State Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) says actions taken today by the Texas Public Utility Commission (PUC) in addressing the concerns of outraged Oncor customers was the right thing to do. During today’s Commission meeting in Austin, Oncor and Houston-based Centerpoint Energy agreed to refund fees charged to customers who had their meters read after complaints over excessive charges following installation of the new smart meters.

“Basically, it was the right thing to do,” said Senator West, in Austin for interim Senate committee hearings. “There’s been an increased number of calls to my office over the past few weeks from constituents regarding high utility bills and with complaints about the smart meters. Although these new meters represent the wave of the future, there are still kinks to be worked out before customers can feel comfortable with the new technology.”

The pact was reached without a vote of the Commission. Under Oncor’s current tariff agreement, customers are allowed one meter reading free of charge over any four-year period. Customers who have had more than one reading within that period have been charged an average of $30 for Oncor’s technicians to check the
accuracy of their meters.

“Under the agreement reached, the free readings start from the time a customer has the new smart meters installed,” said Senator West. “According to the PUC, systemwide, about 1,200 Oncor customers have been charged. I applaud the commission and Chairman Smitherman’s willingness to address the public’s concern while Oncor works through a deployment that will impact thousands of Texas households. Oncor has also been cooperative since this issue surfaced last week.”

Dallas-based Oncor serves much of North and Central Texas. Customer complaints began after receiving December bills that some say have run two to three times the norm. Other measures by the PUC have called for independent testing and for customers to be able to monitor their own energy usage.

On April 3, 2010 the Iota Kappa chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity ,Inc., a non-profit organization is hosting “We Are All TENACIOUS.” 3-on-3 basketball tournament at Paul Quinn College. The event is scheduled to draw individuals from all over Dallas and surrounding cities.

Teams will compete for a $500 CASH prize. This event has multiple goals, including bridging the gap between Paul Quinn College and the community of Southern Dallas and provide an opportunity for the deserving members of the community to compete for a prize in the environment of family.

The event itself is free to the community however if teams choose to compete there is a $40 registration fee. The fee includes expenses for the tournament.

Any questions may be directed towards the event coordinators at ikalphas1974@yahoo.com.

I’ve recently completed an interesting physical training workout called P90X. It’s been quite a learning experience for me. Let me explain the program and a little of my experiences with it before I get into some educational similarities that intrigue me.

P90X is a 90 day workout program based on a concept called “Muscle Confusion”. It gives you an intense variety of training blocks such as yoga (which I absolutely hate), plyometrics, core synergistics, weight lifting, and several others (there are twelve in all). The program switches up the workout order about every three weeks and then gives you a fourth week that is easier. The intensive variety causes the muscles to have to work harder to keep up and so the results are greater. This continuously challenges new growth.

I’ve noticed in the past that whenever I undergo a physical training program (and I’ve done several) that it goes really well at first. But at a certain point I level out or “plateau”.  At this point, no matter how long I continue the workout I make little or no progress.

So what does P90X have to do with education? Doing this workout at 49 years of age and making more progress (getting in better condition) than I have ever been in, it really made me think about how we train ourselves and our children educationally. Are our children making excellent results academically on a continual basis? Or do they have too many long periods of plateauing going on? Are our children bored with their educational routine or do they look forward to their educational workout program at school or home each day?

Teachers and parents could learn a lot from this concept of muscle confusion. Perhaps our children go through the same process educationally.

Our minds, like our bodies, become accustomed to the same old routines, leading to diminished effectiveness. Maybe we give them the same things to do each day or teach them at the exact same level as the other children who are way behind or way ahead of them and so they plateau and become bored, which may even lead to other problems, such as emotional or behavioral issues.

Perhaps our children need their teachers and parents to help them experience some ‘brain confusion’. Just as muscle confusion causes a person to experience excellent physical strength and results, so brain confusion can help our children become strong problem solvers and experience excitement and desire about learning. It may be about time you make the switch to a more rigorous educational workout for your child.

I teach at a Montessori school in Dallas that incorporates the principals of brain confusion very effectively. There is a large assortment of training blocks in a wide variety of interesting subjects. These training blocks are interesting materials that begin easy and always become more and more rigorous. There are a lot of brain confusing challenges that bring amazing results.

If you were to walk into a Montessori classroom, you would see different age groups of children (I teach first, second and third grade together) working on many different subjects by laying out materials and having to solve problems independently.  Students must use the program solving steps that the Montessori guide or teacher has demonstrated to them. The children will independently push themselves to the next level of difficulty so that they can become stronger and stronger by incorporating brain confusion.

There are many good schools, teachers and parents that are avoiding boredom and plateauing by challenging their students to push themselves through many tough and challenging educational workouts that are helping their children to develop more and more of their learning abilities.

There are also many parents in schools that incorporate very little brain confusion and have many bored, plateauing, misbehaving, confused, spoiled children. When we plateau physically, we are a lot more apt to develop injuries to our bodies. Similarly when we plateau educationally, our brains do not develop and we are more apt to develop learning, emotional and behavioral disorders and difficulties.

What educational program do your children do? Is it based on some brain confusion resulting in real growth and excellent results or has your child plateaued and become bored with their education? If you are not satisfied maybe there’s a need for more rigorous brain confusing workouts for your child?

Steve Lichtenwalter has been teaching for more than 20 years. He is currently a teacher in a Montessori school in the Dallas area.

The Freeman Junior Development Program hosts the Southwest Tennis Association Sectional Championships in Dallas March 19, 2010-March 21, 2010.  The tournament will be held at the Kiest Tennis Center which is located at 2324 W. Kiest Boulevard.  The 3 day SWTA championship includes junior and senior singles and doubles events. Students who take part in the tournament will also compete for a $500 scholarship that will be based on highest points accumulated.

There will also be a Kids Clinic on Saturday March 20, 2010 at 11:30 a.m.  Roz King of San Diego and Dr. Franklin Scott of Philadelphia will be guest instructors of the clinic.  The Freeman Junior Development Program has a legacy of developing young African American tennis players.  “Outstanding results of the program are found in the achievements of young players,” said Marcus Freeman founder of the Freeman Junior Development Program.

“Our juniors have been ranked in the top five of junior competition in the Texas section of the USTA, set records for winning the private school state title for four years, and received admission to West Point, Notre Dame University, Chicago State University, Texas Southern University, North Texas State University, Grambling University, and Prairie View A&M University.” The “Breaking the Barriers” exhibit will be in town as part of the weekend tournament activities.

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The photography exhibit documents the participation of African Americans in competitive tennis despite a segregated system that kept them from competing against white players.  That is why African American players formed the American Tennis Association in 1916.  The exhibit will be on display at the Hampton-Illinois Branch Library March 12-21which is located at 2951 S. Hampton in Dallas, within walking distance of the Kiest Tennis Center.

For more information call 214-339-7370, 214-662-2352 or e-mail marcus.freeman.tennis@airmail.net

I’ve watched more Mavericks games in the last two weeks than I have in the last two years.   As a matter of fact, we even invited a few friends over to watch Saturday’s game vs. the Bulls.  The last time that happened was the 2006-2007 season.

It’s easy to jump on the bandwagon of a team who has now won 12 straight games.  But it’s more than that. The team that’s on the court now has sufficiently distanced itself from the 2005-2007 version of the Mavericks.  So everytime I see them I’m not thinking of the heartache that those teams caused.  As a matter of fact, one of my first blog posts ever was a lamentation over the Mavs collapse in the NBA Finals.

The trade for Brendan Haywood, Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson has also made the team younger and more athletic.  The Mavericks had gotten boring.  Shawn Marion and Drew Gooden just didn’t do it.  But now that you push Shawn Marion a little further down the depth chart (or need to take a shot chart) I like him a lot better.  And I don’t think anyone believed (though some of us hoped) that Haywood would have the impact he has had.  I can’t wait to see he and Dampier on the active roster at the same time.

Jason Kidd is playing a brand of basketball that many have never seen before.  His court awareness has risen to ESP levels this season and his 3 point shot is something opposing teams have to account for.  And Dirk is even more Dirkish than usual.  JET Terry was just starting to find his shot when he took an elbow to the dome to put him out of commission for a little while. Even Rodrigue Beaubois has gotten a little extra playing time in recent weeks rewarding Coach Carlisle’s decision with more points and less turnovers.

As much as I wanted to see him get it back together here in Dallas, it was time for Josh Howard to go.  The off the court problems that dogged he and the team have been the Horton in the room for far too long.  I think we can all say that Josh gave us some great times on the court, but his unwillingness to drive to the basket more often made us all a little crazy.

Anyway, when I turn on the T.V. I want to see a team that competes on both ends of the court and displays energy and passion throughout the game.  So this season, I’ve enjoyed watching Oklahoma City rise even though their defense (especially Kevein Durant’s) could use a little work.

So the Mavs are back on the short list of things I look forward to seeing on T.V.  Spring is just a little bit better with and exciting Mavs team.  Hopefully they can take the season into June.

Booker T. Washington High School has won first-place in the 31st Annual Texas High School Mock Trial Competition. On Friday and Saturday (March 6-7), 24 high schools teams from across Texas competed in Dallas, arguing a hypothetical court case. These teams, which have emerged as the best in their school districts/regions, were matched against one another, culminating in a final championship round Saturday evening at the Earle Cabell Federal Building, and was presided over by U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn.

The mock trial team from Booker T. Washington High School will now represent Texas in May at the National High School Mock Trial Championship in Philadelphia (for more information at www.nationalmocktrial.org). Patricia Woods coaches the Booker T. Washington mock trial team, and team members include Christopher Clark, Toni Campbell, Richmond Greene, Omar Jimenez, Ben Nguyen, Victor Nguyen, Wolf Ozarow, Christina Vega and Madison Wald. The team’s Attorney Advisor is Abigail Mathews.

The second-place team represents Carrollton Creekview High School. The “top four” also included teams from Monsignor Kelly Catholic High School of Beaumont and Ursuline Academy of Dallas.

In addition, Andrew Reynolds of Waco High School was selected as Outstanding Witness and Christopher Clark of Booker T. Washington High School was chosen as Outstanding Advocate. The team from Lubbock Monterrey High School was honored with the award for Team Professionalism.

Serving as “jurors” this weekend, and selecting the teams that are best prepared and who demonstrate exceptional presentation skills, were nearly 200 Dallas judges and attorneys. For the final round of competition, “jurors” included DBA President Ike Vanden Eykel, DAYL President; Jennifer Edgeworth, DAYL President; Michele Wong Krause, DBA Director; Karen McCloud, JL Turner President; Scott McElhaney, DBA Board of Directors Chair; Jose Ortiz, DHBA President; and Eunice Kim Nakamura, DAABA President-Elect.

Students portrayed defense and plaintiffs attorneys, as well as “witnesses.” Each year, the “case” is written by local attorneys on the DBA Mock Trial Committee, co-chaired by Steve Gwinn and Hon. Lana Myers. Committee co-vice chairs for 2010 are Prater Monning and Steven Russell.

The Dallas Bar Association has sponsored and coordinated the statewide program since its inception in the 1970s to teach high school students how the justice system works and how the law is applied in everyday life, and to expose them to critical thinking exercises and quick analysis through preparation and presentation. In the 31-year history, the Texas High School Mock Trial Competition has had more than 120,000 participants and has awarded approximately $300,000 in scholarships at the local, regional and state levels.

This year’s DBA Mock Trial Committee Co-Chairs are Steve Gwinn of Suzanne I. Calvert & Associates and the Hon. Lana Myers. The Dallas Bar thanks the following contributors to the 2010 Texas High School Mock Trial: The Robert A. and Marianne S. Gwinn Family Foundation, Thomas P. Goranson, Peter G. Malouf, Dallas Lawyers Auxiliary, DBA Tort & Insurance Practice Section and the Dallas Bar Foundation.

Excited Dallas-area moms are getting ready for AVANCE-Dallas Reading Week, March 8 to 12, 2010, when 600 area moms will read to 10,000 pre-K, kindergarten and first grade children in 34 Dallas, Mesquite and Irving ISD elementary schools.

AVANCE-Dallas moms use the training they have received at AVANCE-Dallas along with books and curriculum supplied through KERA’s Read with Me family literacy project to incorporate their own creativity and determination to instill a love for reading in young children.

The moms participate in AVANCE-Dallas Parent-Child Education Programs or Parent-Child Book Clubs to promote childhood literacy within their families and community. These programs train parents in the role of “first teachers” to help children develop the habit and love of reading through weekly interactive literacy activities and enhanced instruction. The AVANCE-Dallas goal is to help parents develop the habit of reading to their children at least five times per week.

“Studies show that parental engagement and support is the key factor in improving literacy skills and success in school,” said Lisa Oglesby-Rocha, Executive Director of AVANCE-Dallas. “The goal of this project is to build the confidence of our mothers and connect them with an opportunity to become more engaged with their local school – even before their child enters kindergarten. Volunteering to read to a classroom full of young children was a perfect chance to accomplish both goals and establish a connection between the parents and the school that will last throughout their child’s education.”

“I thought that it was a wonderful experience for our kids,” said Connie Hovseth, Principal at Gabe P. Allen Elementary School. “I was really surprised, because I’ve had readers come from different professions and they didn’t have this kind of enthusiasm. These moms had our kid’s attention the whole time. We’d like to have this become a regular part of our program.”

The AVANCE-Dallas program uses books and curriculum supplied through KERA’s Read with Me family literacy project and the Dallas Public Library’s Every Child Read to Read @ Dallas program. KERA’s Read with Me parent training curriculum uses a multimedia approach to help parents support their children as they acquire language skills in preparation for reading. KERA supports early literacy throughout North Texas by working with childcare providers, school districts, and community organizations like AVANCE-Dallas to distribute books to young children. KERA also provides early literacy workshops for parents and caregivers. Since 2000, KERA and AVANCE-Dallas have worked together to distribute over 15,000 books to low income families.

Danny Henley, Director of Education with KERA, said, “AVANCE-Dallas inspires mothers to take an influential part in their child’s education by helping them to embrace their role as their child’s first teacher. AVANCE moms have demonstrated tremendous leadership by sharing their excitement about reading with thousands more children in their local schools.”

In a recent evaluation conducted by the University of North Texas, Dr. Martha Peet looked at the impact of AVANCE-Dallas Parent/Child Book Clubs utilizing KERA’s Read with Me curriculum during an eight-week pilot project in the Vickery Meadows community in Dallas. At the beginning of the project, 42% of the mothers reported reading to their children three or more times per week. At the conclusion of the project, 95% of the mothers were reading to their children three or more times per week.

The following Dallas, Mesquite and Irving ISD schools will be participating in AVANCE-Dallas Reading Week:

West Dallas

Gabe P. Allen Elementary
Lorenzo de Zavala Elementary
Sidney Lanier Expressive Arts Vanguard

Oak Cliff

Arcadia Park Elementary
Felix Botello Elementary
James Bowie Elementary
Jimmie T. Brashear Elementary
Lelia Cowart Elementary
Anson Jones Elementary
George Peabody Elementary
Peeler Elementary
Stevens Park Elementary

Bachman Lake

Leonidas Gonzalez Cigarroa Elementary
David Burnet Elementary
F.P. Caillet Elementary
Stephen C. Foster Elementary
Julian T. Saldivar Elementary

Vickery Meadow

L.L. Hotchkiss Elementary
Jack Lowe, Sr. Elementary

East and Central Dallas

S.S. Conner Elementary
James Fannin Elementary
John F. Kennedy Elementary
Esperanza Hope Medrano Elementary
O.M. Roberts Elementary
Ignacio Zaragoza Elementary

Love Field

Obadiah Knight Elementary

Pleasant Grove

John Q. Adams Elementary
Annie Webb Blanton Elementary
Edward Titche Elementary
Urban Park Elementary

Mesquite

Floyd Elementary
John L. Hanby Elementary

Irving

Pierce Early Childhood Center