For many children going to school can be a challenging experience. Fear and insecurity can often cause great kids to act in less than positive and constructive ways. It has been estimated that 160,000 children miss school every day out of fear of being harassed or attacked by another student. Bullying, targeted viciousness, and violence in our schools have become a national concern.

In 2004, Orchard Elementary School in Orem, Utah found itself with an especially difficult 6th grade class. Many of these students, both male and female, were forming predatory cliques that seemed devoted to teasing, belittling and bullying other students before, during, and after school. “There was little empathy or respect for one another,” said Principal Brent Palmer, “A lot of the kids were wonderful, but those that were causing problems were pretty aggressive.”

Deciding to take matters into her own hands, a mother of one of the “problem” boys asked his teacher, Lisha Hill, to allow her to try an experiment. She gathered all the 6th grade classes together and read them the book, “Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed” by Emily Pearson, in which Mary, an ordinary girl from an ordinary school on her way to her ordinary house, stumbles upon ordinary blueberries. When she decides to pick them for her neighbor, Mrs. Bishop, she starts a chain reaction that multiplies around the world. Mrs. Bishop makes blueberry muffins and gives them to her paperboy and four others - one of whom is Mr. Stevens, who then helps five different people with their luggage - one of whom is Maria, who then helps five people - including a man named Joseph who didn’t have enough money for his groceries - and so on, until the deed touches every single person on the planet and finally comes back to Mary.

After reading and discussing this book, the entire 6th grade decided to set a goal of leaving their school with 15,000 good deeds by the time they graduated. The results were astounding. Not only did they reach their goal, but the entire tone and climate of the school changed as a result.

“All the kids really became one cohesive group,” said Hill, “Popular kids started reaching out to less popular kids and several kids left cliques they were in and forged new friendships. It was really hard for some of them emotionally but it turned out to be a really great thing. This program pulled kids out of the shadows, included them in social interactions and made them more aware of the ratio of positive to negative things they do.”

In 2006, other Utah schools also began successfully implementing this program. By taking the focus off of negative behaviors and getting children, teens, and even adults united in a positive goal, a difference can be made — and that difference can be huge.

Don L. Wright, Ph.D. has been an educator for more than 30 years. For more information on the Extraordinary Deeds Program or the book Ordinary Mary’s Extraordinary Deed” go to http://www.ordinarymary.org.

If you are thinking about in-home tutoring for your child you are not alone. There are many people that use this method to get their child back on track. In addition, this type of tutoring also allows for you, the parent, to take a step back. In many cases, a child will simply be reluctant to work with a parent to improve their school work. But the second that a tutor comes into the picture they are much more willing to cooperate.

Listed below are just a few of the advantages that go along with tutoring in your own home.

1. The most obvious advantage of this tutoring is that your child will get the attention that they need without ever having to leave home. For many people going to a center or library for tutoring is no big deal, but why do this if you can have the tutor come to you? With in-home tutoring you will never have to rearrange your schedule to meet the needs of the tutor; they will work with you and your child to find a time to meet.

2. With in-home tutoring your child will be able to learn in an environment that they are comfortable with. Some children are so overwhelmed at the fact of working with a tutor that they do not do well at an offsite location. By having the tutor come to your home your child will be much more stress-free which will in turn help them learn more effectively.

3. In-home tutoring can help your child out with any subject that they may be struggling in. Some centers only specialize in subjects such as math or SAT preparation. But when you hire a tutor to come to your home, you can tell them what you need and they will work with you to get the job done. The larger tutoring services that come to your home have plenty of tutors to choose from meaning that regardless of subject matter you will find somebody to work with.

4. In-home tutoring can save you money in more ways than one. Not only can you save on the sessions themselves, but you will also save on time and gas money. You will never again have to leave work to drop your child off at tutoring or be forced to drive out of your way.

Overall, in-home tutoring is an option that you should consider if your child is struggling in school. Even though there are other options that you can rely on such as learning centers, the individualized attention of tutoring in your home will ensure the best results for your child. Start your search today for the best service in your area!

Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring service called Aim High Tutors. Find out about how to help your student reach their full potential
at http://www.aimhightutors.com/blog .

There are several reasons that a person may not complete high school. However, without that high school diploma, a person is at an extreme disadvantage. In 2004, a high school graduate earned around $717 per month more than a person not completing high school. The importance of a high school diploma is becoming more and more evident today. In 2004, if you have graduated you are 70 percent more likely to be employed than someone who did not. The above statistics came from U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

So what happens if you are one of the individuals who have not graduate, but you want to improve your chances of being employed and increasing your earnings potential? Did you know you can earn your school degree online?

The fact is that getting your High School diploma as an adult could be a bit awkward and embarrassing in a conventional setting. Also, as an adult, there are other factors to consider such as a spouse and children. So, to earn your diploma online would be a good solution. You are able to take classes and study when convenient for you. It can be tailored to your schedule as opposed to traditional classes that make you adjust your schedule to participate.

To earn your degree online, what do you look for? Well, obviously you need to find some public or private school that is offering this option. The number of online high school programs is increasing, so searching for one is as simple as using a search engine with the keywords virtual schools. Next, cost would be a primary concern. Most state or community online charter schools will be free, but they are only funded for K-12 and have no adult education money. If you are over the age of 21, you would need to look elsewhere.

You should be prepared to spend around $885 to $1350 a year to earn your high school diploma online. But, as with anything else, you need to research to find what is best for you.
You will also want to look into accreditation. A couple of the most recommended are regional and DETC accreditation or state approved. Be sure to check with potential employers and also, if planning to continue on to college, on the acceptability of the accreditation.
The time involved to earn your degree will vary. Most online courses are at your own pace.. If you had a daily time you could set aside for studies you would earn your high school diploma much faster. Some have regular semester type schedules that would determine the pace you could advance.
A few schools to look at to earn your high school diploma are: Brigham Young University where courses cost about $102 and the school does charge for some materials, plus a twenty dollar application fee. It also offers non-credit independent courses free of charge. This is an excellent choice to earn your high school diploma from home.

CompuHigh - Since 1994 programs have been offered so you can earn your needed credits online. Students and teachers work with each other completely online. Courses cost about $275, but because all material is online there are no book fees. CompuHigh also furnishes a list of colleges that will recognize their diplomas.

Indiana University - You can earn your high school diploma here with a combination of online and correspondence courses. You do have the option of completing the program at Indian University or can transfer credits to another high school and finish it there. As a student you are assigned an academic advisor who will be there to assist you in the course of study if needed. The cost is $125.40 for each credit hour and a $40.00 application fee. There also are more than 100 colleges who accept the transcripts from this college.

Your graduation is an important item today and is needed to help you increase your earning potential. Earning your credits online is as easy as finding the right institution for you at a price you can afford. Do your research and we will see you on graduation day.

Bill Henniger is the founder of Online Distance Learning a website providing information on learning online

Of all the professions to choose, being a writer would seem to be one of the most trying for a person with a learning disability. Still, some people with scholastic problems-even those that interfere specifically with language, such as dyslexia,feel the urge to express themselves through writing. The obstacles these individuals encounter are considerable, but if they can find a way to overcome them, they just might be able to create a true work of literary art. The following writers have all struggled with learning disabilities and have proven that the challenges that those with learning problems face head-on can often reap the biggest rewards. Among these inspirational examples are:

1. Robert BentonThis 74-year-old screenwriter grew up during a time when there wasn’t much information available about dyslexia. Finding reading and writing difficult and branded as “slow,” Benton’s imagination was captured by the movies. He became a film fanatic, watching his favorites over and over again. This dedication led him to a deep understanding of what worked and what didn’t in the cinematic world. After a brief stint as an art director for Esquire magazine, Benton decided to try his hand at screenwriting by partnering with his friend, David Newman. The product of their partnership was the critically-acclaimed screenplay for Bonnie & Clyde which launched his writing career. Benton went on to win best screenplay Academy Awards for Places in the Heart and Kramer vs. Kramer. He continues writing professionally to this day; his most recent work was the script for The Ice Harvest.

2. Fannie Flagg
Growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, Flagg struggled with severe dyslexia, which led her to believe that her dreams of being a professional writer were out of reach. She initially began her career as a news anchor, then moved on to acting in such movies as Five Easy Pieces and Grease. While Flagg had found success as an actress, the pull to write was just too strong to ignore. A writers’ conference inspired her to craft her first short story, for which she won a prize. Encouraged by this warm reception, Flagg began writing in earnest. Her bestselling novel, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, was turned into a much beloved movie, for which she wrote the Academy Award nominated screenplay. Flagg’s warm, funny novels have continued to land on the bestseller lists. Her latest book is Can’t Wait to Get to Heaven.

3. Wendy Wasserstein
This late, great playwright also struggled with dyslexia throughout her formative years. She went on to receive degrees from Mount Holyoke, City College of New York, and Yale. Wasserstein was known for extremely witty and incisive plays about intelligent, successful women dealing with their inner demons. The Heidi Chronicles catapulted her into theatre world superstardom, earning her a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize. Her final play, Third, opened on Broadway in 2005. She is also the author of four books, including Elements of Style, and wrote the screenplay for the film version of The Object of My Affection.

Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring service called Aim High Tutors. Find out about how to help your student reach their full potential at http://www.aimhightutors.com/blog .

The cry of the public classroom teacher is heard throughout the United States and in many parts of the world. With all the testing performed to ensure accountability in our educational system, there are not enough hours in the day to teach. Teachers become constrained to “teach to the test,” thereby impeding certain modalities of transmitting information to students, reducing the number of hours that students can take part in “unnecessary” activities like art and music, and increasing the amount of homework to fill in the gaps. What is the answer to the conundrum of maintaining standards of excellence in education without creating inordinate stress for teachers and students? Further, what assurances do we have that testing amounts to something more than making clever comparisons across States and nations? Is there a methodology of testing that leads to results that can be efficiently translated into better education for our children?

The answer to these questions and more were considered at the International Symposium for Methodological Tools for Accountability Systems in Education at the Joint Research Center [JRC] from February 6-8 in Ispra Italy. Attended by 90 international experts from 20 countries, leading minds gathered to resolve academic disputes and identify a few solid robust statistical practices upon which the widest international consensus can be reached. The sponsor of the symposium, the Unit for Applied Statistics and Econometrics at JRC was mandated to bring together a diverse team of educators, social scientists, economists and statisticians in a multi-disciplinary approach to education research. “Our Unit builds scales for the knowledge society,” said Daniele Vidoni, one of the conference organizers, “and our ability to bring together all these experts in one room may well be the key to focusing what path educational testing will take and what role it will have in cultivating our children’s future.” “Statistical techniques which allow quality of education to be measured are available,” added Andrea Saltelli, Unit Head, “but not all countries have the same experience of their use in education and training.”

Trevor G. Bond, Hong Kong Institute of Education, Andreas Schleicher, OECD, David Andrich of Murdoch University, Australia, Enrico Gori, University of Udine, Italy, Gage Kingsbury of Northwest Evaluation Association in the United States and several others were on hand to discuss the benefits of Rasch analysis in obtaining measures of student achievement that can be compared through space and time. The importance of generating a multilevel modeling approach to understanding the actual influence of gender, social and family conditions in student achievement was also explored. Experts also discussed the utilization of longitudinal measures of student achievement as necessary to an in depth understanding of student progress. All these factors are expected to yield, in practice, the ability to track an individual student’s progress over time, thus evaluating the quality of the education distinct from socio-economic location.

Above and beyond any intellectual discussion of statistics and the accuracy and efficiency of the methodologies used, which are certainly crucial to all forms of testing, experts agreed that whatever methodologies are utilized in the coming decades, they must yield expeditious results. Children are not meant to languish while adults read test scores that require excessive time periods to decipher or incorporate into educational practices. Adaptive and interactive testing that gives teachers direct access to the “front end” of testing results, already in practice in countries like New Zealand, may be the sought compromise that puts results quickly and efficiently into the hands of those most able to make sure that no child is “left behind.”

Denise Hummel is a native of New York, who moved to Italy with her husband and children. She directs a public relations/ communications business focused on intercultural issues.

A spelling tutor is a professional who specializes in helping students who have trouble with spelling words. Spelling is a particularly important subject for children in primary school and the dreaded “spelling test” is considered something of a right of passage for many students. While spelling proficiency is indeed very important, the necessity of being able to spell at a high level is not as important as it once was.

While written communication used to consist entirely of the pen and paper approach, most modern written communication occurs either as email or as a document prepared on a word processor. Both types of software usually provide spell checkers that can help correct the spelling of words in the document. Nevertheless, it is very important for grammar school aged children to become proficient in spelling. The question that often arises with parents of young children who have spelling difficulties is–should I consider hiring a spelling tutor for my child?

While spelling is indeed an important topic, the truth is that it tends to be subordinate in
importance to other skills such as grammar, writing, math, science, literature, etc. While we would never want to understate the value of any academic subject, the truth is that spelling is a skill that is less important than most others.

Nevertheless, parents who have a child who has trouble spelling may become concerned and consider hiring a spelling tutor to help their child overcome these difficulties. While this may be an effective solution to the problem, it is quite possible to work through spelling difficulties without resorting to the specialized services of a spelling tutor. That is, of course, unless the child is one of those fortunate few who compete in spelling bees–in that case, what is needed is not a spelling tutor but rather a spelling coach.

In most cases, parents are the most capable to serve as a spelling tutor. Spelling is a subject that does not require the parent to have advanced skills–anyone can read a list of words and check whether the student has spelled the words correctly. Students who are having difficulties with spelling are much more likely to experience positive results from a little parental involvement than what they could expect from hiring a spelling tutor.

The spelling tutor certainly has a place in the educational spectrum, but the importance of spelling is not what it once was. While spelling competitions have become incredibly popular in recent years, the truth is that spelling, while important, is nowhere near as critical a skill as reading, math, science, and other academic subjects.

If your child is having difficult spelling, then you should try to ascertain if the difficulty is indicative of a wider disorder. If so, then you should have him or her tested/treated for that disorder. If not, then it is not something to worry about.

Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring service called Aim High Tutors. Find out about how to help your student reach their full potential at http://www.aimhightutors.com/blog .

Three hours and forty-five minutes!” that’s what Julie said when I told her how long the New SAT was. “And I have to study Critical Reading, Vocabulary, Math, Grammar and Writing!” she added. “Yes,” I said. You’ve got to study all of that. “Well, I’ll just prioritize by focusing on the important stuff like the Math, Reading, Vocabulary and Grammar. The essay’s only 25 minutes of the test. It can’t affect my score that much right?” Julie was partly right. The essay is only about 1/9th of your potential score of 2400. However, in this case what Julie didn’t know could hurt her.

What she didn’t know is that college admissions officers won’t just look at Julie’s essay score when judging her suitability for admission. They will read a scan of the essay she wrote and use that as one criterion when they decide to reject or accept her application. In fact there are at least three important ways that college admission officers plan to use your student’s SAT Essay in deciding who will attend their undergraduate programs.

1. To see if your student can really handle the pressure of a college “blue book” exam.

How can an admissions officer know who will sail through their college exams, get on the honor roll each semester and graduate in 4 years? The answer: they can’t know for sure. That’s why they are constantly looking for new ways to predict college success and failure. And since most high school students don’t take in class essay exams as part of their curriculum admissions officers can’t use their transcripts to see how well they’ll do on college essay exams. That’s where the SAT Essay comes in. Many universities intend to use it to see who will do well on exams. For example, Ted Spencer, director of undergraduate admissions at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and trustee of the College Board stated, “The SAT essay will be a first draft, written under timed conditions not unlike the on-demand writing of a college “blue book” exam. It will… give us a better, more complete understanding of the student’s writing abilities.” And Lee Stetson, dean of admissions at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, said, “the essay test will give admissions officers a better feel for applicants’ writing and verbal skills and their ability to perform under ‘constraint.’”

2. To see how well you communicate ideas “on the spot” (even for math and science majors).
It’s a common misconception that math and science majors only need to do well on the Math section of the SAT. College officials from math and science oriented disciplines have consistently expressed the need for their students to have highly developed writing skills. For example, Ben Streetman, Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin said, “This new requirement will be a great help to us in choosing students who can succeed in engineering. One of the most important skills an engineer has is the ability to present his or her ideas verbally and in writing. Virtually every engineering project begins with a written proposal, requires interim reports and culminates in a written summary. Professional success in engineering depends not only on the ability to apply the techniques of math and science to solve problems, but also on the engineer’s ability to write those proposals and reports in a way that helps others understand the work.” So while knowledge of math and science is obviously still very important for your student to gain admission to these programs, having powerful writing skills will set him or her above many students who lack these skills.

3. To see if any students “cheated” on their applications.

Sure, many students get help in revising and improving their college application essays. However, for years admissions officers have known that many students get “extra” help to make their essays appealing. There has never been a good way of knowing who these students are until the College Board added the Essay to the New SAT. Now, according to a survey done by Kaplan, almost 60% of the top 374 colleges and universities plan to use the SAT Essay to find writing level discrepancies among college applicants. For most honest students this shouldn’t be a problem unless they happen to write much worse on the SAT Essay than they did for their college application essays. Of course the best way to avoid suspicion of getting too much “help” on the admissions essay is to learn to write a good SAT Essay.

Now that you know that there are many important reasons why your student needs to do well on the SAT Essay, you might be wondering what are some of the best ways to prepare.

Successful preparation involves doing two things:

1. Writing an essay that will score well and
2. Writing an essay that will impress college admissions officers

For your student to score well she needs to learn the five characteristics that all high-scoring essays have in common and develop the skills to put these into her writing in under 25 minutes and under the pressure of test day.

Second, your student must write an essay that shows how insightful and intelligent he is so that admissions officers are impressed by the quality of the writing.

Below I list some important resources that can help your student prepare to write a stellar essay that will improve his or her chances of admission at the best schools.

The Official Guide to the New SAT published by the College Board and available on their web site http://www.collegeboard.com.

This site has several examples of essays graded by College Board graders which can give you a good sense of what it takes to get a high score.

Second, I recommend the website http://www.rocketreview.com which has a computerized program to help you grade several essay topics available there.

Third, I recommend my e-book “How to Write Fast and Effectively for the New SAT” which teaches the 6 steps to success on the SAT Essay, includes dozens of classroom tested exercises and many examples of real high scoring essays. It is available at http://www.sat-essay.net

Rodney Daut is a teacher with five years experience teaching history and writing. He also teaches SAT Courses and helps many students dramatically increase their scores. His book “How to Write Fast and Effectively for the SAT Essay” is available at SAT Essay.

Learning disabled children aren’t the only ones with books targeted toward them. A growing number of resources for teens have been made available in recent years as well. The teenage years are often tumultuous ones, with new social rules to abide by and one’s post-high school future to worry about. The added pressure of having a learning problem certainly doesn’t help to reduce the stress that teens face, but the good news is that there are some entertaining, informative, and inspiring books that have been written to aid them in realizing their full potential. Some of the very best include:

1. The Survival Guide For Teenagers With LD* (*Learning Differences), written by Rhoda Woods Cummings, Gary L. Fisher, Pamela Espeland, and L.K. Hanson, $12.95 (paperback), available on Amazon.com

This no-nonsense guide covers a great deal of information, from social skills to taking control of one’s own education. The writing is accessible and concise, managing to cover a lot of ground without glossing over anything important. The text is laid out in a reader-friendly format, with a clean font and ample room between lines. Frequent illustrations support the authors’ writing, and enhance textual meaning for visual learners. A great introductory guide for teens who have just been diagnosed with learning problems.

2. Learning Outside the Lines: Two Ivy League College Students With Learning Disabilities and ADHD Give You the Tools for Academic Success and Educational Revolution, written by Jonathan Mooney and David Cole,
$14.00 (paperback), available on Amazon.com

Perhaps the most encouraging advice for teens on how to handle scholastic difficulties is the kind that comes from those who have experienced them personally. Mooney and Cole not only found ways to work around their learning disorders, but they went on to attend Ivy League colleges. This book communicates the all-important message that higher education is certainly not off-limits to those with learning issues. Teens will appreciate the humor and warmth of this book, along with the practical advice of those who have faced struggles similar to their own.

3. My Thirteenth Winter: A Memoir, written by Samantha Abeel, $15.95 (hardcover), available on Amazon.com

Abeel’s intimate account reveals the life of a creative and intelligent person who faced tremendous difficulties in the early part of her academic career. For the author, school was a fun place to learn new things and socialize with friends until the second grade, when she realized that she was falling behind her peers in many areas. Abeel spent another five years wondering what was hampering her scholastic progress, until finally, in the seventh grade, she was diagnosed with dyscalculia. While many books about learning disabilities treat the period immediately following diagnosis as one of crisis, the author saw it as a time of relief and recovery. A well-written and inspiring tale.

Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring service called Aim High Tutors. Find out about how to help your student reach their full potential at http://www.aimhightutors.com/blog .

As more and more attention is paid to mathematical education, calculus, which was once only taught to the most mathematically inclined high school students, is quickly becoming a staple of high school mathematics education. If your student is having a difficult time making the transition to calculus based mathematics, it might be a good idea to consider hiring a calculus tutor to give your student a little extra guidance and attention.

Let’s face it–calculus is a pretty hard subject for any student to learn. While every form of mathematics that is taught prior to calculus has been known for thousands of years, calculus itself was not developed until the seventeenth century. This shows just how much of a leap there is between pre-calculus mathematics and calculus.

Many students can find themselves quickly overwhelmed when they start learning calculus. The subject requires a total change in the way that one views numbers and the way they interact. Calculus introduces such concepts as limits (numbers that approach infinitely closely to but never quite reach some value), derivatives (the instantaneous rate of change of a function), integrals (the opposite of the derivative), infinities, and other concepts that can stretch even the most agile of minds.

This puts the calculus tutor in a very precarious situation–not only must he or she be able to communicate with the student regarding the intricacies of the mechanics of calculus, but the calculus tutor must also be able to help the calculus student overcome the conceptual difficulties that are part and parcel of the early learning of calculus.

When evaluating a prospective calculus tutor, you must inquire about the level of calculus learning that he or she possesses. It is almost impossible for someone who has only had one calculus course to fully appreciate the subtlety of the subject and be able to present it in a manner that is easily digestible.

Therefore, a good calculus tutor should have a university degree in either mathematics or the physical sciences, as these are typically the only students who learn calculus to a high enough level to be able to communicate it fully. As with all types of tutoring, a calculus tutor must be a skilled communicator. Even the most mathematically gifted person makes a lousy calculus tutor if he or she is unable to communicate effectively.

It is a good idea to schedule a few introductory tutoring sessions where you sit in with your child and the calculus tutor so that you can observe how they interact and can make certain that the calculus tutor is able to interact with your student in a way that ensures that your student will benefit from the sessions.

A good calculus tutor must have a high level of proficiency in advanced mathematics and must also be a skilled and effective communicator. This combination of requirements means that it can be difficult indeed to find the right calculus tutor. However, if your student is having difficulties, the search can be well worth the effort.

Jane Saeman runs an In-Home Tutoring service called Aim High Tutors. Find out about how to help your student reach their full potential at http://www.aimhightutors.com/blog .