Message from Alise--Happy Veteran's Day!

Happy Friday, Readers!

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

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

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

Happy Tutoring!

Alise

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

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

education systems are being affected nationwide. School systems are

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

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

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

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

effectively comprehend what they are being taught and hurting their

chances of receiving high grades.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

knowledge that will allow them to succeed in higher education.

About the Author

Kathryn Rinaldi is an <a

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

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

about various important K-12 education issues.

10 Strategies to get your Child to Open Up to You

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

10 Signs to Detect a Back-Stabbing Friend

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It’s all about You: How to Boost Your Self Esteem

Self esteem can also be termed as self worth. It consists of principles about self and emotions. Researchers like Rosenberg have tried to understand self esteem in terms of value of one own self. It helps individuals deal with the life which is not free from stress.  

Low self esteem leads to maladjustment and without proper attention to it can lead to a serious personality disorder. There are many ways to boost your self esteem.

When you are feeling low on self esteem, recollect the time you grasped something new. You pushed yourself to achieve the target. It did make you nervous but you didn’t give up. Take the present situation to be similar to a challenging circumstance and keep reminding yourself you did it then and you can do it now!

Why don’t you engross yourself into things which you have been planning to do but never got to doing it! Like cleaning up or making a meal. This will make you decide on what to do and what not to. The achievement after you have finished would be your credibility and this would boost up that self worth of yours.

You are probably better at some activities than others. You may be a good swimmer or the best party host in your community.  The aim is to get better at what you are already good at. This would require a lot of focus and commitment. Also, this flow of actions would keep you distracted from the cause of your low self esteem.  The accomplishment you would achieve after completion of the task would help you override the feeling of self esteem.

This is the best time you focus on the outside world and not on your miserable life. There are people who have much greater problems. Engross yourself and the time will heal you from inside. Just don’t keep pondering about yourself.

You need to achieve a level of tranquillity. With the negative state of mind the only way you can see yourself progressing is by relaxing yourself. The best way is to work out. Self hypnosis and meditation can boost your self esteem to a great deal.

Low self esteem tries to get a good hold on you time and again so the key solution to it is practicing the above suggestions daily. They will never disappoint you, rather would boost your self confidence to a level where nothing can possibly make a scratch on your self worth.  

Won’t it feel great if that bad feeling of wrongness never touches you? It all depends on you.

Message from Alise--Online SES Tutoring Provider in Texas--Now Accepting Students!

Dear Readers,

iGlobal Educational Services (www.iglobaleducation.com) has been named as an approved Texas SES Tutoring Provider.

We conduct online tutoring sessions that are catered to the learner’s needs. We also employ highly qualified teachers and professionals who specialize in their respective subject areas in which they tutor.

Best of all, the tutoring is free for eligible students who attend eligible schools in the state of Texas.

Please check here to learn more about what SES Tutoring is and how your child may qualify. The URL is the following: http://www.tutorsforkids.org/families.asp

If you are interested in online tutoring sessions, here’s how you can sign up for your child:

1. Go to the main office at your school.

2. Request for a tutoring application.

3. Fill in “iGlobal Educational Services” as your first choice.

4. Sign and Hand it back to your main office.

NOW THAT MY CHILD IS ENROLLED, WHAT HAPPENS?

Once a provider is chosen:

Assessment and Testing – The provider will review your child’s testing information to learn about your child’s academic needs. The provider may need to schedule another assessment time with you.

Student Learning Plan Development – The Student Learning Plan, or SLP, is a document that outlines the academic goals for the tutoring sessions. The SLP will include information on the number of tutoring sessions, when and where sessions will be held, which subject your child needs tutoring in, the program your Provider will use, and information about when you will receive updates through progress reports.

o The SLP is created by the provider, school, and the parent. The provider will schedule a time to meet with you and the school district to develop this tutoring plan for your child. You are a very important part of creating the goals for your child’s tutoring sessions.

Attendance – A great way to be involved in your child’s education is to encourage their attendance to school and SES. Make sure your child is attending their tutoring sessions.

Progress Reports – At least once a month, your provider will send you a progress report; some may send progress reports more often. You should review these reports; they are important. They tell you about your child’s academic progress in the tutoring program and what you can do to further help your child at home.

SES is a valuable way for your child to increase her/his learning and academic performance.

If you have any questions concerning SES, contact iGlobal Educational Services at 1-800-427-8422.

Message from Alise--Great Example of How to Teach Money Management Skills to Children

Dear Readers,


As I was drinking my favorite beverage, Green Tea Frappuccino, I came across a very good article that discusses how to manage money during this tough economic time. Not only did these parents help themselves, but they were able to implement a money management system at home to help their children.


I was totally inspired by this couple and what they are doing at home with their children. I am sure that you will also find it inspiring and motivating as well.


Please Click Here to read more about their story. 


Have a blessed week,
Alise

10 Ways to Deal with Stress at Work

Stress is inevitable in   any form of work, thus you don’t have any other choice but to manage it. The trick is to attune your body such that you become less susceptible to it.  It hampers your creativity and dampens your zeal to work. You wouldn’t want that, would you?

1.     I must be healthy: Firstly you need to accept the fact that you are under stress. Physical or emotional. Take accountability and strive to get better.  Failure is inevitable otherwise.

2.     Identify your stressful moment: Being able to predict your worst panic attacks regarding work stress will help you keep your guards up and not get acutely stressed. This helps you prepare yourself.

3.     Get along: Good rapport should be developed with your juniors, co-workers as well as higher management. This will make you feel you have your back covered. If you know that someone influential can help you, then you would feel very relaxed.

4.     Self criticism: The fear of layoffs has got the better of us.  So before others look through your incompetence you correct your own mistakes. Don’t give any opportunity to others.

5.     Exercise: Exercises like aerobic or cardio helps with anti anxiety. Who could think that sweating helps in dealing with stress!!!

6.     Eat frequently: Eat nutritious food but in small helping many times a day.  That helps you regulate the blood sugar, which if low causes a lot of anxiety. Don’t over eat; you would feel fatigue and the stressful cycle will start again.

7.     Sleep well: insomnia is a very common amongst stressed people. Staying up till late is not helping you to reduce the stress. You have to gain energy to deal with the adverse situation at office. So make sure you sleep. Use relaxing techniques like meditation if you have to.

8.     Manage your time: Walk in to your office 10-15 minutes earlier. Rushing to work increases stress. Don’t promise when you know that it would be difficult to live up to it. Always take short breaks and these should be scheduled. These tips of time management at work.  It's bound to help you cope with stress.

9.     Emotive intellect: Use your feelings at the right place, and be smart and tactful. Be a good observer. Try to understand what others are speaking between the lines.  Try to understand the basic personality traits; that way you would be able to say what they would like to listen.

10.                       Get outside help: If you feel you aren’t able to cope with stress, don’t think twice before making an appointment with a psychologist or a counselor. Better safe than sorry, right?

Teen Entrepreneur 102: 10 Startup Business Ideas for Teens

Teenagers today are very smart and are thinking of better ways of passing their time than simply lounging around watching TV or checking updates on Facebook. Today’s teenagers dream of starting their own business early in life and find it more desirable than other income earning opportunities. Teenagers usually come with their own business ideas all the time. Apart from that, here is a list of 10 startup business ideas for teens.

1.   Senior errand service – Every community has senior citizens and they are always in need of someone to do errands for them such as grocery shopping, picking up dry-cleaning, posting letters for them or just giving them company.

2.   Web development and creating websites – This is a great startup business idea for teens as you can learn web development by simply reading a book and not spend huge amounts of money on a college course.

3.   Online marketing and social media consulting – For net-savvy teenagers, this could turn into a really well-paying business. As they gain more skills and experience they can charge more from customers.

4.   Repair services – Offering repair services for computer, electronic items or even cars and household appliances is another great startup business idea for teens.

5.   Lawn services – This is one of the most time-tested startup business ideas for teens. Teenagers have the opportunity to earn a decent amount of money in this business.

6.   Babysitting – The next of the 10 startup business ideas for teens is babysitting. This is already a known business and especially good for teenage girls.

7.   Candle and jewelry making - Another great startup business idea for teenage girls is making and selling candles and jewelry.

8.   Blogging  - For teenagers who have a knack for writing, blogging can be a very lucrative business.

9.   eCommerce – Teenagers are also great at selling things online, and for them eCommerce is perhaps the best startup business idea.

10.       Garage cleaning/haul away services – The last but not the least of the 10 startup business ideas for teens is garage cleaning services for people in the community and disposing the unwanted items from their garages.

Whatever may be the idea, the most important thing in favor of teen entrepreneurs is that they are already ahead of other adult entrepreneurs, because they are younger and have more time on their hands. So, if you have a teenage son or daughter just waiting to start their own business, try these above 10 startup business ideas for teens.