Archive for February, 2009
First published around 1768, the Encyclopedia Britannica is the old encyclopedia (English-language) still in print. The articles in the publication are edited by 100 full time editors and nearly 4,000 expert contributors. It is widely regarded as the most scholarly of encyclopedias.
Math is an essential skill that often doesn’t receive as much attention as it should in our schools. There are millions of teenagers in the United States who can’t even do math on the most basic levels, and this is because of poor education in school. Though theoretical and high level math tends to have little practical application for the real world (except in science), it’s important that all people know basic math. It’s essential for all adults to have knowledge of basic math, algebra, and trigonometry, and these skills are not as well emphasized in school as they should be.
Introducing children to math at an early age is a great way to get them involved. Math becomes boring or tedious when you can’t find the solution to a given problem, and often when children develop a dislike of math it is because they don’t understand the problems. Math games, math flashcards, and more math in general can foster a better understanding of numbers, and an appreciation for the only universal language.
How often is it that children seem to know more about computers than their parents? If you’re like me, it’s all the time. Computer literacy no longer begins in high school, it begins in pre-school. Computers have become a central part of modern society, and it’s important to introduce children to computers at a young age. More and more you will find educational software as one of the primary tools for teaching children. By learning through software, children not only learn how the computer works, but the subjects that the software is used to teach.
You’ll often find adults that have no idea when to double click, when to single click, how to minimize windows, use tabs, and search for files, while a teenager could do this in their sleep. This is not because teenagers are more intelligent at figuring out how to use the computer, but rather because the entire interface of computer usage is embedded into their brains. It’s important that children too understand this basic computer interface when they’re younger. In the long run, children who are familiar with computers become more successful adults!