Things to Consider Before Going Back to School For an Education.
Career growth is one of those things that can really frustrate people and is one of the biggest reasons why people want to return to college these days. This might be due to the fact that you are not earning as much as you’d like or not getting that promotion that you’ve always wanted.
Most importantly, you might be feeling as if your job does not satisfy you and leaves you frustrated and unhappy at the end of the day.
While you might have thought that the career that you now have was great when you were much younger, you might feel it’s time to move on to a better career by going back to school.
But there are certain questions that you must ask yourself before “taking the plunge”:
#1: Am I in the right career?
Most people consider the answer to this question to be one that is very similar to that of finding a soul mate. If you love your job, then you will never leave it for the rest of your life. On the other hand, if your current bores you to death, then it’s high time you considered going back to school for a degree that suits your interest.
#2: Why does your current career not fit you?
At another level altogether, in finding out why your current job does not suit you, might give you clues as to whether you should really pursue another career or not. There are several reasons as to why you might not be satisfied with your work such as issues with the work environment, colleagues, seniors or even the company culture. In this case, the problem might not lie with what you are doing but who you are working with, and so it might be wise to change jobs instead of careers altogether.
#3: Will I be able to manage to pay for college?
Despite the fact that there are several scholarships for single mother and the like, the truth is that college can be expensive. So before you make a commitment, you have to decide whether you can afford the payments that will help you complete a course. Remember: you have a family to take care of as well so it’s a good idea to think about it.
Read more at http://www.educationnewsarticles.org/three-things-to-consider-before-going-back-to-school-for-an-education/
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Home. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Technology Making an Impact Both at Home and at School
Technology Making an Impact Both at Home and at School.
Technology is playing an ever greater role in the lives in UK children, The Daily Telegraph reports. A survey of 2,000 homes by the toy company LeapFrog found that kids are spending an average of 58 minutes during the day using digital gadgets in their homes.
Seventy per cent of children regularly play with their parents’ laptop or computer; while 16 per cent of children aged 10 and under, own their own computer.
Nearly a fifth of parents claim their children know more about modern devices than they do and take to them more naturally.
Nearly half of those polled reported that they use technology as a means of bringing their families together. A futurologist Dr. Ian Pearson says that the penetration of new technologies like the iPad into the home, also leads to greater acceptance of its use by kids. Parents are responding to the same trends by being more welcoming of the emerging technology and more willing to bring it into their homes.
This acceptance comes at a time when digital devices are also making an impact in the classroom.
“Over the next 10 years it is likely that we will see learning on tablets in the classroom as commonplace, with Kindles often replacing books and learning gadgets being the materials of choice in the home. Video visors will even be commonly used for learning activities. However, traditional books will still have a place.”
The recent innovations in digital publishing, means that more schools, both in the UK and the US are now gradually introducing the tablets into the classroom. Schools in Fort Bend, Indiana, are now equipping most of their students with iPads as part of the iAchieve program. The iPads will be replacing traditional textbooks and, in addition to reducing bulk, will also provide interactive learning opportunities.
More and more school districts in the U.S. are even using technology to bring classrooms directly into the home, via the introduction or expansion of online-only schools. States like Louisiana and Iowa, for example, have recently announced plans to greatly increase the enrollment in their online schools in the coming years.
Read more at http://www.educationnews.org/technology/technology-making-an-impact-both-at-home-and-at-school/
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Technology is playing an ever greater role in the lives in UK children, The Daily Telegraph reports. A survey of 2,000 homes by the toy company LeapFrog found that kids are spending an average of 58 minutes during the day using digital gadgets in their homes.
Seventy per cent of children regularly play with their parents’ laptop or computer; while 16 per cent of children aged 10 and under, own their own computer.
Nearly a fifth of parents claim their children know more about modern devices than they do and take to them more naturally.
Nearly half of those polled reported that they use technology as a means of bringing their families together. A futurologist Dr. Ian Pearson says that the penetration of new technologies like the iPad into the home, also leads to greater acceptance of its use by kids. Parents are responding to the same trends by being more welcoming of the emerging technology and more willing to bring it into their homes.
This acceptance comes at a time when digital devices are also making an impact in the classroom.
“Over the next 10 years it is likely that we will see learning on tablets in the classroom as commonplace, with Kindles often replacing books and learning gadgets being the materials of choice in the home. Video visors will even be commonly used for learning activities. However, traditional books will still have a place.”
The recent innovations in digital publishing, means that more schools, both in the UK and the US are now gradually introducing the tablets into the classroom. Schools in Fort Bend, Indiana, are now equipping most of their students with iPads as part of the iAchieve program. The iPads will be replacing traditional textbooks and, in addition to reducing bulk, will also provide interactive learning opportunities.
More and more school districts in the U.S. are even using technology to bring classrooms directly into the home, via the introduction or expansion of online-only schools. States like Louisiana and Iowa, for example, have recently announced plans to greatly increase the enrollment in their online schools in the coming years.
Read more at http://www.educationnews.org/technology/technology-making-an-impact-both-at-home-and-at-school/
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Sunday, April 8, 2012
A Cambodian American Who Can Never Go Home
A Cambodian American who can never go home.
Immigrants taken to the US by their parents as young children grow up as Americans - but on paper they remain foreigners. This means they can be deported if they commit a crime, and condemned to a life of permanent exile.
Sam's first memory is riding a sledge in the snow on the way to primary school in New Hampshire.
His favourite film is Scarface and in breaks during our conversation, he raps Tupac lyrics. He loves skateboarding and going to the gym.
There are millions of American 20-somethings just like Sam but unlike them, Sam can never set foot in the US again.
Two-and-a-half years ago, Sam was deported from the US to Cambodia, a country he had never even visited before. A land of chaotic traffic, fermented fish and endemic corruption.
In the late 1970s and early 80s, in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime, the US granted asylum to thousands of Cambodians fleeing the anarchy in their home country.
They set up home in places like Lowell, Massachusetts, and Long Beach, California. They got jobs, went to school, learned the language and became, in all but name, Americans.
Given permanent resident status, many never thought of applying for citizenship but in March 2002, in the wake of 9/11, the US and Cambodia signed an agreement allowing any non-citizen refugees who had committed felonies to be deported back to Cambodia.
Since then several hundred have been returned. Today they are stranded and lost, a long way from home.
I first met Sam in Phnom Penh 2010, just a few months after he'd arrived in Cambodia. Since then we have met several times to talk about what has happened to him.
Born in a refugee camp in Thailand, he arrived in the US one month old, with his mother, brother and sister.
Sam is proud of his childhood. Thrust into a bewildering, new world, things were not easy but he still talks happily of how he and the few other Khmer kids stuck together. And even though they were smaller than the rest, they would look out for each other and hold their own in fights.
After high school, Sam did a range of jobs, mainly factory work. He had a stint in juvenile detention for refusing to help a police investigation and a couple of other short stays in prison, including one for stealing a car radio and speakers.
But by 2009 he was working, living with his girlfriend and caring for his young son. That was when the immigration authorities took him in.
His earlier robbery of the car stereo made him liable for deportation at any time. After several months in detention, he was forced on a plane to Cambodia.
Last week, as we sat in a cafe Sam told me about what it was like arriving in the country.
"First day I get off the flight, officials surround me like vultures, because they think I got money. I got no money? They were talking to me in Cambodian, but I couldn't' understand."
Rubbing his head intently, as though still unable to process his experience, he continued: "Then we get out and it is hot. Hot! And all I've got is the clothes on my back and 28 cents in an envelope. And I was like, 'What the hell am I going to do? What the hell am I going to do?'"
Fortunately for Sam, the organisation RISC, which helps new returnees, picked him up from immigration at the airport and gave him a bed for a few nights. But this support is unusual. Most Cambodians have not warmed to the returnees.
"People die every day to try and go to America and for you to come back here? They think you're some kind of terrible person," Sam says.
Being a returnee is not something that's easy to hide. Sam has spent a long time in the gym in the US, he's twice the size of most Cambodian men, he has tattoos and speaks the language with a strong American twang. Blending in is not a possibility.
At first he spent a lot of his time with fellow returnees. Now he says he doesn't want to - that it doesn't help him settle in.
Many, already suffering from drug dependencies and untreated mental illnesses, find themselves drawn back into crime. It is not uncommon for returnees to end up trapped in Cambodia's bewildering and brutal penal system.
Sam has tried to get work but in a country where the average monthly salary is considerably under $50 (£32) a month it's not easy to find a job to support himself. Whenever we talk he tells me he feels like he's in a "daze", a feeling that he can't shake, a sense of bemusement. Although he knows it to be true, he can't accept that America has shunned him so completely. That it won't forgive him. Ever.
In the two years since I first met him, things have got a little better. He has joined a church which seems to provide him with a sense of belonging, his Khmer language skills have improved and with the help of friends and family in the States he can afford to rent an apartment.
But when I ask him if he might ever feel at home in Cambodia, he is adamant: "NO! Never! Definitely. Never ever! No matter how long I'm here. The feeling of being home is when you're really home. I'll never have that feeling again."
Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17527030
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Immigrants taken to the US by their parents as young children grow up as Americans - but on paper they remain foreigners. This means they can be deported if they commit a crime, and condemned to a life of permanent exile.
Sam's first memory is riding a sledge in the snow on the way to primary school in New Hampshire.
His favourite film is Scarface and in breaks during our conversation, he raps Tupac lyrics. He loves skateboarding and going to the gym.
There are millions of American 20-somethings just like Sam but unlike them, Sam can never set foot in the US again.
Two-and-a-half years ago, Sam was deported from the US to Cambodia, a country he had never even visited before. A land of chaotic traffic, fermented fish and endemic corruption.
In the late 1970s and early 80s, in the aftermath of the Khmer Rouge regime, the US granted asylum to thousands of Cambodians fleeing the anarchy in their home country.
They set up home in places like Lowell, Massachusetts, and Long Beach, California. They got jobs, went to school, learned the language and became, in all but name, Americans.
Given permanent resident status, many never thought of applying for citizenship but in March 2002, in the wake of 9/11, the US and Cambodia signed an agreement allowing any non-citizen refugees who had committed felonies to be deported back to Cambodia.
Since then several hundred have been returned. Today they are stranded and lost, a long way from home.
I first met Sam in Phnom Penh 2010, just a few months after he'd arrived in Cambodia. Since then we have met several times to talk about what has happened to him.
Born in a refugee camp in Thailand, he arrived in the US one month old, with his mother, brother and sister.
Sam is proud of his childhood. Thrust into a bewildering, new world, things were not easy but he still talks happily of how he and the few other Khmer kids stuck together. And even though they were smaller than the rest, they would look out for each other and hold their own in fights.
After high school, Sam did a range of jobs, mainly factory work. He had a stint in juvenile detention for refusing to help a police investigation and a couple of other short stays in prison, including one for stealing a car radio and speakers.
But by 2009 he was working, living with his girlfriend and caring for his young son. That was when the immigration authorities took him in.
His earlier robbery of the car stereo made him liable for deportation at any time. After several months in detention, he was forced on a plane to Cambodia.
Last week, as we sat in a cafe Sam told me about what it was like arriving in the country.
"First day I get off the flight, officials surround me like vultures, because they think I got money. I got no money? They were talking to me in Cambodian, but I couldn't' understand."
Rubbing his head intently, as though still unable to process his experience, he continued: "Then we get out and it is hot. Hot! And all I've got is the clothes on my back and 28 cents in an envelope. And I was like, 'What the hell am I going to do? What the hell am I going to do?'"
Fortunately for Sam, the organisation RISC, which helps new returnees, picked him up from immigration at the airport and gave him a bed for a few nights. But this support is unusual. Most Cambodians have not warmed to the returnees.
"People die every day to try and go to America and for you to come back here? They think you're some kind of terrible person," Sam says.
Being a returnee is not something that's easy to hide. Sam has spent a long time in the gym in the US, he's twice the size of most Cambodian men, he has tattoos and speaks the language with a strong American twang. Blending in is not a possibility.
At first he spent a lot of his time with fellow returnees. Now he says he doesn't want to - that it doesn't help him settle in.
Many, already suffering from drug dependencies and untreated mental illnesses, find themselves drawn back into crime. It is not uncommon for returnees to end up trapped in Cambodia's bewildering and brutal penal system.
Sam has tried to get work but in a country where the average monthly salary is considerably under $50 (£32) a month it's not easy to find a job to support himself. Whenever we talk he tells me he feels like he's in a "daze", a feeling that he can't shake, a sense of bemusement. Although he knows it to be true, he can't accept that America has shunned him so completely. That it won't forgive him. Ever.
In the two years since I first met him, things have got a little better. He has joined a church which seems to provide him with a sense of belonging, his Khmer language skills have improved and with the help of friends and family in the States he can afford to rent an apartment.
But when I ask him if he might ever feel at home in Cambodia, he is adamant: "NO! Never! Definitely. Never ever! No matter how long I'm here. The feeling of being home is when you're really home. I'll never have that feeling again."
Read more at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17527030
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Monday, April 2, 2012
Blonde Haired Beijinger at Home Helping Others Cope
Blonde haired Beijinger at home helping others cope.
She may never be mistaken for a Chinese person but Teresa Lawler feels at home in Beijing.
Whether it is discussing alterations for a wedding dress in Xidan's wedding mall or editing an academic report in Chinese, the thing that separates Lawler from a local is not her language skills or accent but, her strawberry blond hair and pale features.
With her hair tied in a pony tail and wearing vintage clothing, Lawler retells how, back in 2001, a housemate suggested she try teaching English overseas.
She traveled to Qingdao for six months and promptly fell in love with China.
When she returned to study at Australian National University, she changed her degree in arts and law to one in Asian studies and law, a move she doesn't regret.
She then took every opportunity to revisit China, including going on a whirlwind one-week Young Australian diplomatic program around China, studying Mandarin for a year at Beijing Language and Culture University in Wudaokou and going for a holiday in 2008.
In Lawler's words she was simply "obsessed" with China.
More than nine years on from when she first explored China, the now fluent Mandarin speaker is pursuing a long-held dream, to use her second language to work in Beijing on issues that she is passionate about.
Lawler works for the grassroots non-profit organization Hua Dan, which aims to unleash potential through theater; using creativity to empower migrant women and children and those affected by the Sichuan earthquake.
The group runs participatory theater workshops, advanced role-play and sessions on improvisation, creative games and story telling.
"We feel that, through creativity, people can realize their potential and we can do a lot to help people," she said. "Anything that is creative or artistic has the ability to express things that words and plain speech can't. It's a way for people to explore their own lives without being confronted by them."
As the evaluations and monitoring officer at Hua Dan, Lawler's job is to work closely with her Chinese colleagues to build a systematic evaluations program.
"Staff at Hua Dan have an awesome drive and a unique concept to offer China, my job is to see how it works and to make improvements," she said.
In her role, Lawler has seen the impact the program has had on participants, particularly the children from Sichuan.
"The effects are amazing," she said. "There are changes in students' relationships with other students, their families and their ability to study."
At the moment, Hua Dan has offices in Sichuan and Beijing.
In the next five years, Lawler hopes Hua Dan can expand and have offices all over China working for the needs of the local community where they are, using their hearts and passion to bring about social transformation where it is needed.
Q & A
Q: What do you love about Beijing?
A: I love the community spirit and lack of self-consciousness. People sing loudly to themselves in the street and they just don't care, there is no self-consciousness, that's how I want to be.
Q: Where do you usually hang out in Beijing? How would it be different from back home?
A: On a Friday night, I like to relax with friends and enjoy a glass of wine listening to the jazz lounge music of DJ Little Dave [her fianc] at the Bookworm.
Q: Do you feel as though you are part of the city or more of an observer?
A: It depends where I am, if I am looking out of my window on the 10th floor at the activity in the hutong below, I feel like an observer. But when I am at the KTV with my Chinese colleagues, I definitely feel part of the city.
Q: Do you have many Chinese friends? How do they differ from your foreign friends?
A: My Chinese friends are different from my foreign friends in how we are interested in each others' cultures and we ask a lot of questions. With my Australian friends, it is more about having a piece of home with you.
Q: Do you have a Beijing shopping secret?
A: It's not a secret to the university students, but Wudaokou Clothing markets have the best Korean imports I've ever seen.
Read more at http://english.sina.com/cityguide/p/2010/0716/329607.html
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
She may never be mistaken for a Chinese person but Teresa Lawler feels at home in Beijing.
Whether it is discussing alterations for a wedding dress in Xidan's wedding mall or editing an academic report in Chinese, the thing that separates Lawler from a local is not her language skills or accent but, her strawberry blond hair and pale features.
With her hair tied in a pony tail and wearing vintage clothing, Lawler retells how, back in 2001, a housemate suggested she try teaching English overseas.
She traveled to Qingdao for six months and promptly fell in love with China.
When she returned to study at Australian National University, she changed her degree in arts and law to one in Asian studies and law, a move she doesn't regret.
She then took every opportunity to revisit China, including going on a whirlwind one-week Young Australian diplomatic program around China, studying Mandarin for a year at Beijing Language and Culture University in Wudaokou and going for a holiday in 2008.
In Lawler's words she was simply "obsessed" with China.
More than nine years on from when she first explored China, the now fluent Mandarin speaker is pursuing a long-held dream, to use her second language to work in Beijing on issues that she is passionate about.
Lawler works for the grassroots non-profit organization Hua Dan, which aims to unleash potential through theater; using creativity to empower migrant women and children and those affected by the Sichuan earthquake.
The group runs participatory theater workshops, advanced role-play and sessions on improvisation, creative games and story telling.
"We feel that, through creativity, people can realize their potential and we can do a lot to help people," she said. "Anything that is creative or artistic has the ability to express things that words and plain speech can't. It's a way for people to explore their own lives without being confronted by them."
As the evaluations and monitoring officer at Hua Dan, Lawler's job is to work closely with her Chinese colleagues to build a systematic evaluations program.
"Staff at Hua Dan have an awesome drive and a unique concept to offer China, my job is to see how it works and to make improvements," she said.
In her role, Lawler has seen the impact the program has had on participants, particularly the children from Sichuan.
"The effects are amazing," she said. "There are changes in students' relationships with other students, their families and their ability to study."
At the moment, Hua Dan has offices in Sichuan and Beijing.
In the next five years, Lawler hopes Hua Dan can expand and have offices all over China working for the needs of the local community where they are, using their hearts and passion to bring about social transformation where it is needed.
Q & A
Q: What do you love about Beijing?
A: I love the community spirit and lack of self-consciousness. People sing loudly to themselves in the street and they just don't care, there is no self-consciousness, that's how I want to be.
Q: Where do you usually hang out in Beijing? How would it be different from back home?
A: On a Friday night, I like to relax with friends and enjoy a glass of wine listening to the jazz lounge music of DJ Little Dave [her fianc] at the Bookworm.
Q: Do you feel as though you are part of the city or more of an observer?
A: It depends where I am, if I am looking out of my window on the 10th floor at the activity in the hutong below, I feel like an observer. But when I am at the KTV with my Chinese colleagues, I definitely feel part of the city.
Q: Do you have many Chinese friends? How do they differ from your foreign friends?
A: My Chinese friends are different from my foreign friends in how we are interested in each others' cultures and we ask a lot of questions. With my Australian friends, it is more about having a piece of home with you.
Q: Do you have a Beijing shopping secret?
A: It's not a secret to the university students, but Wudaokou Clothing markets have the best Korean imports I've ever seen.
Read more at http://english.sina.com/cityguide/p/2010/0716/329607.html
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
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