TEEN TIMES by Cody Chandler Hilton

Schools are already in session in some areas, and with the financial challenges being faced by American parents and students, it's not easy finding funds to cover just the basic school materials and books, let alone new clothes. Many students have struggled to find part-time work to assist with their expenses and take some stress off their already struggling parents.

Using the internet seems to be the best tool for finding whatever jobs are available, and also the most time efficient. 2011-2012 seems like a time in history for budgeting and making due with what you have.

The important thing is to stayin school and build your career path no matter what you have to do; work after school or on weekends and find ways to cut your food, clothing and transportation costs. With schools charging more for bus service perhaps it's time to go back to the old bicycle that has been collecting dust in the garage.

Hope your new school year is good and that you keep trying to fulfill your dreams and goals.

Can Tutoring Reduce Bullying?

How Confident Students Can Triumph Over Bullies

Most parents think of tutoring as a solution for a child with bad grades, but Beatrice Hair knows it’s about so much more than just the grades.

“Knowledge breeds confidence,” said Hair, founder of the Salisbury Tutoring Academy (www.staltd.com) and author of the book, H3LT: The Hair Three- Legged-Table Solution for Education. “If it ended with better grades and test scores, then all we’d be turning out are book-smart kids who can pass a minimum skills assessment. That’s not the goal. The goal is to help a child realize their full potential both intellectually and personally. Showing them how to think for themselves in a way that fuels their ability to learn also boosts their self confidence, and when you have a child who is smart and filled with self-esteem, that child will be capable of accomplishing anything.”

Hair has personal experience with that paradigm. One of her students, William Scott, was suffering through a teenager’s worst nightmare – classes filled with failure and schoolyards filled with bullies.

“William was a special child who had moved from a school where he was succeeding marginally to a school where all he found was failure,” Hair said. “He told me what he experienced at his new school were cruel teachers and bullies. He wrote me a letter after he finished our course where he described that period as one of the darkest times of his young life, saying that the only thing he learned in that school was how to hate.”

Scott switched schools again, and his parents enrolled him at Hair’s academy for one-on-one after-school tutoring. That’s when he said his life changed.

“I’ve suffered through many hardships in my brief sixteen years on this Earth. Some of the things I’ve been through many people would understand, while on the other hand I’ve faced things that few could comprehend. I’ve faced bullies at many different schools and fought cruel and perverted teachers,” he wrote in his letter. “The entire time I faced these challenges, I had to deal with things on a much more personal level such as my lack of self-confidence and my learning difficulties. Luckily in this dark time of my life, I found a glimmer of light. I had found hope at a tutoring academy. I don’t want to go into all of the details, but when I first entered the academy, I barely had a seventy-seven average and when I finished with Algebra 2, I had the highest class average. I’m happier now that I know I can pass difficult classes and excel in them if I just put in a little more effort into my work. I’m not really sure where I would be right now if I hadn’t gone to the Salisbury Tutoring Academy, but I know for sure that it wouldn’t be a good place.”

For Hair, Scott’s solution was what she refers to as the “three-legged-table.”

“Most major problems encountered by parents, teachers and students can be solved by addressing the problems with what I call the three-legged-table,” she said. “The child, the parent and the teacher each hold up one leg of this three-legged-table. The table is the platform for transformations to occur. Imagine a three-legged-table with one leg broken. Will it stand, or will it wobble at the first sign of any turbulence? In our process, we approach problems by involving everyone who holds a stake in that child’s development, and that’s why it worked for William.”

You are more than welcome to run this article as is, let me know if you need any images to go along with it. If you would like to interview Beatrice Hair or request a review copy of H3LT contact Ginny Grimsley at ginny@newsandexperts.com.

                 KIDS K SECTION . . .

WHAT'S NEW AT THE SANTA BARBARA ZOO...          New Babies and the Latest Diet Information

by Bonnie Carroll-Cody Hilton

The hot buzz at the Santa Barbara Zoo is the cute little otter cubs who are now on view. These adorable little creatures have children hanging over the rail fascinated to watch the fast moving little babies and their mothers, and the media are out in force to get first photos of them.

Another big attraction currently is Daniel the giraffe, who is now seven months old. According to Trent Barnhard, the Santa Barbara Zoo Nutritionist "I walked in one morning and there was Daniel, I thought someone was playing a joke and that it was a toy, but then he began to move and opened his eyes, and I called the main office and said I'm not kidding there is a baby jiraffe down here!" Daniel's mom Audrey had been brought to the zoo with another jiraffe Betty Lou and no one knew she was pregnant. What a happy surprize for the zoo and the community. Daniel is adorable! The Giraffe group eat ten bales of hay and alphalfa daily and love lettuce. Feeding one of these long-necked beauties is so much fun.

Zoo half-brother gorilla's Goma and Kivu were not at all impressed by our visit, but Trent said Kivu was celebrating his 20th birthday the next day and he had planned a cake made of fruit ice and mint with candles made of bananas as a surprise for him.

The birds are fed a special diet of seed and worms that is prepared in the animal kitchen, where cooks work to make up the daily menus. The freezer holds boxes of mice and rodents, all different varities, which are used to feed select species. Trent explained that the fish is for otters and penguins, and fresh fruits and vegetables are all included healthy recommended menus for most animals where appropriate. He explained that all diets at the zoo are USDA approved.

The Elephant's, referred to as 'the girls' are both forty years old and came to the Santa Barbara Zoo when they were six months old. They eat primarily hay, a bale per day. These girls get a pedicure practically every day to protect their feet, and they like it. The zoo also has created special food lifts that encourage the elephants to stretch and walk in an effort to keep the elephants exercising daily.

The lions are one of my favorites, and watching the young women who feed and care for the lion and lioness is inspiring. These two seem so gentle that it's easy to forget they could just bite your hand off if provoked. Naturally, the lions eat meat and bone products, and both are fed at the same time to eliminate any sibbling rivalry.

The Santa Barbara Zoo sits on a piece of property owned by Lillian Child who died in 1951, and it was willed by her to be used for animal life. The only thing remaining of the original mansion that once stood here is a lion gate sculpture that was at the entrance to the property. The eighty acre property that became the Santa Barbara Zoo has some of the most beautiful views of the seaside city, and is conveniently located for locals or visiting tourists.

From Flamingo's to Gorilla's to a bevy of beautiful birds this zoo is filled with an amazing collection of animals for little campers to enjoy and study. I forgot what a wonderful experience it is to go to the zoo. No matter how sophisticated you think you are, the truth is that we all become five years old again during a visit to the zoo! For information on camp, children's entertainment and hours of operation or new acquistions visit. www.sbzoo.com.