The Gift of Letting Go

In a world where young people's spheres of exploration have become increasingly narrowed, how do we build the important qualities of resilience, social competence and independence? Psychologist Michael Thompson looks for answers in his exploration of summer camps in his recent book Homesick and Happy: How Time Away from Parents Can Help a Child Grow. Clearly impressed with these camps' abilities to create life-long skills and devotion in their attendees--he is a former camper himself--Thompson examines these places and uncovers the psychological underpinnings of the emotions the campers feel about them.

Through discomfort and homesickness, as well as the natural surroundings and a different sense of time and place away from their parents, young people come to feel more independent, something which, Thompson argues, is essential to them becoming autonomous adults later on. They yearn for an environment that allows them creative and social freedom under the watchful eye of someone other than their parents, a place where they can feel part of something larger than themselves, and where there is little or no pressure to succeed.

For many campers, the attachment to a particular site becomes so strong that they want to return year after year. Often, the ultimate goal for these young people is to come full circle in their involvement and become counselors, passing on their knowledge and passion to a younger group of campers. They have benefitted tremendously from the opportunity to be away from home.

Of course not every student is destined to love camp. Thompson acknowledges that a certain percentage (less than 10% in his estimation) will either become so homesick that they must be picked up from camp, or endure the experience but chalk it up as a "not-for-me" adventure and never return.

Beyond the advocacy of summer camps and independent, non-parent led experiences, Thompson's book has ramifications for the importance of our experiential education programs and private schools As we continue to expand these opportunities through Interim, field trips, summer travel experiences and exchange programs, the benefits are ever more apparent.

Every educator who has seen a student be transformed through the power of a non-traditional learning opportunity can speak to the value of such experiences. And these transformations go in both directions--teachers often emerge from these excursions re-energized and impacted as well.

The first full chapter in Homesick and Happy, "Eight Things You Cannot Do for Your Children," serves as a useful reminder that we cannot--try as we might--make our children be happy or independent; we can only provide them with positive opportunities for growth and then trust in ourselves and other caring adults that our kids will be all right. "Give your child the gift of letting him or her go," Thompson suggests, and then be amazed at what happens next.

Advantages of Education Games Used in a Home School Environment

The operations manual for the most important piece of equipment imaginable - the brain. There are resources and materials which can assist a child to access and apply their brains' immense powers. Parents can learn with their children.how to assemble and paint their own planetarium model, highlight it to create the glow effect and charge it with any light source. Can you navigate a ball through a mind-bending obstacle course as quickly as you can? LET A CHILD SHOW YOU HOW!

*Teachers and Parents can easily access the Sentence Building and Farmyard Dominoes that teach spelling and counting. Cubes printed with numbers are an interactive and visual way to get to grips with mathematics. This hands-on manipulative kit can be used to teach a range of maths concepts to all ages. The Pizza Fraction Action Snap is a fantastic learning tool where teachers and parents can guide youngsters to experience learning with little formal teaching. These resources are invaluable as they are designed to encourage natural interaction, which gives the child a feeling of great satisfaction.

*Learning Physics with children can be quite exciting: The Sphere is an expanding and contracting ball. It cleverly combines mathematics and geometry to create a surprising motion that fascinates children and adults alike. Can you imagine how a toy such as this could lead to an interest in physics at University level?

*The British Isles jigsaw will test the memory of parents and teachers and enhance the visual and physical skills of young learners. Geography has never been easier. This jigsaw is multifaceted. Youngsters in a short time learn to connect shapes which are linked to counties, towns, rivers and other physical aspects of the United Kingdom. This style of learning lays down strong cognitive schemas which enlarges children's memory processes.

All the resources are easily accessible, very inexpensive and dispatched to reach the recipient within 24 hours. All the material is accessible for all children at all levels of learning from toddlers pre-school, through kindergarten, 3, 5 and 6 year olds, up to high school. Even parents will enjoy the vast array of educational toys and games that are available for their children.

The equipment encompasses primary learning, active, outdoor and intelligent learning. Many teachers such as those involved with International Baccalaureate schools, independent primary schools and nurseries find these games to be invaluable. So whether children are being educated at home or school is immaterial, the resources are excellent.

Al Qaeda Claims Credit for the Super Storm Sandy Attack On America?

Well it looks as if Hurricane Super Storm Sandy wants to linger around a while even past Halloween 2012; now that's a scary thought. Hurricane Sandy has already combined with a massive cold front, and now that Super Storm is backing up more weather flows from the prevailing East to West, including a good bit of precipitation which is making its 3-day journey across the country. Will the Midwest and East Coast ever get a break from the stormy weather? Will the floodwaters ever reside? Will Toronto and Montréal Canada be the next large city victims of this weather anomaly and calamity?

As chaos ensues and the media registers record viewership, Al Qaeda is making their next video claiming credit for the super storm and attack on America. Of course, they also tried to take credit for Hurricane Katrina but, we know that isn't true. Someday in the future scientists will figure out how to create super storms, and also how to knock them down. We may in the future be able to prevent Typhoons, Cyclones, and Hurricanes from forming through frequency manipulation and modulation of water vapor during the evaporation process on the surface of the ocean.

No, I'm not suggesting we are there yet, and I'm pretty certain Al Qaeda does not have this technology. It's too bad we didn't have such capability today because we could have prevented this Super Storm Sandy from flooding out New York City, Atlantic City, and a good portion of the low-lying areas of New Jersey. Not to mention the other flooding and damage that occurred in so many other states. But what if we do get that technology, and what if we use it to create a force multiplier strategy for warfare? Will we actually use it, and if we unleash that type of power, how do we turn the weather off once it's accomplished its mission - easier said than done.

Previously, when governments have used silver iodide to seed clouds, sometimes they can't get the rain to stop once it starts and then it ends up flooding out entire region. We've done it here the United States a few times, and China has also done it to themselves by accident attempting to alleviate droughts. It seems whenever we create a way to modify Mother Nature, she comes back and reminds us who is boss. Every time we create a devastating weapon, eventually our enemies threatened to use it on us.

Today, we are worried about nuclear proliferation in Iran which could spread throughout the Middle East and into South America. If I ran gets a nuclear weapon, and since they already sponsor international terrorist groups, there's a good chance we will enter an age of nuclear terrorism.

What if someday in the future Al Qaeda really did have some sort of energy weapon to create super storms? This isn't a science fiction flick question, although there have been genres along this theme - it is however a real question. Will we call it Weather Terrorism? And isn't Mother Nature already terrorizing us with the weather?

The Greek Gods of various forms of weather were believed to be tormenting and terrorizing humans back then. Maybe they know something about the future that we don't? Indeed I hope you will please consider all this and think on it because it is an interesting future scientific question that we must ponder in advance of that potentially eventuality.

Student Loans - The Perkins Loan

How can you apply for a Perkins loan?

In order to apply for a Federal Perkins Loan you need to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a Master Promissory Note (MPN). The MPN is a legally binding document showing the borrower owes debt to a school. The note includes information about the interest rate on the loan, the repayment plan and minimum rates of repayment; circumstances for deferment and forbearance, cancellation provisions; credit bureau reporting; late charges, attorney fees, collections costs, and default consequences.

The Perkins Program includes the Federal Perkins Loan, National Direct Stu­dent Loans (NDSLs) and National Defense Student Loans (DL). No new DLs were made after July 1, 1972, but there are some still in repayment. A Perkins student loan must be used only for educational expenses.

What students are eligible?

This program is for students in financial need in order to help them finance postsecondary education at low interest rates (the interest rate for PLs and NDSLs is 5% per year).

What are the maximum loan amounts?

The annual limits are $5,500 for undergraduate students and $8,000 for graduate students. The aggregate maximum loan is $11,000 for undergraduate students (Grade levels 1&2), $27,500 for undergraduate students (Grade levels 3&4) and $60,000 for graduate students.

Who is the lender?

Perkins student loans are given out by the roughly 1,700 participating postsecondary institutions. The school's loan fund is replenished by collections on outstanding loans made and reimbursements from the US Department of Education for expenses in relation to certain statutory loan cancellation provisions.

How can you apply?

In order to apply for a Federal Perkins Loan you need to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and a Master Promissory Note (MPN). The MPN is a legally binding document showing the borrower owes debt to a school. The note includes information about the interest rate on the loan, the repayment plan and minimum rates of repayment; circumstances for deferment and forbearance, cancellation provisions; credit bureau reporting; late charges, attorney fees, collections costs, and default consequences.

What are the advantages?

The advantages of such a loan are that there are no insurance or loan origination fees to pay, there is a nine-month grace period (while for other federal loans it's generally six months), there is only 5% interest rate and the repayment period is pretty long (10 years). Moreover, Perkins Loans are eligible for cancellation for teachers in designated low-income schools, as well as for teachers in designated teacher shortage areas such as math, science, and bilingual education. You can also cancel your loan if you are a Peace Corps Volunteer.

Significance of Online Training Event Solutions in Today's World

Training events were always a priority; however, its significance has increased manifold nowadays because of the frequent usage of various high-tech tools and solutions in daily business operations. These tools help you execute and manage most administrative works smoothly. Training event solutions includes registration applications, online payment services, communication platforms, and marketing systems, to name a few.

Organizations around the world often struggle to meet their training needs specifically if they are arranged on a recurring basis or at short intervals of time. With additional staff recruitments, the problem of managing training events still persists and invites a lot of stress to the organizers. In an effort to battle the issue out and seamlessly manage trainings a number of training organizing companies have started using online solutions to automate the whole process.

You can utilize the online registration solution to setup forms online. Customization is also possible to give each form a similar look to that of your company website. People can easily recognize your form and thus it increases your brand credibility too. People have the convenience of filling up the form and submitting the same online within a prefixed time. However, the benefit of such a solution is that you save time and cost that was required to be invested in case the organizers had opted for the same old, manual registration methods.

With registration comes the payment part if your training event happens to be a paid one. There too you need additional investments in terms of setting up payment counters and hiring people to collect the fees and keep a track of the daily accounts. However, you can save hard-earned capital by opting for a Cloud-based solution that enables you to receive funds over the internet. It lets the registrants facilitate payment transfers by using their credit cards. Individuals with a PayPal account can use it as well to transfer the registration fees on time. Other standard payment methods can also be used by training organizers to receive the funds. Such online processes are fast, secure, and convenient for both the sender (registrants) and the receiver (you).

Managing training means not only looking after the registrations and payment aspects but also maintaining good communication with past and future attendees. For that, you need to send out repeated messages (emails or SMS) to the attendee base informing them about future programs. They might be interested attending some of them. To attract the attention of more prospective participants, you should post your event information on Facebook, Twitter, etc. plus add photos on Pinterest and Instagram to let them view the same and decide on whether to participate in your event.

Online Chemistry Textbooks for College Students

The high prices of textbooks are one of the biggest problems of college students. While there are college courses that stick to a few basic textbooks, there are those which require students to buy new titles every semester. Science courses such, as chemistry, are usually more specific when it comes to the books they require their students to read. It becomes a heavy yoke for science students to keep up with the purchase of new sets of books every year.

E-books are the answer to college students' problem with costly textbooks. They are less expensive. There are online communities that offer students free etextbook downloads. You can also visit iBooks, Amazon, and other e-book retailer and search for the availability of your books. While they price their digital books higher than other e-bookshops, they are still offering considerably lower prices compared to printed books. For even cheaper options, you can try searching for etextbooks on online bookstores that also sell/rent used textbooks. Some authors also provide free online copies of their books.

You can find plenty of chemistry books online, from elementary to advanced chemistry.

If you are an incoming freshman who needs to have a general overview on chemistry, you can try Essentials of Chemistry by Soren Beier and Peter Hede or Fundamentals of Chemistry by Roman Elsair. Classics such as 1905 book An Elementary Study of Chemistry by William E. Henderson and 1922 book Practical Chemistry by Lyman C. Newell are also available online. Wikibooks also offer General Chemistry.

Chemistry students who focus on one branch of the science also have many e-books waiting for them online. You can find physical chemistry textbooks such as Introductory Physical Chemistry by David Ronis, and Physical Chemistry in Brief by J. Novak, S. Labik, and I. Malijevska. Biochemistry books include Structural Biochemistry from Wikibooks and the classic Practical Organic and Biochemistry by Melvin Calvin.

Analytical chemistry classic Quantitative Chemical Analysis by T. E. Thorpe is also available as well as Analytical Chemistry by F. P. Treadwell. There are numerous other titles for other chemistry subcategories such as organic and inorganic chemistry.

There are other helpful e-books ready for download such as Laboratory Safety for Chemical Students by Robert Hill, and Chemistry for Everyone: A Helpful Primer for High School or College Chemistry. With the wide range of options, practical college students do not need to spend precious dollars for chemistry textbooks. They just need to know how to exploit available etextbooks online.

The Components of the Blood and the Immune System

We all have a general idea of what blood is. The heart pumps it through our body, and we need it to live. It is used to swear eternal friendship. We use it to save lives. If we are sick, the doctor can test our blood to find out what is wrong. But how can the blood reflect how we are sick, and why is it so essential to life? In the following article, I will give an overview of the blood components and their function.

What are the components of blood?

Your blood makes up about 7% of your body weight, and in an adult amounts to around 5 liters (= 1.3 gallons) (1). If you lose too much blood, for instance during a trauma or an accident, it can be life-threatening, and you may need a blood transfusion. We are able to donate up to half a liter, which is about 10% of our total blood volume, however such blood donation requires overall good health, and time to rest and recover afterwards. Roughly half of the blood volume consists of various blood cells, while the other half is blood plasma, the liquid which enables your blood to flow throughout your body. Every component in the blood has their own critical function, which will be introduced in this article.

The blood plasma consists of approximately 90 % water (1)

Water is critical for life. A human can survive for days and even weeks without food, but only a few days without water. The reason is that water is a resource that constantly recycles. We lose water from our body both through urine and as evaporation from our skin through sweat. Neither of these processes are something we can consciously control, but they are important processes for temperature control as well as getting rid of waste products. On the other hand, our water intake is under our control. We get water from what we drink, but also through food. Mild dehydration may lead to headache, overheating, or dizziness, but is not life-threatening under normal circumstances. In cases of extreme dehydration, you can get liquid through intravenous transfusions directly into your blood.

The blood plasma contains various soluble components

In addition to giving blood its fluidity, so that blood cells can be transported throughout the body, water is also important as a solvent for transport of nutrients and waste products. Minerals, vitamins, glucose, and various types of proteins, along with the water, make up the blood plasma. Although the color of the blood is red, the color of the blood plasma is actually yellow. The red color comes from the large amount of red bloods cells, as will be described below. The yellow color of the blood plasma comes from the various water-soluble components, such as nutrients and various signaling molecules. Furthermore, your blood is the carrier of various waste products, that are filtered out from the blood to the urine through the kidneys. In addition, the blood contains various proteins that have both structural as well as regulating or signaling roles. One type of important structural proteins are the coagulation factors that are required for proper blood clotting. Insulin is an example of signaling molecule. People suffering from diabetes must closely monitor and adjust the glucose and insulin levels in their blood, to ensure a proper balance.

The cells in our blood

The cells in our blood are divided into two main types: The red blood cells, and the white blood cells. In addition, there are specialized cell fragments, called platelets, that are derived from a specific type of white blood cells, the megakaryocytes. The red blood cells (RBC, also called erythrocytes) take up about 45% of the total blood volume (1). The red color is due to abundant amounts of the protein hemoglobin, which binds and transports oxygen from the lungs throughout our body. The white blood cells are critical for our immune system, which can broadly be divided into the innate and the adaptive immune system. The innate immune system recognizes patterns that are associated with pathogens, and mounts a fast reaction towards infections. The adaptive immune cells recognize specific eptiopes, and can be educated to recognize epitopes associated with disease. The response of adaptive immune cells are initially slower, but the education leads to a "memory" so that upon later encounters, we can quickly recognize and eliminate the threat. Immunization is based on the ability of the adaptive immune system to recognize the pathogen and develop a protective "memory" or immunization. Lastly, the platelets, also called thrombocytes, are not cells, but rather cell fragments. They are critical for blood coagulation, to ensure that upon a cut or damage to a blood vessel, the bleeding will stop.