Archive for February, 2012

Free Homeschooling Curriculum – Are Virtual Schools the Answer?

Friday, February 24th, 2012

Families who are looking for a free homeschooling curriculum may turn to publicly funded virtual schools or cyber schools.

Virtual schools are charter school at home programs that are funded by tax dollars. Because these programs are publicly funded, they can provide students with free computers, software, internet access, textbooks and other resources.

Students who use cyber schools are considered public school students. Their coursework is directed by certified public school teachers who supervise their students’ progress through the use of testing, teleconferencing, e-mail and coursework reviews.

Two well known providers of public school at home programs are K-12 and Connections Academy.

Advantages of Virtual Schools

Virtual school programs allow families to take advantage of the benefits of home education without adding a financial burden. They also provide the structure and support many parents desire, and eliminate the responsibility for choosing curriculum, designing lesson plans and supervising coursework.

Cyber schools also provide children with an accredited diploma that is the same as those received by students in traditional public schools. In addition, some programs schedule field trips and other social activities for their students.

Disadvantages of Home Based Charter Schools

Because cyber school is essentially public school in the home, parents may not have the flexibility to tailor the curriculum and teaching methods to meet their child’s needs. Decisions are made by teachers and carried out by parents, leaving parents with little say as to how their children are instructed and what they are taught. Some programs even place restrictions on use of religious materials.

Virtual school students are also subject to government regulations above and beyond that required of independent homeschoolers. Depending on the state’s requirements, students may be required to submit to standardized testing and interviews by school officials.

Some homeschooling advocates fear widespread participation in home based charter schools will blur the distinction between public and private education. They believe use of government programs may lead to increased regulation and oversight of independent home schools.

How to Become Fluent in Spanish Quickly

Friday, February 24th, 2012

In a lot of countries Spanish is becoming increasingly popular as a foreign language that offers a lot of potential and opportunity. Schools nowadays offer this language as a foreign language that can be learnt at high schools, colleges, or at the university. Spanish, in most public schools in USA is taught as a second language along with English. It has been seen, however, that though efforts are made, most of the times students forget or ignore this language that is taught to them at different points of time-sometimes in school as a secondary subject, or as a course that they learn and soon forget. Here I would like to show how several learning portals try to recall the forgotten language within a few days and make one hold a conversation easily. Different learning portals use different methods to revive the forgotten language; I would go ahead and assimilate a basic idea that is easy to work with, and effective because it works on one’s power of recollection, and connecting words with action.

One of the first things that help out a lot is to watch and learn. This means, the pupil is made to sit and listen and watch several conversations held in the language. One of the best ways to do this is by watching Spanish films with English subtitles. The sounds become more familiar because of the repeated usage, and the tone and delivery of the words become easy. It is suggested that the learner watches the movies for some time, and understands the way the language is spoken and the speeches delivered with certain gestures accompanying them.

The next step is to look at picture books containing the words in Spanish with the pictures adjacent to them. Some people advise that comic books in Spanish help a lot. They actually can understand the action and the word and can associate them with ease. The other thing that has to be done at this point is read a bit of the grammar, which can get pretty confusing. Start connecting the words with the actions, and with the help of grammar, start forming simple sentences.

Phrasebooks help to a large extent. These books help remember the forgotten words, and improve our vocabulary. Several websites offer an online glossary of different words that is extremely helpful here. Websites like http://www.spanishdict.com is very helpful here. It offers a ready translation of words that might be doubtful and hard to comprehend. Apart from phrasebooks and dictionaries, usage of flashcards are also recommended, because these helps one remember instantly what he forgot.