Kindergarten - 9 Questions To Ask To Find Out If Your Child Is Ready To Start Kindergarten

Although Kindergarten is not compulsory in many states, most families choose to start their child's formal education in this setting. Kindergarten is thought by most professional educators to lay the foundation for a child's educational experience. It is believed that how a child is exposed to letters and their sounds, numbers and patterns, and other early academics will determine if they are successful in learning to read. The only question that seems to arise is at what age a child should begin this formal training.

The majority of school districts have strictly enforced policies about the age a child must be when they enter Kindergarten. This specific age requirement differs throughout the United States. In some districts a child must be five years old by July 1 of the year they are planning to enter school. Other places set a September 1 deadline. The latest date is typically December 1, meaning that students in those school districts may be 4 years old through the first several months of Kindergarten, if their birthday is late in the year.

These birth date recommendations are just that; each family determines if their child is ready to start attending school. With Kindergarten now a full day program in many cities across the United States, the program may be too rigorous for some children even if they have already celebrated their fifth birthday.

The family must determine when the time is right for their child. Here are 9 questions you may want to discuss before you send your child to Kindergarten

• Do they recognize letters and numbers from 1-10?
• Can they recite the alphabet?
• Do they read along with you when you share a favorite book?
• Are they able to print their first name?
• Are they excited about the prospect of going to school?
• Do they have a sibling already attending school?
• Have they spent time in a preschool where academics were emphasized?
• Can they focus their attention on guided and direct instruction for ten to fifteen minutes?
• Are they able to spend six to seven hours a day away from you without becoming upset?

If the answer to five or more of these questions is yes, your child is most likely ready for school. If not, have a family discussion about the possibility of waiting until the following school year. Many schools do not allow a child to repeat Kindergarten if the child is not successful. The child is expected to continue on to first grade without the benefit of extra instruction. Many children suffer self-esteem and other psychological issues when this situation occurs. Make sure that your child is mature enough and ready for school before sending them to Kindergarten.

Pronunciation: Improving In Another Language

Pronunciation can affect how we communicate. Many people, who have had a go at learning a foreign language, have experienced that sinking feeling when they try a well-constructed sentence in another language only to be met with a blank face.

Why is this?

Languages are built on sounds. If I speak English and live in an English-speaking country I expect a speaker to say sounds in a particular way. In French or Spanish I would expect to hear different sounds. When we can't recognise the sound we try and adjust how we are listening, a bit like tuning a radio, but if we can't guess the sound, the chances are we won't understand what is being said.

The Blocks of Pronunciation

Pronunciation has two main aspects to it, physically producing it and the sound that is produced from it, the hearing of the sound. As we get older the ability to do both of these, i.e. physically work out how to make the sound and recognise it, can diminish. This doesn't mean we can't continue to learn new languages but we need some extra tricks to help us.

Let's look at some ideas on what we can do when we learn a new language.

How am I saying it?

Try saying the letters. Notice how your mouth is working. If you don't know how a sound is physically made you may find it harder to say it.

What sounds are the same?

English has many more sounds than other languages but it also has a lot of sounds in common with other languages. Good dictionaries in a new language will usually offer an English sound or word to compare with. Use it to check what sounds are similar.

Which sounds are hard to say?

Go through the alphabet of the new language and mark out the ones you find hard to say. Give them some attention. Try and physically make the sound and see how your mouth works. Say the alphabet. Look at how children use the alphabet song in English to help them remember the alphabet, doing the same in a new language will also help memorise the letters and sounds.

Read out loud.

Find some reading form your course book or any other book. There are two advantages here. One you get to say the letters and words. Secondly you get to practise sounds that you expect to hear and you become accustomed to the sounds of the language.

How good do I need to be?

There is much discussion on this. For many of us the ability to get by in other languages is good enough. If we can say what we want, simply, slowly and the person we are speaking to, can understand us, then our pronunciation is probably good enough. After that it is a matter of choice. Some people become very good at other languages and get to very good levels of pronunciation. Not many of us are such gifted linguists but there's no reason why we can't make the words so that people can understand us.

World Bank and Education

Education

"I go to collect water four times a day, in a 20-litre clay jar. It's hard work!... I've never been to school as I have to help my mother with her washing work so we can earn enough money… If I could alter my life, I would really like to go to school and have more clothes."

--Elma Kassa, a 13-year old girl from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

AT A GLANCE:

Despite recent successes, more than 100 million primary school-age children still do not attend school and about 264 million adolescents of secondary school age are not currently enrolled.
Average educational attainment in sub-Saharan Africa is 3.5 years while in industrialized countries it is nearly 10 years.

Due to a lack of capacity and recurrent cost financing, the majority of developing countries still cannot systematically measure their children's learning achievement.
Over 800 million adolescents and adults lack the competencies that could equip them with the skills needed to work their way out of poverty and up into an increasingly competitive, global labor market. Two thirds of these youth are women.

In the developing world, the richest 20 percent of the population is almost three times as likely to be enrolled in school as the poorest 20 percent of the population.

Tremendous disparities exist in tertiary education enrollment between the developed and developing world despite the recognized impact of tertiary education on national productivity, competitiveness, innovation, and economic growth. Tertiary enrollment is 86.9 % in Finland, 16.2 % in Indonesia, 7.7 % in Nigeria, and 0.9 % in Mozambique.

World Bank lending for education in Africa has been steadily declining for the past five years.

Summary

The focus of the Bank and its partners on achieving the education MDGs is beginning to have a measurable positive impact on expanding children's access to school. The Africa Region, for instance, has seen gross enrollments increase from 79% to at least 95%. New initiatives such as the wave of new teachers brought in to achieve Education For All (EFA), the abolition of user fees, the increasing harmonization of donors, and the Fast Track Initiative (FTI) experiment are working and bearing results.

Increased resources and focus will be required in the coming years to make sure that even the most difficult to reach children enter school and to renew our focus on better learning outcomes for all children. There is some concern, however, that at this crucial moment, resources and attention may be turning elsewhere.

Although overall Bank lending for education has remained steady at about $2 billion per year over five years, lending for education in African—the top priority for achieving EFA—has steadily declined from near $500 million in FY02 to just over $300 million in FY06. The Bank's internal funding support for education activities has also declined. Overall staffing levels for the education sector in the Bank have also dropped by 10% over the past three years, from 210 to 184, and the number of education specialists has dropped by 14% over the same period, from 96 to 83. Quickly reversing these trends and monitoring our increased commitment to education in Africa should be among the World Bank's top priorities. Finally, the shift toward a focus on quality, consistent with the results focus of last year's Education Sector Strategy Paper, needs to be consistently translated into more success in measuring and improving learning outcomes.

Japanese Grandpa Finishes School

Not all people are lucky to pursue a college education. There are numerous reasons why this may not be achieved. Financial difficulties, emotional problems and forced and unexpected circumstances are just some of them. But for people who put great value on education, anything is possible. We've heard of success stories involving parents and even the elderly who decided to continue their education at a later age and were still able to graduate and earn a degree.

This latest success story is one for the books. Did you know that an 87-year-old great grandfather in Japan has earned his degree in economics in a university there? For this achievement, Yoshimichi Harada may be the country's oldest undergraduate after completing his dissertation on the theory of product distribution in November 2006. Although this Tokyo resident does not expect to get full-time employment, he aims to continue acquiring more knowledge and sharing his experiences with other students including those in high school.

You may ask why Mr. Harada wasn't able to complete his college education. The story goes that during his time, children were expected to start working after completing even just five years of elementary education. Of his 53 classmates, only ten percent went on to high school because they came from well-to-do families. At age 20, Harada was drafted into the imperial army and was based in China for six years. Upon returning home, the poor young veteran had to scavenge for his own food. At that time, getting a formal education was also considered a luxury. Harada went through a life of labor supporting his family for half a century even until his children were already senior citizens. He last worked in the construction business and retired at the age of 76. The Japanese great grandpa recalled that he had long wanted to go back to school to earn higher education. Harada added that ever since he began working in the construction industry, he was always reading textbooks, writing reports and memorizing important formulas.

One day, he just told his children and grandchildren that he had to cut off their financial support to spend for his own education. Surprisingly, his family welcomed with much fervor Harada's decision and gave him new clothes, shoes and bags for use during his schooling. While in the university, this senior student adjusted well to his new surroundings. He even joined friends for drinks at bars after school and shared notes with them before exams.

The elderly student believed that many senior citizens in Japan would like to continue their education if only they can. It's sad though that many of them find it hard to spend the money they earned because of their responsibility to their children and extended family. A government survey showed that more than 20 percent of Japanese are now over 65 years old and continue to support their families. Harada, however, thinks that they should also make use of their earnings and take new directions in their life similar to what he did. He not only earned his college degree but was also able to experience a modern curriculum and technology in school that most elderly haven't known. Although the grandpa scholar did learn typing, he believed writing by hand was still faster. And so he just handwrote his 60-page senior thesis on business economics and theory of distribution.

Cooperative Research Studies - It's Nature and Propagation

The headquarters of Brahmavarchas Research Institute is Haridwar (Uttaranchal, INDIA). Over here its mode of action is classified in 4 parts:

1) SCRIPTURAL RESEARCH: A comparative study of all spiritual tenets declared so far will be analyzed. Within this all those aspects which will help augment world humanity's sacred sentiments will be gathered separately. For this the literature content of our library is being replenished and added on a large scale. Further for teaching and education purposes other sources of literature and books are being tapped.

2) SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH BASED EXPERIMENTATION: Within this section highly advanced apparatus and scientific technology has been set up. Experiments are conducted so as to find out which spiritual endeavor positively transforms ones outer and inner life. Yajnopathy is being scientifically tested in such a manner so as to present to the world, its most optimum and a wholesome form. As a result man's bodily strength, psychic balance and the soul's greatness will reach great pinnacles of success.

3) COOPERATIVE ENDEAVOR BY WORLD SCIENTISTS AND THINKERS: In this section we will request great thinkers, philosophers and scientists of the world to take part in this research endeavor and thus help us come up with outstanding results. At the time of writing these lines (before 1991 A.D.) around 100 have already agreed to join our mission. Our target is to encourage at least 1000 such specialists to come to Haridwar for more or a short time span and contribute in this great research study. Further they could even guide us from their place of residence and gather required research material for us. Thus this section helps coordinate the research studies of all such people.

4) PROPAGATION: In this section those who grace our research centre with their presence will be given due information about the goal and nature of our research studies. Those who are willing to contribute in their own way will be presented with literature in this subject. We will humbly guide them as to who will help by taking part in which aspect of our research endeavor.

These 4 sections and departments work in tandem with one another. Initially there were 20 resident research members. This number has increased by leaps and bounds over the years. In general all members are very capable and intelligent in their areas of research. Their lodging and boarding requirements are fulfilled by the Brahmavarchas Research Institute Those who are financially well off tend to take care of all their expenses. The rest are taken care of by the institute.

Keeping contemporary requirements in mind our research activities revolve around them. Of course transformational changes are made as per the need of the hour. When one task is finished another one replaces it immediately. Sometimes a particular task is made more widespread if we realize that it is important to study it more deeply. Visitors are amazed to see this research team creating an atmosphere of joy on the one hand and yet minutely researching into various topics in a focused selfless manner. A special characteristic of this scientific experimentation involves encouraging the youth wing of world humanity to take up this utmost important endeavor of improving human destiny in the 21st century so as to make it radiant. We are trying to find out how far they will succeed in doing so. Our research efforts have their basis in Government Aid and those by the influential and wealthy class of society. Within this realm it is rare to find elsewhere a group of people who live traditionally like the saints and sages of yester years. This gigantic task is carried out with such zest and zeal that one fails to differentiate between a game and serious Yoga practices. In fact it becomes a topic of research by itself when one takes into account the individuals, means and research methods used at Brahmavarchas. A major conclusion that emanates from this is that even those who do not get cooperation from highly scholarly people or the wealthy class can yet achieve their goal of him self/her self attaining greatness and encouraging others to follow suit. The only condition to succeed thus rests in ones deep conviction and powerful resolve (Sankalpa Shakti).

Our research institute nestles at the feet of the mighty Himalayas, on the shores of the sacred River Ganges where the Saptarshis (7 Rishis) of the Vedic Age had performed intense penance for the welfare of world creatures. If you superficially compare it with grand buildings and structure of the world one can say 'it is nothing great'. Despite this if one takes care to note the zest and zeal exuding from the members, walls, trees etc of the Brahmavarchas Research Institute one can conclude without doubt that it is not merely some inanimate organizational center but that every pore of its existence oozes with divine radiance/aura. This endeavor is being executed by great characters, supreme goals, sacred ideals and well directed programs. Hence we can safely conclude that this endeavor is extraordinary and that its results too will definitely be mind boggling.

So far we have discussed the institute's activities. Whatever is taking place in this institute can be called the center of focus and yet we certainly cannot say that what is happening now or that what will take place in future will remain of this size only. In fact our activities are widespread and doubtlessly they will keep expanding enormously in the days to come. It goes without saying the task taken up is gigantic wherein the viewpoint of billions of people on Earth needs to be changed and guided to higher peaks of human/divine glory. It can be compared if at all to interstellar space research conducted with the help of high tech space crafts. Space centers that launch satellites etc stay put in one place on Earth (like for example NASA) and yet its area of functioning revolves around studying the state of interstellar space and planetary etc movements. Only those great scientists attached to space stations know exactly the functional aspects of space research. They know very well how difficult their task is and the extent to which highly advanced technology is made use of. As a result laymen like us are simply wonderstruck to note the super intelligence, mental focus and alertness manifested by these great space scientists. Similarly the research area of Brahmavarchas Research Institute too is very gigantic and widespread. Hence it is least surprising that its activities span across the globe and in every nation on Earth. Thus the Brahmavarchas Research Institute should not be looked upon as a center in one tiny corner of India simply because its area of action is global and all pervasive.

No doubt chiefly the research activities of the Brahmavarchas Research Institute are centered in India and yet like the fragrance of a full bloomed flower it reaches every nook and corner of the world. The Era of Consciousness has thrown a challenge to great thinkers of the world. Atheism has taken over the intellect of the thinking class of the world. Thus they think narrowly and act very selfishly. Within this class albeit in minor forms the Rishi tradition yet does exist. Even a miniscule form of its help and influence the royal path of divine glory for world humanity will be thrown wide open for all to march ahead.

The number of volunteers who are giving their precious time for our research studies is augmenting by leaps and bounds. We have requested them to come to Haridwar (Uttaranchal, India) as per their convenience and by staying here for a certain time span help us advance our scientific viewpoint and mode of research. We have requested them not to bring along with themselves their family and kids because everyone's attention will be distracted. Our research institute does not have any arrangement for accompanying family members to reside. Thus only those who wish to focus all their attention on our project need come albeit alone and we request them to give us as much of their valuable time as possible. If they come simply for 2 or 3 days maybe they can give us some theoretical advice but it will be impossible to imbibe their practical knowledge in such a meager time span. Hence we request our revered research volunteers to come here only when they have enough time to one pointedly focus on our research projects. In this atmosphere of calmness and camaraderie a lot of give and take of high scientific principles can take place. Our research study is extremely useful for all world beings. On it basis a lot can be achieved both materially and spiritually.

Great thinkers, who because of a lot of prior commitments, cannot come to our institute are humbly requested to help our research study from their place of residence. The only condition is that they seriously focus on our research and contribute in a committed manner. They must look upon it as a sacred responsibility and like certain other routine chores spend a certain number of hours daily for our institute's endeavor. The time volunteered for this great task should be well defined and adhered to implicitly and only then something tangible will come our way. On the other hand if the attitude is quite superficial and 'frothy' we will be fooling ourselves only and that nothing concrete by way of research will be attained. There are a few who for self aggrandizement call themselves 'members' of our research team without being committed to our cause or contributing anything significant. This in a nutshell is just vain mockery on their part and is like basking on wrested laurels. Hence we sincerely hope that only those who are accountable and committed to our cause join as members of our team. Only those who have a certain time span for committed research on a regular basis need join our sacred institute. Thus let us pray in all humility that only genuine responsible researchers will join our research team and those who cannot come to our Institute are requested to stay at their place of residence and give us their invaluable research inputs.

What kind of task will be given to which person based on his/her qualifications, credentials and the available circumstances? This question can be decided only when we all meet personally and discuss our research goals. And yet those who cannot come to Haridwar again and again can be given required assignments only after understanding the overall designing of our research endeavor. Members should first and foremost understand which subjects are currently being researched into avidly the world over. Thus they must search for libraries and other sources so as to avail all literature published up till now which will help our task in a big way. Of course they must concentrate on visiting gigantic libraries with latest broad based collections related to our research. We are not interested in libraries that predominate with fictitious novels, glossy magazines etc. We certainly have no illusions that such libraries can help us at all. Hence only nearby Colleges, Universities etc libraries can help us on a gigantic scale. Desirable literature of high standards can be found in good colleges and research institutes.

There are many individuals who individually collect important literature for study purposes. Such people too could help us a great deal. Our research area is of a very high stature. Hence very little literature regarding it is available. It is futile to think that all literature required for our research will be found in one single place. Hence we all will have to visit various libraries, browse their collection deeply and sift through them so as to collect material most suited for our task at hand. Majority of the times mere title of the book cannot indicate to us whether our material is included in it. This is because the title maybe very chic and attractive but the contents within is absolutely superficial. There are so called writers who gather materials from various books and then try to sell it by giving it a chic title. Such rubbish in the name of literature is of no use to us. Hence we must not only read the title but sift through the pages of each book so as to collect matter suitable for our research activities. Where can we find material useful for the research studies in our institute? Which books and other forms of literature harbor the same? These questions will be answered by the members of our august research team. Their chief task is to enquire at various libraries etc and unearth useful literature.

If the material found in a book is short it can be hand written else if it is long only the gist need be noted down. This is the first and foremost task required to be taken up. As and when this is gathered one copy should be kept by the researcher and another copy must be sent to Haridwar i.e. Brahmavarchas Research Institute.

Before studying, finding books and making notes members should fisrt contact Haridwar else ones efforts may go in vain. Suppose one member in a particular place has taken down all required notes in an exhaustive manner and another member not knowing this collects the same material painstakingly know for sure that the latter's precious efforts will go waste. To overcome this problem all research team members should individually first contact Haridwar before commencing any task. Haridwar will direct each one as to what is his/her appointed task. Only then should they commence work. If one topic is covered in different places it will give us information regarding that topic in totality. Thus it is very important to be in touch with our HQ at Haridwar.

In the preliminary stage 4 main topics have been taken up by us. And yet the branches and sub branches of each of these are many. In this manner although one is researching into a main subject yet it is classified into many sub topics. The more we minutely and deeply study each subject the more we will unearth extremely important information. It collection will doubtlessly be all encompassing. Thus from these 4 main branches each sub branch amongst many must be minutely researched into. Another way would involve studying many sub branches together if a particular sub branch is not giving much information. Thus some information of every sub branch can give us some insight into the main subject. Under such circumstances it becomes that much more necessary to keep in touch with our HQ. This is because keeping aside libraries of Universities those who can avail material only from small libraries will have to conduct research on many topics simultaneously. Under such circumstances a problematic situation may occur wherein many members from various regions will study one single topic and take down identical information which would be a waste of their precious time and energy. Hence we request every member to keep in touch with our HQ and submit information gathered by them over a certain time span. Thus his/her effort will not go in vain. Always make sure that you are not covering a topic already covered by someone else. And it can be done only by constantly keeping in touch with our HQ at Brahmavarchas Research Institute (Haridwar, Uttaranchal, India).

Our research members will generally be graduates, post graduates etc. They will be given research topics for studies based on their expertise in a particular topic. It is obvious that if a person has graduated in a particular subject he/she will be more comfortable with that topic for research studies. Only literature is one field which does not generally require specialization in a particular subject. This is because it encompasses general knowledge. Hence graduates in literature can take up any topic. This is of course related to non technical general subjects. Thus an M.A. in Literature can enter into a very widespread area of research studies. Despite this because they are not specialists of any particular subject they cannot delve very deep into their research studies.

Whatever has been noted down every month should be handed over to our HQ at Haridwar on the first day of the following month i.e. February notes should be handed over on March 1st etc. This is because when various notes are analyzed we know where there is room for improvement. If on the other hand a member collects a lot of material for a very long time span a problem can occur wherein if there is an error it will not be taken care of. Instead unknowingly the error will expand further and the member's precious time will go in vain.

One more task required to be taken up by our research members is to search for deep thinkers who are naturally inclined towards research studies. No doubt, there are many well known thinkers but only a few are profound scholars in their fields. There exists a class of people who are good at dry arguments and are labeled as 'great philosophers'. And yet when it comes to profound thinking on a particular subject they fail miserably. It is easy to flaunt ones superficial 'intelligence' but it is a totally different story when it comes to manifesting deep wisdom in ones area of study. Hence it is not necessary to contact superficial so called thinkers. Instead it is imperative that we humbly search for wise profound thinkers of various fields. Such thinkers are constantly reading old and new literature. They are all the time finding out where wholesome activities are being executed and what their method is. Even if such profound thinkers do not have the time to join our research directly we can always request them to advise us as and when it is possible for them to do so. Their advice will be an invaluable contribution for helping us achieve our research target.

There are many indigenous and foreign research based collections in all Universities. Some of these are not allowed for borrowing and that one has to sit there itself for reading purposes. These collections contain some very important findings and hence we must never ignore them. They will be extremely useful for our research endeavor. The responsibility of such studies will have to be taken up by those living near by such Universities.

Many people subscribe to magazines and journals which publish materials related to their field of study. Later these magazines etc collect dust or are sold off at very meager prices. Hence research members are requested to gather such magazines etc and send them to Haridwar. Many a times very minor aspects of a subject when conjoined to some very useful research becomes very influential. Thus wherever one finds literature in which ever form especially that not used by anyone should be sent to Haridwar. Even if one gets the gist of a very expansive subject it would prove very beneficial for our research endeavor.

Every research member should try and encourage more and more research experts to join our team. Of course the condition is that they must be well versed and deep thinkers of their fields of study. From the standpoint of school education it is not just enough that members are mere graduates, post graduates etc. This is because they no doubt 'mug' up their subjects and pass with flying colors but when it comes to deep thinking and research they fail miserably. Thus we will not benefit at all by such superficial 'scholars'. Their efforts go in vain because of lack of subtle skills and thus it could endanger our research endeavor. Thus we must refrain from amassing 'headaches' and instead search for true wise and deep thinkers of various fields. We must personally come in touch with them and humbly request them to help our glorious cause. The more our research members are brilliant and wise thinkers greater is our chance to attain our goal. Hence our contemporary members must remain very alert in this direction.