Learning from Hurricane Katrina to Clean Military Equipment and Battlespace Toxins

Many people do not realize the amount of incredible training the military can get after a natural disaster and as you might assume after Hurricane Katrina it looked like a war zone in New Orleans. And many issues to deal with all resemble the aftermath of the flooded out city. For instance one serious issue in wartime is biological weapons and it is as serious today as the Nerve Gas was in WWI.

It is for this reason that this serious issue has resurfaced in an online think tank when one member Swift from Las Vegas writes; “I wonder, too, if there is some affect on metal that might provide some interesting answers for what needed to be strengthened on military vehicles.”

Of course referring to all the vehicles, buses and trucks submerged or underwater for weeks in the New Orleans soup bowl. And I would hope we already know the answer to those types of questions, but in case we do not, I too would like to read a complete summary on this, not a government study, a real get your hands dirty study and really get into the metal fatigue issues. And potential cures to the problem such as laser light re-strengthening of metal. And what about the bio-toxins too, how do you clean the cars or in a wartime event the tanks, trucks and Humvees properly?

Swift also writes; “There always is a positive bunch of knowledge that comes out of disasters, if anyone looks at the situation in a different way.”

Indeed this is very true. There are always combinations of circumstances and this can help us develop better protocols for safe and accurate identification of problems and bio threats as well as better prepare us for potential threats of the future. Please consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/

Learning Styles And The Home Schooler – Part III of III

This is part III and the last part of this report. I hope you and your child are benefiting from the cues to their individual learning style and suggestions on how to can adjust your learning environment to achieve a successful and enjoyable homeschooling experience.

Next consider your child’s level of structure.

STRUCTURE effects how your child handles new material.

If your child is analytical and detailed oriented, structure the style of the lessons on:

- Details

- Step by step order

- One thing at a time

- Specifics

- Individual competition

- Preparation

- Values over feelings

- Must know what to expect

- Logical sequence

- Self motivation

- Fact finding

If your child is global and “big picture” oriented, structure the style of the lessons on:

- Relationships

- Seeing the “Big Picture”

- Giving many options

- Reading between the lines

- Groups

- Avoiding of individual competition

- Avoiding conflict

- Reassurance and reinforcement

- Keeping on track, steps and details

- Going with the flow

These styles are not meant to confine your student into a box. The guidelines are meant to offer the parent/teacher options to create the best environment for the student and finally find the “path of least resistance”. Evaluating individual styles is aimed to educate the parent/educator on how the child sees and processes information.

Do not try to fit your “round” child into a “square” hole… You will find very little success and lots of frustration and anger. Every one of us was made with different strengths and abilities. One is not “better” than the other, they are just different! This report is meant to illustrate learning pros and cons but most importantly that each style is manageable and has value.

One of the most valuable lessons I learned during my homeschooling adventure is to take the path of least resistance and not fight nature. I know you can do it!

Pam Connolly is a professional educator with the San Diego School District. She
has been teaching kids how to type for over 11 years. To teach your child typing,
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Turning Japanese

The impossible becomes mundane, and taboo topics become commonplace. That was my initial reaction to the Japanese culture of anime. Most of their stories bordered from the impossible to the ridiculous, unlike anything I have ever watched. I mean, come on, I have never seen eyes so exaggerated, reactions too theatrical, and characters too complex I had to wonder if they were schizophrenic or possibly high on something. Their plots were unbelievable too. From a guy transforming into a buxom girl when doused with cold water to an alien group of frogs out to conquer the planet while looking like a Sanrio stuff toy. Laws of gravity are disregarded as characters are able to fall from great heights in slow motion.

I remember the first Japanese anime with English subtitles I ever watched. It was given to me by a friend who just returned from his vacation in Tokyo. It was about a samurai vagabond who carried problems the size of a ten-wheeler truck on his shoulders. Then, I didn’t know how, but I was soon watching Naruto, an anime about a hyperactive young ninja’s journey to power and adulthood, who screamed too often for his tonsils to still be functioning if he existed in real life. Yes, one thing led to another, and soon enough, I was hooked. Probably because of the complexities of Japanese anime that is evident in their twisting plots and multi-dimensional characters who almost always seem to be a totally different personality from what you originally think them to be.

The thing about languages is that even if they are tricky, it’s not impossible to learn. All you need to do is use it with every opportunity you have, and repeat it. The human brain is an amazing tool, and what is even more amazing is that we only use a portion of it. Imagine what we can be capable of if we use even half of its capacity to store information and different languages. For people who think that it’s a fruitless cause, may I remind you that when we were still cute tots, we had to learn how to speak from scratch. Whether we liked it or not, we listened to dear old mom and dad as they cooed, first in incomprehensible baby talk to ‘grown-up speak’. We listened to those nursery rhymes over and over the whole day and fairy tales during the night until we were able to recite them from memory. We were like sponges, absorbing everything we can get our hands on. So why not learn now instead of leaving your brain to rot?

Watching animes enabled me slowly to comprehend Nihongo. Okay, so my knowledge is basic, so don’t talk to me in Nihongo unless you want me to make a fool of myself. But I’m still darn proud to know a few words and phrases, and that’s just by watching an episode for about 5 times. By reading the English subtitles, wrong grammar withstanding (just edit it mentally), I found myself slowly understanding the words. For instance, to say “good morning” in Nihongo is to say Ohayo (think OHIO, but stress on the end of each syllable). If greeting an older or superior person, boss or teacher, say Ohayo Gozaimasu. “Thank you” is Arigatou/*Arigatou Gozaimasu*, or as English-speaking Japanese characters would say, ‘Sankyu’. And of course, I also learned really good cuss words! A really good thing that came out of it was that I had the freedom to scream what I want in Nihongo at home without my mom walloping me for saying inappropriate words. FYI, she only knows ‘Bansai!’

Of course, I still plan to take up Nihongo formally. I plan to enroll in a center where a Japanese teacher or sensei can help me with my studies. Maybe I should get some audio tapes on how to speak Nihongo as well. Someday I just might go to Japan, just to test everything that I’ve learned (although I will arm myself with a dictionary and my sensei’s cellphone number on speed dial), and foray into shops to look for more of my favorite anime titles to indulge myself into.

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What To Consider Before Deciding To Go Dental School

There are many career options out there that are available to you, and one is a career in dentistry. Dentists are a crucial part of any community, and the kind of specialist everyone who wants to remain healthy needs to see on a regular basis. If you want to be one of these doctors who contributes so vitally to society, you might want to think about going to dental school. Before you make this decision though, there are a few things you need to consider.

Commitment

Just like medical school, dental school requires years of study and training. Furthermore, as with medical school, you may be required to do a residency and clinical work before you can achieve your degree. You will be required to put in long hours without pay for many years, often in a very challenging environment. It will be different from medical school to be sure, but not necessarily any easier to achieve your degree. Only if you feel you have this level of commitment to the field of dentistry should you begin to pursue a dental career. If you do not think you will be able to finish, it is better to discover this now then two or three years from now.

Academic Requirements

Whichever dental schools you apply to will be interested to see your academic record, to try to predict whether you will successfully complete the program. Your college record and GPA will be scrutinized. You do not necessarily have to have the highest GPA or all of the exactly correct courses to get accepted to dental school, but the fewer of these academic enticements you have, the more you may have to scale down your expectations of which dental school you will be accepted to. You will also be required to take and pass the Dental Admissions Test (DAT). You should probably get yourself some sample tests and peruse them before taking any further steps. If studying this material does not appeal to you, dental school probably will not appeal to you either.

Specialization

Are you going to be an oral surgeon or a general practitioner? Maybe you don’t know yet. Different schools appeal to different types of future dentists. It will be useful for you to have an idea of what type of dentist you would like to be before deciding which dental schools you will apply to.

As you can see, there are a number of factors that should go into your decision about whether or not and where to attend dental school. This is not a decision to be entered into lightly. However, if you prepare yourself and approach dental school with an open mind and understanding of all the possibilities, you will set yourself up for a successful career.

Elizabeth Saas is a feature writer for careersandeducation.com/ CareersandEducation.com. Review more of her work and read about using a careersandeducation.com/ Career learning center and explore her thoughts on careersandeducation.com/online-education online degree programs and online colleges.

Colleges and Universities in Baltimore, Maryland Part IV

Loyola College

Loyola College at 4501 North Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland was established in 1852. It is a Jesuit Catholic comprehensive university offering undergraduate, masters and doctoral programs.

The undergraduate program features 34 disciplines and four pre-professional programs in addition to a diverse selection of electives. About one-half of the junior class studies abroad each year through exchange programs in Melbourne, Australia, Leuven, Belgium, Beijing, China, NewCastle, England, Cork, Ireland, Rome, Italy, Auckland, New Zealand, Alcala, Spain, and Bangkok, Thailand.

Loyola College is a leading provider of professionally focused graduate education and offers more than 40 advanced degree and certificate programs in the disciplines of:

• Accounting
• Business administration
• Computer science
• Education
• Finance
• Liberal studies
• Pastoral counseling
• Psychology
• Speech-language pathology

Tuition is $29,500 per year with room and board at $8,560.

Maryland Institute College of Art

Maryland Institute College of Art at 1300 Mount Royal Avenue in Baltimore, Maryland
is ranked among the nation’s top colleges of art and design. MICA offers a studio curriculum balanced by challenging course work in the liberal arts. Sixteen undergraduate majors that lead to the bachelor of fine arts degree include:

• Art history
• Fine arts
• Interdisciplinary fine arts
• Video
• Photography
• Graphic design
• Environmental design
• Illustration
• Animation

Maryland Institute College of Art also offers Master of Arts degrees in:

• Teaching
• Art education
• Community arts and digital arts
• Master of fine arts degrees in fine art
• Graphic design

MICA offers a post baccalaureate certificate in fine art and study abroad opportunities are available in 12 countries.

The residential campus is located in the heart of Baltimore’s cultural district, and hosts a range of exhibitions, artist talks, performances and films.

Students have the opportunity to develop professional skills through first-hand experience in the college’s nationally recognized community-based arts program, internships around the world, and a variety of programs for campus leadership and involvement.

Tuition is $26,140 per year with room and board at $7,530.

This article is FREE to publish with the resource box.

© 2007 Connie Limon. All rights reserved

Written by: Connie Limon. Visit charmcitybaltimore.info charmcitybaltimore.info for more information about living, working and vacationing in Baltimore, Maryland. Visit camelotarticles.com camelotarticles.com and submit your original articles for web site promotion.

Orange County Schools Build Civic Education with Disney

If it wasn’t a big enough perk to grow up next door to the Magic Kingdom, Orange County high school students are also being sought out by nonprofit organizations in their area. As part of Disneyland’s 50th anniversary celebrations, high school students from Orange County Schools have the chance to participate in community outreach projects with local nonprofits.

Show Your Character

The “Show Your Character” competition encourages local nonprofits to design projects that get high school students involved. Beginning in 2004 and continuing through 2006, Orange County nonprofits submit project proposals designed to help local teenagers give back to their community. If selected, the nonprofits are paired with Orange County high school students and given the resources they needed to complete a community service project in their neighborhoods.

Projects for the competition must meet the California curriculum standards for Service Learning Projects. In this way, students earn academic credit while learning valuable skills from nonprofit groups.

A Service Learning Project must meet four basic goals (provided by the Volunteer Center of Orange County, www.volunteercenter.org ):

Meet a Real Community Need

In partnership with your organization, students should gain an understanding of how the needs of the community you serve are identified. After developing an understanding of these needs, students will actively participate in a service-learning project designed to effectively meet those needs.

Gain an Understanding of the Connection Between School and Community

Students should develop an understanding of the relationship between the school and the community and the value of school-community partnerships. This will be gained through direct interactions with your organization, staff and/or clients to develop and implement meaningful service activities that meet the needs of both the students and the community you serve.

Develop a Sense of Civic Responsibility

Students should be able to demonstrate an understanding of civic responsibility through their participation in this service-learning activity. The project must meet a real community need and improves the quality of life in the community.

Strengthen their Understanding of Core Character Traits and Values

Trustworthiness – Respect – Fairness – Caring – Citizenship

Benefits for Students

In addition to the school credit, participation in the competition also benefits students and their schools in other key ways. Students will gain from an increased awareness of the nonprofits operating in the community. In working with a nonprofit organization, the student will learn about how nonprofit groups help at risk members of the community and see for themselves how they and others can contribute to building their community in a positive way in the future. Participation also qualifies the student to apply for a Disneyland Resort Legacy Scholarship Award. The Disneyland Resort Scholarship Program, called Making Magic Through Community Service, plans to grant $50,000 in scholarships, with a minimum scholarship of $5000 each.

Benefits for Teachers and Schools

Teachers and schools can get in on the action too. In assisting their students to participate in the competition, teachers and schools meet the standards in character education and have the opportunity to build character and civic responsibility in their students. Teachers and students will have the advice of a Disney VoluntEAR Project Leader who is knowledgeable about their nonprofit organization partner as well as the character education curriculum education standards to be met. In addition, teachers and schools will have the expert assistance of the Volunteer Center of Orange County, the California State Regional Lead for Service Learning. There are financial benefits for teachers too, such as earning a Golden Performance Award worth $1000 to further improve the learning environment for their students.

Disney’s community outreach programs for Orange County high school students combine learning with public service and specifically address the character education curriculum standards for the state of California. Students in the area have been given the opportunity to learn from Walt Disney that, “the greatest moments in life are not concerned with selfish achievement but rather with the things we do for the people in need.”

Stacy Andell is a staff writer for Schools K-12, providing free, in-depth reports on all U.S. public and private K-12 schools. Stacy has a nose for research and writes stimulating news and views on school issues. For more information please visit

Sound Waves, Bees and Micro-Mechanical Flying Insects

There has been quite a lot of talk about taking sound waves to control organic insects with or even to use to stop locust plagues or steer bee swarms. But the more I look at this the more I want to build a micro-mechanical flying insect rather than screw around destroying the bugs. Then use the sound waves to help keep them aloft.

It would be great to study them and Bees make the most sense because we already know how to control them. We get a big aircraft hanger and draw lines on the floor and ceiling and then use virtual laser grids in a visible range that the sound will not interfere with.

Have the bees swarm across the floor and then turn the device at an appropriate setting of guestimation based on previous acoustic transducer thin film frequencies, which have already been documented in the lab, which coincide with the thickness and density of the wing structures.

It would be fun to rev it up to see if we could increase the Bees abilities first and see if the whole swarm moves upward before re-adjusting. Positive; increasing flying characteristics first. Then destructive later, as you do not want to kill all the bees, we need them later. And even when we use destructive we do so only in a zone or grid using directional sound precision.

In an online think tank one member states his choice of experiments; “Two modes need to be attempted; 1. Disrupt the “dynamic sound structures” that I perceive are located under each wing of the bee in the swarm or locust in the swarm; 2. Apply constructive / destructive sound energy that will produce a resonate-frequency that affects the wing structure.”

And I also believe that all the information gained will be of value to many other projects in the future. Especially to help in micro-mechanical insect swarm flight and defense against it if an any enemy tries anything. Consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/