How to Encourage Your Kid’s Computer Interest

Two of the focuses of my blog are General Education and Technology. The current younger generations and those that will follow them will all come of age in a digital world. With all of the distractions available online, it will also be important encourage their constructive use of the computers around them. The following contributed post is thus entitled, How to Encourage Your Kid’s Computer Interest.

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Sure, most teenagers wouldn’t need much encouragement when it comes to sitting around in front of the computer all day. Yet, browsing for cat memes and watching funny videos on YouTube isn’t quite what you have in mind for your kids’ career in terms of computer science – and there is a lot more to computers than just popular culture, after all.

Image by: Pexels

If you’d like to help your teenager out with understanding complex computer issues and building up under their interest, you have definitely come to the right place.

Here is a handful of ways to encourage your teenager’s or child’s computer interest and make sure that they stay up to date on everything that is going on in the world of computer science.

First: Make it a social activity

A lot of children who grew up in the ‘80s and ‘90s didn’t have many people who help them out with understanding computers. Perhaps you had it the same way – and building your own computer or learning to code was something you had to do on your own.

This doesn’t mean that your kid has to have it the same way, though, and just because you had to learn it this way doesn’t mean that it’s necessarily the best way to learn a new skill. When learning how to code is a social activity rather than something they have to do alone in their room, it’s suddenly a lot more fun – and definitely a lot easier to learn.

These days, there are a ton of people who know a lot about the subject and you can easily find someone to help your kid out in case you’re not a computer nerd yourself. Find a mentor, for example, who can guide your kid – or see if there are any courses around in case one of their friends would like to join them.

It’s going to be a lot easier for them to stick to it when they’re learning together with a friend, after all, and they will learn it a lot faster as well.

Next: Tap into you kid’s passion

Coding is, as we know, applied to a lot of different things and you should try to help and guide your kid in the right direction if they don’t know what their passion is quite yet.

Your kid might enjoy game design more than building and operating a small robot, for example, or perhaps it’s the other way around. They might enjoy building a website instead – or just read up on everything around cyber security.

No matter what they prefer, there are vast resources that you can use to help them explore their way to their talents. Here are some excellent hacker movies you can watch together, by the way, so that you get to be involved in their interest even if you’re not that into computer science yourself.

Another excellent way to encourage your child’s interests can be through introducing educational resources and working on personal development with the help of Principal David Krakoff. Looking into new concepts and content can be just what is needed to spark your child’s passion!

Being young is all about finding your path in life and becoming better at what you enjoy. Help your kid out with finding his or her way and you’ll have built a great foundation for them and their future careers.

Teaching The Youth How To React To Authority

Two of the focuses of my blog are General Education and Mentoring. In recent years, there are have been several publicized fatal encounters with Law Enforcement. In these instances, there are a lot of dynamics happening at once and the wrong actions or words can impact the outcome. As civilians coming into contact with Law Enforcement, are there actions that can be taken to avoid escalation? The following contributed post is entitled, Teaching The Youth How To React To Authority.

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For many young men, a figure out authority is seen as a figure of oppression. It’s an easy way to think because that person is telling you what to do. However, without the authority figures in their lives, children grow up to behave in a manner that is reckless. Mentoring the youth is something every adult should be trying to do and help in achieving. You can’t expect the government to be the parent of children that are lost and come from a rundown home. That is a big problem in many cities and towns where there are young boys and girls that have never had a father. Even if they did, sometimes fathers can be aloof and not very interested in what they do so children seem to not care what they are told to do. If you can mentor a young child how to behave, you will give them the mental tools to be successful in like. They can take that attitude and put it into business, be their own boss and respect authority. Law and order, the courts, common courtesy are all things that need to be respected as they are effectively neutral. So how do you instil respect within the youth for authority?

It works for them too

Here’s a very simple mental exercise you can do with the youth that you meet, whether it’s in school, your own children, or with the local youth groups where you live. Sit them down and ask them what would they do if there weren’t any police or laws? Most of the time they will say that they will have to take care of each other as there is no singular rulebook that is followed by everyone. This is going back to the tribe way of living which is the early beginning of civilization. Next ask them how would they take care of each other in the circumstance that one of the tribe hurts another? They will eventually say that there needs to be a trial and evidence before they mete out justice. This is when you interject and show them that, this is what law and order is about. It works in their favor too, it’s not about targeting someone, but making sure everyone plays by the same rules.

Don’t panic

Sometimes you also have to teach the parents along with the youth what they should do to help each other. It’s common for youth to be arrested and taken into custody for doing minor violations such as causing a disturbance due to loud music. However, all too often members of the youth can lash out at the police and this causes their charge list to grow into something major. Inform the parents to consider bail bonds if their child has been picked up and held in jail. Bail bonds are there to be used by people who don’t have enough money at the present time to pay for their son or daughter to be released from a holding cell.

The youth and parents need to talk about authority and what law and order is. More people need to mentor the young and show them that they need to think about society’s early beginning.

A Look at Careers: The Federal Government’s General Schedule Pay Scale and Salaries Revisited

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“When I first moved here, a couple of men told me they had achieved their ‘14s’ when we first met and I didn’t know what that meant.”

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The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success and some of its focuses are: Career Discussions, Education, and Financial Literacy/Money. I originally published this piece in 2015 on the Examiner as I started to understand some of the nuances of being a federal employee. While the employment in the government is relatively stable in comparison to the private sector, there are some other unique differences which I thought were worth discussing. If you or someone you know is considering a federal career, this is a good and insightful read.

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My last article gave an overview of my experience as a federal employee in a general sense. This article will talk about one of the more intriguing parts of being a federal employee; the General Schedule (GS). The GS is particularly relevant when one is looking to get hired into the federal government and it takes on more significance when seeking promotion within one the federal government’s many agencies.

The General Schedule is a payroll scale which dictates the salary of each federal civilian employee. The scale spans from levels 1-15, with 15 being the highest paid and most senior. The only levels higher than the GS are the Senior Executive Service (SES) and then becoming an elected official.

Within the GS some promotions to the next grade are automatic without competition. Within grades, there are ‘steps’ where one automatically gets a raise periodically. There are 10 steps to each grade, and the first four step increases are automatic annually. Afterwards they are every two years. This seems like a really good deal right?

Reaching the GS-14 and 15 levels from the 13 level involves competition. That’s assuming that there’s money in the federal budget or ‘continuing resolutions’ for those promotions to become available in the first place. Another caveat is that one cannot jump to a higher grade without proving that they adequately performed the functions of the grade below it – going from a 13 to a 15 for example. A 13 must first become a 14 before reaching a 15.

While the GS is standard across the board for all federal employees, the cost of living for geographic location varies. For example, a GS-14 in my hometown of Buffalo, NY would make slightly less than a GS-14 in the Washington, DC metro area due to the vast difference in the cost of living.

What does all of this matter? As with everything, it isn’t a perfect system depending on your point of view, and there are pros and cons to working in the public vs. the private sector vs. academia. As described in my Earning a Ph.D. series, ascension within the federal government isn’t entirely dependent on one’s degree level. Having a Ph.D. for example doesn’t guarantee a promotion or even favor within an agency, and there are scenarios where Ph.D.’s can end up being supervised by master’s and in some cases bachelor’s level staff, something that would almost never occur in the private sector or in academia.

“We have Ph.D.’s.!!! We shouldn’t be making the same amount of salary as those filing records or who are doing administrative things,” a former colleague who has since gone to the private sector often lamented. That’s another caveat, tenure is an important component to federal employment. Specifically, there are instances where someone with a lower level of education who has been in the system longer, can make equal or more salary than someone with greater academic credentials who has been the system for less time. Ponder that.

“I wanted to move to Washington DC, so that I could get my 11,” a friend with a background in Human Resources who was a GS-9 said upon moving to the Washington, DC. Because the federal government is centralized in Washington, DC, the opportunities to get promoted are more plentiful there. Likewise, once promotions are achieved, that level is typically maintained wherever one goes afterwards throughout their career.

“When I first moved here, a couple of men told me they had achieved their ‘14s’ when we first met and I didn’t know what that meant,” a female acquaintance shared with me about her early dating experiences in the area. A funny but true and in some ways disturbing aspect to all of this is that in the DC Metro area, your GS-level can have huge social implications. In the minds of some, it represents: power, prestige and status in addition a considerable salary, the latter probably being the most important though they are generally lower than comparable private sector positions.

In closing, none of this information is confidential so I won’t get in trouble for sharing any of this. The salaries of federal employees are readily available to the general public online. Thus, when you know someone’s GS-level, you have an idea of what they earn, unlike in the private sector – an unsettling thought in terms of privacy to some degree. Nevertheless, it’s one of the cons that come along with being a public servant. The bonuses tend to also be more robust in the private sector.

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There are other aspects to being a federal employee such as the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP) which is the retirement plan/system for civilian employees. I will probably discuss it in a subsequent post about retirement as it’s something I didn’t quite understand when I started my federal career.

I’m going to close by going back to stability, but in a different way. In some instances, federal employees may perform at low levels for their given duty for any number of reasons. This likewise can earn consecutive poor ratings at their annual performance appraisals. This is difficult for supervisors because it’s classically hard to fire federal employees as there’s a long and involved process for letting go of them once they’ve passed their probationary period – again something very similar to academia.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. If you enjoyed this one you might also enjoy:

• Perspectives of federal workers caught in the middle of the 2013 government shutdown revisited
• The myth of the stability of being a government employee revisited
• Father’s Day 2018: Dad’s doctor and his lawyer, and a discussion on careers
• Applying School To The “Real World”: Turning Subject Knowledge Into a Career
• Staying Relevant In The Workplace: The Tips To Help
• Common Mistakes When Choosing A Career
• Making The Most Of Your Education

The Big Words LLC Newsletter

For the next phase of my writing journey, I’m starting a monthly newsletter for my writing and video content creation company, the Big Words LLC. In it, I plan to share inspirational words, pieces from this blog and my first blog, and select videos from my four YouTube channels. Finally, I will share updates for my book project The Engineers: A Western New York Basketball Story. Your personal information and privacy will be protected. Click this link and register using the sign-up button at the bottom of the announcement. If there is some issue signing up using the link provided, you can also email me at bwllcnl@gmail.com . Best Regards.

The keys to learning college-level Physics

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“Physics is a different way of looking at the world.”

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A key principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is awareness of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. Several years ago, I tutored in the former Northern Virginia Tutoring Service to earn some extra income outside of my federal science career. The subject that gave me the most business year after year was International Baccalaureate (IB) and Advanced Placement (AP) General Chemistry for high school students – both college-level courses.

On a few occasions I tutored some students in Physics – the ‘Grandfather’ of all the sciences. Physics has a special place in my heart as it was a milestone for me during my growth as a student. I didn’t take to ‘Physical Science’ as an eighth grader, and I struggled with high school Physics as a junior. Midway through my junior year, I figured out what was going on and ended the year respectably. I discovered that I could succeed in a ‘quantitative’ science course.

With a younger cousin now taking IB Physics as a freshman in high school and struggling early on herself, I’ve decided to craft a piece about the keys to learning college-level Physics. As a Pharmacologist/Toxicologist, I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible in this piece. Please excuse me if I’ve misspoken about anything or even leave a comment below this post.

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“Physics is a different way of looking at the world,” my father, a Physics major himself in college said when I was a junior in high school and didn’t understand the class initially. It was a vague explanation and I still didn’t get it. My teacher at Hutch-Tech High School in Buffalo, NY also didn’t give a nice comprehensive explanation of what the class was about before going into his discussion of “Scalars” and “Vectors”. He was a very robot-like, studious-looking, middle-aged gentleman, with a graying beard and glasses who almost never blinked as one classmate humorously pointed out one day. To give him the benefit of the doubt, I’ll say that he might’ve given us a nice introduction and perhaps I just wasn’t paying attention.

In terms of my cousin who is struggling with Physics, one of the first questions I asked her coincidentally was if she knew what Physics was all about. She of course quickly answered, “No.” When learning anything, I believe that context is critical because it lets us know the ‘why’ and makes attacking the ‘how’ much easier. I explained to her that Physics itself is a broad field, but most importantly that it’s a way of mathematically explaining the natural world around us: calculating the masses of things, the speeds of objects, understanding how light and sound travel, understanding gravity, etc.

When NASA, SpaceX or their collaborators and competitors send astronauts and rockets into space for example, there’s a whole series of calculations that need to be performed and worked out ahead of time. Understanding “Time Dilation” in outer space requires some knowledge of how gravity and light work together. This gives us insight as to why individuals age more slowly in low-gravity environments. Calculating how fast a football ball travels, understanding the acceleration of cars, building high-speed rail systems, building bridges and buildings, and understanding how cell phones work – this all involves Physics.

Partway through my junior year struggles, something ‘clicked’ and I realized that we were being asked ‘word problems’ – problems where we were given multiple pieces of evidence and then having to solve for an unknown – usually having to use an Algebraic equation. I’ll use an example from the ‘Mechanics’ chapter of most Physics curricula. Mechanics deals with the movement and speeds of objects and thus involves concepts like: ‘Force’, ‘Momentum’, ‘Velocity’, ‘Acceleration’, ‘Friction’, and ‘Inertia’. The word problems typically involve giving two to three pieces of the puzzle and then asking the student to solve for the unknown.

An example is being given the mass of car, the speed of the car and then being asked to determine its Momentum (p). To answer the question, students must understand what Momentum is in terms of ‘units of measure’. In this case, Momentum is represented as: mass (m) * velocity (v) – the units usually being kilograms (kg) for mass and meters per second (m/s) for velocity:

p = m (kg) * v (m/s)

The measurement of speed is a ‘rate’ and in the United States, we typically measure speed in miles per hour (m/h). Canada uses kilometers per hour (km/h). Most Physics curricula express it as m/s. Underneath the Mechanics umbrella there is also Acceleration (a) which is very, very close to Velocity except for one subtle difference – the units are meters per second squared (m/s²). Instead of Momentum (kg*m/s) this one little change creates the unit for Force (F) (kg*m/s²) which is referred to as the “Newton”. The actual formula is:

F = m (kg) * a (m/s²)

This is just a piece of Mechanics. There are many more calculations in the: Circuits and Electricity, Dynamics, Kinematics, and Thermodynamics chapters just to name a few. This meticulousness with formulas and units of measure is what my father meant by, “looking at the world differently.” He meant looking at the world mathematically and in terms of formulas, laws and ‘constants’. And with that, I’ll discuss some simple keys to excelling at college-level Physics. They are as follows:

Understanding Physics at a high level: While the goal is to understand the world in a mathematical way, context is critical in my opinion because otherwise you’re just needlessly doing calculation after calculation. Again, my high school Physics teacher may have given us a nice comprehensive introduction and I was either daydreaming about basketball or girls, but my first memories of the class were ‘Scalars’ and ‘Vectors’ as described above. Once I got older and understood that Physics is everywhere, and its great history, I developed a great respect for the field and those who work in it.

Understanding the scientific and mathematical relationships: At some point during my junior year of high school, the ‘light bulb’ in my brain turned on. I realized that most of the questions we were being asked involved a principle of some sort and there were corresponding equations and formulas. The examples cited above involved Mechanics but there are many other modules in Physics. Students must be able to quickly read a question and identify which principle and the corresponding formula/equation being called upon. From there it’s pretty much ‘plugging and playing’.

Students must become meticulous about the units measure and your calculator must become your ‘best friend’ just like in Chemistry. Some questions give the student two different units of measure and the units for the answer may be a combination of the two, a constituent of the two, or something completely different if a ‘physical constant’ value is involved – the speed of light or sound for example or the Earth’s gravitational constant. Some questions even involve multiple equations. You get the point, and this is what makes the final key is so important; practice. By the way, many teachers and professors allow their students to write down their equations and formulas and bring them to the tests eliminating the need to memorize them.

Being disciplined about practicing the problems and seeking help: The final important key in my opinion, is taking the time outside of class to go over the practice problems and being ruthless about it. Depending on how long a given test is, students will usually only have about an hour to complete the questions. For that reason, it’s critical to be able to identify what’s being asked quickly, and then being able to quickly calculate the answer. To do that, students must practice as many problems as possible in their spare time – if the teacher assigns only the odd numbers in a chapter, then the student must also be willing to do the even numbered questions to master the principle.

Religiously doing the practice problems takes a certain amount of discipline, foresight and drive. More importantly it also builds confidence. This is the point I tried to drive home to my cousin and others in her situation. If students are confused about something when practicing their problems, they should seek out their teacher or a knowledgeable peer for more help. Once again, a key pillar of science is asking questions and knowing when you’ve arrived at the boundaries of your own personal knowledge.

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“I want to congratulate you. You’ve really turned things around this year,” my high school Physics teacher said to me late in my junior year. His words surprised me, and they showed that he was paying attention to how his students were doing. He saw me flounder early in the year, and then start to grasp the material as time went on. My early grades in the class were in the mid- to high-60s, but I recovered to finish in the high-70s to low-80s. As an undergraduate, I knew what to do immediately and scored in the 90s both semesters.

So, there you have it. Keep in mind that this is for high school and college-level Physics and it can get much more complex. There is for example “Calculus-Based Physics“, which gives me the chills just thinking about it. I imagine that the keys I gave still apply though the material is far more complex. Lastly Physics in addition to being a prerequisite class for many STEM-hopefuls, it’s also a bit of ‘gatekeeper’ course which can derail the dreams of many Medical School hopefuls and other aspiring healthcare professionals.

Undergraduate Physics is as far as I went, though some of the principles did come into play once I started my graduate research. For the sake of this piece though, like Chemistry, students can get overwhelmed and lose hope once they fall behind early, which is dangerous because some may never want to participate in the STEMs afterwards.

Thank you for taking the time read this blog post. If you enjoyed this piece, you might also enjoy:

• The keys to learning college-level Chemistry
• The story of how I earned my STEM degree as a minority
• The transferrable skills from a STEM degree in the basic sciences
• A look at STEM: What is Pharmacology?
• A look at STEM: What is Toxicology?
• A look at STEM: What is Inhalation Toxicology?

If you’ve found value here and think it will benefit others, please share it and/or leave a comment. To receive all of the most up to date content from the Big Words Blog Site, subscribe using the subscription box in the right-hand column in this post and throughout the site, or add the link to my RSS feed to your feedreader. Lastly, follow me on the Big Words Blog Site Facebook page, on Twitter at @BWArePowerful, and on Instagram at @anwaryusef76. While my main areas of focus are Education, STEM and Financial Literacy, there are other blogs/sites I endorse which can be found on that particular page of my site.

Applying School To The “Real World”: Turning Subject Knowledge Into A Career

The first principal of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two of its focuses are General Education and Career Discussions. Sometimes early on in school we wonder about how our classes will be useful in the real world. The further we progress it likewise becomes important to know where can apply what we’ve learned in a practical way. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Applying School To The “Real World”: Turning Subject Knowledge Into A Career.

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Picture Source

As kids, we all remember complaining about school. And those complaints often extended beyond a mere dislike of homework. Often, children ask themselves why they’re bothering to learn certain things. “When will this help me in real life?” That’s a question many students ask, even when studying technical subjects such as mathematics. Unless you want to become a teacher, the knowledge isn’t important. Right? And technology has made human talents redundant. Spell checkers remove the need for grammatical skills, and calculators remove the need for numerical skills. And, in fact, any piece of knowledge can be gained online. But this is too cynical an approach. There are more ways to apply school to the real world than you might realize. Whether you’re a recent graduate or somebody who’s rethinking their job role, here’s how to turn your subject knowledge into a career.

Science
STEM subjects are valued very highly in the job world, so you probably feel quite confident that there are plenty of career opportunities for somebody with scientific subject knowledge. However, you can use your qualifications for more than obvious options. You don’t have to become an academic researcher in medicine or marine biology. You’ve gained more skills than you realize if you’ve studied for a scientific subject. You’ve learned to critically think, problem solve, organize multiple projects, and adapt on a continuous basis. Those skills could suit you well in the business world if that was a route which interested you.

You could start your own business or become a consultant for other businesses. Science is an incredibly vast field, so your subject knowledge doesn’t limit you to a select few career options. You can take alternatives to the traditional route. Even a student of medicine doesn’t have to become a doctor or a surgeon. Your knowledge is valuable in the “real world”, so don’t dismiss the importance of your qualifications. If you’re not interested in the traditional career routes related to the subject you’ve studied then do some research to gain an understanding of the other options out there. You might just find something totally unexpected that fits your personality perfectly.

Geography
A geographical understanding in the modern world is also highly valuable. There’s more to this subject than knowing where places are on a globe, as you well know. Otherwise, geographical studies would be made obsolete by Google Maps. You can use your degree for more than simply teaching geography to the next generation. If you’ve studied in geographical information science then you could even consider pursuing a career in surveyance. You might want to look into land surveying jobs in your area if that type of career route appeals to you. It could be an exciting opportunity to make a difference in your community with your subject knowledge. A qualification in geography can lead to plenty of vital professions, so don’t diminish the technical weight of your subject knowledge.

History
Much like the other subjects we’ve discussed, history is a topic which is often pigeonholed into a very limited range of career options. You would probably imagine that a history graduate either has to become a teacher or a historian. But research and education aren’t career routes that appeal to everyone. Luckily, you can do more with a history degree than you might think. You could even consider a career in politics. Historical knowledge is incredibly valuable because it outlines mistakes of the past. By working in government, you could advise as to how we could avoid repeating those mistakes again. You could also look into media-related jobs. This is worthwhile subject knowledge for many career routes.

The keys to learning college-level general chemistry revisited

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is awareness of the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields. A key class for many STEM-hopefuls is ‘college- level’ General Chemistry, both in high school and college. Some students, particularly those attending very competitive high schools, take college-level Chemistry and struggle with it.

Several years ago when I tutored part-time, I worked with several students in Northern Virginia where taking ‘Honors’ and ‘International Baccalaureate’ (IB) General Chemistry as freshman and sophomores was a normal occurrence. For three to four years, I worked in the former Northern Virginia Tutoring service where I consistently coached lost and struggling students, and helped them confidently finish their classes strong. The service was run by my mentor and fellow blogger Dr. Ralph G. Perrino (Dr. Perrino’s blog).

I originally published this piece on the Examiner back in March of 2013. I’ve decided to republish this revised version as tutoring was a fun and rewarding experience for me, which also helped me earn some extra income. I myself didn’t fully grasp General Chemistry back at Hutch-Tech High School as a sophomore. It wasn’t until I was an undergraduate at Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) that I understood and mastered this exciting quantitative science. I went on to use that knowledge in my graduate studies, in my federal science career, and eventually as a tutor.

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After starting my federal science career, tutoring not only allowed me to supplement my income, but it was a very educational experience for me as well. When applying to work as a tutor through the Northern Virginia Tutoring Service, I listed Biology, Chemistry, and Physics as my areas of expertise. I had some experience with all three disciplines in my undergraduate and graduate studies.

Chemistry by far was the course that generated the most demand for me, specifically ‘Honors’ and ‘International Baccalaureate’ (IB) Chemistry. IB courses are basically ‘college-level’ and can be quite a jump for some high school freshman and sophomores. Even some upperclassmen struggle in them. These classes are particularly problematic when the students fall behind in them early, lose confidence, and when the subject area falls outside of Mom and Dad’s areas of expertise – hence the need for a tutor.

The students who needed my help weren’t ‘slouches’ by any means. Most of them resided in Virginia’s Arlington and Fairfax Counties. Fairfax County is one of the wealthiest counties in the nation – a county with a very strong school system where 90% of its students matriculate to college. The parents’ vigilance and drive to assure that their children do well academically is also a hallmark of this county. This was manifested in their willingness to invest some of their hard-earned money into tutors – sometimes several at one time for multiple children. Those parents were very impressive.

When working with the students, my initial goal was to approach them with a positive and optimistic attitude. Patience, understanding and a bit of humor were parts of my approach as well. These were particularly important for students who had lost hope. After this initial part, we dove into the actual science and turning their grades around. There were four key principles that I stressed to my students: time management, taking initiative, practice and attention to detail.

The kids I worked with were ‘high achievers’ and typically juggled multiple classes, and in some instances, multiple Honors/IB courses. They were also involved in a plethora of after school activities (sports and clubs of all kinds), which often caused a bit of an overload. In cases such as these, time management for each class, especially the demanding classes, was very, very important.

The next principles I instilled were taking initiative and the importance of practice. College-level courses require students to assume more responsibility for their studies with less coddling by teachers. This is especially important for quantitative sciences like Chemistry and Physics, which are calculation-intensive and require rigorous practice. I stressed to my students that this was the only way to feel confident at test time, when students were tasked with working their way through several pages of complex problems, usually within 45 minutes to an hour.

The argument that teachers aren’t ‘teaching effectively’ in these subjects may be partially true in some instances, but what’s also true is that the teachers can’t do everything. They can’t make the students practice what they’ve learned after hours and on weekends – arguably the most important part their learning. This is where the most meaningful part of students’ learning takes place as was the case for me as an undergraduate when the light-bulb turned on one Sunday afternoon in Charlotte, NC.

Finally, I impressed upon my students the importance of learning to pay attention to several key details. Chemistry tends to start off with ‘concept-based’ learning: the trends of the “Periodic Table of Elements“, the micro-particles that comprise atoms, and then chemical bonding. With the balancing of chemical equations, the class becomes more ‘critical thought-based’.

The ‘quantitative’ phase starts with the “Stoichiometry” chapter which permeates throughout the remaining chapters. This is the phase in which the calculator becomes one of the student’s ‘best friends’ as they must calculate decimals, express numbers using ‘scientific notation’, and sometimes calculate ‘log’ values. When calculating acids, bases and pH values, students also must be able to use the ‘^’ calculator function in some instances, which admittedly confused me as the tutor once. An important part of this phase is understanding and being able to convert ‘units of measure’ – converting grams to kilograms, and then grams to moles, Celsius and Fahrenheit to Kelvin, and so on.

The calculation of moles, percent compositions, percent yields and so on, leads the class to become highly quantitative and the students then must also keep track of various equations/formulas, and chemical/physical constants, while also integrating concepts from earlier chapters. This continues into the “Solutions”, the “Gas Laws”, “Kinetics” and “Thermochemistry” chapters. While specific calculations are used throughout the course such as the conversion of grams to moles, some chapters have their own unique equations, formulas and units of measure such as ‘millimeters of Mercury’ (mm Hg) in the Gas Law chapter which is a measure for atmospheric pressure.

Examples of chemical/physical constants include “Avagadro’s number”, and the “Universal Gas Constant”, which itself has many different values depending upon the units used. As we progressed through the chapters, one thing I constantly had to remind my students of was always keeping their Periodic Table of Elements handy. I consider this the student’s first best friend in the class, as it has pieces of information about every element necessary to answer questions in even the more advanced chapters.

This all sounds like a lot right? Again, it can be particularly problematic if the parents have no experience in the area. Once lost, students typically need extra help in the form of spending more time with the teacher or working with a tutor. When the above-mentioned keys are introduced and the student buys in, he or she can gain confidence, get back on track and find the class to be fun. Tutoring caused me to have to relearn some material I’d forgotten over the years, and to learn concepts we hadn’t covered when I was an undergraduate. In some instances I was learning along with the students I tutored. This was fun for me and created a sense of adventure.

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If you’re a STEM-professional, tutoring is a really good way to generate a second income depending upon the demand for your knowledge set in your area or elsewhere. With the technology available to us today, tutors can work with students remotely in some instances without having to physically be there. In either case, helping students to understand their subject matter, and ‘to get over the hump’, is a very rewarding feeling, and an accomplishment all in itself. It’s also gratifying when the parents thank you and stay on their children about when their next tutoring sessions will be.

What also helped me out during my tutoring experience was that I could go back and ask one of my veteran undergraduate Chemistry professors questions when I got ‘stumped’. In some instances, I needed to be refreshed on some of the nuances of some of the problems I was doing with my students. I don’t think he’ll mind me mentioning him, and I’m very thankful that he was willing to provide guidance when I didn’t know what to do. This underscores the importance of not burning your bridges and maintaining relationships with your professors long after you’ve earned you degree.

My former professor also pointed me in the direction of the Chemistry Olympiad Exams for challenging and fun practice problems. You can download the yearly exams as pdfs for free. The answers are in the back, so you can go over them yourself or with your student, and even work your way backwards to figure out the right answer, if either of you answered the question incorrectly.

Thank you for taking the time out to read this blog post. If you enjoyed this one, you might also enjoy:

• The story of how I earned my STEM degree as a minority
• The transferrable skills from a STEM degree in the basic sciences
• Don’t Be A Mad Scientist: Avoid These Stupid Lab Mistakes
• A look at STEM: What is Pharmacology?
• A look at STEM: What is Toxicology?
• A look at STEM: What is Inhalation Toxicology?

Staying Relevant in the Workplace: The Tips To Help

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two of its focuses are Career Discussions and General Education. Even after completing school and entering the workforce, it’s important to think about where your career and your field are going. This involves several steps and points to consider. The following contributed post is thus entitled, Staying Relevant in the Workplace: The Tips To Help.

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In a job market that is as competitive as ever, employers are likely to have higher standards than ever for their employees. So in order to stay competitive and stay marketable, you need to make sure that you are relevant and up to date. By checking that you are doing things to improve yourself and your career, as well as seeing how you are doing with things, it can help you to ensure that you are not coming up short. If you’re not too sure about how you can stay relevant in the workforce, then here are some steps to help you get there. Keep going on and on, and you’ll be able to stay relevant in your career. Then you can keep your career going and achieving the things that you want to.

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Check Your Training

No doubt you will have the main qualifications to be doing the job that you do. But there are can be plenty of new technology to learn and understand, as well as software or certain operating systems. But if you don’t get up to speed, then you are going to struggle in your everyday job, as well as struggle to stay relevant. If it is kind of implied that you should know how to do something, then now is the time to learn what you need to learn, so that you can execute your work well and show your employer that you know what you are doing.

Trade Shows

It will depend on what industry you are in. But if your industry is related to an industry that works with (or in) trade shows, then it is a good idea to get yourself there. It can be something to suggest to your employer if you are not already doing it, as well as going and arranging to go of your own accord. It gives you a good chance to network, as well as a good chance to see the latest in your industry, or how other industries could be impacting the one that you work in.

If you work in quite a niche industry, or plan to in the future, then it can be a good idea to attend trade shows to get ideas, as well as seeing what is happening in similar industries.

Get Social

Social media is a great way to get in touch with others in the industry, or it can be used as a great way to read up on latest news or blog posts about what is going on in your world of work. Being online on social channels in a professional way can be a good idea to help you to stay on top of all that is going on. Not to mention that there are plenty of HR influencers online, especially social sites like Twitter. They can be sharing useful updates and relevant content, to help you to stay up to date and stay relevant in your career.

Perfect Your Skills or Specialize

If you look at people in the medical profession, for example, the ones that are earning the most are the ones that are a doctor with a specialism, rather than just a general practice doctor. Being a ‘jack of all trades’ isn’t always the best thing for your career. It can be a really good thing to specialize and to choose one route to go down. You will be staying relevant as you will be much more marketable to that specific career area than if you just kept things quite general. So if you can, look for ways to train in something more specific, but still relevant and in-demand.

Follow Competitors

Whatever walk of life we are in, there will always be competitors. Have a look at them to see what they are doing and what they do so well. If they are having more success, then follow them to see what it is that they are doing differently to you. If people in the same niche are having more success than you, then it shows that there is market for what you are doing. You just need to be the one that people want to come to. So mimicking a strategy or style can help to boost your success, and it adds value to what you are doing, and keeps your role relevant.

As you can see, these are all pretty straightforward things to be doing. But it just takes some time to plan so that you can really focus on your career goals and staying competitive and relevant within that.

Common Mistakes Made While Choosing A Career

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and two of its key focuses are Education and Career Discussions. Choosing a career is one of the most important decisions one can make in life. Unfortunately many students aren’t always guided properly in this area, and have poor career prospects on the back end of their education. The following contributed post is thus entitled; Common Mistakes Made While Choosing A Career.

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https://pixabay.com/en/doors-choices-choose-open-decision-1767564/

When choosing a career, there are so many different factors that need to be considered. Of course, you want to make sure you end up with the perfect career for you. However, this is much easier said than done. How do you know if a job is right for you until you start doing it? Well, a good place to start is by avoiding some of the common mistakes that people have made before you. With that in mind, continue reading to discover more about the common mistakes you need to avoid when choosing a career.

Taking a job with limit growth prospects – The first mistake that a lot of people make when it comes to choosing a career is going for a job that does not offer anything in terms of career prospects and growth. One of the main reasons people get frustrated with their jobs is because they feel like they have hit a brick wall and they can’t go anywhere.

Choosing money before anything else – There is no denying that money is important when choosing a career. After all, we all need money to pay the bills and to buy the things we want in life. However, you have no doubt heard the saying that money cannot bring happiness. You are going to spend most of your life working, so it is important to love what you do.

Failing to map out your route – Choosing a career is one thing, but how are you going to get there? You need to understand what is going to be expected of you and what qualifications you need. Are you going to be able to achieve these? Let’s say you want to work for a trucking firm. Do a search of trucking companies near me online so you can find out what they look from when it comes to their drivers. This is the only way you will be able to plot out how you can make it to the career you want and determine whether or not this is really for you.

Ignoring the signs of industry decline – Last but not least, another mistake you need to avoid is ignoring the signs of industry decline. Industries come and go – they aren’t around forever. Sign painters used to get a lot of business. However, that industry was replaced with vinyl and large-scale printing. When choosing a career, you not only need to consider your passions and what you are good at but you need to think about the state of the industry too.

Hopefully, you now have a better understanding of some of the most common mistakes that people tend to make when they are selecting a career. This should give you a better understanding of what you should and should not do regarding your professional future. But if you do make a mistake, don’t fret about it! Lots of people end up changing their mind regarding what they want from a job.

Making The Most Of Your Education

The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is Education. When pursuing a college education, it’s important to know how to get the most out of the experience both in and out of the classroom so you’re as marketable as possible when you finish. What are some of the important considerations? The following contributed post is entitled; Making The Most Of Your Education.

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Making the most of your education is crucial, whether you’re going to college, university, or even doing an online course. You want to make sure you retain as much information as possible and that you are able to use what you’ve learned to do something great when all is said and done. Whether you want to start a business of your own or land your dream job, below we have three ways you can go about making the most of your education.

Don’t Be Afraid To Ask For Help
You can’t be afraid to ask for help if you’re struggling with something you’re supposed to be learning. Approach your lecturer, ask classmates, and even look at online forums that you can use to make sure you get it. Having a positive, solution focused attitude is everything.

Get A Part Time Job
A part time job can help to give you more money towards school supplies, and can even allow you a bit of a social life (if you can find the time). If you can get a part time job in the industry you’re looking to work in, or even just a voluntary position, this can support your learning and look great on your CV.

Find Your Learning Style
Finally, figure out what your learning style is so you can consume the course material in a way that is enjoyable and stress-free for you. Everybody learns differently. Some people are hands on, some are visual. There were 419 graduates from Effat university in 2016-2017, and chances are, the majority of those students figured out their learning style early on. Below, you can find more information on Effat university.

credit to Effat University

Reflections On The Classroom From A Veteran Of The School System Revisited

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“Somewhere there was a disconnection between the parents and what the students should’ve been doing at home, particularly their homework. The parents should’ve been helping to reinforce our program at home. If we could’ve just gotten the parents on board, things would’ve gone more smoothly.”

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The first principle of my blog is Creating Ecosystems of Success, and a key focus is Education. Dad was a critical piece of my journey towards my earning my STEM degree and starting my career. I originally published this piece in the Examiner back in 2012, shortly after he retired from education. I lived with him for almost three years prior to starting my federal science career, and learned some things about his career in education simply through watching, observing and talking to him.

Dad taught in one of the ‘lower’ two districts in New York State’s “Capital Region”, and this account captures what it’s like for some teachers who work in ‘lower income’ communities. While Dad agreed to let me publish this piece, there was some deliberation over its content as he wanted to be truthful while not offending anyone. This piece raises several key questions. Do parents have a role in their child’s education? Is it the school’s job to do everything? Lastly, what are the ramifications for kids getting passed through the system without doing the work, and what ultimately happens to them?

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Dad retired from education after 20 years of teaching Life Science in junior high in one of New York State’s eastern central school districts. When asked about being an educator and the daily issues he faced, he focused mainly on the attitudes and preparedness of his students and their parents. He also focused on an administration that highly emphasized passing its students, probably due to outside pressure which eventually trickled down the to its faculty. The issues he discussed were not unique to his district, and were common in lower income communities across the nation.

“One of the hardest parts of the job was getting the students to believe that I knew what I was talking about,” he said. The adolescent years are known to be the start of a rebellious period in the lives of young people. It’s not only challenging for parents, but also for educators. He further added, “Many of my students came to school hungry and without having breakfast. It’s hard to learn that way!”

Dad spent a lot of time discussing parenting saying, “Somewhere there was a disconnection between the parents and what the students should’ve been doing at home, particularly their homework. The parents should’ve been helping to reinforce our program at home. If we could’ve just gotten the parents on board, things would’ve gone more smoothly.”

“Parents aren’t what they used to be. They seem to act as though they can just make babies and it’s the school’s job to raise them,” he lamented about parents who weren’t proactive and vigilant about their children’s education.

“When I came home, I frequently saw my father reading,” he continued. “In some families, kids come home and see Mom and Dad watching TV and not reading, and will do the same thing. For African American and Latino kids, reading is very, very important,” he said passionately.

Whether it’s a low income district or a high income district as described in the writings of Dr. Ralph G. Perrino of the former Northern Virginia Tutoring Service, strong parental involvement seems to be a key ingredient in the success of students.

When he visited the University of Michigan when I was in graduate school, the famous (and now maligned) neurosurgeon Dr. Benjamin Carson, originally from inner-city Detroit, openly acknowledged that he wasn’t a strong student early on in his life. He further acknowledges that it was his mother’s insistence that he read and continually expand his mind that set the stage for his successes.

Dad finally voiced his frustrations with the school system itself saying, “In many districts there is a lot of pressure on teachers to pass students who may not be measuring up to the teacher’s expectations and what’s outlined in the curriculum.” In short, whether intended or not, the expectations for his students were being lowered. He further encountered quite a few students and parents who expected passing grades without the work being done.

“The school district was phasing out effort, good behavior, homework, and classroom participation. My students’ grades were eventually based mostly on tests and quizzes,” he said. He closed by saying (with conviction), “The problem is that when these students go out into the real world, they’ll be in trouble in job settings.”

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I want to close by acknowledging all the educators who go to work every day preparing our future generations. It’s a very important and sometimes underappreciated career/job. I’ll always remember seeing Dad go away to school every day, grading papers on the weekends, and enjoying his summer vacations. His experiences weren’t unique, and they applied to many schools in other cities across the country.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog post. If you enjoyed this story, you might also enjoy:

• The story of how I earned my STEM degree as a minority
• Challenging misconceptions and stereotypes in academic achievement
• The benefits and challenges of using articulate speech
• Challenging misconceptions and stereotypes in class, household income, wealth and privilege
• Who will benefit from Apple’s $350 billion investment?
• Father’s Day 2018: Dad’s doctor and his lawyer, and a discussion on careers
• Father’s Day 2017: Reflections on some of Dad’s money and life lessons