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Is a Student Emotionally Ready for Dual Credit Courses, if They Are 15 Years Old?

4/15/2014

I was recently asked for my thoughts on dual enrollment at my school. Dual enrollment is where students are taking a university course, that counts as credit for both high school and college. While I think this is an awesome opportunity for students - giving them access to college, getting them college credit, making one course count for two similar purposes - there are some drawbacks.

I spoke to Sherri Coon, who wrote the article "Is Dual Enrollment Right For Your Teen?" She interviewed two teens who were helped by duel enrollment, another college professor who talked about the difference between Advanced Placement courses and Dual Enrollment Courses, myself, and a parent. The article is very detailed, and provides a lot more info than I could post here (you should read it, if you are thinking of putting your child into dual enrollment courses).

Here was my response to her question "What should people know about Dual Enrollment courses?

Dr. Amy B. Hollingsworth is an instructor at The University of Akron, who works closely with dual enrollment students in her biology course. "One of the known issues with dual enrollment (DE) is that students don't feel like they belong in either high school or college," Dr. Hollingsworth says. "A student who is 16, and in a college course, may have trouble relating to the other students in the class, which can make them feel isolated. In my lab course, where my students work in groups, I have seen 16-year-olds feel very uncomfortable when the others are talking about drinking or going to fraternity parties," she adds. These students may not feel that they belong in high school, either. "While I feel it is an advantage curriculum-wise, I don't think students are truly emotionally prepared for college at 15 or 16. Unless they are in a distance-learning situation (where the college course is broadcast to their high school via the web or on a screen in a lecture hall) or have excellent counseling, first generation students may feel isolated," she shares. "The word we use for it is 'liminality.' This is where they are at a crossroads between being a teenager and being made to skip the crucial years of understanding oneself, and going straight into college without the emotional maturity," Dr. Hollingsworth adds.

I think back to all those things I learned during high school, that were not part of the curriculum. Learning to be a social person. Learning to navigate the school system. Learning to drive, playing in the band, being a cheerleader, working with my peers. And then, I think about college. During that time, I took courses, learned to live on my own, learned about credit cards (ouch!), went to parties, joined a sorority, worked as a waitress to pay my bills.

Maybe students NEED these two sets of experiences (high school, and college), in order to work their way through their young adult years. If you do high school and college at the same time, you skip some experiences from both high school and college. In order to give students more academic experiences, are we forgetting about them just needing TIME to grow up?

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How Not to Be a Jerk to Your Students - Using Kind Canned Responses

4/13/2014

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I've always found that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way and you've got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles on route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish.

Chuck Norris

One of the biggest obstacles students face in being successful in college is learning that there is a whole new set of rules, which are much different than in high schools. These rules often trips up students who did not attend a rigorous high school, still think they are in high school, or are just (sadly) clueless.

Instructors are challenged daily by these students, and their misperceptions of “how school works.” There is a certain intersection where each instructor must say, "I deal with my students in context, and I expect my students to understand the reasons for my course being organized as it is, as well."

An excellent instructor explains WHY things are the way they are. I have a giant Google Doc I keep of "canned responses" that are both informative, and kind. When a student asks me about extra credit or makeup exams, I can tell them what the answer is, and why. Sometimes, the answer is that I can't do whatever they ask me, because I can't do it for the 640 students in my class also. Here are some of the canned responses I use:

1. When asked if I can override the school's class limit (usually so they can get into a lab that meets at a different time) - I respond:

"Hello student,

I wish I could help you. The labs for this course are capped at 40 students per section, because each student needs to be seated at a lab station. If this were a lecture, I could help. But I can't for the lab.

My best suggestion is to check back for the course registration daily, so that if someone drops the lab, you can grab it. Otherwise, there are other labs that are still open.

Thanks, and good luck!

Amy"

2. Then, I am often asked if the student can bring a friend /their child/some random stranger to lab with them. I respond:

"Dear Student,

Unfortunately, only the students registered for the lab can come into the lab. Part of this is due to our university liability insurance. The other part is that the TA for the course needs to know exactly is in the room, so they can make sure people don't get hurt. If everyone brought a person to lab with them, that would be 80 people in the lab, which is dangerous.

I appreciate you asking me first. I'm sorry I can't let any additional people into the lab.

Thanks,

Amy"

3. Another is on missed quizzes. Usually, students miss a quiz or two over the course of the semester (they have a weekly quiz). Many ask to make them up. We don't allow makeups (partly because the quizzes are given via computer), and they have the whole week to take them.

"Dear Student,

If you check the syllabus, you will see that there are no makeup for the quizzes. You are lucky that you are allowed two dropped quizzes for the semester, so missing this one won't affect your grade at all. Just make sure you keep coming to class, taking the quizzes when they are open, and studying for them.

If you end up missing more than the two that I drop, please send me the doctor's excuse, and you can take the quiz on paper during my office hours.

Thanks,

Amy"

If we explain to the students WHY we flip the class, why our syllabus is set up as it is, and why we have the procedures and rules - we have the chance to be fair, be kind, and be firm. We all know that students are students, and they are learning to navigate this game called college as well.

I dislike courses where the professor is a jerk, and is mean because they don't like students asking those silly *questions*. Like, how dare these students not *get it.* What if they've never encountered the change to "get it?" You can be kind in explaining your pedagogy, and every educator should improve their FAQs regularly. I post a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for my courses, and I find it is really helpful. Having a detailed syllabus is also helpful.

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How Has Curriculum and Instruction Changed in 5 Years?

4/12/2014

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Back in my “Curriculum and Instruction” class, in 2009, I was asked to define curriculum. So, in my typical “let’s get every thought in my head on the paper” type of fashion that was common for me, here is what I wrote:

What is curriculum? As a concept, curriculum is a set of knowledge to be taught by an instructor to a student. A High School Science Curriculum, which is what I am familiar with, is Physical Science, Biology, and Chemistry. The Biology class I taught encompassed several key concepts – Nature of Science, Organization of Living Systems, Interdependence of Organisms and the Environment, and Evolution. Each of these concepts have tests that go along with them, to measure learning.

(I’d still agree with this. Exposure to a wide variety of concepts is important in the development of our future citizenry)

From a teacher’s perspective, they can design lessons, create worksheets, do activities, hold discussions, have labs, and eventually test their students to see if they understand the concepts. Curriculum is important to the teacher, as it guides them into what they should focus on in teaching the course. If the teacher knows they have five concepts that their curriculum has to cover, and 16 weeks in which to cover those topics – then they can gauge whether or not they are on track. When a teacher is on the second concept, but it is week 12 – they know they have not spaced themselves properly.

(This is still true. I wrote about teachers who can’t keep up with the standards here.)

From a management perspective, principal’s can evaluate their teachers to see whether or not they are teaching the entire curriculum, or only the parts they like. I worked with a Biology teacher who was a super teacher, very exciting, was always doing “biology” during class, but she taught plants for almost half of the year! The scope of a Biology curriculum is so great, but she only taught the things she liked. She didn’t want to teach about cells, or DNA – so when it came time for the End of Course Biology test, her students did really poorly. If I, as a principal, were to observe her class on a daily basis, I would have said the kids were engaged, her teaching was entertaining, and there were no classroom management issues. But if she and I were to sit down and analyze her curriculum, and the amount of time she spent on each concept, she was lacking.

(How often do principals or department heads sit down with teachers and make sure what they are teaching is actually TEACHING something? Probably not very often)

Depending on what role you play in the school, therefore, your concept of “curriculum” may differ. Student think, “Biology curriculum is all the boring stuff I have to learn about Biology.” Teachers think, “Biology curriculum is all the boring stuff I have to teach about Biology, along with a few really cool concepts that I really like to teach.” And principal’s think, “Biology curriculum is all the stuff the students are supposed to be learning, and the teachers are supposed to be teaching, that there will be a big test on in May, and if we don’t do well, I’ll be fired.”

(Still pretty accurate. Descriptive of the discussion still going on about curriculum today)

I view curriculum as more of an “Instruction Manual.” In order to get an “end product,” (which would be the high school graduate) I have to do each step, use the proper materials, and assemble the product so that it is sturdy and functioning. This is where the “operational definition” of curriculum comes into play. We have a State-wide curriculum guideline for every subject, in every grade. In theory, each grade and each class should build on previous knowledge. The students should be building on their knowledge from day one.

The curriculum for every school should be both vertically and horizontally aligned. This is a place where I saw so much failure in my school. Every Biology teacher was teaching a different thing, at a different time. Every student had different experiences coming into the class, based on what their teachers had chosen to teach them in the past. Some kids had dissected a frog. Some had dissected an earthworm. Some had never dissected before at all! It all depended on whether their previous school had funds, whether their previous teachers had enjoyed teaching science, and whether the students were motivated.

If I were the superintendent of a school district, which is what I am hoping to achieve by taking this PhD program, I would closely evaluate the operating curriculum of my district. I would encourage teachers to both vertically align (meaning – make sure each course built on the previous one, compounding the student’s knowledge) and horizontally align (meaning, all teachers teach the same concepts at the same time, in the same class, throughout the school and district) their classes. I would encourage principals to get to know the classes their teachers are teaching.

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Another Example of Why I am For The Common Core

4/12/2014

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"You Get What You Inspect, Not What You Expect" - Steve Davies

"Trust, but Verify" - Ronald Reagan

Little kids cutting out plants from construction paper (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lWfEzB0Co1k/T3VFeNcDRPI/AAAAAAAAKf4/dma2kayModw/s1600/ps%2Bcutting%2Bplants.jpg)

I taught high school Biology, Chemistry, Anatomy and Physiology, and Remedial Science in Texas for ten years. There was a high school teacher who taught Biology with me at the high school, who was well loved, and students clamored to be in her class. She was one of the most popular teachers in the school. Parents loved her, students loved her, and she never had discipline problems. She seemed to be a "model teacher."

If you walked into her class at any point in time, her students were having fun, were engaged, and she was working with them. The HUGE PROBLEM, though, was that she only liked to teach about plants. And she liked to do art projects. So, in her high school Biology class, she had students coloring pictures of plants, cutting out flowers from construction paper to make a tree in the back of the class, and looking at plants under the microscope and drawing what they saw. That's it. Arguably, it IS "biology." It certainly wasn't high school biology, wasn't rigorous, and wasn't teaching her students all the things they should know about biology.

These were things a first grader should be doing. She didn’t TEACH them about plants. She didn’t TEACH them about cells, DNA, or evolution. She just did little art projects, and claimed that was Biology. I feel she did a great disservice to her students in refusing to cover the entire curriculum. And if I knew this teacher in MY high school, I am pretty sure this was not the only “fun and easy” teacher.

This is another reason I am for the Common Core. If you let teachers decide whatever they want to teach, they will pick the topics they like, and that are easy to teach. Not every teacher would go to this extreme, but some certainly would. What if your child was in this class? You'd see pretty pictures sent home, you'd hear that the class was fun and they were building a tree. But what about all the other things that Biology is? How do we make sure teachers are teaching what they are supposed to be teaching?

The answer is, standardized tests. In order to make sure each teacher is covering the entire curriculum, the tests have to be made by someone other than the teacher. Maybe the teacher I speak of gave tests where you filled in the blanks, or matched flower parts, and every student got an A, while my students had to memorized the photosynthesis and cellular respiration equations and use them in problems. If my students get less than an A, they complain I'm too hard. Standardized tests make sure each high school biology class is learning the bare minimum, however I decide to teach it, and checks my students for learning.

For as many problems as there are with the tests, and the Common Core, there is a much bigger problem facing our students. The problem is unprofessional teachers. Like your teacher or hate your teacher, teachers are hired to cover an entire set of standards. If the teacher doesn't like teaching, or wants to be unprofessional, they shouldn't be in our schools, working with our most precious resource - our kids.

Just because we EXPECT teachers to be professionals, if we do not INSPECT them, using standardized measures, we don't know that they are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Local measures of evaluating teachers are too subject to manipulation. Standardized measures are the way to go.

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Getting the Most Out of Your Morning - What's Your Routine?

4/10/2014

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My son and I have a very specific routine in the morning. I came up with this routine because I hate it when moms are screaming at their kids to get up, get ready, or get out the door. I save screaming for only emergencies. Life threatening emergencies.

I set my iPhone to go off one hour before the bus comes. I get out of bed, look at my phone to make sure no one sent me anything urgent, and put on my slippers. I walk over to my son's room, and open the door, turn on the lights, and say "Time to get up, love of my life!" I feel like the first thing my son should hear is how much I love him. When I think about all the parents who are screaming "GET UP! GET DRESSED OR WE'RE GOING TO BE LATE!!!" I feel anxiety, just writing that. I want to start our day on a positive note.

I don't stop there and make sure he's up. Essentially, the first get up is just a warning. You are going to have to get up. I make sure he at least moves. Then, I take the dog out the front door to go potty. As I re-enter the house, I call upstairs "Are you up?" I wait for an answer. If no answer, I call again, "Hey darling, you up???" I've never had to go back upstairs to roust him, but I'm sure that's coming when he's a teenager.

I do my blood sugar and take my shot (I'm a Type I diabetic). Then, I make a pot of coffee. I pour my son's bowl of cereal. After that, I go back upstairs.

If he's up, I ask him if he knows what he is going to wear. I could pick out his clothes the night before, but he sometimes gets cranky about putting on the outfit we chose. So, I let him choose what he's going to wear. I make suggestions, sure, but I leave the choice up to him. He always wants to wear jeans and a short sleeved t-shirt. I'd be cold, but he prefers it.

As he's getting dressed, so am I. I'm usually taking longer to get dressed and beautiful for the day, so he eats his breakfast while I'm finishing. Then he puts on his shoes, and gets out a few items he wants for lunch. He'd prefer to eat clementine oranges for lunch, but I demand a protein. I also have him get out a vegetable. He loves grape tomatoes, so that's usually what he packs. After I come downstairs, I make his PBJ sandwich.

He always puts his shoes in one place, by the door. He always puts his book bag on a specific chair. His coat is always on the back of that chair. My keys and coffee cups are in the same spot every day. Pretty much everything in the house has a home, or a special spot we keep it. This keeps me from the freak out of "Where are my KEYS!@!!"

Everything has a spot.

The routine is pretty much the same every day.

There is an alarm set on my phone that goes off at 8:02 for the bus. He knows, and I know, that means business. We have never missed the bus, praise the Lord!

We don't talk much, because I'm not a morning talker. I'm usually planning my day in my head. We save the chit-chat for after school.

I feel sorry for parents who have chaos. I'd recommend getting into a routine where you eat the same thing each morning, go through the same prepping routine, and have alarms set. Starting your day off on a positive note, and with love instead of screaming, makes every day better.

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Guidelines for Writing a Simple Research Paper for a Non-Majors Biology Class

4/8/2014

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If you are doing the paper option for NSB (because you have to, or prefer to), here are the guidelines to getting it done:

Paper needs to be at least three pages long
There must be an intro, a body, and a conclusion. The intro and conclusion must be in your own words.
The body of the paper should include your voice, and your citations. You may not use more than 40% citations. Here is an example:

Amy Hollingsworth

Natural Science Biology

04/08/2014

When I am writing a paper for Natural Science Biology, I need to use my own voice. This is important, so that I can show my instructor that I learned something while doing this assignment. It’s also important that I give other authors credit for their articles, web pages, or sources from Google Scholar and the library. If I am citing an internet source, I need to give the author and the date. For example, If I use this source “Here are modern North American guidelines for quoting (citing) your online research in your essay, paper, or news article” Then I must give Paul Gil his credit. I put the author’s name first, and then the year this was published (Gil, 2013). Then I cite Gil at the end of my paper.

If I am going to use more than one sentence from a source, I have to put it in “block quotes” to show that I used a lot of text. For example, if I want to use a long quote from “How Proper Online Research Works (Gil, 2014),” I would show the paragraphs like this:

Legitimate online research involves much more than 10 seconds with Google and copy-pasting the Wikipedia links. Legitimate research is called re-search for a reason: patient repetition, careful filtering, and the separation of drivel from verified content, all performed with a critical and skeptical mindset.

There are over 86 billion web pages published, and most of those pages are not worth quoting. To successfully sift it all, you must use consistent and reliable filtering methods. You will need patience to see the full breadth of writing on any single topic. And you will need your critical thinking skills to disbelieve anything until it is intelligently validated.

If you are a student, or if you are seeking serious medical, professional, or historical information, definitely heed these 8 suggested steps to researching online:

Either APA or MLA is fine for your paper.

Each paper will be put through a plagiarism-detection website. If you feel confused, you can ALWAYS ask your TA for help or advice, and there is a FANTASTIC writing center on campus. It’s so great, that I even used it during my dissertation. They will make sure your writing is correct, and that you cite correctly. Check them out here.

References

Gil, P. (August, 2013). How to properly cite internet references in your research. Retrieved from http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/searchenginehandbook/a/proper_citing_of_internet_references.htm

Gil, P. (April, 2014). How proper online research works. Retrieved from http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/navigatingthenet/tp/How-to-Properly-Research-Online.htm

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How Does Doing Nice Things for Other People Affect Your Life?

4/8/2014

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This is a beautifully done video, about the effects doing good things for other people has on our lives. Doing kind things for others doesn't just make them happy. It makes YOU a better person. There is both intrinsic and extrinsic joys to doing things for other people.

Teachers, when you are kind to your students, it matters. Even when they do naughty things, in the long run, you will have an influence on their lives. How will your students remember you?

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Inspiring Student Success, #1

4/6/2014

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http://inside.at.utep.edu/?p=947

Each week, I’ll be highlighting the things that I find the most inspirational towards educational, personal, or professional success. Hopefully, you find them just as inspiring as I do.

1. Aristotle on Success

“Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.” – Aristotle

This is just one of the reasons to make sure your children have discipline. Forming good habits are the keys to success in school, and in life.

2. Buddha on Anger

“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.” – Buddha

I believe that a lot of teachers get mad at their students, because teachers take student behavior very personally. Remember, if you allow yourself to remain angry at students, you will become cynical. Keep your optimism, and remember that you really ARE making a difference, every day, in a student’s life.

3. Emerson on Choices

“It is not the length of life, but the depth of life.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is it better to know a lot of things, and just learn a little about them? Or is better to be exposed to a lot of things, and make the choice about what you want to delve deeper into? This is really the purpose of college. It used to be the purpose of high school. I strive to give my child lots of great experiences, and then allow him to choose what to be passionate about.

4. Mercedes Lackey on Regret

“If only. Those must be the two saddest words in the world.” – Mercedes Lackey

If only I had finished that dissertation. If only I had gotten that degree. If only I had pursued my passions. If only I had spent more time with my child. Decide what’s important in your life, and then DO IT! Write out your goals, and how to achieve them, step by step. It may take years of planning, or just the push to get it done.

5. The Dalai Lama on Kindness

“Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” – Dalai Lama

I can either be kind to my co-workers, or I can be snippy. I can either be nice to my mother, or I can be crabby. I can treat my child with affection, or I can yell and scream at him. I can show my students that I care, or come off as an arrogant prick. I always have a choice.

6. Sanders on Other People

“There are over 7 billion people on this earth and you let one ruin your day. Don’t.” – Jonathan Sanders

See the above quote. Life is too short to let one crabby person ruin your day. Be it a co-worker, someone who cuts you off in traffic, a doctor, a teacher, a student, a friend, or a family member. Make the active choice to move on.

7. Eric Foner on Ideas

“Ideas win wide acceptance based less on ‘truth and logic’ than on their suitability to the intellectual needs and preconceptions of social interests.” – Eric Foner

The idea means more or less, depending on who you are pitching it to. Sometimes the best ideas are lost, simply because it was not their time. Keep thinking.

8. Joshua Marine on Challenges

“Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” – Joshua Marine

If school is not challenging you, what are you doing to make it a challenge? You can always extend the subject matter. That is how I’ve come to love Biology and Education. Neverending challenges!

9. Diogenes on our lives

“I am searching for the bones of your father but cannot distinguish them from those of a slave.” – Diogenes

We are not simply greater than other people just because of how we’re born, nor are we lesser than others. Our only difference is in the impact we leave on the world.

10. Bill Gates on uniqueness

“Don’t compare yourself with anyone in this world… If you do so, you are insulting yourself.” – Bill Gates

No one else has your set of traits and experiences. No two teachers are alike. Nor are two pastors, friends, women, or children. Strive to be the best YOU that you can be. You will never be at that moment in your life again. Make the best of everything.

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What's Amy Reading? Moms in Academia, Social Media Consequences at Work, The Big Bang, Widgets, and Planet Earth

4/6/2014

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What’s Amy Reading? is a daily digest of the articles that go into my head, so you can understand what makes me have my opinions. Not all articles I agree with, and I’ll say so where it’s appropriate.

1. Moms in Academia

Amy - I have witnessed professors and staff in universities making conscious decisions not to have children, because taking time off would hurt them professionally. I am lucky, in that I already had my child when I entered academia. I completed my dissertation and work full time, despite being a single mom. My old boss chose not to get married or pregnant, because she knew it would hurt her career. One TA I worked with was back to teaching 2 weeks after giving birth, because she has NO maternity leave. She could not afford to miss work. Is there any way to "fix" this problem, or should women accept that - because it is their body - they will just have to take time off to have children?

Article - The Mom Penalty

Do babies matter to academic careers? It’s a question three researchers have spent a decade answering, and their findings are now available in what may be the most comprehensive look at gender, family and academe ever published. (Spoiler alert: the answer is “yes.”)

The book, Do Babies Matter? Gender and Family in the Ivory Tower, out this month from Rutgers University Press, includes new studies and builds on existing data about the effects of childbearing and rearing on men’s and women’s careers in higher education, from graduate school to retirement.

2. Facebook

Amy - This is a fascinating and somewhat chilling article. As a person who blogs and consumes social media - am I responsible for what other people write in Facebook groups I belong to? If someone makes a negative comment on something I post, am I responsible for “owning” that comment? Can I get in trouble for what others say, just by being there, and not “doing anything about it?” What if I didn't even SEE the comment? Do I still "own it?"

Article - Discharged for Dishing It Out

A former staffer at the University of Tennessee at Martin says she was fired after she voiced her support online for cleaning a filthy microwave oven, but her case against the institution will likely have more to do with the free speech rights and responsibilities of administrative employees than with dirty dishes.

According to the complaint, Fortner says her participation in the Facebook group was constitutionally protected speech, and that the institution’s handling of her termination violated both university policy and the due process clause of the 14th Amendment.

The group contained more than just banter about the state of the help desk’s appliances, however. In a May 7, 2012, post, one of the group’s members -- not Fortner, based on the profile picture -- poked fun at a person at the university for contacting the help desk.

3. Physics

Amy - This was an amazing talk about how we know about the universe (which I am interested in, partly because of Neil deGrasse Tyson, the most amazing scientist on the planet). This is more evidence of The Big Bang. As we continue to predict what we will find in the evidence left by the universe, we may find out what happened BEFORE The Big Bang! No doubt in my mind that as we learn more, we will have more questions.

Article - Allan Adams: The discovery that could rewrite physics

On March 17, 2014, a group of physicists announced a thrilling discovery: the “smoking gun” data for the idea of an inflationary universe, a clue to the Big Bang. For non-physicists, what does it mean? TED asked Allan Adams to briefly explain the results, in this improvised talk illustrated by Randall Munroe of xkcd.

4. Widgets

Amy - I have been looking at ways to improve my website, so I've been researching “widgets.” These are little pieces of code that you embed in your website that makes it look better, makes it more functional for readers, and reduces the amount of time and effort you have to spend on fixing up your website. I don’t know if I’m ready to buy a whole package, yet. I’ll keep researching.

Some authors have super websites. Some of them look cheap. While I don’t think mine looks BAD, per se, I also don’t think it looks as professional as I want. I want readers to be able to subscribe, I want a “more posts you might like” banner to be scrolling at the bottom of each post, I want a “contact me” tab available on every page, and I need a better footer.

I hope at some point to NEED a professional to make my website phenomenal. For now, I am working on content. I need to have a lot there for people to read. But what happens if I shell out money for widgets, and then want to change platforms? Like go to Blogger, WordPress, or Hubspot?

Article - Premium Weebly Widgets

DivTag Widgets are Premium Add-on’s that will Customize your website and help you:

Improve how your content is presented - so your visitors will pay more attention

Make your website and content more Professional & Interactive

Differentiate your website from the average crowd

Impress the heck out of your visitors!

Our Widgets will add a “cool” factor to your website, and people will think you’ve spent thousands of $$$$ in customizations. DivTag Widgets are compatible with all our templates and as usual, engineered in a way so anyone can install and customize them without any coding knowledge! Just follow our step-by-step installation and customization guides.

5. Science

Amy - I didn't realize that all of Planet Earth was online! I checked out this site, and there’s a ton of great stuff to watch. Now, to see if it’s on my Roku….

Article - BBC’s Planet Earth

This is a wonderful documentary series about the beauty that is our planet, from the deep seas to the jungles, from the desert to the mountains. This is well worth watching, and it’s all free online.

I am always thinking about how I can improve my website, social media and the consequences of putting it all out there, science, and how to improve my life. If you don't keep yourself focused on what's important in your life, the goals tend to get lost. As I research, I look for "the experts" on whatever it is I'm doing.

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Bill Gates Gives His Wealth Away

4/5/2014

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I think that Bill and Melinda Gates have done some of the most amazing, most helpful things with all their money. They have set up their lives to help so many people. They are wonderful role models. I appreciated their brainstorming techniques, which is described as “long walks on the beach, talking about their goals.” I watched their TED talk, “Bill and Melinda Gates: Why giving away our wealth has been the most satisfying thing we’ve done,” and was inspired by many of the things they said.

In 1993, Bill and Melinda Gates took a walk on the beach and made a big decision: to give their Microsoft wealth back to society. In conversation with Chris Anderson, the couple talks about their work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as their marriage, their children, their failures and the satisfaction of giving most of their money away.

They talk about how they are not going to enable their kids to be rich, spoiled brats. They are not leaving their children billions. No trust funds. They want their childrens’ lives to have a meaning and purpose. They will provide an education for each child, that encompasses each child’s strengths.

The Gates parents’ attitude toward their kids and money — call it the anti-Paris Hilton approach — resonates with an attitude toward wealth that runs as a subtext through TED itself. As an event, TED manages to gather some of the world’s richest people into one room. Once there, they’re bombarded with the message that money is not for having but for doing. As the world’s richest people, the Gates family could spend lifetimes doing nothing at all. But for the TED set, at least, the only points you get are for making something happen.

I agree strongly with that point. These days, everyone is a critic. People criticize Gates for having an agenda. Others think there are ulterior motives, or a vast conspiracy. But being critical, in and of itself, doesn't help anyone do anything. The only way to help people in your life, is to make things happen. The Gates made goals, and then they go through each checkpoint on the way to reaching their goals.

Most of their philanthropic work centers around the educational system in America, reducing poverty and equality through access to education, and health care and childhood vaccines. They have traveled extensively through Africa, and have tried to help bring down the rate of infant mortality. They are fighting to bring access to injectable birth control in third world countries, because this gives women the choice whether or not to reproduce.

Gates said, “Just because we don’t agree with everything about education, doesn’t mean we scrap the whole system. We fix what’s broken, and we keep our eyes on our goals.” The Gates advocate for smaller class sizes, STEM education, charter schools, and technology innovations. They discuss wanting great teachers in small classrooms, to give each child more attention. They have rightly pointed out that many of the graduating seniors today read at a middle-school level. They are working to help schools through grants, technology donations, charter schools, and creating university programs.

When you have money like the Gates’ money, you are going to be criticized. People complain about their investing tactics, which they say is promoting companies that hurt the people in third-world countries. The Gates say they will always invest for the maximum return on investment.

Next, people say there are three major problems with the foundation's allocation of aid. First, "by pouring most contributions into the fight against such high-profile killers as AIDS, Gates guarantees have increased the demand for specially trained, higher-paid clinicians, diverting staff from basic care." This form of "brain drain", pulls away trained staff from children and those suffering from other common killers. Second, "the focus on a few diseases has shortchanged basic needs such as nutrition and transportation.” Finally, "Gates-funded vaccination programs have instructed caregivers to ignore – even discourage patients from discussing – ailments that the vaccinations cannot prevent. If people want to see nutrition or transportation focused upon, they should start their own foundations. It’s not right to criticize, but do nothing to offer up help for what people think should be priorities. The Gates can focus on any disease they want - yes, there will always be other diseases out there that need money, but it is ultimately up to Gates and their foundation to how they spend their money.

About education, Gates is criticized for “undermining the public education system.” I think that “public education” is a broken system, and I also advocate for charter schools, which can meet the needs of more students, in creative new ways not controlled by unions. Like Gates, I love teachers, but hate the bureaucracy. I do think test scores should be part of teachers’ evaluations, and I love the idea of merit pay. I think merit pay encourages the best teachers to put in the effort to become better. When the Gates Foundation gives students choices that they may not have had, if they had been stuck in a failing public school, I think the Gates are helping the poor beyond belief.

Just as there will always be critics of the government, there will always be critics of the Gates. I believe that they have made amazing progress in achieving the goals they have made, and that they should forge ahead with the good things they do. Nothing they do is without vast amounts of research and man-power, and the Gates are helping people live and be educated every day. I may need to apply for one of their grants!

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