When it comes to home schooling the social skills is a topic that is of primary importance. Many people think that in home schooling the children is deprived of any social interactions or interaction with other children leading to less growth and development.
Continue Reading Add comment February 11th, 2008
Nearly every student is eligible to receive free funding for his
or her education expenses. Both the U.S. Federal and State
Governments, as well as private organizations, offer free money
to assist students with paying for a college education.
This is money that never has to be repaid! These free funds come
in the form of Scholarships, Fellowships, Internships and also
Government Grants. In this article, we will clear up some
confusion about what these are and how you can use them to pay
for your education.
Your first step should be to obtain a FAFSA document (Free
Application for Federal Student Aid). You can acquire one of
these applications from the college you plan to attend or,
online by following the steps at:
You will want to fully complete and send in this document by the
deadline. For future reference, you will need to do this every
year to continue to remain eligible for government funded
financial aid. This single application is the key to numerous
federally funded programs. Once your application is processed,
you will receive a statement in the mail that lets you know how
much funding you are eligible for.
If you find out that the amount of funding you qualify for still
doesn’t meet your needs, you can pursue additional private and
government grants, scholarships and other programs. You can
search online for for student grants and scholarships that you
may also qualify for. This is often a tedious task, but careful
research can uncover some excellent opportunities.
What is the difference between a Scholarship, Fellowship and a
Grant?
Scholarships & Fellowships - Scholarships and fellowships are
very similar, the term fellowship is generally applied to post
graduate studies, while scholarship generally defines
undergraduate awards. Scholarships can be funded with either
public or private moneys. Oftentimes, you must qualify for a
scholarship by having good grades and SAT scores. There are also
scholarships that award students for their excellence in sports.
You will find that there are also many unusual scholarships and
fellowships available that cater to students with various other
qualifications.
Government Grants - Government grants for college are government
funds set aside to assist people in raising funds for school.
There are numerous government grants that students can take
advantage of, in conjunction with scholarships to enable you to
pay for college. Your best asset here is the FAFSA document,
that we discussed earlier.
As you can see, government grants, scholarships and more are
available to help you pay for college. All you need to do is due
diligence, a bit of paperwork and perhaps some research and you
will uncover more funding options than you knew existed.
February 2nd, 2008
Statistics show that elementary home schooling is the ideal time
to start a home schooling program for a child. Children who
enter home schooling during the elementary years are the
students that tend to succeed the most. Throughout the course of
their home schooling, these children will reach the highest
level of academics when compared to the national average.
Additionally, students who start young, often find themselves
three to four grade levels above that of their public school
peers.
On the other hand, high school home schooling can be extremely
challenging. By the time a child reaches this level of
education, they may be far too advanced in their educational
needs to be taught by you. If that is the case, it will be
necessary to seek out various resources that are available for
home schooling. Online resources that provide both curriculums,
and textbooks are available, which will allow a child to learn
through the web. Classes can be held in a virtual classroom,
students can use a web cam to participate, or they can be simply
assessing lecture-based courses online as well.
Before considering a home school option, it is important to
insure that the child’s current education is tested. This can be
done right online through a series of tests. The tests will
access the knowledge of a child, their weaknesses as well as
strengths. This can then be used to help choose the right method
and curriculum for a child’s needs.
There are many curriculums available for home schooling, and
they can focus on the specific needs of the child. In the
elementary levels, there is a wide range of course work. While
it may be necessary to choose a program that fits with your
state’s regulations, programs that are suited to what a child
wants to learn should be considered as well. For many, this
includes specific studies such as languages or Christian home
schooling. It is important to take the time to choose the right
home schooling package for you, and your child. This will allow
you to learn more about the program, and to insure you know what
is included as well as which methods are used for teaching it.
There are disadvantages of home schooling that must be
considered. Many parents feel that the purchase of home
schooling materials is too expensive. In some cases, the local
or state government will help fund the home schooling, though
this is not so in all areas. Some feel that the home-schooled
child is not getting the social experience that they need to
learn to work with other children and to then use later in life.
While this is true to a certain level, it can be overcome by
encouraging the child to play a sport or to be involved in
community activity. Further, home school parents may end up
feeling that they are not educated enough to teach their child.
This apprehension is unfounded; there is a wide range of teacher
resources to tap into, as well as forums. Besides, parents teach
their children how to eat, behave, go to bed, it is an
instinctive behavior.
Home schooling is an excellent bonding time for you and your
child to share learning experiences together. The cons of home
schooling do not outweigh the plusses. Elementary is the best
time to get started with your child in the home schooling
environment. They can reap the rewards of being at home with
you, by working on a program designed for their needs and at the
pace that they need, and they can find the value of all that
home schooling can offer.
January 31st, 2008
Higher education in the university gives students a chance to open up. They have a completely new world to deal with. Malcolm Forbes says, “Education’s purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one.” While basic education helps inculcate the values and beliefs in students, higher education illustrates what the real world is. While they taste the charm of independence, they also experience the bitter hardships that accost independence.
All their hardships start and end with money. Being away from parents, they will have to deal with a whole lot of financial issues. Besides the tuition fees, the students will have to make provision for rent, traveling expenses, food, books and entertainment.
These add up to a sizeable figure. The parents, already burdened with their own expenses, cannot be burdened any more. With the finances leading them to the edge, students are hardly able to concentrate on studies. Some may even contemplate suicide; while others may take resort to drug abuse.
A student loan can be a convenient option of sponsoring your studies. Student loans help the students pay off their tuition fees, along with the other living expenses, which includes lodging, books, food and other charges. The amount of loan advanced will depend on the actual requirement and the financial condition of the family.
Student loan is repayable only after one completes his/ her education and starts earning a minimum amount. The minimum earning has been increased from ₤10000 to ₤15000 with effect from April 2005. This means that until the student starts earning a minimum of ₤15000, the student need not pay the student loan.
The search for the student loan must go on simultaneously with the search for an academic course. This ensures that the student knows the amount of loan that he has qualified for. He can thus plan the expenses in accordance with his budget. Besides, some institutions require students to advance tuition fees within a very short notice. Any delays can result in losing opportunity of studying in a preferred institution or university. Prior search for student loan ensures that you do not lose upon an opportunity.
The amount to be repaid includes an interest element combined with the principal. Paying in cash would have ensured that no such extra payments are required. However, by not utilizing ones cash reserves for the educational expenses, you are able to use it for other important expenditures.
However, it is not easy to get student loans. Most lenders find students precarious because they are not in full time employment. Besides, banks have pegged the age limit for getting loans at 22, an age higher than the age of average students, thus disqualifying them from getting loans. Absence of credit history may also act as an impediment in their search for loans. Another reason, wrongly attributed to the age of students, is that while they take loans for educational purposes, the money is actually being squandered.
Nevertheless, there are banks and lenders who accept students as mature customers. They are ready to advance financial help to the students to sort out their finances. All student loan applications are to be routed through Local Education Authority (LEA). However, this may differ if you are undergoing different circumstances, like having dependants, bieng disabled, or engaged in some kind of social work.
Lenders will be ready to offer a better APR if the student joins a part time job. This will give a source of income, and a guarantee to the lender that the repayment will be made on time. Even getting parents to be guarantors to the loan will help getting best deals.
The student is bound to inform the student loans company or the local education authority about any relevant changes that may occur on his/ her account. these include change of name, course, national insurance number, or if the student plans to go abroad, and if the employment status changes from employed to self employed. Failure to inform the authorities about such relevant changes will incur penalties.
The loan is broken into a number of installments for convenient repayment. the repayments will start from the April following the completion of the course, whether or not the student graduates. For students who are employed and their earning is above the minimum level, the employer will deduct the repayment every month from the salary. The self employed people will have to make repayments through self assessment tax returns. Those who are employed abroad will be required to pay directly to the loan provider. Failure to keep up the repayments can lead to penalties.
There are a number of means available to the student nowadays to help them in their pursuit for higher education. It is the accumulation of skills through higher education which gives one a distinct identity. Not taking advantage of them would mean bieng one of the crowd, because there will be some who would grasp the opportunity.
Andrew baker has done his masters in finance from CPIT. He is engaged in providing free, professional, and independent advice to the residents of the UK.He works for the personal loan web site http://www.ukfinanceworld.co.uk for any type of uk secured and unsecured loan please visit
http://www.ukfinanceworld.co.uk
November 18th, 2007
Life is full of options and choices. The choices we make shape our future. As we stand at the cross roads after high school we must have the right vision to make the decision to go to college.
1. A college education secures our future. The number of employment opportunities is greater and statistics reveal that most leaders are college grads.
2. If you have a college education you will make more money which in turn will enable you to have a better lifestyle. If a high school graduate earns US$ 34,303 annually, a college graduate will earn US$ 56,334, and a person with a professional qualification will net at least US$ 99,411.
3. It is not just earnings. A college education makes you a rounded person. It shapes your communication skills, expands your knowledge base, makes you methodical and organized, and exposes you to a whole new world of learning.
4. People with a college education have better value systems and are healthier. They are able to guide their family positively.
5. College can help you qualify in fields you are interested in. So if you are an innovator, inventor, or healer, or artist you can train in the specific field and qualify.
6. According to experts, college graduates are self confident, have greater knowledge of governance, are less likely to become criminals, are emotionally and financially secure, make better partners and parents, and have a deeper understanding of human nature.
7. College instills a deep sense of right and wrong and is they very essence of a democratic world.
8. Education opens the doors to many things like multiple jobs, career choices, the chance to further education at any point in life, and the option of teaching others what you have learnt. Be it a child, family member, or a poor person you meet.
9. College education is an investment in you that yields much more than Wall Street investments.
10. College educated citizens will ensure the continuing success of the “American Dream.” The ability to see the right path and work for peace and prosperity.
Students according to Jose Marti a patriot are the very ramparts of a nation and the strongest advocates of freedom. Education creates a conscience and as a result a better human being. College education eventually becomes a legacy for future generations. Most succeeding generations of college educated people go to college themselves. The value of a good education becomes ingrained in their genes. Huge stones can be moved with muscle power but it is brain power that tells you how to move it and what can be done with it.
Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for www.1888Onlinecolleges.com/ , the premier website to find top ranking colleges online directory including topics on public colleges, private colleges, online college, college course online, information on college costs, financial aid, degrees awarded, enrollments and more. He also freelances for premier Discussion Site www.1888Discuss.com
November 15th, 2007
Most people have never even heard of it, many educators have still to learn of it, yet it is a day that many schools observed this year on February 13, across the nation. An unusual flurry of eager parents took their children to school, visited their classes, enjoyed private or sponsored luncheons with them and listened to special speakers. Organizers encouraged school districts to make concerted efforts to render the day particularly parent friendly. NAAPID (National African American Parent Involvement Day) celebrating its eleventh anniversary this year is the brain child of Joseph Dulin, an insightful Ann Arbor Michigan principal who decided to concretize his Million Man March pledge by encouraging parents to visibly demonstrate support of their children’s education on this special day.
Nor is it by accident that NAAPID is ensconced in the month of February. The auspicious Black History month celebrates the momentous contributions of African Americans and, of course, that of some Anglo Americans without whose support these tireless, brazen, formidable achievements would have proven less effective. It is a month of reflection, of seeing how far we have come, as a nation,and how far we still need to go. With the recent passing of Mrs. Rosa Parks, the commemoration of the birth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in January, and the passing of Mrs. Coretta Scott King, measuring how far we have come is evident. What bellows how far we yet have to journey vis a vis our schools is the dismal achievement gap between students of color and their white peers. This yawning gap is a definite litmus test of what yet has to be done. Notwithstanding all the pledges made on that day (NAAPID) by parents to teachers, teachers to parents, parents to their children and children to parents … all these pledges raised like a banner of hope, and swaying in our idealism come tumbling with the thud of a discus in the extant stark reality that to this day, on the average, a Black 12th grader has the achievement level of a White 8th grader.
No doubt, fueled by this recommitment to becoming more involved in their children’s education, many parents must have left school that day resolving to fulfill their task of improving home, school, and community relations. The problem is, however, that far too many parents are not clear on what that task really entails and how exactly to fulfill it. And it is precisely this task, somehow not being fulfilled, that is partially responsible for the woeful achievement gap between students of color and their white peers. (Note that I said partially, because another crucial part has to come from the school and will be discussed separately.) NAAPID should be every day not just one day of the school year.
What separates most students of color (as a group) from their successful peers has less to do with socioeconomics, or number of parents in the home, or urban blight, or the usual suspects we cannot control. The separation, the dismal chasm has more to do with issues regarding much ignored and too often welcome facets related to values and micro-culture. In other words, the problems are definitely fixable. And parents can start fixing them along with their children. Without question, parents of color want the best for their children, but I believe parents need to make a few changes right where they are before they can see the kinds of changes in their children’s attitudes about school, attitudes about their teachers, their work ethic, their grades, and their level of overall success.
Following are two tips you as a parent can follow after NAAPID:
One tip is to believe that a solid education is the sharpest tool your child needs for a brilliant future. Many parents have already bought into the dream but are stuck at the level of transmuting it into reality.
Another tip is to Fortify Your Child with Abundant Academic Support at Home:
We hear all the time that poverty is one of the major reasons that children of color do poorly in schools, or that single parent households is another reason. These claims are absolutely not true. Despite economic privilege, a disproportionate number of children of middle income Blacks..are not achieving at a rate comparable to that of Whites of similar economic status. So something is still lacking. They may have to work hard at overriding social pressures.
Parents with children in the elementary levels can help them with very basic education. There is really no need to leave all the teaching for teachers. You can help teach them the alphabet, numbers, and to distinguish basic colors. Invent little counting games with them. For example, when you go to the park, ask them how many boys have on red hats, or how many girls are wearing something blue, or what letters they see in the sign displayed. Make up songs using the alphabet. You can help your child write his or her name. It is all about practice, practice, practice.
Children generally like to do what their parents do,therefore,capitalize on this. And children are clever. They grasp things easily. Start to give the impression that education is important to you… that you are participating in the educational process. Start developing the discipline of participating in your children’s education, from early on. This means that you need to model the behavior. If education is important to you, it will become important to them…
Whether your household is headed by one or two parents should in no way deter you from reading to your children. Give a name to this special time. During this “Reading Time,” “Family Time,” “Family Learning Time” “Time to Read,”select topics of interest to them. As they get older, let them read to you. Yes, even through multiple mistakes, and stumbling over unfamiliar words, let them read to you. This process will give your youngsters the opportunity to become better at word recognition. As they become more fluent in their reading, they will enjoy it and look forward to these meaningful sessions. With this minimal investment of carving out just one hour at least four times a week, your children’s school performance and confidence will soar by leaps and bounds.
How about middle and high school students? You may say, “ I cannot possibly help my children with their work.”
Well, it does not matter. I repeat. It does not matter if you can actually tutor them in any specific course. But what you can do is provide these blossoming minds with the environment in which they can work.
Turn off unnecessary noise. Limit telephone calls, etc. during this “Reading time” or “Study time.” Make your home conducive to learning.
You want to limit the number of stimuli your children have to filter. You want to encourage them to delve deep in thought, to immerse themselves in a particular task. You want to encourage your children to be more focused and not scattered in their thinking.
Give Them Emotional Support:
As a parent, you are making a major contribution to your child’s education by just being there. Make your child feel important while doing homework. Just be there… OK, so you are fixing dinner, you are doing the laundry, but they know you are there with them. They are not hearing you laugh merrily with your friends, having a good time, and wishing that they too could be talking on the phone with their friends. You are all in this together…
One way you can expand your own horizons is to be truly interested in what your children are learning in school. You can become interested in that area of knowledge so that they will become more intensely interested in it themselves. See how much things have changed since you were in school. Capitalize on the opportunity for you to develop or update your own knowledge base. Show your children that you are a lifelong learner because you can always glean new aspects even from the same old topics.
Do not just ask, “How was school today?”
You really want to know, what new thing or things s(he) learned.
“Tell me, in your own words, about what you learned in Biology today…”
And be truly interested. Listen carefully. Ask questions for clarification.
See,When you allow children to explain… A mysteriously important process occurs. It is called meta-cognition. What happens is that as they teach you, they are simultaneously teaching themselves. When parents make themselves available to be taught, their children are offered the opportunity to ask and answer important questions about areas that were not even clear to them up to that moment. But as they struggle to explain it, the answers are revealed to them. This is one way in which they really get it!
Every day should be parent involvement day in children’s education. You as a parent can make each school day extra special, and in this manner the benefits of NAAPID will last longer than one day. The next celebration of NAAPID will then merely represent a rejuvenation, a special booster of what you will have been doing all year long. It will serve as a prod, as an impetus. It will remind you that you are committed to real change, and that you are doing your part in hermetically closing the achievement gap and keeping it closed.
Tsahai London Sandrock, Ph.D.
Tips Close Student Achievement Gap
November 14th, 2007
I have always had a firm belief that a TEFL Certificate is paramount to effectively teaching kids and adults. Just by studying a Bachelor of Education is not going to fully prepare you for life abroad as an English teacher. By the same token, just by attaining a TEFL Certificate, TESL, TESOL or Cambridge, also isn’t going to prepare you to be a good English teacher. One needs to look at the whole picture and how each course compliments each other.
Each year we are seeing more and more ESL jobs on offer. The Asian world is crying out for qualified ESL teachers, yet there still is a massive shortfall in supply. I too was an English teacher before, but have since moved on. My TEFL certificate did help me a lot in providing quality lessons to my students.
September 12th, 2007
Getting the most out of a tutor depends largely upon the student. There is the temptation to rely upon a tutor to complete assignments and solve problems. When this happens very little learning actually takes place. Parents should pay close attention to what the interaction between tutor and student.
Chemistry is a subject that students can benefit enormously when using a tutor. Chemistry help can be had 24 hours a day in many cases as there are numerous experts in all fields of chemistry available to help. When seeking out chemistry help make sure to note the qualifications of the prospective tutor. It sounds obvious but make sure to seek out an expert in the specific field of chemistry being studied. In other words, when studying biochemistry locate a biochemistry expert for your chemistry help.
Finally, remember that there are many qualified tutors available and so don’t bind yourself to the first one you come across. Set out a trial period of a couple of weeks and monitor the progress. Keep in mind that the ultimate goal is to learn not to simply complete assignments. There is no need to rely on chemistry help from a tutor whose primary pursuit is collecting a fee.
September 4th, 2007
Do not make the mistake of thinking that someone who scored higher in the LSAT will automatically make a better LSAT prep course teacher. Someone with a high LSAT score would only be effective as an instructor if he or she can teach a class how to score well. You can ask former students how effective an LSAT teacher is prior to enrolling in a course. In addition, having law school or law practice experience is nice but not necessary. The LSAT is all about logic and comprehension so there is no legal knowledge required to teach LSAT.
The best LSAT prep course for you is one that utilizes different methods to help you become familiar with the various sections of LSAT. Most prep courses focus on teaching methods for tackling a specific section of the LSAT test. For instance, if you feel that you need help in the Analytical Reasoning section then the best LSAT prep course for you would be one that focuses more on this area. However, you also need to make sure that you master the methods on Logical Reasoning because the LSAT contains two entire sections of this.
Other things that you may also consider when selecting an LSAT prep course are the prep materials that you will get upon enrollment such as prep tests or copies of recent official LSAT tests. You can prepare for LSAT in several ways. If you do well on self-study and managing your time, then an LSAT prep book may be enough for you. However, if you need guidance, then either a live course or online course is the best LSAT prep course for you.
August 13th, 2007
The internet has brought a rise in online education, and nowadays more than ever, we are seeing online bachelor degrees being offered. This is nothing new, and has been around way before the days of the internet. These so called “instant degrees” offered by real and fully licensed universities issue their degrees based on previous life experience and knowledge. Whilst many frown on such a method of attaining such qualifications, they are perfectly legal, and many do hold an actual university license. Some of the popular universities are Phoenix and DeVry.
Honorary degrees are often issued to famous sports people, dignitaries and members of the community that contribute to a good cause. Many mainstream universities offer such honorary degrees, as was received also by Nelson Mandela. It is the same premise that these little known universities also offer their honorary degrees.
Add comment July 25th, 2007
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