Rotary Club selects SBHS teacher for special recognition

News release

The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara recently recognized Santa Barbara High School special education teacher Eric Nichoson for his extraordinary contributions to public education. It is the first of four such awards the Rotarians will present to area educators this academic year.

Nichoson is a resource specialist, teaching grades 7-9. This year he is co-teaching American Government, Economics, U.S. History, and Algebra 1. He has been at Santa Barbara High School for 12 years. Prior to teaching at SBHS, Nichoson taught in the San Diego City school system for two years.

Since 1986, the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara has honored outstanding teachers from South Coast schools each year. It awards a high school, junior high, elementary, and special education teacher with a certificate and a $1,000 check to spend on classroom needs.

“Our teachers are second to none and perform daily heroic acts on behalf of students and families,” said County Superintendent of Schools Bill Cirone, whose office coordinates the recognition with the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara. “We appreciate the vision, caring, and commitment of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara in making annual awards that recognize the contributions of outstanding teachers, while providing resources that enable them to enrich their classroom environments.”

“The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara is committed to supporting the Santa Barbara County Education Office, and it gives us great pleasure to recognize the efforts of outstanding teachers like Nichoson,” said Mike Bieza, chairman of the Teacher Recognition Committee of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara. “Rotary of Santa Barbara and Rotary International members know that educators like Eric Nichoson have a tremendous impact on their students, who one day will be the leaders of our community.”

Nichoson took an unconventional path to the classroom. “I didn’t complete my undergraduate work until I was in my mid-30s because I was not ready to commit to being a ‘student,’” he says. “When I did, I treated it like a job.” He completed his education at UCSB in 18 months and graduated summa cum laude. He subsequently earned his teaching credentials at California Lutheran University.

“I can attest to the fact that he is one of the truly great people that works with our communities’ kids,” said Santa Barbara High School principal Dr. John Becchio. “As a special education teacher he is motivated by the fact that he gets to positively influence and help the students in our community who need it the most, and they are often the ones who want to be at school the least because school has always been hard for them due to their disabilities.”

“Mr. Nich,” as he is affectionately called, was himself inspired to become an educator by one of his high school teachers. He has been seen at local thrift stores buying dictionaries for his students, proctoring a special exam session on a Saturday so he can read the test to a student with dyslexia, attending athletic and extracurricular events so his students know he is interested in them beyond the classroom, and roaming the hallways with his quirky ties saying hello to everyone he passes.

“Mr. Nich is certainly one of the bright spots in his students’ school day,” Becchio continued. “It is my honor and privilege to call him a colleague. He truly makes a difference, every day.”

The Rotary Club of Santa Barbara meets at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort in Santa Barbara for lunch from noon to 1:30 p.m. on Fridays. Recipients of the club’s Teacher Recognition Awards are made with the assistance of the Teacher Programs and Support department of the Santa Barbara County Education Office.

Prediction skills

Radio Commentary

Reading skills are often enhanced through the use of prediction skills.

Good readers use prediction throughout their reading. They constantly anticipate what will happen next.

When reading with your child, find time to have the child write down what he or she thinks is going to take place.

Do this at the end of a chapter or in between the illustrations of a picture book.

Beginning readers need stories that are highly predictable. This predictability may take the form of rhyme, repetition, or patterned language.

Help children write down their prediction of the next word in a sequence.

They can then compare their choice with the one in the book. 

One good exercise is to make up short stories and have children write several endings.

You can then talk about which ending is “most predictable” or “most unbelievable” or “most inventive.” 

Experts agree: When helping your child become a strong reader, writing down predictions can be a valuable tool for improved reading skills.

Reading for meaning

Radio Commentary

Getting meaning out of what we read is one of the secrets for success at any age, but most particularly for young people in school.

Experts always cite reading as the skill students most need for classroom success.

Studies show that having a lot of reading materials around while children are growing up helps them in more ways than we may ever know. 

Being surrounded by words helps make children comfortable with language. 

Submerging children in a culture of words helps them learn that words have meaning. 

Words are the building blocks for thinking and learning throughout a lifetime. 

But just learning to read is not enough to ensure school success. 

It’s important to be able to sound out different letter combinations, but children must also learn to find the meaning in different combinations of words. 

Reading out loud helps focus on pronunciation and word recognition. The next step is understanding what those words signify, and learning how to put them together in combinations to get meaning across.

Only then can students put what they read to its best use. Reading for meaning is always the goal.

A vision for the New Year

By Bill Cirone, Santa Barbara County Superintendent of Schools

A new year is the traditional time for making resolutions.

Family Circle Magazine once printed resolutions for parents, and I’m going to repeat them because they help focus our efforts as the new year begins:

I will always love my children for who they are — not who I want them to be.

I will give my child space to grow, to dream, to succeed, and even to fail. Without that space, no growth can occur.

I will create a loving home environment, regardless of what effort it takes at a given time.

When discipline is necessary, I will let my child know that I disapprove of what he does, not who he is.

I will set limits and help my children find security in the knowledge of what is expected of them. They will not have to guess what is right or wrong.

I will make time for all my children and cherish our moments together. I will not burden my children with emotions and problems they are not equipped to deal with.

I will encourage my children to experience the world and all its possibilities, taking pains to leave them careful but not fearful.

I will try to be the kind of person I want my children to be: loving, fair-minded, giving, and hopeful.

These are good resolutions for all of us.

The new year is also a good time to take stock and share our vision for children in Santa Barbara County for the year that is about to take shape. It is a vision I’m sure most members of our community share.

We envision children growing up in good health, with a zest for learning and living.

We see them with a spark inside that makes them want to share their talents with those less fortunate, and work for the good of the order, just because it's the right thing to do.

We see children who are free of fear, free of abuse, free of drugs, free of prejudice.

We see children who are free to reach beyond their circumstances, whatever those might be, and to join a society that welcomes their contributions on the job, in the community, and in the voting booth.

And we see a community willing to work together to bring all our children closer to that dream.

My sincere gratitude to all, for helping in ways both large and small to make this community a better place for young people and families. That support is evident at every turn, and it is deeply appreciated.

Happy holidays to young and old alike.

Car safety tips

Radio Commentary

More parents are traveling these days with ever-younger children in tow. When it comes to traveling safely, there are two practices that could save a young life.

First, when traveling in a car, always secure an infant in a car seat in the back seat.

The rear of a car is a far safer place in the event of an accident. Above all, never use an infant seat in the front of a car that has a passenger-side air bag.

If the bag deploys, it can seriously injure an infant by striking the back of the safety seat.

In a case where an older car only has lap belts in the rear, or shoulder straps that cross over the neck or face of a toddler, it is still important to use a safety belt.

In fact, any belt is better than no belt. Use a booster seat for a young child who has outgrown an infant seat. This will elevate the child so that the shoulder strap crosses the chest, not the neck.

If the rear seat has no shoulder straps, buy a booster seat with a harness or a shield. These devices have saved young lives.

Second: Remember that preventive and defensive driving is always the best bet — and drivers should take special precautions when traveling with young passengers.

But sometimes unforeseeable circumstances occur, or other drivers are not exercising the same care as you are.

At those times, it is far better to be prepared by making sure your child is adequately protected.

Time capsules

Radio Commentary

With 2016 winding down, it can be fun for families to create a time capsule. It can also provide a practical use for items you might otherwise throw away.

Creating a time capsule is an interesting activity to give children a sense of historical perspective.

Storing a collection of artifacts from the present to be opened some time in the future will give clues to those in the future as to what life was like in our times.

Have each family member select a few things to donate to the cause.

Put a date on the box when your family can open it again. You might even want to bury it somewhere.

Years later, when your children open it, memories will flood back. Or, they might choose to let the time capsule go forever, to be discovered by some future explorers.

The unknown aspects of the future can spark young imaginations and provide encouragement to a wide variety of interests, from science to science fiction.

This project could even start young people on the road to planning goals to achieve by a certain date.

Time capsules provide a real opportunity to channel children’s sense of wonder. They also help bring the concept of history right into your own backyard.

Internet contract

Radio Commentary

Parents tell children, “Don’t talk to strangers.” With wide use of the Internet, the possibility of talking to strangers in cyberspace is now an issue as well.

But it doesn’t need to be. Children can make very good use of the Internet without using chat rooms or interactive forums that bring them in contact with strangers.

Parents can help keep their children safe by setting rules and enforcing them. Remember, even if you don’t have a mobile device or a computer at home, your children can still use online services at a friend’s house or even a public library.

So help your child understand that online activity is a privilege. Children should also agree to:

•   Limit time online to 8 hours per week.

•   Never give out their name, address, phone number, school, or password to anyone online.

•   Report to you anyone online who asks for personal information.

•   Tell you if someone sends messages that are uncomfortable or inappropriate.

•   Never arrange to meet friends they have met online, unless you are with them.

•   Never spend time in adult chat rooms or newsgroups.

•   Refrain from using bad language or sending cruel messages.

Build in natural consequences. If any of these agreements are broken, children generally should lose online privileges for one week per broken promise.

Remember: safety online is as important as safety offline.

Effective families

Radio Commentary

A strong case can be made for parental involvement in education. Effective families have several identifiable characteristics. These include:

• A feeling of control over their lives — individually, and as a group

• Frequent communication of high expectations to the children

• A family dream of success for the future for all members

• A consistent message that hard work is the key to success

• An active lifestyle involving physical activities

• A view of the family as a mutual support system and an effective problem-solving unit

• Clearly understood household rules, that are consistently enforced, and

• Frequent contact with teachers by at least one parent, and both if possible.

The report maintained that this type of family lifestyle helps lead to a child’s increased self-confidence and self-control.

These characteristics create a protective network that is an ongoing source of strength and support for young and old alike.

In families with these traits, parents tell their children through their attitudes, behavior, and encouragement that they can succeed in school and in life.