What is it Like to Attend The Ohio State University

What is it Like to Attend The Ohio State University The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Noor is a Chicago tutor who specializes in Spanish tutoring, English tutoring, and Test-Taking Strategies tutoring. He graduated from The Ohio State University in 2011 with a degree in Arts and Sciences, specifically in International Relations and Diplomacy and Spanish. Check out what he had to say about his school: VT: Describe the campus setting and transportation options.How urban or safe is the campus?Are there buses or do you need a car/bike? Noor: Ohio State is a pretty urban campus. As far as Columbus goes, campus sits comfortably near the center of the city. In this sense, it's mostly safe, but a little rough around the edges. Campus security stays vigilant, though. As far as getting to classes on time, I recommend having a bike or taking a bus, which is really easy as OSU has its own bus system and plenty of bike racks all over campus. I say this because the campus is big - really, really big. Walking could easily get tiring. VT: How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Noor: All faculty members have rather open office hours, which they're apt to inform students of. But outside of office hours, email is the only way to contact most professors and advisers. I found that anytime I needed to speak with a professor, I didn't have a problem communicating with them. VT: How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Noor: Dorm life at OSU varies slightly based on what part of campus you're living in. Again, the campus is really big, so it's commonly separated by location - North Campus, South Campus, and West Campus. I lived on South Campus where most of the freshman dorms are, and it was an excellent place to meet people and get a feel for the campus in general. I'd say it's the same all over campus, but North and West Campus have a smaller concentration of freshmen than South Campus does. All parts of campus are close to class buildings and sport various dining halls, ranging from Mexican to Asian to hearty, American-style buffets - the palate never finds itself bored. Rooms are what you'd expect from a dorm. They're slightly cramped, but have enough wiggle room to satisfy even the most claustrophobic student. VT: Which majors/programs are best represented and supported?What did you study and why? Did the university do a good job supporting your particular area of study? Noor: While most majors and programs are rather well supported, Business, Law, and Medicine are the most supported. I also found that Art and Music had a rather large representation. OSU has its own hospital, Business School (The Fisher School of Business), and Law School (Moritz College of Law), as well as an art-gallery-meets-art-campus in the Wexner Center. There are also specific buildings for many other majors and programs, such as Architecture, Engineering, and Language. OSU is very diverse. I dual-majored in International Studies and Spanish, but that was due to interests I had and professors I met that guided me in that direction. I found that the university did a wonderful job supporting my majors, as highly influential and intelligent professors populated both fields of study. I can easily say that most of the professors that I had impacted both my life and thought process for the better. VT: How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Noor: Due to the nature of the dorms and freshman campus life, it was stupendously easy to make friends and meet people. As a matter of fact, many of the friends I have today are friends that I met freshman year. There are myriad social events on campus all throughout the year, including free concerts, barbecues, and so much more that would take decades to list. Campus is constantly bustling with activity. Greek life plays a role, but not an overpowering one. All of the fraternities and sororities are located off campus, and while there are many, I wouldn't say that they're inextricable with campus life. VT: How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services?Do many reputable companies recruit on campus? Noor: Quite a few reputable companies recruit on campus, especially around the Business School. Also, being that Columbus is not only a huge test market for the country, but also home to the headquarters of many businesses, finding a career in the Columbus area is pretty easy. The student union also abounds with career fairs and opportunities for involvement and securing internships. The Career Center is staffed by genuine, helpful people whose aim is seeing students succeed, and professors and advisors were always, in my experience, ready to help and guide. VT: How are the various study areas such aslibraries, student union, and dorm lounges? Are they over-crowded, easily available, spacious? Noor: As I've stated a few times already, The Ohio State University is big, and everything about it is also big. The main library and the student union were both recently remodeled and are in impeccable shape; the library boasts 11 floors and the union is a sprawling expanse of possibilities. There is ample space for studying and a plethora of resources to utilize. As far as the dorm lounges, they're great, but a bit more readily occupied. I would definitely recommend doing work in either the main library or the union. VT: Describe the surrounding town. What kinds of outside establishments / things to do are there that make it fun, boring, or somewhere in between?To what extent do students go to the downtown area of the city versus staying near campus? Noor: Columbus is a wonderful town, pockmarked with so many options for diversion that it borders on overwhelming. In every direction there are restaurants, cafes, lounges, malls, and everything else the mind can conjure. Columbus is a very diverse city; near campus, there are restaurants encompassing almost every ethnicity and nationality. A very hip and young district lies just south of campus, called The Short North. It's a veritable haven for students, filled with cheap places to eat or hang out, and it also hosts a weekly event called Gallery Hop, which is essentially an art show. Students are often found all over the city, because Columbus is very spread out and every part of it offers a different experience. Fun doesn't even begin to describe it. One will never find himself bored, and it's almost too easy to avoid doing the same thing twice. VT: How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Noor: Ohio State competes with Arizona State for holding the record for the largest student body in the country with nearly 50,000 students. This sounds overwhelmingly large at first, and while the sheer amount of students is easily noticeable, class sizes are rather manageable. Of course, GECs that take place in lecture halls can contain upwards of 500 students, but most major-specific classes are a decent size. I never felt like I was overcrowded in any class, and I believe that the professors there understand the amount of students they have very well, and do their best to accommodate to all of them. So, I was rather pleased with the typical class size, which, outside of GECs, never really exceeded 30-40 students, and sometimes even less. VT: Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Noor: My freshman year, I had a Spanish professor that truly shaped my mind for what I'm doing now. She was incredibly inspiring and did her utmost to culture and educate us, her students. I still maintain contact with her today, and the imprint she left on me is one that I will never regret. She encouraged me to pursue language and international education, and instilled in me the courage to take the risks I needed to take in order to further myself. Check out Noors tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

10 Ways to Study without Distraction

10 Ways to Study without Distraction Sign up successful 1. Create the right environment. Distraction is often a byproduct of an environment filled with noise, excess technology, open browsers â€" you get the idea. Create an environment designed for studying. This can be as simple as clearing your workspace, restarting your computer, and taking a few deep breaths to quiet the mind. 2. Set an intention. Distraction can also happen when you are unclear about the direction in which you are headed, or what you are trying to accomplish. Set a clear intention for a period of time or a project so that you are always working towards something specific, achievable, and quantifiable. 3. Turn off the channels of communication. Facebook, Twitter, email, telephone â€" all of these are great for communicating and reaching out, but when you are trying to stay focused, they can undermine even the most determined of us. Turn your phone to silent, sign out of your email and social media accounts, and know that most communication is non-urgent, so returning to it an hour or two will likely cause no disruption at all. 4. Vary your routine. Boredom is a leading cause of distraction. When you’re bored, you don’t want to focus and accomplish something specific. You can avoid boredom by varying your routine in terms of your study location, your method of studying (flashcards, asking someone to quiz you, reading aloud versus silently, etc.) and any other factor within your control. 5. Make your goal public. When you have your reputation at stake, you will be much more likely to meet your goal. So find an accountability partner or post your goal to study without distraction for a certain amount of time to social media, and then follow up with a post stating how you did. Achieving your goal can be even more rewarding when your network knows about it, too! 6. Find support. Sometimes distraction happens because we are overwhelmed by the tasks in front of us. Finding help can be as simple as taking a study skills class, talking to a friend, or reaching out to a classmate. This is one of the best ways to study efficiently, because when you feel supported and in control, you are more likely to be productive. 7. Manage expectations from others. Those around you can also be a significant source of distraction. If you know you need to study quietly for the next two hours, but your partner, child or roommate doesnt know this, it’s bound to result in distraction. Communicating your needs simply and clearly ahead of time can create the space you need without offending those around you. 8. Take breaks. All work and no play results in… not a lot of work done. Taking breaks is essential to recharge your mental and physical state, so that when you do study, you can use your time well. 9. Prepare beforehand. Studying can be as simple as finding your book and notebook, but other times, you may need additional equipment. Preparing ahead of time by charging your laptop, printing out any reading material, or downloading study guides can ensure that you spend your designated study time actually studying rather than locating the tools that you will need. Similarly, make sure you are as well-rested, fed, and hydrated as possible so that you are not distracted by bodily sensations of sleepiness, hunger, and thirst. 10. Use time management techniques. There are a few ways to study and techniques to try; the Pomodoro technique, for example, can revolutionize your use of time. Making use of simple tools for time management can ensure you stay on track. With these tips, you should find that you accomplish your study goals in less time. Remember to make small changes and tweak your routine according to your daily needs. And give yourself a little leeway, too â€" nobody is ever 100% distraction-free, so just do your best and reward yourself as you take steps toward an organized, efficient studying routine. Jinan B. tutors in Life Science in Honolulu, HI. She is currently an  Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, teaching various courses including  Community Nutrition, Concepts in Nutrition Education, and Advanced Child and Adolescent Nutrition.  Learn more about Jinan here!   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo  by  UBC Learning Commons

Protecting Your Good Ideas - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / Protecting Your Good Ideas - Introvert Whisperer Protecting Your Good Ideas Personal Branding starts with how well you speak about YOU.  I want to help you accelerate your career by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my eBook â€" The Definitive Guide to Creating and Using an Elevator Speech.  In this guide, I give you simple to follow instructions for creating a “wardrobe” of ways to talk about you â€" to leave a lasting impression. Get your copy now! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Italian Grammar Introduction to Gender and Number

Italian Grammar Introduction to Gender and Number Suzy S. When it comes to building a solid Italian grammar foundation, gender and number are two very important concepts one must learn.  Unfortunately, they are also very troublesome for beginner students. Below Italian teacher, Nadia B. gives a quick and easy introduction to the two concepts Ready to explore Italian grammar? For students, gender and number are often the most challenging concepts to understand, since they are used very differently in Italian than in English. However, with a little explanation and practice, you will be using them with ease in no time. So, lets get started! Gender In Italian, nouns and adjectives can be either masculine or feminine. Usually the gender of the noun can be identified by the ending. For example,  if the noun ends in -o  its generally masculine, and if the noun ends in -a, it is generally feminine. In the plural, nouns ending in -i are generally masculine, and nouns ending in -e are feminine. See examples below. Masculine: il ragazzo (the boy) / i ragazzi (the boys) il libro (the book) / i libri (the books) lalbero (the tree) / gli alberi (the trees) Feminine: la ragazza (the girl) / le ragazze (the girls) la gonna (the skirt) / le gonne (the skirts) la penna (the pen) / le penne (the pens) There are exceptions to the above-mentioned Italian grammar rule. For example, nouns that denote inanimate objects  are randomly assigned a gender.  It is best to continually practice these words in order to memorize them and their gender.  See examples below. larte (the art) feminine il bicchiere (the glass) masculine Also, dont be fooled by nouns that are commonly shortened, as their long form reveals their  true gender. See examples below. la bici=la bicicletta (the bicycle) la foto=la fotografia (the photograph) la moto= la motocicletta (the motorcycle) Number (Singular and Plural) Once youve learned how to identify whether a noun is masculine or feminine, another important component to learning Italian  grammar is how number affects nouns. Feminine Nouns and Adjectives When we pluralize a noun, it generally follows the rule that the -a ending in feminine singular nouns changes to -e, and the -o ending in masculine singular nouns changes to -i.  The same applies to adjectives. See examples below. la donna (the woman) becomes le donne (the women) la  città (the city) becomes le  città (the cities) il letto  (the bed) becomes i letti (the beds) However, what happens when the ending is a little different to begin with?  If its a feminine singular noun or adjective that ends in -ca or -ga, we want to preserve the hard sound, therefore, the plural then ends in -che or -ghe. See examples below: la giacca (the jacket) becomes  le giacche (the jackets) la pianta larga (the wide sole) becomes le piante larghe (the wide soles) Feminine singular nouns that end in -cia or -gia drop the -i in the plural and thus the ending becomes -ce or -ge. This is to preserve the same sound and syllabication that occurs in the singular. See examples below. la faccia (the face)  becomes le facce (the faces) la spiaggia (the beach)  becomes le spiagge  (the beaches) The only exception to this rule is in the case of  la camicia  (the shirt) which retains its -i in the plural le camicie  (the shirts). If the stress lands on the -i in the -cia or -gia ending, though, then the noun retains the -i in the plural, with the ending -cie or -gie. See examples below. la pasticceria (the pastry shop) becomes le pasticcerie (the pastry shops) la bugia (the lie) becomes le bugie (the lies) Masculine Nouns and Adjectives For masculine nouns and adjectives, the ones that end in -co turn to -chi or -ci in the plural. The identifying factor is the accentuation if the stress is on the next-to-last syllable, the plural ending should be -chi. Nouns ending in -co that have the stress on the third-to-last syllable turn to -ci in the plural. See examples below. Il pacco (the package) becomes i pacchi (the packages) Il giocho (the game)  becomes i giochi (the games) Il medico (the doctor) becomes i medici (the doctors) il cucciolo stanco (the tired puppy)  becomes i cuccioli stanchi (the tired puppies) There are a few exceptions, though, like words originally from Greek and other ones that simply dont follow the rule. Here are some common words that are exceptions: lamico (the friend)  becomes gli amici (the friends) il greco (the Greek)  becomes i greci ( the Greeks) One last ending that changes from singular to plural is that of masculine nouns and adjectives ending in -go. These nouns change to -ghi in the plural. For example: Il dialogo (the dialogue)  becomes i dialoghi (the dialogues) Il capello lungo (the individual strand of long hair)  becomes i capelli lunghi ( the head of long hair) The only exception to this rule is nouns that end in -go that stem from a longer ending of -ologo. This ending creates a plural ending of -ologi. For example: Lo psicologo (the psychologist)  becomes gli psicologi (the psychologists) Il radiologo (the radiologist)  becomes i radiologi (the radiologists) While there are many different Italian grammar rules to remember, they are not as difficult to learn as they may seem. In fact, after seeing gender and number usage in context and using them yourself, you will soon be able to distinguish between all the possibilities. Work closely with your Italian tutor to come up with some fun exercises for you to better learn these complex Italian grammar rules. Nadia B. teaches Italian in New York, NY. She graduated summa cum laude from New York University, with a double degree in Italian Language and Literature and Classical Music Performance. Learn more about Nadia here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by  Son of Groucho

Why You Should Opt to Take SAT Subject Tests

Why You Should Opt to Take SAT Subject Tests Stand out from the College Admission Crowd by taking the SAT Subject Tests If you're preparing for college admission you may be wondering if you should take any of the available SAT Subject Tests. These tests are designed for you to showcase your achievement and ability in specific subject areas while enhancing your college application portfolio. When you are applying to colleges you want your portfolio to speak for itself and paint a picture of your strengths, assets, and abilities. These tests help you do just that. Basics of the SAT Subject Tests: Each Subject Testis anhour in length and is based on contentpreviously covered in high school courses. There are 20 different Subject Tests representing fiveacademic areas: history, English, foreign languages, science, andmathematics. The Subject Tests are administered six times per yearin October, November, December, January, May, and June. Not all exams areoffered on all testing dates. It's best to plan ahead to ensure that youare able to take the exams of your choosing. You can sit for three Subject Tests on a single day.You are not allowed to take a Subject Test the same day you take the SATexam. The Language with Listening exams are onlygivenin the first testing hour of each testing day. You can only complete onelistening test per exam date. The professional tutors at Huntington Learning Centerare available to help you prepare for the Subject Tests. We will determineyour initial level of mastery and then work to ensure you are progressingthrough all of the content necessary for success on the exam. It is vital to understand how sitting for the Subject Testscan impact your college applications. Taking these exams allows you to: Stand out from the crowdThe Subject Tests provide youthe opportunity to differentiate yourself from other candidates. Evencolleges and universities that don't require the Subject Tests will likely use the results to make admission decisions. Set yourself apart from thecompetition by showcasing your knowledge and ability. For example, if youare applying to Northwestern University and want to major in Chemical Engineering demonstrating mastery on the Math Level 2 exam and theChemistry exam will provide evidence of your achievement and potential. Showcase your unique abilitiesIf you are an ESL or international student the Subject Tests allow you toshine on exams that don't heavily rely on English language mastery such as science, math, and foreign languages. You can also utilize the SubjectTests to demonstrate your multilingual skills or complete foreign languagecompetency requirements. Huntington Learning Centers offers personalizedtutoring programs for a wide range of Subject Tests. We will create acustomized tutoring plan that uniquely matches your strengths and areas ofneed. Since no two students are alike no two tutoring programs are alikeeither. Provide evidence for your homeschool educationBecause homeschool curriculaare incredibly varied and often designed to meet individual needs, theSubject Tests are an excellent opportunity to add insight to youreducation. Colleges will get a better picture of your education,achievement, and ability while you discover your mastery levels comparedto standardized expectations. Get a jump start on college coursesThe Subject Tests are oftenused to place students in college courses. By taking these tests you may have the opportunity to test out of introductory courses, earn collegecredit, and satisfy basic program requirements. The University of Texas isone college that uses the Subject Tests to determine college credit. Once a student is accepted at the University of Texas the Subject Test scoresare evaluated based on program requirements to help determine placementand possible credit. Paint a complete picture of yourselfYour high school transcriptonly tells the story of courses completed in school. But what abouteverything you learned in other settings? Enrichment programs, distancelearning courses, and self-study will likely not appear on your transcriptbut have an amazing impact on your knowledge and ability. Use the SubjectTests to display additional competency not attained in school. Meet program requirementsSome university programs require applicants complete one or more Subject Tests as part of theirportfolios. As you are compiling your list of possible colleges payattention to the requirements. Plan ahead to take these exams so they canbe included in your application.

GCSE Poem Analysis The Yellow Palm by Robert Minhinnick

GCSE Poem Analysis The Yellow Palm by Robert Minhinnick English Literature GCSE Poem Analysis: The Yellow Palm by Robert Minhinnick What is it about? The poem is a colourful but sensitive account of various sights in Baghdad, each affecting to the poet, who travelled there in the late 1990s.   It describes the results of violence and implies a dreadful explosion without directly showing the reader. The Yellow Palm by Robert Minhinick As I made my way down Palestine Street I watched a funeral pass - all the women waving lilac stems around a coffin made of glass and the face of the man who lay within who had breathed a poison gas. As I made my way down Palestine Street I heard the call to prayer and I stopped at the door of the golden mosque to watch the faithful there but there was blood on the walls and the muezzin’s eyes were wild with his despair. As I made my way down Palestine Street I met two blind beggars And into their hands I pressed my hands with a hundred black dinars; and their salutes were those of the Imperial Guard in the Mother of all Wars. As I made my way down Palestine Street I smelled the wide Tigris, the river smell that lifts the air in a city such as this; but down on my head fell the barbarian sun that knows no armistice. As I made my way down Palestine Street I saw a Cruise missile, a slow and silver caravan on its slow and silver mile, and a beggar child turned up his face and blessed it with a smile. As I made my way down Palestine Street under the yellow palms I saw their branches hung with yellow dates all sweeter than salaams, and when that same child reached up to touch, the fruit fell in his arms. Overview Although the poet says he travels down the street, really we see a parade of characters come past us: a funeral, the faithful responding to the muezzin’s call, ex-soldiers begging for money, the river, a missile and a beggar child.   The missile must explode, but we only know because of the verb ‘fell’ as the dates collapse into the outstretched arms of the beggar.   The poet hides the violence with the picturesque scene â€" but not entirely. Form and Structure The poem is written in six stanzas of six lines, in ballad metre.   The rhyme pattern (which can be notated xaxaxa) is an extended version of simple four-line ballad, which was originally a folk-poem form, but Minhinnick is following in the footsteps of poets like Wordsworth and Auden and many others who have chosen to use the strongly rhythmical pattern to tackle serious subjects.   By doing so in six-line stanzas he has a little more time to develop each image, while still staying true to form and changing the focus regularly. There is a very strong rhythm to the form, with four stressed beats in the first of each two lines and three in the second, leaving a pause that readers or listeners associated with ballad form.   This means that although when read aloud the poem might go faster or slower, it won’t substantially change the emphasis a reader places on the words.   Sometimes there are conflicts with the natural stresses in words, when the rhythmic scheme (the metre) wants us to stress them one way and their normal pronunciation prefers another, such as ‘dinars’ and ‘beggars’.   However, this uncertainty challenges each reading to be thoughtful and considerate of the meaning of the words when perfectly regular verse would not. Rhyme is very important in ballad verse and it’s worth looking at the patterns the poet creates.   In order, the rhyming words of each stanza are ‘pass, glass, gas’; ‘prayer, there, despair’; ‘beggars, dinars, wars’; ‘Tigris, this, armistice’; ‘missile, mile, smile’; ‘palms, salaams, arms’.   The strongest rhyming of the three is arguably the last, meaning that the poem ends with a strangely warm and comforting group of words, quite at odds with the violence unleashed by the explosion of the missile. [If you are a northerner and pronounce ‘pass’ and ‘glass’ with the same short ‘a’ as ‘gas’, then the first trio really rhyme very strongly indeed, which would work to establish the regularity of the verse form.] ‘Tigris, this, armistice’ are a diverse group of words, including one of the very few proper nouns in the poem and coupling it with an abstract noun of particular intangibility.   No-one can touch an ‘armistice’ and it is even hard for troops to maintain one.   In contrast, the wide Tigris has been written of and spoken of for centuries: its existence cannot be in question. Language We’ve already begun to consider the words Minhinnick chooses, so now we might focus on the strongest of his word pictures.   The dates, ‘sweeter than salaams’, mix a literal sweetness of the fruit with the metaphorical sweetness of the welcome the poet has found in Baghdad.   The smile of the beggar child with which he ‘blesses’ the passing cruise missile shows how innocent he is, and how undeserving of suffering. The ‘cruise missile, / a slow and silver caravan / on its slow and silver mile’ has a really sinister air when described like this.   ‘Slow’ is of course impossible for a flying weapon, even though the poet repeats it.   Perhaps he is thinking about the way time seems to slow when we see something awful like a bomb about to hit...   Giving the missile possession of the mile by the little word ‘its’ also gives the weapon a life of its own.   We have to ask why ‘silver’?   The missile might be silver, but the mile it has travelled...   Unless that route has been marked with a streak of fast-moving metal, or perhaps if that silver has again been transferred in our mind.   It might be tempting to say that this is ‘just poetry’, but the power of this poetry is that it sparks a hundred other ideas and thoughts in our head.   And to call the missile a ‘silver caravan’ is a dreadful joke: it doesn’t bring prosperity, but pain and grief.   It might have been expensiv e and valuable, but nobody wants it to arrive at the market on Palestine Street.   The people there have already seen enough suffering. Need an extra hand with some English? Why not book a GCSE English tutor to come to your home from the Tutorfair website? More GCSE poem analyses: Praise Song for My Mother, Nettles, My Last Duchess, and Medusa Check out more  Tutorfair blogs  to support your GCSE revision. New Maths 9-1 GCSE Five Strategies to improve Academic Performance

My Summer Memories in Elementary School

My Summer Memories in Elementary School As a child, I remember that summer was not much different from the regular school year for my family and I. My parents would still wake me up at 6:30 in the morning and take me and my brother to summer school so that they could go to work. I was raised in a middle, working class environment, so this is what I was used to doing. I didn't know any different anyways. Many of my friend's families were the same way, so, for many years, summer just felt like a season where it was hot and we didn't have to do as much homework as the regular school year. Looking back on it now though, I realize that those summers that I spent in summer school benefited me in a way that not even my parents could understand it.I remember that many kids in my class would return to the classroom in late August and joke around about how they had forgotten how to write because it had been so long since they had actually done any schoolwork. On the other hand, I had spent the majority of my summer practicing my pen manship, working on my times tables, doing cool science experiments, reading books and presenting book reports about them, and even going on educational field trips. We never necessarily learned anything new during summer school, but it did help me reinforce what we had learned the previous school year. I remember coming into the new school year prepared to tackle whatever was going to be thrown at me in the coming nine months.Now, I understand that nowadays, many families and parents have the privilege to stay home with their kids whenever they have breaks from school and I think that is fantastic! I am not trying to convince you to send them off to summer school for the entire break because it will make them smarter. No. I am just trying to get across that when students take long breaks from education, sometimes they can stray off the tracks and start to fall behind. I encourage you to take just a few hours a week with your students over the summer and give them a refresher on wha t they have already learned. You can do things like take them to museums, art galleries, and even the local library to have them pick out a book or two to ready over the summer. The internet is also a wonderful source where you can print out times tables for them to practice or educational programs you can download to keep them up to speed. If you are a high school or college student, I encourage you to do the same thing and keep up to date on everything that you have studied. Happy Summer everyone and Good Luck on the rest of the school year that is remaining :)-Michael Minkoff