The Disadvantages Of Attending A University

We have discussed some of the wonderful advantages that university life and educations present. However, we must in turn discuss some of the other disadvantages that are associated with university learning as well. While we discuss these you should keep in mind that they do not by any means indicate that you should give up on your higher education goals, only that you should view your educational process with realistic expectations.

When compared with the community college system the very first and most distinctive disadvantage that comes to mind is the high cost of upper education on the university level. Community colleges are simply more cost effective all around than universities. The costs go well beyond that money that would be spent on room and board making the tuition alone cost prohibitive in many cases. While there are many types of financial aid available to students the vast majority of college students in this country make ends meet through the use of student loans, which must be repaid at quite a hefty interest rate, in order to cover the costs associated with university educations.

Beyond the one obvious disadvantage there are a few other disadvantages that bear mentioning in this particular circumstance. First of all, universities do not have the small intimate classroom settings that literally set community colleges apart. In fact, for lower level course, most universities offer large auditorium classes that are taught by graduate students rather than professors and more often than not the students never get to know those who are charged with their education on more than a nod and smile while passing in the halls basis. This method for learning is considered by many to be exceptionally inferior and the statistics prove that students who go straight into a four-year college environment rather than going through a community college first are far less likely to complete their degrees.

If that isn't enough of a disadvantage, many people find that the impersonal atmosphere of most universities is quite limiting when it comes to interaction with other students. The smaller classroom environments of community colleges invite interaction between the students in the class. An open line of communication within the classroom is greatly preferred to having so many students that no one gets a voice or the ability to voice their opinions or personal experiences when it comes to certain topics.

Another disadvantage to university life is the sheer size of university campuses. Community colleges tend to be much more compact. This means that students have a fairly decent chance of making it to all classes on time and without the worry of walking 2 miles in ten minutes. While this is great for physical fitness, missing the first ten minutes of class each week can limit the educational process that your university experience should be providing. It seems like such a small thing on one hand but when you are hauling around a day's worth of textbooks and a laptop--that hike can be the thing that marines seem dubious about accomplishing.

While there are a few distinctive disadvantages to university life, the fact remains that graduation from a university is the single biggest way to increase your earning potential over the course of your lifetime. The amounts are by no means insignificant. I highly recommend whenever possibly that you attend community college for the first two years of your college education. Beyond that, I strongly urge you to consider the value that completing your education and getting a four-year degree can provide.

If you wish to build self-confidence, earning potential, and job security, there is no way of doing so that is superior to getting a four-year degree. It doesn't matter where you are in life or your career; it is never too late to begin getting your education. There are so many things in the world that a good education will open your eyes to in addition to the doors of opportunity a four-year degree will open.

Finding The Best Atlas Of The World

Every home needs a good world atlas. While MapQuest, Yahoo Maps and Google Maps may have edged out traditional street maps for our directional needs, there will always be a place for a nice hard-cover, full-colored atlas. You can read at-a-glance profiles of different countries or cities, gain travel tips, reference information, teach the kids about other places and cultures or simply explore the world right from your sofa.

But which one of the world reigns supreme? This question is a difficult one to answer, but here are some classic selections, as well as some new options to unearth.
One of the most frequently used atlases is Goode's World Atlas, edited by Edward B. Espenshade, Jr. This pocket-sized book contains a number of high-quality maps from a cache of professional geographers.

Another great selection is the National Geographic Road Atlas of the United States, Canada and Mexico, which features, hands-down, the best street maps of North America. The 10th Edition Times map of the World boasts 125 color maps and a quarter of a million place names.
The DK World Atlas is full of entertaining facts, while also providing geographic information about every country in the world. You will also want to add the DK Atlas of World History, which includes maps, timelines, photographs and historical notes, and the DK World Reference Atlas, which has 1 to 6 pages about each country, discussing politics, climate, world affairs, economics, crime, health, media, education and communications.

Sometimes you can find a map the world that reveals the current state of our planet. The State of the World Atlas does just that, displaying the most current statistics, profiles and realities about world politics, economics, food supplies, military power, energy resources, pollution levels and biodiversity.

In a nutshell, what a hardcopy atlas of the world delivers, which online mapping lacks, is that historical, worldview of mapmakers and cartographers who take the great time and effort to color code our world and combine data with maps in a sensible way, thus painting the larger picture.

If you are looking for an atlas of American history to inspire the kids, then consider Elspeth Leacock and Susan Buckley's "Places in Time: A New Atlas of American History" (for 7-14 year olds), which teaches kids about fascinating stories behind 20 little-known American places using oral narratives, old maps, drawings and contemporary accounts. Don't forget to get Lynn Kuntz's "Celebrate the USA: Hands-On History Activities for Kids" (for 8-10 year olds), which will have you playing musical inventions like Ben Franklin or creating liberty wind socks from oatmeal boxes, glues, yarn and paper.

Reasons You Need A University Education

The world in which we live is constantly evolving. We are demanding more and more from our citizens than ever before and in order to live up to the demands of the world we need a solid education upon which to base our skills and knowledge. There are many alternatives available for receiving an education these days, which is good news for those who have not yet managed to obtain a four-year college degree. Truthfully, that degree is the difference in literally hundreds of thousands of dollars over the course of a lifetime than not having a degree.

Four Reasons for a Four-Year Education
Money. The first reason that you should consider a university degree is the fact that it will substantially increase your earning potential. If nothing else appeals to you, this is typically the one reason that most people return to school after years in the work place. If you are in high school and haven't really had to deal with the bills and burdens that many adults face it's difficult to explain how important any edge when it comes to earning ability truly is. However, you should be aware that you need to choose your major wisely if money is your sole motivation. Not all careers pay equally when compare to the education required to enter them.

Insurance. This may seem like a strange term to use when discussing why you should get a university education but this is perhaps the best insurance you can find as far as employability goes. Having a university degree gives you a competitive edge over those who do not. In many cases you will find that education is beginning to trump experience as employers are seeking workers with more rounded skills rather than those with very specific skills. The modern university typically requires a brief exposure to all kinds of information and coursework that isn't necessarily related to your major. This provides graduates with a broader understanding of the world (at least that is the assumption).

Employability. Believe it or not, those with degrees are much more employable than those that do not have them. There was a time when the trend was to employ those who had experience over those who had education. That trend is rapidly evaporating as companies want employees that can fill multiple roles more and more often. The limited exposure to certain ideas or ideals and principles that most people receive as part of their university education makes you a more employable candidate because you should be able to adapt and adjust, as this was required during your educational process.

Confidence. There is nothing quite like believing in yourself. Getting a four-year education is one way to build confidence not only on a personal level but also on a professional level. Whether or not you realize it, this is often the best reason for pursuing a university degree. This reason, as a matter of fact, will actually affect all of the other things I mentioned above. If you have more confidence in your ability you will be more willing to go out there and get the job done. As a result, you will earn more money and you will insure that you are an asset to your company by proving yourself to be just that.

Regardless of your personal reason for pursuing a university degree there are very few wrong reasons to get your degree. Good luck in your educational pursuits. I know they will serve you well.

What is Optimal Method to Use in Teaching Your Child to Learn to Read?

Some reading experts claim that there are only four methods that viable for teaching reading today. These methods are phonics, look and say, the language experience approach, and the context support method. However, a newer method, syllabics, seems to be gaining ground as a new, even preferred, alternative method for teaching children to learn to read. Each method deserves a close look.

Teaching Reading with Phonics
Without a doublt, phonics is perhaps the most widely used and most easily recognized method for teaching today. Instructing children to read using this method begins with the alphabet and the sound associated with each letter. Reading begins with one- and two-letter words and blends which are easy to "sound out". After they master two-letter words, children progress to three-letter words, then four-letter words, and longer words.

The principal issue with teaching reading using phonics--and it is a serious issue, indeed-- is that the method gives children the introduction they need to pronounce sounds so that they can manage words that can be read phonetically, but it does not prepare them for words that are not phonetically regular (such as vowels). Phonics also requires that children be provided with sufficient phonetic reading material. Creative teaching formats also have to be used to keep children from getting bored with the method.

Look and Say Reading
The look and say reading method is also known as look-see or the whole-word approach. With this approach, rather than learning a word as a series of letters or words, a student learns the whole word at once. To teach whole words, the teacher often uses pictures or flashcards (or both) to represent the word. The teacher might sound out the word for the child and ask the child to repeat the word rather than sound it out for himself/herself.

Look and say reading has been criticized as not giving children the tools they need to sound out words for themselves. Essentially, the child must memorize every word rather than really learning how the letters and sounds come together to form words. Some educators maintain, however, that the combination of phonics with look and say reading can help children to tackle more challenging words.

The Language Experience Approach to Reading
The language experience approach to reading uses the child's own life experiences to teach words and reading. For instance, if a child draws a picture of his or her family, a teacher might ask the child to identify person is in the drawing. As the child says such words as "mom", "dad", "my brother Rob", the teacher writes those words under each person's image in the picture. If a child draws a picture of a cat in a tree, the teacher writes the words "a cat in a tree" under the drawing.

When the student gains a better comprehension of words, teachers can talk about and write more complicated sentences such as "This is my family. I have a mother, a father, and a brother named Rob".

Some educators recommend making a little book out of the child's drawings. This personalized book could then be filled with pages that the child can automatically "read" if only because that child is the author of the book. Teachers can also encourage students to trace over the words they've written to begin early writing experiences.

Many educators use this method as a means to introduce children to reading even before they begin teaching reading using phonics, the look and say, or any other reading method. This is a useful technique to help children appreciate the connection between the images and words that appear on the pages of a book and to aid them as they begin recognizing simple words. Unfortunately, the method seems to be limited to teaching children only how to read concrete nouns—-those that represent physical objects that can be drawn or photographed. Verbs, adjectives, adverbs, articles, prepositions and nouns that don't have a common physical representation cannot be accommodated by the language experience approach for learning to read.

The Context Support Method
As with the language experience approach to reading, the context support method uses the associative connection between pictures and words to attract and hold the attention of the student. Although this is a position that is not widely accepted, some educators nevertheless believe that holding a child's attention may be the single most important factor in learning to read. A disinterested child is less likely to pay attention long enough to learn the material. Obviously, an interested child is likely to be more interested in learning.

Parents sometimes can be heard complaining that there is little material available for their children to read, especially once their boys move past the early reading stage. Toddler boys and girls are often presented with reading material geared toward their particular interests, such as boats and robots for boys and dolls for girls. However, some professionals note that the relative disinterest that many boys eventually develop in reading could be attributed to the relative paucity of reading materials that interest them. Therefore, after the initial boost that boys get in the early reading stages, there might not be nearly enough context support for them to continue to read for pleasure.

Using Syllabics to Teach Vowel Sounds
One of the major criticisms of using phonetics to teach reading is that the method addresses consonant sounds far better than it does vowel sounds. For instance, the letter "b" is pronounced the same way, whether the word it is used in is "bite" or "bit". However, using those same two words, the letter "i" can be either "short" or "long". This discrepancy in sound "rules" makes it especially difficult for early readers to understand how they should handle the pronunciation of vowels.

Syllabics teaches both consonant sounds and vowel sounds in a way that enables children to master them both properly. Syllabics teaches children the consonant sounds and the main consonant blends, and then teaches them how to tackle the sounds made by vowels. Rather than rely on rote-memorization, syllabics uses "rules" or "letter codes" to teach children how to read just about any word except those that does not follow general English conventions.

At the end of the day,no one method is yet viewed as being the cure-all, be-all for teaching reading to every student. Educators today typically use a combination of methods geared toward the specific needs of the individual child. Choosing the program that is best for each child requires an understanding of the strength and weaknesses of the methods available as well as a deep appreciation of what works best for the child.