Chapters Bookstore welcomes educator and the mother of three left-brain children

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PITTSFIELD, Mass. - Chapters Bookstore, located at 78 North St., is pleased to welcome Dr. Katherine Beals to the event room on Tuesday October 27, at 7PM.

Does your child…

* Have impressive intellectual abilities but seem puzzled by ordinary interactions with other children?

* Prefer to spend time with adults or alone rather than with other kids?
  
* Have deep, all-consuming interests or seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of certain subjects?
     

* Seem uncomfortable with unstructured play or social engagements?

If you answered “yes” to some or all of these questions, you may be raising a left-brain child. According to the new book Raising a Left-Brain Child in a Right-Brain World by Katherine Beals, PhD (Trumpeter, August 2009) a left-brain child is bright, quirky, and socially-awkward. Left-brain children have talents and inclinations that lean heavily toward the logical, linear, analytical, and introverted side of the human psyche—what is commonly referred to as “the left brain”—as opposed to the “right brain” which is our emotional, holistic, intuitive, and introverted side. Left-brain kids constitute between 10 to 15 percent of the population—with significantly more boys than girls—yet are often under-appreciated by a world that favors social skills and teamwork.

Beals is an educator and mother of three left-brain children. Drawing on research and interviews with parents and children, this book offers a new understanding of what it means to be a left-brain child and practical strategies for parents to help nurture and support them both at school and at home. Left-brain children have wonderful gifts, and Beals helps reinforce your appreciation for your child’s left-brain quirks. She also talks about the best way to nurture and advocate for your child with talking points that readers can use for campaigning for left-brain friendly education reform.

Katherine Beals, PhD, is an educator and the mother of three left-brain children. A former public school teacher, she is a faculty member of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. Her writing on parenting has appeared in Mothering magazine and The Philadelphia Inquirer. She lives in Philadelphia.

This event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
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Pittsfield Schools Consider Enhanced Bus Surveillance

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass.— The Pittsfield Public Schools are considering a couple of companies for enhanced bus safety surveillance after a spring pilot. 

Assistant Superintendent for Business and Finance Bonnie Howland reported that they have met with BusPatrol and Gatekeeper Systems, which offer automated stop-arm enforcement and video surveillance.

It is illegal for drivers to pass a school bus when the red warning lights are flashing, and the stop-sign arm is extended.  This protects children exiting and entering the school bus. 

A stop-arm camera pilot program was conducted in May. 

"We currently have a four-camera system on the interior of the bus, so Gatekeeper is sort of better as far as functionality. It's a little more of an upfront investment," Howland told the School Committee last week. 

"BusPatrol works where you basically have an installation of the cameras, and then as tickets are issued to people, you sort of regain your investment, so it's two different sort of cost profiles."

Gatekeeper would cost about $100,000 to purchase, while BusPatrol has no upfront cost and a monthly charge. 

PPS is interested in putting cameras in all of its buses, about 30.  Howland said that Gatekeeper has a little more robust system that fits into our current system, and Mayor Peter Marchetti reported that the company with no upfront cost helps secure a grant for implementation: $1,200 per camera and $250 a month per bus. 

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