Archive for Education + Training
May 12, 2008 at 12:38 pm · Filed under Education + Training, Finance Web
Many are beginning to wonder how they are going to pay for their own expenses at college or their child’s expenses. There are many solutions. You can get a private student loan and pay those high interest rates that just knock your entire loan up by triple the amount. Why would you do this when you can get a federal PLUS loan with a fixed interest rate of 8.5 percent?
First of all, what is a federal plus loan? A federal plus loan is a loan for parents with dependent students attending an approved university or community college. Remember, your child must still be a dependent or you will not be able to apply for this federal loan. This loan is used t cover any allotted expenses by your child. The loan will be automatically disbursed to your child’s school to cover any left over expenses that may be in their account. Once this has been completed, the university will cut a check to the parents in the amount of the excess funds. Many loans require this, so it’s not just something that the federal plus loan requires. Many parents would much rather be in control of where the money is going and being spent, which makes a federal plus loan a great option.
These loans are not need based, but are actually based on the parents credit history. You may want to check with your child’s school to find out whether or not the FAFSA needs to be completed in order to receive this federal funding. Some schools require it. These loans require no collateral and may even be tax deductible!
A federal plus loan is a great option for parents wanting to help their children out. Research and get the information needed from your child’s school and get that application underway! Surprise your child with the extra money that they will have.
April 25, 2008 at 4:24 am · Filed under Education + Training, Legal Stuff
To become a paralegal, you must fulfill the qualifications for the profession. The paralegal educational programs available can make your choice extremely difficult, since there are many different schools and programs, we’re trying to make here a little guide for you.
Massive Growth in Paralegal Services - The profession of paralegal services was first introduced in the 1960s; since then, it has grown at an almost unbelievable rate. Today, there are over 120,000 paralegals, just in the United States where law offices, government, corporate and public areas are served. These paralegals are greatly appreciated and are considered to be of much importance and are highly regarded.
Reception of a quality education is mandatory for your career as a paralegal. Increasingly, it has become more necessary for paralegals to have formal academic training, since the exceptional growth of this field is putting every day more and more professionals on the working market, so in order to differenciate from the other it could be recommendable to have the better studies background. Choose to earn an associate, baccalaureate, or master’s degree, or a paralegal certificate. Which ever you deem fit to your needs, make sure it leads you to a satisfying and exciting career to last you a lifetime!
April 15, 2008 at 12:04 am · Filed under Education + Training
School science laboratories seem to always be designed by accountants. They are generally poorly laid out and ill-equipped to serve their purpose.I have taught in many of these disasters and have designed other labs that have been a pleasure to teach in.
It would be nice if price was not a constraining factor in all school building design, but it is.The best way to approach the design of your lab is from the stand-point of what you need, then pare it down if the total cost is over-budget.
A school laboratory is usually larger than the average classroom. This is because it may have 35 students moving around it, flames from Bunsen burners, sinks, electrical equipment and glassware all at the same time, as well as writing materials, computers and boards. The whole setup sounds impossible.
Ideally you need to separate student writing areas from student experimental areas. The easiest way to do this is to have sinks, electrical outlets and workbenches around the three sides of the room. Cupboards for glassware and electrical equipment will slot underneath these workbenches. There needs to be a clear walkway all around the room in front of these workbenches, so that students can move about safely. The fouth side of the room will be where the board and teacher’s bench are.
You will need fume hoods, or fume cupboards, with extraction facilities to the outside. School fume hoods are not used very often, because the chemicals used in school labs are not aprticularly noxious. Fume hoods are best situated on the wall with the board and the teacher’s area. Using a fume hood with a class is largely impractical because of the logistics issues involved with 35 students wanting to use one or two small spaces at the same time. These areas will be used infrequently and only briefly.
You will also need desks or benches for students to sit at to write at and for non-practical lessons. These workbenches will are best situated about five feet away from the perimeter work benches. The exact arrangement of these workspaces will depend on the dimensions of your laboratory.
A fan arrangement works well, with the desks end on to where the taecher stands. Other possibilities include joined groups of desks and desks tee-ed off the teacher’s desk. Groups of desks make for more chatter amongst your students.
If you are installing an LCD projector, then consider mounting it from the ceiling where it projects to the board at the front.
That gives you your perfect school laboratory. You will almost certainly be overbudget at this point. How can you reduce the cost?
* Cut the number of sinks - A large cost saving, but disastrous in terms of increasing student movement during experimental work. Consider long sinks at the back of the worktop though.
* Cut the number of electrical outlets - Small savings
* Cut the number of cupboards - Large savings possible, but increases student movement around the laboratory, and where do you put all the equipment?
* Have just one fume-hood - Large savings, and you will rarely use it anyway.
Ciara McGrath taught Chemistry for 28 years and has set up three labs. Find more articles here. For more lab info visit Lab Equipment or Building Design.
April 7, 2008 at 3:21 pm · Filed under Education + Training
In an age where educating children is becoming more and more expensive, relief for both students and parents comes in the form of scholarships. Graduate fellowships and undergraduate scholarships are types of aid that help students pay for their education. Scholarships and fellowships, unlike student loans, do not need to be repaid. In usual circumstances, scholarships are granted to students who are exceptionally brilliant in their studies, or in the field of athletics or art.
However, from time to time, colleges and other private sponsors of scholarships set up scholarships with mysterious eligibility requirements. These have come to be known as the unusual scholarships for students, an example being a scholarship for left-handed students. The Frederick and Mary F. Beckley Scholarship of up to $1,000 is the only scholarship for left-handed students. This scholarship is awarded to left-handed students who will be either attending or already enrolled at the Juniata College.
Though very few in numbers, they do manage to attract a lot of attention due to the slightly offbeat nature of the scholarship.
Unusual scholarships allow a student the chance to explore a wide variety of skills, interests, characteristics and talents that could make him/her eligible for a scholarship. Scholarships in the unusual category range from grants for accordion players, asthma patients, amateur radio operators, bird watchers, bicyclists, blind students, boy scouts and girl scouts, bowlers, cartoon experts, children of veterans, choral singers, cheerleaders, debaters, entrepreneurs, farmers, French speakers, Gospel musicians, grandchildren of alumni, Huguenot descendants, never married students, overweight students, etc. This list just gives a glimpse at some of the categories, while in actual, there are much more of such unusual scholarship requirements, new ones are also being added on a regular basis.
Another unusual scholarship is the ‘Duck Brand Duct Tape Stuck at Prom Contest’.
This contest, open to students who are US citizens, of 14 years of age or older, and who are attending a high school prom in the spring, requires the couple to wear a complete attire or accessories made from duct tape. The main prize for the contest includes a $2,500 scholarship for each member along with a $2,500 cash prize to the school that hosted the prom.
Meanwhile, to win the $7,500 Scholar Athlete Milk Mustache of the Year (SAMMY) Award, open to graduating high school senior scholar athletes, candidates need to excel in academics, athletic performance, along with leadership and community service. The Students for Organ Donation Youth Leadership Award, which awards two scholarships of $500 to $1,000 each, is available to undergraduate college students or high school students who commit to raise awareness about organ donation and transplantation.
Similarly, there are many such kinds of obscure scholarships which aid students in carrying on with their higher education. While some people might ridicule the nature of these scholarships and awards, it is worth-a-while to take note of how many students benefit from such esoteric financial aid schemes every year.
Click Here To Discover more About Weird & Oddball Scholarships
April 2, 2008 at 8:01 pm · Filed under Education + Training
Shirley Temple was the big thing with the girls when I was a kid. If my sisters could generate a dime, they went to one of her movies. Being a boy, I was only interested in war and western movies. That is until puberty, when I was interested in war, westerns, and any movie starring a sexy woman. When “The Outlaw” came to our town, we snuck off to see it. Wow!
I mainly watched Shirley Temple movies with my kids on television. She was a cute little tyke with the cute dimples and all. Shirley also made some movies as a teenager. I’ve seen a couple of these on television and the first thing I noticed was that she talked the same way as she did as a child. Some director! Well, maybe that is the way she still talks. Anyway, I think that is what ended her career although I haven’t talked to her about it and I’m afraid to call her:
“Shirley?”
“Who is this?”
“John Jones, the writer.”
“I’ve never heard of you. Can I help you?” (She is always so sweet and polite, I think.)
“It’s not an alias, Shirley.”
“Same answer. What do you want, Mr. Jones?”
“Actually, it’s Dr. Jones.”
“Same answer. What do you want, Dr. Jones?”
“I wanted to ask you what happened to your movie career.”
“Nothing happened except, like all movie careers, it ended.”
I would be afraid to ask her about the child-like dialogue of her teenage movie era. I would say, “For the United States of America, I would like to thank you for your many years of service to our country, as Ambassador, White House Chief of Protocol wizard, and all that.”
“You don’t sound like a writer, Dr. Jones, but I thank you for your kind words anyway.”
That’s when she would hang up on me before I could ask her why Gerald Ford sent her as Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana.
He’s the president who made her White House Chief of Protocol, so I guess he made up for it.
Betty probably said, “Gerald, what in the hell is wrong with you, sending Shirley Temple to Ghana! You should have sent her to Kashmir. Next time, ask me first!”
He got the point, I guess. (Well, if you are not a Washington insider, you must guess.)
Anyway, Shirley Temple kept acting after her movie career. She was on television and the radio. Her second husband, Charles Black, was probably a major factor in her life in doing governmental service, but she has hobnobbed with all the presidents of her time and they would influence her too. (All except for Gerald Ford who sent her to Ghana.)
Shirley took her husband’s name. That impressed me. It showed she had class. She became a very mature, beautiful woman. She has made those wonderful contributions to our country. That is why we all love Shirley Temple Black.
You can read more about her at: http://www.kennedy-center.org/calendar/index.cfm?fuseaction=showIndividual&entitY_id=3814&source_type=A
Very personal P.S.: I really love you, Shirley Temple! John
copyright©John T. Jones, Ph.D. 2005
John T. Jones, Ph.D. (tjbooks@hotmail.com)is a retired R&D engineer and VP of a Fortune 500 company. He is author of detective & western novels, nonfiction (business, scientific, engineering), poetry, etc. Former editor of international trade magazine.
More info: http://www.tjbooks.com
Business web site: http://www.bookfindhelp.com (wealth-success books / flagpoles)
