Blog | - Part 52

July 6, 2014

Persistence vs. Perseverance

When I first looked at the word for this month, Persistence, I wondered to myself – ‘what is the difference between persistence and perseverance?’ Both seem to be about reaching a goal and the goal not coming easy. Both require discipline, focus and determination. I thought about it for hours, trying to determine how to deal with this subject with our students.

The first requirement for successfully reaching a goal is to have a goal, a purpose / mission that we are committed to and have a strong desire to reach.

Once we have a goal or chief aim in our mind we must have perseverance, because there will be things that come up that will block the easy path to that goal. We may get sick, not have the financial resources. We may get hurt or other situations may arise outside our realm of control that could easily make us believe that we cannot continue. It may seem that it is just not ‘meant to be’ due to these circumstances or events and therefore easy to give up. Perseverance is not allowing these outside forces dissuade us from pursuing our mission or specific goal.

Persistence is also needed but is far more internal. We may have a goal in mind that we believe in and want to accomplish, that while may be possible, may also be very difficult or require more time, energy or creativity than we expected. Persistence is the quality that keeps us going, even when others have given up. It is reexamining our motives and desires and pressing forward – to find the answer or accomplish the goal. Our desire is so strong that when one way of approaching the challenge does not work we do not give up – rather we look at it from a different point of view. Our desire to reach the goal continues to drive us even if the process become monotonous or even boring. Our internal drive does not stop.

There are times when perseverance and persistence no longer make sense and we need to adjust our goal in some manner. Most of the time though both of these character traits will help us accomplish our mission or purpose when put into practice in a balanced manner.

June 30, 2014

Life Skills: Persistence – The Definition

Each month we will discuss a life skill with all of our students. This month the word is Persistence. This word will be defined in the following ways for our students.

Young students: Persistence means: “No matter how tough, I won’t give up!

Older students: Persistence means: The determination to keep going even when faced with challenges or initial failure.

Each age group has a worksheet that parents can use to continue the discussion at home with their children, and one for adults to allow them to think more deeply about the skill and how it applies to them. Would you like to receive the worksheet? Stop by our studio at 133 Gibralter Avenue in Annapolis, MD and tell us the age of your child. We will give you a worksheet and invite you to watch Mr. Joe discuss the word with the students in class. You can also follow our discussions here on this website.

If you would like to become a member of Balanced Life Skills, come TRY CLASSES FOR FREE. We are not your typical martial arts school, in fact we are an education center, working with our students on physical skills along with empowering families with compassion, awareness and respect – creating a culture of peace. We believe in every child and build their self – confidence. Balanced Life Skills takes part in community service and encourages each student to do the same.

Come in and talk to the parents that are here and watch the class for the age group you are interested in. Learn about the Balanced Life Skills Way.

June 26, 2014

SEE THE LIGHT!

That is right… The Performing Arts Department has lighting equipment and we are not afraid to use it! It is a very exciting time! We purchased four Par 56 lighting instruments, 1 Dimmer, Two stands, a control board, and a whole bunch of gels. Here is a little information about lighting design…

CONTROL BOARD: The control board controls the dimmers. You will adjust the control board in order to vary the intensity of the lights.

INSTRUMENTS: (A.K.A Fixture, Luminaire, or Unit) These are the actual lights; the lamp/bulb and the metal around it. We are using Par 56 Instruments. Par 56 instruments provide a wide range of lights and are great instruments for learning the basics of lighting design.

DIMMERS: Each instrument is plugged into a dimmer or dimmer rack. The dimmer rack varies the brightness of the light. The same way that a dimmer in your home does, except the voltage here is a little bit different.

GELS: Give the light color

GOBOS: Give the light shape; think of it as a stencil for the light.

HANGING LIGHTS: This is an activity for which the tech crew is responsible, prior to the actors coming in for tech week. Lights are hung at specific angles to give the light direction. It sets the overall tone for each scene. Then, when the actors come in during Tech Week, the direction may be adjusted slightly based on the height and position of actors.

Contact Ms. Ellen if you would like to learn more about Lighting Design!

June 24, 2014

“Creating original work to improve ourselves and the world around us.”

Balanced Life Skills is rolling out an exciting new theater program that will give students the opportunity to change the world. This program will teach students valuable life skills such as diction, movement, research and public speaking while harnessing their imaginations in order to tell compelling stories. They will also be exploring issues that are important to them and taking ownership of all aspects of production for piece that will engage the community and inspire people to become a part of the solution. Here is a look at what we have planned for the coming year. If you have questions about any of these programs, please contact ellen@balancedlifeskills.com.

Summer 2014

Summer Campers will explore the world of Shakespeare, Comedia Dell’Arte, and Kabuki
Students will explore Deforestation, Equality and War and make a presentation on these important issues at the end of each week
Kick It! girls perform at First Sunday Arts Festival
Click here to register for our summer camp!

Fall 2014

First 10 Week Theater Sessions begin
Participation in the Annapolis Fringe Festival
One – Two Day workshops offered that will include Performing Arts, Visual Arts and Performing Arts
Fall Showcase for Performing Arts, Visual Arts, and Performing Arts
Click here to visit the performing arts page and learn more about our program offerings

Stay tuned to find out how else our students will change the world!

June 20, 2014

Are You THAT Parent?

We have all seen them, the bad sports parent. You know the one I am talking about: the mom or dad who gets so caught up in winning (or losing) and on how well their child is performing that they forget the most important part of competing… being a good sport. THAT parent who constantly yells out commands to their kid, “Stop kicking the dirt. Pay attention Johnny, look alive! Put your hat back on. What are you doing out there?’ Or maybe THAT parent the one who blames everyone else if his child messes up; “Are you kidding me ref do you need glasses? That was a foul!!!” Then there is the worse of them all; THAT parent, the one who shouts insults and passive aggressive comments at the players of the other team, saying things like, “my grandmother can bat better than that!”

Most likely you are not the one who is yelling at the umpire or calling the opposing team’s pitcher a few choice words, but, you still could be THAT parent. “Not me!” you may be thinking, I would never be THAT parent. I respect the coaches and the referee’s decisions and I always encourage my kid to do the same. Or do you?

Its Sunday afternoon football and you have been waiting all week for this game. You are sitting back relaxing in your easy chair when your team’s quarterback throws the ball that is intercepted and the opposing team runs it all the way for a touchdown. But wait there was flag thrown. You are positive it will be called on the other team and therefore the touchdown will not count, but nope it is against your team and the 6 points stays which just so happens to mean your team loses the game. You are angry and you let that referee on that little screen know exactly what you think of the bad call. Voicing your disappointment makes you feel, well better. No harm, right? WRONG! Because while you are ranting, and blaming and basically throwing a small fit… little Johnny could be watching. And since children learn the fundamentals of sportsmanship from the grownups around them, it can still affect the kind of sport they will be.

Remember that old saying, “Actions speak louder than words”? Well it is particularly true when it comes to teaching our kids the basics of good sportsmanship. The behavior we have during practices, games, while sitting in the stands or in our own living room watching a game on TV matters more than any lecture or pep talk you can give them. So the next time you want to talk back to the TV set and complain about a foul ball, a missed pass or even your candidate who lost the senate race… think about who is around watching and how you would want them to act, and then act that way yourself. After all, you don’t want to be known as THAT parent do you?

June 18, 2014

Are You A RESPECTFUL Rule Follower?

This week in classes we will be talking to the students about how a key component to sportsmanship is playing by the rules. We all know that rules are in place as a way of keeping things safe and fair- be it our roads we drive on, a baseball game or even the 5th grade spelling bee. Certain standards and expectations are laid out and others are expected to follow. As a parent we work hard to instill these important values in our kids; and for the most part we are doing a really good job too. But are we really practicing what we preach?

Ever sped up at a yellow light to make it through before it turns red? Ever crossed the street outside of the designated crosswalk path? Every said your child was 9 when he is really 10 just to get him into an amusement park at the cheaper rate? What about going 60 on the Highway even though the speed limit is clearly posted as being 55? Wait you might be thinking, these are not GAME rules. No they aren’t but they are still established standards that we are expected to respect, just like we expect our kids to wait their turn during kick ball, or that a 16 year old boy will not be on the defense line ready to squash your little 10 year old quarterback.

Face it… you are a rule breaker! We do these types of “nuances” all the time in our everyday life and most of the time we don’t even think about them. We understand that not everything is black and white and give ourselves some wiggle room to bend a few rules from time to time. And I am willing to bet that not once when you have done these things did you ever think that you might be sending a message to your children that you don’t always have to follow the rules; yet that is exactly what we are doing!

By definition, good sporting behavior means playing a game by the rules, respecting those rules, and being courteous to teammates, the referee, and the other team. It is important to make sure that children understand the rules, but even more so that they follow them. If they see us breaking the rules, even slightly, from time to time when it is convenient or we are late or the crosswalk just seems so far away… they too will be quick to do the same and make their own justifications as to why it is okay. Something to think about the next time you’re ready to push the pedal harder when the traffic light turns yellow.