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THE PROBLEM

Parents are often frustrated by their children’s apathy, troublesome behavior, destructive habits and inconsistent academic performance. In many cases, conflict and alienation have replaced a vision of a relationship based on mutual caring, cooperation, trust and respect. This disharmony in our homes is being mirrored in society by escalating crime, pregnancy, suicide, drug and alcohol abuse rates among our youth. Many parents are searching for answers.


WHAT IS THE SOLUTION?

In 1996, Dr. Laurence Sternberg completed an extensive ten-year study of 20,000 adolescents and their families to find the most important factors that contribute to the academic success of public school students. He discovered that the underlying cause for poor academic performance, in the vast majority of students, was lack of student engagement in the education process. Upon further investigation, he found that the most important factor that contributed to a child’s engagement and academic success was the general atmosphere of the child’s home environment. He also found that higher academic achievers, on average, were also more self-reliant, more socially skilled, and more self controlled then those students with low academic ratings.

So what qualities do parents need to exemplify in order to create a home environment that supports a child’s academic achievement and overall wellbeing? Over the past 17 years of conducting Parent Leadership® trainings for more than 4000 public school parents, Dr. Marc Rosenbaum, the director of Education for Excellence, found children thrive in a more loving and supportive home environment as parents learn and embody the principles presented in the Parent Leadership Training®:

  • Conscious choice rather than habitual emotional response.
  • Taking responsibility instead of blaming others.
  • Acceptance instead of judgment.
  • Assertive communication rather than habitual passivity or aggression.
  • Forgiveness and Empathy for oneself and others instead of hatred.
  • Enhanced self-esteem as a foundation for abundance at every level.
  • Release beliefs that prevent us from having the life that we deserve.

BENEFITS AND OUTCOMES:

As they address the core of the parent-child relationship by shifting the focus from being obsessed with their children’s behavior to becoming aware of and responsible for their own behavior, Parent Leadership Training® participants consistently report that they have learned how to:

  • Earn the respect they deserve by really listening, communicating assertively, and taking their child's point of view into consideration
  • Promote cooperation and connectedness though empathy and understanding rather than by forced compliance and obedience
  • Pause, reflect, and make choices that better serve themselves and their family
  • Identify their unique parenting style and acknowledge their children’s unique temperament
  • Listen at a much deeper level to their children as well as others in their lives
  • Recover their sense of self and inner integrity in order to create a more compassionate relationship with their children
  • Navigate the delicate balance between freedom and control

PARTICIPANTS

In that the principles presented are universal, the Parent Leadership Training® is appropriate for parents of children of any age, ethnicity or nationality.


FORMAT

Although the format can be easily adapted to the needs of the specific population, the training is ideally presented:

  • Once a week for 6 consecutive weeks in the morning or evening
  • In 2-3 hour sessions
  • To between 12-35 participants
  • Facilitated in Spanish or English

HIGHLIGHTS

  • A growth and development program for parents. We teach who we are…Our children learn how to listen, communicate, take responsibility, and forgive by observing their parents.
  • The course and all materials (books, DVD, handouts etc.) are in Spanish as well as English.
  • A safe environment and a sense of community are created as parents share their concerns and learnings and realize that they are not alone in dealing with the challenges that the parenting experience presents.
  • As the course is being presented there is always a visual representation (cartoon, video, animation, expert’s interpretation etc.) being projected as a way of supporting the specific topic.
  • Dr. Rosenbam’s books, Masterful Parenting and El Arte de Ser Padres, are used to support the facilitated presentation.
  • The home assignments provide an opportunity for each parent participant to practice the specific lessons presented in each class.

MATERIALS AND RESOURCES

  • The course text, Masterful Parenting and El Arte de Ser Padres, offers weekly reading and home assignments that experientially support each session
  • An Educational for Excellence English or Spanish speaking facilitator whose main abilities include:
    • Presenting the material accurately
    • Expertise in multicultural communication
    • Assisting individuals in processing important issues
    • Creating a safe forum for parents to share their challenges and concerns
  • A room with a blackboard where the chairs can be arranged in a semicircle
  • A DVD player and screen
  • A certificate presented to each participant upon successful completion

COST

The cost for the 18-hour, six session training, for up to 32 participants is $4500. This fee includes facilitation in Spanish or English, the book Masterful Parenting or El Arte de Ser Padres for each parent, and all other relevant materials.


OTHER POSSIBILITIES

For the past 17 years, Dr. Rosenbaum and his Education for Excellence facilitators have presented the Self-Mastery programs to more than 4000 parents, teachers and students throughout New York City; Colombia, South America and Los Angeles, California. Although the format is different, the same principles and content provide the foundation for the students' and teachers' programs as well.

  • Leadership Training for teachers which uses Dr. Rosenbaum’s Education for Transformation as a course text
  • Trainings presented to school aids, secretaries and counselors
  • Leadership Trainings for Parent Coordinators and Administrators
  • Ongoing courses presented to students utilizing video and Dr. Rosenbaum’s text for adolescents as a foundation
  • The Parent Leadership Academy trains those individuals who work with parents to teach and present the Parent Leadership Training® in their organization or school

Parent Leadership Training® Synopsis


SESSION ONE
THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENING


  1. Pre evaluation questionnaire*
  2. To Tell The Truth warm-up exercise*
  3. Leadership Principle …Real Listening
  4. What Do We Do Instead of Listening* (p. 29)
  5. Role playing What We Do Instead of Listening*
  6. HOME ASSIGNMENT - Listening to Your Children (p.32)

SESSION TWO
CHOICE

  1. Review Listening home assignment
  2. Leadership Principle …Choice
  3. Leadership Principle …How You Relate to the Issue is the Issue
  4. Leadership Principle …Reflection Before Action
  5. THE DISCIPLINE OF LOVING
  6. How Do You Make Yourself Miserable activity*
  7. HOME ASSIGNMENT - Habits and Choice (p.171)

SESSION THREE
ACCEPTANCE

  1. Review Habits and Choice home assignment
  2. Leadership Principle …Acceptance
  3. I’m Looking at the Man in the Mirror exercise* (p. 65)
  4. Acceptances and Temperament (p.117)
  5. HOME ASSIGNMENT – Acceptance… Improving Relationships (p.67)

SESSION FOUR
TAKING RESPONSIBILITY, POSSIBILITIES AND FORGIVENESS

  1. Review Acceptance home assignment
  2. Leadership Principle …Responsibility (p.78)
  3. How We Create, Promote or Allow Whatever is Happening in Our Lives
  4. Internal vs. External Locus of Control
  5. Leadership Principle …Forgiveness
  6. Forgiveness exercise* (page 85)
  7. HOME ASSIGNMENT - Forgiveness of Self and Others (p. 87)

SESSION FIVE
COMMUNICATION AND CARING

  1. Review Forgiveness home assignment
  2. Leadership Principle …Assertive Communication
  3. Communication questionnaire* (p.91)
  4. Passive, Aggressive and Assertive handout* (p.94)
  5. Role playing Passive, Aggressive and Assertive*
  6. HOME ASSIGNMENT – Observing and Changing Habits in Communication (p.104)

SESSION SIX
RESOLVING CONFLICT PEACEFULLY and LIVING IN POSSIBILITIES

  1. Review the Communication home assignment
  2. Seven Steps to Resolving Conflict Peacefully (p.141)
    • Intention for peaceful resolution
    • Empathic listening
    • Understanding, reflecting and validating other person’s feelings
    • Taking responsibility for your feelings
    • Understanding the other person’s point of view
    • Communicating assertively
    • Finding a solution
  3. Role Playing Choices in Dealing with Conflict Situations in the School*
  4. This or That Exercise*
  5. Perception and Point of View video*
  6. Survival vs. Possibility*
  7. What Do You Think You Deserve Handout*

* in-class exercise


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For more information, please call (800) 591-5988 or email judy@ed4excellence.org