Do you remember those shiny silver metal suitcases?  They were heavy and they didn’t have wheels back then.  When I was 11 years old, I traveled all over Japan and had to carry my suitcase up and down stairs and down long streets.  It really put a damper on traveling. 

Then in 1970, Bernard Sadow invented the wheeled luggage and revolutionized travel.   Except for going up and down stairs, we never had to carry our suitcases anymore.  Rolling my big heavy suitcases was easy to do and it made going from one end of an international airport to the other a breeze.

And now, the Modobag has created a rideable suitcase.  Yup!  I guess rolling a suitcase was getting hard to do, so now we can actually sit on our motorized luggage and get to our destination 3 times faster than walking.  Because it’s a carry-on size, you can take it on the plane with you so you never have to be without it.  And it also has 2 USB ports to charge your phone and laptops, and the motor holds a charge for up to 6 hours.  The manufacturer claims that you only lose 15% of packing space because of the motor. Wow. 

I wonder if the airports will have to paint lanes in the terminals and install traffic lights.  They’ll probably also need to have slow lanes for the non-rideable suitcases.  Hmm.

I have to admit I’m curious and want to check out the rideable luggage!

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Kids with LD need to beware of SAT/ACT accommodations and scores when taking them for annual school requirements; they may end up in their college applications!

We all know that students with learning disabilities (or differences) receive special accommodations on tests in schools to give them the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge of the material when their disabilities interfere. These accommodations can take the form of Braille, reader or signer, calculator, note taker, and text-to-speech conversions. But the most common accommodation is extended time on tests and assignments.

The school usually provides the tests that document the students’ learning disabilities and makes recommendations for specific accommodations for each student. Until now, this has been a standard practice that worked reasonably well because the school was also responsible for implementing the students’ educational plan. 

But schools in 23 states have recently started requiring that high school students take either the SAT or ACT – the same tests that students take for college admissions — instead of the old standardized tests (STAR).  Their reasoning for this big change is that it helps prepare students to start thinking about college and gives them a heads up about their scores. 

So what’s the problem here? Students with learning disabilities are accustomed to taking these standardized tests with their accommodations but many students have found that the College Board and ACT Inc are not granting the same accommodations on the SAT and ACT respectively. To further aggravate this situation, the College Board and ACT Inc provide college-reportable scores to the colleges and records of these scores will be available for colleges to see when the student applies to college during their 12^th grade year. This puts the students in a precarious situation because they may have to take the SAT or ACT without accommodations so their scores will be lower or they will report “non-reportable scores” because they took the test with accommodations that either the College Board or ACT Inc did not approve.

Now the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) created the “technical assistance” document last September to ensure access to a fair testing environment.  Law suits may ensue as the College Board and ACT Inc may be violating a key tenet in ADA regulations because they may be requiring unnecessary documentation and testing, which leads to accommodation denials that don’t allow the students’ scores to reflect their knowledge and skills.

According to the College Board, they argue that they approve 85% of their accommodation requests; ACT states they approve 92%. Most denials are a result of failing to identify a learning disability, lacking evidence that accommodations are needed, or missing parents’ signatures.

If your child’s accommodations are denied for the SAT or ACT, get a second opinion by using private testing companies.  Talk to your IEP team and then the ADA department to lodge complaints.  It’s important to be aware of what tests your child will be taking, whether or not accommodations are allowed, and who will see the results. 

You don’t want a 10^th grade standardized score to end up on your child’s college applications!  You are your child’s best advocate!

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Did you know that your brain can process 720 possibilities all at once?  EXCEPT when stressed…

We all know that stress is bad.  But did you know that when you’re not stressed, your brain can process 720 possibilities all at once?  That’s like a super, high-functioning computer!  That puts you in the position to be effective, efficient, creative, and brilliant all at the same time.  You probably remember a great brainstorming session when you came up with solutions to problems or innovative ideas.

But did you know that when you’re stressed, your rational brain becomes an emotional brain that releases stress hormones (cortisol, adrenaline and norepinephrine).  It does that to simplify the situation so you can focus on your safety, because your brain perceives stress as a signal about your wellbeing.  So stress flushes out all of those wonderful creative possibilities (remember, the 720 possibilities) so it can protect you.  So your 720 shrinks down to only 120; and then the tail spin here leads to down to just 24.  Stress can cause you to lose 96% of your brain’s positive processing power.

The good news is that you can get your 720 possibilities back by doing 3 simple steps.  Try them, it works for me!

Step 1: Be grateful
Whatever the situation is, look for the bright side.  Those who wallow in pity just keep increasing their stress. Once you embrace something positive, if flushes out the stress hormones.  You’ll find that positive thoughts and solutions keep adding more dopamine in your brain so you can make good decisions.

Step 2:  Be forthcoming
When you realize that there is a problem, tell others about your emotional state.  By recognizing that you are stressed and sharing with others, it helps you actually reduce the stress.  That big ugly monster in the room starts to not look so big or ugly anymore.  Don’t bottle your stress!

Step 3:  Fill your lungs
When you hear bad news, your knee-jerk response is to hold your breath, and then breathe fast, shallow breaths. This signals your limbic system that there is an eminent threat so it focuses all of your brain power on saving your life. That’s good if a lion is chasing you and you need your adrenaline to make you run faster than you’ve ever run before, but if you’re NOT being chased by a lion, try just filling your lungs with slow and deep breathing from your diaphragm.  This will tell your limbic system that the threat is gone and your brain can once again go back to high-functioning thinking.

So stop sweating the small stuff and be positive.  That happy place will actually beget more happy thoughts and productive behaviors. 

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You know those annoying stickers on fruit and veggies – the ones that don’t come off and you find it in your meals? Well they actually have valuable information that you probably want to know. 

There are over 1400 codes, but most serve the retailers, not you.  So, I’ve made a simple list of codes that you should know.  Oh, and by the way, the stickers are made out of edible paper, so don’t worry when your kids accidentally eat them.

Produce Codes that matter:

4-digit codes =   Conventionally grown (pesticides and fertilizers)
                                Starts with 3 or 4 (3000-4000)

5-digit codes =   Organically grown (no pesticides or fertilizers)
                                Starts with 9 (90000)

So if you’re not sure if the produce you’re ready to buy is organic or conventional, just read the label! 

If you’ve been following the GMO (genetically modified organisms) battles, Monsanto (the world’s largest GMO producer) is fighting to keep their GMO secrets from ending up on our food labels. 

I believe that we deserve to know what’s in the food we’re eating.  Just saying…

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Building a tiny house this summer has been anything but tiny.  It’s really building all of the aspects of a conventional house, but on a really small scale.  Will completed the subfloor last week, and he is framing the first floor (there’s a loft with a dormer that makes up the second floor) this week.  He wakes up each morning raring to go and has recruited his friends to help during the week and his parents on the weekend.  Being a perfectionist with an engineer’s brain, Will is crafting probably one of the most perfect (square) framings I’ve ever seen. 

Will measures, then measures again to make all of his cuts exactly correct.  He’s learned that wood isn’t straight (not even close!) and even with his father’s weight pulling down on the wood it doesn’t budge.  But that’s when Will pulled out the pipe clamp and used it to move the wood so he could perfectly align his top plates.  Will’s lucky that his friends are fascinated by the project and they’re looking for community service hours, and that his parents are supportive even though they know nothing about construction, building, or tools (his dad is an oral surgeon and his mother is a nurse). 

During this past week, Will learned how to use a chop saw, circular saw, nail gun, and the good ol’ hammer.  He insists on removing any nails that bend and keeping a clean workplace.  Cliff Bixler, Will’s mentor, has given him many pearls of wisdom and helps Will think through each step.  Will is in awe of how Cliff can take a circular saw with one hand while holding a huge sheet of plywood with the other to make a perfect cut.  The plans assume that the builder knows how to use power tools, understands building lingo, and comprehends how to build.  Remember Will is just 17 years old and has never built anything before this. Cliff is an expert builder and a good teacher. 

For you wanna-be-tiny-house builders, Will is creating an instructional video for non-builders.  He’s giving his pearls of wisdom from the perspective of someone who’s never used a hammer before.  By describing how the sound of the air compressor shocked him when he first turned it on to how exciting it was to use the nail gun, he’ll give the novice tips to get them started and through the entire process of building a tiny house.  I’ll keep you posted!

Kids find it impossible to not look at a text message or answer calls while they’re driving.  It’s like an addiction.  THEY SIMPLY CAN’T IGNORE THEM. 

But while they’re under your control and guidance, require that they either turn off their phones or place them in the backseat or trunk while they’re driving. 

If they want to check their phones, they’ll have to pull over to do so. Sounds mean or controlling?  Maybe.  But it will probably save their lives. 

Thanks to Logan Conover, over 1,000 lbs of carbon did NOT go into the atmosphere over the past 3 months. 

Kudos to Logan! His campaign, WHEN NOT, IF, encourages people to stop driving one day each month to reduce the CO2 that’s released by driving cars. He started with the Santa Cruz County area, and now he’s now reaching out to people across America. 

Please share this so we can help Logan reach his new goal of 10,000 lbs by the end of the year. 

Remember to NOT drive tomorrow, July 23^rd, and go to www.WhenNotIf.org to enter your stats so you can be part of this climate-changing movement!

Grammy Camp is a great way to get the kids together and make memories that will last a lifetime!

Okay, I’m not a grammy but my good friend Julie Monroe is, and she hosts Grammy Camp for her lucky grandkids each summer.  Her grandkids come from her stepson, ex-inlaw, ex-inlaws new husband, adopted child, and a good friend – you know, the all-American family — so it’s quite an eclectic group of campers.  By hosting these Granny Camps each year since 2006, she’s created a wonderful reason for all of the grandkids to communicate together while planning their activities.  It’s really brilliant. 

In the past, the kids have played at the beach (she lives on Seabright!), explored redwood forests, and done the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.  Living in Santa Cruz is a big bonus! They also cook together, roast marshmallows at a beach bonfire, or stayed in their jammies for a “down day” to just hang out.  Their favorite is going to the Boardwalk and getting wristbands so they can go on every ride – all day long!  Julie’s favorite is hanging out with them as they wind down at the end of the day because that’s the time they open up and share their thoughts and feelings.  On their drive back home at the end of Grammy Camp, they talk about and make plans for the next Grammy Camp.

This year, Julie also brought them to Merit Academy to learn about aquaponics, permaculture, beehives, and water catchment systems.  Their grandpa is a key player in the beehive systems so they have heard all kinds of stories about our adventures in beekeeping. While they were here, they did a treasure hunt on our 2 acres to make it even more fun. 

For those with grandkids who want to do Grammy Camps, Julie suggests that choosing activities that the kids will enjoy, but not filling up the days with too many activities.  By allowing some down time, there’ll be more opportunities for getting to know one another.  And, after all, isn’t that what this is all about?  Creating memories and reconnecting with one another.  Kudos to Julie and her Grammy Camps!

This is a Letter to the Editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel that was written by Laina Farhat-Holzman on July 16th, 2016.  I am posting it here because as an educator, I believe that words have meaning, and that we should use them with care.

Listening to Donald Trump’s latest speech (introducing his VP candidate), I was struck by how many times he used the words “incredible” and “unbelievable.”  In context, he meant “terrific” or “wonderful.” But as a Freudian Slip, he was telling us that everything he was saying was “not credible” and “not to be believed.”

Also, repeating the mantra: “to tell the truth,” and “in all honesty” really means “I don’t usually tell the truth” and “I am less than honest.”

Believe the sub-text.