Recent Blog Post

Oct 1, 2009

Of These My Children: Children Sing The Star Fangled Banner

As school clothes still look new, we are reminded that school days are here to stay. Mothers think of peace, at last. Students think of work and friends. Teachers think of past years and hope this is the best yet. This is where I found myself at this time of year only a few years back.
Read Hildra Tague's Blog

Hildra Tague

Seniors/Grandparents Feature Writer

Mrs. Hildra Tague is a freelance writer, consultant, and teacher dedicated to issues of education and parenting. This all started when she was on her high school yearbook staff, as well as putting out newsletters and yearbooks for a small private school. Through the years she has amassed a quantity of writing in several areas including psychoeducational articles, children's stories, inspirational pieces, poetry about education and life, humor vignettes from the mouths of children she's taught, and is working on a book about growing up in rural Oklahoma.

Experience

She has taught a couple of decades each in both public and private school. She founded Treetop, a small private school, tutored all ages for a number of years, and consulted with both parents and teachers to help solve learning challenges with children of all ages. She has been a team leader in both regular education and special education. She has particular experience in motivating reluctant learners.

Education

Mrs. Tague has several certifications, including elementary, special education, and ESL. She majored in education with a strong minor in psychology. She was in Kappa Delta Pi and Alpha Chi and on the President's and Dean's Honor Rolls, as well as later in Who's Who in American Education. She has also taken training in working with the gifted. She has specialized in perception, remediation, motivation and self-esteem.

Honors

She was Teacher of the Year in two different schools, and served on Advisory Boards and curriculum committees, and as a delegate and speaker at the state teachers' association, as well as Ad Hoc Study Group on Early Childhood. She spoke to several women's clubs about Learning Differences and an international meeting of Association for Children with Learning Disabilities about Solving Learning Problems. She has also appeared in several radio shows and TV talk shows about meeting the needs of children who learn differently.

One of her articles which won an Editor's Choice Award can be helpful to teachers, parents, and grandparents alike. Rhymes for Memorizing Multiplication Facts gives a special opportunity to use math mastery as recreation!

Publications

She has published several dozen columns in varied newspapers and local magazines. Some titles were seasonal while others dealt with the problems faced by children, teachers and parents as regards education. She also served her community as a Cub Scout Den Coach, worked with parent-teacher groups, and volunteer in preschool serving disadvantaged children.

Interests

For many years she has maintained an interest in seniors, including taking groups to sing at senior living residences and taking people under her wing to give a ride when needed. She is the sole caregiver for a spouse who has dealt with Stage IV cancer (mantle cell lymphoma with leukemia) and participates regularly in a support group for cancer and other serious diseases. She attends caregiver events and stays up on senior activities. She is also a proud grandparent.

For fun she performs in several music groups (a traditional choir, a rock-folk group and even a couple of ensembles), and has worked with a children's choir. She also is working on several children's books (a series about a school mascot named Miss Popcorn Goat and one named Killer Rabbit!) and piggyback songs to make learning fun and easy.

This multifaceted lady writes for parents, teachers, grandparents, anyone interested in furthering either their own learning or the learning of others. Some of her finest moments are when she is working with students and witnesses a spark of excitement and learning. Those magic moments of learning inspire her to write poetry about issues in education and meeting the needs of our greatest natural resource -- our children!