The Seminar Source Objectives:
· To encourage readers to offer seminars as part of their businesses.
· To increase awareness of ready-made seminars available..
· To provide tips on how to earn money giving seminars.
· To provide samples of available books and seminars you can use. Month/Year
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Greetings! This has been an unusually beautiful fall for us in the East, but our appreciation may have been tempered due to the past few weeks of financially stress-induced times. The uncertainty of the future causes discomfort among most of us. As money becomes harder and harder to get, there is one segment of the population which is even more disadvantaged--those who dropped out of school and can get only the lowliest paid positions, that is, if they can find a job.
In this week's Star Ledger, staff writers John Mooney and Kasi Addison wrote about high school dropouts. The lead read "Education leaders focus on dropouts."
Did you know that one in five New Jersey high school students drop out, with perhaps twice that number in urban districts? That equates to an estimated 19,000 students who drop out of school: $4.9 billion in lost life-time earnings, $258 million in annual health care costs, and others.
Alma Powell, who attended the event on dropouts, added a few more numbers: "Every 26 seconds, a young person drops out of school, 70,000 of them a year . . . Before the end of the day, 3,000 more students will have dropped out."
The article ended with Newark's new superintendent, Clifford Janey, saying "one of the biggest challenges will be finding the teachers to meet the new requirements, especially in math, science and special education."
Math and science are not the causes of high school dropouts!!
The problem, simply stated, is 50% OF OUR TEENAGE KIDS DROP OUT OF SCHOOL OR GRADUATE AS FUNCTIONAL ILLITERATES. (Superintendent Janey further states "Among the Newark graduates moving on to Essex Community College, 96 percent need to take remedial classes and only 20 percent receive their associate's degree.")
To remedy the dropout problem, educators must first find the causes of the problem!
Why do kids drop out??
- Do they have a learning disability, such as ADD, Dyslexia?
- Don't they care? If not, why not?
- How relevant is the material to those who may be fighting for survival on a daily basis?
- Do they have poor role models at home - single parent family, poverty, drugs??
- Do they hate their teachers? If so, why?
- Are they "picked on" or bullied by their peers?
- Are they "different"?
- Do they just hate coming to school? If so, why?
These are the questions that have to be answered before any remedy is suggested.
If potential dropouts feel non-acceptance by their peers and/or teachers every day they walk into school, why would they want to come, especially when there is a gang ready, willing, and able to take them under their wings if they drop out?
If potential dropouts are truly unable to process some of their learning materials, and there is no one to help them, why would they want to continue coming to school? Who cares if they "get" algebra, chemistry, or English? Who cares if they can climb a rope? How are these things important in their lives?
They do care about constantly failing. Failing hurts! It doesn't feel good, especially if they believe it is beyond their ability to learn.
I worked with a young math teacher who had kids, if they got the answer wrong, tap their heads 10 times and repeat aloud the letters "T" "M" backwards. Try it: MT, MT, MT, MT, MT = EMPTY! I had freshman girls in my homeroom cry because they had this teacher first period and each had been a victim of his ridicule. How many potential dropouts did this teacher create?
Do I have a solution?? I do, and it does not relate to teaching expertise in math and science. It does have to do with teaching expertise in dealing with teenagers.
HIGH SCHOOL DROP-OUT RATES CAN BE VASTLY REDUCED! As simple as it sounds, the key to keeping high school student in school is to address two basic human needs--ACCEPTANCE and VALIDATION.
I have three recommendations to fulfill those needs. These programs will extinguish the desire to join gangs and become involved with teen crime and violence.
1. Institute a MENTORING PROGRAM where seniors mentor freshman, using The Validating Mentor, which was written after working with high school dropouts at Union County Vocational Technical School in Scotch Plains, NJ.
Ideally, adults would be the mentors. Realistically, seniors and some juniors are able to provide weekly interaction which provides ACCEPTANCE and APPRECIATION to each mentoree. (I tentatively have a pilot program going in at a local school, which has experienced numerous challenges in recent years.)
Institute two ELECTIVES, which are not accountable to "No Child Left Behind," but which will totally change a student's own self concept into a positive one and significantly increase the probability of staying in school.
2. The first elective is a one-semester course entitled YOU CANNOT NOT COMMUNICATE, which is a course in speaking, communicating, and non-verbal communication, e.g., body language. ONLY POSITIVES are used in this program with the teacher writing--not speaking--one "area of improvement" on the student's form after each talk, after eliciting at least two positive comments about the talk itself from his peers regarding the presenter, the impact on the audience, or the talk itself. (I have 17 pages of testimonials I'd love to share with you regarding the impact on students of having such a positive experience on a daily basis in a high school setting.)
3. The second one-semester elective is entitled Profit From Your Passion, a book which enables students to analyze their interests, experiences, talents and skills. Again, there are no wrong answers, and students can prudently plan for their futures. Sections include Discover Your Passion, Internal Control Tools, External Tools, Finding Your Own Business for those not going to college or those planning for after college, On-Line Business possibilities, forming Success Teams, Job Search Preparation and Interviewing Skills, and also Six Steps to Success, where taking personal responsibility is paramount.
Every human being wants and needs to be accepted and appreciated, e.g. validated. These three programs enable every student, from nerds to jocks, from brainiacs to disaffected, to learn what's special about themselves. In addition, these programs are relevant to every child enrolled. Validation and acceptance are built-in to the programs. Those two ingredients will motivate kids to stay in school.
I feel so strongly about these programs, I offer weekly FREE teleseminars to any teachers who decide to implement these programs. In addition, there will be an AskGailCassidy website to go to in the event they have questions between sessions. I also do on-site training sessions, if requested or just talks to the teachers to try to convince them of the importance of the 50% of the kids who drop out.
Helping "at risk" kids is my passion. If you'd like to implement these programs at your school, I would love to hear from you. These programs do work!!! It is so frustrating to know that there is an answer to this problem and not have districts, especially districts with a large number of "at risk" kids, take advantage of the programs.
Happy Halloween time,
Gail
P.S. After I finished this article, I found the perfect quote:
"There is more hunger for love and appreciation in this world than for bread."
Mother Teresa
1910-1997; Yugoslavian, Christian missionary in India
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Feature Article:
WHAT YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN THE SEMINAR BUSINESS
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by Gail Cassidy
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After my long letter above, I'll keep this week's list short as I continue with what you need to be successful in the seminar business.
RISK TAKER: Are you willing to take a risk? It is much safer to "stay within your comfort zone." Are you one who can see mistakes as opportunities? Most people would rather be safe than sorry. Being unable to step outside your comfort zone will ensure you will stay exactly where you are forever.
PEOPLE SKILLS: Dale Carnegie was the master at human relations skills, and he clearly stipulated that all of the skills in the world are ineffective if not accompanied by one thing--sincerity.
Do not criticize, condemn, or complain--tough to do every day.
Show genuine appreciation, smile, use a person's name, listen, show genuine interest in others, and make other people feel important.
By simply being a person with true sincerity, these principles will come naturally to you.
Audiences can "feel" sincerity. They can quickly easily discern the difference between sincerity and manipulation.
"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel." -Carl W. Buechner
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Quote of the Day
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Enjoy everything that happens in your life, but never make your happiness or success dependent on an attachment to any person, place, or thing.
- Wayne Dyer
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NEXT WEEK
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Communication Skills, Persistence, Flexibility
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Gail Cassidy
http://www.Coachability.com
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