Jan
29
2010
Book Review: By Lisa Garner
“My Choices Make Me Who I Am”
Authors: Mutiya Vision and David Vision
Illustrator: Ignacio Alcantra
Publisher: Vision Works Publishing (October 2008)
“Every choice I make defines who I am. What I choose to be in life is up to me. Where I go depends on how I engage the challenges I meet, the paths I choose to take, and the trails I choose to create. The choice is in my hands.” These beautifully written words and illustrations can be discovered in a compelling and powerful new book, “My Choices Make Me Who I Am,” written by David and Mutiya Vision and illustrated by Ignacio Alcantara.
This 2009 recipient of the National Best Books Award in the Children’s Educational category is an inspirational story of how an adolescent boy confronts and adapts to life’s daily challenges and the important lessons he learns along the way. Each real life experience gives him the opportunity to make a choice which will ultimately define him as a human being. After careful examination of each situation and reviewing the potential rewards or consequences associated with it, he learns the importance of making wise choices.
Throughout the book, the young boy shares his personal experiences and offers advice on how a child might apply this knowledge to their own life. This is a great book to help children understand the importance of controlling their emotions, listening carefully, ...
Posted in: Teacher - Book Reviews
Jan
29
2010
By Lisa Garner
The morning after a catastrophic 7.3 earthquake rocked the impoverished island-nation of Haiti, children across the world were already getting down to business searching for ways to raise money to help the millions of injured and homeless children in Haiti. In the grand scheme of things, their actions may seem like a small gesture, but it was an opportunity for children to learn how they could become part of a global effort to help those less fortunate.
Often times, the best classrooms are the ones without walls, an opportunity to let the “real world” in with hopes of igniting our students’ curiosity and expanding their knowledge beyond the confines of a mandated curriculum. We often refer to them as “teachable moments.” A teachable moment is a priceless and impromptu opportunity that arises when an educator has a chance to offer insight and guidance to their students.
Teachable moments are spontaneous and can be identified by observing and listening to your students. Yes, I mean eavesdrop. Observe the children’s behavior, notice particularly compelling conversations, and learn how to follow their leads. Engage them in dialogue by asking open-ended questions, listen to what they’re saying, and encourage them to discuss the topic in more detail.
You’ll notice during teachable moments that you may actually become more enthusiastic than your students. It’s that “aha moment” where you actually do see the light bulbs going ...
Posted in: Home, Teacher To Teacher
Jan
29
2010
By Craig Wittus, Director of Tennis, The Westin Diplomat, Hallandale, Florida 33019
Title: Open, An Autobiography
Author: Andre Agassi
Publisher: Knopf 2009
I just finished reading Andre Agassi’s book “Open” I thought it was one of the best biographies I have ever read. Aided by ghost writer and Pulitzer Prize winner J. R. Moehringer, Andre tells us the truth about his life growing up in the professional tennis world. How many of us knew that Andre truly hated tennis? Did you know that his father (an expert Armenian wrestler) bought a house specifically so that he could have enough land to build a tennis court?
The realtor would bring him to a house and he wouldn’t even look at the house he would head towards the back yard to see if there was enough space. The senior Agassi also built a ball machine that shot balls out at 110 MPH.
Andre called it “The Dragon.” We constantly hear about the stories of these domineering fathers and how they have ruined their children’s lives.
Andre spent time at the Nick Bolletieri Tennis Academy in Florida where he polished his tennis, wore a Mohawk, eyeliner and earring, and learned other malevolent activities. Later he married actress Brook Shields, but the relationship failed and en route he turned to more drinking (hard liquor) and snorting crystal meth. This revelation is the one that has turned the tennis ...
Posted in: Home, Tennis Tips
Jan
29
2010
Happy New Year to all of my fans. Can you believe it, twenty ten! WOW!! Another great year ahead of us in the sports world. Okay, lets get started. As you all know, the 2010 Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl are coming up in a few weeks and both will be held in sunny Florida at the Sun Life Stadium. Where is that? Well, I am glad you asked. This stadium was previously known as Land Shark Stadium (for only 8 months) and for two weeks after that Dolphin Stadium (home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins), Joe Robbie Stadium (previous owner of the Dolphins before Wayne Huizenga), Pro Player Park, and Pro Player Stadium. Anyway, the Pro Bowl used to be played a week after the Super Bowl in Hawaii. This year, the NFL hopes to attract bigger crowds playing the game a week before. But you won’t see any members from the 2010 Super Bowl teams. Speaking of the Super Bowl-the teams: the NFC’s New Orleans Saints, making their first Super Bowl appearance, will battle it out with the AFC’s Indianapolis Colts. Will Peyton Manning out-duel Drew Brees to get his second ring? Or will Reggie Bush and team pull it out for the Big Easy-stay tuned?
Switching gears to Golf, Tiger Woods has taken an indefinite leave from the 2010 PGA tour ...
Posted in: Benny's Sports My Way
Jan
18
2010
By now you have heard about the Magnitude 7.0 earthquake that struck the island of Haiti on January 12, 2010 at 8:21pm. The epicenter was approximately 15 miles west southwest of the capital Port-Au-Prince. My friends, the impoverished nation of Haiti, with 80 % of the population already in poverty, did not need this new and overwhelming burden. Almost every building in the town and surrounding villages has either collapsed or has sustained major structural damage. There are reports coming in that well over 100,000 people have died. Three million people may be affected by this quake. Many thousands may be trapped underneath hundreds of pounds of concrete building materials. It is total devastation! Its chaos! The presidential palace, once a major landmark in the capital city, has been heavily damaged. The National Assembly building, the National Cathedral, the prison, and almost all hospitals have been either damaged or destroyed. Water and electricity are not functioning and the city’s infrastructure is gone. It is very difficult to look at the continuous stream of video and pictures. Misery and suffering, homelessness, hunger and fear; people walking around without hope, animals wandering free, people trying to find their lost ones, families waiting for any sign that their child, sister or brother is alive. And to top all things off, the evil that follows disaster- the looting, stealing and thugs that find ...
Posted in: Editor's Page
Jan
12
2010
By Alison Moss
2010 welcomes the dancer in all of us! Where has the past decade gone? It’s hard to believe that ten years ago Dancing With The Stars and So You Think You Can Dance didn’t even exist? Nerdel wasn’t an internet sensation either to make us aware of our healthy habits and all of the exciting things we can do to keep our bodies thriving. How did we survive without them?
Have you given any thought to how you can make 2010 a better year for you and your body? If your house is anything like my house, we still have Halloween candy lurking in the cupboards, but the turkey is finally gone from Thanksgiving. Our Christmas holiday was full of preparations, both in and out of the kitchen. In fact, with so many preparations and parties, there hasn’t been much time at all devoted to moving around and keeping my own body healthy. I’m certainly paying for it now. I did the best I could by parking as far away as possible in mall parking lots (actually, I tried to do most of my shopping online). I cranked up my iPod speakers in the kitchen to dance, while I baked, and with nonstop holiday music on one radio station, many passing cars saw me rocking out in my seat at stoplights! But all ...
Posted in: Moves That Groove
Jan
12
2010
Tennis Update
By Craig Wittus
Warm Up To Winter Tennis:
We’ve had record lows the past week here in January but it shouldn’t stop us from playing a good game of tennis. The only problem is that the risk of injury increases in these conditions. Here are a few things you can do to avoid the injury bug.
1) Take a couple of laps around the court before you start
2) Wear a warm up suit that is not to binding
3) Stretch
4) Bounce around a lot on your feet during warm up
5) Even though after you play a little you feel warm it is a good idea to keep your warm up on, your mind says one thing but your body says another!
New Material in Wilson Tennis Racquets:
Wilson Tennis Racquets is coming out with a whole new line of racquets with a material referred to as BLX. Roger Federer and Juan Martin Delpotro will be introducing new racquets at the Australian Open this year. The material is cultivated from material near volcanoes called Basalt. Watch Federer and DelPotro’s game “Erupt” this year!
Will Justin Henin Make It Back To Number One?
Watch for the Belgian “Comeback kids” to make a big impact in the Women’s tour this year. Venus and Serena are on their way down. They’re not motivated enough. Also, the US Davis Cup team lost in the first round to Serbia. After Roddick who else ...
Posted in: Home, Tennis Tips
Jan
06
2010
By Graehm Gray
Editor- In- Chief
I was surfing the news channels this past long New Year’s weekend and catching up on my huge stack of news papers and magazines and came across several stories about the Department of Education (DOE) in New York, banning bake sales in schools in an attempt to decrease obesity. At first, it seemed to make sense. I thought that there must be millions of kids eating cake and cookies at these sales. I read the entire memo issued June 29, 2009, in accordance with the polices and initiatives of the New York DOE’s Wellness Policy to “improve the quality and nutritional value of foods and beverages that are available for children.” New York, already one of the first states to display calorie and nutritional values of foods on sale to the public and in restaurants and eliminate trans fats, may be on the cutting edge with this latest move to blunt the obesity epidemic, an epidemic that has yet to have any viable solutions. Or are they?
Okay, so you “it’s my right to eat whatever I want, whenever I want” followers are already lining up to say this is yet another unconstitutional action. Aren’t bakes sales a part of our culture? Bakes sales raise money for good causes at County Fairs, religious centers and the Great American Bake Sale sponsored by the Share Our Strength ...
Posted in: Editor's Page
