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Showing posts from January, 2014

Steps to Improve the Quality of Education

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The quality of the human resources does determine the destiny of any nation. There are many nations in the world, which have been spending huge amounts from their budgets to enhance the quality of education at all the levels. One of the developed nations, Japan is an example. It does not possess most of the required natural resources such as minerals, but the high quality working population could transform Japan into a developed economy. There are five major factors which can enhance the quality of education such as: 1. Inspiring teachers, 2. Quality infrastructure, 3. Extra-curricular activities, 4. Seminars and workshops, 5. Best assessment methods. Many teachers do participate in the designing of curriculum. Hence, they need to have exceptional skills in making the best curriculum. The four major steps in making a good and desired curriculum are: objectives, content, learning activities, and evaluation. If the educational institutes select some of the best teacher

Tutor Tips

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I have learned a few things about English tutoring, having taught in high school, a community college, and as a tutor in a technical college for more than 25 years I would like to share them with those who aspire to the "noble" profession. The most important is to respect your student or client and be sensitive to his needs and desires. Here are other tips: Make the tutored feel welcome. Assume a non-aggressive approach. Be authoritative but in a suggestive way. Be patient and relaxed. If possible, tutor in a quiet area with no distractions; provide comfortable chairs, a table, and air-conditioning that is neither too cold or too warm and keeps the humidity low. Each tutoring session should last about thirty minutes-an hour at the most. If traffic is high, it may be necessary to adjust the time. Some students require less time; others require more. Do not spend any additional time on a student's research paper: This type of essay is too long for the time

Career In Photojournalism

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Why Photojournalism? Photography was never a passion with me. I completed my Engineering and setup my own Automobile shop. It was in the course of running the business I encountered problems, faced issues I strongly felt about and developed a want to do something about the unfair world we live in. It was around this time I fell in love with Journalism. The magic of the written word, influencing the way people think, the beauty of language woven into the fabric of understanding for the greatest mind and yet appealing to the simplest reader. I read voraciously starting with the Newspaper in the morning, a magazine on the way to work and sometimes watched a documentary in the night. I dreamt of becoming a Journalist, a person who cares for people and an ideal world. To become a fearless crusader of the truth, a person who chases a story as big as the universe or as small as the neighborhood with the same passion and enthusiasm. A person who lives life on his own terms wa

For the Love of Math: Why Children Struggle With Math

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There was a time when I thought the children in my class were the only ones that didn't like math. After I found ways to really improve their skills and develop a love for math, I started visiting other schools and other classes. I thought, there has to be more children out there in the same situation. As I traveled from classroom to classroom, I found that children were the same everywhere. Though there were some differences, essentially the numbers were the same. About one in three students could do math. The rest either struggled with math or couldn't do it at all. As for who liked math, typically only the students who could do math liked it. Children spend over 2000 hours in math class in their elementary lives. Lets assume that two thirds of the children in the class don't like math. We'll examine the reasons why they don't like it later on, but for now let's just assume that most kids are sitting through math class like most adults sit through

Why Learning a New Language Is Important

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Everyone has a first language. It is the medium they use for most of their lives and most of their everyday dealings. In as much as this is fine, learning a new language can be just as exciting and important in life. In some cases, a local dialect might not be used for schooling purposes. A more universal language will therefore be introduced in school for educational purposes. Some people will be proficient in their local dialect or mother tongue and in the language they have been introduced to in school. When it comes to new languages, foreign codes are the most helpful. Here are a few reasons why. It increases job prospects: This is especially for individuals who wish to work in foreign countries. When choosing a foreign language to learn, therefore, you can have your career path in mind. Some companies dealing with foreign visitors or tourists will want to hire individuals who understand and can speak a foreign tongue. You will therefore find that you have more job

Arthur The Art Teacher

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Mr. Steinway sits holding his newborn in his arms. Not two hours old, the pinched little face stares up at its father but can only see shadows and muted colors. The father smiles back at the tiny face but his mind is on the future... He believes this son, Arthur, his only child, is destined to be a great pianist simply because his last name is "Steinway." No one in the large family of uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, and nephews shows any sign of musical talent. The Steinway name historically represents some of the greatest achievements in classical piano... Arthur has to be the chosen one! The father began saving for a piano 9 months before the child was born. It hadn't mattered to him if the child were a boy or girl; this new member of the family would be a famous pianist some day!... He would see to it! Mr. Steinway saved a bit here and some there dreaming of the day he would buy the piano, and in the late afternoon of Arthur's 3rd birthday, three b

The Teacher In Pink

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Mrs. Carmen Matthews is a religious lady. Her faith is strong... her faith gives her guidance, assurance, and the strength to carry on. Her whole world is centered on her church and the people she has come to love there. Mrs. Matthews is also a public school teacher. She teaches Band at Wadleigh Middle School. On Sundays, where Mrs. Matthews lives, it is not unusual to see small groups of ladies and gents walking to church, dressed in their finest... all eager to hear those fine hymns bellowing out of the grand 2-stories-tall pipe organ at the church. Unlike those good christian ladies, Mrs. Matthews dresses this way every day. She never ceases to amaze her students when she walks into the classroom each day, formally dressed to the nines. No sweats and Nike's for this elegant music teacher. One memorable day Mrs. Matthews came to school dressed in pink, from head to toe. Pillbox hats were in style then and she wore a pink one that matched the pink of her tailore

The Trends of New Public Management in Developing Countries

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The NPM has the following central doctrines: - A focus on management, not policy, and on performance appraisal and efficiency. - The disaggression of public bureaucracies into agencies which deal with each other on a user pay basis. - The use of quasi-markets and contracting out to foster competition; - Cost-cutting; and - A style of management which emphasizes amongst other things, output targets, limited terms contracts, monetary incentives and freedom to manage. There is no doubt that many developing countries are experimenting with new public management reforms. The experiments in Malaysia with total quality management and the result oriented management initiative in Uganda are the key examples of NPM application. The wholesale restricting of Chilean education along internal market lines, a far more radical change than anything tried in the UK. Two of the most commonly adopted elements of the NPM agenda are privatization and downsizing. These are the most important part of

Teaching Careers in Adult and Nontraditional Classrooms

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Unemployment, midlife career changes, and a desire to further education are the driving forces of adult education programs. After young adults assume more familial and financial responsibility, a large number realize the benefits of an educational degree - be it a high school diploma equivalency or a graduate degree. For this reason, there is a demand for adult educators. Individual adults, like younger students, learn through varying techniques, such as experiential, visual, and audio learning styles. With that said, the learning styles of adult students differ tremendously from that of younger counterparts. First and foremost, many adult students, also referred to as nontraditional students, voluntarily enroll in coursework because they want to learn. Furthermore, they want to know "how" and "why" in order to better grasp concepts. Most adults willingly attend class and complete assignments, and discipline is generally never a problem. In additio