Life After The Great Recession

Image Source: http://costsofwar.org/

Now that the experts seem to think what has become known as the ‘Great Recession’ in the USA is over (interesting that the Fed. Reserve is still propping up the economy though and Europe is back in another recession) a great deal has changed in American society.  Some of these changes are notable and are having a big effect on parents and our ability to raise our children. For better or worse some of the changes and challenges to be aware of now and in the near future are:

Less Time Off Work – As reported by The Exchange “Nearly one of four Americans (23%) has no paid vacation and 23% have no paid holidays, while most of the world’s developed countries offer workers at least six paid holidays a year. These statistics come from a new report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), “No-Vacation Nation Revisited,” which could cause Americans to lament their too-much-work, not-enough-play lives”.  The U.S. is the only advanced economy that does not guarantee its workers paid vacation.

Obamacare – Only time will tell on this one, but for now if you do have healthcare you can expect continued premium increases, more healthcare advertising, coverage for your dependents up to age 26, a shortage of primary care providers, the increased power and wealth of healthcare insurance providers, annual free well-visits, and the IRS becoming a bigger part of your life.

Shrinking Middle-Class/Increased Poverty – If the disparity between the poor and rich in the USA is allowed to increase further the implications for society, education and our children’s future is sad at best.

The ‘War on Terror’ – The true cost in lives, privacy and dollars of 12 years of constant, large-scale military engagement will only be fully recognized by history. I tend to believe that like Vietnam it will probably be seen as a senseless waste of resources compared to the benefits it provided American Society.  As reported by Brown University’s Cost of War Project: “Our tally of all of the war’s recorded dead — including soldiers, militants, police, contractors, journalists, humanitarian workers and civilians — shows that over 330,000 people have died due to direct war violence, many more indirectly”.  For the USA the number of soldiers who have died in the wars is over 6,600 but what is also startling is disability claims continue to grow with over 750,000 disability claims already approved by the Veteran’s Administration.  Cost estimates hover around 4 trillion USD…probably enough to build a small colony on the moon?

Mom’s As Primary Family Breadwinners – As reported by the Pew Research Center and reported in the Huffington Post on May 29, 2013 by Hope Yen “America’s working mothers are now the primary breadwinners in a record 40 percent of households with children – a milestone in the changing face of modern families, up from just 11 percent in 1960″.  Women now account for 47% of the American workforce and women outnumber men with bachelor degrees. The implications of this change are for individuals, families, children, employers, society, government and our education system are discussed in the article but the bottom line is that it is a dynamic that is here to stay and has yet to be fully addressed by anyone affected.

CCSS -  The Common Core State Standards, adopted by 45 states, the District of Columbia, four territories, and the Department of Defense Education Activity, were developed by mapping backwards from college and career success, internationally benchmarked, and informed by research. Bottom line is that school will be made more challenging for UPK to  grade 12 students so they are educationally prepared for college. This is great, but in my opinion they fail to look at college standards, jobs for college graduates and the increasing difficulties of students and parents being able to even afford college/university without becoming an indentured servant of their student loan.  I personally see this as a new form of slavery built for the 21st Century. (Note:A description of how to find the CCSS standards in NYS are included at the end of this post).

UPK (Universal Pre-Kindergarten) – The age of starting formal school is quickly becoming 4 yrs. old.  This is being done in order to meet the CCSS standards and to reduce the stress on families trying to afford day care while they work.  Sure, UPK and Kindergarten are not ‘mandated’ as of yet in most states. Thus, school districts do not need to offer these educational opportunities to their residents and if they are offered parents do not need to send their children. However, Parents do need to be aware that they NEED to know the 1st grade entrance standards and have their child ready for them. This is not an easy task and parents need to know how serious it is and plan. I’d advise you to talk to your local school district counseling department or an educational consultant to assist you in getting your child ready for school starting at the age of 3 or earlier.

Charter Schools – As the Federal and State governments continue to become more involved in our children’s education you can expect to see the continued rise of private enterprise; ‘quasi-governmental’ run charter schools. The rise will mean the reduction of public education as we have known it. For most teachers this will means that benefits, security and pay will be reduced.

 

The following was taken from education.com and is great support for knowing what the new CCSS standards are in New York State for each grade level. Most of these standards are the exact same for the other 45 USA States that have adopted the CCSS.

How Do I Find the State of New York Academic Standards?

• Choose a subject area from the links on the main curriculum page.
• Under the “Resources” section on the subject area main page, look for the “Core curriculum”document.
• This link will take you to the Curriculum page where the K-12 curriculum standards can be downloaded in PDF, Word, or HTML.

Standards are available for Grades K-12 in the following disciplines:

• Arts
• Career Development and Occupational Studies
• English Language Arts
• Health, Physcial Education, and Family and Consumer Sciences
• Languages Other Than English
• Math, Science, Technology
• Social Studies

Five Gift Ideas For Any Graduate

There is no better motivation for continued success than great rewards. If your child has been working hard and has done a really great job this academic year, then a reward is in order. This will help to motivate them to work just as hard next semester. Here are some practical ideas for gifts your graduate will love.

Green Gifts
From solar powered cell phone chargers to solar panel backpacks, you can help your energy-conscious graduate to reduce their carbon footprints with solar powered tech accessories. If your graduate isn’t into gadgets, consider organic clothing, and recycled material shoes.

Tech Crazy
A new smart phone, ebook reader, tablet computer, laptop or desktop is the perfect gift for your graduate. You will definitely score some brownie points with the latest tech gadget and your graduate will be able to use this technology to improve their academic performance next year too! A new camera is also a good idea if your graduate is going somewhere special over the summer break. Opt for a camera that’s robust and can withstand the summer vacation bumps.

Gear Idea
Whether your child is graduating from elementary school, high school or college, they will be entering into a new phase in their lives. You can support this transition by giving gifts that reflect their new roles. Buy a leather work bag for college grads who are about to transition into a job, or buy an electric scooter for students who will have to commute to high school next semester.

Excellent Experiences
Sometimes the best things in life aren’t things. Giving your child a new experience and a happy memory is the best gift in the world. Send them on a summer camp, or take them on a trip to a new destination. You don’t even have to travel to provide amazing experiences; you can give them a camping trip, hiking adventure, diving experience, zipline tour, white water rafting holiday or a hot air balloon ride.

Gift certificates
These cards will allow students to select their own gifts. Give gift cards to book stores, their favorite coffee shop, the iTunes store, Amazon, or a clothing store that they frequent.

When your children graduate, rewarding all their hard work will help to motivate them to do even better in the next phase of their academic careers. When considering a gift, make sure that its representative of their interests and hobbies or that its something they really want. Giving great gifts takes thought, but it will be well worth the effort!

Note: This entry is adapted from a post on the Tutor Doctor Corporate blog titled ‘Top Ten Gifts for Grads.‘

High School Junior Prep For Senior Year

If you are entering into your last year at school later this year, there is so much you can do to help expedite your preparation for college. From taking extra courses over the summer to brushing up on your reading, there are ways in which you can improve your grade point average, work on improving the strength of your college application and get ready for the biggest academic change in your career.

Set Your Goals
This summer, take some time to decide what you want from your senior year. Knowing where you going will make it easier to plan the year ahead. If you intend to go to university or college, sit down with your parents and discuss practicalities; how much can you spend on tuition, which schools offer courses you want to take, where do you want to go to school etc. Now download course requirements and applications from the internet so that you know what grades you need and when you have to send in your application.

Give yourself a large list of possible schools so that you have a healthy set of choices. Don’t limit yourself to a few of the same kinds of schools. If you aren’t sure about what to study, speak with your school councilor. Do some online aptitude tests to see where your strengths lie and then investigate careers where you can use your skills.

Brush Up On The Extra Credits
This summer holiday, do some activities that may give you an edge on your college applications. This will include charity work, internships and summer jobs. Anything that you can do that gives you some experience in the field or rounds you out as a person is a good idea.

If there are courses that you have been struggling with, get a tutor. Use your summer holiday to fill in any gaps in your skill set so you have the best possible chance of getting into the school of your choice next year.

Start Learning Life Skills

One of the biggest hurdles for many college students is the challenge of living independently. If you’ve never used a laundromat, take a load in and try it out. Learn how to cook some of your own meals and take public transport if you haven’t before. All these experiences will help you to cope with living away from home and you will less stressed about everyday life at college.

Summer Courses
There are some elective courses you can take over the summer that will beef up your college application. Ask your councilor to give you details about these courses. Some of these courses are conducted at community colleges which is a great way to get accustomed to campus life.

Take a deep breath. College is a fun and exciting time in your academic career, and while you are looking forward to it, make sure that you take time to enjoy your senior year and spend time with your friends, many of whom will be moving away soon.

Adult Learning

Image Source: http://brandywine.psu.edu/Admissions/adult.htm

With the economic climate of the last 5 years being relatively dismal, mature learners have been returning to secondary education in unprecedented numbers. This is great, but going back to college or university is much more complicated than it was when you were just out of High School and much in higher education has changed today. Now your busy schedule makes finding the time to study difficult. Many students find themselves feeling incredibly stressed and under enormous pressure when studying. The question is why?

There is a plethora of contributing factors to adult student stress:
·        Family responsibilities take up time and energy

·        Part time or full-time jobs require your attention

·        Having had a successful career, you put too much pressure on yourself to be the ‘perfect’ student

·        Study methods you learned in school don’t work with modern teaching techniques

·        You have not kept abreast of technological advancements

·        There are gaps in your knowledge base as you have lost things you learned at school

If you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed, then consider getting a tutor. Learning centers are generally provided by each educational institution, but are often staffed by other students who may not have the skills to recognize your academic needs or help you to organize your life. You also have to make appointments and fit in with learning center schedules. Study groups are also an option but tend to be course specific.

Tutor are trained to recognise your strengths and weaknesses. They are able to help you to organize your time more effectively so that you have enough time for all the things in your life that require your attention. They will help you to study smarter, not harder.

Tutor are also able to fill gaps in your knowledge or review things that you learned in school, but have since forgotten. This will give you a stable foundation on which to build. Tutors can also teach techniques to improve concentration and memory so that you remember more of what you learn.

Study skills, research skills and writing are all paramount in presenting essays and assignments that are well-organized and grammatically correct. No matter how thorough a grasp of the material you may have, if you are not able to present your arguments and research well, your grades will suffer. Tutors are able to work with you on assignments and essays to improve your communication skills. Tutors can also be mentors as you go through higher level degree work such as Masters and PhD’s. There they can often keep you on track and provide a sounding board for your ideas. This proves especially important in writing your thesis or dissertation.

Choose a tutor that suits your personality. Find one that comes to you and fits in with your busy schedule to simplify your life. Find a tutor that is an expert in your field so that you benefit from the very best advice.

Measure your results so that you can tell if your investment in a tutor is paying off. Set realistic goals so that you have a sense of achievement and are able to feel more relaxed and confident about your studies. Investing in a tutor may be the very best thing you decide to do in your academic career and helps to keep your sanity!

Preparing for the SAT and ACT Tests

With High School Junior and Seniors getting ready to get back to school in the coming weeks comes the need for these student and their parents to start thinking about their life and career options once they graduate. If college or university is something they are striving for they need to start looking at what schools need from them such as standardized academic test results. The SAT (Scholastic Aptitude Test) and ACT (American College Testing) tests are designed to gauge your college readiness. Getting into a desired college can possibly give you the edge in your career, but preparing for the SAT or ACT can be a very intimidating prospect. The first thing to remember is that you can take the exam more then one time. If you plan well enough in advance you can complete the test more than once before you need to apply to colleges/universities. So relax…nerves are your worst enemy in an exam.

As the SAT‘s publisher states “The SAT and other College Board tests are offered several times a year. Most students take the SAT for the first time during the spring of their junior year and a second time during the fall of their senior year.” Currently, the following are SAT testing dates for 2012-13:

• October 6
• November 3
• December 1
• January 26
• March 9
• May 4
• June 1

Remember that you need to register to complete the exams almost 3 weeks before these dates and there are fees.  Registering on the College Board site does allow you to sign-up for one of these tests and provides a host of free information and the ability to take a real sample SAT test. Be aware though that you will get a load of information from colleges etc. once you register. Remember that your guidance office can also provide information and often answer questions about the tests, dates, and college requirements.

The second thing to remember is that Practice, Preparation, Review and Tutoring will help you score better.  Tutors are useful because they are able to help plan a schedule that is realistic, and will ensure that you are as prepared as you can possibly be. Tutors will also look at your study methodology. So many students are really bright, but because they have never learned effective study methods, their grades don’t reflect their true talent. A tutor can help you improve your memory and use techniques that make it easier to learn large volumes of information.

Tutors will also help you with exam techniques and how to best answer SAT and ACT questions. Planning your exam strategy will ensure that you have enough time to answer all the questions. Most importantly, a tutor can review your knowledge and identify the missing blocks in your foundation of information and skills. Filling in these missing blocks will help you to take on anything that the SAT and/or ACT throw at you.

Once you are confident in your knowledge of the basics, you need to start taking practice tests. There are a number of books that offer SAT assistance and can be found at book stores such as Barnes & Noble. The official book for the SAT is the College Board’s ‘Official SAT Study Guide‘. There are a plethora of online test sites where you can look at previous test examples. These are listed below for you. Taking practice tests is essential to success. Some of the test questions are tricky and the way in which they ask questions will be very different from what you are accustomed to. This can really trip you up if you are not adequately prepared.

It’s also essential to know how marks are distributed so that you can be sure to maximize your score and spend enough time on each aspect of the answer. There is a very particular way in which to answer these questions, so make sure you practice them.

It’s also important to know that the ACT and SAT question methodologies differ greatly. Doing well on one will not guarantee a good result on the other. This means that if you struggled with the SAT, the way they ask the questions on the ACT might suit you better.

For the best chance at getting into the college you want, it is advisable to do both tests. Just remember that even though you can take the test more than once, all of your test scores are recorded and will be available to your college entrance board.

Useful Test Prep Sites
ULS
Test Prep Practice
Test Prep Review

(Note: This post was adapted from the Tutor Doctor blog posted on Aug 21′st titled ‘How to Prepare for the SAT and ACT tests‘)

Roommate Troubles

In honor of the beginning of moving into dorm season as well as my own relocation to a new apartment with a new roommate, I’ve decided to write a post that outlines my experiences with roommates through a few tips I’ve learned. I’ve lived with eleven people over the past five years, in various combinations of numbers and in different living situations, from double dorm rooms to a triple dorm. I’ve also spent the past year living by myself in a one bedroom apartment. So learn from my mistakes and feel free to add any of your own experiences!

What’s Mine Is Yours(?)

There were lots of things I didn’t think I would mind sharing when I first went off to college. It wasn’t the first time I’d ever shared a bedroom, but it was the first time that other person hadn’t been one of my siblings. The final straw with my freshman year roommate came with the hairbrush incident, in which I returned to the room to find hair that was obviously not mine tangled up in my hairbrush. Having definite lines about what you will and won’t share in a roommate situation is important. In my best living situation, in which food was involved, we each had our own cupboard and had to share a mini fridge and freezer, but we made it very clear from the beginning that we weren’t to use each other’s food without explicit permission. When it came to dishes or utensils or pots and pans, however, the agreement was simply that if you used it you had to wash it and return it. Setting up boundaries early in the relationship means you can avoid having hurt feelings later, and you can always address issues as they come up, which brings me to my next point.

Communication is Key

There are always going to be roommate disputes, and when you shove three teenage girls in a very small space with all their belongings, problems are bound to come up. What frequently happened my sophomore year of college was the ganging up effect, in which two roommates would commiserate about something the third roommate was doing and rather than having a discussion would start an argument that would end with a lot of hurt feelings. If we had been reasonable and sat down to have discussions rather than putting each other constantly on trial, our relationship would have gone much more smoothly.

Be Assertive

Moving away from home for the first time was stressful enough, but when I got to my freshman dorm room to find that my roommate had taken the best mattress, the best desk, the best chair, AND the side of the room that had the window, my emotions ran high. Rather than discussing any of these issues, however, I simply let them slide and let them breed eventual resentment. Don’t let issues fester, and don’t constantly be the one compromising by default. Bring up things that concern you and give the other person a chance to address the problem rather than assuming the worst.

Be (Y)Our Guest

Guests can be tricky, especially if you’re living in a situation where your sleeping area is also your common/socializing area. When I woke up one night to find a stranger in my roommate’s bed it quickly became clear that she had crossed a line and we had to deal with the situation. Whether it’s about guests spending the night or staying into the early hours of the morning, these decisions should be discussed without the guests present to overhear the conversation.

Can’t We Just Be Friends?

Sometimes you won’t be friends with your roommate, and that’s okay. It certainly is a lot funner to be great friends with your roommate, and I definitely recommend it if at all possible. Certainly don’t attempt to alienate your roommate, in any case. However, the roommate relationship is just as important as the friendship, and you can’t ignore roommate problems in favor of the friendship, because eventually the resentment will boil over and cause problems. Finding the friend/roommate balance can be tricky, but if you prioritize both relationships you’ll find a way to make it work.

Living with people has been a great experience for me. I’ve had some of my worst arguments with roommates as well as found some of my very best friends. Hopefully you’ll be able to avoid some of the more traumatic experiences I had by following these tips! Of course, you should always feel safe in your living space, and if your roommate seriously violates your right to feeling safe, you should talk to your Resident Advisor.

So what are your tips for living with someone new?

College Debt Slavery

Source: http://abcnews.go.com/Business/report-student-loan-debt-class-2010/story?id=14875515#.UDG8FUR1GFE

Reading the Buffalo News yesterday [Aug. 19, 2012) I came across an article titled “Student Loans Could Hit Your Social Security”.  It is a sobering article that parents and their children who are in or considering college should read. Basically, the article points out that student loans are a growing burden on families and young adults in this country. A student loan is typically not discharged even if an individual files for bankruptcy.

In this continued recession as more and more graduates find it hard to find jobs the student debt they compiled while attending college becomes a burden that falls to the parents or grandparents and the government is now tapping their Social Security (SS) payments. The increase is staggering. In 2000 the Government garnished the SS payments of 6 individuals. In 2012 the number is up to 115,000 and the number is growing.

As a parent I suggest the following:

• Save for your children’s college
• Encourage your children to save for when they graduate High School
• Help your child evaluate the costs and benefits of going to college
• Choose schools you can and your student can afford
• Avoid student loans as much as possible and definitely try to avoid cosigning for a student loan
• If a loan is necessary avoid private student loans and use the government sources. Hey maybe someday they’ll bail you out like they did Wall Street and Banks
• Search for grants and scholarships. There are many, but they do require some effort and they are competitive
• Explore local colleges and allow the student to stay at home
• Find a job that will reimburse tuition while you work there
• Evaluate if college is really what is needed for your child’s desired occupation
• Avoid declaring a major. Many colleges ‘require’ students to declare a major knowing the student will change their mind and many of the classes will not transfer thus they need to stay another year or two.
• Take the local Community Two Year College seriously and know that it can be a great stepping-stone for transfer to a Four Year College/University.
• Be careful about signing up for colleges that are only online
• Review the employment outlook for the career options being considered
• Consider options in the military, religion, trade schools or as an apprentice
• Get help from the High School Guidance office in evaluating your child’s career strengths and options for achieving that career
• Be prepared for the possibility that college is not the right path
• Know that about 50% of students who enroll in four-year public schools eventually dropout and will not have a degree.

It is also important to recognize that as Newsweek points out in an article titled ‘Why College Isn’t for Everyone‘ “the number of new college graduates far exceeds the growth in the number of technical, managerial, and professional jobs where graduates traditionally have gravitated. As a consequence, we have a new phenomenon: underemployed college graduates doing jobs historically performed by those with much less education. We have, for example, more than 100,000 janitors with college degrees, and 16,000 degree-holding parking lot attendants.” Necessary and possibly satisfying jobs to be sure, but will the pay be enough to cover the student loans and all the other expenses that come with being a working adult?

College Ready: A Different Perspective

Source: http://professorjosh.wordpress.com/2011/06/14/college-ready-microsoft-office-pro-2010-for-cheap/

I have been meaning to write this post for the last year and keep putting it on the back burner. Yesterday coming home and listening to NPR there was another mention to the common perception that Public Schools are not preparing their students for college. This perspective keeps bugging me and I hope you will take a moment to look at why it actually makes me mad when I hear it.

For a second, I’d like to ask you to look at it from a different perspective. That of “Colleges are not providing the incoming students with the support they need to succeed”. I ask this because I do believe that perhaps we have been putting the blame for incoming freshman doing so poorly on the the shoulders of the wrong institution.

Some point to ponder in seeing it a different way are:

• Who benefits from making students take non-credit courses so they can be at a ‘college level’?
• Why is it many colleges try and some even force you to declare a major when they know most students change their major at least once and many of the courses will not transfer?
• Who benefits from a student taking 5-6 years for a 4 year degree?
• Should everyone be made to be ‘college ready’? I’m hearing that our trades and skilled production work force are currently unable to keep up with our countries needs and yet we have a glut of lawyers.
• Have student loans become the new method of our society to make our children a new type of indentured servant?
• How ready are the products of colleges/universities for the ‘real’ world of work? Many accounts I see suggest employers feel college graduate students are NOT ready for the labor market.

So maybe…just maybe we should stop exclusively blaming our public schools and start looking at fixing the ENTIRE system (Public schools, Parents, Colleges, Government and Employers). Working together we can fix this issue and stop putting our students (our future) through more work, stress and debt then they need to succeed.

Language

My introduction to languages other than English was not particularly nuanced. There were some Spanish words on Sesame Street, some French words from a children’s language book I got for Christmas one year, and then a few weeks where the school librarian tried to teach fourth graders French. (To be fair, I still remember how to ask where the hospital is, so I think she can safely count the endeavor as a success). My first real introduction to a foreign language came in eighth grade, when you were able to choose between German or Spanish.

Learning a language can be difficult, but the benefits are impressive! (Image Credit:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/primaryeducation/9321651/Foreign-languages-to-be-compulsory-from-age-seven.html)

Now, common sense might dictate that Spanish was the better choice. After all, there are more Spanish-speakers in the world than German-speakers. The United States, bordered as it is by a Spanish-speaking country and with a high Spanish-speaking population, is a place where knowledge of Spanish is particularly useful. At the age of thirteen, though, other considerations came into mind. My last name is German, the German teachers had an excellent reputation in our school district, and German just seemed like a different language choice than most people made and I wanted to be unique and cool.

So I chose German. I took German all the way through high school and then two additional courses in college until I ran out of space in my schedule and began to focus on my major rather than electives or potential minors. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize the importance of languages until after I had graduated and started looking at the kinds of jobs I wanted. I painfully became aware that knowledge of foreign languages is a pre-requisite to many careers, and a boon in many others. It isn’t that I regret taking German–I still think it is a cool language and I rarely meet people who speak it–but more that I wish I had been able to take more languages.

Unfortunately for high school students who are interested in languages, scheduling makes it impossible to take more than two languages. This means that college is the best time to really delve into languages. What has your experience been with learning foreign languages?

The Birdwatchers

As part of my liberal arts education, I was required to take a laboratory science. I hadn’t done particularly poorly in high school science, but for some reason the idea of taking a college-level course was terrifying. I fretted over the inevitable drop in my GPA and put off taking the course until my sophomore year, making the science credit one of the final breadth requirements I fulfilled. I decided to take the non-science majors course, and when I went to my advisory meeting my advisor gave my course selection list a cursory glance.

“Ah,” she said. “You’re taking your science requirement next semester. Do you know what the course is?”

In fact, I did. Although the online scheduling portal didn’t list the course name, I had cross-referenced the number with the course catalogue and found out that it had something to do with plants as medicine. My advisor glanced down at the paper, and shook her head.

“I think that next semester the course is ornithology.”

Bird watching is an easy hobby to take up. All you really need is a pair of binoculars a guidebook, and the great outdoors! (Image Credit:http://www.kyliepurtell.com/2010/08/friday-funny-bird-watching.html)

Oh.

OH.

“Birds,” I squeaked, trying not to let the panic I was feeling show on my face. I hated birds. I was scared of birds. The idea of their cold, dead eyes gave me the willies. The thought of bird wings getting trapped in my hair, feeling the frantic pulling of their muscles as they struggled to get free, made me nauseous. “Great!”

The lab portion of the course ended up being field time, which we spent taking trips around the region watching birds and keeping bird-watching journals. I was not particularly outstanding in the field, but I studied the bird identification book and did well on the quizzes. By the end of the semester, I had scraped out an A and was happy to put the course behind me. I gave my bird guide book to my parents and promptly forgot nearly everything I had learned.

What I hadn’t counted on was my mom’s newfound fascination with the bird feeders in her backyard. We’ve always had bird feeders, but they’ve typically been a vague part of the landscape and the birds that visit are, for the most part, ignored. Now, however, when we sit outside eating dinner, the binoculars and bird book are in the center, just in case a bird should appear. We’ve seen yellow finches, purple finches, a male and female grosbeak, blue jays, cowbirds, chickadees, and a plethora of other birds. The backyard has become a newfound source of enjoyment for my parents, and they bicker over what bird they’ve spotted with a fervor previously reserved for the cooking shows on Food Network.

It’s never too late to find a new hobby, and while I doubt my mom will become a particularly avid birdwatcher, her new pursuit has given her a new appreciation for the familiar, which I think is always a good idea.

What hobby has given you a new perspective on life?