Message from Alise--Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Friday, Readers!

I just wanted to take time out to thank all of the men and women who have fought for our freedom.  There are no words or blog posting that could possibly be written to show our deepest appreciation.

Please take the time to honor and remember our fallen soldiers as well.

Enjoy the rest of your day and have a blessed weekend.

Happy Tutoring!

Alise

Oversized Classrooms Are Becoming An Issue Nationwide---Guest Blog Post from Kathryn Rinaldi

With the recession still posing a problem across the United States,

education systems are being affected nationwide. School systems are

dealing with large budget cuts, resulting in the termination of staff and

programs. Accordingly, due to the limited number of staff members

available, children are being placed in classrooms with a much higher

number of students. This in turn is disrupting students’ ability to

effectively comprehend what they are being taught and hurting their

chances of receiving high grades.

Consider one example. In an article titled, Parents, Teachers Protest in

New York City Over Class Sizes In New York, Julia Lawrence writes,

“Organizers collected first-hand accounts of the impact of the $1.3

billion in education funding cuts on those inside the system.” Due to a

lack of funds, this current generation of students is suffering the harsh

consequences of a nation in the midst of a recession. Julia continues,

“Although the classrooms can have a maximum of 34 students, according to

the Union President Michael Mulgrew, a quarter of the students have at

least one class daily that exceeds that number.” It’s from my personal

experience growing up that I believe students learn better when there is

more one on one attention with a teacher to help them better understand

the material and allow them to ask questions to clarify any confusion.

Parents want what’s best for their children, and it’s hard to accept that

their child’s education is out of their realm of control. In addition,

with the elimination of programs, children have spare time to be

mischievous and get into trouble. Changes need to be made to accommodate

to this turn in the economy, as well as providing students with sufficient

knowledge that will allow them to succeed in higher education.

About the Author

Kathryn Rinaldi is an <a

href="http://www.plusplustutoring.com/blog/">education blogger</a> for <a

href="http://www.plusplustutoring.com">Plus Plus Tutoring</a>. She writes

about various important K-12 education issues.

10 Strategies to get your Child to Open Up to You

Why should parent-child relationship be any less difficult than any other association? Every relationship needs effort. Parents being the adults are more responsible in maintaining the link and make it better. If it is getting difficult by the day for you, don’t worry!

 Here are some suggestions which will make your child to open up with you.

1.     Using phrases of closeness: “Love you” it is a simple phrase but how often do you say this to your children. Make it your habit to tell them that everyday day no matter what their age is and the situation. The child needs to know that he/she is not being judged.

      2.   Explain your principles: Tell your children why you follow what you follow. Children are more logical than you think. If they agree then it will smooth your relationship.

      3.   The special word: Establish a code word showing your affection to your child. They would act as treats for a good job then and when not uttered, will make the child reconsider his/her wrongful action and talk to you about it

      4.   The special bed time: put your child to bed every night. Say your prayers and ask him/her about the day. These simple one on one special time is required as the child needs to know you care.

      5.    Work together: it is difficult to spend time with children owing to the work load so make the best of what time you get at home by sharing your chores with children. Make them help you at the kitchen over a friendly chat.

      6.  .Play time: You need to show them the child in you. Play games like they do, be clumsy. This will make them comfortable. They will tell you their deepest secrets!

7.    7. Eat together: Sitting together for meal helps in communication and sharing. It helps you to bond with your child and vice versa. Take your time and don’t keep the T, V. switched on. Develop a ritual!

8   8. Value their decision: Don’t neglect their decisions to be silly. Correct them by saying that they will learn with time and encourage them or else they will take decisions without your consent because you never listen!!

     9. It’s a Date!: Yes, its mandatory that as a parent you spend one on one time with your child. It may be a camping trip or just a walk to the park every Sunday. The child will look forward to the discussions. Treat them as your friends.

           10. You are my Priority: Don’t tell them, make them feel it. Don’t cancel on them due to work time and again. Attend their PTA’s or dad days at school or other extra-curricular activities. Make them feel you need them . This will encourage healthy communication.

Teen Entrepreneur 103: Five Resources for Building a Business Plan with your Teen

Teenagers all over the world are coming up with newer ideas to start up their own businesses. If your teenage son or daughter wishes to do the same you would do everything you can to help him/her in this Endeavour. This article will help you in identifying the 5 resources for building a business plan with your teen and to ensure that the business is a success. In short, we will give you five tips to help your teens’ business flourish.

1.      Identify areas of interest – The first most important thing to note when building a business plan with your teen is to identify his/her areas of interest. You need to find out through discussion with your teen, what it is that he/she would like to do. If his business is in his area of interest there will be more chances that he succeeds in future.

2.      Develop a business plan – Once you have the area of interest, the next thing for building a business plan with your teen is to spend time on a business plan. You will need a well-thought business plan and set a mission statement, which would require sitting with your teen and evaluating all aspects of the business before finalizing the business plan.

3.      Business feasibility – Once you have the business plan ready, you need to also start measuring how feasible it is going to be for you financially. You wouldn’t want to end up losing all you invested in the business. Assessing the pros and cons carefully to measure the viability of the business plan thus becomes an important part of building a business plan with your teen.

4.      Build relationships and start a routine – The next important step in building a business plan with your teen is to encourage your teen to build strong relationships with customers. Your teen should know the value trust between an entrepreneur and his customers. The way in which the business is conducted should also follow a routine so that there is more transparency and efficiency.

5.      Be patient and consistent – Finally educating your teen to be consistent with his business practice and patient with customers is an important lesson to teach for building a business plan with your teen.

To conclude, these five resources for building a business plan with your teen mentioned above will definitely help your teen triumph in any business opportunity that he takes.

10 Signs to Detect a Back-Stabbing Friend

Friendship: A word that evokes a lot of emotions and feelings of happiness, warmth, love, and safety. But something that evokes a greater feeling of hurt and shock is when a person betrays that friendship.  

Backstabbers are there all around, and it’s not always easy to identify such people. The most common reasons why people backstab are jealousy, greed or revenge. So if you feel someone has cause to be envious of you, be extremely cautious in your dealings with the person.

Here are 10 signs to help you when in doubt, to detect a back-stabbing friend.

1.     Backstabbers generally want something from you. So look out for signs in the person concerned whether they try to trick you into giving them something that you own or get.

2.   See how many other friends the person has. Backstabbers tend to create a reputation for themselves. If they don’t have many friends, it might be a sign that others have been hurt by the person.

3.   If your so-called friend is being too aggressive or tries too hard to convince you to do something you don’t want to, be cautious and strong in refusing him/her.

4.   If the person harshly criticizes something you do and the next minute behaves really well towards you like nothing happened, there is something fishy there.

5.    Try to notice how the person behaves with things that are precious to you. If they don’t display a similar concern towards such things, he/she might not have any real feelings for you at all.

6.   Go back and look at your first impression of the person. Did you feel any discomfort or did any kind of untoward thought cross your mind when you first met the person? First impressions are usually the right impressions.

7.    Be very cautious if the person is always flattering you and praising you to others in front of you, especially when there is not enough cause for the flattery.

8.   Backstabbers will normally have tons of gossip topics. If a friend of yours constantly keeps giving you gossip on other people, he/she is most likely doing the same thing behind your back with others.

9.   If the person keeps emphasizing on your friendship and how lucky he/she is to have you as a friend, he/she is probably hiding something or trying to make you believe that you’re best friends.

10.                      And last but not the least, always give strict attention to your instincts. If you have that feeling in your gut that something is not right about a person, listen to it.

Life's lessons are hard and it tells us that we must be aware and detect those back-stabbing friend.