Educating Our Children

You know the other day I was walking through Old Town with my 2 kids, one is 2 and the other is 9. As I was walking and we were perusing the stores, my son whom is 9 asked that we go into a Gems and Stones store, which we did. As we were looking, his eyes were as big as the moon, you see my son likes to collect rocks, stones etc. Now, he came across some very cool things, but the store was extremely expensive. He asked if I could buy him a bag of rocks/stones, they were 24.99. I told him I had no money on me and rebutted with, why I couldn’t use my Credit Card. Of course that did not go well and he ended up with this attitude for the rest of the time we were walking. Of course my daughter whom is 2 started acting up, being whiny, refusing to go into any other stores, but the funny thing is she did not want to go home, when I would tell her we will be going home if she doesn’t behave.

So here I am walking around with two children that are completely disobeying me, whinny, crying, and of course those looks on their face like you just ended their world. I could not believe. These two kids that have always been good, and which I have always been told they are good kids, so why were they acting this way.

As we continued walking, yah I still walked…the day was beautiful and well I wanted to visit some shops, well as we continued to walk, we came across this little cart selling small toys and masks and etc, my son happen to see a Helmet shaped in the medieval times like a knights helmet…well he asked the price and it was 20 dollars…once again he asked that I buy since I did not get him the rocks. I told him once again I did not have money and with that attitude why would I get you anything.

I tried to explain that I could not buy him something every time we went somewhere, of course the attitude quadrupled. By then my daughter was starting to give some tantrums, which ahs never happened, and I put a stop to it, of course crying followed, so I decided to start walking back to the car to go home.

Now the crazy thing is when we got home they both went directly into a Good mood, nice, no arguing…I thought to myself, what the heck did just happen…I was upset to say the least and sent my son to his room and placed my daughter in a time-out in the corner…just about 3 minutes. I could not believe who were these kids.

I do my best to teach them respect, please and thank you and my most important thing is “Patience”. Of course I do what I can to teach them the value of money and being courteous to others. Among many other things we as parents try to teach…but one thing came to mind as I was talking, and I refer mostly to my eldest. Kids now days, actually even when I was a kid, Kids simply don’t listen anymore. It seems it goes in one ear and out the other. And if they don’t listen it could be to late when they get older.

Why does it seem that kids don’t listen to their parent’s knowledge and experiences, and then end up failing? I know not all kids are the same and not all turn out bad even if they don’t listen, but why can kids simply listen to what we as parents have to share and learn from, the parents lives, their lives would be so much more full filled and possibly even better…even successful. I mean if I knew what I know now…I am pretty certain that their would a lot of things throughout my life that I would have done differently, reacted differently, taken this chance instead of that, gone this way instead of that. I mean yah we all learn through trial and error or as many would say on our own, but if you had a parent that could share these experiences….MAN…high school would have bee so sweet, and not just high school but college, my first interview, my first job. If someone would have simply told me hey…kids are kids and you’ll be teased, called this and that, but if you do this then this will happen…I know not everything in life is the same, but I seriously see a lot of things that are happening to my kids that happen to me. And I see a lot of things that happen to my nieces and nephews that happen to me…a lot of similarities…then why not listen to your parent’s words of wisdom, or maybe not wisdom, but experiences and how they handled it.

I know I am talking as a broken record and I my kids will still do those stupid mistakes and things as we did and as our parents did and their kids and so on, but man…I am so just incredibly dumb-founded by this cycle…why…why can our kids take our words for good…who knows…maybe we will never know and maybe this is just the way things need to be.

My Perspective:
Even though your kids don’t listen, please…what ever you do…don’t stop talking to them. Communication is the fabric of life and everything in it…you know that. Thanks for reading and till next time Latino Man singing off.

Secrets to Winning College Scholarships by Laura Rowley

Thursday, February 17, 2011
provided by Yahoo Finance

Many high school seniors are receiving their college admission letters this month, and by April, schools will notify families of the amount of aid, if any, they'll receive to help pay tuition and other costs.

Students matriculating this fall are in for an unpleasant surprise: They'll likely get less assistance from the federal government. Last week Congressional Republicans proposed cutting the maximum Pell Grant — the main source of help for low-income families — by 15 percent to $4,015. President Obama's proposal would maintain the Pell Grant but slash other student aid programs.

While politicians duke it out on Capitol Hill, students should apply for as many private scholarships as they can, says Mark Kantrowitz, author of the new book, "Secrets to Winning a Scholarship." Kantrowitz is founder of FinAid.org, a financial aid informational web site, and fastweb.com, a free scholarship database site that includes information on 1.5 million scholarships worth more than $3.5 billion.

The book offers straightforward tips on finding and maximizing the chances of winning scholarships and fellowships from sources other than colleges, as well as advice on writing scholarship essays and conducting interviews.

Students attending four-year programs have a one in 10 chance of landing a scholarship, and the average amount is $2,500, Kantrowitz says. Less than 1 percent of students receive scholarships of more than $15,000.

But for every $100,000 Intel Science Talent Search scholarship, there are literally tens of thousands of others in the hundreds of dollars that can help families avoid borrowing for college. And although scholarships are typically based on academics, athletics, the arts and sciences, or community service, there are plenty of unconventional awards as well. To name just a few: $1,000 for being tall or for being short; $2,000 if you're skilled in calling ducks; and $5,000 for designing the best prom outfit out of duct tape. Here are seven of Kantrowitz's top tips:

1. Use search sites, and fill out the whole questionnaire.
Finding scholarships used to mean plowing through phone-book-sized directories. Now students can search online using sites such as fastweb.com, the College Board's Scholarships.com, and Peterson's College Search at Petersons.com. Students register and fill out a lengthy background survey, and the sites match them to scholarships for which they are eligible.

Sign up for all of the sites, Kantrowitz recommends, and take the time to fill out the entire questionnaire, even the numerous optional questions. An analysis of fastweb.com members found those who filled out every question matched twice as many scholarships as students who didn't. "There's a laundry list of questions — everything from 'Do you participate in water polo?' to 'Has a family member had cancer?' as well as a list of parental affiliations with companies and fraternal organizations," Kantrowitz explains. "A lot are nitpicky, but the question triggers inclusion of the corresponding award in your background profile. If you don't answer the question, you won't find out about that award."

Students should also look through those massive directories from the library. "You might want to do random exploration in fields you never heard of, such as scholarships for microbiology or genetics," he says.

2. Apply for every scholarship for which you qualify, no matter how small the award is.
Applying for dozens of scholarships may seem like a part-time job, but after submitting the first few, it gets easier because you can start to reuse your essays. Just make sure you tailor your appeal to the specific sponsor and change the name of the scholarship in your essay. "It's a mistake I've seen occasionally," says Kantrowitz.

Don't snub smaller scholarships. "Students will say a $500 award is not worth their time, but because of that, those scholarships are a lot easier to win," Kantrowitz says. Not to mention, those minor scholarships will add a line to your resume that can help you snag bigger ones. "It's an indication that someone thought highly enough of your background that they were willing to invest money in your future, and other scholarship providers do notice that," he says.

3. Take an obsessive-compulsive approach to following the application rules.
It sounds like a no-brainer, but follow application instructions carefully. Otherwise, you're making it easy for the judges to count you out. "I've sat on selection committees where it's incredibly painful to choose between really talented students," says Kantrowitz. "If the application requires a 300-word essay and you do 301, you're not going to win because they need some method to distinguish between candidates."

4. Mind your online image.
Employers are increasingly checking up on job candidates by mining the web for any bit of information they can find, and awards panels are doing the same when it comes scholarship finalists.

"I've seen more and more Googling and looking at Facebook accounts to see how responsible the individual is and if they will reflect well on the organization," says Kantrowitz. "Also, if you're using an email like 'hotmama at hotmail,' it can make the difference between winning and losing a scholarship. Go be yourself in your diary — but not online where it can affect your future. You want a professional appearance in person and on the web."

5. Mind your interview manners.
That includes proper attire, attitude and etiquette: "I've had face-to-face interviews with students wearing flip flops and cutoffs jeans, and chewing gum throughout the interview," Kantrowitz says. "Also pay attention when an interviewer says their name. A lot of students don't do that and in the middle of the interview they forget." If that happens, ask the person for their business card at the end of the interview, and send a thank you note by snail mail, he adds.

6. Start searching well before the kids get to college — or even high school.
A big mistake is waiting until college application time to begin the scholarship hunt. The free databases allow students to register as early as age 14. The program maintains your profile, so when an award is added to the database that matches your profile, you'll be one of first of your peers to find out about it.

Don't forget about scholarships for elementary school students. The best-known is the Scripps National Spelling Bee, with a top cash prize of $30,000. But even hopeless spellers qualify for The Jif Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich Contest, which awards a $25,000 scholarship to cooks age 6 to 12 for the best sandwich recipe based on creativity, taste, nutritional balance, and ease of preparation. (Parents can find a list of scholarships for kids in grades K-8 at finaid.org/age13.)

7. Never pay for scholarship search help.
Every year, several hundred thousand students and parents are defrauded by scholarship scams, says Kantrowitz, with estimated losses of more than $100 million. "Never invest more than a postage stamp to find out about a scholarship or to apply," he advises. "If you have to pay money to get money, it's probably a scam." Students who register with several search databases should see overlap in the awards for which they are eligible, which helps identify legitimate programs.

Laura is author of the book "Money & Happiness" and blog of the same name. Read more about her here.

My Perspective:
One thing is for sure, it is never to early to begin thinking about your child education. even in todays tough times, any little bit that can be put away to help them with tuition, books, supplies or even housing will be a great help when the time comes. Also, as the article indicated, there are hundreds of grants, scholarship programs out there to apply for, simply where i work they offer a scholarship. As parents we think about the things we want to give our children, the things you never had, the opportunities that are available...you have to take that first step for them...and I promise that a higher education can only bring rewards.