The Best Types Of Fish For Your Garden Pond

There are many reasons as to why you might want to have fish in your garden pond - they add beauty, color, and interest to your garden and act as a sort of outdoor "pet." But there are other good reasons for putting fish in your pond, as well. For one, fish will eat pesky mosquitoes as well as pond algae. Overall, pond fish are also fairly easy to care for, too.

Now that I have convinced you to get some fish for your garden pond, let us go over a few types of popular outdoor pond fish - most outdoor pond fish are freshwater-coldwater types.

Comet goldfish

This type of goldfish is going to be able to handle varied conditions in your pond - this includes varied conditions due to weather, as well as conditions due to your inexperience with pond fish. Comet fish can endure variations in both temperature and water quality. Comet goldfish are distinguishable by their long single tails - like a comet. They come in a variety of colors, including red and white. Also, comet goldfish tend to be fairly inexpensive. Chances are, your comet gold fish will live for 14 years and grow up to 10 inches long.

Shubunkin goldfish (aka calico goldfish)

This is a very interesting goldfish - like a common goldfish, shubunkin goldfish have long bodies and a single tail, but they are brightly colored in a mix of fantastic colors... red, brown, blue, yellow, and violet. They are also distinguished by black spots on their bodies and tails. This is a very tough goldfish type. Make sure that your pond has plenty of plants and open areas for swimming. If you have shubunkin goldfish, do not put telescope goldfish or bubble eye goldfish (and other slow swimming fish) in with them - they might end up starving because shubunkin goldfish will get to the food first... and they do not share. Rather, you should get your shubunkins a koi or two as buddies.

Koi

Koi range from very inexpensive to very expensive - there is quite a variety as to the type and quality of koi. By quality, I am referring to the color and patterns displayed on the koi's scales. As abovementioned, koi can cohabitate with other goldfish like comets and shubunkins very well. Koi can grow to be several feet long, and they can live from 25-50 years! Some people think that koi are gold fish, but they are only distant cousins to the goldfish - they are actually much more closely related to the common carp. While koi can handle a wide range of temperatures, as sudden change in temperature can affect them adversely. Koi will get along with other tropical fish, as well.

Whichever type of fish that you decide to get for your pond, be sure that you get ones that will cohabitate well and ones that are durable (like the abovementioned types of fish). Also make sure that you do not try to stick too many fish in too small of a pond. Consider having only one inch of fish per gallon of pond water. A 10 foot by 10 foot pond can typically support about 20 five inch fish... This math equation might be a bit too much - a general rule of thumb is to start with just a few, and go from there. Remember that your fish will grow!

Just a note: If you are new to having fish in your pond, you may want to avoid fantail varieties - these are not quite as durable as other types of goldfish.

A Singapore maths PR article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - Best SEO companies in Singapore and globally.

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What is a CPA Or Cost Per Action Network?

CPA or a Cost per Action network provides a directory of products and services. Companies promote their offers through the CPA networks and CPA affiliates direct targeted traffic to the offers using email marketing, video marketing, pay per click, etc.

Companies within the network are willing to pay CPA affiliate marketers to generate traffic or sales leads for their products and/or services. The great thing about CPA networks is a sale is not required in order for a CPA affiliate marketer to receive compensation.

CPA affiliate marketers using CPA networks do not have to worry about charge backs or refunds because leads do not have to pay anything in order for you to receive compensation.

There are a variety of CPA offers available including offers for ring-tones, health related products, credit cards and government grants; just to name a few. The company will either pay per unique visitor or pay per lead. If a company is paying per action, the lead may be asked to provide contact information like their email address and/or zip code, in some cases. The completion of the form is the action.

CPA networks hire affiliate managers to supervise the process. CPA managers are typically responsible for reviewing CPA affiliate applications, sourcing for company products or services to offer through the network as well as communicating with the affiliates within the network on how to optimize their revenue.

It is important to maintain contact with your CPA manager as he or she can inform you of high converting offers within the network. High converting offers can result in more money for you.
It is not uncommon to see offers with a CPA network paying $25-$35 per lead and .15-.30 or more per unique website visitor.

You do the math: generate 500 leads for an offer pay $25 per lead and your commission is $12,500.

As you can see, a lot of money can be made in promoting CPA offers. There are literally hundreds of networks; each offering different products and service. Apply to at least 3 or 4 CPA networks so that you can have a variety of CPA offers to market.

A Singapore math article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - The best SEO company in Singapore and globally.

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What Are the Benefits of Being a CPA?

CPA, certified public accountant, CPA's are a vital part of any strong business or organization. In all three major areas of the accounting industry (Public, Private and Governmental) the CPA skill set is valued and respected as the pinnacle of professional achievement, and can equate to job promotions, travel opportunities, and personal growth.

1. Prestige, Respect and Reputation

They are well respected and greatly admired by their peers, clients, and social circles. Through their experience and knowledge, their virtues, ethics, character, technical and academic proficiency are tested. You could say that CPA stands for "Commitment, Professionalism, Achievement" just as much as it stands for Certified Public Accountant.

In today's professional world, these 3 qualities are valued assets in any business. CPA is a highly sought after professions in this society today.

2. Money and financial satisfaction

Let's face it: We all work to make money and earn benefits. If financial success is part of your motivation to become a CPA, you can breathe easily. For experienced CPAs. Salaries between $80K - $110K are common in public accounting, and these figures are likely to increase yearly, according to recent surveys.

3. Job Satisfaction and variety of work

As financial reporting becomes increasingly complex and increased in its importance, there is greater opportunity for criminal activity and negligence. Tighter regulations passed by the Securities Exchange Commission need to be complimented by CPA's high level of honesty and integrity in order to put a stop to white collar crime and financial misstatements. They are frequently called upon to testify during criminal trials as expert witnesses.

As a whole, CPA's are multifaceted professionals capable of performing multiple highly specialized job functions, some examples as below, but not limited to:

o Tax advisory services

o Business consultation

o Auditing

o International Financial Reporting

o Information Technology

o Management consultation

4. Career Security

There is a shortage of experienced accounting professionals, which puts those with their CPA designation even more in demand. What's more, this trend shows no signs of slowing down. Students and young professionals that earn their CPA can almost guaranteed to find and secure a lucrative position of their choice. Firms and institutions are falling over each other in the struggle to locate and hang on to the most talented individuals. Universities and colleges will soon be offering compelling incentives to lure CPA's into a teaching career. In a time when our financial institutions are claiming bankruptcy ; CPA's tomorrow could be the day you write your own ticket to financial security.

5. Personal Growth

The skills you acquire in your training to become a CPA will give you confidence in yourself and your newfound abilities. The money and prestige you gain will allow you to have the finer things in life. Although math skills are important for anyone to have, you only need average level math knowledge to excel as a CPA.

The CPA earns his/her stripes by enduring a rigorous course of study and training, capped off with one of the most notoriously difficult professional exams in the world: The Uniform Certified Public Accountants Examination. Once a candidate passes the exam, it's time to get licensed, which requires jumping through some more hoops. Even better, once you've attained licensure, you've earned the privilege of working long hours doing tough, complicated, and sometimes tedious work.

6. Abundant job opportunities

There are abundant job opportunities once you become a CPA. One does not need to be worried on being retrenched or have your salary cut as this is not something which will happen to a CPA, which current demand for this profession. The CPA profession is thriving

7. The Go places campaign

Some level of credit for this improvement goes to the AICPA', Go Places campaign, which for the past five years has offered high school and college students good reasons to consider a career as a CPA. More than one million students have logged on to the campaign's Web site, o use interactive resources that bring to life the excitement of being a member of our profession.

Each underscores CPAs' important public-interest role as providers of guidance to clients, businesses and consumers. They also represent opportunities. Whether through educating students about the benefits of being a CPA, reaching out to legislators, volunteering to improve Americans' financial understanding or enhancing skills to better serve clients and employers, CPAs can take part in shaping a vibrant future for the profession so that America continues to rely on CPAs for better control of white collar crime.

A Singapore math PR article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - One of the best SEO companies in Singapore and globally.

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Study Grants For Women Over 30

Older women face many obstacles when they want to go back to school. For one thing, studying is a difficult habit to get back into. For another, it can be very embarrassing to step into the classroom only to be surrounded by an ocean of much younger faces. And then there is the matter of funding their studies. Many older women who need to return to school are not well off, and need grants for women over 30 to pay for their tuition.

All these difficulties may not matter to you if you are in your 40-s or 50-s and your husband is paying for you to go back to school because your kids are all grown up and you are getting bored at home. But what if you had been a housewife for the past decade or two, and something out of your control has forced you into the job market? You have probably already discovered that most jobs pay peanuts unless you have a college degree.

On the other hand, if you have been a working mother all this time, you may have come up against an unbreakable wall in your career. You may be seeing younger colleagues getting promotions that should rightfully be yours just because they have a better education. In this case, you definitely need to upgrade your education.

You have probably already investigated all of the better-known educational grants and scholarships. Most of them have one problem - they take aim at younger students. They are intended to help recent high school graduates get into college, and do not help an older woman who wants to go back to school. Most study grants for women over 30 are not well-publicized.

One exception is the Pell grant. Many recipients of this grant study in online colleges like the University of Phoenix. Unfortunately, it only covers about 30% to 60% of your tuition. If you are a single working mother at her mid-career trying to upgrade herself, this might well be enough to make a difference.

That means a housewife returning to the workforce and seeking higher education needs to find additional educational grants for women over 30 if they want to get their college degree. But how do you find these additional educational aid programs? These are quite highly-specialized and not many college financial aid officers are familiar with them.

You have probably already gone to FAFSA's website. But have you gone to grants.gov to look for a list of federal grants applicable to you? In theory, it collects information about all the grants administered by the US government. In practice, you should only use it as a starting point. Once you have searched their database, you should visit the websites of each government agency to look for additional financial aid programs not listed in grants.gov.

Apart from the government, there are also many private foundations who offer grants for women over 30 to go back to school. The following are just a few of the more prominent charities - the Philanthropic Educational Organization, the Jeannette Rankin Foundation, and the Talbots Charitable Foundation. And these are just the general scholarship programs that aim to help older women.

There are also specific scholarships for women studying science, maths, computing technology, even arts, music and photography. All you need to do is patiently comb through the internet search results using Google, Bing and Yahoo.

Many older women can have difficulty financing their further education. Fortunately, there are more than a few college grants for women over 30 for those who are willing to work hard.

A Singapore math article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - The best SEO company in Singapore and globally.

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Star Bulletin Board Ideas

Primary bulletin boards can be cumbersome for some teachers to keep up with on a regular basis. We have so many other responsibilities that adding a currently changing bulletin board can sometimes be the straw that broke the camel's back. In an effort to find easy ways to rotate out this daunting task, I have created four simple bulletin board ideas for you to use:

• Math teachers will find this extremely easy! First, place a math-themed border around your bulletin board. Covering the cork is not necessary. Then, split your class into several teams. Teams will be assigned a specific month and will be in charge of creating the bulletin board. Hand over a non-expensive digital camera and assign that group a math theme (number sense and operations or geometry, for example). Explain to the students that they will receive a participation grade, but the most unique board that shows content and creativity will win the team McDonald's gift certificates (or movie passes, or chance tickets, etc.) In this way, you always have a fresh new board with no time or planning from you and the competitiveness will encourage the teams to do their best.

• Science teachers will breathe easier knowing that their simple bulletin board idea will be no stress for them! Each month, put up a border and a theme title on the board. For homework, assign students to take pictures, write a story, draw a picture, or create a song or poem to express their understanding of the topic. As the assignments come in, staple them as a collage on the board. Not only will your board be filled, but students will be interested in seeing what the others have brought in. Simple, easy, and yet effective.

• Social Studies teachers have not been left out! At the beginning of the year, create a timeline of your specialty (American History, World History, etc) and tack it in the middle of your board. Now, as the studies begin, encourage students to bring in family heritage pictures, mementos, or memorabilia that signifies the date from which you are studying. For example, a student might have gone to a museum and taken pictures of a new Ancient Egyptian exhibit. Now the student can add to your bulletin board, while also marking the date on the timeline, which creates a visual that aides in retention. Reward students by offering a small token prize for those who participate. It's about time(line) you don't have to keep track of your bulletin board each month!

• Reading teachers will be pleased to hand over rights to the bulletin board when they assign small teams of students to a specific month and book genre. The team will be graded on creating a bulletin board that shows their genre, several book cover examples, examples of well-known authors, trivia and tidbits, as well as any other relevant information. The team can also conduct an optional book talk for the class to encourage them to read more of their genre. Students will love the opportunity to get their hands on this typical teacher tool and create something for all to share.

Whether it's an open house bulletin board or a monthly hallway or classroom board that needs to be changed, encourage your students to take the reigns and showcase what they can do. Even the little ones can get involved in creating a board with a little help from a parent volunteer. Set parameters (and maybe include a grading rubric) to allow your students the freedom to show what they know. Easy as can be, you are now bulletin board free!

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Early Morning Entry Tasks For Teachers

Many new teachers make the mistake of not utilizing every second that a student is in school. Many waste the first 10-20 minutes taking care of, what I call house keeping tasks such as; roll call, lunch count, gathering late work, collecting assignments etc. Usually the students just sit through all this or goof off.

When I first adopted my early morning entry tasks I got several bonus pay offs. Most of my students always arrived on time because they knew that they could be behind 2 or 3 short assignments in the first half hour of school. Each morning I put assignments on their desks in the order that I wanted them to complete them.

These assignments were some that they could do without instruction. The pile usually contained a reading direction that they had to read and do. It consisted of 3 or more parts and was used as a reading grade. Ex. Get a piece of paper, put your name in the left hand top corner, draw a circle and put your neighbors name in the circle.

 Then put your paper in the directions basket on my desk. As the year went along the directions got more complicated. This solved the problems later in the day with reading directions on assignments. When students asked me how to do something I would tell them to read the directions and them when they said "I still don't get it" I would reply.

 "That's funny this morning you got a 100% on your directions paper and it required you to do six things. These directions only ask you to do two. Try again."

Under the directions I would put a handwriting (cursive) practice page. Handwriting practice is very important if you want to be able to read a students work. Under the writing assignment there might be a math drill, or writing prompt or maybe even a paper that I needed them to redo.

The students came right in and went right to work while I did my housekeeping chores. Using this method I was able to get some needed assignments in a minimal amount of time. Sometimes they had more than 20 minutes to get their pile done depending on what needed to be accomplished. Later I expanded to putting accelerated math assignment folders, or review pages.

This use of entry tasks solved problems such as tardiness, reading directions and following them, making time for much needed handwriting practice. The time was not wasted and I rarely had to tell them to settle down and get to work because school had started. This practice can be adapted to any classroom to fit your specific needs.

A Singapore maths article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - The best SEO company in Singapore and globally.

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How Effective Teachers Teach to Both Hemispheres of the Brain

It is a common mathematical concept -- two halves make a whole. In math, we are typically taught that when something is broken into halves, it has been divided into two equal parts. The same can be said of the brain.

A Little Background Information

The brain is divided into two hemispheres, the right and the left. The left hemisphere controls the right side of your body and is involved in sequential processing. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body and processes in a spatial/relational manner. Although the hemispheres process information in very different ways, they work in a complementary fashion through a connection of about 300 million nerve fibers in the corpus callosum.

While the corpus callosum connects the two hemispheres of the brain physically, there is a need to connect instruction to each hemisphere. In order to be effective in designing educational programs, lessons, and curricula, we must understand a few basic tenants:

Learners use Both Sides of Their Brains

When we indicate that a person is right-brained, it is not an indication that he or she does not utilize the left hemisphere of the brain. What we are saying is that this person uses the right hemisphere of the brain to a greater degree than the left. Hemispheric dominance relates to the part of the brain that handles the majority of the information in any given task; this is the hemisphere that responds first. Everyone uses both hemispheres of the brain. People who have a dominant Green or Gold temperament are left-brained, and those who have a dominant Orange or Blue temperament are right-brained.

Left Hemisphere Processing = Part to Whole

Gold and Green learners who operate primarily from the left hemisphere of the brain process from part to whole. For these learners, processing is linear, sequential, logical, symbolic, and verbal. They gather a myriad of parts and use them to construct whole ideas and concepts.

Right Hemisphere Processing = Whole to Part

While the left hemisphere is puzzling with the parts; the right is interested in the whole picture. For Orange and Blue learners operating primarily from the right hemisphere processing is random, concrete, and intuitive. Once they have uncovered the relationships and patterns of an idea or concept, they can then take a closer look at the parts that are involved.

Subject Areas Have No Hemisphere Preference

While there are some subjects that seem to lean more heavily toward the processing styles of each hemisphere, there are no subjects that are solely in the domain of the right or left hemisphere. For example, a student in math may memorize theorems or facts (left) for later use in high-level problem solving situations (right).

The Balanced Approach: Teaching in the Nexus

Traditionally, much of what occurs in formal education is within the realm of the left hemisphere. We place a high value on a student's ability to verbalize their understanding of a concept. We instruct, using lecture and text, in a linear progression. This strongly left-leaning approach limits all students and not just student who process primarily in the right hemisphere. Left brain dominant students need to strengthen their abilities to use right brained processes and vice-versa.

To build effective whole brain thinkers, we must consciously strive to teach to the nexus: the place where we connect. We must include activities in our instructional design that build connections between the hemispheres. As a system, we seem to be adept at working in the left hemisphere. So, what do we do to build right-brained processing?

In Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind, author Linda Verlee Williams offers these teaching techniques for the right hemisphere:

• Visual thinking: observation, drawing, verbal description without labels, pictures, maps, diagrams, charts, mind maps, cartoons, posting key words, timelines, colors

• Imagery: fantasy, dramatic language. For example, "Imagine you are a seagull soaring over the coast. What do you see or what do you feel?"

• Metaphor: Using metaphors in all stages of a lesson or unit allows students to make connections between new concepts and content and that which they already know. It provides a way to define conceptual relationships. When students create their own metaphors, this strategy becomes even more powerful. For example, "How is a plant like an apartment building?"


• Experience: experiments, field trips, real object, simulation, role-play


• Multisensory: manipulatives, movement, games, dance


• Music: Music has been shown to increase retention of information. It can also be used to examine mood, theme, metaphor, and historical perspective.

When using these techniques with students, Williams suggests sharing the name and purpose with students. In this way, students can begin to use these teaching strategies as learning strategies. When students develop an understanding of how they learn, they become better able to adapt these strategies to any learning task.

For most of us, allowing students to behave only in the manner of their preferred temperament style would be inconceivable because we recognize that each temperament needs to practice "doing" other colors. In the same manner, it is vital for our lessons to build connections that allow both hemispheres of the brain to work to their fullest. Williams puts it like this:

Children come to school as integrated people with thoughts and feelings, words and pictures, ideas and fantasies. They are intensely curious about the world. They are scientists, artists, musicians, historians, dancers and runners, tellers of stories, and mathematicians. The challenge we face as teachers is to use the wealth they bring us. They come with a two-sided mind. We must encourage them to use it, to develop both types of thinking so that they have access to the fullest possible range of mental abilities. (p. 189)

A Singapore maths PR article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - The best SEO company in Singapore and globally.

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Hey New Teacher - This Will Get You Fired!

Most school districts are rather lenient when it comes to new teacher mistakes. However, because of a lack of experience, there are several things that can and do get new teachers fired. This article is about one specific action by one specific teacher; although I'm beginning to wonder if he is one of those Urban Legends.

First, some background. A couple weeks ago I was doing some research for an article about UCSMP (University of Chicago School Mathematics Project) and trends in mathematics. I taught high school math in a school district that started using UCSMP (we referred to it as the Chicago Series) in 1988.

My feelings about the Chicago Series will be in another article, but overall, I considered it to be an excellent math series with tremendous potential for improving student understanding of mathematics but with a couple major flaws that always seemed to lead to its demise.

 For my research, I just wanted to know if it still existed. I came across an article that I thought was written this year by a 23-year-old, male, 3rd grade math, 1st year teacher. My immediate reaction to his article was that he should be fired for several reasons.

I'm ashamed to admit that I have just spent almost five hours trying to find his article again so that I could verify my facts. I was never able to find it again. (Did he get fired and remove it?) However, I found articles referring to a 23-year-old 1st year math teacher who taught 4th grade math in 2006; and I found a similar article referring to a 23-year-old female math teacher who was being praised for what she did.

This is probably a good example of how stories change in the retelling. What I finally decided about the story was that it really doesn't matter whether it is true or not. Either way, it is a wonderful example both of something a new teacher absolutely should never do, and it is a good example of both of those major flaws in the Chicago Series.

In his article, this brand new teacher--straight out of college--was hired by a school district to teach 3rd grade math. This school district was using the elementary school version of UCSMP--Everyday Mathematics. I can't remember whether he wrote the article in September or October (one of the facts I wanted to check), but the point is that it was very early in the school year.

He had already run into some problems: his students didn't understand anything they were being taught and their parents were all mad. He decided that the problem was the textbook and its approach, so he made a unilateral decision (no discussion with the department head or Principal) to stop using the district-chosen series and, instead, teach his 3rd grade students the way he thought they should be taught.

 And not only that, but he was so proud of his decision that he put it on the internet. No discussion with his Principal, but he writes about it on the internet. The arrogance of youth!
So, what's wrong with this picture? It certainly seems that he cares about his students and wants what is best for their mathematical futures.

 If you have read any of my other articles, read my bio, or have been to my website, then you know how important mathematics education is to me; and this situation quite literally appalls me on many levels.

New teachers! Are you paying attention? When you get hired by a school district, you are agreeing to teach what they want you to teach, when they want you to teach it, and how they want you to teach it. If you don't want to do that, then you go teach elsewhere. You do not get to unilaterally decide to go off on your own. The school district chose that math series for a reason. This teacher deserved to be fired for breach of contract at the very least. If he was so troubled by the math series, he should have talked to his supervisor immediately.

There were solutions to his problems that never got explored because he was so sure he knew better than anyone else. And FYI: Those older teachers have survived in the teaching field because they are wiser and have lots of valuable experiences and lessons to teach you. Take advantage of them. (I am pretty sure that his problems resulted as much from his lack of experience as from the textbook series. The first year of teaching is difficult for everyone.)

Next. New Teachers Beware! The INTERNET is a living growing thing. What you write is there for everyone to see, and it is forever. Think long and hard before you put anything on the INTERNET. It can come back to bite you quickly or many years later. (How dumb do you have to be to secretly go against the desires of the school district and then brag about it online? Yet another reason he deserved to be fired.) Always remember that wherever you go and whatever you do, you are first and foremost a teacher. You are held to a higher standard. You have a responsibility to be a good role model for your students. Never forget that.

What I consider to be his worst mistake, and this is again an inexperience issue because he hasn't yet seen this happen, is that he didn't consider the mathematical harm that he would cause his students. They won't experience the harm until next year when their 4th grade teacher expects certain knowledge that they won't have.

 I have no doubt that this young man can teach mathematics to 3rd graders. But I know from many years of experience with UCSMP, that the terminology used and the methods used vary greatly from what is found in a more traditional text. Unless he has been fired or put back on the district path, his 3rd grade students will have a difficult time in 4th grade math. His students deserved better from him.

I know that I seem pretty harsh on this young teacher, but his actions indicate a couple of character issues that make teaching a poor career choice for him. Having said that, his situation does point out the two major flaws of the UCSMP program. Because the series is so very different in terminology and methodology, two things need to happen every year.

 First, new math teachers need the same training all of the teachers received when the series was adopted. I can make a good guess at what happened here. When my district adopted the UCSMP series, we received a great deal of training in the philosophy of the series, lots of teaching help, and even training in teaching reading in a math class because UCSMP is very dependent upon student reading. But that only happened the first year. After that, it became the responsibility of each math department to train new teachers.

Sometimes this new teacher training is too hurried or maybe even non-existent. And because we are such a mobile society, it is not at all unusual for the entire department to have completely changed within a very short time. I suspect that this young teacher got little if any instruction into the differences in UCSMP or why it was chosen. UCSMP requires yearly teacher in-servicing.
The second major problem deals with the parents.

 Because the series is so different, parents quickly find that what they are seeing in their child's textbook doesn't look like anything they ever called math. They quickly discover that they are unable to help their children with questions, and they don't understand the spiraling concept of UCSMP so it seems to them that their child is weak in basic skills. They don't know that their child will have better retention and understanding of mathematics at the end of the year than the students of a traditional text.

They don't know because no one explained anything to them. UCSMP requires an enormous amount of explanation and training for the parents. (I'm sure you can foresee the problems of having poorly prepared teachers trying to explain UCSMP to frustrated parents. It's not a pretty sight.)
With the problematic issues surrounding UCSMP, does this young teacher deserve to be fired?

Absolutely! He made very poor choices based on his own arrogance. He broke his contract with the school district and, thus with the students and parents. He used the internet for his own purposes. (I suspect to garner support for his decision.) And he was setting up his students for future failure. Unforgivable.

Hey new teachers! I hope you realize that the reasons stated above have nothing to do with mathematics. They apply to all of you, regardless of subject or grade level. We need good teachers. If you are one, welcome to the profession!

A Singapore math article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - Best SEO companies in Singapore and globally.

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Mainstreaming Teachers - Is Help on the Way?

It's no secret that in this day and age of 'No student left behind' and the Individual Education Plan (IEP) for special needs students, we all want to achieve the best education possible for these students. Mainstreaming has been proven as an effective means of accomplishing this goal.

There are many benefits that the IEP student receives as a result of mainstreaming. These include improved social skills, exposure to curriculum that might otherwise be unavailable, and an overall higher standard of education. And the list goes on...

The downside to mainstreaming is what teachers must deal with on a daily basis. When a teacher presents the class material to 24 students, and 2 of them have special needs, there is usually additional attention and time required for the 2 students to be able to keep up with the class, and the teacher must figure out a way to help those who are struggling while at the same time, not boring those who are at or ahead of schedule.

 There are several strategies that teachers use for mainstreaming and more coming to light as educators continue to think 'outside the box' about improving education.

These strategies can take several forms.

1. A Teacher's Aide in the classroom to assist with the struggling student(s).

2. Co-Teacher strategies.

3. Separate assignments and curriculum.

4. Do nothing in hopes that the student can keep pace on their own.

There is one common denominator with all the strategies that must be accounted for.

Time. The pressure is on for teachers nowadays to not only perform for the Fully Included students, who will have varied levels of abilities as it is, but also the additional mainstreamed students. Teachers feel it like a vise. No matter what strategy for mainstreaming is utilized, it is very frustrating for teachers that have, for example, 22 students waiting in class for what's next while time is spent with the IEP students on review material.

This is not a negative statement about IEP students, but only the admission that students with special needs require extra time and resources from the teacher, and that it can be a frustrating situation.

All teachers I know wish they could spend an adequate amount of time with every student, including the extra time needed for those who struggle the most, but it is just not possible to be effective to all at the same time. Let's take a look at each strategy to see how they solve the time issue and compare it to cost.

Teacher's Aides, while an effective means of helping a struggling or IEP student, has a limited reach. Great for the one or two that they are helping at the time, but when there are others that struggle, they might tend to get missed. I'm sure that all teachers would want every student that struggles to have their own tutor, but school budgets in this economy often are making cuts in this area rather than bolstering it. Even in good economic times, there usually are not enough School Aides to go around.

Co-Teaching strategies are an example of teaching teamwork. This is where two teachers will combine efforts (and classes) and both teach the class.

 This has a similar effect as the Aide, but two certified teachers in the class can organize and facilitate groups based on abilities more effectively. There are several challenges to this approach. One is a class size that is now doubled, and the other is teacher's ego. With a doubled class size, there is still a high student to teacher ratio and it is still difficult to attend to all the students according to their need.

Teachers can also be very possessive of their classrooms at times, and it takes open communication and shared authority to make it work. Although it would seem that this option would cost less to a school than having an Aide assist.

Creating a separate curriculum for segments of your class might help to not overwhelm some of your students with material that is beyond their current capability, even if it is right in line with others'. The downside is that you may be overwhelmed by teaching 10 mini-classes per day; 5 classes with 25 students each and 5 more with 2 to 3 students each, or more.

 Now you have a duplicate set of educational standards to uphold for the IEP students in addition to the Included Students. That's another set of prep materials and another set of grading materials, ie math worksheets, spelling worksheets, etc., for example. Great for the students, hard on the teacher, and there is still the issue of additional face time for the IEP students who need it. The additional curriculum will have an additional cost to it, but still less expensive than the previous two options.

The last option is to do nothing and let the IEP students fair like any other in t

he class. This may seem like a cruel statement, but wait before you get the tar and feathers. I'm not suggesting that this is an option to be considered across the board. But certainly there are varied degrees of learning disability, as there are varied aptitudes of each student towards each topic. What I am suggesting here is that there may be specific subjects that is of particular interest or ability for an IEP student with a minor level disability.

Certainly it would give these students a sense of accomplishment knowing that they were on an even playing field with the rest of the class. And of course, this is the most economical solution, when it applies.

In conclusion, we all want the best education possible for mainstreaming students, we don't want our teacher to be over burdened, and we also want to keep the costs under control. There are no easy answers, and it can be frustrating for teachers. As we continue to improve educational standards for IEP and mainstreamed students, more methods, tools, and strategies will emerge to improve the situation for everyone.

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What Do the Best Day Traders Do to Make Money? An Inside Look atCashing in With Day Trading

Day trading can be an excellent method for making a profit, if you have the stuff to do it. However, no matter how others may pitch it, it's not a smooth ride. You have to put a lot of work into it to succeed.

Day trading stocks and commodities is really a highly lucrative job. Just like a regular job, it needs you to have a number of traits in order to succeed, as well as a number of firmly ingrained habits.
The first thing you'll absolutely need is a good sense of time. The kind of person who's not good in the mornings or needs that morning jolt from coffee will only make themselves miserable trying day trading.

 That's because the best time to decide how you'll be playing the market today is right before opening bell. That's at nine in the morning in New York and six in the morning in California. If you're living in Hawaii or Alaska, it's five am. Of course, just being an early riser isn't enough. You'll also need to have a good internal clock and a solid scheduling system.

Habit number two that you'll need is having a good set of skills for quantitative thinking. You'll make or lose money in day trading just by operating on gut instinct. Making informed decisions, on the other hand, requires you to be able to look at numbers and understand them completely without even thinking about it. This means that numeracy and the ability to deal with numbers in your head is vital if you're going to tell whether something's a blip or a trend, and deal with it correctly.

I should point out that you don't have to be a mathematician to do this. You can learn how to analyze the numbers correctly, even if you're not fond of math. There are quite a few numerical skills that can turn into second nature, as long as you get well into the game.

Successful day traders also have to have patience and skills of observation, and combine them with a short memory. This can be pretty hard to learn, since you have to avoid feeling disappointment when you don't catch a stock at the top, or when you lose money because the short you're intending just never shows up. Don't get caught up in things when you lose, and don't allow winning to take over your life, either.

Dedicated research is also a must. Day trading doesn't require you to devour accounting statements like long term investing usually does, but you do need to constantly be able to deal with the flow of data and make analyses. You also have to be proactive about shares that you're buying or selling, and make snap judgments that you act on fast. The only way you'll know these judgments are the right ones are through the right research. However, don't let this desire for good research paralyze you.

You should also keep in mind the fact that much of this analysis isn't directly done by you. The best traders always keep lots of tools available, and can quickly access a number of different data and research services.

If you're thinking about getting into day trading, you'll also need to build up a support network. That requires dealing with a broker, as well as finding investors who will help you apply leverage to the market. You have to understand that this is work, and that this kind of work requires intelligence, focus, and a strong will.

If you believe you've got what's needed to be a day trader, it could be a great way to make a significant income. This is a job you can seriously call fun, if you have what it takes, and it could be pretty enriching, too.

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How To Flatten A Penny

My son slipped a penny in the slot, cranked the machine, and turned his (or was it mine?) penny flat. He can't spend it now, but who uses pennies these days? We have drawers full of them. Watching him made me think of Thomas Friedman's book, The World Is Flat: A Brief History Of The Twenty-First Century (an easy recollection since I was reading the book).

Friedman writes for the New York Times editorial department. He has written Longitudes and Attitudes and The Lexus and the Olive Tree. The World is Flat completes a trilogy that validates Marshall McLuan's maxim, "We now live in a global village...a simultaneous happening."

Friedman makes global observations with wise criticism and keen understanding. For example, listen here to Friedman talk about the Iraq War, "If you don't visit a bad neighborhood in a flat world, it will visit you, " and it did.

11/9 and 9/11

 I won't give away the entire content of Friedman's book. I couldn't do it justice, and it is too long (471 pages). I will tell you that two events hinge the world for Friedman. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the rise of Windows95, and the fall of Windows on the World. Oddly, the first happened 11/9/1989 and the last 9/11/2001.

Finding Flat Pennies

 The world is flat because nothing is proprietary. What can be made, learned, constructed, and used in America can be made, learned, constructed, and used almost anywhere. Information and innovation are not constrained; the Internet, the cell-phone, and imagination have global instincts. Almost anyone can flatten a penny.

What a flat world means to your investment choices

 Friedman does not address foreign investing. He emphasizes collaboration between scientist, analysts, researchers, academics, and corporations. I encourage you to read the many examples of outsourcing, insourcing, and infosourcing articulated by Thomas Friedman. If we are to maintain a viable international presence, we must involve ourselves with other nations, their betterment, and our mutual benefits

We can make one keen observation. Investments are not ethnocentric. Intelligence is not either. Every investor must accept a future that involves opportunities in China, India, and Singapore (oriental not occidental). American companies scramble for this opportunity; the Congress and the President should avoid quasi-protectionist acts.

My Son Must Do More Than Flatten Pennies

Fortunately, he does! While doing homework, he types messages to his classmates (discovered girls recently). I told him, "When you spend time sending messages, a young man your age in China or India is working on his next math problem. He is your competition." Americans are not entitled. Encourage and warn your children and grandchildren.

"The flattening of the world is moving ahead...nothing is going to stop it. But what can happen is a decline in our standard of living, if more Americans are not empowered and educated to participate.... This is not a test. This is a crisis, and as Paul Romer has so perceptively warned, 'A crisis is a terrible thing to waste'" (The World Is Flat, page 305f).

A Singapore math article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - The best SEO company in Singapore and globally. Contact Dougles Chan @ +(65) 9388 0851 or email to dc@dougleschan.com for more information on how to make your website to be the top in Google.

Top Student Loans - 5 Things to Look for

Getting a student loan is a great way to finance your education, but not all student loans are created equal. Here are a few things to look out for.

1. Check the Repayment Schedule

When do you need to start repaying your student loan? Some student loans allow you to start repaying your debt 6 or even 12 months after graduation which gives you a nice buffer to find a job. Others require you to start paying the loan back as soon as you graduate and other don't even allow that long. Make sure you know exactly when you are expected to start making payments on your student loan.

2. Interest Rate

It might seem obvious but make sure you have a student loan with a reasonable rate of interest. If you are not sure, then compare the interest rate of the loan you are considering to any of the federal student loan schemes such as the Perkins loan or Stafford loan, as they usually have quite reasonable interest rates. Don't pay too much for you loan as there are many loan providers out there and they are all competing for your business.

3. Look for "Fees"

Many private student loans will have types of fees attached to them. You need to take the cost of the fees into account before agreeing to the loan, because this can greatly influence the cost of the loan. Be sure to do the maths with the fees included to make sure the ensure amount is within your budget.

4. Compare!

If you can get better loan conditions with another lender, then don't be afraid to try bargaining with other lenders to see if they can match those conditions. It may not work all the time, but it will occasionally get you better conditions with private lenders.

5. Extras

Does your loan come with an extra credit line or maybe a student credit card? This is a trap! Don't do it. Borrow what you need, but don't be enticed by such bonuses as they can easily leave you up to your eyeballs in debt. Don't be persuaded!

As with anything in life, you need to do your own research for student loans, but with a bit of diligence, you should be able to get exactly what you want and need.

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How To Teach To Different Learning Styles

If you are trying to figure out how to teach "the difficult child", this article is for you. You see we all tend to teach in the style we like to be taught. But that may not be working for the child. The Guardian personality, and the Idealist tend to want to please parents and teachers.

 However the Rationales and the Artisans (hands on learner) are not so inclined. Lets take that statement applied to each of the basic four personality types.

The Guardian Child (40 to 45% of the population)

Most teachers are of this personality. As a result, the majority of the curriculum and classrooms are designed for this learning style. So they usually do well in school, and respond to "school in a box", or "School At Home" type curriculum.

They like workbooks, flash cards, and will sit patiently waiting for instruction from figures of authority. These children are usually well organized, and are eager to help. Little personal notes of appreciation, stars on their papers, and fancy sticky figures encourage the Guardian child.

As long as parents and educators show these children appreciation, these children rarely become "difficult". But they are deeply hurt by lack of recognition for their efforts to help, and will often refuse to continue such efforts if appreciation is withheld.

The Artisan (Hands On Learner - 38% of the average classroom)

These little ones are highly active, and are eager to learn as long as it is accomplishing something. Workbooks, and long periods of sitting still are a disaster for them. As a result, they are often misdiagnosed as having learning disabilities, seen as "difficult children", and are the most likely to drop out of school as soon as possible.

They respond to hands on learning, competition, discussions, and prefer visual learning over verbal. Learning disguised as games are excellent for these kids. But they also learn from experience. Fore example:

• A trip to the grocery store can become a lesson in weighing, and math.


• Building a birdhouse or a club house can become a lesson in measuring, drawing, reading (directions) and geometry.

The Rational Child (6 to 12 % of the population)

These young ones are full of questions, not to annoy adults, but simply because it is part of their natural desire to know. Like Einstein, who was a Rational, they are often late bloomers... They often learn their phonic sounds (through games... not flash cards), but usually not ready to read at "grade level" until around third grade.

Like the Artisan, they learn from games, and from doing things, but for a different reason. You see, the Artisan must see a purpose behind the action, while the Rational simply wants to know how it works.

They are often not eager to review something they already know, and see no need to prove to others they know something they already know. Testing, certificates, and stars on their papers makes little sense to them. They can become very stubborn if they think someone is trying to manipulate them into doing something that makes absolutely no sense.

Most children are willing to participate in activities not to their liking as long as they know you acknowledge and appreciate their way of learning. So here is an example of how I work with these children (elementary level).

• I teach the Rational child phonics and reading by using reading games.


• Reading to them regularly, and playing games like taking turns reading signs and words while traveling reinforces what they have learned.


• However when it comes to them reading at "grade level", Delayed Academics is almost always the outcome.


• I provide them a small notebook, and encourage them to draw and color whatever is fascinating them at the time. It might be dinosaurs, Star War Characters, men that are half machine, or their own creations. They are usually eager to tell elaborate stories about their drawings which I encourage. Eventually I encourage them to start writing their stories along side their drawings (helping them when needed).


• From the notebook, they learn to draw, color in the lines (a writing skill), communicate, and eventually writing skills. But I also use this activity as breaks between activities they are not so inclined to do. They are more willing to cooperate with me as ling as they know I recognize, and appreciate the way they learn. We all just want to be loved

The Idealist (12 % of the population)

The idealist is interested in doing "the right thing", and (like the Guardian) will follow the rules, but only as long as the rules serve the people. They will rebel if they perceive others are being harmed by an authority figure or their rules.

They are highly sensitive, and feel the pain of others. As a result, they will often let others win so as not to hurt them. When I play learning games with these children, I am quick to announce that everyone is a winner because they completed the task.

The Idealist learns best through discussion, and role playing, but will adjust to various methods of teaching (Eclectic) as long as it is serving the people involved, and not perceived as cruel or exclusive.

Because of the diversity of learning styles in the average classroom, educators are often challenged, especially in large groupings. However if one uses the eclectic approach it is far easier than one might think. In so doing, it actually teaches the children to appreciate and recognize the different personalities which is essential to their future success.

A Singapore math PR article by Dougles Chan - Search Engine Guru - Best SEO companies in Singapore and globally.

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Creative And Fun After School Activities Your Kids Would Love

Parents want to engage their kids to a wide range of learning opportunities. Probably the most ideal time to pursue this is after school hours. Get them excited to learn and explore new talents that are not actually taught in a regular school curriculum. This can help them develop self- confidence and excel better in whatever they do.

No matter what they are designed to teach, make sure that the activities your child will do are fun and engaging. Keep in mind also that after a long day at school, most children are already tired. They will be able to pick up the lesson you are trying to teach them if the activity looks more like a play and not a classroom setting again.

Here are some creative after school activities that can help your child learn and enjoy more.
Art courses. Children are very creative. Their imaginations are beyond reach. Determine which area your child is most interested with and support him or her. There are many after school programs offering art courses like painting, acting, playing musical instruments, singing, dancing, drawing, writing and so on.

Understand other culture and learn a new language. Technology today has made it possible for people of different nations to exchange cultural ideas. There is a great opportunity to interact using another language. The love for history is deepened.

Explore nature and let them participate in scientific experiments of their own. The love for science is stressed through this kind of program. Some kids are excited to see how spiders make web under that green leaf. Others are interested in heavenly bodies and rocketry. Take them to outdoor activities like hiking, gardening and visiting science museums.

Get your child physically active. Involve them in sports, martial arts, dance party, yoga or other physical activities to fight obesity. You can also turn chores into exercise. Make exercise a goal for everyone in the family. Health and proper nutrition starts at home. Prepare healthy snacks together and present it creatively in a plate.

Instil a business mindset. Teach them how to budget their allowance. Allow them to plan, invest and save their own money. They will have a better understanding of the economy. Number skills are one of the best skills to acquire. While many kids deal with math anxiety, this can be overcome by learning math the fun way and letting them see its application in real life situations.

 Mastering math more effectively is possible through the non-traditional method of teaching that most tutorial programs use.

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The Making of a Teacher

Brandon McNair always wanted to be a teacher. When he was small he asked his mother if he could be a teacher when he grows up. Brandon had no idea why he wanted to be a teacher... there were no teachers in the family, or even in the family history.

Brandon has been sitting in the lobby of Highrise Hall for hours -- he and his luggage. He'd driven hours in blizzard conditions though the sky had been clear when he started out last night.

He sits patiently waiting to be processed into the men's dormitory of the prestigious teachers college he'd been accepted to. Brandon is no stranger to dormitory life... he grew up sleeping in the dining room of a once elegant, upscale railroad apartment overlooking a park.

There was no such thing as "Brandon's room" in the crowded McNair household. He shared the dining room with two brothers... 3 beds, 3 armoires, 3 small tables, and all the love in the world.
The dining room had an ornate, gas fireplace with a beautiful, green marble base and a huge window that flooded the room with light. The brothers could see forever from the lofty room. The sky was full of blimps, in those days -- You could see them until they were tiny specks on the horizon.

Brandon is a bright, humble young man from a large family who is leaving home and family for the first time to go away to college. His family pooled their finances to make sure he had a car to take with him.

As Brandon waits, the dorm administrators prepare a suitable room and roommate -- why they ultimately place a boy from New York City together with a boy from the Nevada desert is a mystery.

Timothy Dennis from Nevada listens to Glen Yarbrough sing... Brandon from New York listens to Charlie Parker play. They get on well enough. Brandon is studying to be an art teacher and Timothy, a math teacher. They have separate interests.

Brandon doesn't recall exactly when he first met Chris Charles but he ended up roommates with him after that 1st semester on campus. Chris is an exchange student from Central America... a very intelligence, very well liked, friendly guy.

They split the rent on a 2 bedroom apartment, walking distance from the school, and spend the next 3 years until graduation there. Chris was gone most time so Brandon and his girlfriend, Lorna, usually had the place to themselves.

Chris, Timothy, Brandon, Lorna, and most of the friends they'd made over the years donned cap & gown and graduated from the teachers college on a bright, beautiful, May afternoon... a brand new, fresh crop of teachers ready to take on the world.

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Educational Bingo for Teachers

Most teachers are always looking for challenging and engaging things for their students to do in class. Activities that encourage participation in class discussions, are always especially welcome. Ideally classroom activities will be fun too - which is one reason why games are popular - although of course we must never forget that the purpose behind all these activities is to encourage and assist learning.
However being interesting and educational is not enough by itself.

 An activity must also suitable to be adapted for different lesson plans, different ages of students, and, of course, different school subjects. Furthermore, in today's educational environment cost considerations must necessarily play a part: teachers are both unable and unwilling to spend money on expensive materials that can only be used rarely, or even just once.

One idea that is worth considering is bingo. The basic idea is to play the game using specially prepared bingo cards containing items related to the subject. For example, in a chemistry class you might use the names of elements, compounds or chemical processes. In a math class, you might use mathematical problems. In a geography class, you might use the names of countries, states, provinces, cities, rivers or mountains. And in a foreign language class, you could play bingo using words of French, German or Spanish vocabulary that students are learning.

The beauty of bingo is that you can adapt the game to almost any subject or age range of students. Additionally, you can play the game in a variety of different ways: you could play a "normal" game with the teacher as caller, you could have the teacher call out "clues" instead of the items on the cards, you could ask students to explain the items as they check them off from their bingo cards, or you could even have class discussions during the game after each item is called.

Bingo is also compatible with the cost restrictions that today's teachers must work under: you can simply print the bingo cards from your computer rather than sending off for expensive supplies. There are two main ways to do that: either you can download ready-made free educational bingo printables from the Internet (available on a variety of subjects), or you can purchase inexpensive bingo card printing software (which will allow you to print bingo cards on any topic, whenever you want).

Furthermore, if you find yourself playing bingo on a regular basis, you can even save on your printing costs - simply print once on to good quality paper or card, use the school's laminator on these, and when you play in class, students can put counters over the squares on the bingo cards rather than writing on them.

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What's Happened to Education? - One Teacher's Perspective, Part One

Three hours of English classes, two hours of math, and a P.E. class. How motivated would you be to do your best if you were 11 years old and this was your life five days a week, 10 months a year? Welcome to the world of public education as designed by No Child Left Behind (NCLB), and the designation of a Program Improvement School in California.

At the beginning of NCLB, each school was told what test score their students had to reach. After a few short years, that number began to go up each year. Every year the number is raised.

I'll bet you're wondering what's wrong with expecting students to become more competent. But, let me ask you if you (or anyone else you know) continue to improve at everything you do on an annual basis. And, are you expected to finally reach 100% competence in all areas of your life? The designation is based on one test given in arguably less-than-ideal conditions over a period of 2-4 days?

Do our law makers in Sacramento hold themselves to such a high standard? If so, how do you explain the financial disaster that is the states economic situation? But I digress.

Are you beginning to feel the concern so many California teachers struggle with on behalf of their students, your children? In competing for Federal Education dollars, we are doing our children a grave disservice.

To be fair, students who speak a language other than English have a third English class, ELD, if they don't score high enough on their entry CELDT test. Students who speak only English at home are not required to take the CELDT, nor are they required to take the ELD class. They end up with two English classes, the non-native English speakers have three.

My ELD students feel that they are being discriminated against because they have classes based only on their nationality. (Their take on the situation, not mine.)
It creates an unequal situation for the many students who have lived in the United States all their lives. Being a foreign language speaker is not their problem. Many of these students are poor readers, or have other learning difficulties. Most students see this as punishment, not extra assistance.

We were required to follow this plan last year and our scores went down. It does not create children ready and willing to sit for hours at a time taking a test the Principal and their teachers say is important. It isn't to them.

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