Season's Greetings from Burke-Little & Associates Educational Specialists

Burke-Little & Associates, Inc.

Educational Specialists

December 2007

Greetings!

We at Burke-Little & Associates wish for you and your family Peace and Happiness during this Holiday Season and in the New Year.

Thank you for your suppport and loyalty. We pledge to you our continued professionalism and concern for your children.

E-Learning

E-Learning, distance learning, on-line classes...these are terms we commonly use to refer to computer-enhanced learning. If you are new to learning through the internet, then you will find lots of opportunities. If you want to try out a course, brush up on a skill, or just want to learn a few facts, you can use E-Learning to do just that.

By 2006, nearly 3.5 million people in the US were participating in on-line learning. The University forerunners in distance learning such as Brigham Young University and University of Nebraska now share with the e-learning stage with the University Of Miami and the very successful University of Phoenix as well as almost every state university in the country. It is very possible to earn a degree from a nationally accredited university without ever attending a course on the campus of that school

Formerly work schedules, family obligations, location, and sometimes personality, and emotional issues may have determined a person's opportunity for education. The boundaries that the student experienced because of classroom anxiety may no longer be an issue. The single parent working a fulltime daytime job and taking care of her family at night now has the opportunity to "attend" classes in pursuit of a degree. Never before has there been the variety of offerings in education with such flexibility.

There are three questions a person should ask when considering an on-line class. First of all, what is the reputation of the school, college, or for-profit company that is offering the class? Second, how much computer skill does a person need in order to do the class? Third, what is it like taking a class on-line rather than sitting in a classroom with a teacher and classmates. Never before have there been offerings in education with such variety and flexibility because of E-learning... As the academic institutions continue to add course offerings and programs through the internet, more people will benefit from these advances.

Gap Year

A Gap Year is a term that refers to a period of time between a student's completion of high school and matriculation to college. It can also be a period after graduation from college and before starting a profession. The Gap Year has become more prevalent in the United States and can be compared to the Grand Tour in the United Kingdom. Students in Britain would have 9 months after completing their exams and before starting their university work. They would visit the world or do some type of volunteer work.

In the United States, the practice of taking a Gap Year before entering college is becoming more popular. Increasingly, U.S. colleges and universities sometimes encourage students to defer college entrance for a year. Some students who flounder in school with directions about majors benefit from doing something that expands their horizons beyond purely academics.

Students may become more motivated if they have time to promote their interests with such things as learning a new language or improving their skills, taking an art appreciation class in the midst of world famous museums in Europe, or volunteering in a country by building housing.

These are some opportunities to consider. A student can participate in cutting-edge research internships at the Russian Academy of Puschino, Russia and prepare for the Intel Science Talent Search and other science contests. Another opportunity is improving one's artistic abilities in visual arts, printmaking, graphic design, art history and Italian language at the Internationazionale di Graficia in Venice. Also, a student can take advantage of Kenya's abundant resources with courses in wildlife and environmental management in the University of Nairobi.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -Mark Twain

Planning for Gap Year

Paraphrased and/or directly copied from The Gap Year Advantage by Karl Haigler and Rae Nelson NY: St. Martin's Griffin, 2005

1. What are your goals? What do you hope to accomplish? Specific interests, goals or passions you wish to focus on? Places in the US or the world you want to explore?

If wanting to get out of your comfort zone -how far? Do you wish to be alone or with a group? Are you interested in home stay? Wish to learn another language (immersion) or speak only English? Wish to travel? Want to do community service?

2. Will the college you have gotten into accept deferment? IMPORTANT TO KNOW POLICIES SINCE THEY VARY FROM SCHOOL TO SCHOOL

3. How will you deal with problems and issues if you are abroad? -You need an early warning signal you and your parents can follow.

4. Costs and Finances - Need to know this up front. What contribution will you make? Your parents? What limitations? Where might you seek additional aid and support?

5. Develop a way to reflect on and chronicle experiences - blog, journal, film, photographs, etc. so that the experience can count for more than just "escape"

as well as follow ups (visiting schools or organizations to reflect on your experience)

6. Put in place time-lines (Including a structured sequence of activities)

7. Note issues of Health Insurance/requirements for Passports/Visas

8. Talk to others who have been through the experience - gain reassurance from those who have been through the program - talk to parents and graduates to ensure that the program delivers what it says it delivers

9. Read up ahead of time about the cities, countries you are interested in - know the history and geography

10. Check the track record of the program you are interested in

11. Know the safety of the country, city, etc.

12. Is the program oriented to 18-24 age group - Level of structure that will be provided

13. Explore Content Match - adventure vs. skill

14. Balance among programs - timing - length of programs-sequence and structure

How will this fit in when your friends are away at college or your need to work to save $ for programs?

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

1. Based on the research you have done - which programs feel right to you? Why?

2. Do the programs you have chosen build on each other? Which would you see yourself doing first?

3. What is it that you hope to learn from each program that will help you get more out of the program that follows it?

4. How will you measure success in a program or experience?

5. How do the programs individually and collectively help you work toward your goals?

Reading First

Reading First is the centerpiece of the Bush administration's landmark bill, " No Child Left Behind." This legislation provides more then one billion dollars each year to help schools ensure that every child can read skillfully by the third grade.

Inevitably there have been hundreds of reading programs to develop or to respond to this federal mandate by offering to help all students achieve at the highest level. These programs offer to provide maximum instruction not just to the advantaged children who come to school well fed and prepared to learn but everyone at all levels, whatever their intellectual level or learning style. They promote reading success in school saying every child can learn and every child can have a better future.

The names of the programs come with various names "Literacy Collaborative, Corrective Reading, Academy of Reading." The list goes with on with similar, nifty names all promising success and all having research based validity.

Whatever the program, parents should support the development of their children's reading skills by reading to their children, listening to their children read, and talking about what they have read. Students should be given ample opportunity to read in order to put their skills to use. Teachers should conference regularly with students about their readings, engage in in-depth discussions, introduce children to a variety of genres of reading. They should require reading in different subject area, provide guided reading sessions, and of course read to the children regularly.