‘Education & Reference’
Anyone who’s worked in an office at some point or another has had to go to accounting. They’re the people who pay and send out the bills that keep the business running. They do a lot more than that, though. Sometimes referred to as “bean counters” they also keep their eye on profits, costs and losses. Unless you’re running your own business and acting as your own accountant, you’d have no way of knowing just how profitable – or not – your business is without some form of accounting.
No matter what business you’re in, even if all you do is balance a checkbook, that’s still accounting. It’s part of even a kid’s life. Saving an allowance, spending it all at once – these are accounting principles.
What are some other businesses where accounting is critical? Well, farmers need to follow careful accounting procedures. Many of them run their farms year to year by taking loans to plant the crops. If it’s a good year, a profitable one, then they can pay off their loan; if not, they might have to carry the loan over, and accrue more interest charges.
Every business and every individual needs to have some kind of accounting system in their lives. Otherwise, the finances can get away from them, they don’t know what they’ve spent, or whether they can expect a profit or a loss from their business. Staying on top of accounting, whether it’s for a multi-billion dollar business or for a personal checking account is a necessary activity on a daily basis if you’re smart. Not doing so can mean anything from a bounced check or posting a loss to a company’s shareholders. Both scenarios can be equally devastating.
Accounting is basically information, and this information is published periodically in business as a profit and loss statement, or an income statement.
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Every year students flock to the college bookstore to purchase the various textbooks that they require for their classes. Little do these students realize that, in doing so, they are throwing good money away. As unbelievable as it may seem textbooks, in some cases, actually cost as much, if not more, than tuition.
On the surface the college bookstore may seem like a convenient source for textbooks. Titles are usually in-stock and students may purchase new textbooks or opt for the cheaper alternative of used books. In truth the money saved by purchasing used textbooks from the college bookstore is only a fraction of the amount that students could be saving if they shopped online.
More and more online booksellers have begun selling textbooks at a considerable discount off of the cover price. In fact, many major booksellers now have special areas of their web sites that are devoted to selling nothing but textbooks. Online used bookstores are another source for college books as they stock a large number of textbooks, which means sizable savings for students. There are also web-based retailers whose inventory is entirely devoted to college books.
Students should avoid purchasing their textbooks at the first store that they browse. Instead, they should investigate the alternatives offered by other online booksellers. Price isn’t the only factor to consider when making an online purchase. Students should also factor in shipping costs and delivery time when making their buying decision.
Online auctions are another option for students seeking a bargain. This option, however, has its pros and cons. A plus is that students can get incredible bargains when obtaining books via online auctions. One downside is that established retailers have channels in place to ensure that you receive your order within a reasonable amount of time. With an auction purchase, however, you are at the mercy of the auction seller’s timetable.
One way that students can really save is by obtaining books for free. Project Gutenberg is one resource that English majors will find invaluable. At this site students can peruse a vast collection of classics that have entered the public domain. In the past students seeking assistance with their studies had to pay for the privilege of that help by purchasing study guides. Today that is no longer the case. Cash-strapped students can now visit Spark Notes for free downloadable study guides as well as free downloadable classics.
Students who elect to buy online will no longer be able to resell their books to the college bookstore at the end of class, but that doesn’t mean that they are stuck with the textbooks. Many web sites that sell textbooks also offer students the option of selling their books to fellow bargain-seekers. This allows students to easily recouping a portion of their money.
Textbooks normally consume a major portion of a student’s budget, but that doesn’t have to be the case, because while the cost of tuition may be set in stone the price of textbooks isn’t. By taking the time to do a little research on the best textbook values available college students can save money now rather than acquiring debt to be paid back later.
Article Author
Copyright © 2004 Heather Wallace. Visit http://www.BargainMartian.com
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Myth #1. Pupils should learn by heart the times tables up to 20 by 20.
I can not even imagine some explanation to justify this immoderate demand. While the results of the times tables up to 9 by 9 are constantly using when we multiply or divide the numbers expressed by several figures, the other operations appear much more rarely in ordinary computations. So why kids must memorize by heart the results of 13 by 16, 19 by 17, etc.? If they have mastered the times tables up to 9 by 9, all such operations may be easily implemented by “pencil and paper”. Maybe just this excessive demand provokes the considerable difficulties when teaching the times tables about which we hear so often.
Myth #2. Many kids do not have abilities to master the multiplication tables.
Indeed, at the present the simple multiplication skills of very many pupils are good for nothing, and our children are getting worse and worse at the skills. If the situation is not changed, then, maybe, very soon we will be forced to say that most pupils cannot perform simple multiplication. However, both my experience (35 years in the classroom) and my investigations (23 years of studies) show that every mentally healthy pupil can totally master all basic multiplication facts within the limits of 100.
Of course, there are kids who cannot learn math because they have not been taught to learn properly. Furthermore, there are persons who do not want to learn math at all. They do not try to memorize results, they do not work at lessons, they do not carry out homework themselves, but it is quite other problem. Nevertheless, I would like to lay emphasis once more – if a pupil wants to learn the multiplication tables, then we can help him/her to do this successfully. Good will of children and teachers is the main required condition for success in mastering the multiplication tables.
Myth #3. There are easy ways to learn the basic times-tables in minutes.
Do not trust educators who promise you easy and quick methods of mastering math basics. There are tips which can help to understand how to find the results of some operations, but there is not a magic potion which can help to memorize the results at once. In the past there was not a royal road for learning math as a whole (and the multiplication tables in particular), there is not one at the present, and I cannot imagine that such a road will appear in foreseeable future. To master any skill a pupil must perform certain quantity of exercises. Mastering the multiplication tables requires zealous work, maybe, arduous work. This work must include not only memorizing the results, but permanent application of them in different kinds of computations too. We can make this work interesting and productive, but we can not manage without it. And such a work requires sufficiently plenty of time to reach the desired goal (not minutes and even hours, undoubtedly).
Myth #4. We can manage without mastering simple mental computations because modern mathematics is a science of ideas, not an exercise in calculation. Being a wiz at figures is not the mark of success in mathematics.
I hardly can understand what some educators imply when they speak about New Math or Whole Math keeping in view reform of school mathematics. We can add new topics, shuffle them as playing cards, move them from one grade to another, but we can not manage without numbers when teaching math. Up to the point I have not seen at list one math curriculum which proclaims needlessness of mastering operations with different kinds of numbers, solving equations and so on. Meanwhile my practice and my long-lasting investigations show that pupils with unsteady simple mental computational skills (addition and subtraction within the limits of 20, multiplication and division within the limits of 100) have great difficulties while learning the other basic topics of arithmetic and algebra. Learning mathematics for pupils who have not mastered totally the skills is similar to learning reading without knowing the letters. Without a doubt, being a wiz at figures is not the mark of success in mathematics, but being an ignoramus at figures is the mark of failure in mathematics.
About the Author
Victor Guskov, a teacher of mathematics, PhD, Pedagogical Sciences.
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All Parents want to find the right play school for their kids which a tall order to meet. With so many preschool around, you find yourself at crossroads. Then the question arises, Where and How to go from here.
An easy choice would be to go in for an established school which meets your approval and a difficult choice would be to find a school which enables its pupils to look beyond the boundaries and want & also let its pupils personalities to become as unique as their Thumbprints.
The following checklist may come handy:
1. A school with a vision.
2. A school which aims, focuses and provides learning opportunities for an overall growth and development of its pupils while retaining their individual essence.
3. A school which attaches equal importance to curricular and co-curricular activities and balances the two through a well planned programme to be followed through out the year.
4. A school with qualified, experienced and dedicated teaching staff which encourages its pupils to question explore and think for new answers.
5. A school which has the requisite infrastructure to meet the aims and objectives of the school.
6. A school which maintains good student-teacher ratio.
7. A school which is forthcoming in sharing its pupils progress with their parents at regular intervals.
8. A school which has counselling and guidance services / programmes for its students and their parents.
9. A school which instils high self-esteem in its pupils and respect for one’s cultural and moral values.
10. A school which dutifully aims for giving responsible, committed and patriotic citizens and leaders of tomorrow.
One may also take into account other features of the school, like it’s location , transport facilities offered, hygiene standards observed in matters of health, sanitation and drinking water ,ventilation , natural light & size of the classroom, play ground / play area ,strength of support staff, safety and security measures undertaken.
You make your own checklist according to your expectations and priorities. More over, if possible try meeting the other students, their parents and the teachers of the school of your choice.
All the best parents! We hope you make the right choice.
About the Author
Shemrock is the No.1 chain of Preschool in Delhi with over 120 branches across India. Recognized as a brand which values child care and the involvement of parents, Shemrock offers numerous Parenting Tips and many Parenting Workshop under the aegis of “SYNERGY- The Parent Participation Programme”.
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