Parent Edition
The Value of a Diverse Education
By Guest Blogger on January 21st, 2016
This is the ninth post in a series by the Cooney family about their world travels, made possible by the flexible learning offered at FLVS.
Most people who live in the United States believe they are well informed about world events. It isn’t until a person travels that he truly understands how wrong he is.
And by travel, I don’t mean staying at a resort and participating in touristy tours, but going to the local markets, riding the local buses and getting to know the local residents. You can only truly understand and appreciate the culture and people when you’ve transitioned from tourist to traveler.
As a result of social media and cable television, we live in a world of 24/7 news, or so we believe. In reality, very little of the “real world” news seems to filter through the noise of popular media.
Help! I need somebody! Help!
By Guest Blogger on January 19th, 2016
My daughter is not quite two, yet her little brain is abuzz – learning new things at every turn of the corner.
Almost constantly she comes up against something new, something strange or challenging, and every time without fail, she looks up at me with her big brown eyes and says “help!”
It astonishes me how easily she is able to admit she needs a helping hand. How quickly she recognizes she’s facing something new and challenging and she may not get it right the first time. This mindset is what Carol Dweck calls a “growth mindset.” And most children my daughter’s age have it.
They are perfectly okay with asking for help, and not just asking, but receiving it. Continue reading
How I Learned to Play Nice With Others
By Guest Blogger on December 29th, 2015
Confessions of a People Lover
I have a confession to make. There are some people I simply do not get along with. There, I said it. Notice I didn’t say I hate these people, but the honest truth is that sometimes I can only handle them in small doses.
I equate it to my love of chocolate. Two Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, awesome! Two pounds of Reese’s in one sitting, not such a smart idea.
While this may sound harsh, I’ve accepted it as my mental reality and that’s not a bad thing. There are just certain people with personalities that I do not feel mesh well with mine.
I have another confession. Continue reading
FLVS Social Media Course Video Tour
By Guest Blogger on December 16th, 2015
Want to learn more about how social media has changed (and continues to change) the world?
The FLVS Social Media course won’t teach you how to use Facebook, the proper way to use a hashtag, or how to get more Instagram followers.
What it will teach is how social media has evolved, how your digital footprint makes an impact, and how you can find authenticity and truth in an online world where you can “be” anyone.
You might have heard people say that the world doesn’t revolve around you. But in the world of social media, that’s not really true. Continue reading
FLVS Career and Technical Education Course Tour
By Guest Blogger on December 10th, 2015
Computer Science Education Week is a great time to think about getting certified with FLVS!
But what exactly does getting a technical certification mean?
With more than 20 Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses to choose from at FLVS, you can earn certifications from companies like Microsoft, Adobe, and Cisco. A certification shows employers that you have the most current skills and that you meet performance standards within the tech industry—an industry that continues to grow every year.
Interested in Computer Programming, Networking, or Digital Media and Design? With CTE courses at FLVS, you may be able to get a jump start on college credit and earn a weighted credit to boost your GPA. Continue reading
Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle While Traveling
By Guest Blogger on December 9th, 2015
This is the eighth post in a series by the Cooney family about their world travels, made possible by the flexible learning offered at FLVS.
Whether you are planning a “stay-cation” or a global yearlong adventure around the world similar to ours, staying healthy, happy, and fit while traveling can present a few obstacles.
Maintaining healthy eating habits at home can be difficult and doing the same on the road requires even more due-diligence. Preplanning is the key, and can mean the difference between completely abandoning your healthy lifestyle or keeping you on track.
Incorporate some or all the following tips we’ve used to ensure you have a healthy, happy trip.
Continue reading
Benefits of Competency-Based Learning
By Guest Blogger on December 7th, 2015
One of the common symptoms of leukemia is a significant decrease in functional white blood cells.
Which components of nonspecific and specific immunity will be negatively affected by leukemia? Which components of the immune system will remain unaffected?
Can you answer that? My guess is that many of you reading this post cannot answer it AT THIS TIME. That’s because you haven’t been able to learn all of the necessary information to understand the question and process it to result in an answer. In some cases, that’s what happens to students in a brick-and-mortar classroom based on a traditional 180-day school calendar.
Students try learning the preceding information, but the teacher must move on in the lesson to meet the seat-time based school-year plan before each student can master the content, potentially leaving a student without the skills to answer correctly. Continue reading
Join an Hour of Code!
By Guest Blogger on November 23rd, 2015
Computers are everywhere, but fewer schools teach computer science than 10 years ago.
The good news is, we’re on our way to change this. If you’ve heard about the Hour of Code before, you might know it made history. More than 100 million students have tried an Hour of Code with fun online games and tutorials featuring Star Wars, Minecraft, and Frozen.
This year, students of the FLVS STEM Club will give presentations about creating websites and more. Last year, every Apple Store in the world hosted an Hour of Code and even President Obama wrote his first line of code as part of the campaign.
Over 100 partners have joined together to support this movement. Continue reading
National Novel Writing Month
By Guest Blogger on November 21st, 2015
If there’s one thing I’ve learned as I’ve matured, it’s that everyone has a story to tell.
And, that our stories matter. Whether you’re a student, parent, grandparent, teacher, homemaker, hairstylist, or CEO, your story is important and only you can tell it. Did you know that it’s been estimated that 81 percent of Americans say they dream of being an author? That’s roughly 200 million people! I admit I am one of the 200 million, and it’s been a long road, but I will be publishing my book this year.
Have you ever thought of writing a book but didn’t know how to start? Continue reading
Military Family Appreciation
By Guest Blogger on November 19th, 2015
November is Military Family Appreciation Month.
While we should make sure to thank our military families each and every day, setting aside some time to truly reflect on their service and to honor them for their sacrifice is also super important.
My family, and especially my dad, has always made it a point to thank our men and women in service who give so much to protect our freedom. Before enjoying our meals, each and every night before bed, and every holiday as we gathered as a family, we would thank the military.
Thank them for giving us the gift of togetherness and safety. Thank them for standing guard in a million different ways to ensure we get to live the greatest life imaginable. Continue reading