Education tips and articles » Department Of Education

Tips For Preparing For Home Schooling Your Children

admin — Sat, 08 May 2010 11:43:14 +0000

If you have recently made the choice to educate your children at home you are in for a exciting journey. Not only will a home school setting be full of excitement and joy it will also be a place of frustration and difficulties.But by planning ahead you can limit the amount of set backs you have. In the next few paragraphs this article will touch on the basics of preparing for homeschooling your kids.

Proper Planning Is Critical

Before you begin to home school your child you will want to make sure you are following all your states laws and requirements. Certain states require that parents of home schooled children file a affidavit with the department of education in their state. You may also be required to maintain records of your child’s grades and educational abilities . Failure to comply with any state law could wind up costing you money and frustration so always know the legal requirements before you begin in home teaching of your kids.

The next step is deciding what you want your children to extract from their home education. Are you wanting to focus on religious education, do you have a gifted student that needs more challenges? These are all things to consider when developing a teaching plan for your children. And knowing the desired educational goals ahead of time will make lesson planning much easier!

Once you know that you have met all the legal requirements and you know what you want your child to receive from their education you will need to set a curriculum to follow. Do not think for an instant that you can just wing it and make up things to teach everyday. A curriculum will help guide you and your children to an end goal of acquiring new academic skills. If you are having difficulties planning the curriculum there are services that can help you plan an age and ability appropriate home school curriculum.

Although homeschooling is very rewarding and a great way to ensure your children are educated correctly it does require proper planning. So take the time to set curriculums, check state laws and prepare yourself mentally for the task at hand!

By: Darin Sewell

Constitution Activities – Tips to Engage Kids Through Song and Movement

admin — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:28:51 +0000

Educators looking for constitution activities for children ages 9-12 may get inspired by this approach. It is a provocative inroad to the study of the constitution with a fun and practical outplay. Here are a few questions to consider in preparing your constitution activities:

We the People

Who are “We the People”?
Who did the founding fathers mean by “We the People”?
How has the definition “the People” changed since 1787?
The Three Branches of Government
What is the structure of the federal government?
What did the founding fathers mean by “checks and balances?
How are we protected from misuse of power in our government?

Politics without politics

Politics is defined as the science and art of government. The constitution process is meant to be unbiased and neutral. How have current world affairs affected your view of the constitution?
What is the best cure for apathy or cynicism? How to pro-actively prevent apathy and cynicism in your students?
What activities demonstrate CARE for the integrity of the constitution?

Now you have a premise for planning your constitution activities. Here are a few suggestions for projects and activities that affirm our value for the U.S. Constitution: activities that can all lead to and support learning a powerful and evocative song called “We the People”.

Visit your state capitol.
Visit your town or city”s courts of justice.
Visit the police department.
Visit the department of education.
Find out what environmental laws exist in your state.
Who protects the planet?
Who protects the air and water?
Write a congressman/woman.
Write the mayor.
Create a government for a day in your classroom.
Clean up a street.
Clean up a hallway.
Clean up a park

ASK THE BIG QUESTIONS!

Now, these are few starter constitution activities for you and the children in your care. And finally, here is a gift from our school to your school, from our community to your community, from our hearts and minds to yours. It is a song written with the help of a group of 4th and 5th graders in a public school in Santa Fe, New Mexico as a result of their own constitution activities. We hope you enjoy it! We’re making it available at: http://www.constitution-activity.com.

Listen to the song and follow along with the lyrics provided.

Sing along with the song (in various groupings) using the lyrics provided.

Take some time to open up these questions, the children will give their own examples that can be written on the board:

Who are we the people? (our true democracy)
What do we say no to? (our moral compass)
What are we free to do? (our rights)

Re-look at the lyrics of the song and have the children find movements that work with the song (can be full body or just hand movements). You can look at the YouTube video of “We the People” for ideas; (insert link)
Sing the song again with the added movements.

By: Paul A. Zeir

Tips for Effective Praxis Study

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 11:37:49 +0000

Passing a Praxis exam successfully can be your ticket to a highly rewarding teaching career. Not only that, the Praxis test series can also cement your reputation as an educator. That is why it’s important you don’t take chances with the study preparation for your Praxis tests, considering that proper study is key to passing the test and securing your future. Here are some tips to help you get ready for that Praxis test:

Know which Praxis test to take.

There are 3 Praxis test series you will need to take depending on the licensure and requirement you have to fulfill. Know what your specific test is and what type of tests to expect.

Study ahead of time.

Schedules for Praxis tests are posted on the websites of the Department of Education and the Educational Testing Services. Know how much time you have to study for your Praxis test by checking out the schedules online.

Familiarize yourself.

It would be a very helpful study strategy to familiarize yourself with the format and layout of the Praxis exam. Knowing how the test booklet will look like, where the questions will be found and how you will be using the answer sheet will not only save you time during the test but also help lessen your anxiety and pre-test jitters.

Know what kind of test content and question types to expect and find out what specific teaching skills each test will measure. Another important consideration during your Praxis study is the time limit, so you’ll know how to pace yourself when you’re taking the exam.

You might also want to check out some resources that can provide you with information about past Praxis tests. There are plenty of resources online that will familiarize you with the common methods and questions used in the tests. Don’t expect these to actually appear on your testing day, however. Praxis tests are reviewed and changed regularly so what you find online or offline may not appear on the actual test.

Study and study hard.

While a good number of test takers don’t study for their Praxis tests and still pass, there’s also a high percentage among failures who did not bother to prepare themselves. Remember that the Praxis test is an assessment of your knowledge and skills, many of which were obtained over your many years of study. The Praxis test series will not measure your interest or disposition in teaching so it will be necessary that you study all relevant material to help you pass the exam.

You might want to design an effective study schedule to help you gradually sort through and review your study materials. Read about case studies, do classroom observations and practice teaching. Learn how to identify specific information in questions to help you cut reading time.

Practice.

Learn about your pacing by taking practice tests from online sites. You’ll be able to observe your speed and accuracy by doing so and still be able to come up with corrective measures. If you’re confident about multiple choice tests, spend more time on constructed response tests to improve your score. Most importantly, keep track of the time you spend reading questions and writing your answers.

Should I use the services of a professional study center?

If you think you’ll need extra help with your Praxis study, go ahead. Just make sure to pick a reputable group to work with. Ask about their methods, rates of success and if you prefer, reviews from former students.

By: Mario CH Churchill

Five Tips To Find The Best Online MBA Program

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 08:35:41 +0000

MBA is among the most popular business degree to earn online. The knowledge and the skill in the business administration field is important for people who work in business world, whether you are a self-employed boss or under employed in a corporate. Getting a MBA degree becomes easy and convenient with the available of online MBA degree programs. There are too many online universities and traditional brick & mortar colleges offer online MBA programs, sometimes it confuses you and you may find hard to decide one to enroll due to too many choices. Here are six tips that can help you to find the best Online MBA program that meet your goal.

Tip #1:

The best online MBA program must be accredited by an accreditation agency that is recognized by US Department of Education. Accreditation is important measurement of the quality of a degree program. With a proper accreditation, an Online MBA program is certified to meet a standard education guideline and most prospective employers place an emphasis on this point because it assures them that you will have the skills that meet the job position requirement.

Tip #2:

Most of students taking MBA program are employed full-time. Hence, the best online program must be able to provide the flexibility to adjust your schedule to fit into your busy time for work and family. A good online MBA program should be lenient in learning time, places and learning pace.

Tip #3:

When you enroll in an online MBA program, you will be assigned to difference online classes which monitor and mentor by online lecturer. The best MBA program shouldn’t have too many students in one online class; this will cause the lecturer unable to give good attendance to all the students and gives a good learning guidance. 8-12 students per lecturer are a good ratio for online students to achieve a perfect learning environment with a good attention from the lecturer.

Tip #4:

The best online MBA program should have the best professors who have full of real experience in all aspects of the business world. While searching for the Best Online MBA program, remember to analyze the faculties and understand the school’s academic approach. You can talk to the admission officer through online chat session (most online universities have their admission officer online to answer enquiries live) and get a detail understanding on who are the lecturers involve in teaching the online MBA courses, what are their academic background and experience in real business world.

Tip #5:

Look for the online university that offers online MBA programs has an established alumni program. An established alumni program will have a good networking between school and companies, which will help you to get a promotion or make a smooth career transition worldwide. The best online MBA program should counter in your career opportunities and provides you with career support services through free career seminars to guide you in your resume writing, provides you with tips for preparing interviews & etc. These career support services are important to help you jump-start your career or make a smooth career transition.

Summary

Getting a degree from the best online MBA program is important to ensure your degree have the maximum value in helping your career moves. Hope that the above tips will give you some guides in searching for the best online MBA program that best fit your educational and career goal.

By: Julie Harvard

Draft IEP’s For Your Child in Special Education – Tips on Using Them to Help Your Child

admin — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 18:52:04 +0000

Are you the parent of a child that has autism, and is receiving
special education services? Are you a parent that would like to
understand Draft individual education plans (IEP), and how you
can use them to benefit your child. This article will help you learn about
Draft IEP’s, what the requirements are, and how to use them to
help your child’s education.

A draft IEP is an individual education plan that is filled out in
advance, of the IEP meeting, for your child. Many parents wonder
if it is legal for special education personnel to do this. The Individuals
with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), is silent on draft IEP’s.

The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), which is part of the
Department of Education stated in the Federal Register Vol 71 August
12, 2006 “We do not encourage public agencies to prepare a draft IEP
prior to the IEP team meeting. . .”

So, draft IEP’s are not illegal, but are discouraged by OSEP. The
Federal Register also states “. . .if a public agency develops a draft
IEP prior to the IEP meeting, the agency should make it clear to the
parents at the outset of the meeting, that the services proposed by
the agency are preliminary recommendations for review and discussion
with parents.” Special education personnel rarely state this, at the
beginning of a meeting, so you may have to bring it up. The Federal
Register goes on to say “It is not permissible for an agency to have
the final IEP completed before an IEP Team meeting begins.”

The Federal Register comments from OSEP also state “The public
agency also should provide the parents with a copy of its draft
proposals if the agency has developed them, prior to the IEP
meeting. . .” You should request this in writing, and I would
also quote the comments from the Federal Register. The
request should include timelines; for Example “I will expect
to receive a copy of the Draft IEP at the same time as my
10 day written notice of the IEP meeting.”

The Federal Register also has OSEP stating “so as to give the
parents an opportunity to review the recommendations of the public
agency prior to the IEP team meeting, and be better able to engage in
a full discussion of the proposals for the IEP.”

One way to use Draft IEP’s to help your child, is to develop your own
draft IEP. Go to your state board of education’s Website, go to
special education and then download an IEP form (Most states have an
IEP form available for downloading). Fill out the form, with everything
that you believe your child needs.

Take the form with you to your child’s IEP meeting, and cross out each
section as it is discussed. This will allow you to not only be an
active participant in your child’s IEP, but also to have your input
heard. Also, special education personnel cannot leave out important
parts of the IEP, as they do on occasion. Also by having your own
Draft IEP filled out, you can advocate for your child when special
education personnel want to change or decrease their educational
services.

You can use Draft IEP’s to help your child. By requesting the school’s
Draft IEP in advance, you will be able to be an active participant in
the IEP process. By bringing your own Draft IEP, you can have your
opinions heard. Good luck!

By: JoAnn Collins