Good grades are nice but mastery is better

When I was growing up, there was nothing better than bringing home a report card that had good grades on it. Oh, I wasn’t a straight A student, but I got my share of A’s and B’s. I also got my share of C’s and D’s. I guess I was what you call an average student. My parents always checked my report card and questioned any low grades and encouraged me to do better when they felt that I wasn’t working up to my abilities. Today good grades are still the benchmark we use to determine if a student is going to be promoted or retained. The higher achieving students who are in high school usually strive for good grades in rigorous courses, because they know that their class ranking among other things will determine the type of college that they will be admitted to. Good grades are something that everyone wants, and for some reason, they’re just about what everyone gets. The two questions that I have are these: does everyone who gets a good grade deserve it, and is that grade a good indicator of the person’s ability? I remember when I was a freshman in high school, and I struggled with Algebra I. I couldn’t catch on no matter what. The teacher was great, she knew her stuff, and she did everything to try and get me through this subject. I ended up failing the class. I told my dad that I would take the class again in my sophomore year, because back then you only needed to take three years of math. He wouldn’t hear of it, and he made me go to summer school. In summer school I really got a grasp of the subject matter. My grade was still only a C, but I really understood the material. I had mastered the content. When I took algebra two during my sophomore year I received a final grade of an A. That was one A that I felt I really earned. I felt good about the A, but I felt even better that I really knew the subject matter. A student can earn an A in a class for a lot of reasons. He/she may be a very hard worker and really apply himself/herself. The teacher may be benevolent and award A’s to most or all of the students, the student might cheat on tests and quizzes, or the teacher may have cooperative groups set up in his/her classroom, which allows for group work to be turned in with everyone receives the same grade. In the last 20 years, the grading system has become progressively more liberal. Teachers almost never fail students anymore. I think two of the biggest reasons why the grading system in schools has become so liberal is because of parental pressure, and because teachers have been told by administration that they can’t fail kids. Parents who have kids in high school know of the competition that’s out there to get into good colleges. If their son/daughter receives a B in a class, they know it could throw of their child's class ranking and their child might not be able to get into the college of their choice. Teachers fear giving a low grade because district scrutiny says that if they fail too many students, those failing grades are reflection poor teaching. Society views good grades as an indicator of student success. The current brain research tell us that in order to determine if a child has mastered school related material they have to show that they retained the information 24-48 hours after they have been given a test. If a student takes a social studies test on WWII and receives a grade of an A, does that mean that he/she has mastered the content? The only way to be really sure is to test the student again in a day or two. This is very unrealistic and I could never imagine any school doing this. I have a friend whose son is attending Dartmouth College. I know that he never worried about his grades and neither did his mother. He was more concerned about learning the content of the course. The good grades came as a result of his attitude about learning. I don’t believe that he measured himself based on grades, but rather on how much he learned and remembered. When he took a class he always tried to figure out what he was going to get out of the teacher, or out of a textbook if the teacher wasn't too good. It didn’t matter to him how the material was taught, and it certainly didn’t matter to him if the teacher was good or if the teacher was bad. He applied himself as a student and he himself worked to master the content. Successful people don’t really worry about a grade; they are more concerned about what they are going to learn. Knowledge to them is sacred, and they work to get as much of it as they can. Grades create competition and that’s a good thing. Good colleges are filled with good students who have worked hard to get where they are and who want to stay where they are. Excellent students like receiving A’s, but they know that that the grades they have received are only an indication that they have truly mastered the material that was taught.

A new age in nursing education college degrees online

It can be difficult for anyone who works to obtain a college degree or to increase upon their current level of education. This can be especially difficult for those people who are pursing a degree in a nursing field. The attempt to juggle work, classes, family and clinical hours can be overwhelming and discouraging. Advances in technology have now made it a little easier to obtain your degree and reach your goals. Numerous colleges now offer degrees online, including nursing degrees. The advantages of taking nursing courses over the internet are numerous. With online courses a student can continue to work while attending college, without having to adjust a work schedule around a class schedule. Students no longer have to commute to a campus only to waste more time searching for a place to park. No more paying for a parking permit to park on the campus that you are paying to attend. No more sitting in a classroom for hours each day only to listen to an instructor lecture on the topics that you have already read about. Imagine being able to log onto your class when it’s convenient for you. These are just a few benefits of obtaining your degree online. Online nursing courses are not as difficult as one may think. Once classes begin the student will log into their internet classroom. Most college sites will have a list of courses that you are registered in. Clicking on the course name will take you to more information about that particular course. You can locate your syllabus, assignment schedule, contact info for your instructor and classmates, forums and chat rooms to talk to other students, and detailed instructions on how to submit assignments and complete your course. Help is always available from either the instructor or other classmates. Online college students qualify for the same financial aid as the traditional campus based student. Federal Student Aid, State Student Aid, student loans, scholarships, and grants are all available for application. Federal and State Aid have financial requirements for qualification, but anyone, regardless of income or credit history, qualifies for student loans. Make sure you apply by the due dates for student aid so you don’t miss any assistance you might qualify for. People who are already working in the medical field as a nurses aid, LPN or RN who would like to increase their education and certification usually have even more advantages available to help them succeed. Many healthcare employers now provide tuition reimbursement and/or scholarships to employees who want to expand their education. If you can’t afford to pay the tuition and await the reimbursement then consider a student loan than you can repay once you receive your tuition. Contact your human resource department to find out what is available. Another advantage is that many hospitals have set up study groups for online nursing students. This provides nursing students with the advantage of personal interaction with other nursing students of varying education. To obtain a nursing degree, you may be required to complete clinical hours within a medical and/or hospital setting. You may wonder how you can do this if the college you are taking online courses through is across the country from where you reside. Your instructors will help you set up these clinical hours at a medical facility near your home. The demand for nurses has risen dramatically and shortages in the nursing field continue to be a problem. With the advent of online nursing classes, more people are able to obtain their degree and provide much needed medical care to the people of your community.

Anxiety in exams a solution

Anxiety over exams is a common thing. Whether it is at the high school, elementary school, or even college level, a lot of people get nervous when it comes time to take an exam. Exam nerves are no small issue, either. They can cause lots of problems in a person’s life. Since college has become so competitive and people are trying hard to stay at the top of their prospective classes, there is a great deal of pressure put upon students to perform. This performance pressure, as well as other mental blocks, is the basic things behind exam nerves problems. It’s important that people get rid of these problems or else they could have serious consequences. If you feel like exam nerves are causing you severe discomfort when you go to take an exam, then you need to seek out help. Exam nerves can cause many problems in your life. Many times, feeling the pressure of exam nerves can cause severe physical discomfort. Though it’s not the kind of physical anxiety that is likely to cause you serious bodily harm, it will be enough to raise your levels of stress. In addition to that, your mind will go blank when you feel the pressure of exam nerves. When this happens, performing well on a difficult test becomes virtually impossible. You will become overwhelmed and the feeling of anxiousness will certainly multiply. How do you treat a problem with such deep rooted mental focus? You have to completely change your mindset. You have to tell yourself that exams are not something to stress out about. This is much easier said than done, though. When you have a difficult assignment coming up, it is common to feel anxiety. The problem is in your thinking. With that in mind, you have to come up with a solution to change that thinking. One tool that has become more widely recognized for dealing with mental ailments is hypnotherapy. As a hypnotherapist, I have seen many clients who need help with their exam nerves problem. If you are wondering what hypnosis is all about, then don’t be afraid to find out more information. There are many theories on hypnosis that people make up when they don’t really know what it’s about. There is no magic involved. It’s simply a process by which your mind is calmed and you can allow positive thoughts to enter. That can change your thinking fairly quickly if it is done right. Get some information on self hypnosis or hypnotherapy today and see your problems disappear.

Teacher as life coach measure monitor improve your students emotional state behavior

Would Columbine have been prevented if there was a means of monitoring the student’s emotional state? Would you be able to influence the rate of childhood obesity and eating disorders if there was a class on how an emotional state comes about and how to take control of it? Would you be able to reduce teen suicide if students understood how to take control of their subconscious? Would you have more control over your students and reduce disciplinary problems by empowering them to become independent thinkers? Would test scores improve if students were emotionally in control? The answer to all of these questions is a definitive yes. Everything a human being does in life is emotionally driven. How you feel about everything in your life will determine whether you move toward it or not. If you agree this is true then how much sense does it make to at minimum measure the emotional state of your students? It makes perfect sense to Greg Marth a Special Education teacher who specializes in students with Behavioral Disorders and is now a Certified Life Coach and Lisa Watford who has been using a Clinically Proven Life Coach process with her students since 1992. Lisa wrote the following comments after implementing a couple of the basic principles of a Life Coach program on her own. Dear Sir’s, Discipline is the most difficult issue educators and students face in today’s classroom. An enriching learning environment cannot take place without it. If a child does not feel secure within the confines of the classroom then long term learning will not take place. As an educator, I use the THE Life Coach process to teach fifth grade students how to deal with life and its complexities. Our classroom has gone from a virtual minefield of aggressive behavior, peppered with verbal confrontations, into a safe haven from which all to pass, parent and teachers included. I have been told there is something very different about the way my students treat and respect each other, themselves, and authority. Students learn their own personal tools to change any negative behavior. Issues are confronted and turned into positive questioning skills. We use the Burris questions as our daily Journal topics. If someone is talking negatively about them self or anyone else we stop and deal with how to turn that negative statement into a positive question. The questioning techniques of THE Life Coach process are phenomenal and the results are immediate. Students learn they do not have any control over an adult’s behavior, but they do have control over how they respond to the adults. When children are allowed to take control of their behavior, they react appropriately; not because they want to please the teacher, but because they have internalized the correct decisions and choose to act positively. We use positive questions for students with conduct marks. THE Life Coach process teaches students life skills to find the best solutions. Grades and conduct have improved beyond even what I could have imagined. Very Truly Yours, Lisa Watford At the time Lisa wrote this letter there was not a program specific to this age group as there is now. Lisa simply understood that what worked well for her could be applied to her students. Everyone at any age needs to understand that everything they do produces results and the question here is…“Do you want to benefit from the results you produce?” There is now a complete Life Coach program specifically designed for Ages 7-17 with the complete infrastructure for data collection and study. Right now the best that psychologist’s psychiatrists and school counselors can offer is a reasonable guess as how to address all of these problems. The question that arises in regard to any issue involving human behavior is…“Can you fix it if you do not know how it works?” The answer of course is an emphatic no. It is like pounding on the top of your radio or TV when it goes on the blink and it suddenly comes back on. You say to yourself I guess I fixed it and this is where the problem is. Right now everyone is guessing. Does it make any sense to guess what works in regard to something as frail as the human mind? The resounding answer is of course once again No. The first question that must be answered if you truly want to address the full spectrum of your student’s behavior is…”What determines human behavior?” You simply have nowhere to go without first answering this question. You need a clear definitive single word answer to this question. The fact that no one is even bringing this up as a question that must be answered is an indication of how big the problem is. A resolution to all disciplinary and behavioral problems on campus are dependent upon at a very minimum answering the question…“What determines human behavior?” After you understand what determines your behavior, you need a program that will guide you through the process of how to recognize access and change your subconscious programming. This of course brings up another question and that is…”Why is it important to take control of your subconscious?” It is important to take control of your subconscious because your subconscious runs approximately 4 times faster than you can speak. This is why you can type while talking on the phone or drive while talking on the phone because the subconscious is programmed to do the other tasks. If the subconscious was not programmed to do the other tasks you would have to focus all your conscious attention on the task at hand. The bottom line in regard to the subconscious is if you are not running it, it is running you and if you do not know how it works it is most certainly running you. The ramifications of learning how to take control of your subconscious go far beyond disciplinary problems, suicide prevention and school shootings. By giving your students these tools you are creating independent thinkers. One hundred percent of what a child learns from an adult is not going to be beneficial to them and the ability to unlearn is as important as learning. In other words you will never be able to stop adults from abusing children but you can empower the child to have full control of the information from those events so that it does not negatively affect the rest of their lives. Implementation of Life Coaching into the Classroom A Life Coaching program is easily integrated into the classroom at the beginning of every semester in any class with a Certified Life Coach. The complete program process can be done in two, hour and a half classes within a five day period. Any teacher could use the program and see the benefits without it interfering with their regular curriculum. The program would set a dialogue and a way of speaking and thinking that has already been proven effective since 1992 when Lisa Watford introduced it into her classroom of fifth graders. Data Collection and the Emotional Checklist Every student would be given two Emotional Checklists with the same number for a before and after comparison. The only information the student would put on the Checklist is their age and gender. After the second session the Emotional Checklists would be collected and the numbers would be matched up for individual and group comparison. If the students need to be identified a Client Agreement would be taken home for the parent to sign. This two session Workshop can be done at the beginning of every semester and the Emotional State of every Student could be tracked over the entire duration of the time they are in school. Every teacher would have the option of implementing the program more often should the need arise. Parental Involvement Getting parents involved is a significant issue. This is why the version that is specific for the 7-17 age groups has integrated guidelines. A Certified Life Coach would be able to hold separate Workshops for adults which would allow for full understanding of the program process between child and parent. With the integration of THE Life Coach into the classroom there will now be a means by which to Measure, Monitor, Improve and Teach Your Students How to Take Control of Their Emotional State & Behavior.

Jamorama the ultimate guitar learning kit

Jamorama is the ultimate kit for guitar learning. This specially designed kit lets you learn all the things you need to learn about guitars. This kit teaches you to use your hearing to get you to the stage where you can play any song that you wish to play. It gives fluency to your guitar playing ability. Well-known songs are used to guide the learner from the start. The songs are broken down into small pieces, so each part is easy to be played individually. Then the parts are put together to get a whole song. This method also saves your valuable time and money. It gives you the freedom to choose the time of your lesson. The pace of your practice also depends on you. It’s you who choose to go fast or slow. The use of boring lessons, drills, and exercises you will be stuck backwards with very little improvements. There is no need to use any other guitar guide after you have used Jamorama. There are two high quality books with the package. These books will take you to journey to reach the expert level of guitarists. There are ample videos for you to learn from. These 148 video lessons give you the step-by-step details of guitar playing. The videos are specially made with the help of the professionals. It was also recorded and edited by the professionals. These videos are made specially keeping in mind the fact that these have to be easy and simple and mostly effective. You have to see the movements of the hands. You can’t get an idea of a guitar stroke by reading a book. You need to see how the hand moves. You need to hear the sound of the guitar to know the actual sound. Which chords sound in what way, you can’t tell without hearing the sounds. These videos enable the features of seeing and listening. The Jamorama invites people to learn to play guitar flawlessly and smoothly in a very short time. To make learning more effective, Jamorama has computer games to aid learning. It has a revolutionary game where you have to find out various guitar chords. It is a fun way to learn and recognize chords and their sounds. The game is named “GuitEarIt!” JaydeMusica, it is another fun game. It is designed as such to help you learn to read music. This is also included with the Jamorama. There are 26 jam tracks to jam along. These tracks cover almost all the musical styles including rock, jazz, dance, country, hip-hop etc. There are also lessons on ways to perform great guitar skills. The hard-won information from the creator is formatted into simple and easy structure. You can learn all of these whenever you want. The guitar learning techniques are developed specially by psychologists from universities. This method helps you remember lessons and chords in one-third of time spent compared with other methods. There are many more options and advantages of Jamorama. If you are trying to learn or interested in learning how to play guitar, the best option for you to choose Jamorama.

Learning spanish begin by listening part 1

I remain convinced the primary reason why so many Americans are attracted to Mexico is in the Gringolandias, or Gringo Expat Enclaves, they will never be faced with what seems to be the overwhelming task of learning Spanish. The British, I am told, do the same thing in the south of France. An intricate and well-organized expat infrastructure awaits the would-be retiree and alleviates the fear of having to master the language. Everything is organized around the monolingual Gringo and negates any need whatsoever to learn Spanish. Whether this is a good or bad thing is not within the scope of this series, "Begin By Listening." I think the point is, and most of my readers would agree, if I am going to gripe and complain why something called a "Gringolandia" should even exist, then I should provide an answer or solution instead of criticizing all the time. I have been writing for years about how to go about overcoming the fear of learning Spanish. However, it wouldn't hurt to go over it again, perhaps in a new and different light. Two important advantages of learning Spanish, if you plan to retire to Mexico, are: You could significantly increase your social standing and sense of community if you were able to socialize with more than the other gringos in the Gringolandias. In Southeast Asia, the locals used to call this phenomenon "Social Incest." The Americans, mostly those in the Foreign Service, would live in American enclaves and only socialize with one another. Their ability to mix with the locals was non-existent because they didn't know the languages. Unlike their then cold-war counterparts, the Russians, the American Foreign Service workers were then, as they are today, not required to have any language fluency nor develop it onsite. The Russians arrived onsite with bilingual and bicultural fluency. Fluency before arriving in the country—imagine! Without the language, your social involvement is severely limited to only those who speak English. That can and should change, in my view. The other reason is that in the Gringolandias, the real estate for residential housing can cost much more than in your ordinary, run-of-the-mill Mexican neighborhoods. Not always is this true, but you will have an ability to ferret these deals out if you are bilingual.

The use of natural herbs

In a world of increased awareness of natural health – achieving optimum fitness and vitality through a focus on whole foods, organic ingredients, and a natural lifestyle – more and more attention has turned to the use of natural herbs in every day life. But while they may be once again gaining popularity, the use of natural herbs dates back to prehistoric times in the use of everything from food to medicine. A variety of cultures along the way have identified the properties of specific herbs and classified them accordingly. Throughout history more and more natural herbs have been identified as having enormous medicinal benefits and continue to be used today in much the same fashion. Chili peppers have been shown to reduce pain; nutmeg aids digestion; ginger helps combat nausea and vomiting – the list goes on and on. Whether used to sustain health and vigor or to remedy a host of maladies, natural herbs can be a healthy alternative to many over-the-counter medications; although they should never replace prescription medication for a chronic condition without the supervision of a medical professional. Of course natural herbs also lend themselves to inclusion in a variety of different cuisines. Depending on the culture, specific natural herbs are used to enhance flavor and augment meals. Ginger, basil, and a host of others add tremendous flavor and health to a variety of meals. The added benefit to using natural herbs in cooking is increased flavor without the use of fats. Cooking with natural herbs can be an extremely healthy way to prepare food. Another benefit to using natural herbs – whether in food or for medicinal purposes – is the convenience of finding anything you need in a variety of locations. Natural herbs can be found everywhere from the grocery store to local farmers markets to health food stores. Or, if you are so inclined, you can grow your own natural herb garden right in your backyard. Nothing beats the convenience of having natural herbs right at your fingertips. No matter how you use natural herbs, you will find the benefits to be increased health, overall enjoyment of food, and a renewed focus on a natural lifestyle.

Stimulating your baby s brain growth

Your baby needs mental stimulation. You’ve heard about this even before your kid was born. And you’re probably one of those who made their baby listen to classical music even before she was born because according to studies this is helpful in stimulating a baby’s mind mind. But stimulating your baby’s mind is not only about making her listen to classical music. There are a variety of effective ways you can do to ensure that she is properly stimulated and nourished. • Communicate with your baby. Sure she is not yet equipped with the vocabulary to enable her to respond to you in full sentence but it does not mean that talking to her is futile. Talk to her while you dress her, bathe her or feed her. This will encourage interaction and she will soon respond with a coo, smile or a few syllables. • Engage her in activities that will stimulate her mind. Allow your baby to explore her surroundings by showing her around the house, taking her for a stroll at the park or letting her play with safe household items like cups and pails. Just be sure that she doesn’t play with unsafe objects or put anything in her mouth. • Give her mind stimulating toys like building blocks, shape sorters and push and pull toys that will incite her to use her creativity, imagination, logical thinking and teach her a variety of lessons like spatial awareness and cause and effect. • Encourage socialization and interaction. Introduce your baby to other kids and neighbors. Teach her the art of conversation by putting up a puppet show with her Baby Einstein puppets or making her play with toy telephones and have her imitate you when you talk to someone on the phone. • Give constant signs of affection such as hugs and kisses to make your kid feel loved and cared for and to give her an assurance that she is safe and secure which is also contributory to the development of a positive self-esteem. • Read stories to your baby. This is important in widening your baby’s language capacity and introducing her to different concepts. • Avoid subjecting your kid to stress. Don’t over stimulate her by bringing her to crowded and noisy places. Also, avoid having arguments in front of your kid because this may cause psychological trauma on your baby and may be detrimental to her overall development. • Of course, it is of utmost importance that you give her the proper nutritional diet suitable for a baby. If she’s already started on solids, make sure you give her adequate nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are needed for her brain to thrive and develop properly. Cars, trucks and vehicle toys that do not have small or loose parts, sharp and pointy objects and are made of durable and flexible but safe plastic material. Your baby’s brain development is one of the most important aspects of her overall development as an individual. As a parent, it is your responsibility to provide a safe environment where she can explore with her mind and senses, and learn about the world around her.