A Journey to a Successful Career/Education: "From Cradle to College"

By Dr. C

This is a parent/student guide to assist our youth with their journey to accomplishing a successful career and ambassadorship. It chronicles the four stages of a childs life, from conception to college, and the responsibility that both parent and child must accept for success in life.

Stage one: conception through pre-schoolthe focus is on the parent(s) because they are the childs first teacher.

Stage two: Middle Schoolthe focus shifts from the parents and tilts toward the adolescent.

Stage three: High Schoolthe spotlight is on the student or young adult with the parent as support.

Stage four: Ambassadorshipis the last stage of the journey. It is the most important and should be intertwined throughout all stages of the journey. It includes a vision of ones true purpose, and

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 8, 2012
• ISBN: 9781477204580

Dr. C

The fourth of five children born in Over town, Miami to Mattie and Leroy Clark, Mary Edmond Coutain saw parents that never stopped striving. Her dad, a Miami-Dade Police Officer and her mom a hospital employee, were great role-models, and big influences in her life. Mary is a spiritually grounded, energetic woman with determination and guts. Educated during the time of desegregation, she realized that she enjoyed learning and wanted to further her education and achieve a college degree. A comment made by her high school counselor, “you are not college material,” based on low test scores, became a defining moment in her life. It helped to shape her future and ministry. Mary has since earned four degrees, an Associates, Bachelors, and Masters in Business, and a Doctorate in Religious Education. Dr. Mary Coutain has devoted her life to mentoring our youth, helping them overcome adversities, and believing in themselves. This twenty-year venture has yielded lawyers, teachers psychologists, parole officers, numerous college graduates and an ongoing group of college bound youth. Her church experience has been largely Church of God in Christ (COGIC), and her ministry has been mainly with the youth. Currently, as Director of Youth Ministry, she travels and presents seminars to help young people to build a solid educational and spiritual foundation. “If it is to be it is up to me,” and “All things are possible if you just believe,” is what she practices and teaches as a mother of six. She believes obstacles can become opportunities if we just have faith. She mentors middle and high school students based on the words found in Habakkuk 2:2, “write the vision, make it plain, so they that read it may run with it.” Dr. Coutain encourages the youth of today to dream...because dreams become goals and goals can be achieved.

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© 2012 by Dr. C. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 06/05/2012

ISBN: 978-1-4772-0457-3 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4772-0458-0 (e)

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

CHAPTER 1 STAGE 1: BIRTH, PRE-K AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Pregnancy Personified

The Formative Years (0-5)

The 3 R’s

CHAPTER 2 STAGE 2: MIDDLE SCHOOL YEARS

War Times

Puberty and Peer Pressure

Parents as Partners

It’s On

CHAPTER 3 STAGE 3: HIGH SCHOOL

Fond Memories

Freshman Foundation

Tenth and Eleventh Grade

The Senior Year

One Year After Graduation

Magnet Programs

Public Versus Private Schools

CHAPTER 4 STAGE 4: TIME FOR COLLEGE

Vocational Education

Money, Money, Money

Financial Assistance

Time to Fly

Tips for Employment after Graduation

CHAPTER 5 STAGE 5: AMBASSADORSHIP AND VICTORY

My Calling

Ambassadorship

Time for God

CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION: SO THE LAST SHALL BE FIRST

HELPS FOR SUCCESS IN HIGH SCHOOL

REMINDERS FOR JUNIORS AND SENIORS

HELPS FOR SUCCESS IN COLLEGE

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE BOOK

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This project is dedicated first and foremost to God, and some very strong women that I had the privilege of having in my life: my mom, Mattie Clark, who always encouraged and supported me, and Dr. E. Smiley, a strong woman I admired from a distance. Then to my three daughters who always believed in Mommy and who are looking to me for inspiration, Tiffany, Amy, and Angelica E.

"And the Lord answered me, and said,

write the vision, and make it plain upon tables,

that he may run that readeth it."

(Habakkuk 2:2)

CHAPTER 1

STAGE 1: BIRTH, PRE-K AND ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Many ideas are presented here in an effort to help turn the tide of unintended infant neglect into a paradigm shift for parents, caregivers, and the entire educational and social system. It is the belief of Rebecca Shore, author of Nurturing Neural Networks from Birth to Age Five, and I agree, that with respect to brain development and building lives, that the effects of a child’s environment on his neural network between his kindergarten years and his high school graduation pale in comparison to the effects of his environment on his neural network between birth and kindergarten. We have blamed teachers, programs, parents, and even other children for our schools’ failure. But, the solution to K-12 problems lies between the maternity ward and the kindergarten door, and we need visionary educational leadership to make this paradigm shift.

Pregnancy Personified

At the age of twenty-five, I had finally done it! After trying for several months from the rhythm method to old wives tales and plain old practice, practice, practice, I was pregnant. Okay, okay, we were pregnant! All excited about this new phase I was entering, I began to read book after book to make sure that my baby had all the advantages available to grow, not just physically but also intellectually. I read books, brochures, pamphlets, and even ordered a product called, How to Teach Your Baby To Read, by Glenn Doman, all in anticipation of the genius I was about to produce. Though I was unaware of what to expect, I was ecstatic and looked forward in anticipation to the changes my body would go through and the relationship that would develop between my unborn child and me.

I learned that the second trimester was the most active time for the fetus and was the proper time to start the first of my experiments on teaching my baby. I started by singing and gently rubbing my belly, playing soft music, and reading lots of books. As my child grew bigger, I would talk to her when she would kick too hard or stretch in a way that made me uncomfortable. I believed that she could hear and understand. The motion of pushing her foot or hand and repositioning my body, or softly singing her off to sleep would work each time. In addition to getting her accustomed to my voice, I had my husband speak and read to her as well, so that the tone of his voice would also console her.

I continued communication throughout the third trimester and continued to enlighten myself with new material. I was determined to be the perfect Mom and give my little one the best start possible in life. My time was drawing nigh, and we waited in great expectation for the birth of our first infant. With bags packed, nursery finished, and baby showers behind me, it was time for the main event . . . delivery.

After twenty-four hours labor and an emergency cesarean section, she was here. Now I was ready to put all the knowledge I had gained to work. The program I had ordered advocated teaching the baby before she could sit up by using flash cards. The cards were huge. They were white with large red lettering. As instructed, I started with words instead of the alphabet. The first words she learned to identify by memory were Mommy, Daddy, and her name Tiffany. I would mix the words up. My toddler knew which one was which, and my mom was amazed. From that point on all of her toys were educational, but all she knew was that they were fun. I talked to her or made up a song for almost all of our routines, from bath, to math, to feeding, and her name. While shopping, even when she was only four to five months, as I carted her up and down the aisles, I would ask her opinion on different products and await an answer even though I knew she couldn’t give one. I received many strange stares but I was having a ball! My daughter learned and began to talk very early.

There are three stages of pregnancy called trimesters. Each trimester lasts three months, with the first trimester being months one through three when very little difference is evident in the mother’s body. The second month of the first trimester, the embryo becomes a fetus. The embryonic development of the human is quite similar to that of any other vertebrate. Though motionless at this stage, the eyes are sealed, ears are apparent, and the teeth are formed. By the end of the first trimester, the fetus has developed all of its major systems and by all means is a functioning organism.

The second trimester is when growth becomes rapid. It is at this stage that the fetus is said to respond to touch by a reflex. During the fifth month, the fetus will be stirred by loud noises or music. By the end of the second trimester, though no new organs form, the fetus becomes more like a newborn baby, with complete bone formation. This is the time to begin the learning process. The music of choice is soft classical music. Books should be read to the baby and songs should be sung. This is the perfect opportunity to introduce your unborn to different sounds, like animals, and everyday sounds from vacuuming to water running.

The final stage of the embryonic development occurs during the last trimesters, which are the seventh, eighth, and ninth months. For the mother this is when her