master the message. You can have the greatest idea in the world, but if you can't communicate your ideas, it doesn't matter. Jobs was the world's greatest corporate storyteller. Instead of simply delivering a presentation like most people do, he informed, he educated, he inspired and he entertained, all in one presentation.

7. Sell dreams, not products. Jobs captured our imagination because he really understood his customer. He knew that tablets would not capture our imaginations if they were too complicated. The result? One button on the front of an iPad. It's so simple, a 2-year-old can use it. Your customers don't care about your product. They care about themselves, their hopes, their ambitions. Jobs taught us that if you help your customers reach their dreams, you'll win them over.

There's one story that I think sums up Jobs' career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? Dream bigger. I think that's the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas.

Carmine Gallo is a communications coach, a popular keynote speaker and author of several books including The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs and The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs. His latest is The Power of Foursquare (McGraw-Hill, 2011).


Read more at Entrepreneur.com:

10 Things to Thank Steve Jobs For

Remembering Apple's Steve Jobs

Why Entrepreneurs Love Steve Jobs

Allowing success to beget success...

These are the same principles that apply to creating a masterful learner...
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

Steve Jobs' 2005 Stanford Commencement Address

Apple 1 at the Smithsonian

Steve Jobs

His vision, his leadership, his standards of excellence, his many inspired words shared and the love he has made known, shall ever mark a period of history and innovation.

My first APPLE was purchased in 1979... followed by each of the updates over the years... and each an absolute pleasure... THANK YOU STEVE!!!

His brilliance unmatched... his spirit to prevail... loved, respected, admired, and so very missed he shall be. His words...his story...his gifts unto us...Thank you STEVE JOBS... yours is a message we are to heed... blessings and peace from my heart to your prevailing SPIRIT.

In admiration and gratitude,

Rose Marie Raccioppi

An Added Word...

In 1983 APOGEE Learning Enhancement Training Systems™ was founded, inspired by the innovation and creativity that Steve Jobs brought to the world of education. The first word processing program I had the pleasure of using and training others to use was "The Bank Street Writer," developed for APPLE for the young student. From this technology I developed an innovative multi-sensory approach to teaching of reading and spelling to the dyslexic student. As an educator, the friendliness of an APPLE has been welcomed indeed!!

And another has shared her tribute...

♥ Tribute to Steve Jobs- a Beautiful Legend ♥

Time and again humanity has been gifted many great authentic heroes, legends and warriors. Myriad rays of Hope, beacons of Light- spanning all boundaries of Space and Time. I am honored and grateful to be Here, at the time our Universe was gifted to experience the Breathing Passion of Steve Jobs amongst us, a rare Intuitive genius.Steve Jobs has not only innovated, inspired, motivated and created history in the world of technology, but also touched the Hearts and Souls of millions of not-so-technological Beings as myself. I discovered his celebration of embracing our natural eccentric sides via his bold conviction of letting go of the conventional obligation to "fit in" to the status quo, at a phase in my metamorphosis needing to hear this message absolutely relevantly. At a time when the majority in my vicinity kept reminding me every single day, to give up my Heart’s calling and settle for the comfortable status quo, I felt Home on receiving this revelation.

♥ "Here's to the Crazy Ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify, or vilify them. About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world - are the ones who DO!" ♥


I am humbly grateful Steve Job proved to us through his Journey how vital it is to follow our heart and intuition. How profoundly our Heart beats to manifest our innate passions.


♥ “Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.” ♥

Steve Jobs was a modern day Genius. Some considered him the Leonardo da Vinci of this era while some of us saw him with reverence as a prophet who eminently walked the talk focusing on spreading ripples of Light via intuitive innovation rather than waste precious Breaths complaining about any prevalent darkness. Steve Jobs will be remembered as revolutionizing communication via his own unique evolution. He paved the way for millions to connect with each other across the globe literally a touch away.


I believe, this moment Steve Jobs has physically bid us farewell, is profoundly relevant than any other epoch in history. The time when most of our race dissipate energy complaining and blaming each other of the injustice, unfairness and various imbalances, Steve Jobs’ graceful unfolding is a powerful role model as to how there is always space and pathways for refinement beginning with our Self and allowing the ripples to touch the lives of millions outwards.


Dear Respected Steve Jobs,

May you Rest in Peace with a Smile
O' Role model of Eccentric Mavericks
We admire and salute you in gratitude
a True authentic legend, a Peaceful Warrior
You literally changed our world for the better
You will indeed be remembered many centuries
unfolding from Here and Now, please remember
We appreciate you, within our Hearts you Live On...


~Dr. Dheena Sadik ♥

Here's to the crazy ones: Tribute to Steve Jobs. [VIDEO]
http://www.wimp.com/stevejobs/

And yet another word...

Steve Job’s Lessons for Caregivers
posted by AgingCare.com
Oct 11, 2011

Anne-Marie Botek, AgingCare.com

What can a caregiver learn from a commencement speech?

Particularly when that speech was delivered by a technology icon to thousands of young adults, graduating from one of the world’s most celebrated institutions of higher education.

The obvious answer may seem to be “nothing.”

After all, the majority of caregivers are many years removed from their last graduation. Life has the unfortunate ability to dull the messages of hope and promise infused in commencement speeches. As time passes, life’s inevitable losses add up, and youthful optimism gives way under the daunting assault of reality.

If You Knew Then What You Know Now

But, the recent death of Steve Jobs, co-founder and former CEO of Apple, has caused many to recall the powerful messages contained in his 2005 address to a group of Stanford graduates—messages which transcend age brackets and demographics, aiming at the essence of human existence.

Even people caring for an elderly loved one can benefit from being reminded of some of these lessons—even though they came from the mouth of a man barely old enough to join AARP.

In his address, Jobs discusses three main concepts of great import to recent college graduates; death, love and loss, and the connectedness of life.


Now, trying to educate a caregiver about love, loss, and death would be insultingly presumptuous to say the least. If you’re caring for an elderly person, then you are already intimately familiar with the fragility of life and the crushing reality of loss.
No, for a caregiver, the most relevant element of Jobs’ speech is undoubtedly his message about “connecting the dots.” During his address, Jobs discusses the winding, bramble-covered path that led him to his current position. In one of the most poignant statements of the entire address, he says, “you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.”

This point is as true for caregivers as it is for business moguls—maybe even more so.

They may not connect in the way you originally envisioned on your graduation day. Your picture may have awkward lines, painful smudges, and obvious eraser marks, but it is yours. Learning to appreciate that picture, despite its flaws, can be a freeing revelation for any caregiver.

Courtesy of Steve Jobs, A Caregiver’s Commencement Speech originally appeared on AgingCare.com


http://www.care2.com/greenliving/courtesy-of-steve-jobs-lessons-for-caregivers.html#ixzz1aaEnM6he

The Educator - The Poet - The Artist - The Sound Therapist - A Shared Paradigm - APOGEE Acu-Tone™

The meter, the harmony, the balance, indeed a guide for the poetic word, yet each term defines the very core of our well being. Sound is signaling. The thoughts we hold, the words we speak, the inner language we live, the vibrations we respond to, influence and bear upon our health, physically, emotionally, spiritually,

APOGEE Acu-Tone™ was first conceived when I was but seven years of age. I had the opportunity of hearing an orchestra 'tune up.' I thought upon observing and hearing the process, that we and our world was also in need of a 'tune up.' Exploration of sound and understanding its implication for health and well being, have been a life long journey. After decades of research and development, APOGEE Acu-Tone™ , a system of sound therapy, was introduced formally in 1983. It is based upon the principles of yoga science and acupuncture. Pure acoustic sound applications are placed onto meridian pathways acupuncture and cranium points. For the last 28 years those who have experienced an APOGEE Acu-Tone™ session, consistently report a deeply relaxed state of being, relief from pain, a feeling of renewed balance, a total sense of inner harmony, a peaceful interlude, and a most welcomed respite from stress.

APOGEE Acu-Tone™ has been particularly beneficial in bringing about readiness for learning, problem solving, and the willingness to move toward resolution of conflicts and relationship difficulties.

APOGEE Acu-Tone™ is particularly suitable for children where acupuncture may be counter indicated. The sound applications are totally safe, certainly noninvasive, and exceedingly effective. There are a number of delightful activities integrated with the sessions for children. Children respond most favorably.

For more information and related research:
http://www.apogeelearning.com/acutone/about.asp
http://www.apogeelearning.com/acutone/sound.html

An added word...

What does an educator, artist, poet, sound therapist, counselor, and consultant have in common? Hmmm... they all share the name Rose Marie Raccioppi. Life is most certainly GOOD! ... many paths to follow in this life's journey. After being challenged by the ravages of cancer 28 years ago, I gave myself permission to do it all... and here I am in well being and in total celebration of life's gifts. YES, our potentialities are ever present... we just have to learn how to allow them freedom. This pursuit of quest, this inner drive for understanding and expression, success and satisfaction, are what APOGEE Learning™ and all its related services and supports make real. For all who are willing to see, explore and develop their many potentialities, be it for individual, family or professional development APOGEE Learning™ is but a call away.

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•

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