How many languages are you proficient in?

How many languages are you proficient in?

There is a saying: Luck is what happens when opportunity meets preparation. First of all, school is the place where you start building a strong foundation. With a good grounding, you prepare yourself for the next step by studying for the subject that you are interested in. 

While you are doing that the crucial thing is to polish your language skills. It is not enough to be good at one language, especially in Malaysia. Look at the politicians, they speak fluently in English, Mandarin, and Bahasa Malaysia. If you want to be competitive you have to master three languages. When you are prepared you are ready to grab any opportunity that comes your way. You will have no regret.

Image source:https://www.sciencefocus.com/science/what-is-the-record-for-the-most-languages-spoken-by-one-person/

20 Powerful Quotes about Education

1. The great aim of education is not knowledge but action. -Herbert Spencer 

2. Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world. -Nelson Mandela 

3. The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education -Martin Luther King, Jr. 

4. Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself. -John Dewey 

5. Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom. -George Washington Carver 

6. The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think — rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with thoughts of other men. ~Bill Beattie 

7. Education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance. ~Will Durant 

8. Education would be much more effective if its purpose was to ensure that by the time they leave school every boy and girl should know how much they do not know, and be imbued with a lifelong desire to know it. ~William Haley 

9. Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper or your self-confidence. ~Robert Frost 

10. Education is the movement from darkness to light. ~Allan Bloom 

11. Do you know the difference between education and experience? Education is when you read the fine print; experience is what you get when you don't. ~Pete Seeger 

12. Education is learning what you didn't know you didn't know. ~George Boas 

13. The one real object of education is to have a man in the condition of continually asking questions. ~Mandell Creighton 

14. Never let formal education get in the way of your learning. -Mark Twain 

15. Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire. -Wiliam Butler Yeats 

16. Instruction ends in the school-room, but education ends only with life. -Frederick W.Robertson 

17. Education is what remains after one has forgotten everything he learned in school. - Albert Einstein 

18. Education is not the answer to the question. Education is the means to the answer to all questions. - William Allin 

19. Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. - Jim Rohn 

20. The things taught in colleges and schools are not an education, but the means of education. -Ralph Waldo Emerson

Image source:https://brandequity.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/business-of-brands/future-shock-25-education-trends-post-covid-19/75729537

A College Degree Does Not Guarantee a Job

Wow. I know the economy is difficult right now, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised to read about an alumna suing her college because she can’t find a job. But I am surprised to read about this. Obviously, she didn’t put too much thought into the long-term ramifications of her lawsuit.

If I were a hiring manager, the first thing I would do after glancing at the resume is run a quick Google search on a potential employee. If the first page of search results listed nothing but a news result about a baseless lawsuit against his/her former school, I would drop the resume in the shredder and never respond. If you are willing to sue a school, you would be willing to sue an employer. And that is an issue most companies are not willing to take – especially for someone who isn’t bringing any special skills to the table.

Why is she suing? Trina Thompson graduated from New York’s Monroe College in April with a bachelor of business administration degree in information technology and is suing her college for $72,000, which covers the full cost of her education, plus $2,000 to cover the stress of her 3-month job search. Why? Because she believes (in her words) the “Office of Career Advancement did not help me with full-time job placement. I am also suing them because of the stress I have been going through.”

Her chief complaint is that her college hasn’t done enough to help her with job placement. Again, in her words, “They’re supposed to say, ‘I got this student, her attendance is good, her GPA is all right — can you interview this person?’ They’re not doing that,” she said.

By the way, her GPA was a robust 2.7, which should have most employers knocking down doors.

What does the college say? Monroe College released a statement saying that “while it is clear that no college, especially in this economy, can guarantee employment, Monroe College remains committed to working with all its students, including Ms. Thompson, who graduated only three months ago, to prepare them for careers and to support them during their job search.”

My thoughts? I don’t have all the facts, but I am siding with the college on this one. To expect a job simply because you have a degree is naive. To expect a multitude of job offers in a difficult economy, when people with years of experience have been unemployed longer than you have had a degree, is grossly naive. To sue someone because you haven’t been able to find the job you desire shows a sense of entitlement that is disturbing. No one owes you anything. You need to work for it. Simply having “good attendance and an all right GPA” is not enough. You need to bring real skills to the table. You need to show how your skills and experience separate you from the other 100 job applicants, some of whom have decades of practical experience – not just an all-right GPA.

A college degree does not guarantee a job. Once upon a time, it may have. But not today. Not in our economy.

Source: A College Degree Does Not Guarantee a Job

Image source: https://pearsonaccelerated.com/blog/bachelors-degree-wont-get-you-a-job

7 Productive Ways to Go to Class

You learn something every day if you pay attention. 

Ray LeBlond

Are you taking full advantage of class attendance? Here are 7 great ways to extract the most out of going to class: 

1.      Be prepared: Before you go to class, go through your textbook and get a first impression of the lesson. Find out what you do not understand, highlight the topic and be ready to learn.    

2.      Pay attention: Sleep early and get up early and eat a nutritious breakfast. In this way, you are fresh, alert, and energetic to concentrate in class. You are more likely to absorb new ideas and grasp important points. 

3.      Take notes: There is nothing better than taking notes on pertinent points to reinforce your memory.  You listen you remember but when you write you remember more and better.

4.      Ask questions: It is the best time to ask about topics that you don’t understand for the benefit of the class. A teacher assumes you know if you do not ask.

5.      Do homework: Doing homework is an effective way to practice what you have learnt. As an example, doing a lot of mathematics questions is the only to find out you really know the subject well. It is also a good time to review your lesson and notes.      

6.      Develop an interest in all subjects: Read related and relevant books and look for more information on the Net. It is one effective way to understand the subject better and be more interested.  

7.      Share: Share with your classmates what you have learnt and help weaker students. It is a great way to learn more by sharing.

You will be penalized for not attending classes regularly. It is also a way to show your seriousness in your study. Do you get the most out of class attendance?

Related post:

Help Your Children to Succeed at School -10 Top Tips

What Can We Learn From Credit Rating and Foreign Exchange Rate

There is a correlation between a country’s credit rating and its foreign exchange rates. For instance the credit rating of Malaysia, according to Standard & Poor, is A-.  The foreign exchange rates fare poorer against other countries with better credit ratings:

1 Australia Dollar = RM3.306 (AAA)

1 Canadian Dollar = RM3.165 (AAA)

1New Zealand Dollar =RM2.517 (AA)

1 Singapore dollar = RM2.477 (AAA)

1 Sterling Pound =RM5.022 (AAA)

1 Swiss Franc =RM3.384 (AAA)

1 US Dollar = RM3.199 (AA+)

 Selling rates of currency notes as of January 6, 2012, as quoted by Maybank   

Credit rating by Standard & Poor  in the bracket as at 29/11/2011

What do these countries with strong credit ratings have in common? The answer is E.S.P. It is likened to be their extrasensory perception:

·         Education

·         Skills

·         Productivity

Education

Most top-notch universities are found in these countries such as the United Kingdom, Singapore, Australia, and United States. Education is the number one priority in these counties. Education is to gain essential knowledge and knowledge is power. The more educated the people, the more knowledgeable and resourceful they are. Education supports the next generation to support the growth of a country.

Here are the  Time Higher Education World University Rankings :

Overall Ranking 2011

1.       California Institute of Technology (United States)

2.       Harvard University (United States)

3.       Stanford University (United States)

4.       University of Oxford (United Kingdom)

Asia Ranking 2011

3.     National University of Singapore (Singapore)

Australasia Ranking 2011

1.       University of Melbourne (Australia)

2.       The Australian National University (Australia)

3.       University of Sydney (Australia)

4.       University of Queensland Australia (Australia)

5.       Monash University (Australia)

6.       University of Auckland (New Zealand)

According to Phil Baty, Editor of the Times Higher Education World University Rankings, universities are the key to driving the knowledge economy. They can be the key to future national economic prosperity and global competitiveness, through the education they give their students…

Skills

These counties are always scouting for talents. They look for skillful people with expertise in various fields and it does not matter where they are from. When they can perform and contribute to the development of a country they are most welcome.

Productivity

Productivity is the creation of a simple solution that is efficient and effective.  As an example, getting in, going out, and looking for a parking lot at the AMK Hub Car Park in Singapore is a breeze because it has an automated ERP-like parking system. When you are at the parking bay, just look up and look ahead for green lights (vacant lots) among red lights (occupied). You can easily spot one green light without going round and round and wasting time. This is the result of getting an IT education and the skillful application of technology to achieve productivity. 

 

Take-home message

·         Value continuous learning: To stay ahead in this competitive world it is essential to learn and update your knowledge. There is always something new to learn.

·         Up-date your skills: Your skills may be outdated, it is necessary to make changes with the time to acquire the latest technology and embrace it.

·         Performance counts: To perform well, you must possess the latest information, know the latest technology and apply what you know to perform productively.

Answer These Three Questions to Determine Your Future Direction

When you make a choice for a course of study or a job you are asking yourself one question: What do I want to achieve?

In order to chart your future course, all your need to do is to answer the following three questions:

1. What do I like to do?

You have your likes and dislikes. No two persons are the same. There is no difference between choosing a course of study or looking for a job. What do you like to do? The obvious characteristics of the answer are that nobody is asking you to do it and you do it all by yourself wholeheartedly. So, find out the things that you do that make you happy.

2. What am I good at?

You may like a certain course of study or take up a certain job that you fancy but you may not have the ability to do it. Good at something means you are able to do it better than others with the least effort. Ask yourself what are the things that you can do better than others with ease?

3. What is the most meaningful thing that I can do?

It is meaningful when you do something it benefits everyone and it creates a positive impact on you and others. Ask yourself what is the thing that you do can have a great influence on you and others?

You create a powerful one-directional energy to spur you to success when you do the thing that you like to do and you are able to do well and it is something that means a lot to you.

In addition, you should consider the following external factors:

• The expectation of your family: Though you can decide what you want to do, when you have the support of the family it will give you a further boost in whatever that you are doing.

• Study the demand of society: Gather information to find out the demand of our society. The fact is that a job could be a hot career now, by the time when you have completed the study it may not be as promising as expected.

• The world trend: In view of the development in technology and globalization yon need to look carefully at the trend of the world. Competition is so much greater than before; you need to equip yourself exceptionally well in order to survive in the future.

Summary:

When you select a course of study or take up a job you must know your interest, your ability, and how much it means to you. The other thing to consider is the expectation of your family, the demand of the market, and the trend in this world

Help Your Children to Succeed at School -10 Top Tips

How do you help your child to excel at school? You don't have to be a teacher or highly educated. Here are the 10 top tips:


1. A loving home environment: Make your home environment conducive for your child to study. Shower your child with love and show your concern for your child’s schoolwork, Set a regular time table at home for him to do his homework. Monitor his progress in all subjects.

2. Reading habit: Set a good example for your child by reading books yourself.
Supply him with adequate reading materials and he will follow your reading habit.

3. A suitable place to study: Provide him with a study corner so that he can do his homework and reading. Make sure that the place is well ventilated. The other point to note is that the table should not be facing a window. It is to avoid distractions from outside.

4. Set realistic goals for your child: Depending on your child's capability, you set attainable but challenging goals for your child.

5. Examination time: Help your child to organize and prepare for the examination. You must know his examination timetable.

6. TV and Internet: Place a limit for him to watch TV. Actually, TV is a time-waster. Do not let the TV take over your place to look after your child. Be vigilant when your child is surfing the net.

7. Motivate and reprimand your child: Show your appreciation and reward him for his good behavior and good performance at school and reprimand his misconduct accordingly.

8. Health: Robust health and fitness will ensure that your child can concentrate on his study. Encourage him to be physically active like going jogging with you on a regular basis.

9. Be active in school: Get to know the school better by participating in PTA meetings and joining events organized by the school.

10. Meet your child’s teachers: It is an excellent way to find out your child’s progress in school by talking to his teachers.

Malaysian Children - Their Education, Health, Safety and Stress

Children

According to a local newspaper, it is reported that whether we have our priorities right. Children are paying too much attention to excel in their education at the expense of their health and safety. It’s quite normal nowadays that parents wish to enroll their children in the best primary school in town and hope that they can have a head start in their education. But now you even have to book in advance a place with your tutor for your tuition for next year. Seeking educational excellence is going to the extreme. 

 On the other hand, the health of children in Malaysia is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Children as young as 7 are developing Type 2 diabetes.11 percent of Peninsular Malaysia children between 6 and 12 were overweight and 6 percent were obese (2000UKM study). This has to do with their eating habit and couch-potato lifestyle. Parents are giving in to their children and pampering them by allowing them to frequent fast food outlets. The unhealthy eating habit contributes to the growing trend of Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol level. 

 In addition, the safety of children is at stake. 8,000 children were missing in the last 5 years and three out of four missing children are girls, four of 10 children go missing after running away with peers or lovers. More than500 children were reported missing between January and May this year.

 In the meanwhile, Malaysian children are under tremendous stress. They have to do well academically and they have less time to spend outdoor to develop a healthy lifestyle. On top of that their safety is vulnerable. No wonder 130,000 children suffer from mental illnesses and 53 children under 11 and 1837 above 12 attempted suicides in 2000. One reason is that both the parents are working and they have no time for their children. They have not only neglected their children but their lives are equally stressful. 

Just spend some quality time on a regular basis with your children and it will make a world of difference.

Image source:https://mcc.gse.harvard.edu/reports/children-mean-raise

10 Magazines to Grasp the International Scene

According to an article in a leading local Chinese newspaper, it is stated that in order to have a better understanding of the world events, you need to read the following ten magazines:

1. Time: This is a weekly American news magazine. A Taiwanese mentions that: it is a heavyweight international news magazines read even by upper secondary school students so you can’t afford not to read it. Time magazine is famous for its annual “Person of the Year” cover story. It was founded by Briton Hadden and Henry Luce in 1923 as the first weekly news magazine in the United States.

2. Newsweek: It is mentioned in the newspaper that its style is more liberal than Time, but more conservative than U.S. News & World Report. It is said that Newsweek provides not only news but a magazine full of lifestyle trend. The first issue was published on February 17, 1933. News-Week as it was originally known was founded by Thomas J.C. Martyn.

3. Harvard Business Review: It is published by Harvard Business School Publishing since 1922. It is a monthly magazine famous for articles contributed by scholars and management thinkers such as Peter F. Drucker and Michael E. Porter. When you read the magazine you are also reading the same material as read by the CEOs around the world.

4. The Economist: According to someone from Aveda who loves reading magazines, he says when you have no time to read then read only one magazine and that is The Economist. It is able to interpret world events that no other commercial magazines can take its place. The magazine was founded in 1843 by James Wilson.

5. Fast Company: It is a magazine about, among other things, innovation, change management and social responsibility. It was launched in 1995 by Alan Webber and Bill Taylor,

6. Wallpaper*: A monthly magazine about travel, design, entertainment, fashion and media. The magazine was started by Canadian journalist Tyler Brule in London in 1996. Its reporting style is short and amusing.

7. Monocle: The magazine provides a world perspective on international affairs,design and culture. It was founded by Tyler Brule, a Canadian journalist and entrepreneur in 2007.

8. The New Yorker: The magazine is about politics, social issues and popular culture. “The Talk of the town” is the most popular column. It is founded by Harold Ross and his wife in 1925.

9. Vogue: This magazine, founded by Arthur Baldwin Turnure in 1892, is more than 100 years old. It is about fashion and lifestyle and it is the most influential female magazine.

10. Fortune: It is founded by Henry Luce in 1930. It is a business magazine famous for its Fortune 500 list.

One prominent magazine which is missing in the list is Forbes. B.C. Forbes founded the magazine in 1917. It is one of the most quoted magazines for, among others, a list of The Richest People in America (The Forbes 400) and a list of The World’s Billionaires.

Education and Your Children

Education and Your Children

Nowadays seeking quality higher education is just as competitive as the business world. Just look around you, when it is examination season some parents even go to the extent of taking leave just to accompany their child to get over this critical period. The child is not under pressure but the parents are. 

We cannot deny having good academic results are the passport to higher education of your choice. So we cannot ignore the marks scored by your child at school. How to get better marks in the examinations? 

 A well-developed mental faculty 

A healthy and fit body

 High EQ or stable emotion

 Effective study methods 

 When you lack one of them your success rate will be discounted. As long as your child is not dumb he will have the potential to succeed. As long as your child does not fall ill most of the time he is considered healthy. The environment that you bring up your child decides his emotional stability. Parents need to observe their children closely and shower them with love and create a happy atmosphere for the child. 

 As for the last point, the child needs to work hard to score well, no sweat no gain. The most important point to remember is that when your child is happy he will be able to do well and get good results. 

However, when your child does his best and yet he can't score well then you just have to accept the fact. One way to do it is to lower the expectation of your child. Instead of aiming for the top three positions perhaps among the top ten positions will be more practical. Don’t bother too much about your child's academic results. There are cases of children whose results may be so-so while they are at school but they are able to achieve great success in their career. On the other hand, there’re cases of children who excel in their studies and yet they cannot perform well in their career. Maybe they have a poor relationship with others. Do not be too happy when your child obtains flying colors in his examinations and too concerned when your child’s results are not as good as expected.

Image source:https://www.childrens.com/health-wellness/how-to-support-your-childs-at-home-learning

The Power of English and my Blog

English

My father enrolled me in a Chinese school for my primary education when I was very young. However, when I moved up to my secondary education it was all in English except for one language subject in Chinese and another one in Malay. From Geography to History and from Literature to Mathematics they were all in English. My daily companion was my English-Chinese dictionary. I had a hard time but it was worth it. To master the language, I read English newspapers, I read comics and I listened to pop songs. It was in the ’60s and The Beatles, Cliff Richard, and Elvis were my favourites. To me, English is very important. When stamp collecting was my hobby I had to read stamp-related materials in English. When I started working in the hotel industry English was the vital communication link and most hotel managers then were foreigners. Now that I have started blogging, all the sites that I visited are in English and my bog is in English simply because it is a widely accepted international language. My blog is new. There is not much traffic, but I have visitors from the USA, Canada, Australia, the UK, the Middle East, and even Africa and China.

Image source:https://www.translatemedia.com/translation-blog/exploring-worlds-power-languages/

Blogging and lifelong learning

Blogging

Life is interesting because technology is advancing at a very fast pace. For example, the internet and blogging are things that we have not heard of before. To keep up with the changing world we have to keep ourselves up-to-date by continuous learning. Embrace those that are useful to us and discard those that are not. We have to open our eyes and be responsive to those things that are happening around us. When we are interested in new things, we are enthusiastic and life becomes interesting. When I started blogging in October 2007, I was totally ignorant of it. I have been learning and I am still learning. The things to learn are really overwhelming for me. I have learnt from John Chow about the "Seven Habits of Highly Successful Bloggers". I am happy that I started off with the right habit by posting an article daily. He has also given me some money-making ideas. I signed up with Kontera after reading his article. Joel Comm has also provided me with a wealth of information about AdSense. Getting to know Google is like taking a course in blogging and more. The learning continues.

Image  source: https://www.muo.com/tag/5-blog-sites-wordpress-blogger/

Education and character building

Education and Character Building

This is the current trend. From the headmaster to the teachers and from the teachers to the students the emphasis is on academic excellence. According to Mahatma Gandhi, “Education is the process of training and developing knowledge, skills, mind, and character”. School is the place to mold one’s character by training and disciplining the mind. It is also the place to instill moral values such as humility, honesty, empathy, and truthfulness. It is sad to say that even the basic value of politeness is missing among some of our students. Things like “Thank you”, “Yes, please” and ‘I am sorry” do not come out of their mouths often enough. Your character is formed by your daily habits in bits and pieces. Cultivate good habits while you are young. A person with good character will have an edge over others in the job market.

Image source:https://www.askedon.com/role-of-education-in-character-building-essay/

Earthquake Surviving Tips

Earthquake Surviving Tips

I have just received the following e-mail from Singapore. It is crucial to circulate freely especially to those living in earthquake-prone areas: My name is Doug Copp. I am the Rescue Chief and Disaster Manager of the American Rescue Team International (ARTI), the world's most experienced rescue team. The information in this article will save lives in an earthquake. I have crawled inside 875 collapsed buildings, worked with rescue teams from 60 countries, founded rescue teams in several countries, and am a member of many rescue teams from many countries. I was the United Nations expert in Disaster Mitigation (UNX051 -UNIENET) for two years. I have worked at every major disaster in the world since 1985, except for simultaneous disasters. 

In 1996 we made a film that proved my survival methodology to be correct. The Turkish Federal Government, City of Istanbul, University of Istanbul, Case Productions, and ARTI cooperated to film this practical, scientific test. We collapsed a school and a home with 20 mannequins inside. Ten mannequins did "duck and cover," and ten mannequins I used in my "triangle of life"survival method. After the simulated earthquake collapse, we crawled through the rubble and entered the building to film and document the results. The film, in which I practiced my survival techniques under directly observable, scientific conditions, relevant to building collapse, showed there would have been zero percent survival for those doing duck and cover. There would likely have been 100 % survivability for people using my method of the "triangle of life." This film has been seen by millions of viewers on television in Turkey and the rest of Europe, and it was seen in the USA, Canada, and Latin America on the TV program Real TV. The first building I ever crawled inside of was a school in Mexico City during the 1985 earthquake. Every child was under their desk. Every child was crushed to the thickness of their bones. They could have survived by lying down next to their desks in the aisles. It was obscene, unnecessary and I wondered why the children were not in the aisles. I didn't at the time know that the children were told to hide under something. 

Simply stated, when buildings collapse, the weight of the ceilings falling upon the objects or furniture inside crushes these objects, leaving a space or void next to them. This space is what I call the "triangle of life".The larger the object, the stronger, the less it will compact. The less the object compacts, the larger the void, the greater the probability that the person who is using this void for safety will not be injured. The next time you watch collapsed buildings, on television, count the"triangles" you see formed. They are everywhere. It is the most common shape, you will see, in a collapsed building. They are everywhere. I trained the Fire Department of Trujillo (population 750,000) in how to survive, take care of their families, and rescue others in earthquakes. The chief of rescue in the Trujillo Fire Department is a professor at Trujillo University. He accompanied me everywhere. He gave personal testimony: "My name is Roberto Rosales. I am Chief of Rescue in Trujillo. When I was 11 years old, I was trapped inside a collapsed building. My entrapment occurred during the earthquake of 1972 that killed 70,000people. I survived in the "triangle of life" that existed next to my brother's motorcycle. My friends who got under the bed and under desks were crushed to death [he gives more details, names, addresses, etc.]...I am the living example of the "triangle of life".My dead friends are the example of "duck and cover". 

 Tips from Doug Copp: 

 1) Everyone who simply "ducks and covers" WHEN BUILDINGS COLLAPSE are crushed to death -- Every time, without exception. People who get under objects, like desks or cars, are always crushed. 

2) Cats, dogs, and babies all naturally often curl up in the fetal position. You should too in an earthquake. It is a natural safety/survival instinct. You can survive in a smaller void. Get next to an object, next to a sofa, next to a large bulky object that will compress slightly but leave a void next to it. 

3) Wooden buildings are the safest type of construction to be in during an earthquake. The reason is simple: the wood is flexible and moves with the force of the earthquake. If the wooden building does collapse, large survival voids are created. Also, the wooden building has less concentrated, crushing weight. Brick buildings will break into individual bricks. Bricks will cause many injuries but less squashed bodies than concrete slabs. 

4) If you are in bed during the night and an earthquake occurs, simply roll off the bed. A safe void will exist around the bed. 

5) If an earthquake happens while you are watching television and you cannot easily escape by getting out the door or window, then lie down and curl up in the fetal position next to a sofa, or large chair. 

6) Everybody who gets under a doorway when buildings collapse is killed. How? If you stand under a doorway and the door jam falls forward or backward you will be crushed by the ceiling above. If the door jam falls sideways you will be cut in half by the doorway. In either case, you will be killed! 

7) Never go to the stairs. The stairs have a different "moment of frequency" (they swing separately from the main part of the building). The stairs and remainder of the building continuously bump into each other until structural failure of the stairs takes place. The people who get on stairs before they fail are chopped up by the stair treads - horribly mutilated. Even if the building doesn't collapse, stay away from the stairs. The stairs are likely part of the building to be damaged. Even if the stairs are not collapsed by the earthquake, they may collapse later when overloaded by fleeing people. They should always be checked for safety, even when the rest of the building is not damaged. 

8) Get Near the Outer Walls Of Buildings Or Outside Of Them If Possible. It is much better to be near the outside of the building rather than the interior. The farther inside you are from the outside perimeter of the building the greater the probability that your escape route will be blocked. 

9) People inside of their vehicles are crushed when the road above falls in an earthquake and crushes their vehicles; which is exactly what happened with the slabs between the decks of the Nimitz Freeway. The victims of the San Francisco earthquake all stayed inside of their vehicles. They were all killed. They could have easily survived by getting out and sitting or lying next to their vehicles, says the author. Everyone killed would have survived if they had been able to get out of their cars and sit or lie next to them. All the crushed cars had voids 3 feet high next to them, except for the cars that had columns fall directly across them. 

10) I discovered while crawling inside collapsed newspaper offices and other offices with a lot of paper, that paper does not compact. Large voids are found surrounding stacks of paper.

Research and article writing

Research

When I write an article I will make it a point to check the validity of the facts. This is to make sure that the facts are accurate. They are not out-of-date and are relevant. Here are the sources of my research: The Internet: The fastest way to locate an item. I always go to Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia for reference. The amount of information there is beyond your imagination. The public library: You will be able to locate books, magazine,s, and newspapers relating to your subject. Books: I have a small collection of books and I always refer to them for ideas. Newspapers and magazines: I read the newspapers in Chinese and English daily. I subscribe to Forbes Asia and I read Personal Money. The latest happenings are all there for you to peruse. Dictionary: I use the Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English to ascertain the right words to use. Other minor sources are TV news, videos, and DVDs. I also ask around to get feedback from other people on certain topics.

Image source:https://mentalitch.com/10-steps-for-writing-a-scientific-research-article/

History repeats itself

The headline says that the wife is a gambler and she has to borrow money from loan sharks to carry on her habit. Naturally, the husband is also harassed by loan sharks. Eventually, the husband can't take it anymore and he commits suicide. The wife follows suit after seeing the dead body of her husband.

This kind of tragic story keeps appearing in the newspapers every now and then. People don't seem to learn a lesson that gambling and borrowing money from loan sharks will lead you to desperation, despair, and death.

Memory Training for Your Children

Memory Training for Your Children

It is necessary to train your child's memory. One of the ways is to ask him to do shopping. Give him twenty dollars and ask him to buy one packet of sugar, two packets of salt, three packets of flour, and four matchboxes. At another time give him fifty dollars and ask him to buy one pen, two exercise books, and four pencils. Find out if he can remember. Your child's memory will improve by doing these repeatedly. Playing games is good for memory training too. Playing cards are an effective tool for memory improvement. You need to remember the cards well if you want to win the game. So, a game of chess, a game of cards, and other games involving memory are good for your child's memory training. Cultivate your child's observation power is another form of memory training. Ask your child to describe something after observing it for a while. Ask him to repeat a story after reading a book. Remember to praise him when he can tell a story in vivid detail.

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Treat Your Teachers Like Your Good Friends

Treat Your Teachers Like Your Good Friends

It is normal for some students to dislike certain teachers in school. However, when you treat your teacher as your friend you tend to look for his strengths, you also try to appreciate his way of teaching. Likewise, you will also study hard and try not to disappoint him. When you treat your teacher as your friend you can learn a lot more than the subject itself. You can talk to him about your emotional disturbance, further education, effective study methods, and many more. The teacher, in turn, will feel respected.

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Goal Setting for Better Academic Results

Goal Setting for Better Academic Results

In the course of your study, it is a good habit to write down your goals. Goal setting can help you obtain better academic results. However, you must consider the following points to set your goals:

• Set your goals according to your standard, neither too high nor too low. It is to allow you to progress step by step.
• Do not base your gaols on the marks only. You have to take into account your effort and mastery of the subject.
• Review your results after every examination. Pay more attention to the areas where you are weak.

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How Do You Reprimand Your Child?

How Do You Reprimand Your Child?

When your child misbehaves, one of the ways is to let him know directly. However, it is even more effective when you don't say anything at all. Next time when your child throws a tantrum, just ignore him. Talk to him when he has calmed down. Explain to him why he was ignored. Teach the child to be self-restrained and not to be unreasonable. In fact, when you reprimand your child in silence, he will respond immediately to restrain himself. 

 Related article:

7 Tips to Develop a Healthy Relationship with Your Child a.k.a. How to Get Along With Your Son

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