Alternatives to Traditional Education

Alternatives to Traditional Education In one of our previous posts we were talking about three very interesting schools that differ from traditional institutions in one way or another. The first school is unique because students are not forced to study what they do not want to study and can choose what they want to do in school and even what time they want to come (this is especially attractive for those who cannot call themselves early birds). The second school is also unusual because it is hidden from people underground. Although it serves some rather pragmatic purposes, this location is still quite strange. The third school is more traditional in terms of its academic program and goals, but to get enrolled you should win a lottery. In this post we would like to talk a little more about such exclusive and unique schools that might impress you a lot. How Will This Subject Be Helpful in Real Life? This is the kind of question that students of Watershed school never ask. This school offers a very exciting program indeed: instead of taking all possible classes and memorizing words from textbook, students at Watershed get a unique opportunity not only to apply their skills in practice, but acquire these skills by practicing. Instead of sitting in a classroom and studying confusing and abstract algebra, students can improve their algebra skills by solving real life engineering problems. Every single core subject is not simple theory – they are based on different projects due to which students can really see how theory combines with practice. The school also offers children a number of interesting elective courses in filmmaking, climbing, photography, music, visual arts, etc. These electives, as well as courses in science (biology, chemistry, geology), are designed in such a way that students feel not just like students, but like future specialists because they are involved into various professional activities and projects. If students are studying architecture, they do not look at the pictures in textbooks – they walk around the town and examine existing buildings learning how different styles and methods work. Certainly, this is a brilliant school, but it is totally fine that it does not work for certain children. Studying at Watershed requires a student to be very independent and to be able to spend days and nights away from home (in case of organized trips and expeditions). Nevertheless, it is great that such a school exists and that it is open for children who study in middle and high school. But you should also keep in mind that such an amazing place is very costly – a year at Watershed costs more than $20,000. Yes, this is the price of unique education system. When Electronic Devices Are Everywhere and This Is Encouraged Today a lot of parents complain that their children are addicted to computers, tablets, and other numerous electronic devices. Children know how to use smartphones when they are two years old. By the moment they are teenagers, electronic devices are as important for modern children as air and water. Some schools make everything possible to help children get distracted from computers and spend more time reading, singing, playing musical instruments, and enjoying nature (for example, this is one of the biggest features of Waldorf schools). However, people forget that electronic devices, as well as the Internet, are not evil at all if children know how to use them to get knowledge. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, there is a school where children’s dreams come true: there are no textbooks – only computers. This is the School of Future which was established in 2006. This school helps students go digital and understand technology very well. Some people might think it is not a good idea, but in fact we all live in the era of technology, and being good at this is essential and progressive. If you look at all the job offers requirements, you might notice that for each applicant it is necessary to have good Microsoft Office skills. Certainly, graduates of the School of Future will unlikely have problems with meeting this requirement. The good thing about this school is that students show high academic achievements in reading and mathematics. The disadvantage of the School of Future is that the enrollment is possible only if the candidate wins the lottery (the same situation we saw with Mountain Mahogany School in New Mexico). As you can see, schools that offer advanced learning and unique opportunities for children are getting more and more popular, but to become a student of such a school is extremely challenging – either it is quite costly, or you have to be lucky and win your chance to be enrolled. Perhaps, for some of us these schools seem to be too extravagant. Maybe, you think that traditional education serves the most important educational purpose – becoming a successful college or university student studying in a beautiful campus. However, there is a reason why people try to create new educational concepts and introduce some innovations – the progress is impossible without this approach. It is possible that these schools are not the best option for many children, but they give us an idea of how we can improve traditional schools to make them more effective. It is crucial to always give students an opportunity to challenge themselves and to feel their own progress – otherwise school does not make any sense. Schools are places that not only have to educate children but also to help them get interested in education.

Involvement With Nontraditional Parents And Families Of Children With

Involvement With Nontraditional Parents And Families Of Children With Involvement with Nontraditional Parents and Families of Children with Exceptionalities Every family is governed by different rules, values, and norms designed to protect and continue the family unit. Rules and norms come from family history, personalities, expectations, and values. Children entering a family impact both the family and child. The child must determine how to fit into this environment and the parents must make time, financial, and priority changes. The traditional family stages (marriage, birth of a first child, leaving home by the last child) are happening less often. Families are in transition - divorce, blended families, single parent, unmarried parents, foster parent, grandparents, and same-gender parents now may be raising the child. Three types of involvement are looked at in this chapter: Separation and Divorce, Blended Families, and Other Nontraditional Families with their impact on the child and the parents. Separation and Divorce The impact on children is often sadness, denial, and fear. The parental relationships have changed. Anger may show toward one or both parents. Male children are more apt to become aggressive, impulsive, and antisocial. The impact on parents stems from the fact that most mothers become the child?s custodial parent. Financial problems surface (mothers make half the income of fathers, many families exist below the poverty level because marketable work skills are missing or outdated. Discipline problems routinely occur in single parent families. Personal problems for single parents in the areas of employment discrimination, increased responsibilities, isolation, and loss of status are often reported. Blended Families Issues for children are: loyalties to noncustodial parent and other relatives, authority structure, role development and enforcement. Entering parents may be "perfect parents" and have all the answers. They cannot understand why they do not receive instant love and admiration. Negative feelings really increase when both spouses been children to the new marriage. The lines of authority must be resolved. Financial expectations and understandings must be accepted. Loyalty cannot be demanded by the new parent. The issue is to keep communications lines open as order is established in the new family. Other Nontraditional Families Identification of the many possible "other" families is beyond the scope of the book. Guidelines foe dealing with these families may not be available. The best advice is to recognize that each family is unique and to individualize your method of addressing their issues and needs.

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Looming Tower by Lawrence Wright - Essay Example The protection helps in preventing entry of illegal people and weapons into the country. With this protection, the country is able to lead to economic prosperity. This project aims at discussing in details the measures taken by the department of homeland security in ensuring that the air territory is well protected and avoid repeat of the 9/11. The paper also aims at discussing the fundamental stride taken by the department of homeland security in training and educating the public on any terrorist threats. The paper also proposes in details the security measures taken to prevent leakage of information especially in the cyberspace in addition to protection of information that might be of national interest. Cyberspace is one of the most important tools that terrorist will use while planning an attack. Department of homeland security ensures that the cyberspace is protected to prevent terrorism from hacking into their systems. However, the infamous 9/11 attack severed a blow to the United States security services and the whole nation. The properly planned terror attack led to the loss of over 3,000 lives and destruction of property. Arguably, American intelligence learnt of the situation before its occurrence but several factors harbored the intended articulation of the information to establish measures that would result to a counter attack before precision and attack of the terrorists. According to Wright, America failed to condone the situation because of the bureaucratic system of governance that secured decision-making on security issues as a state held responsibility of the top officials. Homeland security should ensure that firewalls are used in detecting any form of hacking into their systems. Most of the air-controlled systems are controlled and closely monitored to prevent terrorists from hacking them. This is by homeland security dealing with the threat of hacking into government-controlled systems such as that of the airspace. In addition to this,

The Effect of Taking Creatine Supplementation on Exercise Performance Essay

The Effect of Taking Creatine Supplementation on Exercise Performance - Essay Example The author of the essay "The Effect of Taking Creatine Supplementation on Exercise Performance" begins with the introduction of the topic. Creatine monohydrate (Cr) is marketed as ‘nature's muscle builder’ and ‘the most legitimate sports supplement around’. Professional and amateur athletes alike are taking this alleged ergogenic aid, hoping to increase their strength and performance. Cr supplementation is claimed to increase muscle power by playing a role in the transfer of energy to help the muscle contract. Thus, it has become one of the leading sport supplements used by strength power athletes today. Reports suggest that 48% of male collegiate athletes use or have used Cr during their preparation for competition. However, the prevalence of use among strength/power athletes is much greater, and is estimated to approach more than 80% in certain sports. Cr use has also gained popularity among high school athletes, with 90% of athletes who supplement using C r. It is clear Cr is highly used but the question remains whether it actually increases strength and power leading to an improvement in exercise performance. Also the widespread use of Cr in dietary supplements does not necessarily indicate safety or advocacy, thus there is a need to evaluate the safety of Cr. Although the role of creatine in human metabolism has been understood for over a half-century only recently has its potential as a sport ergogenic been explored. A considerable number of studies have been published subsequently.

Market analysis, market segmentation analysis and break even analysis Case Study

Market analysis, market segmentation analysis and break even analysis - Case Study Example The goals for the market analysis are: Demand The product depends on the income of the consumers. From the recent past, I can note that there has been a high demand for the product and thus need to increase the productivity. This will enable me compete for the some market space with my competitors so that I stand out to win the trust of my customers. At his very point, the marketing concept applies effectively because when I respond to demand of my customers, I am in a position to establish a positive relationship with them. It is the only way I am going to make long-term profits from the sales of my stock. Audience of the product Knowing the audience of my product will enable me make effective marketing segmentation. By this, I will be in a position to channel the right products to the right consumers. As Mr. Millar, I will segment my market into four parts: new residential, modernization, replacement and light commercial segment. This is because my company deals with different type s of customers. As Millar, I will analyze all the segments to identify their needs. The new residential segment accounts for 55% of all sales. Unfortunately, I realize that this segment is very competitive and the sales can only be effective if they are done simultaneously. These are some of the problems that the Scotts Company faces. The light commercial segment will include restaurants, schools and churches. This is because they are good uses of air conditioners. As for the modernization segment, the good news is that it outshines the new residential segment. This is the where the future of the company lies and thus the appropriate segment that can be used to capitalize on the investments. Price models I know that every company has its own way of determining it prices. It all depends on the model in use. As Millar, the best price model is the Chinese feint trick. With this, the company may announce a price increment in a trade press but delay the implementation. The Scott’s company has the problem of implementing the prices immediately thus will lose its competitive advantage in the market. However, using alternatives will save the company great loses. Basing my argument on the market definition and dynamics concept, I recommend that my market share be made clear so that when am making pricing issues, I do not base on what others are offering. I know that Ben Millar is at crossroads because the company has failed to identify its market share. It is currently missing opportunities because it looks at its market narrowly. I see at tough time for the Scott’s company in future because of the competition that is currently prevailing in the market. In this case, the new residential segment will exist since very little consideration is given. What-If Scenario 1 Sales $112,000,000.00 FC Manufacturing $20,363,636.36 *Fixed Sales Force $3,000,000.00 *Fixed Communications $1,300,000.00 *Fixed R&D $1,200,000.00 *Fixed Materials $61,600,000.00 *Lowered to 5 5% Bottom Line $24,536,363.64 Return on Sales 21.9% Doubling of cumulative production vastly increases profitability The above table reveals that a volume of $ 61,600,000 will enable the company realize its profitability and that the sales force will give the company a good opportunity of ensuring that the sales are very high. Identifying paths to reach customer segments These paths will help my

Stereotyping and Social Identity Theory

Stereotyping and Social Identity Theory Apply your knowledge of stereotyping and social identity theory to explain what went wrong here. Stereotyping is the basis of the social identity theory. Stereotyping can be characterized as the way to assign qualities to people in light of their investment in a social theory (McShane, 2010, p. 72). When you further investigate stereotypes, we find two different types. Prescriptive stereotypes and descriptive stereotypes. Prescriptive stereotypes depict the specific behavioral norms that individuals must uphold to avoid derogation or punishment by others (Gill, 2004). Descriptive stereotypes are perceivers beliefs about the characteristics of a social group and indicate the attributes, roles, and behaviors that describe that group (Gill, 2004). Collectively, stereotyping lays the groundwork for prejudice and discrimination. The social identity theory states that the in-group will discriminate against the out-group to enhance their own self image. It also clarifies how we perceive people through differentiation, homogenization and categorization. It is crucial to remember that in-groups are the groups you are apart of and that you associate with and out-groups are the groups that we dont normally identify with and my discriminate against. It was clear on in the case of Rochelle Beauport that she appreciated being an assistant brand manager. The position appeared to be more challenging and had a greater affected on the organizations profits than the new position, market resource coordinator. The market resource coordinator position was more classified as a behind the scenes job. Rochelle had the feeling that the new position was not the route to top administration in most organizations. Because of her skin colour she had also built up a perception that she was placed on reserve and felt that Syd Gilman thought she didnt deserve her previous position. What went wrong was that Syd Gilman thought that Rochelle would enjoy and appreciate the new position that had brought him to the high position he holds at the company. He felt as if offering the new position to her, would help her widen her experience and enhance her career at Hy Dairies, Inc. Mr. Gilman thought that his journey up the corporate latter through market resource coordinator would benefit Rochelle the same way. He believed that his experiences he would be able to share with Rochelle in the future. From Rochelles point of view she was confused that the job offered to her was at the same level or even a downgrade for he previous position. Since she had such a great year boosting the company sales, Rochelle was anticipating a promotion to a higher position. Hearing that Mr. Gilman offered her market resource coordinator she was shocked to say the least. She thought that the position was a downgrade and that Mr. Gilman didnt want her to get promoted because of her skin colo ur or even her gender. Rochelle wasnt aware that the new position had been given with positive implications that shed advance in the company the same way Mr. Gilman did as well. What other perceptual error is apparent in this case study? While reading the case study I noticed that the Halo effect, and others is apparent as well. The Halo effect is when you immediately form an impression on someone just from one trait/behaviour. Since you are blinded by the one trait/behaviour its hard for you to be able to see their other traits because you are so focused on one. For Rochelle when Syd Gilman offered her the new position she immediately thought he was trying to downgrade her because the market resource coordinator was known to be a sideline job. Just based on this interaction she felt as if she was being betrayed because of her differences, her thought was that Syd Gilman didnt want her to reach top management so he gave her market resource coordinator trying to make her think she was getting a promotion. Through the lack of communication What can organizations do to minimize misperceptions in these types of situations? In conflict situations, avoiding misunderstanding takes a lot of time and effort. Some considerations that the organizations or Mr. Gilman can do are: A.) The first is active listening. The goal of active listening is to understand the receivers as well as you understand yourself (McShane, 2010, pg 81). A message cannot be interpreted by the listener if he/she does not pay attention to what the speaker says. In this case, Syd Gilman should pay close attention to what Rochelle Beauport is saying. If need be, he should have the eagerness to discuss, clarify, or repeat anything that is unclear or seems unreasonable. It is possible that Syd is thinking that he understands Rochelle very well, but this is mere a confusion of interpretation and understanding. Because Syds goal is to give Rochelle the position where he started, he should first hear her side of story. A major problem is that Rochelle Beauport is interpreting Mr. Gilmans actions in a different way. You could go as far as saying she felt that she was underestimated. Because of the misunderstanding, there was an error in the communication between the two. To avoid this Syd Gil man should attempt to repeat back her case just as she has presented it to him. This will show that Mr. Gilman is listening (which suggests that Gilman cares about what Rochelle has to say) and that Syd Gilman understands what she has said or feels. It does not indicate that Gilman agrees with what she said, nor does Gilman have to agree. Mr. Gilman just needs to indicate that he does understand her perspective.

Leadership and Change :: Management

Leadership and Change Management Introduction The gap between designing a new organization on paper and bringing it into reality is the domain of organization change and development. Kurt Lewin, a famous social psychologist, once wrote that a social organism becomes understandable only after one attempt to change it. It often happens that management's awareness for a new organization design emerges only after the start of an intensive change process. And even if it were possible for an omniscient manager to develop a master blueprint before introducing organization change, it is doubtful that other employees would readily accept the new design or have the required skills for making the design work. For these reasons, managers need to be as skillful at handling the question of how to introduce change as they are in diagnosing what needs to be changed (Adams and Spencer, 1986). This essay focuses on large-scale organization change, not on individual or small groups. The latter are obviously essential building blocks to organization change, but do not assure that a larger organizational unit will itself be transformed. Attention to additional variables beyond the individual and group is required in any organizational change, including such dimensions as multiple levels of authority, relationships between departments, environmental forces impinging on the organization, the climate of the organization, and the nature of the work flow that moves across departmental boundaries. In this paper I will discuss the concept of leadership as I have understood from my experience of what I have seen in a professional service firm. I will also discuss the change management process and my role in it. Objectives Of Organization Change If one were to "step back" after observing a number of organization changes, a variety of goals would seem to be present. These goals may be explicit and written down, or they may be implied by the actions of management. On the surface, the most common goals can be categorized under such labels as higher performance, acceptance of new techniques, greater motivation, more innovation, increased cooperation, reduced turnover, and so forth. Organizational changes are frequently directed at one or more of these general goals. Underlying these more obvious goals are usually two overarching objectives: Changes in an organization's level of adaptation to its environment, and Changes in the internal behavioral patterns of employees. Organizations are continually struggling to adapt themselves better to their external environment. Because the management Leadership and Change :: Management Leadership and Change Management Introduction The gap between designing a new organization on paper and bringing it into reality is the domain of organization change and development. Kurt Lewin, a famous social psychologist, once wrote that a social organism becomes understandable only after one attempt to change it. It often happens that management's awareness for a new organization design emerges only after the start of an intensive change process. And even if it were possible for an omniscient manager to develop a master blueprint before introducing organization change, it is doubtful that other employees would readily accept the new design or have the required skills for making the design work. For these reasons, managers need to be as skillful at handling the question of how to introduce change as they are in diagnosing what needs to be changed (Adams and Spencer, 1986). This essay focuses on large-scale organization change, not on individual or small groups. The latter are obviously essential building blocks to organization change, but do not assure that a larger organizational unit will itself be transformed. Attention to additional variables beyond the individual and group is required in any organizational change, including such dimensions as multiple levels of authority, relationships between departments, environmental forces impinging on the organization, the climate of the organization, and the nature of the work flow that moves across departmental boundaries. In this paper I will discuss the concept of leadership as I have understood from my experience of what I have seen in a professional service firm. I will also discuss the change management process and my role in it. Objectives Of Organization Change If one were to "step back" after observing a number of organization changes, a variety of goals would seem to be present. These goals may be explicit and written down, or they may be implied by the actions of management. On the surface, the most common goals can be categorized under such labels as higher performance, acceptance of new techniques, greater motivation, more innovation, increased cooperation, reduced turnover, and so forth. Organizational changes are frequently directed at one or more of these general goals. Underlying these more obvious goals are usually two overarching objectives: Changes in an organization's level of adaptation to its environment, and Changes in the internal behavioral patterns of employees. Organizations are continually struggling to adapt themselves better to their external environment. Because the management