Current Education System Needs a Fix

On December 18, 2011 · Comments Off

Everyone has told us since we were kids to stay in school in order to get a good education so that we can land a good job and make a good salary. Although this is okay advice, it’s not always the best advice. I have nothing against learning of course but I do feel that the current system is lacking in classes that teach students real life skills, thing that will enrich their lives such as how to make passive income or how to start an internet business and the like. How many students are graduating these days with no job and tons of debt?

More and more colleges are acting like businesses and if that’s what they want to do, so be it. However, if this is the case, they should be treated like one as well. If the promise of a degree that takes 4 years to earn is so you can find a good paying job, then there should be some sort of refund if you can’t find a job. If a student gets stuck with a bad teacher, a refund should be offered.

If you ask random people what they learned in school that they actually use to help better their life, you’ll likely find that over 90% of the things taught in school was a waste of time. When you have a generation of people who owe thousands in credit card debt and are basically financially illiterate, then you have a problem. Something needs to change.



Under Education

How To Narrow Down College Choices

On December 14, 2011 · Comments Off

Choosing a college to attend can be an overwhelming decision to make. Unless you have a highly specialized field that you want to study in, the number of colleges that offer your desired program is likely fairly high. This means you likely have hundreds, if not thousands, of colleges that are potential matches for your degree earning. An easy way to cut down on your choices is to decide if you prefer to attend a college in your home state of if you prefer to go to school at a college in another state. This decision allows you to eliminate either every school not in your state or every school not within your state.

What you are going to be left with is still going to be a large number of schools. The best thing to do is to go through them in sweeps and eliminate a large number of them at once, like using a weed wacker in the yard or garden. Eliminating just a few at once will not do you a lot of good because you will still be left with a large number of choices, which is why you must get rid of several at one.

An easy way to get rid of a bunch of potential colleges at one time is to determine how much you want to pay for each year of school. Tuition costs can vary greatly. Once you know this number, you can get rid of every college that has a yearly tuition in excess of that amount. And for good measure, get rid of all those under that amount but close to it because tuition will likely rise during your time there.

After making that cut, you can use any other criteria that you want, such as location or proximity to your parents. Doing this allows you to get down to your core choices.

What To Look For In Online Guitar Education

On December 5, 2011 · Comments Off

The explosive growth of online guitar lessons in recent years can be attributed to many different factors. Compared to private instruction, self-paced guitar courses on the Internet offer huge savings on monthly tuition costs. Most monthly memberships to online guitar lessons cost around the price of one weekly session with a professional guitar instructor. Learning online will also save you additional expenses for travel, and is also easier to work around someone’s schedule because you can choose when to study the lesson content.

Selecting guitar lessons online should be treated with as much caution and care as any other purchase you make. Before signing up for any Web-based guitar course, you need to study first if this program is appropriate for your guitar-playing goals. Some online or DVD guitar programs are recommended for beginners because they start from the basic concepts and progress with each lesson. Other courses are more suitable for intermediate players who already know the basics and need to sharpen and hone the skills they already have.

Read as many product reviews you can on the Internet about the guitar programs you are looking at so you will have an idea how the lessons are delivered and if this is appropriate for your learning style. Some people can learn just by watching and mimicking the lessons on video, so they may benefit from DVDs or uploaded lesson tutorials. Others need a more personal touch, so webcam guitar lessons may be more helpful for them in case of questions or clarifications.

Most of the best online guitar lessons also have online forums or communities where you can connect with other guitar students. This can be a very helpful way for you to learn from fellow enthusiasts, ask questions, and even develop friendships. Self-paced guitar study can be lonely and monotonous especially if you are a very sociable person, so having connections with people sharing your love for the guitar is priceless.

Why Writing Matters to Students

On November 15, 2011 · Comments Off

You’re at college or university, right? Or, you’re about to head-off to one? Well, there are many different things that you’re going to be doing while you’re there – it’s going to be a long time of studying to help you gain your much needed degree and get yourself setup for your future career. But, what a lot of newer students don’t realise is that you really do need to know how to write and that it’s important when you’re in the academic community.

Your degree classification – when you finished your course – is going to reflect how much hard work you have put into your course over the years of study you have been there. However, the level of your written content, and indeed the extent that your content reflects on the topic your professor requires it to, will have a unique affect on your final grade. And, this is the reason why an essay editing service can help you to improve your written papers and formulate your arguments.

The key reason why so many students receive a lower grade than they wanted is simply because their marker isn’t able to understand the different aspect of their paper, how they are drawing on different arguments in the research, and how their paper really matters in the overall scheme of things. This means it’s important to excel above your peers when completing your academic essays at university – it’s just not something you can look over lightly.

Not All CPR Training Is Equal

On November 10, 2011 · Comments Off

When it comes to CPR training, you really need to be careful who you decide to pay to teach you these basic life saving skills.  There are many courses available.  Some are great but others will be a waste of time and money.  Avoid the internet based classes that promise to teach you cardiac resuscitation in your lunch break. Yes you can learn these skills quickly and you can also print off a certificate from these courses but how valuable is it?  Nobody in any position of authority will pay attention to a certificate that you have manufactured for yourself.   As you can now access the AHA training online you should seriously reconsider sitting any other course unless offered by the Red Cross.

 Employers like Red Cross Training

Opt for Red Cross CPR Certification if you need to prove to your employer that you have the skills necessary to save someone.  Not all employers will want you to sit your CPR exam but some will. It is always best to double check though that they don’t have a preference for another quality organization.  Some do prefer the AHA training so it is best to be sure before you start studying on the wrong path.   Often your boss will meet either the full cost of your training or pay a proportion of your expenses so it is worth asking. You are helping him or her to stay on the right side of OSHA which might be worth mentioning when you pose the question.

 

How to Finish a Human Resources Degree with an Online Education Program

On November 7, 2011 · Comments Off

Online education is not for everybody. A person who is enrolled in an online education program may face special challenges because it is something new. One need not rush to class. No money is set aside for travel or meals in school. No effort is exerted to look presentable. No teacher to face each class day. No classmates to interact with. There is no campus. Only a computer and internet connection is required. The experience is something new.

One can be successful in distance education. It is just a matter of setting goals. At the start of the program, one can look through the curriculum in order to schedule time for learning. Especially for those who are working full time, it can be a challenge to find time to study. But if one has already set his/her goal to finish the program then it just takes proper time management to be successful. Establishing a learning schedule and as much as possible sticking to it can set the pace for learning. There must be no rush to finish the course but it doesn’t need to take forever to finish it either. The instructor assigned to the online course is available for consultation. Learning to ask questions is part of learning. The more one asks questions, the more one learns. Celebrating achievements in online learning is rewarding oneself. It proves that one’s decision to study online is the right choice. Talking about the online education program to other people will also affirm one’s desire to finish the course.

Human resources degree can also be earned online. There are colleges and universities which offer the course through the internet. Just like the other online programs, it takes patience and determination to finish the course. Online learning is more challenging than classroom learning. Only a few determined individuals can earn a human resources degree online. Only those who dare to stay in the program until the very end can claim the rewards set out for them.

Something I Noticed On A Previous Educational Tour

On November 5, 2011 · Comments Off

While I was on an educational tour earlier this year, of one of the big universities in my state, I noticed on specific thing that made a big impact on me:  that the school utilized natural materials to create a more pleasant, and peaceful environment for their students.  By natural, I mean things like real wood furniture and decorative items, hand woven rugs, green energy, and a wide variety of other green building materials.  While I know that residential home owners are trying to utilize green energy and conserve the environment, I never realized that larger schools were also doing the same thing.  

The director actually spoke with me and told me that it is the school’s way of making sure that students are learning in an environment that breeds inner peace, and tranquility so that the students are able to focus 100% of their energy on their studies, and put the outside world behind them while they are in class.  I would have never thought that so much time and effort went into making sure that the students were comfortable while they were studying.  I simply looked at the bamboo blinds over the window and assumed that whoever did the design loved a natural look, and feel, and wanted to implement it into their daily lives at the school.

Teaching Reading Strategies with Differentiated Instruction

On November 5, 2011 · Comments Off

If you have been teaching for more than a few years, there is a lesson that you have probably learned.  Things change in education.  The classroom of today does not look very much like the classrooms that your parents experienced.  The days of “redbirds” and “bluebirds” are gone.  Differentiated instruction is one of the most popular approaches in education today, and this means that teachers today must be ready to deal with classrooms filled with students operating at every ability level.

This can certainly be challenging if you are not experienced in differentiating instruction.  At first, it can seem as though you are expected to teach 20 different lessons for every subject.  There is no doubt that this would quickly lead to teachers burning out in record numbers.  Instead, teachers can apply a variety of strategies to reach the many levels of learners.

Teachers in self contained classrooms have to be able to not only differentiate, they must be able to do it across a variety of subjects.  A major focus during the elementary years is reading.  Students must be able to read in every subject when they reach the higher grades, so it becomes an obvious priority.  Teaching reading strategies to elementary students can be made easier by using methods like guided reading or scaffolding.  Both of these approaches allow teachers to work with small groups of students operating at similar levels without specifically singling them out from the others.  If you are just starting out with a differentiated approach, either of these techniques would be a good place to begin familiarizing yourself with new instructional strategies.

Growing Vegetables

On October 5, 2011 · Comments Off

If you haven’t considered it before you might want to think about growing vegetables at home. This is something you can do to encourage your children to learn where their food comes from, and if they grow their own vegetables they are far more likely to be willing to eat them at the end of the growing period. I went to a school where Rural Environmental Studies was on the curriculum, and this subject is essentially a combination of horticulture and agriculture. I took this subject and I loved it, we even had our own vegetable allotments at school and it was great fun to harvest all our vegetables at the end of the season and take them home with us. You don’t have to stop at growing vegetables though, you can get your kids excited about growing from a young age by growing them a living den or playhouse in the garden.

Growing vegetables at home totally environmentally friendly and reduces the carbon emissions created by vegetables traveling thousands or miles from other countries to reach our shops and supermarkets. We also have to consider that we at home can choose to grow varieties of vegetables that the supemarkets don’t stock or the farmers don’t grow because although these varieties have more flavour, they are not as prolific at cropping as the commercially grown varieties. Vegetables grown at home are usually free of any pesticides or sprays, and you can compost your own vegetable peelings and waste foliage in a compost bin and use them again next year.

I feel very strongly that we need to find way to educate our children into showing an interest in growing plants and vegetables if our planet is to have a chance in the future. As we become more and more overpopulated as a planet the supplies of food are going to become more and more scarce. If we are not to go hungry we will no doubt need to convert our flower gardens and flower beds into vegetable gardens and vegetable allotments. This is what people had to do during World War II, and this is what prevented many from starving. If we are to get our children interested in growing we need to find fun classroom activities to interest children / kids in growing plants, and we need to capture their imagination whilst they are young and open to new ideas. Ask your schools to get the children involved in growing plants and vegetables, this is the way to go forward.

Is Your Online College Accredited?

On September 30, 2011 · Comments Off

If you’re planning on getting your degree through an online college, you first need to make sure the college is accredited. You’re going to invest a substantial amount of time, money, and work into your education, and you don’t want to waste such valuable resources on an online college that isn’t accredited. Unfortunately, there are some unscrupulous online colleges that more or less “sell” college degrees. Getting such a degree might be tempting, but you’ll definitely regret doing so when you’re listing your education on a resume. Also, the chances that such an online college will actually prepare you in a substantive way for a career are virtually zero.

Okay, so all you have to do is make sure the government’s Department of Education has accredited the online college of your choice, right? Not so fast there. Schools are accredited by independent organizations and agencies, and just like colleges and schools themselves, some of these organizations have better reputations than others. It might not mean anything that your online college has been accredited by the Velvet Jones School of Technology Accreditation Service. Before you can check out your online college, you first need to check out the agency that has provided it with accreditation.

There are several accreditation services that are good enough to be recognized by the Department of Education. The Department trusts these services’ judgment when it comes to the quality of schools, and that includes online colleges. To see a list of schools these trusted agencies have approved, you can check out the Department’s list. If your online college isn’t on the list, you might want to find one that is.

 

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