C.E. Jottings

Suffering under the delusion that things can be done

"Norman is not working to his potential" (or variants that flowed through my school reports) "We want every child to reach his or her potential" (or variants of all purpose apolitical party tosh) Sentiments like this are common in the phrase book handed out to teachers, educationalists and politicians; the notion that potential is some fixed entity within the child and not a dynamic that grows in the interaction of the child with its environment. It's interesting how this polarity... Read more →

How to be top in a 24/7 world

One of the purposes I had in mind in experimenting with this blog was how to use it to reflect upon being a Third Sector CEO. In today's 'Times' Penny Wark presents the conclusions of Heather Dawson, author of "Faster, Faster" as to why some CEOs succeed and some fail. What traits make a successful senior executive? 1. Control. Successful executives are in control of their lives rather than being controlled by their jobs. They understand they have choices. 2.... Read more →

Conductive Education fantasy

Andrew Sutton has a wonderfully ironic posting on his blog. I will return to this shortly and extend this posting. In the meantime, take a read. (This quick posting is by way of testing/learning how to use Trackback and whether I can make a connection with Andrew's Blogger blog). Some days later: As can be seen, I had intended before this to return to Andrew's posting - but that was before some form of plague invaded me. I failed also... Read more →

Exercise Training Program Benefits Children With Cerebral Palsy

Coincidentally with my earlier posting, "Exercise Builds Strong Brains", this evening I came across a report published 13 November 2007: "An exercise training program improves physical fitness, participation level, and quality of life in children with cerebral palsy when added to standard care," the study authors write. "Limited exercise and sport opportunities in their neighborhoods might impede transfer of the gains in fitness into extra participation in regular physical activities. Supervised training programs at schools or in the community might... Read more →

Exercise builds strong brains (for children with CP)

To be filed under the general heading of "So how does this apply to children with motor disorders such as cerebral palsy": Another study, this one presented by Catherine Davis, an associate professor of pediatrics at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, has concluded that "children who play vigorously for 20 to 40 minutes a day may be better able to organize schoolwork, do class projects and learn mathematics". Without entirely resolving my own thoughts towards practical implementations at... Read more →

What Carers Need

A straight lift, this, from a posting on a weblog written by the Mum of a child with cerebral palsy, the ironically titled "Terrible Palsy" 26 October 2007: What Carer’s Need October 26, 2007 at 3:14 pm Someone has been working incredibly hard on this wiki. If you are Australian, come and have a look or give your support in the lead up to the federal election. Things need to change. The same things need to change in the UK... Read more →