110 degrees magazine - Index

110 degrees magazine - magazine - Index

ABODE I BY JOAN NICOLE HINTON I PHOTOS BY RUSSELL BYRNE
HELPING CHILDREN
PREPARE FOR LIFE
One of my oldest memories is of being four
years old and waiting for my sister to come
home from second grade so we could play
school. Every day she would teach me things
she learned that day. As a result, I was developing
reading and math skills before age five.
When I went into kindergarten, I was ready for
first grade — ready for third grade in some parts
of my development.
My sister, Gina, instilled within me a love for
learning that continues to this day. Now we are
both busily preparing our daughters for college
and are tag-teaming back and forth with information
about the task.
I’m a graduate in Business Administration
and Public Relations from Cal State Hayward,
which has since been renamed Cal State East
Bay. I’ve continued my education throughout
my career, always seeking to grow and to expand
in my work and learning.
Everything I have ever done has involved me
teaching and training of one kind or another. I
put myself through college working for the
Union City’s Leisure Services Department,
managing their Teen Center and serving as an
instructor for craft and cooking classes. I also
provided in-service training for their summer
54 www.110mag.com September/October 2008
JOAN HAS THE PASSION, INTELLIGENCE,
EXPERIENCE, AND TRAINING TO ASSIST PAR-
ENTS IN MAKING APPROPRIATE INTERVEN-
TIONS IN THE LIVES OF THEIR CHILDREN.
recreation program. Most importantly, I spent
ten years as a high school teacher at Fremont
Christian School, in Fremont, California.
We teachers were extraordinarily blessed to
be able to help young people find their way
through some of their most difficult and important
transitions.
I had great students, and remain in contact
with many of them to this day. However some
of them procrastinated and put off taking
advantage of the support, guidance, and direction
that would have helped them make their
way towards their goals and a fulfilled adulthood
sooner. I was one of many teachers, trying
to bridge that gap. In many cases, by the end of
each school year, we were successful.
When my family and I moved to East County
in 2003, we discovered the problem is even
greater here, because of the large population of
latchkey kids. Parents are spending hours every
day commuting over long distances leaving children
at home with a lot of time on their hands.
Most parents are doing the best they can.
After all, many of them moved here because
East County is a good place to raise a family.
They are here precisely because of the values
concerning family and children that they hold
dear. But now that they are here, many of them
find that they don’t have sufficient time to
prepare their kids to embrace their future.
I’ve become a specialist in preparing students
for college and for life. My husband and I are
both products of public education. Our children
have attended a private Christian school, and
I’m now teaching and mentoring my three girls
at home. They are getting academics from me
and then we’re driving two to three days a week
to a school where they participate in intramural
music and athletics.
I’ve served on accreditation teams and am
prepared to help smaller institutions work their
way through the process. So I have an insider’s
view on what academic excellence is all about,
from public, private, and home school perspectives.
I know what is expected; I know what is
possible; I know what is right.
I’m equipped by experience, training, and
passion to assist parents to play an appropriate
and effective role in preparing their children to
face the world and to be prepared for college
when the time comes.
On the following pages are three specific
areas for parents to prepare their children for
college and for their future: