Lost Post

Image Source: http://www.ehow.com/how_6873475_do-document-not-saving-changes_.html

I did it again! Sad to say that I just spent 45 minutes on a post and I just lost it. I’ll recreate it tomorrow, but for now I’m mad at myself for not following my own rule of manually saving the draft every 5-10 minutes! WordPress usually does not lose material when you are writing but there are times it does some odd things. Most of the time I can trace it to me so this is not a rant on WordPress.

So once again….save your draft manually every 5-10 minutes

• save your draft manually every 5-10 minutes
• save your draft manually every 5-10 minutes
• save your draft manually every 5-10 minutes

For now I gotta go take care of my sick daughter and work with her on her English.

Tips to Improve Your Writing Skills

Image Source: http://www2.cliu.org/documents/assistiveTech/PowerofOffice/LD%20uses/LD%20OnLineUnderstanding%20Why%20Students%20Avoid%20Writing.htm

Old or young, writing is still a skill that makes a difference in your level of success in academics and life. However, in a world where tweets and texting rules, the art of writing is feeling the pinch. If you have lol’ed and btw.’ed your way through life, writing essays, letters and reports can be a challenge. Improving your writing skills can be a real asset. When you are writing reports and essays, your skill as a writer determines your ability to effectively communicate your ideas. No matter how well you know your stuff, if you are not able to effectively communicate your ideas, you will not get the grades you deserve.

Writing well not only enables you to effectively communicate, it also saves time. When you can write quickly and concisely, you have more time to spend on constructing essays and answering questions. Good writing skills will be a huge asset when you have to deal with the increased work volumes in high school and especially in college. Take a little time every day to work on your writing skills and soon you will be enjoying better grades!

Read More: The more you read, the better your spelling, vocabulary and sentence structures. Reading doesn’t have to be confined to academic texts; read whatever you find interesting. Look up words you don’t understand so you can improve your vocabulary too.

Keep It Short and Sweet: When it comes to writing, less really is more. Try to keep to one fact per sentence and write in a concise manner. While you may think that your teacher will be impressed by volume, you are sorely mistaken. Teachers have to mark many papers and those that take fewer sentences to state facts clearly will definitely come out on top!

It’s All In The Planning: Make an outline for your essay before you write it. Be sure to include an introduction and a conclusion that outline the salient points. Knowing where you are going is the best way to clear, concise writing.

Editing Helps: Once you have completed your writing task, it’s essential to edit it. If you are working on an assignment, read your piece aloud; you’ll be amazed at how different it sounds. It’s also best to edit your article the next day when you have a fresh perspective. If you are writing an exam, answer a couple of other questions and then come back to your essay and read it again.

Write First, Then Edit: This may sound intuitive, but if you have ever stared at a blank page and had no idea what to write, it means you are editing yourself before you’ve even begun. If you can talk, you can write—so just get it all down. It’s much easier to edit paragraphs you have already written than it is to edit your thoughts.

Allow Time: Waiting until the night before a paper is due to begin on it is not wise. Quality writing takes time, effort and revisions. Work on your paper well prior to the due date. Allow time for the incubation of your thoughts

Get a Tutor: if you are still struggling as a writer, you may need some help. A tutor will be able to identify which areas you need help with and give you exercises that help develop your writing skills. Learning to write well is an asset that will stand you in good stead throughout your academic and professional careers.

(Note: This post is adapted from a Tutor Doctor corporate blog titled ’6 Tips to Better Writing Skills‘ and posted on January 7, 2013

Safe Blogging: Tips For Teens

Image Source: http://cmeprojects.wordpress.com/youth-and-technology/youth-blogging/

One of the most therapeutic activities a person can do is to write about their thoughts, daily experiences, personal interactions and feelings. Before the internet most of this was done via a ‘journal’ or ‘diary’ that was often held under lock and key and typically not shared. With the dawning of the internet, social web sites, blogging and tweeting I would conjecture that more and more people are putting what they once put into diaries onto the internet in some form. With four writers making contributions to this blog it is often easy to see that we share quite a diverse range of thoughts and feelings about topics effecting both society and us.

With this open sharing does come some concerns for the safety of our adult writers. We have some practices that promote this and what I’d like to do today is adapt and expand these to benefit teens and young adults who are writing on the internet. It is these individuals who need to learn the safe way to write on the internet. The best individuals to help teens learn this are the parents but if they don’t feel qualified or that they have the time they might check with the school, local library, Boys and Girls Club or local tutor doctor agency for a professional to help.

Some general tips adapted from the American Library Association are:

Be anonymous. Avoid postings that could help a stranger to locate you. This includes your last name, address, phone numbers, sports teams, the town you live in, and where you hang out.

Protect your info. Check to see if your service has a ‘friends’ list that allows you to decide who can visit your profile or blog. If so, allow only people you know and trust.

Avoid in-person meetings. Don’t get together with someone you ‘meet’ in a profile or blog unless you are certain of their actual identity. Talk it over with an adult first. Although it’s still not risk-free, arrange any meetings in a public place and bring along some friends, your parents, or a trusted adult.

Think before you post. What’s uploaded to the internet can be downloaded by anyone and passed around or posted online pretty much forever. Avoid posting photos that allow people to identify you, especially sexually suggestive images.

Check comments regularly. Don’t respond to mean or embarrassing comments. All you will do is escalate the situation by responding. Also be leery of overly ‘nice’ or personal comments.

Be honest about your age. Membership rules are there to protect people. If you are too young to sign up, don’t lie about your age.

For additional information and videos you can check out some very informative information at:

Connect Safely

Get Net Wise

Microsoft

Safe Kids

Happy Blogging!

Learning Opportunity: Hand Written Thank You Notes

The holiday season is an especially fun time for students, but parents might be scrambling for things to keep them occupied over the holiday break. Keeping their brains busy is a great way to keep them mentally prepared for the new term. Writing thanks you notes not only helps to establish ties with family and friends, it perpetuates a wonderful Christmas traditional and teaches valuable lessons in the process.

Sure, emails and text messages may be quicker, but nothing shows appreciation quite like getting a hand-written message in the mail. If your students enjoy receiving mail, you can carry on the writing tradition by getting them pen pals in exotic locations.
Start by recording all the gifts your student receives over the holidays. Get them to keep a record of who sent the gift and what they sent. This is great practice for recording results in the lab or remembering to keep records. Let your student pick out the thank you note stationary, or let them decorate cards with stamps, scrapbooking supplies or pictures that they can draw or paint.

Don’t ask your students to write all the thank you notes at once. Such a mammoth task will most likely put them off doing it again in the future. Instead, do one or two notes together every day. Thank you notes are short, so your student gets to practice neat handwriting; an invaluable skill that will stand them in good stead when writing exams.  Thank you notes also teach the art of good manners and diplomacy. If your child masters these skills, they will be able to navigate social and (later in life) professional circles with ease. Good manners set you apart from the crowd and effective networking is what makes for a happy, well-adjusted adult.  Encourage your child to write just three to five sentences and to use their imaginations and sense of humor. This will mean that writing the notes is a fun activity rather than a chore. Handwriting notes causes students to pause between writing words and this means they have the time to explore new ideas and styles.

It may seem old fashioned, but a hand-written thank you note is a wonderful way to express appreciation for the thoughtfulness of a friend or family member. It can also be a math exercise as you ask your student to calculate how many stamps and envelopes you need, how much it will cost to send the notes, and how much time it will take to write all the notes. Thank you notes are a great holiday tradition that should be preserved. They have the power to teach a number of valuable lessons and will help your student to appreciate all that they have received and show their appreciation in a meaningful way.

(Note: This post originally appeared on the Tutor Doctor blog on 12/4/2012)

Thanksgiving Day 2012: Revisiting 1965

Arlo Guthrie

Another Thanksgiving has arrived for us here in the USA. One of our little known traditions, at least it is a tradition for those of us who listen to classic rock stations, is the playing of Alice’s Restaurant. This year marks Forty-seven that have passed since Arlo Guthrie had a Thanksgiving Day experience that helped change the course of his life and gave the anti-war movement one of its best know anthems. It was on that day that Arlo littered because the town dump was closed for Thanksgiving. On the follow day he was arrested for his crime. Ultimately his friend and he were charged $50 and ordered to clean-up the litter by a blind judge.

Why this incident is important is that Arlo was later drafted to serve in the Vietnam War and because of his arrest and conviction he was not ‘allowed’ to serve in the military. Arlo wrote a ballad about his experience and despite being over 18 minutes long it was a hit. In 1969 a movie was made about the experience. Together, the song and movie had an immense impact on the anti-war movement and helped change the course of history. Always amazing how a bit of story-telling can be so powerful and remember….

‘You can get anything you want at Alice’s Restaurant’
Happy Thanksgiving!

PS…you can watch a clip of the movie on YouTube and you can also find some versions of the song there. Or you can listen to it on Buffalo’s 97 Rock on Thanksgiving Day at Noon and 6pm

Do You Need a Tutor?

Six tell-tale signs that you need a little help

Getting a tutor near the beginning of the school term will help ensure that you or your child succeeds in the school year with less troubles. If you think you may be in trouble or falling behind, read on.

1. Bad test scores:
Bad grades are the obvious sign that you need assistance. Before you get a tutor, ask yourself if it was just a bad test and if you prepared enough. Be honest with yourself. More than one bad grade should set your alarms bells ringing. Don’t fool yourself that your test scores will get better in the future. Ask for help before it’s too late.

2. Ants in your pants:
Do you feel anxious when you think about school? Do you feel confused or upset? If you feel you are not coping with your workload, get help. Don’t lose sleep over your schoolwork; take action while you still have time to catch up. A tutor can explain things that you don’t understand, create a realistic work schedule for you and organize your study time.

3. Can’t keep up:
If you can’t keep up with the pace of the class, it may be too fast for you. If you have missed some vital building blocks along the way, you may not understand what your teacher is talking about. Tutors will help to fill in the gaps in your understanding. They can work at a pace you feel comfortable with and ensure that you understand the basics before moving on to more complex ideas.

4. Writing is difficult for you:
Writing is difficult for everyone. Getting your grammar, sentence structure and spelling right while trying to communicate your thoughts can be tough. Don’t let bad writing bring your grades down. Get a tutor to help you to effectively communicate your thoughts. A well written assignment can mean the difference between the grade you’re getting and the grade you want.

5. You’re bored:
Some classes move too slowly. Getting bored is dangerous as you stop paying attention and miss vital information. Even if you manage to stay focused, the class may not be helping to fulfill your potential. Getting a tutor can open new challenges for you. Don’t let a year go by without adding to your abilities; get a tutor to help you grow.

6. Homework takes forever:
Do you get the yips every time you look at your homework? Not knowing where to start or feeling overwhelmed by the amount of work you have to do is a strong indication that you are not coping. Spending too much time on homework means that you don’t have a good grasp of the information being taught. Tutors will help you to manage your workload more effectively. Ask your tutor to work with you when you are doing your homework so that they can help you to be more efficient with your time.

If any of these describe your situation you may want to seek out additional help through the school, a local learning center or by giving us a call at Tutor Doctor. It has been our experience that waiting until the spring for the K-12 academic year is not a wise choice if you are seeing issues this early in the year.

Make It Fun

There are plenty of things that I don’t enjoy doing in life. Vacuuming, cooking, doing the laundry, and writing essays are the top four pains in my life right now. I dread these tasks with the kind of fervor that most people dread snow, tax season, or hangnails. I put these tasks off until the floors are covered in dust and hairballs, I’ve eaten grilled cheese for four days straight, my laundry hamper is overflowing, and my essay is two weeks overdue.

Alright, so maybe I’m exaggerating, but I definitely HATE these tasks.

Unfortunately, one of the most depressing lessons that growing up teaches you is that you have to get these things done, whether or not you enjoy doing them. To paraphrase Gandalf, with great power comes great responsibility.

So if these tasks have to get done, you just have to change the way you approach them. Rather than dragging my feet to start something for dinner that doesn’t come out of a can or involve two slices of bread and a piece of processed cheese product, I started a cooking blog to try and make light of my kitchen escapades. It’s inspired me to try new recipes and step outside of my comfort zone. I’ve also opened my kitchen up to the other people in my family so that they can help in the process. While I do the laundry, I spend the time in between cycles watching episodes of my favorite TV shows or reading a chapter from a book that’s been gathering dust on my nightstand. With a pair of earbuds in, vacuuming becomes a chance to shake my booty all over the house. To be honest, I still haven’t found a way to make writing fun, but hey, I’m trying.

It’s all about taking ownership of these tasks and not letting them get your mood down. Whenever I put something off I always feel worse about approaching it in the long run, and I spend the time I used procrastinating making myself sick over the impending task.

What are some ways you’ve found to make your most dreaded tasks more fun?

Guest Post: WALL-E

Source: http://iaretheshawna.blogspot.com/2012/08/movie-reviews-part-7.html

One of our tutors students wrote a movie review back in late July and we thought our readers might like to see the great job he did. Teddy Turecki certainly proves students can be excellent writers! Here is Mr. Turecki’s review and thoughts:

Toy Story, Finding Nemo, and Up are all Disney-Pixar Animation Studios films that have shown the creativity and brilliance of, what is, in my opinion, to be the #1 movie production company in the history of cinema. Sadly, they’ve had a couple of recent flops like Cars 2 and Brave, but those pictures can be easily forgotten when you consider Pixar’s finest hour, WALL-E: A 2008 computer-animated science-fiction film about a lonely waste-managing robot on a deserted planet. The machine however, falls in love with another robot named EVE, who also has a programmed task and they both embark on an adventure to outer space that changes the destiny of robots and humans forever. The director, Andrew Stanton, has described the theme of this movie as irrational love defeats life’s programming. It can also be said that environmentalism is a strong theme and that everyone should take part in making Earth a cleaner place.

Humans, found aboard a spacecraft in the middle of the space vacuum are portrayed as lazy, abnormally-large consumers who devote most of their time to either eating, hanging around the metropolis-like halls (or ports, in relation to NASA), and buy whatever they please; expecting to be brought to a safe, conditioned planet unlike the one they ruined before. What they don’t realize is how wonderful the area around them is; they’re too busy taking more than what is needed and acting selfish. Their purpose on board is to do nothing relevant to anything.

When you lose connection to your planet by buying into distractions like large phenomenons (for example, Wall-Mart, Television, the Internet), you lose the ability to focus on healthy ideas like recycling, renewal, and reducing. This lifestyle may lead to global warming, piles of trash everywhere because the disposes are full, etc. This is very cruel to the ecosystem, the rest of the animal kingdom, and life itself.

The scientific advancements shown in this movie probably couldn’t have controlled all the trash that had destroyed the place humans had called home. If it were possible, it most likely would have prevented the ending scenes seen in the movie.

WALL-E might not be the most enjoyable Pixar film out there, but it’s probably the most thought-provoking. I recommend the movie very much. It won a Golden Globe, an Academy Award, and was nominated for five other Academy Awards as well.             EVAAAAAAAA…..     

Thank you Teddy!

One at a Time

In many ways, I am a linear person. I enjoy things that are straight-forward, and I like working from beginning to end on a project without interruption. While my classmates juggle various projects, flitting back and forth from British literature in the 1600s to magical realism in Hispanic American writing, I prefer to doggedly complete one task before moving on to the other. I’m not the kind of person who reads more than one book at a time. In many ways, I even think I’d be happier to have my food forcibly separated on my plate, military style.

I used to try to change this about myself. I thought I would be more productive if I could find a different working style that allowed me to tackle multiple tasks at once. But working styles are hard to change. I’ve found it impossible. What is important is finding out what working style works for you, and accepting it.

What’s your working style?

Taking a Step Back

I promised my thesis supervisor a rough draft of my introduction tomorrow. I’ve spend the past few days doing my best to formulate that chapter. I’ve pushed through my insecurity and my strong desire to procrastinate with only minimal success. So, today I took a step back. Rather than trying to write, I went back to my research and organized. I planned what I was going to write.

And somehow, that took the pressure off actually writing.

But it also drained me of the ability to write a longer blog entry for today. And so, with little time to spare, here’s my blog entry for the day. And I hope that you, too, can see the wisdom in sometimes taking a step back and reassessing the direction you’re going when the path is impossible.