Archive for the ‘Reference-and-Education’ Category


Why Your Child Needs a Classical Education

Those who think that educational methods created thousands of years ago can be abandoned within one generation obviously disregard that time is the best testing ground, especially when trying to determine human behavior. It has only taken 50 years for lawmakers and educators to disband an educational system that took over 2,000 years to purify and institute. This was first developed in ancient Greece and Rome. By the 16th century, it was used through the Western world.

This educational system produced some of the finest thinkers and leaders between the 10th and 19th centuries. Most of the Founding Fathers of America were educated with this system. Can you think of any other time period where there was more progress in science, philosophy, art, and literature? For real meaning in learning to occur, more than just fact needs to be taught. True education occurs when a learner is able to develop thinking and articulate their ideas through clear argument and persuasion.

Classical education is one of the greatest means to develop children’s minds. It is no wonder that classical education schools are popping up all over the nation. It offers many things are becoming lost in other forms of education, such as rigorous academic standards, order and discipline, and the arts.

The greatest task in education is to teach students how to truly learn. The influence of ‘progressive’ teaching and performance-based learning methods make it difficult for children to acquire the mental control that they would receive in traditional methods. It helps children develop independent learning skills on the foundation of language, logic, and concrete facts. It is clear what a classical education can do for a student when he/she is able to apply his/her knowledge through logic, reason, and clear expression.

Classical education goes beyond the facts that need to be learned. This teaching method helps children develop the skills that essential in higher education and in daily life. Some of these skills include independent learning, critical thinking, logical analysis, and a love for learning. In an ever-changing world, these skills will never grow out of style.

Discover the power of a Classical Education and join the Raise a Leader Revolution. You can finally afford to take control of your child’s future and launch your child into greatness. Join us in saving our nation one true leader at a time.


Icebreaker Bingo

We all know the classic game of bingo right? Icebreaker bingo is a variation of the game intended to help introduce people to each other. Teachers can use the gave to facilitate introductions between students during their first class, and it can also be played at workshops, seminars or even parties.

There actually a couple of different variants of icebreaker bingo:

1. In one version of the game, the teacher (or organizer of the event) prepares a set of bingo cards printed with the names of the students. At the start of the class, each student is given one of these cards. The teacher then goes round the class asking students to stand-up one at a time, and introduce themselves including saying something about themselves (such as their favorite hobby or what they did in the Summer) and finishing with ‘I am pleased to meet you all, my name is…’. As in the normal game, each player’s objective is to get a line of five items ticked off their card (whether horizontal, vertical or diagonal), however in the icebreaker game, to win the player must not only be first to call ‘Bingo’, but must also be able to identify the people whose names are marked off in the winning line.

2. In another version of the icebreaker bingo, the bingo cards are instead printed with descriptions such as ’speaks more than one language’ or ‘has more than two siblings’. The players then circulate among themselves trying to find people who match these descriptions. When they find a match, instead of crossing off a square, they write in the person’s name - but different names must be used in each square. The first player to get a line of five items (again horizontal, vertical or diagonal are all equally acceptable), and call ‘Bingo’ is the winner.

By S. Tanna. To create your own custom bingo cards, go to http://www.bingocardprinter.com/


What the Education of George Washington Can Teach Us

Compared to other leaders of his day, the education of George Washington was limited. Unlike his two older half-brothers, he did not go away to England for his education.

He didn\’t even go to college or study an additional language. George Washington\’s education came to an end when he was about 16 years old.

It is not for certain who taught Washington or where he attended school. The only thing that remains from the education of George Washington is his school papers. Through the papers, it can be determined that he has useful education that would help him later on in life.

In his own words, Washington describes his education as “defective.” Even though the education of George Washington continued throughout his life, he was very self-conscious of the fact that his formal schooling ended when he was in his early teens.

Some of his favorite methods of learning included books, studying the people he respected, and learning from others. In addition, he learned from his own experiences.

From his school papers we can make some hypotheses about the education of George Washington:

1. His first school papers were dated 1741. If he was born in 1732, he was about 8 or 9 and could effectively read, write, and do math.

2. One of Washington\’s papers was a survey of his half-brother\’s turnip field. He obviously learned surveying in school. How would this skill help him later in life?

3. One of his papers showed that he studied geography, could calculate interest on money transactions, and could copy many legal forms that were used in Virginia at that time.

4. Even though Washington didn\’t go to England for schooling, he spent time learning manners. In one of his papers, he copied 110 rules people should follow for good behavior and good manners.

These rules were called the “Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation.” These rules obviously helped him communicate well with people and leaders around him.

Even though the education of George Washington was cut by a couple of years, it is obvious that he received a good education. What he learned helped him become a leader for this nation.

Discover the power of a Christian Classical Education and join the Raise a Leader Revolution. You can finally afford to take control of your child\’s future and launch your child into greatness. Join us in saving our nation one true leader at a time.


Scholarships - 5 Thinks to Consider

Preparing yourself for college and grad school can be an ongoing process, seemingly without end. There are the original applications to different schools. Essays need to be written. Letters of recommendations need to be collected. The FAFSA application needs to be completed. And scholarships need to be considered. Here are some important concepts to consider when applying for higher education:

1. Only apply for scholarships for which you are eligible. In looking over the thousands of scholarships available, there may be a tendency to apply for scholarships for which you are not eligible. Resist the temptation. Not only will your application be discarded immediately if you do not meet the requirements, but you will have wasted your time in the process.

2. Complete the entire application. The college application process is long and drawn out. It continues for months. The idea of filling out yet one more application or writing one more essay probably is not at the top of your list. However, in recent years, obtaining scholarships has grown increasingly competitive. Some scholarships organizations will discard any applications that are missing information.

3. Watch the deadlines. Often times, these applications require letters of recommendations, too. Keep your deadlines in mind in order to request the letters with ample lead time.

4. Spend time on your essay. Make sure your essay is powerfully written and deals with the given topic in a way that is dynamic, creative, and fresh. Writing and re-writing your essay will surely put you at an advantage.

5. Keep the vigilance. Applying for one grant or scholarship can take a lot of work. But be vigilant about the process. Often times, you will need to apply to different funding sources. Doing so will increase your chances of being awarded money for your education.

J. Richard Shanley has spent time negotiating the scholarship game and eagerly wants to share his information with you. Head on over to the free site GradGrants.com and sign-up for his weekly ezine that is filled with the most up-to-date information for finding–and getting–scholarship money.


The Why\’s of Learning Spanish Language - A Journey Untold

They say books can bring you to a place you\’ve never been, a Neverland within your own imagination. I beg to disagree for there\’s more to books that uplift your spirit to a more fascinating journey- learning another language.

Language development is an important consideration in learning process. Why? The reason is that while you\’re on the verge of learning another language, the need to understand the culture of the language owners is a must. Understand that language is culture-based trend and culture is as old as the civilizations of the world.

These days, linguists determine that there are more or less 5,000 languages spoken but only around 200 major languages are categorized. English has been categorized as the leading and widely spoken language, Spanish on the other hand ranked two on the most and widely spoken language to date. Interestingly, Spanish as a language offers more to learning just the spoken word. Learning how to speak and write Spanish is a journey in itself because of the following reasons:

1. More than 50% of the US population speaks Spanish and that means greater opportunity for you to reach out to others.

2. Spanish language is actually a mediator for various foreign languages. Taking into consideration the vocabularies of English and European languages have deep roots in the Spanish language. Also, the Spanish language has simple root words but the usage and conjugation of words vary a lot when used in sentences. Knowing how to speak Spanish allows you to learn more complex languages as European, Japanese even German.

3. Learning Spanish language allows you to understand the rich cultures of the Spanish speaking people. The learning process can spark interests in you in a way that you\’re learning a great culture of religiously-bound culture, origins of a complex but unmatched tradition and of world voyagers and conquerors during the 16th centuries. Why, consider how Spain ruled Asian country Philippines alone-more than 300 years!

These three reasons are just one of the hundred reasons why learning Spanish is useful. The best part of learning how to speak Spanish is that you get to learn more about the culture and as you progress in learning the language, your journey to a high cultural and traditional regarded language offers endless opportunities. All you need to do is start learning today and earn your rewards tomorrow. But first, you have to gauge yourself and prepare yourself on the challenges you\’ll encounter while studying the language by asking yourself “am I ready to face the challenge?” Your affirmation will lead you to a kind of journey you\’ve never been to. So start exploring now!

Mina Togonon is a Journalism graduate and loves to write anything that captures her attention. Contact the author directly for further information.


What is Memory Retention?

There are many ways of classifying the human mind and its ability to retain information. One of the most often used classifications are based on the duration of memory retention, specifically the sensory, short term and long term memory. Short term memory refers to the recent memory, and is usually only held for a very short period of time. A common example would be when you meet many new people, cursorily introduced at a party. Long term memory, on the other hand, can be thought of as a database where all the information that you have learned is kept. Sensory memory is conveyed through your senses of sight and sound, where you keep these “images” in your mind.

Sleep

Having sufficient sleep is a necessity to improving your memory. Studies have shown that the sensory memory is able to be more firmly embedded in the long term memory when there is adequate sleep. Research has also shown that facts and other information are also able to be retained and recalled with greater ease when paired with sleep. This has been attributed to the fact that sleep strengthens the memories and causes them to be less vulnerable to environmental interference.

Emotions

Emotions also play a big part in memory retention. The emotional impact that an image, word or event has on the individual has a huge impact on it being stored in the long term memory. This is as the amygdale, the portion of the mind that is related to emotion, is an important factor in adapting memories according to importance, based on the intensity of the emotions. This is regardless of the nature of the emotion.

Memory Retention Tools

The human mind is a complex element of our cognitive abilities, and memories can be either verbal or non-verbal. There are many techniques for retaining information. These include organization of information through meaning, where associations between new information is received and linked with information already stored in the long term memory. Other forms of such memory retention techniques include visual organization, by linking information to visual images, and organizing through similarities, where similar concepts or objects are grouped together based on certain characteristics.

Mnemonic devices are another often employed tool in memory retention. The use of acronyms is common, especially in branding, where a sequence of words is easily recalled based on the first letter of each word in the list being used to form a single, new word. Acrostics are commonly used as well, when the list of words is required to be learnt in a specific order. Rhymes or songs that are catchy are usedBusiness Management Articles, putting new words into a familiar jingle in order to better capture and retain information

Greg Frost is a leading innovator in the memory field, and he specializes in helping people improve and develop their photographic memory. To find out more on how to deal with memory loss, learn advanced memory techniques, and have all your questions regarding memory answered, visit this site: http://www.photographic-memory.org


Are Homeschool Textbooks Really the Best Option?

While homeschool textbooks may appear to be the best way to go, they are usually the most expensive and least flexible routes.

If you have homeschooled your children before, you know that you have immense resources available at your local library.

Not only can you have access to free books, you can usually also use the library\’s videos, CD\’s, audiotapes, and sometimes even software to help supplement your homeschooling experience.

If you are looking for other free education materials, there are great resources out there that go beyond the “boring” homeschool textbooks.

It is not that difficult to build a year\’s worth of social study\’s curriculum around quality television programs, such as: The History Channel, Discovery Channel, and A&E Network.

Some of the shows may not be appropriate to show youngsters, but many of them are quality educational material, especially shows that are part of the A&E Classroom, A&E Biography, and Assignment.

You can simply check the websites for these networks and/or series, and surprisingly, they offer free teacher guides and schedules for upcoming shows.

When you incorporate these shows into the historical literature you are reading, it is easy to create a quality education with no expense.

Plus, children find that this type of learning is exciting and interesting, compared to homeschool textbooks that can be dry.

The Internet is also another resource where you can find free educational materials or sites. It is important that you use discretion and make sure that these sites are indeed child-friendly.

You can even run Google searches together with your child on various topics of study, such as science, math, history, and literature.

You can often find sites that have interactive problem-solving games to help develop specific math concepts.

Instead of just using math homeschool textbooks, I decided to complement my son\’s math education with some of these games. That way, we didn\’t have to use a textbook everyday. Using the computer is usually fun for children and can be considered a reward for working hard earlier in the week.

In addition to resources at the library, on TV, or on the web, you can also find free samples of worksheets, workbook pages, and puzzles from educational sites before you decide to make any purchases.

You can visit these educational sites and download free material. You will want to try them out before you give them to your child, or before you purchase an entire workbook.

Before you make any kind of investment in homeschool textbooks, you want to make sure the participating company has some kind of guarantee.

If you are like most homeschooling families, you are living off of one income and have a few children that have different learning styles. That is why I like to try to find as much quality material I can for the least amount of money.

Unleash the power of a Leadership Education and join the Raise a Leader Revolution. Your child can be a True Leader and finally you don\’t have to worry about affording the best education for your child.


Why Online Home-Schooling Can Open Up a Whole New World

Before becoming comfortable with the Internet, I always thought that homeschooling needed to involve textbooks or workbooks. This past summer I started looking around online to see what kind of resources were out there. I was surprised at the multitude of resources that are available.

Most of the resources that I found were free or really cheap. I realized that homeschooling doesn\’t have to be expensive at all. Not only did I realize that homeschooling could be affordable, but also fun.

Here are some reasons for researching for online homeschool supplements:

  • You don\’t need to buy any plane tickets to become a world traveler. You can find ways to tour foreign countries, museums, and parks around the world. These types of activities could be great for learning about other cultures or geography.

  • You can find images of animal and plant species that you would never really be able to see in person. You can find video tours of historical places, demonstrations of science experiments, and interesting phenomena that you wouldn\’t even think existed. These types of online homeschool helps would be great for enhancing a history or science lesson.

  • Interactive quizzes and courses online can also be a great resource for online homeschool ideas. You can find just about any kind of game for learning language, understanding math concepts, playing an instrument, and even using maps. I like using these kinds of games for Fridays as a reward after a week of hard work.

  • If you are looking for an additional online program for teaching values and other important Christian Classical education lessons, take a look at programs such as Raise a Leader.

One of the greatest things about using online homeschool resources is the fact that you can save money. When you purchase curriculum or textbooks from publishing companies, you end up spending a lot of money. Not only are the resources online usually free, or of low cost, they are also fun and rewarding.

The Internet doesn\’t have to be complicated. Even taking time to explore with your child the many possibilities that there are online will aid you in finding the resources that are out there.

Unleash the power of online homeschool and join the Raise a Leader Revolution. Your child can be a True Leader and finally you don\’t have to worry about affording the best education for your child.


How the Watch Has Changed Through The Years

Time has been a popular concept sense civilization began. Sailors were using the sun and moon to tell the passage of time. On land the sundial was a way of keeping tract. It was a primitive means to marking time but in those days it worked.

Man has never been content to just let things be, so he started thinking about ways to improve on the idea of keeping time. Early In the 1700\’s research was being done on how to create a timepiece that one could carry around. Up until then means of telling time had consisted of large stationary time pieces. Through the 1700\’s watches began to be turned out by far thinking individuals but they had to be made by hand and it was a slow process.

By the 1800\’s man was looking for a yet better way. Eli Terry developed a wonderful machine that could produce clock parts that were all alike. Parts could now be mass produced and even better all the parts could be interchanged from one clock or watch to any other.
Research was being done also on materials to use in the making of the clock or watch. It was truly becoming an interesting idea.

Over the years watches made the transition from pocket to wrist. Pocket watches were clumsy to carry but a hundred years ago that was the choice of men. The pocket watch was the only way for men to keep track to time in their daily business ventures. The watch became a symbol of wealth as well. The better off you were the fancier the watch and the watch fob.
Women were wearing small watches attached to their clothing as broaches or wrist-lets which were considered by most as fads in jewelry. These were not really designed to serve a real purpose. Women, however, were finding that the ability to tell the time was becoming very helpful in planning their days. They wanted better watches too, something more practical and easier to care for.

With the passing of time men began to experiment with easier methods of carrying a watch. They were encased in leather pouches attached to the belt for ease of use and some men had figured out how to attach belt straps to these watches so they could be worn on the wrist. They were crude but it was a beginning of what we now know as a wristwatch.

The small ladies watches were being produced with chain link bracelets. The problem was they were fragile and not very accurate because of their size. In 1906 the expandable and flexible bracelet watch was introduced and the watch began to change. The bracelet watch was convenient but it was still fragile. People wanted the convenience of the wristwatch but they wanted durability as well. Many improvements were made, new ideas tried and finally they began to make progress with a durable, dependable, and nice looking watch.

Over the years discoveries led to replacement of the ceramic watch face with harder materials. Work was done to make the movements stronger and smaller. Technology was working on making watches more able to withstand moisture and shocks of being hit or banged. Quartz, battery powered and atomic clocks were invented. LCD and LED displays made the scene. The invention of smaller works, waterproofing and shock resistance has put the watch on the wrist of just about everyone. Today the watch is a part of everyone\’s life. We have watches that not only tell you the time but keep track of mileage, times around the world, and much more. We now have solar powered watches. Touch screen watches have also arrived at the market place.
Watches are beautiful jewelry and accurate time keepers. We depend on the watch to keep us on time and oversee our day. Watches have become an important part of everyday life for all of us.

I can but wonder “What will they come up with next?”

Little Green Acre Enterprises.com


ESL Bingo

Variants of the game of bingo, usually played with bingo cards containing words or phrases instead of numbers, are increasingly popular in educational environments. Many people think of the game as being mainly for K-12 education, for example using sight words (common words that students must learn to immediately recognize in order to read fluently), or math bingo, in which students must write in answers to math problems rather than simply tick off squares. While it is true that bingo is great for K-12, it turns out that the game also works very well in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes too.

One thing that many ESL teachers find is that it can take ESL students some time to learn how to play. The reason is of course that unlike native speakers, ESL students are learning the rules and game mechanics in a foreign language. In fact, it may well turn out that the process of learning how to play offers as much benefit as the actual game itself.

Teachers can make the most of bingo in their classes by preparing before class (by which I mean selecting a vocabulary list, and printing bingo cards using those words). Additionally, it\’s usually helpful to review the vocabulary list, particularly any difficult words, with the class before starting the game proper.

The first one or two times that you play, you will probably find the game takes a long time, because students are still learning the rules - you may even want to have students play in small teams, or allow them to help each other. After playing a couple of times, the pace will pick up, and you\’ll be able to fit a game of bingo into a few minutes. Introducing bingo to ESL lessons can work well, and as well as the direct educational benefits, if played at end of each class, can provide students feeling positive, happy, and eager for the next class.

By S. Tanna. To create your own custom bingo cards, go to http://www.bingocardprinter.com/