TV Lift Cabinet Features

Are you shopping for a TV Lift cabinet? With so many choices out there, keep in mind that not all lifts are equal in quality. Depending on the manufacturer and designer, there are several features that you should know about so that you can make the best choice.

Material of the frame: You want something that is durable, strong and won’t need to be replaced after just a couple of uses. For this reason, the material you should choose is something very solid. Look for solid wood of a good source, such as oak or ash. Solid wood is a great material that is prized for its durability and beauty.

The weight and size that the TV Lift can hold: Televisions come in different weights and sizes, so before you buy a TV Lift make sure that it can hold your tv! You’ll be able to find this information in the specs of the product. Most TV Lifts are limited to a specific size/weight, but they will be suitable for a range and not just one size and weight.

Space for speakers and other related equipment: If you’re thinking about setting up your entire home entertainment system on the TV Lift, then look for spaces on the mechanism that allow for all the additional equipment. See if there’s a spot for the speakers, DVD player, and even your stereo system. Obviously, the more space you want, the higher the cost of the TV Lift.

The warranty: Every major purchase is often accompanied by a warranty. Make sure you get one with the TV Lift you’re hoping to buy, and check what it covers. The warranty is definitely a feature that you should look into when shopping around, and make sure to see what kind of things it covers.

Additional features: Some TV Lifts are high-tech, designed to swivel or rise higher than usual. See what kind of extra features there are and if it’s something you like, find a TV Lift that offers them.

iPad Tools For Education

Hot news from Yury Mintskovsky:

Computer giant Apple is announcing today that they’ll be providing wider variety of learning materials for students, specifically for those from kindergarten to grade 12. The unveiling is set to take place in New York at a scheduled media event later this morning, by Eddy Cue, the chief of Apple Internet Software.

The move is an attempt to make the iPad a lighter, more compact and less expensive alternative to textbooks. (As a side note, the textbook industry rakes in $10 billion annually!)

A single iPad has the ability to replace all of the textbooks in a student’s lifetime, since new materials may simply be downloaded via the internet. The new software tools will enable educators to publish learning materials more easily than ever before, whether they’re a single teacher or a multinational publishing house. Apple hopes that by introducing these new easy-to-use tools, even self-publishers will be able to take advantage of them.

Not Just For Teachers, Though
The new software will also be aimed at historians, linguists, and other scholars who hope to release their own works to the public, without being restricted by the rules of a hired book publisher. Self-publishing their works is surely to have a great impact on our collective knowledge!

Spending Cuts Urged

Arkansas, like the rest of America, is dealing with tightening drawstrings, and the first place it seems like they’re trying to save money on is in education, much to the Education chief’s chagrin.

Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell has protested the proposed spending cuts on the public education system by stating that it would be a “step back from Arkansas’ commitment to students”. He made the statement today before the legislative Joint Budget Committee.

Although Gov. Mike Beebe proposed an increase of $56.6 million for public school funding the next fiscal year, it appears that public schools have still been negatively affected by restrictive budgeting. In 2010, nearly $80 million was cut from the budget for public schools. That was a huge drawback for education in the State. However, it looks like funding has increased in an effort to foster the competitiveness of young people in Arkansas in the global marketplace.

Just recently, Education Week magazine released the statistics of their annual Quality Counts report, giving Arkansas a low mark in “Student achievement” and “the chance for a successful career with an Arkansas education”. Ouch. Overall, Arkansas placed 5th in the country.

Judging A School By Its Cover

Are you looking for a school for your child? You’ll probably be visiting many, many institutions in your pursuit for the best school for your child. You’ll probably see some that are beautifully maintained with the latest equipment and technologies for the students to take advantage of, while others may not be as nicely kept and have fewer amenities at their fingertips. It’s only human nature to pick the best for your child, but sometimes the best doesn’t mean those schools that are the prettiest.

Go Deeper
The outside of a school isn’t always an accurate representation of what’s on the inside. You’ll need to delve deeper by speaking directly with the teachers, talking to parents of students who are currently enrolled at that school, and even chatting with the administrative staff who may have a different perspective on things. The student body may also be examined. Sometimes, searching online can uncover the personal accounts of students at that school, so you can get a first hand look at their experiences.

Take these things into consideration before determining if that school is suitable for your child, and never, ever just judge a school by how nice it looks. Your child deserves more consideration than that!

School: Learn To Love It

school kid

Is there a child in your life who hates going to school? Day in and day out, they complain about having to go as well as complete the homework they’ve been assigned when they come home. As a parent, you may even feel guilty for sending your child to school, as it’s a place that they just have to attend.

Teach your child to love school by finding out first the reason why they hate it.

Classmates, Friends and Other Social Problems
School isn’t just for education. One of the most important aspects of school is socialization, and spending several hours of the day with the same people for most of the week. Some children who fail to forge relationships are don’t know how to navigate social constructs may become unhappy and isolated.

To improve this area, the child must learn to improve their social experiences. You can help your child do this by signing them up for an after school activity in a subject that is of interest to them. An arts class, gymnastics, martial arts or something like that can boost self confidence by nourishing a talent that has been neglected. By boosting self confidence, your child may have a better ability to make friends at their school.

Problems with the teacher
Although teachers are trained to teach all sorts of kids, sometimes, they can’t get through to some. There may also be a personality conflict between the teacher and child. As a parent, find out if this is the reason why your child doesn’t like school, then talk to the teacher directly about the situation. Don’t place blame! Remember, the most important thing to do is to resolve the situation rather than place blame or foster negativity.

Learning Disability
It can be frustrating for a child who doesn’t understand what’s being taught. When a child can’t understand the topics taught, fails at schoolwork and consistently gets low grades, there may be a problem that is more than just misbehaviour. It may mean that your child has a learning disability. Dyslexia and hearing problems can seriously impede the learning process, and it’s vital that you find out if this is the source of frustration for your child.

By addressing this problems, your child will soon be able to enjoy school again!

The Case Against Homework?

booksThere is a growing number of parents and organizations that are seeking to ban homework. Have you heard about this?

Individuals who are anti-homework explain their stance, pinpointing the following 3 reasons:

1. Homework doesn’t allow kids to be kids after school. After a long day at school, kids come home and must continue their day by completing assigned homework. This cuts down on their play time, when kids can run around and exercise. It also cuts down on the time kids can spend fostering their creativity, pursuing activities that are of more interest to them.

2. It takes away from the time they should be spending with their family. Rather than enjoying the rest of the day together, kids have to go to their room and study. Furthermore, even if their parents help, the experience isn’t a positive one as it can be frustrating if there’s a difficult task to complete – which brings us to our next point.

3. Parents aren’t teachers (well, at least many of them). Teachers are educated and trained to teach, but most parents have no qualifications. How can they help their child when they don’t know how to teach, or may not even know what their child is studying?

We hear many complaints and arguments from children who have to do their homework, including a recent news report about an 11 year old boy in California who went missing for 7 hours, just because he was afraid he’d get into trouble for not completing his homework (there was no indication of abuse at his home). Do you think it’s time we started listening to our kids? Maybe their complaints are actually valid, and we should eliminate or at least reduce the amount of homework our schools give out.

Homework Tips

homework

As a parent, helping your child with their homework is a necessary part of parenthood. But it can be difficult to help with homework when you’re not a natural teacher. Here are some tips that can help you create a conducive environment for homework:

1. Set up a routine: Kids thrive on routines, and it’s one of the easiest ways to make completing their homework a regular part of their schedule.

2. Prepare an environment that fosters learning: Turn off the television, radio, video games and anything else that may be a distraction. Your kids need to focus on the task at hand, and there should be nothing that distracts them from doing so (the same goes for you, the parent, as well!).

3. Introduce your child to bountiful resources available at the library: One of the most important abilities a child in school should have is to be resourceful. They need to learn how to find the information they require to complete their homework, so introduce them to the library and reliable sites online.

4. Know what’s going on at school and what homework needs to be completed: Parents should be kept up to date with what assignments have been given to students and what activities are going on. This way, you’ll always know what needs to be done, and your children won’t be able to lie.

5. Complement your child’s natural learning process: Not every kid learns in the same way, just like adults. Some kids may learn from doing or reading, while others may learn from listening. Figure out how your child learns naturally first. Then, you’ll be able to help with their homework more effectively.

6. Encourage your children: No matter how old your kids are, encouragement is always appreciated. Encourage your children by complimenting them on tasks completed and gently correcting mistakes. This creates a great environment for learning!

7.  Be a Role Model: A lot of what kids do is learned behaviour, and parents tend to be their first resource for this. If you want your kids to be dutiful in completing their homework, you should also complete tasks that need doing rather than procrastinating or ignoring them.