Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Getting an Online Philosophy Degree

Spock DegreeImage by Wonderlane via Flickr
There are several reasons why people go to college: more/better education, better job, meet new people and more. There are many different reasons why it can be a problem for many people to go back to college. They want a college degree, but cannot physically go back to school in the traditional way, which is the way most people had to get a degree. Now there is the option of taking classes online and passing them by using the Internet.
There are many different types of degrees available online; one of the popular ones is philosophy. Philosophy is an in-depth look at things like knowledge, existence, mind, values to name a few and then being able to answer things online with a valid and rational argument. This is one program that is offered by many colleges and universities. Check into it at your local college, if they don't have it, don't give up, and keep looking.
Take your time doing research by, compiling a list of schools that are interesting to you. Then you need to compare those schools to see what they offer, how they are offered, where they are offered, cost, length of the program and if it is a valid and reputable school. Without doing the right research you could be out a lot of money and not receive a valid degree.
Once you have found a school you would like to attend all you need to do is sign up and begin your classes. One thing to remember with online classes is that you do need to do the work. Just because you can schedule when you do study, there are still assignments, tests, etc that do need to be completed. It is important to make sure you find time to study.
It is really that easy to get a degree online. All you need to do is: list the potential schools of interest, narrow it down to one, sign up for classes, complete the classes and receive your degree. There are people out there who think that an online degree is not worth a grain of salt in the world. If online classes are the way for you do to your life, schedule or location then go for it.
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One Explanation For Deja Vu - A Remembered Dream

Storefront Psychic fortuneteller in Downtown C...Image via Wikipedia
When I'm engaged in a psychic reading, I'm actually daydreaming on behalf of my client. The fascinating by-product of associating with dreams, (either the nighttime or the daytime type), is that occasionally we step through a portal in time. Our daydreams offer us a symbolic version of a future reality.
I was pleased to hear a new client recently describe her psychic reading with me as "like being in a curious dream". It's my practice to start a client's session by describing whatever psychic impressions come to me, on my own, without his or her input. I do this so that my dream mind can have a chance to independently weigh in on our discussion.
For this particular client, I said, "I see ambition in you. I see you on a mountain, facing a challenge... joining a new group. This is a rewarding time, but it is filled with anxiety. You have a very unique story to tell about how you spend and earn your money. I see foreign travel for you."
She subsequently revealed she had quit her job and was set to go to Africa for a year to work for an educational organization. And she would be living on a mountain for a year! My "dreaming mind" sent visions that matched with her life's experience.
I imagined another client as "holding back the floodgates." Of this woman's work, I said, "I see you wearing a Donna Karan suit... over a t-shirt that says Women's Equality Movement... Behind you are a bunch of law books. One says 'Criminalization' on the binder. The books are of advocacy... they're heavily laden."
This woman subsequently revealed to me that she studied law and was working on obtaining a grant to help stop child prostitution.
Active psychic daydreaming will not always translate so precisely or literally though. I once read for a woman about her boyfriend of 18 months. I started by saying, "In my imagination, he has a ring of Saturn circling around his waist." I interpreted it as possible "weight issues", a bit of a tire he wanted to lose. She said, "No, it's the opposite. He's militant about what he eats. He's training for a body building competition." So here my psychic mind illustrated the story through a symbol, but my interpretation of it didn't quite fit. That happens.
I do know Saturn to be a rigid taskmaster though.
Here's a funny addition to this story: Just now, something called me to do an internet search on Saturn's symbolism. I found a page about Saturn on symbols.com and an ad appeared on the right side of the screen. It was a teaser for a tip on how to "cut down a bit of your belly every day." The psychic mind loves to crack jokes!
When I asked my dream mind to convey a scene representative of another client's career, I was presented with the image of a high rise. "A hotel," I said. "There are many positions within, low to high. I see you communicating with the public... It feels like sales."
"I confused," this client said. "I'm an actress."
Uh oh. Not quite a match.
In cases like this, my conscience often whispers to me, 'Maybe there's something symbolically relevant here.'
I asked, "Have you applied for any regional theater positions?"
"Yes, I have."
"Then I'm going to suggest that is why I'm getting the hotel. I see it as working out of state. You've done so in the past?"
"Yes."
"I see more of that. It's possible?"
"Yes. Very."
"And the sales I imagine? Unless you aggressively promote yourself, you aren't going to get where you want to go in your career. Whether you're auditioning to play the scullery maid or the hotel heiress (and I could see you as both), you have to sell directors and producers on why they should bring you into the audition room and hire you over anyone else."
The message made sense to my client. Of course it could be said that I was bending the meaning of what I psychically saw to fit the "known" circumstances. But why should my psychic mind always point out the most obvious facet of a client's experience? That my client was an actress was not a question for her. The message that wanted to come through was about her need to be more active in promoting herself.
Maybe she would have a breakout role in some soap opera set in a hotel!
Too often, imagery has come up in a psychic vision that, at the time, neither the client nor I were aware would turn out to be relevant. Not every impression in a reading will be immediately recognizable. I've learned to use whatever comes to send a helpful message.
If you create a playful daydream for yourself, you might just tap into your inner psychic. Dream freely, from a playful frame of mind, accepting the images and feelings that come.
Acknowledge your daydream, and then let go of it. Forget about it. If you're open to it, one day you will witness an event or experience a deja vu that you will associate with this dream.
It's a fascinating and rewarding exercise.
If you're truly interested in remembering your nighttime dreams, a good first step would be to place a diary and pen on your nightstand. Then, instruct your dream mind to remember a psychic dream. Set the intent, and your dream mind will respond.
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Thursday, August 12, 2010

Adults Returning to Education

Education is essential for every human being. We cannot survive in this world without education. It is in the best interest of the governments of every nation to ensure that at least basic education is provided to all their citizens.
There are several socio-economic reasons that lead many people to discontinue their studies when they are young. Most of them may have had burning desires to continue their education further, but their commitments to their families or their economic status may have been a hindrance to their continuing their studies.
Many of these adults who were dropouts from the schools in their childhood yearn to continue their education at a later and more convenient time. This has lead to the development of several adult education programs worldwide. These adult education programs come as a boon to those adults looking to complete what education they've left incomplete.
When the government started these adult education programs, initially there was not a lot of response to such programs from most people. They were very reluctant to join such programs.
Though many of them wanted to make an attempt, they were not sure whether they could pick up their educational threads at that age. The governments had to take a lot of steps to encourage people to join.
There is a saying that is very popular, and can apply to many different situations: "better late than never." Many adults have realized the importance and necessity of education and have come forward to enroll themselves in the many adult education programs available. They consider it a privilege to be able to educate themselves, even at an advanced stage of their lives.
These educational programs are organized by both government as well as voluntary institutions. Adult education programs not only provide basic education, they also guide their students towards higher education. These programs arrange financial aid and scholarships for students.
Adults can pursue their careers and enroll themselves in these programs simultaneously. This is made possible with the availability of online programs.
The people are provided with coursework that deals with politics, spirituality, self development, and other things. Adults usually tend to find these programs useful and interesting. They normally end up urging their relatives and friends to join these programs.
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Education Versus Training

Many people don't understand the difference between education and training. Education is giving out information and communicating to your trainees. Training is about practice and building skills. Today's younger generation of employees wants to be trained, not educated.
Problem is, if we don't educate them before we train them, it could lead to problems. Think about how you learned to drive. You need knowledge of the laws and then the actual training of getting behind the wheel. Same can be said for learning about the birds and the bees--if the education part isn't done effectively, the training could lead to undesirable results!
Mark Flores, director of ops for Chuck E. Cheese's, uses the macaroni-and-cheese example to demonstrate the difference. We've all made mac & cheese plenty of times in our lives, but if we don't follow the instructions exactly, we might get macaroni soup, crunchy macaroni, or something else other than what we intended. So how do we deliver education and training to ensure consistency?
Manuals. Boooooooooring! We do need documentation, but make it fun! Include tons of photos and minimal text so it's more of a comic strip look. People are more likely to remember what they see versus what they read, so retention of information is better. Additionally, it's easier to translate into other languages.
Videos. Better than reading for most employees, but they need to be short segments (3--5 minutes maximum) with tons of visual image changes. Our employees today are used to watching CNN with talking video, a crawler message along the bottom, and the weather forecast on the side--all while having four online chats with their friends. Long, drawn-out videos lose their attention quickly. Watch a segment and go practice what you learn. You can watch the next segment after that.
Online. Golden Corral, White Castle, Sea Island Shrimp House, Buffalo Wild Wings, and Chuck E. Cheese's are all using or testing e-learning. Since it is self-paced, it goes at the speed of the learner. Be careful: As we've seen with e-books, it's not too comfortable to read a book on a PC, so keep the text to a minimum. Review questions can be built in as a checkpoint for the learner to advance to the next section. Great way to replace video and print, but it's still not "training."
Tests. We all hate tests! To ensure consistency in tests, keep them simple and visual (use as many pictures as possible), and use multiple-choice, ordering, or true-false format to ensure consistency in grading. Most of our employees no longer take fill-in-the-blank or essay tests. Ensure they have the basics down. Do all your trainers actually grade tests the same way?
All the above forms of "training" are really just education, yet most managers think it's training. We didn't get our driver's license after reading the book, watching the video, and passing a test--we had to demonstrate our skills to the authorities before we received permission to drive. Education is the necessary evil that must come first, though.
Do we follow the same format with our employees? Many companies do not--we just memorize a bunch of useless information the guest cares little about and then we're ready. You need to be validated on the skills it takes to do the job and re-validated periodically in the future. Knowing the job and doing the job are two entirely different things--and the guest notices.
Skill Validation
Having the new employee demonstrate skills for a manager shows you two things: how good the trainer was, and that the employee can do the functions of the job. We all might think we have the same definition of "greet the guest" or "suggestive sell," but when we see our employees in action, we find it's all across the board. If we don't coach them through the skill, they will simply do what they see at other restaurants (which often isn't good). Conduct these validations every 90--180 days to keep standards top of mind.
People train people. Just because someone is a good employee doesn't mean they will be a good trainer. The proper tools to educate will help, but the payoff is in the trainer demonstrating, coaching, and validating the skill of a new employee. To illustrate this point to your team, ask your trainers to train you on how to tie your shoes or put on a shirt. Act like you know nothing about it. Point being, it's a simple task we can all do in our sleep--like ringing up orders or making burgers--but it's incredibly hard to train someone else how to do it.
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