The Education Blog

Alcoholics Anonymous is an organization that supports recovering alcoholics. Although Alcoholics Anonymous is a centralized organization with a main office and official website, there are over one hundred thousand sub-groups worldwide in over 150 countries, and each one is fundamentally autonomous. Groups meet in various venues and get together in a wide variety of numbers, from only a few to several hundred individuals. Alcoholics Anonymous started organizing meetings in 1934, when it was founded by Dr Bob Smith and Bill Wilson. Until that point, alcoholics either had to hire an expensive psychiatrist or be admitted into a private mental hospital. Those without much money sought help in rescue missions, churches, public hospitals, or even in prisons. Alcoholics Anonymous was the first North American approach to strictly helping alcoholics. It was also one of the first American organizations to integrate religious principles with medical knowledge into public forums where people discussed their everyday experiences and supported each other mutually. The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous credited their ideas as coming from the Oxford Group (a Christian group promoting a belief in divine guidance), which worked to create a conversion experience that could be used to convert alcoholics from alcohol to sobriety.

Alcoholics Anonymous became famous for its 12-step program, which has become a model for many other treatment and recovery programs. The 12 steps include variations of the following: 1) Admitting that you are powerless over alcohol. 2) Coming to believe that a power greater than yourself alone can help. 3) Deciding to turn your life over to the care of your God. 4) Searching your own moral inventory. 5) Admitting the nature of your wrongs. 6) Allowing the defects of character to be removed. 7) Asking to remove your shortcomings. Listing all those you’ve harmed and becoming willing to make amends. 9) Making direct amends to people. 10) Continued personal inventories. 11) Prayer/meditation and pursuit of knowledge. 12) Experiencing a spiritual awakening and carrying this message to others.

Alcoholics Anonymous was the first in a lot of things, being in itself the first approach of North America to help alcoholics. It was also one of the first American organizations to incorporate religious concepts and ideas into treatment. People shared their experiences with each other and each of them showed support to another. The founders of the organization based their ideas from a Christian group called Oxford Group. Having said that, Alcoholics Anonymous aims to help alcoholics convert alcohol to sobriety.

Today, the groups under this organization is not connected to any political or religious organization. Its goal is mainly to help people stay sober. You get an instant membership to this group by an alcoholic, mixed with the desire to quit the habit. You don’t need to pay any fee. All you need is the right goal - avoiding alcohol one drink at a time, and getting the needed support from people.

Essay questions are becoming increasingly popular for both job interviews and university applications because it gives universities and companies an insight into an individual’s ability to think logically and clearly. If you’re going to be taking an exam like this, keep these several things in mind to help increase your score.

Read Each Question Carefully

If you will be writing on one question or several, you need to first determine the topic and the type of answer required. Read the question carefully. Very often, the test taker will scan the question and start writing, thinking this will save time. That’s the worst approach for an essay-style test. The few minutes it takes to completely understand the question is really an investment in your future score. If possible, circle the key words in the question, so that when you begin to write, you will stay on topic.

Let the Ideas Come To You

When you first sit down and begin to read the question or questions, you might start thinking of responses right away. That’s fine. Take a moment to jot these ideas down the margin of your test booklet. Use short phrases or even single words that will help you remember your initial thoughts. Doing this will help you release creativity and clarity that you might otherwise spend on remembering your original thoughts. Because you have these thoughts written down, you can simply let go of them. Just take a moment to capture every thought that comes into your mind as you read through the questions.

Use the Stress to Your Advantage

Like it or not, your stress level is going to increase during an exam, and this is normal. However, this can also be an advantage to you, since your mind is going to work much faster than normal. If you completely focus on the test in front of you, you’ll do much better. If you do this, you can come up with an amazing amount of information. Stress is your body’s response to being put under pressure, and it can also increase your ability to form logical thoughts and sentences. So accept that the stress is going to be there and use it to your advantage.

Outline

It will take you about two minutes to outline an essay, but it’s going to increase your ability to write during the essay if you take those few minutes to do it. Once you know the question thoroughly and have jotted down a few thoughts about it, sketch an outline you want to follow during your essay. You can turn the subheadings of your outline into the first sentences of your paragraphs. This will save you time and increase logical thought progression.

Don’t Ramble

Taking a moment to outline your essay is going to help keep you from rambling. You can also use the outline thoughts as subheadings or as the first line of each paragraph for your essay. Whether you do it on purpose (to fill white space: bad idea) or as a result of poor organisation, rambling doesn’t make you look good to the examiner. Be clear, concise and succinct in your answers, and this will increase your chances of success.

Watch Your Time

If you’ve got a particular amount of time to finish each question, make sure you move on once your time is up. Don’t put any “finishing touches” on any one question because you’re going to need this time to finish the whole exam. Move onto the next question so that you give each one adequate time. In addition, each question may become progressively harder, and you’ll need to stay within each question’s timeframe with your responses.

Finishing

Even though you might not be satisfied with your finished essay once time’s up, don’t worry. This is a completely normal response and is common with essays, which don’t usually have definitive answers. Those who score your essay will understand that you were under a time limit and they’re not going to be looking for perfection. Instead, they’re going to be looking for how well thought out your ideas are and how well you were able to communicate your key points. If you stay focused during your exam, you’ll finish well.

In its infancy, “project management” was used mainly in the construction industry to characterize the loosely defined practice of reaching the goals of a project as defined by the owners, and doing so on schedule and within the constraints of the budget. At this time information technology was in its early development, and as a result the management innovations it has yielded were not available to the industry.

Computers and networking are some obvious ways in which information technology management has changed how we work. There are many more, however. The complexities of technologies like computer hardware, software, networking, and security are much greater than those of a construction project, and mistakes are both catastrophic and difficult to locate and remedy.

Project management has thus become much more systematic. Modern managers benefit greatly from becoming certified for project management training. Any manager in any department of any company should have some amount of project management skill. An increasing number of managerial positions are now advertised stating that candidates with project management training certification will be preferred over candidates without such certification.

The fields of construction and information technology form just a part of the vast demand. The value of just a single project management training course, in the form of improved margins and satisfied customers, has been seen by training providers, procurement services, security system firms, interior designers, and transfer contractors, among others.

Other companies have expanded their offerings to multiple course project management training programs. The focus of each course will be different and may cover such topics as planning project purchases, writing clear scopes of work, or proper change order process. Project owners and service organizations can realize value from improving in these areas. Superior attention to detail will differentiate a business from its competitors and will help attract repeat business.

Irrespective of the study program offered by the company, effective project management is quintessential for success in a broad and growing part of the workplace. The information technology field has introduced new management techniques, that are widely followed today and those unfamiliar with these techniques, find them not only expensive and long winding at times, but are also not always comfortable with them. A project management training certification, however, equips candidates with skill sets that open up more job opportunities and also enables them to demand a higher salary than those without these skill sets.

A project management training course is now much better defined. Being certified in project management training has become a very lucrative thing to have on the modern manager’s resume. No matter what the company or department may be, every manager should ideally have some sort of project management capability. A rising number of positions are being advertised with preference given to somebody with project management training certification. Other companies have gone further by offering full project management training programs rather than only one course. The courses focus on planning project purchases and teaching proper change order process.

Obtaining a teaching position abroad is not as difficult as it used to be due to the increased demand for teachers. However, this is not always the best solution for everyone. Depending on the teaching program you are with, there will be some challenges you must face.

Before landing my secondary teaching job, I have the opportunity to teach English in Russia. With this particular program, I was not required to have a Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) or English as a Second Language (ESL) certificate. The reason I didn’t need a certificate was because this program I was involved in was a volunteer program.

If you are looking for a more stable or permanent position, you will want to get certified. The demand is huge all around the world for teachers who are ESL certified. You will be able to get a job very quickly pretty much anywhere you want to go.

Depending on where you want to end up, the most common qualifications needed are a bachelors degree and TEFL/ESL certification. Once you have these taken care of, you can pretty much write your own ticket.

Before you hop on that plane there are a few things you will want to consider. First, can you speak or at least understand the language of the country you are going to be teaching in? If not, make sure you study up on it. You will also want to become familiar with the culture.

Your food menu will most likely be very different from what you are used to eating at home. Not to mention, the people will probably act very differently as the customs differ. Do not be surprised if you experience a bit of culture shock as you try to get used to your new surroundings.

Make sure to bring some comfort items from home that will help ease your culture shock a bit.

What is so great about teaching jobs abroad is that you can see the world. You can experience different countries and cultures and get paid at the same time.

If you don’t have your certification yet but are dying to go now, why not go with a volunteer program like the Peace Corps to test the waters? Also, your local college or university may also have a similar program.

Pencil skirts, A-line gowns, V-waists, peek-a-boo blouses. Have you ever wondered why the tides of fashion seem to favor one cut over another? Why is one article of clothing suddenly de rigueur, while another perfectly decent one falls from grace? The secret machinations of taste and style are shackled to trends and kitsch. For the curious there is but one choice: to enter the belly of the fashion beast.

The best way into this brave new world is to get your papers in order. Short of a degree from a prestigious fashion design academy, the aspiring fashionista should pursue a degree in fashion merchandising. This will pave the way to reasonably exciting careers in specialty stores, boutiques, national department stores, discount chains, wholesale apparel dealers and clothing design studios. A graduate will have to endure a hectic lifestyle: constantly on the go, meeting new clients, fabric venders, seamstresses, models, buyers, and more. This will entail long hours, constant travel, and incredible amounts of stress. The sobering reality is that success or failure depends on the quality and attractiveness of any given collection and any given season.

The best fashion merchandising academies include rigorous courses designed to familiarize students with the various types of retailers, direct marketing strategies, and consumer buying trends. It is essential that fashionistas understand the psychology of consumers, as well as the sociology of buying, not to mention the history of fashion as it relates to popular purchasing trends. It’s a reoccurring word for a reason, and a word can make or break all fashion houses and boutiques: trends. Understand the trends, and you can look forward to a long and prosperous career in fashion.

With more than a million retail stores and boutiques in the United States alone, a highly motivated and skilled fashionista has the pick of the litter when it comes to making a decent wage. They enjoy careers as apparel buyers, personal shoppers (for executives and celebrities), specialty managers, manufacturer representatives, fashion directors, and fashion stylists. The key is not to get locked into any one role, but to understand the totality of this fickle industry.

The projected earning power of a degreed fashionista, according to Salary.com, is somewhere in the range of $28,000 and $60,000, depending on location. The U.S. Department of Labor claims retail managers and merchandisers have the potential to earn a medium salary of $72,000. High-end boutiques in New York, London, Paris, and Los Angeles will pay more abundantly, of course, than stores in Middle America, but making the right impression always includes having the right degree. Take the right degree, a nose for trends, and mix in the X factor of determination, and you have all the building blocks for fashion success. It’s a tremendously competitive industry and navigating its murky waters is not for the faint of heart or thinned-skin. Take heed now, before you embark, and make sure you’ve got a degree that can open the right doors.

With more and more people in debt and missing payments on loans or defaulting on loans, lenders are becoming ever more wary about whom they loan money to. This has made credit scores and reports even more important. A poor credit report or score can all but shatter your chances of getting a loan from a prime institution with lower rates.

What your credit report includes is information on any credit account balances you have, dates of all the credit cards you possess, mortgage payments and student loans, and any other form of loan. Other information may be included as well, depending on the scope of your financial history. Your report will also detail who has recently requested a copy of it. This information is gathered and sold to lenders by three major collectors, Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.

As important as these documents are, you need to ensure first and foremost that the information contained on it is correct and up-to-date. If there are errors on your report, they are in all likelihood errors that hurt your score. We’re not lucky enough to have stats show up on our reports saying we have had a line of credit for years with no problems when in fact we didn’t, but there are plenty of times when old defaults or other errors will exist on it. Likewise, when considering data that may be missing, it’s unlikely the data on a card in poor standing will be missing from the report, but a card that’s been in good standing may very well be. So you need to look at both what’s on there, and also at what may be missing.

Your report will not only determine your ability to get future lines of credit, but may also be required of some employers offered bondable positions, jobs which deal with money in some capacity. A history of taking lines of credit and running for the border will not help your chances of landing such a job.

To get a copy of your report, you can head to the websites of any of the three major credit data collectors. Each of these companies is required to supply a free report yearly, as well as additional reports under certain circumstances, such as in the case of identity theft. Any third party sites which claim to offer credit reports should probably be avoided, especially as you’ll need to supply them with your SSN to access them, and this is extremely dangerous information to give to random sites. If you’ve already received your free yearly report, you’ll need to pay a fee in the area of $10 to get a new, updated one.

If you’re expecting to find your credit score on these reports, you won’t find it. Your score is based off the information in these reports, but the actual score will not show up on these documents. The credit score must be purchased separately from each company, and you do not get a free yearly copy of it. This will cost you an additional $6-$8.

With these information in hand, you should be able to at least confirm that everything contained in the report is true like credit cards and other debt, and that you’re not getting short changed. In this tough credit world, you’ll need these assurances to have any hope.

Distance Learning And Education: Going Global In The Near Future

It is heartening to learn that when it concerns distance learning and education there has been a worldwide swell in popularity with many educators finding this form of education to be a vehicle with which to better the many millions of people in different and remote places on the planet. Government agencies and many companies from the private and public sector are investing their time and money in getting involved with distance learning and education.

Rosy Future

The future is indeed rosy when one thinks about what lies in store as far as distance learning and education goes. For those who feel that they would benefit from distance learning, there is good news in that there are many educational programs becoming available that can be completed in this way. In fact there is a real headwind blowing that is sweeping everyone in its wake.

The main factor that is fueling this tremendous growth in distance learning education is of course the many well known universities and even traditional colleges that are revamping their traditional courses and making them available to students who can learn without having to physically attend or enter an institution of education.

Other factors that are promoting distance learning and education include the fact that as many as one hundred and thirty-three million U.S. adults (or, sixty-six percent) are known to have their own Internet access. This is a very strong motivating force that is driving colleges and universities to include distance learning as an integral part of their services. Another interesting fact related to distance learning and education is that it is believed as high as ninety percent of the U.S. collegiate population has access to the Internet and about fifty percent access the web on a daily basis. This fact is not lost on the educational big-wigs who have been quick to recognize the potential that such figures show and thus they are losing no time in also creating more opportunities for distance learning and education.

From past figures, it has also been learned that just in the year 2004, there were an estimated eighty-seven percent of all colleges that offered four-year courses also offering distance learning. This is an estimated sixty-two percent jump in this form of education from just six years previously. In fact, it is believed that a quarter of all colleges and universities have added distance learning education programs between the period of 1998 to 2004.

There are millions of U.S. students who are involved in distance learning and education and this growth has also been noticed on the global level. So some companies have planned to spend an estimated two hundred seventy billion dollars in providing in-house as well as distance learning educational programs.

It is easy to see that the new direction that distance learning and education is taking is also making it easy to obtain a distance learning higher education in a more convenient manner. It is also expected that in the future distance learning will start to include teaching courses in more than just one language. This will then help to truly globalize distance learning and education and change the way that people learn things.

What?s the right age to start piano lessons for children?
I have taught children as young as four to play the piano; a few have been successful whilst most have been pushed by their parents and returned later on when they are closer to six.

I have taught children as young as four to play the piano; a few have been successful whilst most have been pushed by their parents and returned later on when they are closer to six.

I have a lot of experience with a piano lessons course that is specially designed for young children. Although it includes keyboard skills it also uses a lot of singing and all round musical activity. One big problem is the problem of tiny hands that just cannot cope with independent finger movement. Six year olds are just better physically equipped for the keyboard.

It may appear obvious, but there is a marked difference between a five and six year old learning to play piano. It’s not just hand size to reach the piano notes but ability to concentrate too. Basic knowledge in other ways of the world makes a big difference too. For example, knowing the first seven letters of the alphabet.

The type of course offered too makes a big difference. My course for the very young is taught in a group of six or seven pupils. Parents are encouraged to sit in and help. I can demonstrate and encourage from the front whilst parents can guitde their own child’s hands on the piano keyboard. I can move around the group and check each is coping.

Lessons for the very young need to be fast and flexible. Singing, and perhaps even dancing help to develop children’s musical skills. Even most adults will find it difficult to concentrate for long if the work is intense.

It is not just physical skill that is limited in the very young but piano lessons require more analysis and intake of information than most can cope with. Remember you are asking a child to think in two languages at the same time, use their hands independently and all with expression and feeling. Quite a task for anyone.

It’s therefore pretty amazing that a six year old, who probably can’t read fluently can take this learning on and make a success of playing the piano. But there are lots of children who do and there’s nothing more wonderful than seeing a small child sitting correctly, looking perfectly at ease as they play their pieces.

To summarise, therefore, I would say that, on average, seven would be the ideal time to start to play the piano. The child is old enough and physically big enough to cope with the academic work and the size of the keys on the instrument but a keen, musical six year old from a supportive family would probably be far more successful than a sullen eleven year old who is being pushed into learning by eager parents.

Each child and each teacher is different. Don’t worry too much if the first attempt of getting your child off to a musical start doesn’t seem to work out. They have plenty of time and opportunity ahead of them and if the door is left open they can return to and enjoy the experience of making music when their time is right.

“I need help! My 9 year old daughter has started resisting school. She misses several days every week, complaining of tummy or head aches. When I try to talk to her she screams and cries. She acts as if she’s terrified to go.”

You need to be firm with her. Don’t count on the problem going away if you ignore it. She could end up not ever going back.

At the same time, recognize that her anxiety and distress are genuine. Getting angry at her will not work.

You need to find out what is troubling her. It could be school phobia ( a fear of school), separation anxiety (fear of leaving you or the home) or agoraphobia (fear of crowds and public places). These are all very real disorders.

If it might be the first, check if she is being bullied, teased, embarrassed, or abused at, or on the way to, school. Work closely with the teachers to identify and deal with any problematic situations.

Make a doctor appointment for a complete examination. Explain the whole situation to him so he can look for serious illness.

Once the doctor has done this, believe him! Do not chase after ever more expensive tests. From this point onwards your assumption is that the child is well and so should be in school. Give her firm and confident reassurance that both she and you will be fine when she is there. If she complains again of being unwell you then have two options:

The first is that you insist that she go to school unless there is clear, measurable, evidence that she is sick, for example having a temperature, obvious diarrhea and vomiting, etc. Just “feeling unwell” is not enough to miss school, after all, many adults have to go to work with headaches or other symptoms.

Option two is to believe what she says. If she claims to be too sick to attend school, then she is too sick to be up at home. Make sure she gets into bed. Turn off the lights, close the curtains, don’t let her watch TV and don’t bring her any snacks. Just maintain your daily routine. Make staying home a complete bore. If she isn’t asleep then she could be doing her homework. She definitely shouldn’t have friends visit.

Establish some incentives for her to go to school. Some kind of reward or privilege would be in order.

Be firm and remain calm. Let her know that you expect her to go to school, but don’t argue with her if she resists. The goal her is for her to want to go back to school. Once she goes and finds out that she’s fine, her previous symptoms should disappear.

If these techniques don’t work and you think she may be seriously depressed or anxious, then find professional help by asking your family doctor for a referral.

No matter what level of schooling students are at, all are under pressure to attain high levels of reading comprehension and assignment completion. Because the amount of reading is often very large, reading speed can make the difference between success, mediocrity or failure.

Different people read at different speeds. While some people read rapidly and have good comprehension, other people struggle and may have trouble remembering what they read. Still other people read at erratic speeds and variable comprehension. Most educators feel that a comprehension rate of at least 50% is needed for learning to occur.

If students are having a problem reading as fast as they are required and aren’t doing well in class, they may look into a speed reading course. There are many infomercials that boast that their graduates have unbelievable breakthrough reading speeds. Students may buy computer software, books that deal with reading problems, or CD’s. Many students may enroll in tutoring classes to increase their reading comprehension and speed.

No matter what the form, all speed reading courses use similar techniques to increase reading speed and retention. These methods subconsciously relate to common day to day skills, such as skimming a text to find its keywords and get a basic idea of its contents. The brain then constructs a summary of the content from these key points. Speed reading courses can speed up this ability and teach the student tips to retain a greater quantity of a text’s information.

When we are learning to read, we are also learning to become familiar with larger amounts of information. First, we learn the sounds of letters. Then, we learn actual words and phrases. Speed reading courses teach us to recognize longer and wider series of words which processes the information faster. The term sub vocalization means moving your lips while you are reading silently. There is disagreement on the value of this in speed reading courses.

One popular option to increase the reading speed of a class uses another approach which you might have heard was not a good idea. Using a finger or something else beneath the printed line to lead the readers eye has been found to be very useful in assisting basic reading in dyslexic people and to improve speed and understanding for others.

On average, an untrained adult can reads at around 120 words per minute or two words per second. This can be easily tripled through training with good comprehension. If your reading speed is three times faster, then obviously assignments based on reading will take a third of the time! You would still save a third of your time even if you could read at twice the speed. Locating a highly-rated course for speed reading can be a great boost for students who want to learn to utilize their time better.

Most of us have large amounts of reading to do. Therefore, reading speed can make the difference between success, mediocrity or failure. Of course reading speed varies from person to person naturally. Some have breakthrough reading speed and comprehension while others do not. When class reading speed is holding a student back from reaching their potential. A speed reading course may be your answer. It teaches you to recognize longer and wider series of words which processes the information faster. The methods of this class are skimming or sweeping a text to get just the keywords and the gist of the contents.