School Education

As teachers and students head back to school following a glorious summer, it's time to remind teachers to organize 2004 school expenses. Under a temporary tax code change, teachers can deduct certain school-related expenses from adjusted gross income.
Educator Expense Deduction
If you work in the education field, you may be able to deduct up to $250 from your adjusted gross income for 2004 taxes. Unfortunately, the deduction is only applicable to 2004, but there is a reasonable possibility it will be extended to the 2005 tax year and beyond. As a result, you should continue to keep records so you can claim the deduction if it is extended. So, who can claim it and what can be claimed?
"Educators"
Under the tax code provision, "educators" are defined as a fairly broad group of professionals. You are an education if you comply with the following guidelines:
1. You teach kids in kindergarten or through grade 12;
2. You are a teacher
3. You are an instructor
4. You are a counselor
5. You are an aide, or
6. You are a principal
If you fit within one of the above positions, there is an additional time requirement that must be met. You must work at least 900 hours in an elementary or high school during the year in question. This equates to roughly half a year.
Expenses
As an educator, you are allowed to deduct unreimbursed expenses you paid for school room items. Examples include books, computer programs, writing supplies and those little stars I used to love getting on my book reports. Just make sure the school is not covering the costs.
The educator expense deduction is a rather disappointing $250, but every deduction counts when it comes to taxes. Make sure you claim the deduction and keep your receipts for the write off.
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As teachers and students head back to school following a glorious summer, it's time to remind teachers to organize 2004 school expenses. Under a temporary tax code change, teachers can deduct certain school-related expenses from adjusted gross income.

Educator Expense Deduction

If you work in the education field, you may be able to deduct up to $250 from your adjusted gross income for 2004 taxes. Unfortunately, the deduction is only applicable to 2004, but there is a reasonable possibility it will be extended to the 2005 tax year and beyond. As a result, you should continue to keep records so you can claim the deduction if it is extended. So, who can claim it and what can be claimed?

"Educators"

Under the tax code provision, "educators" are defined as a fairly broad group of professionals. You are an education if you comply with the following guidelines:

1. You teach kids in kindergarten or through grade 12;

2. You are a teacher

3. You are an instructor

4. You are a counselor

5. You are an aide, or

6. You are a principal

If you fit within one of the above positions, there is an additional time requirement that must be met. You must work at least 900 hours in an elementary or high school during the year in question. This equates to roughly half a year.

Expenses

As an educator, you are allowed to deduct unreimbursed expenses you paid for school room items. Examples include books, computer programs, writing supplies and those little stars I used to love getting on my book reports. Just make sure the school is not covering the costs.

The educator expense deduction is a rather disappointing $250, but every deduction counts when it comes to taxes. Make sure you claim the deduction and keep your receipts for the write off.

If you can't qualify for need-based scholarshipsappreciated! I you are willing to enter visual art scholarships and essay scholarships for example, and would prefer scholarships that are not extremely well known then I have some examples for you. There are all kinds of unique scholarships. Many of these scholarships go unawarded because no one steps forward who meets the criteria. The best way to find these "easilly accessable scholarships" is to sign up for a free data base service that alerts you to scholarships you match for. I give some examples of this on my blog.I blog about scholarships at my site (see source). There are companies that have you fill out a profile and then they email you with scholarships that match your characteristics. The companies have plenty of ways to make money without you forking over $50 or more for access. Don't pay for these services or access to the databases though. You shouldn't ever have to pay money to access scholarship information. collegeboard.com fastweb.com whole books at the library cover this subject in full. Talk to the school you want to go to. A lot of schools will find money to give you if you tell admissions that you just want to go there. There has been 31,000 dollar scholarship granted after having this discussion with admissions What if you father was in the navy, what kind of scholarships are available to you? Purpose: Dependent children/grandchildren and spouses of members in good standing of the Fleet Reserve Association or deceased while in aforementioned status, and member of the FRA may be eligible for up to $5000. Selection is based on financial need, academic standing, character and leadership qualities. Deadline: April 15. FRA members may access applications on Web site: http://www.fra.org/ Qualif.: Applicant must be: full-time student. High school students not considered. Award available to U.S. citizens. Award available to members of the following branches of the military: Navy, Marines, Coast Guard. Funds Avail.: Minimum no. of awards: 6. Maximum award amount: $5000. No. and Amount Awarded Last Calendar Year: 6 scholarship(s), totalling $30,000. To Apply: Required: application form; transcript; test scores; financial need analysis; essay; reference(s). Deadline: 4/15. Contact: Scholarship Information, 703-683-1400, Are there scholarships out there for that? Here is your first stop: http://www.navyleague.org/scholarship/ Then the Fleet Reserve Association. The Navy League Foundation's Scholarship Programs have been awarded and awardees have been notified for 2009. One of the most rewarding opportunities to demonstrate your appreciation for the men and women of the American sea services is to support The Navy League Foundation’s scholarship programs. The Navy League Foundation is able to provide increasing financial assistance to the dependents and direct descendants of sea service personnel for college and university expenses. The Foundation also awards several one-year scholarships on behalf of other military and civilian foundations, and Navy League Councils across the United States provide additional scholarships to students and Sea Cadets in their cities and regions. The Navy League Foundation has a total of 22 endowed, four-year $10,000 scholarships. Another question is: Are there any scholarships awarded to children of veterans? Fleet Reserve Association Scholarship They offer college scholoarships to the children of members. Also, Some military units have Associations, and those associations sometimes offer scholarships to the children of members. There are no government scholarships available to veterans children at the time of this writing, however this could change. Now there might be private scholorships that were endowed, for the children of Navy veterans, but you would have to use a scholorship research company to find them. So, you need to find out what ships your father served on, and see if they have an association, and then if that association offers scholarships. My daughter's father was a veteran who became disabled in Vietnam, and my daughter received $400 a month from the VA for four years, the entire time she attended college. I don't know, however, if that amount was due to the fact that he was disabled or not: yours might be less, but I'm almost sure that some funds would be available to you. Good luck! What scholarships can I apply to, when going to a graduate program? Start by making a list of linguistics masters programs to consider -- your college library will have directories such as Peterson's -- ask your friendly local reference librarian. You can try to get a grant or fellowship.All my Grad School was funded by a grant from Industry. Also, if your advisor is getting funding, you can get in on that as well, as long as your grad work is connected to his research. Most will require you to work (there are a few no-strings grad fellowships out there, but generally for PhD work, and they've become fewer and fewer). As you've found, scholarships tend to be for undergrads. Support for graduate study depends on the program and the institution, even more than for undergraduates. Once you have a short list of programs, contact their admissions people to find out what support is available -- fellowships, teaching or research assistantships are the most likely.

Find out more about Where can I find scholarships for international students in United States?
and all be the student studying what you always wanted to study. Forschools education

This is also the case in The Children's Act of 1989 as part of the welfare checklist to take into account "the child's physical, emotional and educational needs". Expectations reflect the ways in which pupils predict their own performance level, it depends on previous experience. Self-expectation is therefore learned and influenced by parents, teachers and others. To enhance self-esteem in order to aid academic achievement pupils who lack success in learning often react to failure by non-involvement strategies. They have a lack of motivation and retreat into dullness and laziness. When handing out jobs, the teacher only focused on previous achievement. Purkey outlined the following strategies in order for teachers to increase their pupils' self-esteem: Challenge the pupil e.g., "This is hard but I think you can do it" Give some freedom. Pupils must have freedom to make real decisions Respect the pupil. The teacher should never lower a pupils self worth Academic achievement and social class are closely interlinked. Statistics indicate that social class is directly related to educational success. Occupational class is used as an indicator of standards of living, "A person's named occupation is basically a pragmatic guide to that persons social position and his or her likely command over resources, it is an approximate indicator of family living standards or social position" (Black)
There are explanations for class affecting educational achievement. The first is Material Deprivation. There are "hidden costs" of free education such as uniform, transport, books and school meals. So being in a lower occupational class does effect a persons socio-economic status and thus has a direct affect on achievement in school. Also, the way in which a family is socialized has a large affect on school work. Douglas did a longitudinal study on the influence of parental interest on educational success. He claimed that this was the single most important influence on achievement for children. The explanation was that middle-class children receive "better" standards of care and that middle-class parents provide more stimulating home environments. Including encouragement and help with homework.
Also, there are cultural problems for the child from a lower-class background. Language styles are different from that the child is used to at home, which can cause him or her to feel divided from the rest of the class, the "odd one out".
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It's 5:30 a.m. on a summer day. I should be sleeping like the rest of the world, ensconced in a woolly blanket of certitude that there is no work today, only vacation. But I can't really sleep. It's the first day of school, you see.
There is an old theory of learning that says education isn't about teaching students new things but only about reminding them what they already inherently know.
It's a high-minded theory that assumes everyone is what my old college president would have termed "educable," that knowledge, like truth, is not relative, but exists on its own plane running parallel to ours and may be accessed by revelation.
One need only be shown the hidden path to the oracle's chamber, so to speak, and all will be unveiled.
Sometimes, though, it's not the student but the teacher that needs to be shown the way.
Perhaps we are so inured to others' needs, so accustomed to our own convenience, that we modern folk oftentimes don't pay heed to the tragedies occurring before our very eyes. Particularly for parents trying to educate our children, there seems to be a wall in front of our eyes that shields us so often from the truth.
We place our children in schools in the hopes that they will learn what is needed for them to survive in this world: facts, figures, social aptitude, an inquiring mind, an entrepreneurial spirit.
And we will show up and be supportive at school assemblies, classroom field trips, endless fund-raisers, sporting events, etc., ad nauseum.
We provide classroom supplies, chaperoning, transportation, library staffing, even office support, all in hopes that we are furthering our children's education by setting a good example and freeing up the teachers to do "what they do best."
Too often, though, what parents get out of this bargain isn't what was promised. Instead of bright, energetic, go-getter scholars, what we are handed back is children who are lethargic, beaten down and drained of any creativity they once had. We get kids who are indoctrinated into political correctness -- which is to say the art of arrogant whininess -- but who can barely multiply. We get kids who have been taught in "science" class to recycle to "save" the planet, but who can't explain to you how an airplane stays in the air or how an internal combustion engine works. We get kids who have been forced to memorize Dr. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech and participate annually in Cinco de Mayo but who can't explain one contribution of white people to the world other than bringing disease to North America.
In some schools, it's not unusual for as many as half the students to drop out before their senior high school year. Of those who hang in there, many seniors can't even pass an eighth-grade-level exit exam to get their diplomas.
And just to add to parental enjoyment, along the way, the children have almost certainly been exposed to gay sex, oral sex, premarital sex, contraception, abortion, illegal drug use, alcohol abuse, nihilism and atheism. All under the auspices of the school, and all before sixth grade -- kindergarten, if some legislators get their way. Recess and that after-school time before parents come home provide ample opportunity for kids to put into practice what they've learned in "skool."
Parents may seek relief in private schools, but often what they encounter is no better, just more expensive. If you are rich enough, it is still possible to buy your children a real education. If you're merely well-off, more likely what will happen is you will pay through the nose, and your children will receive an education that is relatively free from the sex- and drug-teaching curricula of the public schools, as well as the more violent forms of playground bullying. But for the most part, the rest of the teaching agenda is the same, particularly if you live in a state like California, where private schools are so regulated that they often just give up and use the same books, the same curricula, same time tables and same test "preparation" procedures as the public schools. If you're lucky, there might be some time to squeeze in a little religious education.
That was our experience. Not being much of a corporate yes man myself, we've often been on the lower rungs of the economic ladder. Still, we managed to put our son into private schools despite the cost. Sending him to our local public elementary school was out of the question. The first time we went to that school's office, there were three children being treated by the school nurse after getting beaten up in the halls. The second time we went to that office, the police were there having a "chat" with a boy who looked like he was in about fourth grade.
So we got our son into a local private school, with high hopes of better things. Now, when he started kindergarten, he was almost a whole year younger than the rest of his classmates because of the oddity of birthday cutoffs, but he still tested above many of them. That glowing moment didn't last long, however. Soon, we were told that our boy needed a speech therapist because he had trouble pronouncing certain syllables. We took him back to our local public school, which actually had a real speech therapist on staff, and after five minutes she pronounced not only was he normal for his age, but he was exceptionally bright and seemed like he was a few years ahead in his vocabulary, even if he couldn't quite pronounce his "th" sounds yet.
After we got over that hurdle, we learned that he was being picked on at school. Despite the school's supposedly strict "no bullies" policy, our son, who was a year younger than most of his classmates but also taller than almost all of them, was in the same classroom with a boy who was almost two years older than most of the kindergartners. So now I found myself having to explain to my gentle 5-year-old how to handle an 8-year-old developmentally challenged gorilla who liked to express himself with his fists. We finally got the principal to take action after the teacher did nothing, but at the expense of his teacher now viewing us and our son as "the enemy" for getting her in trouble.
And that was just the beginning of our experiences with private schools. At one point, our boy must have seen something on TV at the same time the class was studying Christ's Passion in school, and he made a comment to somebody, somehow, somewhere, "Oh, just kill me." I think it was because he used the wrong color crayon or something. Suddenly, our then first-grader is supposedly likely to kill himself, he could be a danger to others, yada yada. So we take him to his first shrink, who pronounces him normal but unusually imaginative and, surprise, verbally gifted, and says that the boy was just acting out something he heard. We were not really surprised, but we were still relieved that everything was normal.
Let me tell you, though, after something like that gets around, nothing's normal ever again. Suddenly, we were the pariahs who were raising the next Columbine kid. We couldn't buy a play date at that point. And our son was aware of it. He started hanging his head when he walked, playing by himself at recess, and we'd catch him calling himself "stupid" when things went awry. At that point, we had an opportunity to apply to another school. We went through all the hoops and got positive feedback from the interviewing teachers and so forth, but one of the deciding factors turned out to be a letter written to the new school by our son's kindergarten teacher. We weren't allowed to see the letter, but the tone of the interviewers changed drastically after they read it.
Fortunately, we had another opportunity to get into a different school, this one Catholic, which is our denomination. Once again, we had high hopes for better results. Once again, those hopes were dashed. Our son wound up in a classroom with a first-year teacher who right off the bat pegged him as a troublemaker for whatever reason. This teacher, we later learned, had a habit of yelling at the kids, and she took out much of her aggression on our son. He began hating school and not wanting to do the incredible amount of homework they piled on every night. The next teacher was much nicer, but by then the damage was done. Even though our boy was capable of doing his homework perfectly (when he wanted to), he regularly flunked tests because they were time-limited and he would panic because he could hear his past teacher screaming at the kids next door.
Just to add insult to injury, we finally realized that the curriculum at the school was the same state-created curriculum at public schools. They used the same texts and applied the same ridiculous schedule of 8 to 10 subjects per day, which hardly allows any time to absorb the information, much less understand it. The parents whose kids were doing well in class, we later learned, were going to Kumon classes after school. When our son needed extra help with multiplication, we were told he must be tutored. Well, the tutors at the school didn't have time for us. We approached the youth director because her teens need service credits to graduate high school. No one volunteered to tutor our son. We were finally told he MUST have a professional tutor. We were given a name, supposedly of a parishioner, but no contact information. This person was not on record with the parish or the school office. The principal, who had recommended him, never came forth with a number. We contacted the church's nuns. This particular order is charged with teaching children. That's their gig. Within five minutes, the got back to us and said one of the sisters would tutor our son, but they wanted to talk to his teacher before setting up a schedule. They talked to his teacher apparently, then suddenly they weren't available to help out.
So in the final analysis, our own church school, using lay teachers to teach state curriculum out of state textbooks, happily accepts thousands of dollars in tuition but is unable to properly teach the children math, forcing parents to supplement with either a program like Kumon or, in our case, nonexistent tutors.
We spent somewhere between $25,000 and $30,000 on tuition, uniforms and other expenses in the vain hope of giving our child a decent education. All that happened was a gaggle of overpaid strangers slowly strangled his curiosity and crushed his desire to learn, leaving him a bundle of nerves at the age of 8.
Sometimes it's the educator who needs to be reminded of what he already knows. My child is too important to me, and I think someday to the world, to leave in the hands of a capricious public or private education system that, ultimately, is designed to produce conforming drones, not thinkers. We, as his parents, cannot simply stand by and watch the life being squeezed out of him like the juice from a lemon.
The reality is that we, like most parents, have allowed this to happen for far too long because it was convenient to let our son be raised by strangers.
No more.
We had started supplementing his education with materials from a local home schooling program when he began having grade trouble and as a "backup" because of the monkey business school administrators liked to be up to, such as putting new students on "probation" for no reason.
We've decided to take the plunge and just home school. It will be a change, for sure, and a lot of responsibility, but the incredible improvement we've already seen in our boy's attitude and aptitude is making it worthwhile.
I've encountered many parents with stories similar to ours. We apparently are part of a growing movement to take back education from the millers who are running the system.
Having been through the system myself, and having seen what it nearly did to my child, I no longer believe in "reforming" the education system, reducing class sizes or raising teachers' salaries. If the government insists on dabbling in education, then what is needed is a wholesale elimination of what we have now. A replacement system would start with teachers who are trained in a subject other than "education," have an administrator-to-teacher ratio on the order of 1-to-20, eliminate the nonsensical scale of grade levels and let students achieve at their own speed in the needed skills.
How do I know that would work? Because that's essentially what we've created with our own home schooling group, and it is working spectacularly well. There are kids who have gone through the same program and entered college by age 15. Many of the teens in the program or formerly in the program have successful businesses. My son's only 8, so we've got lots of working and growing ahead to do, but for the first time in a long time, both he and his parents are looking forward to it.
Tad Cronn is an author and editor in West Hills, CA. More of his work may be seen at http://www.the-free-lance.com.

So you're considering going to college to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to ride these tough economic times?

Many people both young and old have chosen to go beyond a high school education in order to earn a Bachelor's or even Master's degree that can help them get financially ahead in their life.

However, deciding on the best college program can be difficult as there are many options.

Consider Your Educational and Career Goals

One of the things to look at when choosing a college program is your educational and career goals. Picture yourself ten years from this moment and try to envision yourself set in a career or working at a job that you absolutely love.

Is this job related to internet technology, is it counseling people, is it managing people or a business, or is it figuring out where people went wrong on their taxes? If you know what you'd like to be working on in 10 years then all you have to do is find a college that fits those future goals.

Navigating the sea of colleges, though, can be very difficult.

There are traditional colleges and universities as well as online college programs that offer you the convenience of earning your degree entirely online!

If getting accepted into a traditional state or private college is what you want to do then the first place you should look is a college department website. Often colleges will have lists of courses available so that you can match up your goals to see if you like what the college has to offer.

On the other hand, there are also online colleges and universities that offer everything from technical and hospitality programs all the way to teacher certification programs. These college programs can be found relatively quickly just by searching the web for online programs in the area you want.

After all is said and done, though, chances are that you should be able to find something that you'd like to do as far as your education is concerned. Today colleges and universities are diversifying more so anyone can have the chance to obtain an educational degree very quickly and efficiently!

If you are looking to go beyond a high school education and don't know where to start -> CLICK HERE.

Here is a FREE resource you can download, to over 1,900 college and Universities! freeeducationguide2009.info

When you see a loved one end their high school education, it is a difficult thing to watch. Especially when it is your child. Many young people may not understand the importance of a high school education to their future and can only see the difficulty it may cause in their current daily life. It may be they don't get along with other students or even the teachers. Regardless of the situation, it is hard to watch a loved one throw their future away.

A high school education does not need to be received in the traditional high school setting. With today's technology, there are many ways in which to get an education. One of the best means of receiving a high school education is to participate in an online education program. Many are low-priced and offer choices to the participating student.

Online high school education provides the student access to as many classes as they need to receive their high school diploma. Whether the student needs credit in science, social studies, English, math, or a foreign language, an online education program will have them available. These online high school education classes also allow the student to learn at their own pace. If the student is working during the day, they can access their classes in the evening. The fact is online education makes it easy and convenient for the student.

When helping your loved one to choose an online high school education program, you'll want to make sure it is accredited. This means the school has been officially recognized as a qualified education program and your student will receive a quality education from it. You'll also want to make sure that your loved one has all the details and understands how the program works. You don't want them to feel frustrated again and quit halfway through their program. Providing all the details up front is important.

If your loved one has not received their high school education, provide them with the opportunity and support they made to finish out their high school education. It may be they are simply too scared or lacking the confidence to continue. When you give them the encouragement, they will thank you for it and greatly appreciate all of the support you gave them.

Home school education will give the extra advantage both for the parents and also the children. This education can provide the student an extra benefit by involving them into personal attention from the tutor that allows qualified and accelerated learning experience. Enjoyable atmosphere of home schooling can provide the helpful effect to the educational experience.

Possible Positives of a Home School Education

Providing your kids one-on-one teaching is very satisfying and rewarding way to provide them a quality of this education. For several parents, this action is nearly impossible because of the economic reasons because this will be very expensive as you have to call a qualified tutor. But, it doesn't mean that you are not having the chance of home schooling.

Home schooled youngsters are known to be much advance along in grade level curriculum than their regular schooled counterparts. It means that during the home schooling, your youngsters can finish the high school earlier, start the college earlier, and also take the level course while finishing the advanced high school requirements at the same time.

Possible Negatives Caused By Lack of Information

For parents who want to provide their kids a home school education, there is much to be studied. One time you take the wrong information, it can cause your youngsters to be unable to obtain the obligatory degrees to meet your state's requirements. This is important to make sure that your youngsters learn the subjects required to their education in the future at a selected profession.

Another problem that comes about with a defectively run home school education program is social. Generally, home schooled children may need to acquire together with kids at the same age from time to time. It is because they require enjoying attending social activities and also making friends besides learning school subjects.

Be clear with more explanation in regard to home school education.

Want more information about home schooling? All you have to do is click Home Schooling Solution.

A home schooling education is a prized asset to anyone's background. It demonstrates independent work completed in a timely manner, often reflecting an education well above the average education level of that from a public or private school.

A home schooling education most often involves well thought out planning and instruction from a loving parent or guardian who's gently guided the child through many series of targeted lessons. The lessons have covered in-depth information on not only main topics of focus as required by the local laws by often much more advanced training with onsite visits at local industry establishments and interviews with their company workers as part of the lessons.

The more customized and in-depth lessons learned by those with home schooling education provide a much more well-rounded real-life education for after high school years. While their peers from public and private schools battle learning good independent life skills, work and study habits, their home schooling peers already excel in those areas, for example.

The child's home schooling education has included plenty of socialization within peers groups of other home schooled children and children who attend their local churches, on average. Plus home schooling education means an average of 3 children or more per household, so others to play with, plus neighborhood children, library groups, etc.

Grades, maturity levels and college work / study habits of those who have had a home schooling education are on the whole at more advanced levels than those of their peers in public and private schools. Those educated at home with a more Christian approach, especially, tend to not have dealt with the negative issues like early sexual activity and pregnancy, substance abuse, neglect, abuse, etc. as witnessed in their public and private school peers. And those with a home schooling education are accepted more often in universities and colleges, often having had scholarships offered, too.

While public and private schools have time-tables for sessions, breaks, months to complete lessons, etc., home schooling education offers a much more flexible training program. It can go with families when they travel, take breaks, are transferred for work / military or other reasons. And home schooling education offers much more flexibility with materials; books, online learning, non-violent materials, Christian materials with incorporated religious training and daily activities, etc.

In summary, a home schooling education can offer a very valuable asset. Anyone interested in giving their child or children a head start in life, a solid foundation for learning and growing should delve further into the subject.