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When interacting with learners with Down syndrome, there’s a great need for focused and individualized planning. Some respond well to direct instructions, while others need a more roundabout approach. Some children learn on their own, whereas others need their family’s participation for learning or therapy to progress.

What matters is meeting the needs of the learner where they are, empowering them to make progress in a manner that they know how.

Anthony P. Orlich delves into the heart of this endeavor, gleaning insights from his time as a school volunteer who has witnessed firsthand what these remarkable children can achieve with the right support and empowerment.

Setting Up a Successful Learning Environment

Engagement is affected by the learning environment, and a well set up learning environment can break down some of the barriers that these unique learners experience.

It’s also important to limit the amount of stimuli that the student is exposed to. It may seem tempting to always keep things fresh, use fun new teaching methods, but the student may struggle to keep up if the learning environment is constantly changing.

Accessibility

While not always true for all learners, it’s prudent to make interaction points accessible to the student. The American Montessori Society underscores the importance of visual learning. Visual aids should be large and eye-catching. Drawing attention to features like shapes, colors, or numbers can help learners respond in ways that are accessible to them.

A Children’s Hospital Boston pamphlet for parents states that learners with Down syndrome have trouble with language, so instructions should be short, direct, and animated if possible. Use non-verbal cues to supplement oral prompts, enunciate with care, and stress key words to better get a message across.

Varying ways to respond is also important. Aside from verbal communication, physical prompts like picking up objects or pointing at them can enhance engagement.

Motivation

Learning can only happen if the student is motivated, and giving the student some control of the learning experience can help achieve this. Small choices like which activity to do next, or adapting mechanics of a game to their preference can be a powerful way to satisfy a student’s need for autonomy.

To maintain motivation throughout a lesson, surprises, hooks, and strategic brain breaks can shatter the monotony and keep interest high.

Personalization

Discovering a student’s interest and integrating it into the learning session is a great way to command attention. Showing favorite characters, explaining difficult concepts through a familiar game, or tailoring visual aids to the learner’s favorite color or theme can make studying much more engaging.

Flexibility

When things don’t go as planned, or when the learner is responding particularly well in a certain direction, the ability to switch things up (or make things up) is crucial as well. It’s tempting to nudge the student in the prepared direction, but there are also valuable lessons to be learned by occasionally letting the student lead.

A key lesson to take to heart is this: We are all learners. Even from the children we are supposed to be teaching, there are still lessons to be learned, as long as the heart is open to accept them.

While many types of guitars exist, there are generally two widely accepted categories — acoustic and electric. For those who’re just picking up the instrument, deciding between the two can seem impossible. But getting it right can be the difference between giving up and becoming a fantastic player. The trick to making the correct decision is to learn the similarities and differences.

At the base level, electric guitars need an amplifier, while acoustic guitars project sound alone, thanks to their hollow bodies. But Anthony P. Orlich explains that there’s a lot more to it.

The Similarities

They’re similar in the sense that both acoustic and electric guitars:

• Can handle rhythm and lead positions
• Are good for many playing styles
• Have the same fretboard and tuning layouts
• Have six strings

Luckily, learning one gives players the foundation for the other, but that doesn’t mean they shouldn’t start out with the type of guitar they plan to play for the long-haul.

The Differences

Understanding the differences puts individuals in the prime position for splashing their cash on the best guitar for them, their music preferences, and their skill.

Sound

Acoustic guitars come in two varieties — steel-string and nylon string — which produce different sounds. The former offers a sharp, metallic sound that’s perfect for blues, pop, or rock music. Whereas the latter (known as classical guitars) has a more mellow sound, making it great for Latin and classical music.

Electric guitars have an innately customizable sound. By fiddling with the knobs on its body and plugging it into the amp, players can tweak the sound to their liking, adding effects like reverberation, chorus, and distortion. They’re made for pop, funk, metal, jazz, and rock music.

Strings

The string type is one of the most notable differences between acoustic and electric guitars. Not only do they feel different, but they produce distinct sounds, as detailed above.

Acoustic guitars can have nylon or steel strings, whereas electric models utilize steel. Players can choose the latter’s thickness to make playing easier/harder. The thicker they are, the richer they sound but the harder they are to manipulate.

Aesthetic

While it’s decidedly less important than the other differences, they have distinct looks.

Acoustic guitars have little shape and color variety. Electric guitars, on the other hand, have a pretty endless supply of colors and shapes.

Size

Acoustic versions are bulkier than electric models, which impacts the space between the strings and the string height — something that may be tricky for beginners. To get a clear sound, players require more hand strength, especially since thicker strings hurt beginners’ fingertips.

The thicker neck size, however, is great for open chords, rhythmic strumming patterns, and resonant sounds.

Electric guitars are smaller across the board, including the neck, because they don’t rely on natural acoustics to form sound. The smaller stature makes it easier to learn on as incredible hand strength and flexibility isn’t necessary.

The size lends itself to reaching higher notes as a soloist and playing bar chords.

Deciding Which is Best

Ultimately, the best guitar comes down to personal preference. However, many state considering the type of music they want to play helps them pick the perfect model.

The trumpet is a wildly popular brass instrument dating back centuries. It’s vibrant, loud, adaptable to many genres of music, and relatively portable. While it’s not necessarily the easiest instrument to pick up, it is learnable, especially with help from online tutorials. Anthony P. Orlich reviews the steps to mastering this enjoyable instrument.

Finding the Best Online Trumpet Tutorial

One of the easiest ways to master the trumpet – outside of paying for private in-person lessons or learning as part of a school curriculum – is through online tutorials. There are many to choose from. Students should choose the format, style, and schedule that makes the most sense for them to be able to practice consistently and not get frustrated or overwhelmed.

Online course company Udemy offers a Learn to Play the Trumpet course, with six hours of on-demand videos plus 78 downloadable resources.

Those looking for more individualized online learning can find a tutor through companies like Wyzant or Lessonface, both of which offer one-on-one video lessons with live instructors.

Learning How to Make a Sound

Brass instruments like the trumpet can be a little trickier to master than reed instruments in terms of mouth placement. One must press their lips together tightly (with the corners of the mouth tight), make a buzzing sound by pushing air through the lips, and blow into the mouthpiece. Practicing on the mouthpiece on its own before it’s attached to the instrument is a smart way to prepare.

Mastering the Valves

The trumpet has three keys, called “valves.” These are how one changes the notes that come out of the horn. One should hold the trumpet with their left hand wrapped firmly around the bottom, and their right hand resting on top to press down the valves.

Blowing into the trumpet without pressing any valves will produce a “C” note. Buzzing one’s lips harder and faster in the same position will produce a “G.” From here, one can learn which combinations of buzzing and valve pressing will produce all the other note options to form a melody.

Common Tunes

As one begins to advance their skills, it might be time to learn how to read music. This is a whole other lesson for another article! But in the meantime, one can look up some easy tunes to play on the trumpet going by note letter only. Watching, listening, and playing along to YouTube videos will help the trumpeter learn the rhythms and how long to hold the notes even before they learn how to read actual sheet music.

Common tunes for the trumpet that are great for beginners include popular classics like “Happy Birthday” or Ludwig van Beethoven’s simple “Ode to Joy.” Then, one might tackle easy but iconic pop trumpet tunes like “All You Need Is Love” by The Beatles or Camilla Cabello’s “Havana!”

In Conclusion

With a little research, at-home practice, and maybe a lesson or two, one can master the trumpet in no time!

Heading to camp is the highlight of the summer for many children and adolescents. But surprisingly, it isn’t necessarily for the reason that first springs to mind (all the fun activities). In reality, young people want to come to camp for the connections they make with each other and their camp counselors. Anthony P. Orlich explains that these professionals become mentors, friends, and teachers to the children for camp’s duration, having a profound impact on all attendees.

Young people are like sponges, soaking up everything in their surroundings. From peer interactions to the activities to the behavior of the counselors, children absorb every bit of it, making it ultra-important for workers to adopt the right tactics to ensure they change campers’ lives in nothing but positive ways.

Positive Change Starts with The Counselors

Learning happens on two wholly different (yet equally important) levels — activity (basic) skills and life (advanced) skills. The former is typically recognized by the children. For instance, they’ll learn how to perform the backstroke or make a necklace. But the latter is less noticeable, encompassing essentials like compassion, teamwork, reason, patience, self-reliance, and confidence. It’s here that camp counselors can truly come into their own and create exceptional change.

Becoming a Role Model for Campers

Remember — children are akin to sponges. So, a pleasant summer experience can be garnered by surrounding campers with positive influences. Naturally, this requires counselors to act as a role model. Maybe unbeknownst to these workers, campers will look up to them and want to follow in their footsteps (sometimes literally). Thus, counselors should always be conscious of what they’re doing and saying.

This includes how they respond during disagreements. Camp workers should mediate conflict, encouraging communication and comprise. This can be tricky to learn, but it’s an essential skill when working with children who will model seen behavior.

Crafting a Safe Space for Young People to Be Themselves

Showing support, fairness, and appreciation to all campers creates a safe space for them to shine and be unapologetically themselves. The world can be a judgmental place, but it’s well-documented that children who are encouraged to let their true selves out are better equipped to deal with curveballs life may throw at them.

The physical location of the camp certainly helps to craft this safe atmosphere. However, it’s much more to do with the counselors and how they interact with their colleagues and attendees.

Using Positive Reinforcement for Goal-Achieving

The above can be achieved through positively reinforcing behaviors. The key is to ensure fewer negative interactions with the campers so they have a wholly fulfilling summer and beyond. Affirmative techniques to name and bring attention to desirable actions will prove more beneficial in the long run than reinforcing unwanted behaviors.

Camp Counselors: They’re Forming the Next Generation

By implementing the above strategies and generally acting with respect and integrity, camp counselors have a life-long impact on the children who will never forget them.