How to Take Control of Your Life

I grew up with the space program. My father worked for North American Aviation, which broke the sound barrier. They became Rocketdyne and sent men into space. Eventually, with another name change, they put men on the moon. It was no surprise then I became a candidate for NASA’s Teacher in Space Program.

The application was grueling. Out of 50,000 teachers who requested one, only 10,000 were returned. Mine was one of them. One task I had to complete before doing so was to acquire three letters of recommendation. I received one from my school principal, the city manager where I lived (and was a civic leader), and one from my school superintendent.

I’ll never forget the lesson I learned when I went to pick up my letter from my superintendent. His letter was glorious, but it was what he said to me that made a significant difference in my life.

He said I was doing way too much. I was very active at my school, in my school district, my home and my city. He thought I was participating in some activities I didn’t even care about. He was right. I was often appointed to tasks and committees and given responsibilities that were of no interest to me.

He told me to just say NO. I had heard that before. I had seen the message on billboards. But I never thought I had permission to use the word. He told me to say No to every request, unless it was something I loved doing. I explained some of the “requests” were from my boss. He said it didn’t matter. Find a way. Use the word.

I was lucky to hear this, but in an odd coincidence, later that week I was conducting a lesson on three French verbs, vouloir, pouvoir and devoir. The text gave a simple example of how these verbs can be used. It translates to, “I would love to, but, I’m sorry, I can’t, I have to…” This phrase has saved me lots of energy, exasperation and arguments.

I began to use it, still do. But I also taught it to friends and students. It’s a way to excuse yourself from anything you wish to avoid without causing animosity in others. I now do only what fits my personal goals and say no to the rest. I didn’t go into space, but attempting to do so provided advice I have benefitted from for decades.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE. It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

Photo Credit: Google Images

Valuable Advice from My School Superintendent

I grew up with the space program. My father worked for North American Aviation, which broke the sound barrier. They became Rocketdyne and sent men into space. Eventually, with another name change, they put men on the moon. It was no surprise then I became a candidate for NASA’s Teacher in Space Program.

The application was grueling. Out of 50,000 teachers who requested one, only 10,000 were returned. Mine was one of them. One task I had to complete before doing so was to acquire three letters of recommendation. I received one from my school principal, the city manager where I lived (and was a civic leader), and one from my school superintendent.

I’ll never forget the lesson I learned when I went to pick up my letter from my superintendent. His letter was glorious, but it was what he said to me that has made a significant difference in my life.

He said I was doing way too much. I was very active at my school, in my school district, my home and my city. He thought I was participating in some activities I didn’t even care about. He was right. I was often appointed to tasks and committees and given responsibilities that were of no interest to me.

He told me to just say NO. I had heard that before. I had seen the message on billboards. But I never thought I had permission to use the word. He told me to say No to every request, unless it was something I loved doing. I explained some of the “requests” were from my boss. He said it didn’t matter. Find a way. Use the word.

I was lucky to hear this, but in an odd coincidence, later that week I was doing a lesson on three French verbs, vouloir, pouvoir and devoir. The text gave a simple example of how these verbs can be used. It translates to, “I would love to, but, I’m sorry, I can’t, I have to …” This phrase has saved me lots of energy, exasperation and arguments.

I began to use it, still do. But I also taught it to friends and students. It’s a way to excuse yourself from anything you wish to avoid without causing animosity in others. I now do only what fits my personal goals and say no to the rest. I didn’t go into space, but attempting to do so provided advice I have benefitted from for decades.


For more information, you'll want my new book, Free College Awareness, coming soon from Griffin Publishing and Watering Seeds. It shows how to avoid needing college loans; available soon to families of Pre-K through High School students.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com

Photo Credit: Google Images

Budget Time and Reduce Stress

Teachers are usually very organized. They have to be in order to do the job. At home, they may budget their finances, but frequently fail to budget their time. They allow their teaching workload to fill all waking hours. There is no work life balance. In order to keep this from happening to me, I learned a simple way to budget my time.

Each year, I purchased a lesson plan book from a teacher supply store. I then laid out a plan for the year. I didn’t go into detail, but did organize the work I needed to cover in the months allotted. I wrote in holidays and state or district mandated testing. I also recorded the dates I intended to give major unit tests throughout the year.

Each Thursday during the school year, I created my detailed lesson plans for the coming week. I did this for each subject I taught (being a foreign language teacher, there were often several). Once technology and the school district where I worked gave us a website to use as a tool, I also began listing homework assignments on my website on Thursday. 

This allowed students the flexibility to do homework according to their busy schedules. It also removed the excuse of “forgetting” to write it down. The amount and quality of homework being completed increased. This reduced stress for all of us.

Doing my planning on Thursdays, not only helped my students, but freed up time for me on the weekend. The only thing I took home Fridays was essays. I graded them Sunday, in the early evening. The rest of the weekend was mine. Budget time wisely to avoid burn out.

You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com

Photo Credit: Google Images

Lower Stress, Higher Grades = More Scholarship $, Pt. 3

Stress is really tough on learning and memory. If students are able to reduce stress, they may end up with higher grades and more scholarship money for college. There are three simple things which students can do to reduce stress in their lives.

The third activity which helps is laughter. We’ve all heard proverbs and sayings about the benefits of laughing. They’re all true. It is the best medicine, and it does soothe the savage beast. Best of all, it not only reduces stress, it’s fun.

There are several places to find laughter. My favorite author is Janet Evanovich. I love her books, but I can’t read them in public. I laugh out loud and people look at me funny. My favorite comedian is Robin Williams (miss him desperately). An example of his comic genius is when he appeared on Inside the Actor’s Studio. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U48KpK1srx4

I also used Whose Line is it Anyway as an anecdote to work related stress. I recorded all of their episodes and watched them whenever I experienced a tough day. On the worst days, I watched three in a row, laughed out loud and relieved my stress.

A student introduced me to Rémi Gaillard’s YouTube videos. He's a comic genius of a different sort. Watch “The Spider” with a friend and be prepared to laugh so hard your sides hurt. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zpwZt7uMIPU.

These are mine. Find yours. Use them to relieve stress, improve grades and receive more free cash for college.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.

Image Credit: Google Images

Lower Stress, Higher Grades = More Scholarship $, Pt. 2

Stress trashes learning and memory. If stress is reduced, students may end up with higher grades and more scholarship money for college. There are three simple things which students can do to reduce the stress in their lives.

This is the second tip. Students can exercise at least thirty minutes every day. According to experts, the easiest and best way to exercise is to walk. It’s silly that we have to be told to walk. It’s a natural thing to do, but with all the modern conveniences we enjoy, walking isn’t as necessary as it used to be.

In order to reduce stress and improve grades (and increase the possibility of more free cash for college), students should build walking into their daily routines. When I was teaching, I still found time (scratch that…I made time) to walk. I decided to start my commute early and walk the halls for ten minutes every morning before class started.

Students can accomplish the same thing by walking to school. If this isn’t feasible, they can be dropped off ten minutes away from campus, and walk the remainder of the route. During my lunch break, I walked the halls another ten minutes. Students can get exercise by taking a P.E. class instead (or they too could walk during the lunch break).

After school, students can walk the entire route home, be dropped off ten minutes away from home, or take a ten minute walk before or after dinner. Adding this to walking before and during school hours, this will add up to walking thirty minutes each day.

If students are not enrolled in P.E., or do not participate in sports or dance, they can pick up an inexpensive pair of free weights or ankle weights and work out for twenty minutes or so three times each week. Weight training in addition to cardio (walking) is great for stress reduction and health.

Physical activity is a simple way for students to reduce stress, increase their GPA and increase the chance of earning more free cash for college.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.

Image Credit: Elizabeth Wallace

Lower Stress, Higher Grades = More Scholarship $, Pt. 1

Lower stress has been proven to improve learning and memory. Decreasing stress, therefore, may lead to higher grades and more scholarship money for college. There are three simple things which students can do to reduce the stress in their lives.

The first strategy is to meditate at least five minutes twice a day. This is easier than you may think. Pick two convenient times during the day. For me, it’s usually late in the morning and early in the evening. I sit in a comfortable position on the floor and let my mind go blank. Okay, that’s not so easy. I know there are millions of people who can do this. I can’t. So I found three other ways to accomplish the same thing.

1.   I focus on a pleasant memory. I lived in Cape Town, South Africa several years ago. One day, I sat on the beach at Camps Bay and just watched as the waves crashed against big dark rocks in the water. When I want to meditate, I go back to that time and place in my memory and relive the relaxation. Everything else drains from my mind. That’s meditation.

2.   I focus on something physical. I do this while walking in my neighborhood. The sidewalks are uneven, so I have to look at them in order to avoid tripping. I feel the breeze on my face and the warmth of the sun on my body, while concentrating on the pavement. Everything else drains from my mind. That’s meditation too.

  

3.   I focus on the colors as I fill in a lovely design in an adult coloring book. I sit in a comfortable chair at the dining room table, and color. There are no distractions, nothing to “figure out” or problems to solve. I feel the pencil as it moves back and forth and watch the design come to life. Everything else drains from my mind. That is also meditation.

I’m sure all students as well as their parents and teachers could use a little break from stress. Everyone can find something that doesn't require mental gymnastics, is pleasant and creates a sense of mindfulness. Meditating five minutes (or more if you prefer) twice a day is enough to make a positive difference, help grades improve and could result in more free cash for college.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.

Image Credit: google Images