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.

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."

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.