Education Centre

According to the National Center For Education Statistics, almost 1.1 million children underwent homeschooling in 2005 alone. That’s a lot of children. Once upon a time, homeschooling used to be a radical statement - something like a declaration of independence. It was the conservative Christians who advocated homeschooling in the ’80s and legalized it in every State. But the typical homeschooler of the day is not religiously motivated.

Recent surveys indicate that parents are actually quite fed up of the public school systems where much of the learning is superficial and compulsory. They are also concerned about negative school environment ranging from drugs and abuse to negative peer pressure. As a result, we have a surprising mix of people who form the homeschooling world of today. They cut across all religious and regional borders. Their main aim is providing meaningful and productive learning through a method that strengthens the bond between the various members of the family. (more…)

For many people, homeschooling may call to mind the picture of two or three children sitting at a table and writing feverishly in their workbooks, while mom or dad stands nearby. This is the not entirely true. There are different methods of homeschooling, and the method you choose will decide the curriculum and your style of teaching. Given below are some of the most influential and popular homeschooling methods.

The Charlotte Mason method: Charlotte Mason is known as the founder of the homeschooling movement. A homeschooler herself, she was passionate in her zeal to lay out the foundations for an effective a complete homeschooling program that is fun and educational at the same time. This method focuses on all the core subjects with emphasis placed on classical literature, poetry, fine arts, classical music and craft. Mason used a variety of books from classical literature, which she called ‘Living Books’.
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Now that you have decided that homeschooling is the way to educate your child, get ready for the ecstasy and the anxiety - the road ahead is a bit bumpy, but the rewards more than make up for it. Producing a well-adjusted and well-rounded personality is no mean achievement.

First of all, it is important to check out your state laws on home schooling. Some states need an affidavit filed with the State’s education department. There are basically 3 categories for homeschooling laws. These are: private school laws, home education laws and equivalency laws. Find your state laws. You may also need to maintain a portfolio that records the child’s educational progress. It is important to look into the legal requirements BEFORE you start homeschooling. Some States also stipulate a minimum educational qualification for the parent or teacher. (more…)

Learning a foreign language is naturally a process that requires effort and time, much or not, depending on the capability of an individual. Current technology makes learning a second language more flexible and easier. You can learn it anywhere you like, in your car while trapped in traffic jam, while waiting for commuter to arrive or fishing at Lake Garden, by means of many types of medium such as cassette, CD and the Internet, such as at www.malaylanguage.mypositivemoney.com where you will find a good resource of foreign languages. Below are just a few reasons why you should learn another language:

1. Most significant yet simple reason – Eliminate the language barrier that you may face, easier for you to deal with other people when you go traveling or have to work in another country. The majority of native people probably do not know how to speak English fluently or do not know how to speak English at all, so knowing some key phrases will help you a lot. Moreover, you will want to know what people around you are talking about while you’re shopping, waiting for taxi, or having dinner at a restaurant.
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1. Have fun. Attitude is everything with home learning. Enjoy learning and your kids will enjoy it. Make it drudgery and they will respond as well. Try to make even boring tasks, pleasant at least. This is not to say that everything must be a 3-ring circus, but if you have a fresh, upbeat attitude even with times tables and spelling tests, this will reflect well on your children’s enjoyment and learning potential.

2. Limit interruptions. My biggest interruption is the phone. Get a good answering machine and use it during regularly scheduled learning time. Or use voice mail. Record a message that states from this time to that time we are home educating and will get back to you after we are finished. Tell friends and relatives that this is the case, and eventually they will learn to respect this. This also means well meaning drop in visits and babysitting for friends, etc. Keep your children’s learning time sacred and your family will benefit from this.

3. Dedicate your time to their learning. If you are doing 101 things while your children are trying to do bookwork, how can you expect them to concentrate and finish tasks at hand? Keep your focus on them, it is a priority that rewards! (more…)

Career Advice: Learn To Trust Your Gut Reactions

Do you trust your gut reactions when it comes to making decisions?
You may call it intuition, gut reaction, hunch, imagination or sixth sense. Whatever, until you are ready to depend on that “quick and ready insight” (Webster’s definition) that empowers you to make decisions based on “just knowing” beyond hard facts and figures, you will not function at full speed on your career path.

About 80 percent of CEOs use intuition in their decisions, according to a study at McGill University. (more…)

If you are interested in being a part of the entertainment business, sound arts schools can show you what it takes to be a professional audio technician. Good training in sound arts can teach you everything you need to know for a lifelong career creating and editing audio for TV, movies, music, or video games.

Sound arts schools (also called recording arts schools) are generally found in the Fine Arts or Performing Arts Departments of colleges and universities. Aspiring sound technicians are taught the basics of sound and audio acoustics, analog consoles, MIDI, music theory, and much more. Today’s audio industry is rapidly evolving, and the top training in sound arts will involve the latest digital workstations, consoles, tape machines, microphones, and industry software to keep current. (more…)

Even if you have received a loan for your tuition or were lucky enough to get a scholarship, extra money is always needed to help pay for books, supplies and day-to-day living expenses at school.

Often schools post part-time jobs that are available right on the campus. Two typical and popular positions to check out are front desk attendant and library assistant. The desk attendant sits at the entrance of a dormitory and keeps watch over the students coming in and out. They are expected to check student IDs, buzz people in and just make sure everything is the way it is suppose to be according to the particular regulations. (more…)