Always Learn!

Mothers who have always dreamed of going back to school to enter back into the career field may have an opportunity to do so, even if they can’t see how education can be afforded in today’s hard times while supporting a family. President Barack Obama has made funding available that is aimed specifically at moms who want to go back to school. He wants to keep them from living at or below the poverty level.

The funding, in the form of $10,000 scholarships, is available for American women over the age of 18. If time is your issue, then know that some college programs are online, which lets you learn from home. The funding will not be around forever so it would be best to apply while it is still available. These are government grants, so they do not have to be paid back.

Mothers have a busy life, we know. But it would be worth it to earn a college degree because the quality of life of the mom, and her children, would increase. After she graduates she will be a more desirable candidate for a career, and will be able to bring home more income to support her family. Her children will thank her for it, and will admire her for all the hard work she has been doing. Just think about the diploma you will receive, and how good it will feel in your hands. Imagine yourself trying on suits to wear for your job interviews and going back to work for the first day. All of these thoughts should be very gratifying, and they will be once they become reality as well.

Those interested in the scholarships should do their research. You will see information on the grants and find out how to apply.

Capturing experiences in writing is the only sure-fire way you can learn lessons from them. Since we have so many things going on every day in our lives, relying on our memories isn’t an option. One thing happens and it suddenly takes precendence over what previously happened, and so on. Special moments of emotion and experience are lost forever.

Without accurate enhancement of our past, we run the risk of repeating errors. How many times have you made the same mistake twice and lived to regret it? Had you made the simple effort to keep a journal full of important reminders, you could’ve saved yourself the trouble of repeating the mistake. It’t not guaranteed, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.

The very act of writing about our lives in our journal helps us to think more objectively. Having time to ponder and analyze experiences allows us to not only see the error of our ways, but will give us inspiration to help others learn from our mistakes. We begin to see more clearly, enabling us to make life-changing refinements and pass them along to our business associates.

The more we capture events in our journal, the more clearly we communicate. All that it takes is a small amount of time at the end of each day. One small entry in your journal at a time. If you really want to get the most of out it, review it once more the following morning as well. You may not ever need to review it ever again, but at least you know it’s there just in case.

A life worth living is a life worth documenting. Anything you do that motivates you to get out of bed in the morning has vaule. You do it for a reason. If something should happen that causes you to re-evaulate your reasons based on your experiences throughout the day, it’s important to document it in our journal. It just might give you even more of a reason to get up the following day.

The ability to establish competent leadership lies in the emerging value of the individual. Network marketing is all about reaching out to others and helping them. When you do something that improves your business, others will do the same and as a result, your business will grow even more. Show others the importance of keeping a journal by doing it yourself first.

Keeping a journal will also improve your writing skills. Proper marketing education promotes quality copy-writing in order to get the right people in front of the right message, and it all comes down to practice. Journals are a great way to express your thoughts freely, which will eventually develop into your own style.

The more you write, the easier it is to come up with ideas during the actual act of writing itself. Everything starts with an idea, and writing puts you in the frame of mind that stimulates the thinking process. You could decide to sit down and write in your journal a paragraph about what happened to you at the post office, for example, and it could cause your mind to think of an idea for a mailer that could boost your sales.

How many times have you arrived at the grocery store wishing you had written down a list of the things you needed? The same principles apply to keeping a journal of not just what happens to you, but also what you might want to happen. Writing and reviewing your goals is an important part of reaching them.

In my journal I also have a daily list of everything I want to accomplish for my home-based business, and I cross them off one by one after they are taken care of. Sometimes I don’t get to them all, but that’s the beauty of writing it down. I can cross them off tomorrow because I have a reminder to do it. It makes it that much easier to reflect upon the things I did during the day later on as well.

With so many different techniques being thrown around in network marketing that can drain a persons savings account, keeping a journal is the only free business-building technique available. Take advantage of it. Since the purpose of a journal is to create a gathering place for all your observations and discoveries about life, the value of having one can greatly improve your chances of having a successful home-based business.

Today the nursing profession is an important element of every healthcare management system. Nevertheless, with the introduction of twin developments of better diagnostic techniques and changing social factors for healthcare delivery has pushed up new challenges to the nursing profession. This certainly implies that now merely having the theoretical or practical knowledge about the technical aspects of nursing is not sufficient for nurses. They must be able to demonstrate and perform leadership roles. The key elements of the emerging scenario clearly indicate that in a present situation the nurse must be capable of make and set up appropriate standards for evaluation and adopt cost-effective healthcare strategies. Thus, in order to respond effectively to the demands of change, continuing education programs in nursing has gained immense popularity over the last few years.

In the past few years, continuing education programs in nursing has become one of the major nursing fields across the United States. They serve as a feasible mean of improving the nursing competence of the practitioner with the outcome of improved health care. The prime objective of continuing education program in nursing is to ensure that nurses remain up-to-date and competent in their professional practice. It is one of the few courses that allow nurses to sharpen professional competence, develop ethical principles of conduct and have the leadership qualities to adapt to changes in the society. Apart from all this, the program even let a nurse make further career advancement in nursing profession. It gives more credentials, which in-turn may help nurses increase their nursing salary. As per the recent study conducted by some of the leading industry experts, near about 80 percent of nurses when interviewed said their salaries increased by more than 15 percent after they decided to advance or continue their nursing education.

These days there are many nursing schools and universities offering online nursing continuing education programs and fulfilling the contact hour requirements for RNs, LVNs and LPNs. In fact, offering benefits like the convenience of completing the course on your own time and pace, online continuing nursing course is emerging as a better option. So, if you are looking to advance your nursing career and select online nursing continuing education program make sure that the course is accredited by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation or another professional body. In the United States, different states have different requirements, so ensure that the program you are taking actually meet the requirement for practicing as a nurse in your state. However, learning more about specific requirements in your state may further assist you in deciding the right continuing nursing education course.

Certainly, one cannot deny the fact that continuing education program in nursing is an excellent option for completing required courses to renew nursing credentials. Today there are many accredited nursing continuing courses available that is making it simpler for nurses to find the right classes for career advancement or credential renewal.

Research in Germany
There are lots of reasons why Germany is so successful. One of the most important is close cooperation between universities, international research institutes and industry. Expert networks of this kind have established themselves in 32 regions of Germany. They operate nationwide and are able to produce innovations with particularly high value-added potential. They are embedded in a framework of innovation-friendly conditions and contribute to the regions’ profile creation.

Cutting-edge research also takes place at hundreds of non-university institutions belonging to organisations like the Max Planck Society, the Helmholtz Association, the Leibniz Association, or the Fraunhofer Gesellschaft. It is here that scientists can find optimum conditions only available at very few other institutions worldwide. The Helmholtz Association alone, the largest of the organisations, employs a staff of about 24,000, 4,500 of whom come from abroad. It has a budget of 2.2 billion euros (2006) which is channeled into research areas such as energy, health and transportation.

Internationalisation – Science without borders
Germany’s cabinet adopted the “Strategy for Internationalisation of Science and Research” on 20 February 2008. The government specifically aims to boost collaborative research with developing countries and so open up new fields of innovative potential. Furthermore, it also plans to take on greater international responsibility and to focus more on addressing global challenges.

More mobile, more present
Measures include improvements to the exchange of scientific staff, international collaborative research programmes, and an internationally coordinated research agenda. The strategy provides for a harmonized international German presence in science and research, plus a campaign to promote Germany’s role as a major centre of education, research and innovation.

The “Research in Germany” Initiative
The Internationalisation Strategy includes measures aimed at highlighting Germany’s appeal and its research landscape in selected topic areas of the High-Tech Strategy. It provides a special focus on selected countries. This marks a decisive contribution by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to promoting German innovation around the world.

Regional and thematic focuses
The first regional measures were implemented in South Korea in 2006 und 2007, one of Asia’s high-tech countries. Two key HTS topics for the future provide a hub for further campaigns: Nanosciences and environmental technologies. Specifically targeted, international marketing measures will promote these German research achievements in 2008 and 2009. Further activities are planned in India as from the end of 2008 – to expand and consolidate our cooperation with the world’s best.

There are well-established scientific institutions in India and Germany working together on bilateral research and development projects. They also continue to invest in the next generation of leading scientists by championing exchange programs between universities in both countries.

Growing number of Indian students in Germany
The number of Indian students who enroll at German universities in recent years has risen more quickly than that of students from any other country: by 50 percent between 1997 and 2006. More than 4,000 Indian students are currently studying and conducting research at German universities; in 2006 alone the number of exchange students totaled 1,179.

German Academic Exchange Service
The DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) is a leading educational organization that promotes the transfer of young scientific minds by providing grants and scholarships and a cohesive support system. In India the DAAD is currently active through information centers in cities throughout the nation and a network of 27 personal tutors at 20 of the top universities.

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
In a similar vein, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (AvH) in Germany has funded a total of 1,531 promising junior scientists from India since 1953 – 19 of which have won awards for their research achievements. The German Rectors’ Conference (HRK) cooperates with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) to advance the educational exchange.

Joint scientific projects
The STC is also building on this Indo-German symbiosis. Institutions within its framework undertake joint scientific projects in the areas of biotechnology, health, information technology, environmental technology, sustainable research, materials research, aerospace research, production technology and security research.
Projects range in scope from the exchange of personnel between the international firms and educational institutions (PPP), to large-scale collaborations. German research institutions expanding their cooperation with India include the Max Planck Institute (which presently has 12 partner groups in India), the Helmholtz Association, the Fraunhofer Association, the Leibniz Association and the German Research Foundation, which is currently involved in expanding research efforts in nanotechnology.

If you want to research in Germany please visit the German Information Centre where you can get all the information related to research in Germany

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EDUCATION in Africa has a history reaching back many centuries. Certainly the achievements of the ancient civilizations of Egypt and Ethiopia are well known. Then, early in the first millennium of the Common Era, the Moors and other peoples on the northern fringe of Africa made notable contributions to world education and culture. And during the past 1,000 years the Saharan and sub-Saharan peoples had several centers of learning—Timbuktu, Agadez, Gao, Katsina and Borno, where books written in Arabic were in great demand.

More than 800 years ago at Timbuktu, in Mali, colleges provided advanced education. Katsina, in northern Nigeria, has been a center of learning since before the sixteenth century. It was there that, about 200 years ago, Muhammed ibn Muhammed became noted as a specialist in numerology.

The aforementioned cities were dominated by Moslem culture, and mosques were the centers of learning. However, the cost of learning under the tutorship of the mallams was very high and so few persons could afford it. The educated minority exercised tremendous influence, and were the key administrators, lawyers and clerks. But the majority remained illiterate.

In the non-Moslem, sub-Saharan cultures, education was largely nonliterate, by oral instruction rather than by use of reading material. Educational systems varied from tribe to tribe, and there were different degrees and levels of training, depending on the social and cultural development of a particular tribe. The training covered a fairly wide range, with specialized instruction at different age levels. Each educational system had specific forms of preparation for the roles of individuals in society. A look at the system of education among the Yorubas in precolonial Nigeria illustrates this.

The Yoruba System

Among the Yorubas, training in obedience, etiquette, speech and counting came early in the child’s life and was given within the family circle. Children quickly learned to express themselves in their language. Progressively, they mastered the proverbs, poetry and folklore of the community or tribe. In this way they learned the history and the moral and philosophical attitudes of their people. They had to learn a variety of greetings, recognition of levels of social seniority and the proper etiquette in connection with these. Religious education included training in rituals, sacred festivals and the roles of diviners.

At an early age, children were taught to count up to 20 on their fingers and toes and to do simple addition and subtraction with the aid of stones. As they progressed in knowledge, they were taught weights and measures, the use of cowrie shells (which served as money) and the art of bargaining.

Specialized training for boys focused on farming, working in metals and wood, hunting and the use of herbs and drugs in medicine. Skills were passed on from father to son. Inclination and natural abilities also were considered, and children were encouraged to develop their aptitudes. Therefore, many were apprenticed to artisans outside the family clan.

Girls received training in weaving and dyeing cloth. They learned to make pottery, to plait mats and baskets and to produce cosmetics for use in beauty treatments and hairdressing. They were taught the art of cooking, of brewing beer and of extracting oil from the kernels of the palm nuts. Thus they were prepared for their role as women in the family and the community.

The tribes that had a rural, pastoral or bush culture concentrated more on farming, herding and hunting or fishing. Some educational systems restricted progress into new fields of knowledge by preserving a closed society. Membership usually was restricted to those of certain ethnic origins or religious beliefs. This circumstance contributed toward a stagnation of knowledge. Nevertheless, the education that was provided amply served the needs of those societies.

The Colonial Era

In the wake of the missionary explorer David Livingstone, European missionaries began to increase their activities in Africa in the second half of the nineteenth century. Mission schools started to be set up in towns and villages, and right out in the bush, where students attended in simple loincloths or were completely naked.

These schools were set up on sectarian lines, with Catholics having their own schools and the Protestant religions theirs. This tended to segment the people religiously, and whole areas came to be regarded as the province of a particular religion. Divisions in social levels developed between the literate and the nonliterate segments of each community, and there was a gradual undermining of family influence. Other imbalances were created because traditional patterns of education were being uprooted and were not replaced by any uniform standard.

Still, a start had been made toward widening the horizons of knowledge in Africa. As more people learned to read and write, the knowledge of the world, contained in books, became available even to the remotest tribes. The literate history of non-Moslem, sub-Saharan Africa began to be revived.

Although the people showed aptitude in learning, there were obstacles to overcome. The missionaries usually had to learn the local languages first. Then they had to teach the children in their own European languages, in which books were available. Some did good work in formulating alphabet systems and compiling dictionaries so that many of the local languages could be put into writing. This provided the basis for translating the Bible into many African languages.

In some areas an obstacle was posed by the custom of barring girls from institutional education. When, over 40 years ago, one of the emirs from northern Nigeria visited England, he was impressed at seeing a large girls’ school. He desired a similar provision for the girls of his people. Since the custom was to keep women away from public life, he realized that this would be opposed. So he told his council that he was opening a school in his palace for educating the girls in his household. Within a year the school had 30 pupils, and many of the leading citizens were petitioning the emir to allow their children to attend. A year later, on the pretext that he could no longer tolerate the noise of a school in his palace, he “turned the pupils, teachers, and equipment out into the open town and lodged them in a house adjoining the boys’ school.” (African Challenge, p. 63) Now every primary school in that section of the country is coeducational.

Since children were part of the labor force in each farm family, there was reluctance to lose them to the schools. Gradually, however, as the people recognized the value of the printed page and the advantages of reading and writing, more children were sent to school. So it was in mission schools that many of the outstanding educators and leaders throughout Africa got their early training.

The colonial governments, and the later sovereign governments of each independent state, encouraged the establishment of mission schools, giving financial and administrative help. Provisions were made for more uniform systems of schooling, and additional public and secondary schools and universities were established.

New Education Policies

Since 1970, in a further effort to ensure a more uniform standard of education, the Nigerian government has taken over control of private schools, including mission schools. This has given rise to the problem of adequate moral education in a totally secular school system. Therefore, the authorities have encouraged parents and teachers to provide moral guidance. Efforts have also been made to coordinate the Moslem and indigenous traditional systems of education with modern methods. It is hoped that this will stem the growing tide of unrest, immorality and drug abuse among youths.

In 1976 the Universal Primary Education scheme (UPE) was introduced to provide for free universal education throughout Nigeria. This will give children the opportunity to receive free primary schooling for six years, as well as junior secondary and senior secondary schooling for three years respectively. More schools are, therefore, being provided, and immediate plans are afoot to increase the number of universities to 13.

Adult Education

Because the majority of the adult population is illiterate, the various governments are giving increased attention to adult education. In Nigeria, where the literacy rate is 20 percent for a population of 70 million, the government has established adult education centers in most villages and towns. Many men and women are availing themselves of this opportunity to learn to read and write.

Much progress also is being made in adult literacy programs operating in Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses. By means of such classes, between 1962 and 1976, in Nigeria alone, 15,156 persons have been taught to read and write. Many of these were elderly and thought that they no longer had the ability to learn. They were mostly people from rural areas—farmers, hunters, fishermen, housewives. Their determination to obtain Bible knowledge and to be able to impart Scriptural instruction reawakened their desire to learn. Now they can read and write, and can help in teaching God’s Word to others in their own language and also often in English.

For example, Ezekiel Ovbiagele was trained according to the traditional system of education, but was not taught to read and write. After he received oral Biblical instruction from Jehovah’s Witnesses and was baptized in 1940, he saw the value of learning to read. He enrolled in one of the literacy classes and soon was reading the Bible to others. With further specialized training, he was qualified in 1953 to serve as a traveling overseer, having the responsibility to instruct many congregations in the territory assigned to him. Many others have made similar advancement.

When Jackson Iheanacho first attended meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he was literate only in Efik, his native language. He saw the need to learn to read in English, too, since the meetings were conducted in that tongue. With the aid of the congregation’s literacy class, he achieved this and went on to learn other languages as well. He is now able to read and write seven languages!

The literacy rate among Jehovah’s Witnesses is better than 77 percent. Most of the remaining 23 percent are attending literacy classes, either at their Kingdom Halls or at government centers, and so are in various stages of learning to read and write. They appreciate this program, which is reaching out to more and more people.

Purposeful Education

The value and necessity of education cannot be denied. An editorial in the Daily Times of December 29, 1976, spoke of education as “the greatest investment . . . for the quick development of . . . economic, political, sociological and human resources.” However, not just education, but purposeful education is essential. Modern methods have tended to establish materialistic goals, rather than productive ones. To many youths, the purpose of schooling is to obtain a certificate that will guarantee a prestige job and great financial reward. Parents should guide youths in carefully evaluating the purpose of their schooling. The goal should be to acquire real skills and thinking ability so as to ensure productivity in their adult careers.

It should be remembered, however, that the period of formal schooling is not all there is to the process of education. Parents can make use of preschool and out-of-school periods to instruct their children morally and in other ways that will build their personalities along wholesome lines. Much good can be achieved by using the Bible in inculcating decency, honesty and loyalty in the children.