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- Sarah Shewey
- Los Angeles, CA
- United States
CEO/Founder, Happily
This conversation is closed.
How can we empower kids to reshape the education system? *A TEDActive Education Project Question*
The TEDActive Education Project will explore how children can make an impact on the education system. We hope to come out of this project with fresh ideas for ways kids can start an education revolution.
At TEDActive2011 in Palm Springs, an amazing group of individuals came together as a group to come up with a simple micro-action solution for empowering kids to be a part of the education reform conversations. After a quick 36 hour period of time, the team made a website that allows students to upload videos of their ideas on education reform.
You can empower a student to share their voice at http://elev8ed.org.
Also, please share your own ideas here, or by starting a new conversation tagged with TEDActiveEDU so we can all follow.
Casen Askew
Apr 5 2011: I apologize in advance for any faux pas or slip of the tongue I happen to make. I'm kind of fond of the idea of trade schools. Having one next to each public school, will give kids, those who don't like school or can't get the hang of it and don't want to be there, a fighting chance in the real world. If a town is centered around a few oil refineries, like my own, then set up a trade school that teaches students to be welders, pipe fitters, brick layers, and every other job the refineries have to offer. The trade schools would be optional; the students would have the choice between public school and trade school. In my opinion, this system would be incredibly effective in solving the drop out rate problem states are facing and the unemployment rate. If a student will never use the information they are learning in school, then why teach it to him? Why force feed information to those who have no need for it? Instead of the one track plan where a student spends countless hours having, to said student, useless information crammed down his throat, that same student could opt to spend his high school career at a trade school learning skills that would earn them a job right out of high school and truly ensure their future.
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Apr 5 2011: Do not apologize for a good idea, ever.
A major fault of our present system is that we have all become completely focused on university entrance requirements. These are the cheapest courses to offer, so there's no big surprise why technical and vocational courses have disappeared.
Apr 5 2011: Casen has a great point,
indeed our education also doesn't educate us on alternative choices besides go to college.... The ability to work your way to a union right after high school is a great thing! Being an electrician, plumber, working for a DPW, etc etc. The people of my local DPW start off at 22 hourly, one of the jobs is to pick up leaves during the spring until after fall.. then they are a snowplower or street cleaner.Apr 9 2011: As an instructor at a technical college, I'm all for the idea of teaching people to be skilled craft-workers. But it's also fun in a kind of subversive way to help these students who "don't like school or can't get the hang of it" to open their minds to learning in ways they didn't think possible. Math and science comes alive when you get to see them both put to practical use!
It's a shame that so many people destined for University do not even consider hands-on vocations because of an anti-intellectual perception. In America at least, vocational classes in high school have been a dumping ground for students with behavioral problems, and post-secondary vocational institutions often aren't seen as much better.Apr 12 2011: You are correct Casen, about offering more trade schools as I have been an advocate for these for years; but besides we need to base them on some of the European methods where students are tracked in elementary school (often times having the same teacher so he/she really gets to know the student) and then given the chance to be successful in a school set for their needs. In the UK some even get to graduate from a tech school at age 16 and can enter the work force.....BUT the problem now is that there are so few jobs due to outsourcing and just poor economies that it is becoming a big problem for these teens. But besides this, Germany did the same thing, however the students were paid as apprentices until age 18. And going BACK in time with me, when I was in high school in Chicago, we had the choice of going to a tech school for engineers and that ilk or another tech school for those who wanted "hands on" careers like a car mechanic; then a business school (but mainly for women to be secretaries at that time) and then finally a regular high school where I went; and I know times were different, but I can only remember two students in my whole class who dropped out. But with all of that said, besides this, we need to just TOTALLY revamp our educational system, so we will not all further behind....and get rid of standardized testing and NCLB for they are not helping as well as to teach our students (and their parents) to value learning, for that is not done in this country.
Apr 17 2011: We have some great trade schools in Alberta, but somehow our culture has created a caste system based around education and time spent in school/college/university.
clay blasdel
Mar 28 2011: Believing that kids have some mystical wisdom to guide their own future is magical thinking. Allow me some free association: When I think about the GE-designed Japanese nuclear plants approaching catastrophe, I think about the dean of Hollywood screenwriters - William Goldman's famous quote, " Nobody knows anything".
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When I was a kid in school I didn't know anything. I don't think kids know much of anything today. Empower a kid to reform education? I'd rather give them the keys to the van and a bag of weed.
Mar 28 2011: Hilarious Clay but, I disagree that even you knew nothing when you were a young person. Our youth are full of knowledge, they lack wisdom. I learn more from them than most adults walking around proselytizing in my community. What's that make me? Better yet, don't answer:)
clay blasdel
Mar 28 2011: As you might guess, I don't believe in giving young people false praise to boost their egos. What can any kid possibly know about life? They have zero perspective. Recently a young teen told me (with authentic confidence) that "The Dark Knight" was the greatest movie every made. I smiled. I don't think he has seen over 50 movies.
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But my skepticism gets worse. Not only do children know much but neither do their parents. Most Americans fail grade school tests. Ariana Huffington recently administered the citizenship entry test to adult Americans. Most failed. But poll after poll, survey after survey since the 'dumbing down of America' began a generation ago has delivered the bad news that gets badder every year. (sic)
Our entire television and advertising industry is aimed at teens and adults with teen sensibilities. TV has dumbed down. Look, I don't know lots of things. I'm as ignorant as anybody. The older I get, the more I understand how much I don't know. But I can tell you the first name of the British Monarch and I can find Spain on a map; I can name the Secretary of State and can name the river that separates the Lone Star State from ol Mexico. Yes, I can pass grade school tests, so I guess that puts me in an elite league.
Children self-directing their education? No way. No joke.
Sarah Shewey
Mar 28 2011: I'd agree with Clay's statement that kids should not self-direct their education. However, I do think that kids are capable, with guidance, to make insightful suggestions on how they can (and want to) learn. I wonder what those guiding principles could reasonably look like, and what would be the expected outcomes?Mar 28 2011: I see your logic Clay but, do not share it. End of debate?Apr 4 2011: Many of the innovators of the Technological Revolution are relatively young. Your statement that Americans are getting dumber is both false and demeaning. The number of technological innovations created by entrepreneurs 35 and younger is astounding. Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, created the social media site when he was 20 years old. Google, Twitter, Myspace, and Linked In were all created by entrepreneurs 35 and younger. Many of them formulated their ideas while studying and collaborating with other individuals. Young people are capable of selling and marketing a product to a diverse consumer base. And, without them, the Technological Revolution would never be where it is currently.Mar 29 2011: M.A., is there any way to measure the veracity of your statement, "I learn more from them than most adults waking around proselytizing in my community." ? Outcomes should be measurable if they are to serve any useful purpose.
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Do you believe that students (and many adults) understand the meaning of pure and practical knowledge?
It would appear that the restructuring of education, as it is being discussed here, is that the only purposeful knowledge is practical knowledge. What needs to be known that can make a difference in my life at this moment or in the foreseeable future.
It might be easier for young learners to appreciate how learning about or from social networks might impact their lives - making this learning interesting and important to them. It is another matter to justify the need for pure knowledge and why might this be beneficial.
The practical application for this knowledge might come, or never come within a persons lifetime. Must we expect children to make huge leaps in logic and understanding as we deny them valuable knowledge and skills? This might not serve the vast majority of learners.
Does this make pure knowledge interesting? Likely not for many. Would a young learner choose to eliminate this knowledge for his/her syllabus? Likely. Is pure knowledge important. Immensely.
Mar 29 2011: Hi again Eric, I spend most of my sixteen hour work days with people under 18. You will have to take my word that I learn tremendous amounts from them. No need to quantify my personal experiences (beyond existing public data), what good will that serve anyone?
Might you define "pure knowledge" please?
Many adult attitudes in my town toward children encompass "seen not, heard" and "spare the rod, spoil the child" ideologies. Some of our public systems still practice corporal punishment (I worked in one). What might you suppose that mentality does for a child's curiosity?
http://www.ted.com/conversations/145/celebrating_and_inspiring_curi.html and http://www.ted.com/conversations/1535/why_kids_lose_curiosity_in_the.html
Not much has changed since this link from 2008. It might help you get the gist for the public educational environment I speak of. http://www.wsbtv.com/news/17323636/detail.html
Based on my time with thousands of young people from marginalized communities throughout the Western hemisphere, I don't think they spend much time contemplating the semantics of the term knowledge. The curiosity of young people (if not stifled by the community) does however call them to inquire, reflect and discover while many adults think they know it all. See http://www.ted.com/conversations/1300/is_the_population_becoming_mor.html
Our globe's most valuable resource is our children. If we fail to nurture their curiosity through our most effective (or, ineffective) social tool then... "the death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference and undernourishment." - Robert Maynard Hutchins
Drew Bixby
Mar 29 2011: Clay, I hear you saying "kids can't guide themselves and no one else can guide them either". You stated "Believing that kids have some mystical wisdom to guide their own future is magical thinking" and "not only do children know much but neither do their parents" and quoted "nobody knows anything". That doesn't leave many people left with wisdom - mystical or not. As such, leaving it up to no one is tantamount to leaving it up to the kids themselves.
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I would rather provide a guided approach to letting them direct education than let them flounder (as they are doing in the current system). At some point, they need to take the reins anyway, why not guide them into that process?
clay blasdel
Mar 30 2011: Drew, I believe that fewer and fewer Americans are knowledgeable and that very few can be called wise. I don't think that one person in a thousand is wise. I think wisdom is very rare. Where would children get the wisdom or knowledge or experience to guide their own education?
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Let me illustrate. I have no background in math but I never knew how much I didn't know about math until I scrolled through Sal Khan's Academy list of math courses. I was astounded at the subcategories that I'd never heard of. I'm embarrassed to admit that I didn't even recognize the categories of simple arithmetic, to boot. The point is, I didn't know what I didn't know. Neither do children.
Most agree that we have a broken educational system, but let's not allow the blind to lead the blind, and make matters worse. At this point, doing nothing is better than self-directed learning. I'll summarize our educational problem in three words: School is boring.
Crushingly boring. If you can fix that, you'll have something.
Mar 30 2011: A lament educators oft express is that anyone who has ever been schooled believes they have achieved special insight in how the system should be structured.
There is probably some truth in this.
Schooling can be boring. The performance of any task we do could qualify for that label. For example, agriculture is a boring and tedious repetition of servile tasks. Farmers will rightfully challenge me on this assessment.
Forgive my glibness on making this point but attempting to eliminate boredom, which is a human condition like say, happiness, would be something to behold. A formula that corporate executives of the world would dearly love to get their hands on. Imagine having all the labourers in a constant state of nirvana.
Blissful intoxicated learning. Priceless.Mar 30 2011: Clay, I agree that school can be boring. This is where child-directed education kicks in. I agree "I didn't know what I didn't know", but the first problem is schools are too focused on WHAT to learn rather than why.
Its important to find out what interests kids and make that the "why". You find out by making them free and encouraged to drive the process. Let them run in that direction and THEN show them how math, science, and language relate.
If a kid enjoys baseball, get into the math of the stats and why stats matter. Talk about the physics of why the ball is made like it is. What would happen if the ball was heavier? This is guiding them. It is not having them teach math to themselves. Get them interested first, then guide them through what "they didn't know".
Student-lead systems encourage interest. Traditional schools miss this key piece, which is why they are boring.
Ben B
Mar 31 2011: Clay, I have tried the Kahn Academy lessons too, I think it's a wonderfull initiative and even usefull for adults who want to brush up their skills, or learn new things.
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I didn't follow school in the USA, and the Belgian education system is quite different, but I have to agree on the 'school is boring' part.
Where I disagree is that I don't think boredom is a bad thing. A lot of emphasis today is on keeping the kids 'entertained', providing them with stimuli from second to second. I think kids should be allowed to spend more time doing nothing. It is simply amazing what a kid can do with two standard lego-blocks if it's left to its own 'miserable imagination' for an hour, and sadening to see how (in Belgian schools at least), kids are reprimanded if they use toys in ways that are not apropriate (turning a wheelbarrow upside down to build 'a house', instead of wheeling it around like 'you're supposed to' for example). I think freedom is something that is very much needed. Discipline is also very much needed. Freedom and discipline are two things seemingly contradictory, but kids need a firm set of rules that form a framework in which they can freely explore. Kids need to be confronted with such rules, and parents and educators need to be adamant to enforce these rules. many schools don't have enough supervision, or methods to enforce rules, allowing things to escalate, and making guarding these rules more like repression than actually educating about boundries.
Another problem in my country is the low esteem in which people hold educators. Teachers used to be 'the smartest person in the village'. Now, 'smart people' choose university degrees and don't end up in teaching apart from on a high acedemic level. Combined with the idea that 'all kids must be equal', this makes held back smart kids question not-so-smart decisions from their teachers. And talented pedagogues quickly suffer a mental breakdown having to confront bad teaching without support for good practices.Apr 19 2011: Children should be inspired to teach; required to teach starting at a very young age; encouraged to teach throughout their lifetimes, the things that they have learned from our society and its schools. Students teaching students builds confidence and empathy with others at different stages of the learning process.
Apr 20 2011: Agreed! The best way to learn is by teaching. Kids at all levels should be teaching lessons to the kids a year younger the material they just learned. The job of the teacher would change from being just a teacher to being a coach and guide.
Apr 22 2011: Read this recent Harvard study on teaching and learning. For those not in the know, Harvard-based research is generally viewed as having moderate credibility within the academic community.
Popular-held beliefs, without adequate inquiry into the veracity of said belief, will have consequences and can at times be damaging. However the broadcast of urban myths amongst the masses (all being brilliant, all of the time), is as remarkable as it is enduring.
Apr 28 2011: I don't disagree with the evidence you present. I interpret the article to say, "Teaching students facts through lecture style statistically produces better standardized test results than problem-solving." I agree with that statement. However, you are begging the question on two important points.
First, you are assuming standardized tests are the best way to measure the goals of education. I disagree. Ken Robinson per his book, The Element, would also disagree with that assumption. Incidentally, the creator of the IQ standardized test strongly disapproved of its use in the way it is being used. (http://iq-test.learninginfo.org/iq01.htm )
Second, you are assuming problem-solving is not an important end goal. I would argue quite the opposite. Isn't problem-solving one of THE most important skills someone could possess? In this day and age, a good problem-solver can find any facts they need. (This wasn't true in the early 1900's when data was not so readily available and memorizing facts was an important part of intelligence.) Also, problem-solving skills are critical for life-long-learning; facts and data points are not. In accordance with Outliers, the best way to become good at something is lot's of practice (10,000 hours at least, if I recall). So, the best way to become a better problem-solver is to do more problem-solving.
Maybe another way to read the study you presented is "studies show that students are not being taught well to do problem-solving and need to be spoon-fed their information."
Come up with a test for problem-solving ability and then show me the statistics of lecture-learning versus problem-solving.Apr 29 2011: I don't disagree with the evidence you present. I interpret the article to say, "Teaching students facts through lecture style statistically produces better standardized test results than problem-solving." I agree with that statement. However, you are begging the question on two important points.
First, you are assuming standardized tests are the best way to measure the goals of education. I disagree. Ken Robinson, per his book, The Element, would also disagree with that assumption. Incidentally, the creator of the IQ standardized test strongly disapproved of its use in the way it is being used.
Second, you are assuming problem-solving is not an important end goal. I would argue quite the opposite. Isn't problem-solving one of the most important skills someone could possess? In this day and age, a good problem-solver can find any facts they need. (This wasn't true in the early 1900's when data was not so readily available and memorizing facts was an important part of intelligence.) Problem-solving is necessary for life-long learning; facts and data points are not. In accordance with the book Outliers, the best way to become good at something is lot's of practice (10,000 hours at least, if I recall). So, the best way to become a better problem-solver is to do more problem-solving.
Develop a test for problem-solving ability and then show me the statistics of lecture learning versus problem-solving.Apr 29 2011: As toddlers need both to grow/develop (imitate+explore), so do primary school kids, so do adults. In order to solve problems, a series of other skills are needed which you can only get through other ways of learning.
Some schools of thought say there are numerous mental skills to train, some come to a list of 30, some to 8. I belong for now to the '8' believers, as to get a grip on those is more than enough as a starter :) Problem Solving is one of them as a very conscious activity, though highly relying on equally important other mental skills.Apr 29 2011: What is being presented in this Harvard research is that the lecture method has a place. There is a thread of understanding here that views lecture-style teaching as a pariah.
Problem-solving is another viable teaching methodology, and so on and so on. Let's not succumb to the wearing of blinders when it comes to learning and teaching.
Speaking of blinders, the most oft referenced speaker on the topic here is Mr. Robinson. Does anyone know another's opinion on the subject? Or is he going to be our prophet? If so, sure hope he's right and what will we do once his views fall out of fashion? He too lives with a shelf-life.
Apr 29 2011: I guess a lot of us are happy finally put's in good words our children are in trouble.
All we need now is somebody to stand up and tell us which learning environment has least flaws to build upon.May 2 2011: Here is another person for you, Nicolas Carr. In his book The Shallows: What the internet is doing to our brains, he provides indications that the brains of people today, particularly youth, are different than brains of a century ago and even a decade ago. How much of the current research supports teaching to this new type of brain? Certainly is not texts from 1970 or 1980. What is education doing to address a different type of learner?
Related to that point, I would argue that many forms of "research-proven" ideas have a shelf life as much as Ken Robinson.Apr 29 2011: You mean this is the first time some here have realized there are issues? Well, good for that, but this is not news. Now what usually happens is a frenzied debate which aims to find an immediate and lasting solution. The age of enlightenment begins yet again.
This is often glibly referred to as seeking the "silver bullet" solution.
Guess what? Calm down, it's not going to happen that way and that quickly. The evolution and revolution of education and educational trends has never ceased. Dare I say, "We didn't light the fire?" Sure, this is your time we're living here, but it doesn't mean everything meaningful happens within your life-time.
I have over 70 years of educational research and writings on these very topics sitting on the shelves just to my right. Admittedly my research has been largely limited to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Interesting though how radio, then telephone and then television was going to revolutionize teaching and learning. Never before had students been so instantly and globally connected. Come to think of it, the Gutenberg printing press, circa 1450, had quite an impact on teaching and learning as well.
How much time did you say we had?
Apr 30 2011: I appreciate your effort in giving structural thought a lot, thank you for that.
Ken Robinson is not the first, though he puts Facts + Society development over time + a sense of humor together in an empowering way. The facts were not new to me, though quoting him to 'financers' helps me to create space and time to spend time in looking for what 'organic education' might be.
I have hope we find parts of the puzzle for next generation kids, as currently they are in trouble. Old school, new school, ipads or play doh, it's whatever for me as long the orchestra get's it's act together to challenge the minds of the future.
I am pleased to read you have 70 years of research looking over your shoulders. Which of your writings should I read to have a little bit of a picture which methods over this time actually work(ed) well (and are affordable).
A challenging idea;
With the idea industrial revolution is 'over', so finance for it's educational system is 'over', (the hard facts we see in Dutch primary school cutbacks, it becomes impossible to keep a school running). So we should look at learning 'before' this time and learning by cultures who did not have the industrial public system.
Though we also need insights in the best of this age, as we are not going to live in the jungle all together. Learning from different cultures might give us 'westies' insight in where we should go in 'growing' our children.
Time... the optimist in me says 4 years, as my own kid will go to school than. Though as you said, it is an ongoing process.
I guess I follow Larry Page from google his speech;"If enough people work on a certain problem, solutions will arise. The question is, are enough different people involved already to really improve education...Apr 30 2011: Paul, here are a few articulate authors of the subject of education, learning, teaching and change leadership:
Michael Fullan
Mary John O'Hair
Sandra Odell
Carl Glickman
Theodore Kowalski
Jo & Joseph Blase
T. J. Sergiovanni
Roland Barth
Rebecca & Richard Dufour
Robert Eaker
Warren Bennis
Bert Nanus
James Kouzes
Barry Posner
William Glasser
This is by no means meant to be an exhaustive reading list...just a fairly good beginning. Tell me, are you really committed to learning about this?
Education funding is inadequate, however I do know that in total spending at the state/provincial level, education falls just behind health. These two budget expenditures account for over 70% of total available revenue.
In one of Canada's coastal provinces (2010 Winter Olympics) we worked with a $4.65 billion operating budget for education and this was not nearly enough. This is Ministry information, but is not confidential. Otherwise, if I told you this, I would have to...... *joke*
May 1 2011: Thanks for the list, great these are people 'google' normally does not find. And happy to see they are not just for the sake of understanding a challenge though also working hard to do something for real.
Yes, I am really committed, what else is more important? There are many topics on this TED I read with enthousiasm and each time it boils down to me that the soil we raise our children on is poor and I don't see many people coming with possible solutions for the next 10-15 years.
My current angle; Children have the right to learn, though what if the language of teaching can no longer be understood by it's pupils? What right can you practice?
In a way we can teach our kids to sue 'us' on humanitarian grounds :) Ofcourse, that would only be useful if 'a better alternative' would be kept away from them, and this is not the case. And there is the mystery which keeps me focused; almost all revolutions in history took place because some people in power kept us from an alternative. Currently we gaze in the dark as there is no vision on what could lies beyond tomorrow. Is it the China method to combine the best of accepted dictatorship and free market forces?
On education budget spending, I don't know in Canada, though in the Netherlands if you do not each year spend more than you have you are cut-off the difference the year after. Spending exactly what you get looks like you spend all on purpose though you could have saved some. So there is always shortage in this system. A game which also needs improvement.
I am currently in the 'trap' of academic research; how to deal with the amount of available information and prevent myself to come in 3 years with my own 20 lines summary conclusion. On the other hand, valorization of methods is needed because we can't throw a generation in an experiment, and after 8 years we tell them; "oops, the method didn't really work... sorry... have a nice life.."May 2 2011: To Paul's earlier point, not only how do we make education successful, but how do we do it in an affordable manner? You mention the money for education "was not nearly enough". I can tell you it won't get better. In other words, the ideas these experts may be great, but apparently, they are not affordable. So, what are ways to improve education in the real world where money is limited?
Regarding the books, while I want to learn more, I admit I don't want to spend 70 years reading before I begin making a difference. Rather, I would like for someone who has read all the books AND understands the current environment to give me actionable tasks that I can do to help. It is people like Paul and me that can make it affordable, but the scholars have to give us actionable tasks AND be willing to take our assistance.May 2 2011: Does not every person who seriously starts developing educational material talk to people who know the research? And talk to publishers and to schools etc. And mostly believe in own conclusions, supported by people who know all research and start designing solutions. Though why do the methods often not work or are poor if at start everything looks so well thought through?
All the fields involved in education methods (and that's a lot of specialities!) speak their own language on their own island.
So collaboration and 'knowing' sounds nice in theory and EU r&d heavy invested in this last decade, though conclusion is, these initiatives a lot of times don't get to the promised results. As far as I can see, teams get stuck in a maze of misunderstandings, interpretations, different vocabulary meanings between disciplines, even among direct colleagues. The team of 'specialists' is so diverse, nobody really understands eachother and what is really needed for education development. This sounds extreme, but a lot of time is wasted everywhere on every (organization/government) level to try to understand the meaning of words in eachothers context/expertise.
To cut a long story short, conclusion is what needs to be done is to create a common language among research specialists, design guru's, teachers and parents to communicate about 'growing' children. The basics. Actually writing down in 'Elmo language' essence of learning+thinking skills+educational challenges. The story which comes up should be understandable by 9 year olds and 99 year olds. After that period, we can start throwing in our field/research/design/business specific thoughts again.
This 'elmo language' method has it's roots in transition management, and when applied well, the 3 c's communication, collaboration and continuity starts of on a much higher level.
Warren Huber
Apr 30 2011: Go a step deeper, Creola - break out of the age box entirely. Have the students who are better at a particular thing teach someone who is struggling, and help the "teacher" with different ways of teaching. The tables will inevitably be turned in one way or another as the "struggling" student progresses in that or other areas and the "teaching" student has their own struggles. Now you're teaching more than just "math", you're teaching psychology, group dynamics, interpersonal skills, building confidence, combating "age = wisdom" myths, oh and also reinforcing the "math" understanding of the "teacher" as they work through different ways of understanding the information than just the one that worked for them.Apr 20 2011: Our entire education system is based on text. Text has been the standard for codifying knowledge for millennia. We now have alternatives for recording and transferring knowledge. The human brain does not deal exclusively with text, not even optimally with it.
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A great gauge of the effectiveness of an educational method is the level of engagement by students, i.e., how interested or even excited they are to learn. We have the means to make education much more interesting, relevant, and effective.
I have no sympathy for the old-school mentality that believes that there is no progress without educational pain. Those who think that empowering our kids to reshape education is a dangerous idea have no evidence for that view. We run our primary and secondary schools as totalitarian institutions in which students have no rights. After 12 or more years of indoctrination that they are subordinate, dependent, and mostly wrong, and we expect them to participate in a democracy. If that's not hypocritical, I don't know what is.
Apr 24 2011: I have no sympathy for this system either.
With the decline of the industrial revolution...
I think that every industry will be affected and weakened.
Whatever kind of education is an industry and should be replaced or at least reshaped.
It's before this 12-year long brainwashing process that action must be taken.
We may have knowledge, but kids have creativity and hunger to learn...
Apr 24 2011: You are right, the present system is not adequate. Universities state that a large number of their present students are unfit and unqualified to be there. So why do they accept them? Cuts to research budgets can be covered via student tuition. Simple and sad reflection on society.
Academic rigor is being severely compromised to address the grossly inflated grades of our school system students. A degree is becoming near worthless as a result, however the number of degrees granted has risen sharply. Technical/vocational/trade institution admission departments reject university graduate applications as they do not meet entrance standards for their non-degree programs.
We have a growing number of disillusioned young people who, after 12 years of being told they are bright, suddenly discover they are indeed not. This is an unnecessary, unkind and entirely too costly a lesson to be learned at this point in their lives.Apr 24 2011: If you're talking democracy as we have known it, then the schooling system from last century works perfectly.
Being wrong is one half (conservative estimate) of taking risks.
It's not a dangerous idea to empower kids but to imagine that kids don't need guidance in their learning is possibly a dangerous idea (for the wellbeing of the individual student/child).
Agreed that student engagement is the only thing that is really worth measuring but an idea, activity, or skill consolidation doesn't have to be 'interesting' to be worthwhile.
My nana says that hardship is good character building. I disagree with the 'another brick in the wall" approach to teaching and learning but sometimes, you have to do stuff that doesn't engage you and often, it requires a 'push' from someone else. That ain't a bad thing.
Lance Miller
Apr 19 2011: The cookie cutter educational curriculum must be abolished in favor of unorthodox, creativity inspiring programs. An immersion into nature, lessons in spiritual principles and a deeper view of worthy history.
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Child like qualities are the foremost innocent and attractive qualities in the human spirit. Separation is a common problem and acceptance of diversity should be taught and practiced. Challenge Day is a terrific program that could be rendered unnecessary if the educators can get it right from the beginning. If children are taught from an early age that they can make a difference in the world they live in with simple actions, their inspiration will increase. If they are encouraged to follow their bliss instead of discouraging against what they strive for, development will be more astute.
Apr 20 2011: I completely agree. In fact, I am leaving my job at the end of this school year (I teach 9th grade world history and have taught for more than a decade) to plan a middle school where students can take charge of their own learning. See http://trianglearning.org
As comments below reflect, though, students should not be left to their own devices. They need to be mentored. However, I also agree that students should be respected far more than the industrial-age school curricula currently respects students.
The idea for my school is to mentor students for 6th and 7th grade to give them skills and confidence so that they can direct their own learning in 8th grade to follow their passion and make a difference in the world.
I'm also shocked at how little students today follow the news (Egypt was simply not part of the curriculum), so that will be a key part of the daily routine. Students also need to appreciate that math is everywhere (economics, science, statistics, etc.) and need to learn as much math as possible.
If this sounds interesting, please contact me. My contact information is on my TED profile.
Apr 20 2011: Nice website and really great idea!Apr 12 2011: Allowing kids to take ownership and practice self reliant behaviors is perhaps the first step engaging learners....Is the next step co-creating a curriculum?
Apr 13 2011: Yes,i strongly believe it is.
You can't teach an old dog new tricks,but you can teach old tricks to a young dog.
Bryan Qu
Apr 14 2011: Yes! As a high school senior, I can attest to this--education has to be more personalized, and kids should feel like they're investing in their education rather than working through a dictat.
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It is absolutely imperative to begin this process at a young age. From my experience of going through the public school system in Canada, kids are naturally creative, innovative, and curious people--if anything, I think the emphasis should be on developing a method that can teach children 'the necessities' while still allowing a great deal of space for children to pursue their interests. This reminds me of the Montessori system, which purportedly has generated good results in kids and youth who have attended the program.
The focus on totally linear academic learning in most public schools has generated quite a few ridiculous circumstances in my personal past. The fact that children are assessed on how 'creative' an art project is or how neatly they've coloured within the lines should definitely be raising eyebrows! Kids are taught from the very beginning that there is only one right, linear way to do things and to not even consider other approaches to problems. If this is how the system works, where rote, monotonous learning is continually perpetuated and creative learning/teaching is almost non-existent, it is unsurprising that the apathy rate in students is so high.
Kids fundamentally want to be engaged and in charge of their work! The prevalent education-in-a-box paradigm, however, has to be changed in order for that to happen. Learning should be a co-operative process that emphasizes creative development equally, if not more so, as much as the academic subjects.
Scott Bell
Apr 11 2011: I teach middle school math and science. Basic ways to empower students and take a see-for-yourself approach:
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1. Create a blog via kidblog.org (closed and protected system). The teacher poses the question. The students then comment on the question. Students begin to observe each other's comments, reflect, and then comment a revised or even new answer. It is evident that after reading each other's thoughts, their own thoughts become "deeper" and more reflective. Thats an amplifier.
2. Give students a topic and break them into groups of 3-4. Tell them to go find the most important points about that topic and ask them to share their findings via a wiki build-out on wikispaces.com. RESIST the urge to go in and direct too much. Let them create. THEN, come back as a large group and review what they have put together. Have groups professionally critique each other. Have them observe. THEN, do it again with a different topic. Watch how the second build-out is amplified...increasing quality, increasing effort, overall increased performance.
MY POINT IS THIS: Old-school/industrial educated people like me do not believe this stuff until they see it for themselves. ALSO, stop trying to progress ALL students at the same pace......some will excel...some will slack and ride on coat tails.....thats the way our world currently works. HOWEVER, those students you felt were slackers more often than not impress the hell out of you. Be bold, Break rules, Don't spend too much time trying to convince skeptics. They are now called baggage.
Apr 12 2011: Well said, Scott! It's amazing what students can and will do when you stop lecturing to them and place them into active-thinking scenarios.Apr 9 2011: If you want students to have a positive voice in education, they must also have a realistic perspective of the value of education. Asking students to help reform education when they do not yet have a firm grasp on how their education can, will, or should empower their lives as adults is unlikely to yield much benefit.
However . . . structuring education in ways that place young students in age-appropriate roles of responsibility, where success and failure is more than just a letter-mark on paper but has real, tangible consequences, would go a long way toward educating them for life.
A model that immediately comes to mind is that of a child growing up on a farm, where they are given responsibility for doing important tasks, among them caring for living things. Something as simple as this is a tremendous learning experience for a young person. Managing real money at a young age is another model for helping children gain perspective and value the importance of subjects such as math.
Apr 17 2011: I agree with you Tony. In my view our failure to involve our children and youth in authentic and meaningful responsibilities is the underlying problem. To solve this we give them all sorts of courses to try to replace that involvement. This adds years and years to their "education", without connecting them to the environment where they will put their knowledge and skills to use. Because they are not allowed to participate in a meaningful way they find what we want them to learn meaningless, and many just slough it off and find their own way. This situation continues right through university - if the post secondary schools keep adding courses to what students have to learn to graduate, pretty soon our graduates will be senior citizens before they are put to work.
Adam Burk
Mar 24 2011: Like the elev8ed.org project highlights we must create spaces and processes in which children are able to contribute and develop the skills to lead their own learning. Empowerment can happen at home, at school, and on larger scales. But most importantly, children need to see close effects of their voices. If I child uploads a video and says, "if it were up to me, learning would happen like _____" and all that happens is the child now has a video on youtube, over time, hope for change and good intentions will not be enough.
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There have to be physical spaces and processes that the child is involved in, on a daily basis, where they are heard, respected, and wisely guided by caring adults. There are models out there already, adults just keep getting in the way.Mar 24 2011: Sarah,
I fell upon TEDActive2011 site yesterday. There is much potential there. Lots of great ideas (social networking/education/microaction)!
The young people within my organization look forward to this challenge.
It will be amazing to witness the young take ownership of this learning revolution!May 11 2011: The multiplicity of ideas on this question demonstrates why education in America continues its slow descent into chaos. Is there any single point above upon which all are agreed? I didn't catch it if there is. I've gone round and round countless times in debates over school reform.
I will venture a statement that I feel is totally defensible. And may I be so bold to suggest that if you don't agree with this statement, you just haven't thought it through:
"Education will never become the central function of our school system until we do away with grades and grade levels."
Adora Svitak
Apr 21 2011: We need to embed student voice into how we make education decisions--educational service districts, school boards, lobbying organizations. For a start, why aren't there more students responding to this question? :) I often find myself being the only person under 25 at many of the education conferences which I attend. We need to start asking students about questions like project-based learning, balance of old-school vs. "new-school" methods, etc., instead of just presenting viewpoints saying "This is best for students" without getting any input from students themselves.
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I really appreciate what the education ministry of Ontario is doing with student voice through its Speakup project: http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/students/speakup/index.html --getting young people to actually contribute their ideas and feedback to the officials in charge. More and more organizations are becoming aware of the importance of student voice. I was lucky enough to write a blog for the Huffington Post on some large and small steps I think schools should take: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/adora-svitak/changes-schools-should-ma_b_829406.html
Social networking--Facebook especially--can provide an excellent way to gauge opinions on new changes and proposed ideas. Asking quick short questions, for instance, and getting responses. A lot of my peers aren't on Twitter, but definitely love Facebook.
It starts with simple questions: what would you change about your school? What are you interested in learning? How do you learn best? If you were the teacher/principal/Secretary of Education, what steps would you take? At the all-youth organized and attended TEDxRedmond conference, which I'm organizing for the second time this year, we hear from speakers who are all under 18 about their opinions on a range of diverse issues like these (and others). Through mediums like TED Conversations, TEDx conferences, and school governance boards, I hope to see more students getting involved in education change.
Apr 21 2011: Hi Adora. I wonder if students are as conscious of the education process as you are. They will only recommend cosmetic changes to the schooling system, which will not bring about any substantial change and not deal with the pathologies that beset this system. Being a teacher I gave my students many alternative ideas, but only a handful responded. Others only thought about cosmetic changes to the schooling system. Like it or not, most of humanity conforms. Just because something is there, they feel inclined to consider it legitimate, and any changes to that order of things brings about anxiety.
There is a great book by Eric Fromm which talks about this: Fear of Freedom.
May 6 2011: True, true as a high school teacher I see this too. Perhaps students would first think of cosmetic changes to the educational system, ones that they could easily discuss without risk of adult censure or peer embarassment. If there was a permanent virtual or physical "suggestion box" I bet that the average intensity of student suggestions would increase. A common class president platform is changing the length of the lunch period, however, students have a hyper sense of fairness and very strong feelings on a variety of subjects. Like most behaviors, learning to speak up and provide input is one that will need encouragement and which may even have to be taught explicitlyMay 6 2011: I am a current student in the Dutch schooling system, although currently in my last year and almost finished. Three years ago I started doing research on the topic of education, because I felt like the way our educational system worked was wrong.
Now I realize that there aren't many students that know and are capable of participating in that discussion with sufficient background knowledge, but I also know that they do exist. I have heard so many times that I cannot, may not and should not try to participate in debates on topics like these because of my age. In the meantime I see students around me that are suffering, literally suffering under the influence of bad education, including myself. I love to learn, but I have spend the last 6 years of my life working really hard to learn so little. I know that would I have been allowed to create my own way of educating 'me', I would have been capable of learning a lot more, both factual knowledge and 'skills'. School is not 'too hard', it's just not capable of challenging students. It frustrates me that I do not have enough time to learn as much as I could and want to because of school, the institution that should be learning me stuff. If I could, I would do anything to change the system. Not just make amends, 'cosmetic changes', but really change something, change the core. But if I am not allowed or if people do not want me to participate in the discussion, it becomes very hard for me to either try to make changes or even learn more about the subject.
To answer your question: yes, these students do exist. So before you exclude them from the debate, reconsider your premise that they do not want to. Maybe you ust need to find a way to interest them, to show them that they can make a change, that their opinion is actually valued, in contrary to what they get told or shown in schools everyday!Apr 21 2011: Maybe more students aren't responding to this question because it's not being asked in a place where more students will see it. TED's great, but I think you're the exception to the TEDster rule, Adora. Most people having this conversation are out of school, or at least out of high school. If you want student engagement, then the conversation needs to be brought to the students - not just the ones we think will agree, but students who've never been given the opportunity to think about it before.
I also think that as long as we continue to talk about "reforming the *education system*" instead of looking at new ways to understand the *learning process," nothing is going to change. The problem with the education system is just that - it's a "system." We don't learn in systems. We learn from practice, from experiences, from one another.
May 8 2011: And there in a nutshell is the answer, thanks Theresa :)
I believe that allowing young people to participate in their own platform where they can exchange their own ideas will foster 'crowd induced innovation' of these ideas whatever the area of interest being discussed in a group. In an online scenario like this the cream will rise and support will garner around certain notions of percieved fairness, improvement and so on. The problem so often seems to be that education fails to educate and students have no voice, still labouring under the victorian era's ageistic perception that 'children should be seen and not heard'.
Young minds, as older minds, order information as a basic function. The information comes from the outside and so to expect them to have opinions that resonate with our informed and lofty ideas is somewhat short sighted. we need to value the contribution as it is made, making an effort to translate it into our own terms.
As for 'new ways to understand the learning process'...just how many ideas about education do we need before implementration of what is blazingly obvious. Children at home playing computer games are not stimulated by current modes of education. The teacher must become the conduit of information, not the source, and children should be educated through those means by which they percieve the world. Sticking to the intellect as the primary focus of education is ridiculable.
I remember when I finally learned how to learn in an event where it suddenly became clear to me (autodidactically) that I could create something, picture an outcome and work towards it, this was an actual experience of creativity without being told to create. How the education system had failed after 17 years in teaching me this I am at a loss to explain. More likely the case is closer to Ken Robinson's assertion that we have this creativity naturally but are educated out of it.
We also need community integration as part of education...Apr 20 2011: The following parent organization (see link) collects and distributes information concerning quality education. These are parents and some now grand-parents of children who have had a difficult time in school. It would appear they have a number of credible organizations listed as patrons.
This parent group (SQE) now rejects the child-centered approach to education. Read some of the research on this to find out the reasons why they see this "fad" (their term) as a failure.
Here is a book available from the SQE library," Doomed to Fail: The Built-In Defects of American Education" by Paul A. Zoch (Houston, TX teacher). Executive Summary: This book zeroes in on an aspect of child-centred learning that may not have occurred to many people. Because the child-centred philosophy calls for learning to be easy and fun, students are freed from the need to work hard to meet high standards. In child-centred classrooms, the primary responsibility for learning falls on teachers, not on students. In some cases, the teachers work harder for the students' success than the students themselves do.
SQE even suggests that parents either withdraw their child from the public schools that practice the child-centered approach or that parents offset this exposure from as early an age as possible through other privately operated learning institutions. Such institutions are Oxford Learning or Kumon to mention only two.
Their reasons?
These private learning institutions utilize something that is now absent from public schools called direct instruction (traditional).
Fascinating stuff.
There is also a critical look at how universities are failing us and why students in programs for the past 25 years (coincidently coincides with child-centered learning) are just not up to standard. Some of these substandard grads, the professors (authors) claim, are now teachers. Ouch!Apr 20 2011: How many of you have or live close to a toddler of 1-2-3 years old with full iPad access? I have a toddler of 2, and he is bored of 20 pieces puzzle games, angry birds, memory, the smurfs, and many other aim and click apps. I dig in the app store, though don't find anything worth getting for him.
The question is; can we as adults/designers live up to their eager of learning through play or we stand in the myst soon when the kids realize we didn't design interesting/'good' learning 'toys' for them.
Therefore, as young adults, we should (1) start listening very carefully to their 'dreams' (2) collect them and start making the tools (digital or real) to help them live their dreams. Anybody doing this already?
Comment deleted
Apr 26 2011: Thanks Mark, it's fun to discover the 'global village' on a theme is existing through English language. And to 'spread' a little humble idea between heroic tedsters. Though to follow up, where to start... I guess figuring out a way to connect parents with same worries and surely there must be people among them designing professionally iPad apps and physical learning 'tools' like Annmarie Thomas and http://www.ted.com/talks/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html?c=80237 .
Andrew Gill
Apr 8 2011: kids already have too much power but not the accountability that goes with it - empowering them to reshape the education system is like asking them what they want to eat........
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Some how an overdose of 'chocolate' based edcuation does not feel like a good idea......
Apr 8 2011: Denying children guidance and direction in something as important as this would be comparable to neglect and abuse. Hopefully no one is advocating children have authority in decision-making.
We don't allow children to vote. Now, why is that?
Tao P
Apr 10 2011: I like your thinking Mercer, lets get over our ageist ways. Give children the respect you hope they will grow to earn instead of ridiculing them.
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I think we can vastly improve education by giving children more choice in what they want to learn. A child who loves horses is much more likely to enjoy reading books on horses.
We should also get rid of almost all tests and quizzes. I feel there is far too much judgment of children in schools today.
@Andrew: Young children know, when given a choice, of how much and what kinds of food they require. It is only after years of being told to 'finish your plate' 'eat this as it's good for you' and refined sugar addiction that they lose this ability.
Apr 16 2011: Really Mark, we're now resorting to idiomatic expressions? How refreshingly original. Are you suggesting that we have the blind lead the blind? That we walk a mile in someone's shoes?
Sorry, really don't want to put you between a rock and a hard place.Apr 17 2011: OK, fair enough.
Does something need to change? Absolutely. But it's complicated.
Question: Know what's being demanded by a large and growing number of parents in Canada? Parents who will line up for days in order to enroll their child in this particular type of school? Parents who will daily drive their child across and into town in order that they may attend these schools?
Answer: Traditional Schools. Schools that focus on the 3 Rs, where students dutifully read, write and do arithmetic. Where the teacher lectures and gives homework. We have countless requests to open more of these schools. We cannot meet the demand.
How odd is that?
It's not that something needs to change. Everything needs to change, all the time. Now we find if only we had not been so diligent in dismantling and reorganizing schools, we could have saved a ton of money and been on the cutting edge of learning. Well, at least what the public believes anyway.
Who knew?
Background: Canada is rapidly transforming into a country of non-European stock. With this comes a change in how things are and will be run. People of European descent in Canada must acknowledge and accept that things won't always be done exactly how they want it. Including how we educate our children.
Someone always finds change harder. Particularly ones who sense they are losing or in danger of falling behind.Apr 9 2011: I really don't see the problem with empowering children to reshape the system as long as there is guidance. It is wrong to ask a kid what to eat only of they do not know what is good for them to eat.
Apr 9 2011: The entire system is already under the control of non-professionals.
There are state and/or provincial politicians leading the way who feel unfortunate to be handed the education portfolio. Add to this layers of junior starter politicians at the district board and local board levels who bring their own agendas that are not pedagogically sound.
This makes for some very interesting dynamics indeed. Messes always have to be cleaned up after their play at teaching party is over and before the next tour bus arrives. Adding children to the equation should prove interesting.
The perception that meeting the educational needs and demands of society is simple and can be done from an armchair and the "Hey, how could it possibly be any worse" attitude displays arrogance; is dangerous and insulting.
But you know, you are right, it would be better to have uninformed children rather than ignorant adults involved. Learning really cannot afford both.
Apr 10 2011: Given your comments, I would appreciate any feedback to what a non-professional CAN do to help. http://www.ted.com/conversations/1596/how_can_an_outsider_help_imp.htmlApr 15 2011: "The entire system is already under the control of non-professionals."
Funny from what I've seen from most Home Schooled children, I'd say the "professionals" are the problem. A 1997 study showed that "Home school children... out-performed their counterparts in the public schools by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects" And now, in 2010, "The average home schooled 8th grade student performs four grade levels above the national average." Home Schooling parents don't require a degree, they are "non-professions" and their solutions are more kitchen chair than armchair. Perhaps we should begin really looking at these bright spots, of the freedoms these children have.
Odd when I talk to the "professionals" about the fact we are considering homeschooling our child, the response we always get is negative. "They won't get the same education," and "they'll be less socialized" despite none of them offering statical evidence of the supposed effects.
We do lots of stats on children's performance, and measure school, state and countries performance; but, I have never seen a letters sent to the parents showing what a given teacher's graduation rate is, or how their students truly perform at real world skills.
"[I]t would be better to have uninformed children rather than ignorant adults involved."
Yes, it would be. Fire ineffective teachers; but you can't the union won't let you. Moreover, my political views and basic belief structure (except religious beliefs) has remained mostly the same since I was about 12 or 14, I won't say I've made all the right choices since then, Lord knows I haven't, but I was more politically aware about current events at 14 than most adults. We see cases like Sirena Huang, a talented articulate 11-year old and we think they are the exception, yes her musical talent makes her an outlier; but, maybe she isn't as rare as we think. Maybe we are stripping children of their potential by an outdated educational model.


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- 2 kg [4.4 pounds] raw muscle meat with bones (chicken necks are mostly cartilage, are easy to chop and easy for the cat to digest) thighs and drumsticks or, better, a whole carcass of rabbit or chicken amounting to 2 kg; if you don't use a whole carcass, opt for dark meat like thighs and drumsticks from chicken or turkey)
- 400 grams [14 oz] raw heart, ideally from the same animal (if no heart is available, substitute with 4000 mg Taurine)
- 200 grams [7 oz] raw liver, ideally from the same animal (if you can't find appropriate liver, you can substitute 40,000 IU of Vitamin A and 1600 IU of Vitamin D--but try to use real liver instead of substitutes).
- 16 oz [2 cups] water
- 4 raw egg yolks (use eggs from free-range, antibiotic-free chickens if you can)
- 4 capsules raw glandular supplement (such as, for example, "Raw Multiple Glandular" from Premier Labs)
- 4000 mg salmon oil
- 200 mg Vitamin B complex
- 800 IU Vitamin E ("dry E" works well) Buy Vitamin E in dry powder form. It's much easier to deal with than those little oil-filled capsules.
- OPTIONAL: 4 teaspoons psyllium husk powder (8 teaspoons if using whole psyllium husks)
- Use a needle to pierce or small scissors to open the salmon oil capsules .
- Sharp knives. Dull knives make the whole process last too long and can be more dangerous to use than sharp ones.
- Poultry shears or a good tough pair of kitchen scissors can sometimes be easier than a knife for cutting and chunking the meats.
- An egg separator can make things a little easier and faster too.
If you freeze the meat for abut 2 weeks it will kill all the bacteria. Also remember animals have allot more acid in their stomachs to kill harmful bacteria, don't forget they were eating raw long before we came along. :o)
It is the healtiest way for your animal. My pug is not over weight at all, any more.
This is simply not true, while some may die the *vast* majority will not & any toxins they have produced will be entierly intact.
Pretty much the only thing that freezing will kill off are and parasites or eggs contained in the meat, a good thing but very diffrent.
There are quality pet foods made with good meat (or ingredients) and no preservatives. I give my pets a quality food supplement and the best food I can afford and would rather give them people food than some of the commercial food available. And contaminated pet food from China that killed so many pets? They really need for us to look out for them. We have to do our research.
I hope many, many cat owners read your instructable.
I am a cat breeder and I feed my cats raw food - what a difference it makes to their long term health. There are some photos of what my cats eat here:
I feed him whole chicken parts and he eats them bone and all.
I also give him Primal food and mackerel. Here he is eating a chicken leg.....
check out this site for all further information. this is where I got the information for the article.
they are very nice and helpful..thanks
Check this site. this is where the information I used came from. they are very nice and will answer all questions.
thanks for asking.


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Platelets are a special type of blood cell. They help form clots so that you do not bleed too much. Heparin is a blood-thinning medication that decreases clotting.
Thrombocytopenia means low blood platelet count. Heparin-induced thrombocytopenia is low blood platelet count caused by heparin. This condition can lead to a lot of bleeding. In some cases, it can also develop into excessive blood clotting.
Risk Factors
Taking heparin is a risk factor for developing this condition.
Tell your doctor if you are taking heparin.
Symptoms of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia include:
- Excessive bleeding from cuts
- Bleeding from your gums or nose
- Superficial bleeding on the skin—looks like reddish/purple spots, often on the legs
- Blood in urine or stool
- Heavy menstrual flow
- Pain or swelling in the legs
- Chest pain
- Difficulty breathing
- Anxiety
- Sweating
- Rapid, irregular heartbeat
Also, let your doctor know if you have past blood tests showing a low blood platelet count.
Your doctor will ask about your symptoms and medical history. A physical exam will be done.
Your bodily fluids may be tested. This can be done with blood tests.
Images may be taken of your bodily structures. This can be done with ultrasound.
Talk with your doctor about the best plan for you. Treatment options include the following:
- Stopping the use of heparin
- Anticoagulating drugs—to reduce the risk of blood clots:
- Vitamin K Antagonists Therapy (VKA)— if you were taking VKA, it will be stopped and you will be given Vitamin K; the VKA will be restarted when your platelet count is normal.
- Blood transfusion —for severe bleeding, to replace lost blood
To help reduce your chance of getting heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, discuss with your doctor the following:
- Avoiding heparin use
- Taking other anticoagulants
Revision Information
- Reviewer: Igor Puzanov, MD; Michael Woods, MD
- Review Date: 08/2013 -
- Update Date: 05/11/2013 -


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- CARE Team
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If you experience difficulty in any of your courses, need extra instruction in a course that is particularly difficult or need help with developing studying strategies, place a request for a tutor with the Office of Academic Services as soon as possible. Waiting until the midterms may be too late to improve your grade so don't delay in seeking assistance.
You may schedule regular weekly or "as-needed" appointments with your PAL tutor. Additionally, with particularly difficult courses, you can take advantage of dropping in during one of our Supplemental Instruction sessions. The Geauga Campus offers tutoring at no costs for any Kent State University students.
We offer two types of tutoring: Peer Assisted Learning and Supplemental Instruction. Also offered is the Writing Consultation Lab that is open to any students needing help with their research papers.
Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) is a free tutoring service which provides one-on-one and small group tutoring by appointment for those students who are interested in regular, weekly tutoring assistance or on an as needed basis. If there is a large request for tutoring in certain subjects, walk-in tutoring sessions will be offered in block time sessions during certain days of the week. Every effort will be made to accommodate an individual's schedule, but this is not a guarantee.
PAL objectives:
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Click here to download an application to request for a PAL tutor. Be sure to specifically mention if your campus tutoring needs are at Geauga Campus or the Regional Academic Center.
Supplemental Instruction (SI) is a program designed to help students succeed when they are enrolled in academically demanding courses. SI is open to all Kent State University students enrolled in the course and is available at no extra cost to the students. These SI sessions are led by qualified professionals who have thorough knowledge of the course. SI instructors help students master information by reviewing lecture notes, book materials, taking practice quizzes and exam, and improving study skills.
SI offers:
- At least a one-hour SI session before or after the class lecture for students' convenience throughout the semester
- The opportunity to meet other students in the class to discuss course materials
- The chance to reinforce what was taught in the classroom
- The potential to earn a better grade in the course
Click here to view the Supplemental Instruction schedule for the Spring 2015 semester for the Geauga Campus & the Regional Academic Center. Check back periodically as the schedule may change.
To view the ADN Nursing Tutor Spring 2015 schedule held at the Regional Academic Center, click here.
The Office of Academic Services is always looking for bright motivated students willing to become a PAL tutor. If you would like to make a difference, get paid for helping others in your favorite subject and have a flexible schedule, then sign up to be a PAL tutor today!! Qualified candidates must have a willingness to assist students and communicate the course materials effectively.
Click here to download the PAL Tutor application or simply stop by the Student Services Office to fill out an application today!
For more information, contact Ben Morrison, Coordinator of Academic Services, at 440.834.3726 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Writing Consultation Lab
Writing Consultants are available to help all students improve their critical thinking and rhetorical skills. Students needing another perspective on the ideas in their academic essays can see a consultant for a 15 minute session (longer if other students are not waiting for help). Our goal is to help you become a better critic of your own writing so you become more proficient at practicing the writing process, gathering, developing, and organizing your ideas.
When you attend a session, you should bring
- your copy of the St. Martin's Handbook,
- a printout of the assignment,
- a printout of your notes or draft, and
- paper, pen/pencil or a digital device (laptop, tablet, or smartphone) to take notes during our discussion.
During this session, you should expect the consultant to help you understand the assignment directives, how to respond critically and accurately to your essay, and how to interpret and respond to peer commentary.
But, you do not need to have a draft for a consulting session: bring what you have. It is better to come with a list of ideas as soon as you can, than wait until just before the assignment deadline with a draft. Revision takes time and thought, and the more time you allow for your thoughts to develop, the more successful assignment you'll compose.
If you have written …
- Nothing, we can unpack the assignment directives understand the assignment.
- Ideas, we can work on invention: discovering ideas and perspectives.
- Notes or an outline, we can work on invention and arrangement/organization.
- A partial draft, we can work on developing ideas and clarifying your thesis so you express your ideas more fully.
- A draft, we can examine how well you discovered, developed, supported and organized your ideas.
Note that this is NOT a proofreading or editing service. If you need help with grammar, style or editing concerns, the consultant can help you find, understand and apply the relevant sections of the St. Martin's Handbook.
Consultants are available only on a first-come, first-served basis (no appointments) at the time and location indicated below. If many students are waiting for a consultation with similar issues, the consultant may work with several students as a group.
Click here to view the Writing Consultation Lab Spring 2015 semester schedule for the Geauga Campus & the Regional Academic Center.
For more information, contact Ben Morrison, Coordinator of Academic Services, at 440.834.3726 or email@example.com.
Additional Writing Resources:
Writing Commons, KSU - http://www.kent.edu/writingcommons/index.cfm
Writing Commons - Resources, KSU - http://www.kent.edu/writingcommons/resources/online-resources.cfm
Bartleby (Strunk & White) - http://www.bartleby.com/141/


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Aug. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Rupert Murdoch's 21st Century Fox withdrew its $75 billion takeover offer for Time Warner Inc., the owner of HBO and Warner Bros. Bloomberg's Trish Regan, Julie Hyman, Jon Erlichman, Cory Johnson and Barry Ritholtz have more on "Street Smart." (Source: Bloomberg)
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The same people who refuse to repair that crumbling bridge your kid's school bus crosses everyday because they say they just don't have enough revenue coming in yet, wants to run your health care. Many of us pointed out the flawed funding formulas and unsustainability of unicorn farts and happy thoughts fueling the drive before and after the law was rushed through Congress without anyone even reading the bill, but we were scoffed at and told we were just mean bad people.
Well, it looks like the mean bad people were the ones lying to implement the hoax that is now Obamacare.
The large subsidies for health insurance that helped fuel the successful drive to sign up some 8 million Americans for coverage under the Affordable Care Act may push the cost of the law considerably above current projections, a new federal report indicates.
Nearly 9 in 10 Americans who bought health coverage on the federal government's healthcare marketplaces received government assistance to offset their premiums.
90% of the signups had to be bribed into doing so. Where does that bribe money come from people?
Premiums that normally would have cost $346 a month on average instead cost consumers just $82, with the federal government picking up the balance of the bill.
8 million Obamacare enrollees X $264 subsidized monthly premium (aka bribe) = $2,112,000,000 A MONTH
Oh the math gets far worse….
That total does not count the additional cost of providing coverage to millions of additional consumers who bought coverage in states that ran their own marketplaces, including California, Connecticut, Maryland and New York. About a third of the 8 million people who signed up for coverage this year used a state-run marketplace.
The fact is no one really knows.
The Congressional Budget Office estimated in April that the annual cost of subsidies will rise to $23 billion next year and $95 billion in 2024, although the budget office continued to project that all the law's costs will be offset by additional revenue it raises and by cuts in other federal healthcare spending.
But hey, don't worry, we'll make up for it in other areas….
Which gets me back to that crumbling bridge they say they don't have the money to fix.
Folks, someday, you will be that bridge that they can't afford to fix if you allow Government to take over your health care system.


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The Salvation Army to Help at Least Three Schools with Badly Needed Education Materials
Milwaukee, WI (August 19, 2013) WISN-TV and the Salvation Army successfully raised more than $50,000 during its phone bank drive last week to buy school supplies for Milwaukee Public School (MPS) students who can't afford these basic necessities. As contributions continue to come in, initial pledges from the "Class Act" phone banks on Aug. 12 and 13 make it possible for at least three MPS schools to get needed supplies. The three schools that have been selected to receive the supplies are Hi Mount Community School, Auer Avenue School, and Lancaster School.
"This project was heartwarming and inspiring. The incredible generosity of WISN 12 viewers exceeded our expectations," says Jan Wade, president and general manager of WISN-TV. "Donations came in from every corner of our viewing area, proving that our community truly cares about local students. The gratitude and sheer joy from the educators involved in this project was overwhelming. WISN 12 viewers and the Salvation Army clearly helped fill a very important need, and we look forward to doing this again next year."
The Salvation Army initially set a goal of raising $25,000. In addition to appeals made by WISN 12 news personalities, interviews with Green Bay Packer Hall of Famer LeRoy Butler and former Green Bay Packer Line Backer George Koonce helped energize viewers who gave generously throughout the two-day phone drive.
"We are grateful to the viewers of WISN 12 and the entire WISN 12 family for helping make our Back to School Collection Drive so successful. This generosity will help hundreds of Milwaukee Public School children begin the school year with confidence and have the supplies they need to do well in school," says Major Roger Ross, Salvation Army Milwaukee County Commander.
MPS Principals from the selected schools have also been overwhelmed by the community's generosity.
"I truly appreciate the generosity of the Salvation Army, the Channel 12 viewers and our entire Milwaukee community for supporting the students of Hi-Mount Community School," says Toni Dinkins. "The gift of a book bag stuffed with school supplies will definitely allow our students to return to school prepared with tools for success. With over 95 percent our student population qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, these donations will ensure that our students have the supplies they need to learn, grow, and achieve. More importantly, this tremendous act of kindness will also ensure that our students feel loved and supported by many."
Phyllis Smith, principal at Lancaster School, adds, "Thank you! We really appreciate the viewers' generosity, which made it possible to support even more students than originally planned. Lancaster students will be off to a great start because they will have the supplies they need. It's a great investment in our future!"
"We are so appreciative of the Salvation Army, WISN 12 and the generosity of all of those who gave," says Felice Beal, principal at Auer Avenue School. "This will be a tremendous support for our families and our school as a whole so students can focus on what¹s important -- learning -- and not focus on what they don¹t have. Auer Avenue thanks you tremendously!"
The Salvation Army has set up a page for volunteers to sign up and help sort school supplies and stuff book bags at www.SAmilwaukee.org. The school supply distribution date is scheduled for Friday, Sept. 20.
Individuals who were unable to give during the phone banks can still help MPS schools. The Salvation Army Back to School Donation Drive continues at various Salvation Army drop zones through Friday Aug. 30.
About WISN 12
WISN 12, the ABC station in Milwaukee, is owned by Hearst Television Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hearst Corporation. Hearst owns 29 television stations and two radio stations in geographically diverse U.S. markets. The Company's television stations reach approximately 18 percent of U.S. TV households, making it one of America's largest television station groups. It also owns more than three dozen websites and multicasts more than two dozen digital channels providing news, weather and entertainment programming. The Company's Web address is www.hearsttelevision.com. WISN 12's Web address is www.wisn.com.
About The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army, an evangelical part of the universal Christian church, has been supporting those in need in His name without discrimination since 1865. Nearly 33 million Americans receive assistance from The Salvation Army each year through the broadest array of social services that range from providing food for the hungry, relief for disaster victims, assistance for the disabled, outreach to the elderly and ill, clothing and shelter to the homeless and opportunities for underprivileged children. Nationally, approximately 84 cents of every dollar raised is used to support those services in nearly 9,000 communities nationwide. For more information, go to www.SAmilwaukee.org.


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I love it. My customers love it. Enough said
I've been using coconut oil for massage for a couple of years now. I love that it is it is naturally water dispersable (which is of MAJOR importance for me)and it is so healthy for the skin. I usually purchase the organic refined (which makes it unscented) from the health-food stores, so when I saw this I thought I'd give it a try. I love that it remains liquid at room temperature. It feels just a little bit lighter than the coconut oil I'm used to using, but after I adjusted to that, it was all good. If you want an oil that has nourishes your clients' skin, does not stain or leave unpleasant lingering odors in your sheets, and is light, but does not require constant reapplication... go for it!
I like it's smooth feeling.
i first started using this product in the treatment room because of the viscosity for my massages as well as not staining my sheets. My clients loved it because it did not leave them feeling greasy. I also was able to use it for the facial massage due to the non comodegenic properties. My clients loved the way it made their face and body feel, so I started selling it retail. Great product. I hope you continue to stock it.
I really like fractionated coconut oil for massage/bodywork. It has a great feel and glide but is still very light. It absorbs well and because it is fractionated is does not go rancid. This is my first time buying Bon Vital coconut oil with MW.
I'm not sure how Bon Vital will hold up and I wasn't particularly fond of the pump they supplied with the bottle. Seemed cheap and was difficult to pump with one hand.
Also just a note on Massage Warehouse. I ordered 4 bottles and received email notification of shipment. When I opened the box there was only one bottle and no indication of when they would ship the other 3. When I emailed to inquire they told me to call (?). When I spoke with someone they put me on hold and came back and said that there had been an error and they didn't realize there were still 3 bottles owed and she was taking care of sending out the remaining 3 bottles. It was handled well and corrected but if your warehouse doesn't know the difference between 1 bottle and 4 bottles and has no clue they shorted you, WOW.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration requires that MSDS be available to employees for potentially harmful substances handled in the workplace under the Hazard Communication regulation.
Bon Vital Coconut Oil MSDS


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The Economist provides objective commentary and insightful analysis on politics, business, finance and economics, science and technology, books and arts, and much more, which is why it is an essential weekly read.
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Strategically located in vibrant key cities and idyllic sanctuaries, Meritus Hotels & Resorts combines timeless elegance and contemporary design with its signature Asian grace, warmth and care.
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True enough. the translation of the irish one is -
A greatly satisfied woman went with a truly white dense spade through the hat of my good little well-fattened pig
The Saxon text is -Gæð a wyrd swa hio scel! ("Fate goes ever as she shall!").
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DaveC wrote:Can I also thank whomever voted for Swear, I think it was Batty, not quite sure. Cheers!
poohcarrot wrote:Del wrote:How about once the champions are announced the authors are added to the stories and put up for access once again.
No can do Del.
At the start I promised I would only reveal the names of the 3 winners.
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|Amount Per Serving
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|1 mg
Not for use by persons under the age of 18. Do not exceed 3 mg in a 24 hour period. Use only at bedtime. Do not take this product when driving a motor vehicle or operating heavy machinery. If you are pregnant or nursing, taking medication or planning a surgery, consult your doctor before using this product. If any adverse reactions occur, stop taking the product and consult your doctor. Not recommended for consumption with alcoholic beverages. In case of accidental overdose, seek professional assistance.


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Index of academic and popular articles about plants and gardening. Topics include horticulture, garden and landscape design and history, botany, ecology, plant and garden conservation, garden management, and horticultural therapy. This index and abstract product is designed for gardening enthusiasts, professionals, and students of horticulture, garden and landscape design and history. More than 300 core titles, mostly English-language, are indexed and abstracted.
Guest curated by graduate student Katie Wills
Stories from people who were children during World War II and the objects in this exhibit animate the past and inform us of a time when war took over daily life. "Retrospect is a very interesting thing," says Ruthie Kallnder. "At the time I don't recall any of the information we got as being propaganda," but the government tried to influence children to make "necessary" sacrifices. Propagandists made the war a battle between good and evil, democracy and fascism. They also asked children to share in the war effort. In response, many children took on more responsibilities. Ruthie explains that boys and girls felt "if that's what it was going to take" to win they "were willing to do it." The memories of the people in this exhibit and their wartime actions show the power of propaganda's messages and its lasting affect on their lives. Propaganda posters, children's books, and classroom assignments demonstrate how propagandists reached children and involved them in the national war effort.
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