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The function of the imagination is not to make strange things settled, so much as to make settled things strange. ~G.K. Chesterton
Bureaucrats call it "emancipation," but for foster kids there’s no worse birthday by D. HEIMPEL Published in the LA WEEKLY January 10, 2008 Victoria Stevens, a Los Angeles psychologist who has studied the effects of the foster-care system on younger children, explains that if a child is in a stable environment, his or her brain development is affected accordingly. In a stable setting, connections between the neurons in the brain grow at a healthy pace, allowing for higher-level mental processes — like learning abstract mathematical or scientific concepts. "In cases of disrupted and insecure attachment, the lower brain processes become dominant and higher-order cognitive skills and social skills can become impaired," Stevens says. Many foster-care kids have trouble reading, and struggle with other basic skills, because their "attention span is hijacked by emotions."
Published in the LA WEEKLY Victoria Stevens, a Los Angeles psychologist who has worked extensively with foster youth, agrees in principal, saying, the "race of parents, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, education of the parents, single parents, et cetera, is of little or no consequence." The key is "the capacity of the caregiver to pay attention to the separate existence of the child and respond contingently with care, delight, love, respect, play, predictability and consistency." |
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 Fresno County Office of Education Arts Forum Dr. Victoria Stevens will present the keynote address: The Importance of Creative Thinking, Emotional Intelligence and the Arts for Education in the 21st Century
Dear Teachers, Please join us for this very special opportunity! Dr. Stevens is a world-renowned brain researcher and expert on creativity in the classroom. As a former classroom teacher, she will present an engaging, hands on workshop full of new ideas and teaching strategies! 4-6pm on Tuesday, November 29. To reserve your spot, RSVP to Bob Bullwinkel, bbullwinkel@fcoe.org or (559) 779-8702
Children Uniting Nations will host the 2011 “Keeping the Promise to Our Children” National Conference in Washington, DC. The Conference is a day-long forum from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for policy makers, non-profit leaders, corporations and academics to discuss important issues impacting our youth as well as state and federal legislation being proposed to address these issues. The Conference will be held in the Congressional Auditorium at the Capitol Visitor Center and is free to attend. Dr. Victoria Stevens will present: Children Uniting Nations' Academic Mentoring Program for Foster Youth Discussion will surround the recent legislation introduced by Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA) (along with Senators Mark Begich [D-AK] and Tim Johnson [D-SD]) and Congresswoman Karen Bass (D-CA) to support the establishment or expansion and operation of programs using a network of public and private community entities to provide mentoring for children in foster care.
Practical Behavioral and Learning Tools for Teachers Working with Foster Children in the Classroom - DAY 2 • Hosted by Hollister School District 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. (lunch provided) Presenter: Dr. Victoria Stevens Join us for this day-long workshop for teachers and administrators as we learn to apply strategies that facilitate students’ mastery of emotional regulation skills in order to promote learning and academic success. To register for this free event, call: Annabelle Alvarez at (831) 630-6321
California County Superintendents Arts Initiative | CCSESA Region 2 - ARTS FORUM 2011
Keynote Speaker: Dr. Victoria Stevens
California Department of Education, Sacramento, CA Briefing for the California Education Leadership Initiative team
Full day Professional Development for teachers in the Hollister School District, San Benito County, CA Topic: Practical Behavioral/Learning Tools for Teachers working with Foster Children in the Classroom: Techniques Informed by Current Research on Trauma, the Developing Brain and Academic Achievement.
Humboldt County - Regional Arts Conference; keynote and workshop sessions
Professional development for teachers in rural schools in Humboldt County: Arts Training and Interdisciplinary Integration for Classroom Teachers. Eureka, California Region I Arts Education Forum Keynote Session The importance of integrated arts instruction for improving academic performance and 21st Century Skills for all students, especially underperforming youth Region I Arts Education Forum - Afternoon Breakout Session Culturally and personally relevant interdisciplinary arts instruction: specific tools and varied lessons for classroom teachers with limited budgets and time who are not professionally trained artists
Interview about the arts, Closing the Achievement Gap and 21st Century Skills, with Susan Andrews for "School Days" KHSU FM (Humboldt State University public radio), Tuesday March 22nd 1:25 pm. Archived at KHSU.org.
Victoria Stevens will be giving a pre-concert lecture about the music focusing on James Joyce and Proust. Come and enjoy the evening!
Monterey County Office of Education - Center for Media, Arts, Education and Technology
Steinhardt Graduate School of Music – New York University Music, Metaphor and the Embodied Mind Dr. Stevens will discuss the concepts of the embodied mind and the cognitive unconscious as they relate to the early roots of musicality in the developing mind. Research findings from pre-natal and infancy will be presented and linked to brain lateralization, prosody, the early templates for metaphor and affective meaning-making throughout the lifespan.
The Art of Listening and Reading Non-Verbal Communication: an advanced training for psychoanalytic candidates in music, dance, theatre and poetry to hone skills in perceiving and understanding the meaning of all forms of embodied non-verbal and metaphoric communication within the intersubjective dyadic relationship. Newport Psychoanalytic Institute; Tustin, California
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VIDEO - April 2010: Region V Visual & Performing Arts CCESSA Sponsored Forum with Dr. Victoria Stevens: How Arts Education Can Support Student Achievement in Our Region. Host: Media Center for Art, Education and Technology Location: Museum of Art & History at the McPherson Center, Santa Cruz, CA  READ ALL ABOUT IT! – Victoria Stevens, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist, psychoanalyst and educator, instructs teachers of King City Arts Charter School on the importance of incorporating arts into everyday classroom lessons.
Art on the Brain The following are links to QuickTime videos. Click here to download for free, the latest version of QuickTime Player. Art on the Brain Part 1 of 2 (13:53) Art on the Brain Part 2 of 2 (14:50) In March of 2008, Dr. Stevens presented a talk for arts organizations, teachers, parents, and business leaders about the importance of arts education for all children sponsored by the Forest Theatre Guild, Carmel-By-The-Sea in Carmel, CA. This was a prelude to her talk the next day for the Region 5 Arts Education Forum sponsored by the Santa Cruz County Office of Education entitled: "Open the Doors to Arts Education". The topic of her Keynote Address was "Creativity, Empathy, Imagination and Metacognition: What Affective Neurobiology Tells Us about the Importance of Arts Education for All Children." |
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