This month’s feature articles:

Regular monthly features:

If we want them to achieve, we must link them with achievers...."One plus one--Pass it on." (H. Weinberg, The Public Television Outreach Alliance)

One of the most valuable experiences a gifted student can have is exposure to a mentor who is willing to share personal values, a particular interest, time, talents, and skills. When the experience is properly structured and the mentor is a good match for the student, the relationship can provide both mentor and student with encouragement, inspiration, new insights, and other personal rewards.

The idea of mentoring is as old as mankind. Ancient Greece introduced the concept, and it was institutionalized during the Middle Ages. The term MENTOR does not imply an internship, an apprenticeship, or a casual hit-or-miss relationship in which the student simply spends time in the presence of an adult and information is transmitted (Boston, 1989). Internships and apprenticeships are valuable because they allow students to learn new skills and investigate potential career interests. A mentorship, on the other hand, is a dynamic shared relationship in which values, attitudes, passions, and traditions are passed from one person to another and internalized. Its purpose is to transform lives (Boston, 1976).

Research and case studies focusing on mentors and mentorships often address the effects of the mentor in terms of career advancement, particularly for women (Kerr, 1983). The research emphasis on professional advancement and success takes priority over clarifying the basic characteristics of the relationship and its importance to gifted students (Kaufmann, Harrel, Milam, Woolverton, & Miller, 1986). Kaufmann's (1981) study of Presidential Scholars from 1964 to 1968 included questions pertaining to the nature, role, and influence of their most significant mentors. Having a role model, support, and encouragement were the most frequently stated benefits. Respondents also stated that they strongly benefited from mentors who set an example, offered intellectual stimulation, communicated excitement and joy in the learning process, and understood them and their needs.

Kaufmann's research also underscored the critical importance of mentors for gifted girls. The study, conducted 15 years after these students graduated from high school, indicated that when the earning powers of the women were equal to those of the men, the women had had one or more mentors. In other words, the presence of a mentor may equalize earning power.

Mentor relationships with dedicated scholars, artists, scientists, or business people are highly suitable for gifted adolescents, particularly those who have mastered the essentials of the high school curriculum. Many of these students have multiple potentials (they like everything and are good at everything) and may encounter college and career planning problems if they cannot establish priorities or set long-term goals (Berger, 1989; Frederickson & Rothney, 1972; Kerr, 1985). Such students may have more options and alternatives than they can realistically consider. Parents often notice that mentors have a maturing effect: Students suddenly develop a vision of what they can become, find a sense of direction, and focus their efforts. Some exemplary programs were described by Cox, Daniel, and Boston (1985) in Educating Able Learners.

Students from disadvantaged populations may also benefit strongly from mentor relationships (McIntosh & Greenlaw, 1990). Mentor programs throughout the nation (e.g., Washington, DC, Chicago, IL, Austin, TX, and Denver, CO) match bright disadvantaged youngsters of all ages with professionals of all types. Student self-confidence and aspirations are raised to new heights as the relationship grows and develops. Young adolescents gain a sense of both the lifestyle associated with the mentor's profession and the educational course that leads to it. These relationships extend far beyond the boundaries of local schools, where they often start, as mentors become extended family members and, later, colleagues. Said one mentor, in a Public Broadcasting Service documentary film (James & Camp, 1989), "This is not just a business relationship. I specialize in [student's name]." The mentor, a renowned journalist who works with one student at a time and offers workshops in mentoring, went on to say, "We unlock the future. Our relationship is valuable at various stages of life and in different ways." The student responded, "I'm glad he's so critical [of my work]. A mentor sees things in you, things you may not have seen yourself."

A true mentor relationship does not formally end. In this instance, both parties were energized by the process and said that they have continued to learn from one another, growing personally and professionally. They thought of one another as colleagues, although the student, currently a journalist in a large city, still relies on her mentor when she needs advice on a news story. They communicate by fax machine. Each has made an indelible imprint upon the life of the other.

The following guidelines, adapted from Gifted Child Monthly (Kaufmann, 1988), may be useful to parents and educators who wish to explore mentor relationships for gifted youngsters.

GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATORS AND PARENTS
*Identify what (not whom) a youngster needs. The student may want to learn a particular skill or subject or want someone to offer help in trying out a whole new lifestyle.

*Decide with the youngster whether he or she really wants a mentor. Some might just want a pal, advisor, or exposure to a career field, rather than a mentor relationship that entails close, prolonged contact and personal growth.

*Identify a few mentor candidates. If access to local resources is limited, long-distance mentors are an option. Who's Who directories and the Encyclopedia of Associations are rich sources of potential mentors.

*Interview the mentors. Find out whether they have enough time and interest to be real role models, whether their style of teaching would be compatible with the youngster's learning style, and whether they are excited about their work and want to share their skills. Be explicit about the student's abilities and needs and about the potential benefits the mentor might derive from working with the young person.

*Prepare the youngster for the mentorship. Make sure the youngster understands the purpose of the relationship, its benefits and limitations, and the rights and responsibilities that go along with it. Make sure you understand these things as well.

*Monitor the mentor relationship. If, after giving the mentorship a fair chance, you feel that the youngster is not identifying with the mentor, that self-esteem and self-confidence are not being fostered, that common goals are not developing, or that expectations on either side are unrealistic, it might be wise to renegotiate the experience with the youngster and the mentor. In extreme cases seek a new mentor.

QUESTIONS TO ASK STUDENTS
*Does the student want a mentor? Or does the student simply want enrichment in the form of exposure to a particular subject or career field?

*What type of mentor does the student need?

*Is the student prepared to spend a significant amount of time with the mentor?

*Does the student understand the purpose, benefits, and limitations of the mentor relationship?

To identify mentor candidates, use your own circle of friends and their contacts, other parents of gifted students, local schools, local universities, businesses and agencies, professional associations, local arts groups, and organizations such as the American Association of Retired Persons. State Governors' Schools and magnet high schools for gifted students are also potential sources of information on mentors and mentorship programs.

QUESTIONS TO ASK MENTORS
*Does the mentor understand and like working with gifted youngsters and adolescents?

*Is the mentor's teaching style compatible with the student's learning style?

*Is the mentor willing to be a real role model, sharing the excitement and joy of learning?

*Is the mentor optimistic, with a "sense of tomorrow"?

Cox and Daniel (1983) and Cox, Daniel, and Boston (1985) have provided useful guidelines for establishing mentor programs.

For more information, contact Gray and Associates, in care of the International Centre for Mentoring, 4042 West 27th Avenue, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6S 1R7. If you want to become a mentor, call your local volunteer coordinating agencies or clearinghouses such as United Way.

One plus one -- Pass it on.

Actors and professional marketers are hired and trained to sell a particular product. They then go out into the city to present it to unsuspecting potential consumers. A young, innocent-looking couple on the street might approach you to take a picture using their camera cell phone. A young "student" sitting in a café playing with his new state-of-the-art hand control for his computer game draws interested passersby. Two young ladies chatting in a bar have their cigarette packs on the counter and cheerfully agree to provide cigarettes to those who ask for one because they have run out. At the hottest club in town a deal is made that all vodka drinks are made with only one kind of vodka. Each setting and situation is conducive to a spontaneous conversation about the product and you don’t even know that you were marked for a sell job.

The Internet provides even better opportunities to do secret advertising. Chat rooms allow trained professionals, and even hired kids, to carefully endorse many products to unknowing young people. Movie review sites across the country are easily filled with fake endorsements for a particular movie. Next time you read reviews on the Internet, think twice about whether "everybody" has seen a movie.

Present advertising is open and clearly gives people a choice. There is an element of persuasion and charming involved. With secret advertising, deception is the key, defenses are down and there really is no choice. How effective is it? Nobody knows just yet but there is growing interest and plans for further implementation.

At its worst, this kind of advertising destroys trust and increases suspicion in the general public. Once a deception is uncovered, a company’s reputation can be seriously damaged so it must be carefully considered beforehand and done very, very carefully.

Don’t get paranoid just yet, but next time you are engaged in a conversation with a stranger who really likes a product, be on the alert. He/she might be a professional marketer trying to secretly sell you.

Canadian Canoe Symposium

Caribana

Fergus Scottish Festival and Highland Games

Fringe Festival of Independent Dance Festival

Hot & Spicy Food Festival

Toronto International Film Festival

Vegetarian Food Fair

August 20 – Canadian National Exhibition Opens

August 30 – Full Moon

Summer Story

One summer, my friend’s parents allowed three of us to stay in their family trailer in a campground. We didn’t think much about the care of it. On the last day, we started to clean out the insides – no problem - and then realized we also had to empty the camper’s tank full of our excrement. Nobody wanted to do that job. We argued about who should do it but eventually held our noses and reluctantly took turns loading the pail and dumping it. Needless to say, the next time we used the trailer we always used the public washrooms nearby. – O.S.

____________________________________________

• over 8000 people each year hurt themselves using toothpicks.
• before 1800, shoes were not designed separately for the right and left foot.
• men are 1.6% more likely than women to have bypass heart surgery.
• the rock band Duran Duran got its name from an astronaut in a 1960’s movie called "Barbarella" starring Jane Fonda.
• The floors of buildings are called stories because early European builders used to paint picture stories on the sides of their houses. Each floor had a different story.

• Canadian men spend, on average, about $36.34 each week on cigarettes.
• In 2004 there were 830 players in the major leagues of baseball and 218 were born outside of the USA. Now you can see why it is so difficult to become a professional player.
• Women are four times as likely as men to develop foot problems.
• The original version of "Cinderella" features a fur slipper instead of a glass one because the French word for glass, verre, was mistaken for the French word for white fur, vair.
• About 72% of Canadians wear shoes that don’t fit properly, with the majority being too short and too wide.
• It is believed that eight pairs of ruby slippers were made for Judy Garland in "The Wizard of Oz." One pair sold at auction on May 24, 2000, for $600,000 plus $66,000 commission!

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

(this is an actual ad for this kind of engineer)
This is one of the fastest growing areas in computing. The need for this kind of engineer is very high.

Description of the Job: Assist in the design, documentation, prototyping and development of new features for network security products. Analyze software requirements, produce detailed design documents from high-level requirements. Create prototypes as necessary for proof of concept. Construct commercial grade software that satisfies the need of customers.
Requirements
BS in Computer Science or Mathematics or equivalent
Experience with TCP/IP network programming
Extensive C experience
Knowledge of DNS, Active Directory and LDAP
Windows and UNIX experience required
Mixed platform experience a plus

A degree in visual arts would be most valuable. Taking photography and/or videography courses would also be useful. There are many other areas where your services will be of value: corporate videos, promotional videos, wedding videos, underwater and airborne videos, music videos, celebrity promotions, and more.

____________________________________________

____________________________________________

(source unknown)

The most destructive habit......................................Worry

The greatest Joy.....................................................Giving

The greatest loss.....................................................Loss of self-respect

The most satisfying work........................................Helping others

The ugliest personality trait.....................................Selfishness

The most endangered species................................Dedicated leaders

Our greatest natural resource..................................Our youth

The greatest "shot in the arm"...........................…...Encouragement

The greatest problem to overcome...................…....Fear

The most effective sleeping pill................................Peace of mind

The most crippling failure disease....................…....Excuses

The most powerful force in life...........................…...Love

The most dangerous pariah.....................................A gossiper

The world's most incredible computer.....................The brain

The worst thing to be without.... ..................... .........Hope

The deadliest weapon..............................................The tongue

The two most power-filled words.............................."I Can"

The greatest asset....................................................Faith

The most worthless emotion....................................Self-pity

The most beautiful attire...........................................A SMILE!

The most prized possession..................………….... Integrity

The most powerful channel of communication…......Prayer

The most contagious spirit........................................Enthusiasm

____________________________________________

(from Word Power in Readers’ Digest Magazine)

Bloomers – women’s underwear. Named after Amelia Bloomer, a 19^th C American social reformer who wore Turkish pantaloons under a shorter skirt.

Lynch – to hang somebody without due process of the law. Perhaps after an 18^thC American Vigilante, Capt. William Lynch.

Dunce – a slow-witted, unintelligent person. The followers of the philosopher John Duns Scotus (dunsmen) were ridiculed as being against learning.

Derby – a horse race or a type of hat. Edward Stanley, the 12^th Earl of Derby, founded a horse race at Epsom Downs near London, England.

Ritzy – Luxurious and elegant. After a Swiss hotel owner, Cesar Ritz.

Mausoleum – an aboveground burial chamber. Mausolus, a 4thC BC Carian (Turkey) ruler planned his own burial monument to immortalize his name.

Shrapnel – bomb or mine fragments. Named after Henry Shrapnel, a 19^thC English artillery officer.

Boycott – to avoid or refuse to deal with a company as a form of protest. Named after Charles Boycott, a 19^thC landowner in Ireland who was ostracized for refusing to lower rents.

____________________________________________

(based on a newsletter by Michael Adelson)

Many people think that success is somehow dependent on luck. Winning the lottery is somehow successful. However, it is usually what happens after there has been a lot of planning and taking advantage of opportunity when it comes up.

Success does not have to be an "instant" kind of thing. It doesn’t just kind of happen to you – boom. It is growth over a long time. It is like a journey of going up stairs and then there is achievement of the goal.

Have you ever thought of success from a negative point of view? If I don’t fail, then I am succeeding. Failures are important in growth and development. Not that some people can’t do things correctly the first time. Most of us go through times of failure in order to accomplish something. Overcoming the failures by learning from them leads us closer and closer to success.

Whether you are an individual or an organization, success is unusually dependent on the help of others. Leaders can be inspirational in helping others achieve. That is why they receive so much loyalty if they are really good.

Here is a saying that can be inspirational: "The harder I work, the luckier I will get." Notice that luck is not something you wait for. When you make things happen instead of waiting for them to happen to you, success will happen.

Good luck. Do your best on the journey of life and you will achieve success.

____________________________________________

(by Water Kacera, D.N., Ph.D., A.H. from New Directions magazine)

Aloe Vera Juice – improves digestion, cleanses digestive tract.

Astragulus – increases energy and improves nutrient absorption.

Bee Pollen – stimulates metabolism, helps curb appetite.

Bladderwrack – iodine enhances thyroid function. Check with herbalist first.

Chickweed – helps shed weight. Eat it raw or in salads.

Coconut Oil – medium chain triglycerides promote weight loss.

Dandelion – flush kidneys, boost metabolism, offset cravings for sweets.

Fennel – removes mucus and fat from intestinal tact, appetite suppressant.

Fenugreek – dissolves fat in the liver.

Kelp – rich in antioxidants, boosts metabolism, good for thyroid related obesity.

Licorice Root – strengthens adrenal glands, sustains blood-sugar level and reduces cravings for sweets.

Psyllium – seed of Plantain. Spongy fibers and polyphenols chemicals help take off weight.

____________________________________________

(from an article by Cathy Stapells in Leisureways, CAA member magazine)

There are many arguments about what and what does not distract drivers. On the one hand people get bored while driving and there is nothing to do. On the other hand, the things allowed in cars take the minds of drivers off what they should be concentrating on – driving.

Between 1920 and 1940, car radios become popular. William Lear (designer of the smaller radios, inventor of the Lear Jet and 8 track cassettes) sold the rights to produce radios to Galvin Manufacturing Corporation which called the radios "Motorola" – from the words "motor" and "Victrola." Ford Motor Company was the first to offer radios as original equipment in their cars.

Various groups protested that radios should be banned as they distracted drivers with their noise.

In the 1970’s, the CB Radio entered the in-car entertainment field. Those that complained against them worried about drivers fiddling with tuners and dials and distracted by their conversations.

All drivers must take precautions. Lives are at risk. Put all your energy and efforts into driving safely.

(Comment: Other distractions that have been found to cause problems and accidents while driving: audio cassettes, CD’s, TV monitors, laptop computers, video games, women putting on makeup, cell phones, listening to music on headphones, writing notes and messages, fussing with things in glove compartments, changing radio channels, talking to passengers, settling kiddy fights in the backseat, snacking, alcohol while drinking, cuddling lovers, removing clothing such as jackets, looking at scenery or distracted by a good looking person on the sidewalk, lost in thought and not paying attention to what is ahead, getting burned by or spilling a hot drink)

You must become the change you want to see in the world. – Gandhi

We are as much alive as we keep the earth alive. – Chief Dan George

To live the full life, one must have the courage to bear the responsibility of the needs of others. – Daw Aung San Suu Kyi

"I was asking myself why I was having these obstacles in my life...then I suddenly became aware that these obstacles were my life, and I began to enjoy them." - John Kanary, Author of "Breaking Through Limitations"

"We shall never cease from striving
and the end of all our striving
will be to arrive where we began
and to know the place for the first time." - T.S. Elliott

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. - Mahatma Gandhi

The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed two new Russian players for next season. Their names are Teeoff and Summeroff.

***************

A group of friars opened up a florist shop to raise funds to pay their bills. The other florists in the small village complained because they were losing business. The friars ignored threats. Hugh, the worst thug in the area was hired to beat up the friars and destroy the shop. The friars gave up and shut the shop. This proves that Hugh, and only Hugh, can prevent florist friars.

***************

Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson are going camping. They pitch their tent under the stars and go to sleep. Sometime in the middle of the night Holmes wakes Watson up.

"Watson, look up at the stars, and tell me what you deduce."

Watson says, "I see millions of stars and even if a few of those have planets, it's quite likely there are some planets like Earth, and if there are a few planets like Earth out there, there might also be life."

Holmes replied: "Watson, you idiot, somebody stole our tent!"

____________________________________________

Courtesy of DiscoverTeenergy.com
All Rights Reserved