Do Not Fear Yourself

I was watching Akeelah and the Bee with my granddaughter this weekend and heard this quote by  Marianne Williamson. 

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?"

Good words to live by!

 

Math - The Universal Language

Math is the only language that is shared by all human beings. Some would even say that it is a shared language with non humans as well ;-)

We all have the ability to be literate in this one language. Whether we are baking cookies or discovering the world of DNA, math provides us with the tools to unlock our universe.

If I were to list all the jobs that use Math....well, let's just say that I would be doing nothing else except listing jobs.

Sports? Math is used in sports in numerous ways. The first thing you probably think of is as a statistician.

A player's batting average (B) gives the percentage of hits the player makes when he is at bat. It is found by dividing the total number of hits made (h) by the total times at bat (a):

B = h/a

So if Joe has 120 hits in the 300 times he is at bat, his batting average is .400 (120/300).

 The Police  use Math. They do accident reconstruction. I'm sure you've seen either a police officer or highway patrol officer out on the street after an accident and they're taking measurements. They reconstruct the accident to determine what happened and, eventually, who was at fault.

Designers use Math in their design process. This guy designs backpacks, but whether you are designing cars, slaughter houses, computers or video games, you always use Math.

Radio Engineers and Program Directors need to figure out each and every day, how much time they need to fill for their programs. Think about it -- XYZ DJ has a 3 hour slot to fill. How do you fill it? How long is each song? How many commercials and how long do they run? How much talking time? I was amazed at how precise radio schedules need to be and how much Math is needed to figure out just a 3 hour slot!

If you want to find out more about different careers that require Math, check out this site. I like that they break down the different levels of math needed for certain jobs. Clicking on the individual links, takes you to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) site, which I use a lot!

 

Coder Girl

Computer Science tends to be male centric. I wish there were more women programmers. Maybe this might inspire some young women to look into Computer Science as a college major.

Get Ahead and Learn on Your Own

When I started to write this post about online learning, my thinking was that college isn't for everyone. And it's not. But as a recruiter in Silicon Valley, I can tell you that in order to get a job in high tech or to get ahead in a business career, you will, indeed, need a college education. The more prestigious the college, the more likely you are to snare the right job. But again, college, especially the brick and mortar kind, aren't for everyone.

So where does online education come into play? Well, first of all it can give you a boost up in your current job. Secondly it can provide you with extra knowledge about an area of interest. And lastly, it can supplement your past education. Don't rule it out.

Online education is going nowhere but UP! Even Bill Gates is a strong proponent of online learning. The Khan Academy  is a not-for-profit educational organization whose mission is to"provide a high quality education to anyone, anywhere". They supply a free online collection of over 2,000 videos on mathematics, history, finance, physics, chemistry, astronomy, and economics. I think this site is great for high school students.

But there are other online courses you can take as well. The University of Washington has online classes for Arts, Biotechnology, Health & Medicine, Law and a host of other majors. Or check out Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative and take a Statistics or Biology class.

Penn State University offers a free Swedish class or a Hungarian Language course.

The University of Washington School of Medicine offers free CPR classes online, complete with video and instructional guides.

If you want to learn about dentistry, medicine, nutrition, and more, check out Tufts University.

There are a lot of syllabi from college classes that can be found on the web. Just do a Google search using this formula:  site:.edu math course syllabus. Replace math with whatever subject area you're interested in. For instance, if you want to find a syllabus for an art history class, just Google this: site:.edu "art history" course syllabus. Or you can find lectures, tutorials, notes, and even online books.

You can use these online resources to enhance your existing education or maybe just to satisfy your curiosity in a particular subject. Never stop learning. Ever.

CSI Here I Come!

My daughter hired a nanny for the grandkids this past summer. She comes home from college for the summer. During the school year the nanny is a student at the University of New Haven .

I started quizzing her about her major and what kind of career she was interested in. She said she was a die hard fan of the show CSI . For as long as she can remember, she has wanted to be a forensic scientist. This pdf www.bls.gov/opub/ooq/1999/Fall/art01.pdf , put out by the Bureau of Labor Statistic, gives you a good idea of what is involved in forensic lab work. Pretty interesting stuff!

Since I had no background in forensic science, I thought it wise to check out the class descriptions from the University of New Haven's Forensic program . Here are a couple of classes (just to give you an idea):

• Forensic Microscopy
• Fingerprints
• Forensic Pathology
• Criminalistics
• Capillary Electophoresis

The last one I think is like a DNA sequencing method.....but don't quote me on that.

I am in no way a science geek but I like solving mysteries. And it sounds to me like that's exactly what forensic scientists do. So if you enjoy solving mysteries and think you might actually enjoy Biology, then by all means, check out related jobs -- just do a Google search on forensic science and you'll have more reading than you ever thought possible. And also check out the University of New Haven's Forensic program . Those high school Biology classes might start looking pretty interesting ;-)

Real Life Game Designer

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of interviewing a guy who designs video games. How cool is that?!!

We ended up talking about how he got into game design and what advice he had for high school students as they were figuring out what they wanted to do in their life.

Simon  went to an alternative high school, so he had many opportunities to explore his passions. And for some people, this might not work. Some people need more structure. In this less structured environment, Simon took a lot of different classes that interested him. Just because. He had (and still has) the mindset that you never know where something will lead you. I call that fearless.

Simon went off to college. He majored in Physics and Philosophy. Go figure! While in college, he went to a career fair. There he met a guy who designed games.He thought it was pretty cool and decided he wanted to design games! So off he went. And learned how to design games.

As a recruiter I do a lot of research on potential candidates. Researching Simon, I went to his blog and read about a game that he had recently discovered. He liked the aesthetics of the game. It's called Ponycorns . It only takes a few minutes to play and, though I don't play video games, I had a blast playing it!

So what sage advice does Simon give high school students? One word.WRITE. Write a lot!

Simon is now working on a new game. He's building a business around this game. Check out his blog  and see how it's doing!

Oh, and if game design interests you, check out USC School of Cinematics Arts  or University of California Santa Cruz . GamePro  also did an article back in 2010 about the 8 highest ranked colleges for game design. I suggest you also read the comments because there's a lot of good info in there as well.

Working for the Dept of State

A friend of mine works for the DOS or better known as The Department of State. They even have a Facebook page .

Or you can go to their site  to learn about what they do, the jobs that are available, both domestically and internationally or just sign up to follow them on Facebook or Twitter!

If you want to check out all the jobs that are available with the US Government, go here .

This will give you an idea of what kinds of jobs are available with the government. If you like to travel (or think you might like it), then check out the foreign jobs. And once again, I can't stress enough the importance of learning a second language. It will open so many more doors for you. In fact, with all that is going on in the Middle East, you would be flooded with job offers if you fluently spoke and read Arabic. Think about it!

Education - The Great Cross Trainer

Every once in awhile I come across quotes that say exactly what I'm thinking. I came across one today.

We should think of education as a kind of intellectual cross-training that leads to many more things than at any one moment you could possibly know would be useful. The most powerful education generates further curiosity, new needs, experiences to meet those needs, more curiosity and so on.

Education isn’t just an object that you use to get started in a career; education is a catalytic resource that continues to energize and shape your life. Education enhances your ability to develop new skills and capacities for connectivity that allow you to solve problems and seize opportunities.

Who Do U Want To Be?

I came across this interesting website today while checking out the webpage of a media teacher at a local high school. Who Do You Want To Be? . It's much more entertaining than the other assessment sites I've found and it actually came up with areas of career interest for me that made sense! Though it is definitely not as indepth as the other sites, it's worth a few minutes of your time.

Stanford School of Medicine Residential Program

It's that time of year again!

The Stanford Medical Youth Science Program has a Summer Residential Program (SRP ) that is an annual science- and medicine-based enrichment program open to low-income and ethnically disadvantaged high school sophomores and juniors who live in northern and central California.

They only receive applications from the following California counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Madera, Marin, Mendocino, Merced, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Luis Obispo, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, Stanislaus, and Yolo.

Information about the program is sent to all high schools in these 21 counties. Check with your school counselor or school Career Center for an application.

This is an AWESOME opportunity for any sophomore or junior who is interested in a possible career in medicine to get up close and personal in a real-world medical setting.

You must submit your application  no later than February 15th........so there's no time to lose!

One of the cool things about their website is their Health Careers Profile  page. Click on any of the profiles and you're taken to a page which has information about what the job entails, what a typical workday is, and also some related links and other information you might find interesting. It took me well over an hour to go through all the profiles.

Do you know what a Biophotographer  is?

Learn something new everyday!!

Letter To Self

First of all.....HAPPY NEW YEAR! I hope 2011 is an awesome year for everyone.

Secondly, I came across this very cool website called FutureMe.org  where you can send a letter to yourself which you will get in the future. The letter will arrive in your inbox at a date that you specify. So you can have your letter delivered in 1 or 5 or 20 years from now! I think this is a great way to remind yourself how you were feeling at the time, what your goals were and whether you are on the same path. And use it to remind yourself of what’s important to you.

Inspirational Speaking?

Today I received this video from a friend who, last week, tried to make a point about what characteristics make someone an inspirational speaker.

I can't say that this makes his argument but it definitely had me ROTFL.

Live in the moment but........

When I was younger. Much younger. In high school. I wanted not to be in high school. I couldn't wait to graduate and be done with high school.

I missed out on enjoying my later high school years. For many different reasons. I was never present for those last 2 years. I was just biding my time, waiting to get out and start my life as an adult. And not only was I not living in the moment during that time, but I also wasn't planning for my future. Double whammy.

The Station  is one of my favorite poems. I have a copy of it hanging up in my kitchen so I can see it everyday. It talks about living the journey of life; being present in the moment.

Yes, you should live in the moment while you're in high school. Embrace all that it has to offer. Value your friendships. Utilize all the resources available to you. Participate in extracurricular activities.

But also live for the future.

Enjoy high school but also think and act towards your future. Even if you are lucky enough to have parents who provide you with direction. Even if you have awesome guidance counselors who provide you with resources, it is still your call. It is your journey.

Live it. Own it.

Seriously?

I just received this brochure from AAA. I'm surprised (though I shouldn't be) that their marketing people allowed this to go out the door. Was there not a second pair of eyes on this?

I went back to one of my older blog posts  to see if I had added your and you're to my list of grammatical transgressions and I found that I hadn't. Shame on me, since I see this mistake made all the time.

Sheesh!

Yosemite Institute Field Research

Two week backpacking adventure in the wilderness of Yosemite. Earn college credit by completing an ecological research project to answer your own questions about the natural world.

Jaime Escalante - A True Educational Hero

Jaime Escalante, the high school teacher whose ability to turn out high-achieving calculus students from a poor Hispanic neighborhood in East Los Angeles inspired the 1988 film “Stand and Deliver,” with Edward James Olmos in the starring role, died Tuesday March 30th near Sacramento.

I loved the movie but, more importantly, I was impressed with what Jaime did as a teacher. The article Stand and Deliver Revisited  really delves into the obstacles Jaime had to overcome in order to make a difference for students.

There are a lot of teachers who are well meaning but they lack the skills to really teach.  You will be lucky to have 2 - 3 really good teachers during your tenure as a K-12 student. Latch on to them. The remainder of your education you'll have to take into your own hands -- sad as that may sound.

10 Amazing Life Lessons

A friend sent me a blog posting the other day entitled 10 Amazing Life Lessons You Can Learn From Albert Einstein . I especially believe in #6.....living in the moment. I wish I had lived more in the moment when I was in high school. But maybe that's because I know so much more now.

Knowledge Comes From Experience is right up there as well. It's one thing to learn the concept of problem solving or working as a team but you actually have to DO it in order to really learn it. That goes for most things. Perhaps that's why I'm such a supporter of project based learning as well as high school internships. We may be able to teach students how to calculate volume or area or the basics of accounting, but, believe me, it will stick if they use it in real life situations.

Time to Get That Money for College

If you haven't done so already, it's time to start hunting down those scholarships and grants. The very first thing you need to do is to submit your FAFSA application. FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. You need this in order to apply for any type of federal student aid such as a Perkins Loan or a Pell Grant.

More scholarship info to follow. But first and foremost, submit your FAFSA application!!

A Good Adiction

I'm addicted to reading.

My bookshelf is arranged by subject matter......Sort of......For the most part..... All the big books have to go on the tallest shelf, having nothing in common with each other except their height.

I also have one shelf dedicated just to those books that I plan on reading in the near future. The definition of near future is not what you would find in the Webster's Dictionary. It's my very own, personal version. The near future is the time between today and the day I die. I've always liked approximations!

I hear about books from friends, reading articles or blogs on the Internet, or even from a book I'm currently reading. If the book sounds interesting, I immediately go onto Amazon and buy it. They range from biographies to historical non fiction to architecture to home improvement. I consider myself to have fairly eclectic taste in books.

Unfortunately, my appetite for reading is much larger than the actual time I have for reading. I wish I could be more disciplined or more selective and only get the books that I will actually have time to read.

I guess I just keep pluggin' away and maybe someday surprise myself and find that I have no books left on my To Read shelf.

Facebook Can Be Educational

I've become a fan of Correct Spelling, Punctuation and Apostrophe Use's on Facebook.