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Holland Hall Lecture Series Presents Two Dynamic Speakers
Dear Parents,
This year, Holland Hall has introduced a free lecture series for parents and the extended Tulsa community. This past fall, Harvard Medical School child psychologist Dr. Robert Brooks kicked off the series in the Branch Theatre with a dynamic address on raising resilient children and the importance of being a “charismatic parent”.
On Wednesday, February 22 at 7 p.m. in the All Saints Chapel, noted Internet safety expert Katie Koestner will speak to Holland Hall parents about responsible use of the Internet and potential consequences of poor digital choices. CLICK TO VIEW THE FLYER.
Ms. Katie Koestner is a national expert on student safety and teen relationship culture. She has appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine, The Oprah Winfrey Show, the NBC Nightly News, CNBC Talk Live, CNN, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Later Today, Entertainment Tonight and other national television programs. She is the subject of an HBO movie and has lectured at over 1600 schools in North America. Her audiences include the incoming classes at MIT, West Point, the US Naval Academy, Brown University, Amherst College, Williams College, and many other top universities. Her testimony on Capitol Hill was instrumental in the passage of federal student safety legislation.
On Tuesday, March 13 at 7 p.m., internationally known child psychologist and parenting book author Dr. Wendy Mogel will speak in the Branch Theatre to parents and the Tulsa community. I am grateful to the Holland Hall Parents’ Association for helping to underwrite Dr. Mogel’s visit. CLICK TO VISIT DR. MOGEL’S WEBSITE.
Dr. Mogel is frequently consulted by journalists including writers for the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Better Homes and Gardens and Parents Magazine for her expertise on the dangers of overprotection, overindulgence and overscheduling of children. She also contributes articles to many types of professional publications and makes guest appearances on both drive time and NPR radio shows and on television programs including The Talk and The Today Show.
A graduate of Middlebury College, Dr. Mogel completed an internship and post-doctoral fellowship in the Department of Psychiatry at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. She has delivered over 500 speeches including keynotes at the annual meetings of the National Association of Independent Schools, the National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, the Educational Records Bureau, the National Association of Episcopal Schools, the American Montessori Society and the American Camp Association.
Dr. Mogel serves on numerous boards including the Center for Early Education and the scientific advisory board of Challenge Success, a program of the Stanford University School of Education.
We are already working to line up outstanding speakers for the 2012-13 school year and are committed as a school to bring educational experts in their fields to enhance both teacher and parent understanding of a plethora of child development issues and the learning process. If you know of a gifted speaker who you would encourage us to invite to campus, please contact me via the email address below.
I hope to see you at both evening lectures on February 22 and March 13!
Sincerely,
John D. Marshall
Head of School
jdmarshall@hollandhall.org
College Counseling: Finding the Perfect School
“I’ve found the perfect school for me!” This statement, music to a college counselor’s ears, best happens after solid research into what schools offer the best academic, athletic, social — in other words — the best multifaceted fit. Getting to this point involves lots of communication among the student, the parents and the counselor to discover the factors important to everyone. However, in times when our economy is weaker, the possible college major becomes the increasingly important question and factor, especially to parents who fear that their students could spend over four or five expensive years in college trying to figure out their life’s direction.
So what can we do to help our students narrow the choices? Even very young students can be involved in discussions about what is involved in various careers. Not long ago a friend with a Primary School daughter told me a very humorous story about her child’s perception of what the veterinarian might be planning to do to the family dog. It was a perfect opening for an age-level appropriate description of what a vet might do on a day- to-day basis. When parents show interest in a career outside their own field, it is more likely that children might do so also.
I like the idea of asking our friends in other fields if they would explain to our Middle School and Upper School students how they chose their occupation. I am always amazed at the number who landed on a career because someone they knew suggested they might like it. I am likewise amazed at the number of people who work in fields that may have less to do with a college major and more to do with a connection made later in life. If we never hear the word “actuary” it is doubtful that we will ask what it means. What if we all highlighted a career a week and had a dinnertime discussion of what might be interesting — or not — about it?
In Junior Seminar we use the Naviance program’s “Do What You Are” component to give students a little guidance about some possible careers they might like to inquire into. This program asks male students to choose whether their response to a particular situation is more like that of Bob or Bill, or, in the case of the young ladies, that of Michelle or Susan. After they have dealt with all the questions they are given their personality type and asked whether they find the descriptors attributed to them “Very Accurate, Mostly Accurate” etc. The majority of our students do find the information accurate. In addition to this personality information each student is given several possible career areas with several individual careers included in each. We hope this opens some possibilities for discussion and research.
It is a good idea to make our students more aware of the “top new jobs” or the “best jobs for the future” but it is also good to remember that the major our seniors may study in college may not be invented today.
Kathy Housh
Director of College Counseling
khoush@hollandhall.org