“Mama Marlaine” Marlaine Paulsen Cover
LinkedIn| Facebook | Twitter
Author: Kissing The Mirror: Raising Humanity In the Twenty-first Century
Marlaine Cover began her professional career working in development for higher education. While raising her two (now college-age) daughters, however, she became painfully aware of the grosse disparity between the educational processes of academics and non-academic Life Skills.
For academics – children had decades of mandatory attendance, credentialed instructors and a standardized curriculum.
For non-academic Life Skills – personal care, finance, interpersonal communication and social skills – children had parents and the playground.
Genetic Inheritance
Societies around the globe routinely supported children’s active learning from third party instructors for music, sports, and academics. When it came to the arguably more critical arena of Life Skills, however, the popular perspective was simply “children learn what they live.” The Life Skills educational process, Cover observed, more closely resembled genetic inheritance than academics.
Life Skills Report Card
In 2004, Cover created a communication tool called the Life Skills Report Card. Similar in format to academic report cards, the Life Skills Report Card divides Life Skills into five primary categories: Personal Care, Organization, Respect for Self and Others, Communication, and Social. Subcategories on the LSRC include: Sleep, Exercise, Spirit, Safety, Time Utilization, Finances, Ownership in Problems and Conflicts, Altruism, and Environmental Consciousness.
P20: LinkedIn’s top ranked Parenting Group
In 2009, Cover founded Parenting 2.0 (P20) on LinkedIn. P20 supports parents, professionals, and other primary caregivers in their role as Life Skills Educators. P20’s stated goal is that, “one day, children’s LSA (Life Skills Average) will be as appreciated as children’s GPA (Grade Point Average).” Today, Parenting 2.0 is LinkedIn’s top ranked parenting group with nearly 3000 members in more than sixty countries.
P20 Talks
As admin for Parenting 2.0, Cover witnessed first-hand the chaos created by Life Skills educators marketing themselves primarily independently. In an effort to improve the process, she began phone conferencing with P20 members in multiple countries in 2010. These discussions led to the first P20 Talks Conference in San Diego, CA August 16-18th, 2012. P20 Talks made history by gathering Life Skills Educators from multiple professional fields, providing skill specific panel discussions (Safety, Finance, Interpersonal Communication) and illuminating the value of embracing a more conscious educational process.
In August of 2013, Parenting 2.0 Ambassadors are hosting regional gatherings on mulitple continents. In July of 2014, Parenting 2.0 will hold its second international conference, P20 Talks 2014, in Sydney, Australia.
Kissing the Mirror: Raising Humanity in the Twenty-first Century
In July of 2012, Cover published Kissing The Mirror: Raising Humanity in the Twenty-first Century under the pen name Mama Marlaine. An Amazon Best Seller receiving five star reviews, Kissing the Mirror challenges age-old parenting paradigms and advocates a new more dynamic, narrative for human development. Resources from the book. One hundred percent of all proceeds from Kissing the Mirror are being donated to Parenting 2.0′s community service arm, The Global Presence.
Interviews with Mama Marlaine
- How to Teach Children the Skills They Need to Succeed, Host Meryl Neiman of Playdate Planet
- The Life Skills Report Card Host Margaret Ashley of the Natural Learning Centre
- Stop Raising Einstein – Kids got skills! Host Tara Kennedy-Kline of Stop Raising Einstein
- Inspired Children Host Dr. Rosina McAlpine
