Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Lessons Learned in Hunter Education
When I was volunteering as a certified hunter education
instructor for the Department of Natural Resources of Wisconsin
published a compiled list of statistics for each season's hunt. Being
one of the top ten states for deer hunter participation, this makes an
interesting and accurate case study. Let's go over the lessons learned
from the compiled numbers and see what we can discover about trends in
field shooting and safety skills of hunters.
First, the good news. Organized events, even those as rudimentary as basic hunter education, are marvelously effective at improving safety skills. In 1907, decades before hunter education was established, there were 97 reported firearm mishaps statewide of which 41 resulted in death. Total deer harvested was about 6,000.
In 2002, over five decades after the first hunter education program was established, the number of incidents was less than half that (47 total) despite a much larger hunting population taking the field: 618,945 licenses sold with 277,959 deer harvested.
According to the National Safety Council there is currently an average of seven firearm-related incidents for every 100,000 hunters in the United States. Wisconsin's 2002 rate works out to 7:92,184; close to the established national average.
This is yet more proof how safe shooting and hunting can be IF participants bother attending even the simplest, organized, skill-building event. Wisconsin's hunter education course is a scant 10 hours with a large number of topics in the curriculum and there is no shooting proficiency test or standard. Twelve-year olds find the coursework simple. Worst of all, no follow-on events are offered or even suggested. Yet, the difference between the most vestigial training and none is astonishing.
Hunter education instructors and administrators deserve a pat on the back. Not too hard, though, as there are still a number of embarrassing problems to iron out.
In other articles and reports I've pointed out that about a third of all hunting "accidents" are self-inflicted and half are perpetrated by a hunting party member (someone the offending hunter knew was there.) That means there is no acceptable excuse for at least 80 percent of the mishaps.
The 2002 statistics prove this yet again. 14 of the 47 incidents (29.78%) were self inflicted and 24 of the incidents (51.06%) involved a hunter shooting a member of his own party. These incidents can be traced to abject incompetence due to unfamiliarity.
Actual hunting experience, without continuing range experience and training, is of little help. Tim Lawhern, Wisconsin's Hunter Education Administrator, has noted in print that hunters with a number of years of hunting experience are often some of the worst offenders, not the new, inexperienced kids.
The numbers bear this observation out. Nearly half of the perpetrators (22 out of 47, 46.8%) were over the age of 35 and had hunted without mishaps for years. How can this be?
A new hunter takes basic hunter education and learns rudimentary skills. The tentative newbie is cautious with the lessons fresh in his mind. Unfortunately, after this one required event most hunters do nothing to further their field shooting and handling skills beyond this kindergarten level. As the years pass with incident-free hunts, and nothing done to relearn and reinforce lessons learned, complacency sets in.
We see this with alarming frequency when adult hunters attend a field day with their kids - at least when we can get them to actually toe the line and shoot in front of the class. I've learned that the "experienced" hunter often has to be watched even closer than the kids at first. The new student's safety procedures are just beginning to approach the Consciously Competent level. He may have to think about it first, but he knows what to do. The hunter who has neglected to reinforce these lessons too often reverts back to the Unconsciously Incompetent level, and doesn't realize how much of the little skill obtained years back at the mandatory hunter education class has been forgotten. The most basic safety protocol violations, improper muzzle control and failing to keep fingers clear of the trigger, have to be watched for and corrected for a few rounds before the hunter begins to remember them again. Without a semi-regular refresher, such as a class, match, or other event, too many hunters learn the hard, painful way and end up as statistics in reports like this.
I'm continually amazed and disappointed at the number of really dumb and preventable gun mishaps. Some typical examples:
- "Victim reholstered pistol after a shot with finger on trigger, shot self in thigh."
- "Victim had safety off and finger on trigger, shot self in foot."
- "Victim sat down against tree and gun discharged."
The numbers confirm the need for skill-refreshing events. Nearly two-thirds of the self-inflicted incidents (9 out of 14, 64.2 percent) involved hunter education graduates shooting themselves, and a exactly three-quarters of the perpetrators who shot their hunting partner (18 out of 24, 75 percent) were graduates as well.
This is NOT a condemnation of the hunter education curriculum or instructors, rather, it is further evidence of the need to provide and promote adequate follow-on activities and sufficient participation by the majority of hunters and gun owners. As noted above, the most basic training experience makes a huge difference. It's the follow-up, getting rank-and-file gun owners and hunters to bother to show up to shoots once in a while, where we drop the ball.
In summary:
- Organized, skill building events work! The huge drop in negligence due to Hunter Education proves it.
- Follow on experience is essential or the lessons will be lost. A mandatory, one time event is not enough.
- Raw number of years spent hunting is a poor indicator of skill. Hunters sometimes wait a year (or more!) between hunts. Refreshing skills in between through organized shooting events is vital.
First, the good news. Organized events, even those as rudimentary as basic hunter education, are marvelously effective at improving safety skills. In 1907, decades before hunter education was established, there were 97 reported firearm mishaps statewide of which 41 resulted in death. Total deer harvested was about 6,000.
In 2002, over five decades after the first hunter education program was established, the number of incidents was less than half that (47 total) despite a much larger hunting population taking the field: 618,945 licenses sold with 277,959 deer harvested.
According to the National Safety Council there is currently an average of seven firearm-related incidents for every 100,000 hunters in the United States. Wisconsin's 2002 rate works out to 7:92,184; close to the established national average.
This is yet more proof how safe shooting and hunting can be IF participants bother attending even the simplest, organized, skill-building event. Wisconsin's hunter education course is a scant 10 hours with a large number of topics in the curriculum and there is no shooting proficiency test or standard. Twelve-year olds find the coursework simple. Worst of all, no follow-on events are offered or even suggested. Yet, the difference between the most vestigial training and none is astonishing.
Hunter education instructors and administrators deserve a pat on the back. Not too hard, though, as there are still a number of embarrassing problems to iron out.
In other articles and reports I've pointed out that about a third of all hunting "accidents" are self-inflicted and half are perpetrated by a hunting party member (someone the offending hunter knew was there.) That means there is no acceptable excuse for at least 80 percent of the mishaps.
The 2002 statistics prove this yet again. 14 of the 47 incidents (29.78%) were self inflicted and 24 of the incidents (51.06%) involved a hunter shooting a member of his own party. These incidents can be traced to abject incompetence due to unfamiliarity.
Actual hunting experience, without continuing range experience and training, is of little help. Tim Lawhern, Wisconsin's Hunter Education Administrator, has noted in print that hunters with a number of years of hunting experience are often some of the worst offenders, not the new, inexperienced kids.
The numbers bear this observation out. Nearly half of the perpetrators (22 out of 47, 46.8%) were over the age of 35 and had hunted without mishaps for years. How can this be?
A new hunter takes basic hunter education and learns rudimentary skills. The tentative newbie is cautious with the lessons fresh in his mind. Unfortunately, after this one required event most hunters do nothing to further their field shooting and handling skills beyond this kindergarten level. As the years pass with incident-free hunts, and nothing done to relearn and reinforce lessons learned, complacency sets in.
We see this with alarming frequency when adult hunters attend a field day with their kids - at least when we can get them to actually toe the line and shoot in front of the class. I've learned that the "experienced" hunter often has to be watched even closer than the kids at first. The new student's safety procedures are just beginning to approach the Consciously Competent level. He may have to think about it first, but he knows what to do. The hunter who has neglected to reinforce these lessons too often reverts back to the Unconsciously Incompetent level, and doesn't realize how much of the little skill obtained years back at the mandatory hunter education class has been forgotten. The most basic safety protocol violations, improper muzzle control and failing to keep fingers clear of the trigger, have to be watched for and corrected for a few rounds before the hunter begins to remember them again. Without a semi-regular refresher, such as a class, match, or other event, too many hunters learn the hard, painful way and end up as statistics in reports like this.
I'm continually amazed and disappointed at the number of really dumb and preventable gun mishaps. Some typical examples:
- "Victim reholstered pistol after a shot with finger on trigger, shot self in thigh."
- "Victim had safety off and finger on trigger, shot self in foot."
- "Victim sat down against tree and gun discharged."
The numbers confirm the need for skill-refreshing events. Nearly two-thirds of the self-inflicted incidents (9 out of 14, 64.2 percent) involved hunter education graduates shooting themselves, and a exactly three-quarters of the perpetrators who shot their hunting partner (18 out of 24, 75 percent) were graduates as well.
This is NOT a condemnation of the hunter education curriculum or instructors, rather, it is further evidence of the need to provide and promote adequate follow-on activities and sufficient participation by the majority of hunters and gun owners. As noted above, the most basic training experience makes a huge difference. It's the follow-up, getting rank-and-file gun owners and hunters to bother to show up to shoots once in a while, where we drop the ball.
In summary:
- Organized, skill building events work! The huge drop in negligence due to Hunter Education proves it.
- Follow on experience is essential or the lessons will be lost. A mandatory, one time event is not enough.
- Raw number of years spent hunting is a poor indicator of skill. Hunters sometimes wait a year (or more!) between hunts. Refreshing skills in between through organized shooting events is vital.
John M. Buol Jr. is a former active duty small arms instructor
for the US Army serving as Course Writer and Machine Gun Gunnery NCOIC
at the Small Arms Instructor Academy, Camp Bullis, TX.
Having returned to a reserve status, he is the editor of American Gunsmith magazine, director of the Firearm User Network and a freelance writer on marksmanship-related topics. Buol is a member of the US Army Reserve Shooting Team, has earned both Distinguished Rifleman and Pistol Shot badges and a classification of Master in several shooting disciplines.
Having returned to a reserve status, he is the editor of American Gunsmith magazine, director of the Firearm User Network and a freelance writer on marksmanship-related topics. Buol is a member of the US Army Reserve Shooting Team, has earned both Distinguished Rifleman and Pistol Shot badges and a classification of Master in several shooting disciplines.
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Continuing Education Options For Busy Managers
Today's businesses require regular updating of skills, with
global competition and emerging technologies on the rise. With customer
demands and expectations also on the high level, businesses require
their mangers to have good project management and technical skills.
For a business to remain competitive, new projects and business development must be completed on time and within budget. Here is where the importance of project management leadership crops up. Project management skills are highly sought out by businesses to keep them ahead.
So what happens if you do not have the necessary skills? Take heart. There are ways and options to learn the skills, along with your regular job, so that you and your organization or business has the cutting edge.
What are the choices available to the busy professional of today, to stay ahead of the competition? Continuing education is the option and the various forms of continuing education available makes it easy for the busy executive to learn and study along with his or her busy schedule.
The skills could include project management, technical know-how, a foreign language, management, business, finance. Just about anything.
Let us consider a few of these:
UPDATE TIME: Professional education providers can provide practicing professionals with levels of knowledge and skills comparable to those graduating today from professional schools. For example, the engineer who graduated in the 1970's has a very urgent need to close the knowledge and skills gap with today's graduate. This they are able to do updating the curriculum from professional schools.
This is done very simply where who know something teach it to those who do not
know it in two or three days of intensive short courses. Such instructional systems are heavily didactic and the content of such courses is dominated by informational update.
The course is conducted by a single instructor, who lectures in a formal setting. The main aim of these short courses is to keep professionals up to date in their practice in a formal set-up.
FREE BIRD: You do not have to be confined to a classroom to continue your education or horn your skills. There are distance learning programs to help fulfill the needs of busy professionals like you. The Web, computer and other technologies are playing a large role in delivering education and training.
Teleconferencing, is a technology that allows several people to call one phone number and be connected at the same time. It can be a convenient and viable way to "attend" classes. No special equipment is required to participate in the call.
Some courses offer the online format for pursuing educational opportunities. With such online classes, lessons and homework can be done on weekends, late at night and even while traveling, thus making it convenient for the busy executive.
Mostly, all distance education programs will have a counselor or guide whom you can meet up with regularly to check your progress.
LATE BIRD: For the professional who can spare the time, there are evening classes and late sessions for continuing education held after work hours. These will have the formal set-up and regular sessions with an instructor. These are definitely more effective, if you have the time to spare.
Whatever method you choose, with the advent of technology, continuing education whether it is for career transition or career advancement or just for updating skills, need no longer be difficult to accomplish. With the plethora of continuing education choices being offered, even you, the busy executive, can learn those skills you have always wanted.x
For a business to remain competitive, new projects and business development must be completed on time and within budget. Here is where the importance of project management leadership crops up. Project management skills are highly sought out by businesses to keep them ahead.
So what happens if you do not have the necessary skills? Take heart. There are ways and options to learn the skills, along with your regular job, so that you and your organization or business has the cutting edge.
What are the choices available to the busy professional of today, to stay ahead of the competition? Continuing education is the option and the various forms of continuing education available makes it easy for the busy executive to learn and study along with his or her busy schedule.
The skills could include project management, technical know-how, a foreign language, management, business, finance. Just about anything.
Let us consider a few of these:
UPDATE TIME: Professional education providers can provide practicing professionals with levels of knowledge and skills comparable to those graduating today from professional schools. For example, the engineer who graduated in the 1970's has a very urgent need to close the knowledge and skills gap with today's graduate. This they are able to do updating the curriculum from professional schools.
This is done very simply where who know something teach it to those who do not
know it in two or three days of intensive short courses. Such instructional systems are heavily didactic and the content of such courses is dominated by informational update.
The course is conducted by a single instructor, who lectures in a formal setting. The main aim of these short courses is to keep professionals up to date in their practice in a formal set-up.
FREE BIRD: You do not have to be confined to a classroom to continue your education or horn your skills. There are distance learning programs to help fulfill the needs of busy professionals like you. The Web, computer and other technologies are playing a large role in delivering education and training.
Teleconferencing, is a technology that allows several people to call one phone number and be connected at the same time. It can be a convenient and viable way to "attend" classes. No special equipment is required to participate in the call.
Some courses offer the online format for pursuing educational opportunities. With such online classes, lessons and homework can be done on weekends, late at night and even while traveling, thus making it convenient for the busy executive.
Mostly, all distance education programs will have a counselor or guide whom you can meet up with regularly to check your progress.
LATE BIRD: For the professional who can spare the time, there are evening classes and late sessions for continuing education held after work hours. These will have the formal set-up and regular sessions with an instructor. These are definitely more effective, if you have the time to spare.
Whatever method you choose, with the advent of technology, continuing education whether it is for career transition or career advancement or just for updating skills, need no longer be difficult to accomplish. With the plethora of continuing education choices being offered, even you, the busy executive, can learn those skills you have always wanted.x
Saturday, October 27, 2012
League Education
Many parents dream of giving their children the best education
possible. If you are a parent who resides in the northeastern United
States, chances are the best education to you means that you want to
send your kids to an Ivy League school, which is widely regarded as the
pinnacle of education.
The general belief among parents is that the higher standards of education and social connections available in Ivy League schools are potent enough to set up their children for life. What parent would not want that for his son or daughter?
But what does the term Ivy League really mean and where did it come from. Records show that the term Ivy League traces its roots back to 1935 as a mention in some publications. However, the term Ivy League really rose to national attention prominence in 1954 and through sports of all things, specifically with the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference. Since there were little or not professional sports in most areas at that time, people were great supporters of their favorite college teams and the Ivy League schools were no exception. Through the years and because of the sterling record of achievement compiled by its distinguished graduates, Ivy League schools became associated with more than just athletics. They gained a solid reputation for an effective educational philosophy that has been tempered by time in many of the country's oldest schools.
The eight educational institutions that make up the Ivy League are as follows: Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; Columbia University in New York, New York; Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Princeton University in the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, New Jersey; University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Although each of them has its own distinct reputation and its own way of doing things, they do share some common characteristics that bolster their reputation as outstanding educational institutions. For instance, Ivy League schools traditionally place high among the top 20 in the US News college and university rankings. Ivy League schools are among the top one percent of the world's academic institutions in terms of financial endowment. Finally, Ivy League schools are a well-known haven for the country's best and brightest students and faculty. They are considered to be socially elite.
The general belief among parents is that the higher standards of education and social connections available in Ivy League schools are potent enough to set up their children for life. What parent would not want that for his son or daughter?
But what does the term Ivy League really mean and where did it come from. Records show that the term Ivy League traces its roots back to 1935 as a mention in some publications. However, the term Ivy League really rose to national attention prominence in 1954 and through sports of all things, specifically with the formation of the NCAA Division I athletic conference. Since there were little or not professional sports in most areas at that time, people were great supporters of their favorite college teams and the Ivy League schools were no exception. Through the years and because of the sterling record of achievement compiled by its distinguished graduates, Ivy League schools became associated with more than just athletics. They gained a solid reputation for an effective educational philosophy that has been tempered by time in many of the country's oldest schools.
The eight educational institutions that make up the Ivy League are as follows: Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island; Columbia University in New York, New York; Cornell University in Ithaca, New York; Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire; Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Princeton University in the Princeton Borough and Princeton Township, New Jersey; University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Although each of them has its own distinct reputation and its own way of doing things, they do share some common characteristics that bolster their reputation as outstanding educational institutions. For instance, Ivy League schools traditionally place high among the top 20 in the US News college and university rankings. Ivy League schools are among the top one percent of the world's academic institutions in terms of financial endowment. Finally, Ivy League schools are a well-known haven for the country's best and brightest students and faculty. They are considered to be socially elite.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Public School Sex-Education Classes --- Bad News For Parents and Children
One of parents' most important duties is to protect their
children from harmful sexual values and behaviors. Yet many public
schools force potentially harmful, sometimes shockingly explicit sex
education on their students.
Most of the time, parents have no control over the content of these classes. Occasionally, a group of parents finds out about a particularly obnoxious sex education class and protests to the principal or local school board. The class may be dropped, only to be replaced by another class that teaches equally objectionable material.
School authorities' cavalier attitude towards parents on this issue shows their anti-parent bias, and their contempt for parents' rights to control the values their children are taught.
Many school authorities insist that children need comprehensive sex education from kindergarten through high school. They believe parents can't be trusted because they have shameful feelings about sex or have "outdated" moral or sexual values. School authorities, claiming that they know best regarding sex education, usurp the parents' role, allegedly for the good of the children. In doing so, they show contempt for parents' rights, values, and common sense.
Many sex-education classes indoctrinate children with sexual values that can cause them irreparable harm. For example, these classes often promote the idea that most sexual behaviors are acceptable, including adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, and premarital sex.
The sex-education instructor simply tells the kids to "be careful" or use their "common sense" when they engage in these behaviors. As if we can depend on teenagers with raging hormones to be careful or use their common sense. The soaring teen pregnancy rate in this country puts the lie to this notion.
Horror stories about sex education classes and flagrant violations of parents' rights confront us from around the country. Here are only four of those stories:
o On March 19, 1996, a public school in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania made 59 sixth-grade girls submit to a genital examination as part of a routine physical. The school did not ask for parental consent. During the exam, school officials blocked the exit doors and refused to let the crying and pleading young girls call their parents.
o In Stephens County, Georgia, parents were shocked to discover that their fourteen- and fifteen-year-old daughters had been driven to a birth control clinic by a public school staff member without their knowledge. The county clinic administered AIDS tests and Pap smears to the girls and gave them birth control pills and condoms. The school denied parents access to the test results and defended its actions on the grounds that the counselor believed that she was doing what was best for the girls.
o The Pacific Justice Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents against the Novato [California] Unified School District for authorizing pro‑homosexual presentations without any prior notice or consent. According to the Pacific Justice Institute Press Release, "The presentations entitled "Cootie Shots," exposed elementary school children as young as seven years old with skits containing gay and lesbian overtures. The presentations were followed by question and answer sessions about what constitutes 'normal' families and acceptance of those who choose the homosexual lifestyle." 6 (see Notes in "Public Schools, Public Menace")
o Carol (last name withheld for privacy), a schoolteacher, couldn't believe what she was being asked to teach in her sex education class. The curriculum forced her to show second-graders pictures of nude boys and girls and ask them to name body parts. School authorities told Carol and her fellow elementary school teachers that there were no absolute moral rules, so she shouldn't be concerned about what she had to teach the children.
Parents, it might be advisable if you periodically asked your children if their school is giving them sex-education classes and what the school is teaching in these classes.
If these classes force your children to sit through shocking, obnoxious, or embarrassing sex-education material, you can do something about it. Many states have Parent Notification laws that allow you to demand that the school "opt-out" (withdraw) your children from these classes. You can find more information about this important issue in "Public Schools, Public Menace."
Most of the time, parents have no control over the content of these classes. Occasionally, a group of parents finds out about a particularly obnoxious sex education class and protests to the principal or local school board. The class may be dropped, only to be replaced by another class that teaches equally objectionable material.
School authorities' cavalier attitude towards parents on this issue shows their anti-parent bias, and their contempt for parents' rights to control the values their children are taught.
Many school authorities insist that children need comprehensive sex education from kindergarten through high school. They believe parents can't be trusted because they have shameful feelings about sex or have "outdated" moral or sexual values. School authorities, claiming that they know best regarding sex education, usurp the parents' role, allegedly for the good of the children. In doing so, they show contempt for parents' rights, values, and common sense.
Many sex-education classes indoctrinate children with sexual values that can cause them irreparable harm. For example, these classes often promote the idea that most sexual behaviors are acceptable, including adultery, homosexuality, masturbation, and premarital sex.
The sex-education instructor simply tells the kids to "be careful" or use their "common sense" when they engage in these behaviors. As if we can depend on teenagers with raging hormones to be careful or use their common sense. The soaring teen pregnancy rate in this country puts the lie to this notion.
Horror stories about sex education classes and flagrant violations of parents' rights confront us from around the country. Here are only four of those stories:
o On March 19, 1996, a public school in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania made 59 sixth-grade girls submit to a genital examination as part of a routine physical. The school did not ask for parental consent. During the exam, school officials blocked the exit doors and refused to let the crying and pleading young girls call their parents.
o In Stephens County, Georgia, parents were shocked to discover that their fourteen- and fifteen-year-old daughters had been driven to a birth control clinic by a public school staff member without their knowledge. The county clinic administered AIDS tests and Pap smears to the girls and gave them birth control pills and condoms. The school denied parents access to the test results and defended its actions on the grounds that the counselor believed that she was doing what was best for the girls.
o The Pacific Justice Institute filed a lawsuit on behalf of parents against the Novato [California] Unified School District for authorizing pro‑homosexual presentations without any prior notice or consent. According to the Pacific Justice Institute Press Release, "The presentations entitled "Cootie Shots," exposed elementary school children as young as seven years old with skits containing gay and lesbian overtures. The presentations were followed by question and answer sessions about what constitutes 'normal' families and acceptance of those who choose the homosexual lifestyle." 6 (see Notes in "Public Schools, Public Menace")
o Carol (last name withheld for privacy), a schoolteacher, couldn't believe what she was being asked to teach in her sex education class. The curriculum forced her to show second-graders pictures of nude boys and girls and ask them to name body parts. School authorities told Carol and her fellow elementary school teachers that there were no absolute moral rules, so she shouldn't be concerned about what she had to teach the children.
Parents, it might be advisable if you periodically asked your children if their school is giving them sex-education classes and what the school is teaching in these classes.
If these classes force your children to sit through shocking, obnoxious, or embarrassing sex-education material, you can do something about it. Many states have Parent Notification laws that allow you to demand that the school "opt-out" (withdraw) your children from these classes. You can find more information about this important issue in "Public Schools, Public Menace."
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Between A Promotion And A News Letter
Most businessmen are constantly on the lookout for ways to attract
new customers. It is no secret that advertising takes up a huge part of
the budget for many enterprises, but it is seen as an investment. After
all, you can't make money without spending money. That much is certainly
true - but exactly how much money do you have to spend in order to make
more of it? Many ad agencies will advocate big, flashy campaigns, but
there are also several time-honored ways like publishing a monthly
newsletter that will help bring in the sales.
A
news letter allows you to communicate periodically with clients who
have already done business with you. This is a distinct advantage
associated with the monthly newsletter; instead of chasing after
customers who have not noticed you yet, it gives you a chance to
maintain a mutually beneficial relationship with those who already have.
Many businesses are in the habit of sending promotional emails out on a
regular basis; what is the difference between these promotions and a
news letter?
Both email promotions and a monthly newsletter can be
effective marketing tools. However, each one serves a different
purpose. As the manager of a business, you should be aware of the
difference between the two in order to use each medium effectively. To
begin with, a promotion is simply a one-way communication tool. Its
purpose is primarily to drive up sales in a particular period and thus
works with a short-time goal.
Promotions are great during holidays
to help you grab your share of the market when people are in a spending
mood. They are also useful for helping you dispose of old stocks and
make room for new inventory. They are also a good way to give incentives
and rewards to loyal customers. When it is a slow period for sales,
they will also help you meet your quotas. Because of their nature,
promotions contain a lot of direct calls to action like "Buy now!" or
"Take advantage of this special offer while supplies last!"
On the
other hand, a news letter is a marketing tool that has long-term goals.
It is a bit more effective in hard copy rather than as emails, because a
monthly newsletter is meant to be read and savoured rather than serve
as a notification that must be acted upon in a certain period of time. A
news letter is supposed to help you build a lasting relationship with
your customers, encouraging repeat business and referrals.
Because
it promises to deliver "news" it also positions you and your business
as a resource by providing information about your industry or niche. It
is ostensibly supposed to "educate and inform," building your reputation
and credibility over a span of months. It will even help you get
referrals by being passed on from your customer to his colleagues,
family and friends.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Technology Enriched Online Education
Are you aspiring for a better education or a better future? Are
you tired of attending classes of your college or university? Here comes
the solution. With the progress of technology, online education has
taken its birth and it is of immense help to young adults and working
people. It should always be remembered that education is not a
compulsive duty. It should rather be taken with enthusiasm and joyful
mood. It is only through education that people get employed in different
sectors and make a bright future.
All these years you have been using the internet for shopping, downloading songs or videos, booking travel tickets and so on. Google, the most important search engine is of great help and with the help of this; you can educate yourself with the fast growth of technology. Most men choose their career path in online degrees or diplomas.
School or college education is discouraging
To some people, education from a regular institute can appear to be boring. The monotony of attending lectures, facing of punishments given by teachers or professors is really discouraging. When a student fails to complete his assignments, he gets rebuked by his teacher and harsh words are showered upon him. In this way his dream to fulfill his academic goal gets shattered.
There are many suicidal attempts that a school going kid often makes. Often you will find such shocking news of a student's suicidal acts in the morning newspaper. An online education ensures total independence and there is a lot of fun involved in it. So do you want to make your child?-a nagging school or college goer or a competent online learner?
YouTube has showered blessings on educational arena
There are different YouTube channels coming up which will help you in educating yourself. These are TED talks, Biography Channel, The Nobel Prize, PBS, Discovery Channel and many more. These serve as free lectures on various subjects and you can gain a lot of knowledge.
How can online MBA be advantageous?
MBA or Master in Business Administration is a post graduate degree or diploma in management studies. When a student applies to a regular B-school, he cannot afford the high fees involved in such education. Hence online MBA is very demanding and you need not submit huge fees to pursue such a degree. Also, this type of MBA comprises the same courses as offered by a regular institution. An individual can also continue a job along with his studies and can shoulder social responsibilities.
All these years you have been using the internet for shopping, downloading songs or videos, booking travel tickets and so on. Google, the most important search engine is of great help and with the help of this; you can educate yourself with the fast growth of technology. Most men choose their career path in online degrees or diplomas.
School or college education is discouraging
To some people, education from a regular institute can appear to be boring. The monotony of attending lectures, facing of punishments given by teachers or professors is really discouraging. When a student fails to complete his assignments, he gets rebuked by his teacher and harsh words are showered upon him. In this way his dream to fulfill his academic goal gets shattered.
There are many suicidal attempts that a school going kid often makes. Often you will find such shocking news of a student's suicidal acts in the morning newspaper. An online education ensures total independence and there is a lot of fun involved in it. So do you want to make your child?-a nagging school or college goer or a competent online learner?
YouTube has showered blessings on educational arena
There are different YouTube channels coming up which will help you in educating yourself. These are TED talks, Biography Channel, The Nobel Prize, PBS, Discovery Channel and many more. These serve as free lectures on various subjects and you can gain a lot of knowledge.
How can online MBA be advantageous?
MBA or Master in Business Administration is a post graduate degree or diploma in management studies. When a student applies to a regular B-school, he cannot afford the high fees involved in such education. Hence online MBA is very demanding and you need not submit huge fees to pursue such a degree. Also, this type of MBA comprises the same courses as offered by a regular institution. An individual can also continue a job along with his studies and can shoulder social responsibilities.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Will Mobile Education Replace The Classroom?
Android is not a substitute for school, yet. It is unfortunate
that digital technology is incorporated least in the area it is needed
most: education. However, no one had foreseen the computer would replace
conventional form of learning either.
Considered more a luxurious distraction, parents raise concern about their little toddlers going to school holding a Smartphone. Alternatively, a survey revealed that a quarter of the parents plan to gift their own devices to their children, and installing educational apps into them. The medium of instruction should not be the cause to restrict learning, but rather encourage it, and android smartphones are doing exactly that. Those who let their children experiment would not deny the increased interest in learning, for instance, through a math game or a social studies quiz on the mobile OS that enhance skill and memory.
Teachers, like parents, find the open based application a challenge. Referring to the Android tablet Kindle Fire, one reviewer aptly put it this way: "Although I'm hesitant to predict that the Kindle Fire will radically change education, I do think that the popularity of this device will lead to more development of educational Android apps that are optimized for tablets."
The Android has invaded the education arena in the smartest possible way, with Android television introduced in hospitals for providing entertainment as well as education to patient. Within a span of four years, Android educational apps, either free or paid, have managed to cover a broad range of subjects from the elementary level to adult education, as well as for professional skills improvement.
Amazon Appstore and Android Market app is developed exclusively for the android platform by Google has over 400,000 active apps and more than half are free. Shapes Five Pumpkins app are flashcards designed for infants, with the option to customize it with one's own voice. Tracing ABC is a free app that teaches toddlers to write by tracing alphabets or numbers using the cursor. iStoryBooks are interactive books that can either be read aloud or heard. Besides this, there are foreign language dictionaries for the older lot, art and craft activities such as Doodledroid, educational games and quizzes, skill based tutorials such as Photoshop, science research through arXiv mobile, Google Sky Map, the ASL sign language for the hearing impaired, to name a few. Encouraging teenagers to read the newspaper is no longer a challenge. Installing the Pulse news app saves stories for reading later offline or sharing it with others. The Fortune magazine has called as "the king of apps."
A director of information technology expressed that the teaching staff need to be trained in order to keep up with technology trends and to optimize their use and thereby prevent the overuse and harmful effects such 'openness' can cause to the education system. He suggested that the staff should hold more restrictions for the younger students and for the teachers to look toward finding administrative support and collaborate with parents to properly utilize and handle access via information technology.
The apps continue to reap from the harvest. In a matter of time, classes will become condensed apps. For now, faith exists in the physical presence of teachers.
Considered more a luxurious distraction, parents raise concern about their little toddlers going to school holding a Smartphone. Alternatively, a survey revealed that a quarter of the parents plan to gift their own devices to their children, and installing educational apps into them. The medium of instruction should not be the cause to restrict learning, but rather encourage it, and android smartphones are doing exactly that. Those who let their children experiment would not deny the increased interest in learning, for instance, through a math game or a social studies quiz on the mobile OS that enhance skill and memory.
Teachers, like parents, find the open based application a challenge. Referring to the Android tablet Kindle Fire, one reviewer aptly put it this way: "Although I'm hesitant to predict that the Kindle Fire will radically change education, I do think that the popularity of this device will lead to more development of educational Android apps that are optimized for tablets."
The Android has invaded the education arena in the smartest possible way, with Android television introduced in hospitals for providing entertainment as well as education to patient. Within a span of four years, Android educational apps, either free or paid, have managed to cover a broad range of subjects from the elementary level to adult education, as well as for professional skills improvement.
Amazon Appstore and Android Market app is developed exclusively for the android platform by Google has over 400,000 active apps and more than half are free. Shapes Five Pumpkins app are flashcards designed for infants, with the option to customize it with one's own voice. Tracing ABC is a free app that teaches toddlers to write by tracing alphabets or numbers using the cursor. iStoryBooks are interactive books that can either be read aloud or heard. Besides this, there are foreign language dictionaries for the older lot, art and craft activities such as Doodledroid, educational games and quizzes, skill based tutorials such as Photoshop, science research through arXiv mobile, Google Sky Map, the ASL sign language for the hearing impaired, to name a few. Encouraging teenagers to read the newspaper is no longer a challenge. Installing the Pulse news app saves stories for reading later offline or sharing it with others. The Fortune magazine has called as "the king of apps."
A director of information technology expressed that the teaching staff need to be trained in order to keep up with technology trends and to optimize their use and thereby prevent the overuse and harmful effects such 'openness' can cause to the education system. He suggested that the staff should hold more restrictions for the younger students and for the teachers to look toward finding administrative support and collaborate with parents to properly utilize and handle access via information technology.
The apps continue to reap from the harvest. In a matter of time, classes will become condensed apps. For now, faith exists in the physical presence of teachers.
Saturday, September 8, 2012
On Compulsory Education
In the United States we benefit from many freedoms: of religion,
of press, of arms, etc. These liberties are one of the central
philosophies our country was founded on, and are not to be taken for
granted.
One of the freedoms Americans do not have, however, is freedom of education. The government has deliberately positioned itself as sole provider of education, making it near impossible for anybody to be educated otherwise.
Education is also compulsory in the United States, and in many countries of the world. Children must attend school, and families will be punished for not enrolling in the state-mandated school system.
I think this set-up is extremely problematic, for a number of reasons:
1. It is not news that when we force people to do something, that thing loses its perceived value, and ultimately its real value. Children will not enjoy going to school if they are forced to do it.
2. The government is not intimately involved in the lives of the millions of children in the country, and therefore does not know how to make a system that will meet the specific needs of each child. For education to work, it must be arranged at the local level.
3. Parents should be able to choose how to educate their children. They should be able to send them to whichever public school they wish, not just the one closest by. Private schools should be widely available. Homeschooling should be widely accepted.
How can we say we live in a democracy, when we do not give freedom to our people? It is time to restore democracy in the United States.
I suggest that we remove the requirement for mandatory attendance in schools. I believe that this will have the utmost positive effect on our children; not a negative effect, as some would believe.
Some will say, "We need compulsory education. How will our children learn if we don't force them to go to school?"
I have a few answers to this:
1. Most children will still attend school, despite the fact that the requirement is no longer there, because education is something that is inherently valued by most people.
2. For children who choose not to attend school, all democratic educators know that education is happening constantly, in and out of the classroom. Being outside of school will not stop a child from learning.
3. Compulsory education has only been in effect in the United States for less than a century. Surely, children were capable of going to school, gaining education, and becoming capable adults before the government forced them to.
It is time to give our citizens freedom in education. We can begin by ending compulsory education.
One of the freedoms Americans do not have, however, is freedom of education. The government has deliberately positioned itself as sole provider of education, making it near impossible for anybody to be educated otherwise.
Education is also compulsory in the United States, and in many countries of the world. Children must attend school, and families will be punished for not enrolling in the state-mandated school system.
I think this set-up is extremely problematic, for a number of reasons:
1. It is not news that when we force people to do something, that thing loses its perceived value, and ultimately its real value. Children will not enjoy going to school if they are forced to do it.
2. The government is not intimately involved in the lives of the millions of children in the country, and therefore does not know how to make a system that will meet the specific needs of each child. For education to work, it must be arranged at the local level.
3. Parents should be able to choose how to educate their children. They should be able to send them to whichever public school they wish, not just the one closest by. Private schools should be widely available. Homeschooling should be widely accepted.
How can we say we live in a democracy, when we do not give freedom to our people? It is time to restore democracy in the United States.
I suggest that we remove the requirement for mandatory attendance in schools. I believe that this will have the utmost positive effect on our children; not a negative effect, as some would believe.
Some will say, "We need compulsory education. How will our children learn if we don't force them to go to school?"
I have a few answers to this:
1. Most children will still attend school, despite the fact that the requirement is no longer there, because education is something that is inherently valued by most people.
2. For children who choose not to attend school, all democratic educators know that education is happening constantly, in and out of the classroom. Being outside of school will not stop a child from learning.
3. Compulsory education has only been in effect in the United States for less than a century. Surely, children were capable of going to school, gaining education, and becoming capable adults before the government forced them to.
It is time to give our citizens freedom in education. We can begin by ending compulsory education.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Nurse Practitioner Education
If you're looking into a nursing occupation, you already know
that you want to care for people, but how do you decide if nurse
practitioner education is right for you? The first thing to do is look
at all the possibilities for training, economics, and occupational
outlook.
Becoming a nurse practitioner is a step up in education and responsibility from an LPN or an RN. While the wide variety of occupational areas is still there, you are now boosting your profession to the level of diagnostician. These professionals work in hospitals, health clinics, and doctor's offices, but diagnose their own patients, write prescriptions, and order patient care.
Depending on whether you are in a hospital, clinic, or specialty area of medical practice, as a nurse practitioner you might be called upon to regularly perform many of the following duties:
So, what's involved in nurse practitioner education that differs from LPN or RN training? Most programs require prospective students to have registered nurse licensure and to have practiced as an RN for about two years.
Master's level programs add several hours of advanced pharmacology to the RN base of knowledge, along with intensive practice each semester in different areas. There is practicum in pediatric care, adult care, child health, and care of at-risk populations. All courses are progressively more complex than those offered in registered nurse training.
Some good news for prospective students is that some or all of a master nurse practitioner education may be attained online while continuing to work as an RN. There are an abundance of approved quality online MSN programs, which can be worked at part time or full time.
Upon completion of the master's degree in nursing, national certification by exam is required. There are several national nursing organizations approved to certify nurse practitioners. Two such organizations are the American Nurses' Association and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Some associations are specialty certifying organizations for neonatal, pediatric, obstetric, and gynecological practice certification. Certification exams are administered throughout the country and cost around $300.
According to the Department of Labor, the median hourly wage of an RN is about $31, and when you become a nurse practitioner it can jump to $45. Of course, the bump up to master's level in any profession offers a higher earning potential.
One of the most compelling things about pursuing nurse practitioner education, aside from the value of working with patients directly, is the economic advantage it offers. By acquiring advanced education, registered nurses can re-invent themselves and open new and exciting pathways.
Becoming a nurse practitioner is a step up in education and responsibility from an LPN or an RN. While the wide variety of occupational areas is still there, you are now boosting your profession to the level of diagnostician. These professionals work in hospitals, health clinics, and doctor's offices, but diagnose their own patients, write prescriptions, and order patient care.
Depending on whether you are in a hospital, clinic, or specialty area of medical practice, as a nurse practitioner you might be called upon to regularly perform many of the following duties:
- Ordering routine tests and taking case history information for diagnosis
- Performing routine incisions and sutures, drainage and wound care, and tissue biopsies
- Executing nasal intubations into the stomach, and gastric analysis
- Testing for insulin and glucose tolerance
- Ordering lab studies and prescribing routine medications
So, what's involved in nurse practitioner education that differs from LPN or RN training? Most programs require prospective students to have registered nurse licensure and to have practiced as an RN for about two years.
Master's level programs add several hours of advanced pharmacology to the RN base of knowledge, along with intensive practice each semester in different areas. There is practicum in pediatric care, adult care, child health, and care of at-risk populations. All courses are progressively more complex than those offered in registered nurse training.
Some good news for prospective students is that some or all of a master nurse practitioner education may be attained online while continuing to work as an RN. There are an abundance of approved quality online MSN programs, which can be worked at part time or full time.
Upon completion of the master's degree in nursing, national certification by exam is required. There are several national nursing organizations approved to certify nurse practitioners. Two such organizations are the American Nurses' Association and the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners.
Some associations are specialty certifying organizations for neonatal, pediatric, obstetric, and gynecological practice certification. Certification exams are administered throughout the country and cost around $300.
According to the Department of Labor, the median hourly wage of an RN is about $31, and when you become a nurse practitioner it can jump to $45. Of course, the bump up to master's level in any profession offers a higher earning potential.
One of the most compelling things about pursuing nurse practitioner education, aside from the value of working with patients directly, is the economic advantage it offers. By acquiring advanced education, registered nurses can re-invent themselves and open new and exciting pathways.
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Where We'd Be Today Without Education
Education is one of the most important things we can give our
children today. Without education we would not have some of the greatest
technology nor have some medical mysteries solved. People who have
continued their education into college have earned more money than those
with just high school diplomas. They educate themselves and those
around them. They work hard to improve their lives and contribute to the
economy. We wouldn't have many things that we have today if it wasn't
for a certain person going to college and increasing their knowledge on a
specific subject.
We might be lost without education because it is that important to us. Poverty is contributed to people who haven't continued their education and advanced themselves. Many people cannot work at jobs without a high school diploma or advanced degree; therefore, they are only limited to minimum wage jobs that can barely help them to pay their bills and afford their daily necessities. Those with educational backgrounds may not find a very high paying job, but they have more opportunities to their disposal. They can make more money than the minimum wage and afford to pay their bills and afford the necessities of life and then some.
Education is very important to the world because it advances the economy and allows its people to advance in their lives. Those with science and mathematical degrees have worked with NASA, the government and other organizations to make technology better. People with Liberal Arts degrees help those learn the English language and write textbooks for school systems. They also write the news and change our views on life with novels, short stories and poems. Historians study the past and inform us on our ancestors and how we far we have come and advanced ourselves today. Education is very important, no matter what subject matter you address.
Thousands of years ago, people didn't have school systems and the ability to obtain college degrees; however, they used their knowledge and trial and error to create and advance their lives. As the many years have passed and an educational system was created, people have gained the knowledge to change the world in more ways than before. New equations, methods and tests were done to learn new things about life. This work still goes on today because we are not done learning. There is still so much more to know and learn in this life, and that is why it is important that we educate our children. They are the future, and who knows, maybe one of the children you see in the street may just be the person to cure cancer or win a Nobel Peace Prize for their work.
We might be lost without education because it is that important to us. Poverty is contributed to people who haven't continued their education and advanced themselves. Many people cannot work at jobs without a high school diploma or advanced degree; therefore, they are only limited to minimum wage jobs that can barely help them to pay their bills and afford their daily necessities. Those with educational backgrounds may not find a very high paying job, but they have more opportunities to their disposal. They can make more money than the minimum wage and afford to pay their bills and afford the necessities of life and then some.
Education is very important to the world because it advances the economy and allows its people to advance in their lives. Those with science and mathematical degrees have worked with NASA, the government and other organizations to make technology better. People with Liberal Arts degrees help those learn the English language and write textbooks for school systems. They also write the news and change our views on life with novels, short stories and poems. Historians study the past and inform us on our ancestors and how we far we have come and advanced ourselves today. Education is very important, no matter what subject matter you address.
Thousands of years ago, people didn't have school systems and the ability to obtain college degrees; however, they used their knowledge and trial and error to create and advance their lives. As the many years have passed and an educational system was created, people have gained the knowledge to change the world in more ways than before. New equations, methods and tests were done to learn new things about life. This work still goes on today because we are not done learning. There is still so much more to know and learn in this life, and that is why it is important that we educate our children. They are the future, and who knows, maybe one of the children you see in the street may just be the person to cure cancer or win a Nobel Peace Prize for their work.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Getting Quality News And Information About Forex To Protect Your Investment
While some consumers work excessively hard to earn an income,
others make their money work hard for them, so that it will earn them
more, as with exchanging one currency for another. As a trader, you will
have to be well informed and that means getting quality Forex news to
protect your investment.
Many people don't realize just how much money is traded every day, and according to statistics in 2004, the amount was a shocking $1.9 trillion daily! The important thing for anyone, regardless of experience in this money-making field is knowledge.
In the past, it was only open to the largest of corporate banks and international corporations, but now is completely open to all traders regardless of size. Basically, these individuals bet on the appreciation of a given currency to make a profit.
However, one must learn everything possible on the subject and stay informed of the latest news at all times because anything from a natural disaster to one country's financial collapse could potentially cause huge losses. Of course, the news they get must be from a source that is reputable and trustworthy for the trader to make more educated decisions.
It is a fast-paced world when it come to the Foreign Exchange market, and one that never sleeps because it involves international currencies, meaning that the markets never close. This could lead to increased stress in traders as they must always be on the ball and know of the latest happenings all over the world.
One should know that the various outside influences and the choices each makes greatly affect the individual profits and losses, and that these can be huge either way. Another important note for someone just getting started is understanding and taking advantage of margin trading, which works on a deposit of good faith, giving the individual a lot of leverage and opening doors to a huge profit potential, but unfortunately also a huge loss potential.
It is not without risk, but most do recognize that the benefits far outweigh the negative aspects in that they have the potential to earn a very lucrative living in a fast-paced field that makes it very exciting each day. No matter how it's sliced, getting the up-to-the-minute reports and news on the Foreign Exchange markets is one of the most important things that a trader can do to protect his or her investment. If investments like this interest you, reading the news from a reliable source that trusted must be a part of the daily routine.
Many people don't realize just how much money is traded every day, and according to statistics in 2004, the amount was a shocking $1.9 trillion daily! The important thing for anyone, regardless of experience in this money-making field is knowledge.
In the past, it was only open to the largest of corporate banks and international corporations, but now is completely open to all traders regardless of size. Basically, these individuals bet on the appreciation of a given currency to make a profit.
However, one must learn everything possible on the subject and stay informed of the latest news at all times because anything from a natural disaster to one country's financial collapse could potentially cause huge losses. Of course, the news they get must be from a source that is reputable and trustworthy for the trader to make more educated decisions.
It is a fast-paced world when it come to the Foreign Exchange market, and one that never sleeps because it involves international currencies, meaning that the markets never close. This could lead to increased stress in traders as they must always be on the ball and know of the latest happenings all over the world.
One should know that the various outside influences and the choices each makes greatly affect the individual profits and losses, and that these can be huge either way. Another important note for someone just getting started is understanding and taking advantage of margin trading, which works on a deposit of good faith, giving the individual a lot of leverage and opening doors to a huge profit potential, but unfortunately also a huge loss potential.
It is not without risk, but most do recognize that the benefits far outweigh the negative aspects in that they have the potential to earn a very lucrative living in a fast-paced field that makes it very exciting each day. No matter how it's sliced, getting the up-to-the-minute reports and news on the Foreign Exchange markets is one of the most important things that a trader can do to protect his or her investment. If investments like this interest you, reading the news from a reliable source that trusted must be a part of the daily routine.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
Three Radical Approaches to End America's Education Crisis
It is no news to most Americans that the modern academic model
for education in the United States has failed us and is in major need of
redesign. A thorough reevaluation and reversal of a three majorly
flawed philosophies currently embraced by the education hierarchy as a
whole could quite possibly reverse the current trend of the ever
declining standards of academic success in our country.
First, the commonly accepted norm of the concept of mass-production applied to education must cease and desist. Students are individuals and must be treated individually. Each student possesses a unique set of strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and handicaps that are unevenly distributed across the academic array of subjects. For example, some are better at math. Others master language concepts easier than scientific principles. Since each student's learning potential for each subject varies, how can it be expected that the same time (i.e. a 45 minute period) spent daily on each subject for each student will result in a balanced mastery of all academic subjects? Logically it would seem that if one subject for a student was twice as hard to learn as another, twice as much time would have to be spent to master the more difficult subject. A shift from an arbitrarily uniform academic structure must give way to consideration of the individual student.
Second, the bulk of the responsibility for the student's learning, currently being held nearly entirely by the teachers, must shift to the students themselves. If it does not, upon exiting the classroom, the individual student will cease to learn. Simply put, if a school cannot train students to learn for themselves, they have failed. School should prepare a student for life (which is nothing more than a continued education), and it is experienced individually. You do not get to take your teacher with you when you graduate. The incorporation of student-initiated goal setting and realization should be overseen and rewarded by responsible and attentive teachers. Setting and reaching one's goals for one's self is the driving cause and effect of ambition itself. Good teachers are always looking for new tools to motivate students. Yet, ironically, this one vastly important responsibility, goal-setting, is assumed in most education environments by the teacher and not the student.
Third, the student's education should be mastery-based instead of the current lock-stepped approach. As it is, in most educational settings, the students all move through the course curriculum and the various grade levels at the same rate as determined by teacher in order to meet the current administrative standards. It is relatively inconsequential whether or not the student fails to master the course material as long as a minimally passing grade is achieved. Some students will master the material in the time allotted for the course. The average will not, but will "get by" with an average passing grade. Some will fail out-rightly. Present educational philosophy dictates that time is the constant and learning is the variable. What if this were reversed? If learning were made the constant, every high school graduate really would have a 12th grade education and could perform 12th grade academic work.
While it is certain that the adherence to these suggested reversals of current educational philosophy would require significant upheaval and revamping of the current classic teaching methods and structures in place, it must be realized that the same ad-nauseam approaches to education reform (i.e. lowering the student-to-teacher ratio, upgrading school facilities, increasing teacher wages, etc.) have failed to bring the results that are desperately needed even at great financial expense. Quite simply, instead of more money, let's invest more thought into education.
First, the commonly accepted norm of the concept of mass-production applied to education must cease and desist. Students are individuals and must be treated individually. Each student possesses a unique set of strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and handicaps that are unevenly distributed across the academic array of subjects. For example, some are better at math. Others master language concepts easier than scientific principles. Since each student's learning potential for each subject varies, how can it be expected that the same time (i.e. a 45 minute period) spent daily on each subject for each student will result in a balanced mastery of all academic subjects? Logically it would seem that if one subject for a student was twice as hard to learn as another, twice as much time would have to be spent to master the more difficult subject. A shift from an arbitrarily uniform academic structure must give way to consideration of the individual student.
Second, the bulk of the responsibility for the student's learning, currently being held nearly entirely by the teachers, must shift to the students themselves. If it does not, upon exiting the classroom, the individual student will cease to learn. Simply put, if a school cannot train students to learn for themselves, they have failed. School should prepare a student for life (which is nothing more than a continued education), and it is experienced individually. You do not get to take your teacher with you when you graduate. The incorporation of student-initiated goal setting and realization should be overseen and rewarded by responsible and attentive teachers. Setting and reaching one's goals for one's self is the driving cause and effect of ambition itself. Good teachers are always looking for new tools to motivate students. Yet, ironically, this one vastly important responsibility, goal-setting, is assumed in most education environments by the teacher and not the student.
Third, the student's education should be mastery-based instead of the current lock-stepped approach. As it is, in most educational settings, the students all move through the course curriculum and the various grade levels at the same rate as determined by teacher in order to meet the current administrative standards. It is relatively inconsequential whether or not the student fails to master the course material as long as a minimally passing grade is achieved. Some students will master the material in the time allotted for the course. The average will not, but will "get by" with an average passing grade. Some will fail out-rightly. Present educational philosophy dictates that time is the constant and learning is the variable. What if this were reversed? If learning were made the constant, every high school graduate really would have a 12th grade education and could perform 12th grade academic work.
While it is certain that the adherence to these suggested reversals of current educational philosophy would require significant upheaval and revamping of the current classic teaching methods and structures in place, it must be realized that the same ad-nauseam approaches to education reform (i.e. lowering the student-to-teacher ratio, upgrading school facilities, increasing teacher wages, etc.) have failed to bring the results that are desperately needed even at great financial expense. Quite simply, instead of more money, let's invest more thought into education.
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