Month: May 2018
College students or would be college students looking at the possibilities distance learning programs offer will soon find out the opportunities are many. These programs have come a long way in a very short time. Where there once were only a few choices in the distance learning arena, there are now many.
Students seeking out distance learning programs should be certain the schools and universities they deal with have their proper accreditation. This is becoming much easier to achieve as more state universities and well known private institutions bring their brand of learning online. Still, it’s wise to check. It is also advised to make sure the individual degree program is accredited. A university might have accreditation, but its school of journalism, for example, might not.
Anyone looking at these programs will soon find it is now possible to earn any level of degree offered at institutions of higher learning. Programs common in distance learning include:
* Certifications. This is sort of the bread and butter of distance learning programs. Certification classes are common for almost every field imaginable. When there is a need to take a certain class for continued employment requirements or to open up doors for a new job, certification programs can generally be found to meet the needs. These range from medical classes and law enforcement certifications to computer science, education and beyond.
* Associates degrees. The variety of these “entry level” degrees available online from accredited schools is pretty amazing. Everything from computers and business to general study and beyond can be found. These degrees often work well for landing employment and they can also be fantastic stepping stones for advancing onto higher level degree programs.
* Bachelors programs. The variety of programs tends to narrow a bit by this level of degree program, but not much. The truth is many programs offered in person can now be found online. From criminal justice and education to computer science, business administration and even psychology, it is possible to find very good bachelor level distance learning programs.
* Doctorates degrees. Here is where the field really narrows. The most common doctorates programs offered online center on the business and finance fields. Other choices do exist, but with these programs, it is particularly vital to ensure accreditation is in order.
The types of distance learning programs available online will vary with each institution offering them. Some schools provide their full course schedule online; others only offer select programs.
When these programs are selected, it is important for students to check into accreditation and also to be prepared for some work. While the classes do take place online, they are real college-level classes. This means reading, and a lot of it. It also means tests, reports, research and more.
Distance learning programs can open doors for all manner of degree programs. Whether a student is seeking certification in a particular area or they want to go on for a doctorates degree, many programs can be found online, making it easier for students to obtain the education they desire.
India NGO has been successful to a large extent in extending quality educational for slum children in various parts of India. In fact these organisations have been immensely successful in improving the quality of primary education. The purpose of education is to create responsible citizens and Educational NGO is working towards this mission.
In India we find several millions of children deprived of their right to education. Even though Indian government has been taking up several welfare programs and activities, they are not reaching the target group due to some selfish middlemen. India NGO has proved to be a boon in disguise in this situation. Several NGO are operating in various cities in India trying to uplift poor and downtrodden people.
Time and again it has been proved that single handily neither government nor India NGO can be successful in their tasks. Collaboration between these two can accomplish the task more easily. There are few aspects that need attention and the same are mentioned below:
Targeting slum children: India NGO need support from government in motivating slum dwelling children and provide them with quality education. This is quite a tough challenge for NGOs as most of these children go for work. So, not only children, their parents also need to be convinced to send their children to schools. Even if these children come to school, teachers in government schools should make learning easy by creating an interesting environment.
Quality education to slum children: Right to education has been included as one of the fundamental rights in Indian constitution. So every child up to the age of 13 years should attend school. In order to provide quality education to slum children, lot of changes have to be made in teaching process. Trainers for primary school teachers and teacher training institutes need to learn several new techniques from educational NGOs. In order to provide quality education to these children, teachers need to implement several new tools. This is possible only when India NGO and government work in unison.
Common vision: Government no doubt takes up several welfare programs but most of them do not succeed as they do not reach the targeted group. Due to lack of personal interest these programs get wasted. However, this is not the case with NGO. These are service oriented people and strive towards the well being of the community at large. Both government and India NGO need to work in collaboration towards achieving a common vision. NGOs are definitely competitive in shaping policies appropriate for primary education. Flexible learning tools along with innovative teaching methods should be introduced.
In order to have a competitive advantage, India NGO should constantly evaluate and redefine their welfare activities. India is a populous country and so neither the government nor NGO can bring in a huge change all by themselves. Collaboration between both these bodies would help in achieving remarkable results. India NGO because of their service motive and wide spread accessibility can cater to the needs of millions of people living in every nook and corner of the country. So lets work in unison and made India country with cent percent literacy rate.
A recent survey conducted by Join Together a program of the Boston University School of Public Health shows that few teachers believe that alcohol and other drug prevention programs work. Only 2 percent of more than 3,700 respondents felt that their school-based prevention program is effective. The report says that teachers are skeptical of the prevention programs they deliver. It goes on to say that teachers cite the need more relevant study materials, more time to do prevention, more support, and more training.
Although more training and enhanced study materials would certainly do no harm, how does this change the current destructive belief permeating our schools and our culture that drug prevention doesnt work? It is not a matter of more time, more study materials, or more training, but a need for a fundamental change in how we define prevention, set prevention goals, and understand how children adopt and reinforce healthy and unhealthy behaviors.
For three decades the United States has been waging an expensive and ineffective drug war a war more political than practical. In 1993 the federal government spent $1.7 billion on the drug war and in 1999 17.9 billion. The most ubiquitous of drug education programs DARE (Drug Awareness Resistance Education) which was started in Los Angeles in 1983 is plagued by research showing its lack of effectiveness. DARE currently costs taxpayers between 1 and 1.3 billion dollars a year. In addition, the DARE programs premise that early drug education inoculates kids from future drug use in high school is both nave and lacking a fundamental understanding of child development. In the most recent survey of adolescent drug trends conducted by Monitoring the Future, 48% of 12th graders had a drink within the last thirty days and by the time a student graduates from high school nearly half have tried an illicit drug – most likely marijuana. While recent trends in drinking and drug use show decreases in most categories, underage drinking and most notably marijuana use remain a regular experience of teenage life. What have we gotten for our money? And how does the current drug education approach reflect the reality that most teenagers face every weekend?
Teenage drug use is normalized in our culture. By the time most teens reach high school, they accept alcohol and some drug use by their peers as a common social activity. The popular notion that drinkers and drug users are outcasts and deviants conveniently ignores the reality that many teens drink including student leadership, athletes, active and involved good students. Scare tactics and exaggerated drug effects only work when your audience does not have access to other information. This generation of students has more access to information than any other generation in time. This will most likely be the case for subsequent generations. Manipulation, coercion, and exaggerated claims are not tolerated by students.
Prevention programs need to support and validate those students who choose to delay their drinking and abstain from other drugs. Programs need to help students effectively communicate concerns to friends who may be experiencing problems with their drinking and drug use and to connect those friends to helping resources in the community. Finally, prevention programs need to offer suggestions to students to minimize the risks associated with drinking and drug use such as frequency and quantity of use. Promoting risk reduction strategies no more condones drinking than the suggestion of wearing a seat belt condones speeding.
We are in a crisis right now. It is not a drug crisis, but a crisis of belief and faith. We are loosing faith in the idea that we can be effective. We are giving in to the fear that any deviation from the path of abstinence-based zero tolerance education is an endorsement of drinking. The results of giving in to fear are the growing popularity of random drug testing programs, locker searches and drug sniffing dogs. We dont need to catch more kids, but to connect with more kids. We dont need to make an example of a student, but be examples for students of healthy living and compassionate care.