Category: Education

You say the pledge of allegiance each morning in school while looking at the American flag, but have you ever wondered how the stars and stripes came to be? We’ll tell you some of the most interesting facts about the American flag. By the time you finish reading this, you’ll be an expert on the red, white, and blue.

The Meaning Behind the Stars, Stripes, and Colors

The stars on the American flag represent each state, and the stripes pay homage to the thirteen original colonies. As far as the colors go, experts at the American Legion say, “White signifies purity and innocence; red, hardiness and valor; and blue signifies vigilance, perseverance, and justice.”

The Flag’s Age

Our nation’s beloved symbol is 245 years old. Many people would consider its birthday June 14, 1777, which is when Congress approved the first national version. This flag had thirteen stars arranged in a circle and the stripes we know today.

The Flag’s Origins

Some may still believe Betsy Ross designed the first American flag. This fact was difficult to prove because historians documented it almost 100 years later. Betsy’s grandson percolated the idea to the masses. There are receipts from the Pennsylvania State Navy Board dating back to 1777 proving that she made plenty of flags.

However, scholars now credit Francis Hopkinson as the American flag’s designer. (Leepson, Marc. “Flag: An American Biography.” St. Martin’s Griffin. 2005. p. 33).

The Flag Manufacturers Association of America (FMAA) issued the following Tweet on February 4, 2021:

FMAA@FMAA_USA – Feb 4
#FlagFact: The designer of the American flag was Francis Hopkinson, a signer of the Declaration of Independence as a delegate from New Jersey.
FMAA_USA.COM

These details on the flag’s designer were contrinued to us by Earl P. Williams, Jr., U.S. flag historian (paleovexillologist).

The Colors of the Flag

The American flag inherited its colors from the flag of Great Britain. Of the fifty U.S. states, twenty-five of them created their flags using some quantity of the red, white, and blue colors. States that predominantly use red, white, and blue are the Georgia state flag, Mississippi, Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Arkansas, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio, Utah, Wyoming, Vermont, Tennessee, and Texas.

The U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and American Samoa also incorporate red, white, and blue as their main colors.

Flag Display Rules

There are some rules involved when it comes to displaying the American flag. If your family wants to show their patriotism at home, here are some important guidelines to follow:

• Keep it flying steadily with a quality flagpole.
• Always take the flag inside whenever there’s bad weather.
• Most people think you can display the flag only in the daytime, but you can show it off at night.
• Nighttime flags are allowed only when they have a light on them—think of it like a nightlight.
• If you also want to support your state’s flag, make sure our nation’s flag is first on the flagpole.

The Flag’s Nickname

Did you know the American flag has a nickname? Some people like to call it Old Glory. The first person who ever used this nickname was a sea captain named William Driver in 1824. His mom gave him the flag as a present before he left on one of his journeys across the ocean.

You can still see this amazing artifact today at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. Now you’re an expert on the American flag. Great job! Try sharing what you learned with your parents or guardians today.

More About American History

Before there could be an American flag, pilgrims needed to first travel to discover North America.  Read about the history of the first American Thanksgiving.

Nowadays, it is possible to work from almost anywhere, in positions as diverse as data entry and bookkeeping. For instance, a career that has grown hugely in recent times is that of TEFL, or Teaching English as a Foreign Language. This subject has soared in popularity lately, and there are many reasons for this.

To begin with, the world’s population keeps growing and the population of China alone is over a billion people. This creates a huge market for learners who need the language for their own work or study reasons.

Additionally, with so much of the modern world online, and the Internet dominated by the presence of English, it makes sense that individuals wishing to leverage the power of digital learning and living ought to arm themselves with a quality English education. This is where an effective and hard-working TEFL teacher comes in.

Therefore, it is well worth considering looking for work as an online TEFL teacher. Below, some of the most common questions shall be assessed and considered, and some useful tips provided along the way.

What is a TEFL teacher?

Put simply, a TEFL teacher is a speaker of the English language who puts a lifetime of learning into practice, in order to help non-native speakers progress in their own learning journey. This typically happens through either in-person or online instruction.

With in-person instruction, this typically follows one of three primary paths. Principally, the majority of in-person TEFL teachers teach in a school or university setting, providing instruction according to a pre-designed curriculum. The classrooms and materials are usually provided, but the class sizes can be large, and the paperwork often onerous.

Alternatively, there are private language academies in many major cities, which offer smaller classroom sizes, but tend to pay less and typically have non-standard working hours, such as early mornings, evenings or weekends. Finally, there are business settings, where small groups of adults are placed by the organization, with the goal of improving the staff’s overall grasp of English for commercial purposes. These can be fun, but people do change jobs, and so there might be a transitory feel to some of these sessions.

How does teaching TEFL online differ?

For one thing, an online TEFL educator does not need to worry about the dreaded commute if they have the capacity to work from home, or indeed from almost anywhere, with a decent WiFi connection. On top of that, it is possible to work with students from pretty much any country on the planet, for instance having a morning session with a learner from Indonesia or an evening class with a pupil from Chile.

This creates the opportunity for an online TEFL instructor to diversify their teaching content, adding value and meaning to their sessions, as well as finding a wider range of resources to teach kids and adults alike. What’s more, a lot of online TEFL classes are individual, and this mean the teacher can really dive deeply into the kinds of mistakes the student might be making, and offer direct advice on how to fix those quickly and easily.

Finally, an online TEFL teacher can live almost anywhere, which gives the opportunity to go and see the world first hand. This could be in the form of teaching some morning classes before going to see the Forbidden City, or taking a weekend trip to Shanghai before getting back to the online work on Monday morning.

What countries should an online TEFL teacher consider?

One country that offers a wonderful opportunity to start a TEFL teaching career is China. This is about getting the chance to see a totally different culture first-hand during down time between classes. It’s also about the experience of choosing to teach English in China. To put it another way, being a TEFL teacher online in China may just open the door to other work opportunities in the future.

Perhaps this could be in the form of combining online TEFL work with a little bit of in-person instruction. This is a popular option among those who wish to gain a foothold in both styles of teaching, for their long-term career.

What is a good initial decision to make?

A great first step to take is to get TEFL certified, as many Chinese cities operate on a tiered visa system. This effectively means that those who are certified stand a far greater chance of being granted entry to a broader range of locations, than those who aren’t.

The upsides of taking a TEFL certification course do not end there, of course. Obviously, there is the real experience and study chances that doing such a course offers, as well as getting time to know and get along with peers who are in the same boat.

What’s more, the course leaders are most often former or current TEFL experts, who have been in the field for years, if not decades. This experience should go a long way in allaying any fears a new TEFL teacher might have, being on hand to answer any difficult questions about grammar, vocabulary, or even lesson planning.

What are the long-term benefits of being an online TEFL teacher?

As well as the short-term advantages of teaching TEFL online, like getting paid to do it and learning a new skill, there are also some longer-term boons to think of as well. One such boost of teaching TEFL online in China is to learn the notion of ‘guanxi’.

Guanxi, taken directly from Mandarin, is a concept that alludes to the idea that networking is essential to getting ahead. This does not mean it is necessary to pay lip service to superiors, in and of itself.

Instead, the focus is on building a network of contacts over time, through meaningful and varied interactions, so that a successful lifelong relationship will develop and ideally flourish. While this idea is evidently popular in Chinese culture even today, there are lessons from it that can be applied to a life in any country.

Many people are curious why temporary school buildings are used in so many of the nation’s schools since they were first introduced in educational institutions. Impressively, temporary school buildings are becoming more popular in local and international schools and are replacing permanent structures today.

Some people with little knowledge of temporary structures claim that the reason temporary school buildings are becoming more popular is only that they are more affordable than any permanent structure. If the cost factor is carefully considered, this might be a possible part of the explanation. However, a significant portion of the population across the country is unaware of the health advantages of temporary school buildings. You can view it now to quickly glance through them.

This article will go through the health advantages of temporary school buildings and give you more detailed information about temporary school buildings overall.

What Are Temporary School Buildings?

Temporary school buildings are structures located on a school campus that serve a variety of functions including classrooms, sports facilities, research facilities, nurseries, shelters from inclement weather, such as snow, staff offices, playgroup facilities, dining areas, lecture halls, daycare facilities, laboratories, auditoriums in higher education institutions, kindergartens, and canteens.

They could be prebuilt or constructed in just 28 days. The purpose of a temporary school building is to accommodate schools’ urgent space needs within the smallest practical time frames. They offer low labor costs, efficient time management, a long lifespan, sustainability, and minimal maintenance. The fact that temporary school buildings are unaffected by inclement weather while they are being constructed or erected is an enticing truth. This is due to the fact that the majority of them are prebuilt by the construction company.

Construction Materials for Temporary School Buildings

Temporary school buildings are typically made of materials that are durable, adaptable, and recyclable. With continued usage, the materials’ durability provides the safety typically associated with temporary school structures. These resources are adaptable and can be scaled up to meet the expanding demands of school administrators. These materials’ ability to be recycled is what makes temporary school buildings so energy efficient, high performing, environmentally friendly, and economically viable. Let’s look at them now.

Wood

Wood is a sustainable, easily workable, and flexible material. Furthermore, unlike a building built of concrete that requires a wooden support, a building made of wood does not need any support from any other sort of material. The fact that wood is an insulating material and does not carry heat or electricity is another benefit of using it. This makes it a suitable material for prioritizing safety. Wooden temporary structures also improve air quality.

Steel

Has a good strength to weight ratio and is durable, adaptable, affordable, and versatile. Steel temporary school buildings are less expensive, easier to install, and can be moved around. They are secure and safe thanks to their reasonable weight, studied design, and resistance to corrosion.

Fabrics

Fabrics are employed for temporary school buildings because of how easy they are to use and how transportable they are. They are made of strong materials and are lightweight. PVC-coated polyester is the fabric that is most frequently used to construct temporary school buildings. It can last for between 15 and 25 years.

Other materials used in temporary school buildings include bamboo, recycled plastic, timbercrete, and shipping containers.

What Are the Health Benefits of Temporary School Buildings?

A safe structure

Sometimes, temporary school buildings are first installed because of required repairs to an existing structure. Age, flooding, fire, or a failure to meet modern building code can necessitate changes. Temporary buildings exceed all safety standards and provide a safe place for students.

Sufficient air circulation

The design of temporary school buildings helps to ensure proper air circulation. The availability of oxygen is crucial for human survival as well as for pupils’ performance on academic work. The production of energy necessary to do our everyday chores successfully depends on oxygen. Additionally, the availability of energy is essential for the operation of several bodily systems, most notably the respiratory system. Everyday schoolwork demands energy for students to function at their best. The utilization of temporary school buildings ensures clean air. The pupil breathes in this air, which is used to produce energy.

Diminished greenhouse effect

Temporary school buildings are constructed using environmentally friendly elements that are crucial in minimizing the consequences of global warming. Furthermore, this structure (for instance, one constructed of wood) absorbs carbon and shields pupils from exposure to it. The spread of infectious diseases like malaria is one consequence of global warming that can affect attendance.

Prevents overcrowding

With the additional space offered by temporary school buildings, students will have the room they need to learn in a comfortable environment. Class sizes can be maintained at optimal levels and adequate social distancing can be achieved when necessary. The affordability of this solution means that other educational needs will not have to be compromised.

Conclusion

In-depth analysis of some significant health advantages is provided above. A temporary structure is perfect if you are concerned about selecting a space solution that prioritizes both the welfare of your students and the needs of your school.

Explore different ways to help underserved school kids.

Whether it be because a school’s science programs have been neglected or simply struggle to get kids to pay attention in class, many science classes could use a hand in improving themselves. That way, they can provide future generations with the knowledge they need to thrive in STEM subjects.

Here are a few ways to improve science programs in schools that will help kids stay engaged and prepared for the future.

Improving Curriculums

Because America doesn’t have a national standard when it comes to school curriculums, many science classes and programs don’t have a consistent schedule that ensures kids are learning what they’re supposed to and ensure that later programs build off what students have already learned.

Instead, irregular curriculums mean students often have to relearn things they already know or jump ahead to subjects without context—both of which can be discouraging and kill student engagement.

A Consistent Schedule

In lieu of a national curriculum, schools should endeavor to create a consistent schedule for their students and, if possible, even create a curriculum that spans the entire school district. Providing such structure not only ensures comprehensive and consistent learning but also helps retain a student’s developing passion for various scientific fields.

This is especially useful for students if they don’t feel like they’re having to backtrack or lurch ahead in their learning—the former being unstimulating and boring, while the latter causes confusion and frustration.

Invest in Equipment

Lectures and diagrams can only go so far. Kids, especially younger kids, don’t have that kind of patience and will quickly lose focus. That’s why it’s important that science programs have the resources needed to invest in lab equipment. This will allow science teachers to engage students with examples or displays of experiments in person, making classes more interesting and informative.

Ideally, schools should strive to provide equipment for students to use. This is one of the best ways to improve science programs in schools because the students gain experience working with the equipment and gain a more in-depth understanding of the scientific process.

Student Participation

Everyone learns best by doing. It’s the most direct and thorough lesson and will not only allow kids to participate and engage with the lesson but allows them to apply their critical thinking and problem-solving skills in experiments they get to conduct themselves. For that reason, equipment like microscopes engages kids by giving them new experiences and helping them interact with the lesson more intimately.

Performing experiments themselves make science lessons feel less abstract for students. In addition, having the chance to experiment and perform the scientific process themselves may also help spark and foster a love of science that could propel kids into STEM careers. Even smaller, more hands-on projects like building a model rocket can be a great way to improve student participation.

These are just a handful of the ways to improve science programs at your school. Consider starting with these tips to help your students grow their passion for this field.

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