Another new book from Conductive Education Press

                        

Never, never quit
My Conductive Education                                                                  
Pieces of mind, memories and opinions
From the desk of Ralph Strzałkowski, Esq.
Lawyer on Wheels

Birmingham: Conductive Education Press

 ISBN 978-0-9569948-6-8     £12.00

 

 I am very pleased to announce the publication of another book by Conductive Education Press.

Ralph Strzałkowski has cerebral palsy. He went to the Pető Institute as a child and is presenting a paper about his conductive childhood at the 8th World Congress this week.

 

Ralph is now living in the US and working as a lawyer. He became involved on the Conductive Education centre set up in Gainesville, Florida and this led to the start of his blog at

http://blog.lawyeronwheels.org/.  

Never, never quit is a collection of  postings from this relating to his experiences and reminiscences of Conductive Education.

As the back of the book explains further:

Rafał (now Ralph) Strzałkowski was born in 1979, in Warsaw, Poland, with cerebral palsy, ten years before the fall of the Iron Curtain. From 1986 to 1990 he attended the Pető Institute in Budapest, Hungary, as a weekly boarder. After that it was back to school in Warsaw, then law degrees at Warsaw University, and the University of Florida. Today Ralph is an attorney admitted to law practice in Florida and in Washington DC.

He is also an activist. This year he inaugurated DAAF, the Florida Disability Access and Awareness Foundation.

This book is a collection of 53 postings from his blog Lawyer on Wheels, selected for the unique light that they throw upon Conductive Education as remembered from the experience of a child, reflections upon his adult life that bear the stamp of his particular upbringing, and some of his further Conductive Education experiences in the United States.

A view of Conductive Education from someone who has experienced it is very rare and Ralph's memories provide a very interesting account of what it is like to be a recipient, live with a disability and manage it.

This is available for £12 plus postage & packing  from

www.e-conduction.org/CEP

or by clicking on the book badge on the right hand side of this blog.

Also available is the recently published CEP Quotationary of András Pető and his Conductive Education.  as mentioned in my previous posting.

http://www.gillian-maguire.info/2013/09/new-book-from-conductive-education-press.html

This collection of quotes from him, about him, and his work, helps us to a greater understanding of both the man and his system.

On Conductions' website www.e-conducion.org quotes from the book appear, a different one each time you open the front page of the website.

Enjoy and do let us know what you think. Feedback is very welcome.

New book from Conductive Education Press

   

CEP Quotationary of András Pető  and his
Conductive Education

Birmingham: Conductive Education Press. £12

   

ISBN 978-09569948-5-1

 

Yesterday the latest publication from Conductive Education Press was released on Blurb and can be found at 

 

http://blur.by/1dNtUxs

 This collection of quotes  reveals thoughts, experiences and various interactions with András Pető aimed at increasing knowledge of his work and about the man himself.

 

As stated on the back of the book:

András Pető left two inheritances.

One was the practice of conductive pedagogy, variously konduktív nevelés, Conductive Education, konduktive Förderung – an uncrystalised Chinese whisper that has since mutated down generations and across societies. Some such practices may have much in common with András Pető's and his associates', some very little – all are concrete activities, practised, or experienced, observed and analysed. They are what you see.

The other is the heritage of recollections of András Pető himself, what he did, how he was, and perhaps what drove him. Who was this Will-o'-the-Wisp, András Pető, what words of his echo down to us? How did people at the time understand that mystery in their midst? This second inheritance is far harder to find, to separate from myth and fantasy in what you hear and what you read.  

This quotationary's 307 quotations contribute some distilled essence, including 48 sayings or reported sayings from the man himself, plus vivid direct reports from friends and associates, and the observations of some of those who have tried to nail his fleeting shadow.

These quotations come from 40 named sources, and are referenced to 15 different texts.

Originals were in German, Hungarian and English, all are presented here in English translation. 


A preview may been seen by clicking on the book badge in the right hand column of this blog.
 
As always your comments on this book will be very welcome. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Honorary conductors for 2013 announced

Since the first World Congress of Conductive Education in 1990, the names of those who have been made honorary conductors are announced and presented with an award during the Congress. This will happen at the  8th World Congress that is taking place in Munich, 9-12 October and the recipients have now been announced..

The criteria for this award  are:

The College Senate of the András Pető Institute of Conductive Education gives the Honorary Conductor Award. It was established in 1990 to recognise the work of non-conductors in the field, which is well known both in the homeland and internationally. Nominations are initiated by leading persons and are submitted to the International Pető Association (IPA) Executive Committee. Final nomination is submitted to the Senate of the András Pető Institute which is authorized to make a final decision about acceptance.

I was lucky enough to be made one in 2010 and went to Hong Kong to receive my award. It was a huge surprise and wonderful to be selected.

The recipients for 2013 have been announced and there are only two people this time.

Beate Höß-Zenker (Germany) and Norman Perrin (UK).

Very well deserved, congratulations to them both!


A list of past honorary conductors can be found at

http://www.ce-worldcongress2013.org/default_en.asp?mid=64&iid=168
 

Live seminar presentation from Paces, Sheffield

Today  a Special Educational Needs seminar is being broadcast live over the internet from Paces Sheffield.

 

 

http://www.paces-school.org.uk/

 

 Speakers include :

 

Janine Wigmore/Amanda Goulding  of Calderdale Parents and Carers

 

Debs Aspland  who is a co-author of the blog Special Needs Jungle and a mum to three children with various Special Education Needs.

 

Sarah McKimm, a solicitor working with IPSEA (Independent Parental Special Education Advice), a national charity which advises parents of children with special educational needs and disabilities.

 

Two seminars are planned and the next one is 25 September.

 

The chance to 'be there' is  a new thing for me and just shows how accessible the Internet has made everything, offering opportunities  to 'participate' in events that it is not possible to physically go to.

 

Such a system would be a valuable resource in  Conductive Education, where it is difficult to bring people together, and enable better and more frequent communication. Maybe the World Congress organisers are considering it for next month!

 

No doubt costs and technology will be important factors in making this possible.

Some cheery news

A centre in the North West of England is hoping to expand if they can raise some more money.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/big-wish-help-more-kids-6026676


Stick 'n' Step set up in 2002 and currently offers two free sessions a week to over 70 children from nine months to 18 years from the North West and Wales. Two of their 'graduates' are now at university despite their doctors' expectations.

http://www.sticknstep.org/


In these difficult financial times it is good to know that a centre could expand and develop its services for even more children with just a bit of extra money. 

News source for Pető Institute

 Stories about the Pető Institute's financial situation  have been circulating in the Hungarian media for a couple of weeks now and I have managed  find a source that links to them all.

 

http://www.hirkereso.hu/search?q=Peto+Intezet&timelimit=10000&archivum=-1&x=23&y=4

 

 

 

Hirkereső legnagyobb hir portál (Biggest news portal)  lists 134 items in newspapers and television right back to March 2013, with the latest being yesterday. Numbers 1-117 cover August and September 2013, so there are quite a lot to look at, but  a lot consist of  repeat information, rather than new 'facts'.

 

It provides  a very good way of tracking new reports and keeping up with the situation.

 

Translation facilities for non-Hungarian speakers can be found on the Internet.

More help with all that paperwork!

Its the start of the new academic year and I notice that Ben Foulger has brought out a new more comprehensive version of his Tracker system for record keeping.

 

http://conductiveit.com/new-term-new-ideas/

 

 All those involved in such administration  will know how much time it takes and how complicated it can become if not organised efficiently. Most of us are not 'into' paperwork and anything that helps has to be a good thing.

 

His new options include pre consultancy questionnaires that can be filled in online, and the option for participants, relatives, and carers to have some access to their records.

It looks as though Ben has it covered and is still offering a free trial for 14 days. Have a look at

http://www.participanttracker.com/

Changes in Conductors' Workplaces

A few months ago the map of Conductor workplaces was launched, and I have been keeping it up to date as and when I hear of any new places, and changes in the addresses and services of places already on the map.

 

http://intelligentlove.org/institution/map

As summer is now over and people are gradually getting back into work mode, I wonder if some of those workplaces have changed their addresses, services, or even closed, so I would be grateful if you would send me any updates or new information.

This service will only be kept current and accurate with your help, so please do contact me with any information you may have.

Thank you.

New books to come from Conductive Education Press

I can hardly believe that it is nearly a year ago that the book András Pető was published and, after a brief respite to re-charge our batteries, we have been planning and preparing titles for 2013.

The first, due out very soon, is a quotationary titled:

CEP Quotationary of András Pető  and his Conductive Education.

Birmingham: Conductive Education Press. ISBN 978-0-9569948-5-1

This contains over 300 quotations by 40 people, (including András Pető) from 15 different sources. You can imagine that it has taken quite a while to assemble these quotations, arrange, and reference them. Soon you will be able to see them for yourselves and learn more about this complex man and the origins of conductive pedagogy.

The second, is a collection of blog postings by Ralph Strzałkowski:

Strzałkowski, R. (2013) Never never quit; my Conductive Education. Pieces of mind, memories and opinions from the desk of Ralph Strzałkowski Esq, Lawyer on Wheels.

Birmingham: Conductive Education Press. ISBN  978-0-9569948-6-8

Ralph's own recent announcement of this on his blog can be found at:

http://blog.lawyeronwheels.org/2013/08/the-title.html

Ralph attended the Pető Institute as a young boy and reports, reflects and examines his experiences there, what Conductive Education has done for him and how it continues to influence his life. This is possibly the first such personal account of a child's experiences of Conductive Education, certainly in English.

A third new title is in the pipeline, and will be out round Christmas or the New Year.

More information will be posted soon.

Watch this space.

 

Júlia Dévai's bibliography

Yesterday news of Júlia Dévai's hundredth birthday appeared on Andrew Sutton's blog at

 

http://www.conductive-world.info/2013/07/100-years-old.html

 

Who is Júlia Dévai, you may ask. Well, she played a major role in the development of András Pető's Conductive Education from 1947-1952 and worked with him in his Institute. 

 

In recent years she has spoken and written about this period in her life and I first came across her when a paper that had been read at a conference in Israel, was donated to the National Library of Conductive Education in the late 1990s. When Andrew and I were preparing our recent publication András Pető, I contacted her to ask permission to include her paper in the book. She responded by offering to re-write it, including more detail, and that is what we published. In 2012 the Hungarian- language version of this was also published in a book, edited by her daughter, Sophia Kalman. 

 

Investigating further I realised she had produced other reminiscences too of the early days of conductive pedagogy, so here is a list of them all to celebrate her 100th birthday:

 

Devai, J. (1997) The first years with András Pető ; the birth of Conductive Education.

Unpublished paper read at Conductive Education conference, Tsad Kadima, Jerusalem, October 1997.

 

Dèvai, J. (1999) The first years with András Pető: the birth of Conductive Education. In  Forrai, J., ed., Memoirs of the beginnings of conductive pedagogy and András Pető.  Budapest and Birmingham: Új Aranyhíd and Foundation for Conductive Education, pp. 151-156.

Dèvai, J. (2005) Emlékeim. In Balogh, M. (ed.) Hári Mária (1923-2001). Budapest: Pető Institute,

 pp.46-52.

Dévai, J. (2007) My memories. In Balogh, M. ed., Hári Mária and her Conductive Education.

 Budapest: Pető Institute, pp. 46-53. [English translation of Emlékim]

 

Dèvai, J. (2012) Personal memories from the days of the beginning of Conductive Education. In

 Maguire, G. and Sutton, A.  ed., András Pető. Birmingham: Conductive Education Press, pp.45-70.

 

Dèvai, J. (2012) Egyszer volt, s ma is van: a sokarcú Pető – a konduktív nevelés kezdetei. In Kálman, Z., ed., Negyedszázad a kommunikáció bűvöletében. Budapest: Bliss Alapitvány, pp.73-101.

New service available for Conductive Education

The latest posting on the conductiveIT blog announces a new service for those working in Conductive Education.

 

http://conductiveit.com/blog/

 

 

conductiveIT has now launched  ParticipantTracker, for those working in Conductive Education, and possibly other health professionals too.  Ben Foulger has produced some software which will make record keeping easier and available at the touch of a key on your computer. As a conductor who spent a lot of time recording participants' progress, he realised the potential for such a system, enabling less time to be spent on admin and more on practice. Greener too, as minimum of  paper  is necessary!

He is offering a free trial period at the moment so do go to

 

 http://www.participanttracker.com

 

 

and find out more. The FAQ section will answer all your questions I am sure, but you can email Ben from this website  for further information if necessary.

Blast from the past and what is to come!

Recently I was sent a link to an item on the old Foundation for Conductive Education website.

http://web.archive.org/web/20010303171104/http://www.conductive-education.org.uk/html/news/library.html

When the National Library of Conductive Education was ten years old  this piece was put on the Foundation for Conductive Education's website and has a couple pictures of the library and me. The first was taken  shortly after it was established in 1991 at the old Birmingham Institute of Conductive Education  and the other in 2001 at the National Institute of Conductive Education. Shortly after this piece the library moved again into bigger premises in Cannon Hill House where it still is. I was made redundant in 2009 from the post of Librarian as part of a financial belt tightening.

I am still involved in Conductive Education, but in other projects. On thinking about this, I realised that there are, in fact,  quite a few :

     I started the virtual library of Conductive Education  at

    http://www.e-conduction.org/?page_id=115
 
    which now has over 400 items listed and nearly thirty   complete documents in its Depository.
    More to be added to both soon as time permits.

    My lists of CE centres and conductor consultancies have now been converted into a Map of Where
    Conductors Work  using the technical expertise of Ben Foulger.

    http://intelligentlove.org/institution/map

   With Andrew Sutton I have been involved in producing five titles for Conductive Education Press,

   http://www.blurb.com/user/store/cepress

   and we have plans to publish another book, a quotationary, very soon, with another to follow for
   the World Congress.


Watch this space for more details on both titles.

Not bad going! It just goes to show that you never know what the future may bring.

New book coming soon from Conductive Education Press

A few months ago the possibility of publishing a book of blog postings made by Ralph Strzalkowski about his time at the Pető Institute, and his life as a man with cerebral palsy was put to Ralph by Conductive Education Press, and he agreed. Since then we have extracted relevant postings and intend to publish at the time  of the forthcoming CE World Congress, in October, at which Ralph will be a key-note speaker.

Today Ralph has posted on his blog his thoughts about this at

http://blog.lawyeronwheels.org/2013/06/the-book.html

This book may be an eye-opener, as a child's  perspective of Conductive Education has not been published before. Parents, professionals and researchers have all reported their experiences, thoughts, and opinions, but the memories and experiences of the children have not featured in CE literature. A very different and interesting perspective.

Ralph shows himself to be determined, realistic, hard-working  and personifies Pető's principle that 'you should never give up'.

Further information about the book will follow soon. Watch this space.

London Centre set to expand

The London Centre for Children with Cerebral Palsy

 http://www.cplondon.org.uk/

which opened in 1988 with a mother and baby group, is hoping to move into bigger premises and is exhibiting the plans for developing and moving into the former Green Man pub in Muswell Hill Road.

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/10491911.Charity_supporting_sick_children_displays_plans_for_new_school/

The centre is exhibiting the plans  because:

We are very keen to hear what local residents think of the plans before we submit a planning application and we hope as many residents as possible are able to attend our public exhibition to see the plans and meet our team.

 Their current premises have become too small for their current services for children up to the age of eleven, and the  new building will be twice the size, allowing for new services for older children.

 

 

It is good to see that in this current financial turndown that it is possible for Conductive Education centres to not only survive but expand too.

Norman Perrin named as an honorary conductor for 2013

The World Congress of Conductive Education takes place every three years and the next one will be in October this year in Munich.

http://www.ce-worldcongress2013.org/default_en.asp

At these congresses a number of people are awarded honorary conductor status for their contributions to Conductive Education. The first group of these, announced in 1990 at the First World Congress in Budapest, included Andrew Sutton, and I was surprised to be included myself in  2010.

This year Norman Perrin, a British parent who established and runs his own centre, Paces, in Sheffield, Yorkshire has been named as honorary conductor. Norman, parent of Sarah, who has cerebral palsy, has worked tirelessly for Conductive Education since the late 1980s publicising its benefits, attending conferences and meetings, lobbying politicians,writing papers, and now his blog, whilst dealing with the day to day running of Paces.

 

In the past there have usually been a number of people selected, but I have looked on the Congress website, the International Pető Association website and the Pető Institute website to try and discover who this year's might be, but without success. There is nothing there, maybe it will come later.

In the meantime, congratulations, Norman, a well deserved honour!

ECA Newsletter and Conductors'' Workplaces map

Today I received a copy of the ECA (European Conductive Association ) Newsletter in my email inbox. This publication is new to me and I assumed it was a new  venture, but on checking the Association's website I found that there have been five previous newsletters, the first coming out in December 2010.

www.conductiveeducation.eu


This latest one, number 6, will probably go on-line soon.

The last item in the Newsletter was about the Conductors' Workplaces map and it was a surprise, and very nice too, to see my name mentioned as the creator of this. Although I did all the input of information, it could not have been done without the help of others - Ben Foulger who set up the software used, and Andrew Sutton and Susie Mallett, who helped by giving me lots of URLs to check and use. Like most things, this was a 'team' effort.

It was great to see mentioned that everyone needs to help with maintaining this and keeping it up to date, by letting me know about any new places or closure of any on the map.

Thank you ECA for mentioning it and I will look forward to receiving more workplaces information as a result.

By the way, this is my first posting using my new toy - an I-pad - and it has been a bit of a learning curve for me!

Conductive Education pocket book

Today I was told about a new book about Conductive Education -

The Conductive Education pocket book.

This can be found at

http://issuu.com/jessicakatenoel/docs/cepocketbook

Jessica Kate Noel  produced this in August 2012 for her Masters project in Advanced Architectural design at the University of Strathclyde. It is  based on her experiences as a conductive education assistant at the Lighthouse Summer School.

http://www.lighthouse-trust.org/Enter.html

The introduction states  :

A simple reminder of  programmes and tasks as practiced at the Lighthouse Trust Summer School

Examples of lying, standing, sitting, and moving from 'a to b' are included with illustrations.


.

Availability of papers on Conductive Education read at conferences

Today I read a posting  by Susie Mallett about a cerebral palsy conference in Bled. 

 

http://www.susie-mallett.org/2013/05/normal-0-21-false-false-false-de-x-none_18.html

 

She notes that there was a presentation made by a conductor, Gabriella Czifra, who also chaired the first plenary session, and asks where she can find out more information about the presentation.

 

These days conference proceedings are not always published as many presentations are made using Powerpoint and not written up as they would once have been, so only those present at the conference are aware of events or developments in the field. It made me wonder yet again, how often presentations and participation by conductors occur in conferences which go unnoticed or unreported. 

 

 In the past I have asked people either to send me copies of their presentations so that I may include them in the Depository on Conduction's website,

 

http://www.e-conduction.org/?page_id=67

 

or let me know of any plans to publish elsewhere on the Internet or in hard copy.

 

Can I repeat that request again?  In particular, can I ask you, Gabriella, to send me your presentation so that it can be placed in the Depository and be available to a much wider audience?

 

 Surely it is so important for the future of Conductive Education  to write, publish and record developments?

No news is not good news

Since April 2009 I have been posting lists of Conductive Education news items on this blog. Gradually these have developed into lists of fundraising activities for services all over the world, rather than interesting feature articles, developments etc.

 

 Why this has happened, I don't know.

 

Perhaps newspapers and magazines have turned to other things, the latest education theories, therapies for instance, and lost interest in CE. Perhaps those in CE aren't so active in publicising their work or submitting articles to magazines.

 

 I do not know how much interest there has been in the brief items I have been listing,  as I have not had feedback for them.

 

Therefore, rather reluctantly, I have decided  to cease producing such lists and just blog separately any newsworthy story as it is published.  If anyone has a good interesting story or article published please do let me know (in case I am unaware of it), and then I will be happy to blog it.

My lists, CE Centres and Conductor Workplaces

I believe there has been some confusion and miscommunication about my lists of CE Centres and the new virtual map of Conductors' Workplaces.

 

 

The links to the lists which appeared on the sidebar of this blog, have been deleted (although the original postings are still in place), and all information contained in them has been updated and is now available via the virtual map at

 

 http://www.intelligentlove.org/InstitutionList/view_map.php

 

In future please do go the virtual map for information about where conductors are working and to find out if there is conductor-led practice in a particular country.

 

As always I will be grateful for new information about these workplaces because I will need your help to  keep the map up to date.