About educations

member

2009-12-06T22:41:00.000-08:00

educ Dept

2009-12-05T14:12:00.000-08:00

back to school

2009-12-01T19:34:00.001-08:00

Tips for getting your school-year off to a relaxed and productive start.

Gearing up for back-to-school can be a bit overwhelming; there is a lot to do, a lot of transitions to navigate, and often a sense of blues as the realization that summer has, once again, gone by too fast. However, you can easily turn back-to-school anxieties into positive anticipation for a great school year with the following action plan. Plug these steps into your calendar right now and see what a different they can make!

One Week before School: Week of Preparation

Day 1 (seven days before school): Ease into a "school" bed-time schedule. Slowly transitioning into a "school" sleep schedule ensures proper rest and encourages a positive attitude towards going back to school.

Day 3: Create a place for everything, so everything will be in its place. Designate one basket for each child to store his shoes, bookbags, and jackets. Give each child a container filled with standard homework supplies that can be transported from, for example, the kitchen to the computer room. Finally, establish a place for each child to store extra papers from school -a section of your file cabinet or a designated box under his bed.

Day 4: Purchase supplies. Keep the supplies minimal and simple. Fancy folders and notebooks are bulky and hard for students to use. The best system to use is a one-inch binder with a plastic folder for each class, keeping all folders in one place.

Day 6: Set goals with your children. Help your children look forward to the new school year by having each person (including you) share at least two goals for the new school year: one academic goal and one "fun" goal.

First Week of School: Week of Routines

Day 7 (night before school): Have a "Sunday Night Meeting" every week! Each member of the family should grab their planners/calendars for a 10-15 minute "meeting." Ask your children what they have scheduled for the week (such as sports practices), share your plans for the week (children like to know what to expect, so tell them if you will have a late night at the office or will have to attend a meeting at school), arrange rides home from after-school activities, etc. Your week will be much less chaotic because everyone will be on the same page!

Day 8: Establish a routine for papers that need your attention. Purchase magnetic clips for each child and post them on the refrigerator. Have your children clip papers here that you need to fill out, sign, etc. (Expect to spend four hours filling out back-to-school papers this week.)

Day 10: Get ready for school at night, before you go to bed. Avoid chaotic mornings and forgotten school supplies by having everyone pack up their homework, bookbags, lunch/lunch money, etc. before they go to bed. They should also set out their clothes, shoes, and jacket at night, too.
Day 11: Is everyone using their school planners? All students need to use a homework planner! Check planners every night until they are part of everyone's routine.

Day 12: Clean out bookbags once a week. Cluttered book-bags are the root cause of lost assignments and must be cleaned out regularly. (The Sunday Night Meeting is another good time to do this.)

Second Week of School: Week of Cooperation

Day 14: Hold your second "Sunday Night Meeting" of the school year.

Day 15: Give each child a choice about something today. The more you can give your children choices, the more cooperation you will get from them, especially when doing homework. Some choices may include giving two options for dinner or two different times to do their homework. When you give choices -and honor their choices- your children feel empowered and will be much more cooperative.

Day 18: Catch your children being good today! Improve cooperation by giving compliments to your children. Keep them specific and succinct (most children are embarrassed by mushy-gushy compliments). For example, "Thank you, Kristen, for coming home and starting your homework right away. I appreciate that." Positive praise works wonders!

Day 21: Give yourself a break! Congratulations, you have survived the first two weeks of school and you are well on your way to a happy, productive school year. Celebrate by scheduling some time for yourself. You deserve it!

(c) 2008 Susan Kruger, All rights reserved. You are free to reprint/republish this article as long as the article and byline are kept intact and all links are made live.

the heart of a teacher

2009-12-01T19:23:00.001-08:00

What is heart? Passion, desire, and drive combined to form an intense intrinsic motivation to act. This is the foremost quality of a good teacher and the first thing I look for in a teacher on my staff.

As I conducted countless professional development sessions, created numerous growth plans, and counseled teachers in coaching sessions, it became apparent that the heart of a teacher is what matters—everything else can be taught. For some reason— maybe the seemingly short workday, frequent vacations, or job stability—professionals flock to the field of education. These newcomers to teaching are from all professions such as accounting, business, engineering, and some are even new graduates from college. Not all of these transitions are willing; some are desperate in light of harsh economic times and they feel, “Since I have a degree, I can teach”.

Unfortunately, the salary of a teacher hardly makes the job worth it. Therefore, in the schools we see apathy, burnout, and despair in teachers who really did not want to be in the classroom in the first place. Yet, we are stuck with them. Despite advanced degrees and certifications, no amount of professional development and coaching could make these teachers better because their heart is not in it, though they keep teaching year after year.

On the other hand, take a new teacher, one who has always wanted to help children and teach, yet has little or no experience and may not even be certified. Who would you rather on campus? Many would choose the veteran who has experience, but at what cost? In this age of society, education is continually changing, evolving, moving steadily towards putting (and keeping) the student first, and campuses need teachers who are willing to do the same, teachers with heart.

This “heart” that good teachers possess moves them to continually put students first. This naturally leads these teachers to attend whatever professional developments, listen to whatever advice, and employ whatever strategies necessary for the benefit of their students. This motivation to adapt and evolve cannot be taught and does not automatically accompany a certificate of certification.

Teachers who possess heart take heed to counsel and advice. They embrace new teaching models, such as co-teaching and technology in the classroom. They self-evaluate, study, research, observe, and adjust, all without prodding from department heads and administration. They are thirsty for information and seek to not only hone their skills, but to share them with others. Students cannot help but benefit from these teachers who are open, resourceful, and ready to learn.

Where do you find teachers like this, ones who possess the heart of a teacher? They are probably already on your campus, waiting for an ignition to their fire by supportive administration and staff or are already taking the lead in producing student achievement and simply making good things happen. Otherwise, they are fresh out of school or working an unfulfilling job in another industry, seeking to get onto your campus as soon as possible. Keep your eye out for teachers like these because only this kind of teacher, a teacher with heart, will ultimately bring about student achievement and success.

imange classroom

2009-12-01T19:18:00.000-08:00

Imagine a classroom busy with children, arriving one by one to attend a day's class or workshop, as in the home school set-up. At the door way, a child lingers and hesitates to come in while she or he hangs on to mom's skirt or dad's shirt. Teacher looks on, approaches the child and encourages the child to come in , hoping that the child will readily agree to enter the room, hoping that not too much time will be spent doing this. There are children already inside the classroom and cannot be left for long. Imagine this scenario happening over and over during the first few weeks of classes. It is at this crucial period when, sometimes, even the teacher may be the cause of a child refusing to go to school for good! This kind of teacher - child struggle is so common in the regular school setting. And yet, year after year, this event becomes an anticipated ritual, a dreaded one by the teacher and child. How creative should a teacher be to avoid this kind of school opening "rigodon?"

To a child who is about to enter an unfamiliar environment, bringing along an item that belongs to a special family member like mom or dad, will feel more secure. That special item provides the link to the familiar upon entering the unfamiliar. It provides the child some degree of comfort and assurance that the familiar is still there. The very wise teacher, therefore, would best let the child hang on to that special item to keep the tears from flowing. And so during the rest of the day, this special item becomes a fixture throughout the child's activities among the rest of the children.

Imagine if all children , on their first few days of classes would have to bring a special item from their home. This is perfectly alright! What a sight to behold to see the children with all kinds of personal items attached to themselves. Won't it make you, the teacher curious enough to ask about such items? If it does make you curious, don't you think each little child would also be just as curious? I have seen such curiosity occur time and again ! And I have seen a child or two attempt to hide their precious items from overly curious classmates! I have not mentioned grabbing yet! But when grabbing occurs, the already settled child once again gets unsettled and cries. Now the teacher has to find ways once again to deal with a new situation in the classroom. It seems like an endless cycle.

Show and Tell ! Children simply love to show off their personal effects and they also love to tell about these! On the very first weeks of classes,engage the children and their families to show and tell about their favorite items. Before the children show up for a class or workshop, notify the family that they would be encouraged to bring a special object, safe and manageable, to show and tell about. Just the prospect of bringing a favorite toy or item would already excite the child about going to school. The thought of having new friends be curious about something owned by the child already adds to the confidence the child should muster to enter the room full of new friends. The attention given by the teacher and classmates to each child and that special object , turn by turn, would significantly contribute to the child's growing self-esteem in that new environment.

Teacher now be very careful about this important event in the new classroom. The goal of show and tell is to help each child settle in with a growing sense of confidence in his classmates, teacher and environment. It is not a show off and tell about event, it is not a competition. A child who brings in mommy's handkerchief should receive significant attention as would the child who brings in a colorful book. Whatever item brought in by each child must be used as a springboard for the child to feel more secure about the environment and thus, be eager to come back the next day, the next day, and so on...

Oh by the way, teacher must also join in and show and tell !

After a day's event of show and tell, each child has not only learned about and appreciate their classmates' uniqueness, but each child has also learned to speak in front of an audience. Each child has also learned to be an attentive audience.But the most significant lesson of all after a show and tell event, is that the child feels valuable, important among his group of friends and teachers.

manage classes

2009-12-01T19:11:00.001-08:00

1. The first thing to remember is that you are the boss.

Self belief is incredibly important in this job. You can’t expect pupils to respond positively to you unless you believe, really believe, that you fully deserve their respect and compliance. The thought that you are the leader in the classroom must be at the forefront of your mind.

If you give any sign at all that you are NOT in FULL CONTROL, children will sense this and exploit your weaknesses. You MUST project strength and the impression that you will not tolerate any disobedience.

All too often a teacher will enter a lesson filled with dread and give out the signal that they are beaten before the lesson even starts. Pupils sense this. If you’ve been having a hard time with a particular group they will come to expect that you will be a walk-over and get into the habit of talking freely with total disregard for your threats.

2. Have definite rules on noise

Once you’ve decided on your rules (preferably with input from the pupils) you need to ensure the pupils are totally clear what those rules are. There must be no ambiguity and therefore no room for argument.

We all know how important consistency is in terms of classroom management but unless you have a clear set of rules to work to in the first place, you can’t consistently apply them.

So, what is your rule on noise?

Mine is simple: If I say there is to be no talking, then there is to be no talking. I will not tolerate being interrupted without taking action. I seldom enforce this rule for longer than a few minutes – just at those key times when I am either explaining something, starting a new task or taking a register etc. - but if I tell a group that I want total silence, then I mean it. And any pupil who ignores this is dealt with straight away.

For example, never let a pupil shout out without reminding them to put up their hand. Never, allow pupils to continue talking at the start of a lesson when you’ve started explaining the objective. Never, let pupils interrupt you without reminding them that it is unacceptable to do so.

If you let them get away with it once, you have effectively trained them to try and get away with it again.

3. Control entry to the classroom

The ideal place to establish control over your pupils is outside the door - before you even let them in the room.You must start the lesson under your terms. And the lesson starts before they enter the room with you having them line up outside the door in an orderly manner.

This is the perfect time to gauge the mood of the group and indeed the individuals in the group. You can easily spot potential problems (unhappy pupils, cases of bullying, arguments etc.) and deal with them rather than letting them go unnoticed and having them escalate into serious disruptions during your lesson.

If the group won’t stand still and quiet don’t let them in the room. They must do EXACTLY as you say before you let them through the door. If they run to a chair bring them back again and make them walk. If you let them get away with anything at this important stage, you will set the tone as being one where they can get away with things. You don’t want that.

4. Have ‘settling work’ ready for them when they enter the room

If you have a group who just won’t settle try presenting them with some of the following ‘settling work’ as soon as they enter the room. But… make sure you add this little twist to ensure the pupils get stuck into it straight away…

On your board have the following written up…

“Complete the work detailed below. You have ten minutes. If you don’t finish it, you will return at break to complete it.”

Obviously you need to adjust individual work targets for less able pupils to make it fair. Once they’ve started you can go round the slow workers very quietly, out of earshot of the others, and tell them where to stop. i.e. give them a work target which requires less writing than the others –

“James, you can stop when you get to the end of this sentence”. (And put a pencil mark where you want them to get up to.)

The great advantage of this strategy is that it gives you a few minutes to get your resources sorted out. I do use this if I want to show a DVD clip and haven’t had time to set the AV equipment up for example.

On each desk you could have a quick topic-related puzzle, a review quiz of last lesson’s work, a cloze exercise or some text copying work. Nothing too difficult – you don’t want to confuse them because they’ll spend ten minutes asking questions instead of settling down. Choose something simple (and preferably light-hearted or fun) that requires no explanation or fuss.

As well as having the instructions written on the board, greet them at the door and say…

“Get started on the simple task on your desk – you have ten minutes to finish it.”

Once they’re in the room you can then add…

“Anyone not finishing this little task will finish it at break – there should be no talking. If you talk you’ll come back at break and do it in silence then.”

If you want them to copy notes from the board (or a book) make sure there isn’t a huge amount of text otherwise you will provoke complaints. You can ‘hide’ extra work by having five or ten lines of text for them to copy and then a note at the end saying “Now answer question 2 on page 46” which could be another five or ten lines of notes.

Comments like…

“It is entirely your choice as to whether or not you get break. If you want break, do the work. If you don’t want break, sit and chat.”

…can be used if they don’t settle straight away.

5. The Right Way To Ask For Silence

You may have been told that an alternative to shouting for silence is to simply wait for rowdy pupils to calm down.

And wait… And wait… And wait…

Teachers have mixed views as to the effectiveness of waiting for silence before continuing with the lesson because in many cases it just doesn’t work.

Some classes will respond positively to this strategy almost straight away but a hard class will test your mettle and try to push you way beyond 5 or 10 minutes.

They’ll enjoy watching your expression turn to desperation and laugh at the fact that your plan isn’t working.

At a time like this you need to bring in sanctions and make them see that their continuous disobedience will not be tolerated.

If you have a strong, commanding voice you can shout for quiet and explain what the sanctions will be if they continue talking. If you can’t be sure that your voice will cut through the noise sufficiently, you can communicate via the board by writing your instructions. Write up your instructions in bold, capital letters. You may need to give them slightly longer time to comply – allowing for the fact that they may not all read your instructions straight away.

This is what to say…

(You may think that these sanctions won’t work with your toughest class but they are phrased in a very specific manner as you’ll soon see. If you rigorously and consistently apply them you will win. Your class will settle. I’ve never known it fail).

“If you wish to continue talking during my lesson I will have to take time off you at break. By the time I‘ve written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence. Anyone who is still talking after that will be kept behind for 5 minutes.”

Phrasing your instructions in this way when you want a class to be quiet is very powerful and almost always guarantees success.

Let’s examine why:

Firstly, you are being very fair and giving the pupils a warning…

“If you wish to continue talking during my lesson I will have to take time off you at break.”

When teachers try to issue a punishment without a warning…

“Right you’ve just lost your break!”

…they are often met with a torrent of abuse…

“No way, that’s not fair – we weren’t doing anything!!!”

I always find that giving pupils a fair warning about an impending sanction takes the sting out of a confrontational situation.

Secondly, you are telling them exactly what they are doing wrong, and exactly how to put it right…

“…you need to be sitting in silence.”

Thirdly, you are giving them a clear time by which you expect full compliance…

“By the time I‘ve written the title on the board you need to be sitting in silence.”

Fourthly, and very importantly, you are telling them exactly what will happen to them if they don’t do as you ask…

“Anyone who is still talking after that will be kept behind for 5 minutes.”

These key features are important if you want pupils to follow your instructions because they leave no room for questions, debates, arguments or confusion. The pupils know exactly what they’re doing wrong, what will happen if they continue and how to correct their behavior so as to evade a sanction.

N.B. I’m fully aware that timetable constraints do not allow teachers to keep pupils back after each and every lesson. For that reason you need to think about the sanctions you will issue. You could for example hit the class hard and tell them that any pupils still talking will receive a letter home but it may be better to start off with a small sanction (such as staying behind after school for 5 minutes) because you can then add to it if and when the behavior continues.

teach manage control

2009-12-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

At our popular Breakthrough Strategies to Teach and Counsel Troubled Youth Workshops (http://www.youthchg.com), we always let the course participants name the problem areas they want to cover during the inservice workshop. We can always count on teachers asking for ideas for classroom management and control. Nearly every teacher has had moments when maintaining control over the class was difficult or impossible. Some teachers tell us that there class has actually gotten out of control. Here's help.

So many students believe that they should be in charge of the classroom and that they know more than the teacher. It can be tough to teach hard-to-manage students who think they should be in charge. Since few schools have a written game plan to formally train their kids to be students, you may see a lot of younger and older youth who do not look, act or sound like students.

Until trained to be students, some youngsters may continue to be unmanageable. Here is a small sampling from our arsenal of strategies to effectively teach kids to be successful students. The strategies offered here will focus on just one of the many skill areas you need to cover: how to interact properly with teachers. Don't forget to cover those other areas too-- how often to talk in class, what to say or not say, how to be on task, how to arrive on time, how to interact with other students and so on. Our books and classes cover all these areas in depth, but here's a peek at some of our best!

** Who Is Qualified to Be in Charge?

For students who believe that they should run the class, have your kids list out all the qualifications that teachers must have. Write their responses on the board and elicit answers like "have a college degree" and "have a license to teach." Next, ask the class to determine who has these qualifications, the teacher or students? This intervention can very effectively squelch your "know-it-all" students' attempts to be the boss of the class.

** Just Say "Yes"

So often, "NO!" is the first word from a student's mouth in response to a teacher's direction. Understandably, that response can become a problem quite quickly. Teach the students that a "trick" to more often get your teacher to do what you want is to say "Yes." Drill the students to use sentences such as "Yes, I will do the math but can you show me how" and "Yes, but I don't really want to do it." Teach students that "Yes" is the magic word to use with teachers to have a better chance to get what they want. Also, discuss what bad things can happen to employees who say "NO" to bosses, and note that school is the place to prepare for employment to avoid "practicing on the job."

** Help Me Faster

When the teacher doesn't immediately respond to a request for help, some students become upset or misbehave, sometimes believing that the teacher hates them-- that's why they don't respond faster. To quickly show students why the teacher doesn't always immediately provide aid every time, have a student assume the role of teacher then have all the other students request help at once. The role-play teacher will quickly understand why the teacher is unable to always provide instant aid. Ask the students to recommend how the teacher should allocate aid. The class will suggest that the teacher respond to the person who requests help first, which should prove to be an easy-to-do answer for the teacher to follow.

** Teachers Are Lousy Mind Readers

To show students that teachers are unable to decipher what that their tantrum or sulking means, teach students that teachers are lousy mind readers. Have students think of numbers, and have the teacher attempt to guess the numbers. Keep score on the board. Assess the score and discuss that teachers can't read minds very well. Discuss when students sometimes expect teachers to read minds, and what students could do that would work much better.

** Top 10 Ways Your Teacher Can't Tell You Need Help

To further teach students that teachers are unable to magically determine when students need help, have the class make a Top 10 List. Title this list "The Top 10 Ways Your Teacher Can't Tell You Need Help." Elicit answers such as "you glare." Post the completed list on the wall and discuss what might work better.

effective education need

2009-12-01T18:56:00.000-08:00

15 million school age children in the US have learning problems that public and private schools can’t solve. There are 72,000 special education students in LAUSD, alone. Every day these students sit unhappily in class, losing hope of ever realizing their dreams. Students are living in pain and shame. They are not learning to be successful students.

Their parents are frustrated in their attempts to find suitable education for their child. They’ve tried working through the public schools. They have hired tutors. Parents are calling for real solutions.

In order to thrive, these students need special educational methods that address their unique profile of strengths and needs. But even more importantly, these children require a new mindset of success.

Educational therapy offers help and hope to children and adults with learning challenges such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and learning disabilities. Educational therapy is an appropriate and highly successful approach to helping students of all ages achieve their maximum potential.

Educational therapists use state of the art educational programs and methods that have been proven to teach students with learning problems the skills they require to be successful. Educational therapy shows students how to overcome their learning problems and lead successful lives.

All throughout the school years, foundations for future success are laid down. Not only are students learning essential skills such as reading, they are also learning to value education. But most importantly, they are learning to believe that they are successful students!

When students experience repeated frustration and failure, they develop self-doubt along with dislike or distrust of educational experiences. These negative views influence how much students can learn, at every level from elementary school through college!

Special needs students experience three major problems with learning:

Teachers and tutors use the same methods for every child. Children are unique and each learns in his or her own way. Teachers and tutors usually do not understand how to modify their approach to address different learning styles.

Teachers and tutors only teach subject matter. Students who experience repeated academic failure lack the underlying foundational skills to be successful students. They often don’t know the best study methods, how to manage their time, or what the real secrets are to academic success.

Teachers and tutors do not address the root cause of continued academic failure—learned helplessness. When students experience failure after failure, they develop a mindset that they are “stupid” and “can’t learn.” They give up on ever being a good student! But, when students believe they can succeed, they begin to try. When they believe they can learn, they begin to study. When they believe they can have impressive futures, they make powerful choices. Students have the right to believe in their innate intelligence and skill!

Educational therapists generally begin their professional careers in special education, child development or counseling. The Association of Educational Therapists is the national professional organization that sets the training standards for educational therapists. There are three levels of membership in the Association of Educational Therapists: Associate Professional (introductory level), Professional (experienced), Board Certified (seasoned).

According to the Association of Educational Therapists: “Regardless of previous background, all Professional members of the Association of Educational Therapists (AET) have met rigorous professional requirements in the academic areas of elementary and/or secondary education, child development, educational assessment, learning theory, learning disabilities, and principles of educational therapy. All members have a B.A. degree and are required to hold a Masters Degree or equivalent in post-BA course work. They have completed at least 1500 supervised direct service hours, and are required to complete 40 clock hours of Continuing Education every two years.

To become a Board Certified Educational Therapist (BCET)®, a member must meet the following additional requirements: Masters Degree (required); one year membership in AET at the Professional level; 1000 hours of professional practice; formal written Case Study evaluated and passed by the AET Certification Board; a written examination that demonstrates professional expertise in educational therapy.”

To locate an educational therapist near you or obtain more information about educational therapy, visit the Association of Educational Therapists website.

map

2009-11-18T03:54:00.001-08:00

* On Google Video, the snippet looks like this:

* On YouTube, the snippet looks like this:

Tips for raising a bilingual child

2009-10-28T17:54:00.000-07:00

We listed the six most important tips for raising a bilingual child:

Tip #1 - Start Early: Did you know that up to 90% of brain development occurs before age three? – Babies and infants are highly receptive to language learning in the first years of life. Also, children who acquire a second language before age six are able to identify and incorporate pronunciation subtleties available only to native speakers. An early start will ultimately build the solid foundation for future language mastery.

Tip # 2 - Be Consistent: Whether playgroups, individualized tutoring
or any other teaching pattern you choose, stick to it. Although children can learn two languages in what seems like chaos, a reasonable amount of consistency will make their job, and yours, simpler.

Tip # 3 - Provide a Rich Environment: This doesn't mean the children need expensive toys or special tools, but they need songs, bedtime stories, and other linguistic stimulation just as monolingual children do - except that bilingual children need it in both their languages.

Tip # 4 – Remember Active Learning: Language learning is a two-way interactive process. While language DVDs and CDs can serve as a positive and entertaining source of support for language learning, human interaction is the best method for fostering both first and second language development.

Tip # 5 – Put your child’s needs first: Children should not be forced into bilingualism if it really does make them unhappy; above all they should not be asked to "show off", which embarrasses children and makes them all too aware of being "different".

Tip # 6- Playing It Down: The more you can make bilingualism seem like a natural and unremarkable part of life, the more likely it is that the children will grow up to enjoy being bilingual, and the more likely it is that you will succeed in keeping both languages active in your home.

Visit our playgroup website for more tips.

Character Education Must Be Squeezed Back Into The School Day

2009-10-28T17:46:00.001-07:00

In a modern era where our young children are learning
their core values from TV, rap music, Britney Spears, video games, and SpongeBob Squarepants … it is becoming more important than ever that elementary schools spend a small portion of their week focused on the development of character education skills. Frankly, I refuse to believe that pop culture can do a better job of educating and training our kids than our parents and teachers. For better or worse, those kiddos sitting in classrooms across this country are the leaders and tax payers of tomorrow … and I would much rather that they didn’t reference “Bakugan the Battle Brawlers” for their core ethics training!

But many elementary schools
don’t have time to spare for character education programs because of the increased pressures and demands of standardized testing. Testing standards and accountability are important aspects of creating healthy public school systems, but schools are struggling to keep up with the new rigorous academic testing standards. As a direct result, character education often gets squeezed from the weekly schedule.

Character Education Programs That Require Little Time Investment

Instead of squeezing character education out of the school week, schools must find creative and innovative ways to squeeze it right back in! Honestly, I’d much rather have our kids build core values from our teachers and public schools than from Nickelodeon’s iCarly! In fact, there are many character education programs readily available that require little time investment by the school staff – and these programs do a very nice job of reaching an entire campus.

Among the simple, time-friendly, and highly effective ways of reaching a campus with high quality character education programming includes Project Wisdom. This program has been around since 1992 and it focuses on brief vignettes that are read daily during morning announcements over the school PA system. The nice thing about this character program is that it only takes a few minutes per day to implement and requires no additional instruction from the classroom teachers.

Another great way of inserting character education programming into your school week is by playing short cartoon radio shows over the school PA system. Utilized one day a week during morning announcements, teachers aren’t asked to bear the burden of preparing additional lessons or having to sacrifice time from their academic schedules. Furthermore, character education programs like Achiever Radio allow for a school wide reach with the investment of only a few total minutes per week. The Achiever Radio program also helps build weak student listening skills…which is a skill that has been horribly lost in this video rich day and age!

If We Don’t Answer The Character Call … Pop Culture Will

Increased standardized testing and academic accountability are necessary steps for improving our nation’s schools and shaping this country into a global leader in education. But, we simply cannot allow these increased measures to come at the expense of developing students with great moral and ethical character. And if we fail to answer the call and make time in the school day to build character … pop culture will gladly continue to shape those students for us.

In Bible versus Quran: Where are they and Where is the Great City?

2009-10-28T17:41:00.000-07:00

The Five Main Differences between the Bible and the Quran (1)

The word of God is the message of the Almighty Creator to mankind.

Man should have a benefit upon reading his Lord's message.

Upon comparing any chapter in Bible versus Quran, one will know clearly that there are big differences between the two books.

The Five Main Differences between the Bible and the Quran are:

1) Where is the Almighty Creator?

2) Where are we?

3) Where is the afterlife?

4) Who are they? And

5) Where are they?

In this article, a comparative study between a random chapter (Genesis 10) in the Bible versus a random chapter in the Quran (103) is done.

The Chapter of Genesis 10 is composed of 32 verses and 524 words.

The Chapter 103 in the Quran is composed of 3 verses and 30 words.

So, the Bible is 17 times more than the Quran words wise.

However, we will read both Chapters to see which one is productive meaning wise.

The Bible says that human beings are the children of Noah and his three sons; and it categorizes the Nations into 1) the sons of sons of Japheth, 2)The Hamites and 3) The Semites. This Biblical classification of mankind was the main source of Racism. This classification of mankind into nations and races is not mentioned in the entire Quran.

According to the Bible, the Semites are the top race among the human being.

Apart from the fact that the Arabs are Semite too, however, the expression "Semites" is not found therein in the entire Quran.

1. Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city). The mighty hunter Nimrod and all of these Biblical places are not mentioned in the entire Quran.

The Bible says nothing about us. The Noble Quran says that man is in loss except those who believe, perform righteous deeds, enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience.

The Bible mentions 69 names which are Shem, Ham, Japheth,

Gomer,Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech,Tiras, Ashkenaz, Riphath,Togarmah,Elishah, Tarshish, Kittim, Dodanim, Cush, Mizraim, Put, Canaan,Seba, Havilah, Sabtah, Raamah, Sabteca, Sheba, Dedan, Nimrod, Ludim, Anamim, Lehabim, Naphtuhim, Pathrusim, Casluhim, Caphtorim, Sidon, Heth, Jebusite, Amorite, Girgashite, Hivite, Arkite, Sinite, Arvadite, Zemarite, Hamathite, Eber,Elam, Asshur, Arpachshad, Lud, Aram. Uz, Hul, Gether, Mash, Shelah,Peleg,Joktan, Almodad, Sheleph, Hazarmaveth, Jerah, Hadoram, Uzal, Diklah, Obal and Abimael.

None of these Biblical names is mentioned in the entire Quran.

The Bible says that: And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou goest toward Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, unto Lasha. The Canaanite and all of these Biblical places and geographical locations are not found in the entire Quran.

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Genesis 10 (American Standard Version)

Genesis 10 is composed of 32 verses and 524 words according to the American Standard Version

1 Now these are the generations of the sons of Noah, namely, of Shem, Ham, and Japheth: and unto them were sons born after the flood.

2 The sons of Japheth: Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras.

3 And the sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah.

4 And the sons of Javan: Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.

5 Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

6 And the sons of Ham: Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan.

7 And the sons of Cush: Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and Sabteca; and the sons of Raamah: Sheba, and Dedan.

8 And Cush begat Nimrod: he began to be a mighty one in the earth.

9 He was a mighty hunter before Jehovah: wherefore it is said, Like Nimrod a mighty hunter before Jehovah.

10 And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.

11 Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-ir, and Calah,

12 and Resen between Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city).

13 And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim,

14 and Pathrusim, and Casluhim (whence went forth the Philistines), and Caphtorim.

15 And Canaan begat Sidon his first-born, and Heth,

16 and the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Girgashite,

17 and the Hivite, and the Arkite, and the Sinite,

18 and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite: and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad.

19 And the border of the Canaanite was from Sidon, as thou goest toward Gerar, unto Gaza; as thou goest toward Sodom and Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, unto Lasha.

20 These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, in their nations.

21 And unto Shem, the father of all the children of Eber, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were children born.

22 The sons of Shem: Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram.

23 And the sons of Aram: Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash.

24 And Arpachshad begat Shelah; and Shelah begat Eber.

25 And unto Eber were born two sons: The name of the one was Peleg. For in his days was the earth divided. And his brother's name was Joktan.

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmaveth, and Jerah,

27 and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah,

28 and Obal, and Abimael, and Sheba,

29 and Ophir, and Havilah, and Jobab: all these were the sons of Joktan.

30 And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest toward Sephar, the mountain of the east.

31 These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after their tongues, in their lands, after their nations.

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their generations, in their nations: and of these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.

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Chapter 103 of the Noble Quran

Chapter 103 is composed of 3 verses and 30 words according to Shakir translation.

Verse 1

QARIB: by the time of the afternoon!

SHAKIR: i swear by the time,

PICKTHAL: by the declining day,

YUSUFALI: by (the token of) time (through the ages),

Verse 2

QARIB: surely, the human is in a (state of) loss,

SHAKIR: most surely man is in loss,

PICKTHAL: lo! man is a state of loss,

YUSUFALI: verily man is in loss,

Verse 3

QARIB: except those who believe and do good works and charge one another with the truth and charge one another with patience.

SHAKIR: except those who believe and do good, and enjoin on each other truth, and enjoin on each other patience

PICKTHAL: save those who believe and do good works, and exhort one another to truth and exhort one another to endurance.

YUSUFALI: except such as have faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join together) in the mutual teaching of truth, and of patience and constancy.

The meanings of the verses (1-3)

By Time! (Herein, Allah swears by the time)

Verily the disbelieving man is in a state of loss and torment because of losing his position in Paradise in the afterlife and he will dwell in the Eternal Fire.

except those who believe and perform righteous deeds, they are not in [a state of] loss, and enjoin one another to [follow] the truth, faith, and enjoin one another to patience, in [maintaining] obedience and in refraining from [acts of] disobedience.

This Chapter emphasizes the importance of the time factor and man's work. It also emphasizes the relationship between the truth and patience. Anyone follows the truth must be patient!

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Back to my question to the smart and interested reader:

Is the Quran quoted from the Bible?

Teaching the Coordinate

2009-10-28T17:38:00.000-07:00

Teaching students about the coordinate grid is one thing. Getting them to remember the order in which coordinate points are plotted is another thing. The key to having the students remember is practice, practice, and then more practice. This is not likely to happen unless you can keep the students engaged. One thing that will help do this is a coordinate grid application. Only afterwards you can try some of the online math games and develop other important abilities.

As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. If that is the case, then a coordinate grid application is worth much more than that. A good coordinate grid application will do much more than just a picture (coordinate grid worksheet, etc.) ever could. It will allow the student to experiment as well as visualize how the coordinate pair is derived. In addition, it will keep the student engaged and hopefully coming back for more.

In searching for a coordinate grid application, look for one that will interactively demonstrate how the coordinate pair is derived. The application should also allow for the student to be quizzed by requiring the student to click on the location specified by a randomly generated coordinate pair or entering the coordinate pair of the random location indicated on the coordinate grid.

You can use the coordinate grid application for teaching, demonstration, and in activity centers/stations. Whatever you use it for, you’ll find that a moving, highly visual teaching tool is much, much more than a static graphic ever could be. Add this one to your arsenal of secret weapons today.

As for online math games, you should know that they can teach your children a lot of valuable lessons whereas mathematics are concerned. Regardless of the specific game that you choose, keep in mind that these online math games are destined to make learning fun, emphasizing the important points at the same time. The child will go through geometry, algebra and arithmetic without any problems, enjoying the time he/she spends playing on the Internet.

Many children grow up hating math and not knowing the most important lessons that should represent the foundation of their learning experience. Don’t wait for your child to start hating math and do something about it today. Introduce him/her to the wonderful world of online math games and explain the coordinate grid application in clear and comprehensive terms.

Memory Techniques Made Easy by E Learning

2009-10-28T17:36:00.000-07:00

While it is true that people continue to learn and acquire new knowledge for as long as their mental faculties are working well, there can be instances when absorbing new information and knowledge is not as simple a task as it would normally be. This is mainly because of some factors that may hinder the absorption process, such as fatigue, stress, mood swings, age, and even injury. The stress of everyday living today has been reported as even greater than that of some years back, attributing to the many illnesses and conditions often attributed to modern day hazards, such as gradual or unexplained memory loss, or even the inability to retain information and memories for long. This condition is particularly evident in members of a company’s work force, specifically those involved in high stress scenarios, those who may have suffered some form of injury, and those who may be considered of advanced age. To continue being an effective and efficient member of the work force, employees should be able to upgrade their skill sets whenever there is a need to do so, or whenever their tasks and assignments require them to do so.

The task of ensuring that employees are able to retain knowledge and skills they learn is left to the training department, which in turn, makes use of e learning, to help in the task of making sure members of the work force are indeed able to continuously function well. E learning makes use of the most innovative teaching and learning techniques melded with tried and tested methods to ensure that the delivery of the new knowledge and skills to the learner is easy and effective, and also easy to retain and recall whenever they need it. E learning modules are structured to deliver the most knowledge in the least amount of time, with learning modules structured to be easier to retain and recall, which is one of the more important facets of the procedure.

E learning uses several techniques to allow learners better memory retention in the learning modules, including:

Information chunks – modules and topics are bunched according to categories, relevance, and other groups, enabling for better retention through association. By grouping in certain lessons, the “memory chain” is further strengthened allowing for a simpler recalling process. A simpler recalling process allows for an almost automatic memory recall, by simply concentrating on a certain group, the needed information is recalled.

Logically structured modules - oftentimes, the difficulty in recalling memory arises from learning modules and lessons being haphazardly prepared and structured, hardly making any logical sense or continuity at all, making recall somewhat more difficult, since a lot of the recalling process makes use of attribution and logical sequencing of thoughts. E learning modules are structured in a highly organized way, with relevant sequences and links to sequential lessons, to allow for better recall and easier retention.

Use of sensory cues – an aspect of thought is that it often involves components that attribute an idea with a sensory stimuli, such as an image, an odor, a sensation, or a sound. By connecting the idea or thought or lesson with a sensory cue, the mind is able to better store the information or lesson, since the sensory cue becomes a “tag” of sorts, allowing the learner to effectively connect the sensory tag with the memory, and then use the “tag” to recall the memory later on.

What Parents Need to Help Children Learn to Read

2009-10-28T17:25:00.001-07:00

Moms and Dads want the very best for their children. They want them to be happy, healthy and well educated. Did you know that education starts in the home? Have you ever really sat down to think about What Parents Need to Help Children Learn to Read?

You may have a myriad of questions going through your head about how you can help your child with reading. Thinking about the educational future of your children is one thing; taking action is another. Why not put pen to paper and write out your concerns as a parent about teaching your children to read.

Ask specific questions that you would like answers to. For instance you may want to know:

• At what age should I start helping my child learn to read?
• Are there products for reading readiness available that will get me started?
• Is there a parental guideline to follow that will assist me when teaching my child to read?

This is just a brief sampling of questions that you may be asking yourself. Each family and each child for that matter is different. Approaches you used with an older sibling may not seem to be working with a younger child.

Adjustments may need to be made to accommodate the needs of each individual learner. We all have our own learning styles so when helping a child learn to read there is not a “one method fits all” manner of assisting in the process.

Take your time to discover which reading tactics seem to work best for each child. Your children will appreciate the individual attention they are receiving and in return you will learn a good deal about your child. The key is finding out What You as a Parent Need to Help Each of Your Children Learn to Read.

Definition of Education

2009-10-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

It's important to understand that the success of an entrepreneur is not measured by how much education he or she has or how many years of experience are under his or her belt. An entrepreneur's success is measured by achievements, not words on a resume.

More and more people are finding they can earn their degree from an accredited online university which offers the same challenge and quality of a traditional classroom in an environment which allows them to fit education into a life that might be too busy for a more conventional method of instruction.

Physical education was officially recognized in the United States in the early 1800’s. Colleges and Universities began to offer physical education programs throughout the 1800’s. Finally, in 1866 California was the first to mandate physical education. Many states followed this mandate within the next 30 years. The importance of training the body as well as the mind became prevalent in the educational system.

Comparing these salaries to the number of days spent teaching (national average of 185 days) indicates that a teacher’s daily rate ranges from $151 to $226. When factoring the actual time instructing students which varies from elementary to high school, suggests that teachers are not under paid for their efforts. (NOTE: These figures do not include fringe benefits.)

On the contrary, a child must be assured that parents are always there to help in case he or she encounters a problem that is too difficult to solve on one’s own. College experience provides that environment where young people can face the realities of life and see if they can deal with their personal problems themselves. I am sure that college education will give me a chance to become an independent and self-sufficient person capable of dealing with everyday life situations.

CPA's or certified public accountants, need to keep up with the latest laws and be up to date with many of the sometimes arcane accounting principles. Teachers and nursing are two other fields that also require continuing education to remain active in the profession.

To be fair let’s examine the flip side of the coin. The same people who I treasure for their insightfulness and dedication to mothers and their families can sometimes be overwhelming with their crusade. Exaggerations are made about obstetricians and the quality of hospital births and bashing sometimes becomes part of the circle of sharing.

Perhaps small schools in rural areas could institute block scheduling in their schools and share the best teachers in each subject, with the teachers spending a semester at one school and then moving to another; this could not only make it possible for schools to afford the best science and math teachers, which are a rare commodity, but to add extras like music, art, and drama, courses that often aren’t considered necessary, but that provide a tremendous motivation for many students to stay in school.

Advanced psychological researches have concluded that children learn at the fastest pace when they are between 0-6 years of age. Based on this notion, the early child educators design their program that helps boost up the child’s natural learning process.

The first high definition video conferencing was inadvertently tried out by NASA who required to conferencing with astronauts in space. The distance required very high definition video conferencing capabilities and NASA achieved this by using high frequencies to link up and down between the space stations and the earth stations.