School uniforms - good or bad?

1. Deroticed girls

As usual, people believe that squeezing children into school uniforms will prevent sexual abuse, rapes, etc.

This kind of argument is similar to the one saying that "she provoked him and she is to blame". People who share this opinion should see on the Internet how great of an erotic fetishism the school uniform is for men! All the laughter from people who hear that argument will be the best evidence that what I have just written is very true. That is why I would firmly stick to that reaction.

Unless you're going to persuade the ladies who don't get what you're talking about - they'll probably stare goggle-eyed at you with astonishment. The results on the Internet should open their eyes to that problem. It's also typical that in countries where uniforms are most popular - for example, Great Britain or Japan - they have the most erotic connotations.

Evidence for that can be found in Google. If one looks for "school uniform" in Google, one will encounter pages presenting uniforms as erotic fetishism. Yet, once you insert "schoolgirl" or "school uniform" in Google, you'll be flooded by a great number of pornography sites!!!

Summing up, if anyone believes that girls in uniforms will be safer, is definitely wrong. On the contrary, this kind of clothing may just attract more deviants.

2. Uniforms will prevent fashion and vanity ecstasy

a. Uniform requiring clothing of a specified colour and cut e.g. white blouse/shirt; navy blue sweater/cardigan, grey skirt/trousers. But the school doesn't impose any shop or brand.

The 'fashion parade' will stop only seemingly, because the need for individual expression cannot be suppressed by uniforms. Children and teenagers will certainly find other ways to emphasize their distinctness, and to show their alleged superiority over other children. Thus, if a school uniform consists of a navy blue sweater/cardigan/shirt and grey skirt/trousers, one child will have the most expensive, designer sweater/cardigan/shirt and designer skirt/trousers, while the other will wear old, stretched rags. Where is that equality?

One cannot compare two sweaters just because they have the same colour and name. People who are still in favour of introducing school uniforms, should familiarize themselves with experiences in that field taken from other countries.

In Belgium, for example, there are private schools which require uniforms and this leads to fanatic attitude on behalf of the children towards these clothes. That is because of the fact that by depriving somebody of their identity, it will turn into a complete obsession. Kids in such schools go nuts and feel excessive pressure not only to possess the best and the most fashionable clothes, but also those of the "right" brand.

As I've written before, one grey skirt cannot be compared with another, even if its cut or length are firmly determined. Commercial companies easily make use of kids' obsessions and compete to produce such cool stuff. It also has an appropriate price!

Thus, any parent who thinks that their children's obsession with clothes will come to an end, is mistaken. It'll be just the opposite, because both bans and orders result in resistance. The stricter these bans and orders are, the bigger resistance and obsession among people of different ages they cause. So, not only among adults, but also among children and teenagers.

The ban on wearing designer labels won't change anything either, because producers will find the gap in the market at once. They'll start producing clothes without any logos, but which can be immediately recognised by children as the better ones. The quality, as well as best cut are easily noticeable.

Those who remember times when they wore school uniforms themselves, should be aware of the fact that they'll not eliminate any fashion parades, competitions or condescension acts. People should remember themselves and talk about what they did when they were that age in order not to be deprived of their individuality. Uniforms didn't change anything in the schools that I attended.

b. Full uniforms - they're bought in one shop and they are all of the same quality, have the same cut, including shoes and bags - however, they're quite expensive.

Such uniforms will be out of reach for many children. There'll be children possessing only one such uniform.

Not to mention the fact that introducing identical uniforms will cause a hellish temptation of corruption. Because, who is to decide which shop will provide children with uniforms?

Imagine the hell a child will have to go through, when possessing only one uniform? His/ her uniform will be much more worn-out in comparison to other children's uniforms. So where is this alleged equality? It'll be also more often dirty, because it will be washed only during the weekend. And what about winter, if it doesn't dry until Monday?

Of course, we assume here that a child has such responsible parents that they won't forget to wash and iron the uniform. At the same time we realise that this is not always the case. There are children whose parents won't care about their child having a clean uniform every single week. Parents don't have time, they forget, are tired, or simply drink, etc. And then what? What should such a child wear to school? A dirty uniform? A wet uniform?

Of course, one child will have a few uniforms and they'll always be new, not worn out, neat, clean and ironed. At the same time, other pupils will wear dirty, worn-out or even ragged uniforms. They may also be too small, because there can be a case when parents don't have enough money to buy a child a new uniform, when the old one doesn't fit any more.

We shouldn't forget that as many as 30% of children in Poland live in poverty and don't have anything to eat. They don't have enough money for school equipment or books, let alone buying a new uniform.
That will only be extra expense, because everyday clothing can be found in second-hands for peanuts. A uniform cannot.

Apart from that, should all parents be obligated to keeping their child's uniform clean and ironed? What if they don't fulfill their duty? Can a child, in such a case, wear other clothes at school? Following this thought, a child who has such irresponsible parents will surely feel discriminated by other children? Finally, everybody will realise that such a child has parents who don't take care of him/her. This is an 'ideal' reason to tease and persecute the child! Why should children suffer the negative consequences of being neglected?

Yet another matter concerning the alleged equality of the children in uniforms.

At once there'll be established schools that are "better" and "worse". Richer children will attend one school, and the poorer a different one. As every school will have its own uniform, it'll be easily noticeable which school a child attends. So, there is a great probability that children outside the school ground will be treated with contempt, hate or envy.

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Listening Practice

Improve your listening skills with these beginning level listening comprehension quizzes. These listening selections concern everyday subjects such as understanding numbers, making plans and asking about prices.

• Man Taking a Survey
• How Much Does It Cost?
• Making a Dinner Reservation
• Making Plans for the Evening

• Understanding Numbers 1
• Understanding Numbers 2
• Telling the Time

Speaking Help for Beginners

These pages will help you with speaking skills including pronunciation and basic dialogues that you can follow for role-playing.

• Basic English Conversations
• Saying Hello
• Introducing Yourself and Friends
• I'd Like a Sandwich - Restaurant Dialogue
• Going Shopping

• Ask and Answer Questions - 50 Basic English Questions
• Introduction to Phonetics
• English Pronunciation Exercises
• Pronunciation - Consonants
• Pronunciation - Vowels

Reading Comprehension Practice

These short reading selections will help you with your reading skills. The topics include basics such as working in an office, cooking and friends.

• A New Office
• Cooking
• Filling in a Form

• Introductions
• The Meeting
• My Friend Peter

Review the Basics

These tests will help you review beginning level English grammar and vocabulary.

• Beginning English Grammar Review Quiz
• Beginning English Fill in the Gap Quiz - Key Words

What Type of Word?

These pages help you use other important words in English such as adjectives (hot, big, fast, etc.) and adverbs (carefully, always, sometimes, etc.), as well as the comparative (good - better, happy - happier, etc,) and the superlative (the worst, the most difficult, etc.)

• Adverbs - Describing How Something is Done
• Adjectives - Describing What Something or Someone is Like
• Countries and Languages

• Comparing People, Places and Things - Comparatives and Superlatives
• Asking about Things - Question Words
• Adverbs of Frequency

Tense and Verb Form Quizzes

Use these quizzes to test your knowledge of correct tense conjugation and verb forms.

• I work on Saturdays. - Present Simple Quiz
• Tom's watching TV. - Present Continuous Quiz
• She's working or She works? - Present Simple vs. Present Continuous Quiz
• I worked yesterday. - Past Simple Quiz

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Online Business Schools

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• Distance Learning 101
• Will Anyone Hire an Online Grad?
• Earning an MBA Online
• Featured Online School - Kaplan University
• Interview with Kaplan University
• Featured Online School- Western Governors University
• Interview with Western Governors University
• Online Business Schools- A thru B
• Online Business Schools- C thru D

• Online Business Schools- E thru H
• Online Business Schools- I thru J
• Online Business Schools- K thru M
• Online Business Schools- N thru R
• Online Business Schools- S
• Online Business Schools- T
• Online Business Schools- U
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Business School Rankings

Business school rankings are nothing new. Organizations have been ranking business schools for years. While you shouldn't rely on business school rankings alone to choose a school, rankings can help you learn more about a school's reputation.

• Business School Rankings- The Basics
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• Top MBA Schools- Accounting
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• Best 290 Business Schools
• 20 B-Schools with Tuition Under $15,000

Advice from Admissions Officers

If you are looking for admissions advice, there is no better person to ask than an admissions officer. Here are several interviews with prominent business school admissions representatives. Each interview offers an overview of the indicated school's admissions process, as well as topics like GMAT scores, recommendation letters, and admissions interviews.

• McCombs-Interview with Director of Admissions
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• Ross-Interview with Associate Director of Admissions
• NYU Stern-Interview with Executive Director of MBA Admissions
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Activities For Using Kindergarten Sight Words

Below are some fun activities to familiarize your child with sight words and help him or her to better remember them. The games are intended for use with Child1st's stylized sight words, each of which includes a picture embedded into the plain word. Many of the games also require a chart to display the sight words. They may be played with kindergartners and beyond. For information on Child1st's sight words or to purchase a pocket chart, visit www.child-1st.com. Enjoy the learning experience with your children using these activities!

INTRODUCING NEW WORDS:

• Choose 1-5 sight word cards...display in pocket chart.

• Talk about each picture as it relates to the word it depicts. Let the children share what they see.

• Do the body motion together found on the reverse side of the cards.

• Use the word in the sentence provided.

• Identify the sounds in the word, whether single letter spellings, or multi-letter spellings, such as "ow" or a two-vowel spelling such as "ai."

• After introducing each word, check to be sure the children correctly read each word while looking at the fronts of the cards.

"POP UP" GAME:

• With the class near you, explain that you are going to play a game in which they will "pop up" when they hear their name, and will come up to the pocket chart to choose a word they can correctly read.

• This game works best when the pocket chart is full of words, rather than displaying only a handful of words.

• Encourage children to be selecting a word when it is not their turn so they are ready to pop up quickly when their name is called.

• Do not use this activity for teaching; rather keep it moving quickly so that no child gets bored. Stop the game as soon as interest begins to wander.

"WHERE'S Word-O?"

• Display a group of words in the pocket chart.

• Call one word at a time, saying, "Where's?"

• Children will take turns trying to quickly point out the word called by the teacher.

• Do not use this as a teaching time, but rather as a review activity.

WHICH IS WHICH?

• With the children in two teams in front of you.

• Line the teams up so that the two children in the front of the line compete first.

• Hold up two cards at a time, asking "Which one is [say one of the words]?"

• When the pair of children have answered, they go to the end of the line.

• Give the teams points for calling out the correct word.

AROUND THE WORLD:

• Display one card to a child for him to identify.

• That student will read the word, then choose a word card to display to another child.

• Continue through the group until all the words have been reviewed.

• This activity may be concluded by turning the cards to the back so that the children are reading the plain dolch sight words.

WORD FLIP:

• Have students vote on which words, one at a time, they think they can recognize without using the picture.

• Flip those words over as they are voted on so that the plain word is displayed on the reverse.

• Take five minutes to review all the words per day.

• Limit the number of words flipped over to a couple of day depending on your group and their progress in recognition of the plain words.

• The goal to keep in mind when using the stylized sight words is to use the visual, motion and language as learning tools, then to progress to the plain side of the card as soon as possible.

• You may determine what is helping each child learn their words by asking "How did you remember that?" when they correctly and instantly read a word unstylized. Some will say they can still "see" the picture in their minds, some will remember because of the motion they have come to relate to the word. Asking your children this question frequently will guide them into learning about how they learn best.

For more information, visit Child-1st.

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What Are Sight Words And Why Do They Matter?

A lot of research has been done on the material that children read. What has resulted is some pretty specific lists of words that comprise between 60% to 85% of all words appearing in children's texts. These words are commonly called Sight Words or High Frequency Words and there is a big push in most schools for children to memorize these words so that they can experience success in reading. Our Sight Words are a combination of a couple of lists. Our idea is not to replace a systematic, explicit phonics instruction curriculum that includes a frequent dose of phonemic awareness activities, and expect children to memorize 306 words. Rather, our product designers embed visuals into the letters and high frequency words to allow the child to focus on what he or she's reading. Children who have difficulty in working on left-brain functions will learn good phonics strategies that, when combined with visuals, will help make him or her a fluent reader. While the child is learning these high frequency words, practicing them using our decodable text books, all in a way that is fun and easy for him, he will be building new neural pathways that will ensure his subsequent success at reading new words in later texts. Our goal is to give every kindergartner a super chance at reading and success in school!

Teaching children to read using Dolch sight words:

Child1st sight word cards propel children into reading... no matter how difficult reading has seemed before. For those children who cannot decode, are stuck in the decoding stage, or who have little short term memory, Child1st sight words are the answer. Providing multisensory reading instruction is vital for learners with dyslexia, asperger's, autism, ADD, reading comprehension problems, and those who learn most easily through visuals. For these children, we provide a path to reading success using explicit phonics instruction combined with visual, kinesthetic (body movement), & tactile elements that provide multiple channels into the brain.

Suggestions for using Stylized Sight Words:

Rather than adding one word at a time to a word wall, I prefer to display groups of words from one set in a pocket chart easily visible to all the children, then play some of the games and word wall activities that you will find in the free booklet, Activities For Use With Stylized SnapWords that accompanies each Sight Word order. There are many activities to teach the sight words including "Pop Up" in which children take turns popping up to identify and read a word they know. As the days go by, choose together which words may be turned over to the plain side until all the words in the chart have been turned over. While the group of words is still displayed, children can collaborate in creating short sentences or phrases from the words, such as "See me run!"

Early Childhood applications:

Even in pre-school and kindergarten, learning to recognize those high frequency words becomes child's play when you have our sight words displayed in a chart. Children are attracted to them and love hanging around together where the words are. It will amaze you the learning that goes on in those situations!

For more information, visit Child-1st.

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Potty Training Doesn't Have to be Miserable

A young mom was lamenting the fact that her three and a half year old son still wasn't potty trained. He had no interest whatsoever in shedding his diapers. I assured her that he would be potty trained by the time he walked down the aisle! Seriously though, for practically every toddler, this is a short term problem.

According to The American Academy of Pediatrics, there is no set age at which toilet training should begin. They advise that the right time depends on a child's physical and psychological development. Between 18 and 24 months, children often start to show signs of being ready, but some children may not be ready until 30 months or older. They also advise parents that if their child resists strongly, it is best to wait for a while.

In the case of a head-strong 3 1/2 year old, there are some things you can try. For starters, go to Target, or wherever you and he generally shop together. Take him to the underwear aisle and tell him that he is a big boy now, and big boys are very lucky because they get to wear big boy underwear. He is especially lucky because you brought him to Target where they have lots of underwear to choose from. He can pick whatever he wants....Power Rangers, Batman, Bob the Builder, Spongebob, etc.

As soon as you get home, he can try on his new undies. If he can go a whole hour and stay dry, he can wear them all day. He needs to use the potty first, to help him stay dry for a whole hour. At the end of that hour, you'll remind him to use the toilet again, and try for another hour.

If he can't make the first hour, try to understand his state of mind. Why do you think he didn't make it? Was he engrossed in a tv show or game? Is he just really not interested, even with the new cool underwear? If it's the former and he really wants to try again, let him. Make the time frame a half hour though and remind him at that point to try to use the potty. If he just really isn't ready, don't push it. Tell him that you'll wash the underwear and put it in his drawer, and you'll try again next week.

If his friends are already trained, encourage a play date where he'll see them use the toilet. Sometimes that's enough to spark interest. By 3 1/2, when he decides he's ready he will likely be very successful very quickly. It's probably not that he has bladder control issues, more that he needs to decide for himself that he's ready.

Summer is the perfect time to train, because you can spend a lot of time outdoors where it's easier to clean up accidents. It's hard work but you have to be consistent.

I'd love you to share any tips that have worked for you.

Contact me on my blog at www.preschoolteach.blogspot.com or

Email me at terribakman@gmail.com

Good luck!

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