Understanding and unleashing the transformative powers of education (learning how to learn)

As a child, my parents always impressed upon me the importance of getting a good education. My father in particular, always told my siblings and I that we should strive to be number one in our studies. Because of the strict nature of my father, getting good grades was the rule, while getting low grades resulted in punishment. Needless to say, my siblings and I achieved honor role status throughout our K through middle school years. However, as I hit high school things began to change for me. I was no longer that little boy that followed my father's every wish out of fear. By now, I had been hardened by the tough streets of Brooklyn and questioned whether getting a good (formal) education could take me out of this environment.

You see, in my community, I knew of few high school graduates, much less college graduates. My parents had limited education and struggled to provide for my siblings and I. Like many that grew up in poor communities, I experienced my fair share of pain and struggles. Like many of today's youth that are dropping out of high school in record numbers, I too doubted the transformative powers of formal education touted by my parents and teachers. I did not believe that formal education alone could transform my socio-economic situation. As a result, I began to devalue formal education and withdrew (cutting classes regularly). Luckily, I began to realize the error in my thinking brought about by the intervention of a high school guidance counselor. I struggled to graduate high school, needing to attend summer school two years in a row in addition to night school. Nevertheless, I did graduate-But what next!?

Today, we hear news reports about the high dropout rates for inner city high school kids across America. I believe that this high dropout rate stems from the inability of the youth to understand and witness the transformative power of education within their communities. As a 34 year old man with a PhD, I can now attest to the transformative powers of getting a good education, but not just one that is formal. I have seen examples of education's transformative powers in the lives of my colleagues, as well as in my own life. However, most people wont get a PhD, or even a college degree. Does this mean that they are doomed to a life of suffering and pain because of their socio-economic situation? Well not necessarily, as a significant percentage of millionaires in America did not graduate from college.

Still, statistics do show that one's level of formal education directly correlates to one's income (the higher the degree, the higher the income) and employability (the higher the degree, the higher the level of employability). So, it is safe to say that formal education does have transformative power in regards to one's socio-economic situation. But, is simply graduating from high school and getting a college degree the answer to unlocking education's transformative powers?

Let us take a look at the essence of education. Education is all about learning basic skills such as reading, writing, and mathematics, and then building on these skills with more complex fields of study such as science, history, and economics. What you are doing as you master and broaden your intellectual skills is teaching your brain how to learn.

What ways do I learn best?
What topics interest me most?
What topics do I find easiest to learn?
What topics will help me transform my life?
What topics will help me realize my life's vision?

These are questions that you should be asking yourself as you learn how to learn (education). The truth is that formal education is beneficial to a point, but after that point it is not necessary for everyone. The reason for this is that once you learn the basics as previously described, you can take the initiative to go to libraries, museums, art galleries, plays, as well as surf the Internet to learn about anything you deem useful. Many successful people such as former President Abraham Lincoln were self-taught. But do keep in mind that because many of us do not have the discipline or desire to learn just for the sake of learning, K-12, trade schools, colleges, and universities put together formal curriculums designed to legitimize our educational experiences with a diploma, certificate of completion, or degree. The degree in particular, became popular with American employers in the 1960s, as America moved out of the Industrial Age to the Information Age. Prior to this shift, one could graduate high school and get a good middle class job at the same factory your father worked in. However, as industrial jobs disappear by the thousands because of outsourcing and globalization, a college degree has become essential for anyone looking to

Why is the shift toward online education happening?

This paper deals with the question: Why is the shift toward online education happening? This is a complex issue that involves questions of educational access, paradigms for teaching and learning, competition and globalization among universities, the development of new and better online technologies, and the financial pressures facing higher education. A huge transition is underway. The same networking and computing technology that has revolutionized global commerce, and many other facets of modern life, is now being targeted at education. Partnering the Internet with modern course management systems makes it possible for universities to offer online coursework on a global basis. The critical task that lies ahead is to create and disseminate curricula of high quality that students can embrace and educators can sustain. For more details visit to www.guardadsense.com .The overall objective of José’s Online Education Forum is to examine the realities of college and university online teaching, and the processes of education using today's information technologies. Collectively, the authors of this paper have taught over a hundred different university-level courses online, both graduate and undergraduate, mostly using the Internet. The issues and insights discussed in this Forum will provide educators with important tools and the understanding needed to effectively embrace the world of online education.

1. INTRODUCTION
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Online education degree – a booming sector that bring you to a brighter future

Are you kind of person who likes to work with children? Are you loves to giving training and teaching to young people? Are you a good communicator especially with children? If you answered yes to the questions above, then online education degree will help you to gain the skills and enhanced you knowledge in education field. Hence, help you to advance your career working in education fields.

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The booming education and health sector offers many jobs that involve working with children and youths. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor, the education and health sector is going to grow by 30.6 percent between now and 2014-faster than any other industries. Seeing the encouraging growth in education section, earn an online education degree will bring you to a brighter future.

In order start or advance your career in education related fields, you need to look for a related online degrees; there are many prestigious online colleges and universities offer degree in education and teaching. Among the featured online universities which offer various online education degree programs include:

Online education degrees: the right way for studying while working

Too busy with work or at home, yet you aspire for an education career. Then opting for an online education degree is the right way to proceed.

If you love teaching and coaching children something new, then an education degree is your right choice. Maybe you could spend most of the time with cute and innocent toddlers or at kindergarten teaching them nursery rhymes, alphabets, numbers... or doing something exclusive like teaching disabled students who require special skills. This would definitely be a much satisfactory activity disregarding the money factor which could vary upon your institution of service.

An online education degree will prove to be interesting and highly creative. You will be guided through your degree with many interesting presentations, videos, lectures and even books. While at it you can even be in touch and interact with your professors and other fellow students as well. At the same time you can be assured of being trained in problem solving, thinking skills and practical teaching experience as well. Read the rest of this entry »

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