Testimonial from a substitute teacher
I was teaching 8th grade reading yesterday.
There are 8 periods in the day and each period I get new students and sometimes tutors along with them. One period there was a sub for the tutor. She was an older lady, whom I later found out was a retired college lecturer and inspirational speaker. She continues to travel throughout the area and does workshops for children (of all ages) and adults (when she’s not subbing).
It was a very difficult, rowdy class, and they came into the room very loud and had a hard time settling down. I began the class by giving a general statement of thanks to those children who came right in and settled down in preparation for work. I continued on with the directions and explained that I was willing to make special accommodations for seating, but there would be consequences if they were unable to focus. After they were all settled in their preferred spots, I circulated; praising those students I knew usually had a hard time, but at that moment were working. There was quit a bit of redirection with a few.
Towards the end of the class the sub/tutor approached me and said that I was a great sub. She had never before seen a sub use the “approach” I had used and she was impressed. She went on to explain that all too often she see’s subs and teachers that can’t control the classroom properly and she really enjoyed working with me.
So – that was nice and made me feel good. Luckily only 2 of my classes were “energetic” and the rest were very well behaved. I was sure to give them lots of thanks for their cooperation.
It’s amazing how it seems to have more of an effect on the High Schoolers.
I was subbing at the High School for an English teacher. The students were not special ed in any way – but definitely under achievers! You should also know that in our school system, unless you are on the honors track, the work is pretty much spoon fed to you.
When I walked into the class and explained that we had a lot to get done, they immediately started whining about actually having to do work. “Can’t we work on homework from other classes”, “Can’t you just photo copy the notes so we don’t have to write them down”, etc. I said something like “You don’t even have to use your brain – just copy all the notes I’m giving you”. They thought that was funny, so they started warming up to me. I made them a promise that if they worked hard I would take 15 min at the end of class to read out loud from their book (Animal Farm). They liked this idea, because for homework they had to read 3 chapters.
We began with 10 minutes of silent reading. It took a while for them to settle down, but eventually they did. I was sure to congratulate them on their focus several times while it was quiet. Then we started with the notes. Anything that involved reading – I read to them and then they copied notes from the overhead which was just filling a word or two into a worksheet (the rest of the sentence already written for them). They complained throughout the note taking and I just kept telling them how great they were doing and how much farther along we were than the teacher had thought we would be. She had left a note that if I was “losing them”, I could stop halfway through”. So it was a process of notes – then congratulating them – notes – congratulating them…….and eventually we finished them all!
About ¾ of the way through, the girl who was the worst complainer, clearly the laziest, most spoiled whiner of them all said to me “I love how you keep telling us how great we’re doing! It really makes me feel like I want to keep going”. And she did. She got every note down!
PS. While I was at the High School I experienced something new that would probably fit into the NHA theory. The 2 teachers across from my room were in the hallway between classes and while hundreds of children passed by on their way to their next class they clapped and loudly and to every child said things like “great job this week – have a great weekend” or “you did fantastic work this week”. They whooped and hollered and cheered. At first it felt very silly and embarrassing – they were VERY loud, but after a while I could tell that this infectious upbeat message began seeping into the consciousness of these grumpy, sullen teenagers and made them start to feel good about themselves. It was a powerful thing.
Testimonial from a nurturing mom
“My husband has seen an almost immediate improvement and as I told you in our first meeting he was hesitant, he is no longer!!!”
The ACE SWAT team provides strategies to parents to spend high quality time with their children in spite of stress: Immediate improvement and my husband is no longer hesitant to get help
Initial engagement
I received a message from a mom who is struggling with the events that are happening within her home within her family.
The parents are raising two beautiful adopted children from China. Their daughter has an intense personality, mood swings, and food issues which are affecting their relationship to the point where the mom is ashamed to say that she dreads picking up her daughter from daycare.
I am so proud of the mom’s willingness to feel her frustration when she feels that she is in trouble to then turn it into thoughtfulness of family to seek assistance. The mom talked about the issues with her pediatrician who then recommended seeking out the SWAT team at Advanced Community Education.
Terrifying acknowledgment
The mom dreaded picking up her daughter because the screaming, the whining, the hour long battle to eat, and the intense need for constant attention is just so draining that she cannot do it anymore. The mom recognizes this and she is an absolutely wonderful parent to reach out for help to parent her difficult child. Through the connection from her pediatrician, she has courageously come to understand that she can find a way to address the electrifying relations within her family to transform them to authentic, genuine, and prosperous interactions. Her lack of sleep and worries from the stress in her family flowed over into her performance at work and into her relationship with her husband.
As terrifying as it sounds, the mom truly believed that she needed help and that “her relationship with her daughter was slipping away really quickly”.
First steps in the process of transformation
After one visit, the mom updated me as to how the home relationships were going. She states “I am enjoying her a lot more and I think she feels more at ease and the anxiety induced tantrums have been reduced. I do have to consciously stop and remember to praise them both for doing what I think should be expected of my children but I am having a hard time not letting go when they don’t listen. “
“My husband has seen an almost immediate improvement and as I told you in our first meeting he was hesitant, he is no longer!!!”
One consultation from the SWAT team is works to improve your quality time with your children! Parents and children will feel the transformation of their relationships as the children and parents align with each other’s needs.
Tackling “The Buts”
“but I am having a hard time not letting go when they don’t listen. “ Total transformation of the relations within your family will take a diligent effort of at least 3 consultations, continuous self-development and improvement, ongoing mentorship, and implementing the strategies so that you fully accept the process and procedures of the approach. One must feel good about who they are and how they feel to then have it resonate within the relations in their family.
The most intimate thing you can do
“I personally love and accept the strategy about resetting and starting in the moment with no worries about the past and the event that just passed. We all need a break and to give yourself a wholesome break for an event that happened in a moment of weakness and vulnerability, is the most intimate thing that you can do for yourself,” states Deborah Rosato, mother of four children, consultant, and trainer for Advanced Community Education. “Transform your family from average to beautiful through CPR – Control of focused energy, Purposeful choice of words, and Respect for yourself and your children.”
Learn more today
Learn more today about the how to raise, nurture and teach children and transform your home from average to beautiful. Contact Deborah to schedule a consultation. The SWAT team strives to help families to transform their home with control of energy, a purposeful choice of words, while maintaining respect for yourself and your children. Enjoy learning how you can experience joy and satisfaction in your home that will radiate into your work and community life. You will be thrilled with the powerful process of transformation for healthy living.
Testimonial from a local school educator
“I am attending with 6 parents so that we provide consistency for home and school behavior management.”
Testimonial from a local mental health counselor
“During a therapy session with a parent and a child, I explain a part of the strategy to the parent and within 20 minutes, the parent experiences immediate results”
