How do you determine if you’re under mind control?

It’s an interesting question that you can pass around at a party or among friends.

The fact is that you just don’t know. In fact everything you are doing could be a response that fits perfectly into another persons plans.

If you take that as a possibility you could simply just give up and yield to the fact that NOTHING is truly within your control but there is a healthier option.

It’s quite simple, just ask yourself “Am I acting or am I reacting?”

If you are reacting then you are respond to something outside of your control and trying to gain some control back, a potential sign of some form of mind control.

No one likes to feel powerless and out of control.

The solution? To do something intentional and positive that is NOT a response to the external environment.

I want to emphasize the word “positive” here because an intentional negative/destructive act has to act on or destroy something pre-existing. It would be then something to which you are reacting.

This is much harder that it might seem because it requires four qualities that most “sheeple” find hard to implement. They are:

1) Thought.

People don’t like to think, in general. That is why we have an unconscious (reactive) mind so it will do most of our actions for us. Most of us rely on it entirely too much or in the wrong way and allow it to dictate our every move by letting our emotions guide us. Advertisers, politicians, spouses and other manipulators know this and often seek to control you by fear, anger, threats and frustration. Thought requires that you determine what would be your best emotional response.

2 ) Creativity.

Creativity can be difficult because it requires taking action that is not linked to some external stimulus. This, of course requires thought, but one can train themselves and their unconscious mind to be very creative. Think of what Salvador Dali was able to do. Nothing he did in the field of art could easily be compared to anything prior to him. The same was true with his life.

3) Action.

Action takes effort. People (sheeple?) tend to not want to act instead they react and conserve their energy. What they don’t understand is that by taking creative action in the manner described creates energy. Going back to Salvidor Dali as an example, his life was FULL of energy that he created. When his peers in the high brow field of art tried to control him he would turn his response into a new form of performance art. In so doing he would baffle the people trying to influence him and entertain everyone else.

4) Courage.

Why courage? Because when people recognize that they cannot control you through fear and anger they will severely escalate their attempts through threats and maybe even violence.

To free yourself from any form of mind control is no easy task. But nothing so rewarding is easy.

When I wrote the book “Perfected Mind Control - The Unauthorized Black Book of Hypnotic Mind Control” I wanted to appeal to peoples most base desires for control and then turn the whole process into one of creating greater freedom, flexibility and joy. Throughout the book I encourage the reader to do the hypnotic processes on themselves first in order to truly understand the power.

When any smart person would find out is that there is nothing evil and controlling about “Perfected Mind Control - The Unauthorized Black Book of Hypnotic Mind Control” instead it’s about personal liberation.

In this article we aim to provide you with an easy to follow guide on the basics of the Spanish language, concentrating on the differences between Spanish and English sentence structure.

Sentence Structure

If you want to understand basic Spanish you need to know that the main difference between English and Spanish is in the way that sentences are constructed. Firstly let us look at a typical Spanish sentence.

“Me gusta el vino espańol”.

This sentence means;

“I like Spanish wine”.

Did you notice that in the English version “wine” comes after “Spanish”, but in the Spanish sentence “vino” comes before “espańol”? This is because in the Spanish language the adjective (an adjective is word than is used to describe something,in this case we have used “espańol, which means Spanish), always comes after the noun (a noun is basically another name for a thing, in this case “vino” meaning wine).

So if I wanted to say, I like white wine, in Spanish I would say “Me gusta vino blanco”. Blanco means white in Spanish.

The rule applies whether we are referring to a drink or a person.

The English sentence “A Spanish man”.

Would translate in Spanish to “Un seńor espańol”

Have you noticed another difference between the English and Spanish sentences? In the example we have used we can see that “espańol” starts with a lower case, or small “e”, but in English when saying “Spanish” we use a capital “S”, this is because any reference to a country in English should have a capital letter at the start of the word, but in Spanish you would only use a capital letter when using the countries name directly.

If we say “Soy de Espańa”

This translates as,

“ I am of Spain”

Because we used “Espańa” which is the name on the country it gets a capital letter. Therefore if I say;

“Soy am

If you have children, late July, August and early September represents more than summer ending, cooler weather and fall foliage. School begins once again for millions of kids across the country. Getting your child prepared, regardless of whether they are in Kindergarten or a senior in high school, is a must. Here are some tips to make the transition from several weeks of summer fun to school days and homework easier.

Children in Kindergarten &ndash 5th grade

1. About a week before school starts, have your children go to bed at the time they will when school begins. Set their alarm or wake them up early. It’s difficult for some kids to adjust to going to bed and getting up earlier after having an entire summer of sleeping in or staying up late. Many young children need to be on a schedule and preparing a week or so earlier will pay off, especially if you have a night owl or late sleeper.

2. If you have a school supply list (many school districts post them on their website or hand them out the last day of school), buy the supplies early. For the child who is not organized, this is a good way to begin the school year off on the right foot. Label everything and get the backpacks ready the night before school starts. Buy some extra supplies to keep at home if your child is one to lose or forget their pencils or markers at school. They will probably need some basic supplies for homework time. Nothing is more frustrating than sitting down to do homework and discovering the basics are missing.

3. If you have a Kindergartener, walk to school two or three days before school begins (or drive if they take a bus or you will be driving them). This helps acquaint them with what they will actually be doing that first day and can work wonders for alleviating the first-day jitters. If your child is especially anxious, ask if you can let them visit their new classroom for five or ten minutes the day before school starts. Many principals will let the Kindergarteners come to the campus prior to school starting.

Middle School

1. Many sixth graders will be attending a new school for their middle school years. Oftentimes, the campus is much bigger and can be intimidating. Of course pre-teens may not admit they are nervous, but most parents are. Suggest a bike ride over to the school sometime during August just to look around. Many middle schools conduct orientation anyway a couple of days before school actually begins, but an extra trip without all of their peers might be worthwhile.

2. Just as in elementary school, it is important, if not more so in middle school, to have all the school supplies ready, especially an organizer. Some schools make it mandatory for the students to purchase an organizer directly from the school. Get in the habit from day one of checking it and being sure homework assignments are recorded. Visit the school website and see if homework and grades will be posted on the site. This is an excellent way to stay involved with your child’s progress throughout the year.

3. If your student struggles with the basics; math or language arts, consider hiring a tutor for some review sessions before and during the first semester. Also, it is quite common in middle school for students who are excelling to be moved to Honors classes sometime during the year. Being in an accelerated class is a good way to prepare a student for Advanced Placement (AP) classes in high school, which count as college credit.

HIGH SCHOOL

1. Find out when the PSAT and SAT exams will take place. If your student is not a good test taker, consider enrolling them in a test prep class. As colleges become more and more competitive, test scores make a difference. One can take the exam more than once if they are not happy with the score, so plan ahead and register early.

2. Stay tuned in to your student’s school and social schedule. There is a tremendous amount of freedom in high school and even the most academically gifted students can be distracted by all of the things that are associated with the teenage years. Establish a curfew for school nights and limit the amount of time that is spent at a part-time job or involved in sports, especially if time management and study skills are not your child’s forte.

3. If your son or daughter is college-bound, start doing your research and be sure to attend the college nights that many high schools sponsor. Know what is expected on college applications. It is no longer a simple process like it was for the baby boomer generation. Test scores, a formal essay, volunteer hours, and class selection in high school are all important factors in getting into college. Take advantage of the many companies that exist today solely for the purpose of assisting you and your student select the right college for them.

Regardless of the age and grade of your children, stay involved. Volunteering on any level, whether it be reading stories to your elementary aged child’s second grade class, helping in the computer lab in middle school, or being on a committee for peer counseling in high school, it is important to know what is happening at the place your children spend a large part of their week. With so many parents working, many Parent Teacher Associations have their meetings in the evening, so more parents can attend. There are activities that need volunteers that do not involve daytime hours such as calling parents in the evening for a fundraiser or helping with a weekend car wash at high school.

These tips can help your children get back to school the right way and prepare them for a year of learning and fun. For additional articles on raising kids, starting a business, or educational issues go to .hometutoringbusiness.com.

This is a very strange but true story. Not everyone believes in ghosts but I do and I have had several experiences with the super natural, this is only one of my encounters.

This happened when I was only (8) eight years old.

My bus driver’s wife had a kitten and she wanted to get rid of it so she offered it to me first and of course I took the female kitten from her. Now this was the first cat that I can remember owning, she was a black and white cat and for some reason I gave her the name Dozier. She was a very sweet cat and she truly was mine because she was every where that I was.

Now we had several other cats and we had a problem with them getting into our attic, seemed like we could not keep them out so we decided to put up boards in the places that they were getting in through but Dozier would always find a way in. Now in my bed room there was a large rectangular hole in the corner of the ceiling: now Dozier had found this hole and we started playing with each other through this hole and I would feed her if I had any food in my room, she would stay there for hours and play with me.

We had this cat for maybe a year, we had her long enough for her to have a litter of kittens. About two weeks after her having her kittens my grandfather had found her dead in the road when we all had gone to the store. Instead of burying her he had just thrown her over the hill. When mom had finally decided to tell me that evening I was sad and depressed because that cat and I were so close and I couldn’t believe that my grandfather didn’t bury her.

Well we were left to care for her kittens. Days later after Dozier’s death I was sitting in my bed room doing home work when suddenly I saw a black and white paw coming through the hole in my ceiling and not really thinking I was glad to see Dozier because my home work was getting on my nerves and I went to play with her. Now her death had completely slipped my mind and I was really playing with her and petting her then I turned to see if I had some food for her when suddenly it hit me that she was dead and I fell flat on the floor trying to get away from her and I busted my head on the floor but the pain didn’t faze me. I looked back up at the hole and she was still there waiting for me to bring her something like she always did.

I went to my mother and asked her to go outside and call all of her cats on the porch then I had her to come in the bed room and she saw it to. This dead cat was still there. I was one terrified little girl then suddenly I had realized why she had came back to me, two reason for her return; one was to tell me good bye and the other one was that she was not at rest. The next day when I came home from school I went over the hill where my grandfather had thrown her and found what was left of her and I buried her in the hills and I never seen her again. So I put her soul to rest and she was satisfied and had no reason to come back.

Seeing a ghost is one thing but seeing one and touching one is something that you never forget. The reason that so many ghosts try to reach the living is because they want us to help them to reach the other side.

The 2006-07 school year for the Los Angeles schools is still burdened with many of the same overcrowding problems and busing issues of the past; however, improvements are being made and the future is looking brighter.

The $19.2 billion school construction program has provided 12 new Los Angeles schools with 9,300 students attending and will surely alleviate some of the current overcrowding. The program, however, will not be completed until 2012. At that time, there will be enough new schools to return all schools to the traditional, two-semester calendar year; and students will be able to attend schools within their own neighborhood, rather than being bused where there is available space.

Currently, 184 schools are on year-round calendars. That means that an estimated 176,000 Los Angeles schools students will begin school on July 5, while the other children that attend the traditional schools are preparing for family vacations. They do not begin school until September.

Year-round Los Angeles schools operate on three or four staggered tracks in order to accommodate all the students enrolled. Students on B, C and D tracks begin school on July 5 of each year, while students on A track begin August 18.

The majority of Los Angeles schools are traditional, two-semester schools that have a September to June school calendar. This includes more than 390,000 kindergarten-through-twelfth graders that enjoy a normal school calendar year. With 712,000 students projected to enroll in Los Angeles schools this school year, the year-round schools are currently a fact of life.

To ensure students meet the July 5 start date, attendance counselors are assigned to the year-round Los Angeles schools during the first days. Children who are no-shows on the first day of school will find these counselors telephoning or visiting their parents to find out why. Attendance, on-time arrival, and being prepared to learn are essential with the overcrowding issue in the Los Angeles schools.

The 2006-07 school year will continue to include rigorous academics, which previously have resulted in improved student test scores in the Los Angeles schools. There are initiatives in place to further strengthen coursework in order to reduce the dropout rate, as well.

Class size for the eighth and ninth grade Algebra and Algebra Readiness classes will be reduced this year to allow for more individual instruction. Algebra skills are essential for graduation, as well as to meet college enrollment requirements. It has become a key subject for students to master, and the Los Angeles schools are giving them every opportunity to do so.

Additionally, low performing high schools will receive $36 million to transform their academics, facilities and operations in order to ensure Los Angeles schools students gain the necessary skills and graduate.

The Los Angeles schools are making great strides in student achievement and ensuring each student is given equal opportunity to succeed. Hopefully by 2012, the Los Angeles schools also will offer all students the traditional school year in their own neighborhoods, as well.

Sound in brief but remarkeable terms is a vibration, that our ears percieve by the sense of hearing. Most commonly vibrations travel to our ears via the air. The ear then converts these sound waves into nerve impulses that are sent to our brains, where the impulses become sound. To say all that in a more technical language: Sound “is an alternation in pressure, particle displacement, or particle velocity propagated in an elastic material” (Olson 1957). Sound is also a series of mechanical compressions and rarefactions or longitudinal waves that successively propagate through media that are at least a little compressible. What causes sound waves is known as “the source of waves”. Examples of sounds sources is: A violin string that vibrates upon being bowed or plucked.

The four characteristics of sound are frequency, wavelength, amplitude and velocity.

The frequency of sound is the number of air pressure oscillations per second at a fixed point occupied by a sound wave.

The amplitude is the magnitude of sound pressure change within the wave. Basically this is the maximum amount of pressure at any point in the sound wave. A sound wave is caused literally by increases in pressure at certain points causing a “domino effect” outward, the higher pressure points are the crests in a sound wave, and behind them are low pressure points which tail them. These are known as the troughs on a wavelength graph. Sound’s propagation Velocity depends largely on the type, temperature and pressure of the medium through which it propagates. Because air is nearly a perfect gas, the speed of sound does not depend on air pressure.

The frequency range of sound that is audible to humans is approx. between 20 and 20,000 Hz. This range of course varies between individuals, and goes down as are age increases. Sounds will begin to damage our ears at 85 dBSPL and sounds above approximately 130 dBSPL will cause pain, as a result are known as the: “threshold of pain”. Of course again this range will vary among individuals and will change with age.

The arguments for global warming can sound a bit vacuous when discussing temperature changes of only one degree. The impact of the melting Arctic ice cap on animals is much more tangible.

Animals and The Melting Arctic Ice Cap

There is little dispute that the Arctic ice cap is melting. Since 1979, it has definitively shrunk by 20 percent. The issue amongst most people debating global warming is whether this is because of global warming or just a natural cycle of the planet.

From a common sense point of view, it is difficult to imagine global warming is having no impact on the ice caps. The rising temperature of the planet would seem to be a common sense cause of the melting ice. Alas, common sense rarely seems to be used in debates these days.

As the cap melts, the impact on animals in the area is readily apparent. The primary problem is the reduction of habitat. Polar bears are the most obvious animals suffering from this situation. The habitat of the polar bears is the ice flow areas around the edges of the caps. As the caps melt, the flows are disappearing and pulling back to the extent that there is no ice on the shores. The extent of the melting is such that a Russian ship was able to reach the North Pole in 2005 without the use of an ice breaker. This lost habitat is pushing the polar bears to the edge of extinction. Various estimates put the total population at 20,000 and dropping.

There are, however, positive developments for some species. Recent empirical evidence shows the various seal populations of the Arctic are exhibiting growing population numbers. The exact reason is unclear, but they are appearing more and more in southern regions of the cap, which leads to the conclusion that their habitat is actually expanding.

The receding caps are also opening up extensive new habitats for fish. The melting ice is full of nutrients and fish migration to the new opening seas is astounding. Pink salmon, in particular is being seen spawning in rivers far to the north of their usual spawning grounds.

In general, the impact of the melting Arctic ice caps is a mixed situation. The polar bears certainly don’t see anything to be happy about.

(1) How can we tell the artificial from the natural? How can we be sure to distinguish Alien artifacts from naturally-occurring objects? How can we tell apart with certainty Alien languages from random noise or other natural signals?

(2) If we have absolutely nothing in common with the Aliens, can we still recognize them as intelligent life forms and maintain an exchange of meaningful information with them?

II. Artificial vs. Natural

“Everything is simpler than you think and at the same time more complex than you imagine.”

(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

Complexity rises spontaneously in nature through processes such as self-organization. Emergent phenomena are common as are emergent traits, not reducible to basic components, interactions, or properties.

Complexity does not, therefore, imply the existence of a designer or a design. Complexity does not imply the existence of intelligence and sentient beings. On the contrary, complexity usually points towards a natural source and a random origin. Complexity and artificiality are often incompatible.

Artificial designs and objects are found only in unexpected (”unnatural”) contexts and environments. Natural objects are totally predictable and expected. Artificial creations are efficient and, therefore, simple and parsimonious. Natural objects and processes are not.

As Seth Shostak notes in his excellent essay, titled “SETI and Intelligent Design”, evolution experiments with numerous dead ends before it yields a single adapted biological entity. DNA is far from optimized: it contains inordinate amounts of junk. Our bodies come replete with dysfunctional appendages and redundant organs. Lightning bolts emit energy all over the electromagnetic spectrum. Pulsars and interstellar gas clouds spew radiation over the entire radio spectrum. The energy of the Sun is ubiquitous over the entire optical and thermal range. No intelligent engineer - human or not - would be so wasteful.

Confusing artificiality with complexity is not the only terminological conundrum.

Complexity and simplicity are often, and intuitively, regarded as two extremes of the same continuum, or spectrum. Yet, this may be a simplistic view, indeed.

Simple procedures (codes, programs), in nature as well as in computing, often yield the most complex results. Where does the complexity reside, if not in the simple program that created it? A minimal number of primitive interactions occur in a primordial soup and, presto, life. Was life somehow embedded in the primordial soup all along? Or in the interactions? Or in the combination of substrate and interactions?

Complex processes yield simple products (think about products of thinking such as a newspaper article, or a poem, or manufactured goods such as a sewing thread). What happened to the complexity? Was it somehow reduced, “absorbed, digested, or assimilated”? Is it a general rule that, given sufficient time and resources, the simple can become complex and the complex reduced to the simple? Is it only a matter of computation?

We can resolve these apparent contradictions by closely examining the categories we use.

Perhaps simplicity and complexity are categorical illusions, the outcomes of limitations inherent in our system of symbols (in our language).

We label something “complex” when we use a great number of symbols to describe it. But, surely, the choices we make (regarding the number of symbols we use) teach us nothing about complexity, a real phenomenon!

A straight line can be described with three symbols (A, B, and the distance between them) - or with three billion symbols (a subset of the discrete points which make up the line and their inter-relatedness, their function). But whatever the number of symbols we choose to employ, however complex our level of description, it has nothing to do with the straight line or with its “real world” traits. The straight line is not rendered more (or less) complex or orderly by our choice of level of (meta) description and language elements.

The simple (and ordered) can be regarded as the tip of the complexity iceberg, or as part of a complex, interconnected whole, or hologramically, as encompassing the complex (the same way all particles are contained in all other particles). Still, these models merely reflect choices of descriptive language, with no bearing on reality.

Perhaps complexity and simplicity are not related at all, either quantitatively, or qualitatively. Perhaps complexity is not simply more simplicity. Perhaps there is no organizational principle tying them to one another. Complexity is often an emergent phenomenon, not reducible to simplicity.

The third possibility is that somehow, perhaps through human intervention, complexity yields simplicity and simplicity yields complexity (via pattern identification, the application of rules, classification, and other human pursuits). This dependence on human input would explain the convergence of the behaviors of all complex systems on to a tiny sliver of the state (or phase) space (sort of a mega attractor basin). According to this view, Man is the creator of simplicity and complexity alike but they do have a real and independent existence thereafter (the Copenhagen interpretation of a Quantum Mechanics).

Still, these twin notions of simplicity and complexity give rise to numerous theoretical and philosophical complications.

Consider life.

In human (artificial and intelligent) technology, every thing and every action has a function within a “scheme of things”. Goals are set, plans made, designs help to implement the plans.

Not so with life. Living things seem to be prone to disorientated thoughts, or the absorption and processing of absolutely irrelevant and inconsequential data. Moreover, these laboriously accumulated databases vanish instantaneously with death. The organism is akin to a computer which processes data using elaborate software and then turns itself off after 15-80 years, erasing all its work.

Most of us believe that what appears to be meaningless and functionless supports the meaningful and functional and leads to them. The complex and the meaningless (or at least the incomprehensible) always seem to resolve to the simple and the meaningful. Thus, if the complex is meaningless and disordered then order must somehow be connected to meaning and to simplicity (through the principles of organization and interaction).

Moreover, complex systems are inseparable from their environment whose feedback induces their self-organization. Our discrete, observer-observed, approach to the Universe is, thus, deeply inadequate when applied to complex systems. These systems cannot be defined, described, or understood in isolation from their environment. They are one with their surroundings.

Many complex systems display emergent properties. These cannot be predicted even with perfect knowledge about said systems. We can say that the complex systems are creative and intuitive, even when not sentient, or intelligent. Must intuition and creativity be predicated on intelligence, consciousness, or sentience?

Thus, ultimately, complexity touches upon very essential questions of who we, what are we for, how we create, and how we evolve. It is not a simple matter, that…

III. Intersubjectivity and Communications

The act of communication implies that the parties communicating possess some common denominators, share some traits or emotions, and are essentially more or less the same.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1999 edition) defines empathy as:

“The ability to imagine oneself in anther’s place and understand the other’s feelings, desires, ideas, and actions. It is a term coined in the early 20th century, equivalent to the German Einf

The Arts for Academic Achievement Program

The Arts for Academic Achievement Program (AAA) has been bringing artists into Minneapolis Schools since 1997. While its outward focus is on teaching students to paint, dance, and express themselves artistically, its real mission is to make students love learning and use the arts to apply themselves to their academic subjects. Supported initially by an Annenberg Foundation educational reform grant and in partnership with the Perpich Center for Arts Education, AAA has expanded throughout Minnesota. Currently the Minneapolis School District has pledged to continue the program after the end of the initial grant, bringing the program to 120 classrooms in 40 schools in the Minneapolis School District.

How It Helps Students Learn

Students in the AAA Program develop a positive attitude toward school and learn the value of determination in finishing a project that has meaning for them. National research indicates that instruction through the arts is very effective in raising the achievement scores of at &ndash risk groups. The AAA Program has documented the substantial increase in student assessment scores when arts are integrated into the Minneapolis Public Schools. The ties between third grade reading scores and the level of arts instruction show a clear link between the two. The more arts education provided, the higher the scores, especially within groups that have shown greater barriers in learning.

AAA makes students work hard and feel pride in demonstrating their skills to the community. Students perform or present their projects to real audiences and strive to make those audiences proud of them. As a result, students put real effort into what they do and develop a strong positive attitude toward learning. At the high school level, attendance has jumped for students involved in the AAA program, as students desire to come to school and learn more.

How It Helps Teachers Teach

AAA brings teachers into the planning and implementation process. This builds a community of learning that cares most about helping students achieve through an atmosphere of cooperation and understanding. Minneapolis School District teacher teams develop curriculum and work together with local artists to present and enhance new learning experiences. This leads to changes in the way that individual teachers as well as whole schools view education.

AAA research shows that teachers involved in the AAA program change the way they teach. Minneapolis School District teachers see how students can learn, redirecting their efforts toward students that had otherwise been regarded as weaker. AAA gave teachers to understanding and experience to help develop more children in areas such as intelligence, leadership, and motivation. In addition, instruction by Minneapolis School District teachers participating in the AAA program created more child &ndash centered classrooms in which children can develop and explore at their own pace. Minneapolis School District teachers learned that the creation of independent student learning activities allowed students to develop their own skills in a different way from teacher &ndash led classroom instruction. Minneapolis School District teachers participating in AAA learned how to encourage students to take risks in order to increase their understanding.

Shephard Elementary School Immersion Program

Washington D.C. Schools are eager to begin a new language immersion program at the primary school level. Beginning in August of 2006, pre &ndash Kindergarten students of various foreign language backgrounds will join the new language immersion program. In particular, French and Spanish speaking children are needed to start this two way immersion experience. Students participating in the program will receive either French &ndash English or Spanish &ndash English content classes taught by teachers fluent in the target language. Children born in late 2001 and early 2002 and speak a foreign language are encouraged to enroll.

The Shepard Elementary School program is part of the Washington D.C. Public School System’s ongoing efforts to integrate the International Baccalaureate Program into the elementary school level. Beginning in August 2006, all grade levels at Shepard Elementary school will begin participating in this internationally recognized program.

The Primary Years Program

The Primary Years Program is designed to teach the whole child through a range of interdisciplinary activities. Designed for students aged three through twelve, it involves an overall development of the mind, body, and heart and focuses on the needs of the child in all forms of development, including social, physical, emotional, cultural, and academic. The curriculum is published in English, French, and Spanish. The Primary Years Program is designed to prepare students for the International Baccalaureate Program, a college preparatory program offered at high schools throughout the world, including many locations in the United States. The introduction of the Primary Years Program in Washington, D.C. is in response to the large international community that lives and works in the area.

How Shepard Became an IB World School

In order to teach the Primary Years Program, Shepard had to go through several stages to ensure that the curriculum would reflect an international standard. Washington D.C. schools first entered the Consideration Phase, as they conducted research into the ability for schools like Shepard to meet the rigorous requirements for admission to the program. The district conducted an in &ndashdepth analysis of the philosophy and curriculum as well as identifying the resources that would be needed to implement the Primary Years Program.

During the Candidate Phase, the school goes through all the necessary procedures for implementing the new program. This involves training teachers to use the new curriculum as well as gathering the resources necessary to deliver the program. Shepard Elementary School then must implement the program for a full school year in order to complete this phase. The Washington D.C. school district will assist Shepard in beginning the program in August of 2006. This trial phase will determine how well Washington D.C. schools are able to handle the rigorous demands of this international school system.

At the end of the trial phase, scheduled for August of 2007 for Shepard Elementary School, a delegation from the International Baccalaureate Organization visits the school. During this visit, the delegation members decide if the school has shown success in implementing the curriculum. If the school does well, the school becomes authorized to offer the program and attains the internationally recognized status of International Baccalaureate World School. The IBO will continue to visit and monitor the school’s progress every five years.

Teacher Training

The teachers at Shepard Elementary received special training in order to meet the demands of the internationally recognized curriculum. Before becoming authorized to teach the program, the principal, administrative staff, and the teachers all undergo training of some sort. Some teachers attend IBO workshops. Many of the teachers in the Washington D.C. school district attended school based training organized by the IBO. Teachers are also encouraged to keep up &ndash to &ndash date using IBO’s online curriculum center in addition to attending conferences and workshops.

Shepard Elementary has taken the first steps to bring Washington D.C. public education to an international level by entering these first phases of the International Baccalaureate Primary Ye