Getting A Suitable CISCO Certification In The Right Way

CISCO certification can help you in securing a decent job in the IT sector and so you need to ensure that you opt for the right options in this regard. Certification helps you in staying on top of the industry no matter what it takes. You can easily get experienced once you opt for the right options in this regard. In this article, we are going to talk in particular about getting a suitable CISCO certification without any difficulty. You got to pay proper attention towards the below mentioned article.

Some of the key instructions that you should follow in order to get a CISCO certification are discussed below. I am pretty convinced that you will be able to generate some fine results.

• You should first choose the right path that fits your career goals and experience in the right way. You should even choose a path which is accompanied by field technicians, service providers and routers. You need to be rest assured that you opt for the right options that suit you in the right way.

• Now, you need to recognize the precise certification levels consistently so that you are able to hold on to the current position. Professional level can be easily achieved by experts who are planning to gain more specialized certifications. The deeper security knowledge and professional level exams will surely help you in learning more and more about this topic.

• Now, you got to carefully study the examination requirements on their website. You will surely be able to get some key information in regard to this topic. All the major assessment tests are quite good when it comes to ensuring immense success in regard to certification.

• You got to reassure that you undergo exam training that suits you in the right way. By doing this you will be able to gain some expertise in this industry.

• You should reach the test location at least 15 minutes before the exam begins. I am pretty convinced that you will be able to look out for some fine options. Internet research plays a crucial role in all the industries and you need to research hard online for making the right move.

So, these are some of the finest things that you should remember in regard to getting a suitable CISCO certification in the right way. I am pretty convinced that you will be able to generate some fine results. Enjoy a lot while getting certified.

By Sandra Wilson M

A School That Raises People, Not Students

Education is, without doubt, an integral part of our lives and something that has to be treated very seriously. However, there are some problematic aspects to it, particularly in the way it's being implemented in most parts of the world. The common trend is that schools focus entirely on the academic aspect of kids' education, and completely forget to teach them the other important parts of being a good human being.

That's why it's very important to consider where you want to send your children to study. A regular school may or may not work for them, but what you can be sure about is that your kids will benefit most from a school designed specifically to raise good people, not simply bright students.

These two things don't have to be mutually exclusive either, which is what some parents tend to fear when it comes to choosing the right school for their kids. No, your child won't fall behind in classes simply because his/her teachers are also taking the time to explain good human values to them. Quite on the contrary, a child being raised this way will be quicker to adapt to and accept their responsibilities in life, and they'll know how to contribute to society and be a better person.

Are you confused over where to send your kids in order to give them an education like that? Don't worry - there are plenty of good places, and in fact, there's probably a good school of that type in your local area if you're willing to spend some time looking for it. The Internet can be a great friend here, as it can quickly reveal all the good schools in your area that focus on this type of education.

Remember though, just because you've found a good school for your kids doesn't mean that your responsibilities as a parent end there. Quite on the contrary, there are some serious expectations for you with regards to what you teach your kids at home, and this will be just as important in their upbringing as giving them a good education at school. As long as you follow what the school is trying to teach them, and contribute something of your own in the same tone, you should handle that job just fine.

So, with all that in mind, don't limit your kids' potential and future development just so you can stick to the traditional model for schooling. A lot can be done to improve on that model, and if you're concerned with making your kids better people, then you'll spend all the time it takes searching for the right school.

Just one last thing to be careful about - if there are multiple schools that seem similar (and suitable) in your local area, you should go and talk to the teachers around them personally. This will solidify any impressions you might have of the schools (or break them, sometimes), and will show you exactly where your kids will feel at home - you should know, as a parent!

If you are worried about selecting a good school, you can consider Catholic Coeducation School in Adelaide.

By Trevor Levine

What Happened to the Student Portfolios?

Many teachers want to change the way they do things, but sometimes there's just a lack of tools, a clear plan, or systems already in place about how to proceed. Teachers and administrators are so busy, that unless the tools and the plans are ready to go, sometimes the best intentions have to get left behind.

Authentic assessment is a great example of something so many teachers want to do, but can't always pull off. At one school I worked at, teachers all agreed to a new plan of authentic assessment. The administration had made it clear that each student should have a student portfolio of real work samples. Not only would teachers view this work as part of the assessment process for report cards and conferences, but each portfolio would be passed on at the end of the year to the next year teacher so they could get to know their new kids.

It started as an exciting idea by administrators and teachers - instead of just using test grades, let's look at real student work! Let's get on the bandwagon of portfolio assessment! So the teachers made boxes to store some of the students' best work throughout the year.

Well, at first all was going well. Good samples got saved, and some of it got used a few times during parent teacher conferences. But then, as the year progressed, the realities of paper and time started working against the teachers. The boxes got more and more stuffed full of paper and there was no system set up for weeding out work as more came in. Some teachers kept the boxes in order, and others let them get increasingly messy. At the end of the year, some teachers were stressed when the administration asked them to prepare a final folder of best work spanning the year for each student, to pass on to the next teacher. Some of them managed this better than others - the ones that were very well-organized. Finally, the boxes that some of the teachers made were all lined up and labeled. It was at this point that everything started to fall apart.

The teachers started moving faster and faster to finish cleaning their classrooms for summer vacation. Students were revved up with end-of-year energy and kept the teachers very busy. Some of the portfolios were meant to be labeled, but that just wasn't a priority with everything else going on. And some of the boxes weren't labeled that well either. When the kids left on the final day, admin asked the teachers to move the portfolios and other boxes all into the hall so the cleaners and painters could work in the summer. Some of the portfolio boxes that were labeled well got moved to a hallway storage area. Some stayed mixed in with the rest of the boxes.

Well, sometime late in the next fall, I was helping out at the school, and there was a need to clear out some storage space. Someone said there were a bunch of boxes lying around. They asked me to help figure out what they were and get rid of them. Well... there they were, the boxes of portfolios of beautiful student work. Most of them had never made it to the next grade teachers. "Wait!" I said... "There are teachers expecting these! This is student work! This is supposed to go to their next teachers!" I frantically tried to contact teachers. Some had left the school. I checked on student names... they were all in different rooms now, it would be a long process to match the folders to their new teachers, and some were missing last names and grades. Some folders were meant for the middle school down the road but had never made it there. No one at that school was expecting them or ready to pick them up - it was already way into the school year and they were on to other things, too, and no one had time, energy, or cars to deal with these boxes of mixed up student work. No one could even organize getting the work back into the students' hands or their parents' hands because the kids were all spread out in different rooms and grades. No one wanted to deal with these darned boxes. In the end, they had to be tossed in the recycling bin. At least they were recyclable; I rationalized, as I watched them get hauled away. And at least some of the other portfolios in the school had made it to their destinations and not to this corner of the hallway. But, it made me think, there must be a better way.

Now, just a few years later, at least there is a much better way - digital portfolios are starting to become available to replace big heavy boxes filled with papers. But even as we find good solutions with technology, we still need to remember, that behind every good idea, there's a need for good implementation and planning, so that all of our teachers, students, parents, and administrators can see good things come of their good intentions.

June Schwartz is writing expert for digital portfolio at Open School ePortfolio.

How Mighty Is the Pen? The Dire Problem of Education Finance

School funding in the U.S. is essentially unfair and inequitable. In a society in which it is nearly impossible to advance without a good education, in which education has become a civil right of man, it would be wrong to deny any child quality education.

We cannot logically expect our children to advance in society that will not give them the money they need to get a decent education. And even after primary and secondary education, it makes no sense to put the poor in college debt when they were already given less opportunities to get into that college than the rich. Making college so expensive continues to burden the poor and when the time comes, their children are put in this cycle. This violates the original intentions of American life, giving equal opportunity for all.

Why are there so many struggles placed on those who work hard? Currently systems are based on a revenue limit, meaning districts provide money for schools depending on property wealth of the school. School finance should be given based on the current wealth for one family and society, more finance on the less fortunate and vice versa. If this cycle of giving less to the less fortunate continues, it will create a socioeconomic gap that hurts quality of education, teacher fold, and school ranking.

School funding works at three different levels: local, state, and federal. Federal funding is minimal for lack of educational clauses in the constitution, while state governments are the sole voice in taking control of financing. Yet instead, local funding has shown to be the most domineering and main source for school funding. This has become a problem because local funding depends on property wealth, and property wealth widely varies within city and district. Cities that suffer from a predisposition of "poorness" get poorer the funding. Those schools are stuck in the ditch of debt and are unable to escape due this revenue-limit system.

As well as the federal and state funding level needing repair, the local and district division is also issue. Districts may be considered the smallest unit of funding, but funding inequality is prevalent within districts too. This disparity is exemplified in the rising differences among schools in material and teacher quality. Teachers get paid more in low poverty districts and as a result compete for those jobs. Consequently, high-poverty districts suffer from a shortage of teachers, lower quality teachers, and a high turnover rate. And in our current system, schools finance judgments are per-teacher-based, so high-poverty schools are unable to receive the aid they need because of surface teacher salaries. Schools instead should be given enough money in a per-student system rather than per-teacher system in effort to increase output per student.

Renowned economist and critic Eric Hanushek addresses the finances of education issue in his novel Courting Failure. In his novel, he explores and discovers the correlation that low student performance indicated inadequate funding. It is precisely this situation that shows children's right to adequate and equal education cannot be pursued if do not fix the underlying problems, such as that of public funding state levels need to provide a safety net for the schools of their region. States can do so by providing more to the less-wealthy and less the more-wealthy. Yet while doing this, they must make sure the funding level is high enough that all these schools can function properly, instead of the "minimum" levels they currently adopt.

Hanushek also questions the term "adequacy", the current national requirement for school education. Strikingly, 28 states have been ruled unconstitutional in this area. States assert minimal education standards that no reasonable people would consider acceptable. Adequacy's violations can be visualized if we imagine fully efficient public school and an actual public school or what society believes students should learn and what they actually learn. The space between these two ideas is incredible and throw off all vouches for adequacy. This gap comes from how finance calculations are made, typically through teacher-salary, lack of inclusion for more expensive students (e.g. English language learners), and different standards of adequate funding. We need to stop resorting to traditional terms of what is "sufficient" and instead adopt concrete definitions needed to give real standards to schools so they can be efficiently and thoroughly funded.

Another widely claimed label is "equity", the idea to distribute resources equally throughout schools in a state. If we are to allow all students equal opportunity in school quality and ranking, this distribution should be done in a way that lessens the differences ranging across school districts' abilities to raise funds. Lawsuits claim that such is a violation of the "equity" principle, that poor districts should not get more money than rich districts, but if we do not help or nurture those in need, we are raising them for unequal chances and opportunities for their future lives. Indeed, it is necessary to limit the poorness of these districts.

Studies suggest this inequality can be reduced by transferring more of responsibility of funding from local to state. Well respected Californian finance reform advocate, Arun Ramanathan, proposes a plan to better state-wide academic funding.

1) Instead of a revenue-limit formula, adopt a student weighted formula.
2) Ensure that school funding gets allocated directly towards students.
3) Require districts to clearly show district and school level spending
4) Monitor correlation of financial inputs and academic results. Ensure that those who need special help get the help they need.

A plan similar to the one Ramanathan proposed was implemented in Colorado recently. The plan itself calculates the difference that state funding has to make up for local funding to be equal throughout the state. The idea is that if the districts can raise more from local taxes, the state does not have to make up the difference if the locals make less. The new finance act makes sure to have expenditures visible and comparable for the public, allowing for direct regulation of financial reform. The plan also accounts for those who qualify for reduced-lunch and ESL learners. By diving 20-40% more money toward those students, the financial system balances giving all students equal opportunity. Using these plans, Coloradans have begun showing improving trends in educational finance.

With plans like these, there truly is a future in education reform. But it is up to all the other states, or rather, the federal institution to begin addressing the concerns the students' well-being as students.

By Tanzeela Khan

Studying Abroad Helps to Prepare You for an International Career

Your college years are a time of expansive learning, adventure and hopefully fun! Taking time to study in Italy for a semester, summer or year can broaden your horizons and teach you important linguistic and cultural skills. Italian is a romance language, and as such, is linguistically related to English, French and Spanish. Although learning Italian may be challenging at first, your ear for the language will be facilitated by your native language and your familiarity with other romance languages.

Studying Abroad Helps to Prepare You for an International Career

Learning a new language is just the tip of the iceberg when you go for an extended time period to study abroad in Italy. If you choose to stay with an Italian family as a foreign exchange student, you will learn both the language and the culture much more quickly because of your immediate immersion into all things Italian! Learning a new culture can also help you to quickly develop the sensitivity, awareness and cultural understanding necessary to successfully pursue an international career. Studying abroad in Italy will hone your interpersonal skills and deepen your understanding of other cultures.

Study Abroad Scholarships are Available

If you would love to study the culture, history and language of Italy, but aren't sure if you can afford it, there are scholarships available. A college education can be costly, and often students take out federal and private student loans to cover the expenses. If you are receiving financial assistance through your college or university, you may also qualify for a scholarship to study for a semester or longer in Italy. If you are not receiving financial aid, you still may qualify for a scholarship to study abroad. Please contact your college's financial aid office for more information about available scholarships and to see which study abroad scholarships you are qualified to receive.

With some financial assistance through a private scholarship, you will be able to immerse yourself in the rich and varied history, architecture, art, and culinary delights of the old world. Imagine sipping an espresso on the Piazza Navona after viewing contemporary artwork in a local art gallery in Rome, and then visiting the Roman Colosseum as the afternoon sun slowly sets over the horizon. Spending time studying in Italy will also afford you the opportunity to visit the resplendent Vatican and the Pantheon.

Taking some time to study in Italy for a semester, summer or year is very exhilarating and exciting. It is also a great way to prepare for an international career in our globalized economy. Studying abroad expands your horizons and teaches you cultural flexibility and sensitivity. It also deeps your knowledge and appreciation of current events and politics affecting areas of the world outside of the United States. Another benefit of studying abroad is that it teaches you a new language, which has been clinically shown to increase the efficient functioning of the brain. And, of course, it is very exciting and fun to travel to another county and experience a completely different culture way of experiencing the world.

Visit John Cabot University for more information about study in Italy.

By M. Patrick Quinn

Creating A Great Resume - PDF Worksheet

R.I.P. OBJECTIVE STATEMENT

Lets get started with, in my opinion the most important part of any resume, the objective statement. The objective statement has taken the spotlight and is king on the resume. Now you might be saying to yourself, "If the objective statement is king why am I saying R.I.P. to it?" Great question: R.I.P. to the old way of writing your objective statement. The days of writing an objective statement about what your looking for in a position is over. Since we are a staffing/placement firm for Registered Nurses and Therapists here is an example of what we see most of the time on an objective statement on a resume that is sent to us for an open position. (This is just an example that we made up and in no way singles out anyone)

Example mission/objective statement - To obtain a challenging career as a Registered

Nurse in which I can utilize my excellent customer service and organizational skills while providing the highest level of patient care. The mission/objective statement written above is no longer acceptable to hiring managers and/or facilities. It is outdated! 99% of anyone who has ever written a resume/cv has just about written the same mission/objective statement entailing what he or she as a employer are looking for to benefit them. Remember the title of this little worksheet - WE WANT TO STAND OUT WITH OUR RESUME/CV ABOVE OUR COMPETITION. WE WANT TO BE REMEMBERED AND THE FIRST TO GET THE CALL FOR AN INTERVIEW.

How do we accomplish this goal?

We start by changing our way of thinking. Instead of thinking what's in it for me, think how can I help this company/facility with the skills I bring to the position.

Our new mission/objective statement should read - Motivated medical professional with over 8 years experience organizing and providing exceptional assistance to an entire emergency department. Adept in accurate data entry with excellent communication skills.

With mission/objective statements, it's the first statement that the hiring manager or recruiter will see. You only have one chance and 15 seconds to get it right. Compare the two mission/objective statement above and you can clearly see which one stands out!

When you are selecting a font for your resume, the font size should be between 10 and 12 to allow for readability. You should use a readable, font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri. Do not use the default - it's boring and we want to stand out.

1. Know the purpose of your resume - The objective of your resume is to land an interview, and the interview will land you the job.

2. Use effective titles - Like it or not, employers will usually make a judgment about your resume in 15 seconds. Try to be as descriptive as possible. For example:

Bad title: Registered Nurse

Good title: Per Diem/Supervisor RN - ICU/CCU/PCU

3. Proofread it twice - One small typo and your chances of getting hired could slip.

Proofreading it once is not enough, so do it twice, and what I mean is have someone else read it the second time for errors.

4. Put the most important information first - This point is valid both to the overall order of your resume, as well as to the individual sections. When describing your experiences or skills, list the most important ones first. You may have to tailor this for each different position you apply for. Make sure to compare to the position summary.

5. Do not include "no kidding" information - There are many people that like to

include statements like "Available for interview" or "References available upon request. If you are sending a resume to a company, the hiring manager knows that you are available for the interview and that you will/should have references.

By Nicholas Blake

Helping Your Child Feel More Comfortable On the First Day of Elementary School

The first day of elementary school for a child can be exciting but can also lead to some anxious feelings. The same can be said if it is the first day at a new school. As a parent, you can do your part to make the transition as simple as possible, and to help your child feel at ease in the new environment.

Let your child know the positive aspects of starting elementary school. They will get to see the friends they have made in the neighborhood. They will also have the opportunity to meet new kids and make new friends. There will be a nice teacher and lots of fun things to learn every day.

Your youngster may think they are the only one feeling anxious and uneasy about going to grade school. Remind your little one that there are other students who share the same concerns. Teachers know that their pupils may feel this way on the first day and will do everything they can to make their classroom of pupils feel comfortable and relaxed.

Talk to your child about what they have learned at preschool and at home and discuss these accomplishments. Let your youngster revel in what they have learned to this point in time. From there, you can move the conversation forward and talk about all of the interesting subjects that are in store in the weeks and months ahead.

Make sure that your youngster is prepared with all of the right supplies for the start of the elementary school year. For example, ensure that there are enough pencils, erasers, and notebooks in their backpack. You also may wish to purchase something for your young student to let them know that although you are not in the classroom with them, you are still thinking of them.

Some children may need more support than others when starting elementary school. This is especially the case if you have relocated halfway through the year, or if your child has not had the opportunity to get to know the other kids in your neighborhood. Talk with your youngster about their feelings, both the good and the bad. Listen carefully to what they have to say. They may be excited at the prospect of starting at a new place of learning, but may also be concerned about being liked.

It is a good idea to visit the educational facility before the first day that your child begins classes. This will let you see the classroom, and give you the opportunity to meet with the principal, vice principal, and the teachers. You may also be able to address any concerns that you have at this time. Bring your child with you as this may help to alleviate worries. Let your youngster ask question as you look about the facility and the playground.

Living in Battle Creek? Elementary school information can be found here: http://www.oneamazingclass.org.

How Do I Teach My Child To Read?

To help you get started, we have put together a list of some of the more popular early reading methods out there to give you a grasp of their salient principles and differences. You may discover that a particular one matches your child's learning style and preferences perfectly, or even that a combination, rather than any single one, of these techniques are far more effective in teaching the written word to your baby.

Glenn Doman's Flashcard Method

Glenn Doman is a physical therapist who developed an approach to treating brain-damaged children in the 1950s in the United States. As his research progressed, he found out that the same type of accelerated learning method he used with brain-injured children can be applied on normal children. In fact, he believes that all babies have a genius potential that if properly developed, can well exceed that of Leonardo da Vinci and Albert Einstein. To draw out this genius potential, children should be appropriately stimulated from infancy by their parents, who are invariably the first and best teachers for the task.

Using flashcards, Glenn Doman devised a step-up method of reading instruction that follows a particular consistent schedule. The size and orderliness of the reading materials are especially important. The younger your child is, the larger the words ought to be on the flashcards, in order to cater to his unmatured eye-brain pathway. Start by flashing single words that are meaningful to your baby, such as those pertaining to the self, family and home environment. After a certain number of times, move on to couplets (made up of 2 single words that your kid has learnt). Then progress to phrases, and finally to sentences. At this juncture, parents should be adding storybooks to the mix, always making sure that words are appropriately separated from pictures to keep your child's primary focus on the text.

The best time to start the reading programme is when your little one is 6 to 24 months. Parents should remember, as Doman always emphasises, to teach only when your child is in a happy and open mood, and to do so with a loving and enthusiastic attitude. Flashcards should be shown 3 times a day, and gradually exchanged after 5 days for new ones, to avoid children from getting bored. In keeping with the child-centric focus of his programme, Glenn Doman recommends that the time involved for each reading session should be short, around 5 minutes or so. The key is to NEVER, NEVER pressurise your child.

Multisensory Method

Robert Titzer, an American professor, is a highly-recognised infant researcher. His video of his 9-month-old daughter Aleka displaying the ability to understand all the words on the flashcards shown to her continues to amaze people around the world.

What Robert Titzer advocates is the multisensory method of teaching reading, which is based on the principle that by stimulating as many of a child's senses as possible as he is being taught to read, the easier it is for the child to remember the words. For example, when teaching your child the written word "cheese," the best way is to let him see, touch, smell and taste the object as he sees and hears the word "cheese."

The advantage of this approach is that the variety of stimuli makes it more interesting for a little kid. It also helps to engage different types of children from the visual, auditory, to the kinaesthetic (movement) learners. As this method places much more emphasis on understanding the meaning behind words, it allows us to assess --- for example, through a child's physical gesticulations --- whether he is able to read a word, even before he can talk

However, this method may mean that parents have to spend more time and effort preparing the relevant teaching materials, including pictures, sound effects, even the actual objects. A consequence of this is that fewer words are taught at any one point in time. A far more efficient way nowadays is probably to avail yourself to the expanding early learning market with its variety of educational websites and VCD/DVDs that engage in some form of multisensory learning.

Phonics

English writing is based on the alphabetic principle, whereby letters are used to represent speech sounds. Phonics is an approach to teaching reading that acquaints students with these letter-sound relationships. Children learn how to "decode" words, that is, sound out individual letters, as well as groups of letters, in order to blend the sounds together to correctly pronounce written words.

Phonics is a useful supplement for beginning readers who have learnt to sight-read and/or mastered the letters of the alphabet. It advances them to the next level in their language literacy, by providing them the tools for spelling and reading (particularly unfamiliar words). For that matter, it is more suited for slightly older children, rather than babies and toddlers less than 2 years of age.

There are several approaches to teaching phonics, which vary according to how letter-sound combinations are represented to children, and how unknown words are to be decoded. But by and large, it boils down to essentially two ways of teaching phonics:

1) Analytic Phonics: It is a whole-to-part approach in which children are first taught a number of sight words, and then led to make relevant phonic generalisations about common parts of these words. Sets of similarly-spelt words would be learnt together in rhyming groups called word families. For example, the word family of "rat," "cat," "bat" and "mat" teaches students about the "at" ending sound. When a child encounters a new word, he should identify it by its overall shape, beginning and ending letters, and any context clues from the rest of the sentence or any accompanying picture. If he is unable to sight-read or guess at it accurately, then he should break it down (i.e. analyse) to smaller parts, which he can relate to already learnt letter-sound relationships. In analytic phonics, the blending or putting together of sounds is not usually taught.

2) Synthetic Phonics: Children are taught to relate every letter or letter combination, in the order in which it appears in a word, with its corresponding sound and then put them together. In this approach, students will learn in a systematic manner all the 44 phonic sounds which make up the English language, with an eye to blending the sounds for reading, or segmenting them for spelling. In synthetic phonics, children need not be able to recognise whole words as shapes (i.e. they need not know how to sight-read), nor have prior knowledge of the letters of the alphabet. Letters and their relevant sounds are taught at the same time, and once a child has mastered all the 44 phonic sounds, he would be able to blend or synthesise the pronunciation of any word he encounters.

Something For Every Child

If your child does not seem engaged in a particular method, then try out a combination of different techniques, or experiment with various early reading products. With the fast-expanding market of early childhood educational devices --- and with some persistence --- you should be able to find something that resonates with your little one.

KiddyLearn is an online educational platform for children 0-6 years old. We offer various programmes such as Kiddy Read, Kiddy Chinese, Kiddy Bilingo, etc. For all three programmes, we use a mixture of established methodologies (including right-brain educational principles) and a mixture of interesting content (words, pictures, animations, and native-voice narratives), delivered through daily preplanned lessons that just need a few quick clicks to play. There is a whopping total of 336 lessons respectively in Kiddy Read and Kiddy Chinese. We enable you to teach your child using the latest technologies, offering you lots more convenience and effectiveness.

For more info on our methodology, please click on this link https://www.kiddylearn.com/Programmes.aspx

Higher Education and Society

Institutions of education, and the system of which they are a part, face a host of unprecedented challenges from forces in society that affect and are influenced by these very institutions and their communities of learners and educators. Among these forces are sweeping demographic changes, shrinking provincial budgets, revolutionary advances in information and telecommunication technologies, globalization, competition from new educational providers, market pressures to shape educational and scholarly practices toward profit-driven ends, and increasing demands and pressures for fundamental changes in public policy and public accountability relative to the role of higher education in addressing pressing issues of communities and the society at large. Anyone of these challenges would be significant on their own, but collectively they increase the complexity and difficulty for education to sustain or advance the fundamental work of serving the public good.

Through a forum on education, we can agree to: Strengthening the relationship between higher education and society will require a broad-based effort that encompasses all of education, not just individual institutions, departments and associations.

Piecemeal solutions can only go so far; strategies for change must be informed by a shared vision and a set of common objectives. A "movement" approach for change holds greater promise for transforming academic culture than the prevailing "organizational" approach.

Mobilizing change will require strategic alliances, networks, and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders within and beyond education.

The Common Agenda is specifically designed to support a "movement" approach to change by encouraging the emergence of strategic alliances among individuals and organizations who care about the role of higher education in advancing the ideals of a diverse democratic system through education practices, relationships and service to society.

A Common Agenda

The Common Agenda is intended to be a "living" document and an open process that guides collective action and learning among committed partners within and outside of higher education. As a living document, the Common Agenda is a collection of focused activity aimed at advancing civic, social, and cultural roles in society. This collaboratively created, implemented, and focused Common Agenda respects the diversity of activity and programmatic foci of individuals, institutions, and networks, as well as recognizes the common interests of the whole. As an open process, the Common Agenda is a structure for connecting work and relationships around common interests focusing on the academic role in serving society. Various modes of aliening and amplifying the common work within and beyond education will be provided within the Common Agenda process.

This approach is understandably ambitious and unique in its purpose and application. Ultimately, the Common Agenda challenges the system of higher education, and those who view education as vital to addressing society's pressing issues, to act deliberately, collectively, and clearly on an evolving and significant set of commitments to society. Currently, four broad issue areas are shaping the focus of the Common Agenda: 1) Building public understanding and support for our civic mission and actions; 2) Cultivating networks and partnerships; 3) Infusing and reinforcing the value of civic responsibility into the culture of higher education institutions; and 4) Embedding civic engagement and social responsibility in the structure of the education system

VISION We have a vision of higher education that nurtures individual prosperity, institutional responsiveness and inclusivity, and societal health by promoting and practicing learning, scholarship, and engagement that respects public needs. Our universities are proactive and responsive to pressing social, ethical, and economic problems facing our communities and greater society. Our students are people of integrity who embrace diversity and are socially responsible and civilly engaged throughout their lives.

MISSION The purpose of the Common Agenda is to provide a framework for organizing, guiding and communicating the values and practices of education relative to its civic, social and economic commitments to a diverse democratic system.

GUIDING PRINCIPLES

I believe social justice, ethics, educational equity, and societal change for positive effects are fundamental to the work of higher education. We consider the relationship between communities and education institutions to be based on the values of equally, respect and reciprocity, and the work in education to be interdependent with the other institutions and individuals in society.

We will seek and rely on extensive partnerships with all types of institutions and devoted individuals inside and outside of higher education.

We realize the interconnection of politics, power and privilege. The Common Agenda is not for higher education to self-serve, but to "walk the talk" relative to espoused public goals. We understand the Common Agenda as a dynamic living document, and expect the activities it encompasses to change over time.

THE COMMON AGENDA FRAMEWORK The general framework for the common agenda is represented in the following diagram. It is clear that while goals and action items are organized and aliened within certain issues areas, there is considerable overlap and complimentarity among the issues, goals and action items. Also, following each action item are names of individuals who committed to serve as "point persons" for that particular item. A list of "point persons," with their organizational affiliation(s) is included with the common agenda.

ISSUES

ISSUE 1: MISSION AND ACTIONS

Public understanding more and more equates higher education benefits with acquiring a "good job" and receiving "higher salaries." To understand and support the full benefits of higher education the public and higher education leaders need to engage in critical and honest discussions about the role of higher education in society. Goal: Develop a common language that resonates both inside and outside the institution. Action Items: Develop a common language and themes about our academic role and responsibility to the public good, through discussions with a broader public.

Collect scholarship on public good, examine themes and identify remaining questions. Develop a national awareness of the importance of higher education for the public good through the development of marketing efforts.

Goal: Promote effective and broader discourse. Action Items: Raise public awareness about the institutional diversity within and between higher education institutions.

Identify strategies for engaging alumni associations for articulating public good and building bridges between higher education and the various private and public sector companies. Develop guidelines of discourse to improve the quality of dialogue on every level of society. Organize a series of civil dialogues with various public sectors about higher education and the public good.

ISSUE 2: DEVELOPING NETWORKS AND PARTNERSHIPS

Approaching complex issues such as the role of higher education in society that requires a broad mix of partners to create strategies and actions that encompass multiple valued perspectives and experiences.

Broad partnerships to strengthen the relationship between higher education and society involves working strategically with those within and outside of higher education to achieve mutual goals on behalf of the public good.

Goal: Create broad and dispersed communication systems and processes.

Action Items:

Create an information and resource network across higher education associations Create information processes that announce relevant conferences, recruit presenters and encourage presentations in appropriate national conferences Develop opportunities for information sharing and learning within and between various types of postsecondary institutions (e.g. research-centered communities).

Goal: Create and support strategic alliances and diverse collaborations.

Action Items: Establish and support on-going partnerships and collaborations between higher education associations and the external community (e.g. civic organizations, legislators, community members) Explore with the public how to employ the role of arts in advancing higher education for the public good Promote collaboration between higher education and to address access, retention, and graduation concerns

ISSUE 3: INSTILLING AND REINFORCING THE VALUE OF CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY INTO THE CULTURE OF HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Education should attend to the implicit and explicit consequences of its work, and reexamine "what counts" to integrate research, teaching and service for the public good to the core working of the institution.

Goal: Emphasize civic skills and leadership development in the curriculum and co-curriculum.

Action Items: Develop and implement a curriculum in colleges and universities that promote civic engagement of students Create co-curricular student and community programs for leadership and civic engagement development Develop learning opportunities, inside and outside of the classroom, that promote liberty, democratic responsibility, social justice and knowledge of the economic system Develop student leadership and service opportunities that focus on ethical behavior Teach graduate students organizing and networking skills, and encourage student leadership and Diversity education

Goal: Foster a deeper commitment to the public good.

Action Items: Work with faculty on communication skills and languages to describe their engagement with the public, and educate faculty for the common good Identify models for promotion and tenure standards Identify models for faculty development

Goal: Identify, recognize, and support engaged scholarship.

Action Items: Identify and disseminate models and exemplars of scholarship on the public good Encourage the participation in community research Help institutions call attention to exemplary outreach. Establish a capacity building effort for institutions

Goal: Bring graduate education into alignment with the civic mission.

Action Items: Work with disciplinary associations to hold dialogues on ways graduate student training can incorporate public engagement, involvement and service Promote "civic engagement" within academic and professional disciplines according to the disciplines' definition of "civic engagement" Incorporate the concept of higher education for the public good into current graduate education reform efforts

ISSUE 4: EMBEDDING CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE STRUCTURE OF THE HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEM

Promoting the public benefits of higher education requires system efforts beyond institutions to intentionally embed values of civic engagement and social responsibility in governance practices, policy decisions, and educational processes.

Goal: Align governing structures and administrative strategies.

Action Items: Develop ways to improve student and the community involvement in the governance and decision making process of educational institutions. Identify and promote ways for institutions to improve involvement with the public and the practice of democracy within their own institution. Establish public good/civic engagement units that orchestrate this work throughout institutions.

Goal: Publicly recognize and support valuable engagement work.

Action Items: Offer public awards that reward institutions with demonstrable track record in serving the public good in order to encourage institutionalization of performance around the public good and civic engagement.

Develop a comprehensive inventory of funding sources, association activities, initiatives, and exemplary practices that advance the public good. Identify, recognize, and support early career scholars who choose to do research on higher education and its public role in society.

Goal: Ensure that assessment and accreditation processes include civic engagement and social responsibility.

Action Items: Identify service for the public good as a key component in provincial and federal educational plans (e.g. Master Plans, provincial budgets, and professional associations).

Bring higher education associations and legislators together to broaden current definition of student outcomes and achievement, and develop a plan for assessment.

Develop strategies and processes to refocus system-wide planning, accreditation and evaluation agendas to consider criteria assessing the social, public benefits of education.

Goal: Cultivate stronger ties between the university, federal and provincial government.

Action Items: Develop a 2-year implementation plan that joins the university rector / Pro-rector and Director with provincial legislators to engage in an assessment of the needs of the public by province Host a series of dialogues between trustees and provincial legislators to discuss the role of universities and public policy in advancing public good at a local, provincial, and national level.

Ms. Afshan Saleem
Senior Lecturer
Bahria University
Karachi