Teacher Education

Ask About Them – Don’t Talk About You

May 8, 2023 Comments Off

Joe, an engineer with one of my clients, was promoted to department head. Marketing was now a major responsibility-and Joe was not having much success. I was asked to help by spending two days with Joe and possibly do some tutoring and teaching.
We met early the first day. Joe was obviously smart and enthusiastic. How could he not succeed? Later that day he gave a project status report to the staff at the client’s office. I went along. He was an effective speaker. How could he not succeed?
Near the end of the first day, Joe showed me a request for proposal, indicated that he was scheduled to meet with the potential client the next day, and asked if I would like to accompany him. I said “yes” and he said “let’s prepare for the meeting.” This guy was right on, he wanted to be prepared. How could he not succeed?
We then focused on meeting planning. Joe took out a pad of paper, laid it on his desk, and said “let’s list all the things we want to tell them about our company.” That’s when the light went on. His comment clashed with my marketing model. Accordingly, I suggested that we instead list all the things we want to ask the potential client. Joe somewhat reluctantly agreed. So we created a list of questions to ask about the client and their project.
The next day, as we drove to the potential client’s office, I offered one more suggestion: “Let’s set the goal of having them talk at least 75% of the time.” We met, we asked questions, and they talked at least 75% of the time. We learned much and Joe’s firm subsequently won the project.…

Tips To Help You Better Understand Student Loans

April 27, 2023 Comments Off

If you’ve looked into college tuition prices lately, you were probably surprised at how high they are. It is uncommon for a student to be able to fully pay their own way through school. If you are looking for a viable means of going to college, then student loans are there to give you a hand.

Be aware of the grace period that you have before you have to pay back your loan. Usually, there is a time period after you leave school before you must begin paying the loans. Staying aware of when this period ends is the right way to make sure you never have late payments.

Always know all of the key details of any loan you have. You need to be mindful of your balance levels, your current lenders and your repayment status of each loan. These details are going to have a lot to do with what your loan repayment is like and if you can get forgiveness options. Use this information to create a budget.

Speak with your lender often. When you make changes to your address or phone number, make sure you let them know. Read all mail you get from lenders. Take any requested actions as soon as you can. If you forget about a piece of mail or put something aside, you could be out a bunch of money.

Don’t be scared if something happens that causes you to miss payments on your student loans. Many lenders give you a grace period if you are able to prove that you are having difficulties. Just know that when you do this, interest rates might go up.

Don’t get too stressed out if you have trouble when you’re repaying your loans. Job losses or unanticipated expenses are sure to crop up at least once. You may have the option of deferring your loan for a while. It’s important to note that the interest amount will keep compounding in many instances, so it’s a good idea to at least pay the interest so that the balance itself does not rise further.

How long is your grace period between graduation and having to start paying back your loan? Many loans, like the Stafford Loan, give you half a year. It is about nine months for Perkins loans. Other loans offer differing periods of time. It is important to know the time limits to avoid being late.

Select the payment choice that is best for you. 10 years is the default repayment time period. Other options may also be available if that doesn’t work out. Examples include lengthening the time it takes to repay the loan, but having a higher interest rate. Your future income might become tied into making payments, that is once you begin to make more money. Sometimes student loans are written off after an extended period of time.

Though a student loan can help people attend college, remember that they need to be repaid. People often take out loans to help pay for college without considering how they will go about repaying what they owe. With what you’ve learned in the article above, you should be able to get yourself into college without it costing you too much.…

College Tips You Can Start Using Today!

November 21, 2022 Comments Off

Going to college is a dream that many parents have for their children and that many students have for themselves. It takes a lot to get into college so it is important to make sure that you can successfully navigate your way through 4 years of college. This article can help you orient yourself, set priorities and create a plan for success.

Always plan time to study and keep a set schedule for doing so. After you have received your class schedule, it is best to schedule your study time. With a class and study schedule mapped out, you can create the kind structure that will help you get through each day and maximize your time.

A great tip that will help you succeed in college is to carefully plan out your course load each semester. You don’t want to get overzealous and pick way too many hard classes at once. You’ll barely be able to keep up, and you won’t be capable of submitting your best work.

Avoid studying for big college exams the night before by taking in a lot of caffeine or other stimulants. While these things can keep you up and able to study for longer, they will make you very tired in the morning. After using chemical stimulants for a while, you will need more and more and that can be damaging to your overall physical and mental health.

Know as much as you can about the career you’d like to get into before even applying for college. You will know that the college that you are going to has the classes that will best prepare you for that career. Speak with an admissions director to be sure that they offer the classes you have to take.

Visit the dorm before deciding to live there. You may discover that you don’t want to live in that environment. Not only that, but you may find that you prefer one dorm over the other. Make sure you will get the choice you signed up for, and make sure you have a contingency plan in place if you chose a single room but end up in a quad.

Stick to your studies. College can be a fun time, with lots of new experiences, but it’s crucial to remember why you’re there. Take the time to ask teachers and other students for help, and make sure you get your homework done when you need to so that your grades stay strong.

After you sign up for a checking account, make sure that you do not leave without getting the free checks that most establishments offer. Do not pay for extras. You may be surprised at how few checks you will use over the course of your four years in college. It is simple enough to get more if you need them, but you don’t want to waste money if at all possible.

As you well know, college is a dream for parents and students alike. It marks the end of child and the beginning f adulthood as the student takes on adult responsibilities and makes their own choices. This article was designed to help you make the right choices for your college experience and to get the most out of your college years.…

Perpetual Student – A Key to Career Security

September 17, 2022 Comments Off

I recall being 27 years old and nearing the end of my graduate studies. My grandmother, who never had an unpleasant word for me and had left school after the fifth grade, said: “Stuart, what a shame. You are 27 years old and not working.” I was so embarrassed! Now I am much more than twice that age and still working. I am also still a student — a perpetual student — but no longer embarrassed. Instead, I feel blessed.
Management guru Peter Drucker offered this thought: “To make knowledge work productive will be the great management task of the last century, just as to make manual work productive was the great management task of the last century.” Achieving success and significance requires current knowledge or, more specifically, application of current knowledge.
Each of us should strive to be a perpetual student. Continuous learning and judicious application of new knowledge and skills help us earn career security. By career security I mean much more than job security. Career security means always being engaged, as an employee or independent professional or business person, and doing what we love to do.
How can we continue to learn? The most effective way to be a perpetual student is to seek varying and challenging assignments — so that we learn as we go. “Seek” is probably too soft — we should demand varied and challenging assignments.
Consulting is an excellent platform for continuous improvement via “on-the-job-learning.” The technology-driven and client-driven consulting field demands continuous learning and, at the same time, provides many continuous education opportunities. When our children were teenagers, I recall coming home and telling them about the stimulating consulting work I was doing-new projects, new people, new locations, and new technical and non-technical challenges! The response was a resounding disinterest. Years later, my oldest daughter and two colleagues founded an economic consulting firm in California. My wife and I visited her after about a year. She was so exited about consulting and said something like: “Dad! I am exposed to new projects, new people, new locations, and new technical and non-technical challenges.” I could not have said it better.
Besides the experience route to continuing one’s education, there is also more formal ways such as university courses, seminars, webinars, and self-paced learning. Some employers offer mentoring programs or tutoring and teaching opportunities. Work in different sectors of our economy such as business, government, and academia and gain many useful lessons. Actively participate and sometimes lead committees and task forces formed to carry out well-defined charges. Travel to and experience different cultures. Get out of your comfort zone and learn.
As a result of continuously learning – of being a perpetual student, when faced with a new situation you are more likely to say: “This reminds me of…” You get the idea.…

Do I Need a Tutor?

September 11, 2022 Comments Off

You may be struggling in school and feel like a failure. You may have big academic goals and feel like you need help in reaching them. Could a tutor help? Would it be worth the cost in time and money?
Since ancient times, skills and knowledge have been passed on through one-on-one instruction, and this kind of education is as effective today as it has always been. Much of what we learn best is learned from individual instruction, whether it be from parents, grandparents, mentors, friends, co-workers, or teachers. We each have unique needs and ways of learning, and tutoring taps into this effective method of teaching and learning. As a high school teacher and owner of a tutor referral service, I have seen it: the more individualized the instruction, the better.
Tutoring can always improve learning, but this does not mean every student should have a tutor. Hiring a tutor is an investment, and like any investment, the costs must be weighed against the benefits. There are at least three important questions to consider when deciding whether to get a tutor.
The first is obvious: How well you are currently performing in school? A tutor can make the difference between passing and failing, graduating and not graduating, and of course, tutoring is an important option in such cases. If you are already doing well, you may not need a tutor. But that depends on what level of performance is acceptable to you. A tutor can help make the difference between a B and an A, and this can also be a good reason to get a tutor.
The second consideration is your motivational level. Are you really trying? Are you willing to put real effort into learning? Is improvement really important to you? No matter what your reason for seeking a tutor, it is unlikely to help if you are not motivated or not really trying. Before you call for a tutor, look inside yourself and ask whether you really want to do better, and how badly you want it. If you are having trouble with motivation, a tutor may be able to help, but he or she will need to start by working on your motivation and goals, rather than math, English, or other subjects. Before you can improve your grades, you have to want to do so. Tutoring is not a magic pill. The tutor cannot upload the understandings and skills into your mind. He or she is there to help you acquire your own skills and understanding. That requires your action.
I believe that every person is a powerful individual with tremendous potential for personal fulfillment. But if you don’t believe that about yourself, or you don’t believe you can or should do anything about it, you will struggle with motivation. This is what psychologist Nathaniel Branden calls self-esteem, and it is a good place to start if you are struggling with motivation. You have the power and the right to improve your life.
But what if you have healthy self-esteem and yet remain unmotivated? This is possible, because the question of motivation is closely tied to the next one: What are your goals? If you are not motivated to perform in school, it may be because you simply value something else more highly. What are your goals and priorities in life? If you have never answered these questions, now is the time to start. You may find that answering this question solves the rest of the problems automatically.
The tutor cannot answer this for you. Only you know what you want out of life. For many people, fogginess about goals and priorities automatically leads to struggles with motivation. So, set some goals. Read Stephen Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (or Sean Covey’s Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens), and do some real soul-searching. “Know thyself,” as Socrates put it. A tutor or mentor can help you sort it out.
Setting goals will help answer the question of how well you need to do in school. For many colleges and universities, C’s and B’s may not be acceptable, and straight A’s may help you stand out. If college is not in your plans, you will still want to do well in school, but you may want to balance schoolwork with other preparations: starting a business, learning a trade, or building your own vocation. And even if college is your goal, you may need to balance schoolwork with other important tasks like a job, family responsibilities or college scholarship applications. Tutoring takes time, and the more work you put into it, the more you will get out. You may need to reevaluate your priorities and reassess your whole schedule. A tutor or mentor can help you to sort out these issues, set goals and clear …

Why You Need To Find A Tutor

June 20, 2022 Comments Off

One of the most difficult decisions that a parent must make is whether or not to find a tutor to help their child when he is being challenged by his schoolwork. It is a delicate balance that has to be maintained between getting the child the help that he needs to be successful in school without stripping away what confidence he has left and making him believe that he is a failure. But there are a handful of things that a parent can look for in trying to determine if the time is right to find a tutor for their child. If your child seems like he learns differently, if he seems to read well but fails to understand what he read, if he isn’t keeping up with his class, or if you sit down and try to help him with his homework but you have no idea how to do the assignment either then it is probably time for you to find a tutor than can help your child.
If your child seems to learn differently then he may be having difficulty with the way that the material is being presented to him in the classroom. This does not necessarily mean that your child has any type of learning disability. Every person has their own way of learning that works best for them and allows them to best understand what is being taught. Some people learn by reading, some by listening, and some by watching. You need to find a tutor that will figure out which method works best for your child.
You have your child read his homework assignments out loud to you and he seems to be a very good reader. However when you ask him to explain to you the meaning of what he just read he has no idea. There are methods to aid in reading comprehension that can be taught to him by a tutor that will not only help him understand better what he is reading but also help him to retain that knowledge.
Getting left behind while all of his friends move ahead to the next grade is one of the most devastating things that can happen to a student. If you have any feelings that your child is falling behind to the point that he may be held back then it is vital that you find a tutor right away so that you give him every opportunity to catch up to his classmates and move on with them.
You enjoy sitting down with your child each evening and helping him with his homework but you have found yourself getting confused lately and are spending quite a bit of time figuring the assignment out for yourself before you are able to help him. No one can be an expert at everything and many of the subjects being taught in school have changed quite a bit in just a generation’s time. There is no reason not to admit to yourself and your child that his studies are just over your head and that it is best if you find him a tutor to help him with his homework. What is best for your child should be your guiding principle.…

Tutoring From Home – How to Market a Tutoring Business

June 2, 2022 Comments Off

Starting up a home based tutoring business is hard work. Tutoring is a competitive arena and you’ll frequently be up against people with more experience and bigger social networks (tutoring is ALL about social networks). Follow our 5 top tips to ensure success with your home based tutoring business.

Set your prices low. To start off with you’ll need to be very competitive with your pricing. Find out what tutors are charging locally and makes sure you are charging less. You don’t have experience to offer and unless you are teaching a niche subject you can only really compete on price to begin with.

Offer a free first booking. People love freebies! A free first taster booking will let people “try before they buy”. So it’s zero risk for them, and very important experience for you. Make sure you ask them for feedback at the end of the booking.

Get professionally designed flyers and business cards. A good looking flyer goes a long way when parents are choosing a tutor for their children. Presenting a professional image will do a lot to build confidence and is also a brilliant branding exercise for you. Making sure each happy client leaves with a few of your business cards for their friends can ramp up your clientele in no time. Many shops, community centers and universities have places for flyers. Do a door drop in your local area with a special offer on it.

Do deals. People love a deal – Offer 5 bookings for the price of 4, or summer specials, or “Refer a friend, get a free booking”. Its a great and quick way to build up your numbers.

Network network network! Tell your friends to tell their friends about you. Involve yourself in community events where you can hand our your fliers. List yourself on as many tutoring directories as you can. Spread the word via social networking sites like Facebook, MySpace and LinkedIn.…

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