Parents: Family vs the Media - It's War!

Hollywood studios and television networks have been consistently and methodically lowering the bar in terms of what is appropriate in programming and family movies. And, unfortunately, too many parents have handed over the raising of their kids to the media. When you know the facts, this is really scary. Never mind content, there is no other experience in a child's life that permits so much passive intake while demanding so little active outflow as the experience of watching television. According to Jane Healy, PhD, it is well documented that heavy television watching has strong negative effects on the reading skills needed for high-level comprehension. The experience itself, and the experiences missed while watching, pose serious dangers to the actual physiological development of a child's brain. Studies show that there is a direct inverse relationship between viewing time and performance on tests of language development: the children who viewed more television demonstrated lower language levels, regardless of the content watched. And it's a given that language skills left undeveloped, or under-developed, can't help but affect a child's ability to learn in later life.

As to content, Joe is a firm believer that anyone who is blessed with the ability to affect the minds and hearts of young people should do so responsibly. That's why he turned down Hollywood studio money to produce Benji Off the Leash independently, to keep it safe for even the youngest children. To keep the "bar" of values up. In this presentation, Joe inspires parents with his personal experiences (his family has not watched television at all for over five years) and his research to make the hard choices that will both protect their kids and send the messages to Hollywood that can affect change.

In his book The Epidemic Robert Shaw, M.D. states, "Because of parenting trends evolved over the last thirty years, we are experiencing an epidemic of school problems, both learning and behavioral." And because of reliance on the media, "our stricken children spend much of their time pursuing entertainment rather than accomplishment. And they derive their self-worth from possessions."

Joe believes that it is an epidemic. The toxic elements of our culture and the absence of relaxed family time have lead to outright abandonment of the traditional values of honesty and effort. The devastating effect of media saturation and consumerism constantly pushes to undermine contentment and increase the urge to acquire. Joe's mission in his presentation to parents is to passionately and inspirationally affect the way they are parenting. His down home manner, infectious wit, and stirring delivery inspire people to crawl out of the box and achieve personal goals never dreamed possible.

Teachers: Schools that Excel - The Common Denominator

Embedded amongst all the problems we have with education in this country - the low teacher salaries, the inadequate facilities, the continuing debates over curriculum - there are schools that excel when all around them are merely struggling to keep up. Schools which, although surrounded by results well below the norms, are producing test scores astonishingly above the norms, and sending graduates off to college at percentage levels that are astounding. Even a cursory survey of a small sampling of these schools reveals a stunning focus; stunning because it's so simple. So easily discounted and tossed aside. A focus that is not particularly scholarly. Why do these schools excel when so many others do not? The common denominator is ...motivation. We can all accomplish just about anything we truly want to accomplish. There are no chains on the human spirit. But so often we get so mired in the structure, the paperwork, the debate over things intellectual, that we forget the very ingredient that can make us fly. We forget to motivate, ourselves... and our kids. In this presentation, Joe amasses the evidence and inspires those in education to, themselves, inspire. It is truly amazing what you can do when you're properly motivated.

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