“We met online and seemed to hit it off right from the start. After he answered my ad, we went on our first date, and it was fabulous. I believe we both felt a strong chemistry and learned a lot about each other. At the end of the evening we agreed to get together again. He called me the next day and we talked for three hours. On our second date, we spent the whole day together. After three dates (and many emails, phone calls) – we were talking on a Thursday night. We had previously discussed plans for Saturday. However, he did not mention it before we hung up. I wasn’t sure of how to handle the situation, so I waited until a day later and left a voice message for him, saying hi. After four days with no word, I left him an invitation to dinner at my place. I never heard back. What happened? What am I supposed to think?” (Confused Female)

Many single women write to me expressing confusion, uncertainty and frustration regarding the whole dating scene. Their stories are often (like the one above), filled with tales of broken dates, unanswered emails and/or phone calls and guys just disappearing for no apparent reason. They are looking for answers about what qualities men look for in choosing women to date and want to know what single guys really want from their relationships. Most of all, they want to know how to find and build mutually satisfying and lasting relationships.

After receiving the above email, I decided to query several single guys and ask for their thoughts, reactions and suggestions to this and other questions that women want answers to. The men I spoke to are all; never married, twenties to thirties, professional, attractive and financially successful. All have very full social lives and have been actively meeting and dating women for years. Only one guy (David, a small town mayor and a professional lobbyist for a trade association) is in a relationship. However, he travels quite a bit and spends a lot of time out socially with mixed groups of singles.

Their feedback for the writer of the above question contained somewhat differing views, but had a consistent thread running through it. The bottom line – he liked her and had an interest, but something changed and he decided he didn’t want to continue. The men offered such comments as “he decided he’s just not that interested in her” and ” I wonder if they had sex, because some guys are into the chase and loose interest after that”. One guy was surprised that this had occurred after they had spent a lot of time together and there had been a real interest in getting to know each other. All of the guys felt that he should have handled the situation differently. David felt the writer should have brought up the issue of getting together right away- during the phone call. He believes “this would have cleared up the ambiguity and let her know upfront where she stood.” He also commented that a woman needs to “focus on what is happening in a relationship right now”. He cautioned, “don’t rely on past dates, go with what is happening now.” Their comments gave birth to more discussion and many related questions that came up for me as they shared about their dating experiences and their beliefs. The end result? A brief snapshot of the qualities men look for in women and their thoughts on dating, timing, commitment and marriage.

What are turn-ons for you?

* ” Personality is very important. Look for easy-going, easy to be with, low maintenance”.

* ” Confident, fun, strong – yet kind- women”

* ” Takes care of herself- mentally and physically”

* ? Makes decisions based on what is good for her, not to please me or someone else”

* ? Is positive and can be part of a healthy give-and-take relationship”

* ” Attractive and has style and class”

* ” Is a good friend, easy-going. easy to be with”

* ” Is upfront and communicates feelings/wants/needs clearly and directly”

* ” Comfortable with herself/her body/her decisions”

What are turn-offs for you?

* ” Doesn’t take care of herself- sloppy, disorganized, etc.”

* ” Negativity is a big turn-off- behavior, relationships, conversation”

* ” High-maintenance- nothing is ever enough”

* ” Game-player/won’t express needs and feelings directly”

* ” Expects too much in general and doesn’t give back equally”

* ” Is always the victim- everyone unfair and unkind to them”

* “needy, insecure, clingy”

* ” selfish- stingy with money, time, friends”

What are the qualities that make a woman a “keeper”?

* ” Nurturing”

* “supportive”

* ” intelligent”

* ” very into me”

* ” appreciates what I contribute and is respectful of my feelings”

* ” self-reliant”

* “family-oriented, likes kids”

* ” career or no career ok as long as she contributes to the family (great mom)

How would you define “date”?

* ” Make plans in advance”

* ” There is something there besides sex”

* ” This is something you want to pursue- have an interest in the person”

* “Friends with benefits can lead to dating or be considered a date”

* “Hooking-up is not dating”

How does a woman know if a guy is really interested?

* ” He will pursue her”
* ” No matter what, he will keep in contact”
* ” He communicates regularly and pursues a dating relationship”

How does a guy let a woman know he is not/no longer interested?

* ” He will vanish”

* ” Email or call but not bring up getting together”

* “Say I had a great time, etc.- but then not call”

* “Won’t return calls or call when he said he would”

* “Talk with her about how he is feeling/not feeling, but this is hard for many men to do”

* “Has to do with his age and level of maturity- these will determine which way he will handle it”

Why/when do guys marry?

* ” It’s about maturity and readiness”

* ” Age and what friends are doing plays a large role”

* ” Has to do with readiness for making a commitment and having kids, etc.”

* ” Heeds to feel financially, emotionally ready”

* ” Needs to really click with a woman- on all levels”

* “timing is a lot of it”

The content of the feedback from these guys was very consistent. The overall consensus? High-maintenance, negative women are the biggest turn-offs. Confident, together women, who take care of themselves, can communicate honestly and directly and are easy to be with- got the highest marks. Timing in relationships plays a huge role. Mostly, the men emphasized that when a guy is truly interested in a woman, he will pursue her and let her know. If he offers excuses and doesn’t follow through, he’s just not interested- either in her or in a relationship at this time.

My advice to the women out there. “Listen” closely to what he communicates non-verbally. If he says one thing, but does another, he is not telling you the whole truth. If you have just begun dating someone or have seen him for a while and his behavior towards you changes suddenly- address this with him immediately. Most of all, if something just doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Trust your instincts and let them be your guide.

Toni Coleman, MSW is a licensed psychotherapist, relationship coach and founder of http://www.consum-mate.com. As a recognized expert, Toni has been quoted in many local and national publications including: The Chicago Tribune, The Orlando Sentinel, New York Daily News, Indianapolis Star and Newsweek newspapers and Family Circle, Woman’s Day, Cosmo Style, Tango, Men?s Health, Star (regularly quoted body language expert), and Nirvana magazines. She has been featured on abcnews.com; discovery.health.com; aolnews.com; MSN.com, Match.com and planetearthradio.com. Toni offers dating help and relationship advice as the weekly love and dating coach on the KTRS Radio Morning Show (St. Louis, MO) and through her syndicated column, ?Dear Dating Coach.?
Her newsletter, The Art Of Intimacy, helps over fifty-five hundred subscribers with its dating and relationship advice. Toni is a member of The International Coach Federation, The International Association Of Coaches and The National Association of Social Workers.

Schwinn Elliptical 430

Why Is Gourmet Coffee So Special

One might be tempted to ask why gourmet coffee is so special. Well, here is the answer. For starters, gourmet coffee is always made by high quality fresh Arabica coffee beans which are always hand picked unlike other commercial coffees which are mostly machine graded. Hand picking of coffee beans eliminate chances for dirt such as twigs, leaves etc to sneak in and spoil your coffee.

Secondly, gourmet coffee beans are specially treated with oils after roasting which enhances its flavor to no end. The oil used for coffee bean treatment is a blend of many natural oils which do not have their adverse effect on the shelf life or stability of the ground powder unlike synthetic oils. The oils are so mixed that their characteristic flavors neutralize each other.

You can have different tailor made roast for your gourmet coffee. Deep roasted beans some what loose their natural aroma and this is why you feel the ?roasted flavor? when drinking it. Rather you would prefer a lighter roasting which retains its entire natural aroma.

Arabica coffee beans are ground to the exact perfection of fineness to get its best taste. But generally a finer grind results in a full-bodied cup of coffee, but as many would like it, coarser grinds are preferred to make coffee with coarse filters.

Finer grinds are preferred by those who like espresso but true lovers of gourmet coffee will almost invariably go with the coarse ground coffee powder as boiled water takes its own sweet time to pull out the flavor completely, especially in drip type filters.

Arabica coffee beans are never stored in warehouses as they are dispatched quickly after harvesting. It is the same story after roasting and grinding them, too. The beans from Arabica trees are, by nature, tastier than Robusta, another cheaper variety.

To its credit, Robusta coffee bean offers you higher caffeine content along with that characteristic acidic taste. Another little known fact is some marketers mix a small percentage of Robusta with gourmet coffee beans.

Schwinn Elliptical 430

Michelangelo was never short on imagination despite the fact he knew nothing of Lego. On completion of the Piet? [one of his greatest works of art] he was heard to have said, ?The work of art was always in the block of marble. My job,? he went on, ?was to chip away at the unneeded bits of stone to reveal the creativity and beauty within.?

It?s not a stretch to believe that if Michelangelo were alive today, he?d no doubt see similarities in a simple box of Legos. He may have pointed out; the art is always in the bricks? the challenge is to assemble them to reveal a thing of beauty.

How true – but where?s the relevance?

Lego Law #1: With Legos, There are No Restrictions!

Metaphorically speaking, Lego Law #1 in tandem with Michelangelo?s rationale clearly demonstrates a similarity to human beings and the laws that govern life.

Each one of us ? without exception ? is blessed at birth with creativity and imagination. To be fair, we?re not all blessed equally but there are still no limits on what we can do with the gifts we?ve been given. Although I could wax on about this for days, my point is, humans, like Lego, possess the fundamental building blocks to accomplish almost anything we want or can envision. And from Michelangelo?s perspective, the beauty [we all have the power to create] is already within us. We just have to chip away at life to find it.

Lego Law #2: Legos need Sunlight!

No imagination, beauty or creative works of art will ever come to fruition if the Lego collection is under a bed or in the back of a darkened closet. That is to say, to create great works of Lego art, one must liberate them from the dark to the light so that then ? and only then ? steps can be taken to build structure from inspiration and imagination.

How sad it is that most people go through life keeping their creative building blocks in the darkness of their mind. Henry David Thoreau noted, ?Most people live lives of quiet desperation.? Like hidden Legos waiting for new creative opportunities, human beings innately posses the fundamental building blocks for improvement that sit patiently for new marching orders to express themselves.

Lego Law #3: Don?t be Afraid to Tear Down and Start Again!

Parents are often taken aback to see children destroy a Lego creation they worked hours on to complete. Psychologists are quick to remind parents, the act of destruction is both developmental and healthy. In the end, children learn better and more innovative ways to construct their ?Lego-ations?.

Not surprisingly, the most successful men and women from all walks of life will attest to the fact that success of any kind results from the act of teardown and rebuild. The psychological motivation for this is not rooted in ongoing feelings of dissatisfaction or lack of accomplishment but rather a positive belief in the vital need to improve through renewal.

On the other hand, whether it?s Legos or Life, a complete teardown and rebuild is not always essential. In Legos, the addition of two imaginary jet engines may be all that?s necessary to turn a plane into a JET ? and the same is also true for life strategies. Sometimes a fine-tune is all that?s required. The trick is, recognize it and don?t be afraid!

Lego Law #4: Lego Art Becomes an Immediate Target!

Don?t ever expect your childhood siblings to share in your Lego vision. The fact is; little brothers and sisters are always ready to help you expedite the Lego Law #3 ritual – especially the ?Teardown? phase. Experienced Legoists learn quickly to protect their creations to ensure they continue to reap the rewards of their hard work.

So too in the laws of life! Those who toil upward attract uninvited scrutiny on all they do as a result of their undaunted dedication to success. To dare to stand apart from the crowd, to embark on an uncharted course, to risk everything by tearing down to rebuild ? opens one up to green-eyed interpretation and not so unexceptional ridicule.

For the true Legoist, it is risk that fuels the fires that create the new and improved work of art. For high-achievers, risk fans the flames of passion, which, in the end, is what separates them from those who are destined to sit, uncomfortably, on the sidelines ? having already put away their proverbial Legos!

About The Author

Paul Shearstone aka The ?Pragmatic Persuasionist? is one of North America?s foremost experts on Sales and Persuasion. An International Keynote Speaker, Author, Writer, Motivation, Corporate Ethics, / Time & Stress Management Specialist, Paul enlightens and challenges audiences as he informs, motivates and entertains.

To comment on this article or to book the Pragmatic Persuasionist for your next successful event we invite to contact Paul Shearstone directly @ 416-728-5556 or 1-866-855-4590

www.success150.com or paul@success150.com.

Schwinn Elliptical 430

You don’t have to be a good writer to write riveting sales copy!

The fact is, the best sales copy is written just like you speak. You do NOT want to sound like you’ve got a Ph.D. in English. You want to sound just like you would if you were talking to someone face to face.

Did you know some of the best copywriters used to be salesmen? This is because they understand how to sell. The writing part is an afterthought.

In fact, one of the best ways to write sales copy is to dictate. Speak your sales pitch just like you would in a face-to-face sales situation. Then play it back and transcribe it.

Of course, you’ll have to edit it here and there, but the essence of your sales pitch will be captured in words that you can put on a page. Pretty cool, huh?

One of the things I personally do to accelerate how quickly I write ad copy is this:

“I write without editing.”

What does that mean?

It means I write in one constant flow… as the thoughts occur to me… without editing myself! I don’t care if it sounds ridiculous. The words that pop into my brain go straight onto the page without a single critical thought.

When I do this, I write 10 times faster than normal. Instead of straining to write, I just “flow.” It’s easy once I get into the rhythm. Once you get your rhythm, it will be easy for you too.

Have you ever spent 10, 20, or 30 minutes struggling just to squeeze out a single paragraph or sentence? I have. It’s not fun.

If you’re like me, and you’ve found yourself in the same situation, then give my suggestion a try. Just write as it comes. Don’t edit yourself. Don’t worry about how it sounds. Turn off your critical mindset. Then…

Watch how the words just pour onto the page. They’ll come so fast, you’ll think it’s like magic. But it won’t be. It will simply be your subconscious mind… pumping out words… just as if you were talking to a friend at a coffee shop.

Pop quiz: How long did it take me to write this brief “How To Write Sales Copy Fast” article you’re now reading?

Answer: Less than 10 minutes.

Of course, I’ve been practicing how to write without editing for a while now. At first, it did not come easy. But it didn’t take much practice to get it down. Now it feels totally natural to write without editing. Try it out a few times and I expect you’ll feel the same.

zoom h4 recorder

By the 1930 Jazz had spread out of its local bases in South American and became more mainstream attracting white musicians as well. One development of Jazz was the big bands such as Ben Goodman and Glen Miller. Glen Millers big band became very successful and popular, but offering little scope for improvisation jazz aficionados saw it as more of swing rather than real jazz. However other big bands such as Duke Ellington and Count Basie provided some of the all time great Jazz recordings.

Whilst the Big Band led jazz in a more conventional direction. The late 1930s and 1940s also saw jazz develop in another direction through the creation of the new ?Be Bop? craze. Be Bop is epitomized by the great musicians such as Charlie ?Bird? Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, and Sonny Rollins. These musicians took Jazz to new heights of improvisation, loosening the adherence to harmony?s and rigid chord structures.

Unlike previous forms of jazz, Be bop was not designed for dancing but was seen more like an opportunity to showcase the musical expertise of the performers. Some of the great be bop recordings came about as the performers played off each other, each striving for greater excellence and improvisation. One of the greatest recordings of this period was ?Jazz at Masey Hall? 1953 featuring Dizzy Gillespie and Charlie Parker amongst others, it is a very good example of live jazz music. In the 1960s Be bop evolved into a form of ?free jazz? with little if any adherence to conventional harmonies and chord structures. One of the best selling jazz recordings which characterized this new form was ?A Kind of Blue? by Miles Davis.

Alas many of the great jazz performers led tragic lives, a seemingly very high percentage died prematurely, inevitably from drug and alcohol misuse. Unfortunately many young performers came to associate drugs with being a successful jazz performer so jazz developed a strong reputation for association with narcotics.

To play Jazz music successfully a classical background is definitely an advantage. To be a successful jazz player you need to be able to learn the chords and scales of the song. With this basic structure you can then improvise around these chords to give the improvised or jazz effect. However to be a great jazz musician a lot more is needed than formal training, successful improvisation is a difficult skill that appears to come easily to a rare few.

Richard is an economics teacher in Oxford and is a member of the Sri Chinmoy Centre Richard edits a site on the music of Sri Chinmoy

At the sides of the tracks the countryside is barely green and the hilltops are covered by small oak and olive trees. Now and then we pass Arabs working the land, using hand tools that probably haven’t changed in centuries.
Occasionally we pass by a lazy Kibbutz, nestled into the distant landscape.

Names seem to get more biblical as we approach the city, lending to the atmosphere of anticipation.
Approaching Jerusalem, I can make out the walls of the old city in the distance and the hills on which the various suburbs of the city are perched. All the buildings are made from the white Jerusalem stone, giving the city a shimmering effect in the intense sun.
I think of the garden of Gethsemany and the Mount of Olives.

Would they actually be as I had envisaged them to be from the Gospels?
Thoughts move over to the Holocaust Museum at Yad Va Shem, would the sights of torture and suffering be too much for me to bear? I almost dread the Idea of visiting the memorial to the six million Jews who were murdered in Eastern Europe by the Nazis during the second world war.

Eventually the train pulls into the Station and we step out onto the platform. Soldiers, many of them carrying their rifles scurry quickly passed on their way to their army bases. Once through the gates are met by our tour guide.
Courteously opening the car door for us we get into the V.I.P. tour Mercedes.

The windows are covered with blinds. I open one of them but am immediately asked by our driver to close them. ?It will ruin your surprise?, he explains.

We see nothing of the city as we hurry through it but it doesn’t seem to matter because the anticipation of the surprise and the complimentary soft drink keep us going. Climbing a large hill we begin to become aware of a whole range of smells that are new to us. Smells of the orient!

Eventually we pull up and are asked to close our eyes. We comply, now very excited by the prospect of what is to come. We are led carefully from the car to a spot where we feel the warm air whooshing up from the valley below.
?Welcome to Mount Scopus? said our guide.

?Please now open your eyes?.

The intense sun blinds the view momentarily but my eyes soon adjust.
Sucking in air at the sheer beauty of Jerusalem in all its glory make my eyes well up with tears.
The view is absolutely astounding. Nothing had prepared me for it. Nothing could.
Four Thousand years of MY history are standing right there before my eyes.
A picture with a hundred million words.

I am home!

1. Buy Used Books ?? Used books can be much cheaper then new ones. Buying used books is as easy as buying new books, and several leading stores like Amazon, Barnes & Noble and others are offering used books that are sold by third party sellers on their sites. When buying used books pay attention to the condition of the book, and to the credibility of the seller.

2. Compare Book Prices ?? Buying textbooks on the web, lets you do something that was not possible to do prior to the web ? Compare the price of the books among dozens of online book sellers. When comparing prices of books make sure you pay attention that you include also shipping cost in the calculation of the price. Several sites like BooksPrice.com allows you to compare the total price of the book including the shipping, and also to choose whether you want to buy used or new books.

3. Buy several textbooks together ?? Buying several books together may reduce the total price of shipping the books, as usually the shipping rate for the second book is lower than the cost for the first book. Few Book Price comparison sites (like BooksPrice) will allow you to compare the price a complete “book cart” and will let you know the cheapest total price for all the books.

4. Swap Books ?? Several new sites offer the ability to swap books that you do not need any more, and to get in return books that you actually need. Swapping books is not just a way to get the books that you want in a low cost, but also to make way for these books on your shelves. Examples of such sites are: bookins.com, swapyourtextbooks.com.

5. Buy older editions of the book ?? Older versions of the textbooks might not be 100% updated but the difference in price is substantial. So substantial in fact, that it might be worth getting that edition which could still be sufficient for the course. For example, price comparison of two different editions of the popular Biology book by Campbell, reveals that buying an older edition (the fifth edition for example) might be much cheaper then buying the latest edition of the book.

6. Look for international editions ?? Some of the textbooks that are required for a course are also distributed in international editions. These editions can be sometimes much cheaper then the USA edition, but the content will still be the same. For example, if you will compare the prices of the US and international versions of the Biology book by Campbell ?? you will find that the international edition (ISBN – 0321269845 ) can be found in a noticeable cheaper price then the US one (ISBN ? 080537146X).

Following these simple rules may save you some money on your text books, thus allowing you to buy more books you really want.

Lucy Orbach is the creator of BooksPrice.com – Book Price Comparison.

The Casio fx-260 is used for Part 1 of the two-part math test, which covers basic algebra and geometry, data analysis and basic number operations. Each one of the two parts has 25 questions, with 45 minutes slotted, or 90 minutes total allowed for the entire GED math test. The Casio fx-260 is distributed by the test site center for Part 1 of the test, and then collected before part 2. Calculators can’t be used for Part 2.

About the Casio Calculator

The Casio fx-260 is a scientific calculator. It’s more advanced than the simpler or basic calculator models most adults use to balance their checkbooks or to add a grocery bill while shopping. Many of today’s high schoolers and even college graduates aren’t familiar with the advanced calculators and multiple functions of scientific calculators used in today’s technology, science fields and for advanced financial operations. So calculator skills aren’t just important for GED students; knowledge of scientific calculators is important to everyone engaged in today’s rapidly progressive technological society.

Here are some basics to understand about the Casio fx-260:

• Learn the location of the keys.
• Learn the functions that the keys perform.
• Use the ‘On’ button to reset the calculator, or to clear the memory.
• How to use the ‘Clear’ and ‘All Clear’ buttons or functions to clear the last number entered or memory.
• Using number keys 0-9, and basic operation keys for addition, multiplication, subtraction and division.
• Learning the location of the decimal point key, equals and percent, and how and when each is used.
• Using the ‘Shift’ key — to change other keys to alternate functions.
• How the ‘Change Sign’ and ‘Fraction’ keys work, and when to use them.
• How the ‘Square’ and ‘Square Root’ keys work, and when to use them.
• The ‘Parenthesis’ keys are important, since these keys are used to control the order of mathematical operations.
• Understanding the keys to raise numbers to another power, and for exponentials — ‘EXP’ key — used in scientific notation.

Does it look complicated? Sure, and the Casio calculator used for the GED test has additional functions that can be used for highly complex mathematical functions.

But don’t worry. While it seems like a lot to learn — and to understand — the test requires only basic knowledge and application of a few functions. And this knowledge will actually help test candidates solve the test’s more complicated problems.

The Casio fx-260 is worth learning. Understanding goes a long way toward reducing “math anxiety” and should improve the final GED Test math score.

For additional GED study tips and math test tips, test information and free resources on the GED test, official testing sites, financial aid and student support, visit http://www.passGED.com. The website also provides links to federal agencies and nonprofits that serve GED students, instructors, corrections students and workforce development programs.

The Itch

Garrulous students occupied my sixth grade classroom after lunch, a few actually seated for class, many clustered with friends in small groups, and some strolling leisurely into the classroom. I stood before my class and raised my hand, feeling a moment of satisfaction as murmurs dwindled slowly. I took a deep breath, preparing for ninety minutes of geometry.

Twenty-eight students sat quietly, their eyes focused on me. Melissa, however, was not in her seat. I felt familiar frustration rise toward the child. She was weaving her way around desks, passing most of the students in her less than direct path toward me. Students began whispering amongst themselves. It would be difficult to regain their attention. Before I could admonish Melissa for interrupting, she handed me an envelope, ?Mom said to give you this.?

My heart beat faster as I felt my face flush. Even after fourteen years in the classroom, I felt the momentary panic a note from any parent always caused. I mentally reviewed the last several days. What had I done that upset her mom? Melissa was happy in school, an A student, energetic and bright, but impulsive. She loved math so much she often blurted the answer before the rest of the class had even started the problem.

I sighed as I opened the envelope in front of the class. Bad protocol, but past experience had taught me it was best to respond quickly to parents. The envelope contained a card with a handwritten message inside. The class became a roar of talking, laughing and whispering voices as with a pounding heart I read,

?Please accept this small token of my deep appreciation in regards to the pleasant phone call I received about my daughter, Melissa Smith. It was truly a nice surprise (as well as a shock) to have a teacher call and praise a child about her good grades rather than calling about a discipline problem. I can honestly say that I have never had a teacher call me to tell me what a good job Melissa was doing in class. Ms. Allen, you made my day. Melissa is lucky to have been in your class! Thank you for having such a positive impact on my daughter and much continued success to you!

Sincerely,
Amy Smith.?

Tears wet my eyes. I turned my back to the class and faced the board. I allowed myself the luxury of reading the card again. Melissa would continue to be a challenging child in any teacher?s classroom. But she, and equally as important, her peers would learn.

Several things I did were unorthodox. I ?wasted? instructional time calling Melissa?s mother during class, and even worse, I discussed a child?s progress in front of other students. To both, I plead guilty. If an administrator had walked into my classroom while my back was turned, while my students were off task and talking, I most certainly would have faced a reprimand and a letter would have been put in my file.

During the years I spent in the classroom I have watched students like Melissa learn — and yes, I sometimes met failure with students who didn?t succeed. On those occasions I did not consider myself a failure, although many in my profession would. The needs of some children were beyond those that could be met in my classroom.

The Tasmanian Devil

Three review problems written on the overhead projector welcomed students as they entered the classroom. Students were required to sit quietly and copy and answer the problems. It was a necessary ?warm-up? routine designed to engage their sixth-grade minds in ?school mode.? In an exclusive front row seat, sat Richard Hunt, also known as the ?Tasmanian Devil.? His desktop contained one sneaker, one shoelace and one pencil. Richard was intensely concentrating on inserting the shoelace back into the eyelets of his sneaker. No textbook, paper or any other implement of learning cluttered his otherwise empty desktop.

I handed him a copy of the overhead review questions. ?Start your warm-up, Richard,? I whispered. He didn?t acknowledge my presence. I took the sneaker, rather forcefully because he didn?t want to let go. ?I?ll lace your shoe; you do your warm-up.? Richard looked unsure. His eyes remained on the sneaker in my hands while the class finished their warm-up, his questions left blank on the paper I?d given him.

I taught the math lesson; then students worked in small groups practicing some problems. After a few minutes, lined paper littered the floor in a large circle around Richard?s team. Each sheet of paper was filled with big black numbers. Richard, his lips puckered in concentration, wrote with one of my blackboard markers. He stopped, sniffed the marker and stared at it, fascinated. ?No, that?s wrong, Richard,? his teammate Alex said. Richard angrily threw the paper to the growing pile on the floor enveloping his team and pulled a new sheet of notebook paper from his binder.

?Richard, where is your pencil?? I asked.

?I don?t know. I lost it,? Richard replied, shrugging. I stared at the child, then at his floor and desktop. The pencil was nowhere in sight, but it could be under any one of the twenty or thirty sheets of paper on the floor. I sighed, gave him another pencil and removed the marker before he could become high from snuffing.

?Would you all please help Richard clean up these papers before you answer any more questions??

?Yes, Ms. Allen,? students chorused.

The ?Tasmanian devil? that was Richard Hunt sat in the front. He required preferential seating. Even so, a small hurricane usually ensued from in his general direction before the end of class. It began with a murmur of talking. Then spitballs, staples or any number of projectiles would fly through the air.

I was required to give Richard copies of my overhead notes. He couldn?t copy information from the board. His writing ability was on sixth-grade level, his reading slightly below that. Ability wasn?t the problem. He was just so fascinated by the sound the overhead projector made or the small rainbow of light it reflected onto the ceiling that he couldn?t concentrate long enough to copy information. He drew pictures on his paper, fascinated by their shapes. He could spend an entire ninety-minute class on one detailed drawing. I thought he showed exceptional ability in art, although his art teacher didn?t think so. Richard painted his pencils with correction fluid, and then scraped it off, leaving tiny white shavings covering his desk and the floor. He snuffed the fluid and the shavings.

Richard played with anything on his or his neighbor?s desk. Because he never remembered his own supplies, or he lost them during class, he stole supplies from his neighbor, usually causing a disagreement. I frequently had to change the seating of students sitting next to him due to complaints from students and parents. I gave Richard two textbooks so he could keep one textbook at home and one in his locker. Still the textbook was an enigma that somehow never made it to class.

Richard kept an assignment book where he recorded his homework assignments. I initialed it before her left my class each day. At the group home where Richard lived, he earned privileges based on completion of the homework assignments written in his assignment book. Still, I rarely saw his homework. It was lost in transition.

He had lived in the group home since first grade. That year he was in a car accident that killed both of his parents. When Richard began having behavior problems in his new home and in school, the school psychologist, in cooperation with the school resource teacher, administered a series of tests that revealed he had a condition known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or ADHD.

Richard is a student with a disability, also known as an exceptional child (EC). The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law reauthorized in 1997, guarantees children with disabilities a ?free appropriate public education? in the least restrictive environment (LRE). Children with disabilities must be educated with children without disabilities, to the maximum extent possible. So, the least restrictive environment is typically the regular classroom.

Children with disabilities may be removed from the regular educational environment only when the disability is so severe that education in regular classes is not possible. It was possible (if not ideal) to educate Richard Hunt in the regular classroom. Toward that end, Richard?s teachers, the school psychologist, and the assistant principal wrote an Individual Education Plan, or IEP, for him. Richard?s IEP gave him modifications to help him in school. These included extended time on tests, testing in a separate room, having tests read orally to him, study guides, preferential seating away from distractions, and copies of the teacher?s notes.

ADHD is one of the most common mental disorders among children Richard?s age. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), states that 3 to 5 percent of all children ? perhaps as many as two million American children ? have been diagnosed with ADHD. On the average, at least one child in every classroom in the United States is diagnosed with the disorder, boys two or three times more frequently than girls.

Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder is perplexing because it is not one particular mental disorder, but rather it is a group of symptoms, or behaviors, that fall under the diagnosis of ADHD. Any one of three groups of behaviors: hyperactivity, impulsivity and inattention, or any combination of the three, lead to the classification ADHD. Richard was inattentive and hyperactive. His attention was focused on insignificant things in his environment, such as his shoelaces and the smell of the marker he was using. He was unaware of the important event in his environment, the math concepts. He moved around constantly, touched his neighbors and anything around him.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or DSM, is a checklist of behaviors used to classify a child with ADHD. According to the DSM, inattention means a child is so distracted by irrelevant sights and sounds that he fails to pay attention to details and makes careless mistakes. He has difficulty following instructions without being redirected. He loses or forgets tools needed for a task, like textbooks, homework, toys, or pencils. According to the DSM, some signs of hyperactivity and impulsivity are fidgeting, squirming, running, difficulty waiting in line or for a turn and restlessness. The student leaves his seat or blurts out answers during a classroom setting (like Melissa). He answers questions before hearing the whole question.

This could be because children with ADHD have a lower level of activity in the part of the brain that inhibits impulses. Scientists at NIMH used positron emission tomography, or a brain scan, to look at brains of people with ADHD and those without. Tests showed that the brains of people with ADHD were less active in the area that inhibits impulses, proving that there is a physical condition behind the behaviors classified as ADHD.

Supporting this, ADHD seems to be genetically inherited. Children with ADHD usually have at least one close relative with the disorder. One-third of all fathers who had ADHD will pass it on to their children. The ?dopamine hypothesis? is generally accepted as the cause of ADHD, which postulates that ADHD is due to insufficient availability of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the central nervous system. Dopamine is responsible for alertness, motivation, deliberate movements, appetite control and sleep.

The Surgeon General?s report in 1999 proposed a dopamine-transporter gene on chromosome 5, and a dopamine-receptor gene on chromosome 11 as possible sources of genetic variation. Severe ADHD may be caused by abnormalities in the dopamine-transporter gene (DAT1).

Stimulants increase the availability of dopamine, controlling the symptoms of ADHD. Stimulants given to increase dopamine availability include methylphenidate (Ritalin, Metadate, and Concerta). Ritalin is the most widely known form of methylphenidate, a central nervous system stimulant. In normal adults it effects are more potent that caffeine and less potent than amphetamines. In children with ADHD it has a calming, focusing effect. Other stimulants used to treat ADHD are amphetamine (Adderall), dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine, Dextrostat), and pemoline (Cylert). Some children who do not respond to stimulants are given antidepressants such as bupropion (Wellbutrin).

Side effects of such stimulants are reduced appetite, insomnia and, less frequently, liver damage. On a cautionary note, stimulants do not have Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for use in children. A physician treating a young child with ADHD may prescribe a medication that has been approved by the FDA for use in adults or older children. This is called “off-label” prescription. Even though the FDA approves a stimulant for a defined population (adults), after that drug is approved and on the market, any physician may prescribe the drug to any patient, including children. The sponsor, however, is allowed to market the drug only for the approved population. This is why most drugs used to treat mental disorders in children are dispensed with this warning: “Safety and efficacy have not been established in pediatric patients.” A physician who prescribes an ?off-label? drug for a child does so without the benefit of any research on safety and dosages in children.

While researchers study the genetic roots of ADHD, environmental and nongenetic factors are equally compelling. Hyperactivity and inattention correlate positively in children whose mothers smoked or used alcohol or other drugs during pregnancy. Alcohol and nicotine in cigarettes may damage developing nerve cells in fetuses. Fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), caused by the mother?s heavy alcohol consumption during pregnancy, is a condition leading to behaviors similar to those of ADHD. FAS can also cause intellectual impairment, low birth weight and physical abnormalities in addition to ADHD-like symptoms.

Cocaine ? including crack, the smokable form ? when used by a pregnant woman, seems to interfere with the formation of brain receptors in the fetus. In such children incoming signals from the senses (eyes, ears, and skin) are not transmitted to the brain, so the child seems unaware of his surroundings. These children often display ADHD symptoms.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Taylor Reed transferred into my school district a few weeks into sixth grade. After attending our school about a month, Taylor was put into my first period science class and my third period math class. His math teacher, a veteran teacher of twenty years, threatened to quit if Taylor wasn?t removed from his class. This was Taylor?s second try at sixth grade. The previous year he had scored only the 3rd percentile on his End of Grade math test. He had attended summer school, but had been absent too frequently to be promoted. Because Taylor?s achievement in math, reading and writing were all below his ability level, he was considered learning disabled (LD) in all three areas. Due to his disabilities he was protected by the IDEA, or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which allowed him modifications in the regular classroom.

In addition, his pediatrician prescribed Ritalin for him to treat ADHD symptoms. But, he did not take his Ritalin most days; instead, he sold it. About a week after being placed on my team, Taylor was busted for selling marijuana to an eighth grade student at school and was suspended for ten days.

By the time I had a chance to work with Taylor it was three months into the school year. He was a high-achieving student during science. He couldn?t read the science textbook, but would listen when partnered with another student who read to him. He answered all the science questions carefully in neat, beautiful handwriting. He loved science experiments, hands-on activities and science class. I rarely had to redirect him. He was a model student who did well and was rarely absent.

In contrast, however, Taylor attended my third period math class only about three days out of five. The remaining two days he was either suspended and sent home for the rest of the day or on in-school suspension, or ISS. This was mainly because he didn?t like math, and with good reason. He didn?t know even elementary level math concepts.

The first day in my math class he said, ?I am not going to do that f*cking work. It is too hard. You need to learn to f*cking teach.? His disrespectful treatment toward me would have cost me the other students? success, so I had no choice but to send him to the office. The rest of the days followed a disturbingly similar pattern. As soon as he entered the classroom for math, he immediately created a conflict with a fellow classmate or myself. One day he made the mistake of calling Jamal a ?crack head.? Jamal punched him, and then Taylor threw a desk at Jamal. I had to call our security guard, the principal or both to remove Taylor from my class on more than one occasion.

Taylor never brought his textbook, paper or pencil to math class in the afternoon, although he brought all three to science in the morning. Taylor was truly a Jekyll and Hyde. He was a dedicated student during science who changed into an unrecognizable monster, Mr. Hyde, during math class in the afternoon. There were two reasons: First, Taylor didn?t like math. Second, he took a 24-hour dose of Ritalin in the morning. But, the timed-release dose didn?t seem to work properly because his impulsivity became more pronounced during the afternoon.

My goal after Taylor joined my team was simply to get through math class each day without physical violence erupting in my classroom or students getting hurt. I had given up on teaching anyone math. But somehow, without any prompting from me, and against the preferential seating modification written into his Individual Education Plan, Taylor started sitting in a desk at the back of the room during math. Eventually he moved to a table at the back of the room and then started sitting under the table on the floor. He said he didn?t like the front of the room. The lights hurt his eyes.

I breathed a sigh of relief. He was quiet. I could teach the others. At first I ignored him there, didn?t ask him to participate and just ignored him, crossing my fingers that I would not have to call the deputy that class.

One day I gave Taylor an old third grade math workbook. I told him I needed the answers filled in to use for my next class and asked if he?d start a few for me so I could see how hard they were. By the end of class he had done five problems. So from then on, before I gave the rest of the class their assignment I got Taylor started on his ?own? math problems. At first his goal was to work for five minutes alone. I gradually increased his goal by a few minutes every couple of weeks. By the end of the year Taylor could make it through forty minutes working at the third grade level. He always took a ten or fifteen minute break to walk around the classroom, get water and move around my personal papers on my desk.

Class was ninety minutes long, so even with Taylor?s improvement, he was still on task for less than one half of the class period. After he finished his math problems Taylor played Solitaire on the computer or organized science equipment for the next day. He counted test tubes and labeled my shelves in the science equipment room. He stapled worksheets. He sorted my files. He ran errands. I kept him very busy.

Even so, by school standards, Taylor was not successful in my classroom. At the end of sixth grade he again scored in the 3rd percentile on his end of year math test. He retested at only the 2nd percentile. But, Taylor did not go to summer school. Instead, due to his many discipline referrals and lack of progress that year, the Committee on Special Education placed him in a more restrictive environment for the seventh grade. Taylor would be in the Behaviorally Educably Handicapped class which consisted of twelve students, one teacher and one teacher assistant. He would finally receive the help he so badly needed. But help came too late for Taylor.

Taylor would be fifteen before Christmas his seventh grade year, and sixteen midway into his eighth grade year. He was a prime candidate to drop out at sixteen, without even an eighth grade education. In fact, Taylor missed forty-nine days of school in seventh grade, scoring in the fifth percentile on his math EOG test. His retest was even lower, in the first percentile. Due to his ADHD and learning disability in math, Taylor was promoted to the eighth grade. He was not required to go to summer school. He told his seventh grade teacher that he hated math and had a mental block against it. He felt like he didn?t fit in at school.

Taylor sees a probation officer now and has tested positively for marijuana on a routine drug test. He is scheduled to go to court for selling marijuana. He?s had several problems with the law. If he isn?t sent to juvenile detention he will go to Wilderness Camp, a home for troubled kids.

What turned Dr. Jekyll into Mr. Hyde?

How could this happen? Melissa, Richard and Taylor all suffer from the same disorder, ADHD. All three take medication for their disorder. Melissa is a strong A student, who frustrates her teachers, but her behaviors are controlled. Richard is a ?Tasmanian Devil,? who is hard to manage but will learn in the regular classroom ? with modifications of course. He will probably not earn A?s or make the honor roll, but he will learn. In contrast, Taylor is truly ?Mr. Hyde.? He has not been successful either in the regular education environment or in the more restrictive environment of the behaviorally educably handicapped classroom. He is in trouble with the law and a prime candidate to drop out without even the skills necessary to perform the most menial jobs in society.

What is the difference? The answer is chance. Melissa was fortunate. She had a caring mother who monitored her progress closely and worked with her doctors and the school system from the time she was diagnosed in kindergarten. Richard was also lucky, although some might argue that to lose both parents tragically is not luck. But with that loss, Richard was protected by the child welfare system. When he began having difficulty at school something was done for him immediately. Richard was put on Ritalin and continued to be monitored closely, both by the school system and his caretakers. He will most likely finish high school and may go on to college.

Taylor?s story, unfortunately, is not uncommon. Unlike Melissa and Richard he was likely born with damaged receptors for sensory input so common in ?crack babies.? He was shuffled from family member to family member because none of them could manage the behaviors his disability caused. It wasn?t until his second try at sixth grade that he came to live with his grandmother. She forced him to take his medication at home and tried to work with the school, but Taylor?s behaviors were already learned.

Why didn?t his teachers help him? Taylor spent so little time at one school that his teachers didn?t know him. He should have been placed in a more restricted environment soon after kindergarten. But, it takes several months, sometimes a whole school year, to get a student placed in a more restrictive environment. There are no short cuts in a system that attempts to protect children. Even when glaring signs of trouble in school and with the law were evident, Taylor still floundered in the regular educational system until age fifteen. Taylor didn?t have someone to advocate for him.

There are few clinical psychiatrists trained to diagnose and treat mental disorders in children. School counselors, pediatricians, and family physicians step up to the plate out of necessity. These pinch hitters do not have the specialized training of a clinical psychologist or the time necessary to do a follow up evaluation requiring several hours. Children suffering from ADHD symptoms are medicated with no further treatment.

Many educators believe that ADHD is over diagnosed and overmedicated. They feel that ADHD is the result of bad teaching, bad parenting, and willful disobedience by children. On the contrary, ADHD is a real neurological disorder that must be treated as such. According to Harvard Medical School, Attention Deficit Disorder is caused by insufficient availability of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine in the central nervous system. Stimulant medications, such as Ritalin, can increase the levels of norepinephrine and help relieve the symptoms of inattention, boredom and impulsiveness.

ADHD may be caused by underdeveloped connections in the brain related to the number and size of brain cells and the number of connections between them. If the brain lacks the neurons to process incoming information it will process some, but the rest will be lost, like a computer unable to run software due to lack of available memory. Some programs may run, but they must be shut down before running others or the system will overload and the computer will freeze. An ADHD student?s mind becomes overloaded with information, and the student becomes distracted.

Teachers and parents of children with ADHD work miracles every day in the least restrictive environment and in the home. Pediatricians and physicians do the only thing they can do: prescribe medication. Social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists that work with children are underpaid and overworked. The government and child welfare protect our children while scientists continue working to find a ?cure? for this perplexing disorder called ADHD.

Note: Although Melissa, Richard and Taylor are representative of typical students, they do not exist.

References

ADHD.com, the online community (2004). http://www.adhd.com/index.html

Buresz, Allen MD. Natural Health and Longevity Resource Center. Attention Deficit Disorder & Hyperactivity Success. Retrieved July 5, 2003 from http://www.all-natural.com/add.html

Least Restrictive Environment Coalition. (1999-2001). Laws on LRE. Retrieved July 5, 2003, from http://www.lrecoalition.org/02_lawsOnLRE/#3

National Institute on Drug Abuse. (June 25, 2003). Methylphenidate (Ritalin). Retrieved July 5, 2003, from http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofax/ritalin.html

National Institute of Mental Health. (September 30, 2004). Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder http://www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm#intro

The ADHD Information Library. (2003) Retrieved October 5, 2004 from http://www.newideas.net

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1999), Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, Md. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/mentalhealth/home.html

Whenever we are confronted by an addition problem, we are going to convert it to a ?quick-add.? For example, take the addition of 7 + 5. This is 12, but some children might not get this straight away. Ask them what 10 + 2 is, however, and the answer is for the most part immediate. Nobody struggles with the latter addition problem because it is in ?quick-add format.? Now to get the problem into this format, we simply do the ?Quick-Add Conversion,? and this is when the idea of complements comes in to play. We always work with the bigger number, which in this example is 7. We take the 10-complement of 7, which is 3. We reduce the smaller number, 5, by 3 to become 2. Now we have the converted example: 7 goes to 10, and using its complement 3 to reduce 5, 5 goes to 2. We now have the ?quick-add? 10 + 2 = 12. Let?s look at another example: 8 + 9. In this case, the 10-complement of 9 is 1; thus 8 is reduced by 1 to 7, and we have the ?quick-add? 10 + 7 = 17. A snap! If both numbers are the same, no problem. Look at 6 + 6. The 10-complement of 6 is 4, thus the other 6 gets reduced by 4 to 2. We now have the ?quick-add? 10 + 2, which is 12.

This method can be extended to larger and larger numbers, using the idea of 100-complements, 1000-complements, and so on. For now, I will examine just another two examples, using additions with numbers bigger than 10. Take 18 + 8. We break down 18 into 10 + 8, and observe that the 10-complement of 8 is 2; 18 then becomes rounded to 20, the next 10 up from 18, and 8 becomes reduced by the 2 to 6. Thus we have 20 + 6 = 26. For the example of 19 + 17, we have 19 is 10 + 9 and 17 is 10 + 7. The 10-complement of 9 is 1, so 19 goes to 20, and 17 is reduced 1 to 16. So the converted example is 20 + 16, which can be further broken down to 20 + (10 + 6) = 20 + 10 + 6 = 30 + 6 = 36. In the last example, I was using some forgotten rules of arithmetic, such as the Associative Property of Addition, and breaking down the example quite extensively; however, I think the point is made and the procedure is now established.

Try looking at addition problems from this perspective by using the idea of complements and ?Quick-Add? conversions. I don?t think you or your kids will be having trouble with addition anymore. Stay tuned for more arithmetic magic in my future series of articles on this most important topic.