Education First

Special education has been assisting students with learning disabilities in the United States education system since the end of World War II. The first push for special education started when a group of parent-organized advocacy groups surfaced. In 1947 one of the first organizations, the American Association on Mental Deficiency, held its first convention. That marked a starting point for special education as we know it today.

Started during the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1950s, the United Cerebral Palsy Association, the Muscular Dystrophy Association, and John F. Kennedys Panel on Mental Retardation were among an increased amount of advocacy groups for assisted learning programs. This strong push helped bring special education into schools across the country in the 1960’s as school access was established for children with disabilities at state and local levels.

The parent advocacy groups dating back to 1947 laid the ground floor for government legislation being approved by Congress in 1975 that was called the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (Public Law 94-142). This act went into effect in October of 1977 and it was the beginning for federal funding of special education in schools nationwide. The act required public schools to offer “free appropriate public education” to students with a wide range of disabilities, including physical handicaps, mental retardation, speech, vision and language problems, emotional and behavioral problems, and other learning disorders.

The law from 1977 was extended in 1983 to offer parent training and information centers. Later in 1986 the government started programs targeting youngsters with potential learning disabilities. The Act from 1975 was changed to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. Since establishment of IDEA more than 6.5 million children and 200,000+ toddlers and infants are being assisted each year.

Special education in schools often unintentionally overlooks a key aspect of why students suffer from learning disabilities. The reasons for common learning disabilities are weak cognitive skills. Studies show that 80% of students enrolled in special education at some level suffer from underlying weak cognitive skills. Cognitive skills are the mental capabilities that one needs to successfully learn academic subjects. In more detail cognitive skills are learning skills used to retain information; process, analyze, and store facts and feelings; and create mental pictures, read words, and understand concepts. They are not to be confused with academic skills which would include subjects like math, science, or history.

Proper testing to identify these weak cognitive skills will help quality learning centers put together a plan of action to strengthen them. This sort of training will last a lifetime. By not targeting the cognitive skills a student will struggle for the rest of their life until they are trained properly. It is highly recommended that you get your child tested at a learning training center that provides cognitive testing. Once tested a personal, unique training program can be developed for your child to overcome their learning disability.

Post secondary education is very expensive in North America and unless you are fairly wealthy will be a worry for most parents. Obviously, not all kids go onto University or College but if they do and you havent planned for it you could find yourself with a large financial burden. This would probably happen just when most families are looking at finally having some financial security

A Registered Education Savings Plan – RESP – is vital for your financial health if you have kids who you feel may want to go into post secondary education. An RESP is government sponsored (Registered with Canada Customs and Revenue Agency) and is allowed to grow tax free. Money paid from the plan at maturity may be taxed as income for the student.

The plans are administered by private companiespersons (Promoter) who will collect contributions and invest them accordingly. Up to 4,000 per beneficiary (student) can be contributed per calendar year, with a lifetime limit of 42,000 without any tax implications. Each student may have more than one plan but the limit is strictly per student.

The most important aspect of the RESP’s is that the Government will add 20% to the first 2,000 per calendar year (400) up to and including the year of the students 17th birthday. This is called the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG) and any amounts paid in are not included in the annual limit for tax purposes.

The maximum a student can receive from CESG is 7200 over the lifetime of the plan. Any amount of CESG not claimed each year will accumulate as up to 800 can be paid if not previously claimed. If the RESP is not eventually used for educational purposes any CESG payments will have to be repaid to the government.

To apply, the student must be resident in Canada and have a Social Insurance Number (SIN) which must be provided to the promoter at the plan inception. Also, the individual making the contributions will be required to provide their SIN.

Types of RESP Plans

There are 3 main types of Plan:

Non-Family – There can be only one beneficiary but anyone (grandparentsgodparents etc.) can make the contributions whenever they want for however much they want to pay.

Family – There can be one or more beneficiary’s as long as they are blood relatives or adopted by the persons making the contributions. There are no restrictions on when and how much is paid in (apart from the tax implications of over subscribing).

Group – These plans are normally offered by foundations who set how much is paid in and when. Each age group will have a particular plan and all members will take a share. There are some fairly complicated rules attached and should be thoroughly researched with the plan providers before committing.

RESP Termination

At terminationmaturity, there are several options:

1. The intended student does not go into post secondary education. The contributions are returned tax free to the person who made them. The CESG is repaid to the government. Any income generated by the plan will be subject to taxation.

2. The student enrolls in a qualified program at a post secondary educational institution and completes the full program. Initially, 5000 can be paid from the plan, then after 13 weeks there is no limit to the amount paid as long as the student remains in the program. These payments are called Educational Assistance Payments (EAP’s). The student cannot be receiving EI (employment Insurance) or the program must not be part of the students employment (an apprenticeship for example).

3. The proceeds can be transferred to another RESP.

4. The proceeds can be paid to a designated educational institution.

More, detailed information can be found at http:www.onestopimmigration-canada.comRESP.html

The Arts Education Master Plan

September 28 was the beginning of a new era for arts education in San Francisco schools. The San Francisco Unified School district and the City are partnering on a historic effort to bring back the arts for all students. The Arts Education Master Plan will revitalize the education of San Franciscos young citizens by capturing the diverse cultural and artistic energy of a city that is internationally renowned for its love of the arts.

At 10:30 a.m. at the San Francisco Performing Arts Library and Museum, Mayor Gavin Newsom, SFUSDs Interim Superintendent Gwen Chan, and SF Arts Commission President P.J. Johnston joined members of the Board of Supervisors and SFUSD Board of Education, arts providers from across the city and students from Lowell High School, Claire Lilienthal and George Washington Carver Academic Elementary Schools in celebration of the Arts Education Master Plan.

“This master plan is a living document that exemplifies the partnership between the City and the school district on arts education,” said Mayor Newsom. “San Francisco’s efforts are unprecedented – and over the next few months, we will witness ‘order of magnitude’ changes in the arts education that children receive,” continued the Mayor.

The Arts Education Master Plan is San Francisco Unified School District’s blueprint for integrating the arts into each student’s daily curriculum. The Plan calls for a sequential, comprehensive arts education program that reflects the high quality of San Francisco’s artistic landscape in the areas of dance, drama, music, visual arts and literary arts.
The guiding principle of this plan is that all students deserve both access to and equity in arts education and each school community, no matter the neighborhood or academic emphasis, will be called upon to embrace the notion that every student must be provided with the arts as an integral part of the academic day.

Interim Superintendent Gwen Chan said In San Francisco, we are committed to providing every student with a well-rounded education. For too many years, some students have not had opportunities to develop artistic literacy. Every school and every student will benefit from this plan.

Community Involvement

The Master Plan reflects the views of more than 1,500 students, parents, teachers, administrators, arts providers, and civic and business leaders. Proposition H approved by San Francisco voters in 2004, became the catalyst, making the Arts Education Master Plan, completed in August 2006, a funded mandate. The extensive increase in arts education spending, programming, support and resources that the Plan recommends will be funded largely by Prop H funds. Additional funding, such as the new State funding for the arts, will be aligned to the Arts Education Master Plan.

The new plan will hopefully keep San Francisco school students in touch with the vibrant artistic community around them and help them to take advantage of the many enriching opportunities for art in the classroom and beyond. San Francisco schools are ready to implement the new curriculum program at all levels to ensure a consistent and fulfilling learning experience for all students. Students, parents, and teachers at San Francisco schools are confident that the Arts Education Master Plan will mark their community as one committed to continued arts education.

As the world continues to get more complex, careers are becoming more specialized and require continuing education credits to remain in good standing. This is especially true in the medical fields although many professions and professional organizations also demand their members to continue to develop the skills necessary for today’s changing environments.

Almost any field of study that takes a great deal of study to become a recognized member will require continuing education. From engineering, medical nurses and doctors, respiratory therapists, quality managers and many others all are expected to maintain a level of education consistent with the field of knowledge. The reason behind this is to have professionals who have not only maintained but also developed and learned new techniques and skill sets. This is critical in much of the more complex business world.

Quality engineers and managers focus on competence and techniques that not only allow for the lowest cost products to be developed but also understand the trade-offs between cost and quality.

CPA’s or certified public accountants, need to keep up with the latest laws and be up to date with many of the sometimes arcane accounting principles. Teachers and nursing are two other fields that also require continuing education to remain active in the profession.

Although a good education in many of the professional fields can provide a solid understanding of the industry no matter if it be financial, medical, industrial, or scientific. Ongoing competence in any of these fields however requires an ongoing process of continuing education. Continuing education is necessary for the professional to remain up to date with the latest techniques and knowledge base in the field of study.

Typically continuing education translates into a certain number of course credit hours for the professional every so many years. These additional education credits are sometimes mandatory when renewing government controlled certifications like a teaching certificate. Although some groups do not make the ongoing educational process mandatory, almost all provide an opportunity to obtain the educational credits through sponsored classes, seminars, and online “CBT” or computer based training.

In order to stay professional and remain in good standing wit many of the recognized professional organizations ongoing continuing education is critical for a professional career. The small investment in additional training can go a long way to keeping skills fresh and increasing the competence level of any professional.

A Preschool education is an incredibly important part of children’ s lives, as it is the first basic educational experience that they will have, and the first truly social setting and experience that they will have as well. Children are very susceptible to learning in their first few years of life, so it is so important that they have the most enjoyable experience that they can in this regards. So, finding the best preschool for your child is imperative.

Children between the ages of three and five are ready to learn. Curiosity is high in this age group and pre-schools meet the needs of the child. If the childs inner curiosity is not met with activities and answers, it could possibly diminish his or her future academic performance.

Children in this age group have a wide range of interests. If these interests are discovered and encouraged at a young age, it will lay the groundwork for a love of learning. For instance, a child who has a love for scribbling and is encouraged will generally learn to write earlier than other children.

Children who are enrolled in pre-school learn the importance of character through the praise and encouragement they receive through displaying hard work and responsibility. This leads to positive self worth, as well as fostering good study skills, in a child.

It is vital to prepare your toddler for the transition to preschool. You should start preparing 3 months in advance. This is a big step for your child and you want it to be a positive experience. Parents who have to leave their children in a preschool center are always tortured by the dilemma of whether they chose the right one or not for their little ones. But in most cases it is really just guilt over leaving the child. If you did your homework, spoke to friends or neighbors that may have had children attend the school with positive results, then don’t worry. Remember, the children need this preschool education experience, it is a necessary stage of development.

Preschool is basically a place which provides preschool education for very young children, and it is generally considered as being an included part of early childhood education. Things to consider when choosing a preschool program: Find out whether the preschool center allows visits at any time, does the curriculum meet your standards, are the teachers and staff friendly, and most important, trust your intuitions. If you feel that a specific preschool education program is not right for your preschoolers, then it may not be.

Children are born ready to learn. Fortunately, children apply their innate curiosity and thirst for knowledge the same way to preschool educational and non-educational toys making just about everything an opportunity to learn.

Everybody agrees that learning might be fun. Studies show that preschool children learn better when they are involved in day-to-day activities chores along with their parents. You might involve the children’ s participation in adding, subtracting, counting, measuring, estimating and so on. As long as you keep all of the crafts and activities relatively easy, and yet still fun and enjoyable, then there is really no way that you can go wrong.

A preschool with a well-stocked library on preschool learning to guide a teacher ensures that he will have ideas, skills and concepts at his fingertips, which he can apply to his classroom. So take a look around the classroom, not only at the books available to the children, but the books the teachers utilize as well.

One preschool education curriculum might vary greatly from another; the most important thing to remember is that the children should be having fun and enjoying themselves, and the work should never be too difficult or too boring, because the children are still incredibly young, and although education is still completely important, you do not want to overwhelm them. The focus should be educational fun. Preschool worksheets should never be too complex. When you consider the ages of the children that you are dealing with, too much information can be overwhelming.

If its just for school, for your kids or for the neighborhood kids, its nice to have a purposeful educational trip that will surely be enjoyed by the children as well as teach them. Of course there is the usual trip to the museum or the so-so factory, but educational travel doesnt necessarily end with the destination, one should also consider the preparations as well as the child before you uproot them from their playgrounds.

Who should plan the Trip?

If the trip is an out of school activity, whether organized by you or the neighborhood parents, there should always be somebody or a group of people willing to dedicate a snippet of their time to organizing, everything, destination, transportation, food, lodgings (if any) as well as the children involved.

What to Bring

A pack list is also essential before a trip. Here are a few things that should be in your or your childs bag when you go on an educational trip.

- Snacks there should be lots of drinks and walk foods that you can eat even while walking.

- First aid kit an accident can easily happen, a small trip or a scratch should be mended easily. A medicine pack can also be handy for parents who develop headaches, or for children with stomach upset.

- Extra clothes children are very active, and sometimes even parents can be over-active, so it is necessary that both bring a set of clothes for those unexpected spills.

- Walkie talkie If your child can handle it, a walkie-talkie or a cellular phone can be very useful if he gets lost.

- Name tag Attach a name tag to his shirt or to his bag containing your contact number (without a name) so that whoever finds him can contact you.

- One of his favorite toys A good thing to distract a child when he gets uneasy during travel would be one of his favorite toys.

- Wipes and tissue- For that easy cleanup whenever you need it.

When you get there

Fall in line, and make travel buddys of two or three; the one buddy should be responsible for the other so as to prevent anyone getting left behind. This is best done with kids who dont normally play together so they can bond and get to know each other more.

On the trip home

Encourage sleeping; children after a long walk can get cranky when tired, so bring some milk with you so they can sleep through the trip home.

Pressure, pressure, pressure. Students in all grades can be under an enormous amount of pressure to succeed while in school. Kindergartners must learn to read, add, and subtract before they finish their first year of school. In some places, students must pass certain state tests in order to be promoted to the next grade level. More and more emphasis is being placed on the importance of a rigorous academic program for middle- and high-school students, with the end result of attending a college or university. Is all this necessary? Well, legislators, the president, and local district officials believe so. Many parents also agree that kids need to graduate from high school ready to go on to college. Leaders of Pittsburgh Public Schools and of Pittsburgh itself plan to institute a new plan to motivate even more students to seek out a college education.

The Pittsburgh Schools have issued what it calls “The Pittsburgh Promise,” pledging that starting in 2008, all graduates who meet certain Pittsburgh Schools standards will have the means of getting post-secondary education. Wow! What a great idea! There are most likely some Pittsburgh Schools students who dont even dream of going to college, simply because their families cant afford it. Imagine, if you will, a Pittsburgh Schools family of blue-collar workers who have not had any of its members attend college. It is their dream for their children to go to college and have a better life; if this new program is indeed successful, this dream will most likely become a reality!

The Pittsburgh Schools district and the city hope to raise 5 million to 7 million a year to make college or other post-secondary education affordable. To access the money, Pittsburgh Schools students will have to attend one of the Pittsburgh Schools, do their work, stay out of trouble, and graduate. Its truly admirable to see that the city leaders, community leaders and the Pittsburgh Schools leaders recognize the difficulties that lay in the path of some of these students to actually attend college.

More and more, even some blue-collar jobs are requiring a minimum of a 2-year degree. Firefighters, carpenters, even cosmetologists can attend a community college where they receive the training their prospective employers are looking for. The students of Pittsburgh Schools who are on the vocational path will now have the opportunity to go to college, no matter what their familys financial situation might be. What a wonderful graduation gift Pittsburgh Schools students could receive upon leaving high school! Since society and the government are forever clamoring about how far behind our students are as compared to other students around the world, kudos to Pittsburgh Schools and the city of Pittsburgh for doing their part to get more kids in college.

Partnership for Food Safety Education Unveils New Evolution of Popular Consumer Education Website

The national Fight BAC! campaign’s upgraded on-line food safety information better serves educators and consumers seeking information to help reduce risk of foodborne illness.

“The Partnership’s website, www.fightbac.org, is widely utilized by consumers, educators, dietitians and public health officials across the United States,” says Shelley Feist, Executive Director of The Partnership for Food Safety Education. “Our goal is to make our materials fully accessible, knowing two-thirds of adults turn to the Internet for basic safe food handling information.”

Despite recent declines in outbreaks of several bacterial foodborne diseases, foodborne illness continues to afflict tens of millions of people each year. Experts agree that education on basic safe food handling is vital to reducing incidence. The Partnership’s national consumer study reveals that much progress has been made increasing awareness of safe food handling practices, but more work remains to be done.

“Our research shows a direct link between high awareness of safe food handling recommendations and actual proper food handling practices,” says Tim Hammonds, Chairman of the Partnership for Food Safety Education. “By improving our online offerings we hope to contribute to increased awareness of proper food handling, ultimately reducing risk of foodborne illness nationwide.”

Fully searchable, the new website is more user-friendly, providing important safe food handling recommendations at a glance and updated downloadable fact sheets, brochures and other materials for consumer and educator use.

The Fight BAC! campaign empowers consumers with four simple safe food handling practices they can use to reduce their risk of becoming ill: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill. BAC!, the campaign’s “bacteria mascot,” is the invisible enemy who tries his best to spread contamination wherever he goes.

If it wasnt a big enough perk to grow up next door to the Magic Kingdom, Orange County high school students are also being sought out by nonprofit organizations in their area. As part of Disneylands 50th anniversary celebrations, high school students from Orange County Schools have the chance to participate in community outreach projects with local nonprofits.

Show Your Character

The Show Your Character competition encourages local nonprofits to design projects that get high school students involved. Beginning in 2004 and continuing through 2006, Orange County nonprofits submit project proposals designed to help local teenagers give back to their community. If selected, the nonprofits are paired with Orange County high school students and given the resources they needed to complete a community service project in their neighborhoods.

Projects for the competition must meet the California curriculum standards for Service Learning Projects. In this way, students earn academic credit while learning valuable skills from nonprofit groups.

A Service Learning Project must meet four basic goals (provided by the Volunteer Center of Orange County, www.volunteercenter.org ):

Meet a Real Community Need

In partnership with your organization, students should gain an understanding of how the needs of the community you serve are identified. After developing an understanding of these needs, students will actively participate in a service-learning project designed to effectively meet those needs.

Gain an Understanding of the Connection Between School and Community

Students should develop an understanding of the relationship between the school and the community and the value of school-community partnerships. This will be gained through direct interactions with your organization, staff andor clients to develop and implement meaningful service activities that meet the needs of both the students and the community you serve.

Develop a Sense of Civic Responsibility

Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of civic responsibility through their participation in this service-learning activity. The project must meet a real community need and improves the quality of life in the community.

Strengthen their Understanding of Core Character Traits and Values

Trustworthiness – Respect – Fairness – Caring – Citizenship

Benefits for Students

In addition to the school credit, participation in the competition also benefits students and their schools in other key ways. Students will gain from an increased awareness of the nonprofits operating in the community. In working with a nonprofit organization, the student will learn about how nonprofit groups help at risk members of the community and see for themselves how they and others can contribute to building their community in a positive way in the future. Participation also qualifies the student to apply for a Disneyland Resort Legacy Scholarship Award. The Disneyland Resort Scholarship Program, called Making Magic Through Community Service, plans to grant 50,000 in scholarships, with a minimum scholarship of 5000 each.

Benefits for Teachers and Schools

Teachers and schools can get in on the action too. In assisting their students to participate in the competition, teachers and schools meet the standards in character education and have the opportunity to build character and civic responsibility in their students. Teachers and students will have the advice of a Disney VoluntEAR Project Leader who is knowledgeable about their nonprofit organization partner as well as the character education curriculum education standards to be met. In addition, teachers and schools will have the expert assistance of the Volunteer Center of Orange County, the California State Regional Lead for Service Learning. There are financial benefits for teachers too, such as earning a Golden Performance Award worth 1000 to further improve the learning environment for their students.

Disneys community outreach programs for Orange County high school students combine learning with public service and specifically address the character education curriculum standards for the state of California. Students in the area have been given the opportunity to learn from Walt Disney that, the greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish achievement but rather with the things we do for the people in need.