 | | Tom signing recall petition? |
WISDOM FROM THE PREVIOUS GREAT DEPRESSION
Now that Buddy Burke has removed his hat from politics, could it be that Tom Black is running for Congress? This was the buzz amongst some after hearing his Thought for the Day, a quotation from Will Rogers, to wit: "This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.
GUESTS
Rotarians:
Frank Darling, Orinda Club president
Alicia Cragholm, Lafayette Club, among others
Others:
Sharon Kendall, supporting Jim on his Big Day
Mariam Worsham, supporting Chuck on any day
Maggie Kurimai, spouses are taking over
Carol Chaffey, spouses have taken over
Ian Kidd, veterinarian from Moraga
OCCASIONS BIG AND SMALL
 | | Almost perfect Brad. Welcome Jim! |
Biggest occasion was getting Jim Kendall on board. Jim went through his induction courtesy of Brad Davis, who informed him of his 1.2 million new cohorts (accurate) and the 24,000 clubs in the world (short by only 8,000). Jim was introduced to us via Motorama (thanks to Dennis Kurimai), so by golly, some things work some of the time. He was told we live by the Four-Way Test, was given his Red Badge of Courage, and was stabbed with his membership pin. He and spouse Sharon then went through at least 50 high-fives. Jim's electronics expertise may be useful in combating the Curse Of Lamorinda Sunrise (see technology-beleaguered Mark Roberts for details). He'd best memorize said Four-Way Test, and also his date of induction which all presidents have a nasty habit of springing on members years later.
David and Laura Waal had such a big occasion that they were not to be seen at the meeting. On their 25th anniversary, they were remarried by Admiral Alex Arnold on a dock. Is marrying couples among the vast powers held by LSR laureates?
Walter Nelson had a double occasion. Two weeks before his real b'day, as a result of a slight miscalculation by Kathe and their granddaughter, he was taken out to celebrate with cupcakes. (Cupcakes?) A fortnight hence he innocently came home to find the car all packed, and was whisked off to Lake Tahoe for dinner.
And then there was Al Sevilla. When reminded he had celebrated Cindy's birthday he enthused, "Oh." When asked what he did, the answer was that they had dinner at home and he washed the dishes. What a guy, role model for husbands everywhere.
IS THERE ANYWHERE QUEEN CAROL HASN'T BEEN?
 | | Carol does it all |
There are those who have advocated distributing our dictionaries where needed outside Lamorinda. Carol Chaffey certainly took this to heart. She tripped over to Zambia where the group (including four from District 5160) went with the local Rotary club and a Department of Education liaison to 30 schools. The need was certainly there, as there was no electricity, windows destroyed, no materials, one chalkboard, and 50 to 60 kids squeezed into the classroom. Some lucky kids got dictionaries with labels lovingly affixed by Bob Reigg. Carol also took a suitcase full of LN-4 hands.
In contract [CONTRAST?] to the schools, she stayed at a beautiful hotel five minutes from Victoria Falls. Of her multifarious journeys, this clearly ranks high on the satisfaction list.
PROJECTS CLOSER TO HOME
ONLY TWO WEEKS to get 'em, stuff 'em, and deliver 'em to Brad Davis. These are backpacks for kids at the Garden Park Apartments. They should be stuffed with all items on one of the lists: preschool, grade school, or high school. If you're missing any details, contact Brad.
ONLY TWO DAYS (already past) to drop your unneeded/too-small/too large? suits off at Krysten Laine's Urban Suburban, 3328-C Mt. Diablo Blvd., behind Big O Tires. These are being collected far and wide by Men's Wearhouse to give to "at-risk" men.
 | | HOME Team paints too! |
THIS ONE'S ALREADY DONE - Painting the exterior of the house next door donated to Las Trampas School. Hays Englehart announced that the work started at 8:00 Saturday morning and was completed by 2:00. He modestly left out the fact that he was a terror with the fantastic airless paint sprayer courtesy of Gillett Johnson. This cut the time to do the eaves and related areas by perhaps 90 percent. Of course, he couldn't have done it without his clueless assistant who was taught to respond to the commands "Hose!" and "Board!" (for cutting in the edging). Other wannabe helpers were Alex Arnold (truly a man of the people), Buddy Burke, David Waal, Ryan Waal, Gillett Johnson, Tessa Johnson, Brad Davis, Mark Roberts and Paul Fillinger. Also, David Isenberg prepared an elegant repast. Being Rotarians, let's be honest: How many would have shown up without that incentive? Yes, rhetorical question.
LITERACY IS A GOOD THING
So thinks Rotary International. And for sure, so thinks Mike Wood, our speaker who has made it his life work.
 | | Mike is a game changer |
Mike actually left a prior life, and the ultimate prestige of being an attorney with Skip McCowan circa 2004. He didn't exactly leave the business world altogether. Rather, he founded a little company called LeapFrog Enterprises. This idea originated when he was trying to get his son to read. He ultimately moved on to create his newest company, SmartyAnts.
He certainly became involved with the best people. Namely, our member Jim Margraff, who Mike called a "gamechanger". However, Mike called Jim only the second-smartest person in the world. The smartest is Jim's son Blake, and we all know about his recent amazing feats.
Helpful in getting Mike started were the online Kahn tutorials, originated by a hedge fund manager from MIT who started teaching a friend's daughter on Skype. This grew until there are now 2,400 tutorials. Bill Gates, among others, said it was a good day when Mrs. Kahn let him quit his job.
Mike noted the consequences of having too many kids who really can't read. The average reading level of men in prison is about fourth grade. By the end of first grade, 20 percent of schoolchildren can read little or none due to factors such as dyslexia, English being a second language and/or cultural. Sixty percent read competently enough to handle text necessary for basic living. Twenty percent are "hard-wired," and generally become good to excellent readers. But with proper support, avers Mike, nearly everyone can gain proficiency as a reader.
This support can be given by means of stimulating games which are fun and build confidence. Successful students end up having a passion for reading.
Instruction is phonics-based. Videos are interactive, with the student ending up building books. Letters are the basic building blocks, gradually combined with increased complexity and augmented with punctuation, but with sounds being emphasized. There are many skill levels, and awards are liberally (but virtually) bestowed.
Most program purchasers are teachers. Phonics is now almost universally recognized as the preferred approach.
 | | Over achieving kids is a good thing! |
The first international buyer was a Korean company, which bought the games to learn English. This company arranged to teach 200,000 kids in apartment buildings designated for said purpose. They had a problem, and a "nice" one it was. The anticipated course time was three years, but the kids were graduating in six months. And so, a second-grade curriculum was added.
Mike showed onscreen and narrated a dynamic summary of this method of teaching literacy. Trying to recite all the steps here would be dry as dust. Much better to go to www.SmartyAnts.com and check out the two-week free trial. (Warning: it's a huge file, taking an hour or so to download,
It is to be hoped that Rotary and Mike can work something out whereby their combined talents and resources expedite the spreading of literacy around the globe. Worth a spin, wouldn't you agree?
| 
