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(Reprint from: USA Snapshots, A look at statistics that shape our finances, Education Pays, By Cindy Hall and Dave Merrill, USA Today, February 17, 1999, page 1B)
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The annual cost of owning and maintaining a home is one of many expense that must be paid by individuals.
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After reading the above charts, it quickly becomes apparent that a college/university degree is essential. Now for the hard part - financing or paying for the above degrees. The best thing to do is immediately talk to a college/university financial aid representative.
One of the first things you'll have to hurdle is the "Expected Family Contribution" or the EFC.
EFC = parent's + student's financial contribution toward college.
Written another way, the EFC = the amount the parent(s) + the student needs to pay for that student's college education.
This figure is sent by the federal government or the College Board to all of the colleges/universities to which the student is applying. The individual college/university will then subtract the EFC from the full cost of attending the college (tuition, room, board, fees, transportation) to come up with the student's financial need.
+ EFC
+ grants (do not have to be repaid),
+ loans (have to be repaid), and/ or
+ work study.
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= total financial need of the student.
The EFC can be adjusted up or down. A good financial planner can reposition assets that can help reduce the size of the EFC.
The EFC is calculate using:
the federal Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
or
the College Board's CSS/PROFILE (a more detailed application used by about 350 colleges, most of them private, to distribute their own institutional funds).
Financial aid deadlines at most schools: March 1.
Higher Education Act - the law that sets the limits of federal higher education aid - written by Senate and House committees every five years - reauthorize by the same Senate and House committees every five years.
Paying for college is the student's number one responsibility.
After reading the remainder of this page, click on:
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Trade
Deficit/Surplus
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in the menu area to the left. Then, scroll down to the graphic "Rising college costs hit poor hardest."
GOOD LUCK!
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School Vouchers - School Choice - Opportunity Scholarships - Parental Choice - all of these phrases mean the same thing.
All of the above phrases concern vouchers to be used by students in public schools up to and including grade 12th.
None of the above can be used by college/university level students.
Vouchers are a way of using PUBLIC tax dollars to send children to PRIVATE schools. Vouchers actually reduce the amount of public tax dollars available for public schools by diverting those same tax dollars to private schools.
I don't want to subsidize private schools that want to teach whatever they want to teach!
What a great deal for private schools - think of it - you could open a private school - get the government to subsidize your school - restrict admission (example: no students with less than a 3.0 grade point average, no handicap and/or special education students, etc.) - thereby taking the best and brightest from the public schools.
This type of action does not improve the public schools, it only makes a bad situation worse.
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Most of the vouchers either presently available or under consideration are valued below $1,000.00.
It cost the Aliquippa Public School System (Aliquippa, PA) approximately $6,500.00 to educate one student each year - other schools around the country place the figure between $4,000 to $10,000 per year
How will these vouchers help the poor who will be required to make up the difference?
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CHARTER SCHOOLS (school vouchers will benefit charter schools):
- free from most state education mandates;
- open to the public and nonprofit;
- usually have a specific academic or student focus;
- students have to meet the same academic requirements as other students in the state; and,
- drain financial resources from public schools.
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With:
1. the proper emotional support from the family;
2. a well written book; and,
3. a good teacher,
a student will succeed.
No matter the learning environment (old/new school, rich/poor school, etc.), if the above three are present, the student will succeed.
Financial support is not emotional support.
Emotional support can also be called family support.
Emotional support - family support - is omnipotent
Bill Clinton is an example of an individual who received a tremendous amount of emotional or immediate family support. The President did not come from a well to do family (financially/monetarily/pecuniarily speaking). But, Bill Clinton made it to the top. To some, President Bill Clinton is probably the ultimate modern day success story.
The real success stories are those individuals who have succeeded without emotional and/or financial support. Example, individuals who: are told that they are to stupid too learn or succeed; and, work full time and still go to school to improve their lot in life. Many college/university athletes fall into this category.
Learning begins at home.
A child develops his/her personality and self-esteem from the time he is born until about six years of age.
If a student enters the first grade with a negative self-esteem, there is very little a teacher can do.
If a student enters the first grade thinking he is stupid, there is very little a teacher can do.
If a student enters the first grade thinking he is a loser, there is very little a teacher can do.
That student brought that attitude into the school from home, there is very little a teacher can do.
Get the point - sometimes - there is very little a teacher can do.
I'd bet the house that Bill's mother never called him stupid.
Parents might want to support teachers instead of school vouchers. This might help build stronger schools.
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I have experience teaching on both the high school and college levels. Most of the teachers that I have worked with are dedicated to the profession. MOST teachers want their students to succeed and go out of their way to help their students.
On the other hand, most of the books that I have used on both levels are poorly written. The books actually make learning difficult.
Many college/university instructors are encouraged and in some cases even required to do research and write articles and books. There is little or no regard for quality. When it comes to text books, there is a lot of quantity and very little quality.
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If American public schools are so bad, then why is it that we have the best doctors & health care system in the world? Where do you think these doctors were educated? In Russia? Japan? The vast majority of these doctors were educated in American public schools.
If American public schools are so bad, then why is it that we have the best military in the world? Where do you think these military experts were educated? In Germany? England? The vast majority of these experts were educated in American public schools.
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Education is so important in the United States today.
We live in a knowledge based society. If you have the knowledge (more specifically, earned the appropriate college/university degrees), you will get the opportunities, jobs, promotions, breaks, etc.
A high school diploma alone is almost worthless when trying to get job. You need it, but go on for a college/university degree.
An Associate in Art/Science (A. A. or A. S.) degree is one step above worthless.
An A. A. or A. S. in business will get you a manager's trainee job at the local fast food chain.
An A. A. or A. S. in nursing, electronics, accounting, or some other "in demand" field might be a little better. You'll get a job, but the possibility for advancement may not be there.
A Bachelor of Art/Science (B. A. or B. S.) degree opens a lot more doors. This should be considered the starting point. As a minimum, get your B. A. or B.S. degree. I have heard that about 30% of the United States population has a B. A. or B.S. degree.
A Master of Art/Science (M. A. or M.S.) is where you want to be today. To separate yourself from the rest of the crowd, get your M. A., M.S., MBA, etc.. You will be the first to be considered for promotion in your company - you can even teach part time at a college/university (earn about $30.00 an hour).
Ph. D. - J. D. - M. D. - highest level college/university degrees - you can write your ticket - at minimum, you can even get a full time teaching position making $75,000.00 a year at a four year college/university (working 25 hours a week, 30 weeks a year, 22 weeks vacation a year)
Did you know that the baby boom generation is the most educated work force in the history of this country?
Americans are better trained and educated than any other workforce on the face of the planet.
We earn more degrees, sit in more continuing education classes, take more tests, and are awarded more designations (ARM, CPA, CPCU, CSE, CSP, PE, RN, etc.) than any other society in the world.
The real problem in America is not the schools, it's the fact that there are not enough good paying jobs.
The difference between a job and a career:
you go to your job every day
a career - there is opportunity for advancement
if you don't have an opportunity for advancement - you are spinning your wheels in the same job, maybe for life - you are helping someone else get rich
that's another problem - with all of the downsizing, employees are just happy to keep their jobs - they're not even thinking about a promotion
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When Tadashi Ichikawa recently addressed a national meeting of U.S. state education commissioners in Lexington, Ky., he said that Japan is now hard at work on a new reform - to make their
schools more American. They plan to focus more on students' individual talents, have children spend less time in school and give them more freedom in creating and choosing courses. "Room to grow," Ichikawa called it.
After topping the international charts on all kinds of test scores, Japanese school leaders seem anything but celebratory. "It is true that our children have learned how to deal with
multiple-choice answers, but on the creativity parts of exams, American children are much better than Japanese children," Ichikawa explained.
Largely because of the American influence after World War II, Japan's school system is built a lot like ours. They have school districts and school boards, and students are grouped in elementary, middle and high schools. But their system is
steered from the national level. Here, the U.S. Education Department runs a few big programs but contributes little in the way of finances and has even less say over how schools are run.
Much of the Japanese reform plan is about decentralization. Parents would gain some say in local school districts and have input with principals. They also would see more of their
children as the school week shifts from six days to five.
And Japan's reform plan stresses skills that are hard to measure on standardized tests. Compassion, physical fitness and creative thinking would be stressed in classes.
Ichikawa said it may be tricky managing a system that values so much local school control and individual achievement. "Both of these elements have a long and distinguished history in the
American educational system," he said. "Although the prevailing conditions in our two nations are different, we believe that there is much we can learn from you."
The trouble with comparing Japan's policy and ours is that their reforms will probably lead to action that resembles their aims. The Japanese say they want to take their hard-driving, high-performance classrooms and stop mashing the gas pedal so hard. Ease up. Enjoy the scenery. Linger on some back roads. They will probably follow their road map.
We, on the other hand, are still trying to get in gear. Still pleading with the kids in the back seat to stop messing around. Trying to ignore the drones of "What time is it?" and "When are we going to get there?" Any minute now someone will ask, "Are you
sure this is the right road?"
The big question is whether our distinctive individualistic approach works as a liberating force or simply encourages digression. Japan's one-size-fits-all approach has created adherence to the plan and impressive test results.
But can you create free thinkers without losing a grasp on intellectual discipline? If you promote electives, do you erode a reverence for the basic facts? And when you open up the curriculum, won't everyone try to get their foot in the door?
The Japanese still hold a few trump cards. Their reforms only tinker with the tough entrance exams to get into middle schools, high schools and colleges. And their changes don't alter the fact that teachers are paid on the same level as engineers and education is seen as an arena where everyone is capable of doing well.
But it is still a curious experiment. Mark your calendar for 2015 - when, if everything goes as planned, all of the children in Japanese schools will have been educated under the relaxed
atmosphere. Check the international test scores. It will be interesting to see how well the American ideal of schooling really works.
(Reprint from: Here's a twist: Japanese want to emulate our schools, By Lonnie Harp, USA Today, March 10, 1998, page 13A)
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Two Children
Same family, same neighborhood, same school, same stress, same neglect, same abuse.
Sullen, withdrawn, one shrinks. The other grows, warm, popular.
One finds nourishment, the other hardens.
What is the difference?
One found a caring adult, the other didn't. One was encouraged, the other wasn't. One was expected to succeed, the other was assumed to fail. One pops back, one stays down.
Both are children.
Both are the future.
- Thomas E. Baker
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Stefani, a 16 year old exchange student from Nuremburg, Germany said, "...we were allowed to wear whatever we wanted."
Stefani also said that the (school) day is longer (in the United States) and so are the class periods.
The hours of school in Germany are 8 AM to 1 PM. They get two half hour breaks to go to the rest room or talk with friends. It's basically free time. There's also not as much homework.
At age 16, Stefani was allowed to drink alcohol in her home land.
Reference: Your bread is crunchy, by Angel Dees, The Acorn, Volume 73, Issue 1, November 1999, page 5 (Southern High, 345 Oakland Drive, Oakland, MD 21550, (301) 334-9447).
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Please view the following in order.
Can you make the connection?
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(Reprint from: USA Snapshots, A look at statistics that shape our finances, Education Pays, By Cindy Hall and Dave Merrill, USA Today, February 17, 1999, page 1B)
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This page is considered a perpetual construction site.
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Click the following lines to go to:
The University of Pittsburgh
Home page of the mighty Pitt Panthers!
The old University of Pittsburgh logo:
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The old Pitt logo was introduced when the University changed its' name from the Western University of Pennsylvania to the University of Pittsburgh.
Another Pitt logo:
The new University of Pittsburgh logo:
The new Pitt logo was introduced during the summer of 1997.
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Click the following lines to go to:
The University of Southern California
Home page of the mighty USC Trojans!
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