Parents' testimonials

• You are someone special who offered hope and comfort to me at a very desperate time. In a short time I Iearned a lot from you and I shall take it with me on this next part of my journey...

  – Participant in Parenting Teens with Skillfulness and Joy series

   

• I first talked to Claudia when our son was in his junior year in a very large, chaotic high school. Although he had plenty of friends and got along well with his teachers, he found the schoolwork boring and frustrating, and the homework repetitious and seemingly useless. Our bright, funny, warm kid started going down the tubes academically, and he was miserable. We struggled with how to help him, and how to provide support that was not simply a matter of nagging.

  In my first conversation with Claudia, she showed empathy for our son's position, and for ours as parents, trying to sort out what made sense for him. Rather than immediately jumping to suggest specific solutions, she mostly asked questions and supported our intuition and observations, offering ideas from her expertise where they fit in--the same approach she took with him.

  Our son had resisted tutors and counselors, but Claudia's approach was different, and he warmed to it quickly. Their sessions became a place where he willingly focused on what he was and wasn't learning, how he learned, what he wanted, what worked and didn't work. The wonderful thing about conversations with Claudia was that she didn't have some preset agenda for him. She truly wanted to understand what he wanted and needed, and to help him discover what he wanted to learn, and how he learned best. He set about discovering what there was of value in his classes at school, as well as what he didn't like, and what he wanted to learn, both in school and out.

  During this process, my husband and I met occasionally with Claudia, to check in, raise questions, voice our own concerns. Those conversations gave us the courage to look around at a broader range of possibilities for our son, and provided us with the support to realize that he didn't have to follow a conventional school path to be successful.

  The outcome for our son was that he left high school early, taking a proficiency exam to receive a state certificate in lieu of a diploma. He's currently attending classes at an innovative vocational-style college – Expression College for Digital Arts (one that Claudia suggested he check out) where he has been much happier. He was the youngest student to be admitted. He met with Claudia regularly throughout the transition, and still meets with her occasionally to check in.

  Claudia has been a tremendous resource and ally for our family.

  – Linda Urban

   

• I want to recommend Claudia L'Amoreaux, the educational consultant I approached when my son acted out upon entering high school. He had plenty to act out about in the context of a school system, community, and a dysfunctional divorced family that expected conformity but didn't address or even acknowledge the problems he faced. He was treated as if he was the problem whenever he failed to meet his quota, and that turned out to be the problem. His healthy sense of self-esteem rejected the idea that he was THE problem. With Claudia's skilled counseling, we redefined the problem. Think about this--if you can't solve ''the problem,'' you might need to redefine what the problem is. With Claudia's help, we redefined the problem as the disconnect between my son's needs and the resources of the community and his family. I decided to support my son in directing his own education.

  We formulated a family learning plan, a term that honored the concept that my son had not been adequately served by the existing resources of the community and his family. Our family learning plan included moving to Lake County during the summer and engaging him in building two spec houses. He selected and bought a building lot for himself that he will develop as he is able, thus providing his own funds for college. He is currently enrolled in carpentry classes at Laney College. The strategy was to empower him to pay for his own college if he chooses to do that. Our family learning plan included his personal goals to improve his reading and writing and prepare to take the CHSPE test. Claudia met with him weekly for reading sessions and coaching in writing. They read all kinds of books together, from Larry Gonick's Cartoon Guide to the Universe to Fritjof Capra's Web of Life. When we started this process, he was so turned off to reading he wouldn't pick up a book. Now he reads according to his own interests, and enthusiastically. His writing has improved tremendously.

  Then we moved to Central America for half a year. We wrote ''travel to Guatemala'' into our family learning plan-- and we did it. The results have been excellent and my son expresses his gratitude daily. We haven't had such a warm relationship since he was three years old.

  Our plan was unique to our situation. Claudia's ability and dedication to her Learning Conversations philosophy, and her compassionate approach to my troubled son helped me have the courage to try something totally outside the box. In the process I changed my own work to a field that I always liked but I thought was ''unrealistic.'' Although at first I adopted Claudia's suggestions as metaphors to serve me toward reestablishing communication with my beloved son, it has turned out that our family learning plan was actual, not metaphoric; and my own relearning has been just as exciting as the experience of watching my son redefine himself.

  I want to recommend Claudia to anyone who feels the need for a new family path.

  – Daniel Plambeck

   

• I have been a home-schooling parent for 20 years (the age of my older child); therefore I was a fairly experienced home educator when I contacted Claudia about working with my younger child, Nora, who was 13. Nora wanted to work more independently of me and, for my own peace of mind, I wanted to find someone who would support her in her endeavors, help her expand on her interests, facilitate the process of growing independence that was occurring and, not incidentally, assure me that Nora had access to adult guidance and advice that she no longer desired from me.

  Claudia, in her year-and-a-half working with our family, served as an expander, a reflector and a go-between. When Nora had an interest in fractals or artificial life, Claudia would direct her to people and resources that expanded on her interest and knowledge. At the time, Nora hated to make phone calls, and Claudia gently worked with her so that making phone calls in the course of her explorations became natural and easy.

  One of the most valuable skills Claudia offers is the ability to help a learner reflect on his/her own learning process: she acts as a witness to the learning that happens and expresses what she witnesses to the student. This reflection helps the learner become aware of and develop their own unique process of learning. She helped Nora and me recognize and build on the learning processes that were happening. Learning-how-to-learn is the life skill I consider most valuable in a fast-changing world, and Claudia spent a lot of her time with Nora focused on just that aspect.

  The teen years are famous for the struggle toward independence. It is humbling as a parent to see those babies, who depended on us for everything, grow up and begin to say they don't need our advice any more (but of course, we did the same to our parents!). Our work with Claudia was at just the time when Nora was making most clear that she did not want me involved in her day-to-day schoolwork. While I could see that she had a lot of focus and excitement about the things she wanted to do, I felt reluctant to completely abdicate the role of supervisor. Claudia was a wonderful go-between, providing adult (but non-parental) counsel for Nora, listening to any concerns I had about Nora's work or progress and translating those into non-threatening discussions with Nora. Claudia would reassure me when necessary or make a plan with Nora for any changes that seemed appropriate. It was a relief to me not to be in the middle of these discussions any more, and at the same time know that any questions or concerns I had could be broached through Claudia.

  Claudia and Nora communicated by e-mail and phone, with monthly face-to-face meetings. It was good experience for Nora to have phone appointments that were up to her to remember, although she had occasional lapses. I appreciated that Claudia functioned not as a teacher or an advisor for Nora, but as a consultant for both of us.

  – Sincerely, Jan Hailey