Review - Astronomy for Beginners

Astronomy for Beginners, Jeff Becan, 2007, ISBN 9781934389256

This book attempts to explain Earth, the solar system, our galaxy and our universe, in clear and easy-to-understand language.

For thousands of years, humans had made quite detailed observations about the heavens. It wasn't until the 14th century, when humanity emerged from the Dark Ages, that people started to test their theories about why the heavens were the way they were. Stars, like the Sun, emit energy in wavelengths shorter and longer than visible light, ranging from gamma rays to radio waves to ultraviolet light. Detecting those waves can tell a lot more about objects in the sky than just what we see.

Billions of years ago, matter, time and energy existed as what is known as the initial singularity, smaller than an atom and with nothing else outside of it. Then the Big Bang happened. If the expansion had happened just a little faster than it did happen, then gravity could not have drawn matter together to form stars and planets. Of the four forces that affect various kinds of matter (strong nuclear force, electromagnetic force, weak interaction and gravity), gravity is the weakest, but it has an unlimited range, working over hundreds of millions of miles.

The book explores the Solar System, giving a short profile of all of its inhabitants, from the Sun to Pluto (no longer considered a planet). Also explored is the search for life on other planets; as of now, there is no actual evidence of life anywhere except on Earth.

The axis of Earth is tilted by approximately 23 degrees, which helps to explain Earth's seasons. At the summer solstice, the North Pole is tilted toward the Sun, so its rays beat down most strongly on the Northern Hemisphere. At the winter solstice, the North Pole is tilted away from the Sun, so its rays beat down on the Southern Hemisphere. During the spring and autumn equinoxes, the tilt is sideways to the Sun, so both hemispheres get an equal amount of light.

The author does a very good job at presenting the material in language accessible to anyone. For those who want to learn more about the heavens, but consider themselves scientifically illiterate, this is an excellent place to start.

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Home Style Teaching - A Handbook For Both Parents and Teachers - A Book Review

In the field of education as it is seen today, there can be a tendency to view it as an 'us versus them' mentality when it comes to who is more responsible for the children's education. On one side of the line are the parents; on the other side are the teachers.

From a purely academic standpoint, the teaching profession believes it to be eminently qualified as the best avenue to a child getting a proper education as society deems acceptable. From a practical position, parents feel the need to have great sway regarding their children as to what curriculum is presented that best suits their children's educational needs.

Into the middle of this situation come Raymond and Dorothy Moore. Known around the world as fully qualified within the academic field, they have also taken up the cause of the parent's right to determine what is best for their children. From this position we find an excellent book that addresses both viewpoints titled "Home Style Teaching".

"Home Style Teaching" is more than just another book written that positions itself as to what is best for the child from the parental point of view. It also takes the side of the teachers, understanding why they are so passionate about their perspective when it comes to the education of the child. "Home Style Teaching" is a great resource for teachers and parents alike as it determines to quench the differences between the two camps and accentuate the positives that each has to offer.

Here is an excerpt from "Home Style Teaching" authors Raymond and Dorothy Moore, describing their own reason for writing this book in the first place:

"Home Style Teaching is a simplified, research-based handbook designed for both parents and professional teachers and for student teachers who are worried about becoming professionals. The parents may be either home-schoolers or those who wish to help their children who are troubled by school or are failing. This book sets out to make clear what education should really be and to make the art and science of teaching as understandable, successful and thrilling as it can be...With this book, we hope to take parents and teachers by the hand and lead them to courage and wisdom in one of the greatest of all professions."

From the beginning "Home Style Teaching" sets the stage for cooperation between teacher, parent and student alike. In the sections contained in this powerful book you will find answers to such issues like 'Becoming a Good Teacher' to 'Some Teaching Secrets Not Commonly Practiced'. You will gain insight from "Home Style Teaching" as you explore issues such as 'What We Mean by Curriculum' and 'How Children Develop'. As a bonus, in the appendix, you are given names of well-known individuals that were educated at home, as a source of encouragement that it can be done right and successfully.

In "Home Style Teaching" the authors encourage the option of homeschooling without giving the impression it should be mandated for all. As a result, it can be read from the standpoint of simply learning what is best for the child's education, whether it be received in the public, private or home school environment.

Raymond and Dorothy Moore have placed between the pages of "Home Style Teaching" a ray of hope that will unite both parent and teacher to establish common ground; to agree that all they both really desire is that the child receive the best form of education, resulting in their best chance of succeeding in the world as productive members of society.

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Fault Lines - The Root Cause Analysis Of The Global Economic Quake

Fault Lines, in geological terms, are the fractures in the earth's crust which are a result of a significant displacement of the earth mass - a movement on these lines usually results in massive earthquakes. These fault lines have been summarily been equated with the existence thin fissures and undercurrents in the financial world which have resulted in a tectonic shifts in the way business gets conducted worldwide.

Raghuraman G. Rajan is a Professor of Finance with the University Of Chicago Booth School Of Business and had also served as a chief economist at the IMF. In his book "Fault Lines", he brings apt comparisons with the geological lines which caused much upheaval in the financial status of America and why the world gets affected by it. These are the Financial or Economic Fault Lines which caused the global financial crisis. In fact, Rajan was one of the few economists who had actually warned us about these mild tremors much before the larger financial quake hit all of us.

While the world is struggling to come out of the crisis, blames fall upon few irrational people who caused this meltdown to happen due to the huge risks they undertook leaving a global recession in its wake. Rajan tries to look beyond these few people who supposedly caused the crisis, to those economic policies which were the actual root cause of the problem - and they still persist. He points out that unless those are looked into we continue to sit on a financial volcano which is causing fissures in the global economic crust the shift of which will cause an even massive crisis!

The book focuses on the facts that caused the recent predicament.He basically points out that the crisis was a collective problem caused by a large number of individuals (officials of FIs, governments, politicians, regulators, and even ordinary citizens) who in their own manner were acting as per the flawed economic policies laid out. He mentions that the risk that these policies posed, were not aligned to the benefits one used to draw out of them. He goes deeper into the system to visit those fissures that threaten the economics of the world business order which is heavily dependent on the financial stability of the US.

The American wage structure took a beating and saw the wages getting stagnated between 2002 -2005. These led to making housing credits available easily for the citizens, raising the purchasing power parity and expectations while deepening the Fault Lines in an already fissured economic status - stagnant wages, lesser jobs, inequality in education and health policies etc. Fault Lines points at the deepening pressure on the US to bring the house in order. There are serious inequalities in education, health care, home owning laws - all of which give access to cheap and easy credits - and these policies (touching upon Fannie and Freddie Mae) need to be revisited to ensure more stability in the world economy. The ever widening gap between the rich and poor will continue to put pressure on the government to push easy credit into the market. Rajan tries to expose this system which does not offer a blanket social safety net over one and all; however,

difficult decisions need to be taken to look beyond the short term incentives the policies have to offer. Change policies to make the economy robust and stable for a longer period of time. In all Fault Lines is a serious and essentially thoughtful book.

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Einstein's Telescope - The Hunt For Dark Matter and Dark Energy in the Universe - Book Review

A few years ago scientist thought they were well on the way to understanding the universe. New tools allowed them to look further and to see more than ever before. One thing that they needed to do is to get some idea of the amount of mass that the universe contained. This should be easy. The matter that we have here on earth is the same kind of matter that shines in the stars. Picking a representative area of the cosmos and getting an inventory of what is visible should give us the answer. Imagine their shock when they found that the normal matter that we all know is only 5% of what the universe contains. A type of matter called dark matter is 23% and the rest is dark energy at 72%. How can we find out about dark matter? We can't see it. As it behaves just like normal matter with respect to gravity, we can find out how much there is by how it influences the normal matter that we can see. It is the motion and speed of the things we can see that tell us it must be there. Dark energy is even harder to pin down. The explanation of why scientist believe it's there is a bit more convoluted, so I'll leave that one up to the author.

One thing that helps us find out about dark matter is Einstein's telescope. We have much better telescopes and other instruments today than we ever had but Einstein's telescope is not one that we can build. Einstein's theory told him that when light from an far object in space passed near an object closer to us like our sun the light would bend so that the apparent position would be shifted from the actual position as observed from the earth. It took an eclipse of the sun with a very bright object slightly behind it and a few years but conditions were finally right and Einstein's prediction was proven. It is the bending of light through a lens that makes a telescopes work. So light bent by a mass in space makes it act like a telescope. This means that, we can use massive objects in space to see images of the objects behind them. The image is somewhat distorted and sometimes multiple images of the same object are created but we can often see objects that we could never see with our normal telescopes. It's best when the massive object is about half way between us and the distance object. Some of the most interesting results come from when the massive object is a cluster of galaxies. But the other important thing is what we learn about the lens. The angle that it bends the light tells us it's mass and every thing that isn't visible normal matter is dark matter. There are other little tricks to getting it right, so again, I'll leave that to the author.

This book takes you on a journey from the universe of Einstein to the universe as it is understood today and beyond to the edge of what is unknown and maybe unknowable. Evalyn Gates is the perfect person to take us on this journey. She is the assistant director of the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics and also a senior research associate at the University of Chicago. She is the former astronomy director of the Adler Planetarium and Astronomy Museum. She makes a complex subject accessible to the average reader. She doesn't assume that you have the prior knowledge and background to understand the subject matter. She uses the first three chapters to make sure you have the background to understand the rest of the book. If you want to get the latest knowledge for understanding what is known about our universe, this book, with it's accessible explanations and many helpful illustrations is the one to get. The author tells you to start with the beautiful color pictures of actual telescope images located in the middle of the book, just for their beauty. Then go back to them as they illustrate the topics in the book.

All my life I've been a seeker after knowledge. I've worked in science, music, the financial field and spent many years as a member of a public speaking organization. I am an avid reader of non fiction books on many different topics. I have a knowledge web site. It's purpose is to share knowledge. Right now it has an extensive music section, some pages on how money works, and a book review section. I like to keep up with scientific knowledge and try to read all the latest books.

http://tonyknows.com/bkrvwsscnc

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Article Submitted On: August 15, 2009

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Evidence Supporting the Existence of Mermaids

By Iram Rafiq Iram Rafiq
Level: Basic PLUS

Writing is my passion ?.Though I choice to hold pen to understand my inner self, the Allah Almighty enables my flow of creativity into words ...

It was believed that a creature of upper human body and lower fish body had circulated the oceans back 5,000 B.C. According to some religious myths, these mermaids rose from the depth of the oceans to educate man. A-well known historian and scientists, Pliny the Elder had documented the accounts of these 'real mermaids'. He was quite sure about the existence of this creature and called them scaled and rough all over. After that conviction, thousands of fishers and sailors worldwide had reported of seeing the 'real mermaids' swimming close to their ships.

In this context, Christopher Columbus also described his encounter with a 'mermaid' in 1493 at the ocean of Haiti. He stated that these creatures came out of water slightly and they were not beautiful as mentioned in fictions. Later, in an antiquated text of history named as Speculum Regale, it was written around 1250 in Norway, the mermaids are not depicted as pretty women but like a semi aquatic creature. In the 13th century, a person Physiologus in his book of animal study had described about real 'mermaid' consisting of upper woman body and lower fish body. Later in the book of Historia Monstrorum, the author had reported the union of mermaid near the River Nile.

In 1608, Henry Hudson had explored the existence of mermaid near the region of Russia. He described a creature looking like man from upper part having a speckled and porpoise like a mackerel. according to his view, this creature had white skin, woman breasts and long hair at back. Recently in 2004, a 'mermaid' corpse was seen in the ocean of Chennai after the account of tsunami. However, researcher believes that stories about existence of real mermaid are merely example of misunderstanding. While other believes that mermaid is the actual creature that lives into depth of the sea and now they have become extinct due to the environmental pollution.

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Article Submitted On: September 03, 2010

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What You Should Know About December 21, 2012 - The Last Day of Time

According to James Michael Sayers e-book the world may end on December 21, 2012. This date is the last day of the Mayan calendar and is believed by many to be the last day of time.

In his e-book Sayers examines the beliefs and prophecies of many different profits including the Celts, Merlin, Indigenous Americans, Hindus, Nostradamus, the Bible, the Web Bot Project, and of course, the Mayas. Sayers book is very well researched and his explanations are very comprehensive. Whether you are a believer, doubter, or skeptic this book is a fantastic read. You will become informed from this book.

He also covers possible changes in the natural world such as polar shift changes, the importance of sound waves and crop circles.

Here is just a sample of what you will learn in this fantastic book.

1) Will the United States survive December 21, 2012? Can we expect a financial system collapse?

2) Find out the place you do not want to be on that prophetic day.

3) Find out how the things we take for granted, like going to the bathroom, breathing air, and even drinking water may change forever.

4) Will martial law be forced upon us?

5) What you can do now to put together a survival plan.

It is commonly believed something important, and hopefully not devastating, will occur on December 21, 2012. The question is if it does are you ready? If you are a skeptic now you may become a believer. If you are a believer, you will want to get prepared. At the very least you will have a better understanding of what could possibly occur on this day.

This book is not entertainment. It is informative, well-written, easy to read and understand and most of all, the most comprehensive book about December 21, 2012. This day is less than 2 1/2 years from now and approaching fast. I recommend reading this book before it is too late. It may scare you, but it should prepare you.

Mike A C

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School Can Wait - Why it is Wiser to Wait When it Comes to Your Child's Education - A Book Review

Often referred to as the scholarly version of the book "Better Late Than Early" Raymond and Dorothy Moore's book "School Can Wait II" is indeed a compilation of ten years worth of research packed into "just" 300 pages. With 37 pages of references to back up their position regarding when to begin educating children, the Moores have provided an invaluable service to society. According to their son, Dennis (who is a contributing author) the name is a misnomer. It is actually "School Can Wait-Second Edition". No matter, this book is much more than just another book.

As a follow up to their book "Better Late Than Early", the Moores establish the fact that children are expected to learn much sooner than their cognitive skills will allow. Through painstakingly seeking out a large number of both men and women well qualified in the field of education and child development, "School Can Wait" establishes the position that children can wait.

From such thought provoking chapters like "Readiness for School" and "Readiness for Reading" to "Neuropsychological Factors in Learning" you will find a wealth of statistical analysis to back up the Moore's position as it pertains to a child's ability to learn regardless of age. They go to great lengths to confirm what so many contributors to this timeless documentation agree on: children are not ready to learn when we think they are solely based on their age alone.

"School Can Wait" is not an easy read at times, due to its deep insights from an intellectual point of view, but it is a valuable resource to establish anyone's position that children need to be taught based on a number of considerations apart from their age. Through chapters such as "Effectiveness of Early Schooling" to "A Positive Approach to Early Learning" you will gain invaluable insights when it comes to determining when, as well as how, to begin your child's education.

Coupled with "Better Late Than Early" "School Can Wait" will confirm what many parents have suspected all along: that the world is just as much a classroom as any four walls in a building could ever be. Also, once again it is the position of the authors that parents are just as qualified, if not more so, to determine the educational needs of their children than the most educated teacher.

Be assured that "School Can Wait" will challenge you at times due to its extensive in-depth writings. But do not be discouraged to give it a read and thereby educate yourself to the facts that "School Can Wait" is the perfect title to confirm that position for your child.

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Are You Looking to Write a Term Paper Or Report - A Book Review

Let's face it, it's not easy to writing a term paper, and if you are writing a research report; it's even tougher. Perhaps, that's why I'd like to recommend a very good book to you, one that I actually own, and one which can help you along in the process. The name of the book is;

"How to Write Term Papers and Reports - Eight Keys to a Successful Paper" by L Sue Baugh

Anybody who spends a lot of time in college knows that writing a good term paper will make or break your grades. Of course, once you get out into the real world if you are going to do any type of scientific research writing or are required to write any reports, you'll note that it's just as important to your reputation, future career, and upward advancement. In other words, there's money at stake which is even more important than grades.

In this book, the author explains why it's important to focus on your topic, and why you must organize and be disciplined in preparing your document. She suggests a preliminary statement, or a first rough draft abstract, which you will most likely (99% of the time) change later. And you can tell that the author is highly passionate and ethical as she is gives advice to concentrate on in-depth research, and to keep meticulous notes.

She goes heavy into the planning process of writing a paper or report, including the use of outlines. And she states that just because you are done with the first draft does not mean you are anywhere near completed, as she says or suggests that editing can often be 80 to 90% of the work. She also spends a whole chapter on how to select topics in various research strategies to use once you do. The author also explains how to evaluate information using statistics, and research with a critical eye.

There are also chapters on how to document references, logical developments, writing style, mechanics, grammar tips, and how to prepare illustrations, along with the graphs, charts, and pictures you use. Lastly, the author goes into how to give oral presentations about your work, rounding out the perfect research project. Indeed, I highly recommend that you have this book in your writing library, if you are going to create term papers or reports for school or business. Please consider all this.

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The Importance of Creative Learning

Primary education is considered to be one of the most significant among all phases of education in the life of a student. The nature of the stage of growth enables all that is learnt to make an everlasting impression in the mind.

This is what makes primary curriculum extremely important to a child. Its importance not only lies in what is being taught but the methods in which the same is taught as well.

Creative Learning

Over the years of educational study there has been plenty of deliberation that is given to methods of effective teaching. It has been held that the methods of teaching that are employed are also significant in delivering the positivity of results among students.

So what is then the way a creative learning curriculum will function?

Here are some of the aspects of a creative curriculum design for your reference.

Approaching subjects through activities

Learners are given the freedom to choose their favorite subject than a set routine

Problem solving puzzles or lessons through block building are an important part of this curriculum

Stories are told to them as part of their learning process

There is an approach for the development of mental faculties as well as of the proper physical movements and skills development

There is an all round approach towards education touching upon various important aspects of life like to eat their food or to keep their things properly

These are some of the aspects of creative curriculum design. The important facet of a creative curriculum planning is that you do not have to follow a set pattern. There is a great deal of scope for improvisation and modification to yield better and positive results.

Cross-Curricular Learning

The initiation of education began with a perception that education is like the golden grains of knowledge that was filled into an empty sack which was a child's mind by teacher. The advent of modern education brought about the popular implementation of cross-curricular learning.

The work of educationists like Rousseau and John Dewey among many others altered this theory. These great men stressed on the fact that education was a lifelong process that was gathered with experience.

John Dewey was among those great educationists who played a pivotal role in bringing the child as the most important factor in the educational system. He had propounded the idea of child centric education along with others of his time.

Here is what cross-curricular method of education has in store for its learners.

Emphasis on learning with experience

Lessons supplemented with activity

A blend of learning through illustrations of pictures and videos or even models of things

A lesson of science that is supplemented with related activity or articles for better and clear understanding

All this makes learning experience a pleasant and a fruitful one. Child psychologists and educational analysts have found that retention of a learnt subject along with recall and recognition is more when measured with a normal approach to a subject.

This approach has been found consistently functional and successful among various age groups of children and for a variety of subjects.

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The Significance of Cross Curricular Learning

Teaching a child is no child's play, as every parent and teacher would tell you. If you want to ensure the overall development of the child, then just restricting him to the books and being satisfied with the marks on the annual report would not be enough. This would probably make him eligible to apply for the high profile jobs later in his career and he may even get them, but he will never become a good leader or a good teammate if he fails to acclimatize with his surroundings or does not have the spark or the imagination to take quick decisions and reinvent in a short notice of time and these are the things that ensure the success of the individual in his chosen profession, after he has bagged the job with his qualifications.

For all these reasons, it is essential that to develop the faculties of the child, rather than just making him learn lessons from his books. A cross curricular teaching plan fulfills the following requirements.

It makes teaching more "context based", that is, the child not only reads but with the help of practical demonstrations and experiments experiences for himself what is being taught in class.

Rather than studying alone, the child is encouraged to take part in group activities and it is up to the teachers to organize them. Working in a group will imbibe in them the importance of team effort and the need to adjust.

Moreover, the teaching plan should be such that it leaves ample scope and opportunity for the child to pursue an activity of his interest. If he has any talent, that should be enhanced and the child encouraged so that his gift is fully developed.

Responsibility of the Teacher: However, it is first necessary to train the teachers so that they can adapt to this new way of teaching. If the teachers are not well trained themselves, they will not be able to handle the children. The teacher should have an open mind and should be able to manage the class with discipline, without being too stern. The children should not feel that they are going through a drill and should not follow the regimen out of fear for the teacher. Rather, the learning experience should be joyful and exciting and it is the teacher's responsibility to make it so.

Following a curricular plan makes the task of teaching easier for the teacher but he or she should also reinvent as the situation may demand. And in turn, the task of teaching and learning becomes benefits both the child and the teacher.

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The Magic Furnace - The Search For the Origin of Atoms, by Marcus Chown

"If the atoms that make up the world around us could tell their stories, each and every one of them would sing a tale to dwarf the greatest epics of literature", Chown proclaims in the prologue of this book. The work is his attempt to chronicle humankind's efforts, commencing with Democritus in Ancient Greece over two millennia ago, to discover what the smallest constituents of matter are, and from where they came.

It's an enthralling, comprehensive history lesson in the development of astronomy and atomic physics, encapsulating key moments and discoveries in the search to answer the question why 98% of the mass of visible matter in the universe is composed of hydrogen and helium, and where the remaining 2% of 'metals' came from.

In one of the greatest all-time detective stories featuring an all-star cast, the research of such notable scientists as Lavoisier, Hooke, Boyle, Dalton, Mendeleev, Davy, Faraday, Avogadro, Thomson, Curie, Rutherford, Chadwick, Einstein and Hoyle is all beautifully woven together to arrive at one inescapable conclusion: that all of the chemical elements from Beryllium and Boron to Iron in the Periodic Table, were exothermically cooked up in the cores of dying red giant stars and vomited into the interstellar gas once those stars died. The jigsaw puzzle was finally completed when the endothermic origin of the elements heavier than iron was identified as supernovae, the result of the detonations of high mass stars, at the end of their short lives. It turns out that we, and everything we see were literally 'made in heaven'.

From the synthesis of hydrogen and helium in the Big Bang to the discovery of such helium in the chromosphere of the Sun, from star-forming regions of interstellar gas to white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes, from Newton's prism to the development of spectroscopy and spectrometry, from the discovery of electrons, protons and neutrons to electromagnetism and the nuclear forces, from Becquerel's discovery of radioactivity to the nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium and beyond, each step towards our contemporary understanding of astrophysics and atomic synthesis is both logically conveyed and clearly explained.

Chown's writing style is both inspiring and captivating, and you will have difficulty putting this book down. Indeed, on a re-reading I found it just as captivating.

It is essential background reading for all of those wanting to learn about the lives of stars, astrophysics and the reasons behind the abundances of the chemical elements.

Andy Fleming is author of the AstronomyQuest blog at [http://astronomyquest.blogspot.com/]

The main aim of AstronomyQuest is to provide an educational resource for the public in new developments and discoveries in astronomy and cosmology. In addition, it contains tips on amateur observing and explanations of various astronomical phenomena, and scientific theories pertaining to astronomy.

The blog also features reviews of media including books, podcasts, DVDs and websites relating to astronomy.

All content is cast at a level requiring little previous knowledge of either astronomy or mathematics. We also endeavour to be not too Northern Hemisphere-centric!

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'Outliers' Review

Sometimes a book comes along that stops you in your tracks. Sometimes you are so compelled to read and to finish a book that all of your other commitments seem to melt away and disappear. Other times, however, you'll find yourself mildly entertained by a book but not really too engrossed by it. When 'Outliers: The Story of Success' was released by Malcolm Gladwell, I wondered which of these it would be. After reading it I can say that it is definitely the former.

The book is about success - what makes people successful and others not so successful. Gladwell argues that our genetic heritage and cultural legacy have much to do with how successful we are and argues his points brilliantly with mountains of examples and research. You get the feeling when reading 'Outliers' that you are learning about something quite revolutionary - something that is barely even accepted by most people yet, but something that will be very soon.

The level of detail that Gladwell has gone into in this book is quite astounding, and is surely the new benchmark for any aspiring writer or scientist. One example that he gives is all about why Korean pilots crash planes far more than any other race. His conclusion is quite brilliant (and backed up with evidence), yet it is one that you might feel that a lot of people would find difficult to accept (because he is stereotyping people by their race). At the end of the book Gladwell talks about how we must first understand our cultural legacy in order to change it, by which point of the book I felt extremely uplifted.

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Creative Learning Curriculum for Everyday Lessons

Education, like charity, begins at home. And it has been seen that young mothers often get hyper about the child's education in a manner that makes it look like the child will appear in some graduation level examination at the tenser age of two! The only reason behind it is of course the fact that the adults today are very well aware of he cutting competition in the existing job market and they wish to give their child every opportunity and advantage so that when he is of age, he finds a well paying job and can lead a comfortable life without any worries. But on the other hand, it has resulted in only over burdening the child and instead of grasping what life has to offer, they get stuck with books and up mugging up their lessons.

For this reason, educationalists have asserted that a kind of balance has to be maintained between the important and the so- called trivial ways of study, so that it facilitates all round development of the child. This is what they call, Creative Learning. Which is a blend of the formal and more interactive and interesting way of studying, so that the child does not merely read about, but is exposed to the practical things of life, thereby improving his faculties and thus having a better understanding of his surroundings. For this, it is not necessary to chart out a very high profile plan with an expert with a lot of fee. In fact you should do it in accordance with your child's likes and dislikes and according to your own discretion as a responsible parent.

Therefore, trainers and young parents, who are teaching a child at home, should draw a plan and divide the child's lesson accordingly. So if the morning is dedicated to the alphabets and evenings to basic science then, apart from just reading about the plants, take them out to the garden and let them touch the leaves and fruits and flowers. If you have older children in the house, encourage them to perform the experiments that they have studied and take an active interest in helping them out so that they know what they are learning is greatly appreciated. Draw out a plan where you have equal hours dedicated to study, play and any other extra curricular activities that he might like to follow.

The bottom line is not just to leave them alone with their books and enquire only when the annual report comes in. if you do not look into his development yourself, and then there is no use complaining when he does not turn out to your liking.

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Book Review - A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson

I just finished reading (actually, listening to) a scientific book by Bill Bryson, someone I knew nothing about, on a subject that has been - for most of my life - a kind of love/hate relationship. If you want to read a book full of complex scientific and mathematical computations, where its companion title being an unabridged dictionary, look elsewhere. A Short History of Nearly Everything is a book for the rest of us. For all of us.

I've always loved learning about science, but not necessarily doing science. At least, not what I was exposed to as a student K-12 in the American public school system. But this book captivated my attention before I finished the first chapter and I became engrossed and fascinated with the shocking, if not often, hilarious accounts Bryson describes concerning the history of human scientific endeavor.

Reading this book is like wandering through history, somewhat haphazardly, though did I grow tired or bored. It's just so enchanting, how divisive people were (are), and how an individual's life can be summed up in a single sentence, leaving you wondering what else there was. I think this is why I chose history as my specialty in both my undergraduate degree, and now as a graduate student. I am in awe of people who come before me, and now only exist through pictures, remains and through the written record. This book seems to capture the exhilaration I feel.

If you are even remotely interested in scientific topics, this book is a must read. It has re-sparked my love of scientific discovery and enlivened in me a renewed desire to learn more on the subject.

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How a December 21 2012 Book Can Explain the Predicted Events of the Future

The earth is said to be nearing its end, specifically, it is said to end in a couple of years' time. A December 21 2012 Book scrutinized and assessed many references and documentations about the events of the future, and people have been trying to find out what these predictions actually mean for earth and mankind. The studies related to this particular concept have been thoroughly investigated, and it was found that many details are consistent in whichever perspective you see it. Different cultures, various scientific methods, and numerous researches have been consistent about certain details that make the upcoming phenomena highly probable events. Some of the many opinions about this matter are the following:

Scientific research has found anomalies in the very nature of the earth, with the current manifestations given by the seemingly inappropriate behavior of the planet. The tidal patterns, the solar flares, typhoons as well as other climate-related events have been rather unpredictable and increasing in their magnitude. The intensity of these processes have risen exponentially that it caused a stir among many specialists. In Newton's second law of thermodynamics, it is stated that the entropy of the world is increasing, meaning it approaches a state of disorder. In a December 21 2012 Book, the evidences that can prove this theory indeed implies that chaos is fast approaching.

In ancient cultures, a vast idea of the earth and the astral bodies that surround it has been studied by astronomers. Many people believe that certain predictions made by the experts during that time, for example those of the Maya people, point to only one direction: that earth is bound to face doomsday by 2012. Reading a December 21 2012 Book might give you an idea of how these conclusions were made, and how they might also be related to the latest discoveries regarding planetary objects and the whole galaxy itself.

When studied closely, most of the ideas that are in line with the concept of the occurrence of catastrophic events on Decemeber 21 2012 are based on the movements of the heavenly bodies in the universe. Regardless whether it is from a current study or an ancient one, many speculations made were based mostly on factual data that are collected in various means. But then, the observations of man might be somewhat limited to what can be accessed with the available resources he has for studying these aspects.

Books that discuss further the implications of the said events and the matters that should be taken in to consideration have been made to let people know about the current situation of our planet. Basically, these explanations cannot really stand on its own, as many other supporting facts are needed to arrive to a definite conclusion. But then, knowing how mankind would be able to survive the upcoming events in the years to come would definitely be essential given that there is a high possibility that the end of the world might occur.

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Learning With a Human Anatomy Study Guide

Whether you're taking a college anatomy study course or you're attempting to learn about the human body and anatomy for your professional life, it certainly can be a difficult task to take on. There are so many terms to remember, multiple structures, cells and processes, as well as a myriad of other issues that college students typically dread. It may seem near impossible to remember everything about the human anatomy and body if you're just getting started in a class that teaches this course. However, college anatomy study guides that can be purchased in software form provide an alternative to memorizing your instructor's entire lecture or a boring textbook for that matter.

Parts of the Human Anatomy

Study guides for anatomy help you to learn and remember all the parts of the human anatomy and physiology. Most college courses start an anatomy course with an introduction to basic human physiology, which is also what a software college anatomy study guide should focus on to help students and professionals ease into the learning process. Each part of the human body should be introduced, starting from the most basic level of the physiology of cells and tissues, continuing with the musculoskeletal system and ending with the different parts and structures of the human central nervous system.

A college anatomy study guide will also help you learn everything in-between, such as about the special senses, the respiratory and urinary system, as well as the reproductive system. For the skeletal system, software study guides for anatomy can help you learn how each of the skeletal groups interacts and the proper names for each bone in the human body. As you can see, a reliable college anatomy study guide should teach you all of the things that a typical college course would.

Using the Software's Resources

Perhaps the best thing about study books for anatomy is that a study guide will help break down issues concerning the human body and physiology so that anyone can understand them with clarity. Instead of lumping the systems together, a software study guide for human anatomy presents modules or sections for each of the human body anatomical and physiological systems. Having each system and part of the body broken down into smaller modules helps you to learn at your own pace, and it also ensures that you don't get anything mixed up.

When you're looking for a college anatomy study book, the best types are those that come with detailed illustrations. Computer-learning software should contain accurate-looking graphics, pictures, diagrams, and possibly even animations of the human body. Learning with these types of resources from a software study book differs primarily from a textbook as it separates the different information first before putting it all together, which is incredibly helpful to anyone learning the human anatomy.

All things considered, a college anatomy study book provides an excellent complement to actual college courses, or can even act as a stand-alone course if you need to learn about the human body quickly for your profession. With the multiple learning modules and software resources, these study guides for anatomy are essentially detailed cheat-sheets that will save thousands of dollars compared with other options.

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A Book Review - Educational Leadership in Pakistan: Ideals and Realities

All about the Book

This is the first ever book on educational leadership, published in Pakistan. Dr. Jan-e-Alam Khaki and Dr. Qamar Safdar are the editors of this book. The book consists of a series of empirical studies undertaken by qualified educational researchers in Pakistan, associated directly or indirectly with AKU-IED. There are various thought provoking and insightful topics in this book; each complements our learning experiences. The book is divided into four sections and fourteen chapters; each section and chapter is intertwined with each other and illuminates issues and its remedial measures. Section one describes the development of education leadership in Pakistan. The second sections deals with the Diversity of Leadership: perceptions and practices of leadership in Pakistan. The third session looks at the role of the educational change agents, and the fourth sections explores the future prospects of educational leadership in Pakistan. In order to get in-depth insights from the book, we decided to focus on first two sections and reviewed initial six chapters.

In first chapter, Dr. Sajid Ali and Muhammad Babur highlight the issues and nature of governance during pre and post independence. Structure of education during British and after independence is analytically compared. Chapter indicates that involvement of educational leadership is missing in both periods, causing various issues in education system, ineffective management and indistinct teaching methodologies, etc. In the second chapter, Zubaida Bana reflects upon the understanding of effective leadership. Using the Katha (storytelling) approach, she starts the discussion pints of a headteacher who imaginatively discovers the meanings in allegories and metaphors in order to understand the roles and responsibilities of an effective education leader in his/her school. Katha of leadership described in this chapter stimulates our minds that every person has the capacity to lead. Some may lead in wider space; others may lead in smaller landscape.

The third chapter is all about of a female pedagogical leader's journey in a traditional context in Pakistan. The writer reflects upon the critical incidents, she came across in her personal to professional life, which helped or impede her way to become a pedagogical leader. The notion of 'leader as a bridge between management and stakeholders' and 'leader as a life-long learner' is evident from her story. In the fourth chapter, Qamar Safdar explores the roles of two effective headteachers of early years in two private schools. The writer reflects on the capacity and ability for the overall development of children. The chapter 5, deals with an ethnographic study conducted by Mola Dad Shafa in a rural context of northern areas of Pakistan. The author discusses the challenges the headteachers faced and the way addressed them. The chapter six, 'Effective School Leadership Practices' is a doctorial research of Dr. Jan-e-Alam Khaki. In this case study, Khaki explores the roles and beliefs of three effective secondary school headteachers and their influences on the teaching and learning practices in schools.

Key Learning from the Book

Being a student of Teacher Education, I was very unfamiliar with different kinds of leadership and its characteristics. The very first time, in our PL course, I heard the terms instructional, moral, transformational, participative, managerial, contingent and pedagogical leadership. But these terms were not much clear to me; I mostly thought them as just theories with no connection with practical life of a leader. This book review provided me with access not only to understand and differentiate in different kinds of leadership, but also relate it with real-life situations.

I have learnt many new things about effective leadership from this book, but due toe limited word limit I will describe some crux of it. While analyzing the first chapter of the book, I feel the same that governance and planning has the role in deteriorated education system in Pakistan. It takes a lot of time in planning and framing the policy, then sending it to the national assembly and senate for debate and translating it into the law. Then piloting of the policy takes long time and when it comes to be implementation, the government gets changed and so the policy. It creates the environment of despair, but when I go through the second chapter (Katha of Leadership), it gives a hope. Here, I learnt that nothing is unachievable in this world. Every person is capable to contribute in the process of change and everyone has capacity to lead. We should not stay waiting for any cosmos power to come to help us; it is high time for everyone to come forward and lead.

The third chapter of the book was the most inspiring and learning factor for me. Here, I learned that how a person (particularly a woman), with her/his strong will, sincerity and zeal breaks the chains of traditional rules. While reading that article, I was deeply thinking that someone has to initiate and take the first step toward the collective development. This article took me in my own context, where female is still considered as the property of the man and only the reproductive machine. Education, even the good food is the sole right of male child. Here, my elder sister (who could not get education herself) by sending her daughter into school, proved herself as traditional rule breaker. Some of other females start following her foot-steps by sending their daughters to the schools. Ten years back, there was no single literate girl in my village, but due to that small step, more than forty to fifty girls have completed their primary education so far. Besides it, I also learnt that leader is life-long learner. He/she learns through self-reflection and negotiating and discussing the issues with others and seeking guidance from them.

Overall, this book serves as a pioneer of exploring our thinking about our own role as a leader and proves to be a best resource for the policy makers to develop alternative approaches to deal with school and teaching and learning practices.

Conclusion

This book very obviously describes the role of leadership and management in an educational organization. A leader being a role model should motivate and encourage the staff because performance and commitment of people employed in any organization makes it effective. Through critical analysis of the book, I came to know that this book possesses stories and cases from Pakistani context so many of the ideas suit my own. So, it would be easier for my future role as a teacher educator to deal with the school management and leadership related issues in an effective manner.

Sayed Muzaffar Ali Shah
M.Ed. student
Aga Khan University, Institute for Educational Development, Karachi, Pakistan

Reference:

Khaki, J., & Safdar, Q. (Eds). (2010). Educational Leadership in Pakistan: Ideals and Realities. Karachi: Oxford University Press

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The Significance of Solar Training Courses

There is an increasing need for energy and power supplies in the modern world. More and more technological advances and innovations have enhanced the need for more supplies in different countries of the world.

The most common source of power supply in the present times is that of electricity. There is a great deal of stress on this however due to over consumption and even a further increasing one. As a means of recourse to alternate sources of power, there are several forms of renewable energy forms that are harnessed for productive uses.

Renewable Energy Training

Several courses are available in this sphere. There are different institutes across countries where comprehensive training programs are imparted in the different areas of alternate energy sources.

There are various renewable sources like wind, solar energy, waterfalls, tides and several others. However, there are techniques that have to be employed in harnessing these sources for the production of power and redirecting the same for domestic or industrial usage.

A comprehensive training program will equip a learner with all the relevant theoretical and practical knowledge to set up installations and produce power supplies to fulfill the need for commercial and domestic establishments in different regions of the world.

Solar Training Course

One of the chief sources of power in this world comes from the Sun. the heat and rays of the Sun in the right proportion is chiefly responsible for the possibility of life on earth. That is why for several decades there has been research and a constant struggle to use the solar heat for the production of energy supplies.

There are is a successful system of photovoltaic panels and heat engines that can be installed and utilized for a constant and steady source of power generation. The important aspect is that the cost for this is much less than what you pay your power supply companies for your usual requirements.

There is sufficient heat and electricity generation capacity in solar energy source that can be put to use in your entire commercial establishment as well as domestic requirements. In addition, to help you in this process there are solar training courses in different institutes of your country.

These courses are a comprehensive theoretical and practical guidance programs that will equip you with necessary knowledge as well as training.

You will need to know in detail about the PV panels that will have to be set up for solar energy sources and supply. Apart from that, the sizing of the panels will have to be done in an appropriate manner to optimize heat production.

The solar panel installation training which forms and important part of the course teaches you about its maintenance and upkeep also. There are accessories in this process like batteries, chargers and invertors, which will need to be maintained and kept in order.

A successful solar energy supply system can adequately take care of all your energy requirements by a substantial amount. It is less in cost and pollution free in addition to a steady source of supply as well.

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Limits of Technology and the Limits of Science

In 1997, I managed to get a copy of the book "Limits to Growth", which was published in 1972. I knew the basic ideas contained in this book, by reading about it in previous years, but there was a very important idea, which I did not expect to find it there, the idea did not receive the attention it deserves. It a warning from the authors (mostly technical scientists), from putting hope that the technological advances that can come in the future, may resolve the serious problems threatening the world.

Perhaps the reasons behind the neglect of this very important idea,were two reasons. First, it is a terrifying idea, all the hopes of saving civilization, centered on the ability of new technology to do the job, and the second reason is that the Club of Rome (the group who issued a book),did not give strong evidence to confirming it.

This idea is one of the most difficult philosophical questions,and it is central to the issue of the collapse of modern civilization probably the Club of Rome based their expectations on some simple assumptions, such as, the probability of failure to achieve the saving technological developments, in time, given the expected imminence of the collapse, but if we wanted this idea to be established on strong theoretical bases, it is inevitable to go into the depths of philosophy.

I do not want to go, in this book, in the depth of this difficult subject, but I will try to simplify the idea, so that the interested reader, would find the basis for researches.

Technology is the application of the laws of the theory in science, and therefore, if we want to answer the question: "What are the limits of technology?" We must first answer the question: "What are the limits of science?"

Scientists in the field of theoretical physicists were trying,for many decades, to reach a theory they call, "theory of all forces" or "theory of everything", one of the famous scientists known for their dedication to this attempt, was Albert Einstein, these attempts means implicitly assume that there are limits to the theoretical knowledge, but theoretical physicists,did not often depend on philosophical basis to support this trend,and most of these attempts were established only on the personal perceptions of the possibility of achieving this ambitious goal. These attempts remain incomplete and the history of science gives us examples of the stages of previous science, where scientists thought they had already reached these final limits of science, maybe the most famous of these historical stages was the stage in the end of the nineteenth century. After the theory of Max well about the electromagnetic waves and before the explosion of the ideas of quantum and relativity, at the beginning of the twentieth century.

But philosophical thinking takes another course, the Dialectical materialism of the Marxism confirms that there are no limits to science, and in this trend it is followed by most modern philosophies.

It is very important to note that the introduction of the idea of infinite knowledge, in fact, does not solve the problem of an imminent collapse of civilization, but only puts it in a different form. The saving technological achievements, which are still needed very soon, if brought in tremendous intensity, the result will be that the question will change from "the collapse of civilization" to "the collapse of the image that we know, or that we can imagine for civilization", and this result does not differ. In fact, from the previous one, as it, in both cases, all things related to our current life, will end, the validity of this result,was approved by the American thinker Francis Fukuyama, in 1993, the credit for the courage,where the idea was incompatible with his famous idea of the "end of history", which was in the height of popularity at that time.

On the other hand, the adoption of the idea of limited knowledge, certainly, settle the issue in favor of the idea of the collapse of civilization.

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Why Johnny Can't Tell Right From Wrong

The ideas touched upon these chapters deals with inability of educators to teach children how to learn and absorb information in a productive manner. The educational system used a method that proved to fail time in and time again, called the "look-say" method. But, not only does Johnny have a problem in the classroom he has a problem outside. His moral education is not being addressed in the school.

The shift from character education to decision-making model was to introduce students to thinking independently. A contrast, from the method of being taught to and learning values that were simply handed down to them. The ability to learn that individualism is a key way to develop a moral education is important lesson in chapter 1. Through the school character education is nurtured and developed and it is important that the curriculum accounts for this.

Chapter 5 addresses the path to solid moral education is through developing good habits or virtues. The teaching's of history show the path to a moral education. Aristotle's idea that a person can't choose to do something moral if he or she doesn't have the capacity or understanding of morality. A culture that lack to preserve good habits preserves bad habits. By demonstration the moral education is preserved and nurtured. The value clarification approach and moral reasoning stem from different systems, their net effect is similar. There is a complete neglect of virtues and habit formation. Makes no reference to culture or culture knowledge. Moral education will fail if it doesn't move towards understanding human action.

Finally, the underline theme of the final chapter focuses on moral education should be free of all such emotional conditioning. It should respect the child's autonomy and his ability to make judgments independent of his culture. This translates into the education system. Children learn math, but don't learn how to apply it. Learning about cultures falls into the same ideology. We must teach not just pieces of cultural history that reflect only a one-sided view. We must assign equal validity to all cultures.

Raised by Marguerite Holliday and Herbert Lawrence in Freeport, Long Island. Attended, Lasalle Military Academy and excelled in sports and academics. Attended St. Paul's in Garden City. Moved to West Hempstead at 15 and graduated from West Hempstead High School. Attended Boston College and graduated with a BA in Political Science and Philosophy. Earned a Master's in Public Administration from CW Post Long Island University. Currently attending Dowling College Doctoral program in Educational Administration and anticipated graduation May 2010.

http://alonholliday.com/

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Some Thoughts on the History of American Education - A Book Review

Often, people complain about the schools in the United States, and there are some that say that we are number 50 in the world as far as our schools are concerned. Still, there those of us that know the difference, and also understand that those that are doing these surveys are not from the United States, and they use different criteria to judge what a good school is. And the reality is the United States does have great schools.

No, they are not perfect, and we should always strive to make them better, of course that's what we've been doing since the nation has been founded. If you would like to learn more about the history of education in America, then I'd like to recommend a very good book to you. The name of the book is;

"Traditions of American Education" by Lawrence A. Gremin, 1977

Indeed, I am happy to say I have a copy of this book signed by the author. The intent of writing this book for the author was to make a difference transforming American Education; schools and colleges. The book examines the transformations of family, libraries, museums, publishers throughout the 19th century. There are also chapters on the Civil War factories, slavery and education, missed education, colonial education, education in the periods of 1783 to 1876, 1876 to 1976.

Also an explanation of how we adopted some of the European school system policies, and the author discusses rural versus metropolitan schools in America and the history behind it. There is information on 17th-century issues and the abandonment of feudalism, population growth, land speculation, social mobility, and religious strife all changing education along with the advances of science where Earth was no longer the center of the universe, and how English law, language, and culture ended up triumphing and changing education around the world due to colonial expansionism.

He talks about compulsory education and he explains how the church and family used to dominate education and how today the family has fallen apart and the churches are not allowed to dictate issues in schools.

He also speaks to vocational training, corporate training, union training, and the progressive mass media which has contributed to the way we think and learn. This book is completely comprehensive and an incredible study in the history of education. It's a must read for any school administrator who wishes to led, they must know the history. Often however I find when I discuss this with them they don't, that to concerns me. Please consider all this.

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Backyard Science By DK With Fantastic Experiments For Kids To Do In Their Own Backyards

Homeschooling? Teacher? School holidays? Weekends? After school time? Grandparent? If you have toddlers to teens you will find something of interest in this excellent book published by Dorling Kindersley. Publishers recommend Backyard Science for 9 - 12 years old as the ideal audience. Information is presented throughout this quality hardcover book in a clear, colourful and interesting manner. Experiments are well explained outlining all the resources you will need for success and giving clear instructions (younger children will still benefit from adult supervision to get them started in some cases). This is hands on science in the real world not a laboratory.

Today's children are the scientists of the future and it is children who are photographed in the book doing the experiments, so readers will want to be just like the kids in the book. Children are encouraged to draw their own conclusions from over 50 experiments across a variety of science sub-topics. A science strip down the right hand side of the page helps explain the theory behind the experiments and assist with the scientists understanding why they are doing the experiments and what they might expect to see.

How can an ordinary garden be good for science? Even in a small plot you can spend days doing biology, zoology, meteorology and much more. An example of one of the experiments to demonstrate transpiration is to change the colour of the petals on a white flower with food colouring.

Equipment
- Different colours of food colouring
- White flowers
- Vases for flowers
- Water

Method
1. Take some white flowers and put each one in a vase
2. Mix different food colouring and water in the vases
3. Leave them for several hours to see if their stems are like straws

Notes
- Some flowers work better than others, so try different ones
- How long does each take to change colour?
- How do you think the colour got to the flowers?

Learn about root growth, seed dispersal, photosynthesis, flight, insects, night life, rainbows, centrifugal force, rain gauges, weather, shadows, soil science, worm farms, pond habitats, pond life, trees (how old? how tall?), levers, reaction times, balance, heartbeat, night sky studies, moon phases. Backyard science can take a lot of patience, but is great fun so read the science stuff boxes, do the experiments and keep a science diary with drawings, sketches, diagrams, photographs and notes. Remember when studying animals to take care not to harm them and if you move them be sure to return them to where you found them. Have fun discovering science in your backyard!

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Atia Training - Be A Smart And Sound Technical Assistant

Have you any time called any technical support call center for getting your computer corrected? If so how about the response you got from the technical support agent who warmly greeted and attended your call? Were you really satisfied with the response and the solutions you got through the call or were there any gap that must be filled to get better solution or remedies to the problem? Most of them are answering to this question in a very doubtful manner regarding the level of satisfaction that can be got out of the process. It is true that most of the technical agents are recruited without actually testing their knowledge on the recruited process and about their actual previous skills. This can be considered as the serious issues as most of the non technical people in the world require strong help from those technical people in order to move normally in their way without many troubles with the help of their electronic gadgets.

Also the people recruited to the post of the technical support staffs must have some botheration on the skills they are possessing and must find some alternate ways by which they can definitely go ahead with great improvements in their skill set. There are many programs available online that are actually provided with the aim of helping people to get more knowledge on any respective field without costing much. There are many people who are actually very fond of learning many new things in order to shape up their career to the most secure platform. There are many certification test conducted by various educational bodies in both the technical and non technical fields in order to help the person to be confident on certain sectors of their career. It must be made compulsory that all those aspiring to make a career on the technical field must get through the certification exam so that they can serve the clients with the greatest hospitality. You can search on internet to find many such certification examinations that cover various topics like hardware, software, networking, security, operating systems, and laptops and so on. You should definitely take an initiative to enroll in at least one certification test to get through at the highest score so that you can really shine in your profession with good promotional grades.

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Article Submitted On: November 09, 2010

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Have You Thought About Christian Science Courses For Elementary Grades?

When educating your children at home, you have the freedom to teach them sound science that is presented from a Christian worldview. "Christian Kids Explore Earth and Space," geared at elementary students, fits the bill very well. This text is part of a series by Stephanie L. Redmond which include Biology, Chemistry, and Physics. I enjoyed teaching from this text for a number of reasons including: it requires little to no teacher prep time; it is enjoyable to work through; being from a Christian worldview, it is God-honoring; and it is written in a conversational tone that is easy to read aloud and appeals to the younger audience.

The text has 24 lessons, 2 on the Earth in general (including Creation); 5 covering the lithosphere; 4 covering the hydrosphere; 4 covering the atmosphere; 5 covering weather; and 4 covering all of outer space. The maps, forms and coloring sheets are reproducible. An applicable scripture has been chosen for each lesson. In addition, there is an appendix of recipes and additional activities, another on how to make a folderbook, and another including additional books and resources. We took the book to our local copy center and had them cut off the binding. Then we separated the reproducible sheets and had the text spiral-bound with all the glossaries and appendices.

Altogether, I found this course to be a good core text for my second-grader that was easily supplemented in a few areas. I will be using it again with my younger kids when they hit second grade. And although my second-grader and I completed the entire course, we definitely amended and expanded it to be more in-depth. One example of this was finding all nine planets covered in one short chapter! I thought this was neglecting an opportunity to excite kids about outer space, so we expanded on that section with outside materials. There is no chapter at all about biomes, which I found startling, as there is so much to intrigue children about the variety of habitats and temperature zones on this planet we call home. Again, we supplemented the study of Earth with outside materials.

In a few of the chapters it seemed as though the bulk of the reading is about the author's own experiences, although this contributes to the 'talking to a young child' tone. One of the main things I noticed about Christian Kids Explore was the lack of consistency in material from chapter to chapter. It is a curious mix of technical definitions and conversational banter.

It's always great to find a science course that gives glory to God for his creation. The first lesson was about Creation, but neglected the "on the first day, on the second day..." so we supplemented that with some reading from Genesis. In Lesson three she goes over the theory of Pangea and the worldwide flood, how some scientists and theologians have conflicting ideas. She presents it flawlessly and intelligently. Although the coloring sheets are beautiful, they have a lot of black space that can't be colored. In addition, there is one sheet for the entire unit, not individual sheets to work on while mom reads each chapter.

The benefits in this book for the upper elementary students include lots of definitions in the margins and timelines listing scientists and scientific discoveries. One thing that would have been helpful was a 'year-long list of copies to be made' in case you don't have a copier at home to do it chapter by chapter. I think this book is a good value, especially if you supplement with library materials instead of buying them.

Teresa Dear is a homeschooling mom of four kids. She and her husband of eleven years do not worry about socialization. You can read more about the Classical Education Method in general and her homeschool lifestyle in particular at http://highereducation-mama4x.blogspot.com/. Find out her choices for curriculum and everything else homeschool. She divides her time between education, making a home, shopping curriculum, and stocking her http://www.mama4x.etsy.com/ storefront with handmade greeting cards and vintage ephemera.

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Biology With Masteringbiology - College Biology Textbook Review

Biology with Masteringbiology is the most widely used college biology textbook in the world. Published by Pearson and now in its eighth edition, this book is the standard textbook in two out of three introductory college biology classrooms. Loved by students and professors alike, this textbook is authored by scientists Neil A Campbell, Jane B Reece, and five coauthors. The coauthors have brought to this edition the latest scientific advances and new insights to make this the most comprehensive of any edition of this popular textbook. Although intended as a college level book, Biology with Masteringbiology is widely used in advanced biology courses at the high school level.

In the tradition of all previous editions, this textbook is written in an easy to read, student-friendly style and is beautifully illustrated with the finest graphics to enhance the understanding of the book's clear explanations. Each chapter is introduced by the four to six key concepts that will be covered in detail in the section. This helps students focus on key points and creates easy-to-review topics when quizzes and tests are upcoming. Using the concept of scientific inquiry, the text presents at least one example of the experimentation behind the concepts in each chapter. Each chapter ends with a series of questions that helps cement the knowledge gained using critical thinking and analytic skills.

Key topics covered in great depth in Biology with Masteringbiology include biochemistry, the structure and function of animal and plant cells, cell division and genetics, the theory of evolution, the evolutionary history of life on earth and the resulting biodiversity, plant structure and functions, animal structure and functions, and ecology. A massive book at 1393 pages, the sections covering topics such as genetics and biodiversity are as comprehensive as many single texts on these topics. Insightful diagrams are plentiful in the text helping students visualize difficult concepts.

To complement the information in the textbook, Pearson has a MasteringBio website that offers an e-book version of the text available to students along with quizzes and tests that review the material. There are also animations of key concepts presented in the book. One highlight of the website is the ability to download and insert the diagrams from the book into notes taken on the computer.

Why Rent Textbooks?

Rather than buying a book new or used, finding an outlet where it is possible to rent textbooks for just the time they will be used is a growing trend catching on in colleges across the country. Especially in a time of depressed economic condition and rising tuition costs, students need to look at ways to save money and the option to rent textbooks cheap is appealing. Biology with Masteringbiology is an expensive book with the retail price around $190 dollars. Due to its vast popularity, it is a wonderful example of a book that is easy to find on websites that rent textbooks online.

Not only do students save money when they rent textbooks cheap, they save time. Rather than waiting in lines to sell back books for a small fraction of the original cost, by choosing to rent textbooks online, the text is simply mailed back at the end of the semester.

With an estimated cost of $700-$1000 per year, textbooks are an overwhelming expense for many students struggling just to make tuition payments. By renting textbooks, it is estimated that students can save up to 50 percent of that cost. Textbook costs have skyrocketed in the last 30 years with costs rising at twice the rate of inflation. Unless a book is one that the student would like to keep for future reference, the wise choice, especially in these rough economic times, is to rent textbooks.

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Support Diverse Learners in Mathematics

"Supporting Diverse Learners: Teacher Collaboration in an Inclusive Classroom," by Wendy S. Bray, copyrighted in 2005 by The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, focuses on the need of collaboration between general education teachers and special education teachers to facilitate fair and successful learning for each individual student. This article speaks mainly to general education teachers about reform based mathematics and how general classroom teachers can implement this new style of learning in a way that will benefit all students, even special education students. Furthermore, the article searches for ways to help special needs students learn in their own special way, in order to keep up with the other students in their regular classroom.

The article begins by discussing the challenges learning disabled students face when integrated in a classroom that uses the reform-based, constructivist mathematical approach, which focuses on whole group discussions, small group discussions, and problem solving. Some of these problems include: LD students not participating and/or "focusing on nonmathematical aspects of tasks (Bray)." Next, the article discusses how a group of teachers manage this type of classroom. One tactic they implemented is "small, teacher-led groups (Bray)" where the teachers played games and did other activities, encouraging the students to talk about their mathematical thinking.

Another tactic the teachers used is breaking students up into groups according to their ability and what they needed to work on. In these groups teachers did not just tell the students what to do to solve a problem, but instead they asked the students questions to help them figure out on their own what they needed to do. These teachers also gave their students "opportunities for choice (Bray)," which allowed students to choose what they wanted to work on, individually, with a group, or with the teacher. This gave the teachers the opportunities to work with students individually. The end of the article discussed how the three teachers collaborated to discuss the progress of individual students, and what should be done to help them continue to grow.

This article was written by Wendy S. Bray, "a doctoral candidate at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Bray)." She is a "former elementary classroom teacher," and "her research interests include mathematics education and teaching strategies that facilitate learning for students with special needs (Bray)." Her information came from her research, and her information was supported by excerpts from various books and journals of education professionals including: "Effects of Reform-Based Mathematics Instruction on Low Achievers in Five Third-Grade Classrooms" by Baster, Woodward, and Olson; "Mathematical Problem-Solving Process of Primary-Grade Students Identified as LD" by Behrend; "Four Variables for Success" by Coleman; "How Effective Is Inquiry Learning for Students with Mild Disabilities?" by Mastropieri; and "Mathematical Instruction for Elementary Students with Learning Disabilities" by Thornton. She also ascerts that her information supports the Equity Principle, which she also cites from the "National Council of Teachers of Mathematics."

We have students achieve success in reading and writing through individualized instruction, where they learn at their own pace, so why don't we do this in math? I feel that the idea that this article circles is a great one. To learn math students need to participate in discovery learning. They need to understand the "why" of mathematics before they are really going to begin to understand and learn the concepts. Students also need to learn at their own pace. Everything is connected in mathematics and if students do not understand one concept before the class moves on to the next, pretty soon that student is going to fall way behind.

This is unfortunately what happens to most learning disabled students that are integrated into the regular classroom. So, in my own classroom I will try to implement the constructivist approach for learning mathematics and simultaneously create an atmosphere where every student can succeed, no matter what pace they learn at. I will do this by creating learning centers around my classroom. The subject of these learning centers will be based on the mini-lesson that is taught the first day. Students will pair up and move around the learning centers at their own pace. The beginning stations will focus on the "why" of the concept, helping students deepen their understanding, so that when they work their way around to the other stations they will be ready to try a variety of ways to solve the problem, with the collaborative help from their partner.

Before each pair moves to the next station I will check their answers to make sure they are progressing in their understanding correctly. We will do this the entire week, giving those students with learning disabilities plenty of time with their partners to understand the concept. Some pairs will finish before the end of the week. These pairs will continue to work on the concept, but at a higher level. At the end of the week the class will discuss what problem-solving techniques they tried and what they have learned.

This article was very useful. I had never thought of grouping students according to ability in math. I have heard the effects of this grouping in other subjects as a valuable way to individualize teaching, and I was surprised that I have yet to see this technique implemented in mathematics. I wholly agreed with all the approaches these teachers took in this article, except for the approach took in the "Opportunities for Choice" section. It seems that the students would just pick something that they were good at if given a choice to work on anything.

I know I wouldn't choose something that I had trouble with. I am skeptical that this approach would help students very much. Otherwise, this article gave me much insight as how to help students with learning disabilities grow in the classroom with regular classroom students. This approach allowed more opportunities for students to discuss their ideas and deepen their understanding, while providing them with the help they needed to understand concepts that would be integral for their understanding in future lessons.

Bray, Wendy. "Supporting Diverse Learners: Teacher Collaboration in an Inclusive Classroom." Teaching Children Mathematics February 2005: pp. 324-329.

Jamie Burchfield presents:

Miss Higgin's "Field" Notes

Educational advisor for [http://www.munchkinfield.com]

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The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook - A Creative and Stress-Free Approach to Homeschooling

Within society, we often lose our way. As a result, many have taken it upon themselves to provide handbooks in order to help the rest of us find our way. There are handbooks available for most any situation, from how to survive in the wilderness to building a house out of surrounding materials. We can get the information we need to aid in our trek around the world seeking adventure and all that nature has to offer through handbooks. They have increasingly become an important part of helping us through life itself.

As it so happens, there is a movement afoot that is capturing the attention of parents everywhere. It is a movement borne out of concern regarding the educating of our children and the increasing evidence that supports the position that the educational system in its present form is failing our children's academic needs to a greater extent than ever. Being that necessity is the mother of invention, Dr. Raymond and Dorothy Moore have produced a handbook for the ages.

"The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook" is just such a book to meet the parent's need to guide their children through the jungle that is the educational system. And, it provides those needs in a simple, small bites approach. It is not a book that strictly advocates removing the child from mainstream schools and teaching them at home; it more accurately sees the desire for parents to do whatever is necessary to ensure their child's education and champions that position, whether it be in the home or the traditional educational arena.

"The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook" is wonderfully segmented into five distinct parts, dealing with such critical issues like that found in part two titled "Homeschooling Stress: Prevention and Remedy" addressing issues such as learning to slow down and not stress over the "what about their peers" question. In part four titled "Effective Homeschoolers Share Their Wisdom" you get a compilation of insights from actual homeschoolers sharing their experiences, revealing that each child is a treasure and unique in his or her own way. You will hear from people from every walk of life; the single mother, the Navy wife, physicians, artists, a former assistant attorney general.

In part five there are answers to questions such as how to get into college after being homeschooled, or how a working mother can still home school. You will also get some invaluable background as to how the home schooling movement was born as well as concerns regarding the dreaded word 'certified'.

In the epilogue of "The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook" you will find a chapter titled "The Moore Formula" that has been tried and true dealing with four critical areas vital to home school and, by default, societal success: head, hand, heart and health. This chapter will provide three main areas to address for the sake of the children and their future that is backed by documented research to be effective in furthering the child's academic and societal growth: study, work and service. It is the Moore's position that these are most critical if children are to succeed in life, whether it is from a home schooled environment or within the public educational system itself.

Never preachy, yet never compromising, "The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook" is nothing short of a Godsend when it comes to finding our way through life as it is today. Timeless principles abound within its covers and the message is evergreen for all generations to take heed. If we are to succeed as a society, indeed as a free nation, we need to take every step and make every sacrifice possible that our future generations mirrored in our children will receive the guaranteed need for that success. This is most assuredly found in Raymond and Dorothy Moore's wonderful book. Whether you are a single mom, grandparent or the 'stereotypical' intact family unit, "The Successful Homeschool Family Handbook" will be an invaluable guide helping you and your children see the world around you with eyes of wonder.

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Why Dianetics

"Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health" was released on May 9th 1950, by L.Ron Hubbard.

The book Dianetics was dedicated to Will Durant, he and his wife were awarded the "Presidential Medal of Freedom" in 1977.

Within 2 years of authoring the book Mr. Hubbard became the first to scientifically isolate and identify the human spirit.

No book before it delivered an understanding of the mind and life. And no other subject provided the means to release the full potential of the mind.

Random House Modern Library Reader's poll ranked Dianetics among the ten most significant nonfiction works of the 20th century.

In the 21st century a reader picks up a copy somewhere is the world every 4.8 seconds.

For over fifty years Dianetics has been the top-selling book on the human mind for one reason: IT WORKS.

Dianetics provides the only method to get rid of the single source of problems, stress and unhappiness - the reactive mind, and it can be applied by a layman within a few short hours of study.

Dianetics is a culmination and result of over 20 years of research by Mr. Hubbard into the investigation of life force. In fact Dianetics is actually the third book; the first publication of preliminary work in manuscript form is called "Dianetics: The Original Thesis", it was written for close colleagues and interested University associates.

The Second publication is called "Dianetics: The Evolution of a Science", it was originally written for a national magazine to coincide with the release of "Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health". This volume accounts Mr. Hubbard's two-decade journey of discovery and how he applied a scientific methodology to the problems of the human mind.

Dianetics as presented in DMSMH actually deals with Individual Dianetics, as Dianetics is actually a family of sciences embracing the various humanities and translating them into usefully precise definitions.

Most importantly, the skills offered in this handbook will produce the Dianetic Clear, an optimum individual with intelligence considerably greater than the current normal, or the Dianetic Release, an individual who has been freed from his major anxieties or illnesses. The Release can be done in less than twenty hours of work and is a state superior to any produced by several years of psychoanalysis, since the Release will not relapse.

New York Times best-sellers are generally branded as such because they are of great literary value and popular in magnitude, but a book that hits this list and stays on it for decades is much more than a hot book, it is a discovery.

Why Dianetics? Because it WORKS.

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Law of Chemical Combinations

The law of conversation of mass may be demonstrated by the union of hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) to form water. If the H2 and O2 are weighted before they unite it will be found their combined weight is equal to the weight of water (H2O) formed.

Chemistry deals with the matter and the changes occurring in it, chemists are particularly interested in these changes, where one or more substances are changed in to quite different substances. They had found that these chemical changes are governed by some empirical laws known as laws of chemical combinations.

These laws are:

1. Law of conservation of mass.

2. Law of constant composition (or) Law of definite proportions

3. Law of multiple proportions

4. Law of reciprocal proportions.

Matter under goes changes. However, it has been found that in all chemical changes, there is no change in the mass of the substances being changed. For example, in iron (Fe) increase in weight on rusting in because of its combination with oxygen from the air and the increase in weight is exactly equal to the weight of oxygen combined. The French chemist Lavosier, (1785) tired to learn about chemical changes by weighing the quantities of substances used in chemical reaction. He found that when a chemical reaction was carried out in a closed system, the total weight of the system was not changed. The most important reaction that Lavosier performed was the decomposition of the red oxide of mercury to from metallic mercury and and a gas, he named this gas as oxygen. Lavosier summarised his finding by formulating a law, which is known as law of conversation mass. It states that mass is neither created nor destroyed during a reaction. In other words, in any chemical reaction the initial weight of reacting substances is equal to the final weight of the products.

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Human Anatomy Study Guide - Do You Need One?

Using a human physiology study guide which can help you learn through tutorials and special learning modules may seem a bit mundane when compared with learning in a traditional classroom. However, consider the fact that the majority of students and even professionals who sign up for human anatomy courses in a typical college setting often find it difficult to keep up with the professor teaching the course. By using an alternative human physiology study guide, you can learn at your own pace in your own time without worrying about keeping pace with a classroom of other students. Since this is so, you can study human anatomy more efficiently than you could otherwise.

Why Study Human Anatomy?
There are many reasons why you may have an interest in the human anatomy. First, if you're a pre-med or full medical school student then you'll need to study human anatomy throughout your college career and understand it as thoroughly as possible. Besides college and med school students, though, many other professions use knowledge of the human anatomy. Sports therapists use it to treat muscle and joint groups of athletes and injury lawyers may need it when communicating an argument to the jury. Even if you're a stay-at-home-mom or dad then chances are you'll need to know about the different bones and systems of the body at the very least when taking care of your children.

Simply put, understanding human anatomy allows you to make better choices about your future and the kinds of activities you engage in. A human physiology study guide can not only help you to learn in-depth about the human person, but it can help you understand why this type of information may be useful for you.

Study Book Compared to Other Learning Methods
Using a human physiology study book may not be the only option to learn about and study anatomy, but it is perhaps one of the most useful. For starters, a well-written and composed anatomy self-taught course should cover not just a few of the body's systems, but all of them from the skeletal system all the way to the reproductive system. In addition, a human physiology study guide should use simple explanations to guide a student's understanding of the human body instead of complex notes and lectures that are more common for that of a college professor to use.

Characteristics of a Good Human Anatomy Study Guide
In addition to the basic workbook learning formats, the specialty software included with a physiology study guide should help you study anatomy in a more efficient way. Illustrations on CDs, three-dimensional reference guides with accurate pictures, and labeled structures of the human body are only a few of the advantages of using a thoroughly-composed human physiology study guide.

All things considered, a human physiology study guide is able to help anyone learn at a faster pace, but at your own rate during convenient times throughout the week. With specialty software guides, simple explanations, and in-depth structures of the human body to help, pretty much anyone can study human anatomy quickly and efficiently.

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Better Late Than Early by Raymond and Dorothy Moore - A Book Review

There was a time in our nation's history that children were seen more for their value around the house and farm than whether they could read and write. As this began to change, the one room schoolhouse was the norm. You would find children of all ages and both genders crammed into learning at the same level regardless of age or capability. By the turn of the 20th century, a different approach was taken in the form of grades that enabled children of different ages to be grouped with those of their own age. This alleviated many of the problems resulting from placing all age groups into one standard form of curriculum, but not all.

There was still a problem with standardizing curriculum for a particular grade, regardless whether all in that grade were able to keep up. In the end, it became apparent that some would need to be "held back" a year in order to better comprehend the lessons. As the education system has progressed, there have been many innovative ideas explored and implemented to better fine tune the educational process.

Today, as we continue to learn about the educational process, it has become increasingly clear that not all children are created equal. Borne of this philosophy, the special education classes and schools have sprung up to accommodate those children either considered "gifted" or "challenged". By the 1970's a new approach was presented by educational pioneers Raymond and Dorothy Moore.

Their contention, through much research, was that children were being forced into the educational system way too early. Thus, after many years of study and documentation, comes the book "Better Late Than Early". With many years of research and nearly 29 pages of references to back up their claim, the Moores have produced a compelling reason to consider waiting until the cognitive skills of the child are fully developed before entering the educational system.

In "Better Late Than Early" you will find a thorough A to Z compilation of helpful chapters that present a irrefutable position that your child should wait until the age of eight or later before beginning their education journey. By employing this approach it is the author's contention that the child will still end up far and above where he or she would have anyway. This position hinges on the belief that they would greatly benefit from the better late than early mindset. To force the child into an environment that is contrary to their cognitive level ultimately does more harm than good.

Chapters such as "Some Common Fears and Questions" lay to rest many concerns parents have about entering their children into the school system at a later age. "When They Are Ready For School" explores timelines and aptitudes to determine at what age they can begin the education process. "Learning to Reason" helps both parent and child to understand what it means to apply this principle at its proper place in the child's learning process.

Part two of "Better Late Than Early" deals with separate age groupings, starting with birth to 18 months and ending the ages 6 to 8 or 9, in order to further demystify the mindset of the 'one size fits all' mentality. It lays to rest once and for all that a date on the calendar is no true measurement of capability or readiness to learn.

"Better Late Than Early" is a tried and true approach, fully documented and thoroughly researched with reputable references that will have you rethinking the current position that a child conform to an age group and be placed in a classroom with their peers in varying degrees of learning capability. Raymond and Dorothy Moore have produced a book that is as relevant today as ever, an evergreen book that challenges the status quo with irrefutable evidence that it is not a harmful approach at all to start a child's education better late than early.

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