7 Surprising Facts About Homeschooling

7 Surprising Facts About Homeschooling If youre new to the idea of homeschooling, you may think its just like traditional school, but without the classroom.  In some  ways, youd be right -  but there are many important differences. And those differences make homeschooling the best choice for many families.   Whether youre a new  homeschooler  or are just curious about how it works, here are seven facts about homeschooling that may surprise you. 1. Homeschoolers Dont Have to Do the Same Work as Kids in School In some states, public school students have the option to  do their work at home online. Because theyre still enrolled in the public school system, those students follow the same curriculum as kids in school. But in general, homeschoolers also have the option to create their own curriculum -  or not use a curriculum at all. Often they choose lots of hands-on activities and ​learning resources other than textbooks. So instead of trying to keep up with what students in their grade are doing, homeschooling students can study Ancient Greece while their peers study the Civil War. They can  explore states of matter with dry ice  or go  in-depth on evolution  while kids their age are memorizing the parts of a flower. The freedom to follow childrens interests is one of the aspects of homeschooling many families like best. 2. Homeschooling Parents Stay up to Date on How Children Learn and Grow To keep their teaching license current, classroom teachers may be required to attend professional development workshops. At these workshops, they study the latest information and strategies about how children learn. But research on education topics like learning styles, brain development, and the links between physical activity and memory can be found in books, magazines and websites available to the public as well. Thats why even homeschooling parents who dont have teaching degrees are familiar with the latest information on how to be a better teacher. Whats more, experienced homeschoolers -  including those with a professional background in education or child development - are very willing to offer support to other homeschoolers, whether online or at  parent meetings. So the knowledge base within the homeschool community is vast and easily accessible. 3. Its Not Unusual for Classroom Teachers to Homeschool Their Own Children Nobody knows how schools really operate better than classroom teachers. So its not surprising that  many licensed, trained, experienced public school educators decide to homeschool their  kids. As they will tell you, homeschooling lets them use their skills and experience without a lot of  red tape. At home, dedicated professional teachers can create the kind of  learning environment every child should have. 4. Were Still Waiting for a Good Study of Homeschooling You may have  read articles that claim homeschoolers do better than average on standardized tests, come from wealthier families, and homeschool mainly because of religious beliefs. None of the conventional wisdom about homeschooling is backed by rigorous scientific research, however. Most of the statistics you read were collected by groups with a vested interest in proving  that either homeschooling is a cure-all for American education or the end of civilization as we know it. The true answer is more complicated and yet to be reliably studied. 5. Lots of Homeschooling Parents Are Also Working Parents Along with the idea that homeschooling families are wealthier than average is the notion that teaching your own children means one parent must be home full time  and not working. This is not true. Homeschoolers come up with many creative ways to balance work and homeschooling. 6. Homeschoolers Dont Need a High School Diploma to Get into College Colleges have come to recognize that homeschool students are as well prepared as traditionally-schooled students for college life. Thats why they often have a special application process for  college-bound homeschoolers  that takes into account their varied backgrounds. Some homeschoolers also get around requirements for standardized tests like the SAT by taking enough community college classes while in high school to apply as transfer students. 7. Homeschoolers Can Get Many of the Same Educator Discounts as Classroom Teachers Classroom teachers know that national chains and local stores that carry school supplies, art materials, books, and teaching aids often offer educator discounts. In many cases, homeschooling parents can get these discounts too. Stores that have offered discounts include Barnes Noble and Staples. Special educator discounts extend to field trips as well. Museums, summer camps, amusement parks and other educational and recreation venues have learned that offering special events and programs for homeschoolers can boost business during slow periods. For instance, Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, the Colonial-era living museum, has run popular Home School Days for several years. Some national companies also include homeschoolers in competitions and incentive programs aimed at school kids. For example, homeschoolers can earn rewards for reading from the Six Flags chain of amusement parks and Pizza Hut restaurants. Policies change, so its always a good idea to ask. You may also want to be prepared to show proof that you homeschool, such as  a letter from the school district or your  homeschool group membership card.

Essay Einstein Principle for Effective Time Management

Essay Einstein Principle for Effective Time Management Essay: Einstein Principle for Effective Time Management Modern society seems to be focused on intensive lifestyles. People are in a hurry almost all the time. This brings about a great need for effective time management. Some people try to optimize their time by getting up earlier or by going to bed early just to cope with as many tasks as possible. But does this really help? After all, this approach seems to be pointless as it only makes us exhausted and depressed due to lack of sleep. Now take a moment to consider some better ways to effectively manage time. What could be better than a method invented by Albert Einstein? No matter how hard we try to multitask, it seems impossible to do everything on our daily list. However, the theory of Albert Einstein states: â€Å"We are most productive when we focus on a very small number of projects on which we can devote a large amount of attention† (Newport, 2007). The following principle is based on the fact that serious tasks are time-consuming and require plenty of effort and concentration. Heres another trick. If we follow Mr. Einsteins principal, were likely to have a very low number of so called life-projects: education, career, marriage and hobby. Besides, each of us is overloaded by a number of duties and myriad small, but still important things to complete, alongside with the major ones. Moreover, putting all of your effort, time, money and other resources in one gigantic project can prove to be too risky, especially if something goes wrong. (Newport, 2007). There are no â€Å"sure things† in life! Therefore, lets base an approach toward time management based on the theory of a world-famous scientist, by updating the approach to better fit the standards of modern society. To achieve the best possible results, follow the scheme below: Step 1. When you feel time is short and youre peppered with hundreds of things to do, take a piece of paper and subdivide it into four columns: education, personal development, friends, and relations, and hobbies. In this way, you build a basic structure for the most important spheres of your life. Step 2. Write down the items which refer to a definite part of your life and list them in a corresponding section. So, for example, in the section titled Education, list the tasks connected with your studies (e.g. go to the library and find the needed book, start writing your new project, consult your professor and clarify the questions you need for your term paper, etc). The section for Personal Development could be filled with such issues as: taking driving lessons, paying more attention to your health and workouts, or it can be an intention to buy new furniture or decorations for your room. The section Friends and Relations may include activities like meeting a friend in a cafà ©, visiting a distant relative, or even buying Christmas presents! Finally, the fourth section Hobby can be filled with your intentions connected with something you like to do, or it can be going to see a movie, cooking a new dish containing exotic fruit, or even exploring a new route for a bicycle ride! Step 3. As soon as your list is completed, take a closer look at it and cross out all the unnecessary items, the ones, you can forget about straight away. In such a way youll get a chance to focus on the most important things. Step 4. Next, select the tasks that must be completed right away, and mark them to be completed as soon as possible! Step 5. Youll be glad you found out that only a small amount of things are left for you to do! The most important thing to do at this stage is to not start any new projects until you complete the listed ones, which you should begin right away (Newport, 2007). Such a practical approach may turn out to be rather helpful in terms of time management. Reducing the number of unnecessary tasks and placing your full concentration on the truly urgent tasks will help you plan your schedule much more effectively! If you need to hire a professional essay writer to get your custom paper written from scratch contact our online paper writing service.

Philosophy subject Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy subject - Essay Example The question this scenario presents us students with is whether or not this boy is responsible for his actions. There are many philosophers that have very different answers to this troubling question. For purposes of this exam, I focus on Susan Wolf. Susan Wolf, the author of "Sanity and the Metaphysics of Responsibility," takes Frankfurt's views one step further, combining them with those views of Taylor and Watson. She puts forth the "Deep-Self View"(53), which basically stated, says that there is a deep self, which governs our actions and is influenced by our environment. This deep-self view allows for victims of brainwashing and persons with disorders like kleptomania to not be held responsible for their actions, even though they could have second-order desires about them. The reason for this is that these people's "wills are not governed by their deep selves, but by forces external to and independent from them"(53). Wolf separates desires "determined foreign to oneself from desires which are determined by one's self,"(54) or deep-self. This view allows for some determinism, while also providing a vehicle for a freedom of the will. However, Wolf admits that the deep-self view needs further revision for it to be feasible. The deep-self view would hold someone responsible of their actions every time their deep-self determines a desire not controlled by some external or foreign source. However, Wolf's example of JoJo, the son of a cruel dictator, shows that although JoJo's deep-self may truly want to do what is obviously wrong, he cannot be held responsible for his actions because of his upbringing. This idea is not reconcilable with Wolf's deep-self view at first. However, Wolf adds an addendum to her original hypothesis; namely, that the deep-self view holds true only if the individual is sane. The definition of sanity that Wolf uses the M'Naughten Rule, which states: "a person is sane if (1) he knows what he is doing, and (2) he knows that what he is doing is, as the case may be, right or wrong."(55). If a person were insane, i.e. did not have a grasp of the difference between right and wrong, then they would not be held responsible for their actions. By modifying the deep-self view in this manner, the case of JoJo is reconcilable with the deep-self view in that JoJo does not have an understanding of what is right or wrong, and therefore need not be held responsible for his actions. Wolf then summarizes her view by saying that "in order to be responsible for our actions, the sane deep-self view analyzes what is necessary in order to be responsible for our selves as (1) the ability to evaluate ourselves sensibly and accurately, and (2) the ability to transform ourselves insofar as our evaluation tells us to do so."(57) Thus, Wolf's idea of responsibility is dependent upon our ability to understand the difference between right and wrong and our ability to evaluate and change our deep-selves over time. When applying Wolf's sane deep-self theory to the case about the twelve year-old killer stated above, Wolf would most likely argue that the boy was responsible for h

How immigration affect social and economic status of sending and Research Proposal

How immigration affect social and economic status of sending and recieving countries - Research Proposal Example Accordingly, the effects of immigration are demarcated to indicate those affecting the country of origin and those affecting the receiving country. In general, it is evident that immigration has dual effects in the sense that the movement of people from one country to the other affects the sending country on one hand and the host country on the other. Immigration is an imperative dynamic in the international economy (Hall 59). Research estimates indicate that more than 110 million people reside outside their countries of origin. This shows that the aspect of immigration plays a critical position in economic, communal and political lives of many people across the world. People travel away from their nations of birth due to a number of reasons though it is mostly perceived that a majority of immigrants move away from their homes in search for opportunities of employment. It is a clearly established that there are countless economic and social effects of immigrations. In a nutshell the most significant implications of immigrations may include; first and foremost, effects on the host nation’s employment market whereby immigration could cast severe implications on the host countries wages and employment opportunities. Subsequently, immigration could immensely influence the budgetary arrangement of the destination country becaus e the services received by the immigrants including education and health may not strictly balance with the increased taxes from workers (Berg and Bodvarsson 27). Additionally, immigration could offer a credible solution to the problem of aging population in the country of destination. Lastly, immigration may significantly affect the economy of the sending country both positively and negatively though some negative effects could turn around as benefits to the country. For instance, brain drain is a harmful implication of immigration to the country of origin but could end up being a

Compositions Essay Example for Free

Compositions Essay My parents took me to Chidambaram on the occasion of the festival for Lord Nataraja. That festival occurs once in a year. The crowd was huge. It had come from all parts of India, and, in some cases, even from outside India. The crowd consisted of people from various states in India. It therefore, consisted of people from different walks of life. We saw people from Northern states of India, like, Uttar Pradesh, Rajastan, Delhi and many more. We also saw crowds from Great Britain and The United States of America. We found people talking in different languages. Some of the people found it difficult to make the local people of Chidambaram understand what they meant. So, they needed interpreters. As mentioned earlier, the crowd was not only huge, but consisted of citizens of various status and from various states. Some leader was delivering a speech. He did not belong to Tamil Nadu. Sometimes he would speak in broken language and then switch over to different language, which i too could not follow. The crowd was in no better position. So, there was commotion in the crowd because it could not understand what the speaker was talking about. When the crowd became restive, someone came on to the dias to do interpretation, but that did not also satisfy the crowd. Therefore, the speaker finished his speech and some one else came up the dias to deliver the speech. But, he too did not understand the local language well and there was a confusion again. This time the crowd became very restive and could not be controlled by the cops. When the situation appeared to be going out of control, the cops interfered and used water guns to disperse the crowd. When that too did not give the desired result, the cops naturally resorted to using bullets. The first fired in the air to terify the people. But, that did not yield the desired result. So they sprayed the crowd with actual bullets. This made the crowd retreat and some calm appeared to have descended on the crowd. So, this was a meeting which was well attended. But, it was attended by people from various states speaking different languages and having different life cultures. The speakers also did not do anything to pacify the crowd. As i said earlier, the crowd came from different states and spoke different languages, they could not understand what the speakers spoke, nor could others understand what they spoke.

A High Wind In Jamaica :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A High Wind in Jamaica is set in The Caribbean during the mid-1800’s. The book is about a group of children living on a pirate ship, and gives insight into the world that children live in. Over the course of the book, the children do many bad things, without feeling any guilt: Emily murders a man; Rachael drops a marlin spike from the mast almost killing Emily, and Emily condemns the captain and crew that she had come to love to death or deportation without seeming to care at all.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the beginning of the story Emily is just an ordinary little girl, but as the story continues she begins to feel herself changing. By the end of the story, Emily has gained self-consciousness and thinks of herself not as an ordinary little girl but as â€Å"Emily†. Emily murders a captured Dutch captain, but she doesn’t feel guilty and no one suspects that she did it. She only worries that she might be found out. She didn’t even think that what she did was wrong:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Near the end of the book, Emily is brought to court to testify against the pirates. When asked about the murder of the Dutch captain, she cries â€Å"†¦He was all lying in his own blood†¦he was awful! He†¦he died.† Sobbing hysterically, Emily is carried out of the box by her father. â€Å"As he stepped down with her she caught sight for the first time of Jonsen and the crew†¦The terrible look on Jonsen’s face as his eye met hers.† Once she is safely in a cab, â€Å"she [becomes] herself with surprising rapidity†. â€Å"She began to talk about all she had seen, just as if it had been a party†¦Ã¢â‚¬  All Emily worries about is whether or not â€Å"she said her piece properly†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Near the end of the book, Captain Jonsen decides to put the children on a steamer to England. Before they are sent to the new ship, he asks them not to tell anyone that he and the crew are pirates. Everyone agrees not to tell, and it seems that all is well. When the children arrive on the steamer, they do not say anything about their stay on the pirate ship. When Emily becomes hysterical a stewardess carries her down to her room. While she is being put to bed, she tells the stewardess about the pirates, breaking her promise to Jonsen, Emily thinks nothing of it, and she feels relieved at having told someone.

Liberty in America from 1865 to 1941

Liberty is not just a wonderful thing. It is a rare thing. As much as we would like to wish otherwise there is far more tyranny in the world as opposed to liberty. Throughout history, there have been tyrannical monarchies and totalitarian regimes that impose their will on the populace. Actually, one does not even have to look into the historical past for examples as there are many nations this very day where tyranny rules. Those who live in the United States, however, can at least lay claim to living in one of the freest nations on earth. This is because the United States has built itself upon the concept of liberty, democracy and freedom. While there have been dark patches in American history, many of those dark periods have been overcome. One of the more interesting periods in the nation's history in terms of exploring liberty progression and regression would be during the time period from the end of the Civil War to just prior to American involvement in World War Two. During the Reconstruction Era, a tremendous amount of liberty was provided to African-Americans as freedom from slavery had arrived. Sadly, there was not much in the way of racial equality brought forth during this time period and many point to the apartheid like environment southern blacks had to endure. However, there was also the period of the Great Migration where many African-Americans moved north during World War One to take advantage of ob opportunities and a better living environment. No one impeded the migration as the liberty of being able to seek a better life was afforded. In addition, the liberties of the United States were afforded to people who lived outside the United States. This is evidenced in the significant immigration waves to the USA from Europe. These waves occurred throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century and all those who arrived were provided all the freedoms of the United States as well as being afforded the opportunity to take part in the democratic process. In addition to voting in the United States, many of these immigrants would go one to become major political figures. In fact, within a short number of decades many immigrants and African-Americans would become mayors of major cities. While liberty was not expanded quickly, it did expand and crossed all racial, gender and ethnic lines. Of course, at various times in American history there have been a number of challenges to liberty. Under President Woodrow Wilson, there were a number of famous assaults on the concept of liberty. This was most notable in Wilson's Sedition Act which essentially imposed the totalitarian concept of the â€Å"enemy of the state† on people who opposed Wilson's war policies. However, the way in which these procedures were enacted were so severe there is no way one could argue that these were sane policies. These laws arbitrarily targeted large numbers of the population and were quite random in their enforcement.. Thankfully, with the end of Wilson's tenure such practices would cease to occur with the exception of the Japanese internment during World War Two. The reason this aberration is pointed out is because it is an aberration. Such extreme methods are not the general practice of the United States as it remains a reliable beacon of liberty where such liberties are provided for all. Yes, there are stumbling blocks to liberties now and then but ultimately the United States remains the freest nation of earth and one that cherishes its freedoms.