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Archive for the ‘General Category’ Category
Now you have determined to advance your education? No matter whether you graduate from high school or else have decided again to go to school in order to earn college degree, then there are lots of options out there. But, what is accurate for one individual is not necessarily right option for everybody. Thus how to find right college? Here are some simple steps that you may take to realize what is best option for you & your career: Find degree program, which interests you Though there are simple steps, all need some amount of investigation. You have to research what kind of program that you are been interested in studying. Begin with profession, which interests you and expand on profession that you are in. By using different tools, like Occupational Handbook, you may find average education rank, salary & work situation for different vocations. Pick out some of professions, which you think you are interested in, & move on to next step. Find & study colleges with the programs When you decide what type of degree you would like to pursue, then you have to find right college. One simple way to look for right college is to make use of college search engines. The college search engines are used to search accessible programs at all colleges over that country. Loads of college search engines have online programs of degree that are at times hard to find. A few college search engines let you look for by the zip code and state thus you may find schools located in your area. Narrow your choices down to some colleges that interest you. Check out the programs & degree program. Look at all required classes that you should take & compare to classes you want to take. Check out different student services that college needs to present. Do they give any student discounts and online classes? What about electronic library? You will find many online sources obtainable in this age of technology. And are they near by in nearness to your house? Try and use search engine, which allows you search by the zip code and state. Ask some simple questions to decide which college is correct for you. Ask for the information Determining on where you can get college degree is easy as asking question. If your questions are not answered then ask the representative. The college representatives will be very happy to answer al your questions and inform you regarding their college. Lots of different degree courses have some online forms, which are obtainable to fill out & get more information. Also you can call and e-mail representative to find more info & set up the appointment with adviser to observe which college program will fit best to you. When you go to college, you will get many options. Research every degree program, and look at diverse colleges, read articles regarding education or ask friends who already have attended colleges to learn what kind of degree program & college will best suits your requirements. About the Author Compare student credit cards and find more of Tom’s work all at FINDcollegecards.com. See Also:
Most of the important discoveries about dinosaurs are brought about by egg discoveries. Researchers are able to based dinosaur behaviors based on how they lay their eggs and nurture their young. Most dinosaur eggs are found in sandy shores of old waterways. They are positioned in clusters of 6-8 laid during Cretaceous period(146-66 million years ago). Anatomically, dinosaurs have two oviducts or ovaries connected with a tube where hard shelling occurs.There are two main types of dinosaur eggs shapes/ structure: spheroidal and elongated. They can be subdivided into three types: Spherulithic egg shells have spherical patterns Prismatic egg shells is a mixture of spherical and prism patterns Ornithoid egg shells have biocrystalline upper to middle patterns Egg classifications based on the type of dinosaur which laid them are: Sauropod They appear in spherical to subspherical shape with very long thin crystalline component. They have spherulithic shells in structure. Most of this specie was discovered in Argentina TheropodThey include Troodon, Ovirator, Therizinosaurs species. Troodon appear to have elongated shape with ornithoid shell type(thin shells). Ovirator has elongated and elliptical shapes. They have unique nodes and ridges in the surface. Therizinosaurs have two types the Manning egg and Louie egg. They are spherical and elongated shapes. Most of this specie was found in Montana. OrnithopodThey are rounded with slight elongated shape. They have longitudinal ridges in the surface. Egg shells are spherulithic in structure. Most ofthi species are also found in Montana. With regard to the behavior or manner of egg laying, here are some of the theories made by egg discoverers: Dinosaurs lay eggs one pair at a time Some of are laid in nests while others are in soil and debris Some dinosaurs warm eggs by their abdomens others use their throat and thorax. They can lay as many as 21-33 eggs in one nest. Eggs are carefully hatched. Shell openings are found on top layer which means hatching occurred upward. Dinosaurs eggs were protected by predators: smaller dinosaursThe largest dinosaur eggs ever discovered originated from a titanosaurs. Titanosaurs are from the family of sauropods. They were about 18cm long with 5 mm shell thickness. They contained 5.5 liters of fluid. Another specie was discovered with a size of a football. Research revealed that it came from Segnosaurs or meat eaters in Asia. On the other hand the smallest eggs discovered were from prosauropods of South Africa. They were about 6.5cm long and 5.5cm width. The tiniest eggs found was from a theropod. They were 18mm long and 0.7 inch in width. The latest and best discovery ever made about dinosaur eggs was the body of a female dinosaur conceiving two eggs. Eggs look like pineapple sized potatoes. Here are other additional facts regarding dinosaur eggs Studies on the real and actual color of eggs can be hardly identified since egg discoveries are already fossilized. The most expensive dinosaur egg for sale was sold for about $470. While the most inexpensive egg was at less than $200. During the Jurassic fever, a friend of Princess Diana paid 1400 pounds in exchange of sauropod egg at Bonhams auction. Patagonia, Argentina housed the largest number of sauropod eggs ever found in the history of mankind. Another breakthrough is the discovery of 6 intact embryos. The creatures had eloquent jaws , intact nostrils and peg shaped teeth. Researchers use CAT/CT scan (computerized axial tomography) to see what is inside the whole eggs discovered. In other cases, they used mild acid bath solution to slowly remove shell. About the Author For more information on Dinosaur Eggs and Ammonite Fossil please visit our website. See Also:
A great way to prepare for the ACT is to answer a practice question every day. If you look around, you should be able to find a resource that has practice tests that you can take questions from. Take one of the practice tests and randomly pick a question from any of the sections. Take a minute to think about the tips and strategies you should have learned. Now answer the question. Your goal is to get every question right. Don’t hurry; take your time and think about the question. The ACT test has some very definite types of questions. Figure out what kind of question it is? Review in your mind what you already know about that question type. For example, if the question is a math question and you don’t know how to do that problem, then go review the math principles related to the question before you answer it. If it is an English question do the same thing. If it is a question using commas and you are not sure you know the grammar rules for using commas, then review those rules before you answer the question. Remember that your goal answer every one of these questions correctly. After you answer the question, check to see if your answer was right. If you got it correct and you are sure you know why it was correct, put a mark by that question that shows you got right. If you don’t know why you got that question right, it is very important for you to understand why the answer it correct. If you just guessed, you may miss out finding an area that you need to improve. When you are preparing, it does no good for you to get questions right by accident. If you don’t understand why you got the correct answer, make a notation next to the question that indicates the area that you need to improve on. Likewise, if you got the wrong answer, make sure you understand why you got the wrong answer. Determine what type of mistake it was and learn from it. If it was a careless mistake, figure out why you are making that type of error. If it is a knowledge problem, add that area to the things that you review. Do this for every practice question you do. You will start to see areas that you need to review or to learn. One practice question a day may not be enough. You may find that you should do multiple practice questions each day. The process you need to go through should be the same. Remember your goal is to get every question right and understand why you got it right. Just getting it right because you guessed doesn’t help much when preparing the ACT in this way. Regular practice is almost always better than a couple of cram sessions right before the test. It gives you time to make sure you understand the questions and the answers and allows you time to improve those areas that you are weak in. About the Author Scott writes about using how to improve your ACT test score at http://actpracticetests.blogspot.com. See Also:
Are you one of the college students not with many hobbies because of school? As a college student we generally tend to loose lot of hobbies just because some school takes up much time and it is significant to get out & have lots of fun as college student. As school carries so much of stress we require some kind of balance in order to have enjoyment. Having fun is big part of health. When we are having fun, laugh & get some air our health we feel much better. We need to ensure that we do not keep us cooped all day, and keeping up with late studying & not having fun. As there are many fun things that college students will be able to do with friends. Need some thoughts? Find out fun things to carry out by reading here. Start sports group - It is vital that as the college students we get some kind of work out. We are needed daily to get about 30 minutes of exercise. Starting sports team not just fulfills our every day exercise requirements but it is good time to have lots of fun with associates. Play some times week & find yourself getting less stress and more fun! Discover - Whether you are away to college or to community college discover your environment. Get some friends and go to restaurant that you have never been and shopping place, which has gone up. Getting fresh air & discovering your surroundings is one of the great means to go out of house. Movies - Go together with a few friends once in a week & have movie night. This is extremely inexpensive means to have fun also you can rent movie for only around $5 as well as have fun with friends. This may keep you state-of-the-art with your films and will help you keep stress free by having lots of fun. Café - Get some friends together in a week as well as go to the local café. This may help you get the whole thing off your mind, which you would like to & help you stay in touch with the close ones. Board games - Have a few friends over & play board games in a week. No matter whether you are playing Pictionary, Twister, or Monopoly it is an assured fun, & low-priced night. Family - Not just it is vital to spend time with the friends it is as well vital to spend quality time with family. College is full of activity time in young adult’s life however it is significant to make time for the family. Family is extremely important & something everybody needs. College is very hectic however it is vital to have fun as the college student. As we all wish to have excellent grades & to acquire them it is very significant to study very hard. Just ensure they you do not overdue yourself & take some more courses than you may handle. There’s so much to do as a college student. The first step to take is to get out of that house and explore. If you can do this, the entertainment will come. About the Author Apply for student credit cards and find more of Tom’s work like this all at FINDcollegecards.com. See Also:
Do you have child who have recently started the college? If yes, this might be very hard time for you and children at present. You may realized that your kid is no now longer a kid any more and they are adult now. Though we want best for our kids there are a few things that we must keep in mind. You will see lot of dos & don’ts for your kid who is in college. Read below & see what you are doing is right or wrong. Look at what you speak - As parents we see our kids strengths. We may make out what they are good & what they can really do well in career. Though we can observe these things and we cannot stress it on our kids. A kid who is in the college probably knows what want to do & what they have passion for. You will just say, “You would be actually good in that vocation” but do not force a kind of vocation on them. Never try and make them feel responsible for not selecting the vocation you think that they must do. Classes - You would like to ensure that you dont select your child’s classes. As your child knows very well what they like & will take classes that they prefer. And if you opt your child’s lessons you might be choosing courses they actually don’t need and classes they do not want. If child doesn’t like classes that you choose they might do badly in them & leave you annoyed for failing. As a result make sure never select their classes as they are adult now & can decide them themselves. Consider community college And if your kid is going local and going away then you must consider community college for first 2 years. Going to community college for first 2 years will save you ton of cash on the tuition. First 2 years are generally all common education classes & is taken at community college for very less money. And this is absolutely something you must think if you have tight budget. Advisors - Allow your child to know that advisors at the college are like best friend. In addition, if your kid comes to know what they like to do, then let them talk to the advisor. What advisor does they will inform you what classes you require & what classes you do not require. You do not have to waste money and child’s time. Speak out - When your kid is in the college they have many things going over in their mind. Try and talk to child & see how they are going in the school. Do not be a bug & ask their ranks every time but ask over how they like class instead. Inquiring about how they like class can show them you care & think of them. You need to get familiar with them & know what type of classes they are generally taking. About the Author Find visa student credit cards and more of Tom’s work all at FINDcollegecards.com. See Also:
Did you know that many college admissions boards Google prospective students these days? It’s true and what they find there may work for you or against you. Too many potential students these days are posting photos and stories of themselves in compromising situations bragging about illicit activities and bad behavior. This doesn’t sit well with college boards or future potential employers, for that matter. If you have posted any free photo stories online that cast you in a bad light it would be wise to remove them and give yourself a more positive image. Creating free online photo stories that illustrate what is unique and good about you is a much better idea. You could post photos of yourself winning an award or playing in your favorite sport. You might also consider posting photo stories that feature you doing a service project for a local charity. Anything that makes you look like a responsible person that is looking to achieve great things in life will make you more desirable to potential college admissions officials. This makes a great compliment to your college application and the photo stories you post should reflect and support the information you give there. If you volunteered at the local animal shelter to gain experience for a future career in veterinary medicine, post a photo story of you working closely with the animals, for instance. And you don’t have to wait and see whether the college admission reps are going to Google you or not, just include a link to the photo sharing site right in your college application letter. This will show great initiative on your part and let the college know that you are creative and comfortable with a computer as well as sending whatever message and image you have created with your free online photo sharing stories. Image is everything and while it won’t compensate for lousy grades or low SAT scores, it may just give you the edge you need to outshine the competition and make it into your college of choice. You may not get a chance to meet with the college admissions board in person until after they have made their decision so the only chance you have to make a good impression is with your application and online photo story. Adding compelling pictures and stories to your site will help the board feel as though they know you and like you. You become a real person to them instead of just another paper application they have to choose from. It is much harder to say “no” to a real person than to a piece of paper. You only have one chance to make a first impression and your free online photo sharing stories can make whatever impression you want to make. Let yours tell people that you are intelligent, honorable, active and a real go-getter. You never know what opportunities may lie ahead until you give it a chance. In today’s world it takes every possible advantage to succeed and your online photo stories are just one more way to create an advantage. About the Author MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Hoorray, a photo sharing site that offers the quickest and easiest way to build a free online photo album, as well as free online photo storage. See Also:
To total it up in a elementary sentence, the study of the human anatomy is the scientific study of the human body. At present this is where the word casual stops. Once you start your studies, there is no uncertainty that once you study the first few lines of the foundation you are going to ask ,what did I put myself into . Don’t scared. The knowledge you are starting to have from the study of the human anatomy, with join and associate into a coordinated style just as the human body does. You will shortly learn that you study a set of facts it will take you onto a new set of facts. If you study in blocks of facts, before you recognise it you are starting to have a very particular base in the study of medication. It Is very much like operating on a jig saw puzzle. You do all the frames then start taking in the pieces. it’s the corresponding with your studies. The fundamental principles are your margins, then all the systems and functions are the pieces. Thinking about it this way maybe takes away some of the panic and doubts you are now experiencing. You will get frustrated along the way. You have probably often been told take one day at a time, now I am suggesting that you take one body section at time. Before you know it you will standing in front of a group of people proudly accepting your diploma. Its fascinating to notice that when a scholar is reading the human anatomy and someone asks what are they studying. That individual will say, oh I am going to be a Doctor or nurse,etc . They will distinguish the profession as matched to the study. Very rarely will you see them say I am analysing the human anatomy. Starting on with your studies will most likely begin with your foundation. Right from the start you are going to study a entire different language, being medical terminology. There is no escaping from it. If you are going to be entering the medical world then you need to know how to talk in the medical world. If you do not, you will get all lost, and will more than probably fail your course. Once again this is not so challenging if you set up numerous learning patterns. Let me give you an instance. You will read the scientific study of the morphology of the human body. Great the starting sentence and the first medical word morphology. So now what do you do. No question you will have numerous medical resources that has a terminology division. Set Out there, look up the word morphology. Does it say in reasonably casual terms that it is the study of external visual aspect. Like the shape ,structure, color, pattern of an organism. Ok now rewrite the introductory sentence in easier terms, like this, The scientific study of the (morphology) which is the external appearance of an organism, such as the shape ,structure, color, and pattern. Congratulations you just clear your 1st medical term. Instantly how do you remember? Write this sentence on a study paper, both ways, just as we did here. Highlighting the medical word with a yellow marker. At Present when it gets time to study you have your block. Remember as we previously wrote, learn in cubes? This is a perfect illustration. About the Author Discover the easiest way to learn human anatomy with Dr. James Ross. Get a grip on the human body with 3000 pages of content and detailed illustrations. Mastering the human anatomy has never been this easy! This ultimate human anatomy and physiology course is invaluable whether you are a student, practitioner or medical trainer. See Also:
Everyone loves to have the most for their cash. Its bad enough to save cash present with the high cost of living, thus we are becoming more conscious of what we are getting for our dollar. This is no different when it comes to our grocery shopping. We spend time looking for high quality foods at bargain prices. So if we are going to this much work then why not get the most out of what it has to offer. I mean we eat for two reasons, one because we have to in order to live, and the other because we like food. Lets work on the corresponding travel as our solid food does, which is through the digestive system, and visualize where we re missing the better it has to provide us ,and what we can do to have the most for our cash. In order for our body to utilise what we feed on it must be broken down into minor particles so the cells can use it to offer energy. This is the job of the digestive system. This starts the instant you put food in your mouth. Do your part - by chewing your solid food thoroughly, you take those few excess seconds to grant the saliva do its business. Next stop is the stomach after the solid food moves down through the throat. Three things are starting to happen here. 1st the solid food will be stashed away here while it goes through several procedures. Second the stomach will churn the food, liquids and digestive juices completely unitedly, And Then thirdly it will slowly empty these completely mixed contents into the small intestine. Do your role - take your time eating so you are not overloading the stomach. Grant it some room to do its work. There are elements that decide how the stomach empties, one being the sorts of foods it has to break down, and the 2nd being the degree of muscle action that is necessary. The pancreas, liver and intestine entirely provide juices to aid the process that is carried out in the digestive system. Moving on from the stomach, once it has be broken down into nutrients that can be absorbed, it at present has attained the digestive point. Here the good stuff is absorbed up the intestines ,so it keeps on it’s way to do its task with the different organs. The leftover is the waste. This is forced down into the colon where it awaits to leave the body up bowel efforts. Do your part,nobody wishes waste riding around inside of them, so see your bowels are functioning properly. This is just a very simplified explanation as to what goes on with all that good food you paid so much money for. By watching these uncomplicated guidelines you are to a greater extent apt to get the most for your cash. As we were traveling along on our travel, we in short noted some different organs that have a big duty in the digestive system. By educating yourself in the fundamental principle of these organs and what supports them in perfect wellness only services to further enhance your general welfares. We are referring to the pancreas, liver, and gallbladder. Remember even the muscles should be optimum health to do their job as well. About the Author Discover the easiest way to learn human anatomy with Dr. James Ross. Get a grip on the human body with 3000 pages of content and detailed illustrations. Mastering the anatomy of human body has never been this easy! This ultimate anatomy and physiology course is invaluable whether you are a student or practitioner. Visit the official site now! See Also:
Organising the body in your human anatomy class means assigning matters in reasonable order. It can get rather complex when it gets to the human body. because you are not rather certain what to begin with. The typical tendency is to begin with the skeletal system. This is a good option when you are prepared to get into the subject of the systems, but your not quite there nonetheless. You need to go backwards one step further. and learn what is the skeletal system made of. This is easy, its simply made of cells like the entire body is. Once you have accomplished your learning of cells. you will then be happy to move forward. When you get to the matter of the skeletal system you will learn that its what controls your body up. So what is the body? Yeah, its all the systems and organs that you are going to pick up about, but the body is made up of tissue. Where the skeleton carries the body up, its the tissue that keeps everything in. Without tissue, the interior of the lungs would flow out. Without tissue, the inside of the kidneys would be open. This applies to every organ and built-in item with the body. The tissue is the case, or the blanket. You need to recognize what the tissue is made up of. You are going to say its made up of cells and thats right. Nonetheless all these cells collectively bond together to make what? Tissue naturally. Thats not where this portion of the work ends. You require to now know the various structures of the tissue. To get your notes for this portion of the topic recall that you will be learning the tissue in layers because it is made of levels. You must acquire and have a good understanding of what every layer plays and its procedure. Reason being, you are going to require to know this so you will under the structures of the organs ,when you reach to that portion of your Human Anatomy studies. In your note book you will almost certainly have illustrations showing out the major fields of your notes. The easiest way you can acquire, is draw these every time you cover a point that has a photograph explaining it. Do your greatest to do your illustrations stepwise with mini box notes below every drawing. Color the drawing and check the edge of the font with the comparable color. If you abide by these methods throughout your whole learning of the Human Anatomy, you will have your wisdom stored in a very precise methodical order. Then when it occurs time to write exams, you will automatically advance them in the identical well-kept path. Its getting close to the time that you now need to draw a flow chart. Your flow chart should be a series of blocks. In every cube as you learn a different segment put the highlights in the block, then when you study the following topic do the same in the incoming cube. This will serve as a check sheet when you are studying, to make sure you dont forget out a step. With the amount of info you are ingesting it can well be done. Not as likely when you get into the superior systems, but it can take place when acquiring the fundamental principle. About the Author Discover the easiest way to learn human anatomy with Dr. James Ross. Get a grip on the human body with 3000 pages of content and detailed illustrations. Mastering the human anatomy has never been this easy! This ultimate anatomy and physiology course is invaluable whether you are a student, practitioner or medical trainer. Visit the official site now. See Also:
Fifteen years ago, at the height of the focus on the alleged gender bias against girls in our educational system, I wrote an article for a professional newsletter that argued it was actually the other way around. Boys were at least equally disadvantaged in the classroom, if not more so. The key difference was outside the classroom where girls grew up in a society that didnt value their achievements and opportunities in the marketplace and on the athletic field. I took some flack for my point of view back then. Now, in 2008, its still a critical and misunderstood issue. It is essential to put this issue of how boys perform in school into a historical perspective. Since the first public school opened in Boston in 1635 until the middle of the 20th century, the abundance of boys who did not fit the necessary mix of academic intelligence (learning best in a language-based environment) and who lacked a successful-student-personality (calm, organized, eager to please) were not a problem. Those boys generally left school by the eighth grade to go to work on their fathers farm, learn his trade/ business, or, as unions became dominant, took on apprentice roles and went on to good jobs. After WWII, everything began to change. Fathers began commuting to work, farms disappeared, unions gradually diminished, and all boys were now expected to be successful students. Since this didnt work for many boys, terms like minimally brain damaged and hyperkinetic became the labels to explain their failures (currently replaced by a multitude of labels such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Sensory Integration Disorder, Non-Verbal Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Spectrum Disorders). For decades, many of these boys still managed to get through the system and find reasonable jobs waiting for them. But now they face the information revolution, where jobs are increasingly language-based. This has caused schools and parents to put even more pressure on all boys to succeed in school. Thus, the marked increase in concern about the many boys who still dont fit our school system, which has never adapted its model to accommodate the varied learning styles not only associated with gender but across all children. Many of you may be familiar with some of the many statistics that back up these concerns. It begins early. In elementary school boys are twice as likely to be identified with learning disabilities, emotional and behavioral problems, and to end up in special education. Young boys are 60% more likely to repeat a grade. By middle school, its not just the appearance of test score gaps that concern us. Its data that shows boys skip school more often, get injured in fights much more often (though I do realize that girls hurt other girls in non-physical ways that can be even more devastating) and suicide rates, though small, are three times as likely in boys. Then we get to high school. Boys are a third more likely to drop out and to be doing heavy drugs. Test scores and participation in advanced classes now significantly favor girls. These gaps are even more pronounced in our urban schools but be clear, they are not limited to poor, inner city children. Teenage boys dominate special classes and have significantly higher suicide rates. (The girls show their distress through high rates of eating disorders and rising rates of smoking.) The pattern continues beyond high school. 58% of undergraduate students are now female and the higher ratio of women continues right on into graduate school. It wont take more than another generation before boys and men cant find a male to be their primary care physician. Of course some will argue this matters little since women allegedly still have their glass ceiling and there is still a lack of equal pay for equal jobs. But within a decade or two, the shortage of reasonably educated men will change this. Some women note that females have suffered for centuries. They suggest males in our society will need to face up to this new problem and do something about it just the way women did in the latter part of the 20th century. Well, part of the problem was, and still is, that both genders face issues and to remain a healthy productive society, a better understanding of boys and girls and the similarities and differences in how they develop needs to be better understood and addressed. From where I have been watching for the past forty years or so, our educational system is harmful to most children regardless of gender. So it is not my intention to slight the needs of girls in our schools or women in the work world by pausing to focus on some very significant issues facing males in our schools as well as society in general. It has been well documented that boys develop more slowly in certain aspects of their neurology. In general, (there are always exceptions to stereotypes) young girls are more verbal, more able to sit still, and learn to read more quickly. This substantially increases their likelihood of immediate success in a school system that places early emphasis on all these skills. Given the heightened anxiety of todays parents about their childrens early academic success determining life success, preschools have become increasingly skills oriented, starting the frustration for boys at even earlier ages. Meanwhile, as teachers are increasingly forced to teach to statewide tests, they lose the flexibility to teach in more creative ways that would benefit both genders. But it especially increases the challenges boys have to face. While more research is needed and new teaching strategies need to evolve, I think there are a couple of additional factors that play a key role in making the life of boys particularly disadvantaged at this time in our society. Boys lack male role models for academic learning and developing a strong, positive sense of their masculinity. In addition, young boys have dramatically lost their opportunity to be physically active and to use social play as a way to explore and understand the world they live in. Mothers, and other women, are the primary caretakers of young children. Boys are then handed off to female teachers for the next several years. Rarely do boys have the opportunity to observe and model their academic behavior after a same sex adult. But it also works the other way. Female teachers have less tolerance for a bit of chaos and roughhousing. I recall from my early days as a psychologist when I was in charge of a number of inner city preschools. When I would visit the classes, it would turn in to king of the hill battles and kids climbing all over me. My female teachers understood the importance of this and didnt mind it one bit. But, over the years, when I have consulted with preschools and elementary schools, teachers are more concerned with the possibility of someone getting hurt (some of which reflects our increasing litigious society) and the sense of things getting out of control than recognizing the importance of this high energy activity for boys (and many girls as well). I have watched too many female teachers reprimanding boys for behavior that should be considered normal, slightly aggressive, overactive male behavior. It should be built in to the program, not frowned upon. Meanwhile, recess and phys ed classes are being decreased so teachers have more time to raise those classroom test scores, making it even worse for boys. It doesnt do anything for the epidemic of obesity either! Boys (and many girls) need to be allowed to run free, ride their bikes around town, play for hours outside, wander into the woods and climb trees, bring home turtles, frogs, and bugs. Frightened parents, even in more advantaged communities, allow fear of the unlikely (stranger abduction, pedophiles) to keep boys inside. Girls, too. Now parents are paying the price of children who explore the world via the internet and are realizing this may be more risky than letting them actually leave the house! Meanwhile, we need more male teachers. We need more men coming in to visit the elementary classrooms. We also need more Big Brothers. The problem is not just the lack of men in the school life of our boys. Between high rates of divorce and of young, poor fathers abandoning their children, it is estimated that an astonishing 40% of our boys are growing up without a father in their lives. Being a minority male in our inner cities means you are more likely to end up in jail or dead by 21 than graduating high school, no less going to college. We need to offer boys and girls an education that addresses the total child, not just the academic skill part. We need to design middle schools and high schools that offer many pathways to earning a reasonable living and have more men involved right from the beginning. We need longer school days if a significant part of that time can be spent playing and exercising. We need to identify each childs strengths, regardless of gender, and allow that child to use those strengths to be productive in school in a variety of acceptable ways, not just a few narrow ways that relegate most children to feeling inadequate. Parents have an important role in addressing this problem. One thing is to err on the side of safety and regardless of how mature your son seems to be, dont make him one of the youngest in his class. Second, too often parents will present to me a picture of a son whom they describe as lovable and caring, sensitive, having good friends and being terrific with young children. But they are distressed because he is very inconsistent in his school performance, only seems to work at what interests him, and resists doing homework because he would rather play. This is a great young boy with the kind of values and spirit that we hope hell continue to demonstrate when hes a man. He might make a great teacher some day! We need parents to focus more on their childs successes and less on their perceived shortcomings, especially with their sons. Parents must be more conscious of their own gender bias. In addition, the very behaviors and attitudes which cause many boys to under perform in school serve them well in the real world. High energy, totally absorbed by only what strongly interests them, challenging the rules, and having strong leadership skills often are the foundation for successful entrepreneurs and great innovators in many spheres of life. Parents and educators need to be able to identify that potential and not destroy the drive and self-confidence of these academically underachieving boys before they get a chance to prove themselves in the real world. And just for emphasis, I want to state again, we need boys to have meaningful relationships with men from birth on. About the Author Dr. Heller is a clinical psychologist, now retired, who specialized in providing services to children, families, and couples since 1968. He has written over 170 columns about parenting and marriage which are available on his website, http://www.drheller.com. See Also: |
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