You would be loaded with options if you are looking for someone to teach you gourmet cooking. You need to gain all the education that you desire from gourmet cooking also in instruction. You can learn gourmet cooking through workshops or from any of the culinary art professional schools easily without any hesitation.

If you are planning to teach gourmet cooking then you need to acquire fundamental understanding about the history, skills and techniques of gourmet cooking that are required in every process. You may also need to learn the best and effective way to communicate with the students. If you combine all these requirements, you would be able to understand the process in a better way.

Some of the gourmet cooking strategies that would assist you in teaching gourmet cooking are as follows:

1) Use of demonstrations is the best way to provide education to students in gourmet cooking classes. There are many students who can learn in a better way when they see, touch and smell the recipe along with lecture. More the senses involved, better are the chances that students can understand you easily and quickly. Such practical classes also help students to remember the lesson for a longer period.

2) You need to explain the reason behind every act. For example, you should provide reasons as of why are you using this technique when several alternatives are available. Provide difference between the effectiveness of techniques. This would help the students to understand its importance in true sense and help them remember the technique more easily.

3) You should ensure that there is a positive environment where students can be taught gourmet cooking. Once you are able to establish a positive environment in the class, learning would be an enjoyable experience for your students and you would not feel any task a chore that cannot be achieved. Your students would take it as a challenge and try to excel in that. Such attitude is itself a key to successful training and successful students.

You can join variety of classes or invest in workshops to learn skills that are required to teach gourmet cooking. Once you are delivered with right kind of training and educational foundation, you would be able to cook in a specific style of expertise. It is upto the student that he or she uses, loves it, pick it up or not. Still, teaching gourmet cooking properly would divert them towards the right way to prepare a recipe and learn good cooking skills. Therefore, it is important for an instructor to learn all these fundamentals of teaching gourmet cooking before starting his or her teaching career.

About this Author

Abhishek is really passionate about Cooking and he has got some great Cooking Secrets. up his sleeves! Download his FREE 88 Pages Ebook, “Cooking Mastery!” from his website http://www.Cooking-Guru.com/770/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

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“Reading competence is foundational, not only for school- based learning, but also for children’s behavioural and psychosocial wellbeing, further education and training, occupational success, productive and fulfilling participation in social and economic activity, as well as for the nation’s social and economic future.”

AU National Inquiry into the Teaching of Reading 2005

When I first began specialising in child behaviour management over a decade ago I quickly recognised a correlation between poor literacy achievement and delinquency I was not surprised therefore, in recent year, to read of some US states actually predicting future prison populations based on year 3 and 4 reading scores. And yet when I have suggested to some Head Teachers that if they would like to see improved behaviour throughout the school that should look at how reading was being taught within Prep, Year 1 and 2 I have been looked at as if I were suggesting something really bizarre. Despite the lack of accurate estimates on the overlap between literacy under-achievement and crime, the associated links however are well documented (e.g., McNee, 2004; Mayhew, 2003). So teaching all children to read early on- using methods that work for all – is more important to society than many people seem to appreciate.

For the purposes of this article I will presume that the reader is interested in the initial stage of learning to read- however systematic phonics instruction is critical if children are to be taught to read well, whether or not they are beginning to learn to read, or experiencing reading difficulties.

Within our current education system we are often so focussed on ‘child based learning’ and on constructivism (an established theory of knowing and learning rather than a theory of teaching) and teachers often do not realise that there is a serious lack of supporting evidence for its effectiveness in teaching children to read. Unfortunately one ‘method’ of teaching reading- the ‘whole-language’ approach to teaching and learning – reflects this philosophy of learning, and has been the predominant approach for early literacy teaching and learning throughout English- speaking countries (Pearson, 2000; Westwood, 1999, 2004). This approach assumes that children are inherently active, self-regulating learners who construct knowledge for themselves, with teachers needing to give little or no explicit decoding instruction. While this may be ok for many children, the ones we focus on at Read Australia(TM) are those who struggle. This also includes children who are from disadvantaged backgrounds who often do not have rich phonological knowledge and phonemic awareness upon which to base new learning. Being taught using this ‘whole language’ method has the effect of compounding their disadvantage once they begin school. This is particularly the case for children from non-English speaking backgrounds, including Indigenous children where English may be their second or third language.

So why use it?

The sounds in our language existed long before the letters. The written symbols of our language were invented to represent the sounds we have been speaking for centuries. Teaching children these sounds is easy when they are speaking- as they know those sounds- they are using them in words pretty much all day (don’t we know it!) So we need to teach them how the sounds we use (when we speak) are represented on paper ie how to de-code the written word.

While in Australia I have been astounded by how often children are sent home during their first year with ’sight words’ and also with ‘readers’ that they cant possible de-code. If we teach children ‘whole words’ we aren’t teaching children that these words are based on the sounds in words- but rather, we are relying on memory.

Perhaps this puts in into perspective- a typical person can only retain around 2000 – 3000 words- enough to perform at year 1 level. However by memorising children will soon start forgetting those words, and run out of ways to guess and memorise. It will become harder for them to distinguish ‘horse’ from ‘house’ etc because they are trying to remember the whole word and it’s becoming more difficult as more words are introduced and used. So instead we should do it the simple way and teach children the individual sounds that make up words- of which there are just 134. If they are going to be given ’sight’ words to learn we’d rather it be the handful of words that can’t be de-coded eg yacht’. There are 55 words in the English language that they won’t be able to de-code. The other 19,950 that we use daily are predictable and decodable however! – if the ‘code’ is understood. So it’s important we teach children that way round.

To put this into practice we need teachers to understand why this method is most effective for the highest number of children. There needs to be a focus on explicit teaching of the structure and function of written and oral language in ways that allow children, regardless of their backgrounds, to reflect on and consciously manipulate the language. This involves an awareness of phonemes, syllables and morphology- and this requires a high degree of teacher-centred presentation of learning material, with an emphasis on explicit instruction, scheduled practice and feedback (e.g., Center, 2005; Westwood, 2003, 2004). This method asks more of our teachers- and provides children with a greater chance of success.

A great learning environment for young children is one where the focus in on the sounds of letters and not their names. So the words they see around the classroom as whole words will be written using bold and non bold type face. The parts of words that are in bold are where the sounds in the words we are speaking are represented by two or more sounds (that change when put together) eg this – the th is in bold as the ‘t’ and ‘h’ together are how we represent the ‘th’ sound. ‘i’ and ’s’ are separate. So teachers will tell the children that the word this is written using 3 sounds th + i + s

When the children have learned even 6 sounds they can start to read and spell words! Initial ‘readers’ would be books that have text that doesn’t have many words that have bolded text- eg ‘a fat rat ran past’ (which as you will see is a sentence created using just 7 sounds). All words other than ‘the’ should be de-coded in these early ‘readers- so the children are actually reading the text. Early readers find this way of viewing text much easier- it makes sense to them! -so these fantastic teachers would create their own resources or order them from our online resources page. Ideally resources created are also personal to the children- making them more meaningful- starting from a selection of 6 sounds and working on the concepts required so that they can start to crack the ‘written code’.

When confident with the basic level children would be given a mixture of books as ‘readers’- because their success rate (de-coding, not guessing) will still be good. Initially however children in these ‘ideal classrooms’ would only be given ‘readers’ that they can de-code. They should of course share ‘real’ books – or books that have not been developed using phonics- with older children, parents etc- however to learn to actually read children would be taught the skills to do so- and part of that is actually understanding why we write words as we do, and why we spell them as we do.

If we look at the AU Inquiry into the Teaching of Literacy 2005 (or Rose Report, UK etc) we see that recommendations support this. Parents can use the summaries to get the idea of what teachers should be doing. ‘Read Australia(TM)’ was created to empower parents so that they can be more effectively and proactively involved in their children’s literacy development. Governments have been researching this topic because children were (and still are) failing- and teachers needed clearer direction. Teachers can no longer get away with using their own preferred method – or systems they’ve been using for years because research and clinical studies show us these aren’t meeting the needs of our children. Some teachers of course ARE providing opportunities for children – and ensuring that all children are being taught explicitly- however many still aren’t- and children shouldn’t suffer because of this. If children in the early years see letters and say the name instead of the sound- eg pronouncing ‘a’ as ‘ay’ instead of ‘a’- as in the sound we hear when we say ‘cat’ parents should be worried. Why? We don’t say see-aye-tee when we say cat! They need to know the sounds of the alphabet- not their names- as their names are meaningless with regards to spelling and reading the English language.

Good readers start by learning the code (they had teachers or parents that taught it to them) so that when they come across words they have never seen before they actually break them down. Some pick it up quickly even if not being taught well- however there are many others that don’t- especially boys. They need to be carefully monitored! If children are great at spelling words- not just from memory- its because they understand how words are broken down and also understand how the sounds we use to speak- to form words- are created. For example they will give you all the versions when asked to spell the word ‘brown’. They wont just give the ‘correct’ spelling- they will also tell you that it could have been written ‘broun’ if we were to put the other ‘ow’ sounds within the word- or if asked to write ’same’ they would give ’saym, sayme, saim, saime,’ etc – or ‘fur’ would also be written ‘fir or fer’. We do lots of work with children using ‘real’ and also nonsense words as we want to know they really do ‘get’ the code.

The written word relates to our spoken word- so children must become aware of the sounds in words – as they hear them. Many children we assess for example will have difficulty hearing that there are 4 sounds in ‘frog’-or knowing what the word would be if we said ‘frog’ without the ‘r’. They haven’t practised listening to the words we are speaking- and knowing how to written them down, with the individual sounds in the correct order.

Something many teachers do unfortunately- not realising this makes it really difficult for children who aren’t picking this up quickly- is that they put two sounds together that should stay separate. So children put for example ‘fr’ instead of ‘f’ and ‘r’. We need to keep it simple – if the two sounds change when put together then that’s fine – if not keep them separate. So ’shop’ has 3 sounds – sh o p – but frog has 4 sounds ie f + r +o + g

Children should be tested when they start school- and this should be on-going, to assess individual progress. Objective, standardised diagnostic tests that assess the essential alphabetic, decoding skills required for reading proficiency are available to teachers- however seem not to be fully utilised. In order to meet the needs of all children we need to use methods that meet the needs of all children from the beginning- not give them phonics instruction when they are failing at 7 or 8. We KNOW what to do- reports are readily available – and in addition to actually doing this we also need to pay much more attention to individual children- and in knowing how each child is developing in all aspects of reading and spelling, from their first day at Prep!

So please join us and ensure all children are able to read and spell quickly- we owe them this as parents, carers and educators.

About this Author

Emma Hartnell-Baker BEd Hons. MA Special Educational Needs. Cert Life Coaching

Online Resources – http://www.readaustralia.com/teaching-children-to-read-and-spell.htm

http://www.The-Child-Listener.com ‘Learning to Listen and to Lead’

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India’s US$40b education market is experiencing a surge in investment. Capital, both local and international, and innovative legal structures are changing the face of this once-staid sector

The liberalization of India’s industrial policy in 1991 was the catalyst for a wave of investment in IT and infrastructure projects. Rapid economic growth followed, sparking a surge in demand for skilled and educated workers. This, combined with the failure of the public system to provide high quality education and the growing willingness of the burgeoning middle class to spend money on schooling, has transformed India’s education sector into an attractive and fast-emerging opportunity for foreign investment.

Despite being fraught with regulatory restrictions, private investors are flocking to play a part in the “education revolution”. A recent report by CLSA (Asia-Pacific Markets) estimated that the private education market is worth around US$40 billion. The K-12 segment alone, which includes students from kindergarten to the age of 17, is thought to be worth more than US$20 billion. The market for private colleges (engineering, medical, business, etc.) is valued at US$7 billion while tutoring accounts for a further US$5 billion.

Other areas such as test preparation, pre-schooling and vocational training are worth US$1-2 billion each. Textbooks and stationery, educational CD-ROMs, multimedia content, child skill enhancement, e-learning, teacher training and finishing schools for the IT and the BPO sectors are some of the other significant sectors for foreign investment in education.

Opportunity beckons

The Indian government allocated about US$8.6 billion to education for the current financial year. But considering the significant divide between the minority of students who graduate with a good education and the vast majority who struggle to receive basic elementary schooling, or are deprived of it altogether, private participation is seen as the only way of narrowing the gap. Indeed, it is estimated that the scope for private participation is almost five times the amount spent on education by the government.

CLSA estimates that the total size of India’s private education market could reach US$70 billion by 2012, with an 11% increase in the volume and penetration of education and training being offered.

The K-12 segment is the most attractive for private investors. Delhi Public School operates approximately 107 schools, DAV has around 667, Amity University runs several more and Educomp Solutions plans to open 150 K-12 institutions over the next four years. Coaching and tutoring K-12 students outside school is also big business with around 40% of urban children in grades 9-12 using external tuition facilities.

Opening the doors

Private initiatives in the education sector started in the mid-90s with public-private partnerships set up to provide information and communications technology (ICT) in schools. Under this scheme, various state governments outsourced the supply, installation and maintenance of IT hardware and software, as well as teacher training and IT education, in government or government-aided schools. The central government has been funding this initiative, which follows the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model, under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan and ICT Schools programmes. Private companies such as Educomp Solutions, Everonn Systems, and NIIT were among the first to enter the ICT market, which is expected to be worth around US$1 billion by 2012.

Recently, the central government invited private participation in over 1,000 of its industrial training institutes and offered academic and financial autonomy to private players. Companies such as Tata, Larsen & Toubro, Educomp and Wipro have shown keen interest in participating in this initiative.

Regulatory roadblocks

Education in India is regulated at both central and state government levels. As a result, regulations often differ from state to state. K-12 education is governed by the respective State School Education Act and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Rules and Regulations concerning affiliation and/or the rules of any other affiliating body. Under current regulations, only not-for-profit trusts and societies registered under Societies Registration Act, 1860, and companies registered under section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956, qualify to be affiliated with the CBSE and to operate private schools.

While the K-12 segment accounts for the lion’s share of India’s educational market, weaving through the complex regulatory roadmap to qualify for affiliation poses serious difficulties for investors. The CBSE requires privately-funded schools to be non-proprietary entities without any vested control held by an individual or members of a family. In addition, a school seeking affiliation is expected to have a managing committee controlled by a trust, which should approve budgets, tuition fees and annual charges. Any income accrued cannot be transferred to the trust or school management committee and voluntary donations for gaining school admission are not permitted.

Schools and higher education institutions set up by the trust are entitled to exemptions from income tax, subject to compliance with section 11 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. In order to qualify for tax exemptions, the trust needs to ensure that its predominant activity is to serve the charitable purpose of promoting education as opposed to the pursuit of profit.

Alternative paths

Alternative routes do exist for investors seeking to avoid the web of regulatory barriers that constrain their involvement. Sectors such as pre-schools, private coaching and tutoring, teacher training, the development and provision of multimedia content, educational software development, skill enhancement, IT training and e-learning are prime sectors in which investors can allocate their funds. These areas are attractive because while they relate closely to the profitable K-12 segment, they are largely unregulated. As such, they make attractive propositions for private investors interested in taking advantage of the burgeoning demand for quality education. Companies such as Educomp Solutions, Career Launcher, NIIT, Aptech, and Magic Software, are market leaders in these fields. Educomp recently acquired a large number of educational institutes and service providers across India. It has also formed joint ventures with leading higher education groups, including Raffles Education Singapore, for the establishment of higher education institutions and universities in India and China. Furthermore, it has entered into a multi-million dollar collaboration with Ansal Properties and Infrastructure to set up educational institutions and schools across the country and closed an US$8.5 million deal to acquire Eurokids International, a private provider of pre-school educational services in India. Gaja Capital India, an education-centric fund, has completed the funding of three education services companies in India. NIIT and Aptech, meanwhile, are engaged in the IT training business.

Core Projects and Technology is also focusing heavily on India and is likely to bid to takeover, upgrade and run public schools for specified periods on a public-private partnership basis.

Higher hurdles

While state governments are largely responsible for providing K-12 education in India, the central government is accountable for major policy decisions relating to higher education. It provides grants to the University Grants Commission (UGC) and establishes central universities in the country. The UGC coordinates, determines and maintains standards and the release of grants. Upon the UGC’s recommendation, the central government declares the status of an educational institution, which once authorized, is entitled to award degrees.

State governments are responsible for the establishment of state universities and colleges and has the power to approve the establishment of private universities through State Acts. All private universities are expected to conform to the UGC guidelines to ensure that certain minimum standards are maintained.

Amity University in Uttar Pradesh is one of the private universities to open its doors. It was approved by the Uttar Pradesh state legislature on 12 January 2005 under section 2(f) of the University Grants Commission Act.

Not-for-profit and anti-commercialization concepts dominate higher education fee structures. To prevent commercialization and profit-making, institutions are prohibited from claiming returns on investments. This, however, does not pose a hurdle for universities interested in mobilizing resources to replace and upgrade their assets and services. A fixation of fees is required in accordance with the guidelines prescribed by the UGC and other concerned statutory bodies. For this purpose, the UGC may request the relevant information from the private university concerned, as prescribed in the UGC (Returns of Information by Universities) Rules, 1979.

In line with the policy on Fee Fixation in Private Unaided Educational Institutions Imparting Higher and Technical Education, two types of fees are required: tuition fees and development fees. Tuition fees are intended to recover the actual cost of imparting education without becoming a source of profit for the owner of the institution. While earning returns on investment would not be permissible, development fees may provide an element of partial capital cost recovery to the management, serving as a resource for upkeep and replacement.

Legal precedents

In order to be awarded university status by the UGC, institutions must comply with the objectives set forth in the Model Constitution of the Memorandum of Association/Rules, and ensure that no portion of the income accrued is transferred as profit to previous or existing members of the institution. Payments to individuals or service providers in return for any service rendered to the institute are, however, not regulated.

In this context recent court judgments on private universities are relevant. The Supreme Court, in Unnikrishnan JP v State of Andhra Pradesh, introduced a scheme regulating the admission and levy of fees in private unaided educational institutions, particularly those offering professional education. The ruling was later notified in the fee policy.

Subsequently, in the case of Prof Yashpal and Anr v State of Chattisgarh and Ors in 2005, the Supreme Court assailed the Chattisgarh government’s legislation and amendments which had been abused by many private universities. It was contended that the state government, simply by issuing notifications in the Gazette, had been establishing universities in an indiscriminate and mechanical manner without taking into account the availability of any infrastructure, teaching facilities or financial resources. Further, it was found that the legislation (Chhattisgarh Niji Kshetra Vishwavidyalaya (Sthapana Aur Viniyaman) Adhiniyam, 2002) had been enacted in a manner which had completely abolished any kind of UGC control over private universities.

The Supreme Court concluded that parliament was responsible for ensuring the maintenance and uniformity of higher education institutions in order to uphold the UGC’s authority. Following the judgment, only those private universities that satisfied the UGC’s norms were able to continue operating in Chattisgarh.

Professional institutions

Professional and technical education in India is regulated by professional councils such as the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). Established under the AICTE Act, 1987, AICTE gives recognition to courses, promotes professional institutions, provides grants to undergraduate programmes, and ensures the coordinated and integrated development of technical education and the maintenance of standards. The AICTE has recently exerted pressure on unrecognized private technical and management institutes to seek its approval or face closure.

A single bench decision of the Delhi High Court in Chartered Financial Analysis Institute and Anr v AICTE illustrates the far-reaching implications this kind of pressure can have on all institutions operating independently of the AICTE. The court found that the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, a US-based organization, was engaged in imparting technical education and that its charter, though not described as a degree or diploma, was nevertheless descriptive of the candidate attaining an academic standard, entitling him to pursue further courses, and achieve better prospects of employment in the investment banking profession. The AICTE argued that the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute fell within the ambit of its regulation and was therefore obliged to submit to the jurisdiction of the regulatory body. The Delhi High Court upheld the AICTE’s view that the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute did qualify as an institution imparting technical education..

This judgment may have emboldened the AICTE to proceed against a number of other establishments that are on its list of unapproved institutions. It holds particular significance since despite not granting degrees and diplomas, the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute was still deemed by the court to be covered under the description of a “technical institute”.

Enthusiasm grows for foreign participation

While regulators such as the AICTE continue to exercise influence in the Indian education system, the sector is expected to witness a surge in foreign investment and perhaps a reduction in the number of regulatory roadblocks as a result of the central government’s enthusiasm for overseas investors. Foreign direct investment in higher education could help reduce government expenditure and there is a general consensus that education as a whole should be opened for domestic and foreign private participation.

The entry of foreign educational institutions into India will be covered by the new Foreign Education Providers (Regulation for Entry and Operation) Bill. The bill seeks to regulate the entry and operation of foreign education providers, as well as limit the commercialization of higher education. Foreign education providers would be given the status of “deemed universities” allowing them to grant admissions and award degrees, diplomas or certificates.

Operationally, the bill proposes to bring foreign education providers under the administrative umbrella of the UGC, which would eventually regulate the admissions process and fee structures. Since these foreign institutions will have to be incorporated under central or state laws, they will also be subject to the government’s policies of reservations. The bill is pending approval from the Indian Parliament but it is unclear if it will be taken by the present government for a vote prior to the general elections in 2009.

Innovative structures unlock profitability

The regulatory restraints on running profitable businesses in the K-12 and higher education sectors have driven Indian lawyers to devise innovative structures that enable private investors to earn returns on their investments. These typically involve the establishment of separate companies to provide a range of services (operations, technology, catering, security, transport, etc.) to the educational institution. The service companies enter into long term contracts with the trust operating the institution. Payments made by the trust to the service companies must be comparative and proportionate to the services rendered by such companies. Furthermore, in order to qualify for tax exemptions, the expenses paid by the trust to the service companies must not exceed what may reasonably be paid for such services under arm’s length relationships.

Despite the regulatory constraints, the Indian education sector is on a path of exponential growth. A growing number of private companies are undertaking creatively structured projects in the education business and the level of investor confidence is demonstrated by the recent spate of M&A activity that has taken place.

With more domestic players emerging, the education sector is likely to witness consolidation, but at the same time, increasing foreign participation will drive competition and raise standards. Liberalization will continue to intensify as the government struggles to remedy its poor public education system and provide quality institutions to educate India’s masses.

About this Author

Seema Jhingan and Dimpy Mohanty are partners at LexCounsel Law Offices. The firm is headquartered in Delhi and advises on areas including mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital, projects, telecommunications, software/information technology, education, media and entertainment, taxation, retail, licensing and franchising, insurance, general corporate and commercial work and international arbitration. Seema can be reached at sjhingan@lexcounsel.in

Areas of Practice:

Infrastructure, Telecommunications, Power, Mergers/Acquisition, Software/Information Technology, Business Process Outsourcing, Media & Entertainment, Private Equity and Venture Capital, General Corporate and Commercial, International Arbitration.

Professional Summary:

Seema Jhingan’s practice spans over fourteen years during which she has acquired substantial expertise in representing developers, sponsors/lenders, venture capital investors, international corporations, financial institutions, and other strategic investors involved in the establishment, development and financing of major infrastructure and IT projects in India.

Seema Jhingan is a Partner with a Delhi Based Law Firm LexCounsel, Law Offices and regularly contributes to journals and publications and often takes up speaking engagements.

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Have you asked a Marketing Agency to quote you for drawing up a Marketing Plan recently? If, like me, you own a small business, then it is hard to justify spending the £600 a day I was asked for here in Britain. I have to watch my bottom line like a hawk, especially in the difficult-trading-conditions we seem to be in. But here is a dilemma! A Marketing Plan is a really essential tool that will show a small business owner where their business is and map out where it needs to go. It is vital in today’s competitive environment that even small business should have one.

When you overdraft or financing facilities come up for renewal and your bank manager has to justify lending the bank’s money to your business, think how much easier it would be to convince him to continue backing you with a plan laid out in neat systematic form.

It is probably the case that far too many small companies don’t have a Marketing Plan, or the owner has it locked in his head. A place of storage that is really difficult to access when you need to show it to the potential investor or the bank manager. And inevitably this event usually occurs when you are really busy and committing your plan to paper, or computer file, is added pressure that you really could do with out. I run a small retail business – an independent bookshop and a Collectables gift business on the Internet.

Recently I studied for, and obtained, the UK’s Chartered Institute of Marketing’s “Professional Diploma in Marketing” by doing a convergent learning course on the net and in four intensive workshop days in my local town. It brought home to me that what we did in our own business was fine up to a point. As the course was very practical, with the chance to use any organisation of the student’s choice in the assignments that we had to submit, I ended up formally setting down the Marketing Plan on paper, that had been up there in my head for no one to see!

So what is a Marketing Plan for?

Well, its purpose is to lay down, direct and co-ordinate all your marketing activities and events. Think of it as a map. With a map it is easier to get some place. With a marketing plan it is easier to get the business to where you want it to head. This is, hopefully, to huge profits!

Perhaps you are the owner or director of a company seeking backing or further investment? Well a good marketing plan can be really important in attracting new investment or better bank facilities.

Perhaps you need help in making choices regarding which parts of the market to focus on and how to compete in that target market (Marketing Strategy)?

Often the mere process of preparing a marketing plan will help you to develop a successful marketing strategy through the discipline and process that you go through.

A good marketing plan will describe all the marketing actions to be carried out within a specific time period. It will contain details of your company, its products or services, its marketing objectives and strategies and information on how to measure the results of the marketing activities.

It might help if I give you a framework of basic elements that a Marketing Plan should include.

Basic Elements of a Marketing Plan

So what do you need?

1.Executive Summary – introduces and explains the major features and recommendations to executives (or your bank manager).

1.1 Introduction – a brief description of your organisation, its products and or services.

The context and objectives of the plan should be described and a description of what your business activities are. You should include current revenues, customers and your market position. You can also blow your own trumpet here! Note your accomplishments and successes to date.

If it is a new market entry or entirely new markets you are going for, then here is the place to describe any experience, training or competencies that your company has.

1.2 Vision, Mission Statement and Objectives

Mission statements focus on the long-range purpose of your marketing plan.

“To educate entertain and enlighten our clients so that they become more successful Marketers.”

Company objectives should be more specific and oriented towards action.

“We will deliver a balanced range of Marketing Solution Publications to the U.K. and Europe through mail order and Internet.”

1.3 Team description

Who will deliver the plan? What are the resources and structure of the team who will do so?

Management skills and capabilities. List any Marketing knowledge, sales skills, copy-writing ability, etc.

Agencies – Include any Marketing consultants, PR agencies you are using.

If there are any gaps honestly point them out and do a Training Needs Analysis.

1.4 Main marketing objectives

You need only give a brief statement of these here to close the Executive summary.

2.1 Current market conditions

What are the trends in your market?

What are the dynamics facing businesses such as yours?

Who are your target customers?

What competition do you face?

2.2 Market trends:

You should describe the macroeconomic trends that directly affect the target market that your marketing plan is aimed at.

This is where the PEST Framework is useful to include. (Sometimes referred to as PESTEL, SLEPT or PESTE) the components are:

Political

Economic

Social

Technological

Environment

Legal

2.3 Target market

It goes without saying that you should be aiming all your marketing efforts precisely at a target market or you are heading for a disaster.

All good marketing planning should follow from a very detailed segmentation of the market.

Size? Is it growing, staying the same, or shrinking?

Customer characteristics e.g. age, sex, income level, location, marital status, number of children etc.

Habits, patterns and values of target customer.

What are their wants, needs and desires?

What are their buying habits? – How do they spend their disposable income and when do they buy and how do they buy? How many times and when?

2.4 Competition analysis

In the micro environment analysis of a Marketing Audit you will hopefully have identified your present and potential competitors. What are their key products / services? How do they differentiate them selves? You should briefly explain the actions that you will take to oppose or overcome your competitor’s offerings.

I highly recommend you use Professor Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model for this and the four other threats he identifies. Space does not allow me to go into detail here although I have written a more comprehensive report in which I include a diagram of the Five Forces Model available from my own website.

2.5 Issues analysis

You should briefly list such key external issues as government legislation affecting your business, or new technological development that impinges on your product.

3.1 SWOT analysis

Strengths

Weakness

Opportunities

Threats

A major component of any marketing plan is the SWOT analysis. Strengths and weaknesses are born of internal elements while opportunities and threats come from outside.

When opportunities and threats are recognised they can then be examined from the point of view of your product strengths and weaknesses.

What could we change or improve about our product to make it easier for the customer?

What are our customers’ wants and desires? – We may possibly find new opportunities by thinking about such questions.

It is worth remembering that a threat can also be an opportunity to you, while a strength may also be a weakness depending on your point of view!

A business offering a vast selection of products may see this as one of their strengths. But for the customer, confused by the bewildering array of options as they try to find what they need, sees it as a weakness.

4. Positioning Strategy

Decide how you want your clients to perceive you in your marketplace.

Lowest price?

Best service?

Highest quality?

This is all part of the differentiation process.

5. Differentiation

You want to ’stand out from the crowd’ so you need to make some decisions on segmentation and the positioning of your business. Combine this with your competitive analysis and you should be able to differentiate yourself from the competition.

6. Key messages

Thinking about differentiation should also help you to decide on your ‘Key messages’. Be warned that it usually takes time for these to make an impact, to ’sink in’, as it were. This means it is important to keep repeating your consistent messages throughout any marketing campaigns.

7. The Marketing Mix

The 4 P’s.P is for:

Product – List your companies products and services. Include their key features. Is there something unique about them? If you are launching a new product or service include it here.

Price – There are many ways to set a price, some more scientific than others are! Remember that pricing is an integral part of the marketing strategy. Ask yourself is the customer willing to pay the price proposed and will it give you any profit? Some prices may be set on a cost-plus basis – adding a profit on to the costs of producing the goods or services. A better way is the ‘market-based’ price because it takes into account what your competitors are charging.

Place – where do you sell? Direct, through an intermediary? Bricks and mortar or virtual outlet?

Promotion – what activities are you going to use to create awareness of your product or service to generate sales? This is also referred to as Marketing Communications and includes direct selling, corporate events, brochures, web-sites, advertising. You should be warned that many inexperienced marketers think that the promotional plan is the entire marketing plan. It is, as you can see, but one component of the marketing plan.

7a. Integration of Promotional activity

Have you got a consistent look and feel to all your marketing mix? It is wise to make sure all your communications, brand positioning, propositions, messages, etc are derived from a single brand position so it is not confusing to the consumer by being fragmented. Also are there cross selling opportunities for you to exploit?

Only 4 Ps? – Funny, I thought I heard there were 7!

Before leaving the marketing mix I need to tell you about the Extended mix, which adds People, Process and Physical evidence to Product, Price, Place and Promotion.

If you are a service, or a not-for-profit organisation, then the extra three Ps are most important for you. But don’t just assume that because you are not, that they don’t apply!

People oriented organisations have to consider how their personnel make the marketing activities more, or less, effective when dealing face to face (or on the phone) with their public.

Process makes it easy for you to deal with the organisation. If it is a charity, for example, today people expect to be able to go on-line, set up direct-debits, pay by card and not just put money in the street collectors tin.

Physical evidence is expected to result from paying for a service or donating to a charity. You expect to see some physical evidence of the use your money has been put to.

8. Marketing Budget

You need a detailed budget for the next year showing the budgeted costs for each of your promotional items.

9. Measurement

Results and feed back must be gathered each month and compared with the marketing plan. When they are going astray you need to take corrective action.

Another tip is to ask your customers how they found you so that you can monitor what parts of your communications plan are working. Note this and include this in your measurements.

10. Milestones

It is a good idea to announce in the plan some marketing milestones you will strive to achieve. When you pass them celebrate!

So there it is a step by step process to create yourself a professional Marketing plan.

“A Marketing Plan to Copy” a more detaled report, is also available from the author, Nicholas Thorne, at http://www.promarketer.co.uk You see the marketing theory and models to use, plus a Free template and a copyright-free cut and paste plan. Nicholas Thorne holds a degree in Business Studies and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Marketing in the United Kingdom. He is a business man with interests in bricks-and-mortar retail as well as on the Internet.

Starting out in internet marketing is almost always overwhelming

to e-business newcomers, even if they are seasoned business

professionals or marketing experts. Internet marketing is truly

original and quite different from traditional marketing. The

complexity is compounded for those who do not have vast

experience operating or marketing a business. Whatever the

circumstances, many new internet entrepreneurs ponder the idea of

hiring an internet marketing expert to get their internet-based

business off the ground.

There are different types of internet marketing experts who

provide various levels of support and services. Hiring or

contracting to a full-service internet marketing expert can be

quite expensive, but using limited services of an internet

marketing expert can be both cost-effective and advantageous for

a new internet business. Another option to hiring an internet

marketing expert is to pursue training and educational

opportunities in internet marketing that will prepare you to

become an internet marketing expert yourself.

Some services offered internet marketing expert firms include:

1. Preparation of marketing plans

2. Internet marketing

consulting services

3. Management of specific internet marketing

campaigns

4. Full-service planning and management of the internet

marketing program

Having an internet marketing expert craft a marketing plan that

is specific to your business is a good way to gain an

introduction to internet marketing and to realize your internet

marketing potential. A marketing plan prepared by an internet

marketing expert should contain an analysis of your business and

your industry as well as identifying and evaluating your

competition and recommending a niche market for you to target.

The internet marketing expert should also outline internet

marketing strategies for you to use to reach your target market

and to drive targeted traffic to your website. Specifics of your

planned internet marketing campaign should be included in the

marketing plan along with milestones and an internet marketing

budget. Using an internet marketing expert in this capacity will

provide you with a clear internet marketing plan that will serve

as a guide for your internet marketing program.

Internet consulting services provided by an internet marketing

expert can be provided one-on-one, through classes or through

coaching. Generally, such consulting services accomplish the same

thing as a marketing plan prepared by an internet marketing

expert, but they are less formal and more intended to condition

you to prepare and administer your own marketing plan and

program. Working with an internet marketing expert on a

consulting basis is a great way to learn about internet marketing

and to prepare yourself to manage your own internet marketing

program.

Sometimes you may find it beneficial to hire or contract an

internet marketing expert to manage a specific area of your

internet marketing campaign that is time consuming. Search engine

optimization and pay-per-click management are examples of these

specific activities that may benefit from the use of an internet

marketing expert. Both require ongoing monitoring and adjustments

to be continually effective and cost-efficient. Linking campaigns

are also ongoing, time consuming tasks that you may want to

consider outsourcing to an internet marketing expert.

A full-service internet marketing expert generally provides a

wide-array of internet marketing services. Among them are the

marketing planning tasks of reviewing the industry, identifying

the competition, analyzing the market, pinpointing a target

market, developing a unique selling proposition, identifying

marketing methods, and planning the marketing budget. Once the

marketing plan is in place and approved by you, the full-service

internet marketing expert actually launches and manages your

internet marketing campaign.

Considering all of the levels of service that an internet

marketing expert can provide will help you to decide whether or

not to hire an internet marketing expert. The main advantages of

using the services of an internet marketing expert are access to

expertise and freeing up your time. The disadvantage, of course,

is the cost associated with the use of an internet marketing

expert. In making that crucial decision for your unique business,

a cost-benefit analysis can provide guidance to ensure that you

make the best decision for your business.

Copyright Christopher J. Enders. Are you at the end of your rope, fed up and confused by all the scrambled internet marketing advice you’re getting? Whether you are new to internet marketing, or a website owner who wants to make more money from your website, learn the proven strategies that will sky-rocket your internet business at http://BiznessTips.com

Fashion industry attracts many young people nowadays not only because it is a rather new profession, but also it is supposed to realize person’s likes in the field of fashion. Besides, it is quite a high-paid profession today. When a young person decides to connect his or her activity with the fashion industry nothing comes to mind except one its aspect – fashion design. Probably, few people actually know that it’s a separate field of fashion industry. In fact, there is a great number of other professions and specialties in fashion including designing clothing, fashion design, fashion marketing, fashion merchandising, etc. The latter doesn’t get worthy attention, but it is very important. Due to merchandising we have fashionable clothes in the shops and stores.

How can one know whether fashion merchandising is the field for him to start work at? Look through the following traits of a potential fashion merchandiser and if at least one point coincides with your way of life, you have all chances to make the career in the field. Do you like to spend your weekend walking through flea markets for the latest retro fashions? Or maybe your friends want to borrow your fashionable shoes and your defiant accessories? If so, maybe you should take a walk down the fashion runway. Being a student in merchandising, you will get an opportunity to learn more about fabrics and textiles. You are also going to study the cultures and subcultures that shape the way people dress.

No doubt, in order to become a professional merchandiser, a great desire and talent for this specialty is not enough. If a person wants to get into this career and have success in it one needs to get the right education and training at first. A fashion merchandising college will be of great help for you. Once you study at a fashion merchandising college you will get an opportunity to learn all the ins and outs of the fashion industry because there one can get a practical experience and build a strong foundation necessary for further working in this field.

A student has the right to choose whether to obtain a two-year Associate in Art degree or a four-year Bachelor of Science degree in the field of fashion. It depends on the kind of a fashion merchandising college you are going to visit. Besides, you are also welcome to unite this education with classes or even a major or minor in a related specialty, for instance, fashion design or fashion marketing. Students in a fashion merchandising college learn how to manufacture, buy, promote, and sell fashion items, beginning from clothing and jewelry to cosmetics and furniture. They also learn about textiles (fabrics and the fibers used to make them).

One should choose his or her future merchandising college very thoroughly. Depending upon the fashion merchandising college you are going to attend a sort of the necessary courses in your degree course will greatly vary. The most preferable courses include subjects like accounting principles, business law, salesmanship, fashion sketching, merchandising math, merchandising, publicity and promotions, fashion development, trend-spotting, and the history of fashion. You are certain to like those subjects, besides, they will give you the fundamental knowledge of the fashion industry.

Studying at a fashion merchandising college is not like studying at any other educational establishment. Many core courses in fashion merchandising are hands-on and involve a great amount of project work. Professors tend to rely more on their life experiences than on textbooks. If you are going to become a student expect to take a lot of field trips and listen to many guest speakers. You may visit a fashion magazine or large clothing company. You might even swing by a fashion show or two.

Having the profession of a fashion merchandiser is very interesting. It involves much communication with other people. When a person gets the job of a fashion merchandiser he or she is going to spend all days long visiting various fashion shows, buying clothing and designs, speaking with designers, overseeing advertising and marketing campaigns necessary for successful selling of your products, and managing the stores within your business network. You are also expected to find yourself negotiating business agreements with manufacturers and suppliers. Besides, you are going to arrange your own store displays. The scope of your activity depends on the size of the business you have as well as on the level of practical work expected of you.

Beginning the fashion merchandising career you should always improve your skills and knowledge of fashion tendencies in the world, and the most important thing you will have to do is to perfect your ability of picking out the next big thing in fashion before anyone else does. This will guarantee your success. This ability carries the foundation of your new knowledge of past fashions and trends. It includes everything you will obtain by attending a fashion merchandising college, but further you should develop this trend adding your own good taste in clothing.

Summing up, it would be necessary to say that the career of a fashion merchandiser cooperates with many different fields of the fashion industry. That’s why if you are searching for a more interesting kind of activity, something that’s more than just designing clothes or visiting fashion shows, fashion merchandising may be your piece of cake. But be very attentive while choosing an appropriate fashion merchandising college, try to use your wisdom in this uneasy task, because it may define your future profession and even you life. You should do your research before entering the fashion merchandising college, and beforehand check whether the school or program you are going to attend is properly accredited.

http://thekissups.com – fashion merchandising colleges

A retired teacher and principal with thirty-eight years of experience in public education, Renato C. Nicolai, Ed.D., taught 6th through 12th grade and was both an elementary and middle school principal. In education circles, he was known as Dr. Nicolai, which eventually was shortened to Dr. Nick, and has stuck ever since.

Tyler: Thank you for joining me today, Dr. Nick. Obviously, the state of public education in the United States is of great concern to many people. To begin, will you tell us what you think is wrong with the public education system?

Dr. Nick: Wow! What an opportunity! Yes, I would be pleased to tell you what I think is wrong with the public education system. My thoughts aren’t in any order of priority; I’m telling you about them as they come to mind.

What I think of first is what I wrote about as the main emphasis in my book. Teachers desperately need to improve the quality of their teaching, so, specifically, what’s wrong is that too many teachers are either incompetent or mediocre instructors at best. Yes, if you had the opportunity to stand by my side in the hundreds of classrooms I’ve visited in my career, you would be both amazed and horrified at how much poor quality teaching there is in our public schools. If parents only knew how much more their children could be learning with instruction from superb teachers compared to what they are most likely learning now from incompetent teachers, they would be flabbergasted. That’s how bad it really is. This indictment of teachers, however, is not a major problem at the elementary school, but is a serious and rampant problem for sure at the middle school, junior high school, and especially the high school level of education. Parents, you’ll want to read about the eight essential qualities most teachers don’t possess. I’ve listed and described them in the first chapter of my book.

Tenure is another critical problem. Once tenure is granted by a school district, an incompetent teacher is a teacher for life. It’s extremely difficult to dismiss a teacher who has tenure. What’s wrong with tenure is that it’s achievable so soon in a teacher’s career (after only three years in most cases), so final (once it’s granted it’s irrevocable), and so long lasting (the teacher keeps it for as long as he/she teaches). What happens is that some teachers work very hard during their first few years on the job, receive tenure, and then slack off in their performance because they know they can almost never lose their job. Instead of tenure, public education should promote a system of performance reviews that teachers are required to pass periodically in order to keep their teaching position for the next two or three years.

The way a teacher is evaluated is all wrong within the education system. It’s basically a sham and a joke. Collective bargaining contracts and union involvement in teacher evaluations has watered down the process of teacher evaluations to the degree that practically nothing worthwhile results from the process. In my book, I have a chapter titled “What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You,” and the concept of teacher evaluation is discussed in that chapter. If parents and the public at large knew how ineffective and unproductive teacher evaluations are, they would demand a more efficient system. The system as it exists in most school districts today is a tactful process of saying the right words, doing what’s anticipated, and not ruffling anyone’s feelings. What it should do is help teachers improve the quality of their teaching to the degree that they help students learn better, but it doesn’t do that at all.

The public education system is rooted in the false notion that all teachers are qualified educators who can be trusted to make good decisions, follow school district rules and regulations, work together in a spirit of collegiality, promote the welfare of students as a priority, and, generally, do what is just, moral, and professional. What’s wrong is that this description is simply not true; yet, school districts throughout the United States allow teachers the freedom to work unsupervised because they are assumed to be well-intentioned, professional persons who have the best interests of students at heart. Don’t misunderstand me, please. Of course, there are many conscientious teachers who do work well with each other and do have the best interests of students at heart, but I believe that there are many more who take advantage of academic freedom, collegiality, and lack of supervision to do whatever they want within the four walls of their classrooms. This is actually a very serious problem that is covered up by the educational hierarchy.

Another very serious wrong is the way in which school districts manage the use of substitute teachers. Substitute teachers are rarely observed to determine their competence, frequently assigned to subject areas they have no qualifications to teach, and regularly subjected to unbelievable disrespect and insolence from students. When a substitute teacher is present in a middle school, junior high school, or high school classroom, little or no learning takes place. That class is a waste of instructional time, the students’ time, and the substitute’s time as well. The three most common activities that take place when a substitute takes over a regular teacher’s class are the showing of videos or DVDs, the administration of tests, and the supervision of long, boring written or reading assignments left by the regular teacher. The lesson plans left by most regular teachers for substitute teachers to follow are generally a set of instructions on how to occupy the time students have in class. The entire substitute teacher system needs to be completely overhauled. Students must be taught to respect substitute teachers, to assist them with the lesson, and to be responsible for their own learning. Expectations that students will cooperate with substitute teachers, that regular teachers will conscientiously prepare quality lesson plans, that substitutes will teach, and that administrators will monitor substitutes are so miserably low, currently, that the education system simply accepts the status quo of chaos, lack of learning, and disgraceful substitute teacher academic and professional performance.

Tyler, the public education system in the United States is really in trouble. It’s inundated with problems; there are many things wrong with it. I could have written about lack of student discipline, emphasis on sports over academics, permissiveness throughout the culture of public schools, reticence about the problems that exist, and much more. I believe that it has deteriorated so much over the last fifty years, that mediocrity and incompetence are the status quo. Parents don’t even realize that the system is so bad. What they see and experience is what they think is how the system should be. They don’t understand how much better it could be and how their children could be receiving a more superior educational experience.

Tyler: Dr. Nick, will you tell us a little bit about your background in education-where you taught and the subjects you taught, as well as your experience as a middle school principal. What personal experiences have led to your current viewpoints?

Dr. Nick: My first full time position in public schools was as a 9th and 11th grade teacher of English at El Camino High School in South San Francisco, California (a city separate from San Francisco). After teaching two years, my assignment changed to teaching English half the school day and counseling the other half. In my third year as a teacher at this school, I was elected president of the local teachers’ union and the following year chairman of the School District Negotiating Council. In my fifth year, I was appointed Assistant Principal of Parkway Junior High School (7-9) in the same school district.

During the seven years I held this position as assistant principal, I enrolled in a doctoral program at the University of Southern California, and from 1969-1972 I achieved a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Administration and Secondary Curriculum. My dissertation, which researched the administrative behavior of superintendents of schools, was the first dissertation sponsored by the newly formed Association of California School Administrators (ACSA).

In 1974, I was selected Principal of Isaac Newton Graham Middle School (7-8) in Mountain View, California. You asked me to share my experience as a middle school principal, and I’m pleased to do so, but I want you to know that I could easily write another book about those experiences alone. So, I’ll try to give you an encapsulated answer. I think I could best describe my experiences as a middle school principal as a continuing five year roller coaster ride because I never knew when my feelings, emotions, and experiences would be up or down. On the up side, I was thrilled to see many students learn to their potential as a result of the excellent teaching of some superb teachers. After all, helping young people learn is what education is all about. I also observed some outstanding teachers whose skills and methods motivated students to excel beyond their own personal expectations. That was extremely exciting. As the leader of a neighborhood school, I grew personally as an educator because I had the opportunity to influence curriculum, work for the educational benefits of students, and associate often with community leaders in various agencies (fire department, police department, recreation department, mayor’s office, and so on). These experiences made me a better principal. On the down side, I learned quickly that many teachers should never have been allowed to enter a classroom to teach. They were not suited to interact with adolescents and teenagers; they didn’t have the skills needed to help young minds understand concepts and ideas; they failed to devote themselves to learning how to teach expertly; they didn’t know how to control and manage a class of thirty students. I also realized what some of the problems were that I had to deal with (incompetent teachers, low quality curriculum, collective bargaining contracts to name a few) but that I didn’t have the power to bring about effective change. That was frustrating to no end. Finally, the lowest possible experience for me was to meet so-called teachers who had literally given up; that is, they had decided to go through the motions of teaching only. They were no longer eager to teach, didn’t look forward to meeting their classes, and did as little as possible to meet their professional responsibilities. I left out so much that I feel my answer is inadequate. I can see the joy on the faces of students who won academic and sports awards, the enthusiasm of both staff and student body at our annual soft ball game, the annual parent club barbecue, and so much more.

I remained at Graham for five years and then moved on to an opportunity in southern California as the Administrative Director (Superintendent/Principal) of Chatsworth Hills Academy, a private school in Chatsworth, California. I preferred serving in public education, so I returned to Graham as a 7th grade core teacher, teaching English and social studies (world history). In October of my second year back from southern California, I was asked by three Santa Clara County superintendents to head up a “joint powers” school named The Institute of Computer Technology as an on-loan school administrator. Along with an on-loan administrator from IBM (Ken Butler), I helped this new educational enterprise get its feet off the ground. It was exciting work and I enjoyed hiring teachers, meeting technology experts at Apple and IBM, developing curriculum, outfitting a school with security systems, working with school superintendents, learning how to protect valuable hardware and software, and a lot more. After doing what I was hired to do, I returned to Graham, teaching English, social studies, and geography to 7th and 8th graders, including the 8th Grade Honors English program. I remained at Graham for the next twenty years and retired in 2001.

During my career, I’ve been a presenter at various conferences, in-service sessions, and conventions. My presentation topics were usually in the areas of teaching methods, literature-based instruction, discipline, and classroom management. I’ve also been a master teacher, chairman or member of numerous curriculum committees, and an adjunct professor in the teacher training program at National University.

My current viewpoints and attitudes toward public education developed throughout my career based upon my personal experiences as a teacher and principal, what I saw other educators do and heard them say, what I read, what I learned best helped young people reach their learning potential, what political reforms failed, and what I learned about how young minds gain knowledge. For instance, there was a time when I opposed vouchers; I’m adamantly in favor of them now. The more choices parents have in the education of their children, the better. I was a staunch supporter of tenure at the beginning of my career until I witnessed how many deficient teachers hide their incompetence under the protection of this law. Tenure should be abolished. I’m sure you get the idea. I hold the views, attitudes, and feelings that I do about education as a result of a life-long career in schools. You know, children aren’t the only ones who learn while at school.

Tyler: You mention that many teachers are not competent? What is the reason for this, and why does the school system allow them to remain in the classroom?

Dr. Nick: Why are many teachers incompetent? Here are some reasons to contemplate:

Because they don’t possess the personality needed to interact well with young people. If a person doesn’t like kids, doesn’t enjoy being with them all day long, doesn’t look forward to teaching them, doesn’t accept their immaturity and want to help them become more mature, can’t stand constantly answering questions, can’t accept individual differences (race, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc), can’t cope with special needs (hyperactivity, behavior problems, and so on), then that person will never be a competent teacher.

Because they don’t possess, exhibit, use, and treasure enthusiasm, and, so, they are truly boring to most of their students. Ask any kid at a middle school, junior high school, or high school in your community what they dislike the most about their teachers, and, I guarantee you the answer will overwhelmingly be that they are boring. And you know something, Tyler; the kids are right. Most teachers are insufferably boring in how they teach. Enthusiasm is a sine qua non for all competent teachers.

Because they don’t know how to get concepts and ideas across clearly to their students. They don’t possess the knowledge and skills needed to help students learn. They just don’t know what to do and end up quite often being frustrated and saying something like, “Oh, those kids just can’t learn this stuff.” That’s an expression equivalent to defeatism and incompetence. If the learning material is age appropriate and part of the accepted curriculum, of course a normal, healthy student can learn it. It isn’t the student who is at fault; it’s the teacher who doesn’t have the competence to design lessons, activities, and programs to help students learn. The reason for this is that many teachers tell students but don’t show and teach.

Because they can’t manage and control student behavior. Teachers daily face challenging disciplinary and behavior problems. If a teacher can’t effectively handle these problems, that teacher will never be a competent instructor-never! In this case, the incompetence is in not knowing what to do when a disciplinary or behavior problem presents itself because the teacher hasn’t thought out a personal Educational Philosophy for Control of Student Behavior. Every teacher needs to do this to harmonize his/her personality with methods of discipline. I explain this in detail in my book.

Because many teachers don’t manage classroom time efficiently. I devote an entire chapter to this topic: “Wasted Time – Inept Instruction (Euphemism: Teaching Mistakes). How can anyone consider a teacher competent when that teacher tries to teach over the noise of unruly students, doesn’t know how to quell effectively unnecessary noise at the change of a classroom activity, and allows students to talk whenever they want. This inability to control noise leads to as much as 25% of each class period being wasted. Many teachers can’t even control the time at the end of class when students get ready to leave and waste the ten or fifteen minutes left.

Because many teachers can’t effectively control group learning. One of the most effective ways for students to learn is to interact with each other, allowing students to help each other learn in groups. Sometimes, students have just the right words and explanations to help a fellow student understand a lesson. However, most teachers don’t control student groups effectively and so waste tremendous amounts of instructional time.

Because many teachers don’t have high enough academic and behavioral expectations and standards. In other words, many teachers don’t challenge their students enough academically and don’t expect them to learn to the level of their potential. Teachers must project an attitude of high expectations to motivate their charges adequately. Most teachers don’t even understand this concept and need to learn it themselves. Not putting it into effect in classrooms is indicative of ignorance and incompetence. In Chapter Three, I wrote a seven-page description of the most important strategies used by teachers who truly understand how to teach high academic and behavioral standards. Teachers, you’ve never seen anything come close to this practical list of how to teach standards.

Because some teachers don’t have a sufficient knowledge of the subjects they teach. They don’t! They are assigned to teach a subject they don’t know adequately or they don’t even like. Many teachers are teaching subjects and they don’t have either a major in that field or a valid certificate to teach it.

There are other reasons as well, but the few I mentioned are really significant ones, aren’t they? Now, what are the reasons for these incompetencies and why do school systems allow these incompetent teachers to remain in the classroom? Well, the first part of the question can be answered easily. Students learning how to teach are not being prepared adequately by schools of education. You know who should teach prospective teachers how to teach? Not education professors! No! Excellent, experienced, current and retired teachers who know what a classroom is all about and who have a love for kids and teaching in their hearts should teach candidates for teaching. Give me proven experts at teaching young people, a group of twenty teacher candidates for a year, and I know we could do a much better job of teaching them how to be good teachers than any school of education in the country.

Answering the second part of the question leaves me with a heavy heart. The reason is that most school districts don’t effectively monitor and evaluate the progress, competence, and teaching skills of new teachers. The procedures to do this are woefully inadequate and rarely result in new teachers being dismissed if they are incompetent. Teachers new to the profession learn more about teaching from their own personal experiences the first three years on the job and from other, experienced teachers than they do from any program presented by the school district they work for. School districts don’t really know if a new teacher is mediocre or, worse yet, incompetent so they grant tenure because they need a body in the classroom. There is a tremendous shortage of teachers throughout our country today. Once tenure is granted, it is virtually impossible to dismiss a teacher on the basis of incompetence.

(Due to space constraints a portion of this review was omitted — please see Reader Views website for the entire interview.)

Dr. Nick: Parents must be involved in their children’s education from preschool right through high school and, perhaps, even into college. The tendency is for parents to step back from involvement when their teenagers start high school. This is a serious mistake. Parental involvement is critical during high school because the high schooler is under tremendous pressure from peers mainly to experiment in many different areas: drugs, alcohol, sex, ideology, cults, etc. That involvement should take the form of proactive participation, diligent observation, and ardent questioning. I recommend that parents do the following to ensure that their children receive a quality education:

Parents must communicate regularly in person, over the phone, and via e-mail with the teacher throughout the school year about every aspect of their child’s learning by asking questions and seeking information about these and other important aspects of schooling:

homework

math skills

language arts skills (reading, spelling, grammar, writing)

testing

behavior

grades

listening skills

attitude

participation and cooperation

Parents must frequently monitor the progress of their child’s learning at home and act as the most important teacher in their child’s life.

Parents should observe their child’s teacher(s) to assess the teacher’s quality of instruction. My book is filled with tips for parents to do just that. It also contains lists of questions for parents to ask and what to look for in a classroom to determine if a classroom’s physical environment is organized as a valuable learning tool.

Parents should participate in the life of the school, if possible:

join the PTA or parent club and participate in its activities and governance

volunteer as an aide at school

offer to assist the teacher with paperwork

Parents must attend school functions: Back-to-School Night, Open House, music programs, special events, sports contests, fund raisers.

Parents must meet with the teacher at parent conferences and ask questions about their child’s educational progress.

Parents should introduce themselves to the principal and other persons in key positions at the school to know who they are and to make sure these school personnel know who the parents are.

Parents should communicate their ideas and opinions to their elected school board members, and, on occasion, attend a school board meeting.

Parents must be sure their child is equipped to do the best possible work at school by providing:

necessary school supplies

a nutritious and balanced diet

enough sleep and rest

a positive attitude toward school and teachers

a distraction-free place for homework

Tyler: Does the concern over public education have a place outside the school system? What about people who do not have children? Why should they care about things like millage elections, or want to pay more taxes, or support the school system?

Dr. Nick: Yes, concern over public education does have a place outside the school system. Most people who don’t have children, are retired and have no contact with children, or whose children are now adults pay taxes and generally want a school system that produces an educated person. These people are automatically invested in the public school system as a result of their taxpayer status and expect to receive good value for their tax money. I know I do because 62% of my annual property taxes (nearly $3,800) goes to public schools in the community where I live.

Tyler: Students often do not value the education they receive until years later. As a former college English professor, I taught many lazy students, and I was constantly in dismay that so many of them were even admitted to college when they could not write a complete sentence. I frequently wondered what they had done for thirteen years in the public schools? Do you think the college system is in any way responsible for the decline of public education in the elementary and high schools? Should entrance requirements into colleges be raised?

Dr. Nick: I don’t blame our college system in any way at all for the decline of public education in the elementary and high schools. State colleges and universities, community colleges, private and religious colleges and universities-all provide opportunities for students who are qualified to pursue them. It’s the responsibility of the elementary and secondary schools to prepare students to take advantage of those opportunities and meet those qualifications. I do think these colleges and universities should regularly evaluate their entrance requirements, as I’m sure they do, to ensure that they maintain high standards of academic expectations.

These colleges and universities have a responsibility to graduate well-educated and highly competent young people. Watering down the entrance requirements to fill classrooms would be a disgrace and morally reprehensible. Not all high school students should be expected to attend a four-year college, although that’s what many high school counselors and administrators tell them is possible. I do blame some schools of education, however, for the poorly prepared teachers they seem to turn out by the thousands each year. School of education reforms in recent years in teacher training programs, curriculum standards, course content, and subject matter proficiency have not produced quality teachers. If they had, our elementary and secondary school students would be exceptionally successful learners and you would not have asked this question. After all, teachers are supposed to help students learn to their capacity.

Tyler: Dr. Nick, how long do you think the public school system has been declining? Do you believe it has affected the American job force and economy?

Dr. Nick: The American public school system has been declining over the last fifty to sixty years. All you have to do is look at the statistics to see that the reforms attempted during the past half century have not resulted in significant changes in learning, test scores, and student achievement. In fact, in most curricular areas, there has been little or no change at all, and in math and English there has been decline.

Perhaps your readers would be interested in an excellent article published in the September 2007 edition of Harper’s magazine. It’s titled “Schoolhouse Crock (Fifty years of blaming America’s educational system for our stupidity) and presents an excellent analysis of educational reform over the past fifty years.

This decline continues to affect the American job force, businesses, and our national economy as well. Many businesses and corporations have instituted their own systems of internal education to train their work force properly to do the work expected of them because they can’t rely on the public schools.

Tyler: The ones who suffer the most in this situation are the children, yet as children, students are unlikely to know what they are not learning and how it will be detrimental for them. Furthermore, they may be too intimidated by teachers to complain when they are given more free time or fruitless assignments or actual lessons. What if anything, can students do to improve the quality of their own education?

Dr. Nick: At the elementary school, middle school, and junior high school levels of education, there is probably very little if anything the young people who attend these schools can do to improve the quality of their own education. They are too young, inexperienced, and immature. At the high school, however, some students are mature and serious enough about their own schooling to do something. I might add, though, that there are most likely very few who would actually challenge the powers that be (teachers, principals, superintendents, boards of education) for a variety of reasons. The two most significant ones, in my opinion, would be peer pressure and fear of retribution or retaliation on the part of teachers or administrators. Nonetheless, here are some actions mature, serious, intelligent, concerned high school students could do:

Go to your principal and complain about the poor quality teaching you’re experiencing. Nothing will happen the first time, so go a second and third time. Bring other concerned students with you.

Be polite but assertive, telling your principal that you have a right to quality instruction but aren’t receiving it. Clearly state your areas of complaint: too much classroom noise, inadequate instruction, lack of teacher interest, and so on.

Make an appointment with the superintendent to voice your concerns. Present a plan of how your grievances can be redressed. Bring other concerned students with you. Request permission to speak at a board meeting and present your complaints to these elected officials.

Phone and/or e-mail board members.

Form a committee of concerned students who weekly report to the principal about what is going on in your classrooms that should be improved or changed in the best interest of your education.

Tyler: Thank you for joining me today, Dr. Nick. Before we go, will you tell us a little bit about your website and what additional information can be found there about “The Nightmare That is Public Education”?

Dr. Nick: My website, http://www.drnickweb.com, is currently being updated. However, there is information about my book that your readers will enjoy, I’m sure, but I’m working on including much more.

Tyler: Thank you, Dr. Nick. I hope you have many parents and educators visiting your website and reading “The Nightmare That is Public Education.”

Today, Tyler R. Tichelaar of Reader Views is honored to speak with Renato C. Nicolai (Dr. Nick) about his new book “The Nightmare That is Public Education: An Expose of What Really Happens in Public Schools.”

http://www.readerviews.com/

More and more young people are choosing non-traditional education to start and advance in their careers while completing and furthering their formal education. “Typical distance learners are those who don’t have access to programs, employees who work during scheduled class hours, homebound individuals, self-motivated individuals who want to take courses for self-knowledge or advancement, or those who are unable or unwilling to attend class” (Charp, 2000, p. 10). Three key elements surround the online learner: technology, curriculum, and instructor (Bedore, Bedore, & Bedore, 1997). These elements must be keenly integrated into one smoothly and operationally functional delivery tool.

While an online method of education can be a highly effective alternative medium of education for the mature, self-disciplined student, it is an inappropriate learning environment for more dependent learners. Online asynchronous education gives students control over their learning experience, and allows for flexibility of study schedules for non traditional students; however, this places a greater responsibility on the student. In order to successfully participate in an online program, student must be well organized, self-motivated, and possess a high degree of time management skills in order to keep up with the pace of the course. For these reasons, online education or e-learning is not appropriate for younger students (i.e. elementary or secondary school age), and other students who are dependent learners and have difficulty

assuming responsibilities required by the online paradigm.

Millions of students use e-learning solutions in over 140 countries: corporations such as Kodak and Toyota and education providers like ExecuTrain, New Horizons, the Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS), Phoenix University amongst the hundreds of schools and colleges.

Studies have shown student retention to be up to 250% better with online learning than with classroom courses. Several recent ones have helped frame the debate. The Sloan Consortium published a widely distributed report titled “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005″ that examined the growing prevalence of online education across U.S. institutions.

In addition, a study conducted by the Boston-based consulting firm Eduventures found that, while about half of institutions and more than 60 percent of employers generally accept the high quality of online learning, students’ perceptions differ. Only about 33 percent of prospective online students said that they perceive the quality of online education to be “as good as or better than” face-to-face education. Ironically, 36 percent of prospective students surveyed cited concern about employers’ acceptance of online education as a reason for their reluctance to enroll in online courses.

But what actually drives quality? A March 2006 report released by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education identifies six quality indicators: mission, curriculum and instruction, faculty support, student and academic services, planning for sustainability and growth, and evaluation and assessment.

The debate rages on while the Pros and Cons of Online Adult Education for today’s international students are constantly analyzed to determine if this type of education platform can deliver predictable and measurable results.

The Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS) is one institution which uses this type of delivery system. ENOCIS enhances their learning experience by offering many other “value added”, cost reducing benefits to students. Online pupils can apply for scholarships available to students of excellence and other financial aid programs like the Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS), with attractive interest rates. They also provide convenient payment facilities, on line banking, Western Union Quick Collect, bank cards and a student who is granted a loan can start repaying it after two months if they have a corporate guarantor.

Pros of Online Education:

The key advantages of the online education experience are briefly explained below:

1. Cheaper: Online courses may be more affordable than those offered at colleges or trade schools. You may also save on transportation costs like gas, bus passes, and parking permits because you don’t need to commute to school and there are no housing or meals plans to worry about since you do not need to live on or near a college campus. Housing expenses and other costs associated with living expenses are usually the most expensive aspects of a college education, so by taking an online course you could save quite a bit of money.

The best part of online education is the absence of travel and immigration problems. Some students may prefer not to pursue traditional on campus education, as it involves traveling to attend lectures. With online education, an applicant does not need to travel. Courses simply require accessing the internet in order to begin the learning process.

2. More Convenient: By taking courses online, you’re able to decide when you study and for how long. You are also able to schedule your studying around your work or social schedule.

Since you’re not bound to a classroom, you may do your work wherever you have access to a computer and the internet. You’ll be able to set your own pace and decide exactly how fast you want to go over the material.

Take online courses when you need them, not based on some college’s annual or semester schedule. You can learn when you need it (Just-In-Time) A course is as close as a computer with an Internet connection.

3. Flexibility: with no set class times, you decide when to complete your assignments and readings. You set the pace. In some programs, you can even design your own degree plan. The online students can carry out their private or official work, along with the online education. As it provides the convenience of time flexibility, a student can login and logout as per his desire whereas, the traditional education do not provide such flexibility in learning.

Flexibility of online education allows the student control over their studies. They can allot more time in the topics, which they feel comparatively hard and vice versa. The speed of learning depends solely upon the students.

4. Technology: With the help of the scientific technology, students can do their online education at any place. The only mandatory pre-requisite is the availability of computer along with an internet amenity. Side benefits include the learning new technologies and technical skills

5. Availability: distance-learning opportunities have exploded over the past few years, with many accredited and reputable programs.

6. Accessibility: with an online course, you can work on the course just about anywhere you have computer access. Your learning options are not constrained by your geographic location. The new virtual classrooms have created a myriad of learning opportunities for global learning and education center. On line education is a new era experience adapting to the needs of the world citizen.

7. Self-Directed: you set your own pace and schedule, so you control the learning environment.

8. Time Spent in Classroom: now you can take a course on just about any subject without ever having to be in, or travel to, a classroom so you have very little wasted time. Note, however, that some distance-education programs still do have an in-class component and normally to receive a fully accredited US university degree an international student must spend one or two semesters on campus.

9. High Quality Dialog: Within an online asynchronous discussion structure, the learner is able to carefully reflect on each comment from others before responding or moving on to the next item. This structure allows students time to articulate responses with much more depth and forethought than in a traditional face-to-face discussion situation where the participant must analyze the comment of another on the spot and formulate a response or otherwise loose the chance to contribute to the discussion.

10. Student Centered: Within an online discussion, the individual student responds to the course material (lectures and course books, for example) and to comments from other students. Students usually respond to those topics within the broader conversation that most clearly speak to their individual concerns and situations resulting in several smaller conversations taking place simultaneously within the group. While students are expected to read all of their classmates’ contributions, they will become actively engaged only in those parts of the dialog most relevant to their needs. In this way, students take control of their own learning experience and tailor the class discussions to meet their own specific needs. Ideally, students make their own individual contributions to the course while at the same time take away a unique mix of information directly relevant to their needs.

11. Level Playing Field: In the online environment learners retain a considerable level of anonymity. Discriminating factors such as age, dress, physical appearance, disabilities, race and gender are largely absent. Instead, the focus of attention is clearly on the content of the discussion and the individual’s ability to respond and contribute thoughtfully and intelligently to the material at hand.

On line adult education can be more effective and better for certain types of learners (shy, introverted, reflective, language challenged, those that need more time). Distance education courses are often better for people who learn through visual cues and experiential exercises.

12. Synergy: The online format allows for a high level of dynamic interaction between the instructor and students and among the students themselves. Resources and ideas are shared, and continuous synergy will be generated through the learning process as each individual contributes to the course discussions and comments on the work of others. The synergy that exists in the student-centred virtual classroom is one of the unique and vital traits that the online learning format posses..

13. Access to Resources: It is easy to include distinguished guest experts or students from other institutions in an online class as well as allow students to access resources and information anywhere in the world. An instructor can compile a resource section online with links to scholarly articles, institutions, and other materials relevant to the course topic for students to access for research, extension, or in depth analysis of course content material in the global classroom.

14. Creative Teaching: The literature of adult education supports the use of interactive learning environments as contributing to self-direction and critical thinking. Some educators have made great strides in applying these concepts to their on ground teaching. However, many classes still exist which are based on boring lectures and rote memorization of material. The nature of the semi-autonomous and self-directed world of the virtual classroom makes innovative and creative approaches to instruction even more important. In the online environment, the facilitator and student collaborate to create a dynamic learning experience. The occasion of a shift in technology creates the hope that those who move into the new technology will also leave behind bad habits as they adopt this new paradigm of teaching. As educators redesign their course materials to fit the online format, they must reflect on their course objectives and teaching style and find that many of the qualities that make a successful online facilitator are also tremendously effective in the traditional classroom as well.

Cons of Online Education:

Briefly explained are some factors that could negatively affect your success with distance learning courses:

1. The Technology:

a. Equity and Accessibility to Technology: Before any online program can hope to succeed, it must have students who are able to access the online learning environment. Lack of access, whether it be for economical or logistics reasons, will exclude otherwise eligible students from the course. This is a significant issue in rural and lower socioeconomic neighborhoods and educating the underserved peoples of the world. Furthermore, speaking from an administrative point of view, if students cannot afford the technology the institution employs, they are lost as customers. As far as Internet accessibility is concerned, it is not universal, and in some areas of the United States and other countries, Internet access poses a significant cost to the user. Some users pay a fixed monthly rate for their Internet connection, while others are charged for the time they spend online. If the participants’ time online is limited by the amount of Internet access they can afford, then instruction and participation in the online program will not be equitable for all students in the course. This is a limitation of online programs that rely on Internet access. Equity of access to learners of all backgrounds and parts of society

b. Requires New Skills/Technologies: if you’re not computer-savvy or are afraid of change or new technologies, then online education will probably not work for you. The online students are required to learn new skills, such as researching and reviewing the internet. For the online students, they need to learn the techniques of navigation on an online library for necessary information. Technical training and support of learners and instructors

c. Computer Literacy: Both students and facilitators must possess a minimum level of computer knowledge in order to function successfully in an online environment. For example, they must be able to use a variety of search engines and be comfortable navigating on the World Wide Web, as well as be familiar with Newsgroups, FTP procedures and email. If they do not possess these technology tools, they will not succeed in an online program; a student or faculty member who cannot function on the system will drag the entire program down.

d. Limitations of Technology: User friendly and reliable technology is critical to a successful online program. However, even the most sophisticated technology is not 100% reliable. Unfortunately, it is not a question of if the equipment used in an online program will fail, but when. When everything is running smoothly, technology is intended to be low profile and is used as a tool in the learning process. However, breakdowns can occur at any point along the system, for example, the server which hosts the program could crash and cut all participants off from the class; a participant may access the class through a networked computer which could go down; individual PCs can have numerous problems which could limit students’ access; finally, the Internet connection could fail, or the institution hosting the connection could become bogged down with users and either slow down, or fail all together. In situations like these, the technology is neither seamless nor reliable and it can detract from the learning experience.

2. The Institution: Many online education facilities are relatively new with many courses and hence, lack in modern instructors for instructing the new curriculum. Estimates show that there is still a need for an increase of more 50% of qualified instructors for online education.

b. The Administration and Faculty: Some environments are disruptive to the successful implementation of an online program. Administrators and/or faculty members who are uncomfortable with change and working with technology or feel that online programs cannot offer quality education often inhibit the process of implementation. These people represent a considerable weakness in an online program because they can hinder its success.

3. The Facilitator :Lack of Essential Online Qualities: Successful on-ground instruction does not always translate to successful online instruction. If facilitators are not properly trained in online delivery and methodologies, the success of the online program will be compromised. An instructor must be able to communicate well in writing and in the language in which the course is offered. An online program will be weakened if its facilitators are not adequately prepared to function in the virtual classroom.

4. Perceptions/Reputation: while slowly changing as more and more mainstream colleges and universities embrace distance learning, there still is a stigma attached to distance education to the student’s interaction in the online education. Some of the students believe that, there are few opportunities with regards to face-to-face interactions and feedbacks.

5. No Instructor Face Time: If your learning style is one where you like personalized attention from your teachers, then online education will probably not work for you.

6. Little Support: students are expected to find their own resources for completing assignments and exams, which is empowering for some, but daunting for others.

There is little support and limited guidelines provided in online education system. Online students are required to search as per their own imaginations for completing exams and assignments.

7. Lacking Social Interaction: while you often interact with classmates via email, chat rooms, or discussion groups, there are no parties or off line get-togethers.

If you enjoy meeting new people and learn better while you’re interacting with other people, you may want to reconsider online education.

8. No Campus Atmosphere: part of the traditional college experience, of course, is the beauty of the campus, the college spirit, but you have none of that with distance-education courses.

Since you’re not on campus or in classes, you may lack opportunities to meet other students. You will not have many opportunities to interact face-to-face with your professors, so they may not have a real sense of who you are as a person.

9. Making Time: if you are a procrastinator or one of those people who always needs an extra push to complete work, you may have a hard time making time for your online classes. On line learning requires new skills and responsibilities from learners

10. Academic honesty of online students: requires a new mindset to online assessment. Most education experts agree that rote memory testing is not the best measure of learning in any environment and new measurement and evaluation tools are evolving.

11. Types and effectiveness of assessments: The importance of outcomes in online learning cannot be over emphasized. Does the program have measurable results? Are students learning what you say they should be learning? Then there are institutional outputs: course completion rates, job placement rates (if that’s the goal of the institution), graduation rates, student success on third-party tests, and student satisfaction scores.

These factors, both the pros and cons, contribute greatly to making an informed decision about the direction of your career path and how you are going to accomplish your goals: on line, in the classroom or a combination of both.

Institutions and companies that use continuing education to meet their needs also face similar decisions. Institutions that deliver online education are confronted with a series of challenges, including the search for good faculty, use of technology, and provision of adequate student services.

The Sloan Consortium report “Growing by Degrees: Online Education in the United States in 2005″ found that 64 percent of chief academic officers and faculty believe that it takes more discipline for a student to succeed in an online course than it does in a face-to-face course.

More and more major business and industry is turning to on line continuing education as a viable and cost effective resource for training its personnel. Hilton Hotel has 380 hotels worldwide and is represented in 66 countries.

When you weigh the benefits and advantages of on line adult continuing education the cost of study and flexibility of scheduling tip the scales of programs like the Enoch Olinga College, Capella and Phoenix University’s distance learning program on line adult continuing education is becoming a world wide respected form of education.

However, as with any situation, there are both pros and cons with the concept of online education and the benefits of the virtual or global classroom. You may want to evaluate both before you decide on an online education program. By examining the advantages and disadvantages, you will be able to make a more informed decision. But, at the end of the day, online learning is independent learning. A lot of structure has been put into online programs, but it still comes down to a learner sitting in front of a computer by him or herself. The knowledge you receive or the benefits it will generate either in development of self esteem or increasing earning capacity will depend sole upon you the student.

David W Morris is an international development specialist with The Enoch Olinga College (ENOCIS) [http://www.enocis.org] and author of several publications on socio economic development. David is a regular contributor to online article sites on the topics of on line education, underserved peoples, scholarship and educational excellence, continuing education programs and on line TOEFL and language development. David W Morris is also a successful online adviser of ranking blog site http://www.enocis.blogspot.com

For far too long, college students have spent money that doesn’t have to be spent. Now, with the economy faltering and the cost of college at an all time high, more students are dropping out of college for financial reasons. Other students are leaving college with huge debts and a twinge of fear. That’s why wise students are aggressively looking for every possible way to cut their costs and increase their income.

Here are a few ideas for students and parents to consider.

Seek Out Grants, Scholarships And Financial Aid, Not Loans – Over the past thirty years, colleges have lulled parents and students into thinking that loans are financial aid. They are not. Loans have to be paid back. They place a large and immediate financial burden on graduates and often last for more than twenty years. True financial aid is money that doesn’t have to be paid back. Since it exists in many forms, students and parents should start looking for aid in the junior year of high school. This doesn’t mean that students won’t end up with some loans. However, if good students start early and work diligently, more true financial aid will flow their way.

Start Off At A Community College – Students can dramatically cut their costs by attending a well respected community college for the first two years of college. At the same time, if they seek financial aid, work at a part-time job while in college and also work summers, they can completely avoid taking out loans. In this way, students can get through the first two years nearly debt free. Caution: Identify the two colleges to which you are most likely to transfer. Then, make certain that you take only courses that will be accepted by those colleges. Also, keep your grades up. Transfer colleges won’t accept poor grades.

Start Off At A Lower Cost Four Year College – The same advice about Community Colleges will apply to lower cost, four year colleges. Choose wisely and you will benefit.

Attend A College That Offers An Accelerated Degree Program – Some colleges offer you the opportunity to complete your college degree in less that four years. If you have the temperament and work ethic, you can save time and money. However, only highly motivated and dedicated students are usually suitable for such a commitment.

Increase or Decrease The Credits You Take – At some colleges, students pay the same tuition whether they take 15 or 18 credits. If the student is both willing and capable, why not take 18 credits and get one course at no extra cost. By doing that, some students can cut out a full semester and graduate in three and a half years. For students who work full time and even for some part-timers, taking six or nine credits may be a way to get through college without college loans. This will greatly depend on your income.

Seek Out And Work For An Employer That Offers An Educational Assistance Program – A number of employers still offer educational assistance programs for their full-time employees. Investigate their requirements. Most require at least one year of service and pursuit of a degree that is job related. Many reimburse a percentage of your costs for tuition and books based on the grades you achieve.

Attend A Local College And Live At Home – At many colleges, room and board will represent around 20% of your costs, sometimes more. By attending a local college, you can nearly eliminate these costs. In some cases, the local college may also be less expensive. When you eat your meals at home and take a brown bag lunch, additional savings, however small, will result.

Sell Your Car and Ride A Bike – If you live at home, you can achieve a dramatic savings by eliminating your car during the college years. Yes, for many students, this is a psychological and emotional issue. However, a car can be a money pit (purchase price, maintenance, repairs, fuel and insurance). If you make the sacrifice and find other less expensive means of transportation, this action can pay off.

Take Some Online Courses – Many colleges now offer online courses. They eliminate your transportation needs and offer greater convenience. Furthermore, some of these courses can be taken as you have time because classes can be viewed at your convenience. This approach is expedient and a cost effective alternative for people with busy lives.

Cut Up Your Credit Cards – If you don’t have the cash to pay for something, don’t buy it now. Wait until you have the money. Too many young adults graduate from college not only with college loans, they also owe money on their credit cards. Some owe more than $5,000.

Evaluate Your Spending – Some students have difficulty understanding the difference between needs and wants. However, almost anyone can chart their monthly spending to see where their money is going. Armed with that information, many students can cut their spending by 10 – 20%.

Get A Part-Time Job – If you are attending college on a full-time basis, you should be able to find a part-time job that will cover some of your weekly expenses. When money is tight, a part-time job is more than an option.

A Campus-Wide Lawn Sale – With permission from the college, any student or student group can take the initiative and arrange for a campus-wide lawn sale/tag sale/street festival during the semester. Individual students and student groups will then have the opportunity to reserve lawn blanket space for the sale of their used Electronic Equipment, CD’s, DVD’s, Books, Clothing, and anything else that may be relevant. As appropriate, Entertainment and Food items may also be provided to attract buyers. For the most enterprising and businesslike students, this kind of campus event can result in a substantial amount of income.

When money is tight, there are only two prudent things that students can do. One is to reduce expenses; the other is to increase income. Since a college education is a requirement for many good jobs, serious students must face their financial challenges with a willingness to make the sacrifices that will get them through the tough times. It’s those sacrifices that will strengthen their resolve and lead to greater success.

Visit Bob’s web site: http://www.The4Realities.com . Bob Roth is the author of The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College -and- The College Student’s Guide To Landing A Great Job.

by Bob Roth The “College & Career Success” Coach

Bob Roth is the author of The College Student’s Guide To Landing A Great Job -and- The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College. He also write articles for more than 175 college career services offices and campus newspapers. Additionally, Bob has developed 15 self-scoring learning tool that help college students find success. http://www.The4Realities.com Bob Roth, a former campus recruiter, is the author of The College Student’s Guide To Landing A Great Job -and- The 4 Realities Of Success During and After College. Known as The “College & Career Success” Coach, Bob also writes articles for more than 200 College Career Services Offices, Campus Newspapers, Parent Associations and Employment Web Sites. Additionally, Bob has developed 20 Self-Scoring Learning Tools that help college students find success. He has been interviewed on numerous radio programs across the country and also by many newspapers, including The Wall Street Journal. Lastly, Bob has served as an Adjunct at Marist College, teaching a course in Career Development. The4Realities.com

It is a sad truth. No one wants to read your resume. Hiring managers would absolutely love it if they didn’t have to read another resume for the remainder of their careers. Why? Reading resumes is boring. Well, that statement needs to be qualified a bit. Most resumes are boring to read. Some resumes are amusing with their erroneous mistakes and unusually worded assertions.

Even though no one wants to read your resume – or anyone else’s – resumes do get read each and every day because that is the way people most often get jobs. Employers match their needs with the qualifications of a variety of job applicants via a resume.

It is a tedious process and it is ultimately flawed.

Even with the use of computer scanners and keyword recognition software, subjectivity eventually plays into the equation and one resume is discarded while another one is kept. We are human and by nature we make decisions based on our experience and knowledge. Sometimes those decisions result in bringing in awesome human talent to a company’s human resource base. Other times, the decision is based on flawed information, bias or lack of understanding about the position or the individual.

In addition, consider a perfectly qualified candidate who does not have the appropriate keywords or enough of the right keywords in his or her resume. That resume never makes it past the scanning process even though the individual could very well be the best person for the job.

The goal of computer software is to take the human aspect of scanning resumes and make it easier and less subjective. Unfortunately, it, too, is flawed as it cannot ensure the best candidates are actually chosen to be looked at more carefully. It merely selects individuals based on a set parameter of options – entered by humans – and searched for on resumes.

It still boils down to: No one wants to read your resume. Reading resumes is time consuming. It is tedious. While the resume software assists in selecting resumes to be read in depth, it still does not work as well as human eyes, human knowledge and human intuition. It still allows for resumes to squeak through simply because they are loaded with the right keywords, while other resumes which are not laden with such jargon or keyword-rich content are discarded regardless of the actual qualifications of the candidate.

The best any of us can do is to create outstanding resumes. Does that go completely against the title of this article? It sure seems to. No one wants to read your resume. In truth, though, it is BECAUSE no one wants to read your resume that you MUST make it as professional and perfectly crafted as possible.

How? Read everything you can on the subject of resume-writing. The links at the bottom of this article take you to a web site that is loaded with outstanding information about writing a professional resume and there is no charge for any of that information. Read as much as you can so that you have the best possible understanding of the kind of resume format suits your situation best, the errors to avoid and the various ways to add impact to your words.

Even though no one wants to read your resume, it will get read. It will get scanned. You have to make sure it works for you and not against you.

Carla Vaughan, Owner/Webmaster Professional-Resume-Example.com

Carla is the owner of Professional-Resume-Example.com, a web site devoted to assisting candidates in the job-search process. She holds a B.S. in Business from Southern Illinois University and has authored several books.

For more information about writing Professional Resumes, follow this link to: Resume Examples