The Truth About Home Schooling – The Benefits Are Real

Posted on by

There are many valid reasons why parent may decide to remove their children from public schools and begin home schooling them. Hundreds of thousands of parents across America have come to the conclusion that public schools simply cannot guarantee their children’s safety; that public school overcrowding is depriving their children of the individual attention they need from their teachers; and that the presence from bullies and uncontrollable children in public schools is to distracting for their children.

While there are many negatives in the public school experience which justify the decision to begin home schooling a child, there is also one very big positive. Research studies have shown that home schooled children learn better than those who remain in public schools, and even better than children in expensive private schools. The truth about home schooling is that the research indicates that for most children, being removed from public school for home schooling was the best decision their parents could have made.

Home Schooling Success Stories

There are, of course, the individual stories which reflect glory on the truth about home schooling: the 2007 winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee was thirteen-year-old Evan O’Dorney. Because of is flexible home schooling schedule, his mother was able to spend two hours coaching him with his spelling each day for several weeks before the competition.

The truth about home schooling is that, unlike public schooling, it does not have artificial standards to which each child must conform before being allowed to advance to the next grade. Home schooling allows children to progress at different rates in each subject, so second-grader Mary may be reading at a sixth-grade level while she is still trying to master second-grade math. The home schooled child is in no danger of being “left back” or of being called the class dummy.

The USDE Agrees

The US Department of Education itself has supported the findings of studies which indicate that by the end of eighth grade, home schooled children are performing an average of four grades ahead of their public school counterparts. Whether the home schools are that much better, or the public schools are that much worse, may not be clear, but the results are.

Home schooling will be a learning experience for parents as well as children and in the early going can be stressful for parents who have not attempted formal teaching before. So the support of other home schooling parents can be very helpful, and another truth about home schooling is that the parents engaged in it are some of the most supportive people one is likely to meet.

The evidence seems clear that home schooling is almost never a mistake, as long as both parents and children are willing to put their full efforts into making it work!.

How To Learn Chinese Characters Simply and Efficiently

Posted on by

The Challenges Faced By English-Speaking Learners

Chinese language is an unfamiliar territory for many whose first language use an alphabetic system such as English. Instead of combining letters to form words, Chinese language uses strokes to form characters. The commonly used Chinese characters alone contain 3000 words. Not only that, Chinese is also a tonal language with four different tones, commonly marked with accent marks, and when unmarked represents the neutral tone. The accent marks are only available when using PinYin to represent the pronunciation. The word shì for instance, can have different meanings depending on its tone. The first tone shì can mean poetry or wet or teacher. The second tone shí can mean ten or time or true. The third tone shí can mean history or to start or to cause. The fourth tone shì can mean yes or room or matter. In essence, there are many similar sounds with different meanings. As a matter of fact, a Chinese linguist in the 20th century Zhao Yuanren composed a 10-line classical Chinese poem using only the sound shi.

Next, it is not always possible to guess the pronunciation of a character. The character for wood, for instance, is pronounced mu. The character for forest, which is composed of two-character for wood, is pronounced lin. Although in this example the pronunciation cannot be related, the meaning of the characters can. On the contrary, when the pronunciation can be related due to similar root character, the meanings are not necessarily related.

PinYin itself, although alphabetized, is not pronounced the same way as the alphabetic sounds. There are unfamiliar sounds such as u with an umlaut (ü) that sounds like a combination of I and u. Like all things unfamiliar, it can cause uncertainty and fear. Thus, knowing the challenges learners face is the first step in devising effective learning strategies that directly affect their language achievement.

The Strategies Used To Learn Chinese Characters

Prof Ko-Yin Sung of Chinese Language Study from Utah State University conducted a research amongst non-heritage, non-Asian Chinese language learners and uncovered interesting results that may help future learners in forming an effective study plan. Her study revolves around the most frequently used Chinese character learning strategies and how those strategies affect the learners’ ability in understanding and producing the sound and the writing of the Chinese characters.

The study finds that among the top twenty most frequently used strategies, eight of them are related to when a character is first introduced to learners. These include:

1. Repeating the character several times aloud or silently.

2. Writing the character down.

3. Noting how the character is used in context.

4. Noting the tone and associating it with pinyin.

5. Observing the character and stroke order.

6. Visualising the character.

7. Listening to the explanation of the character.

8. Associating the character with previously learned character.

The next six strategies are used to increase learners’ understanding of the newly introduced character.

9. Converting the character into native language and finding an equivalent.

10. Looking in the textbook or dictionary.

11. Checking if the new character has been used previously.

12. Finding out how they are used in conversation.

13. Using the character in sentences orally.

14. Asking how the character could be used in sentences.

However, learning strategies start to diminish beyond those two learning stages. There are only three strategies used in memorising newly learned character.

15. Saying and writing the character at the same time.

16. Saying and picturing the character in mind.

17. Given the sound, visualising the character shape and meaning.

And there is only one strategy used in practising new characters.

18. Making sentences and writing them out.

And new characters are reviewed with these two strategies only.

19. Writing the characters many times.

20. Reading over notes, example sentences and the textbook.

Of the twenty strategies mentioned above, four are found to be most significant in increasing learner’s skills of speaking, listening, reading, and writing of the new characters. The four strategies are:

  • Writing the characters down
  • Observing the stroke order
  • Making association with a similar character
  • Saying and writing the character repeatedly

Discussion

A research by Stice in 1987 showed that students only retained 10% of what they learned from what they read, 26% from what they hear, and 30% from what they see. When learning modes are combined, a significant improvement in learning retention is noted. Learning retention jumped to 50% when seeing and hearing are combined, and even higher at 70% when students say the materials they are learning, and learning retention is at the highest at 90% when students say the materials they are learning as they do something. Simply reading the characters are not enough. Learners must associate the sound with the characters, make a connection with the characters to make them memorable, and practice recalling the newly learned characters.

Study shows that recalling new characters learned improves learning retention and reinforces learning. One way to practice this is by using an app such as The Intelligent Flashcards. This particular flashcard app is designed for the New Practical Chinese Reader textbooks, making it convenient to review characters based on chapters. Not only does it show stroke order animation, it is also accompanied by native speaker sound files, making this app so much more convenient that another app such as Anki. With Anki, although user can add personal notes on it, the sound file is not available and must be imported through another app.

Another important learning strategy to incorporate is observing how the characters are used in context. This can be done by observing real-life conversations to add to the textbook and audio files conversation. It is interesting to note that university students studied in the abovementioned research were reluctant to adopt the learning strategies recommended by the instructors, such as watching Chinese TV shows or listening Chinese songs. There could be many reasons for this. The style of the shows or songs may not appeal to the learners. Access to this program is not as convenient. And even if the shows could be accessed online, rarely are they subtitled either in both Chinese and English which would make the shows more helpful to beginner learners in acquiring the language. Also, most of the very popular Chinese TV shows fall into the historical genre, which is a favourite among the Chinese, such as The Empress of China. However, the language spoken in this type of TV show is much more complex than the contemporary spoken Chinese.

Having regular inputs from the language you are learning outside classroom hours is important to your progress. Try to find a program that suits your interests. It is a good idea to follow a schedule that allows you to receive such language inputs. Online you can access contemporary shows such as Chinese Idol (like American Idol) subtitled in Chinese characters, and Dad Where Are We Going? (subtitled in English and Chinese), a very popular show in China featuring celebrity Dads and their kids on traveling adventures. SBS Two in Australia, for instance, broadcasts a very popular Chinese dating show If You Are The One weekly with English subtitles. The show regularly features Chinese speaking participants from America, Europe, and other Asian countries. The show can also be watched online via SBS website. SBS Radio also broadcast daily Chinese news for 2 hours. There are also many other Chinese films with English subtitles featured on SBS Movies, as well as documentaries on various topics to choose from, all in Chinese with English subtitles. And then the numerous Chinese radio apps available nowadays. Routines such as these, when incorporated into learners’ study plan, will facilitate Chinese language acquisition.

Another rarely utilised strategy is practicing with native speakers of Chinese language. In a typical classroom setting, the instructor is the only native speaker who needs to cater to ten to twenty students in a classroom. Naturally, the opportunity for learners to speak Chinese is very limited. Learners should find opportunities to immerse themselves in an environment where they can make good use of their Chinese language skills. Learners should also try to express themselves as much as possible in the language being learned, for example, by writing a journal in Chinese, sending messages in Chinese, even in just a few words or phrases. Even though there are more than 50,000 Chinese characters (may vary based on dictionaries), there are less than 3000 most frequently used Chinese characters. By understanding 1000 of them, learners will be able to comprehend 80% of communication. Add 1000 more characters, and you will increase your comprehension to 90%. And if you add 500 more characters specific to your circumstances, you will be qualified as an advanced learner. That’s just about the number of characters needed to pass the highest level of Chinese language proficiency test. Make practice outside classroom hours a habit and your second language skills will experience immense improvement.

Hauptbahnof – Navigating A German Train Station

Posted on by

A Hauptbahnof is a cavernous German train station. Rail travel is popular in Germany. Many passengers will be rushing through the doors. Here are some tips on navigating through the station to your comfortable train seat.

Deutsche Bahn is the German National Railway that not only manages 30,000 daily trains, but also 5,700 train stations. Here are the steps:

  • Purchase your Fahrkarte, or train ticket. Your choice is the ticket office or a kiosk. Ticket offices advise you on various train travel options. Kiosks are good for short trips. In either case you must decide on first or second class train tickets. First is roughly double the price of second;
  • Bring your luggage. Large racks above the train seats hold plenty of luggage;
  • Check the train time. Large screens are in the front of the station with cities, train times, and tracks; Deutsche Bahn precision enables several trains to arrive and depart each track per hour. If your train time or track number is not on the screen, you are likely early. Germans arrive close to departure, confident the train is on time and knowing the likely departure track. Eventually, your train and track will appear;
  • Go to your track. If you are early, the Hauptbahnof offers café’s, Bäckerei, newsstands, and other shopping. When arriving at your track platform, check your train ticket for a number and a capitalized A through E. Number 1 is first class and number 2 is second class. All card boldly displays either number. The capitalized A-E is the Wagenstananziegler, or car locator. You will see A, B, C… painted on the platform a car length apart. Queue-up by the letter on your train ticket. This way you will not be dragging your luggage through multiple cars. Deutsche Bahn will stop the train so each car precisely lines with each letter;
  • Hoist your luggage on the rack; make sure your train ticket is available when the conductor makes the rounds, (there is often a clip on for ticket in front of you); and relax.

Depending on the Deutsche Bahn train, you will be flying through the countryside at incredible speeds on a cushioned ride. While the scenery will be interesting, the soft rumble below may lull you into sleep. I used to worry about sleeping through a stop. Today’s smart phones provide a variety of alarms. Regular announcements describe the next stop. Lean back in your comfortable seat and enjoy the ride.

Help! My Child Was Screened For Special Education and Found Not Eligible? Now What Do I Do!

Posted on by

Has your child been screened by special education personnel and told that they are not eligible for services? Did their doctor state that your child has autism, but the school stated that they did a screening and found that your child did not have autism, thus was not eligible? This article will discuss screening and how it is related to eligibility for special education services.

School districts in the US must perform something that is called: Child Find. What this means is that school districts are required to locate, identify and evaluate those that may have a disability. This requirement is included in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) under 300.111 (a) (i). Many school districts use screening tools as a basis to fulfill their Child Find obligations.

But screening is not the same as testing for special education eligibility. Once the school district finds someone that may have a disability, through the screening process, they must be evaluated, to determine if they are eligible, according to IDEA and the Child Find requirements.

The evaluation should be comprehensive and include all areas of suspected disability, which is required by IDEA. Some of these areas could be speech/language needs, occupational therapy needs, fine motor difficulty, learning disability central auditory processing disorder, social/emotional and behavioral needs, functional needs, sensory processing disorder and not just academic difficulties.

So if your child is screened and thought to have a disability, a complete evaluation must be completed on your child to determine if they are eligible for special education and related services. Do not accept screening as an eligibility tool!

IDEA states that two things must occur to be eligible:

1. They must have a disability

2. They must have educational needs.

Many school districts may state that the child’s disability must negatively affect there education; but that was taken out when IDEA was reauthorized in 2004! They must have a disability, and must have educational needs (not just academic needs, as discussed above).

According to Caselaw: Seattle School District No1 vs. BS (9th circuit 1996) : The term unique educational needs shall be broadly construed to include. . . academic, social, health, emotional, communicative, physical and vocational needs

Once the testing is complete, an eligibility conference will be held between you and special education personnel in your district. Do not go alone, try and find another parent or an advocate who is familiar with special education. The eligibility conference is one of the most important conferences in special education.

At the eligibility conference if your child is found eligible for special education an Individual Education Plan will be developed. If they are not found eligible ask for an Independent Educational Evaluation at Public Expense, because you disagree with the school districts evaluation (and/or interpretation).

Many school districts find children ineligible for special education services even though they do have a disability, and have educational needs. The difficulty begins with their interpretation of the testing. The test scores may be extremely low, but they interpret them to be fine, and then find the child ineligible.

You must advocate, because you are their parent and they are depending on you! Good luck in this difficult process, but it will be worth it!

How To Write Articles – 3 Easy Steps

Posted on by

For millions of people writing is a way of life. Learning how to write articles is not something that just a few people in life do, there are a literally millions of people that are learning the trade and starting to post up information on a variety of directories, blogs, and so much more. If you or someone you know is looking to figure out how to move forward with this type of innovation, consider the following ways to get more out of your words:

  • Everyday Writing – When you wake up and you do your normal routine, make sure that it includes some sort of writing. You’re not going to find a lot of time throughout your day to sit and write, so get it done in the morning. The first things you write don’t have to be long winded, or very good, they just have to be informational. Make sure that you spend some time writing daily, so that you build on the skill.
  • Emulation – The second thing that you can do in regards to writing is to look into what others are writing. You need to emulate the style of many writers, and not just copy their content. If you can successfully write the way many other writers do, you’ll be on the fast track to success. Writing is a difficult thing to master, but if your purpose is to learn how to write articles; you need to emulate other article scribes.
  • Blog – Start a blog, start writing posts daily and continually keep it up. This might seem like a rudimentary type of idea, however, if you are careful with your thoughts and talk about something you love, you’ll find that when it comes down to writing “paid” work, you’ll find it far easier than once thought. You’ll enjoy the greater good that is involved with blogs because it can be a revenue source in the long term, and for some bloggers, six figure blogging is possible.

If you’re interested in figuring out how to write articles, one last note might be important to consider. Think about writing in the form of scholastics. When in high school and college, writing essays becomes a standard. If you can take what you learned then, and apply it into today’s manner, you’ll find that you can create a wealth of writing in essay format. The essay format can make you stand out ahead of many people around the world.

For those that aren’t really good at writing, don’t worry. You can become a paid scribe by simply doing it on a daily basis. It’s important to understand that while many have natural talent, the people that succeed the most are scribes that do it daily in a variety of different formats. If you want to join them, you simply have to start doing this daily. The aforementioned tips are just 3 things that you can remember when moving forward with article writing and much more. Remember, you can’t become successful if you don’t try.

Career Planning – 5 Quick Start Tips to a Better Future!

Posted on by

Career Planning:5 Quick Tips to Control Your Career and Your Future!

It’s unlikely that anyone today will stay with one employer their whole working life. As you make choices regarding your career your identity comes from these choices and not your employer.

Who is making a lifetime commitment to your career? It’s surely not your employer, no matter how benevolent they might be. The person controlling your life is you, so if you take responsibility for your life and your future you’ll be far ahead of most people. It’s counterproductive to blame circumstances you cannot control or to blame your employer, your supervisor or co-workers.

If you feel powerless because of where you work, or the career you are in, wake-up and get started on your future. Everyone, with a bit of planning has the ability to quit their jobs and start with another employer, another career or start working for themselves.

The job market is relatively soft right now, but the economy will change and if you plan for a job or career change you future success starts now.

Five Ways to Quickly Get Control of Your Career and Your Future.

1. Research job opportunities all the time.

This doesn’t mean you need to send out five resumes every day. What is does mean is you are constantly looking for opportunities. Some may be internal-with your current employer-some may be external.

Some opportunities may be additional education, self-study, networking with outside organizations, and becoming a player in a career related organization. All will provide you with a constant stream of valuable career information.

If you get stuck and don’t see a way out, work hard at getting help. Career coaches are everywhere, how about a mentor or someone from your network.
Build up your support team and soon you’ll have a group of people working on your behalf.

2. Don’t use money issues as the reasons holding you back.

If you use this as an excuse for making a career or job decision you are shortchanging yourself. If you think you need a certain income to live well, there are many families living better but earning 10%, 20% and even 50% less than you do. How do they do it? Do some research.

After your research then make your plans and you’ll soon find that financial issues will drop off your worry/excuse list.

3. Honestly assess where you happiness comes from.

If it were money, millionaires would be the happiest people on the planet. And earning 25% more may or may not increase you level of happiness. Probably not as there is always 25% more, and 25% after that.

After you’ve built your career plan and you take action this is the fasted path to fulfillment and happiness, not ruminating about what you cannot control.

4. Blaming others or taking a routine negative approach to a situation is a lose-lose proposition.

How you view situations matters. If a problem becomes framed as an opportunity you’ll be well on your way to controlling the situation. Search for the best in every situation, taking the optimistic approach will put you more in control of your career and your future.

5. Do the best presenting in your “brand.”

Looking your best starts with physical conditioning. What is your ideal weight? Do you regularly exercise? Do you go out of your way to build in some physical activity into your daily routine?

Working in a three story building-how often do you use the stairs? Going shopping? How about parking at the edge of the parking lot and getting in some extra walking. You get the idea.

What you wear can make a difference. Recently I meet with a manager who was dressed in what looked like Goodwill castoffs. He didn’t impress any member of my team and he had to work extra hard to get his points across. This is not to suggest that he had to wear a $2000 designer suit, but freshly pressed khakis, with a shirt without a frayed collar and shined shoes would have made at least a neutral impression.

Need assistance with the rest of your appearance? Get help, get a regular haircut, etc.

Also, as part of your career planning work hard to improve your ability to communicate, both in writing and in making an oral presentation. Improvement in this area will also improve your “brand” and will pay big dividends.

Controlling your life, career and future is no easy task. Once you make the decision to start, work through one thing at a time. Keep it up and before you know it you will put together a record of personal achievements and career advancement. The time to start is now.

Need a Career Coach? 10 Ways a Career Coach Can Help You

Posted on by

The word coaching is synonymous with sports teams. A coach can help athletes to develop the mindset to achieve, to set and achieve goals that to many people seem insurmountable, but with focus and clarity, can be met or exceeded. They can help a sportsperson to reach their full potential by planning structured training programmes, providing feedback on performance, and helping them to become more effective.

However, coaching has become more prevalent in other areas. Life coaching has developed significantly over the last few years, with many coaches specialising in niche areas such as health, financial and career coaching to name a few.

To concentrate on the rising demand for employing a career coach, why should you choose a coach to help you to progress in your career?

A career coach will help you in many ways. Like in the description of a sports coach above, they will help you to develop and reach your potential, be successful and achieve results. A career coach will normally work with you on a one-to-one basis and will often offer group workshops, teleseminars and e-books to support you to progress in your career.

A career coach can help you in the following areas:

Career exploration and discovery

You may be unhappy or dissatisfied in your job and feel that there is something else out there, but are not sure what it is. A career coach can help you to discover what is important to you in your job and make sure that it uses your talents, skills, and strengths, and provides you with the reward you deserve.

Understand your strengths and weaknesses

A career coach will help you to develop an insight into your strengths and weaknesses. This will allow you to understand yourself better and support any decisions you make in your career. It will highlight areas you may not have considered before and you can address any weaknesses that may be holding you back or use them to your advantage.

Develop your career vision and design your career

A career coach can help you to structure a plan to progress your career. By helping you to understand your skills and abilities, they can help you to plan your ideal job and how you are going to get there.

Develop confidence in your own ability

You may have a plan for your future, but you may be consciously or subconsciously holding yourself back. A career coach can help you to develop greater confidence in your ability as well as providing you with the support and motivation to help you to achieve your goal.

Provide job search support

A career coach can help you during all stages of your job search. From helping you to develop your CV, to finding the ideal job and then succeeding at the interview, a career coach will support you every step of the way.

Help you to get ready for promotion

You don’t need to want to change your career to benefit from employing a career coach. They can help you to get ready for promotion, plan for the next step in your career, and support you to develop your talents.

Support you in the workplace

If you are unhappy at work, there may be many reasons why this may be so. A career coach can also help you to deal with difficult situations or people and become more assertive. You can increase your profile at work, build better relationships and improve your own personal effectiveness.

Make sure that your goals are congruent with other parts of your life

A career does not exist on its own and is part of your overall life. It is important that a career coach makes sure that your career goals fit in well with other parts of your life. For example, if work/life balance is essential for you, they will ensure that you consider this when planning or progressing your career.

Provide you with greater self awareness

Some career coaches will use psychometric tests or other techniques that will help you to develop a greater self awareness of yourself. A greater self awareness will help you to understand yourself better, build stronger relationships, and communicate more effectively.

Support you every step of the way

Like other coaches, career coaches will support you every step of the way.

Their role is to:

– Challenge you and ensure that you commit to making the changes you desire.

– Hold you accountable to the actions you want to take. You will need to report on your results, which means that as well as being accountable to yourself, you need to demonstrate what you have achieved to your coach.

– Question you and challenge your ideas and thoughts.

– Listen to you without any agenda for themselves, which gives you a chance to come up with your own solutions which are right for you.

– Celebrate your successes and recognise when you have overcome difficulties or challenges.

– Keep you motivated even when the going gets tough!

How To Write Articles – 3 Easy Steps

Posted on by

For millions of people writing is a way of life. Learning how to write articles is not something that just a few people in life do, there are a literally millions of people that are learning the trade and starting to post up information on a variety of directories, blogs, and so much more. If you or someone you know is looking to figure out how to move forward with this type of innovation, consider the following ways to get more out of your words:

  • Everyday Writing – When you wake up and you do your normal routine, make sure that it includes some sort of writing. You’re not going to find a lot of time throughout your day to sit and write, so get it done in the morning. The first things you write don’t have to be long winded, or very good, they just have to be informational. Make sure that you spend some time writing daily, so that you build on the skill.
  • Emulation – The second thing that you can do in regards to writing is to look into what others are writing. You need to emulate the style of many writers, and not just copy their content. If you can successfully write the way many other writers do, you’ll be on the fast track to success. Writing is a difficult thing to master, but if your purpose is to learn how to write articles; you need to emulate other article scribes.
  • Blog – Start a blog, start writing posts daily and continually keep it up. This might seem like a rudimentary type of idea, however, if you are careful with your thoughts and talk about something you love, you’ll find that when it comes down to writing “paid” work, you’ll find it far easier than once thought. You’ll enjoy the greater good that is involved with blogs because it can be a revenue source in the long term, and for some bloggers, six figure blogging is possible.

If you’re interested in figuring out how to write articles, one last note might be important to consider. Think about writing in the form of scholastics. When in high school and college, writing essays becomes a standard. If you can take what you learned then, and apply it into today’s manner, you’ll find that you can create a wealth of writing in essay format. The essay format can make you stand out ahead of many people around the world.

For those that aren’t really good at writing, don’t worry. You can become a paid scribe by simply doing it on a daily basis. It’s important to understand that while many have natural talent, the people that succeed the most are scribes that do it daily in a variety of different formats. If you want to join them, you simply have to start doing this daily. The aforementioned tips are just 3 things that you can remember when moving forward with article writing and much more. Remember, you can’t become successful if you don’t try.

College Readiness Determines Its Value

Posted on by

The debate over whether college is worth its high cost has been argued in the last couple of years, primarily due to the high costs of attending, the dismal unemployment rate, and the sluggish economy. Many people are concerned that our society, schools, and academia, are pushing way too many kids toward higher education without determining their college readiness or the value of that investment. It seems as if today’s undergraduate degree is yesterday’s high school degree and that having a BA or BS doesn’t offer much job security. Many young people go to college because it is expected; often times their secondary schools do little to encourage or offer viable options and related skills. Therefore it seems logical that parents and students need to take a realistic look at what college graduates can expect once they graduate. Is the ever-rising cost of college a smart investment for young people?

Most of these discussions about the value of college do not include college readiness-but they should. If a student goes to college only because she is expected to or because she cannot think of anything else to do, then college is not a good investment. If that student is not ready for college, for whatever reason, she needs to pursue something else-gap time, job, military, apprenticeships, etc. – until she decides she is motivated, serious, ready, willing, and able.

Even when that student decides she seriously wants to pursue a degree, the question still remains: Is college a good value. A recent report by Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce ascertains that while employment and earnings for college graduates is down from past years, “extensive research, ours (the Center) included, finds that a college degree is still worth it.” The report continues: “A Bachelor’s degree is one of the best weapons a job seeker can wield in the fight for employment and earnings….Unemployment for students with new Bachelor’s degrees is an unacceptable 8.9 percent, but it’s a catastrophic 22.9 percent for job seekers with a recent high school diploma-and an almost unthinkable 31.5 percent for recent high school dropouts.”

The report goes on to explain that the choice of major makes a big difference. Some of the major findings in the report: “1) Choice of major substantially affects employment prospects and earnings. 2) People who make technology are better off than people who use technology. 3) In general, majors that are linked to occupations have better employment prospects than majors focused on general skills.”

While that may be true, also consider that many employers are looking only for the degree itself as an indicator of basic skill levels and maturity, often with the assumption that the employer will provide actual job training. It also is important to remember that there are several careers that do not necessarily require college degrees, but do require on-the-job training.

The point remains that college is worth it if the student is motivated, serious, and ready for college. Determining that college readiness is the first step.

Prepare Yourself for the PMP Exam

Posted on by

If an athlete prepares himself for a race, he does running exercises for it. A singer practices his voice in order to have a perfect performance. A boxer does punch everyday so that during the match, he’ll achieve the championship. For example, Manny Pacquiao didn’t just wake up to be an instant boxing expert without any preparation for it.

And as a student studies his lessons as he makes himself ready for an exam, so as PMP students. They need to study in order to pass the PMP exam especially that this exam determines their profession and career path. But, how and what you should do in preparing yourself?

I have been with all those unexplainable feelings so I do understand how you feel. But nothing really happens if you just keep on worrying. We need to do something so that when the PMP exam came, we are ready. At least confidence will be found in us, being sure that we will surely pass.

Here are some of the tips in preparing for the PMP exam:

o Pray: To all those who believe in the power of prayer, you better pray! It will surely help you feel at ease and calm as you start studying without thinking too much about what will come out of the exam.

o Resources: With computer in front of you, you could easily search for PMP study guide books. But before picking anything, you should choose a guide book that you could easily understand, useful and is well-informed.

o Questions: There are lots of PMP questions scattered in the internet. Using those questions, test yourself of what you’ve learned about Project Management. Testing yourself is effective in internalizing the lessons you’ve learned. Besides, those lessons will be really useful as you start working as a Project Manager.

o Seminars and Trainings: Try to attend conferences and seminars. Learn from other great and expert Project Managers and their ways in learning Project Management. You many not know, their ideas fit you and will greatly help you in taking the Project Management Exam.

o My Tip: Always think of positive things. Think that you could pass the test. Think that you are able to take the certification that proves you are already a Project Manager. Believe in yourself that you can! Also, hope. Nothing is lost if you are going to hope for the best of yourself.

These tips are just my own experience and understanding. There are still lots of other ways in preparing for the PMP exam. And you can also make your own ways where you feel comfortable with. But whatever preparation we are going to make, we all know that the path to success is quite difficult. For me, you should have faith in God and never lose hope. Do your very best and you will surely see results from all your effort. And as you study, don’t forget to have fun! Being happy on what you are doing leads you to success. Happiness brings many great things and gives you long and peaceful life. Don’t make the exam an obstacle but a challenge. The greater the challenge, the greater the honor it will give you, especially if you have succeeded the challenge. So cheer up and good luck on the PMP exam!