General Principle:
Sometimes considered a 'higher octave' of Venus, Neptune liberates one from intellectual consciousness, bringing extremes of beauty and love to the senses and emotions. It transcends and escapes Saturnian boundaries altogether, elevating consciousness and sensory perception to defy conventional material restrictions and personal separateness, and instead merge with all that there is to be aware of in the world. It challenges the individual to differentiate between subtle and barely conscious essential truth, on the one hand, and tantalising mirage, on the other - since it presents both. It evokes vision, which when positively expressed manifests as idealism; when negatively expressed, as escapism.
Neptune is aesthetic; amorphous; attuned to the finest nuances of beauty, feeling and mind; blissful; compassionate; diffuse and at times subjectively unclear or confused; dreamy; enthusiastic; ethereal; highly emotional; imitative; impressionable through extra-sensory channels; intuitive; mystery-loving; mystical; peaceful; pulled by powerful motives towards abstract or sentient ends; romantic; self-deceptive; spiritually sensitive; unconsciously socialising; subtle beyond fitting words; unstable; and highly sympathetic; yet when denied a desired outcome, quick to renege on an undertaking. It inclines to finer artistic sensibilities, and responds favorably to dance, harmony, poetry, rhythm, stringed instruments, and symmetry.
Neptune signifies ambushes; the artistic faculty; chaos; covert alliances; deceptions, including deceptive schemes and ventures; democratic and popular movements; desire; disguises; dreamers; emotion; erotic appreciation; exiles; false hope; feeling; frauds; illusion and delusion; imagination; impositions; intangible emotions; intrigues; intuition; many changes; mass movements and emotions; mobs; morbidity of outlook; proneness to succeed or fail through the influence of women; psychics; the psychic faculties; saintliness; the secrets of the life; secret societies; social unrest; sudden death; susceptibility to drugs; uncertain fortunes; visions; and wanderings.
Significations:
People signified by Neptune include all those engaged in aesthetic, artistic, inspirational, literary, occult and psychic vocations (including mediums and mystics), or those connected with water.
Physically, Neptune governs the cerebral ventricles and pineal gland; cell development and reproduction; glands; intuitive perception of a psychic genesis; poisons; nerve fibres; nutrition; optic nerves; psychic and telepathic functions; respiratory and throat tissues; spinal fluid; tears; and white corpuscule formation. When prominent, it confers a slim, orderly body; a mysterious expression; hypnotic eyes; sharp, almost cruel features; and a long head, bald at the temples.
Illnesses include anaemia; catalepsy; drug addiction; energy depletion; glandular imbalance; hypochondriasis; neuroses; oxygen deficiency; and wasting disesases.
Meaning of Glyph:
The glyph for Neptune is the symbol of a trident, which stands for rulership over the sea. Neptune in mythology has a strong connection with the sea; and Neptune the planet in its influence resembles an ocean in its boundlessness, fluctuation and emotional pulls, and its function as a repository for the undifferentiated, anonymous and unknown that becomes a mysterious source of individualised life under certain conditions, only to serve later as an unforgiving void into which what once appeared vital dissipates and dissolves, and thus as an agent of death through release from the confines of matter.
But it also can be interpreted, according to Moore and Douglas's model, as a cross of the Soul intersected in its upper part by a Crescent of Matter, resembling the glyph for Mercury but without the Circle of Spirit. On this basis, it is perceived as a representation of the Soul of Matter, and the principle of feeling and psychic receptivity, detached from any creative will or ego.
From Schulman's perspective, Neptune's glyph is a crescent of the Soul above a cross of Matter, showing the desires of the Soul as being of greater importance than Matter, and consequently the readiness of the unwanted components of Matter for dissolution, freeing the Soul to exert its dominance, and thus rendering the planet Neptune its mystical nature.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
General Principle:
Sometimes considered a 'higher octave' of Venus, Neptune liberates one from intellectual consciousness, bringing extremes of beauty and love to the senses and emotions. It transcends and escapes Saturnian boundaries altogether, elevating consciousness and sensory perception to defy conventional material restrictions and personal separateness, and instead merge with all that there is to be aware of in the world. It challenges the individual to differentiate between subtle and barely conscious essential truth, on the one hand, and tantalising mirage, on the other - since it presents both. It evokes vision, which when positively expressed manifests as idealism; when negatively expressed, as escapism.
Neptune is aesthetic; amorphous; attuned to the finest nuances of beauty, feeling and mind; blissful; compassionate; diffuse and at times subjectively unclear or confused; dreamy; enthusiastic; ethereal; highly emotional; imitative; impressionable through extra-sensory channels; intuitive; mystery-loving; mystical; peaceful; pulled by powerful motives towards abstract or sentient ends; romantic; self-deceptive; spiritually sensitive; unconsciously socialising; subtle beyond fitting words; unstable; and highly sympathetic; yet when denied a desired outcome, quick to renege on an undertaking. It inclines to finer artistic sensibilities, and responds favorably to dance, harmony, poetry, rhythm, stringed instruments, and symmetry.
Neptune signifies ambushes; the artistic faculty; chaos; covert alliances; deceptions, including deceptive schemes and ventures; democratic and popular movements; desire; disguises; dreamers; emotion; erotic appreciation; exiles; false hope; feeling; frauds; illusion and delusion; imagination; impositions; intangible emotions; intrigues; intuition; many changes; mass movements and emotions; mobs; morbidity of outlook; proneness to succeed or fail through the influence of women; psychics; the psychic faculties; saintliness; the secrets of the life; secret societies; social unrest; sudden death; susceptibility to drugs; uncertain fortunes; visions; and wanderings.
Significations:
People signified by Neptune include all those engaged in aesthetic, artistic, inspirational, literary, occult and psychic vocations (including mediums and mystics), or those connected with water.
Physically, Neptune governs the cerebral ventricles and pineal gland; cell development and reproduction; glands; intuitive perception of a psychic genesis; poisons; nerve fibres; nutrition; optic nerves; psychic and telepathic functions; respiratory and throat tissues; spinal fluid; tears; and white corpuscule formation. When prominent, it confers a slim, orderly body; a mysterious expression; hypnotic eyes; sharp, almost cruel features; and a long head, bald at the temples.
Illnesses include anaemia; catalepsy; drug addiction; energy depletion; glandular imbalance; hypochondriasis; neuroses; oxygen deficiency; and wasting disesases.
Meaning of Glyph:
The glyph for Neptune is the symbol of a trident, which stands for rulership over the sea. Neptune in mythology has a strong connection with the sea; and Neptune the planet in its influence resembles an ocean in its boundlessness, fluctuation and emotional pulls, and its function as a repository for the undifferentiated, anonymous and unknown that becomes a mysterious source of individualised life under certain conditions, only to serve later as an unforgiving void into which what once appeared vital dissipates and dissolves, and thus as an agent of death through release from the confines of matter.
But it also can be interpreted, according to Moore and Douglas's model, as a cross of the Soul intersected in its upper part by a Crescent of Matter, resembling the glyph for Mercury but without the Circle of Spirit. On this basis, it is perceived as a representation of the Soul of Matter, and the principle of feeling and psychic receptivity, detached from any creative will or ego.
From Schulman's perspective, Neptune's glyph is a crescent of the Soul above a cross of Matter, showing the desires of the Soul as being of greater importance than Matter, and consequently the readiness of the unwanted components of Matter for dissolution, freeing the Soul to exert its dominance, and thus rendering the planet Neptune its mystical nature.
Sometimes considered a 'higher octave' of Venus, Neptune liberates one from intellectual consciousness, bringing extremes of beauty and love to the senses and emotions. It transcends and escapes Saturnian boundaries altogether, elevating consciousness and sensory perception to defy conventional material restrictions and personal separateness, and instead merge with all that there is to be aware of in the world. It challenges the individual to differentiate between subtle and barely conscious essential truth, on the one hand, and tantalising mirage, on the other - since it presents both. It evokes vision, which when positively expressed manifests as idealism; when negatively expressed, as escapism.
Neptune is aesthetic; amorphous; attuned to the finest nuances of beauty, feeling and mind; blissful; compassionate; diffuse and at times subjectively unclear or confused; dreamy; enthusiastic; ethereal; highly emotional; imitative; impressionable through extra-sensory channels; intuitive; mystery-loving; mystical; peaceful; pulled by powerful motives towards abstract or sentient ends; romantic; self-deceptive; spiritually sensitive; unconsciously socialising; subtle beyond fitting words; unstable; and highly sympathetic; yet when denied a desired outcome, quick to renege on an undertaking. It inclines to finer artistic sensibilities, and responds favorably to dance, harmony, poetry, rhythm, stringed instruments, and symmetry.
Neptune signifies ambushes; the artistic faculty; chaos; covert alliances; deceptions, including deceptive schemes and ventures; democratic and popular movements; desire; disguises; dreamers; emotion; erotic appreciation; exiles; false hope; feeling; frauds; illusion and delusion; imagination; impositions; intangible emotions; intrigues; intuition; many changes; mass movements and emotions; mobs; morbidity of outlook; proneness to succeed or fail through the influence of women; psychics; the psychic faculties; saintliness; the secrets of the life; secret societies; social unrest; sudden death; susceptibility to drugs; uncertain fortunes; visions; and wanderings.
Significations:
People signified by Neptune include all those engaged in aesthetic, artistic, inspirational, literary, occult and psychic vocations (including mediums and mystics), or those connected with water.
Physically, Neptune governs the cerebral ventricles and pineal gland; cell development and reproduction; glands; intuitive perception of a psychic genesis; poisons; nerve fibres; nutrition; optic nerves; psychic and telepathic functions; respiratory and throat tissues; spinal fluid; tears; and white corpuscule formation. When prominent, it confers a slim, orderly body; a mysterious expression; hypnotic eyes; sharp, almost cruel features; and a long head, bald at the temples.
Illnesses include anaemia; catalepsy; drug addiction; energy depletion; glandular imbalance; hypochondriasis; neuroses; oxygen deficiency; and wasting disesases.
Meaning of Glyph:
The glyph for Neptune is the symbol of a trident, which stands for rulership over the sea. Neptune in mythology has a strong connection with the sea; and Neptune the planet in its influence resembles an ocean in its boundlessness, fluctuation and emotional pulls, and its function as a repository for the undifferentiated, anonymous and unknown that becomes a mysterious source of individualised life under certain conditions, only to serve later as an unforgiving void into which what once appeared vital dissipates and dissolves, and thus as an agent of death through release from the confines of matter.
But it also can be interpreted, according to Moore and Douglas's model, as a cross of the Soul intersected in its upper part by a Crescent of Matter, resembling the glyph for Mercury but without the Circle of Spirit. On this basis, it is perceived as a representation of the Soul of Matter, and the principle of feeling and psychic receptivity, detached from any creative will or ego.
From Schulman's perspective, Neptune's glyph is a crescent of the Soul above a cross of Matter, showing the desires of the Soul as being of greater importance than Matter, and consequently the readiness of the unwanted components of Matter for dissolution, freeing the Soul to exert its dominance, and thus rendering the planet Neptune its mystical nature.
Neptune, the planet of idealism, mystery and imagination, is also the planet of illusion, self-delusion and dissolution. It is a subtle yet powerful disintegrator, source of hallucinations and the deceptive forces of the subconscious mind. Its principle is to dissolve barriers, being capable of raising us up to mystical experiences, or pulling us down into chaos and confusion.
The co-ruler of Pisces, whose traditional ruler is Jupiter, Neptune takes approximately 170 years to make its circuit of the zodiac. Neptune was discovered in 1846 and the major developments of this era, such as photography and film, aptly echo the symbolism of this outer planet.
SIGN OF DIGNITY PISCES
COLOURS BLACK, SEA GREEN
DAY OF THE WEEK NONE
METAL NONE
The world of photographs and movies was born in Neptune's era. The first still photograph was taken in 1827 and the first "illusion toys" were invented in the early 1830s-devices that gave the appearance of moving pictures. The world of illusion is Neptunian and, maybe for this reason, its nature is elusive and difficult to define. Neptune's discovery also coincided with advancement in the world of pharmaceuticals. In September 1846 ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and in the following year chloroform was first used. Also, the word "anesthetic," derived from the Greek word for "insensible," came into use. Gas began to replace oil for lighting, and street lights opened up a whole new night world, with brightly lit bars offering a seductive, alcoholic retreat.
WORLD OF ESCAPISM
In these ways, Neptune has come to speak of escapism in all its guises. Whether it's the glamour of the movies or the hazy world of drugs and drink, the Neptunian world is cut off from reality or anesthetized from pain. Saturn restricts, Uranus explodes, but Neptune dissolves, into the ether or down the neck of a bottle.
However, to seek existence in such a world is illusory. The movie finishes, the drugs wear off, the hangover brings sickness, and suffering is even more acute. Thus, the two sides to Neptune are rapture or despair, delirious happiness versus pain and confusion. Life is either full of meaning and euphoria or it is pointless. Neptunian types are highly sensitive to either state and must learn that Venus rules true love whereas Neptune rules the fantasy of ideal love and the quest for romance that may or may not be satisfied.
In Greek mythology Neptune is Poseidon, god of the sea, as illustrated in Neptune's glyph of the trident. Thus Neptune rules the ocean and all that is related to it, such as sailing, boats, fishing, and marine life. In the Neptunian world we can be "all at sea" with no land in sight - drifting and floundering - and typical Neptune types know no boundaries. In this respect, Neptune shares many typical Piscean characteristics.
The co-ruler of Pisces, whose traditional ruler is Jupiter, Neptune takes approximately 170 years to make its circuit of the zodiac. Neptune was discovered in 1846 and the major developments of this era, such as photography and film, aptly echo the symbolism of this outer planet.
SIGN OF DIGNITY PISCES
COLOURS BLACK, SEA GREEN
DAY OF THE WEEK NONE
METAL NONE
The world of photographs and movies was born in Neptune's era. The first still photograph was taken in 1827 and the first "illusion toys" were invented in the early 1830s-devices that gave the appearance of moving pictures. The world of illusion is Neptunian and, maybe for this reason, its nature is elusive and difficult to define. Neptune's discovery also coincided with advancement in the world of pharmaceuticals. In September 1846 ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and in the following year chloroform was first used. Also, the word "anesthetic," derived from the Greek word for "insensible," came into use. Gas began to replace oil for lighting, and street lights opened up a whole new night world, with brightly lit bars offering a seductive, alcoholic retreat.
WORLD OF ESCAPISM
In these ways, Neptune has come to speak of escapism in all its guises. Whether it's the glamour of the movies or the hazy world of drugs and drink, the Neptunian world is cut off from reality or anesthetized from pain. Saturn restricts, Uranus explodes, but Neptune dissolves, into the ether or down the neck of a bottle.
However, to seek existence in such a world is illusory. The movie finishes, the drugs wear off, the hangover brings sickness, and suffering is even more acute. Thus, the two sides to Neptune are rapture or despair, delirious happiness versus pain and confusion. Life is either full of meaning and euphoria or it is pointless. Neptunian types are highly sensitive to either state and must learn that Venus rules true love whereas Neptune rules the fantasy of ideal love and the quest for romance that may or may not be satisfied.
In Greek mythology Neptune is Poseidon, god of the sea, as illustrated in Neptune's glyph of the trident. Thus Neptune rules the ocean and all that is related to it, such as sailing, boats, fishing, and marine life. In the Neptunian world we can be "all at sea" with no land in sight - drifting and floundering - and typical Neptune types know no boundaries. In this respect, Neptune shares many typical Piscean characteristics.
Neptune, the planet of idealism, mystery and imagination, is also the planet of illusion, self-delusion and dissolution. It is a subtle yet powerful disintegrator, source of hallucinations and the deceptive forces of the subconscious mind. Its principle is to dissolve barriers, being capable of raising us up to mystical experiences, or pulling us down into chaos and confusion.
The co-ruler of Pisces, whose traditional ruler is Jupiter, Neptune takes approximately 170 years to make its circuit of the zodiac. Neptune was discovered in 1846 and the major developments of this era, such as photography and film, aptly echo the symbolism of this outer planet.
SIGN OF DIGNITY PISCES
COLOURS BLACK, SEA GREEN
DAY OF THE WEEK NONE
METAL NONE
The world of photographs and movies was born in Neptune's era. The first still photograph was taken in 1827 and the first "illusion toys" were invented in the early 1830s-devices that gave the appearance of moving pictures. The world of illusion is Neptunian and, maybe for this reason, its nature is elusive and difficult to define. Neptune's discovery also coincided with advancement in the world of pharmaceuticals. In September 1846 ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and in the following year chloroform was first used. Also, the word "anesthetic," derived from the Greek word for "insensible," came into use. Gas began to replace oil for lighting, and street lights opened up a whole new night world, with brightly lit bars offering a seductive, alcoholic retreat.
WORLD OF ESCAPISM
In these ways, Neptune has come to speak of escapism in all its guises. Whether it's the glamour of the movies or the hazy world of drugs and drink, the Neptunian world is cut off from reality or anesthetized from pain. Saturn restricts, Uranus explodes, but Neptune dissolves, into the ether or down the neck of a bottle.
However, to seek existence in such a world is illusory. The movie finishes, the drugs wear off, the hangover brings sickness, and suffering is even more acute. Thus, the two sides to Neptune are rapture or despair, delirious happiness versus pain and confusion. Life is either full of meaning and euphoria or it is pointless. Neptunian types are highly sensitive to either state and must learn that Venus rules true love whereas Neptune rules the fantasy of ideal love and the quest for romance that may or may not be satisfied.
In Greek mythology Neptune is Poseidon, god of the sea, as illustrated in Neptune's glyph of the trident. Thus Neptune rules the ocean and all that is related to it, such as sailing, boats, fishing, and marine life. In the Neptunian world we can be "all at sea" with no land in sight - drifting and floundering - and typical Neptune types know no boundaries. In this respect, Neptune shares many typical Piscean characteristics.
The co-ruler of Pisces, whose traditional ruler is Jupiter, Neptune takes approximately 170 years to make its circuit of the zodiac. Neptune was discovered in 1846 and the major developments of this era, such as photography and film, aptly echo the symbolism of this outer planet.
SIGN OF DIGNITY PISCES
COLOURS BLACK, SEA GREEN
DAY OF THE WEEK NONE
METAL NONE
The world of photographs and movies was born in Neptune's era. The first still photograph was taken in 1827 and the first "illusion toys" were invented in the early 1830s-devices that gave the appearance of moving pictures. The world of illusion is Neptunian and, maybe for this reason, its nature is elusive and difficult to define. Neptune's discovery also coincided with advancement in the world of pharmaceuticals. In September 1846 ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and in the following year chloroform was first used. Also, the word "anesthetic," derived from the Greek word for "insensible," came into use. Gas began to replace oil for lighting, and street lights opened up a whole new night world, with brightly lit bars offering a seductive, alcoholic retreat.
WORLD OF ESCAPISM
In these ways, Neptune has come to speak of escapism in all its guises. Whether it's the glamour of the movies or the hazy world of drugs and drink, the Neptunian world is cut off from reality or anesthetized from pain. Saturn restricts, Uranus explodes, but Neptune dissolves, into the ether or down the neck of a bottle.
However, to seek existence in such a world is illusory. The movie finishes, the drugs wear off, the hangover brings sickness, and suffering is even more acute. Thus, the two sides to Neptune are rapture or despair, delirious happiness versus pain and confusion. Life is either full of meaning and euphoria or it is pointless. Neptunian types are highly sensitive to either state and must learn that Venus rules true love whereas Neptune rules the fantasy of ideal love and the quest for romance that may or may not be satisfied.
In Greek mythology Neptune is Poseidon, god of the sea, as illustrated in Neptune's glyph of the trident. Thus Neptune rules the ocean and all that is related to it, such as sailing, boats, fishing, and marine life. In the Neptunian world we can be "all at sea" with no land in sight - drifting and floundering - and typical Neptune types know no boundaries. In this respect, Neptune shares many typical Piscean characteristics.
The co-ruler of Pisces, whose traditional ruler is Jupiter, Neptune takes approximately 170 years to make its circuit of the zodiac. Neptune was discovered in 1846 and the major developments of this era, such as photography and film, aptly echo the symbolism of this outer planet.
SIGN OF DIGNITY PISCES
COLOURS BLACK, SEA GREEN
DAY OF THE WEEK NONE
METAL NONE
The world of photographs and movies was born in Neptune's era. The first still photograph was taken in 1827 and the first "illusion toys" were invented in the early 1830s-devices that gave the appearance of moving pictures. The world of illusion is Neptunian and, maybe for this reason, its nature is elusive and difficult to define. Neptune's discovery also coincided with advancement in the world of pharmaceuticals. In September 1846 ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and in the following year chloroform was first used. Also, the word "anesthetic," derived from the Greek word for "insensible," came into use. Gas began to replace oil for lighting, and street lights opened up a whole new night world, with brightly lit bars offering a seductive, alcoholic retreat.
WORLD OF ESCAPISM
In these ways, Neptune has come to speak of escapism in all its guises. Whether it's the glamour of the movies or the hazy world of drugs and drink, the Neptunian world is cut off from reality or anesthetized from pain. Saturn restricts, Uranus explodes, but Neptune dissolves, into the ether or down the neck of a bottle.
However, to seek existence in such a world is illusory. The movie finishes, the drugs wear off, the hangover brings sickness, and suffering is even more acute. Thus, the two sides to Neptune are rapture or despair, delirious happiness versus pain and confusion. Life is either full of meaning and euphoria or it is pointless. Neptunian types are highly sensitive to either state and must learn that Venus rules true love whereas Neptune rules the fantasy of ideal love and the quest for romance that may or may not be satisfied.
In Greek mythology Neptune is Poseidon, god of the sea, as illustrated in Neptune's glyph of the trident. Thus Neptune rules the ocean and all that is related to it, such as sailing, boats, fishing, and marine life. In the Neptunian world we can be "all at sea" with no land in sight - drifting and floundering - and typical Neptune types know no boundaries. In this respect, Neptune shares many typical Piscean characteristics.
SIGN OF DIGNITY PISCES
COLOURS BLACK, SEA GREEN
DAY OF THE WEEK NONE
METAL NONE
The world of photographs and movies was born in Neptune's era. The first still photograph was taken in 1827 and the first "illusion toys" were invented in the early 1830s-devices that gave the appearance of moving pictures. The world of illusion is Neptunian and, maybe for this reason, its nature is elusive and difficult to define. Neptune's discovery also coincided with advancement in the world of pharmaceuticals. In September 1846 ether was used for the first time, marking a new era in surgery, and in the following year chloroform was first used. Also, the word "anesthetic," derived from the Greek word for "insensible," came into use. Gas began to replace oil for lighting, and street lights opened up a whole new night world, with brightly lit bars offering a seductive, alcoholic retreat.
WORLD OF ESCAPISM
In these ways, Neptune has come to speak of escapism in all its guises. Whether it's the glamour of the movies or the hazy world of drugs and drink, the Neptunian world is cut off from reality or anesthetized from pain. Saturn restricts, Uranus explodes, but Neptune dissolves, into the ether or down the neck of a bottle.
However, to seek existence in such a world is illusory. The movie finishes, the drugs wear off, the hangover brings sickness, and suffering is even more acute. Thus, the two sides to Neptune are rapture or despair, delirious happiness versus pain and confusion. Life is either full of meaning and euphoria or it is pointless. Neptunian types are highly sensitive to either state and must learn that Venus rules true love whereas Neptune rules the fantasy of ideal love and the quest for romance that may or may not be satisfied.
In Greek mythology Neptune is Poseidon, god of the sea, as illustrated in Neptune's glyph of the trident. Thus Neptune rules the ocean and all that is related to it, such as sailing, boats, fishing, and marine life. In the Neptunian world we can be "all at sea" with no land in sight - drifting and floundering - and typical Neptune types know no boundaries. In this respect, Neptune shares many typical Piscean characteristics.
NEPTUNE GOD OF THE SEA
An Olympian God like no other
God of the sea, guards ocean portal
Cronus his father, Rhea his mother
He can never age and is immortal
Cronus sent all his offspring to Hades
Always in fear he would be overthown
Rhea sent Neptune to Rhodes by the sea
Hidden from his father, his fate unknown
Gods taught Neptune his mystical power
This God of Atlantis would rule the sea
Gigantic in stature he would tower
Helped by Zeus, set his sibblings free
Clash with the Titans lasted ten years
Zeus, Neptune victorious they became
Protector of fishermen, he appears
Poseidon was to be his other name
His magical powers made oceans swell
Fires powerful bolts from each hand.
Can be invisible so no one can tell
Transport himself in dimensions overland
Made by the cyclopes, a trident to hold
Water pressure raised with white caps
It helps him make tidal waves to behold.
Make fog and storms, move ships in a snap
Healer of humans and amphipious
Tranform beings into other shapes
This powerful God from Mount Olympus
Turned stallion to seahorse on the cape
Greek god of water and the sea, son of Cronus and Rhea. His brothers were Zeus and Hades. When the three brothers deposed their father, the kingdom of the sea fell by lot to Poseidon. Unpredictable and sometimes violent, he was also god of earthquakes, and he was closely associated with horses. Most of his offspring were giants and savage creatures. By Medusa he was the father of the winged horse Pegasus. The Isthmian Games were held in his honor. In art he was often shown holding a trident and accompanied by a dolphin and tuna. The Romans identified him with Neptune
An Olympian God like no other
God of the sea, guards ocean portal
Cronus his father, Rhea his mother
He can never age and is immortal
Cronus sent all his offspring to Hades
Always in fear he would be overthown
Rhea sent Neptune to Rhodes by the sea
Hidden from his father, his fate unknown
Gods taught Neptune his mystical power
This God of Atlantis would rule the sea
Gigantic in stature he would tower
Helped by Zeus, set his sibblings free
Clash with the Titans lasted ten years
Zeus, Neptune victorious they became
Protector of fishermen, he appears
Poseidon was to be his other name
His magical powers made oceans swell
Fires powerful bolts from each hand.
Can be invisible so no one can tell
Transport himself in dimensions overland
Made by the cyclopes, a trident to hold
Water pressure raised with white caps
It helps him make tidal waves to behold.
Make fog and storms, move ships in a snap
Healer of humans and amphipious
Tranform beings into other shapes
This powerful God from Mount Olympus
Turned stallion to seahorse on the cape
Greek god of water and the sea, son of Cronus and Rhea. His brothers were Zeus and Hades. When the three brothers deposed their father, the kingdom of the sea fell by lot to Poseidon. Unpredictable and sometimes violent, he was also god of earthquakes, and he was closely associated with horses. Most of his offspring were giants and savage creatures. By Medusa he was the father of the winged horse Pegasus. The Isthmian Games were held in his honor. In art he was often shown holding a trident and accompanied by a dolphin and tuna. The Romans identified him with Neptune
NEPTUNE GOD OF THE SEA
An Olympian God like no other
God of the sea, guards ocean portal
Cronus his father, Rhea his mother
He can never age and is immortal
Cronus sent all his offspring to Hades
Always in fear he would be overthown
Rhea sent Neptune to Rhodes by the sea
Hidden from his father, his fate unknown
Gods taught Neptune his mystical power
This God of Atlantis would rule the sea
Gigantic in stature he would tower
Helped by Zeus, set his sibblings free
Clash with the Titans lasted ten years
Zeus, Neptune victorious they became
Protector of fishermen, he appears
Poseidon was to be his other name
His magical powers made oceans swell
Fires powerful bolts from each hand.
Can be invisible so no one can tell
Transport himself in dimensions overland
Made by the cyclopes, a trident to hold
Water pressure raised with white caps
It helps him make tidal waves to behold.
Make fog and storms, move ships in a snap
Healer of humans and amphipious
Tranform beings into other shapes
This powerful God from Mount Olympus
Turned stallion to seahorse on the cape
Greek god of water and the sea, son of Cronus and Rhea. His brothers were Zeus and Hades. When the three brothers deposed their father, the kingdom of the sea fell by lot to Poseidon. Unpredictable and sometimes violent, he was also god of earthquakes, and he was closely associated with horses. Most of his offspring were giants and savage creatures. By Medusa he was the father of the winged horse Pegasus. The Isthmian Games were held in his honor. In art he was often shown holding a trident and accompanied by a dolphin and tuna. The Romans identified him with Neptune
An Olympian God like no other
God of the sea, guards ocean portal
Cronus his father, Rhea his mother
He can never age and is immortal
Cronus sent all his offspring to Hades
Always in fear he would be overthown
Rhea sent Neptune to Rhodes by the sea
Hidden from his father, his fate unknown
Gods taught Neptune his mystical power
This God of Atlantis would rule the sea
Gigantic in stature he would tower
Helped by Zeus, set his sibblings free
Clash with the Titans lasted ten years
Zeus, Neptune victorious they became
Protector of fishermen, he appears
Poseidon was to be his other name
His magical powers made oceans swell
Fires powerful bolts from each hand.
Can be invisible so no one can tell
Transport himself in dimensions overland
Made by the cyclopes, a trident to hold
Water pressure raised with white caps
It helps him make tidal waves to behold.
Make fog and storms, move ships in a snap
Healer of humans and amphipious
Tranform beings into other shapes
This powerful God from Mount Olympus
Turned stallion to seahorse on the cape
Greek god of water and the sea, son of Cronus and Rhea. His brothers were Zeus and Hades. When the three brothers deposed their father, the kingdom of the sea fell by lot to Poseidon. Unpredictable and sometimes violent, he was also god of earthquakes, and he was closely associated with horses. Most of his offspring were giants and savage creatures. By Medusa he was the father of the winged horse Pegasus. The Isthmian Games were held in his honor. In art he was often shown holding a trident and accompanied by a dolphin and tuna. The Romans identified him with Neptune
Friday, August 27, 2010
The Bicol Region or Bicolandia
It consists of six provinces, namely, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon
Albay
capital is Legazpi City
Languages. Bicolano
Traditional industries. Agriculture is the main industry
crops as coconut, rice, sugar, and abaca.
Handicrafts is the major source of rural income.
Tourism, primarily because of Mayon Volcano,
Bicol's largest industrial sites are in Albay
Her name was derived from the Bikol word "Magayon" which means beautiful.
Albay
capital is Legazpi City
Languages. Bicolano
Traditional industries. Agriculture is the main industry
crops as coconut, rice, sugar, and abaca.
Handicrafts is the major source of rural income.
Tourism, primarily because of Mayon Volcano,
Bicol's largest industrial sites are in Albay
Her name was derived from the Bikol word "Magayon" which means beautiful.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
math poem 6
?
THE ARROW AND THE QUESTION
(with apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
I shoot an arrow into the air
A projectile that it seemed it were
Daftary plotted its position
Scythian formed the required equation
Long, long afterward, under an oak
As I read a Mathematics book
There, by chance, I found a queer entry
Dragan K has asked the same query
So I logged on to Yahoo Answers
To post the question for web viewers
Dr D, Zo Maar starred the question
Half-Blood Prince, Falzoon gave attention
And so did Al P and Ergaster
Mathsmanretired, Civil Aviator
Mathematishan, Rakesh Dubey
And smart Queen Eti Wants Spaghetti
Bhaskar and Algol gave their answers
Tomato, Skonhet and all others
Though all were great, I'll choose an entry
Rozeta Fifty Three gets BA
You are late, good Dr. Lucafont
And First Grade Rocks, there's no more question
So sorry folks, it got deleted
It didn't conform to rules as posted.
* 5 months ago
Additional Details
For the record, I did not choose the category, it just got suggested by Yahoo.
5 months ago
You know, I dabbled on Poetry these last days.
5 months ago
Lovechild,
I didn't know that you also have some bearings in the realm of Quantum Mechanics...wow
5 months ago
I have to make this poem longer to include, Vikram P, Randy, Carulos, the Mathemagician, steve, Bandagadde S, Edward, Anil Bakshi, Otro, Evan, Quadrillerator, Mielo Estetz, Tabula Raza, and others in the Math and Physics....
5 months ago
Bhaskar, you don't have to take it literally. Seems your name has a good sound and the right number of syllables(lol) Nice day.
5 months ago
Madhukarji,
Don't you worry, we'll use radar tracking.
5 months ago
Scythian,
It will be a long-winding poem of quatrains like the "Centuries" of Nostradamus (lol)
5 months ago
♥5, how will people read your name in a poem.
5 months ago
Al P,
Welcome to Poetry section (lol)
When the math people all answer in poetry, who will be left to make equations?
5 months ago
Al P,
Keep on. Your spirit has a bearing in Poetry. Just think that Science don't clash with poetry, they're just alternate worlds for each other.
5 months ago
================================
The additional stanzas for the above poem:
This incident has kept me thinking
Why this has happened to my posting
It left no chance even for comments
Of other friends who missed the contents
Think I'll repost much better questions
Worth your while to see in this section
That everyone who'd chance to drop by
Gets impressed of norms that are so high
Check the page of these contributors
Steve, Vasek and Quadrillerator
Mathemagician and Vikram P
Mielo Estetz and Anil Bakshi
Tabula Raza, JB and Hy
Conan, Saket, and SMCI
A Kartaltepe, Otro, Moise Gunen
Northstar, Evan, Randy and Rackbrane
Euclid, Pythagoras and others
Might all rejoice to think, or shudder
In Math there'll be no more dilemma
We just resort to Wolfram Alpha
5 months ago
Sir Duke and Kirchwey, we should consult
For their opinions before we vote;
Edward, Gzion, Bandagadde S,
May then solve the problem if we please
5 months ago
Sir Duke and Kirchwey, we should consult
For their opinions before we vote;
Edward, Gzion, Bandagadde S,
May then solve the problem if we please
5 months ago
Old Pilot and love5 have replied
So did Retired Pilot who supplied
Answers, explanations where required;
There's Gianlino, whose queries I've tried.
Astronomy has got DLM,
Erica S, professor, a dame,
And Carolus, whose answers we see;
For Philosophy, there's Hector C.
THE ARROW AND THE QUESTION
(with apologies to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow)
I shoot an arrow into the air
A projectile that it seemed it were
Daftary plotted its position
Scythian formed the required equation
Long, long afterward, under an oak
As I read a Mathematics book
There, by chance, I found a queer entry
Dragan K has asked the same query
So I logged on to Yahoo Answers
To post the question for web viewers
Dr D, Zo Maar starred the question
Half-Blood Prince, Falzoon gave attention
And so did Al P and Ergaster
Mathsmanretired, Civil Aviator
Mathematishan, Rakesh Dubey
And smart Queen Eti Wants Spaghetti
Bhaskar and Algol gave their answers
Tomato, Skonhet and all others
Though all were great, I'll choose an entry
Rozeta Fifty Three gets BA
You are late, good Dr. Lucafont
And First Grade Rocks, there's no more question
So sorry folks, it got deleted
It didn't conform to rules as posted.
* 5 months ago
Additional Details
For the record, I did not choose the category, it just got suggested by Yahoo.
5 months ago
You know, I dabbled on Poetry these last days.
5 months ago
Lovechild,
I didn't know that you also have some bearings in the realm of Quantum Mechanics...wow
5 months ago
I have to make this poem longer to include, Vikram P, Randy, Carulos, the Mathemagician, steve, Bandagadde S, Edward, Anil Bakshi, Otro, Evan, Quadrillerator, Mielo Estetz, Tabula Raza, and others in the Math and Physics....
5 months ago
Bhaskar, you don't have to take it literally. Seems your name has a good sound and the right number of syllables(lol) Nice day.
5 months ago
Madhukarji,
Don't you worry, we'll use radar tracking.
5 months ago
Scythian,
It will be a long-winding poem of quatrains like the "Centuries" of Nostradamus (lol)
5 months ago
♥5, how will people read your name in a poem.
5 months ago
Al P,
Welcome to Poetry section (lol)
When the math people all answer in poetry, who will be left to make equations?
5 months ago
Al P,
Keep on. Your spirit has a bearing in Poetry. Just think that Science don't clash with poetry, they're just alternate worlds for each other.
5 months ago
================================
The additional stanzas for the above poem:
This incident has kept me thinking
Why this has happened to my posting
It left no chance even for comments
Of other friends who missed the contents
Think I'll repost much better questions
Worth your while to see in this section
That everyone who'd chance to drop by
Gets impressed of norms that are so high
Check the page of these contributors
Steve, Vasek and Quadrillerator
Mathemagician and Vikram P
Mielo Estetz and Anil Bakshi
Tabula Raza, JB and Hy
Conan, Saket, and SMCI
A Kartaltepe, Otro, Moise Gunen
Northstar, Evan, Randy and Rackbrane
Euclid, Pythagoras and others
Might all rejoice to think, or shudder
In Math there'll be no more dilemma
We just resort to Wolfram Alpha
5 months ago
Sir Duke and Kirchwey, we should consult
For their opinions before we vote;
Edward, Gzion, Bandagadde S,
May then solve the problem if we please
5 months ago
Sir Duke and Kirchwey, we should consult
For their opinions before we vote;
Edward, Gzion, Bandagadde S,
May then solve the problem if we please
5 months ago
Old Pilot and love5 have replied
So did Retired Pilot who supplied
Answers, explanations where required;
There's Gianlino, whose queries I've tried.
Astronomy has got DLM,
Erica S, professor, a dame,
And Carolus, whose answers we see;
For Philosophy, there's Hector C.
math poems 5
s
Math Quotes
These page contains quotations on Mathematics by famous mathematicians.
If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is. ~John Louis von Neumann
Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. ~Albert Einstein
Mathematics are well and good but nature keeps dragging us around by the nose. ~Albert Einstein
Black holes result from God dividing the universe by zero. ~Author Unknown
Mathematics - the unshaken Foundation of Sciences, and the plentiful Fountain of Advantage to human affairs. ~Isaac Barrow
I never did very well in math - I could never seem to persuade the teacher that I hadn't meant my answers literally. ~Calvin Trillin
Math is radical! ~Bumper Sticker
If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. ~Phil Pastoret
There was a blithe certainty that came from first comprehending the full Einstein field equations, arabesques of Greek letters clinging tenuously to the page, a gossamer web. They seemed insubstantial when you first saw them, a string of squiggles. Yet to follow the delicate tensors as they contracted, as the superscripts paired with subscripts, collapsing mathematically into concrete classical entities - potential; mass; forces vectoring in a curved geometry - that was a sublime experience. The iron fist of the real, inside the velvet glove of airy mathematics. ~Gregory Benford, Timescape
It is a mathematical fact that fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class. ~Author Unknown
If two wrongs don't make a right, try three. ~Author Unknown
Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head. ~Carl Sandburg, "Arithmetic"
Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer. ~Carl Sandburg, "Arithmetic"
If equations are trains threading the landscape of numbers, then no train stops at pi. ~Richard Preston
Even stranger things have happened; and perhaps the strangest of all is the marvel that mathematics should be possible to a race akin to the apes. ~Eric T. Bell, The Development of Mathematics
So if a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. ~Francis Bacon, "Of Studies"
The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple. ~S. Gudder
The human mind has never invented a labor-saving machine equal to algebra. ~Author Unknown
The mathematics are distinguished by a particular privilege, that is, in the course of ages, they may always advance and can never recede. ~Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Go down deep enough into anything and you will find mathematics. ~Dean Schlicter
It is not the job of mathematicians... to do correct arithmetical operations. It is the job of bank accountants. ~Samuil Shchatunovski
Trigonometry is a sine of the times. ~Author Unknown
Mathematics is not a careful march down a well-cleared highway, but a journey into a strange wilderness, where the explorers often get lost. Rigour should be a signal to the historian that the maps have been made, and the real explorers have gone elsewhere. ~W.S. Anglin
A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems. ~Paul Erdos
The mathematics are usually considered as being the very antipodes of Poesy. Yet Mathesis and Poesy are of the closest kindred, for they are both works of the imagination. ~Thomas Hill
I used to love mathematics for its own sake, and I still do, because it allows for no hypocrisy and no vagueness.... ~Stendhal (Henri Beyle), The Life of Henri Brulard
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. ~Albert Einstein, Sidelights on Relativity
God does not care about our mathematical difficulties; He integrates empirically. ~Albert Einstein
If there is a God, he's a great mathematician. ~Paul Dirac
To all of us who hold the Christian belief that God is truth, anything that is true is a fact about God, and mathematics is a branch of theology. ~Hilda Phoebe Hudson
[T]he different branches of Arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. ~Lewis Carroll
[G]eometry is not true, it is advantageous. ~Henri Poincaré
Infinity is a floorless room without walls or ceiling. ~Author Unknown
Physics is mathematical not because we know so much about the physical world, but because we know so little; it is only its mathematical properties that we can discover. ~Bertrand Russell
If a healthy minded person takes an interest in science, he gets busy with his mathematics and haunts the laboratory. ~W.S. Franklin
Proof is an idol before whom the pure mathematician tortures himself. ~Arthur Stanley Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World
There was a young man from Trinity,
Who solved the square root of infinity.
While counting the digits,
He was seized by the fidgets,
Dropped science, and took up divinity.
~Author Unknown
One cannot escape the feeling that these mathematical formulas have an independent existence and an intelligence of their own, that they are wiser than we are, wiser even than their discoverers... ~Heinrich Hertz
In the binary system we count on our fists instead of on our fingers. ~Author Unknown
The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God. ~Euclid
In most sciences one generation tears down what another has built and what one has established another undoes. In mathematics alone each generations adds a new story to the old structure. ~Hermann Hankel
Twice two makes four seems to me simply a piece of insolence. Twice two makes four is a pert coxcomb who stands with arms akimbo barring your path and spitting. I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too. ~Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
I know that two and two make four - & should be glad to prove it too if I could - though I must say if by any sort of process I could convert 2 & 2 into five it would give me much greater pleasure. ~George Gordon, Lord Byron
Mathematics may be defined as the economy of counting. There is no problem in the whole of mathematics which cannot be solved by direct counting. ~Ernst Mach
Nature does not count nor do integers occur in nature. Man made them all, integers and all the rest, Kronecker to the contrary notwithstanding. ~Percy William Bridgman, The Way Things Are
Why do we believe that in all matters the odd numbers are more powerful? ~Pliny the Elder, Natural History
Uneven numbers are the gods' delight. ~Virgil, The Eclogues
One of the endlessly alluring aspects of mathematics is that its thorniest paradoxes have a way of blooming into beautiful theories. ~Philip J. Davis
Pure mathematics is the world's best game. It is more absorbing than chess, more of a gamble than poker, and lasts longer than Monopoly. It's free. It can be played anywhere - Archimedes did it in a bathtub. ~Richard J. Trudeau, Dots and Lines
I like mathematics because it is not human and has nothing particular to do with this planet or with the whole accidental universe - because like Spinoza's God, it won't love us in return. ~Bertrand Russell, 1912
The man ignorant of mathematics will be increasingly limited in his grasp of the main forces of civilization. ~John Kemeny
Although I am almost illiterate mathematically, I grasped very early in life that any one who can count to ten can count upward indefinitely if he is fool enough to do so. ~Robertson Davies, "Of the Conservation of Youth," The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks
Let us grant that the pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit, a refuge from the goading urgency of contingent happenings. ~Alfred North Whitehead
The tantalizing and compelling pursuit of mathematical problems offers mental absorption, peace of mind amid endless challenges, repose in activity, battle without conflict, "refuge from the goading urgency of contingent happenings," and the sort of beauty changeless mountains present to sense tried by the present-day kaleidoscope of events. ~Morris Kline, Mathematics in Western Culture (Kline is quoting Alfred North Whitehead - "refuge from...")
Mathematics is as much an aspect of culture as it is a collection of algorithms. ~Carl Boyer, 1949, calculus textbook
The cowboys have a way of trussing up a steer or a pugnacious bronco which fixes the brute so that it can neither move nor think. This is the hog-tie, and it is what Euclid did to geometry. ~Eric Bell, The Search for Truth
Sometimes it is useful to know how large your zero is. ~Author Unknown
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition
Mathematics is the only good metaphysics. ~William Thomson Baron Kelvin of Largs
The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic. ~Bertrand Russell
Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting. ~Gottfried Leibniz
How many times can you subtract 7 from 83, and what is left afterwards? You can subtract it as many times as you want, and it leaves 76 every time. ~Author Unknown
To most outsiders, modern mathematics is unknown territory. Its borders are protected by dense thickets of technical terms; its landscapes are a mass of indecipherable equations and incomprehensible concepts. Few realize that the world of modern mathematics is rich with vivid images and provocative ideas. ~Ivars Peterson
With my full philosophical rucksack I can only climb slowly up the mountain of mathematics. ~Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value
But mathematics is the sister, as well as the servant, of the arts and is touched with the same madness and genius. ~Harold Marston Morse
Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy we call mathematics. ~Gregory Bateson
Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house. ~Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
The trouble with integers is that we have examined only the very small ones. Maybe all the exciting stuff happens at really big numbers, ones we can't even begin to think about in any very definite way. Our brains have evolved to get us out of the rain, find where the berries are, and keep us from getting killed. Our brains did not evolve to help us grasp really large numbers or to look at things in a hundred thousand dimensions. ~Ronald L. Graham
We could use up two Eternities in learning all that is to be learned about our own world and the thousands of nations that have arisen and flourished and vanished from it. Mathematics alone would occupy me eight million years. ~Mark Twain
Can you do Division? Divide a loaf by a knife - what's the answer to that? ~Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Mathematics is the supreme judge; from its decisions there is no appeal. ~Tobias Dantzig
Although he may not always recognize his bondage, modern man lives under a tyranny of numbers. ~Nicholas Eberstadt, The Tyranny of Numbers: Mismeasurement and Misrule
A man has one hundred dollars and you leave him with two dollars. That's subtraction. ~Mae West
I've dealt with numbers all my life, of course, and after a while you begin to feel that each number has a personality of its own. A twelve is very different from a thirteen, for example. Twelve is upright, conscientious, intelligent, whereas thirteen is a loner, a shady character who won't think twice about breaking the law to get what he wants. Eleven is tough, an outdoorsman who likes tramping through woods and scaling mountains; ten is rather simpleminded, a bland figure who always does what he's told; nine is deep and mystical, a Buddha of contemplation.... ~Paul Auster, The Music of Chance
Math Quotes
These page contains quotations on Mathematics by famous mathematicians.
If people do not believe that mathematics is simple, it is only because they do not realize how complicated life is. ~John Louis von Neumann
Pure mathematics is, in its way, the poetry of logical ideas. ~Albert Einstein
Mathematics are well and good but nature keeps dragging us around by the nose. ~Albert Einstein
Black holes result from God dividing the universe by zero. ~Author Unknown
Mathematics - the unshaken Foundation of Sciences, and the plentiful Fountain of Advantage to human affairs. ~Isaac Barrow
I never did very well in math - I could never seem to persuade the teacher that I hadn't meant my answers literally. ~Calvin Trillin
Math is radical! ~Bumper Sticker
If you think dogs can't count, try putting three dog biscuits in your pocket and then giving Fido only two of them. ~Phil Pastoret
There was a blithe certainty that came from first comprehending the full Einstein field equations, arabesques of Greek letters clinging tenuously to the page, a gossamer web. They seemed insubstantial when you first saw them, a string of squiggles. Yet to follow the delicate tensors as they contracted, as the superscripts paired with subscripts, collapsing mathematically into concrete classical entities - potential; mass; forces vectoring in a curved geometry - that was a sublime experience. The iron fist of the real, inside the velvet glove of airy mathematics. ~Gregory Benford, Timescape
It is a mathematical fact that fifty percent of all doctors graduate in the bottom half of their class. ~Author Unknown
If two wrongs don't make a right, try three. ~Author Unknown
Arithmetic is where numbers fly like pigeons in and out of your head. ~Carl Sandburg, "Arithmetic"
Arithmetic is numbers you squeeze from your head to your hand to your pencil to your paper till you get the answer. ~Carl Sandburg, "Arithmetic"
If equations are trains threading the landscape of numbers, then no train stops at pi. ~Richard Preston
Even stranger things have happened; and perhaps the strangest of all is the marvel that mathematics should be possible to a race akin to the apes. ~Eric T. Bell, The Development of Mathematics
So if a man's wit be wandering, let him study the mathematics; for in demonstrations, if his wit be called away never so little, he must begin again. ~Francis Bacon, "Of Studies"
The essence of mathematics is not to make simple things complicated, but to make complicated things simple. ~S. Gudder
The human mind has never invented a labor-saving machine equal to algebra. ~Author Unknown
The mathematics are distinguished by a particular privilege, that is, in the course of ages, they may always advance and can never recede. ~Edward Gibbon, Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
Go down deep enough into anything and you will find mathematics. ~Dean Schlicter
It is not the job of mathematicians... to do correct arithmetical operations. It is the job of bank accountants. ~Samuil Shchatunovski
Trigonometry is a sine of the times. ~Author Unknown
Mathematics is not a careful march down a well-cleared highway, but a journey into a strange wilderness, where the explorers often get lost. Rigour should be a signal to the historian that the maps have been made, and the real explorers have gone elsewhere. ~W.S. Anglin
A mathematician is a device for turning coffee into theorems. ~Paul Erdos
The mathematics are usually considered as being the very antipodes of Poesy. Yet Mathesis and Poesy are of the closest kindred, for they are both works of the imagination. ~Thomas Hill
I used to love mathematics for its own sake, and I still do, because it allows for no hypocrisy and no vagueness.... ~Stendhal (Henri Beyle), The Life of Henri Brulard
As far as the laws of mathematics refer to reality, they are not certain; and as far as they are certain, they do not refer to reality. ~Albert Einstein, Sidelights on Relativity
God does not care about our mathematical difficulties; He integrates empirically. ~Albert Einstein
If there is a God, he's a great mathematician. ~Paul Dirac
To all of us who hold the Christian belief that God is truth, anything that is true is a fact about God, and mathematics is a branch of theology. ~Hilda Phoebe Hudson
[T]he different branches of Arithmetic - Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision. ~Lewis Carroll
[G]eometry is not true, it is advantageous. ~Henri Poincaré
Infinity is a floorless room without walls or ceiling. ~Author Unknown
Physics is mathematical not because we know so much about the physical world, but because we know so little; it is only its mathematical properties that we can discover. ~Bertrand Russell
If a healthy minded person takes an interest in science, he gets busy with his mathematics and haunts the laboratory. ~W.S. Franklin
Proof is an idol before whom the pure mathematician tortures himself. ~Arthur Stanley Eddington, The Nature of the Physical World
There was a young man from Trinity,
Who solved the square root of infinity.
While counting the digits,
He was seized by the fidgets,
Dropped science, and took up divinity.
~Author Unknown
One cannot escape the feeling that these mathematical formulas have an independent existence and an intelligence of their own, that they are wiser than we are, wiser even than their discoverers... ~Heinrich Hertz
In the binary system we count on our fists instead of on our fingers. ~Author Unknown
The laws of nature are but the mathematical thoughts of God. ~Euclid
In most sciences one generation tears down what another has built and what one has established another undoes. In mathematics alone each generations adds a new story to the old structure. ~Hermann Hankel
Twice two makes four seems to me simply a piece of insolence. Twice two makes four is a pert coxcomb who stands with arms akimbo barring your path and spitting. I admit that twice two makes four is an excellent thing, but if we are to give everything its due, twice two makes five is sometimes a very charming thing too. ~Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky
I know that two and two make four - & should be glad to prove it too if I could - though I must say if by any sort of process I could convert 2 & 2 into five it would give me much greater pleasure. ~George Gordon, Lord Byron
Mathematics may be defined as the economy of counting. There is no problem in the whole of mathematics which cannot be solved by direct counting. ~Ernst Mach
Nature does not count nor do integers occur in nature. Man made them all, integers and all the rest, Kronecker to the contrary notwithstanding. ~Percy William Bridgman, The Way Things Are
Why do we believe that in all matters the odd numbers are more powerful? ~Pliny the Elder, Natural History
Uneven numbers are the gods' delight. ~Virgil, The Eclogues
One of the endlessly alluring aspects of mathematics is that its thorniest paradoxes have a way of blooming into beautiful theories. ~Philip J. Davis
Pure mathematics is the world's best game. It is more absorbing than chess, more of a gamble than poker, and lasts longer than Monopoly. It's free. It can be played anywhere - Archimedes did it in a bathtub. ~Richard J. Trudeau, Dots and Lines
I like mathematics because it is not human and has nothing particular to do with this planet or with the whole accidental universe - because like Spinoza's God, it won't love us in return. ~Bertrand Russell, 1912
The man ignorant of mathematics will be increasingly limited in his grasp of the main forces of civilization. ~John Kemeny
Although I am almost illiterate mathematically, I grasped very early in life that any one who can count to ten can count upward indefinitely if he is fool enough to do so. ~Robertson Davies, "Of the Conservation of Youth," The Table Talk of Samuel Marchbanks
Let us grant that the pursuit of mathematics is a divine madness of the human spirit, a refuge from the goading urgency of contingent happenings. ~Alfred North Whitehead
The tantalizing and compelling pursuit of mathematical problems offers mental absorption, peace of mind amid endless challenges, repose in activity, battle without conflict, "refuge from the goading urgency of contingent happenings," and the sort of beauty changeless mountains present to sense tried by the present-day kaleidoscope of events. ~Morris Kline, Mathematics in Western Culture (Kline is quoting Alfred North Whitehead - "refuge from...")
Mathematics is as much an aspect of culture as it is a collection of algorithms. ~Carl Boyer, 1949, calculus textbook
The cowboys have a way of trussing up a steer or a pugnacious bronco which fixes the brute so that it can neither move nor think. This is the hog-tie, and it is what Euclid did to geometry. ~Eric Bell, The Search for Truth
Sometimes it is useful to know how large your zero is. ~Author Unknown
The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings. ~Eric Hoffer, Reflections On The Human Condition
Mathematics is the only good metaphysics. ~William Thomson Baron Kelvin of Largs
The most savage controversies are those about matters as to which there is no good evidence either way. Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic. ~Bertrand Russell
Music is the pleasure the human mind experiences from counting without being aware that it is counting. ~Gottfried Leibniz
How many times can you subtract 7 from 83, and what is left afterwards? You can subtract it as many times as you want, and it leaves 76 every time. ~Author Unknown
To most outsiders, modern mathematics is unknown territory. Its borders are protected by dense thickets of technical terms; its landscapes are a mass of indecipherable equations and incomprehensible concepts. Few realize that the world of modern mathematics is rich with vivid images and provocative ideas. ~Ivars Peterson
With my full philosophical rucksack I can only climb slowly up the mountain of mathematics. ~Ludwig Wittgenstein, Culture and Value
But mathematics is the sister, as well as the servant, of the arts and is touched with the same madness and genius. ~Harold Marston Morse
Still more astonishing is that world of rigorous fantasy we call mathematics. ~Gregory Bateson
Anyone who cannot cope with mathematics is not fully human. At best he is a tolerable subhuman who has learned to wear shoes, bathe, and not make messes in the house. ~Robert Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
The trouble with integers is that we have examined only the very small ones. Maybe all the exciting stuff happens at really big numbers, ones we can't even begin to think about in any very definite way. Our brains have evolved to get us out of the rain, find where the berries are, and keep us from getting killed. Our brains did not evolve to help us grasp really large numbers or to look at things in a hundred thousand dimensions. ~Ronald L. Graham
We could use up two Eternities in learning all that is to be learned about our own world and the thousands of nations that have arisen and flourished and vanished from it. Mathematics alone would occupy me eight million years. ~Mark Twain
Can you do Division? Divide a loaf by a knife - what's the answer to that? ~Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass
Mathematics is the supreme judge; from its decisions there is no appeal. ~Tobias Dantzig
Although he may not always recognize his bondage, modern man lives under a tyranny of numbers. ~Nicholas Eberstadt, The Tyranny of Numbers: Mismeasurement and Misrule
A man has one hundred dollars and you leave him with two dollars. That's subtraction. ~Mae West
I've dealt with numbers all my life, of course, and after a while you begin to feel that each number has a personality of its own. A twelve is very different from a thirteen, for example. Twelve is upright, conscientious, intelligent, whereas thirteen is a loner, a shady character who won't think twice about breaking the law to get what he wants. Eleven is tough, an outdoorsman who likes tramping through woods and scaling mountains; ten is rather simpleminded, a bland figure who always does what he's told; nine is deep and mystical, a Buddha of contemplation.... ~Paul Auster, The Music of Chance
math poems 4
Math Poems
These poems had been written by Eileen Tupaz.
Odd - Even Poem
Zero, two, four, six, eight
Being even is just great.
One, three, five, seven, nine
Being odd is just fine.
Zero the hero came to school.
Zero the hero knows a rule:
Zero the hero stays in a space,
So all the other numbers get in the right place!
We sing a song to the tune of "Frere Jacques":
Zero Hero, Zero Hero,
We love you.
We love you.
Though you may be nothing,
We really think you're something.
Yes, we do. Yes, we do.
CLOCK SONG
(tune Wheels on the Bus)
The hands on the clock go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The hands on the clock go round and round.
To tell us the time.
The short hand on the clock
Goes from number to number,
Number to number, number to number.
The short hand on the clock
Goes from number to number.
To tell us the time.
The long hand on the clock
Goes around by fives,
Around by fives, around by fives.
The long hand on the clock
Goes around by fives.
To tell us the minutes.
The Skip Count Song
(Tune: Skip to my Lou)
Skip count, skip count, count by 2's
Skip count, skip count, count by 2's
Skip count, skip count, count by 2's
We can count to 20.
2, 4, 6, 8, 10,12,14,16, 18, 20 (chant this line)
Skip count, skip count, count by 5's
Skip count, skip count, count by 5's
Skip count, skip count, count by 5's
We can count to 50.
5, 10, 15, 20, (up to 50)
Skip count, skip count, count by 10's
Skip count, skip count, count by 10's
Skip count, skip count, count by 10's
We can count to 100.
10, 20, 30, 40, (up to 100)
Shelby Star is my name
Shining brightly is my game
With five sparkly points and lots of sides, too
With wishes I make dreams come true.
I am Cindi Circle
Watch me turn
Round and round
And you will learn
I'm not straight and
I don't bend
My outside edges
Never end!
Sammy Square is my name
My four sides are just the same
Turn me around, I don't care
I'm always the same, I'm a square!
I am Danny Diamond
I am like a kite
But I'm really just a square
Whose corners are pulled tight
Ricky rectangle is my name
My four sides are not the same
Two are short and two are long
Count my sides, come along
1-2-3-4
Tommy Triangle is the name for me
Count my sides - there's 1-2-3
I am Ollie Oval
A football shape is mine
Some people think that I"m an egg
But I think I look fine!
OR
Opal Oval is my name.
The circle and I are not the same.
The circle is round, as round can be.
I am shaped like an egg as you can see
Harry Heart is my name
The shape I make is my fame
With a point on the bottom and two humps on top
When it comes to love I just can't stop!
1 A straight line down and 1 is done.
2 Around and back on the railroad track, 2,2,2.
(Read as "choo-choo-choo")
3 Go around and around a tree. That's the way to write a 3.
4 Down and across and down once more. That's way to write 4.
5 Down and around, make it fat. Numeral 5 wears a hat.
6 Down and around, make a loop. Numeral 6 rolls a hoop.
7 Across, slant, then you are done. Writing 7 can be fun.
8 Write an S but do not wait. Come back up and write an 8.
9 A loop and a line make numeral 9.
10 Pull down straight, lift, and then curve down, curve up--that's a 10.
Number Poem
Down you run and 1 is done.
Around, and down, and out go you,
That's the way to make a 2.
Around, and around, like a bee,
That's the way to make a 3.
Down, across, and down once more,
That's the way to make a 4.
Short neck, belly fat,
Number 5 wears a hat.
Down, around, in a circle you go,
That's a six, just as you know.
Straight across, slide down from heaven,
That's the way to make a 7.
First a snake, then come back straight,
That's the way to make an 8.
First a ball and then a line,
That's the way to make a 9.
Tall straight, circle then,
That's the way to make a 10
Circumference and Area
Fiddle de dum, Fiddle de dee,
A ring round the moon is pi times d;
But if a hole you want repaired,
You use the formula Pi r squared.
A New Solution to an Old Problem
By: Eleanor Ninestein
The Topologist's child was quite hyper
'Til she wore a Moebius diaper.
The mess on the inside
Was thus on the outside
And it was easy for someone to wipe her.
The Mobius Strip
A mathematician confided
That a Mobius band is one-sided.
And you'll get quite a laugh
If you cut it in half,
For it stays in one piece when divided.
Einstein
By: Katherine O'Brien
The Mathematics Teacher
April 1968
His first day at Princeton, the legend goes,
he went for a stroll (in his rumpled clothes).
He entered a coffee shop -- moment of doubt --
then climbed on a stool and looked about.
Beside him, a frosh, likewise strange and alone,
consoling himself with an ice cream cone.
Now Einstein's glee
was plain to see
at the sight of the cone with the sphere on top
(in the hand of a frosh in a sandwich shop)
and -- oh incredible --
completely edible!
He smiled at the frosh, then the waiter came,
and Einstein gestured he'd like the same, and they sat there nibbling, suddenly kin,
with no common language to verbalize in.
But foreign no longer, no longer alone,
with the fellowship bond of an ice cream cone.
Valentine
You disintegrate my differential,
You dislocate my focus.
My pulse goes up like an exponential
whenever you cross my locus.
Without you, sets are null and void --
so won't you be my cardioid?
Threes
By: John Atherton
I think that I shall never c
A # lovelier than 3;
For 3 < 6 or 4,
And than 1 it's slightly more.
All things in nature come in 3s,
Like ... , trio's, Q.E.D.s;
While $s gain more dignity
if augmented 3 x 3 --
A 3 whose slender curves are pressed
By banks, for compound interest;
Oh, would that, paying loans or rent,
My rates were only 3%!
3² expands with rapture free,
And reaches toward infinity;
3 complements each x and y,
And intimately lives with pi.
A circle's # of °
Are best ÷ up by 3s,
But wrapped in dim obscurity
Is the square root of 3.
Atoms are split by men like me,
But only God is 1 in 3.
These poems had been written by Eileen Tupaz.
Odd - Even Poem
Zero, two, four, six, eight
Being even is just great.
One, three, five, seven, nine
Being odd is just fine.
Zero the hero came to school.
Zero the hero knows a rule:
Zero the hero stays in a space,
So all the other numbers get in the right place!
We sing a song to the tune of "Frere Jacques":
Zero Hero, Zero Hero,
We love you.
We love you.
Though you may be nothing,
We really think you're something.
Yes, we do. Yes, we do.
CLOCK SONG
(tune Wheels on the Bus)
The hands on the clock go round and round,
Round and round, round and round.
The hands on the clock go round and round.
To tell us the time.
The short hand on the clock
Goes from number to number,
Number to number, number to number.
The short hand on the clock
Goes from number to number.
To tell us the time.
The long hand on the clock
Goes around by fives,
Around by fives, around by fives.
The long hand on the clock
Goes around by fives.
To tell us the minutes.
The Skip Count Song
(Tune: Skip to my Lou)
Skip count, skip count, count by 2's
Skip count, skip count, count by 2's
Skip count, skip count, count by 2's
We can count to 20.
2, 4, 6, 8, 10,12,14,16, 18, 20 (chant this line)
Skip count, skip count, count by 5's
Skip count, skip count, count by 5's
Skip count, skip count, count by 5's
We can count to 50.
5, 10, 15, 20, (up to 50)
Skip count, skip count, count by 10's
Skip count, skip count, count by 10's
Skip count, skip count, count by 10's
We can count to 100.
10, 20, 30, 40, (up to 100)
Shelby Star is my name
Shining brightly is my game
With five sparkly points and lots of sides, too
With wishes I make dreams come true.
I am Cindi Circle
Watch me turn
Round and round
And you will learn
I'm not straight and
I don't bend
My outside edges
Never end!
Sammy Square is my name
My four sides are just the same
Turn me around, I don't care
I'm always the same, I'm a square!
I am Danny Diamond
I am like a kite
But I'm really just a square
Whose corners are pulled tight
Ricky rectangle is my name
My four sides are not the same
Two are short and two are long
Count my sides, come along
1-2-3-4
Tommy Triangle is the name for me
Count my sides - there's 1-2-3
I am Ollie Oval
A football shape is mine
Some people think that I"m an egg
But I think I look fine!
OR
Opal Oval is my name.
The circle and I are not the same.
The circle is round, as round can be.
I am shaped like an egg as you can see
Harry Heart is my name
The shape I make is my fame
With a point on the bottom and two humps on top
When it comes to love I just can't stop!
1 A straight line down and 1 is done.
2 Around and back on the railroad track, 2,2,2.
(Read as "choo-choo-choo")
3 Go around and around a tree. That's the way to write a 3.
4 Down and across and down once more. That's way to write 4.
5 Down and around, make it fat. Numeral 5 wears a hat.
6 Down and around, make a loop. Numeral 6 rolls a hoop.
7 Across, slant, then you are done. Writing 7 can be fun.
8 Write an S but do not wait. Come back up and write an 8.
9 A loop and a line make numeral 9.
10 Pull down straight, lift, and then curve down, curve up--that's a 10.
Number Poem
Down you run and 1 is done.
Around, and down, and out go you,
That's the way to make a 2.
Around, and around, like a bee,
That's the way to make a 3.
Down, across, and down once more,
That's the way to make a 4.
Short neck, belly fat,
Number 5 wears a hat.
Down, around, in a circle you go,
That's a six, just as you know.
Straight across, slide down from heaven,
That's the way to make a 7.
First a snake, then come back straight,
That's the way to make an 8.
First a ball and then a line,
That's the way to make a 9.
Tall straight, circle then,
That's the way to make a 10
Circumference and Area
Fiddle de dum, Fiddle de dee,
A ring round the moon is pi times d;
But if a hole you want repaired,
You use the formula Pi r squared.
A New Solution to an Old Problem
By: Eleanor Ninestein
The Topologist's child was quite hyper
'Til she wore a Moebius diaper.
The mess on the inside
Was thus on the outside
And it was easy for someone to wipe her.
The Mobius Strip
A mathematician confided
That a Mobius band is one-sided.
And you'll get quite a laugh
If you cut it in half,
For it stays in one piece when divided.
Einstein
By: Katherine O'Brien
The Mathematics Teacher
April 1968
His first day at Princeton, the legend goes,
he went for a stroll (in his rumpled clothes).
He entered a coffee shop -- moment of doubt --
then climbed on a stool and looked about.
Beside him, a frosh, likewise strange and alone,
consoling himself with an ice cream cone.
Now Einstein's glee
was plain to see
at the sight of the cone with the sphere on top
(in the hand of a frosh in a sandwich shop)
and -- oh incredible --
completely edible!
He smiled at the frosh, then the waiter came,
and Einstein gestured he'd like the same, and they sat there nibbling, suddenly kin,
with no common language to verbalize in.
But foreign no longer, no longer alone,
with the fellowship bond of an ice cream cone.
Valentine
You disintegrate my differential,
You dislocate my focus.
My pulse goes up like an exponential
whenever you cross my locus.
Without you, sets are null and void --
so won't you be my cardioid?
Threes
By: John Atherton
I think that I shall never c
A # lovelier than 3;
For 3 < 6 or 4,
And than 1 it's slightly more.
All things in nature come in 3s,
Like ... , trio's, Q.E.D.s;
While $s gain more dignity
if augmented 3 x 3 --
A 3 whose slender curves are pressed
By banks, for compound interest;
Oh, would that, paying loans or rent,
My rates were only 3%!
3² expands with rapture free,
And reaches toward infinity;
3 complements each x and y,
And intimately lives with pi.
A circle's # of °
Are best ÷ up by 3s,
But wrapped in dim obscurity
Is the square root of 3.
Atoms are split by men like me,
But only God is 1 in 3.
learning insight res
Structure of CV/résumé
1. Personal details:
* name
* address (home and college address if different)
* telephone number (home/mobile/college if applicable)
* email address
* personal profile (a summary outlining who you are and why you're a worthwhile employment prospect for this particular job: you could also mention here that you're currently studying in higher education)
2. Employment history:
* begin with your most recent job, briefly outlining your role and responsibilities (especially those most relevant to the job you're applying for)
* working backwards, list any other jobs you've had in chronological order: don't go into great detail about these unless you want to highlight any aspects relevant to your application
* if you've had several less important jobs that aren't relevant to the job you're applying for, you can summarize these as, for example, 'various administrative posts'
* if you've been raising a family, unemployed, or taking another career break, say so: it can create a negative impression if you just leave gaps in your employment history
* treat any significant periods of unemployment in a positive way: you could outline any activities or initiatives you did, such as carrying out voluntary work
3. Education and qualifications:
* if you're still studying for a qualification in higher education, start with this: you could add a heading or subheading (for example, Current studies) to make it clear that your studies are ongoing
* if you've completed any other further or higher education, outline this next
* give your secondary school or schools and the dates you attended them, together with:
o a list of all your A-level (or Scottish Higher) subjects and grades
o brief details of GCSEs, Scottish Standard Grades, or equivalent qualifications (only give full details of these if the employer has specifically asked for them or the subjects are relevant to the job in question)
4. Any other skills, achievements, or training:
* list any relevant professional qualifications, courses, or training (e.g. IT qualifications, knowledge of a foreign language)
* mention significant awards, other achievements, relevant positions of responsibility, etc.
5. Interests or pastimes:
* a brief overview of your interests or hobbies will help your potential employer to gain an insight into the type of person you are
6. Referees:
* you can either give contact details of two people who'd be willing to give you a reference or say that references are available on request
* if you're providing specific names, you could choose one recent/relevant former employer and one current tutor
1. Personal details:
* name
* address (home and college address if different)
* telephone number (home/mobile/college if applicable)
* email address
* personal profile (a summary outlining who you are and why you're a worthwhile employment prospect for this particular job: you could also mention here that you're currently studying in higher education)
2. Employment history:
* begin with your most recent job, briefly outlining your role and responsibilities (especially those most relevant to the job you're applying for)
* working backwards, list any other jobs you've had in chronological order: don't go into great detail about these unless you want to highlight any aspects relevant to your application
* if you've had several less important jobs that aren't relevant to the job you're applying for, you can summarize these as, for example, 'various administrative posts'
* if you've been raising a family, unemployed, or taking another career break, say so: it can create a negative impression if you just leave gaps in your employment history
* treat any significant periods of unemployment in a positive way: you could outline any activities or initiatives you did, such as carrying out voluntary work
3. Education and qualifications:
* if you're still studying for a qualification in higher education, start with this: you could add a heading or subheading (for example, Current studies) to make it clear that your studies are ongoing
* if you've completed any other further or higher education, outline this next
* give your secondary school or schools and the dates you attended them, together with:
o a list of all your A-level (or Scottish Higher) subjects and grades
o brief details of GCSEs, Scottish Standard Grades, or equivalent qualifications (only give full details of these if the employer has specifically asked for them or the subjects are relevant to the job in question)
4. Any other skills, achievements, or training:
* list any relevant professional qualifications, courses, or training (e.g. IT qualifications, knowledge of a foreign language)
* mention significant awards, other achievements, relevant positions of responsibility, etc.
5. Interests or pastimes:
* a brief overview of your interests or hobbies will help your potential employer to gain an insight into the type of person you are
6. Referees:
* you can either give contact details of two people who'd be willing to give you a reference or say that references are available on request
* if you're providing specific names, you could choose one recent/relevant former employer and one current tutor
learnig insight app
Employers often receive hundreds of applications for every job, so it's vital to make sure that your CV/résumé and job application letter create the right impression and present your personal information in the most effective way.
Click here for more on job application letters and emails.
You'll also find extra information on writing CVs/résumé and job applications in the dictionary centre section.
Firstly, here are some general CV do's and don'ts:
DO
* read the advert carefully and tailor your CV/résumé to match the job you're applying for
* be concise when outlining your education and employment history
* try to keep your CV/résumé to one or two sides of A4 paper
* use brief, informative sentences, short paragraphs, and standard English
* structure your CV/résumé in a logical way, with a limited number of main sections
* begin with an action verb when describing your duties (see the CVs/résumé below)
* use bold type or bullet points to highlight key points
* proofread your work for spelling, grammar, and punctuation (many employers just discard job applications that contain such errors)
* see your college careers adviser: they'll have a range of sample CVs/résumés and will be able to help you when writing specific applications
* update your CV/résumé regularly, as your situation changes
DON'T
* go into too much detail: employers are too busy to read rambling and unfocused CVs/résumés
* leave gaps in your employment history: it's better to add a sentence explaining any periods that are unaccounted for (such as a gap year)
* forget to read your CV/résumé for both content and mistakes (you could also ask someone to read it for you)
* use many different typefaces: keep to one or two that are clear and easy to read
* brighten up your CV/résumé with inappropriate colour, photos, or graphics
* name people as referees unless you've already confirmed that they're happy to provide a reference for you
Here are some guidelines on two broad approaches to writing CVs/résumés, one suitable for students embarking on their careers who haven't had a full-time permanent job, and one for students who've worked for several years and who'll be returning to full-time work after their studies.
Starting out on a career
If you come to university or college directly from school, sixth-form college, or after a gap year, you're likely to be applying for your first full-time permanent job when your course ends. This means that, after giving your personal details, you should structure your CV/résumé in the way shown below, first outlining your education and qualifications and then any work experience, part-time or temporary jobs, and other skills.
Structure of CV/résumé
1. Personal details:
* name
* address (home and college address if different)
* telephone number (home/mobile/college if applicable)
* email address
* personal profile (a summary outlining who you are and why you're a worthwhile employment prospect for this particular job)
2. Education and qualifications:
* if you're studying for a qualification in higher education, start with this, making it clear that your studies are ongoing and when the course is due to end
* if you've completed any other further or higher education, state this next
* give your school or schools and the dates you attended them, together with:
o a list of all your A-level (or Scottish Higher) subjects and grades
o brief details of GCSEs, Scottish Standard Grades, or equivalent qualifications (only give full details of these if the employer has specifically asked for them or the subjects are relevant to the job in question)
3. Employment history:
* if you've had several temporary or part-time jobs, list the most important in chronological order, starting with the most recent
* give a brief summary of your roles and responsibilities, focusing on those most relevant to the post you're applying for
* if you've worked in a variety of short-term jobs that aren't relevant to your current application, you can summarize these as, for example, 'various temporary retail posts'
4. Any other skills, achievements, or training:
* list any relevant courses or training (e.g. IT qualifications, knowledge of a foreign language)
* mention significant awards and other achievements, or positions of responsibility at college
5. Interests or pastimes:
* a brief overview of your interests or hobbies will help your potential employer to gain an insight into the type of person you are
6. Referees:
* you can either give contact details of two people who'd be willing to give you a reference or say that references are available on request
* if you're providing specific names and this is your first job, you could use a tutor, teacher, or anyone (apart from your family) who knows you well enough to vouch for you
Click here for more on job application letters and emails.
You'll also find extra information on writing CVs/résumé and job applications in the dictionary centre section.
Firstly, here are some general CV do's and don'ts:
DO
* read the advert carefully and tailor your CV/résumé to match the job you're applying for
* be concise when outlining your education and employment history
* try to keep your CV/résumé to one or two sides of A4 paper
* use brief, informative sentences, short paragraphs, and standard English
* structure your CV/résumé in a logical way, with a limited number of main sections
* begin with an action verb when describing your duties (see the CVs/résumé below)
* use bold type or bullet points to highlight key points
* proofread your work for spelling, grammar, and punctuation (many employers just discard job applications that contain such errors)
* see your college careers adviser: they'll have a range of sample CVs/résumés and will be able to help you when writing specific applications
* update your CV/résumé regularly, as your situation changes
DON'T
* go into too much detail: employers are too busy to read rambling and unfocused CVs/résumés
* leave gaps in your employment history: it's better to add a sentence explaining any periods that are unaccounted for (such as a gap year)
* forget to read your CV/résumé for both content and mistakes (you could also ask someone to read it for you)
* use many different typefaces: keep to one or two that are clear and easy to read
* brighten up your CV/résumé with inappropriate colour, photos, or graphics
* name people as referees unless you've already confirmed that they're happy to provide a reference for you
Here are some guidelines on two broad approaches to writing CVs/résumés, one suitable for students embarking on their careers who haven't had a full-time permanent job, and one for students who've worked for several years and who'll be returning to full-time work after their studies.
Starting out on a career
If you come to university or college directly from school, sixth-form college, or after a gap year, you're likely to be applying for your first full-time permanent job when your course ends. This means that, after giving your personal details, you should structure your CV/résumé in the way shown below, first outlining your education and qualifications and then any work experience, part-time or temporary jobs, and other skills.
Structure of CV/résumé
1. Personal details:
* name
* address (home and college address if different)
* telephone number (home/mobile/college if applicable)
* email address
* personal profile (a summary outlining who you are and why you're a worthwhile employment prospect for this particular job)
2. Education and qualifications:
* if you're studying for a qualification in higher education, start with this, making it clear that your studies are ongoing and when the course is due to end
* if you've completed any other further or higher education, state this next
* give your school or schools and the dates you attended them, together with:
o a list of all your A-level (or Scottish Higher) subjects and grades
o brief details of GCSEs, Scottish Standard Grades, or equivalent qualifications (only give full details of these if the employer has specifically asked for them or the subjects are relevant to the job in question)
3. Employment history:
* if you've had several temporary or part-time jobs, list the most important in chronological order, starting with the most recent
* give a brief summary of your roles and responsibilities, focusing on those most relevant to the post you're applying for
* if you've worked in a variety of short-term jobs that aren't relevant to your current application, you can summarize these as, for example, 'various temporary retail posts'
4. Any other skills, achievements, or training:
* list any relevant courses or training (e.g. IT qualifications, knowledge of a foreign language)
* mention significant awards and other achievements, or positions of responsibility at college
5. Interests or pastimes:
* a brief overview of your interests or hobbies will help your potential employer to gain an insight into the type of person you are
6. Referees:
* you can either give contact details of two people who'd be willing to give you a reference or say that references are available on request
* if you're providing specific names and this is your first job, you could use a tutor, teacher, or anyone (apart from your family) who knows you well enough to vouch for you
What Is Insight Learning?
By an eHow Contributor
I want to do this! What's This?
Insight learning involves a sudden realization distinct from cause-and-effect problem solving. Insight learning manifests as a spontaneous occurrence, and is a noteworthy phenomenon in the learning process. Insight learning can also be described as "an epiphany" and "eureka."
The Anatomy of Insight Learning
1. The experience of insight learning often involves three factors:
1. Seemingly all possible problem-solving attempts have been exhausted and are unsuccessful.
2. Ongoing attempts to solve an apparently unsolvable problem eventually end.
3. A perfect solution to the problem is suddenly realized in a spontaneous way.
Wolfgang Köhler
2. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wolfgang Köhler was a psychologist who conducted experiments in which insight learning was observed in animal behavior. Wolfgang Köhler's research significantly contributed to the understanding of insight learning.
Animal Behavior Studies
3. According to Wolfgang Köhler's experiments, insight learning is observable when studying problem-solving behavior in chimpanzees. In one experiment, after a chimpanzee was given two short sticks with a banana set out of reach, insight learning eventually occurred. After unsuccessfully attempting to reach the banana with the short sticks, the hungry chimpanzee gave up. However, the chimpanzee later accidentally discovered that the sticks could be joined together to form one longer stick. Just then, a spark of insight revealing a solution manifested, allowing the chimpanzee to successfully reach the banana.
Epiphany
4. Another noteworthy term that describes insight learning is "epiphany." Epiphanies involve a sudden revelation or abrupt awareness bringing seemingly chaotic data into symmetry. Experiencing an epiphany is often associated with the feeling of having a sudden leap of understanding. The opposite of insight learning would be insight achieved through a gradual building up of knowledge leading to a successful solution.
Eureka
5. Insight learning also involves the "I have found it!" feeling or "eureka," a Greek word representing this affirmation. Insight learning is also expressed as the "Aha moment," accompanying the sensation of suddenly knowing something after the disenchantment of being uninformed
I want to do this! What's This?
Insight learning involves a sudden realization distinct from cause-and-effect problem solving. Insight learning manifests as a spontaneous occurrence, and is a noteworthy phenomenon in the learning process. Insight learning can also be described as "an epiphany" and "eureka."
The Anatomy of Insight Learning
1. The experience of insight learning often involves three factors:
1. Seemingly all possible problem-solving attempts have been exhausted and are unsuccessful.
2. Ongoing attempts to solve an apparently unsolvable problem eventually end.
3. A perfect solution to the problem is suddenly realized in a spontaneous way.
Wolfgang Köhler
2. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Wolfgang Köhler was a psychologist who conducted experiments in which insight learning was observed in animal behavior. Wolfgang Köhler's research significantly contributed to the understanding of insight learning.
Animal Behavior Studies
3. According to Wolfgang Köhler's experiments, insight learning is observable when studying problem-solving behavior in chimpanzees. In one experiment, after a chimpanzee was given two short sticks with a banana set out of reach, insight learning eventually occurred. After unsuccessfully attempting to reach the banana with the short sticks, the hungry chimpanzee gave up. However, the chimpanzee later accidentally discovered that the sticks could be joined together to form one longer stick. Just then, a spark of insight revealing a solution manifested, allowing the chimpanzee to successfully reach the banana.
Epiphany
4. Another noteworthy term that describes insight learning is "epiphany." Epiphanies involve a sudden revelation or abrupt awareness bringing seemingly chaotic data into symmetry. Experiencing an epiphany is often associated with the feeling of having a sudden leap of understanding. The opposite of insight learning would be insight achieved through a gradual building up of knowledge leading to a successful solution.
Eureka
5. Insight learning also involves the "I have found it!" feeling or "eureka," a Greek word representing this affirmation. Insight learning is also expressed as the "Aha moment," accompanying the sensation of suddenly knowing something after the disenchantment of being uninformed
math poems 3
To the tune of 'American Pie'
A E F#m
A long, long time ago
Bm D F#m E
Long before the Super Bowl and things like lemonade
A E F#m
The Hellenic Republic was full of smarts
Bm D
And a question resting on the Grecian hearts
F#m D E
Was "What is the circumference of a circle?"
F#m Bm
But they were set on rational numbers
F#m Bm
And it ranks among their biggest blunders
D A Bm
They worked on it for years
D E
And confirmed one of their biggest fears
A E F#m Bm7 E
I can't be certain if they cried when irrationality was realized
A E F#m
But something deep within them died
D E7 A D A
the day they discovered pi.
E
They were thinking
CHORUS:
A D A E
Pi, pi, mathematical pi
A D A E
3 point 14 15 92
A D A E
65 35 89 7
F#m B7
932384 62
F#m E7
6433832 7 (not rounded)
VERSE:
A Bm
Well this kind of pie is different than most
D Bm
It hasn't got berries, ain't spread on toast
F#m E
And that's how it's always been
A E F#m
We keep extending its decimal places
Bm D
Pushing our computers through their paces
F#m E
But we'll never reach the end
F#m Bm
So why the fascination with
F#m Bm
A number whose end is just a myth
D A B7
Whence the adulation
D E7
For mental masturbation
A E F#m
It might have something to do with the stars
Bm D
To calculate distances from afar
A E F#m
But that's just a guess 'bout the way things are
D E7 A D A
Regarding the precision of pi
E7
I am pondering
A D A E
Pi, pi, mathematical pi
A D A E
3 point 14 15 92
A D A E
65 35 89 7
F#m B7
932384 62
F#m E7
6433832 7 (not rounded)
A E F#m
A long, long time ago
Bm D F#m E
Long before the Super Bowl and things like lemonade
A E F#m
The Hellenic Republic was full of smarts
Bm D
And a question resting on the Grecian hearts
F#m D E
Was "What is the circumference of a circle?"
F#m Bm
But they were set on rational numbers
F#m Bm
And it ranks among their biggest blunders
D A Bm
They worked on it for years
D E
And confirmed one of their biggest fears
A E F#m Bm7 E
I can't be certain if they cried when irrationality was realized
A E F#m
But something deep within them died
D E7 A D A
the day they discovered pi.
E
They were thinking
CHORUS:
A D A E
Pi, pi, mathematical pi
A D A E
3 point 14 15 92
A D A E
65 35 89 7
F#m B7
932384 62
F#m E7
6433832 7 (not rounded)
VERSE:
A Bm
Well this kind of pie is different than most
D Bm
It hasn't got berries, ain't spread on toast
F#m E
And that's how it's always been
A E F#m
We keep extending its decimal places
Bm D
Pushing our computers through their paces
F#m E
But we'll never reach the end
F#m Bm
So why the fascination with
F#m Bm
A number whose end is just a myth
D A B7
Whence the adulation
D E7
For mental masturbation
A E F#m
It might have something to do with the stars
Bm D
To calculate distances from afar
A E F#m
But that's just a guess 'bout the way things are
D E7 A D A
Regarding the precision of pi
E7
I am pondering
A D A E
Pi, pi, mathematical pi
A D A E
3 point 14 15 92
A D A E
65 35 89 7
F#m B7
932384 62
F#m E7
6433832 7 (not rounded)
math poems 2
Untitled, by Sprite
Dividing is divine,
And four plus five is nine.
Adding is just fine,
Four plus five is nine.
Negative and positive are always great.
But four plus six is is not eight.
Metric System Limerick, by Jimmie
Sprite was a girl quite content
to use metric measurement.
Celcius, liters,
kilograms, meters,
She used them a hundred percent.
Living Math Limerick, by Jimmie
I once thought that math was a bore;
Arithmetic gross to the core.
My textbook I tossed;
To tests said, “Get lost!”
And now I like math more and more.
owen thomas January 20, 2010 at 7:17 am
oh this is fun.
sprite:
the twist in the last line (where
i’m all “what? *wait* a minute…”)
is *real good songwriting*.
repeating the line is a classic trick; good.
keep ‘em coming.
jimmie:
the first limerick “doesn’t scan”.
(this means there’s a “beat” off somewhere;
the rhythmic pattern of a line of verse
is sometimes called its “scansion”.)
anyhow, to my mental “ear” it
sounds like i need 3 syllables
in met-er-ic. that’s cheating;
don’t.
a more advanced criticism:
the best limericks have a “punch” line.
“… a hundred percent” has a nice
mathy flavor but the entire line
appears to have been created
to make the rhyme “fall” right…
nothing much is going on in
the “story”. everybody does
this that writes limericks…
and edward lear himself
(an early “great” in nonsense)
would even *reuse the first line*
(i consider this *beyond* cheating…
it isn’t even *playing the game*).
reasonable people can differ on this.
the second one’s great.
perfect limerick scansion
and a sentiment i like.
(“studying” math “works”…
and it’s a good idea to do
enough *of* it to stay a little
ahead of the class…
but it’s far better to *do* math
and to *talk about* it.
best of all, maybe, from my
point of view as a math teacher,
is if you [do both of these and
then] *write* about it.)
keep ‘em coming!
Dividing is divine,
And four plus five is nine.
Adding is just fine,
Four plus five is nine.
Negative and positive are always great.
But four plus six is is not eight.
Metric System Limerick, by Jimmie
Sprite was a girl quite content
to use metric measurement.
Celcius, liters,
kilograms, meters,
She used them a hundred percent.
Living Math Limerick, by Jimmie
I once thought that math was a bore;
Arithmetic gross to the core.
My textbook I tossed;
To tests said, “Get lost!”
And now I like math more and more.
owen thomas January 20, 2010 at 7:17 am
oh this is fun.
sprite:
the twist in the last line (where
i’m all “what? *wait* a minute…”)
is *real good songwriting*.
repeating the line is a classic trick; good.
keep ‘em coming.
jimmie:
the first limerick “doesn’t scan”.
(this means there’s a “beat” off somewhere;
the rhythmic pattern of a line of verse
is sometimes called its “scansion”.)
anyhow, to my mental “ear” it
sounds like i need 3 syllables
in met-er-ic. that’s cheating;
don’t.
a more advanced criticism:
the best limericks have a “punch” line.
“… a hundred percent” has a nice
mathy flavor but the entire line
appears to have been created
to make the rhyme “fall” right…
nothing much is going on in
the “story”. everybody does
this that writes limericks…
and edward lear himself
(an early “great” in nonsense)
would even *reuse the first line*
(i consider this *beyond* cheating…
it isn’t even *playing the game*).
reasonable people can differ on this.
the second one’s great.
perfect limerick scansion
and a sentiment i like.
(“studying” math “works”…
and it’s a good idea to do
enough *of* it to stay a little
ahead of the class…
but it’s far better to *do* math
and to *talk about* it.
best of all, maybe, from my
point of view as a math teacher,
is if you [do both of these and
then] *write* about it.)
keep ‘em coming!
10 Tips for Creating and Running Effective Meetings
Running effective meetings goes a long way to improving business performance as well as enhancing team work and morale. By following this simple steps your meetings can become an effective part of running a successful business.
How many times have you thought about or heard it said . . . Oh no not another meeting! . . . or . . . what’s this meeting for, it is sure to be another time waster!
Here are a number of practical suggestions on how to create and run effective formal meetings that do work and can assist in changing people's attitude to meetings, and most importantly their behavior when they attend.
1. Schedule meetings well in advance, wherever possible at least a week ahead and at the time of day that best suits all involved.
2. Meetings are best scheduled at times when those involved are at their most alert and productive, so it wise to agree on what is the best time to suit all that will be involved to maximise positive outcomes, if agreement is hard reach the best times are traditionally between the hours of 8.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.
3. The chairperson should ensure that there is an agenda which is circulate three days ahead of the meeting, this should include who are to attend, what is to be discussed and the information that needs is to be supplied or prepared for the meeting.
4. During the meeting stick to the agenda and allotted time frame, however, if you finish the agenda items early don’t extend the length of the meeting - give everyone an early mark to allow them to get back to other important duties.
5. The chairperson should circulate the written minutes of the meeting within twenty-four hours of the meeting, clearly noting who is responsible for the agreed action steps and the time frame for completion of those action steps, plus details and timing of the next meeting, if it is required.
6. In a business meeting, the chairperson should estimate in advance the cost of running the meeting, ie: the wages and on costs of all who are involved the meeting. A 'what this meeting is costing us' statement should be included on the top of the agenda, eg: 'our people costs for this one hour meeting are $1,750.00'.
Equally a figure should be included indicating what a positive outcome from the meeting will generate for the business income eg: 'Secure an additional $50,000 in new business'.
7. Include in the meeting only those people who have need to attend and who can make a worthwhile contribution as this saves the valuable time of people who simply need to have a copy of the minutes and outcomes in order to be kept update on what is happening.
8. Start and finish meetings on time, irrespective of everyone being in attendance.
9. Take 5-10 minute stretch breaks every hour for meetings that go longer than one hour, but ensure that people don't stray away for the meeting venue or become preoccupied with taking and reply to phone messages.
10. All attendees at the meeting should have their diary, laptop or a print out of the weekly/monthly schedule, so that they can diarise the necessary action steps and dates for what they have to take action on after the meeting.
The appointed chairperson is responsible for:
- The conduct of meeting and those involved
- Keeping to schedule
- Preparation of minutes and agreed follow up on action items
Plus - It is a good idea to rotate the chairperson's role every few meetings, as this gives everyone valuable experience on running a meeting, as well as buy in to value of the effective meeting process.
Some key points on the conduct in the meeting
- Attendance is essential, both in person and in mind
- Start each meeting with a quick round table feedback on individual successes for the week or period since the last meeting, this gives the meeting a positive start and gets everyone thinking about good outcomes
- Avoid personal comments and attacks
- Always respect each others ideas and opinions
- If you think it, say it - but with your mind in drive, rather than neutral
- Only one conversation at a time
- We were born with two ears and one mouth - listen twice as much as we speak, in that way meetings will go twice as quickly
- At the end of the meeting allow around five minutes quiet time for everyone to document and plan the action steps that they need to take after the meeting
- Acknowledge and celebrate every success, as well as the learning experiences from a failure
- Focus all attention on the purpose of the meeting and the desired end results and outcomes
- Always remember that laughter is the canary in the coalmine of commerce, so keep balance in the meeting - all business activity is meant to be rewarding, fun and enjoyable!
Finally, here is an idea that really works in the right circumstances
Save valuable time by running Stand Up Meetings
Regular meetings with your team and business associates can be run in up to half the normal time, if everyone stands during the meeting.
Prior to the meeting simply remove all the chairs from your meeting room and have everyone stand up around the boardroom table and watch how much quicker your meetings will go. This approach is ideally suited to daily or weekly team meetings that normally should be finished in 15 to 20 minutes but often drag on well beyond the allotted time.
Inspiring better meetings and written by Keith Ready.
A Gift Of Inspiration
'Positive inspirational messages, stories, quotes and images
How many times have you thought about or heard it said . . . Oh no not another meeting! . . . or . . . what’s this meeting for, it is sure to be another time waster!
Here are a number of practical suggestions on how to create and run effective formal meetings that do work and can assist in changing people's attitude to meetings, and most importantly their behavior when they attend.
1. Schedule meetings well in advance, wherever possible at least a week ahead and at the time of day that best suits all involved.
2. Meetings are best scheduled at times when those involved are at their most alert and productive, so it wise to agree on what is the best time to suit all that will be involved to maximise positive outcomes, if agreement is hard reach the best times are traditionally between the hours of 8.30 a.m. and 11.30 a.m.
3. The chairperson should ensure that there is an agenda which is circulate three days ahead of the meeting, this should include who are to attend, what is to be discussed and the information that needs is to be supplied or prepared for the meeting.
4. During the meeting stick to the agenda and allotted time frame, however, if you finish the agenda items early don’t extend the length of the meeting - give everyone an early mark to allow them to get back to other important duties.
5. The chairperson should circulate the written minutes of the meeting within twenty-four hours of the meeting, clearly noting who is responsible for the agreed action steps and the time frame for completion of those action steps, plus details and timing of the next meeting, if it is required.
6. In a business meeting, the chairperson should estimate in advance the cost of running the meeting, ie: the wages and on costs of all who are involved the meeting. A 'what this meeting is costing us' statement should be included on the top of the agenda, eg: 'our people costs for this one hour meeting are $1,750.00'.
Equally a figure should be included indicating what a positive outcome from the meeting will generate for the business income eg: 'Secure an additional $50,000 in new business'.
7. Include in the meeting only those people who have need to attend and who can make a worthwhile contribution as this saves the valuable time of people who simply need to have a copy of the minutes and outcomes in order to be kept update on what is happening.
8. Start and finish meetings on time, irrespective of everyone being in attendance.
9. Take 5-10 minute stretch breaks every hour for meetings that go longer than one hour, but ensure that people don't stray away for the meeting venue or become preoccupied with taking and reply to phone messages.
10. All attendees at the meeting should have their diary, laptop or a print out of the weekly/monthly schedule, so that they can diarise the necessary action steps and dates for what they have to take action on after the meeting.
The appointed chairperson is responsible for:
- The conduct of meeting and those involved
- Keeping to schedule
- Preparation of minutes and agreed follow up on action items
Plus - It is a good idea to rotate the chairperson's role every few meetings, as this gives everyone valuable experience on running a meeting, as well as buy in to value of the effective meeting process.
Some key points on the conduct in the meeting
- Attendance is essential, both in person and in mind
- Start each meeting with a quick round table feedback on individual successes for the week or period since the last meeting, this gives the meeting a positive start and gets everyone thinking about good outcomes
- Avoid personal comments and attacks
- Always respect each others ideas and opinions
- If you think it, say it - but with your mind in drive, rather than neutral
- Only one conversation at a time
- We were born with two ears and one mouth - listen twice as much as we speak, in that way meetings will go twice as quickly
- At the end of the meeting allow around five minutes quiet time for everyone to document and plan the action steps that they need to take after the meeting
- Acknowledge and celebrate every success, as well as the learning experiences from a failure
- Focus all attention on the purpose of the meeting and the desired end results and outcomes
- Always remember that laughter is the canary in the coalmine of commerce, so keep balance in the meeting - all business activity is meant to be rewarding, fun and enjoyable!
Finally, here is an idea that really works in the right circumstances
Save valuable time by running Stand Up Meetings
Regular meetings with your team and business associates can be run in up to half the normal time, if everyone stands during the meeting.
Prior to the meeting simply remove all the chairs from your meeting room and have everyone stand up around the boardroom table and watch how much quicker your meetings will go. This approach is ideally suited to daily or weekly team meetings that normally should be finished in 15 to 20 minutes but often drag on well beyond the allotted time.
Inspiring better meetings and written by Keith Ready.
A Gift Of Inspiration
'Positive inspirational messages, stories, quotes and images
“What, after all, is mathematics but the poetry of the mind, and what is poetry but the mathematics of the heart?” So wrote the American mathematician and educator David Eugene Smith. In a similar vein, the German mathematician Karl Weierstrass declared, “A mathematician who is not at the same time something of a poet will never be a full mathematician.” Most mathematicians will know what they meant. But what do professional poets think of mathematics?
In this delightful collection, the editors present the view of the same terrain - the connections between mathematics and poetry—from the other side of the equation: the poets. Now is your chance to see if the equation balances.
—Keith Devlin, mathematician, Stanford University, author of The Math Gene, The Math Instinct, and The Language of Mathematics
Charles Ashbacher, Journal of Recreational Mathematics
April 2010
“As the song states, ”Love is a many-splendored thing.“ In this book mathematics is splendored in many ways that demonstrate the breadth and depth of interest and joy that it presents to those who love it. ”
—Charles Ashbacher
In this delightful collection, the editors present the view of the same terrain - the connections between mathematics and poetry—from the other side of the equation: the poets. Now is your chance to see if the equation balances.
—Keith Devlin, mathematician, Stanford University, author of The Math Gene, The Math Instinct, and The Language of Mathematics
Charles Ashbacher, Journal of Recreational Mathematics
April 2010
“As the song states, ”Love is a many-splendored thing.“ In this book mathematics is splendored in many ways that demonstrate the breadth and depth of interest and joy that it presents to those who love it. ”
—Charles Ashbacher
business meting
Source: Small Business Management
Was your last meeting successful? Were you an effective chairman or an active participant? Were those who had a contribution to make invited? Did the meeting accomplish the stated purpose? These questions and many more need to be asked and answered affirmatively in the context of successful business meeting management. The chairman - the one who plans, hosts, and leads a meeting - must establish a proper environment. The environment, and the feeling conveyed to the participants by the chairman, will have a great impact on the outcome of the meeting. The chairman must stimulate, guide, clarify, control, summarize, and evaluate the discussion, keeping in mind his responsibility to accomplish the meeting objectives. If he fails to perform his role effectively, the meeting may turn into meaningless discussions of irrelevant subjects, a series of pointless power plays, and even boring monologues.
Business meeting management is essential and can serve as an effective method of communication within an organization. They have been rightfully categorized by some managers as time-consuming, high-priced, and un-productive, but this need not be the case. Sometimes we expect too much from a meeting. When it fails to meet our expectations, we may be too quick to criticize. William E. Utterback, author of Group Thinking and Conference Leadership, said, "It must not be supposed that the conference table possesses the magic property of generating wisdom when rubbed simultaneously by a dozen pairs of elbows." Meetings are helpful means of achieving coordination. When there is a gathering of people with a mutual interest, the results may be as follows:
* Encourage participation in the subject of concern;
* Integrate interests;
* Broaden perspectives and change attitudes;
* Improve decision-making; and
* Motivate and commit participants to courses of action.
The fundamental decision concerning meetings is not whether to hold them, but how to make them effective. Recent studies show that members of middle management spend 30 percent of their time in meetings. Unproductive meetings can result in substantial loss to an organization.
On the other hand, a productive meeting becomes a tool for effective management communication, and serves as a vehicle for development of specific plans or the organization of specific tasks. In any case, successful meetings don't just happen; they occur as a result of careful planning, good leadership, and close attention to details before, during, and after the session.
Business Meeting Management Planning Process
The key steps to be taken by the chairman in planning a meeting are as follows:
* Establish the meeting objectives;
* Prepare the meeting agenda;
* Determine timing and physical arrangements;
* Identify and invite participants; and
* Consider matters of protocol.
Let's review each of these steps in detail.
Meeting Objectives
Why is the meeting being held? What will it accomplish? Meetings are usually held for one or more of the following reasons:
* To disseminate new information or provide feedback;
* To receive a report;
* To coordinate efforts of a specific nature and obtain group support;
* To win acceptance for a new idea, plan, or system;
* To reconcile a conflict;
* To negotiate an agreement;
* To motivate members of a group;
* To initiate creative thinking within a group; and
* To solve a current problem within a group.
The meeting plan should not be too broad or the meeting may be doomed from the beginning.
Therefore, a wise chairman identifies realistic objectives for the meeting and is prepared to meet them.
Meeting Agenda
Is an agenda necessary? How long will it require to carry out the agenda? Would the meeting run smoothly and be just as successful without it?
The agenda should crystallize the intended meeting objective(s) and establish the time available to accomplish them. Whether the agenda is in writing or stated verbally by the chairman, it provides the framework to keep the meeting on target. Furthermore, it permits the chairman to devote his attention to managing the interplay of the participants.
The meeting should focus on the objective(s) and also on reaching the objective(s) in a pre-established, finite time schedule. Meetings that exceed established time limits usually are not constructive because opinions begin to replace facts. Such meetings are apt to go astray and may even disintegrate into personal contests or power plays between participants. There are several other points to consider during preparation of the agenda. Notable among them are:
Focus the agenda on items relating to the same general topic, if possible. Begin with a discussion of topics of major concern to participants; then, if necessary, discuss related topics of lesser importance. A meeting of this type requires fewer attendees and generates better participation in the discussion.
-Schedule fewer agenda items when the topics cannot be related. It is difficult for most participants to come to a meeting completely prepared on a wide variety of topics. The more concise the agenda, the better.
Attach background data for each topic to be discussed, when the agenda is distributed. This will ensure that each participant has some familiarity with the items before arriving at the meeting.
Establish a time limit and priority for each agenda item. Consider whether the topic to be discussed is familiar, new, controversial, or complex.
Don't have the meeting run too long. One hour is usually the norm for busy middle- to upper-level managers. When the meeting is scheduled on a quarterly, semiannual, or annual basis, it may run longer to accomplish the objectives. Schedule a "break" when the meeting is expected to take over 2 hours.
Submit the agenda to the participants, with the background data, as early as possible. This will give each participant more time to prepare for the meeting.
The chairman should be sure the meeting is needed. If the need disappears, he should cancel the meeting.
To Business Meeting Management Top
Time/Physical Arrangements
When should the meeting be held? Where should it be held? There are several necessary considerations regarding time and physical arrangements for the meeting. Among the more important are:
* The convenience of the place.
* The size of the room. It should not be too large or too small. If the right-size room is not available, it is better to select a small room, rather than too large a room. A small room presents a friendlier atmosphere than a large, sparsely filled one.
* The seating arrangement and the availability of extra seats if needed.
* The lighting, heating, and ventilation.
* Any visual aids required and their proper use.
* Availability of extra paper and pencils.
* The need for name plates or name tags.
* The handling of messages.
It is the chairman's responsibility to begin and end the meeting on time. It is the responsibility of attendees to arrive on time. Two techniques proved effective in curing cases of chronic tardiness are (1) to ignore latecomers; and (2) to make no attempt to bring late-comers up to date.
Meeting Size
How many persons should be invited to the meeting? What is the purpose of inviting each person? The attendees should be viewed as management resources - each able to contribute to the meeting through knowledge or experience or both. It is wise to include some of the persons in the organization to whom action items may be given after the meeting. This tends to encourage better support for the topics to be discussed. Attendance by disinterested persons tends to increase non-relevant discussion and impede the meeting. Thus, the chairman should invite as many people as necessary, but no more.
The size of the meeting tends to affect the way it functions. For example, if attendance exceeds seven, there is a tendency for communication to become more centralized, and participants have less opportunity to communicate directly with one another. As the number of people invited increases, the ability of the chairman to predict the interaction that will take place becomes more difficult.
It is important to have all relevant points of view on a particular subject under consideration represented at the meeting, even if this makes it a large meeting. A large meeting requires increased formality and extra time for each topic to ensure adequate communication between participants.
Proponents of the "small group" theory consider seven to be the maximum number of participants for a productive meeting. However, if a problem-solving type of meeting is to be held, some authorities claim that up to 12 participants can be accommodated effectively. If the number of participants exceeds 18, the chairman may find it almost impossible to accomplish the meeting objectives.
On the other hand, in a meeting involving only three participants, there may be a tendency for two of them to form a combination against the third participant. This could be disastrous so managers should guard against organizing too small a meeting.
Matters Of Protocol
Why should the chairman be concerned about protocol? How can this affect the success of a meeting? One of the initial steps to ensure a successful meeting is to give adequate consideration to protocol. Protocol might be defined as the application of common-sense courtesy.
Some steps the chairman might take to avoid protocol problems are:
* Notify participants well in advance of the meeting date, and provide them with an agenda and background data.
* Notify department heads when subordinates with expertise are needed.
* Make sure that arrangements with resource persons outside the organization are completed before the meeting.
* Introduce resource persons and newcomers at the start of the meeting. Also, make their affiliations and expertise known to the other attendees.
* List participants in alphabetical order in the meeting announcement and minutes, unless someone present far outranks the others. In that case, list this person first.
* Express gratitude to those from outside the group as well as to those within the group for significant contributions to the success of the meeting.
* Advise those invited to attend the meeting of postponement or cancellation as far in advance as possible.
Managing the Business Meeting
The chairman should make the meeting as relaxed and informal as possible. He should resort to Robert's Rules of Order only when attendance is large or debate becomes heated. The chairman should "manage" the meeting, speak when appropriate, encourage discussion, seek a consensus, and summarize. Under no circumstances should the chairman be unprepared, "hog" the discussion, play the comic, chastise a participant, or let the meeting run by itself.
The meeting will not get off the ground unless the participants know where they are going. Therefore, it is important that the chairman make a concerted effort to ensure that:
* Every participant has a clear understanding of the meeting objectives at the start of the meeting.
* Each agenda item has a time allocation. The time limit for the meeting should be announced when the agenda is published, or at the beginning of the meeting.
* The objective(s) remain valid throughout the meeting. If not, they should be revised.
Meeting objective(s) can be communicated more readily if the chairman does not try to force them on the participants. A consensus about the objectives at the beginning will vastly improve chances for success of the meeting.
Do you play your role well at a meeting? For a meeting to succeed, the chairman must display strong leadership and he and the participants must be willing and determined to:
* Become acquainted with each of the participants and carry on a light conversation with them during the "warm-up" session at the beginning of the meeting.
* Give the other participants an opportunity to present their ideas, opinions, and recommendations without interrupting or degrading their comments.
* Listen wisely and well to the other participants.
* Accept new or fresh thoughts and ideas expressed by other participants, provided these thoughts and ideas support the objective(s) of the meeting.
* Assist in the process of arriving at a consensus by combining ideas with those of others, reconciling them through compromise, or coordinating them with other ideas.
* Do away with non-relevant issues, perceptions, or personal conjectures as soon as they arise and before they can become disruptive.
* Always be patient and flexible (but with caution).
To Business Meeting Management Top
Major Problems in Managing a Meeting
One of the major problems a group often faces at the beginning of a meeting is reaching agreement on both top-level and sub-level objectives. The objectives must be agreed upon before the meeting proceeds, if it is to be successful.
A second major problem concerns the personalities of participants. For example, the chairman may be dominant/submissive, have a desire to be liked, or want to impress his superiors. On the other hand, the invited participants may be self-centered, talkative/shy, aggressive/defensive, argumentative/unresponsive. The participants may have trouble communicating because of differences in age, rank, expertise, and prestige. The ideas of some participants may be ignored and others ridiculed. The mood of the group may be one of elation, depression, or regression.
There is no way to avoid these personality problems; therefore, the challenge facing the chairman is how to deal with them effectively. The answer is based upon creating an environment for effective communication. The problems can usually be resolved if the participants can communicate with one another. The problems will not be resolved if they remain hidden.
A firmly established, finite time limit for the meeting is the single most effective means of eliminating non-contributory discussion. It gives the group a common purpose and helps the chair- man police inappropriate comments.
Another major problem that groups sometimes face is having participants become lost in the problems they are attempting to solve. When this happens the chairman must take positive action to bring the meeting back on target. He can do this by taking one of the following two courses of action:
* Halting the discussion and redirecting the meeting.
* Halting the discussion and trying to find out where it is heading. If it is heading in a direction the participants feel is proper, he can allow the discussion to continue where it left off. If the meeting is heading in the wrong direction, he can change the direction.
The latter is preferable. Failure to do anything almost guarantees failure of the meeting. Halting the discussion and redirecting the meeting without providing an opportunity for participants to comment tends to create a debilitating emotional reaction. This might lead to withdrawal of some participants from further discussion, or precipitate aggression. When the participants pause to consider where the discussion is heading, there will be few adverse effects and the progress of the meeting may be enhanced.
A fourth major problem a group might face is how to make a decision at the proper time. If the chairman feels a consensus has been reached, he should cut off further discussion. A decision reached by consensus is the one most likely to be carried into action effectively. Decisions imposed on a minority by the majority of participants, or on the participants by the chairman, are not likely to be lasting or effective.
Groups often fall short in trying to reach decisions. Outside pressures or deadlines tend to foster majority-type or chairman-type decisions. Therefore, it is imperative that the chairman attempt to create an environment to make a consensus easier to obtain. Such an environment develops when each participant is given an opportunity to be heard or to voice an objection. In any case, before the meeting time limit expires the chairman should try to get the participants to agree that a decision is necessary, even if it falls short of unanimity.
Coping with Weakness
In order to make meetings more effective, one must be acquainted with the major weaknesses and ways to cope with them. The most common weaknesses of meetings are that they are slow, expensive, tend to produce a leveling effect, or lead to dilution or division of responsibility. Let's take a closer look at each of these weaknesses.
Meetings tend to be a slow way to get things done. They do not lend themselves to quick, decisive actions. One observer of committee meetings stated, "They keep minutes and waste hours." Delays are not always bad. Delays provide time for objective reviews or ideas and development and/or consideration of alternatives. Thus, delays can lead to better decisions. For a meeting to be effective, those with expertise and/or the need for action, should attend. Inviting experts and providing sufficient time to consider alternative solutions to problems increases the cost of a meeting. However, the cost to an organization if the meeting is not held may be far greater.
There is a tendency at meetings to bring the individual thinking of the participants in line with the average quality of the group's thinking. This leveling effect takes place when a participant begins to think less as an individual and adapts the ideas of other participants. The normal tendency is to accept ideas of the most dominant individual at the meeting although his ideas may not be the best. Leveling is not always undesirable; it tempers unreasonable ideas and curbs autocrats. The chairman should try to curb the leveling tendency. One way to keep a dominating participant in check is to seat him directly to the chairman's right.
The tendency for a decision made at a meeting to dilute or divide responsibility is a serious one. When this happens, weak managers are prone to blame their failures on that decision. Such comments as "I didn't support this approach at the meeting" are used to explain their failure to perform effectively. The chairman must be attuned to decisions that tend to dilute or divide responsibility and find a way to avoid them. All of the participants should be given an opportunity to express their viewpoints before the decision is made.
Wrap-up and Follow-up
The most important part of the meeting is its ending. After all information has been presented, all decisions made, all problem solutions found or all conclusions reached, the chairman must summarize and solidify the results. He must review decisions and then perceive any conflicts that might result. He must give those who made a major contribution to the meeting the credit they deserve. If no major decisions were reached, he must emphasize progress made and nail down assignments that will lead to a future decision-type meeting. The chairman must always follow through on his promises to the group; otherwise the participants will have no enthusiasm for participating in a future meeting if called upon to do so, If a meeting is a prologue to action, the epilogue must produce results. When no action follows a meeting, the meeting can be considered a failure. The chairman must never allow himself to think "activity" is the same as "accomplishment."
To translate decisions reached in a meeting into actions, the chairman must conduct the necessary follow-up action. A strategy used by successful chairmen is to:
* Plan the follow-up procedure before the meeting;
* Adjust the procedure during the meeting; and
* Consolidate the procedure after the meeting.
When the chairman follows up on meeting decisions, he demonstrates that meetings can accomplish something. This encourages future participation.
Summary
Meetings are an essential management tool. Meetings can improve communications, promote coordination, develop people, and help to get a job done. Poor meetings waste time and resources and discourage people. In preparing for a meeting, the chairman should ensure that the agenda focuses on accomplishment of specific objectives.
From time to time throughout the meeting, the chairman should take a census to determine whether the objectives are still valid. If not, they should be revised.
For a meeting to be successful, it must be supported within the organization and provide a needed decision or produce worthwhile actions. This will not occur unless several weaknesses related to meetings are overcome: their slowness, expense, tendency to create leveling, and tendency to dilute or divide responsibility.
Also, for a meeting to be successful, consideration must be given to the timing, meeting place, seating arrangements, size of room, and visual aids.
The leader of a meeting must have the right attitude; a well-conceived plan; and the ability to direct (focus), control, motivate, interpret, and moderate the meeting. He must recognize that reaching initial or revised objectives of the meeting, and follow-up after the meeting, are essential to its success.
The value of an effective meeting may be summed up as follows: It serves as the cornerstone for successful team-building and progress within an organization.
Was your last meeting successful? Were you an effective chairman or an active participant? Were those who had a contribution to make invited? Did the meeting accomplish the stated purpose? These questions and many more need to be asked and answered affirmatively in the context of successful business meeting management. The chairman - the one who plans, hosts, and leads a meeting - must establish a proper environment. The environment, and the feeling conveyed to the participants by the chairman, will have a great impact on the outcome of the meeting. The chairman must stimulate, guide, clarify, control, summarize, and evaluate the discussion, keeping in mind his responsibility to accomplish the meeting objectives. If he fails to perform his role effectively, the meeting may turn into meaningless discussions of irrelevant subjects, a series of pointless power plays, and even boring monologues.
Business meeting management is essential and can serve as an effective method of communication within an organization. They have been rightfully categorized by some managers as time-consuming, high-priced, and un-productive, but this need not be the case. Sometimes we expect too much from a meeting. When it fails to meet our expectations, we may be too quick to criticize. William E. Utterback, author of Group Thinking and Conference Leadership, said, "It must not be supposed that the conference table possesses the magic property of generating wisdom when rubbed simultaneously by a dozen pairs of elbows." Meetings are helpful means of achieving coordination. When there is a gathering of people with a mutual interest, the results may be as follows:
* Encourage participation in the subject of concern;
* Integrate interests;
* Broaden perspectives and change attitudes;
* Improve decision-making; and
* Motivate and commit participants to courses of action.
The fundamental decision concerning meetings is not whether to hold them, but how to make them effective. Recent studies show that members of middle management spend 30 percent of their time in meetings. Unproductive meetings can result in substantial loss to an organization.
On the other hand, a productive meeting becomes a tool for effective management communication, and serves as a vehicle for development of specific plans or the organization of specific tasks. In any case, successful meetings don't just happen; they occur as a result of careful planning, good leadership, and close attention to details before, during, and after the session.
Business Meeting Management Planning Process
The key steps to be taken by the chairman in planning a meeting are as follows:
* Establish the meeting objectives;
* Prepare the meeting agenda;
* Determine timing and physical arrangements;
* Identify and invite participants; and
* Consider matters of protocol.
Let's review each of these steps in detail.
Meeting Objectives
Why is the meeting being held? What will it accomplish? Meetings are usually held for one or more of the following reasons:
* To disseminate new information or provide feedback;
* To receive a report;
* To coordinate efforts of a specific nature and obtain group support;
* To win acceptance for a new idea, plan, or system;
* To reconcile a conflict;
* To negotiate an agreement;
* To motivate members of a group;
* To initiate creative thinking within a group; and
* To solve a current problem within a group.
The meeting plan should not be too broad or the meeting may be doomed from the beginning.
Therefore, a wise chairman identifies realistic objectives for the meeting and is prepared to meet them.
Meeting Agenda
Is an agenda necessary? How long will it require to carry out the agenda? Would the meeting run smoothly and be just as successful without it?
The agenda should crystallize the intended meeting objective(s) and establish the time available to accomplish them. Whether the agenda is in writing or stated verbally by the chairman, it provides the framework to keep the meeting on target. Furthermore, it permits the chairman to devote his attention to managing the interplay of the participants.
The meeting should focus on the objective(s) and also on reaching the objective(s) in a pre-established, finite time schedule. Meetings that exceed established time limits usually are not constructive because opinions begin to replace facts. Such meetings are apt to go astray and may even disintegrate into personal contests or power plays between participants. There are several other points to consider during preparation of the agenda. Notable among them are:
Focus the agenda on items relating to the same general topic, if possible. Begin with a discussion of topics of major concern to participants; then, if necessary, discuss related topics of lesser importance. A meeting of this type requires fewer attendees and generates better participation in the discussion.
-Schedule fewer agenda items when the topics cannot be related. It is difficult for most participants to come to a meeting completely prepared on a wide variety of topics. The more concise the agenda, the better.
Attach background data for each topic to be discussed, when the agenda is distributed. This will ensure that each participant has some familiarity with the items before arriving at the meeting.
Establish a time limit and priority for each agenda item. Consider whether the topic to be discussed is familiar, new, controversial, or complex.
Don't have the meeting run too long. One hour is usually the norm for busy middle- to upper-level managers. When the meeting is scheduled on a quarterly, semiannual, or annual basis, it may run longer to accomplish the objectives. Schedule a "break" when the meeting is expected to take over 2 hours.
Submit the agenda to the participants, with the background data, as early as possible. This will give each participant more time to prepare for the meeting.
The chairman should be sure the meeting is needed. If the need disappears, he should cancel the meeting.
To Business Meeting Management Top
Time/Physical Arrangements
When should the meeting be held? Where should it be held? There are several necessary considerations regarding time and physical arrangements for the meeting. Among the more important are:
* The convenience of the place.
* The size of the room. It should not be too large or too small. If the right-size room is not available, it is better to select a small room, rather than too large a room. A small room presents a friendlier atmosphere than a large, sparsely filled one.
* The seating arrangement and the availability of extra seats if needed.
* The lighting, heating, and ventilation.
* Any visual aids required and their proper use.
* Availability of extra paper and pencils.
* The need for name plates or name tags.
* The handling of messages.
It is the chairman's responsibility to begin and end the meeting on time. It is the responsibility of attendees to arrive on time. Two techniques proved effective in curing cases of chronic tardiness are (1) to ignore latecomers; and (2) to make no attempt to bring late-comers up to date.
Meeting Size
How many persons should be invited to the meeting? What is the purpose of inviting each person? The attendees should be viewed as management resources - each able to contribute to the meeting through knowledge or experience or both. It is wise to include some of the persons in the organization to whom action items may be given after the meeting. This tends to encourage better support for the topics to be discussed. Attendance by disinterested persons tends to increase non-relevant discussion and impede the meeting. Thus, the chairman should invite as many people as necessary, but no more.
The size of the meeting tends to affect the way it functions. For example, if attendance exceeds seven, there is a tendency for communication to become more centralized, and participants have less opportunity to communicate directly with one another. As the number of people invited increases, the ability of the chairman to predict the interaction that will take place becomes more difficult.
It is important to have all relevant points of view on a particular subject under consideration represented at the meeting, even if this makes it a large meeting. A large meeting requires increased formality and extra time for each topic to ensure adequate communication between participants.
Proponents of the "small group" theory consider seven to be the maximum number of participants for a productive meeting. However, if a problem-solving type of meeting is to be held, some authorities claim that up to 12 participants can be accommodated effectively. If the number of participants exceeds 18, the chairman may find it almost impossible to accomplish the meeting objectives.
On the other hand, in a meeting involving only three participants, there may be a tendency for two of them to form a combination against the third participant. This could be disastrous so managers should guard against organizing too small a meeting.
Matters Of Protocol
Why should the chairman be concerned about protocol? How can this affect the success of a meeting? One of the initial steps to ensure a successful meeting is to give adequate consideration to protocol. Protocol might be defined as the application of common-sense courtesy.
Some steps the chairman might take to avoid protocol problems are:
* Notify participants well in advance of the meeting date, and provide them with an agenda and background data.
* Notify department heads when subordinates with expertise are needed.
* Make sure that arrangements with resource persons outside the organization are completed before the meeting.
* Introduce resource persons and newcomers at the start of the meeting. Also, make their affiliations and expertise known to the other attendees.
* List participants in alphabetical order in the meeting announcement and minutes, unless someone present far outranks the others. In that case, list this person first.
* Express gratitude to those from outside the group as well as to those within the group for significant contributions to the success of the meeting.
* Advise those invited to attend the meeting of postponement or cancellation as far in advance as possible.
Managing the Business Meeting
The chairman should make the meeting as relaxed and informal as possible. He should resort to Robert's Rules of Order only when attendance is large or debate becomes heated. The chairman should "manage" the meeting, speak when appropriate, encourage discussion, seek a consensus, and summarize. Under no circumstances should the chairman be unprepared, "hog" the discussion, play the comic, chastise a participant, or let the meeting run by itself.
The meeting will not get off the ground unless the participants know where they are going. Therefore, it is important that the chairman make a concerted effort to ensure that:
* Every participant has a clear understanding of the meeting objectives at the start of the meeting.
* Each agenda item has a time allocation. The time limit for the meeting should be announced when the agenda is published, or at the beginning of the meeting.
* The objective(s) remain valid throughout the meeting. If not, they should be revised.
Meeting objective(s) can be communicated more readily if the chairman does not try to force them on the participants. A consensus about the objectives at the beginning will vastly improve chances for success of the meeting.
Do you play your role well at a meeting? For a meeting to succeed, the chairman must display strong leadership and he and the participants must be willing and determined to:
* Become acquainted with each of the participants and carry on a light conversation with them during the "warm-up" session at the beginning of the meeting.
* Give the other participants an opportunity to present their ideas, opinions, and recommendations without interrupting or degrading their comments.
* Listen wisely and well to the other participants.
* Accept new or fresh thoughts and ideas expressed by other participants, provided these thoughts and ideas support the objective(s) of the meeting.
* Assist in the process of arriving at a consensus by combining ideas with those of others, reconciling them through compromise, or coordinating them with other ideas.
* Do away with non-relevant issues, perceptions, or personal conjectures as soon as they arise and before they can become disruptive.
* Always be patient and flexible (but with caution).
To Business Meeting Management Top
Major Problems in Managing a Meeting
One of the major problems a group often faces at the beginning of a meeting is reaching agreement on both top-level and sub-level objectives. The objectives must be agreed upon before the meeting proceeds, if it is to be successful.
A second major problem concerns the personalities of participants. For example, the chairman may be dominant/submissive, have a desire to be liked, or want to impress his superiors. On the other hand, the invited participants may be self-centered, talkative/shy, aggressive/defensive, argumentative/unresponsive. The participants may have trouble communicating because of differences in age, rank, expertise, and prestige. The ideas of some participants may be ignored and others ridiculed. The mood of the group may be one of elation, depression, or regression.
There is no way to avoid these personality problems; therefore, the challenge facing the chairman is how to deal with them effectively. The answer is based upon creating an environment for effective communication. The problems can usually be resolved if the participants can communicate with one another. The problems will not be resolved if they remain hidden.
A firmly established, finite time limit for the meeting is the single most effective means of eliminating non-contributory discussion. It gives the group a common purpose and helps the chair- man police inappropriate comments.
Another major problem that groups sometimes face is having participants become lost in the problems they are attempting to solve. When this happens the chairman must take positive action to bring the meeting back on target. He can do this by taking one of the following two courses of action:
* Halting the discussion and redirecting the meeting.
* Halting the discussion and trying to find out where it is heading. If it is heading in a direction the participants feel is proper, he can allow the discussion to continue where it left off. If the meeting is heading in the wrong direction, he can change the direction.
The latter is preferable. Failure to do anything almost guarantees failure of the meeting. Halting the discussion and redirecting the meeting without providing an opportunity for participants to comment tends to create a debilitating emotional reaction. This might lead to withdrawal of some participants from further discussion, or precipitate aggression. When the participants pause to consider where the discussion is heading, there will be few adverse effects and the progress of the meeting may be enhanced.
A fourth major problem a group might face is how to make a decision at the proper time. If the chairman feels a consensus has been reached, he should cut off further discussion. A decision reached by consensus is the one most likely to be carried into action effectively. Decisions imposed on a minority by the majority of participants, or on the participants by the chairman, are not likely to be lasting or effective.
Groups often fall short in trying to reach decisions. Outside pressures or deadlines tend to foster majority-type or chairman-type decisions. Therefore, it is imperative that the chairman attempt to create an environment to make a consensus easier to obtain. Such an environment develops when each participant is given an opportunity to be heard or to voice an objection. In any case, before the meeting time limit expires the chairman should try to get the participants to agree that a decision is necessary, even if it falls short of unanimity.
Coping with Weakness
In order to make meetings more effective, one must be acquainted with the major weaknesses and ways to cope with them. The most common weaknesses of meetings are that they are slow, expensive, tend to produce a leveling effect, or lead to dilution or division of responsibility. Let's take a closer look at each of these weaknesses.
Meetings tend to be a slow way to get things done. They do not lend themselves to quick, decisive actions. One observer of committee meetings stated, "They keep minutes and waste hours." Delays are not always bad. Delays provide time for objective reviews or ideas and development and/or consideration of alternatives. Thus, delays can lead to better decisions. For a meeting to be effective, those with expertise and/or the need for action, should attend. Inviting experts and providing sufficient time to consider alternative solutions to problems increases the cost of a meeting. However, the cost to an organization if the meeting is not held may be far greater.
There is a tendency at meetings to bring the individual thinking of the participants in line with the average quality of the group's thinking. This leveling effect takes place when a participant begins to think less as an individual and adapts the ideas of other participants. The normal tendency is to accept ideas of the most dominant individual at the meeting although his ideas may not be the best. Leveling is not always undesirable; it tempers unreasonable ideas and curbs autocrats. The chairman should try to curb the leveling tendency. One way to keep a dominating participant in check is to seat him directly to the chairman's right.
The tendency for a decision made at a meeting to dilute or divide responsibility is a serious one. When this happens, weak managers are prone to blame their failures on that decision. Such comments as "I didn't support this approach at the meeting" are used to explain their failure to perform effectively. The chairman must be attuned to decisions that tend to dilute or divide responsibility and find a way to avoid them. All of the participants should be given an opportunity to express their viewpoints before the decision is made.
Wrap-up and Follow-up
The most important part of the meeting is its ending. After all information has been presented, all decisions made, all problem solutions found or all conclusions reached, the chairman must summarize and solidify the results. He must review decisions and then perceive any conflicts that might result. He must give those who made a major contribution to the meeting the credit they deserve. If no major decisions were reached, he must emphasize progress made and nail down assignments that will lead to a future decision-type meeting. The chairman must always follow through on his promises to the group; otherwise the participants will have no enthusiasm for participating in a future meeting if called upon to do so, If a meeting is a prologue to action, the epilogue must produce results. When no action follows a meeting, the meeting can be considered a failure. The chairman must never allow himself to think "activity" is the same as "accomplishment."
To translate decisions reached in a meeting into actions, the chairman must conduct the necessary follow-up action. A strategy used by successful chairmen is to:
* Plan the follow-up procedure before the meeting;
* Adjust the procedure during the meeting; and
* Consolidate the procedure after the meeting.
When the chairman follows up on meeting decisions, he demonstrates that meetings can accomplish something. This encourages future participation.
Summary
Meetings are an essential management tool. Meetings can improve communications, promote coordination, develop people, and help to get a job done. Poor meetings waste time and resources and discourage people. In preparing for a meeting, the chairman should ensure that the agenda focuses on accomplishment of specific objectives.
From time to time throughout the meeting, the chairman should take a census to determine whether the objectives are still valid. If not, they should be revised.
For a meeting to be successful, it must be supported within the organization and provide a needed decision or produce worthwhile actions. This will not occur unless several weaknesses related to meetings are overcome: their slowness, expense, tendency to create leveling, and tendency to dilute or divide responsibility.
Also, for a meeting to be successful, consideration must be given to the timing, meeting place, seating arrangements, size of room, and visual aids.
The leader of a meeting must have the right attitude; a well-conceived plan; and the ability to direct (focus), control, motivate, interpret, and moderate the meeting. He must recognize that reaching initial or revised objectives of the meeting, and follow-up after the meeting, are essential to its success.
The value of an effective meeting may be summed up as follows: It serves as the cornerstone for successful team-building and progress within an organization.
math poem 1
Two times two times two times three
is the form that most pleases me.
But even more, what I enjoy,
Is that a number’s like a toy.
Words are beautiful and do delight,
But lack in metamorphing might.
Numbers bend and twist and dance –
They transform given half a chance.
Two tens, four ones, a place to start,
Two dozen (doughnuts) in the cart,
Twice around the clock, a day,
Enough eggs to make up six soufflé
Thrice eight; half of 48 feet tall;
4*3*2*1 (factorial);
25-1 will easily multiply.
24*8 would be good to try.
Don’t wait on me, go find your own,
A form of 24 unknown.
Be clever, be brave, be strong, be bold!
For 24, in carats, is pure gold.
is the form that most pleases me.
But even more, what I enjoy,
Is that a number’s like a toy.
Words are beautiful and do delight,
But lack in metamorphing might.
Numbers bend and twist and dance –
They transform given half a chance.
Two tens, four ones, a place to start,
Two dozen (doughnuts) in the cart,
Twice around the clock, a day,
Enough eggs to make up six soufflé
Thrice eight; half of 48 feet tall;
4*3*2*1 (factorial);
25-1 will easily multiply.
24*8 would be good to try.
Don’t wait on me, go find your own,
A form of 24 unknown.
Be clever, be brave, be strong, be bold!
For 24, in carats, is pure gold.
assessment dic
Ability Test
Ability Test refers to a test designed to measure either aptitude or achievement. To separate aptitude from achievement, however, is often easier said than done. While aptitudes are defined as inherent abilities for learning and raw talents, they are sometimes measured through a person's achievements because the tests are designed incorrectly. The many types of ability tests include verbal, numeric, literacy and abstract reasoning tests.
Achievement Test
Achievement Test refers to an objective examination that measures educationally relevant skills or knowledge about such subjects as reading, spelling, or mathematics.
ADD
See Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD or AD(H)D
See Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Age Norms
Age Norms refers to values representing typical or average performance of people of any age groups.
Annual review
A meeting held once a year of parents and professionals at school to evaluate a child's progress and make sure the child is still making progress. A Statement of Educational Needs specifies that there must be an annual review to ensure what is contained in the Statement still meets the child's needs.
Appendix
Usually an additional section to a report/document that contains more information about what is contained in the report/document. The report should be understandable without reference to the Appendix
A form for parents/carers to record their thoughts, comments and expectations on their child's needs.
Aspergers
Also known as Asperger's Disorder or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is classified as is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) characterized by severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, and activities.
Assessment
Assessment refers to the process of obtaining information that is used to gather information about individuals, to give feedback about their progress/strengths/weaknesses, and to judge performance (work or scholastic) instructional effectiveness/curricular adequacy etc.
Assessment
An examination to find out an individual's abilities, difficulties and needs for the purpose of informing a diagnosis.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
A disorder characterized by difficulties maintaining attention because of a limited ability to concentrate. ADD is a limited capacity to focus and attend and impulsive actions, but may not show high levels of activity or over-activity.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
A disorder characterized by difficulties maintaining attention because of a limited ability to concentrate; including impulsive actions and hyperactive behaviour. Some times this is written as AD(H)D as the signs and symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are the same though in the latter there is evidence of high levels of activity or over-activity.
Attention Span
The length of time an individual can concentrate on a task without being distracted or losing interest. (See also Distractibility).
Auditory Discrimination
The ability to accurately discriminate sounds. This requires processes within the brain, beyond the effectiveness of the ear to hear.
Auditory Memory
Ability to retain information which has been presented orally; may be short term memory, such as recalling information presented several seconds before; long term memory, such as recalling information presented more than a minute before; or sequential memory, such as recalling a series of information in proper order.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
A range of diagnoses that involve severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, and activities. Asperger's is one such diagnosis as is Autism.
Autism
A category of ASD that significantly affects social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and educational performance.
Automaticity
A process of development and learning to the point at which thoroughly learned tasks can be performed with little mental effort (e.g. walking up/down stairs).
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B
Behavioural Difficulties/Problems
A pattern of unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour, usually occurring in particular situations, which disrupts the activities of others be it at work, in school or at home
Blending
A skill in reading involving saying two separate sounds 'i' and 't' and being able to put them together to produce 'it'.
Bullying
Persistent unwanted (may but need not be aggressive) behaviour directed towards a particular individual who is made to feel uncomfortable, distressed, stressed or hurt by such behaviour. This is sometimes referred to as Harassment.
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C
Case Conference
A formal meeting of professionals and parents/carers to discuss a particular child/individual.
Ceiling
Ceiling refers to the upper limit of ability that can be measured by a particular test.
Cerebral palsy
Disorder in ability to control movements caused by damage to the motor area of the brain.
Chunking
The process in reading of combining two sounds 'tr' and then to add this to another chunk 'ip', to make 'trip'.
Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs
A guide for schools and LEAs on the practical help they should offer children with SEN. The code must be considered when making any decisions about a child's education.
Cognitive Ability
Intellectual ability; thinking and reasoning skills.
Conduct Disorder
Socio-emotional and behavioural disorders indicated in individuals who, for example, are chronically disobedient or disruptive. This is a clinically applied diagnostic category found in DSMVII. It can also be described within the category EBD - Educational Behaviourally Disordered or Emotional and Behavioural Disorder
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D
Decoding
The process of getting meaning from written or spoken symbols. (See Receptive Language).
Developmental Delay
When a child fails to reach certain milestones at the expected time, such as sitting, walking, talking.
Developmental Curriculum
A programme for children who need to learn everyday (Life Skills) skills, self-care, dressing, etc, and who may spend most of their education working towards the first level of the core school subjects in the national curriculum.
Differentiated Curriculum
A curriculum that is specially adapted to meet the special educational needs of individual children.
Distractibility
The frequent, uncontrolled or non volitional shifting of attention from the task at hand to sounds, sights, and other stimuli that normally occur in the environment.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Volume VII (DSMVII) the agreed criteria for the diagnosis of a full range of …..
Disability or Disorder
Recognised and diagnosed limitations or altered abilities in the domain of human activity be it movement, hearing, sight, thinking, speaking, feeling/emotion, behaviour and so on.
Dyscalculia
Difficulty in understanding or using mathematical symbols or functions. An individual with dyscalculia m ay be able to read and write but have difficulty in performing mathematical calculations.
Dysfunction
Any disturbance or impairment in the normal functioning of an organ, body part, social, emotional or mental process
Dyslexia
Impairment of the ability to deal with language (speaking, reading, spelling, writing). A dyslexic may see letters, syllables, or words reversed, blurred, or otherwise distorted. Their actually ability to see words may be intact but their ability to hear the sounds in words is less effective, or their difficulties may make their reading or writing very slow.
Dyspraxia
Difficulty in performing fine and/or gross motor acts such as drawing, buttoning, balancing etc. A person with Dyspraxia has difficulty producing and sequencing the movements necessary to perform these kinds of tasks.
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E
Early Intervention Program
A program specially designed to assist developmentally delayed infants and preschool children. The purpose of this type of program is to help prevent problems as the child matures.
EBD School
Is a school hat specializes in providing for children with- Educational Behavioural Difficulties (caused by many different factors), and who do not cope, or cannot be managed, in a mainstream school among pupils who do not have such difficulties.
Education Social Worker (ESW)
An Education Social Worker (ESWs) work with schools and families to promote good school attendance. ESWs also work with individual children who have behavioural difficulties.
Educational Psychologist (EP)
A Psychologist who works predominantly with those in education and may be referred to as a school psychologist.
Educational Psychology
The application of psychology to education, especially to problems of teaching and learning.
Educational Psychology Service
The educational psychology service has psychologists who visit schools regularly and contribute to the statutory assessment of pupils.
They provide psychological advice in the form of a report based on observations and tests. Educational psychologists are trained and have worked as teachers. They should not be confused with psychiatrists who are doctors concerned with mental illness.
Eye-Hand Coordination
The ability of the eyes and hands to work together to complete a task. Examples are drawing and writing.
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F
Fine Motor
The use of small muscles for precision tasks such as writing, tying bows, zipping a zipper, typing, doing puzzles.
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General Learning Disability
Refers to a broad range of learning difficulties that affect many aspects of learning and may result in a Slow Learner Profile or Global Developmental Delay
Gifted
This refers to individuals whose performance on standardized measures of intellectual ability score above the 98th percentile which means they are more able than 98 of 100 people of the same age and sex.
Global Developmental Delay
Where an individual's learning difficulties are such that they develop overall more slowly and may never reach some higher levels of understanding.
Gross Motor
The use of large muscles for activities requiring strength and balance. Examples are walking, running, and jumping.
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Harassment
Persistent unwanted (may but need not be aggressive) behaviour directed towards a particular individual who is made to feel uncomfortable, distressed, stressed or hurt by such behaviour. This can be referred to as Bullying.
Hearing Impairment
Refers to some difficulty or limitation in the mechanics of the hearing process.
Hyperactivity
Condition characterized by extreme restlessness, fidgetiness, poor impulse control resulting in short attention spans relative to peers, over activity and risk taking behaviour without seeing the consequences
Hypoactivity
Under-activity; child may appear to be in a daze, lacking energy and appear tired and unwilling to make an effort.
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I
IEP Committee
Writes the Individualized Education Program for the youngster who has been identified by the Eligibility Committee as having a disability or disorder. Members are a school division employee, other than the student's teacher, who is qualified to provide or supervise special education; the student's teacher(s); the parent or guardian the student, if appropriate; other individuals whom the parents or the school division select.
Impulsivity
Reacting to a situation without considering the consequences.
Inclusion
Inclusive education means that mainstream schools should be structured and resourced to enable them to welcome and accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other abilities and needs.
Independent Parental Support (IPS)
A person identified by the LEA or parents to provide confidential, independent support and information to parents during the statutory assessment process.
Individual Education Plan (IEP)
A learning programme for an individual child with learning difficulties, which includes what the child needs to learn and how that will be taught.
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
A written educational prescription developed for each child diagnosed with a learning difficulty (including learning disabled). Sometimes called an Individualized Education Program. Schools are required by law to develop these plans, in cooperation with parents. An IEP must contain:
* the child's present levels of educational performance,
* annual and short-term educational goals,
* the specific special education program,
* and related services that will be provided to the child,
* the extent to which the child will participate in regular education program with mainstream children,
* a statement of when services will begin and how long they will last
* provisions for evaluating the effectiveness of the program and the student's performance. This evaluation must occur at least once a year statement of transition services for students 14 years of age or older.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Program tailored to the needs of an exceptional child.
Integration
This is the process of educating children, with or without disabilities or difficulties, together in mainstream education.
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
The Intelligence quotient (IQ) refers to an individual's measured ability (using a range of mental or intellectual processes) quantified through completing a range of standardized tests. It is best understood as a range of performance in which the individual is likely to perform rather than as a single score.
Inversions
In reading, spelling, or math, confusion of updown directionality of letters or numbers, e.g., m for w, 6 for 9, etc.
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J
K
Kinesthetic
Pertaining to the muscles.
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Learned helplessness
One of the main theories developed to explain the experience of depression, derived from experiments in which animals, subjected to inescapable aversive stimulation, became very passive in their responding.
Learning Difficulties/Disability/Disabilities (LD)
Disorders of the basic psychological processes that affect the way an individual learns. Many individuals with learning difficulties/disabilities have average or above average intelligence. Learning difficulties may cause problems in listening, thinking, reasoning, comprehending, talking, reading, writing, spelling, or arithmetic. Included are for example perceptual difficulties, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Learning difficulties caused by visual, hearing, motor, brain damage, emotional disturbances, or environmental disadvantage may be classified in other ways, but will be handled as learning difficulties.
Learning Support Assistant (LSA)
Work under the direction of teachers and are appointed to provide additional help in the classroom for a child or a group of children (with or without) identified special educational needs. Also known as Teaching Assistant (TA)
Long-term memory
Components of memory where large amounts of information can be stored for long periods of time.
Life Skills
A set of core skills required if an individual is to have the opportunity for some degree of independence as an adult.
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M
Mainstream School
A school that seeks to integrate all levels of ability and teach a core curriculum to all pupils.
Maintained schools
Primary, secondary and special schools which are funded by the LEA. Schools receiving their funding from the private sector are referred to as Private or Public schools.
Moderate Learning Difficulties MLD
Moderate learning difficulty means a number of processes related to thinking, learning and behaving are harder for an individual and as a consequence this limits the amount of information or situations they can manage, process and learn from at any one time.
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Named officer
An officer of the LEA who can give you information and help about your child's education.
Non-maintained special school
A non-profit making special school which charges fees. Most non-maintained special schools are run by charities or charitable trusts.
Nonverbal cues
Eye contact, gestures, physical proximity, or touching used to communicate without interrupting verbal discourse.
Nonverbal learning disabilities NVLD
Nonverbal learning disabilities are less well known than language-based learning disabilities such as Dyslexia. Typically, people with nonverbal LD show: excellent memory for things they hear; poor memory for things they see; good reading ability; very poor arithmetic ability; excellent verbal expression and verbal reasoning; problems with written expression (often because of poor handwriting); problems with sense of direction, estimation of size, shape, distance; problems reading facial expressions, gestures, social cues, tones of voice.
Norms
Statistics that provide a frame of reference by which meaning may be given to test scores. Norms are based upon the actual performance of individuals of various grades or ages in the standardization group for the test. Since they represent average or typical performance, they should not be regarded as standards or universally desirable levels of attainment. The most common types of norms are standard scores such as stanines, IQ, percentile rank, grade or age equivalents.
Note in lieu (of statement)
A document produced by the LEA that sets out the reasons why a statement should not be made and the special provision to be made by the school.
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Occupational therapist (OT)
Provide programmes to develop the management of everyday tasks. They can also advise about aids and adaptations. (Occupational therapists usually work for the local health authority).
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Paediatricians
Doctors who specialize in children's needs and can refer a child to other health specialists, if necessary.
Panic Attacks
Involves repeated, unpredictable attacks of intense fear accompanied by severe anxiety symptoms in the body that may last from minutes to hours.
Percentile score
Derived score that designates what percent of the norming group earned raw scores lower than a particular score. A percentage score indicates where an individual's score sits in a group of 100 individuals of the same sex and age. E.g. at the 50th percentile a score is equal to, or better than, 50 of those 100 individuals.
Performance Test
Refers to a test designed to evaluate general intelligence or aptitudes. Consists primarily of motor items or perceptual items because verbal abilities play a minimal role. Some times these are referred to as Visual-Performance tests
Perseveration
The repeating of words, motions, or tasks. A child who perseverates often has difficulty shifting to a new task and continues working on a task after they should have stopped. (When required to copy five dots, will continue to produce many more dots)
Partial Hearing
An individual with partial hearing may not be able to hear or process the full range of sounds audible to the average human ear. They have nevertheless some hearing though it may not be of good quality.
Partial Sighted
An individual with partial sight may not be able to see or process the full range of visual information to the average human eye. They have nevertheless some sight though it may not be of good quality.
Phonic Approach
Method for teaching reading and spelling in which emphasis is placed on learning the sounds which individual and various combinations of letters make in a word. In decoding a word, the child sounds out individual letters or letter combinations and then blends them to form a word.
Physiotherapists
Trained to assess movement and physical development such as balance, co-ordination, ability to sit, stand and walk. They advise on how to help a child develop movement.
Placement
A school, unit or other facility, which the LEA thinks best meets the specific needs of a child.
PMLD
Profound and multiple learning difficulties.
Private or Public School
Funds for these schools are derived from private sources - grants, school fees, legacies, commercial enterprises etc. Many have charity status but nevertheless require school fees are paid. Some have bursaries for lower income families and many are selective in that they require prospective pupils sit and pass an entrance exam.
Professionals Connexions service
This service provides pupils and young people with special educational needs, aged 13-19, with a personal advisor.
The advisor will assist the young person and their parent/carer in identifying the most appropriate post-16 provision and provide counselling and ongoing support. A service representative must be invited to the year 9 annual review meeting.
Psychiatrist
An individual who treats behavioural or emotional problems. Is a licensed medical doctor (M.D.), so is permitted to use medications in treating a problem.
Psychological Examination
An evaluation by a certified school or clinical psychologist of the intellectual and behavioural characteristics of a person.
Psychology
Is generally defined as the science of behaviour and mental processes and the application of the resulting findings to the solution of problems. The word thus simultaneously refers to a science (involving the study of the behaviour of humans and animals) and to various interventions (treatments and therapies) in the mental processes and behavioural patterns of people
Psychomotor
Pertaining to the motor effects of psychological processes. Psychomotor tests are tests of motor skill which depend upon sensory or perceptual motor coordination e.g. how fast you can make a puzzle.
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R
Raw Score
Raw Score refers to the number of items that are answered correctly out of the total possible.
Reasoning Ability
Specific meaning of this term varies, depending upon the manner in which a given test measures this ability; generally refers to verbal or nonverbal, deductive, inductive, analytical thinking.
Receptive Language (Decoding)
Language that is spoken or written by others and received by the individual. The receptive language skills are listening and reading.
Reversals
Difficulty in reading or reproducing letters alone, letters in words, or words in sentences in their proper position in space or in proper order. May also refer to reversal of mathematical concepts (add/subtract. multiply/divide) and symbols (>; x+). See also Transposition.
Ritalin
Trade name for one of several stimulant drugs often given to modify hyperactivity in children who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. There are a number of other names for the same drug: Concerta is one.
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Scatter
Variability in an individual's test scores. This is a technical term for the range of scores. If there is a big range it is referred to as a lot of scatter.
School Medical Officer
A doctor who ensures that a child's health is not stopping them from learning. They may do regular check-ups.
School Psychologist
A person who specializes in problems manifested in and associated with educational systems and who uses psychological concepts and methods in programs which attempt to improve learning conditions for students.
Self-esteem
In psychology, self-esteem or self-worth is a person's self-image at an emotional level; circumventing reason and logic. Self esteem refers to the way you feel about yourself, whether you feel valued, appreciated and able. (The term differs from ego in that the ego is a more artificial aspect; one can remain highly egotistical, while underneath have very low self-esteem.)
Sensory Acuity
The ability to respond to sensation (light, sound, touch etc) at normal levels of intensity.
Sequence
The detail of information in its accustomed order (for example, days of the week, the alphabet, etc.). Children with Sequencing Difficulties know the names of the days of the week but find it difficult to put them in the right order. Adults may find that they can't spell well though know what letters belong in a particular word.
Severe Learning Difficulties
Severe learning difficulty means a significant number of processes related to thinking, learning and behaving are harder for an individual and as a consequence this limits the amount of information or situations they can manage, process and learn from at any one time.
Short-Term Memory
Component of memory where limited amounts of information can be stored for a few seconds. The average person is able to hold 7 plus or minus 2 numbers (e.g. a telephone number)
Short-Term Working Memory
Component of memory where limited amounts of information can be stored for a few seconds while they are worked on. The average person is able to hold 7 plus or minus 2 numbers (e.g. a telephone number) and can say them backwards!
Sight Word Approach
Also known as whole word approach; method for teaching reading which relies heavily upon a child's visual memory skills, with minimal emphasis on sounding out a word (phonics); child memorizes the word based on its overall configuration.
Sight Words
Words a child can recognize on sight without aid of phonics or other word-attack skills.
Slow Learner Profile
A child who has either Moderate or Severe learning difficulties that mean they progress through their learning at a slower rate and may find higher levels of learning more difficult.
Specific Language Disability
When some aspect of listening or speaking is affected in some way to prevent an individual from communicating (expressing themselves verbally) or understanding spoken communication fully.
Specific Learning Difficulty/Disability SpLD or SLD
Specific learning disability. Difficulty in specific areas of learning is contrasted with a General Learning Disability, i.e., difficulty in all areas of learning. Specific Learning difficulty is another name for Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Non verbal Learning Difficulties and Dyscalculia and so on. SLD is also sometimes interpreted as Specific Language Disability.
Social Skills Therapist
A therapist specializing in helping an individual develop their social skills. They may be a specialist social worker, nurse, counsellor or otherwise trained professional.
Sound Blending
The ability to combine smoothly all the sounds or parts of a word into the whole.
Spatial Orientation
Awareness of space and objects around the person in terms of distance, form, direction, and position.
Spatial Relationships
The ability to perceive the relationships between self and two or more objects and the relationships of the objects to each other.
Special educational needs service for schools (SENSS)
A team of LEA advisers and specialist teachers who advise schools about teaching children with special educational needs.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
A child has special educational needs if he/she has a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision to be made.
Special educational needs coordinator (SENCO)
All schools and nurseries appoint a SENCO to ensure that children with special educational needs receive the support they need.
Special Needs School
A school that specializes in provisioning education for children with a range of difficulties that cannot or may not best be met in a mainstream setting.
Speech therapist
Helps children who have difficulty talking or communicating. They work in schools, health centres and other community centres.
SpLD
Specific learning difficulties, e.g. dyslexia.
Standard Score
Standard Score refers to a score that permits comparison of one score against a population mean.
Standardized Test
Standardized Test refers to a form of measurement that has been normed against a specific population. Standardization is obtained by administering the test to a given population and then calculating means, standard deviations, standardized scores, and percentiles. Equivalent scores are then produced for comparisons of an individual score to the norm group's performance.
Stanine
A Stanine refers to one of the steps in a nine-point scale of standard scores.
Statement of special educational needs
Legal document setting out a child's special educational needs and the provision to meet those needs following statutory assessment.
Statutory assessment
A detailed examination to determine your child's special educational needs and calculate the special help needed. This may or may not lead to a statement of special education needs.
Structural Analysis
Using syllabication, prefix, suffix, and root word clues, etc. to read or spell a word.
Structure
Consistent use of rules, limits, and routines. The use of structure reassures a child with learning disabilities that the environment is somewhat predictable and stable.
Substitution
In reading, spelling, or math, interchanging a given letter, number, or word for another, e.g., sereal for cereal, 9 or 6.
Syndrome
A set of symptoms (behaviours, features, learning difficulties) that indicates a specific disorder.
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Teaching Assistant (TA)
An adult who may or may not have specific qualifications who is engaged in supporting children in their daily activities in school. They can also be referred to as Learning Assistants (LA) or Learning Support Assistants (LSA). Children needing support are often offered LSA - Learning Support Assistance.
Transition plan
A document drawn up at the annual review from national curriculum year 9 onwards, to help plan for a pupil's ongoing education after they leave school.
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V
Verbal Ability
Specific meaning of this term varies, depending upon the manner in which a given test measures this ability. Generally refers to oral or spoken language abilities and the underlying verbal knowledge and comprehension that support verbal expression.
Visual-Performance tests
Refers to a test designed to evaluate general intelligence or aptitudes. Consists primarily of motor items or perceptual items because verbal abilities play a minimal role. Some times these are referred to as Performance Tests
Visual Discrimination
Ability to detect similarities and/or differences in materials which are presented visually, e.g., ability to discriminate h from n, o from c, b from d, etc.
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Word Attack Skills
Ability to analyze unfamiliar words visually and phonetically, the break them down in such a manner that
Word Recognition
Ability to read or pronounce a word; usually implies that the word is recognized immediately by sight and that the child does not need to apply word analysis skills. Does not imply understanding of the word.
Working memory
Another term for short-term working memory.
Written Language
Encompasses all facets of written expression, e.g., handwriting, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, format, ability to express one's thoughts in sentences and paragraphs, etc.
Ability Test refers to a test designed to measure either aptitude or achievement. To separate aptitude from achievement, however, is often easier said than done. While aptitudes are defined as inherent abilities for learning and raw talents, they are sometimes measured through a person's achievements because the tests are designed incorrectly. The many types of ability tests include verbal, numeric, literacy and abstract reasoning tests.
Achievement Test
Achievement Test refers to an objective examination that measures educationally relevant skills or knowledge about such subjects as reading, spelling, or mathematics.
ADD
See Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD or AD(H)D
See Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Age Norms
Age Norms refers to values representing typical or average performance of people of any age groups.
Annual review
A meeting held once a year of parents and professionals at school to evaluate a child's progress and make sure the child is still making progress. A Statement of Educational Needs specifies that there must be an annual review to ensure what is contained in the Statement still meets the child's needs.
Appendix
Usually an additional section to a report/document that contains more information about what is contained in the report/document. The report should be understandable without reference to the Appendix
A form for parents/carers to record their thoughts, comments and expectations on their child's needs.
Aspergers
Also known as Asperger's Disorder or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is classified as is a Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) characterized by severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, and activities.
Assessment
Assessment refers to the process of obtaining information that is used to gather information about individuals, to give feedback about their progress/strengths/weaknesses, and to judge performance (work or scholastic) instructional effectiveness/curricular adequacy etc.
Assessment
An examination to find out an individual's abilities, difficulties and needs for the purpose of informing a diagnosis.
Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)
A disorder characterized by difficulties maintaining attention because of a limited ability to concentrate. ADD is a limited capacity to focus and attend and impulsive actions, but may not show high levels of activity or over-activity.
Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
A disorder characterized by difficulties maintaining attention because of a limited ability to concentrate; including impulsive actions and hyperactive behaviour. Some times this is written as AD(H)D as the signs and symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder are the same though in the latter there is evidence of high levels of activity or over-activity.
Attention Span
The length of time an individual can concentrate on a task without being distracted or losing interest. (See also Distractibility).
Auditory Discrimination
The ability to accurately discriminate sounds. This requires processes within the brain, beyond the effectiveness of the ear to hear.
Auditory Memory
Ability to retain information which has been presented orally; may be short term memory, such as recalling information presented several seconds before; long term memory, such as recalling information presented more than a minute before; or sequential memory, such as recalling a series of information in proper order.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
A range of diagnoses that involve severe and sustained impairment in social interaction, development of restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests, and activities. Asperger's is one such diagnosis as is Autism.
Autism
A category of ASD that significantly affects social interaction, verbal and nonverbal communication, and educational performance.
Automaticity
A process of development and learning to the point at which thoroughly learned tasks can be performed with little mental effort (e.g. walking up/down stairs).
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Behavioural Difficulties/Problems
A pattern of unacceptable or inappropriate behaviour, usually occurring in particular situations, which disrupts the activities of others be it at work, in school or at home
Blending
A skill in reading involving saying two separate sounds 'i' and 't' and being able to put them together to produce 'it'.
Bullying
Persistent unwanted (may but need not be aggressive) behaviour directed towards a particular individual who is made to feel uncomfortable, distressed, stressed or hurt by such behaviour. This is sometimes referred to as Harassment.
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Case Conference
A formal meeting of professionals and parents/carers to discuss a particular child/individual.
Ceiling
Ceiling refers to the upper limit of ability that can be measured by a particular test.
Cerebral palsy
Disorder in ability to control movements caused by damage to the motor area of the brain.
Chunking
The process in reading of combining two sounds 'tr' and then to add this to another chunk 'ip', to make 'trip'.
Code of Practice for Special Educational Needs
A guide for schools and LEAs on the practical help they should offer children with SEN. The code must be considered when making any decisions about a child's education.
Cognitive Ability
Intellectual ability; thinking and reasoning skills.
Conduct Disorder
Socio-emotional and behavioural disorders indicated in individuals who, for example, are chronically disobedient or disruptive. This is a clinically applied diagnostic category found in DSMVII. It can also be described within the category EBD - Educational Behaviourally Disordered or Emotional and Behavioural Disorder
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Decoding
The process of getting meaning from written or spoken symbols. (See Receptive Language).
Developmental Delay
When a child fails to reach certain milestones at the expected time, such as sitting, walking, talking.
Developmental Curriculum
A programme for children who need to learn everyday (Life Skills) skills, self-care, dressing, etc, and who may spend most of their education working towards the first level of the core school subjects in the national curriculum.
Differentiated Curriculum
A curriculum that is specially adapted to meet the special educational needs of individual children.
Distractibility
The frequent, uncontrolled or non volitional shifting of attention from the task at hand to sounds, sights, and other stimuli that normally occur in the environment.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual Volume VII (DSMVII) the agreed criteria for the diagnosis of a full range of …..
Disability or Disorder
Recognised and diagnosed limitations or altered abilities in the domain of human activity be it movement, hearing, sight, thinking, speaking, feeling/emotion, behaviour and so on.
Dyscalculia
Difficulty in understanding or using mathematical symbols or functions. An individual with dyscalculia m ay be able to read and write but have difficulty in performing mathematical calculations.
Dysfunction
Any disturbance or impairment in the normal functioning of an organ, body part, social, emotional or mental process
Dyslexia
Impairment of the ability to deal with language (speaking, reading, spelling, writing). A dyslexic may see letters, syllables, or words reversed, blurred, or otherwise distorted. Their actually ability to see words may be intact but their ability to hear the sounds in words is less effective, or their difficulties may make their reading or writing very slow.
Dyspraxia
Difficulty in performing fine and/or gross motor acts such as drawing, buttoning, balancing etc. A person with Dyspraxia has difficulty producing and sequencing the movements necessary to perform these kinds of tasks.
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Early Intervention Program
A program specially designed to assist developmentally delayed infants and preschool children. The purpose of this type of program is to help prevent problems as the child matures.
EBD School
Is a school hat specializes in providing for children with- Educational Behavioural Difficulties (caused by many different factors), and who do not cope, or cannot be managed, in a mainstream school among pupils who do not have such difficulties.
Education Social Worker (ESW)
An Education Social Worker (ESWs) work with schools and families to promote good school attendance. ESWs also work with individual children who have behavioural difficulties.
Educational Psychologist (EP)
A Psychologist who works predominantly with those in education and may be referred to as a school psychologist.
Educational Psychology
The application of psychology to education, especially to problems of teaching and learning.
Educational Psychology Service
The educational psychology service has psychologists who visit schools regularly and contribute to the statutory assessment of pupils.
They provide psychological advice in the form of a report based on observations and tests. Educational psychologists are trained and have worked as teachers. They should not be confused with psychiatrists who are doctors concerned with mental illness.
Eye-Hand Coordination
The ability of the eyes and hands to work together to complete a task. Examples are drawing and writing.
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Fine Motor
The use of small muscles for precision tasks such as writing, tying bows, zipping a zipper, typing, doing puzzles.
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General Learning Disability
Refers to a broad range of learning difficulties that affect many aspects of learning and may result in a Slow Learner Profile or Global Developmental Delay
Gifted
This refers to individuals whose performance on standardized measures of intellectual ability score above the 98th percentile which means they are more able than 98 of 100 people of the same age and sex.
Global Developmental Delay
Where an individual's learning difficulties are such that they develop overall more slowly and may never reach some higher levels of understanding.
Gross Motor
The use of large muscles for activities requiring strength and balance. Examples are walking, running, and jumping.
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Harassment
Persistent unwanted (may but need not be aggressive) behaviour directed towards a particular individual who is made to feel uncomfortable, distressed, stressed or hurt by such behaviour. This can be referred to as Bullying.
Hearing Impairment
Refers to some difficulty or limitation in the mechanics of the hearing process.
Hyperactivity
Condition characterized by extreme restlessness, fidgetiness, poor impulse control resulting in short attention spans relative to peers, over activity and risk taking behaviour without seeing the consequences
Hypoactivity
Under-activity; child may appear to be in a daze, lacking energy and appear tired and unwilling to make an effort.
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IEP Committee
Writes the Individualized Education Program for the youngster who has been identified by the Eligibility Committee as having a disability or disorder. Members are a school division employee, other than the student's teacher, who is qualified to provide or supervise special education; the student's teacher(s); the parent or guardian the student, if appropriate; other individuals whom the parents or the school division select.
Impulsivity
Reacting to a situation without considering the consequences.
Inclusion
Inclusive education means that mainstream schools should be structured and resourced to enable them to welcome and accommodate all children regardless of their physical, intellectual, social, emotional, linguistic or other abilities and needs.
Independent Parental Support (IPS)
A person identified by the LEA or parents to provide confidential, independent support and information to parents during the statutory assessment process.
Individual Education Plan (IEP)
A learning programme for an individual child with learning difficulties, which includes what the child needs to learn and how that will be taught.
Individualized Education Plan (IEP)
A written educational prescription developed for each child diagnosed with a learning difficulty (including learning disabled). Sometimes called an Individualized Education Program. Schools are required by law to develop these plans, in cooperation with parents. An IEP must contain:
* the child's present levels of educational performance,
* annual and short-term educational goals,
* the specific special education program,
* and related services that will be provided to the child,
* the extent to which the child will participate in regular education program with mainstream children,
* a statement of when services will begin and how long they will last
* provisions for evaluating the effectiveness of the program and the student's performance. This evaluation must occur at least once a year statement of transition services for students 14 years of age or older.
Individualized Education Program (IEP)
Program tailored to the needs of an exceptional child.
Integration
This is the process of educating children, with or without disabilities or difficulties, together in mainstream education.
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
The Intelligence quotient (IQ) refers to an individual's measured ability (using a range of mental or intellectual processes) quantified through completing a range of standardized tests. It is best understood as a range of performance in which the individual is likely to perform rather than as a single score.
Inversions
In reading, spelling, or math, confusion of updown directionality of letters or numbers, e.g., m for w, 6 for 9, etc.
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J
K
Kinesthetic
Pertaining to the muscles.
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L
Learned helplessness
One of the main theories developed to explain the experience of depression, derived from experiments in which animals, subjected to inescapable aversive stimulation, became very passive in their responding.
Learning Difficulties/Disability/Disabilities (LD)
Disorders of the basic psychological processes that affect the way an individual learns. Many individuals with learning difficulties/disabilities have average or above average intelligence. Learning difficulties may cause problems in listening, thinking, reasoning, comprehending, talking, reading, writing, spelling, or arithmetic. Included are for example perceptual difficulties, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. Learning difficulties caused by visual, hearing, motor, brain damage, emotional disturbances, or environmental disadvantage may be classified in other ways, but will be handled as learning difficulties.
Learning Support Assistant (LSA)
Work under the direction of teachers and are appointed to provide additional help in the classroom for a child or a group of children (with or without) identified special educational needs. Also known as Teaching Assistant (TA)
Long-term memory
Components of memory where large amounts of information can be stored for long periods of time.
Life Skills
A set of core skills required if an individual is to have the opportunity for some degree of independence as an adult.
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M
Mainstream School
A school that seeks to integrate all levels of ability and teach a core curriculum to all pupils.
Maintained schools
Primary, secondary and special schools which are funded by the LEA. Schools receiving their funding from the private sector are referred to as Private or Public schools.
Moderate Learning Difficulties MLD
Moderate learning difficulty means a number of processes related to thinking, learning and behaving are harder for an individual and as a consequence this limits the amount of information or situations they can manage, process and learn from at any one time.
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Named officer
An officer of the LEA who can give you information and help about your child's education.
Non-maintained special school
A non-profit making special school which charges fees. Most non-maintained special schools are run by charities or charitable trusts.
Nonverbal cues
Eye contact, gestures, physical proximity, or touching used to communicate without interrupting verbal discourse.
Nonverbal learning disabilities NVLD
Nonverbal learning disabilities are less well known than language-based learning disabilities such as Dyslexia. Typically, people with nonverbal LD show: excellent memory for things they hear; poor memory for things they see; good reading ability; very poor arithmetic ability; excellent verbal expression and verbal reasoning; problems with written expression (often because of poor handwriting); problems with sense of direction, estimation of size, shape, distance; problems reading facial expressions, gestures, social cues, tones of voice.
Norms
Statistics that provide a frame of reference by which meaning may be given to test scores. Norms are based upon the actual performance of individuals of various grades or ages in the standardization group for the test. Since they represent average or typical performance, they should not be regarded as standards or universally desirable levels of attainment. The most common types of norms are standard scores such as stanines, IQ, percentile rank, grade or age equivalents.
Note in lieu (of statement)
A document produced by the LEA that sets out the reasons why a statement should not be made and the special provision to be made by the school.
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Occupational therapist (OT)
Provide programmes to develop the management of everyday tasks. They can also advise about aids and adaptations. (Occupational therapists usually work for the local health authority).
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Paediatricians
Doctors who specialize in children's needs and can refer a child to other health specialists, if necessary.
Panic Attacks
Involves repeated, unpredictable attacks of intense fear accompanied by severe anxiety symptoms in the body that may last from minutes to hours.
Percentile score
Derived score that designates what percent of the norming group earned raw scores lower than a particular score. A percentage score indicates where an individual's score sits in a group of 100 individuals of the same sex and age. E.g. at the 50th percentile a score is equal to, or better than, 50 of those 100 individuals.
Performance Test
Refers to a test designed to evaluate general intelligence or aptitudes. Consists primarily of motor items or perceptual items because verbal abilities play a minimal role. Some times these are referred to as Visual-Performance tests
Perseveration
The repeating of words, motions, or tasks. A child who perseverates often has difficulty shifting to a new task and continues working on a task after they should have stopped. (When required to copy five dots, will continue to produce many more dots)
Partial Hearing
An individual with partial hearing may not be able to hear or process the full range of sounds audible to the average human ear. They have nevertheless some hearing though it may not be of good quality.
Partial Sighted
An individual with partial sight may not be able to see or process the full range of visual information to the average human eye. They have nevertheless some sight though it may not be of good quality.
Phonic Approach
Method for teaching reading and spelling in which emphasis is placed on learning the sounds which individual and various combinations of letters make in a word. In decoding a word, the child sounds out individual letters or letter combinations and then blends them to form a word.
Physiotherapists
Trained to assess movement and physical development such as balance, co-ordination, ability to sit, stand and walk. They advise on how to help a child develop movement.
Placement
A school, unit or other facility, which the LEA thinks best meets the specific needs of a child.
PMLD
Profound and multiple learning difficulties.
Private or Public School
Funds for these schools are derived from private sources - grants, school fees, legacies, commercial enterprises etc. Many have charity status but nevertheless require school fees are paid. Some have bursaries for lower income families and many are selective in that they require prospective pupils sit and pass an entrance exam.
Professionals Connexions service
This service provides pupils and young people with special educational needs, aged 13-19, with a personal advisor.
The advisor will assist the young person and their parent/carer in identifying the most appropriate post-16 provision and provide counselling and ongoing support. A service representative must be invited to the year 9 annual review meeting.
Psychiatrist
An individual who treats behavioural or emotional problems. Is a licensed medical doctor (M.D.), so is permitted to use medications in treating a problem.
Psychological Examination
An evaluation by a certified school or clinical psychologist of the intellectual and behavioural characteristics of a person.
Psychology
Is generally defined as the science of behaviour and mental processes and the application of the resulting findings to the solution of problems. The word thus simultaneously refers to a science (involving the study of the behaviour of humans and animals) and to various interventions (treatments and therapies) in the mental processes and behavioural patterns of people
Psychomotor
Pertaining to the motor effects of psychological processes. Psychomotor tests are tests of motor skill which depend upon sensory or perceptual motor coordination e.g. how fast you can make a puzzle.
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Raw Score
Raw Score refers to the number of items that are answered correctly out of the total possible.
Reasoning Ability
Specific meaning of this term varies, depending upon the manner in which a given test measures this ability; generally refers to verbal or nonverbal, deductive, inductive, analytical thinking.
Receptive Language (Decoding)
Language that is spoken or written by others and received by the individual. The receptive language skills are listening and reading.
Reversals
Difficulty in reading or reproducing letters alone, letters in words, or words in sentences in their proper position in space or in proper order. May also refer to reversal of mathematical concepts (add/subtract. multiply/divide) and symbols (>; x+). See also Transposition.
Ritalin
Trade name for one of several stimulant drugs often given to modify hyperactivity in children who have been diagnosed with ADD or ADHD. There are a number of other names for the same drug: Concerta is one.
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Scatter
Variability in an individual's test scores. This is a technical term for the range of scores. If there is a big range it is referred to as a lot of scatter.
School Medical Officer
A doctor who ensures that a child's health is not stopping them from learning. They may do regular check-ups.
School Psychologist
A person who specializes in problems manifested in and associated with educational systems and who uses psychological concepts and methods in programs which attempt to improve learning conditions for students.
Self-esteem
In psychology, self-esteem or self-worth is a person's self-image at an emotional level; circumventing reason and logic. Self esteem refers to the way you feel about yourself, whether you feel valued, appreciated and able. (The term differs from ego in that the ego is a more artificial aspect; one can remain highly egotistical, while underneath have very low self-esteem.)
Sensory Acuity
The ability to respond to sensation (light, sound, touch etc) at normal levels of intensity.
Sequence
The detail of information in its accustomed order (for example, days of the week, the alphabet, etc.). Children with Sequencing Difficulties know the names of the days of the week but find it difficult to put them in the right order. Adults may find that they can't spell well though know what letters belong in a particular word.
Severe Learning Difficulties
Severe learning difficulty means a significant number of processes related to thinking, learning and behaving are harder for an individual and as a consequence this limits the amount of information or situations they can manage, process and learn from at any one time.
Short-Term Memory
Component of memory where limited amounts of information can be stored for a few seconds. The average person is able to hold 7 plus or minus 2 numbers (e.g. a telephone number)
Short-Term Working Memory
Component of memory where limited amounts of information can be stored for a few seconds while they are worked on. The average person is able to hold 7 plus or minus 2 numbers (e.g. a telephone number) and can say them backwards!
Sight Word Approach
Also known as whole word approach; method for teaching reading which relies heavily upon a child's visual memory skills, with minimal emphasis on sounding out a word (phonics); child memorizes the word based on its overall configuration.
Sight Words
Words a child can recognize on sight without aid of phonics or other word-attack skills.
Slow Learner Profile
A child who has either Moderate or Severe learning difficulties that mean they progress through their learning at a slower rate and may find higher levels of learning more difficult.
Specific Language Disability
When some aspect of listening or speaking is affected in some way to prevent an individual from communicating (expressing themselves verbally) or understanding spoken communication fully.
Specific Learning Difficulty/Disability SpLD or SLD
Specific learning disability. Difficulty in specific areas of learning is contrasted with a General Learning Disability, i.e., difficulty in all areas of learning. Specific Learning difficulty is another name for Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Non verbal Learning Difficulties and Dyscalculia and so on. SLD is also sometimes interpreted as Specific Language Disability.
Social Skills Therapist
A therapist specializing in helping an individual develop their social skills. They may be a specialist social worker, nurse, counsellor or otherwise trained professional.
Sound Blending
The ability to combine smoothly all the sounds or parts of a word into the whole.
Spatial Orientation
Awareness of space and objects around the person in terms of distance, form, direction, and position.
Spatial Relationships
The ability to perceive the relationships between self and two or more objects and the relationships of the objects to each other.
Special educational needs service for schools (SENSS)
A team of LEA advisers and specialist teachers who advise schools about teaching children with special educational needs.
Special Educational Needs (SEN)
A child has special educational needs if he/she has a learning difficulty that requires special educational provision to be made.
Special educational needs coordinator (SENCO)
All schools and nurseries appoint a SENCO to ensure that children with special educational needs receive the support they need.
Special Needs School
A school that specializes in provisioning education for children with a range of difficulties that cannot or may not best be met in a mainstream setting.
Speech therapist
Helps children who have difficulty talking or communicating. They work in schools, health centres and other community centres.
SpLD
Specific learning difficulties, e.g. dyslexia.
Standard Score
Standard Score refers to a score that permits comparison of one score against a population mean.
Standardized Test
Standardized Test refers to a form of measurement that has been normed against a specific population. Standardization is obtained by administering the test to a given population and then calculating means, standard deviations, standardized scores, and percentiles. Equivalent scores are then produced for comparisons of an individual score to the norm group's performance.
Stanine
A Stanine refers to one of the steps in a nine-point scale of standard scores.
Statement of special educational needs
Legal document setting out a child's special educational needs and the provision to meet those needs following statutory assessment.
Statutory assessment
A detailed examination to determine your child's special educational needs and calculate the special help needed. This may or may not lead to a statement of special education needs.
Structural Analysis
Using syllabication, prefix, suffix, and root word clues, etc. to read or spell a word.
Structure
Consistent use of rules, limits, and routines. The use of structure reassures a child with learning disabilities that the environment is somewhat predictable and stable.
Substitution
In reading, spelling, or math, interchanging a given letter, number, or word for another, e.g., sereal for cereal, 9 or 6.
Syndrome
A set of symptoms (behaviours, features, learning difficulties) that indicates a specific disorder.
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Teaching Assistant (TA)
An adult who may or may not have specific qualifications who is engaged in supporting children in their daily activities in school. They can also be referred to as Learning Assistants (LA) or Learning Support Assistants (LSA). Children needing support are often offered LSA - Learning Support Assistance.
Transition plan
A document drawn up at the annual review from national curriculum year 9 onwards, to help plan for a pupil's ongoing education after they leave school.
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Verbal Ability
Specific meaning of this term varies, depending upon the manner in which a given test measures this ability. Generally refers to oral or spoken language abilities and the underlying verbal knowledge and comprehension that support verbal expression.
Visual-Performance tests
Refers to a test designed to evaluate general intelligence or aptitudes. Consists primarily of motor items or perceptual items because verbal abilities play a minimal role. Some times these are referred to as Performance Tests
Visual Discrimination
Ability to detect similarities and/or differences in materials which are presented visually, e.g., ability to discriminate h from n, o from c, b from d, etc.
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Word Attack Skills
Ability to analyze unfamiliar words visually and phonetically, the break them down in such a manner that
Word Recognition
Ability to read or pronounce a word; usually implies that the word is recognized immediately by sight and that the child does not need to apply word analysis skills. Does not imply understanding of the word.
Working memory
Another term for short-term working memory.
Written Language
Encompasses all facets of written expression, e.g., handwriting, capitalization, punctuation, spelling, format, ability to express one's thoughts in sentences and paragraphs, etc.
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