5 Myths About Education Reform

Education in America is a topic of public discussion. Everyone has an opinion and is willing to express it, and everyone has ideas about what’s wrong with our educational system and how to fix it. What most well-meaning people with good ideas don’t seem to know is that reform in education has been going on and has been the subject of debate and discussion for many, many years. The problem is that if we don’t make changes based on what we know works, the changes we make will not help. Reform in education sometimes seems like a hamster in a wheel, always running to stand still. Myths about reform abound, and need to be debunked so we can move forward. Here are 5 of the most prominent myths about education reform.

1. If teachers don’t produce results, they should be fired – after all, no other profession is unaccountable.

There are a couple of good reasons to debunk this myth. First, teachers are more and more the target of laws that do make them responsible for producing acceptable results, and they have lost their jobs for not meeting standards. Unfortunately, these results and standards are not black and white, but based on complex and unpredictable changes in faulty human beings, and are affected by many important variables outside of a teacher’s control. Second, consider doctors – we do not hold them accountable for not getting society as a whole to eat better, exercise and stop drinking and smoking. There are indeed other professions that are not held accountable, because it would be impossible, impractical, and immoral to do so. The same should hold for teachers.

2. We keep throwing money at the educational system, but nothing changes – scores on achievement tests haven’t gone up.

The first argument against this myth is that achievement as measured by National Assessment of Educational Progress trends have shown statistically significant gains in recent years, so that there actually have been modest but real improvements. The second counter to this myth is that there are other ways to measure improvement. One example is the drop out rate from high school, which has declined significantly for all income levels since the early 70′s. Saying that an investment only has one measure to show a return just doesn’t work in education like it does in finance.

3. Those who don’t believe that achievement scores should be used to evaluate teachers only care about protecting teachers and their unions.

Statistical errors go in both directions, so teachers abilities are overestimated just as much as they are underestimated. According to studies, over a quarter of all ratings of teachers are incorrect, so we are actually protecting bad teachers as well as good teachers. Most teachers and reformers have many concerns about students, and keeping incompetent teachers without trying to improve them is one.

4. If we agree that the education system is in need of repair, then we have to blame teachers for breaking it in the first place.

First, it is not logical to blame teachers for failure of the system if they have not been given every opportunity and resource they might need to succeed. Then, if they fail, it is clearly their fault. Second, teachers do not work in a vacuum – students are affected by everything that happens outside of the classroom, and that in turn affects their achievement. But teachers have no control over what happens outside of their short time with students, so they can’t be the reason for the failure.

5. Charter schools are the answer to the problems the education system faces.

The population of students that attend charter schools is different than the general public school population, and so are their parents. If you compare the two on the basis of scores without adjusting for those differences, it’s apples and oranges. Besides, only a handful of charter schools are producing the results that get attributed to all of them.

Education reform is not a destination, it’s a process. Part of the process is understanding what needs to be done and what doesn’t. By understanding some of the myths surrounding it, progress may eventually be made.

A Simple Product Creation and Product Launching Formula

If you tried to think of people involved in product creation, who would come to mind? You may think of Edison, Franklin, or maybe Henry Ford. Would you ever think of yourself as someone who can create a quality product? Product creation is actually relatively easy and product launching is not that tough either! If you follow a few easy to understand steps, you could be starting the product creation and product launching process sooner than you think.

The first step in creating your information product is to know and understand your market. This can be very time-consuming, especially if you are unsure of what to do or where to look to know your market. Studying your niche market and understanding the buzz words and buying patterns can ease the process dramatically. Personally, I would recommend networking with someone who has had success in the niche market you are considering and learn from their results. If they are into product creation and not very business savvy expect some hesitation. If they only sell products and have nothing to do with product launching or product creation you may your first affiliate (sales person)! Something else you can use to find hot trends is with the Google Trends tool.

The second step is the product creation process. Take your niche market and brainstorm ideas and topics relating to it. There are a lot of product launching contests going on recently relating to a newly created internet marketing tool. There are so many aspects to the mentioned niche that literally, and unfortunately, anything can be considered an Internet Marketing tool. The reason that anyone can basically create an Internet Marketing tool is because of something called Private Label Rights products.

What I use private label rights products for, and highly recommend them in this specific manner, is to cure writer’s block especially when it is lingering. Many people base their entire product creation and product launching on a private label rights product. This is where you can start to shine and build a strong brand for yourself. If you set goals for yourself, short-term goals to be exact, you can see your product creation come into being much faster and there is a good chance with less revision needed. If you keep hitting time restraint road blocks; however there is nothing wrong with a slow and steady approach, you can consider outsourcing portions of your project. Outsourcing can be an extremely huge benefit or just as great of a disaster.

You can find someone to outsource work to at a freelance site such as Guru.com or eLance.com. When reviewing proposals it is almost mandatory you perform a background check on them as you are in essence hiring them. Doing a background check on freelancers is as easy as asking for samples of their work and reviewing feedback on the freelance site from previous customers. Depending on the size and requirements of your project this can add up to a decent sized investment, so caution is very important. One tip I always recommend to people looking to hire an individual is to ask them what they can provide you that no one else can. This simple question gives them a chance to “toot their own horn” and acknowledge where they feel most competent as far as their skill set.

The final portion of the product creation and product launching formula is the launch. This can literally make or break the effort, time, and maybe (if you invested) money you put in to your project. There are numerous aspects to product launching and although their relevance is debated in terms to their effect, experts agree all must be followed. The person in your field who you asked for product advice from can help you substantially if you have kept in touch. If not, the first thing you need to do is to create a visually appealing website with flawless design work.

I also mentioned outsourcing before, this is one aspect of product launching I have little strength in and I always outsource this portion. The website does not have to be large however the content (ad copy in Internet Marketing) must be stellar and as perfect as possible. This is where advertising knowledge or experience is beneficial. When the site is set up you now put a lead capture form on your website.

I put two lead capture pages on all products I create on the internet and is one of the best methods of getting a solid start when you are in the product launching stage. When you gain information from a prospect or someone looking to get paid for referring sales you are able to provide them updates or specials. Many people abuse their prospect or affiliate lists by in turn emailing them with a new product daily and I find the recommendations to be totally unrelated to their original need, problem, or interest.

Another stage in the product launching stage is creating a free report or demo version of your product to entice the product to sign up to your email list. Using proper follow up with this can help generate numerous sales for you. One thing you need to ensure is that your free product completely relates to your main product that you are looking to sell.

You are now ready to advertise your product launching to customers as well as the opportunity to sell for affiliates. This is the single aspect that many product creations and launches fail on. It is actually not entirely difficult. One thing you can do is write articles (and a good amount of them) on topics relating to your product. I am a huge advocate of giving a solution in forums. When you join a forum you are normally offered the opportunity to create a signature. In your signature, you should enter the link to your opt-in or lead capture page. When you respond to posts, you are advertising your opportunity.

It is not impossible to create a product and it does not have to take a long time. You need to setup a plan and stick to it. If you get stuck, look at similar and successful products to your own and try and see how they did it. When you sit down and brainstorm you will be surprised with what you can imagine.

How To Start A Home-Based Business – Step By Step Guide

If you decide to start your own home-based business, that’s great. But, before you do that, you must know several important things to do this the right way. There are many resources available on the internet that you can use to help you learn from other successful online business owner. If you don’t know any technical stuff to build your business, don’t worry about that. There are many companies that will help you do all the work for you when you join them.I will give you several step by step guides to build your home-based business.1. How To Choose Your Business.When people want to start a business, no matter it is online or not, they must choose what kind of business they want to run. If you only in a tight budget, you can join with a company to sell their products to build extra income at first. This is the easiest way to start your business immediately. But, in the other side, you can also start your own business by selling your own product. The important thing that you must remember is choose a product or service that you enjoy selling it. If you try to do business that you dislike, you will find it hard or even impossible to become successful with that business.There are several home-based business types that you can choose. One of them is MLM businesses. In this type of business, you must build down lines like crazy. This can be considered as a perfect opportunity to earn extra cash for you. The Advantages of MLM business is because it is so easy to communicate with other people. You can start with your own friend. The other ways that you can do are contact any people you know by email and creating your own website. Some MLM companies will help you to contact the people you know and offer the opportunity to them. You don’t need to become an experienced salesperson to do this.When you try to join an MLM business, check the company background and make sure it is a reputable company. This will help you to avoid scams because you don’t want to waste your time and not getting any money.2. Manage Your TimeWhen running your home-based business, you must carefully manage your time. There are many people try to get success without doing anything or spend their time to build their business. This will not make you success at all. If you have a full-time job when you try to build your home-based business, you can spend only a few hours a week to work with your home-home=based business.After you decide about it, you can schedule it. Stick with schedule and be consistent. You must think that you have your very own business and you want it to be success.3. Prepare The Tools This is one of important aspect that you must consider. Prepare a computer with fast internet connection to help you do all the work smoothly. Write your working schedule in your desk to help you stick with it. Choose a place that can help you concentrate with your work and make you think clearly. A place with a lot of noise will make so much distraction for you.4. Money Investment and BudgetingMake sure you choose the right business for you before you invest some money. If you selling other company products, you can save more money, because you don’t need to create your own product. Be careful with your promotion effort. Calculate how much money you want to invest to promote the product with the potential profit you can get from it.Once you’ve chosen the right business to invest in, set up a budget carefully for your business. Get a new account with online payment processor. PayPal is the most popular online payment processor right now. If you apply with an online MLM company, find out how they will pay you and check their threshold.5. Use Your AbilityIf you start working with an MLM company or start a business selling your own products and services, remember to use all your abilities and skills. Maybe you’re a great speaker or a tech geek. Perhaps you know how to create and design a websites, make a banner, or do online promotions. Use your skills to maximize your home-based business profits.