Education Archives - Youth Guide

Navigating College after Coming Out

College is such a great opportunity. Not only can you learn new things, but you can work towards building an awesome career. Yes, we know that the college experience isn’t the same as it was several years ago. Goi9ng to school doesn’t mean that you’re necessarily have a job waiting for you after the end of it. Remember when everyone was pressured to go to law school? Well, now there are tons of lawyers, but there aren’t necessarily tons of law jobs for them. Taking on big student loans for a job that may not be there at the end of it is the last thing that you should do.

But what if you want to go to college for the thrill of knowledge? The chance to study something you love around other people that are doing the same thing is great. But you might worry about how your orientation will play a role in college.

We spoke to several gay college students about student life on campus. The good news is that the LGBT issue isn’t really an issue at most schools. Just as we realize that people come from all walks of life, we also realize that there are other orientations at play. There are men who love men, women who love women, people that don’t identify as any particular gender, and everything in between. We believe that the LGBT community should be an open tent for all people, an alternative community that is open and welcome to everyone.

Give yourself a chance to enjoy something great and check out our tips for navigating college after coming out.

1. Be Positive

What type of friend would you like? Chances are good that you want to make friends that are positive, upbeat and open. But if you don’t lean towards thinking about the lighter side of life, you may end up giving yourself a tough time ahead. We know that it’s hard to be happy all of the time, but you do need to take time to appreciate the things you have. We can all think of other people that might not have our circumstances. If you’re struggling with mental health issues, make sure that you get in touch with a professional. We attract people that align with who we are, so if you find that you get a lot of negative people, you’ll need to start adjusting your attitude. [Read more…]

6 Things You might not think about when choosing a College – But Should

By Webmaster

Choosing a college is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your life. When you will be spending at least a couple years, and thousands of dollars, on something, you want to make sure you make sure it’s the perfect fit.

You most likely have some priorities when it comes to choosing your school. Obviously, you want to go to a school that offers a great education in the subject you’ve chosen to study. Extracurricular activities and sports might be important to you, or maybe you’re more interested in the cultural options nearby. Housing and social environment are always important, and of course, the cost. The list goes on, and everyone has different expectations for their college experience.

That being said, there are a few considerations that can potentially make or break the college experience that tend to be overlooked. They might not seem important right now, but are likely to matter over time.

1. Hidden Costs

College are generally upfront about the costs of attendance, including tuition, room and board, and fees, and when you budget for your education, you know to include costs for books, lab fees, and the like. But what about the other costs of college that you might not think about? For example, if you choose a college on the other side of the country, how will you get home for holidays and breaks? Will you need to store your belongings over the summer instead of bringing it all home? The cost of living in different areas can vary as well, which can take a bite out of your budget. These expenses can add up, so think about how you’ll manage them before making your decision.

2. Opportunities After Graduation

The rate of students who are employed or heading to graduate school is likely important to you as you compare schools. You want to know that you will be able to achieve your goals post-graduate, but when you look at those numbers, pay attention to where students are getting jobs or going to school. Consider whether you will be able to get into the best online MBA program or land a great job in your field – where you want to work. There’s a good chance that your school’s career services department will have a great placement record, but many of those jobs will be regional. In other words, if you go to school in Boston, expect to see recruiters and job-listings from Boston-based companies. That’s great if you want to stay in New England after graduation, but if you aren’t interested in sticking around after graduation, expect to do more of the legwork yourself. [Read more…]

Give Every Student The Customized Assistance They Deserve

By Webmaster

Who says that help has to be a bad thing? These days, people talk about the educational system in such a way that makes it sound like a student is “bad” or “in trouble” if they need help. But as an American in Sweden sending her two beautiful mixed-culture children to school here in Stockholm, I realize there are many problems with this statement.

You see, I’ve had the benefit of seeing both educational systems in action, both here and back in the States. The schools here in Sweden are fantastic, and every student truly feels like they’re getting the attention they need and deserve. But no matter how much time you spend with a student, they’re bound to run into a problem that they can’t solve on their own. As a parent, watching your child be frustrated by a problem they just can’t figure out is heartbreaking.

Yet there’s another issue that comes up all too often: the student that has stellar performance, but seems a bit lost as to how to continue. That student tends to fall through the cracks far too often, because a teacher’s concern is making sure that everyone understands the material. That’s true here, as well as back in the States. The reality here is that we need to be able to address both students, yet we only have enough time to address one.

So, how do we address both problems at once? We have to start looking into private solutions, rather than trust the state school system to handle everything.

My oldest child has difficulty in figuring out what he should focus on next, and it’s caused him to be pretty indifferent about school lately. However, I looked into a private option most don’t think about or even know about: Allakando.se. This site features professionals that actually work with students of all levels. So if your student is struggling in one or more classes, these people can help you out. Likewise if your student is passing everything with great performance, but they just need a little more challenge.

Good homework help isn’t about giving a student all of the answers, or doing it all for them. It’s about meeting the student at their level and helping them succeed. What’s great about allakando is that they go out of their way to help as many students as they can — over 5400 students a year, to be exact. If you live in a decently populated area, the teachers will come out and give private lessons directly to your students. Since we live in Stockholm, I just had a private tutor come in after school a few times a week.

Using services like this are great when you want to give your child a few additional tools they can use for success no matter what. This company has teachers for all courses, and you can meet the teachers in a public place if that would make you more comfortable. The first few times they came out, I met with them at the library. Both of my children received private teaching lessons at the library, but each child received a bit different instruction, tailored to their needs.

We all love to give gifts to our children and spoil them from time to time. This is one gift that you can shower your children with that will affect their education for many years to come. Check it out today!

Leadership Essay Writing – Fundamental Tips

By Webmaster

Leadership is one of the most considerable topics in business and management essay writing. There are many theories of leadership and many authors have their personal points of view about this concept. If you need to make an uncommon and well-structured essay about leadership, you should learn about the proper organization of your process of writing.

Method #1: Find Your Own Approach

Step One: Identify Your Audience. When you write an essay for oral presentation in front of your class, you should complete a slightly informal text that will attract attention of your mates. On the contrary, you ought to make a formal essay if you are supposed to hand it in to the teacher or the members of the admission commission. Thus, the style and tone of your leadership essay primarily depends on your listeners or readers.
Step Two: Who Will Evaluate Your Essay? The quality and the style of an essay depends on the purpose of writing. If you compose your assignment for college, your work will be definitely scored. If you do this essay for a blog, you have freedom of thought and speech whereas no one will criticize your essay strictly.
Step Three: Plan Your Leadership Essay. The foremost action is to make a schematic outline of your essay. You should make your mind about its content and idea. It is reasonable to brainstorm a few research questions that will play the role of the core of your text. Most often, students create three or four essay questions that help them observe the concept of leadership from several sides. In the end, you can try to make a thesis statement. In fact, its content will change after you research the problem of leadership professionally.
Hint: Choose your own writing approach at once. Write your essay focusing on strictly theoretical information devoted to leadership and its types OR concentrate on the practical cases that illustrate different types of leaders in different situations. The sooner you decide, the more time you will have for your research.

Method #2: Understand the Phenomenon of Leadership

Step One: Research the Term Profoundly. If you expect to complete a grand essay, you should read about leadership a lot. Visit your local library and find the authors that investigated this topic. It is wise to choose several authors who possess authentic opinions about the phenomenon of leadership. Make notes of their genuine ideas concerning the types of leaders and the place of leadership in business and management. Do not limit yourself with the books and periodicals. You can use e-books and online articles that reveal the problem from their original side.
Step Two: How Do You Understand Leadership? When you learn something about leadership, you should define the role of leadership for yourself. Think about the image of a perfect leader and provide the reader with your arguments. Enumerate the most notable traits of character and skills for a great leader. You can analyze this concept from the point of view of business, management, politics, education and even family. Try to define the similarities between the leaders from these different fields. Make the image of the ‘universal leader’.
Step Three: Write about Leadership from Your Personal Experience. Make your essay even more engrossing presenting your own experience related to leadership. Do you have distinct leaders among your friends or family? Have you ever tried to be a leader? What are the results of your efforts?
Hint: After you provide the reader with the theoretical facts about the typology of leaders, introduce a paragraph devoted to the description of your personal experience as a leader. Try to connect your experience to the types of the leaders that have been mentioned in the theoretical part.

Method #3: Write Your Essay

Step One: Prepare a Great Introduction. Your task is to make the reader interested in your essay. Write about the relevance of the topic of leadership and say that nearly every author has his own understanding of this term. Introduce a sound thesis statement that will illustrate the main idea of your paper. Enumerate the subsections and questions that build the concept of your text.
Step Two: Complete the Main Body. The main part of your paper should be devoted to the analysis of the term ‘leadership’. Start with the theoretical presentation of this phenomenon and write down all the types of leaders suggested by the credible authors. You can continue your discussion with the personal understanding of the term and the role of leadership in your own life. Observe the problem from different angles.
Step Three: Write a Good Conclusion. When you are through with the discussion, summarize your essay briefly. Enumerate the key points of your research and evaluate your contribution into the understanding of the concept of leadership.
Hint: Write your essay accurately and deliberately. Make it logical and understandable. Every new idea should be placed into the new paragraph. Try to continue your previous thought plainly. Do not make rapid transitions from one problem to another. The reader can lose the point of your research.

Teach Yourself Something This Summer – Why Wait

By Webmaster

The online learning boom is here to stay, and we’re definitely glad for it. With so many LGBT youth feeling out of place in the traditional educational system, why aren’t we standing up and making our own choices? Is it fear? Is it the possibility that others will not accept that we’ve taken learning into our own hands? Don’t get us wrong: if you know that your upcoming career of choice is going to require a degree, then you should definitely reach for one. But if you’re just going to pay a lot of money for a degree that won’t serve you, why not skip it?

If you’re unfamiliar with free online courses, you might assume that they’re going to be low quality, or you won’t learn anything. But did you know that professors from MIT, Harvard, John Hopkins and other top tier schools have developed courses that are free to the public? While they will not give you college credit, they could give you some new understandings about a bunch of different subjects.

You also get the freedom of not having to show up in an environment where you’re going to be judged. Since it’s online, nobody knows that you’re gay. Of course, you can come out and talk about it but this really isn’t the venue for that type of discussion. It doesn’t really matter if you’re gay, because people aren’t concerned. They’re more concerned about showing up to get the valuable lessons they can use for their own lifelong learning journey. It’s freeing being somewhere that you can just relax, right? Absolutely!

Online learning isn’t always going to be easy. Sometimes the work might sound unclear, or you’re going to have to do more research than what you might be used to in a traditional school environment. Don’t get discouraged; see it as a challenge to branch out into subjects you don’t know much about. [Read more…]