Steven Barnes's Blog, page 43

What was your moment?

First, know what your outcome is. Then, WHY you want it. Only then start thinking of the “hows”, the “To Do” list.

 

It is important to grasp this when wondering what use art has.  Art is “Self” expression, a communication of the artist’s deep sense of humanity and reality.   The technical aspects are the “language” used to transfer that emotion.

 

I felt so isolated as a kid.  No male role model, dealing with racial preconceptions, and being a four-eyed, pot-bellied little geek created a lev...

My current workout program

My daily schedule has been pretty stable for a while, with occassional tweaks.  I thought I’d give a sample of my program, which prioritizes health over fitness.

 

(Note: I feel free to cut down or ramp up as I feel the urge)

Sunday: OFF Monday, Tues, Wed: Tai Chi/Morning Ritual, Gymnastic Lever for 60 seconds (working toward. Trust me–when I first got my chin-up tower, just hanging for 60 seconds was a challenge), Martial arts (forms/techniques from Silat, Kali, WAR, and Kenpo), the “Legend...

Five Minute Miracles

Again, here are the seven steps to be done every morning in the “Five Minute Achievement Check”

 

FOR FIVE TOTALLY POSITIVE MINUTES:

 

 

“Examine the work he or she is going to turn in the next morning. See that handwritten work is neat and has no misspellings.” “See that work done on a word processor has been spell-checked and proofread.” Question what is not clear to you, and have your child explain it to you until you are sure he or she understands it. “Hear memory work.” Check Ma...

Love yourself, understand others

There are “crazy” people who cannot communicate what scrambled motivations and perceptions motivate them. But I’ve not met a human being whose actions didn’t make sense once you understood their beliefs and values. Not one. Worked in an insane asylum and in advanced stress clinics, dealt with racists on both sides, sexists and religious bigots and bullies of all stripe, and not once did their behaviors fail to make sense.

Scrambled and tangled they might be, but people obey the same basic beh...

Got Five Minutes to help your child succeed?

If farm boy Luke Skywalker had gone to sleep in his bed and awakened flying an X-Wing attacking the Death Star, he would have been killed instantly.  Then entire movie “A New Hope”, then, is bridging the “gap” between where Luke began, and the major task he would be challenged with at the end.

 

He was challenged to step into a larger world: “Come with me, Luke…learn the ways of the Force”, traveled great distances, met new people who expanded his world, learned the power of the Force, how to...

Double Your Child’s Grades #7: Feedback Loop

#7:    “Now check the work received back from teachers.  If it has errors on it, turn the paper over and ask your child to rework the problems on its back until he or she gets the correct answers. Every error must be redone correctly the same day it is handed back.”

 

O.K.–so what are the basic lessons of these seven steps?

Create a totally positive learning environment. Focus for a small, short, intense period of time (five minutes) Determine what is true (what is to be done, what has been...

And A Little Child Shall Lead Them…

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Róisín Timmins O’Dea

 

Shared this note about her lovely daughter Saoirse Scott, the star of our short film “Danger Word” (slightly edited)

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“So ….i just read your post & thought I’d share this with you. I’m always proud of Saoirse and of course her siblings but she has recently given me reason to be extremely proud. ..  Yesterday Miss Saoirse Scott took a knee during the pledge of allegiance which led to a couple of other kids in her class to follow suit. Seems there were a couple of kid...

The Power of “Why”

Oh my God, I think I’m starting to understand “Common Core” math.   This is all connected with the “Five Minute” morning program.  Jason had a mild “Brain Fart” last night, and couldn’t do his homework. But…he got up early this morning, and jumped into it.  A little distraction (playing with the cat) but in a fine mood, and with a real urge to “do it himself.”

 

So he has a page of math problems.  One of them was:

 

98 X 1012

_______________  = ?

96 X 106

 

 

Please note: this is only interes...

Doubling Grades #5: Math

 

So…Jason was testy last night, even rude at times (a sort of mini-brainfart), but…finished his homework.  This morning, he was a little wary (he knew he was rude last night, and I promised him consequences) but I controlled my urge to throttle him, and was perfectly pleasant, focused on how great he did with the homework (!).

Here are the steps of Eugene Schwartz’s “Double Your Child’s Grades” Five-Minute program.  While maintaining a TOTALLY POSITIVE emotional state:

 

“Examine the work h...

I love it when someone can show me I’m wrong

I am blessed to know some seriously brilliant people, who see the world from different perspectives.  They keep me honest.   Dr. John La Tourrette is one of them.  An amazing martial artist, and NLP master (as well as other high level skills) he said I was using stealth techniques to manipulate minds (he put it less aggressively than that).   I replied that I’m not trying to change minds, and listed my five steps:

Love Yourself Love One other person Understand history without guilt, blame, o...