Why Private School? A Look at the Potential Benefits

The question of how to educate a child is one of the most important a parent can ask. A basic choice that many parents struggle with is that of public vs. private school. Parents do not want to take on unnecessary expenses if they will not ultimately benefit their child. After all, many public schools do an excellent job of educating students. But while it is true that public schools do not have tuition costs (and a private school can run, on average from 12,000 to 30,000 dollars a year), the benefits of a private education can still far outweigh the costs depending on the local options parents may face.
Students who attend private schools can be more academically challenged, exposed to clearer value systems, given greater access to teachers, and may simply feel safer than local public school options. If you do decide to pursue private schooling for your child, start the research process early. Admission to private schools can be competitive, and finding a school that is a perfect fit for your child where he or she will be also be accepted, may take some time.
A Higher Bar:
A major advantage to private education is that your child will likely be challenged to a higher academic standard. Private schools can be more academically rigorous than public schools, and private school students may have to meet more criteria to keep up their grade point averages. According to The Condition of Education 2001, from the National Center for Education Statistics, Private high schools typically have more demanding graduation requirements than do public high schools.
Compared with public schools, private schools required more coursework (in 4-year high school programs). More can be expected of private school students in terms of quality of work, course workload, and special requirements such as community service or Arts participation. In some schools, what would normally be considered extracurricular activities, are prerequisites for graduation, which ultimately round out students' high school experience. The push to meet this higher standard often results in a greater level of student performance. In a recent NAEP report it was found that, 'Students in private schools scored significantly above the national average in grades four, eight, and twelve.

As the report put it, 'Performance results in 2002 show that, at all three grades, students who attended nonpublic schools had higher average writing scores than students who attended public schools.' In general, a student given the opportunity to attend a private school will most likely reach a higher level of academic achievement.
Student Teacher Ratio:
Private schools also tend to focus on controlling their class sizes. The NCES Schools and Staffing Survey found that, 'Private high schools on average are less than half the size of public schools. In central cities, for example, the average size of a private high school is 398, compared to 1,083 for a public school.' Students of private schools may have more opportunities to form relationships with their teachers, which can lead them to greater academic success. In such cases, a student is given help for his or her specific academic problems, which can allow the issue to be resolved quickly and correctly.

Once any issues inhibiting a student's progress have been addressed, the child can go on to achieve at his or her highest level. In The Condition of Education 2002, it was found that, 'Placing students in small groups tends to foster close working relationships between teachers and students, thus enhancing learning, particularly among at-risk students and those in the early grades.'
Also, small classes allow the teachers to have a better sense of who your child is, and what his or her specific strengths and weaknesses are. Your child will also have more opportunities to speak up and participate in class discussions. In addition, students may be offered office hours during which the teacher will be available. Students who have worked closely with their teachers are less likely to feel intimidated about using such time to actively seek help from their teachers directly.
Exposure to the Arts:

Private schools have the ability to create their own curriculum. Although, they must ultimately prepare students with the same basic course as any other school, private schools also have the option to add various elements to their programs. Private school administrators often develop programs that emphasize the Arts, perhaps more so than local public schooling options.
Schools may choose to produce elaborate plays and musicals, giving students unique opportunities to explore their talents and express themselves. Government regulations on public schools prevent them from spending more than a certain percentage of school funds on the Arts. Private schools, however, are not subject to the same regulations, and they have more freedom to develop and expand these programs as they wish. Some private schools may even offer filmmaking or video production courses which are opportunities normally reserved for college students.
Potentially More Funds:

The tuition that you and the other parents of a private school contribute often will go toward developing and funding special programs that would be restricted in public schools. The school may be able to offer other activities such as special field trips that reinforce the school's curriculum. Such trips can give your child opportunities to form close friendships and build independence. The school may have more funds available to provide supplies to student-run clubs. The school also may create programs that better tie the arts or sciences into the overall general curriculum.

What You Need to Know About a Cyber High School

You've no doubt heard all kinds of stories about Cyber High Schools - that it isn't school, your child won't learn, there's no social interaction, etc. Cyber High Schools are growing in popularity but because all states are handling this virtual education differently, there isn't a clear description of how cyber high school is handled and delivered. The commonalities in all the programs are that in most cases, the school district will give you a computer and pay for your internet connection for that school year and your curriculum is paid for by your home district. So, your child is going to school at home and online. Here's where the questions come in because most can't understand how a child can learn without a physical teacher at the blackboard. Here is a list of the most asked questions that may help you decide whether online school will work for your student.
1) If my child is really struggling in public school, can I move my son/daughter in the middle of the school year? Yes, in most cases, cyber charter schools have rolling enrollment. Some did that to attract enrollment in their first years and are now full with a waiting list. But don't give up. Some may be able to take you anyway, as these schools understand that students and parents coming to them in the middle of the year are most likely in a bad situation at their home school district.

2) Will this cost me anything? If your state has online charter schools listed on their Department of Education website, then most likely you can move your student to a cyber charter school at no cost to you. They send you a computer and will reimburse you for your internet connection. I actually wanted to use our own computer, and it's against their bylaws to do that (has to do with controlling how your child learns). AGAIN, all states are different and grappling with this issue in different ways, so the only way to know is to call the cyber or online charter school or distance learning contact at your state's Department of Education. Private, nationwide online schools are expensive so research carefully before take the plunge. Your home school district will have to pay the tuition for your child to move to a state cyber charter school (depending on your state's cyber charter laws). This makes school districts very unhappy as you can imagine. Be prepared for difficulty with school officials. I've had both situations. One district was downright nasty and still sends us letters saying "you chose to educate your child privately" and they aren't responsible,(evidently the legal-eze their lawyers told them to write). Another district was large enough that it wasn't even an issue. The best advice is don't warn them ahead of time and certainly don't ask their advice. It takes students out of their building, cuts their population and messes with federal money. Not your problem ... do what's right for your child.

3) How and when during the day does my child go to cyber school or do homeschooling? The answer is simple and almost too good to be true. On your schedule. Yes, your child shouldn't be home 8 hours a day playing video games and watching TV and then school at night. That may work for a few but it's not the peak learning time or environment. But remember, students really only need to be in school 5 hours a day. That's what they do in brick and mortar schools. It's all the passing to classes, lunch, bus time, etc. that creates a long day. In most states it's 5 hours a day for elementary and 4.5 for high schoolers. So if you can do the 5 hours from 8 to 1 and then work an afternoon shift, OR break up school into 3 hours in the morning and 2 later on, that works too. Take the bricks and mortar off your thinking and realize cyber school and homeschooling give you the opportunity to take your kids on a road trip AND school with the laptop, cram a lot of school into a few days and then go on a road trip...it's finally your choice.
4) Will my child lose or gain credits? ASK THIS QUESTION OF THE CYBER SCHOOL BEFORE YOU MOVE YOUR STUDENT. School districts vary greatly, even in the same community, so have the curriculum director at the cyber school check into this to make sure you aren't losing valuable credits. My child took drivers education in cyber school, and it wasn't counted at the next school she attended. Just be prepared for differences in what each school requires.

5) Can my child attend after school activities and participate in sports in our school district? In most cases, yes! Many school districts are very cooperative with homeschoolers and if you chose the cyber charter school route you could probably work out a deal. School districts like homeschoolers better than cyber schoolers at this point because homeschoolers aren't costing them anything. But make the homeschooling coordinator at your school district your friend and more than likely your son/daughter can play sports or participate in music or theatre.
6) Can I put my child in cyber school for just a year or two? Yes, it's just like enrolling and moving a child from any school. My child spent 8th grade in cyber school and then wanted to go back to regular school. That year she regained the confidence middle school had beaten out of her, she did well in her subjects and she didn't feel like a school failure anymore. It definitely served her well her freshman year. Please don't hesitate to email me if you want to talk about this because when I was doing it there were few to talk to. My family thought I was crazy ... school on the computer at home??? Which leads to the most important question ...
7) How will my child learn in cyber school? Cyber schools vary too, just like school districts. The good, stable cyber schools are really reaching for the stars with their technology. They have cyber classrooms, with software that allows your child to even virtually "raise their hand" to ask a question or respond to the teacher. Teachers and students talk on the phone, email back and forth and are in touch actually more than a classroom teacher at a brick and mortar school. Some classes need textbooks that will be mailed to you, other classes are completely online. Your child will make powerpoints, type papers and take tests just like regular school. The difference is your child will be able to work at their own pace, which makes all the difference.
8) Is there social support for my child if I homeschool? Yes, yes! However, you will have to find the homeschooling groups in your community and take advantage of all they offer, and that's a lot. They are highly organized, so much so that they've created "schools" where their homeschoolers can go a few days a week to learn the subjects parents aren't comfortable teaching ... science, languages, art, etc. Just in case you've missed the news for several years, homeschoolers have won the National Spelling Bee many years in a row. One on one education serves many kids very well and homeschooling has been bad mouthed for so many years, that their superb education gets lost in the rhetoric.

Nancy Sutton Smith is a cyber high school parent. She has homeschooled her children and used the services of 4 cyber schools in the last 10 years. Nancy is also a 6x regional emmy winner, broadcast professional, high school, college and adult educator, webmaster and owner of Sutton Bay Media Company, a video production facility creating marketing and fundraising videos. As a journalist and a parent, Nancy researched and produced many education stories relating to the growing cyber school phenomenon. She put all that information into a website call http://www.cyberhighschools.com - an informational site to help parents find cyber schools in their own states.

Top 25 Undergraduate Schools

With competition rising fiercely for admission into a good undergraduate school and the choice of subjects, school curriculum expanding with it, choosing the best undergraduate school can be confusing. There are large, small, public, private, urban and rural undergraduate schools to select from; while some are appealing because of their inviting locale in a countryside setting or in the midst of a cosmopolitan setting others lure the students with their state-of-the-art facilities and distinguished host of teachers.
The list of top 25 undergraduate schools listed below have many diverse traits and distinct characteristics, however the common thread running through them is that of the promise of the best education ever. The undergraduate school curriculum of these top 25 schools is unparalleled and makes them stand apart as the institutions of great learning.
Best Ivy undergraduate school
Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut Yale president Richard Levin is a leader and a visionary and has been tireless in his efforts to change ED admissions policies, making it a one of the many reasons for it being the vied for the number one position and topping the student's list for admissions. A big attraction of the undergraduate experience for students is the residential-college system. Students live in one of twelve colleges, each with its own distinct personality, under the guidance of a master and a dean.
Best School for Entrepreneurs
Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa.
Six of the campus's 10 undergraduate schools offer entrepreneurship courses. The Smeal College of Business and the College of Engineering are the most natural partners, with joint programs to show engineers how to run businesses and to teach business students the latest technology. Hotel-management students operate two on-campus hotels and conference centres where they're involved in everything from food service to staffing the front desk while the College of Communications focuses on entrepreneurship in the Information Age.
Big 10 School - Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill

Comprising of six undergraduate schools, Northwestern University attracts students with diverse aspirations including budding actors, journalists, engineers and teachers as well as a host of liberal-arts students. Each school is world renown and attracts the best minds from across the globe. Set in Evanston at the edge of the bustling Cosmo polis of Chicago, Northwestern offers its students the best of both worlds.
Best Architectural School - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
President Charles Vest initiated an ambitious $1 billion construction program at MIT which includes the Steven Holl's Simmons Hall, a aluminium-clad dormitory as well as the Fumihiko Maki's expansion of the Media Lab. The more famous building is that of the Stata Center, a computer-science landmark by Frank Gehry containing labs for the "intelligence sciences" and connected corridors and public spaces to encourage spontaneous collaboration. MIT calls it an "intellectual village."
Best school of for Arts - Juilliard School, New York, N.Y.

With a history of more than a hundred years, Julliard is known as one the most famous undergraduate school of arts and can boast of an impressive alumni list the likes of the actor Kevin Kline, violinist Itzhak Perlman and choreographer Lar Lubovitch. To celebrate this glory, the school has introduced new choreography, productions and performances. Only a few select students comprising of musicians, dancers and actors get chosen every year to showcase their talent in the Juilliard Theatre right next to Lincoln Centre. That's the best inspiration for any aspiring star.
Best Library- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
Harvard's library system ranks with the best of any kind in the country, even as compared to the Library of Congress. The collection which includes more than 15 million volumes, 5.5 million microforms, 6.5 million manuscripts and 5 million other research materials such as photographs, maps and recordings is the largest in the world. Harvard's digital collection is particularly strong, and is hugely beneficial for students who want access to any existing online journal
Best Riding School - Hollins University, Roanoke, Virginia

Situated in the breathtaking locale of Virginia's horse country, Hollins undergraduate school is known for its exceptional training for equestriennes. The school is a regular winner of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference championship, and the Hollins team has won ten times in the Intercollegiate Horse Show Association. Although many Hollins students work with horses after graduation as trainers, riders or veterinarians, the school also offers a strong liberal-arts program and a highly regarded creative-writing curriculum. It is famous for its celebrity alumni the likes of Margaret Wise Brown, Annie Dillard and Lee Smith.
Best undergraduate school for diversity-Wesleyan University, Middletown, Connecticut
Dean of Admissions Nancy Meislahn believes that only a large cross section of society from across the globe can contribute to the intellectual diversity of an educational system. Wesleyan's student population comprises of one third coloured people and 7% international students. An additional 15% are the first in their family to attend a four-year college. It offers a huge diversity of shared learning and wide range of perspective to the classroom.
Best Tech Savvy School - Dartmouth College, Hanover, N.H
This undergraduate school has been in the forefront of technological revolution ever since professors John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz, forty years ago, not only realized the importance of computers but were responsible for creating the computer language BASIC. It is known to have the first e-mail programs and an early campus computer network. Dartmouth was also the first Ivy to install WiFi on campus. The school offers free software to students so they can turn their laptops into telephones using the school's WiFi.
Best Fitness School - University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

Following the adage of Thomas Jefferson, the founder of UVA, who advocated that a strong body makes the mind strong, UVA offers both varsity competitors and weekend warriors some of the best fitness facilities in the country. Students benefit hugely from the four indoor recreation centres, which together make up 300,000 square feet of pools, running tracks, weight rooms and classrooms for yoga and kickboxing. The school also maintains a 23-acre park for outdoor field sports and jogging.

Promoting Reading In Schools In Sierra Leone

INTRODUCTION
Helping children and adults to develop skills they need to fully participate in an information society is central in a librarian's mission of providing the highest quality library and information service in society. Books help children read. They are more helpful than reading schemes because they promise and provide pleasure in reading. Both teachers and school librarians should be influential in the child's reading process but they need good knowledge of children's literature so that they can choose and help these young readers at all levels (Samara, 2002). The Library Association (1991) singled out four areas as being enhanced by reading and use of a variety of sources of information namely: intellectual and emotional development; language development; social development; and educational development. In view of this there is every reason for teachers and librarians to promote reading in school. What then is reading?
READING
Current attempts to define reading tend to regard it as a thinking process with attention focused on comprehension. That is to say reading is a mechanical and thoughtful process requiring the reader to understand what the author is endeavoring to communicate and to contribute his own experience and thoughts to the problem of understanding. As far back as 1913 Huey began formulating such ideas as can be noted from his frequently quoted words:
until the insidious thought of reading as word pronouncing
is well worked out of our heads, it is well to place the emphasis
strongly where it really belongs, on reading as thought-
getting independently of expression.
In 1937 Gray posited that
...the reader not only recognizes the essential facts or ideas
presented, but also reflects on their significance, evaluates them critically, discovers relationships between them, and classifies his understanding of the ideas apprehended.
Such ideas about the nature of reading continued to expand so that in 1949 Gray wrote that the reader
...does more than understand and contemplate; his emotions
are stirred; his attitudes and purposes are modified; indeed his innermost being involved.
Reading is perceived as a progressive social phenomenon in that it is a means of forming people's social consciousness; it is used as an instrument in implementing the task of continuing education and raising pupils cultural standards. In brief it is a means of increasing professional knowledge and skills and drawing people into a more creative life. In Sierra Leone, however, the task of ensuring that children learn to read, and of finding ways of helping them to do so is one of general concern to all teachers in both primary and secondary schools. One of the reasons why teachers are eager to help pupils to learn to read is that in modern society literacy is essential. In helping children to read they will not only be able to read but that their reading will develop into life-long habit. Thus a great deal of attention in schools is paid to:

- the promotion of children's interest in books
- the supply, deployment and classification of books
- guidance in selection of appropriate books
- training in study skills and provision of time in which to read.
READING IN THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM
Reading in schools in Sierra Leone is embedded in the curriculum and is a continuum starting from pre-primary through primary to secondary schools, as an important studying skill. At both the pre-primary and primary school levels specific reading periods are slotted on the timetable ranging from fifteen to thirty minutes. Reading and Comprehension is a stand alone subject and children are taught not only to learn to read but also to read to learn for self-enhancement, experience sharing and recreation. Thus varied forms of literature are used notably poetry, fiction, drama magazines, newsletters and newspapers as well as non fiction, with the latter cutting across the subjects taught in school.

At pre-primary level teachers help pupils read by giving each pupil a copy of primer readers and encourage them to glance through pictures and ask questions about them as a way of stimulating their curiosity. Slips of papers bearing each pupil's name are clipped to the primer for them to assume responsibility for keeping them clean. The teacher also demonstrates to pupils how to open these books carefully and flipping pages from front to back at a time to avoid damage. A few short sentences consisting of three to four letter words are read with pupils following in their books. After a while pupils are called upon to re-read each sentence orally. The main purpose of such a lesson is to introduce pupils to books and to teach them something useful regarding their care. Each lesson is different in design from all subsequent ones in order for the reading lesson to be of value to pupils. Typical lesson plans for teaching reading in schools include the following:

- Preparation for reading i.e. teacher shows pictures and stimulates pupils to tell related experiences, play games and tell stories;
- Guiding reading from the reader; and
- Skills-building procedures.
At the primary school level pupils read for a much longer time entire passages and if possible a whole story. They are also taught either to read as a class or divided into groups, and this exercise could be teacher-guided silent or oral reading; silent study with workbooks; dictionary or practice reader, or dramatization and choral reading exercises. Chief exercises of oral reading include reading aloud from books especially readers, notices, stories, poems and adverts. The value of oral reading exercise in school include:
1. It gives practice in using current grammatical expressions.
2. It helps to overcome speech and aid literary appreciation.

3. It makes pupils more conscious of the need for current pronunciation in speech, and to contribute to the fundamentals of reading.
4. It helps to serve as an index of pupils eye movement.

At secondary school level no special period for the art is slotted on the timetable but reading is one of the main thrusts of English Language and Literature-in-English classes. At this level pupils are expected to read in relation to their problems and are taught to master information and improve their oral skills; they are also assisted in their critical thinking, search for information and or to answer specific questions, proof-read and get a general view of a book. Such exercises are a build up from those taught in the primary school. Thus pupils are encouraged to read not only prescribed texts for both English Language and Literature-in-English subjects but also those prescribed in the subjects offered in school. In all these activities the school library is expected to play a reading role by offering a full complement of programs to include pre-school hours, clubs, homework help and Internet to assist in developing reading and information skills. It should also promote the habit of reading for pleasure and provide a systematic training in the care and use of books (Barbara, 1994). The library should also be able to stimulate reading with the provision of relevant reading materials (Hannesdottir, 2000) and provide working area for pupils to complete their assignments according to their own ability rate. Teachers alike use the library to enhance their teaching performance and to carry out research (Connor, 1990)