Responsible Education Reform

Still, for the millions of students, billions of dollars, and countless hours of effort devoted, there is no shortage of criticism for our American educational system. Students are maligned for poor communication, math and decision making skills, the inability to creatively solve problems, and a host of other inadequacies. Teachers and administrators alike are criticized for failing to impart the knowledge, know-how, and wisdom students need to not only survive, but to flourish in modern society. Uniformly expectations for education are high and the demands are great, but unfortunately the results do not always measure up.

The culture and political system of the United States act increasingly to concentrate power, particularly in the hands of government. The unstated, but irresistibly attractive advantage to relying on government for any task is that we get to divorce ourselves from the bane of human existence: personal responsibility, and the work such responsibility demands.

Given to contrivance and convenience we convince ourselves education can be reduced to an equation of inputs and outputs – dollars committed to productivity achieved. Taxpayers need only contribute their apportioned tolls and they can then make performance demands. Every rational assessment of our system however, identifies a bankrupt enterprise. We search for superman and race to nowhere, but now it is time we focus on the only viable solution to our educational dilemma: personal responsibility.

In our immaturity, we loath the very notion of taking on responsibility. The reality is, however, every human life is a unique journey of self-discovery – our educational system should advance, not inhibit, the voyage. Each individual is responsible for the quality, intensity and depth of their experience. Until an individual accepts full responsibility for developing his or her talents, exploring this world and contributing to society, that individual will never be fully free or fully alive. We ignore this truth at our own peril.

We cling to the promise of “industrialized education” when instead we should transform the system to promote two ends: establish a base level of intellectual (communication, calculating, reasoning) and social skills; and help each individual uncover and develop his or her unique gifts and talents. Assuming personal responsibility must be at the forefront of any effort to revise the education equation.

While students and parents still bear the lion’s share of responsibility for outcomes, teachers can and do play a critical role in formal educational. To begin the transformation here is one idea, amongst literally hundreds, to raise the bar on responsibility for teachers: Make a part of every teacher’s compensation the future earnings of his or her students. Allocate a portion of every working individual’s taxes (a few percent) amongst his or her teachers from grades one through twelve as deferred compensation. Students and parents could refine apportionment through performance criteria established over the course of the student’s formal educational career – better teachers would warrant greater consideration.

This proposal would not require additional taxation; just a reallocation of taxes with priority given to teachers. In the long run, a teacher’s economic viability would depend on the working contributions of their students. A teacher would have a vested interest in the long-term physical and intellectual well-being of every student.

This idea is just one example of measures that could be implemented to instill a sense of personal responsibility for everyone involved in education. Education and learning, growth and socialization are intrinsically human (not industrial) endeavors. The tragedies and triumphs inherent in the American educational system are microcosms of society at large. To effectively reform our system we must make personal responsibility the focal point for sound education policy. We all have a stake in education, let’s begin responsible reform.

Copyright (c) 2011 Scott F Paradis

How To Succeed At Online Product Creation The Easy Way

Product creation could be a frightening subject for a lot of Internet marketers to face. Some folks who get in the game with the intention of making a full time income are completely ignorant as to how an online business operates. One of the most profitable ways to create online cash is by creating a product that others are happy to pay for.

Product creation is legitimate method of generating money through internet marketing but many entrepreneurs get it wrong. They start by imitating their Internet marketing gurus by creating information products on Internet marketing in hopes of getting rich the way their heroes did. The problem is that they usually don’t know what they are doing and enter a highly competitive niche with very little marketing experience or connections.

Here are a few tips for effective product creation that may help you get on the right track:
Start by finding a profitable niche with low to moderate competition. If you conduct some rudimentary market research and keyword research, you’ll find many opportunities in areas that will surprise you. Amazon and eBay are two great places to brainstorm for product ideas.

Developing Your Product does not have to be a difficult project. You can find experts in the right field for your niche and pay them to write the material while an artist designs the packaging and website or blog. You can outsource the entire product creation part of the project after you conduct the research and testing to ensure profitability.

Sales and marketing strategies should be created while developing the product and learning about the market. Some experienced marketers use pay per click to drive traffic to their offer page; some folks outsource the entire marketing campaign to affiliates through ClickBank or other affiliate programs.

Product creation does not need to be hard, particularly when the merchandise is electronic. E-books, videos, audio and multi-media products sell very well. They are distributed immediately to customers electronically. Once you have a good feel for a niche market, try to service your customers with associated products and upgrades. If you want to earn money online through product creation, you must understand supply and demand. The majority of new online marketers fail miserably because they go after highly competitive markets or forget to research their chosen niche properly. You have to create your products according to the needs, wants and desires of the prospective customers.

Considerable Factors Involved in Product Creation & Marketing

The niche you have chosen should allow creation of more than one product or service. With the technological advancements in the hosting industry, from automated control panels and scripts that simplify creation of accounts, to complete turnkey solutions; there is no need to worry about spending time on the real products sold to the customer. The main ones are keyword selection, sales copy principles, graphics, affiliate programs, product creation, online payment processing, auto responders, and search engine optimization.

Once you’ve earned money from this type of information product business, you can invest in the creation of your own products if you want, or start offering more informational products that allow you to sell your knowledge. But the creation and production costs of a similar big ticket in sequence product, although higher, are still pretty low. A key by-product of this process will be the creation of 3-D, Computer Assisted Design art.

The Association for Financial Professionals permits the following activities for repatriating funds: Research and Development activities, advertising and marketing programs, hiring and training new recruits, acquiring patent and other rights to intangible property, improving transportation, funding capital investments with the purpose of job creation and job retention & funding product responsibility or environmental claims.

It prohibits certain activities like: Tax payments, Payment of executive recompense, Payment of dividends, Redemption of stocks, Debt investments and Portfolio investments. Therefore, before repatriating the money, you must consider whether it is worth or not.

Checklist on what artist and product development necessitate includes: Exceptional vocals, musicianship and/or songwriting skills, Continued education and enhancement of musical skills, Quality equipment, Performance ability, Image creation and maintenance, Plan of action, goal setting, excellent promotion materials including photographs, press releases and artwork, Business management skills, Marketing, Publicity and Promotion knowledge, Online and Offline Professional management, Basic knowledge of recording, producing, engineering, and mastering, Basic knowledge of manufacturing, distribution, and sales online, brick and mortar and air-play, Good choices in members, staff and advisors, Physical and mental preparedness, Basic knowledge of finances, accounting Law and legal issues etc.

The goals for doing so are for the product owner to: Communicate the whole, Determine and communicate when releases are needed, Determine what functionality is sufficient for each release & focus on business value derived from the releases. The delivery team on the other hand will see the whole, learn about the steps to realize the vision, learn the business priorities, provide technical input to the roadmap and provide estimates for the projected features. The salesperson must lead the prospect through the various decision criteria needed in order to secure a sale. Whether your idea is the development of a product, launch of a service business, or even the creation of an event or program for a non-profit, creativity is the root of all entrepreneurial efforts starting with the vision itself.

People quickly learn to spend their time on marketing and product creation, rather than repetitive tasks. Apart from empowering companies and individuals, there should be a particular focus on identifying labor intensive businesses that have the potential to make a significant and positive impact on employment creation as well as those businesses that have a product or service offering for export markets with the final objective of booming local economies.