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Archive for the ‘Education’ Category

Toys have always been tools not just for fun, but for teaching children. Even the most basic childhood staples, like dolls, toy animals, and building blocks , offer kids the opportunity to play at being adults, whether they realize it or not. They can raise kids, tend livestock, and build structures, learning by doing as well as by taking the real examples in front of them and mimicking them in play. Toys that teach geography are a little more specialized, but they are a great addition to any nursery or child’s room.

The most basic geography toys are map puzzles. Even very small toddlers can put together a puzzle of the world, with each continent being one piece. As they get older, puzzles can be more complex, showing countries, oceans, and states or provinces.

A globe is another common toy. It is not usually considered something to be played with but something to be used as a tool. However, kids find ways to build games around anything. They may decide to spin the globe to randomly identify countries or see who can find a specific spot fastest.

Even a Texas Wall Map can become a toy in the hands of an imaginative child — or under the direction of a creative parent. It becomes a mental playground for stories about the Alamo, the Civil War, and the settling of the American West. It provides context not just about cowboys and ranchers, but Native Americans, oil tycoons, and modern football champions.

The one edge that can still help people find a job in this struggling economy is an advanced degree. There are two reasons for this. The first is that an advanced degree represents a greater dedication to a field and a desire to move forward in a career. The second reason is that advanced degrees tend to be highly specialized, which equips students with specific knowledge and skills sets that will be pertinent to a given position or career path.

A good example is getting a masters, organizational psychology degree. If the student chooses the right program, they will be perfectly positioned upon graduation to step into a number of challenging and high paying positions in the corporate world.

Finding the right program is a matter of balancing coursework, cost, and the type of classes offered. For many working professionals, a good masters program is going to include a lot of online classes as these will be easier to balance with work and family time. Most organizational degrees will also include industrial psychology as the two are intertwined. A strictly organizational program, if it even exists, is probably much less valuable than an IO degree. Coursework should also prepare the student with knowledge of consumer psychology, diversity issues, and organizational systems and effectiveness.

Costs for programs will depend on the type of classes offered and the length of the program itself. Since most accreddited programs have financial assistance and loans available, it should be possible for anyone to find an affordable and quality degree program.