Three Dallas Schools Make Newsweek�s Best 100 High Schools List � Tag High School Is #1!

In their May 8, 2006, issue, Newsweek listed their Best 100 Public Schools across the nation. They ranked the schools using a ratio of the number of Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International Baccalaureate tests taken by all students within a school, divided by the number of graduating seniors. The 2006 list was based on the 2004-2005 school year. Their aim is to acknowledge those schools that do the best job of preparing average students for college, regardless of their economic background.

Three Dallas schools made the list with one taking top honors. Dallas schools’ Highland Park High School weighed in at number 18 with a ratio of 4.735. Dallas schools’ Science and Engineering Magnet took honors at number eight with a ratio of 6.275. Dallas schools’ Talented and Gifted (TAG) High School had a 14.128 ratio and ranked number ONE! What an achievement for the Dallas schools.

Located near downtown Dallas in an impoverished neighborhood, TAG exemplifies how a school can meet the Dallas schools’ goals of providing an excellent education for each and every child. The racially mixed student body receives a high-level of learning that challenges each child to achieve. TAG focuses on getting students into college through AP courses, providing the same opportunities to its students as the wealthy private schools.

Some educators refer to schools like Dallas schools’ TAG as a boutique school, catering to special interest while ignoring course variety. Educators, including those in the Dallas schools, have been demanding reform for over 10 years; yet, they cannot agree on what works. In the ‘80s, the thought was to make all students college ready through a rigorous core curriculum. In the ‘90s, school choice and testing became the norm. Now, some are calling for dumping the entire public school system; while others see smaller schools, class size, and a boutique focus as optimum.

Even when a plan is working as it is in Dallas schools’ TAG High School, opposition still rears its ugly head. Some believe that the smaller school loses the social acclimation that the larger high schools provide. They say that maintaining quality is difficult and the coursework lacks substance. Proponents of Dallas schools’ TAG say that these Dallas Schools’ students get more teacher and counselor attention and the children are less likely to get lost in the crowd, which gives the students an edge.

TAG is one of the Dallas schools that is committed to helping students achieve their best, encouraging each and every student to aim high. They stress the importance of attending college and try to make the AP as much a part of students’ lives as music or hanging out with their friends. While only 30 percent of high school students across the nation take any AP courses at all, each TAG student is required to take at least one, with most students taking more.

Dallas schools’ TAG and other boutique schools like it have increased the number of minorities taking AP courses, increasing their chances to attend college. According to the College Board, which administers the AP, four times as many Hispanics and three times as many Blacks took AP courses in 2005, as compared to 10 years ago.

Newsweek cited Dallas schools’ TAG student Fanny Frausto, age 18, who has taken 16 AP courses and scored high on many of them. She scored a five on her final three-hour exam. Her transcript is definitely atypical for a public high school student, showing a seemingly impossible schedule of classes. She attends MIT on scholarship in the fall of 2006.

Dallas schools’ teachers at TAG go the extra mile for their students. They assist the youth in learning to meet deadlines, constructing essays and organizing their time, managing workloads, and dealing with the tension and nervousness students may feel during testing.

Schools that consistently have high achieving students and programs were not included in Newsweek’s list. Their ratio formula only measures test participation, rather than testing success. Also, due to inconsistencies, the formula does not include drop out rates or state testing scores.

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The benefits of learning Chinese

The benefits of learning Chinese

Before the dawn of globalization, most people thought it would be fun to learn another language, but never took it seriously. In high school, for instance, teenagers learned Spanish, French, German or even Latin, only to lose it quickly after graduation.

Recently, however, Chinese has become the language of choice and it is not only being taught in high school and college, but online as well.

Its rise in popularity shouldn't be too surprising, however. More than 1 billion people speak the Chinese language. Being able to learn Chinese is not only fun, but it's also becoming an essential skill for business people and world travelers alike.

Taking Chinese language lessons and mastering the language opens doors to nearly one-fifth of the world's population. Standard Mandarin is spoken in China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and many other regions of the world. Mastering the Chinese language is essential for business people who want to expand into the Asian market, particularly the rapidly growing market for Western products and services in China.

Not only has China become a giant in the global economy, but the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing promises to put China on the international stage as it plays host to the world's oldest sporting competition. The entire country will be on display for the world to see and the games offer savvy business people and travelers an ideal opportunity to learn to the Chinese language.

While Chinese has a reputation as being difficult to learn, the adoption of Simplified Chinese characters and the development Hanya Pinyin have made it easier for Westerners to learn the Chinese language.

For example, the adoption of the Simplified Chinese character system in 1954 reduced most of the complex symbols to just a few strokes. Many were reduced to what amounts to common shorthand. Since the characters are simplified and many share commonalities, it is not only easier to learn how to learn Chinese, but it is easier to write the Chinese language as well.

While the Chinese dictionary contains 40,000 characters, only 3,000 are needed to read a newspaper and well-educated Chinese know about 6,000 to 7,000 characters. If that sounds like a lot to remember, the average English speaking person uses about 8,000 words regularly. In many respects, learning the Chinese language is easier than learning english.

One of the best ways to learn Chinese is online. That's because learning to speak Chinese Mandarin is easier when a student works with a native speaker. Listening to the native speaker allows the student to learn the correct pronunciation quickly.

This is the first step in learning the Chinese language. By teaching you how to use pinyin, you will quickly learn to read and pronounce key characters. The native speaker can help you with pronunciation. Unlike English, characters almost always have just a single sound. The rules of the language are much more rigid than English too, so you don't have to learn countless exceptions to each rule.

While there are many websites that teach Chinese, one of the most popular and most effective is Mando Mandarin (http://www.mandomandarin.com). Its live language lessons feature private tutors from China, so you can be sure that the Chinese language lessons will give you a mastery of the language in no time. In fact, they will show you how to learn Chinese in five minutes or less during a free trial lesson, so you can see how easy it is to learn the language.

Once you are introduced to the wonders of learning a new language, you'll want to put your newfound skills to good use. Whether you're bound for the Summer Olympics, a teleconference with the home office in Hong Kong or your neighborhood Chinese restaurant, learning how to the Chinese language is one of life's greatest (and most useful) joys.

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Importance of English Language in Modern Business

English language has been acknowledged as one of the most widely spoken language and is the most accepted form of communication in the business world. It is the official language of European Union and is taught as the second language in most of the countries across the world. Today, knowledge of English language has become the basic requirement in most of the professions / industry.

Even though people study basic english in schools as a subject, they face various communication related problems, be it written or spoken skills. Lack of English knowledge can cause many problems such as: unemployment, achieving success in fields like business, science, media etc and in fact international travel can also become uncomfortable if you visit a place where your local language is not spoken and English is the only common medium of communication.

The globalization of modern business has ensured that more opportunities are available for individuals to build a career. At the same time, being proficient in a field is not just sufficient rather the capability to market your skills globally has become a priority. In order to be competitive in an international business market you should have fluency in English language to state your ideas / views clearly.

English is termed as one of the easiest languages to learn, write and communicate. However, it becomes important that one gets the right guidance to learn english language effectively and efficiently. There are various colleges and institutions offering courses ranging from General English, Business English to Masters in English language.

Eurospeak is one of the leading colleges in UK providing various English language courses like General English, Business English, Intensive English courses etc. Their main aim is to achieve your goals without any obstruction. They help you gain confidence to pursue a better job, continue your education through which you can accomplish a better future.

To know more about English language courses, visit, www.eurospeak.org.uk

The Importance of Learning German

Learning German can be an enjoyable and can be a very useful skill. Despite the rise of China, Germany stands as the fourth largest economy in the world and the economic powerhouse of Europe. Germany is known for its manufacturing prowess and German exports continue to buttress the importance of German on the world stage. German is spoken by approximately a 100 million native speakers and up to an additional 80 million non-native speakers.



German can open doors to employment in a variety of occupations such as in manufacturing, teaching, translation, interpreting, and the growing travel industry. In the United States it can also lead to an increase rapport with German contacts in companies abroad. Learning German greatly improves your chances of success in job market. Learning German can be an entertaining task, as well as an important one.



Most Germans speak english, but even if you're just a casual traveler, learning it can also be beneficial since a little German can go a long way on making a good impression on your hosts or German friends. Studying German to order food, communicate with locals and talk with taxi drivers will enhance the experience of your travels significantly.



Studying German is one step to joining the ranks of the business elite oriented toward the growing German market. German is one of the great languages of the world. Outside of Europe and the former Soviet Union, large German-speaking communities are found in the United States, Canada, and Brazil and in Argentina. German-speaking communities are also found in Namibia an in lesser numbers in Mexico, Dominican Republic, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Peru, Venezuela, South Africa, and Australia.



German can however be a difficult language to learn for many people and there is no single method can insure that a reasonable proficiency will be achieved without an adequate investment of time. So it's important to vary your learning materials to insure that you maximize your language learning experience. Learning German can be a more complicated language to learn for most English speakers in contrast to say Spanish.



Choosing the right course is of course critical and that can make learning the language a relative cake walk or much more difficult. Much importance should be given to the accent and pronunciations while learning German.



Learning German does not require expensive personal tutors. So you want to be careful not to end up paying more money than is necessary. It is an ongoing process. While you can't learn the language overnight, you can find resources that may give you an edge time wise and simply the amount of effort you exert.



A critical challenge to remember is that of vocabulary. Having used various books and courses to learn to read various foreign languages I found several to be of benefit. The most valuable courses were those who made sure to present new vocabulary first. Then a short story utilizing this new vocabulary in conjunction with previously learned vocabulary was presented. In terms of audio, a variety of excellent courses are available.





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Jacob Lumbroso is a world traveler and an enthusiast for foreign languages, history, and foreign cultures. He writes articles on history and languages for recommends Pimsleur German courses to learn various languages.

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Questions - Learn English Grammar

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