Once a student files their financial aid forms they are forwarded to their college or university and it is then determined how much aid the student will receive.  This is determined by the student’s age, financial situation and family situation.

Here are some steps to follow when applying for financial aid:

1. Obtain a copy of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form.  You can find this form at any college financial aid office or by visiting the FAFSA website and and filing the form electronically.  You will be required to file a FAFSA every year you attend college and want financial aid.
2. Complete the FAFSA form.  You will need to provide personal information including your Social Security number, tax return information, dependent information, marital status and parental income information if you are a dependent.
3. Mail the FAFSA to the address listed on the application or file it online.  Then you just need to wait to hear if you qualified for financial aid and how much you will receive.

If you find that you don’t qualify for financial aid or that you don’t qualify for enough financial aid to attend college…don’t give up hope.  You may qualify for a private loan from a bank.  Contact a bank of your choice and talk to them about a private loan.

Here are some tips for finding the perfect topic:

• Controversial:  Focus on a controversy that you are interested in.  Choose a side and make your arguments the best that you can.  You can find controversial topics on the news, in magazines and newspapers or on the internet.  When choosing your topic narrow it down so that you can concentrate on one specific issue.  If you try to cover too many aspects of the topic you may find it difficult to do your research.
• Problem:  You can choose to focus on a problem that effects the entire world or you can choose one that effects your town or school.  You may find it easier to gather information about a world wide problem, but you find it more gratifying to collect information for a local problem.  You could conduct interviews with local officials or create a survey for members of the public.
• Historic:  You may find the easiest topics to research are historical ones.  You could choose a period in time, an idea, an invention, a political act, a war or even a painting or piece of literature.  You will be able to show how events influenced society and how society influenced the outcome of events.

Take some time when choosing your research paper topic and you may find that you have interests that you didn’t even know about.

Here are some tips to help when you are applying for different types of financial aid:

• Federal Aid:  Financial aid deadlines vary from school to school and between funding organizations.  When applying for federal financial aid, you have to meet the application deadlines and the state and college deadlines, as well.  The Free Application for Federal Student Aid website has a tool to help you determine the deadlines for submitting your financial aid application.
• High School:  You should begin researching financial aid during your junior year in high school and begin applying for scholarships and grants the fall of your senior year.  This will give you enough time to get the financial information together that will need when applying and you will be able to meet the application deadlines.
• College:  If you are all ready in college you should apply for financial aid about a year before your next school year.  Do your research and find the scholarships and grants that you may be eligible for.
• Organization:  Being organized is key to being successful when applying for financial aid.  Create a filing system so that you will know which deadlines are coming up.  A spreadsheet on your computer, separate files for each month or even a calendar that lists the deadlines each month will help you stay on top of things.

Remember, preference is given to those applications that are received before the deadline.

Here’s some tips that will make writing a research paper easier:

• Whenever possible choose a topic that you know about and are interested in.  It is always easier to write about something that you all ready know about.  If you are having trouble narrowing down the subject don’t be afraid to discuss them with your teacher.  It’s always good to have a sounding board.
• Begin to gather sources.  You can find them online or at your local library.  Check with your teacher to see which sources are acceptable.  There are many online sources that are not peer-reviewed and may lack credibility and may not be allowed.  You will save yourself a lot of time if you ask these questions before you start your research.
• Use your resources to develop your thesis statement.  Your thesis should be a viewpoint that must be proved.  It’s your responsibility to prove your thesis statement adequately.
• Compose an outline using your argument’s supporting evidence.  Only use relevant information to support your argument.  At least, three pieces of supporting evidence is needed for a successful research paper.
• Begin writing your paper using the outline as a guide.  Use your research to make your argument and to fill in gaps in your paper.  After writing your first draft, which should be an introduction, at least three paragraphs in the body and a conclusion, review it and make any necessary changes.
• Visit websites, like the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA), to see how to cite sources in your research paper.  Becoming acquainted with these cites will help you see the requirements of academic and collegiate-level citing.

Special Education Questions

So back to the question – is it the right move?  I guess it depends who you ask.  Some the high school students with special needs seem to enjoy the idea of being with “regular” students.  They feel the stigma is being lifted of having learning difficulties.  The district is wrangling with how to meet everyone’s needs.  Some teachers are team teaching which means there are two teachers in the classroom.  One is the primary regular education teacher, and the other is a special education teacher charged with helping students in the class who have an Individualized Education Plan (IEP).

Individualized Education Plan (IEP)

In my experience with team teaching the special education teacher moves quickly from student to student not able to [pause long with any one student because there are so many needs and the primary teacher is moving at a fairly fast clip to keep the “regular ed” students engaged in the lesson. Eventually the primary teacher ends up slowing down and helping students catch up as well and the learning comes to a halt or at least the momentum is greatly slowed.

What’s the Answer?

So while I’m happy some student view school as “more fun” with this approach I’ve know of too many times when the teacher feels overwhelmed and unable to meet the needs of students.  School is where we are suppose to be challenged, gain knowledge, and become socially conscience.  It seems there should be a way to do this and keep everyone’s integrity in tact.  I’m just not sure inclusion is always the way to go.  Don’t get me wrong – I’ve seem it work.  It’s just so rare and takes a lot of training, patience, teamwork, parent support, financial support, student buy-in… you get the picture!

Who Are They Kidding?

According to the Daily Record, some teachers feel it is way too early to determine if the policy is good or bad.  I agree – who can make such a determination based on one quarter of a school year?  Most things appear to work – until the novelty wears off.  It also needs to be noted that students can retake exams and redo assignments following a “bad” grade.  So what does the data really show?  Anything?

Statistics Lie

Oh how I love statistics!  They can truly show whatever someone wants them to show.  While at first glance it seems we should all do away with the letter D on report cards, it’s obvious that is not the case once you read the details of the policy.  How many times can a student stake the exam over or redo an assignment?  We all know things get easier with practice.  Is it a new version of the test each time?  How are the teachers balancing all of these “redos” with moving forward and covering the curriculum appropriately?

The Superintendent was concerned (rightly so) that students were “getting credit for not learning.”  I’m not sure if this new policy should count as a fix for his concern though.  Maybe time will prove me wrong – hopefully it is successful.  But for now I have to recommend holding the applause and taking the wait and see approach instead!

The Need for American Sign Language

“In Maryland, more than 17,000 deaf individuals are residents, according to information provided by Galludet University in Washington, D.C.”  This has led some high schools to begin teaching American Sign Language (ASL) as a foreign language.  The interest in the classes continues to grow and enrollment goes up each year. The teachers and the students are excited about the opportunity to learn this form of communication.

Charlene Handley, a teacher at Westminster High school, opts to be silent for the entire first week of ASL I.  How does it go over with the students?  Great – they usually learn about 60 signs by the end of the first week.  The students are amazed at how quickly they pick up the silent language.

An Effective Option

In reading about this I got jealous.  How I wished I had the opportunity to learn ASL while in high school instead of taking French.  I suffered horribly at the hands of my French teacher… I could read and write the language, I just couldn’t speak it or tell you what someone was saying to me.  Kind of a hindrance when trying to be proficient in a foreign language, right?

What About You?

BUT, Sign Language?  I actually had a chance to learn the alphabet and the Star Spangled Banner when I was in grade school (it was offered through our gifted program one year).  I LOVED IT!  Maybe it had something to do with being a kinesthetic learner.  Whatever it was that made it interesting, appealing, and something I could actually DO worked for me.  To this day I still remember most of the alphabet.  I even got hooked on this site that quizzes you (with short words) while finding information for this blog.  Give it a try – I bet you’ll be hooked in no time!

A Promise for the Future

The City of Centralia, Illinois recently thanked nine members of YouthBuild who assisted the city in a number of projects this year, according to an article in the Centralia Sentinel.

YouthBuild is a non-profit organization which provides education, counseling and job skills to unemployed young American adults between ages 16 and 24.  The program is based in five components:  construction, education, counseling. leadership and graduate opportunity, the article stated.

Students spend every other week on a job site, learning the construction trade by building or rehabilitating homes in their own communities.  This creates housing for low-income people, and also gives the students marketable job skills.  The alternate weeks are spent on education in the YouthBuild classroom, with the goal of attaining a GED, the article explained.

Reaching Out

YouthBuild participants worked with the city in cleaning up the band shell at the Library Park,  and also helped install new benches there.  They also helped with the interior cleanup of the Illinois Theatre downtown and assisted in the work on the new dugouts at the baseball fields in Fairview Park.

Centralia officials thanked the YouthBuild participants for the “hard work, commitment to the community and the youth’s desire to make a positive impact, not only for themselves but their co-workers and the city as well.”

“You’re special to the city of Centralia,” Mayor Becky Ault told the nine.  “We just want to thank you for all the work that you’ve done in Centralia.”

Each youth received a token of the city’s appreciation, a coin inscribed with “Change” on the front and on the back , “Change Attitude.  Change Thinking.  Change Behavior.”

I think that these nine young people are great role models not only for their peers, but for the adults in the community that don’t think that the actions of one person can make a difference.  These kids are proof that it can.

A New Chance

Firdavs, known as “Phil,” is staying with a host family, Joy and Del Kranzler.  The Kranzlers have hosted a few students from Tajikistan and say they have had wonderful experiences with each of them.  So when they were told of Firdavs disability they only hesitated for a moment (and that was only because the spare bedroom is at the bottom of a flight of stairs!). Once he was in Plentywood, the Kranzlers found someone who was able to get a prosthetic leg made for Firdavs for free.

The new leg is giving Firdavs a new start.  Now he runs, kicks a ball without fear of his prosthesis flying off, rides horses, and is enjoying life to the fullest.  He is learning English (it is his fourth language) and is a very hard working student according to the many people who work with him.  His religion doesn’t seem to be a hurdle either in this mostly Christian environment.  Nowadays Firdavs seems to be fitting in just fine.  And so are the Kranzlers, they have even visited Tajikistan with one of their former exchange students as a tour guide.

An Improved Perception

I think this is a wonderful story.  We all need to be reminded of how we affect each others lives.  Many of us, myself included, as well as the Kranzlers are too often reminded that many in the world do not view Americans as the nicest people on earth.  Maybe it will be through foreign exchange experiences like this that the world will begin to understand we are all just alike no matter where we are from…

Shine from Yahoo asked teenagers from around the country what they’d like their parents to know and this is what kids had to say:

• They need privacy. To show that you respect your teen’s privacy, don’t rummage through her personal space unless you have a concrete reason to believe that she’s lying to you or hiding something serious.  Remember…”all kids today are doing drugs” isn’t a concrete reason.
• Sometimes he just needs you to listen. Understand that sometimes your kids just want a sounding board – they’re not looking for you to solve all their problems.  When your son complains that his science teacher is being unfair or his soccer coach has been extra-hard on him, encourage him to talk by asking open-ended questions.  Don’t jump in with advice or threaten to intervene.
• She may be dating – even if you’ve explicitly said she can’t. Try to be relaxed when it comes to dating – even if it’s killing you.  Instead of forcing your daughter to sneak around, let her start with group dates, where at least four other kids are with her and her date at all times.
• He may not be getting good grades on every assignment. Sometimes one bad grade is just that:  one bad grade.  If your son feels like he can vent to you about bombing a quiz or a book report, you won’t have to wait until the end of a semester to find out he’s struggling in school.
• She doesn’t want to talk to you about sex. The good news is, in a 2005 government survey, less than half of high school students (47 percent) said they’d had sex.  Still, it’s safest to assume your teen is in that 47 percent and educate her about birth control or preventing STDs.  Don’t press her for personal details, but do offer advice; use third-person examples if it helps.
• He hates when you don’t hold his siblings accountable. While it’s natural to become more lax as you have more kids, it’s important to consider each unique situation, not just your kid’s ages.  Remember, all of your kids will respect you more if they think you’re a fair and reasonable parent.
• She wishes you’d cut her some slack. It’s important that she doesn’t feel like you’re constantly coming down on her.  When you’re upset, take some deep breaths, a few minutes might give you perspective and a chance to evaluate the situation.
• He lies to stay out of trouble. While it would be irresponsible to give underage drinking the green light, you don’t want your child to be in an unsafe situation because he’s rushing to be home on time.  If your son calls just before curfew and says he needs a ride, save your questions (and lectures) for the morning.
• She gets frustrated when you use her age to your advantage. Since “age appropriate” is subjective, try to give your kid hard-and-fast rules that aren’t dependent on a number.
• He wishes you would trust him. Constantly accusing your kids of this or that – especially if your accusations are unfounded – breeds mistrust.  Eventually they’ll do something dishonest just because they’re sick of being wrongly accused.  Trust your kids until they give you a real reason not to.