Shahara Wright understands being a business owner and the difference between being an entrepreneur…read moreand a CEO. She has written a book on these differences and "the cost to be the boss." I struggled as a business owner for years and would love to have known someone like Shahara when I first started Perceptive Public Relations. We will all hear much more about Shahara in the coming months as she publishes her book and continues to offer affordable seminars and workshops.

Learning English IS possible! There's no excuse to not be able to adapt, grow, and be a success…read morestory because your native language was not English. There's no reason to feel limited, isolated or judged because the classes are FREE! These classes are available in the morning, afternoon, at night and on the weekends at multiple locations throughout Houston. We MUST get the word out!!! Whether you are a beginner and speak nor understand English or your know a little, there's a welcoming class available for you. Instructors are friendly, polite and patient. Students are all ages and from all over the world. Please tell people about these classes. Also, consider volunteering! They will teach you to teach English. ¡Aprender inglés es posible! No hay excusa para no poder adaptarse, crecer y ser una historia de éxito porque su idioma nativo no era el inglés. ¡No hay razón para sentirse limitado, aislado o juzgado porque las clases son GRATIS! Estas clases están disponibles en la mañana, la tarde, la noche y los fines de semana en múltiples ubicaciones en todo Houston. DEBEMOS correr la voz !!! Si eres principiante y no hablas ni entiendes inglés o sabes un poco, hay una clase de bienvenida disponible para ti. Los instructores son amigables, educados y pacientes. Los estudiantes son de todas las edades y de todo el mundo. Cuéntale a la gente sobre estas clases. Además, ¡considera ser voluntario! Te enseñarán a enseñar inglés.

If you go to the Literacy Advance of Houston (LAH) website, you'll be confronted with a few facts…read morethat should give you pause: * Approximately 52% of adults in Harris County are functionally illiterate in English * Texas ranks 47 out of 50 states, in terms of English literacy levels * 68% of those arrested, 75% of welfare dependents, 85% of dropouts and 72% of the unemployed are identified as functionally illiterate If you're in a self-absorbed mood, the third fact should answer the question, "Why do I care?" quite convincingly. So, who's doing anything about this? LAH is! They are a non-profit organization whose mission is "to teach adults to read, write, and communicate in English so they can achieve their full potential as parents, workers, citizens, and community members." Using strictly volunteer tutors, classes are offered for free at schools, community centers, churches, corporations, and small businesses throughout the Greater Houston area. LAH has been strongly endorsed by a number of local literacy advocates whose names you've heard (some of them are volunteer tutors too): * Author and Houston's First Lady, Andrea White * Former Astro pitcher, announcer and manager, Larry Dierker * Former Oiler quarterback and General Manager of the Houston Dynamo, Oliver Luck * Former Head Coach of the Houston Comets, Van Chancellor * and many more... There are few local charities that are more deserving of some dollars you can leverage into a tax write-off or perhaps even some of your time as a tutor. In addition to the office in Galleria area, they also have an office near Clearlake. Full disclosure: I'm currently not involved with Literacy Advance of Houston in any way but I am a personal friend of its Executive Director and know a member of the Executive Board.

very good school for any child i love how the teachers are in christine smith. thank you for all…read moreyou do for any child education

"The first lesson of economics is scarcity: There is never enough of anything to satisfy all those…read morewho want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics." -- Thomas Sowell, b. 1930, American economist, social commentator and author hanging out at Stanford In this era of bailouts, I'm sure Mr. Sowell would heartily endorse Junior Achievement (JA), an organization dedicated to "educating students in grades K-12 about entrepreneurship, work readiness and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs." (Per their webpage.) They have dozens of programs that help turn our children into savvy capitalists, but they are earning five stars from me for their offering which is recommended for 5th-graders: BizTown. In years past, BizTown was called "Exchange City", but the organization that provided JA with the material no longer has a relationship with JA and JA has done some rebranding. I have served as an adult volunteer for two of my children when they went through this one-day program and it is unequivocally excellent. If you have 5th-graders and their school isn't involved in this program, go to your local PTA and school administrators and ask, "Why the heck not?" The best thing about BizTown is that kids absolutely love it! In a nutshell, in BizTown, the kids run their own town. There is a mayor, a judge, a sheriff, city hall, a bank, a radio station (replete with a kid DJ playing requests that they sell), and all sorts of retail establishments. The goal of every business is to raise sufficient capital to pay off their business loan which got them started at the beginning of the day. Every retail business has a CEO and CFO as well as other roles like sales people. They all have specific duties and are paid different salaries. During their lunch break they can go out and spend their salary on stuff the other kids are selling. Everything is entered into computers that the CFO manages. They have to open bank accounts, balance checkbooks, collect bills, make, price and sell merchandise--in other words--stuff that real people and businesses actually do. They have to be good citizens too. The kids make their own rules (one of them being you have to walk on paths, not on the grass) and if you're found violating them, you're fined by the sheriff and have to take your case to the judge (this applies to the adult volunteers too). The role of the adult volunteers is to keep the kids focused and on task (and let them make all the business decisions by themselves). There is an adult or two attached to every business establishment. They also have to let the kids fail (which they often do). If you don't price your merchandise correctly (either too high or too low), you won't earn enough to pay off the loan. Kids need to demonstrate critical thinking and social skills to do well. Both times I volunteered, the business I was babysitting didn't manage to pay off their loan. No matter--we had a great discussion about what we could have done differently to make it happen. It's a brilliant concept and the kids spend several weeks in the classroom preparing for this before they actually go to the location which is found at 3710 Dacoma, just around corner from the JA office. Adult volunteers also have to go to a several hour training program before the big day. Luckily, other than the mayor, there are no politicians. Hence, the kids won't be hearing promises that can't be met or witness tax dollars being spent on bailouts that fundamentally solve nothing. Sowell's axiom above is shown to be quite true. Ayn Rand would be proud. Washington, Austin, City Hall, take note! "Government 'help' to business is just as disastrous as government persecution...the only way a government can be of service to national prosperity is by keeping its hands off." --Ayn Rand The Houston Chronicle recently ran a good article on JA BizTown: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6181179.html