Dayna Fields

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With more distractions being introduced everyday and thousands of advertisers competing for our children’s attention, it is more important than ever to get involved with your children’s education.

Studies show that children perform better in all subjects (and walks of life) when parents have an invested interest in the child’s academic performance. However, it is all too easy these days to simply sit back, relax and trust that your kids are learning everything they need to learn for school (and life).

In this slow Chicago market, many parents are busy working one or more jobs in addition to their regular adult responsibilities, which makes it hard to find time to help kids with homework or school projects. Or parents may simply be too tired to ask what their child learned in school today?

Whatever the case may be, it is important to be an active participant in your child’s education. Some parents feel useless since they do not know algebra or science or European history. However, simply asking your kids about their classes, assigned homework and upcoming exams is a great way to be involved and show your kids that education is important to you. Whether you are a Chicago freelance writer, a scientist, a furniture maker or a personal trainer – chances are good that there is an area of study in which your specialties will be very useful.

Many kids get by on memorization, which is fine for short-term learning but not so good for the long term. Kids who rely on memorization instead of the actual learning process will not retain that information for future needs. However, memorization is good enough to pass an exam. Because of this loophole in the education process many kids feel as though “learning” is just a matter of transferring memorized information from the study guide to the exam. In reality, we want our kids to learn the concepts of the material for the long haul.

Simple things can be done to improve your child’s grades and outlook on education. The first step starts with letting your kids know how important learning and education is to you. Even if it appears that they are not listening, things heard from the mouth of a parent have a better chance of resonating with kids. The second step is to get involved with your children’s academics, whether it means asking them questions, helping them with their homework or preparing them for an exam.

Finally, once your child has learned the material, have him or her teach it back to you. That means that you are the student and your child is the teacher. Studies show that the act of teaching material to someone else is the best way to learn the material yourself and remember it for the long run.

The reality is that not every parent has the time to be as involved in their child’s education as they would like. However, many parents don’t realize the enormous effect one small comment could have on a child. Talking to your kids about their school work is a simple first step for anyone to take and there will never be anything anyone says to your child that will have more of an impact than if they heard it from you. You have the potential to make the biggest impact on your child’s education and it all starts with one question: “What did you learn in school today?”

The performance of Six Women with Brain Death or Expiring Minds Want to Know is a wonderful and refreshing production! Ladies, grab your girlfriends and head to the theater for an evening of “Twilight Zone” frenzy and fun. You might want to leave the husbands at home, however, as the series of skits deals with female taboos, girlhood ideologies and a bit of male bashing.

Six students from the all-girls Stephens college in Columbia, MO threw themselves into this performance, which is as wacky as the title suggests. From the generation gap between mother and children to the competition of a high school reunion to the R-rated world of the married bedroom that is far from the ‘Barbie and Ken’ fantasy, there is hardly a time to stop laughing at the challenges of womanhood.

The first scene was a slow start, especially when it is totally unclear what you’re getting yourself into, but not before long one concedes to uncertainty. The disclaimer “for mature audiences only!” should be heeded, but the luxury is that the young cast took their roles so seriously and wholeheartedly that the underlying messages came through loud and clear in their chaotic skits. They had no problem portraying the worries of an older generation and, for that matter, relating it to their own younger generation.

If you aren’t relating to the scenarios or if the absolute absurdity isn’t your cup of tea, then the cast will certainly grab you with their strong, emotional voices and impressive range. Katie Karel, who sings, “G-d is an Alien”, filled the room with a massive voice and penetrated any anxiety that accompanies a taboo subject. Likewise, Colleen Grate displayed the strength of her vocal chords in a hilarious but sympathetic “I’m Much Too Fat to be Prom Queen”. Molly Denninghoff played a mother of two in “Rambi”, whose fairy tale vision of motherhood is disrupted when she doesn’t like her children as much as she planned to. Denninghoff was as convincing in her quiet and somber monologue as she was empathetic when playing an armed Bambi corrupted by the real world’s cold realities.

The casts’ dedication to the roles keeps this outlandish script just inside the boundary of meaningful. It would have been too easy to botch this production by either going over the top or not going far enough. Besides the slow start, the energy peaks at impeccably climatic moments.

Michael Burke, the director, brings the script to life with audience participation and fabulous use of stage space. The “Get Proud of Me” song, while showcasing the vocal talent of Denninghoff, may have been one of the few skits that missed the mark. But with a severed head on display, it was at very least good for a laugh, however unsettling.

Overall, it was a fabulous performance with the only regret being that they did not have soundtracks for sale. The young cast achieved a night of resonating music, ridiculous fun and realistic issues. It was unspeakably refreshing to finally see six girls on stage who are not competing with each other or fighting for the spotlight, but, instead, working together as a well-oiled machine to give an audience their money’s worth of entertainment. And two hours of entertainment is exactly what the audience got.

To my fellow freelance writers trying to make their way in an economy that values the fields of finance and medical billing over the art of writing: it is time to search for gigs in other places besides the world of journalism and creative writing.

The opportunities are there if you open your eyes to off-the-beaten-path writing gigs. One great suggestion that I am the first to offer to any recent college graduate or disgruntled freelance reporter is to find an SEO company that is hiring for SEO copywriters – as most of them are.

In terms of search engine optimization, content makes the world go round. If this is so, then freelance writers rule the kingdom. I always recommend to my writers to start building up their resume with SEO writing, which looks very enticing to online or print publications after a couple years of experience.

Compared to the inverted pyramid or lifestyle pieces, the average freelance writer will find SEO copywriting an easy task. However, SEO copywriting can also prove to be very satisfying since, at the end of the day, you are exercising your craft and getting things published (even though it is not common practice to give a byline for SEO blog posts because the whole notion is anonymity).

But it is, of course, extremely better than working an hourly job at Potbelly’s, as most writers do juggle their ‘regular paycheck gig’ with their freelance articles. Certainly, anyone who offers you a chance to write for money – no matter how much recognition you get for it – take the job! These little tasks are what add up into an impressive resume.

At the end of the day, it is the power of the writer to be creative in other fields and search outside the box for work. Finding up and coming companies that rely on the generation of content is the best way to ensure a paycheck that also contributes to your resume.

Consider contributing articles to a local indie magazine, even though they may not pay that much. Even if they pay nothing – hey, it’s a byline! You can volunteer to write up the company newsletter or lend your word for any marketing project ideas that you hear of. Also, be sure to take advantage of sites like mediabistro.com, which aim to match up freelance writers and content with employers and buyers.