“Education is what survives when what has been learned has been forgotten”
-B.F. Skinner

“This life is what you make it. Not matter what, you're going to mess up sometimes, it's a universal truth. But the good part is you get to decide how you're going to mess it up. Girls will be your friends - they'll act like it anyway. But just remember, some come, somg go. The ones that stay with you through everything - they're your true best friends. Don't let go of them. Also remember, sisters make the best friends in the world. As for lovers, well, they'll come and go too. And babve, I hate to say it, most of them - actually pretty much all of them are going to break your heart, but you can't give up becuase if you give up, you'll never find your soul mate. You'll never find that half who makes you whole and that goes for everything. Just because you fail once, doesn't mean you're gonna fail at everything. Keep trying, hold on, and always, always, always believe in yourself, because if you don't, then who will, sweetie? So keep your head high, keep your chin up, and most importantly, keep smiling, because life's a beautiful thing and there's so much to smile about.”
― Marilyn Monroe

"Eleven Hints for Life"

1. It hurts to love someone and not be loved in return. But what is more painful is to love someone and never find the courage to let that person know how you feel.

2. A sad thing in life is when you meet someone who means a lot to you, only to find out in the end that it was never meant to be and you just have to let go. 

3. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had. 

4. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives. 

5. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone-but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. 

6. Don't go for looks, they can deceive. Don't go for wealth, even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. 

7. Dream what you want to dream, go where you want to go, be what you want to be. Because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do. 

8. Always put yourself in the other's shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the person too. 

9. A careless word may kindle strife. A cruel word may wreck a life. A timely word may level stress. But a loving word may heal and bless. 

10. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. 

11. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss, ends with a tear. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one smiling and everyone around you is crying.

How to Work With Gifted & Talented Students

Gifted students can balance more work.

Gifted students are often hard for teachers or parents to work with. These students are exceptionally bright and often become bored with the typical classroom setting of their peers. Though they are very intelligent and capable of learning at a very fast pace when compared with others their age, parents and teachers can find working with these children difficult or shocking. Unlike their peers, gifted students will take interest in subjects that are ahead of their level and will often grow bored with work that is not challenging to their minds.

Instructions

1.        

o    1

Give them a challenge. Gifted students need constant challenges to improve. When they become bored, they can easily become class clowns and lazy, refusing to do work and letting their grades fall behind. They need challenges academically, and teachers and parents should supply these challenges.

o    2

Answer questions they ask. Gifted students will often ask questions that are deeper in thought than their peers. The best action any parent or teacher can do is to answer the question. When the answer is unknown, tell the student, "I don't know." They will respect adults who are honest.

o    3

Treat them with respect. Gifted students are exceptionally intelligent and will often become annoyed by adults who treat them like children. They will recognize when teachers and parents are respectful and will be thankful for the respect. Gifted students are often mature for their age and can feel as if they are being patronized when treated like children.

o    4

Get them a tutor in areas of interest. Gifted students are still students. Their interests should be encouraged, even if it is beyond their age level. A tutor can help them develop interests and avoid boredom.

o    5

Give them extra work. Gifted students are able to do work beyond what their peers are doing, so give them extra work when they finish classroom assignments.

o    6

Allow the student to learn at his own pace. Gifted students will all learn quickly, but every student is different and they all need to learn at a pace that suits their personal abilities. This is useful for all students, but especially for those gifted and talented.

Ten ways to fight your fears

Whatever it is that scares you, here are 10 ways to help you cope with your fear and anxiety:

1. Take time out

It feels impossible to think clearly when you’re flooded with fear or anxiety. A racing heart, sweating palms and feeling panicky and confused are the result of adrenalin. So, the first thing to do is take time out so you can physically calm down.  

Distract yourself from the worry for 15 minutes by walking around the block, making a cup of tea or having a bath. When you’ve physically calmed down, you’ll feel better able to decide on the best way to cope.

2. What’s the worst that can happen?

When you're anxious about something, be it work, a relationship or an exam, it can help to think through what the worst end result could be. Even if a presentation, a call or a conversation goes horribly wrong, chances are that you and the world will survive. Sometimes the worst that can happen is a panic attack. 

If you start to get a faster heartbeat or sweating palms, the best thing is not to fight it. Stay where you are and simply feel the panic without trying to distract yourself. Placing the palm of your hand on your stomach and breathing slowly and deeply (no more than 12 breaths a minute) helps soothe the body. 

It may take up to an hour, but eventually the panic will go away on its own. The goal is to help the mind get used to coping with panic, which takes the fear of fear away.

3. Expose yourself to the fear

Avoiding fears only makes them scarier. If you panic one day getting into a lift, it’s best to get back into a lift the next day. Stand in the lift and feel the fear until it goes away. Whatever your fear, if you face it, it should start to fade. 

4. Welcome the worst

Each time fears are embraced, it makes them easier to cope with the next time they strike, until in the end they are no longer a problem. Try imagining the worst thing that can happen – perhaps it’s panicking and having a heart attack. Then try to think yourself into having a heart attack. It’s just not possible. The fear will run away the more you chase it. 

5. Get real

Fears tend to be much worse than reality. Often, people who have been attacked can’t help thinking they’re going to be attacked again every time they walk down a dark alley. But the chance that an attack will happen again is actually very low. 

Similarly, people sometimes tell themselves they're a failure because they blush when they feel self-conscious. This then makes them more upset. But blushing in stressful situations is normal. By remembering this, the anxiety goes away. 

6. Don’t expect perfection

Black-and-white perfectionist thinking such as, "If I’m not the best mum in the world, I’m a failure," or, "My DVDs aren’t all facing in the same direction, so my life is a mess," are unrealistic and only set us up for anxiety. 

Life is full of stresses, yet many of us feel that our lives must be perfect. Bad days and setbacks will always happen, and it’s essential to remember that life is messy.  

7. Visualise

Take a moment to close your eyes and imagine a place of safety and calm: it could be a picture of you walking on a beautiful beach, or snuggled up in bed with the cat next to you or a happy memory from childhood. Let the positive feelings soothe you until you feel more relaxed.

8. Talk about it

Sharing fears takes away a lot of their scariness. If you can’t talk to a partner, friend or family member, call a helpline such as theSamaritans, open 24 hours a day). And if your fears aren’t going away, ask your GP for help. GPs can refer people for counselling, psychotherapy or online help through a new online service called FearFighter. 

9. Go back to basics

A good sleep, a wholesome meal and a walk are often the best cures for anxiety. The easiest way to fall asleep when worries are spiralling through the mind can be to stop trying to nod off. Instead, try to stay awake. 

Many people turn to alcohol or drugs to self-treat anxiety, with the idea that it will make them feel better, but these only make nervousness worse. And eating well will make you feel great physically and mentally.

10. Reward yourself

Finally, give yourself a treat. When you’ve picked up that spider or made that call you’ve been dreading, reinforce your success by treating yourself to a candlelit bath, a massage, a country walk, a concert, a meal out, a book, a DVD or whatever little gift makes you happy.

Happy Mother's day

“Do not train a child to learn by force or harshness; but direct them to it by what amuses their minds, so that you may be better able to discover with accuracy the peculiar bent of the genius of each.”
― Plato

Be careful to leave your sons well
instructed rather than rich,
for the hopes of the instructed are better
than the wealth of the ignorant.
Epictetus

A teacher is not someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows." — Paulo Coelho.