Back to School

Building 2009 – Crystal Vande Poppe A look at why students may choose online learning options and challenges that students and teachers may face.

The idea of alternative study is not new. It actually started in 1873 by Bostonian Anna Eliot Ticknor, who offered correspondence courses by mail. Online learning options have grown tremendously in the last several years. Things to consider on this trend are that online learning offers flexibility and saves times for adult students. It is becoming more acceptable with 65% of schools offering graduate face-to-face (F2F) courses also offering graduate courses online according to Challenges of Graduate Education at a Distance in 2009. Private organizations are also getting in on the act and many groups and employers use organizations using online learning tools for training. This trend is expected to continue with a distance learning annual growth rate of 18.2%.

While there are benefits to the students and the faculty when teaching online, it is important to recognize that there are also challenges unique to the online classroom. These challenges are not for the student alone. Instructors may need to understand the differences as well, so that both parties get the most from this emerging learning environment.

No one wants to go through the painful experience of losing a job or being unemployed. For most of us, our jobs mean more than just a way to make a living. They define who we are and how we feel about ourselves, and most importantly, how others see us. This is why being unemployed can be extremely stressful. Take a look at 5 hard-to-ignore truths!

1. Unemployment can change your life

Losing your job allows you to refocus. It provides an opportunity for you to look at your life and make changes where necessary. It also allows you to pay close attention to your career choices and to rethink your professional goals.

2. Losing a job is stressful

There’s no question that losing a job can add a lot of stress to your life. Losing a job can be one of the most stressful things you experience. But it is how you choose to handle the situation that makes all the difference in the world.

3. Unemployment is difficult to face

You can lose your self-confidence, self-esteem and your purpose in life. You might even feel scared at times. But only you can turn a bad situation into a good one. How you choose to handle the situation will determine whether the outcome is good or bad. It’s really all up to you.

4. Our jobs give us purpose in life

Many of us equate jobs with our purpose and without a job , sometimes life can seem meaningless. But it is not the end of the world. You still have time to pick up the pieces and move forward – hopefully to something better.

5. The sooner you get over the loss of a job, the better

Most people go through a period of feeling depressed due to being unemployed, which is normal, but for how long do you continue with it? It is best to focus immediately on finding another job, even if it’s something you are not really excited about. This way you can still have a source of income while you continue to look for something you really like.

No one wants to be unemployed. But how can you prepare for something like this? Is there a way to avoid unemployment?

If you’ve experienced job loss or unemployment I would like to hear from you. Please share your story and tell us how you managed to cope with the stress of unemployment.

The Application Form for the 2012 Miller Thomson Foundation National Scholarship Programme is now available for online submission. The Miller Thomson Foundation annually awards one-year scholarships of approximately $3000 to 100 recipients from across Canada. The purpose of the Foundation is to encourage and promote the attainment of higher education goals for individuals who have demonstrated a high level of academic achievement, have made a positive contribution to their school through extracurricular activities and have made significant contributions of time and energy to community service programs.

Students who are currently in their final year of high school and planning to attend a post-secondary institutions in the Fall of 2012 to pursue a course of studies within Canada leading to a degree or diploma from an accredited community college or university are eligible to apply. Students must have an overall grade average minimum of 87% and be citizens of Canada or permanent residents of Canada. The deadline for receipt of applications is March 1, 2012 and scholarship recipients are notified in writing towards the end of June.

The on-line application form can be found at and link to the Miller Thomson Foundation.

For more information contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

Have you ever considered your children going to girls military schools? Such option may not be the primary choice especially when your child is a girl. But if you look beyond the feminine side of your daughter, things are really going to be different when she, from a dependent, immature, and irresponsible girl, grows up to be a matured and independent woman.

Your daughter must have been used to doing things yours or her way. She must have been growing up to be given with what she wanted, probably became spoiled. When she get to a military school, surely, she will have a different life.

If your daughter is used to become lazy and happy-go-lucky, in a military school, such attitude is not tolerable. She will have no room for idleness. The school will really push her to her limitations and release the kind of accountable and academically inclined attitude. Besides, with the kind of training and teaching she will encounter inside the school, she will be free from any drug or gang temptations, promiscuous behaviors, and extreme peer pressures. In fact, with the kind of life she will live as she stays inside the campus, she will become academically excellent.

Your daughter must have had a potential of an excellent leader and become a successful person in the future. With the proper training and development she will encounter in our military school, such potential will surely get untapped. Each lesson and activity she will live out from day to day is a stepping stone towards her personal success; thus become a better person. Many people have posted their testimonials and praise reports as to how they used to become too passive, dependent, and mischievous. But when they decided to go to military schools, especially those who had gone to military schools for boys in Texas, their old and rotten attitude melted and they developed a kind of attitude they and their parents will certainly be proud of.

So don’t hesitate to let your daughter—or even your son if you have one—to enrol to a military school. Look for options and various selections in our site if you are interested.

2 in 5 students who attend college fail to get a degree from the college at which they began within 6 years.

This scary statistic is based on data from the U.S. Government’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). According to the NCES, 42.7% of students did not get a bachelor’s degree from the college at which they began within 6 years.

While the rates vary farily heavily by sector, they are alarming nonetheless. See the below chart for the all students cohort graduation rates.

Total Public Private 
not-for-profit Private 
for-profit All students         4-year rate 36.2 29.4 50.9 18.6 5-year rate 52.6 49.1 61.6 22.4 6-year rate 57.3 55.0 64.4 24.5

Interesting notes:

• Across all sectors, there’s a significant jump in attainment from year 4 to year 5.
• 60% of women graduate within 6 years, while only 54.2% of men do .
• For each yearly rate, women have a higher attainment percentage than men in both the public and private not-for-profit sectors. However, women trail men in each yearly rate for degree attainment in the private for-profit sector .

It is unclear if most parents are aware that cohort graduation rates are so low. When seeing these numbers for the first time, they can be rather unsettling if one thinks about his/her student’s probable college success. That discomfort may be exacerbated when one considers the potential residual effects that not completing college can have on future employment and the financial investment in college.

Over the next week, I’ll be blogging on some key factors that lead to college withdrawal and failure to persist to a degree. With regard to this information, the more you know about why students withdraw, the more you can prepare and strategize to minimze the risk to your child’s education, your financial investment in school, and your child’s future.