This is an interesting article in the news. Teachers speak a lot. We use our voices more than some people in other professions. Anyone who speaks a lot and uses his/her voice to talk to any age group must take care of the voice, an important tool of communication.

I took a speech class in graduate school taught by Dr. Rhonda Kelley, speech pathologist. I learned a great deal about voice care and the proper way to prepare for public speaking. Drink water before speaking. Coat the throat with cough drops. Avoid caffeine drinks and lemon.

Last spring I had an episode in which I lost my voice. My throat had been hoarse and raspy before from a lot of talking or cheering at ball games or concerts, but never completely went out. Rhonda reminded me of a hot tea called Throat Coat. This works wonders and tastes good, too.

Take care of your communication instrument.

Movie writers and directors often make movies based on popular books and stories. Sometimes maybe the story should remain in book form, not feed to the visual senses. Read this article on this popular children’s story book made into a movie. I have the book and have read it many times in my early education classes. Kids love the book. It’s great for the imagination and lends itself to great art projects. However, making a story like this one into a movie with graphic visual scenes can be scary for some ages.

Our friend, Len Sweet says most all things are better understood if they are EPIC — experiential, participatory, image-rich, connective. Is this EPIC?

epic-tivity

There have been constant warnings that video games are bad: warnings that kids should not play video games, there’s no learning or educational benefit to video games. According to the findings in this study, video games are ok and can be good for the brain. However, everything must be done in moderation. Too much video game time can’t be good. Games that too violent can’t be good. But it’s ok, go ahead and play that video game. Go ahead and allow kids to play video games — in moderation and monitor what games they are playing.