PTO: a test prep book for all ages
December 16th, 2009
PTO Emery is a bright light in East Bay
On Monday night I had the honor of being the featured speaker at the Emeryville Unified School district’s parent teacher’s association meeting. After a delicious holiday dinner we all moved into the library of Emery Secondary School and PTO President Brynnda Collins introduced me. The school district generously provided each parent at the meeting with a copy of my book. I gave a talk on the book and particularly chapter 5, “How to Calm Down.” I think the material in this chapter is particularly helpful for parents when their kids are stressed out about tests.
It was a great group. We had so much fun as I led them through the calming tools.
When the talk was over we had a lively Q&A. One parent enthusiastically endorsed everything I had talked about, commenting that “these tools are good for young children too,” citing a school project where K-5 students were taught techniques for breathing, yoga and being quieter and their test scores substantially upped. I was delighted to hear this. She said with conviction, “I really believe kids should learn this when they are young.”
The more we can use school time– from the earliest grades–to give our students effective life skills– like how to deal with testing and other stressful situations in a calmer way, the more we are building healthy, contributing members of our community. I am hopeful that every one of the parents at the PTO meeting will follow up with their questions and observations on how the book helps them and their child. I am greatly appreciative of their passion in making the testing process more humane and growth-producing instead of stressing everybody out, parents, teachers and kids included. Bravissimo Emery parents!
