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Thoughts on Being a Gifted Program Facilitator
(reflections by O.S.)

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Where will Flattery Get You?
(based on an article by Jim Shea, Toronto Star)

Don’t blame people for sucking up to others; it might actually be a genetic thing. Everybody does it. Richard Stengel has written a book called: You’re Too Kind: A Brief History of Flattery and suggests that it is all biological. Flattery is part of a system of behaviour called "reciprocal altruism" which is used to survive as a species.

During the Renaissance, people started to think of themselves as unique individuals and started using flattery in social climbing. Flattery can get you almost anywhere because people actually like to hear what a flatterer is saying. Biologically, we get a shot of seratonin in the ego and we are happier.

People with high self-esteem, are actually more susceptible to flattery because they see it as perceptive observation rather than butt-kissing.

Over-adulation of celebrities is considered a real pain to the author. "White lies" flattery can actually be helpful and preserve peoples’ feelings.

Flattery can increase somebody liking you but will not improve his or her perception of how competent you are. If, however, two people are equal in competence, the flatterer will get chosen over the other.

It is obvious that a reader as intelligent and perceptive as you has absolutely no need of an article like this. You no doubt know all this already and could probably have written it yourself without hardly any effort.

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Aberfoyle Antique Market
Bancroft Mineral Collecting
Bike Ontario Tours
Canada Day Celebrations
Celebrate Toronto Street Festival
Central Don Riding Stables
CHIN Picnic and Shopping Bazaar
Dream in High Park Theatre
Farm Vacations
Holiday on Horseback Vacations
Molson Indy
Natural Life Festival
Ontario Renaissance Festival
Toronto Parks and Recreation Programs
Toronto Star Great Salmon Hunt

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Silvia Isabella and Natasha Vera, Gr. 11 & Gr. 9, LAT Gifted Program, participated in the OFSSA Soccer Championships in Hamilton.

Sabrina Sdao, Gr. 12, LAT Gifted Program, has been elected President of the LAT Student Council. Congratulations.

(This section will continue in September.)

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Interesting & Different Career (1): Ergonomist
(based on an article by Tom Venetis in The Computer Paper)

What combines engineering, inventing, health, chiropractic, and requires a keen knowledge of the physics of the human body? Ergonomics!

An ergonomist designs or modifies things to reduce physical injury, strains and sprains. The idea is sometimes to locate and place things to increase efficiency of movement and use of energy especially in repetitive movement situations. Many injuries can be caused by poor postures that people work in and how long they work in those postures.

The job marries a creative mind with a meticulous attention to details. A properly designed chair can help with lower back support but may cause a reaching problem. A phone located on a side table may be the cause of lost time and injury from repetitively turning to answer it. A computer mouse placed close to the keyboard saves time but gripping it too tightly can cause wrist strain.

When egonomists go to work, they assess and address problematic work habits, assess and replace poorly designed office equipment, suggest aids to relieving pressure, tension i.e. foot rests, back support cushions, foam/gel filled wrist rests. They may redesign the shapes and contours of various tools, make things adjustable and even schedule breaks with rejuvenating exercises.

Next time you finish a day relatively relaxed without aches, pains and strains, you may want to thank the ergonomists behind the scenes who designed the things you sat on, picked up and used to do your job.

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Interesting and Different Career (2): Drywaller
(from an article in the Toronto Star by Sheldon Libfeld)

At the Interior Finishing Systems Training Centre in north Toronto, they teach drywalling. It is an 8-week course that comes at the end of 5400 hours of apprenticeship. They learn about framing units, drywalling odd shaped doors and windows, safe lifting methods, CAD computer work, and more. It is quite a creative job if you watch professionals on the job.

Residential drywall applicators and finishers can make anywhere from $60,000 to $100,000 a year. They are constantly in demand thanks to a booming housing industry and renovations and repair work. The job is open to men and women but men are more suited to heavy application and women would be better for drywall finishing and plastering careers. The pay is the same.

Hugh Laird, the director of the centre, wonders why young people don’t pick this as a career or job. It is year-round indoor work, relatively clean, requires creativity and provides lots of variety. He says that young people are drawn toward the "sexy" trades like plumbing and electrical and overlook interior finishing.

Besides the people being trained right now, there is demand for at least 400-500 drywallers across the GTA right now.

Costs are about $500 for the sessions.

Stereotyping Street Racing Teens
(regular article by Sandra Tipei, Gr. 10 LAT Gifted Program)

Just as I was about to start writing my article this morning, I got furious when I saw another TV show stereotyping young drivers.
It was a Ricki Lake episode about street drag racing. I was very sympathetic to the family whose daughter was killed in a car driven by a guy who street raced but some of the other guests who were "street racers" just made me sick.
I don't know in which garbage can they found this one guest but choosing him to be on the show caused further serious misrepresentation and stereotyping of young drivers. In their conversation, they included the fact that 3.2 million North Americans were killed or injured in car accidents in 2000 and they implied that they all had to do with street racers. I thought that maybe I was just overly sensitive to these issues, but it really does frustrate me to see young people dissed that way. This brings me to my article this month and I have so much to say about the above!

As you walk down streets nowadays, it is more and more evident that many cars look out of the ordinary. They are more noticeable especially now that summer has begun and more modified cars pop up. Many people assume that all of these cars take part in street racing mainly because of media hype and of course the movie, "The Fast and The Furious." In truth, only a small fraction take part in racing on the street, so why the big fuss?

Since the above-mentioned movie was shown last summer, many more young people have modified their cars in one way or another and assumed they could drive as well as the stunt drivers. What many don't realize is that street racing was not created in the summer of 2001; it has been going on for decades. A lot of young people think they just invented it.

The awareness of street racing and the whole lifestyle has just become more out in the open as a result of this movie. The media has also profited from all the attention. Street racing and the lifestyle around it has, unfortunately, become the topic of many shows and news reports in which each person with a modified car is stereotyped as a street racer who drives recklessly whenever they can. Don't get me wrong, there are those who think they are invincible, who cut through traffic like there’s no tomorrow, but it is not how the majority of people with modified cars drive.

Getting people to understand this has become increasingly difficult and many drivers with modified cars are getting unjustly persecuted because of these stereotypes. On a news report from City Pulse, it was said that approximately 20,000 cars are modified in the GTA and they all participate in street racing. This is very hard to believe and unfortunately, because of reports like this the people who modify their cars just for their own pleasure and enjoyment are getting pulled over senselessly by police for many more minor things.

There has been a new division of the Toronto police created specifically to deal with the issue of street racing. It’s called P.A.C.E.R. I completely agree that all the reckless drivers who endanger their lives and the lives of others should be penalized for their ignorance. But attacking a whole community of car enthusiasts is going to cause problems.

It is not only people in modified cars who drive recklessly. The stereotyping of young drivers in modified cars causing all the problems is there but needs some serious reconsideration.

In closing, I believe that if more time and energy were spent educating young people on driving properly and showing them the risks of racing on the streets, there would be an improvement in attitude and perhaps less street racing. Also, if the government is so intent on spending money on ending street racing, why not build a track where young people can go to safely race with safety crews and other responsible professionals on hand. Will street racing end by clamping down on it? Get real. A lot more people would keep it on the track.

There are many different ways of addressing the problem of street racing without destroying a fun, worthwhile activity (modifying cars) and upsetting a community of responsible enthusiasts.

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Volunteer Vacations
(from an article in the Toronto Star by Catherine George)

A non-profit Minnesota-based company called Global Volunteers offers something very different to travellers. In short-term (2 weeks sessions) volunteer programs around the world, travellers get to perhaps teach English in Poland, teach in a Crete mountain village. You can volunteer to paint, garden, remodel or prepare meals in an Irish peace center.

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Adventures in Text Messaging
(summary of article by Chris Talbot, Toronto Computes)

With cellphones and computers making the impact in life that they do, text messaging has been catching on more and more. The idea is to type a message in as few characters as possible but still be able to decipher it, for example: Uv Bn Smuchd (You’ve been smooched)
The information age is creating an interesting but nasty problem. There is a mangling of the English language and a decrease in writing skills in the young. Text messagers, however, just LOL (laugh out loud) and are ROTFL (rolling on the floor laughing). Emoticons :) (smile) are also becoming more popular than words to express emotions. L
MHO (in my humble opinion) this is getting to be a whole new cryptic language and will become more and more baffling to older people. If you want to express your opinions on this subject, PCM (please contact me) and I will be happy to inform you of the responses in the next newsletter.

U4E (yours forever)

Can you read this poem by Liz. B. Browning?

How do I luv U? Lt me ## th ways
I luv U 2 th dpth + brdth +hite
My sol cn rech wn feln outa site
4 th neds of being + idel gras
I luv U 2 th lvl of evry days
Most quiet need by sun + cndl-lite
I luv U frely as mn striv 4 rite
I luv U purly as they trn frm prase
I luv U wth th pashn pt 2 use
In my ol greefs + wth my chldhuds fath
I luv U wth luv I semed 2 lose
Wth my lost sants I luv U wth th breth
Smils ters of all my lif + if G chuz
I shl bt luv U btr ftr deth

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Mistrust of the USA in the Middle East
(from an article by Timothy Appleby, Mar. 26/02,Toronto Globe & Mail)

We mostly see world events from a North American point of view. The following are questions posed by a well-educated woman of the Middle East during an interview.

- What REAL proof is there that Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda are

responsible for 9/11 as well as a long list of other attacks?

• How can people believe so readily the incriminating videos of Bin Laden given that almost anyone can manufacture a phony video?
• Why is the USA so unflinchingly in support of Israel and so indifferent to the Palestinians?
• Why is the idea of two states not a solution when many Arabs are quite prepared to accept Israel’s pre-1967 borders?
• Given the lack of any solutions for decades, what other way do Palestinians have to say "Look! We are here." besides the shockingly desperate measure of suicide bombings?
• Why can Israel stock and hide weapons of mass destruction but not Saddam Hussein of Iraq who is also trying to defend his country?

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Space Flight for the Not-so-Average Tourist
(based on an article by Bill Taylor, Toronto Star)

A wealthy American, Dennis Tito, made headline news when he paid $20 million to the Russians to take him to the International Space Station last year as a tourist. A lot of space people were upset by that.

How things have changed. Space Adventures Ltd., which is a Russian and American commercial joint venture is now offering a new sub-orbital flight to tourists for the mere price of $98,000US. Over 100 eager amateur astronauts have each given the company a $6000 deposit for a seat on the space shuttle. It is not known when the flights will begin but they are obviously a big out-of-this-world hit.

As an interesting related development, US Airways launched a promotion that promises a space flight to those who earn 10 million frequent-flyer miles. The first flight will probably be in 2004. If you can’t gather that many miles, 250,000 points and $2000 will get you a flight in zero gravity. For 275,000 points and $8000 you can hop aboard a Russian MiG-25 fighter jet.

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World’s Healthiest Country
(from an article by Michael Downey, Vitality Magazine)

Western Europe is the healthiest region in the world. The World Markets Research Centre says so in a recent survey of 175 countries. The index used measured the health status of individuals by looking at the amount each country spends on its people’s health and at health indicators such as life expectancy, infant immunization rates and death rates of mothers and babies.

The countries rated highest are: #1 - Belgium, followed in order by Iceland, Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Italy, Norway, Australia is tied with Germany and Denmark. Interesting other placements: Canada – 13^th, USA – 17^th, Great Britain – 23^rd

The study suggests that in the USA, vast amounts of cash are put into drug development and pharmaceutical technology. America tends to have an emphasis on the cure as opposed to preventing the ailment in the first place. Americans are taking on a more sedentary, unhealthy, inactive lifestyle and this accounts for their ranking. Statistics: American health spending: $3 trillion (roughly $10,000 for every person) This is 13.2% of Gross Domestic Product. Health spending is growing faster than the US economy. Belgium spends 8.5% on health.

In conclusion, the highest spending countries do not have the healthiest population. Prevention should be just as important as cures. Now to get that across to citizens.

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Warning Signs of Compulsive Gambling
(based on an article in the Toronto Star)

With online gambling, new casinos all over the country, lotteries and tickets of chance in everybody’s face every day, there is a growing problem of young people gambling from an early age on and becoming addicted. Here are some clues that you might notice in yourself or others that could suggest a gambling problem:

Gambling can become a serious problem not only for the addict but also for everybody around the person. Watch for the signs in yourself and friends and do something constructive as soon as possible.

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If you are bored and want only the best, join the party! Which one you say? Here are the world’s biggest and best:

1. Rio Carnival – Brazil – February
2. Fantasy Fest – Key West, USA – October
3. Running of the Bulls – Pamplona, Spain – July
4. Hogmanay – Edinburgh, Scotland – New Year’s Eve
5. Oktoberfest – Munich, Germany – September/October
6. Berlin Love Parade – Berlin, Germany – July
7. Mardi Gras – New Orleans, USA – February
8. Salvador Carnival – Brazil – February
9. Queen’s Day – Netherlands – April
10. Kumbh Mela – India –January/February

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Safe Teen: Powerful Alternatives to Violence by Anita Roberts. The book suggests that girls are taught to be polite and give the benefit of the doubt. They are not as asssertive, which works against them in tough situations. There are practical ways to let creeps know they aren’t appreciated. How to use your eyes, bringing out the "inner bitch," and getting in touch with your anger before fear are some of her techniques she recommends.

Other related books: Defanging a Bully by A. Motiar, and Battling the SchoolYard Bully by Kim Zarzour.

Robert Ludlum and his spy novel series. Many have been made into movies.

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It’s Better to Drink than Phone When Driving
(based on an article in the Toronto Star)

Tests done by the Transport Research Laboratory in London, England conclude that drivers who talk on the phone are more likely to have an accident than a person who is drunk while driving. Reaction times were 30% slower. Phone users were less able to stay at a constant speed and stay a safe distance behind the car in front. The use of a hands-free phone was less dangerous but results were still unacceptable in comparison to those of non-users or drunks. Four out of ten drivers admitted to using a cell phone while driving.

• write to government representatives advocating a ban of mobile phones while driving. Other countries ban them, so can Canada.
• organize advertising campaigns in your place of work to warn people and make phone use by a driver in a car socially unacceptable.
• pull over to the side of the road if you accept calls as you are driving.
• turn off the phone completely when you are driving. You are not so important that you need to be there 24/7 for others. Take a break.
• Let your conscience and moral values make you feel that you are responsible for other people’s lives when you drive. Do not jeopardize their safety through your own lack of caring.

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Movies on the Internet
(taken from an article in the Toronto Sun)

MGM Studios has made a unique and historically significant move in offering full-length feature film downloads on the internet. Downloaded movies are programmed to play for only 24 hours and are also programmed so they can’t be copied.

There are a few considerations. A 90-minute movie will take nearly 25 hours to download on a regular internet line and about 4 hours on a high-speed line. The biggest threat is piracy so security software and electronic locks are carefully in place. Fees to "rent" the movies will be about $2-$6.

Check out the CinemaNow website.

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Walking All Over Canada’s Finest
(summary of article by Christopher Hutsul, Toronto Star)

Many people have heard of the famous Walk of Fame in Hollywood. All the stars put their hand and footprints into cement and are immortalized. Guess what! Canada has one too. In Toronto! Downtown!

The walk is located on King Street West and Simcoe Street, from in front of the Princess of Wales Theatre, past the Royal Alexandra Theatre and continues on to Simcoe Street and in front of Roy Thomson Hall.

There are many singers, hockey stars, actors, writers, skaters, politicians and others. You will probably recognize many but didn’t know they were Canadian.

Next time you have guests visiting the city, take them there as part of your sightseeing tour.

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Time to Get Involved
(article in Metro Today)

In Nigeria, a woman sentenced to stoning by a Muslim court for having a child out of wedlock and charged with adultery, has been given a two-year reprieve in order to wean her baby! The execution was appealed and stayed in June.

Last March, an appeals court reversed a woman’s death sentence after worldwide appeals and threats of Nigeria being isolated by other countries.

What can you do?

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Kill Your Closet Clutter: Six simple &successful steps to help you get organized (adapted from an article by Amberley McGowan Originally published in todaysparent.com, March 2002)

Has closet clutter got you all messed up? Stop hiding your chaos behind closed doors and start heaving it. Here are six simple and successful steps to help you get organized.

Commit the time to do a cleanout! Get all the bare closet necessities you’ll need; buy extra plastic hangers (not wire – they damage clothes), garbage bags and large cardboard boxes.

Knowing how to separate your clothes is the biggest challenge. Start by labelling a series of boxes. These labels should describe your clothes in terms of how you feel about them and not just by what you’re going to do with them. For example:

The Feel Gooders/Keepers These are everyday items you wear on a regular basis or clothes you save for special occasions. They make you feel great when you wear them – definitely worth keeping!

The Damaged clothes that ripped or beyond repair. Anything that you haven’t mended should also go into this pile. The "good intentions" items only create more closet clutter. Do yourself a favour and ditch them.

The Undecided Stick items you’re not sure you want to get rid of in this box. You can re-evaluate them at the end of your clean up. If it takes longer than 10 seconds to decide if you want it or to remember when you last wore it – it’s time to part with it. If you really can’t make up your mind, stick the items in storage for a couple of weeks. At the end of that time, if you’re still undecided, say adios and give them to charity.

The By-Gone Era These are clothes that will never, ever come back in style but are being held onto for nostalgic reasons. The size-27 Levi’s you wore at 16 on your first date – 15 years ago – have got to go. The solution: Suck in your stomach, snap a photo of yourself in your old favourites, and then let them rest in peace – somewhere else!

The Charitable Consists of items you plan to sell, pass on as hand-me-downs or give away to friends. The rest goes to charity ASAP.

Next, you need to find out how much space you really have by emptying your entire closet. That means everything from clothes to shoes to boxes of old letters you’ve had stashed away for years. Place everything from your closet on one side of the room and line up your labelled empty boxes on the other. Now you’re ready for the fun part!

If you’re the norm, chances are you only wear about 20 percent of what’s in your closet. This happens for one of two reasons: a) you can never find what you’re looking for or, b) the other 80 percent of the stuff in your closet isn’t worth having to begin with. Now that everything is out in the open, start sorting!

Take a good look at your closet space and see where there’s room for improvement in terms of space, design and usage:

• Can you make better use of floor space by installing some inexpensive shelving?
• Is there room for another hanging rack, below or behind the existing one?
• Can you add door hangers for bathrobes and bags or hanging racks for shoes?

Use basic organization techniques that are inexpensive and easy to incorporate:

• Use stackable plastic drawers or racks to store folded clothes (These drawer units are best placed under your short hanging clothes like blouses and skirts where space is plentiful).
• Seeing and being able to reach your clothes without fighting to find them is key.
• The right light. Add Touch Lites (battery operated press-on lights) in your closet or brighter bulbs to existing light fixtures.
• Rack em’ up. Add a row of hooks (at eye level) to keep clothes accessible and off the floor.
• Step up. Invest in a small footstool if you’ve stored items on hard-to-reach shelves.
• Know it’s there. Use see-through storage containers for smaller items, group similar items together and label them!

Once you’ve organized the space itself, start moving clothes back into your closet – systematically. Think of your lifestyle and organize accordingly. It’s easiest to start grouping clothes by type (shirts, pants, dresses, sweaters, etc). Remember to take into account your "hang long" and "hang short" clothes to maximize how you’ve planned to use your space. Then within those basic categories you can separate items by colour, occasion (casual or dressy) or season. This way you’ll know where to look and what you’ll find.

In Let Go of Clutter, author Harriet Schechter (a.k.a. The Miracle Worker) recommends these great ideas and step-by-step solutions for de-cluttering your life for good!

1. Planning to de-clutter is good but actually doing it is better. Schechter suggests creating a "de-cluttering deadline" to help you get things done ... on time:

• Invite houseguests over.
• Send out party invitations.
• Advertise a yard sale.

2. Ask yourself "The Five Ws of Clutter Control" to help you commit to throwing clutter to the curb:

What is this?
Why would I want to keep it?
When would I ever need it?
Where would I look for it?
Who else might want/have it?

3. Reward yourself! Go to a museum, see a concert, buy a new book or CD and enjoy the calm that comes with your new clutter-free space!

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Canadian Geographic won the National Magazine of the Year award out of over 2,000 submissions in 33 categories at the National Magazine Awards held in Toronto, May 31, 2002.

Nestle is the world’s largest food company in the world. It handles about 12% of world crops grown.

About 418 KitKat chocolate bars are eaten every second world-wide. KitKat is the world’s most popular chocolate bar.

About 20% of the world’s richest people control about 86% of the world’s money.

The British eat more chocolate bars than anybody else does in the world – about 5 a week for each person.

The Toronto Raptors were No. 1 in the NBA at raising money for charity. Over $10 million was raised in 2001 and the money went to about 4000 children’s charities.

Dominik Hasek and Arturs Irbe are the first Europeans to backstop two American contenders to the same Stanley Cup final.

Iraq used to own Kuwait. The Iraqi attempts at getting it back caused the Americans to launch the "Desert Storm" war against Iraq.

Recycling saves 1.5 million trees every year in Ontario alone. We could save 80 million trees each year if all Canadians used paper products with recycled content.

Per person, Canadians use more energy than any other people do in the world.

Each Canadian uses about 260 litres of water every day. 75% of the water in Canada is not subject to water conservation practices

There are about 20,00 children in Ontario waiting to be tested for special education help.

A German railroad network was ordered to pay a man $400 compensation for being unable to go to the toilet for over two hours because he could not find a free toilet on the train. All but one loo was out of flushing water and closed. A ticket inspector had the key to the only working toilet but kept it to himself.

B.D. Tyagi of Bhopal, India has the world’s longest ear fuzz at 4".

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Getting "The Call"
(muse-ings – O.S.)

You may be looking ahead and trying to figure out what you want as a career or job. Many people spend a frustrating lifetime trying to find what they want to do with themselves and their lives. Others seem to find their task, career or occupation early and know exactly what their role should be in the world. Some struggle for a long time and finally find it, sometimes by accident. What is it? It is "the call" which tells a person exactly what they should be doing in life.
The call can come in two different ways. For some it just happens quickly at some point in life. Bang. They know they have to be an Olympic runner, a nurse, a pilot, a priest, a philosopher. For others, it may take some searching based on a nagging feeling or strong sense of direction. It may require going into uncharted territory to explore and see if it might be hidden there. Eventually it comes to light and life moves ahead with renewed energy and attitude. "That’s what I’ve always wanted to do!" It is a thing that just won’t go away.
Either way, it requires an active, ongoing alertness and awareness. Any and every school subject could be the source of the inspiration to become something. Be alert and stay open to the learning in all courses. Listen to the suggestions of people who know you best. Follow up and do some research because they just might be right. Read expansively, not just in the areas of your immediate likes and trendiness. Ask others what turns them on to their jobs. Be open to the small things in life that send out barely audible messages that can be easily missed. Be ever vigilant for that which may be meant just for you.
Some people believe in a "wait and see" attitude. They think that someday something will just be there for them. The problem with this way of thinking is that the "something" might be waiting for you just as you wait for it. People are more likely to get their "call" if they are actively searching, noticing alertly and carefully inspecting when something is a potentially viable option.
In a nutshell, get passionately involved in anything and everything in life now if you want to find your life’s work. If you are a participant, your chances of getting "the call" will increase greatly. If you don’t happen to find your calling in life, you will feel less guilty and frustrated because you will at least have put 100% effort into it and had a great time while searching. What you are destined to be or do is out there you know! Go find it!

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If you are travelling this summer, here are some information websites to help you plan:

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Dear John:
I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we're apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,
Gloria
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Have a great summer.

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