From Undecided To Decided A College Journey

Getting ready for college is much more than choosing the school, roommate and what hotspot is your favorite. There are many things to consider and one that is commonly overlooked, sometimes for years. Many students spend their younger and teenage years boasting what they want to be when they grow up, but when they get to college they can not make up their minds. For some, this is a panic because there are only so many basic classes that a student can take before it begins costing them. Even sometimes a few of the basics are specific or may not be required for a particular degree plan. There is nothing wrong with being undecided in the beginning, however as your college career advances, you need to make decisions about how you will spend the rest of your college life. Here are some of the basics about an undecided major and tips on choosing which degree plan to pursue.

Asking yourself a series of questions can assist in deciding on the exact path in college. There are many and even specialties in certain fields so really examining your knowledge as well as desires will assist in this important decision. You probably have narrowed the question down to maybe a specific field or may be struggling with more than one field. Could it be possible to combine the two, sometimes this makes for an excellent and highly demanded employee. Consider the following:

What is your passion sometimes your passion may not be clear until you accidentally stumble upon something. This is present in stories such as the young lady that had always dreamed of being a teacher. As a child, she would line up her dolls and teach them the lessons she had learned that day at school. This was her plan and nothing could stand in her way, until a tragedy in the family. After her grandmother was diagnosed with cancer and she watched as she withered away, she had a notable thought. Watching how the medical profession, primarily the nurses made her grandmother comfortable and held her hand through the many long procedures changed her life forever. After very little thought or consideration the college application changed and today she is a successful nurse working in the Pediatrics field. Holding the hands of countless children while they too undergo some uncomfortable, but necessary medical treatments, is the happiest she has ever been.

Positive Attributes Regardless of training some people are just better at some things than others. It is wise if you choose what you want to be when you grow up around something that you excel at. If you are a math whiz then you may want to consider business, accounting or some form of engineering. If it is people skills that you possess, how about a counselor, social worker or some other community helper. Generally, these individuals have exceptional listening skills, empathetic and have always been drawn to lend a helping hand. What about those that are excellent at getting the point across and are great at teaching. A teaching degree or some other form of educational career such as a diagnostician or administrator would be great. If running to the side of an injured or sick individual is your passion then pursuing a nursing degree is an exceptional idea. Nursing is not only about patching a boo-boo or holding a hand, it is about saving lives, educating patients and most of all making them feel better. Nurses are in high demand because of the nursing shortage in the United States, and God bless the nurses of this world!

Job Assessment or Placement If your job placement assessment turned out like mine then you are in the wrong field. Keep in mind that just because your scored out at a particular field, does not mean that it is your life's career. Be careful with only using this test, because it is not 100% guaranteed. You must follow your heart and keep to something that you can feel good about doing. Because you are good at doing a particular job does not mean that it is something you want to wake up to for the next thirty years or so. Choosing a career field is a big decision and must be based on a variety of things, not just a test.

Your Parents & Their Accounting Degree- some career fields work better for some than others. You can not and should not base your career choice on what your parents have in mind for you unless it is something that you want to do. All too often college students fall into a trap of going to school for someone else and then hating their job for the rest of their lives. It is very important that you pursue the career field that interests you. A job should be a passion, something that you are ready to go and do, not dreading a forty-hour workweek that seems like hell.

Staying Undecided It is perfectly acceptable to remain in an undecided plan until you have made your decision. There is not a huge rush to make a decision after you receive your acceptance letter. In fact many students enter one department and change two or three times before graduation. The important part of getting a college education is the fact that you are bettering your life regardless of the academic path you choose.

Gene Grzywacz is author of The Brute Force Study Guide http://www.bruteforcestudyguide.com/page4.html. Other college tips include:Going From an RN to a BSN online http://www.bruteforcestudyguide.com/rn2bsn.html, scholarship tips and Becoming a nurse. http://bruteforcestudyguide.com/nurse.htmlSissy Blog35624
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How to Lay Low as Helicopter Parents

As your college student is settling into the dorm, are you discovering that letting go is more difficult than you imagined? Even with the pressures you feel as a member of the Sandwich Generation, are you ambivalent about cutting the apron strings?

You may be stuck in a new phenomenon that falls under the colorful moniker, Helicopter Parent. If you find yourself 'hovering' over your kidult, attempting to protect him or her from lifes ups and downs, you fit the description.

Is it technology - cell phones, email and instant messaging - as some say, that keeps parents overly involved, or is something else at work? Maria worries, Im far too enmeshed with my daughter and afraid of keeping her closer than is healthy. Im trying to step back and minimize our contact - for the emotional growth of both of us. Like Maria, you can do this, too.

1. If you want information, contact the parent-relations specialist that many colleges now employ. The telephone hotlines and email support services they provide allow you to stay connected in a healthy way.

2. Adjustment to communal living roommates, dorms, personality differences - takes time. Be more supportive and less directive as your sons and daughters learn new problem solving skills.

3. Your adult children will be faced with many choices about courses, assignments, extra curricular activities. Be supportive, but let them make their own decisions and then deal with whatever consequences occur. Its been said before, but experience is a great teacher.

4. Make sure that parents weekend is on your agenda. Its a natural and positive means by which to feel reassured that your children are adjusting to their new home environment.

5. Resist taking on chores that now should fall to your kidults. As much as washing their clothes and cleaning their rooms have been part of your job description for years, its now time to pass the baton.

6. Focus on your kidults positive qualities and think of reasons to support their unique ideas. Remember that they are learning more about the joys and responsibilities of independence.

7. Take courses so that you have some common areas of interest with your children. Or better yet, enroll in the college classes you want and follow your own dreams.

In the end, having your emerging adult children be accountable for their own actions facilitates their personal development, sense of self-sufficiency and positive self-esteem. Isnt that what you really want anyway?

Her Mentor Center, 2006

Phyllis Goldberg, Ph.D. & Rosemary Lichtman, Ph.D. are co-founders of http://www.HerMentorCenter.com, a website dedicated to the issues of mid-life women and http://www.NourishingRelationships.Blogspot.com, a Blog for the Sandwich Generation. They are co-authors of a forthcoming book about Baby Boomer women and their family relationships. As psychotherapists, they have over 40 years of collective private practice experience. Sophronia Blog14194
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Report Card on Florida Schools Policy to End Social Promotion

Though it is the fourth largest public school system in the United States, Florida Schools have consistently ranked close to the bottom on academic indicators, including high school graduation rates and national assessment of education progress test scores. For the past few years, Florida schools have been implementing programs to improve student scholastic achievement. Most have been well received and implemented with little-to-no resistance. The End Social Promotion policy, however, has received a lot of resistance from teachers and parents alike and is the most entrenched school custom in Florida schools.

Social promotion is the act of passing onto the next grade a student, who lacks the basic required skills. For many years in Florida schools, retaining or holding back a student has been viewed negatively by teachers, parents and students, placing a stigma upon the retained children and singling them out as abnormally different, inferior and destined to be a failures.

Study research has long held that retention does harm not good, with studies of retained students showing lower test scores in future years as compared to low-scoring students who were socially promoted onto the next grade. Such students were considered a high risk for dropping out of high school, as well.

Florida schools believe that part of this stigma is due to only a small percentage of low-scoring students being retained. If retained students are part of a large group, Florida schools believe the stigma will disappear and retention eventually will be viewed as a positive.

Many educators today believe that much of the previous study results were due to only students with the worse case combinations of skills and personal characteristics being held back, while other low-scoring students were promoted. If everyone in Florida schools sees retention as a beneficial step taken for the students, retained students could benefit from the increased positive attitudes, acceptance and learning atmosphere.

Slowly but steadily, school districts across the United States have begun to require students in particular grades to master basic skills for promotion to the next grade. Chicago was the first system in 1996 to implement a retention policy. Texas and Florida schools followed in 2002, with New York and Philadelphia joining in 2004 and 2005, respectively. Florida schools believe that schools do students no favor by promoting them to higher grades without the basic skills to succeed. The Florida schools End Social Promotion policy requires third grade students to score at a level two benchmark or above on the reading portion of the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT).

After implementing its retention policy, Florida schools wanted a study to determine the scientific merits and costs (detrimental outcomes) of the retention program. Did attitudes and only specific students being retained influence the previous research? Is the Florida schools End Social Promotion policy working? A study was undertaken.

The Florida schools study compared 2001 low-scoring third graders (before the implementation of the retention policy) to the 2002 low-scoring third graders (the first students subject to retention). In 2001, only nine percent of the low-scoring third graders were retained, as compared to 60 percent in 2002. The study analyzed test score improvements between third and fourth grade for each group. The tests used for comparison were the FCAT and the national Stanford-9. Both are administered at the same time to students. Since only the FCAT is used for the retention program, using the Stanford-9 test scores in the study would indicate if students were prepped only to meet the policy requirements. Additionally, only the FCATs developmental scale scores were used to allow comparison across the two different grade levels.

The findings of the Florida schools study showed that the performance gain of the retained students in 2002 exceeded that of the socially promoted students in 2001. The improvement gains were moderate in reading, yet significant in mathematics. The results were consistent in both the FCAT and Stanford-9 tests, showing the gains were due to student skill mastery rather than prepping.

The study provides valuable information on the short-term effectiveness of the Florida schools retention policy. Due to the short duration of the study, it neither shows all the possible future benefits a student gains from retention, nor does it address any possible long-range negative effects. However, it did provide a surprising result in the substantially improved mathematics scores.

Overall, the study shows that increased efforts by teachers and students to avoid a second retention does improve student proficiency. Whether the effects continue into the future for Florida schools, only time will tell.

>Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Patricia has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Sherill Blog33465
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Florida School Grading System

To unify curriculum and learning benchmarks, Florida State created the Sunshine State Standards, or SSS. These regulations outline what each student should learn during their current school year before being promoted to the next grade level. By adopting these standards, schools are better equipped to assign realistic goals to each student and teachers can concentrate on how to teach, rather than what to teach.

When the SSS committee created the criterion for each grade level, they considered the standards of other states, of their functioning school districts as well as the rising worldwide trends toward technology. A consortium of educators and those not in the field was formed to research and develop these standards from the ground up. Understanding that there may be a need for flexibility and future updates to the standards, the consortium made them in a fluid manner. Changes are made to the SSS nearly every year.

In 1998, the State of Florida enacted the FCAT, or Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test to gauge the knowledge of students and the effectiveness of the SSS. With the introduction of the FCAT, schools became accountable for teaching within the standard. Schools are graded annually based on performance of their students in grades 3 through 10. Schools with grades C and below must create and complete a plan of action to bring their average student body scores to a B or above.

Grades are earned by schools much as they are by students. Three factors contribute to the school grade: percentage of students tested, points earned and adequate progress in reading.

To receive a grade of A, a school must test at least 95% of registered students, score 410 or above and must meet the adequate progress in reading standard.

To receive a grade of B, a school must test at least 90% of eligible students, score 380 points or higher and meet adequate progress in reading within two years.

To receive a score of C, a school must test at least 90% of eligible students, score 320 points or higher and meet adequate progress in reading within two years.

To receive a score of D, a school must test 90% or more of eligible students and score 280 points or higher. Reading progress is not a factor for this unsatisfactory grade.

Schools receive an F score if they test less than 90% of eligible students or score fewer than 280 points.

Points are awarded for both gains in overall student scores as well as students tested.

One point is awarded for each percentage point of students meeting or exceeding standards in math, reading and writing

One point is awarded for each percentage point of students making gains in reading or math

One point is awarded for each percentage point of the lowest scoring readers making gains

One point is awarded for each percentage point of eligible students tested.

Points are summed up to reveal the school grade based on the scale above.

Assessments by Grade Level

While public school students in Florida are required to take FCAT each year, the test subjects vary. Tests of third grade students consist only of reading and math. Fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth graders take tests on reading, math and writing. Fifth graders are tested on reading, math and science. Eighth grade FCAT tests include reading, writing, math and science. Tenth graders are testing in reading, writing, math and science. Eleventh graders take a reading and math test.

Testing in the tenth grade is of particular interest. Beginning in the 2005-2006 school year, a students graduation from high school in Florida is dependant on their successful completion of FCAT testing in the tenth grade. Success is based on the Level system, below. Students scoring in Level 2 or below are given retake opportunities throughout eleventh and twelfth grades.

The progress of each student is traced throughout their educational career in Florida. At each grade level, beginning in third grade, their test scores receive a level of proficiency score.

Level 1 states that This student has little success with the challenging content of the Sunshine State Standards.

Level 2 states that This student has limited success with the challenging content of the Sunshine State Standards.

Level 3 states that This student has partial success with the challenging content of the Sunshine State Standards, but the performance is inconsistent. A student scoring in Level 3 answers many of the test questions correctly, but is generally less successful with question that are the most challenging. Tenth graders are required to score in Level 3 or above to be eligible for a regular high school diploma.

Level 4 states that This student has success with the challenging content of the Sunshine State Standards. A student scoring in Level 4 answers most of the test questions correctly, but may have only some success with questions that reflect the most challenging content.

Level 5 states that This student has success with the most challenging content of the Sunshine State Standards. A student scoring in Level 5 answers most of the test questions correctly, including most of the challenging questions.

Parents receive a report of students Level achievement in each test subject. In addition to easy to read charts and graphs depicting the students score and the average in that grade, the report shows the students success over time.

Calum MacKenzie is an experienced and professional Tampa, Florida real estate agent who specializes in helping families relocate to the Tampa area. He lives and works in New Tampa has extensive knowledge of the New Tampa real estate market. http://www.tampahomes24-7.com/Stefa Blog26798
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How To Write A Personal Statement For College

The entire college admission process can be exhausting and nerve-racking but there are few things worse than writing the personal statement for college applications. Your first thought is that it would be a piece of cake, everything you have to do is write a few words about yourself - what your interests are, what you would like to accomplish in life. However, personal statements for college have never been an easy task. When writing a statement for college, your high school writings for which you got straight A's won't do you much good.

The main issue is that when writing your personal statement for college, you are not in that world and you are well aware of it. Personal statements are not supposed to be essays about how much you admire famous people like Gandhi. You shouldn't also write about the first time you leaned how important teamwork is or anything like that. They have heard it all, so you cannot write anything new and this, unfortunately, is not in your favor.

These are the reasons why so many people seek help when writing their personal statement for college is concerned. I had a good time growing up. As my mother is a very famous and acknowledged writer, I always counted on her for feedback. Even now she is there for me when I need an intelligent and well-structured statement or paper. Apart from helping with my essays, my mother was also good enough to give me a hand when I was writing my personal statement for college.

Of course, I realize not everyone is lucky enough to have such a valuable resource at their home, and not everyone can also depend on their high school English teacher. So, if this concerns you, then you can try searching some sites on the internet that might turn to be quite helpful. For instance, most of them offer free tips telling you what you should avoid and what you should include when writing your personal statement for college. From my point of view, when writing your personal statement it's best to try to find face to face feedback from someone whom you trust.

Morgan Hamilton offers expert advice and great tips regarding all aspects concerning education. Learn more at http://www.theeducationannex.com/education/education--learning/how-to-write-a-personal-statement-for-college.htmlSileas Blog16286
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Vocational Schools In Chicago

A vocational school is an institution operated for the purpose of giving the students the necessary skills to perform certain jobs. These schools do not aim to further a liberal arts education instead offer to teach job-specific skills.

Vocational education being offered in the past usually focused on specific trades such as becoming an automobile mechanic or welder. Such training and education were then associated with the activities of lower social classes. As a consequence of this, vocational schools attracted a level of stigma. The youth would prefer going to universities and colleges for their education rather than at vocational schools.

However, during the course of time, the labor market begins to develop itself into a more specialized market. More and more economies begin to demand more specialized skills from the workforce.

Governments and businesses are now beginning to invest in the vocational education through publicly funded training organizations and subsidized apprenticeship or traineeship initiatives to provide for their need for more people with specialized skills. And also because of this, post-secondary level vocational education is now being provided by an institute of technology, or by a local community college.

Vocational education has diversified over the years and now exists to provide training in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries. People now have a wide selection of vocational training to choose from to personally equip them with skills for their chosen jobs.

If you are looking for Chicago vocational schools, you will be able to find a number of them online. If you are looking forward to honing a certain technical skill in order to land a job, a good vocational school may be able to provide you with the education that you are looking for. There are vocational schools all over Chicago that offer a wide range of vocational training.

There is the Chicago School of Massage Therapy for those of you who want to become future massage specialists. There is also the Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago for those who want to follow a culinary path to success. The American Academy of Art in Chicago also offers vocational courses for those who are interested in graphic design, commercial art and illustration.

There are many more vocational schools in Chicago that offer a wide range of training and education for those of you looking to improve or further advance their vocational skills. Such skill will be able to help you help you succeed in a chosen career that you choose to take.

This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on Vocational Schools & other useful information, please visit http://vocational-schools.articlekeep.com.Shaylyn Blog69121
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Cincinnati Schools Creates Programs to Improve Teaching and Learning

Teacher Advancement Program

Three Cincinnati Schools have volunteered to take part in a new program next school year that is aimed to improve the schools instructional strategies and increase professional development. The aim of the program is to illustrate the connection between effective teaching and the students academic performance. The Cincinnati Schools involved in the pilot program are John P. Parker School in Madisonville, South Avondale School in Avondale and Whittier School in Price Hill. These schools cover kindergarten to eighth grade. These schools were chosen over other Cincinnati Schools due to each schools rankings within the federal No Child Left Behind Act and their potential for growth. The Teacher Advancement Program is a research based school reform program that is designed to retain the best teachers in the profession in the schools. The Teacher Advancement Program was created in 1999 by the Milken Family Foundation. A major goal of the Teacher Advancement Program is to reverse the tendency of gifted young teachers leaving schools for other work by turning teaching into a worthwhile career choice. Teacher Advancement Program is endorsed by the Ohio Department of Education as a new restructuring program and by Cincinnati Schools teachers union, the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers. Teacher Advancement Program focuses on four areas of teacher development and student achievement:

Ongoing, applied professional growth Teachers are given time each week during the school day to work with teachers in the same grades or subjects to match instructional practices to student needs.

Multiple career paths Each school offers mentors and master lead teachers to meet regularly with teachers to plan and reflect on instruction.

Instructionally focused accountability Teachers will focus on student data to improve instruction and on feedback from observations by the mentors, master teachers and principals.

Incentive pay Following negotiations with the CFT and CPS, incentive pay for teachers could be added for student achievement, professional growth and/or instructional growth.

Cincinnati Schools Set Five Year Plan

Cincinnati Schools have initiated a five year progress plan beginning this coming school year. The plan known as Building Futures: Every Student Every School Every Day has been recently approved by the Cincinnati Schools Education Broad. The plan aims to be students centered and sets high performance objectives. The plan wants to foster stronger links to families and community members with Cincinnati Schools and increase professional development among the teachers, staff and administrators. The plan also sets clear accountability measures. The plan was developed based on input from individuals and groups representing parents, community members, school staff, students, elected officials, business leaders, civil-rights organizations, faith-based associations, and others. This plan is divided into ten strategic areas. The plan sets improvement goals for all ten of these areas:

1. All pre K-12 students meet or exceed high academic standards.

2. All students graduate and are prepared for postsecondary education, successful careers and productive citizenship.

3. Schools have autonomy and effective governance, and are held accountable for results.

4. Schools are safe, supportive and family friendly.

5. The district supports schools and is accountable for results.

6. The district employs a highly qualified, diverse workforce that engages in continuous improvement through ongoing, high-quality professional development.

7. The district implements a systemic leadership development program.

8. State-of-the-art school facilities are designed to support student learning in a standards-based environment and are constructed meeting diversity-participation goals.

9. The district and schools are fiscally responsible and allocate resources equitably to support student learning.

10. Community partnerships strengthen the connection between schools and neighborhoods while supporting student learning and family engagement.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Stafani Blog66840
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Phoenix Schools Roosevelt District In Serious Trouble With Arizona Department Of Education

The Roosevelt Elementary School District, located in the Phoenix Schools area on the south side of the city, is in serious trouble. The primarily low-income district has been dealing with turmoil for years, and the possible takeover by the Arizona Department of Education only exacerbates the situation.

Last December, Arizona Department of Education held a meeting in one of Roosevelts school gyms to present the situation to all concerned. Over 200 parents, teachers and other community members were present as Arizona Schools Chief Tom Horne, flanked by 25 of his top staff members, laid out the Phoenix schools Roosevelt districts problems. Five members of the Phoenix schools Roosevelt district board were present.

Horne, a Harvard-trained lawyer, did not mince his words as he presented slide after slide and graph after graph that illustrated the large negative numbers that concerned this Phoenix schools district. Many in attendance were visibly stunned by the enormity of the situation with which they and the district are faced.

One point that Horne hammered home to the five Phoenix schools Roosevelt district board members present, as well as the audience, was that other school districts were doing much better with similar resources. Three neighboring Phoenix schools districts have just as many impoverished families as the Roosevelt district. They have just as many students with English as a second language, who need the extra time, resources and coursework to learn English in order to succeed in the Phoenix schools. Yet, these three Phoenix schools districts have between 64 and 78 percent of their students performing at grade level in math for the third grade, with Roosevelt at 45 percent; and 62 and 72 percent in reading, with Roosevelt at 34 percent. The same is true in the other score measurements. In all 27 separate measurements, Roosevelt is substantially below the other three comparable Phoenix schools districts. That is nearly double the number of students showing academic achievement, as compared to Roosevelt. (You may view Hornes graphs at: http://www.ade.az.gov/administration/superintendent/articles/RooseveltDistrictSpeech.pdf.)

What really hit home for the people in attendance is that Roosevelt receives per student funding above the state average, yet no other district in the state has performed so poorly. In 2005, the Arizona Department of Education ranked 10 of the Roosevelt schools as underperforming. The district has only 21 schools. This was an unprecedented amount of underperforming schools in the Phoenix schools area.

Things must improve rapidly for the Phoenix schools district. Otherwise, the state will take over the district and all its schools. Horne is applying pressure to overhaul the districts practices and replace ineffective personnel. Meanwhile, Horne has called for legislation to allow the state to take over entire districts and school boards for poor student performance.

The Roosevelt district has taken the threat of takeover by Horne to heart. This year, they have initiated many major changes, including:

New and innovative practices;

District educators are working together to develop a guaranteed and viable curriculum;

Teachers at all levels are involved in curriculum mapping, which helps a teacher understand what standards to teach students and when to teach them;

A standards-based progress report now replaces the number grade reporting system, helping teachers and parents understand the language of standards and create a consistency between district reports and the results of the statewide test; and

A comprehensive curriculum guide was developed and implemented that includes standards and a curriculum pacing calendar.

Only time (and a very short time, at that) will tell if these changes will be enough to elevate the Phoenix schools Roosevelt districts underperforming schools. If not, then the district will be under new management the state.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information on Phoenix schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Arizona/Phoenix/index.html.Sibeal Blog10165
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Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools Lead the Nation in Preschool Education Programs

One program in Charlotte Schools is focusing on the littlest learners. Recognizing that good learners begin early, education officials have developed an award winning preschool program called Bright Beginnings.

Bright Beginnings

The Bright Beginnings program involves full day, literacy based programs for four year olds in the Charlotte Mecklenburg area. More than 3000 students benefit from the program at five education centers and fourteen elementary schools. Over time the program has spread beyond the public school system and has been integrated into preschool classrooms throughout the community by partnering with the Smart Start, Child Care Resources, Child Care Centers, and More at Four programs, which all target the education needs of preschool students.

Developing Pre K Experiences

Teachers and program developers recognize the need for enriching experiences at the preschool level. Students at this age have very limited opportunities to explore the world around them, and the Bright Beginnings Program hopes to change that. By exposing children to new and different things, program developers believe that they can strengthen student vocabulary, a skill that they hope will carry over when the students learn to read. While many of these new experiences take place in the classroom, Bright Beginnings also encourages students with field trips to local learning centers, such as Discovery Place and ImaginOn.

Aligning Pre K with Elementary Education Curriculum and Instruction

Bright Beginnings has recently been incorporated under the North Carolina State Elementary Education Curriculum and Instruction area. Teachers hope to build connections between what they do in the Bright Beginnings program and what students will need to do when they enter kindergarten. The new partnership seeks to produce students entering kindergarten who are better prepared to learn and kindergarten teachers with a clearer idea of what their students have been exposed to and how they can build on that knowledge as they move through kindergarten. The program has the potential to raise student achievement at every grade level, as better prepared students advance year to year. Bright Beginnings recognizes that as Elementary Education Standards increase, preschool student curriculum must as well. As the director of the program explains, (Children) are expected to learn more. The standards have increased, not just in college and high school but in kindergarten too.!


Professional Development for Teachers

As part of Bright Beginnings commitment to preschool education, Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools has used federal and state grant money to ensure that the teachers working in the program are highly trained and qualified. All teachers must be certified in early child development, meaning that they have studied children from birth to kindergarten.

National Recognition for Bright Beginnings

Several years ago, Bright Beginnings sold its award winning curriculum to Pearson Publishing. Through this partnership, the curriculum has been distributed nationwide and continues to grow in neighborhoods far from the Charlotte Mecklenburg area. The director of the program credits Bright Beginnings success to the continued dedication of teachers and developers to work towards better learning practices. She comments, Weve started some new things and were going to continue to build them. We have gotten great marks for our curriculum for years. (Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools) is a leader in the nation.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, Which provides free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues.Sukey Blog29371
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A Review of an Accredited Online Degree From Capella University

The possibility of taking Online degree programs have been one of the biggest direct changes in education due to the internet. It is easy and convenient for working adults to be able to take courses without having to fit classes around their busy schedules or commute to campus. One of the more popular accredited online degree programs is offered by Capella University. This school was founded in 1993 and got its accreditation in 1997. After it was accredited, it changed its name and established five schools: Human Sciences, Technology, Education, Psychology and Business.

The school's headquarter is located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Within these five schools, there are about 70 different areas of study with more than 650 classes offered. The Capella school has 650 faculty members, more than 550 employed staff and 13,000 students enrolled in courses. As you can see, this is a real college for higher education with real credentials.

The school has its good points as well as its bad points. In order to draw as balanced picture as possible of this school, let's consider both. It has a special individualized portal for each student, called the iGuide. After you enroll, you're granted secure access through this portal to all the academic information you need. This makes it easy to look at and get an overview of courses and transcripts. Through the portal, you have access to your internet classroom, which they refer to as the 'courseroom', where you can get your assignments and post messages.

Most other schools on the internet have online chats and webcams which often don't work very well. At this school however, the technology is all together and in working order. It has a special system for turning in assignments which is very efficient but still easy to use. Just submit all your assignments as zip files or Microsoft Word documents. That's all you have to do.

The school portal offers access to the alumni center which you can use for networking and looking for employment opportunities. There are many other services available, like access to grants and other public money. Some of the graduates have criticized the alumni center as not being so useful, and being mostly just for show. However, most graduates are very happy with it.

Because this school is targeted to students who are already in jobs, its opportunities for on campus employment are pretty bare. The thought is that the reason you've chosen to study there rather than at a more traditional college is that you are already in a jobs . If you live outside Minneapolis, the school does not offer much in the way of employment for its students.

The school does offer a wide range of services to students with various handicaps. There is a variety of software available, and the staff makes an extra effort to accommodate students with disabilities. The school is consistently ranked high among higher educational institutions for its services for disabled students. There is mobility assistance, sign language interpreter service as well and additional time given to those who need it.

Except from those mentioned about, most other services are somewhat lacking, however. There is a campus bookstore where you can buy various kinds of materials including software, as well as books. Like most college bookstores, you can easily find the same books more cheaply other places if you look around a little. Like most schools, the bookstore is used to make some extra money for the school. But, the easy way out of this, for you, is to buy the books you need on the web somewhere. There are lots of services available for buying textbooks online. In spite of this, the Capella school is quite affordable. There are more and more schools coming on the web every year, and those that want to stay must be competitive.

At Capella, there are five schools within the college. They should be considered or reviewed separately in terms of quality. While the Human Sciences, Business, Education and Technology schools are quite good, the Psychology school has been undergoing some issues. There have been some problems with the management, and this has affected the overall quality of the program negatively. Because of these issues or problems, the Psychology school has had to keep changing its Dean, and this has also added to their problems. At the time of this writing, the psychology school is still not accredited by the American Psychological Association, even though it has been running this program for so long.

This shouldn't reflect too badly on school as a whole. Remember, there are 650 faculty members, so there is a load of variety. As a matter of fact, the quality of the instructors has always been commented on by the students who have graduated here. One thing criticised by many is that so many of the faculty are part time contractors, and thus do not have the interests of their students in mind as a highest priority. It is also charged that many of the teachers here are new to teaching on the web, and in being unaccustomed to it are unable to give the best instruction to their students. This charge comes particularly from students who have attended masters or Ph.D. programs here and found the quality of instruction at that level to be lacking. It could be that the strength of this school is in its undergraduate program.

This is what most students attend the school for, so it may be that the instructors are better able to teach at the undergraduate level. There aren't many complaints from undergraduate students about instructor or teacher quality, so this may be the case.

At the Capella university you certainly get a bit of everything. Whether this school is for you depends on a number of different factors. Retrieving and submitting coursework is easy. On the negative side, the quality of the teaching or instruction has consistently been lauded, if at times inconsistent. The fact that every education program is not yet accredited probably reflects badly on the school.

Nevertheless, as internet programs go, it is rated high in all areas. So, if you are looking into pursuing a higher education online, weigh your options well.

Nic Haffner is a writer and internet publisher who likes to write about online accredited degrees and educational issues in general. You can read more at the news and in depth information website http://www.online-accredited-degrees.netSissy Blog11983
Sherie Blog40886

Automotive Training For Do-It-Yourselfers

Automotive training used to be a more common part of our society. Shop class was a commonly offered elective in high schools nationwide, ensuring that most boys knew their way around a car's engine bay. Additionally, cars relied more on mechanical principles, rather than computerized systems. As a result, when a car broke down, the owner was much more likely to know how to fix it themselves, or at least have a friend or a family member who could fix it for them.

The situation has changed dramatically over the years. Today's cars are much more complex, and their owners are much less likely to have had any automotive training. As a result, dealerships and garages are repairing a higher percentage of cars than ever before, and mechanics' rates have risen in accordance with the increased necessity of their services.

Those who dislike the situation have another option. With a little automotive training, most people can perform more of the routine maintenance on their cars, reducing the expenses associated with car maintenance and allowing them the satisfaction of a job well done.

An oil change is an example of routine maintenance that frequently costs car owners far more than they need to spend. An oil change is a fairly simple procedure in most cars, requiring only enough automotive training for the individual to know the location of the oil filter and drain plug. A basic car care class should teach car owners how to locate major components under the hood and perform simple maintenance tasks, as well as imparting valuable tips for beginning do-it-yourselfers. For example, a good introductory class should warn students to beware of screwing a bolt or screw in crooked, known as crossing the threads.

A basic tune up is another routine maintenance task that do-it-yourselfers should be able to handle with a little automotive training. A basic tune up usually consists of changing the air filter, spark plugs, plug wires, distributor cap and rotor, and positive crankcase valve (PCV). Depending on the car and the mileage recommendations on the components, a basic tune up can also include replacing the fuel filter and/or the oxygen sensor. Rubber parts, such as drive belts and radiator hoses, may also be checked and replaced during a tune up. On most cars, these parts are easily accessed and require only a basic understanding of automotive functions.

A do-it-yourselfer who has had basic automotive training can also replace his or her own brakes. Changing the brake pads on a car is typically a dirty but simple job, requiring only a basic understanding of the braking components on a car. Additionally, there are numerous routine maintenance and repair jobs that an intermediate level amateur mechanic can usually handle on his or her own, such as replacing a battery, alternator, starter, timing belt, and many other components.

Of course, a significant advantage of having automotive training is that dealerships and garages cannot take advantage of you by recommending maintenance that may not actually need to be done. A basic understanding of auto mechanics will enable you to intelligently discuss any problems with your mechanic, understand what he or she is talking about, and recognize when his or her recommendations are exaggerated or downright unnecessary.

Obviously, knowing the basics of how a car operates can be extremely beneficial, saving you money in more ways than one. Beginning automotive training classes are usually offered at your local auto tech school or community college. Whether you intend to venture a few repairs on your own, or you simply want to be able to hold your own with your mechanic, taking a car care class ensures that you will not be a victim of your own ignorance.

Andy West is a freelance writer for VC Tech, The Automotive School. VC Tech is a world-class automotive training center, offering many exciting automotive programs. Please visit http://www.vctechnical.com to learn more.Sher Blog56988
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Denver Schools Worry About Diversity

In June of this year, the United States Supreme Court ruled to restrict schools across the nation, including Denver Schools, from using race to determine attendance. This decision will limit the integration at many schools across the nation. The decision was split with a five justice majority ruling that school programs in Seattle and Louisville violated the Constitutions guarantee of equal protection to ALL students. Educators in Denver Schools fear that the decision may lead schools to stop efforts to balance the racial mixes within their districts.

This decision will definitely affect the way Denver Schools achieve racial integration. Administrators in Denver Schools are among those in Colorado that use such tools. The Boulder Valley School District, for example, seeks diversity by placing students based on family income. "These policies ... are on a stronger footing today than they were yesterday," said Kevin Welner, a lawyer and director of the Education and the Public Interest Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

School districts have a lot of options in trying to build schools that are racially integrated, including targeted recruitment in neighborhoods, or redrawing school-attendance zones. Denver Schools use several criteria when determining school zones and districting; and one of those criteria is race. Students are sometimes bussed further from their homes to achieve racial diversity and avoid segregation. Some education experts within the Denver Schools feel that they may abandon race-conscious policies because of this decision. Administrators say that race is used to target students and move them to other Denver Schools where their needs can be better met, and so racial diversity can be achieved. Denver Schools feel that the decision has left them little room to maneuver and achieve their goals.

The delicate balance between justice and diversity is a hot issue nationwide. Instances where white students have been denied entrance into magnet programs because of their skin color initiated the court cases. Currently, Denver Schools representatives use race and racial density within areas of their district to decide where to build schools. Their goal is to bring enriched magnet programs, and some well-educated families, into inner-city neighborhoods.

Some within the Denver Schools have voiced concerns that students may be the ones who end up getting shortchanged if race is not a factor. They are voicing concerns that their children will be forced to attend schools within their neighborhoods, instead of being allowed to attend more racially diverse schools where the quality of education, educators and administrators may be higher. Others feel that it may force schools systems across the nation, and within Denver Schools, to make sure schools are equally staffed, supervised and supported so that all children will receive an equal education.

Patricia Hawke is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. For more information please visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Colorado/Denver/index.htmlStephine Blog71618
Sharie Blog59718

Self Improvement Motivation: Unlock The Good Life

Have you ever taken a long, hard look at your life and felt depressed when you thought about things that it lacked? Chances are, you have. No one has a perfect life. There are countless and constant ways in which a person can improve. Self-improvement motivation comes from a place inside each of us that desires to be a better person. There are several elements that are considered part of self-improvement motivation.

Among the most popular are:

- Appearance improvement
- Intellectual improvement
- Financial improvement

Dress to impress:
Appearance improvement is one of the most popular types of self-improvement motivation. For many people, there is always a pound to be lost, a gray hair to be covered up, or new clothing to be purchased. Other people get extremely obsessive about appearance improvement, paying thousands of dollars for nose jobs, liposuction, collagen implants, hair replacement, or other such procedures. Because of the media and the influence of Hollywood stars, people who are young, old, male, and female have become appearance improvement crazy. These are the often the same people who feel that appearance is all that matters in life.

Self-improvement motivation by the books:

Intellectual motivation is another key element of self-improvement motivation. The desire to become more educated or gain more knowledge on a subject drives many minds. Well-informed people are often perceived as powerful people. After all, knowledge is power.

Today, it is no surprise that more and more middle-aged adults are going back to school to get their bachelor's or master's degrees. This desire to get more education often stems from the fact that most companies are interested with employees who know how to use the latest and greatest software and computer programs. Companies are also interested in employees that have an up-to-date education. Many companies, especially larger ones, will pay for employees to go back to school or be trained for a specific job.

Most colleges and universities even have continuing education programs. These programs allow non-traditional students to learn about a subject or become educated on how to use programs for computers.

Financial improvement:

Another important element of self-improvement motivation is financial motivation. In reality, most people desire to have more money than they have at the present time. Perhaps a person wants to purchase a home, car, or an education. Perhaps someone needs to pay medical bills or legal fees, or raise a child. Finances are key to surviving in today's world. Financial self-improvement motivation often comes in the form of taking on a second or third job, investing in stocks or bonds, or learning how to save money wisely. Financial self-improvement motivation may also include asking a current employer for a promotion or a raise.

Overall, anything that motivates and in turn improves the physical, material, or mental part of a person is a form of self-improvement motivation. No one is perfect, but many of us can try to get as close as we can.

Matthew Hick has been designing profitable Niche Adsense Websites for over 5 years.Stormie Blog33361
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Searching For Free Scholarship

If you happen to search the internet for scholarships lately, you should have discovered that there are many out there waiting to be awarded. Actually, there are thousands of individual scholarship grants waiting to be awarded to qualified individuals. Meanwhile, a portion of these remains un-awarded either because there are few applicants or there are no applicants who qualified.

Because of this, you might ask: How can I, as an aspirant, increase my chances of landing on the right scholarship at the same time, winning that scholarship?

First and foremost, you need to start searching early. This means, you should start your search for possible sponsors during the beginning of your final year in high school. Or, you can even start searching in the middle of your high school years.

When searching, it is good to look for as much as scholarship grants as you can. In this way, you can have enough lists of potential sponsors that you can apply at. And since no one will hinder you to apply on each scholarship sites, you can increase your chances in getting at least one reply.

Searching early will give you clearer idea on what school to enter, at the same time, doing your search early will narrow down your list of scholarships to apply with reference to the compatibility to the course you are about to take and the school you are about to enter.

Staring your search early will also give you time to prepare yourself in the criteria of your targeted scholarship. In other words, if the type of scholarship you are targeting at requires applicants to have working experience, extracurricular activities, good grades, and others, you can prepare for it before you actually apply.

Knowing the types of scholarships will enable you to choose where exactly do you fit. In reality, there are several types of scholarships with several subs underneath them. Making sure you know what you want and what you are capable of will lead you to better chances of landing at the scholarship that is right for you. This in turn, will increase your chances of winning the scholarship.

These few things will bring you a long way in your search for free scholarship. Remember that scholarships range their grants from partial to full payment on whole college education. And since you wish to aim for the biggest amount, doing best on the application process will give you great advantage in winning your most wanted full scholarship.

This content is provided by Low Jeremy. It may be used only in its entirety with all links included. For more information on scholarship & other useful information, please visit http://scholarship.articlekeep.com.Shirlee Blog86332
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Is Online Learning the Right Choice for You?

Benefits of Online Education

An online education has many benefits including lower costs, no travel time, and easy access. All you need is a computer, meaning you can work whenever and wherever its convenient for you. This is especially true for the adult learner, who must often juggle studies with a full-time job.

Characteristics of Adult Learners

There are certain characteristics the adult learner must have in order to fully enjoy the benefits of an online education.

First and foremost, you must be able to use modern technology. You cant access the courses without a computer and the internet, and if you dont have a basic knowledge of how these work you may struggle.

Characteristics of adult learners also include the ability to learn strictly through written words and a good sense of self-discipline.

Naturally, an online education benefits people who prefer to work in solitude, without the distraction of other people around them. You wont have to speak up in a classroom full of people and can instead take time to think over your response to a question before submitting a written answer.

Motivating Adult Learners

There are many factors motivating adult learners to continue their education, particularly with the ease of online institutions. These can range from:

advancing your career,
seeking a raise, or
simply an eagerness to learn new skills or new knowledge.

This motivation is important, because you wont have anyone else standing over you forcing you to attend class or turning in your assignments. Therefore you should carefully consider if youre a self-motivating adult learner who can thrive in the online environment before enrolling.

Source: http://www.online-education.net/resources/is-online-education-right-for-you.html

Nancy Lambert is an executive for http://www.Accredited-Online-Colleges.com. Accredited-Online-Colleges.com provides information on hundreds of degrees offered online through accredited colleges and universities. From online certificates to Associates, Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees, Accredited-Online-Colleges.com helps students and adults discover the advantages of earning their degree online.Shauna Blog96390
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The Law Of Attraction

A man lived by the side of the road and sold hot dogs. He was hard of hearing so he had no radio. He had trouble with his eyes so he read no newspaper, nor did he watch TV. But, he sold great hot dogs. He put a sign up on the highway telling how great they were. He stood by the side of the road and cried, Hey, You, want to buy a great hot dog? And people came and they bought. So, he increased his meat and bun order. He bought a bigger stove to take care of his trade. Then one day his son came home from college to help him. His son said, Dad, havent you heard the news about the recession? The economy is really bad. The unemployment situation is terrible. The energy situation is worse.

Whereupon the hot dog man thought, Well my sons been to college. He reads the newspapers and listens to the radio, he ought to know. So the father cut down on his meat and bun order. He took down his advertising signs. He no longer bothered to stand by the side of the road and yelled, Wanna buy my hot dogs? And his hot dog sales fell almost over night. Youre right son. The hot dog man said to his boy. We certainly are in the middle of a bad recession!

This parable is an illustration of these words of Dr. Ernest Holmes in Chapter 18 of the Science of Mind:

As Gods thought makes worlds, and peoples them with living things, so our thought makes our world and peoples it with our experiences. By the activity of our thought, things come into our life and we are limited only because we have not known the Truth. We have thought that outside things controlled us, when all the time we have had that within which could have changed everything and given us freedom from bondage.

What is that within us that can give us freedom? The creative Power of God operating through The Law of Attraction, which we bring into Action by our thoughts.

This idea is not new. It has been espoused throughout the ages.

The Buddha told us:
All that we are is the result of what we have thought.
In Proverbs 23:7, we read:
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.
Jesus said:
It is done unto you, as you believe. And - As ye sow so shall ye reap.
Aristotle wrote:
What we expect, we find.
The philosopher Virgil said:
They can because they think they can.
William Shakespeare wrote:
Our doubts are our traitors.
Contemporary writer Eknath Easwaran wrote:
We begin to resemble and actually become whatever we give our attention to.

Abraham-Hicks: When you think a little thought of something you are wanting, by Law of Attraction that thought grows larger and larger and more and more powerful. When you think a thought of something you are not wanting, that Law of Attraction adds unto it and it grows larger and larger also. So the larger it grows, the more power it draws unto it, then the more certain you are to receive the experience, you see.

The interesting thing about these Laws is that they are -- even if you do not understand that they are -- affecting your experience, even in your ignorance of them.

The law of attraction is definitely not a new concept - but statements of Truth -- Truth that can set us free -- or hold us in bondage depending on what we do with them!

There is no power in the universe but ourselves that can free us. Someone may help us on the road to realization, but we must bring ourselves to the place in mind where there is no misfortune, no calamity, no accident, no trouble, no confusion; where there is nothing but plenty, peace, power, Life and Truth.

At all times we are either drawing things to us or pushing them away. In the average individual, this process goes on without his or her knowing it, but ignorance of the law does not change its results.

Dr. Toni LaMotta has spoken internationally, authored several books and numerous articles and has served as a consultant, and trainer to a variety of corporations. Her experiences range from being a high school teacher to working with some of the top companies, associations, and organizations in the world. She served as a Catholic nun and pastoral associate for 16 years before discovering New Thought. Stacy Blog43232
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Learning Success, Increasing Education, Building a Business Entirely Online

Webucation is the next great growth opportunity Peter Drucker

The Internet has transformed the way people get their education. Where once, taking online courses was an exception rather than the rule, it has now become one of the most popular and quickest ways to educate oneself and even start your own business. Traditional online education isnt the only way to educate oneself. Just gathering information about a particular subject that interests you is a form of educating yourself. There are also distance and continuing learning courses which are more formal than simply gathering information, but less formal than a traditional class where accredited grades are given. One online website, http://manthony1.successuniversity.com, allows both education, through personal development courses, and starting your own business to be accomplished at the same time. Courses offered involve personal development and achievement. They teach students about life, relationships, and finances. Thats enough to appeal to almost everyone in some way. Getting your webucation, or education obtained on the world wide web, in specific areas that you want to know about is a reality that many are taking advantage of these days.

The http://manthony1.successuniversity.com website offers visitors a chance to not only get web-educated, and thereby become students of the training materials, but also to start their own business from home by offering the personal development education services to other potential students. These students pay a monthly fee for registering and accessing the many courses available and certificates are even issued upon completion. Courses and presentations in personal achievement are given by the likes of Brian Tracy, Les Brown, Jay Abraham, Cynthia Kersey, Robert Allen, and more. Business minded people may particularly be interested in this as not only do they get to use the site to start their own business online, but they also get the motivational training that many business professionals need to succeed in life and the business world, and will want to network with others about it. The added bonus is that they can also get paid to do it.

The field of webucation is growing and there does seem to be an education demand in this online niche that is growing like wildfire thanks to the proliferation and world wide reach of the Internet. In a Forbes magazine article, Peter Drucker is quoted as saying that, Triggered by the Internet, continuing adult education may well become our greatest growth industry. (see entire article at http://www.epibiz.com/forbes) Because of this fast growing education niche, business savvy people might want to take advantage of an online business opportunity in a growth industry. By extending this form of education themselves, they have a chance to make an exciting profit at the same time as helping others obtain more personal education while increasing satisfaction in the lives of others overall.

Why continue learning online? It is easier than ever, for one. For most busy people who want to continue their education but dont have the time to sit in a classroom, this is a great timesaver. It is also flexible as they can review material whenever they want as many times as they want. It is also much cheaper than paying tuition for traditional education courses which everyone knows goes up every year.

Why start a business online? A lot of people dont even know that they can but many are now just starting to come to this conclusion. More and more people are wanting and needing to supplement their income without having to commute. There are also those business minded people who just want to do something different in their lives. Why not start a business offering others education? Both, online home business and education at home, are super growth industries. Websites such as http://manthony1.successuniversity.com combines the benefits of both.

For additional information, visit http://manthony1.successuniversity.com.

Michael Anthony is Webmaster/Owner of http://www.2Minutes2Riches.com website where ordinary people are making extraordinary income from home! Want your own complete, money-making website setup for you? Go to http://www.2minutes2riches.com/pips. To get your free Home Business Tips and Ideas Newsletter subscription, send email to 2minutes2riches@getresponse.comSile Blog63992
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Are You A Go-Getter? Online Career Training Puts You In Charge

Patience is a virtue or so we have been told. Is that still true for todays generation who demand instant gratification? It is open for debate but one thing is for sure we live in a fast-paced world. Things happen almost at the speed of light and before they can be comprehended the next big thing is already taking place. This is a fact of all areas of life including education. People want to learn a skill or gain knowledge that will allow them to earn a great income. Society teaches us that the key to doing this is to go to college. However, todays lightening-paced generation does not necessarily want to spend four years of their lives trying to earn a college degree.

So whats the answer? For some the answer may be career training. This training provides skills and knowledge to a student at a self-chosen pace. Once a student enrolls in a career training course how fast the training is absorbed will be determined by the individual. If a person wants to slowly digest the training that can be done. If the person prefers to gulp it down quickly that can be done as well. It is entirely up to the student to decide how much learning is to be done and at what pace. Depending on the course selected a student could learn a new skill in as little as three months and be fully prepared to enter the job market right away! No four year degree program can make that claim.

In addition to learning at ones own pace, career training also allows a student to learn in ones own environment. Career training courses can be provided online so a student can study a course at any time or place as long as a computer with internet access is available. This will also help keep the pace moving along because it wont be necessary to spend time driving to a college campus. Nor will a student have to sit in a stuffy classroom with scores of other students learning at a pace set by the professor. Without a commute to a college campus the student saves precious time that could be well spent in other areas of life, such as working a part-time job or spending time with the family.

The technologically advanced world we live in moves faster than a speeding electron. Unfortunately, those who fail to keep up get left behind and may never catch up again. Career training can help a person to not only keep up with the rat race but actually get ahead of the pack. So why not take a few minutes of your time to look into career training? It will be time well spent.

Copyright 2006 Sherry Harris

Sherry Harris is the President of online career training school, Malibu Institute. For more information on master certificate courses and career education offered, go to: http://www.MalibuInstitute.comSibbie Blog49444
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Nashville Schools Examines Its 2005-2006 Performance

Nashville Schools Board of Education Reviews Adequate Yearly Progress Results

Every year, every school district in Tennessee must examine its performance from the pervious school year. This summer Nashville Schools had to do this as well. The Nashville Schools Board of Education, which included both the outgoing members from 2005-2006 and the incoming members from 2006-2007, reviewed the results from the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress. The results will help to pinpoint for Nashville Schools those areas that have improved and where continued progress is needed. Nashville Schools had both remarkable achievements in some areas and areas that continue to be a challenge. This is the third year that the majority of schools in the Nashville Schools have received a rating of Good Standing, the highest rating that can be given. The remaining schools had moved either up or down from the previous year. The number of schools in Good Standing was 81 which is the same number as last year.

Possibly the biggest gain this year for Nashville Schools is that some of the schools categorized as high poverty schools received Good Standing ratings. Two schools Kirkpatrick and Napier Elementary Schools achieved a Good Standing rating for the first time since the Tennessee Adequate Yearly Progress was established. These two schools are two of the highest poverty schools in Nashville School District. There ratings reflect the effort that the students, teachers, parents and principals put in last school year.

But many schools did not receive a rating of Good Standing or even the same rating as last year. Many of these schools received a lower rating than previously. This indicates that there are still lots of areas that still need improvement. Nashville Schools has made the commitment to strive for every school to receive a Good Standing rating. Each summer the Nashville Schools Board of Education meets to determine what steps can be taken to improve the coming school years scores. The difficulty is that there are a variety of factors that can influence the rating. A small adjustment in one area could affect the overall standing. With this in mind the Board tries to find a way to make every school a school that rates Good Standing.

One of the biggest concerns for the Nashville Schools Board of Education is the size of the District. Nashville Schools currently has around 74,000 students and must provide educational opportunities that meet the needs of this student population. Nashville School District includes both Nashville and Davidson Counties, so there are logistic concerns also. Nashville Schools are very confident about how this school year will proceed. The Nashville Schools Board of Education is a nine member body that is elected at the end of every school year composed of educators, community leaders and administrators. The members are elected in a public vote by the citizens of the Nashville School District. The Board believes that there is a real potential for all the schools to gain ratings of Good Standing by summer of 2007.

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information on Nashville schools visit http://www.schoolsk-12.com/Tennessee/Nashville/index.htmlSheryl Blog23613
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Why Education System Fails to Challenge Students at School

Teachers are all at sea: despite a great deal of effort over the past 20 years, academic achievement among high school students continues to lag behind. In their attempt to improve school results, the educators are trying to find roots of poor academic achievement of high school students.

Some point the finger at the outrageous homework loads students are snowed under. Supporters of this idea argue that students are overburdened with academic demands of questionable value and, as a result, end up indifferent to studies, exhausted, and worn out. Probably, there is some grain of truth in this claim. However, recent investigations have rebutted these suggestions

The recent Pew Research Centre poll has produced unprecedented results: it's not high pressure, but low expectations that are bringing the American students down!

This claim was corroborated by Denise Clark Pope, a Stanford University lecturer who has written about the effects of stress on students. The research she conducted in comfortable San Francisco Bay Area communities proves that the reason of poor level of knowledge is not the heavy workload students are exposed to but the lack of challenge in the school environment.

Thus, it gets straight that the problem of low academic proficiency lies with what rather than how much students are asked to do. And now, the main contributing factors that lead to low learning proficiency of high school students are wrong approach to assessments, incoherent assessment tasks, teachers and parents indifference. Unfortunately, this list is rather long

1. Incomprehension of the Studying Purpose

The main reason why so many students dont feel interested in what they are doing at school is the incomprehension of their studying routine. In fact, a vast majority of teachers are even not bothered to explain to their students what the learning outcomes are, why they need to achieve them and how they will be assessed.

Thus, students read stacks of books, write hundreds of essays having no idea of the initial purpose of all this hassle and bustle. They accomplish their tasks by command which needs to be bluntly carried out. Studies become a real must, a dreadful duty, which results in lack of interest, reluctance to study and show initiative.

2. Wrong Assessment Approach

Another contributing factor to the downward knowledge proficiency is the wrong approach of assessment. The matter is that assessment is often wrongly intended by teachers as punishment for students, or traps to catch them out. Grades seem to exist in order to show students errors, mistakes and drawbacks in the study area, rather than to give students reasonable chance of demonstrating their achievements of specific learning goals.

Needless to say, such attitude creates a fearful attitude of students towards assessment. They are learning not for acquiring some knew exciting facts, but for getting a pass. Education comes to grades rather than knowledge.

3. Incoherent Assessment Tasks

It is deplorable that the everyday practice of most teachers is to set numerous, time-consuming and unrelated tasks that ask for a great deal of work to be done in the shortest time period. Consequently, this approach makes students adopt surface approaches to learning by clutching at facts and memorising them as best as they can in order to pass.

Things would have changed, if teachers built the unrelated assessment tasks into a coherent whole. This way, students would be able to work on coherent projects, gain systematic and profound knowledge in the subject area. Moreover, they would be more challenged to do their own research, show initiative, and be proactive.

4. Lack of Personal Approach

With mass classes consisting of more than 20 children, many students feel deprived of the due attention on their teachers part. They are placed among the great lot of students without their personal interests, and problems with studying being taken into account.

As a result, students dont feel cared about, lose their identity, become indifferent to studies and lose faith in the brighter future. It is a problem of a great lot of students.

5. Parents Attitude

Unfortunately, a great number of parents also contribute to the problem of low interest in studies. Many of them have a performance orientation, which emphasises results such as students grades, rather than whether they master the material. On top of that, they are reluctant to weigh-in and help their children with home tasks for the fear of being unable to answer a question and lose childrens respect.

However, these fears are unjustified. This way parents mislead their confused children, refuse to give them a helping hand with studies and aggravate the existing problems.

Thus, it gets clear that children are wrongly aimed at quantity of knowledge rather than quality. As Denise Clark Pope has put it, There is too much content-and-coverage stress. It should be about challenging and engaging students on multiple levels. And if radical steps arent taken in the nearest future, the situation is likely to be aggravated.

Linda Correli is a staff writer for http://www.go2essay.com/ She specializes in writing History, Literature and English essays and book reports, as well as admission essays, personal statements and letters of recommendation.Stacey Blog16063
Shay Blog34561

Expect and Inspect: How to Protect Your Teen in Three Easy Steps

Young, wild, and free isnt that what its supposed to feel like to be a teenager? While its normal for teens to push and discover their limits, its also dangerous. Due in large part to the fact that parenting decisions are only as sound as the information on which theyre based, more parents are choosing to rely on tools and technology than gut instinct.

Here are three strategies for parents concerned about their childrens safety:

1. Install a GPS system in your teens car.

In the old days, parents would check their cars for new scratches, dents, or overly fast tire wear and ask other parents if they had seen their kids driving recklessly or beyond their geographic limits.

Parents who utilize GPS technology know where their car is, where it has been, and how fast it has been driven. When continued driving privileges are tied to responsible use, safer driving results. More importantly, teens know that their parents have access to this information, which makes them feel safer if they get lost or into trouble. Its like having a parent in the car at all times.

2. Install software for monitoring email and chat room conversations.

Sexual predators target teens in Internet chat rooms. Parents should obviously urge their kids not to give out personal information or agree to meet someone they met on the Internet. However, since teens know their online activities are a privilege and can be monitored, theyve got a constant reminder. Parents urge teens to resist talking or behaving online any differently than they would if their parents were in the room because, in a way, they are.

3. Initiate a parent - child contract and home drug testing program.

Peer pressure often increases when kids just say no to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. Kids need a socially acceptable excuse, and the words My parents test me stop pushy peers in their tracks. Parent and Child Contract Software (PACCS), developed by Dr. Michael Reznicek, helps facilitate conversations and establish expectations (including both rewards and consequences) between parents and teens regarding drug use. Home drug testing kits can be administered at home and provide instant results for a fraction of the cost of a lab, without sacrificing accuracy or privacy.

Mason Duchatschek has interviewed thousands of parents, teenagers, school board members, counselors, school principals and superintendents. He is the president of TestMyTeen.com (mason@testmyteen.com) based in Fenton, Missouri.Simonne Blog80637
Stella Blog11142

Learning Skills - Eight Great Ones

Learning effectively and efficiently requires some basic learning skills. In other words, we need to learn how to learn. Here are some ways to develop those skills.

1. Identify what is essential. This is one of the most important learning skills to develop. If you are learning to drive a car, getting used to the steering wheel, gas pedal and brake pedal are essential, right? All the rest can come later.

Knowing the essentials helps you make sense of all the rest. If you are studying economics, for example, you need to understand supply and demand. Then it is easier to understand how good weather can depress commodity prices, or how government spending can drive prices up.

How do you identify what is most essential? A simple way is to ask, "What is important here?" We often forget to do this. Ask yourself this question, but ask others too, if they are teaching you. In textbooks, the key points are often listed after a chapter. Read these first, and again after reading the chapter.

2. Relate new material to what you already know. Suppose you are a doctor, for example, and you are reading an article about car maintenance. Finding parallels between the two, like the concept of dirty oil and a blood toxins, will help you remember what you learn. Do this enough and you'll train yourself to automatically look for connections between things. You'll think more creatively, and improve your memory, because having more connections makes it easier to recall things.

3. Compare and contrast. Think to yourself "That's like this," or "How is that different from this?" This process categorizes and arranges facts and ideas in your mind, making them easier to access later. It is like using a mental filing cabinet instead of just piling things up on a mental desk.

4. Expose your mind to new material before you feel "ready," or have time to study. This first part of learning is where you look at new ideas and say, "huh?" Do it quickly, reviewing everything for a few minutes, and your unconscious mind will start "incubating" the new concepts, and finding some way to organize them.

5. Get curiosity and anticipation working for you. How do you create this state of mind? Try to leave each learning session with a question or two clearly in your mind. It will help create a sense of anticipation and curiosity that will help you the next time you approach the material.

6. Study as a teacher. This can totally change your perspective and make your learning more efficient. Keep the idea in mind that you will be teaching what you're learning. Imagine how you will teach it, even hearing the words you'll use. This is one of the more powerful learning skills.

7. Take breaks. Research shows that we remember best what we study first and last in a given session. Taking breaks creates more "sessions," and so increases the number of firsts and lasts. Fifteen or twenty minute sessions followed by two or three minute breaks works well for some, but experiment.

8. Imagine the uses for what you are learning. Of all the information you will be exposed to, so little of it is the "important stuff." However, by imagining how you'll use the new information, or at least how it could be used, you will tend to automatically focus on the things you really need to know.

9. Carry a list of the above tips and refer to it until these learning skills have become an automatic part of your study routines.

Copyright Steve Gillman. For more on Learning Skills, and to get the Brain Power Newsletter and other free gifts, visit: http://www.IncreaseBrainPower.comSimonne Blog6568
Sonni Blog5393

Booming Business: Earning A Health Care Degree Online

Many people question the possibility of earning a health care degree online. There is a stigma that exists around earning this type of degree online instead of being in a physical lab to do the work. Many people believe that health care is a hands on job that requires on the spot training, and cannot be obtained online. This is anything but true, as the boomer generation increasingly becomes more interested and in need of quality health care. The fact is that there are more health care jobs available today than there are people to fill them. The massive boomer population is getting to the age of retirement when their medical needs will surely increase. The already understaffed health care field will become even more in need of health care professionals. Earning a health care degree online is a great idea for anyone who is looking for a rewarding career. The benefits aren't just monetary; they're also rewarding in the fact that you are free to work while earning your degree, and can do it on your own time schedule.

Most people imagine health care degree online programs as being directly associated with becoming a doctor, or nurse; however there are many new health care fields that are also becoming popular. There is a high demand for those that have certification in medical transcription and medical assisting. Both careers have what seems to be an insatiable staffing demand by the health care industry. Those that earn a degree with a specialty in medical transcription will most likely be able to work from home typing up doctors notes and case files. This is something that has even been outsourced to other countries recently because there is not enough graduates to fill the need. With a health care degree in medical transcription one can also assume responsibilities in a hospital or doctor's office helping health care professionals with their day-to-day duties. This is a great way to gain valuable experience, and make a difference in other people's lives.

Concentrating on earning a health care degree online is all it takes to get the process going towards achieving a better career. This is such a certainty that many schools have career services offices with lists of employers that have an immediate need for qualified health care graduates. This is what makes you the most valuable commodity of them all; by allowing yourself to obtain a degree that makes you extremely attractive to those that are looking for health care related staff.

Another wonderful aspect of the health care degree online degree programs is that they offer an opportunity for those that have full time jobs to earn a degree on their own time. This means that you will not be forced to take a drop in your pay by having to take time off to study. You can maintain your current income while earning a degree online. Many students that spend time away from school, and return to continue their education find the most difficult task is to sacrifice their base income and subsequent lifestyle. Online programs allow you to continue working while achieving your degree.

Andy West is a freelance writer for Virginia College. Virginia College Online offers many Health Care Degree Online programs. Please visit Virginia College Online at http://www.vconline.edu/site/program.cfm?Program_ID=6 to select the online program that is right for you.Shandee Blog24684
Stephie Blog47131

Up-Close, Behind-the-Scenes Look at Career Training

Making decisions can be difficult especially if you dont have all the facts. When it comes to deciding which career path to take the options appear to be varied and complex. In this day and age the number of fields in which to have a career have steadily increased but the career training for these fields may not be readily available. Or so it would seem. With the advent of the computer and the internet, career training has grown and expanded in leaps and bounds. So how does one make sense of so many career choices and options? Get the facts.

Career training is highly affordable Unlike a traditional four year college or university education, career training is quite inexpensive. In some cases the training could be charged to a credit card without exceeding the spending limit. Or a part-time job could be worked in order to save enough money to pay for the career training in cash in a relatively short time. A personal loan from your bank could also pay for the necessary training. Only one loan would be needed whereas with a college education multiple student loans are usually required to pay for tuition. Whichever method of payment you choose none of them will leave you in heavy debt for many years to come.

Career training is convenient In the comfort and privacy of your own home your career training can be carried out with a minimum of fuss. By means of a computer and internet access you can get started on the road to a rewarding and fulfilling career. There is no need to get in your vehicle, battle with rush hour traffic and arrive at an overcrowded university campus. Instead you can take your training at your leisure because it is up to you when, where and how long you want to immerse yourself in your studies. You set your own schedule and pace for your career training which leaves you firmly in control of your life.

Career training is diverse Career training gives a student unlimited opportunities to learn about any number of subjects and topics. Whichever way your interests turn you can find a corresponding career training course to match them. There are many people who enjoy the role of educator and they make their extensive knowledge available to others by means of career training courses. All you have to do is take advantage of them by means of your computer and internet access. Because experts are teaching the course of your preference you can be confident that you are receiving the best training available. This leads us to our next fact.

Career training is efficient Upon completion of a course your skill and knowledge level will be at peak condition because career training provides real-world experience. Instead of studying about the theory of a particular subject you will actually do the work as if you are already on the job. Career training provides hands-on interactive instruction. Receiving the experience of doing the work in the field of your choice will put you ahead of the people who merely sat in a classroom and did nothing but read books and listen to a professor give lectures. There is no substitute for real-world experience and that is exactly what career training provides. In addition most career training subjects can be learned in just a few months as opposed to a four to five year university education.

As the facts indicate, career training is a very viable option for people who want to have a career and be successful. Studies have shown that the trend in many industries is moving away from hiring people with college degrees to hiring people who have specialized skills or knowledge. Career training allows a person to choose a specific topic and gain an extensive knowledge and skill set. Employers then hire the person because they have received specialized practical training and experience in a certain area of expertise. So ask yourself, Do I want to waste time and money obtaining a degree that I may or may not be able to use to get a job or would I rather gain a specialized skill in a short amount of time without incurring a large debt and land a great job? If you are unsure of how to answer the question do yourself a favor and get the facts.

Sherry Harris is the President & CEO of online career training school, Malibu Institute. For more information on career education courses and programs offered, go to: http://www.MalibuInstitute.comSonja Blog9403
Sharia Blog21779

Paul's Hot Stock Picks For The Week of July 2nd Thru July 6th

HOT STOCK PICK FOR THE WEEK:

InnerWorkings (INWK) is setting up in a cup and handle chart formation and looking to move higher. InnerWorkings provides print procurement services to corporate clients in the United States, and boasts earnings and relative price strength readings in the high 90s. While its industry group carries an average C rating, its accumulation is ranked a very strong A-. .

PAUL'S MARKET COMMENTARY FOR THE WEEK:

The attempted terror attacks in London had the market indexes on the ropes for a while Friday, but when things appeared to be under control, they fought their way back to a large extent towards the end of the session. Though most of the week was typified by early gains, which then dwindled away by midday, the indexes closed out the week with slight gains, with the Nasdaq up .6%, the NYSE edging up .2% and the S&P 500 eking out a .1% rise. Last weeks undercurrent was the trouble facing the subprime mortgage market, and specifically, its effect on hedge funds. But by next week, much of the attention will likely turn to the upcoming earnings season. While the market remains in a confirmed rally, most of the major indexes including the Dow, S & P 500, Mid Cap 400 and Small Cap 600 are hovering near their rising 50-day moving average/support areas again, apparently waiting to see how things turn out. The market indexes displayed more than their fair share of volatility throughout each trading day last week, so caution is advised until we start seeing how earnings season starts to pan out, and whether any more terror plots emerge. As for economic news, look for the Institute For Supply Managements manufacturing index Monday morning, then factory orders, pending home sales, and auto & truck sales Tuesday morning. On Thursday morning, look for the ISM services index, initial jobless claims for last week, and crude oil inventories, followed by Friday mornings very important employment report.

FEATURED STOCK PICK HIGHLIGHTS :

Despite last weeks volatility, most leading stocks closed out last week in pretty good shape. As a prelude to earnings season, recently featured stock pick Research In Motion (RIMM) blasted $34.40 higher Friday on a strong earnings report and higher guidance. One wonders how Apple (AAPL) shares might fare next week, given all the hoopla and huge lines at all the Apple stores throughout the country. Meanwhile featured stock picks like KMG Chemicals (KMGB), BASF (BF), Flir Systems (FLIR) and Capella Education (CPLA) broke out during the week and headed higher. Given last weeks volatility due to the approach of earnings season and jitters from recent terror threats, keep your ear to the ground. Its possible that trading volume will be quiet at the beginning of next week due to the approach of the July 4th holiday on Wednesday.

For many more hot stock picks and exact buy points, please visit: http://www.StockConfidential.com/

Paul Johnson is the publisher of Stock Confidential, a newsletter featuring hot stock picks that is sent via email to his subscribers every Sunday and Wednesday. Paul has also written several stock trading, real estate and internet entrepreneur ebooks.Shawn Blog195
Sharl Blog38211