Using Smart Thinking to Help You Be Successful

Using Smart Thinking to Help You Be SuccessfulIf you are interested in learning how to think like a master, a smart thinking tutor can provide you with a very efficient and time saving way to learn how to think the right way. A smart thinking tutor will teach you everything you need to know to be an excellent thinker and help you improve your thinking abilities while keeping you focused on the main goal of your learning.Thinking is a natural ability. Our brains are capable of reasoning and applying logic to the problems that we encounter in life. However, being aware of the limitations of the intellect is necessary to be able to think in the right way.The smartest people in the world are those who are well-educated in thinking and reason. It is good to think and reason, but we must be able to apply it in the correct manner. Too many people fail at this task because they lack the skills to do so. They become distracted by the many details that come their way.Smart thinking tutors are the ones who understand how to let the students focus on the big picture instead of all the little details that come their way. You must focus on the main goal of learning and not the details. As a result, you can use the things you learn to enhance your thinking abilities. The skills you have learned can be used in different areas of your life and you will be able to think like a master.Think in the right way is the key to success in life. Without thinking in the right way, you cannot achieve your goals or pursue your dreams. This is why a smart thinking tutor is so important in all areas of life.We all dream of living a happy life full of success and wealth. A successful life can only be achieved through the right decision making process. That is why a smart thinking tutor can be soimportant in order to help you make the right decisions that will lead you to success.A good intelligent tutor can help you see clearly, on the spot, how decisions can affect the future of your life. A good intelligent tutor will teach you how to be prepared for the unexpected so that you will be able to act before it's too late.

Surface Area of a Pyramid Tutors

Surface Area of a Pyramid Tutors A pyramid is a 3-dimensional geometric figure which has 4 triangles joining towards a single point known as the apex or the vertex of the pyramid. There are different types of pyramids depending on the type of base a pyramid has. For instance, a pyramid with a square base is known as square pyramid, a pyramid with a rectangular base is known as a rectangular pyramid etc. Total surface area of a pyramid can be calculated by adding all the areas of every face of the pyramid. Example 1: What is the surface area of a square pyramid which has a base length of 3m and a slant height of 5m? Given: base length, b= 3m Slant height of the pyramid, s = 5m Since it is a square pyramid, the base of the pyramid is a square. Surface area of a square pyramid = b2 + 2* b* s This gives: Surface area of the square pyramid, SA= (3)2 + (2 * 3 * 5) = 9+ 30= 39m2 Therefore, the surface area of the given square pyramid is 39m2 Example 2: What is the surface area of a rectangular pyramid which has a base length of 6m, base width of 4m and a slant height of 8m? Given: base length, l= 6m, base width, w = 4m Slant height of the pyramid, s = 8m Since it is a rectangular pyramid, the base of the pyramid is a rectangle. Surface area of the rectangular pyramid = (l* w) + (l* s) + (w* s) This gives: Surface area of the rectangular pyramid, SA= (6* 4) + (6* 8) + (4* 8) = 104m2 Therefore, the surface area of the given rectangular pyramid is 104m2

We want Schools for All!

We want ‘Schools for All’! “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world” - Nelson Mandela. Last Friday (7th Feb) UNICEF launched its Day for Change, with the focus for 2014 on ‘Schools for All’. Across the world there are 57 million children who don’t get the chance to go to school. This figure is already enormous, but there are around 200 million more who are not receiving an education despite attending school. According to the latest report commissioned by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), “around 250 million children are not learning basic skills- even though half of them have spent at least four years at school.”[1] One of the United Nation’s Millennium Development Goals was to provide universal primary education by 2015; it is clearly unlikely that this goal will be reached. UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova wrote: “education provides sustainability to progress against all development goals. Educate mothers, and you empower women and save children’s lives. Educate communities, and you transform societies and grow economies”.[2] Sadly, the list of barriers preventing universal education is vast. The nearest school might be too far away; many children need to stay at home earning money for their families; in war-torn zones attending school, or making the journey there, may be hazardous. Then there are the children in school but still not receiving a good education. Perhaps the class sizes are too big, or the school doesn’t have sufficient learning resources, or the teachers haven’t had sufficient training. This picture shows how lucky we are in the UK to have an education system that is free for all and generally easily accessible. Of course, it is nowhere near perfect - with huge educational inequality across society. In the least well-off families in the UK, where children are eligible for free school meals, nearly half (47%) achieve no A-C grade GCSEs. Only 2% go on to attend a Russell Group or equivalently elite university. Compare this to 48% of independent school pupils. Nearly half of the poorest pupils achieve no good GCSE grades at all; nearly half of the richest get into the best universities. Many of these privileged children will have received the benefits of private tutoring. For every student who pays for a tutor in London through Tutorfair, a disadvantaged child gets tutoring for free; we work with schools where high percentages of children are on free school meals, supporting the children identified as having the greatest need. While UNICEF strives to fulfil its commendable global ‘Schools for All’ goal, Tutorfair and many other organisations work to narrow our own education gap here in the UK. Image from  www.inewmedia.org  CC-by   [1]http://www.unesco.org/new/en/education/themes/leading-the-international-agenda/efareport/reports/2013/ Is cited in article here:  http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=47034Cr=educationCr1=#.UvtMLPRdVPK [2] Ibid.

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Russian Oligarch - Private Tutoring

When I Grow Up I Want to Be a Russian Oligarch BobbiM Mar 28, 2013 The Russian Oligarch Hustle Theres been a lot of interest lately in Russian Oligarchs because of the banking troubles in Cyprus, a small country in the Mediterranean. Apparently, Cyprus became a haven for many rich Russian Billionaires to stash their money. And, when the banks in Cyprus came upon some money trouble, it caused massive concern since Cyprus apparently holds a significant amount of wealth from European countries. So, not just Russian Oligarchs are affected, but European corporations as well. All of this interest in Cyprus, a tiny country of only 1 million people, got me interested in the Russian Oligarchs. What is an Oligarch? Who are these Russian Oligarchs. So, I did some research. And, it turns out, they have a lot to teach us about hustle, how to work super hard, and have it pay off in billions of dollars. While we may not all turn out to be Russian Oligarchs in the end, we can learn a lot from how theyve conducted business. Boris Berezovsky Boris Berezovsky came to the business world of Russia by an odd route. He was a software engineer. He was born and raised in Moscow and received a high quality education in electronics and computer science at an institution that was involved in the Soviet space program. Berezovsky went on to graduate school at Moscow State University where he earned the equivalent of an American Ph.D. in the 1970s and finally a Russian Ph.D. which is more advanced than an American Ph.D. in 1983 at the age of 37. He worked for twenty five years at the Soviet Academy of Science in the field of decision-making and in the field of computer automation of industry. He decided to enter the business world. At the Academy of Science he had worked with the Avtovaz, an enterprise the Soviet government had set up to produce automobiles for the mass Soviet market. The Soviet government contracted for the Italian automaker Fiat to build a large scale auto plant 700 miles east of Moscow. The city in which the plant was located was named Togliatti after the head of the Italian Communist Party. The plant was not a technical triumph. It was vastly overstaffed and the quality of the product was low. The labor productivity was approximately one thirtieth of labor productivity in the American and Japanese automobile industries. Berezovsky Hustle What We can Learn Berezovsky proposed to Avtovaz that he provide help to the enterprise for automation and computer control of operations. The structure of the arrangement was that Berezovsky would set up a company in Switzerland that would create a joint venture with Avtovaz. This would gain the benefit of the Soviet government program set up to encourage  foreign  investment in the Soviet economy. One special feature of a joint venture is the foreign partner could take some profits of the  enterprise  out of the country. Once the legal structure for the foreign partner in Italy, Logovaz, was set up Berezovsky became involved in operating a car dealership to sell the Ladas produced by Avtovaz. Car dealerships extremely profitable and were a favorite target of organized gangs demanding protection money. Berezovsky arranged his own protection from the Chechens and tried to keep out the other gangs demanding a shakedown. The Russian gangs were not easily discouraged. Gang warfare raged. Berezovsky left the country. When he returned he was the target of more than one assassination attempt. The most serious one involved a car bomb. Berezovsky was riding in his chauffeur-driven Mercedes with his bodyguard. As his vehicle passed a parked car a bomb in that car was detonated. The chauffeurs head was blown off, the bodyguard was severely injured and Berezovsky was seriously burned. There was other assaults on Logovaz operations, but when the leader of the Russian gangs was killed by a car bomb the assaults stopped. The car dealerships were extremely profitable, in part, because of a process Berezovsky called the privatization of the profit of a state enterprise. Avtovaz produced Ladas at an average cost of about $4700 but sold them to  auto dealers  at $3500 per car. The dealers then sold the cars for $7000 each. The  under pricing  of the cars by Avtovaz came as a result of the control of its management. Thus Berezovsky moved the potential profit of the state enterprise out of the enterprise and into the private enterprise of the dealerships. Since such a money-losing enterprise would not have much market value it would be cheap to buy ownership. This is the scenario proposed by Berezovsky. So, he bought really low, and sold really high. He focused on margin and set up the business to maximize his profits. Simple, but it shows hustle. Vladamir Gusinky In his twenties during the 1970s Vladimir Gusinsky started his business career as a cab driver, one without official sanction and thus called a gypsy-cap. He also engaged in black market trading. But by the 1980s he developed some close ties in the Communist Party. He organized events for the Communist Youth League. Gusinsky also developed a working relationship with Yuri Luzhkov, the mayor of Moscow. The City of Moscow was not just a city government. It owned an controlled an extensive system of economic enterprises. Under Luzhkov these enterprises functioned efficiently and profitably. In 1989 or shortly thereafter Gusinsky created a bank called Most Bank, from the Russian work for bridge. As result of the connection with Luzhkov, Gusinskys Most Bank was a very important institution in the Moscow economy and one of the biggest conglomerates in Russia. To protect his interest Gusinsky created a security division employing about 1000 people, many of them formerly employed by the KBG. Once Gusinsky had created the basis for his financial success he began to create a media empire. In 1994 he had a newspaper, a weekly news magazine, a television guide magazine, a radio news station and the crown jewel of an independent television network. Learning from Gusinky Gusinky teaches us the importance of networking. Who you know really matters and learning to work with others is key to success. Mikhail Khodorkovsky As a child Mikhail Khodorkovsky had humble desires and wanted to be a factory director when he grew up. Factory directors were probably the most powerful figures in the lives of ordinary Russians. But being a factory director was not just an idle dream of Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He pursued his career goal rather diligently. He showed focus by studying engineering in Moscow and simultaneously was active in the Communist Youth League, called the Kommosol, to the point of being deputy head of the Kommosol governing committee for his educational institute. He learned the protocols of dealing with Communist Party functionaries and he developed connections in the Party organizations. Lesson 1 from Khodorkovsky:  He had a goal and he set a course to obtain the goal. Despite his careful preparation Mikhail Khodorkovsky was denied the opportunity to work toward a directorship in the Soviet defense industry. He felt it was because of the Jewish origins of his family. He then decided to enter the private sector. His enterprise was named the Center for the Scientific-Technical Creativity of Young People, which was soon abbreviated to MENATEP. It first existed as a cooperative, the only officially sanctioned form of private enterprise, but later became a bank. Like many other entrepreneurs Mikhail Khodorkovsky sought the quick, high profits that could be gained by importing and reselling computers.  MENATEP  also engaged in various currency exchange transactions. Lesson 2 from Khodorkovsky:  When met with adversity, bounce back quickly. Although some in the Communist Party blocked his road to becoming a factory director Mikhail Khodorkovsky was on good terms with many Communist Party officials and went into business with their approval. He was appointed as an economic adviser to the prime minister of the Russian Federation in 1990, in the days before the collapse of the Soviet Union. This was a prestigious position and one that gave him important contacts. Lesson 3 from Khodorkovsky:  Make important contacts and nurture relationships. Alexander Smolensky Alexander Smolensky grew up poor and didnt come from normal Russian roots. His mothers father was an Austrian Jew who fled Vienna for political refuge in Moscow. But Stalinist Russia did not treat such political refugees as true comrades or true Russian brothers. Because of his ethnic and religious lineage, his mother was scared that they would receive tremendous persecution. As a consequence, she was right. So Alexander Smolenskys mother, who had been born in Austria although she was raised in Moscow, was excluded from most jobs and opportunities for training. Life was very hard for the family especially since Alexander Smolenskys father divorced his mother and left her and their children to survive on their own. Alexander Smolensky developed a lifelong resentment and defiance of the system. He seemed constitutionally incapable of cooperating with the system. When he applied for his official identification document, the Russian version of the American Social Security Card that the Russians call the internal passport, he could have listened his nationality as Russian on the basis of the nationality of his father but he chose instead to designate himself as Austrian on the basis of that of his mother. This was a clear act of  defiance and by doing so he excluded himself  out of any career other than as an entrepreneur. But entrepreneurship in the Soviet Union was illegal and Smolensky lived a hard life. Lesson 1 from Smolensky: Make you decisions and stick to them, despite the consequences. He then served a two year service in the Soviet Army in Tiblis, Georgia. He fought the system in the army but while doing so he and a friend used their access to the army newspapers printing facilities to start an underground business in printing business cards. The business was not much but it enabled them to learn type-setting and the crafts involving in printing. Lesson 2 from Smolensky: Make good friends and use ingenuity to create value. After the army, Smolensky continued in the printing trade. He found a job as a supervisor of the printing department of an industrial ministry. He had to work two jobs to survive and was on the lookout for ways to make money. He realized that in the days of the Soviet suppression of unsanctioned literature was an opportunity that perhaps had a market. People were publishing writings by the laborious process of typing documents a few copies at a time, one original and as many carbon copies as the typewriter could produce. In addition to being tedious this was dangerous but people were willing to do it. Access to a printing press relieved the underground writers having to type and retype works. Smolensky printed Bibles among other things. Bibles were not technically subversive material but it was a criminal offense to use State facilities for private enterprises as Smolensky was doing. Lesson 3 from Smolensky: Find a better way to do something, and find a market that will pay you. During this time Smolensky developed and refined his skills at finding and acquiring materials. In the socialist economies shortages are chronic and there is no problem selling production but gathering the raw materials is the limiting factor. So that while the salesman is the key figure in western businesses it is the raw material acquirer, the procurer, in the socialist economies that is the key figure. Lesson 4 from Smolensky: Understand the supply chain well, and optimize it. Smolenskys illegal printing operation was reported to the authorities and he was arrested. He was sentenced to two years of work in a construction crew outside of Moscow and prohibited for three years of having access to money and valuable materials. His career as a printer was effectively ended, but his introduction to the construction field was a valuable substitute. After his sentence was served Smolensky continued in construction. His ability to get things done earned him an acceptance as a valuable, effective construction operator. In part, his effectiveness in construction depended upon his skills in acquiring the required materials for construction. Although authorities recognized that Smolensky was a rebel against the system they realized that his organizational skills were valuable for them to have access to. Later, the Russian Government made into law that individual labor activity was permissible. This opened the flood gates and made entrepreneurship accepted and allowed. It was now officially permitted for people to set up stands on the street to sell goods. It was not a free market revolution but it was a step in the right direction. It would be alright for a group of people to engage in enterprise if they constituted a cooperative. The drafters of the 1988 Law on Cooperatives did not place as many restrictions on the nature of the permitted cooperative enterprises as might be expected. In particular the Law allowed for the creation of financial services cooperatives. Smolensky built a cooperative that procured construction supplies, reduced lead times, and obtained better pricing structure. Smolenskys cooperative eventually overtake the current government-run program of materials procurement. Smolensky effectively wiped out a competitor the government. From there the cooperative went into the business of building such things as country houses, dachas. Business was good. Lesson 5 from Smolensky: Find a quicker and cheaper way to do something, and money will follow. He eventually created a bank and years and billions later, hes a famous Russian Oligarch. Vladimir Potanin Vlaminir Potanin was fortunate to be born into the Russian  hierarchy. In this respect, he didnt show hustle he was handed success. But, later he did show some courage and initiative.  Vladimir Potanin started two banks, the Onexim Bank and the MFK. Many of the state enterprises transferred their account to these two banks which became the third and fourth largest banks in Russia. In 1995 Potanin saw an opportunity. The Russian Government badly needed funds. So, with support from other oligarchs, he proposed a loans for shares plan to the Council of Ministers of the Russian Government. This plan traded ownership interest in unprivatized state industries in exchange for loans. The Russian Government welcomed the plan because they badly needed cash money. Learning from Oligarch Potanin Get super lucky and be born into a powerful and rich family. Vladimir Vinogradov Toward the end of the Soviet era Vladimir Vinogradov, then an employee of a state bank, established in 1988 a commercial bank, Inkombank. Vinogradov and his friends bootstrapped a bank operating on a shoe string until they secured a number of reputable investors. Among these investors were Sokol (the association of aircraft manufacturers), Transneft (a gas pipeline operator) and the Plekhanov Institute. These investors gave Inkombank enough credibility to apply for credit from the Central Bank of the Soviet Union. Against all odds, Inkombank did obtain 10 million rubles in credit. Lesson 1 from Vinogradov: Sell the product first, then create it. True Entrepreneurship. Over a ten-year period Inkombank grew in deposits and acquisitions. By the time of the financial debacle of Russian in August of 1998 Inkombank had become the second largest private bank in Russia in terms of private deposits and third largest in terms of assets. It played a significant role in financing Russias foreign trade. Under Vinogradovs direction Inkombank engaged in some high flying financial transactions. Inkombank acquired financial control of some of the businesses that made investments in it, including Sokol in aircraft manufacturing, Transneft, the gas pipeline operator, and Magnitagorsk Steel. Lesson 2 from Vinogradov: Acquire cash rich business, and then grow them. Mikhail Friedman Mikhail Friedman came from the western  Ukrainian  city of Lvov, a formerly Polish city acquired by Soviet troops in the partition of Poland by Stalin and Hitler in 1939. Mikhail Friedman came from a Jewish family, as did four of the six other oligarchs. Mikhail Friedman enter a Moscow institution of higher learning in Moscow. In the 1980s, the declining years of the Communist system, the necessities of life were available without much effort. The Theater Mafia This period of a low level of responsibility combined with the assurance of the necessities for survival is one that some look back on nostalgically. While the luxuries of life were unavailable there was the leisure to read and discuss literature and the arts. In the Soviet system there was support for  theater   dance and so forth, but the tickets were distributed on a political basis rather than through the market. People who wanted tickets had to have contact with someone who could obtain them or who could wait in line to acquire them from the official sources. Some students were making money by acquiring tickets and reselling them or waiting in line for other people. The students engaged in this black market ticket business were known as the  Theater  Mafia. Mikhail Friedman saw the opportunity to systematize these processes. He made the black market ticket operations into a real business. Lesson 1 from Friedman: Find an informal lucrative workaround and systematize it and profit from it. He not only acquired valuable business experience but he made business partners that joined with him in forming the Alpha Group, a conglomerate dealing in oil, finance, and industrial goods trading. He also learned to payoff the political establishment to get the things he wanted. The Alfa (Alpha) Group was not formed immediately. Instead Mikhail Friedman was involved in small business ventures in the form of cooperatives. Cooperatives were permitted under Gorbachevs perestroika policy. One of the first major successes was in providing window washing services for state companies. No one had thought to create such a business before. From this success Friedman and his associates moved into importing and exporting. It was very profitable to export oil since the purchase price of oil in the Soviet Union was far below the international price. It was also very lucrative to import computers. Lesson 2 from Friedman: Expand your horizon by finding other adjacent and lucrative opportunities. Dmitry Rybolovlev Rybolovlev began his career in the medical industry. He and his dad developed some magnetic gizmo that apparently did well. It well, but instead of remaining in that field, he chose to move to Moscow and learn the art of stock trading. This was perfect timing because he was the first person to earn a license to trade. He opened a financial services firm, raised money, traded, used his profits to buy up other companies, and now hes a Russia oligarch. He eventually got into the Potash business, which is a form of agriculture. I have no idea what Potash is, but it made him billions of dollars. I guess Potash is a form of salt used in most fertilizers. Who knew? Anyways, pretty amazing and shows that money can be made from areas most people didnt even know existed. Roman Abramovich Abramovich is known for his ownership in the Chelsea Football Club, which is one of the best soccer teams in Europe. His story is fascinating because it shows true hustle. His parents both died before he was 4 years old. He began in entrepreneurship by first selling gasoline to other soldiers while he was serving in the Russian army. Later, he got into the smuggling business, bringing in goods from elsewhere and selling them in Moscow for a huge profit. He operated like this for a while until the privatization of Russian government assets. At this time, Abramovich was able to legitimize his smuggling business. So, he opened a factory to build plastic toys and virtually owned the plastics toy category in Russia. He used his wealth to invest in other companies. And now, hes a massive billionaire, but he started out poorer than some of us can imagine. Oleg Deripaska Deripaska is apparently worth $14 Billion Dollars. Thats a lot of money. He runs a company called Basic Element, which is a holding company that has businesses in energy, manufacturing, financial services, agriculture, and construction. He started from humble roots as a small metals trader. Over time, he had accumulated ownership of 20% stake in a Siberian aluminum factory. Thats where he got his start; from there, he moved into adjacent businesses, but with the same gusto and hustle as when he first started in business. Mikhail Prokhorov Prokhorov owns the Brooklyn Nets, among other things. He made his billions by taking advantage of the unregulated privatization of Soviet assets, such as nickel and palladium mining, as well as in acquiring and running smelting companies. He then later went onto Banking, where he made the rest of his billions. Vitaly Malkin Malkin made his fortunes in banking. He and his business partner founded Rossisskii Kredit, which later became the third largest bank in Russia. Malkin is one of the top 30 wealthiest people in the world. He was a Russian senator, but recently resigned from the Russian senate.

5 tips on preparing your child for secondary school

5 tips on preparing your child for secondary school When the time comes for our child to start secondary school it can be both an exciting and terrifying time; for both the parent and the child. All of a sudden our little ones go from being young and carefree to having responsibilities; a new chapter in their lives has begun. As parents we spend time worrying about how they will manage, whether they will make friends and if they will cope with their homework. But we did the same when they started primary school for the first time; we just don't remember that far back! How would they cope without us? Would they eat properly? Would they make friends? But just as they settled into the routine of primary school, they will settle into their new 'big' school. There are of course ways to make the transition from primary to senior school smoother. Here are five ways to help your child prepare for secondary school and ensure that their new chapter begins smoothly and successfully. 1. Talk about the changes they will face One of the biggest changes your child will face is moving from the top class of the primary school to the bottom class of a secondary school. Of course it is perfectly natural for your child to feel nervous, but knowing you are there to listen to their anxieties will help them feel more secure.Their secondary school will also probably be much larger than their primary school. Explain that it is perfectly fine to take some time to get used to finding different relevant places at the school and that all of the children in their new class will be facing the same challenges. With secondary school comes more responsibility so it's a good idea to have a chat about the expectations that come with going to a bigger school. Homework will be more difficult and more often that what they are probably used to, lessons will need more concentration and they will have deadlines that they will need to stick to. Try easing them in to more responsibilities over the summer with a few extra tasks such as keeping their bedroom tidy and helping out with other chores. 2. Consider their feelings Your child will almost certainly have mixed feelings about their upcoming transition. Encourage them to talk to you about their feelings and share their concerns with you. Talk through any issues with them, whether it be about making new friends, bullying or how they will get to school. Reassure your child that their fears and apprehensions are perfectly normal and that everyone has the same worries on their first day of school. Try to be positive about any challenges they will face and talk through some solutions to help put their minds at ease. 3. Be prepared for the first day The first day of school will be filled with mixed feelings and the last thing you or your child need is to be worrying about something you haven't done or something you have forgotten to buy. Make sure you have all of their uniform ready, their sports bag full with everything they will need and their school shoes polished and ready to put on in the morning. Also, make sure their school bag is packed with the necessary stationary your child will need at their new school. Most secondary schools will expect children to have: pencil case pencils pens erasers rulers calculator geometry set It's a good idea to let your child choose their own school bag; just make sure it's ready and packed for the first morning of the new school. An early night will ensure your child is calmer when they wake up and less stressed as late nights can bring morning moodiness. Also make sure they have a good breakfast and are ready with a packed lunch or school dinner money; whichever they have chosen. 4. Encourage them to get into a routine Routine generally takes away stress so it's always a good idea to encourage a good daily routine for your child to get into. Bed time should be at a standard time every night during the school week and your child should get used to making sure they have everything ready for school from the night before. Morning routines should also be in place. Getting dressed, brushing their teeth, eating their breakfast, preparing their packed lunch, eating their daily vitamin and leaving at the correct time each morning will alleviate any stresses. The same kind of routine should also apply for after school. Your child should have a set time and place to do their homework each afternoon, time for any after-school activities and time left aside for them to relax and do what they like to do. It's a good idea to have a calendar on your fridge to remind your child of the different preparations they have to do for different days. 5. Plan the journey together With the transition from primary to secondary school comes more independence and many children starting secondary school will probably be making the journey there on their own. Of course, if you are anything like me you'll probably want to go with them on the first day just to make sure they make it there on time and are happy with their route. It is not a bad idea to go through the route a few times beforehand and talk about alternative ways to get to school should the normal way not be viable one day. Make sure the route is the safest, avoiding bigger roads where possible even if it means adding a few extra minutes to their journey. Whether they are walking, cycling or taking the bus to school make sure your child feels comfortable with their route before the first day. Most children now also have mobile phones, so make sure your child has any emergency numbers they may need already in their phone directory. Talk to your child about safe places they can go if they can't get home and who best to call should there be a problem. If they have a friend who lives nearby and goes to the same school, it may be a good idea to arrange for them to travel together. Also, if your child feels uncomfortable it may be a good idea to travel with them for the first few days until their confidence grows.

Unhealthy Habits ... Or Are They

Unhealthy Habits ... Or Are They Photo Via: http://www.healthylifegateway.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/unhealthy-habits.jpg Ah, the freshman fifteen. How we all desperately try to avoid it without sacrificing our laziness, our need for unhealthy food, our drinking habits and first and foremost without having to go to the gym. Well, you’re in luck. In a world in which you’re constantly told you have “unhealthy” habits, it turns out some of those habits aren’t actually as unhealthy as you think. So, to help you get some people off your back (*cough* parents *cough*), here are seven things that may seem unhealthy, but actually aren’t according to NBC News. 1. Drinking Wine We seem to go back and forth on this issue. Wine is good for you, no wait it actually isn’t. The only consistent part of drinking wine is that we can’t seem to stop once we start. All jokes aside, it now seems that drinking wine (in moderation, unfortunately) is actually not bad for you. A study on obesity revealed that alcohol impacts weight gain, but this study only shows significant results for those that binge drink alcohol, not those that have one or two drinks a day. So in other words, having a glass of red wine with dinner doesn’t increase your risk for obesity. That being said, drinking a bottle at dinner every day definitely will. 2. Comfort Food We all love comfort food, and we all sneak it into our diets, no matter how unhealthy. But, according to nutritionists, it’s actually healthy to occasionally indulge in our comfort foods every once in a while. Basically, if you’re craving chocolate, have a small piece you don’t have to deprive yourself, but you shouldn’t binge eat chocolate for the next week either. In fact, you’re actually more likely to binge eat your favorite foods down the road if you don’t have a little bit every once in a while. And in terms of indulging your cravings, try to stay as healthy as possible. So if you sit down to a tub of cookie dough because you’re craving it, even if you only have a little, you’re not doing your body any favors. Try to opt for a healthy, similar tasting alternative whenever possible. 3. Cheat Days (in terms of Exercise) Many people believe you have to work out every day to achieve your weight-loss goals. This is true to an extent. For some, working out needs to become a habit, so if you skip a day, all your efforts can come tumbling down. However, it’s not good to work out every day. Any personal trainer will tell you, recovery time is just as important as the time you spend exercising. Of course, if you are one of those people that needs to build a habit and work out every day, you can swap your cardio workout for some intensive stretching or yoga. That way, you’re recovering while maintaining your routine. 4. Chocolate Yes, chocolate can actually be good for you (that’s right people, time to breathe a sigh of relief). No, don’t grab a Cookies and Cream Hershey’s bar. That will, unfortunately, never be good for you (though we’ll keep trying). For chocolate to be healthy, you need 70 percent (or higher) dark chocolate, and you can only eat a few squares (not a full bar). While this isn’t the ideal chocolate munching snack, you can melt it and put it in your coffee, in your milk, onto fruit, etc. Essentially, it’s a healthy seasoning for your snacking needs. 5. Stress Yes, stress can be bad. But, it can also be good. Apparently, moderate stress levels actually improve performance (while low-stress levels can diminish it). So basically, you want to be moderately stressed. Awesome. 6. Procrastination No, you shouldn’t procrastinate. However, as discussed above, some stress is a good thing. That being said, you should still take steps towards accomplishing the task as this is the most beneficial way to procrastinate. So in other words, you can put things off so long as you are thinking about them and actively taking steps to complete the task. In other words, you don’t have to clean the whole apartment today, so long as you have the cleaning supplies and you have a plan set forth for completing it. 7. Netflix Ah, last but not least, there’s our TV go-to, Netflix. Sitting is the new cancer according to countless studies, which is unfortunate, but probably true. The more time you spend sedentary, the more likely you are to encounter health problems. Watching alone at home is a great way to de-stress, so a small amount of time watching Netflix isn’t a bad thing. It’s also a strong relationship builder, so yes, Netflix and Chill is actually good for you. Go figure (sorry single people). While Netflix is not the preferred means of de-stressing, it is a beneficial one, so now you can watch a few episodes of Shameless without feeling bad about it. Or, you probably will, but it won’t be for health reasons. So start implementing these healthy vs. unhealthy practices and feel better about yourself! It’s springtime, so the time for change is now!

5 Ways to Help ESL Students Study for the ACT and SAT

5 Ways to Help ESL Students Study for the ACT and SAT 5 Ways to Help ESL Students Study for the ACT and SAT 5 Ways to Help ESL Students Study for the ACT and SAT Many students from other countries would like to study at an American university. With such a geographically and culturally diverse country, there are fabulous opportunities for students from other countries to have an international educational experience. Additionally, many young students move to the US when they are in elementary or middle school and will speak multiple languages. Although a great benefit over time, students who speak English as their second or third language may find the English language portions of the ACT and SAT to be a challenge.  Fortunately, there are a few things ESL students can do in order to improve their chances of a good score on either exam. 1. Vocab! The vocabulary sections are a mystery to students whether they speak English as their first language or not. In addition to the straightforward vocab section on the SAT both exams offer vocabulary in context. New and unusual words are found all throughout the SAT verbal portions and the ACT English portion. Students are encouraged to learn a few new words each day to expand their test prep vocabulary over time. 2. Essay proofreading One of the biggest issues that ESL students face on either exam is time management and proofreading. With such a short amount of time to even write the essay, proofreading often gets pushed to the side. However, its especially important for ESL students to practice proofreading their essays, either as they go or at the end, in order to make sure that spelling, grammar, and sentence structure are all in line with Standard American English. One way students can do this is to work with a tutor who can help them identify their common mistakes so that on the day of the exam they can do a quick scan of their essay and look for things they are most likely to make a mistake on rather than attempt to do a close proofreading and run out of time (READ: Tips from a Private Irvine Tutor: 4 Apps to Improve Spelling). 3. Math word problems Math is the same in any language and numbers are numbers but many of the math problems on both exams can come in the form of a word problem. Although tricky for all students, students who speak and read English as their second language may find it difficult to pick out the numerical information buried within the English language text. This is a situation where practice makes perfect, and ESL students are encouraged to go through as many word problems as possible in their test prep book and learn to pick out numerical information until they get it down to a science. 4. Words in context Although words in context may seem similar to studying vocabulary, they are actually a much more complicated issue.  One word can mean many different things when used differently in a sentence and can also have different emotional meanings depending on whom the speaker is and who theyre speaking to.  Words in context are especially important to the long passages on the SAT and can earn or lose students many points (READ: ESL Study Tips For Taking the SAT). 5. Reading graphs and charts Charts and graphs in the science section are only found in the current ACT. In reality, the science section has nothing to do with science and everything to do with how to read a chart or graph. This is an incredibly difficult section for students who speak English as their first or second language because it can be unclear what information needs to be used and which information needs to be ignored. ESL students are encouraged to work with their tutor to determine which information they can simply cross out and which information is crucial to solving the problem. TutorNerds has the best private ESL tutors in Orange County! Call us today and ask about our test prep tutoring services for ESL students. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.