Education Growth » Classroom management

Parental Involvement In A Child’s Education

Professional Guru — Wed, 19 May 2010 18:45:48 +0000

It is not sufficient for parents to involve themselves in extra-curricular activities at their child’s school. Effective child management requires that they play a significant role in the education process, as well.There are sound parenting principles behind this statement. After all, the bulk of a child’s time is spent with the parents at home. This means that parents tend have a far greater say in child management, and also tend to be savvier about which approaches work and which don’t with their child. Moreover, they already have the child’s trust – something that teachers can earn only over a long term. While many teachers do manage to strike up a very good rapport with their pupils, the unique parent-child bond cannot be replicated by teachers in a school environment.Parents should leverage the advantages they have over teachers to bulwark their child’s academic performance. This will practically guarantee their child’s better grades and greater interest in the learning process. Parent communication is a powerful tool. The stronger levels of trust and attention that parents command over their children can also be used to assist teachers in child management and imparting education in school.It cannot be denied that, after the parents, teachers play the most prominent role in a child’s life. The parent and teacher entities loom foremost on a child’s mental and emotional horizon. When these two entities cooperate in the child’s education, presenting a unified and involved front, there is very little that cannot be achieved. Most of the problems parents face with teachers (and vice versa) today stem from the sad state of disconnect between them. Lack of parent communication with teachers allows the child to view these two entities as powerful separates, often prompting a desire to play one against the other. Better communication between teachers and parents can prevent this tendency and significantly improve the child’s performance at school.

Project Management Courses: So Many Options!

Professional Guru — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 05:25:26 +0000

Choosing the right project management courses, however, can become a bit daunting because there are just so many options! This article provides some guidance to help project managers take some first steps in running the gauntlet of options to find the ideal set of project management courses for their situation, and get the most out of them. Here are some steps a project manager can take to begin to identify the most beneficial project management courses for themselves: 1. Look at Current Challenges One way best ways to start is to first identify current challenges and problems. For example, Project Managers often experience special challenges with stakeholders on their projects, such as identifying, communicating, coordinating, and more. Another frequently cited challenge is gathering clear requirements for the project. Another popular topic is project communications, which can have many dimensions. Many project managers are new to management and would like to enhance their management skills. Frequently the best choice is simply to take project management training courses covering a broad project management framework or methodology and earn a project management certification to enhance personal credentials. 2. Consider Various Delivery Methods As a second step, it is helpful to consider the preferred method of delivery of the project management courses. In general, the most popular delivery methods include classroom training, audio training, and online project management training. Classroom training On the other hand, they are expensive, might involve travel, requires trading off work time, and needs to be scheduled. It also requires the individual’s presence and attention for all tupics, requiring presence for all topics.

Audio project management courses Audio project management courses can be very convenient for learning when driving or doing other things, but they usually lack the visual learning aspect. Some PDA-based audio programs, however, are beginning to add video, which is helpful, thus enhancing the ‘anytime, anywhere’ aspect of this method. In general, audio or PDA-based project management courses are a great supplement to other learning methods. Online project management courses Online project management courses include both instructor assisted training and pure, or individual, online training. With instructor assisted online project management courses, a live course, led and facilitated by an instructor, is taken at a scheduled time over the internet, and the student can usually interact with the students as well as the instructor, or even an assistant instructor, during the class. With pure, unassisted, online training, the course is self-contained and is available 24×7, and student can easily skip over topics of little interest and focus more on those of keen interest. Many online project management courses also have a mentor or online help available for on-demand assistance. 3. Topics for project management courses Lots of topics are appropriate for project management courses, and the key is to pick something of current interest and value. For example, training on a project management tool might include something like Microsoft Project training, someone in the information technology field might like to learn transitioning from more technical functions to project management, and yet someone else might like an IT project management course. There are many other topics, especially in the soft skills areas like leadership, management, and communication where just the right project management courses can be found to take project management skills to the next level. 4. Hit the Iron While It’s Hot! Once the choice is made, it is best to take the selected project management training courses as soon as possible! The need and desire will be at its peak, and the impact will be the highest. Waiting even a few weeks may be a big mistake, as the ability to make an impact on a fast-moving project may dwindle. Realizing the benefit from project management courses lies in applying the knowledge right away, and this also makes that knowledge one’s own for the long haul.

Finally, giving one’s full focus and attention and applying what was learned in the project management courses right away is a sure path to success!

Student Unrest And The Role Of A Teacher In Higher Education

Professional Guru — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 03:01:39 +0000

Higher education in India has witnessed tremendous expansion since independence. The rapid advances and diversification of communication media in recent times have not only increased access to education but have also contributed to improvement in the quality of education. Education is a continuous process of imparting knowledge, developing skills, inculcating values and promoting the overall personality development of human beings. Imparting quality education is greatly influenced by different factors viz. curriculum, faculty, and information source, teaching methods, examination systems, evaluation mechanism and infrastructure. Among all the components, faculty assumes a vital role in ensuring a quality education. Continuous enhancement and up-gradation of a conceptual knowledge, practical skills and competencies of faculties in their respective specialised subjects to ensure quality education to younger generation has become the great concern of all academic institutions across the globe.
The ongoing economic policy reforms introduced from 1991, such as industrial delicensing, Foreign direct investment, revolution in the information technology, removal of quantitative restrictions and making education globally tradable commodity have posed a severe threat to all economic activities in India in particular and across the globe in general. The needs and necessities of our society are in dynamic nature and keep on changing with the passage of time and varying perception of the society. These drastic revamps undoubtedly have put the Indian business enterprises under a constant and continuous pressure in terms of providing qualitative products at competitive prices, so as to satisfy customer’s expectations. This is turn, has put a pressure on educational institutions to provide a capable and competent personnel to business enterprises. Against this background, faculty development in educational institutions has assumed greater significance to satisfy the increasing expectations of industry and commerce.
STUDENTS – THE PRESENT SCENARIO
The system of Indian higher education is the second largest in the world which fulfills the educational needs of millions of students coming from different sections of the society. There has been enormous increase in the number of colleges and universities. However, the success story of this impressive growth turns bleak when the question of quality is raised. The standards in higher education have been eroded by rising tides of mediocrity. Higher education has been finding it difficult to meet the challenges of knowledge explosion, financial crisis, and student unrest and so on. There is a widespread concern about the lack of discipline in university and college campuses. There are different forms of campus disturbances created by students which include cheating in examinations, deterioration of academic pursuit and pressure group activities. Besides number of problems faced by our country pertaining to illiteracy, poverty, unemployment and so on, in the last few years, a nationwide problem has emerged, referred to as the problem of student unrest. Almost every individual is concerned with this problem as a parent, guardian, teacher, administrator or a member of society.
Science and technological innovations are changing the lifestyle of the students. It is perhaps the craving and yearning for glamour, whether affordable or not, for that purpose, our teenagers are ready to go to any extreme in behavioural sequence. The most dominating force seems to be this love of luxuries, the love of license and laxities that give some sort of monetary thrills rather than peace of mind. There is no proper and clear communication between the teacher and the taught and that is perhaps the greatest cause of student unrest in India.
CAUSES FOR STUDENT UNREST
Student unrest means the participation of students in demonstrations, strikes, mass meetings, walk outs, processions, burning of libraries, laboratories, and university property, stabling and murders and violent confrontation with the police, transport workers, restaurant and shopkeepers in universities, towns and cities. The main causes for student unrest includes the following

New Year Resolutions for Teachers

Professional Guru — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:13:39 +0000

It is hard to believe that 2009 is already here! The holidays came and went so quickly, and now we are on to bigger and better things in the New Year. As a teacher and consultant, I believe that starting a new year is always a great time to put into action our personal New Year’s resolutions. Now, many of us typically think about and plan our personal resolutions; but have you ever thought about making resolutions for yourself professionally as well? Making changes for the better in our professional lives is just as important as in our personal lives. As teachers, we know there are so many things that we need to do day in and day out to keep our classrooms working efficiently and effectively. Planning lessons, managing schedules, and keeping up with grading are just a few of the daily activities that we are required to do. As you move through the rigmarole of our professional lives, do you ever stop and think about what you are learning or gaining from your professional experience? Have you learned a new strategy and implemented it in the classroom? Is teaching still fun, or have you fallen into the rut of the day in and day out routine? Here are a few simple suggestions and ideas for New Year’s resolutions for teachers that will help keep you fresh and moving forward in your professional career. Read a new strategy book or article for teachers. It is important for teachers to keep up on their reading and understanding of educational practices and procedures. Every month, new strategy books and research articles that share research based best practices come out for teachers. You can find these materials online through your preferred search engine or database. It is amazing to see all of the materials that are available today! Subscribe to a teacher friendly website. The internet holds thousands of teacher websites that are available to assist you with learning new methods, gaining lesson ideas, and managing your schedule and routines. It is important for you to take the time to find a site that can benefit you and use it frequently throughout the week. Take a college class. Universities and local intermediate school districts frequently offer classes for teachers. Attending a class or college course is a great way to freshen up on best practices, as well as meet and socialize with fellow teachers. Visit a fellow teacher’s classroom. It is really amazing to see all of the different ideas that teachers use in their classrooms. By visiting fellow teacher’s classrooms, you can gain some wonderful insight and ideas to use with your students as well. Read an inspirational quote every morning. At the beginning of everyday, it can be very inspirational to read a quote to yourself or to your class as a whole. Quotes can be a great tool to keep you fresh and ready for the day ahead. You can find calendars with daily quotes on them, as well as a many quote resources online. Take care of yourself. Lastly and most importantly, teachers need to take care of themselves personally and professionally. Try to leave your work at school, at least a few nights a week, so you can rest and relax once you get home. Plan a date night with your spouse or significant other, and plan not to talk about work. Find things that you enjoy, and be sure to participate in them frequently. As teachers, it is important for us to make positive changes in ourselves personally and professionally. Our student success will depend on the best practices we are using, and our enthusiasm for teaching. Make 2009 the best year yet for yourself, your family, and your love of teaching!