The Motivational Speaker

The thought of making a difference first hit me when I was 16. Before that, I was a bit numb. I do not really remember thinking about others much. I was in a world of my own, trying to survive the troubles of the day, schooling and fighting with my parents. You know, those regular things teens go though and consider the end of the world.

When I was 16, I became a very good student and experienced success and comfort. Suddenly, I realized there were others around me who were much less fortunate. It was funny how four months in my life had changed my perception so much. In 10^th Grade, everything was tough, I thought my life was horrible and I did not manage very well. I envied everyone around me, convinced their lives were easy and fun.

But in 11^th Grade, a month after school started, everything changed. I realized I was a very lucky girl. I started writing poetry, joined the junior school council and was even chosen to be one of the teens going to Egypt as the first youth delegation after the peace treaty was signed between Israel and Egypt.

From a needy student with lots of problem, I became a leader and organized many events to bring people together and help those with fewer friends and lower academic abilities. Because I had been on the other side, it was easy for me to understand those who did not succeed.

In my Year Book, I wrote I would like to be a journalist and my favorite song was "Imagine" by John Lennon. I had John Lennon's song posted on the door of my wardrobe and I thought that one day I would make it a reality.

My poetry was in protest of injustice and in search of love. From there, going to study Special Education was a natural progression. Evidently, making a difference was a major value for me.

Everything was clear until I got some exposure to Buddhism. That made the ideas of "change" and "making a difference" seem somewhat problematic. Why change? Why not accept what is and let go of the desire to change? But later, as I grew, I understood that acceptance does not mean compromise and that kindness is still the key to making a difference and making this world a better place.

It is funny how things turn out.

I have been teaching and making a difference for 25 years and for a long time, I thought I was living my purpose, because teaching is the kind of job that certainly makes a difference. It is part of every teacher’s job description.

But three years ago, I joined an organization called "Together for Humanity Foundation". This organization works with kids around Australia to promote acceptance and harmony through kindness and shared experiences. Two years ago, I became the QLD State Coordinator of the foundation and I feel I am completing the cycle I started almost 30 years ago.

Next month, for the second time, I am taking a group of 50 student leaders from 7 schools to a leadership camp called "Kids Leading Social Change". The reason I gave the program this name is that I believe kids can lead social change.

One of my 11^th Grade teachers told me that if I make a difference in the lives of four people and they make a difference in the lives of four people each, and the cycle of change continues, after a very short time, we will make this world a better place.

Six kids who attended the previous camp organized other students from their school, with the help of their chaplain, and wrote an intergenerational play for elders. They performed their play during Senior Week in front of 400 elders. My teacher said I needed to change only four people, but soon after that camp, I had reached over 400.

When I prepared the camp for them last year, I searched the Internet for things kids can do to make a difference and found a great big list of kids and their ideas for making a difference. I have added my ideas at the bottom of the list and I hope that after next month's camp, I will add more.

Read, be inspired, add your story about kids you know who are making a difference and pass it on. For kids to be able to lead social change and make a difference, they need to have inspiring adults to show them they can. Parenting is much the same - if you make a huge positive difference to your kids, they will make a difference to theirs and the cycle will continue.

May your children see inspiration in you.

How kids are leading social change around the world

1. PREPARING FOR WINTER WEATHER: In Dublin, Ga., Trinity Christian School students collected 200 winter coats for needy families, while the eighth-grade Bible class made treat bags for hospitalized kids.
2. STUDENTS LEAD THE WAY: Chicago's Amundsen High School brought together 4,000 students from 17 public and private schools, youth groups, Chicago police and other city departments, as well as Kiwanis, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and clergy. They cleaned up four parks and a business area; collected food, clothes and toys for the needy; helped the elderly change smoke detector batteries and do other chores; and distributed community police information.
3. VARIETY OF COMMUNITY EFFORTS: 94 students from Horace Mann Elementary School's Challenge Center visited a Sioux Falls, S.D., homeless shelter, worked at a soup kitchen, entertained patients at a children's hospital, and collected clothes, toiletries and books for various charities.
4. BONE MARROW, BLOOD DONATIONS: The Florence M. Burd Middle School student council organized a blood and bone marrow drive in Newton, N.J., at which 15 people became bone marrow tissue donors and 37 donated blood.
5. CLEAN SCHOOL GROUNDS: Students in Action and a teacher from Woonsocket High School in Rhode Island raked leaves, planted flowers and cleaned up around the school.
6. USE ART: Arizona second-graders at Apache Elementary made paper Kachina dolls for residents of Westview Healthcare Center.
7. MASSIVE EFFORT IN TEXAS: The Aldine Independent School District in Houston mobilized 40,000 students, teachers, staffers, family members and community volunteers for 56 projects, including to collecting food and clothes for the needy, delivering get-well cards and books to sick children, and visiting with seniors. With a special emphasis on children's needs, the volunteers -- ages 3 to 80 -- responded to a mission's urgent call for baby needs. One school employee matched contributions of baby food by buying 405 jars herself.
8. GIVE A GROWING GIFT: Harrell High School and Community Friends in Texas got three area Mexican restaurants to save avocado seeds, which they planted and handed out to nursing home residents; members also performed other community chores.
9. BAKE COOKIES: In Kintnersville, Pa., Palisades High School's "Kids for Kindness" baked more than 200 dozen cookies to be shipped to U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Egypt.
10. DELIVER CARDS: In Lower Burrell, Pa., Bon Air Elementary School Student Council made cards and chocolate lollipops and delivered them to seniors at a high-rise.
11. ENABLE HANDICAPPED ACCESS: About 1,000 students and staffers of New York's Gouverneur Central School raised $3,300 for a swimming pool access ramp for senior and disabled swimmers.
12. SCHOOL-TO-SCHOOL: In an Arkansas district where 25 percent of students live in public housing, 11th- and 12th-graders in North Little Rock High School's Octagon Club rallied the community to donate 1,000-plus clothing items to The Care Closet at Central Elementary School, where needy students and their siblings can get free clothes.
13. PUT KNOWLEDGE TO WORK: Teens in Betty Magee's Spanish II class at Mendenhall High School, in Mississippi, spent the day teaching employees of a local women's shelter how to help a victim of domestic violence who can't speak English and gave the employees them with a class-made video and audiotape packet for future reference.
14. RAISE AWARENESS: Hibbing High School's SADD raised $300 for a drunken-driving victim's family in a "Powderpuff" football game in Minnesota.
15. HOLD A WALK-A-THON: At Coventry High School in Rhode Island, 30 National Honor Society seniors raised $500 in a walk-a-thon for the American Cancer Society.
16. START A COLLECTION: E.P. Hubbell School in Connecticut collected hundreds of personal-care and household items for four shelters.
17. VISIT SENIORS: Hot Springs High School's Diamonds in the Rough -- a culture and service group -- visited nursing home residents in Arkansas and gave them decorated pumpkins.
18. COLLECT PENNIES: Arbor Elementary School in Piscataway, N.J., collected $220 in pennies to help a financially pressed family with newborn quadruplets.
19. GET THE WORD OUT: Forestville Central School, in New York, and the community of Dunkirk rallied 350 volunteers in a fund-raiser for a student in need of a wheelchair, as well as painting, raking and cleaning for seniors and sprucing up the town.
20. TEACHERS SHOW THE WAY: Five students and 29 teachers from West Woodland Hills Junior High School in Swissvale, Pa., rehabilitated a four-unit row house.
21. SHARE GENERATIONS: Students from the Tuscarora Indian School on the Tuscarora Reservation in New York raked leaves and visited with community elderly.
22. TEAM UP WITH A NONPROFIT: Newark, Ohio, middle and high school students from Youth Engaged in Service, with the Mental Health Association of Licking County, held a party for 252 needy kids.
23. BRING STAFF AND STUDENTS TOGETHER: Students, faculty and staff members from King's College in Pennsylvania participated in 13 projects, including raising funds for Make-a-Wish Foundation, visiting pediatric wards, and collecting blankets for the homeless.
24. BE A HERO: Students at Oak Forest Elementary School in Houston, many of them needy, set up a "Heroes R Us" store stocked with their own possessions. They gave away more than 600 toys and books to 150 needy children, many brought from shelters and churches.
25. AUCTION AND COOKIE SALE: Fifty seventh- and eighth-graders at The Most Precious Blood School in Brooklyn, N.Y., raised nearly $1,000 for the homeless and a dialysis patient by selling 300 cookie cartons and auctioning off 13 decorated goody baskets.
26. INCLUDE MENTORING: Georgia Military College volunteers -- 300 cadets in sixth grade through junior college -- cleaned a lakeside park, served meals to veterans, collected socks and food for the needy and mentored at-risk students.
27. USE BOOK POWER: In Indiana, the Madison Heights High School Latin Club collected 500 children's books to be earned by elementary school students as rewards for good grades, attendance and acts of kindness.
28. START A HOSPITAL LIBRARY: Fifteen Lakewood High School marketing students in New Jersey collected 500 books for a hospital pediatric unit, Head Start program and kids with cancer.
29. TLC FOR SHELTER ANIMALS: Felton Middle School’s seventh-graders treated local humane society pets to new collars, toys, shampoos and walks; and gave 100 pounds of dog food with $330 earned pumping gas.
30. WISDOM IN THE WRINKLES: after participating in a Together for Humanity leadership camp called "Kids Leading Social Change", six kids in Grade 7 from Upper Mount Gravatt State School in Brisbane, Australia, wrote (with the help of their Chaplain) an intergenerational play. They performed it during Senior Week in front of 400 happy elders.

May this list keep getting longer!
Ronit

Derek Brady, Principal, Uppet Mt Gravatt State School

Mr. Derek Brady, principal of Upper Mount Gravatt State School says having a life coach attached to his school to deliver professional development and parenting workshops has been instrumental in his school's excellent performance.  Mr. Brady's school has won the 2010 QUT Showcase Award for Excellence in Leadership for its 'Healthy Minds, Healthy Bodies, Healthy Spirits' program, in which the wellbeing of the entire school community is addressed, including teachers, non-teaching staff, parents and students.

With the guidance of the Kids Matter government initiative and by engaging Ronit Baras, a Brisbane-based life coach, Upper Mount Gravatt State School has already had 100% of staff trained in the 'Be Happy in LIFE' coaching program and 60 parents trained in the 'Happy Parents Raise Happy Kids' parenting program.

'That has a huge impact', says Mr. Brady, 'Because it creates a common language everyone can use at the school and the "spin-offs".  This is helping with the kids' wellbeing and, ultimately, with their learning outcomes'.

One of the main things Mr. Brady has seen is a big improvement in the children's behaviour.  'We haven't had a suspension in 4 years', he says proudly, 'There's no Detention room, there is a real happiness around the school and the kids are really vibrant'.

Another positive change is students' ability to handle issues independently.  'Kids are more resilient', says Mr. Brady.

In the parenting workshops, parents have learned about communication styles and have used this new knowledge to help their kids learn better, but also transform the atmosphere at home.  'People now understand that their kids or their spouse or their other family members communicate differently', Mr. Brady explains, 'And this makes the communication all around them smoother and more relaxed'.

Mr. Brady has seen parents come out of the workshops inspired, saying they just love the experience and asking to register their partners to the next parenting workshop so that they gain the same understanding and skills.  He says, 'Parents have come to me and said their kids were doing better as a result of the course'.

The international parenting expert and life coach that has been working with the school is Mrs. Ronit Baras, who is an experienced motivational speaker, and author and a parenting blogger.

For parents in the Brisbane area who are not part of the school community, Mrs. Baras will be running a full day parenting workshop on Sunday, 25 July 2010, at the Southern Cross Sports Club on Klumpp Road, Upper Mt Gravatt and promises to improve the lives of another group of parents and their kids.

For the full video interview with Derek Brady and more information about parenting workshops for schools, visit the Better Parenting Skills Workshop page.

Ronit

I just got this feedback letter:

Dear Ronit,

Our very sincere thanks for your wonderful presentation at our recent Annual General Meeting, on the topic: ‘Helping Children and Young People Address Racism and Prejudice’.

We always try to have at our AGM a speaker who will challenge and stretch our ideas about the way we, as a small interfaith women’s association, can fulfil our aspiration towards building a culture of peace.  Issues of racism and prejudice are at the heart of this challenge.

Your presentation about the Together for Humanity project, and in particular the findings from your surveys of children and young people, as well as descriptions of some of the processes you use in your transformational work, was a truly engaging experience for all those present.   This was evident from the high degree of participation throughout, in questions and comments to yourself and the general discussion which the ideas provoked.

My own hope is that some of our members may have been motivated by your presentation to volunteer for the Together for Humanity project should the opportunity arise.  We look forward to continuing contact with you and your important work.

Sincerely,

Wendy Flannery
Coordinator
Believing Women for a Culture of Peace

I just wanted to share with you some feedback I received from one of my recent parenting workshops. One of them is of particular interest, because he is ... a man! Men are rare in parenting workshops, but this one had a few and they were really happy they came.

Everything was useful. Ronit's stories and humour make the course fun for me. The examples were excellent and the atmosphere was great. Ronit was fantastic. Great lady and with loads of information to help me.

[The workshop] makes you take a step back and look at how you deal with things at home and with yourself. It taught me to believe in myself to help me make the changes to become a better parent and that is also going to help me become a better person.

- A. C. (mother)

I found it enlightening. Work on being happy and the kids will follow. The pink elephants, the wolves, communication styles, positive expectations and self-motivating behaviour with practical, real-life examples, have given me a new and positive perspective on parenting.

Ronit's style was informal and friendly. [She is] easily understood and has the ability to keep all participants interested and involved without being intrusive. The examples were very good and practical. Although I am more visual than auditory, I could have kept listening for much longer. She could respond easily to the participants and keep things moving.

I believe that this Better Parenting Program is exceptional and inspiration in "opening the door" to being a better parent and a happier person with simple and easy to understand techniques that cannot fail to make parenting easier and family life better. Children who grow up in a family that applies this way of thinking must be at an advantage.

- Bruce Thompson

I was honoured to coach A. C. and Bruce and I am honoured by their feedback.

If you want to get the same for yourself, ask your school principal or Parents and Friends association to book my Better Parenting Skills workshop.

See you soon,
Ronit

Were you inspired by the video clips of Irene and her new parenting skills after she attended my Better Parenting Skills workshop? Well, here is the final part of Irene's story, with a message for fathers at the end.

Since we all take our first parenting steps with our first child, most of us make the most parenting mistakes with that child too. In that case, Irene's experience should seem very familiar and now, she knows what to do about it!

embedded by Embedded Video

I believe that fathers are as important to their kids as mothers are, especially for boys. Many men find it more difficult to learn parenting, which is why many of my workshops have an overwhelming female majority, but this has to change!

Girls, show your husbands Irene's video testimonials, especially this one, and ask them to come along to learn parenting. Fathers who have attended have gotten wonderfully close to their kids and are truly happy they have come.

Book this great workshop for your own school or organization.

See you soon,
Ronit

Remember Irene and her exciting new parenting skills after she attended my Better Parenting Skills workshop?

Well, last time, Irene told us how she managed to use her new knowledge of communication styles and love languages to get closer to her son. This time, she is talking about one of her daughters.

Enjoy!

embedded by Embedded Video

Book this great workshop for your own school or organization.

See you soon,
Ronit

The Griffith University Multi-Faith Centre invites members of all communities to its International Day of Peace Commemoration on Thursday, 17 September, 2009, 7:15-9:00pm.

I will be delivering one of the key presentations of this evening.

In 2002, the United Nations designated September 21^st each year as the International Day of Peace (IDP), as a day to encourage all peoples and countries to make a commitment to world unity, a global ceasefire and non-violence.

This event is an opportunity for individuals, communities and organizations to witness and participate in a multi-faith commemoration for peace. In the lead up to the IDP, it will enable participants to link with millions of people and many governments, regional and non-government organizations, faith/religious communities and educational institutions engaged in IDP events.

The Program will include:

• A multimedia, multi-faith reflection on Peace
• Two presentations on peacemaking
  • A lasting peace in Sri Lanka?
    The way forward from a Christian perspective
    - Rev. Pan Jordan
  • The challenge of peace-building among children and youth
    The Together for Humanity experience
    - Ronit Baras
• Musical performances for peace

Please RSVP by September 11
Dianne/Yaseen  3735-7052 or mfc@griffith.edu.au

For MFC location (Bldg. N35) and parking
see map at http://www.griffith.edu.au/ofm/parking/

Full invitation flyer fo IDP 2009

See you there,
Ronit

It can be difficult to demonstrate the results of any presentation, course or workshop. If I write about "the great benefits" and "excellent results" myself, it just gets classified as self-promoting hype.

So at the recent Better Parenting Skills workshop I ran for a school in Brisbane, I asked participating parents "Why are you here?" and captured on video their reasons for coming to the workshop. A month later, I revisited the school and captured on video the great benefits and excellent results they described.

These are real parents telling their personal stories of parenting success.

Here is the first one, the story of Irene (please turn up the volume and excuse the shaking):

embedded by Embedded Video

Pretty exciting, isn't it?

Ronit

I met Elodie at one of my workshops. She had a French accent and was very curious about the concepts of first and second language. Her son was just a baby when she participated in my "Cross Cultural Awareness" course for public administrators in the Queensland government.

As a migrant, Elodie felt the gap at work between locals and migrants was widening. She came to my course to get some insights into possible ways to bridge this gap.

When she left, she said, "I'm so happy I met you when my son is just a baby. Everything so makes sense now and I have full confident about what I need to do".

In the last two years, I've met Elodie a few of times when she was trying to organize a group at her workplace to support migrants and help locals and migrants communicate better with each other.

This week, she sent me this email:

Did I tell you my son can count to 15 in his 3 languages? Just turned 2… Speak to him in one language and he answers in another, never needs translation… It freaks some people, I find it fascinating. You gave me the best advice ever first time I spoke with you. Thanks, it really means a lot to me.

We speak English (all of us), French (me) and Italian (husband and my in-laws).

He spends 1 day/week with his Italian grandmother who only speaks Italian to him (with your recommendation, we asked and she is very happy to comply). I go home once a year where he baths in French and has no problem whatsoever communicating with other kids and adults.

It is the most amazing thing to observe, the non-translating part. For example, he learned face, lips, ears, eyes, etc in Italian and I was thinking oh I need to get him that in French too so we had a mummy/son moment and I was saying them in French and he already knew. Bizarre.

Life in a multilingual environment!

Thank you so much.

Elodie David-Quarta

A/Senior Administration Officer, Compliance Support Unit
Department of Environment and Resource Management

Yet another victory of one more family raising multilingual super kids.

Ronit