Whew. That was a mouthful. It was also a challenging proposition for four Arkansas teachers who decided to get certified from the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.

Jessica Bauer writes for TheCabin.net in Conway, AR about Cindy Romero, Sheila Brooks, Jeanne Ortiz and Sarah Copeland, four teachers who challenged themselves to get additional certification. What does it all mean?

There are five core propositions set forth by the NBPT:

1. Teachers are committed to students and their learning
2. Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students
3. Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning
4. Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience
5. Teachers are members of learning communities

The three-year certification process includes the submission of four portfolios documenting your accomplishments, and completion of six exercises designed to measure your content knowledge.

Copeland had this to say about her achievement:

"It's great for you to know that you've completed this really big, long process and proven to yourself that you know what you're doing in your class."

She added that "she thought becoming certified through the national teaching board would allow her to not only become a better teacher, but be able to reach out to her students even more."

Have you thought about getting national board certification? Either way, I'm interested in your story.

Share your thoughts right here or in the Cont. Ed. forum.

Judy Dean of La Porte, IN is a hypnotist. Laurie Wink wrote about her for The News Dispatch in Michigan City, IN this week.

One of Judy's clients is a non-traditional student who was having a little trouble adjusting to the return to school as an adult. Her treatment sounds like a bit of a miracle. From Wink's article:

Dean worked with a middle-aged La Porte woman who was anxious about going to college to make a career change into health care and felt her study habits were rusty. "She didn't have a strong positive self-concept," Dean said, and, as an older student, felt "like a fish out of water." After hypnotherapy with Dean, the woman graduated at the top of her class and is now confidently asserting herself at work.

"It's like taking a rosebud that's dying on a vine and watching it blossom," Dean said.

Wow. It's pretty impressive. I think I'd be willing to give it a shot. Would you?

Join the conversation in the forum.

Other Study Skill Tips:

• Active Listening
• Practice Tests
• The Importance of Asking Questions

Once started on a path of positive thinking, it takes a pretty good jolt to knock you off. That's as it should be, don't you think? There is so much power in thinking positive that once you experience it, there isn't any point in sliding back into negativity. Call me Pollyanna, but I try to see the positive in the world around me.

What is this all about? Well, besides positivity and Earl Nightingale's quote about becoming what you think about, this morning I was reminded of Wayne Dyer's related lessons on the power to manifest what you think about. All because I saw an Acura TL commercial on TV. Months ago, I said to Tim, "Wouldn't it be great to have weather radar on the dash of your car?" Stay with me here. There's a point to all this.

I'm not suggesting that I manifested weather radar in Acuras, of course, but voila! the Acura TL now has a weather radar screen on the dashboard. It simply reminded me of the power of thinking about what you want to achieve, dreaming about possibilities, holding a picture in your mind of life the way you'd like it to be. Dyer maintains that doing so actually has an impact on the way molecules in this world arrange themselves.

Whether or not you agree, it can't hurt to wake up every morning thinking about your aspirations and believing you can make them happen. Whether you're after a GED, a degree, an advanced degree, or being better at conversational English, seeing yourself accomplishing your goal is a powerful technique. Try it.

Other techniques for making things happen:

• The Power of a Learning Project Plan
• How to Write a Learning Contract
• SMAART Goals

I'm beginning to work on content for those of you looking for help with learning English as a Second Language (ESL), and I'm wondering what you need the most help with. Help me help you.

Be sure to join the conversation about ESL in the forum.