Children with disabilities like ADD, ADHD, Mood Disorders, and Autism have lots of difficulty with organization. This is because these disorders affect the Executive Functioning part of the brain. It’s very frustrating for parents and teachers to try to help these kids learn organizational skills. It’s just as frustrating for kids to always feel like they’re not prepared and not ready for what they need to do. But there are things that can be done. Children with these types of disabilities can learn strategies and techniques for independent organization.

Think about the last time you were in the grocery store and you realize you left the list of groceries on the kitchen table. You feel unprepared as you go through the store trying to remember what was on the list, hoping you don’t forget something you really need and pretty much just trying to get it done, but knowing you’re not doing a really good job. You feel stressed and anxious because you’re wandering up and down the aisles randomly choosing things from the shelves. Going back down aisles numerous times because something in another aisle reminds you of something you’ve forgotten. It takes you twice as long and you spend too much. Then you get home and look at the list and learn that you did indeed forget things and will have to go back.

This is how our kids feel every day. They get to school and they’ve forgotten their homework, or their book. They can’t find their assignment book. They know they were supposed to have something for their math notebook signed by mom, but can’t remember what. They start to get stressed knowing they’re going to get in trouble or even worse that they will get to class and not be able to participate because they don’t have their book. Their brain is thinking that they don’t want to tell the teacher they forgot it again and that causes them to miss out on what the teacher is saying to the class and now they don’t even know what is going on. It’s a vicious cycle. How can we help?

We can help by helping our kids to have good habits at home. After school, unpack the backpack and look at everything that needs to be done. Review the assignment book. Assignments should be in folders or binders, preferably colored for each subject. My son used an accordion file with different colored tabs for each subject. Then he only had to keep track of one item that went everywhere with him. He would put all papers in it in the proper section. Find what works for your child and stick with it. Help your child make a plan for the evening based on what needs to be done. When finished have him put everything back in the appropriate folder, etc., and then back into the backpack. Place the backpack in the same spot all the time. I recommend a hook right near the door. Do this at night before bed, so everything is away and you’re not scrambling in the morning.

If your child is involved in any activities, have a bag for every activity to keep all of the needed supplies together. I suggest a soccer bag for soccer stuff, a baseball bag for baseball stuff, etc. You don’t want to get to the big game and not have cleats. (This has happened to me. Two hours away from home and we are hunting for a sports store to buy a pair.) Plus you don’t want to hound your child throughout the day to make sure they have everything. As I like to remind parents, we won’t be there forever to remind them, let’s help them be independent. We can’t follow them to college, I’ve tried but for some reason my kids object.

I used to have to remind my son every morning about 30 times to brush his teeth, comb his hair, get his shoes, and get his homework. I’d send him upstairs to do 3 things and it never failed, he would come down only having done 1 or 2. So, to help him be more independent, I purchased a write on wipe off board and placed it on his bedroom door. He wrote on it the things he needed to do in the mornings. He wrote, ‘Brush Teeth, Comb Hair, Get Shoes, Get Gym Bag, and Feed Fish’. He would then check them off as he had done them. Erasing the checkmarks at night. I never had to remind him of what he had to do again. He is independent. Our mornings are much nicer and there is much less stress for him when he gets to school. He can even add things that don’t relate to school that he wants to do, like call his friend to go to a movie or rent a video game. Of course, he still occasionally forgets something, (the disability never goes away), but it only happens once in a great while and let’s face it we all forget things sometimes.

Not all things work for every child, but keep trying things and you’ll figure out what works for your child. Give each thing you try at least two weeks before giving up and trying something new, don’t forget, we’re trying to help our child learn a routine which takes time. I now put my list in my bag as soon as I’ve finished writing it. I rarely forget it on the table. And my grocery shopping is much less stressful. Good luck.

TOEFL test is undeniably the world's most popular English Language test. It is conducted at over 45000 administration site across 165 countries. The test so far has been taken by about 25 million students so far. The TOEFL is now conducted globally in two formats Internet Based Test (IBT) and Paper Based Test (PBT). It is very important to know the difference between the two tests in terms of pattern, structure and benefits according to individual applicant. StudyPlaces bring you a detailed comparison of the two tests to help you understand TOEFL better and shorten the distance between you and your dream college. Read on... 

IBT is four hour long and PBT in 3 hour long. IBT requires integrated tasks and note taking while PBT does not require any of it. While listening, reading and writing are common to both the tests, IBT has speaking as the fourth section and PBT has Structure which is majorly based on grammar.

Due to their different structure, there is also a difference in the time duration of both the tests. While IBT is for four hours, the duration of paper based test is only 3 hours. Following is a section wise comparison for IBT and PBT tests:

READING

The Internet Based TOEFL exam can consist of 3 to 5 passages of around 700 words each. Each passage contains 12-14 questions often based on comparison, contrast and cause & effect. The Paper Based Test or PBT is always made up of 5 passages from academic texts which are around 250-350 words long. The ideal time for reading section IBT is 60-100 minutes and the score scale of section is from 0-30. While the ideal time for paper based text is around 55 minutes and the score scale is between 31 and 67.

LISTENING

The listening section in TOEFL IBT is made up of 4-6 lectures (some with classroom discussion) and each lecture is 3-5 minutes long with 6 questions. For PBT, there are 3-4 mini talks, each one around 60-90 seconds and with 3-5 questions. In the next phase of IBT there are 2-3 conversations of about 3 minutes and 5 questions each. While in PBT, there are 2-3 extended conversations of 60-90 seconds and 3-5 questions again. PBT has another set of questions. These are about 30-40 dialogues followed by 1 question each dialogue. The duration of these dialogues is not more than 15 seconds each. The time for IBT should be between 60 to 90 minutes and it has a score scale of 0-30. While the time for PBT should be around 30-40 minutes with a score scale of 31-68.

SPEAKING

As we mentioned before, there is no speaking section in Paper Based TOEFL. In IBT, there are Six tasks is speaking section. 2 of these are independent where candidate has to express an opinion on a familiar topic. The other 4 are integrated tasks where candidate is expected to speak on basis of what is read and heard. The candidate gets about 30 seconds to prepare and 1 minute to respond for each task. The total time allotted is 20 minutes. The score of speaking section in IBT is on a scale of 0-4 which is converted to a 0-30 score scale.

WRITING

In writing section of PBT, there is only one independent task (Test of Written English) to be 'written' in 30 minutes. In IBT, there are two tasks, one integrated (write on basis of what is read and heard) and one independent ( support and opinion on a topic). The time allotted is 20 and 30 minutes respectively. The score scale of 0-5 is converted into ratings of 0-30 score scale.

STRUCTURE (Grammar)

While grammar is evaluated in speaking and writing sections, there is no separate grammar section in Internet Based Test. In the Paper Based Test, there are a total of 40 questions to be done in 25 minutes and the score scale is between 31 and 68.

TO CONCLUDE...

The total score of IBT exam is from 0-120 and the total score of PBT exam is from 310-677. The IBT version scores on the fact that in it, a candidate gets performance feedback for each skill in the test taker report, which is missing in PBT.

Acquainted these facts about IBT and PBT, we hope now you are in a better and more informed state to prepare and appear for TOEFL.

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When a children is exposed to new ideas or knowledge, their brain will absorb these like a sponge.

This is crucial to the child's development both mentally and emotionally. Having an environment favorable to learning access to everything that can help a child learn new things are crucial in his mental development.

Today, we are lucky that we have things that are available that can help us achieve this. Here are a few: 1. Books- It is undeniable that children of any age enjoy reading books especially those which have colorful pictures and pop-up pages. Even children who are barely a year old are very eager to listen to bedtime stories. You should encourage your kids to read often. Take them along with you when you go to the bookstore. And when it's time, start teaching him how to read. It is through reading that a child can have the opportunity to see the world from many different angles. Reading can give the child the chance to learn new things, explore the world without traveling and most of all, he can be able to explore different cultures. This is not only a fun but this is a very inexpensive hobby.

2. It's common to pregnant women to be advised by their friends or relatives to listen to classical music. This is because it has been reported that exposing children to classical music before birth will have a greater appreciation for this when they grow up. You can introduce different genres of music as your child grows and for those who can afford, enrolling your kids to piano, violin or guitar classes will help.

3. Children, just like some of us, don't enjoy numbers that much. You can include math in your kid's daily activities like making them count their toys or their fingers or anything that can be counted. The challenge is to make math fun to learn. If it is fun, the child will have a greater chance of remembering each lesson he learns.

4. CAD for Kids- Every child has an artist in him. Children have different methods in expressing art. They may scribble, draw, sculpt, write or paint. Parents should encourage the child so that his creativity will be enriched. You can do this by giving them the opportunity to express themselves. CAD is software used by design professionals such as architects and engineers. CAD for kids, however, was designed to help children see the artist in him and help him learn to express this artistry through drawing on a digital medium. Who knows? Your child could be the next big thing in architecture for the future generations. When you help your child develop his mental ability, you are not only helping him be excellent in academics.

It has been proven that kids who explore different learning avenues grow up to be a more secure person than those who are always left with nannies and spending the entire day watching TV.

Indian schools are all set to implement a high-tech solution that will enable the school and parents to monitor students' entry into and exit from school buses.

Called RFID and GPS based tracking system; the state-of-the-art monitoring system will already been adopted by many renowned schools and the process of adoption is still going on.

"We have been working on this system for quite sometime so children can be monitored to ensure their security and safety," said the manager, Agnicient Technologies Pvt. Ltd.

A Noida (India) -based IT solutions provider, Agnicient Technologies Pvt. Ltd. will implement this automated Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and GPS-based student tracking system in the school's buses. Agnicient Technologies Pvt. Ltd. uses a combination of RFID, GPS (Global Positioning System) and GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) technologies.

RFID is a type of automatic identification system whose purpose is to enable data to be transmitted by a portable device, called tag, which is read by an RFID reader and processed according to the needs of a particular application.

All the buses of schools will be equipped with RFID readers and each student will be given an RFID card (pictured) which incorporates GPS and GPRS technologies, with all the student's particulars printed on it.

Using the technology, the parents will get a text message every time the student gets into the bus and alights while going to the school from home and when returning. Alert messages will also be sent to the school authorities.

"This technology will give peace of mind not only to the parents but also to us," said School principal, adding parents had been consulted with regard to the scheme and they had given positive feedback.

"Parents were favorable with the system because ultimately it means security and safety for the students," he said, adding he could see that other schools could adopt it in the future.

Agnicient Technologies Pvt. Ltd. manager said the application software displays not only a real-time view of the location of the bus but also the student inside the bus at any point in time.

"The system can be configured and could be converted into a smart card in the future to have other functions," Manager explained, adding RFID readers could be installed in other locations in the school as needed to further ensure the safety of students.

He also said the text messages would be very specific. For instance, if a child is still inside the bus five minutes after the vehicle's engine is turned off, a text message will be sent to the school authorities.

It means that this system from Agnicient Technologies Pvt. Ltd. Will answer the question more prominently that “Its already 10 PM do you know where your child is???????????

But now every parent and school administration knows.

Child abuse is a very serious matter in western schools and any teacher, parent and school involved in child abuse have to face the law. In spite of serious steps we still see some cases of child abuse here and there, but majority of children are safe from abuse. This is not the case when it comes to developing and under developed countries.

Many countries didn’t address child abuse because of their culture and lack of awareness about the issue. Some countries officially announced child abuse as illegal, but they are not serious in enforcing the law. India is one of those countries that made child abuse illegal, especially in schools but doesn’t enforce the law strictly. This is causing an enormous physical and emotional damage to the younger children.

In recent years there is no more canning of students in schools, especially in private schools. Parents are not at all tolerating their children being canned or spanked by teachers. This is a very good sign of change, but abuse is still predominant at homes. However, there is a different form of abuse that is happening in every private school in the name of academic requirements and student success. I call it as “emotional abuse” What is so sad is educated parents are also supporting the idea without even noticing that the excessive workload on students is causing an enormous ‘emotional damage’ to the younger minds.

Private schools are very attractive to parents because they offer quality education to students, and they provide special coaching to students to prepare them for professional courses like Engineering, Medicine, and IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), highly reputed engineering and technology institute. While it is a good concept to prepare students to do well in school exams and also in entrance tests, it is sad that children are excessively burdened with school work and preparation.

For example, none of the private schools allow their students leave the school before 6 hours. They are at school almost 9 hours, instead of recommended 5 ½ hours. In addition to this many students attend before and after school tuitions, and still have to finish their 2-3 hour homework after all these sessions, irrespective their grade levels.

When I look at school children in India my heart bleeds. Parents want the best education for their children, which is fair enough, but they are not noticing that with an excessive workload children are at abuse. This abuse of children must be stopped for the welfare of their physical and psychological well being. Since schools want to offer what parents demand, parents must take initiative in stopping this kind of abuse. On the other hand, teachers and educational experts must also make an effort to educate parents about this type of bad practice in schools. This I call a step toward a positive change, and perhaps an indicator of developing nation.

These are my school days, Of fun and play.

When I forget all my inhibitions and fears,
And the pain caused by others¡
The lunches shared under the tree shade,
The angry faces after a tiffin raid,
Walking together in the lunch break,
The difficult sums for homework to take.

Fights with friends and then making up,
Or the time spent in Hindi class doing ¡
Being caught during inspection for long nails,
And trying to defend ourselves with cries and wails.

Long nights we spend mugging for a test,
Trying to do well even in subjects we detest!
Getting anxious and waiting for results,
Feeling happy when teachers praise us.
The tears for having failed a test,
Making up our minds to excel and be the best.
The strong friends who helped us through,
Every darkened corner and nook.



Summer days of vacations, picnics and trips.
What else can I say about this?
They are the most glorious tension free days,
They are my school days.