How Much is Too Much Homework?

Some schools are canceling homework while others keep piling it on. What's the right balance and how do you know if your child is struggling?

A district-wide homework ban? Yeah, right, in your child's dreams. 
During the summer of 2011, Galloway, NJ decided they might make this fantasy a reality, which as you can imagine created a new frenzy around the "too much homework"-debate. 
After receiving some calls from parents concerned with the amount of time their children were spending on homework, the Galloway school district decided to review its current approach. The board ended up drafting a new homework policy that limits weeknight work to an accumulating ten minutes for each grade passed -- so that a first-grader has ten minutes of work, a second-grader, twenty, and so on. Weekends are devoted to larger projects, reading, and studying.

So, let your kids down gently! Galloway did not actually ban homework.

Ann Dolin, M.Ed, author of Homework Made Simple: Tips, Tools, and Solutions to Stress-Free Homework, agrees with the guidelines proposed in Galloway. As a parent and parenting consultant, Dolin herself uses the ten-minute rule -- but with the caveat that the rule does not account for reading time. 
And yet, the ten-minute rule seems to be a suspiciously tidy solution to the messy, century-old debate on the definition of "too much homework." Educators and government officials shoot between stances and policies like pinballs, forcing many parents to wonder, Why bother? And even, What is the point of homework?
The Point of Homework
Watching your child struggling to stay awake in an attempt to finish his fiftieth math problem of the evening, you might begin to wonder whether homework even has a point beyond sadism. According to James Smith, a middle school teacher at a private school in Manhattan, homework is actually rather helpful. 
Here is his take on the 'point' of homework:

• Reinforcement. First and foremost, homework is designed to shore up the new neural pathways your child built that day in class. They are new and fragile and need practice so that strange new concepts like commas and multiplication can eventually become second nature.
• Incentive to pay attention in class. Think: if your child (especially a young one), didn't need class information to complete his homework, he might not even bother pay attention in the first place -- much less take notes.
• Encourages independent thinking. In school, worksheets and other problems are often completed in groups. While this valuable in its own way, homework allows kids an opportunity to tackle a problem on their own and helps teach them to trust their own minds.
• Teaches time management. Adult life requires organization. Homework will give your child her first taste of the importance of planning ahead.
• Supplies teachers with feedback. Educators need homework in order to determine whether their teaching is effective or flawed. It shows them where students are still struggling so that they can review tricky material in class.

Okay. So maybe homework is not entirely useless. But as a parent, what's your role in all of this?
Helping with Homework
"The problem is that parents take homework so personally and act like it's almost their homework. They fix all the wrong answers, and that's really not appropriate. Mistakes are important teaching tools," observes Dolin. 
Phew. It's not your homework. But it is your child's work, and of course, you want him to succeed. Just remember that he needs to learn to succeed on his own -- and he can't learn that, or math, if you're doing all the work for him. 
Here are some guidelines from Dolin to help you determine whether you're offering too much support, based on your child's grade level:

• For grades K-3: Young kids have yet to develop an internal structure, which means they lack time management skills. So you definitely need to supervise them while they're working. Do a few problems together to help her get started and then sit nearby to insure that she stays focused and to explain concepts or spell words as needed.
• For grades 4-6: Once your child reaches fourth or fifth grade, begin to step back more often. Watch your child get started and then go run an errand or read a magazine in the other room. Check back in half an hour to see whether he's finished and help him transition to another subject.
• For grades 7 and up: Since kids mature at very different rates, their need for supervision becomes increasingly variable. Some seventh graders might essentially still be children who need support and structure from their parents, while others might resent any parental involvement. So be aware of where your child stands -- talk to his teachers, watch him work, listen to your intuition. These age brackets are guidelines, not hard and fast rules.

In the ideal world, you or your spouse is around to help with the homework. But more often than not, the ideal doesn't match the real. Gauge what your nanny or sitter is capable of doing. Even simply overseeing the process without correcting the product can be helpful. Regardless of your sitter's capacities, ask your child to do his easiest assignment with the babysitter or in after-school care.
Read Homework 101 for Your Sitter »
Signs Your Child is Really Struggling and How to Respond
Though you try to following guidelines similar to those above, your child consistently requires more than simple supervision to complete his homework. Is the school assigning too much homework? Or is it just to much for your child? 
According to Dr. Robi Ludwig, Psy. D. and Care.com's Parenting Expert, your child might be personally struggling with the workload, if:

• He can't do homework independently. Check the age brackets above for what this might mean. Does your 6^th grader only ever do his homework afterschool with a friend? Does your 3^rd grader rely on you to explain every concept learned in class that day?
• You're correcting -- a lot. She is reliant on you to check over -- and correct -- her work.
• Double-time. It takes him twice as long as teachers say it should.
• It's a battle. She frequently shows extreme frustration -- such as crying and meltdowns -- when doing homework.
• Stalling. He constantly procrastinates and finds excuses for why he's putting it off.
• Sick of it. She develops somatic symptoms, like headaches and colds. These can be a sign that your child is overly stressed.

As for those big projects and papers, Mr. Smith noted that he, and other teachers, often field many complaints about the volume of homework the day after a long-term assignment, like a paper, is due. "Students see it as something to do the night before it's due. When we determine how much homework to give, we factor in time for students to work on these projects. They need to learn to use that time." So while in the face of such an assignment, your child might have showed all of these signs, this does not necessarily reflect on your his ability to do work, but on his as-yet undeveloped ability to plan ahead. 
Mr. Smith advised that parents take this stressful moment as an opportunity to talk to your child about time management. Next time, he'll know better. 
Ok, so you think there's too much homework or that the homework is simply too hard for your child. What next? Dolin suggests the following tips on how to proceed with children from grades five and up:

• Check his notes. If the class notes aren't thorough enough, your child might not be focused enough in class to absorb new material. This means he needs to learn it for the first time at home - without adequate notes. If the notes are thorough, you may have a larger homework problem.
• Keep a log. Track how long your child takes to do his homework each night for at least a week. You can then bring this to discuss with his teacher.
• Don't blame the teacher. It is true that homework often piles up because of poor communication among teachers. This doesn't mean they're negligent - just busy, like you.
• But do talk to him. Approach the teacher not as an adversary, but as a friend. She chose to be a teacher, so trust that she too wants your child to succeed.
• Find a tutor. If your teacher has also noticed your child stumbling over material, and she finds herself unable to give him the necessary personal attention, then start looking for a tutor. Tutoring centers can also provide you with private lessons.
  
• Really -- find a tutor. When faced with such a situation, Dolin strongly advises parents to find outside help. "The last thing you want is for your relationship with your child to be defined by academics. The last thing you want to do is fight over homework." Not all tutors can be expensive. Look into whether your school trains older students as peer tutors -- they work either for free or at very low rates.  source care.com

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Warning of three-person IVF 'risks'

Concerns about the safety of a pioneering therapy that would create babies with DNA from three people have been raised by researchers.

The advanced form of IVF could eliminate debilitating and potentially fatal mitochondrial diseases.
Writing in the journal Science, the group warned that the mix of DNA could lead to damaging side-effects.
The expert panel that reviewed the safety of the technique said the risks described would be "trivial".
The UK is leading the world in the field of "mitochondrial replacement". Draft regulations to allow the procedure on a case-by-case basis will be produced this year and some estimate that therapies could be offered within two years.
Power source

“Start Quote

One of our prime interests is about the safety of these techniques.”

Prof Doug Turnbull Mitochondrial replacement researcher

Mitochondria are the tiny, biological "power stations" that provide nearly every cell, which make up the body, with energy. They are passed from a mother, through the egg, to her child.

But if the mother has defective mitochondria then it leaves the child starved of energy, resulting in muscle weakness, blindness and heart failure. In the most severe cases it is fatal and some families have lost multiple children to the condition.
The proposed therapy aims to replace the defective mitochondria with those from a donor egg.

1) Two eggs are fertilised with sperm, creating an embryo from the intended parents and another from the donors 2) The pronuclei, which contain genetic information, are removed from both embryos but only the parents' is kept 3) A healthy embryo is created by adding the parents' pronuclei to the donor embryo, which is finally implanted into the womb                                                                                     

But mitochondria have their own DNA, albeit a tiny fraction of the total. It means a baby would have genetic information from mum, dad and a second woman's mitochondria.

The concerns raised - by scientists at the University of Sheffield, the University of Sussex and Monash University in Australia - are about a poor match between the mitochondrial DNA and that from the parents.

The woman who lost all her children

Every time Sharon Bernardi became pregnant, she hoped for a healthy child.
But all seven of her children died from a rare genetic disease that affects the central nervous system - three of them just hours after birth.
When her fourth child, Edward, was born, doctors discovered the disease was caused by a defect in Sharon's mitochondria.
Edward was given drugs and blood transfusions to prevent the lactic acidosis (a kind of blood poisoning) that had killed his siblings.
Five weeks later Sharon and her husband, Neil, were allowed to take Edward to their home in Sunderland for Christmas - but his health slowly began to deteriorate.
Edward survived into adulthood, dying in 2011 at the age of 21.
Now Sharon is supporting medical research that would allow defective mitochondria to be replaced by DNA from another woman.

They said there was an interaction between the DNA in the mitochondria and the rest which is packaged in a cell's nucleus.

Their studies on fruit flies suggested that a poor match of genetic information between the nucleus and mitochondria could affect fertility, learning and behaviour.
"Describing it as like changing the batteries in a camera is too simplistic," Dr Klaus Reinhardt from the University of Sheffield told the BBC.
He added : "It is not at all our intention to be a roadblock, we think it is fantastic that for women affected there could be a cure.
"We have pointed out one or two points which need to be looked at."
'Trivial' The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which regulates fertility treatment in the UK, commissioned a review into the safety of the technique.
Prof Robin Lovell-Badge, who was on the review panel, disagreed. He said humans had diverse mitochondrial and nuclear DNA, so any consequences of poor matches would have already become apparent.
He told the BBC news website: "Humans are breeding between races and producing healthy children all the time. If there is an effect then it must be very trivial as it's not been noticed."
He has called for further safety testing, such as research into the risks posed by any defective mitochondria which might still be passed onto a child.
Prof Doug Turnbull, who is developing the mitochondrial replacement therapy at Newcastle University, insisted: "One of our prime interests is about the safety of these techniques.
"It's perfectly reasonable to draw some of these concerns, I just don't share the same concerns.
"Mismatch between the mitochondrial and nuclear genome is a potential risk, but I don't think it's personally as big a risk as they're saying."

Hundreds of mitochondria in every cell provide energy

The idea has also raised ethical concerns from groups concerned about the impact of altering human genetic inheritance.
In a statement, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said: "The panel of experts convened by the HFEA to examine the safety and efficacy of mitochondria replacement carefully considered the interaction between nuclear and mitochondrial DNA and concluded that the evidence did not show cause for concern.
"As in every area of medicine, moving from research into clinical practice always involves a degree of uncertainty. Experts should be satisfied that the results of further safety checks are reassuring and long term follow-up studies are crucial.
"Even then patients will need to carefully weigh up the risk and benefits for them."  source  bbc.co.uk

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Bombardier Aerospace to Attend Aviation Expo/China 2013

Symbol	Price	Change
BBD-B.TO	4.77	-0.03

• 

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwired - Sep 21, 2013) - Bombardier Aerospace, the global leader in business aviation and the world's third largest civil aircraft manufacturer, will attend Aviation Expo/China 2013 to meet current and potential customers, further strengthen its long-term relationships with partners in the growing Chinese aviation industry and showcase its innovative range of aircraft and services.

Bombardier has identified China as one of the key growth markets that are part of its geographic diversification strategy. Dating back to the 1970s, Bombardier's involvement in China's aerospace industry has grown to include a significant fleet of business and commercial aircraft, as well as an increased focus on development and manufacturing opportunities. Most recently, in June 2013, Bombardier and COMAC signed a definitive agreement covering four projects as part of their long-term collaboration on leveraging commonalities between the C919 and CSeries airliners.
Over the next 20 years, Bombardier forecasts 2,420 business jet deliveries in Greater China, driven by the gradual removal of barriers to business jet ownership and operation, the acceleration in the opening of airspace for civil aviation and significant investments in airport infrastructure. With its comprehensive product portfolio and commitment to leadership in customer satisfaction, Bombardier continues to grow its leadership position in the business jet manufacturing industry. There are approximately 100 of Bombardier's Learjet, Challenger and Global business jets in operation in Greater China, representing a market share of approximately 34 per cent.
In its latest market forecast for 2013-2032, Bombardier Commercial Aircraft predicts that operators in Greater China will take delivery of 2,330 aircraft in the 20- to 149-seat commercial aircraft segment, making it the second most important region following the United States. More than 40 of Bombardier's commercial aircraft are currently in operation in Greater China with China Eastern Airlines, China Express Airlines, China United Airlines, Shandong Airlines, Shanghai Airlines and UNI Air. Bombardier's Q400 NextGen turboprop, CRJ NextGen regional jets and all-new CSeries airliners, the first of the new generation of narrowbody commercial aircraft to complete its maiden flight, are an ideal complement to China's domestic products and deliver the low operating costs, operational flexibility and reliability to meet the fleet expansion needs of Chinese operators.
Putting customers first locally, globally
Bombardier is committed to putting its customers first by offering the highest level of support as close as possible to their operational bases. As a part of its commitment to operators in China, Bombardier operates a localized customer service network, including a team of Field Service Representatives and Customer Support Account Managers, four Authorized Service Facilities, Regional Support Offices in Shanghai, Hong Kong and neighbouring Singapore, as well as two established parts depots in Beijing and Hong Kong. In addition, Bombardier continues to explore opportunities to increase its customer support presence in strategic locations across China.
Aviation Expo/China 2013 runs from Wednesday, September 25 to Saturday, September 28. Bombardier Aerospace's exhibit, which is located in the China National Convention Center (CNCC) at U1-1, will be closed on Saturday, September 28.
About Bombardier
Bombardier is the world's only manufacturer of both planes and trains. Looking far ahead while delivering today, Bombardier is evolving mobility worldwide by answering the call for more efficient, sustainable and enjoyable transportation everywhere. Our vehicles, services and, most of all, our employees are what make us a global leader in transportation.
Bombardier is headquartered in Montréal, Canada. Our shares are traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (BBD) and we are listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability World and North America Indexes. In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2012, we posted revenues of $16.8 billion. News and information are available at bombardier.com or follow us on Twitter @Bombardier.
Notes to editorsFollow @Bombardier_Aero on Twitter to receive the latest news and updates from Bombardier Aerospace.
Please visit Bombardier's Web site dedicated to its upcoming events at Aviation Expo/China 2013: airshows.bombardier.com.

Bombardier, Challenger, CRJ, CSeries, Global, Learjet, NextGen, Q400 and The Evolution of Mobility are trademarks of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries.

C919 is a registered trademark of Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China Ltd.

Contact:

Haley Dunne
Bombardier Aerospace
+1-514-855-7989
haley.dunne@aero.bombardier.com
www.bombardier.com
Genevieve Roy-Theriault
Bombardier Commercial Aircraft
+86-21-5172-8334
genevieve.roy-theriault@aero.bombardier.com    Source http://uk.finance.yahoo.com

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Q&A: Communications Data Bill

The rules would require UK companies to keep a wider range of data about users

The government's draft Communications Data Bill details plans to increase the amount of data gathered about the web and mobile habits of anyone in the UK.

But why is the bill needed and what will be retained?

What are the proposals?

The government wants to make internet service providers (ISPs) and mobile operators log much more data about what their customers are doing. If the bill is passed, information about who people call, text, tweet and IM, what games they play, when they post on social networks and who they send web mails to will be logged. Data would be kept for 12 months.

How is that different to now?

Currently communications firms only retain data about who people send emails to, and who they ring. The new law would cover a much wider class of data.

What is the argument for change?

The government says advances in technology and changing patterns of use mean its existing regulations, known as the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act, are inadequate. Data saved on computers or mobiles is key to many tens of thousands of police investigations every year, it says, and it needs improved powers to get at this information quicker.
In addition, many of the communications services people use are based outside the UK. With few powers to compel these service providers to hand over data, the government says it needs powers to gather information in the UK.

The way the net handles data makes it inevitable that police will invade privacy, say critics

What is the opposing view?

Opponents say the proposals radically expand the data being gathered from just data that businesses need in the course of their business to a comprehensive and intrusive log of online life. Such a database is ripe for abuse, they warn. It could also be targeted by hackers keen to get at such a lucrative store of personal data.
In addition, say critics, government plans are flawed because the way the many technologies treat data means police will inevitably intrude on privacy. For instance, in the past it was easy to separate who was being called from what was being said. With data this distinction breaks down and means any investigation will see lots more than just basic contact data.
Critics also say the bill will push many more websites to use secure browsing standards which will make it harder for police to investigate.

What is possible in technical terms?

It is technically possible, though very expensive, to log everything a person does on the web, their mobile and on their home PC, laptop or tablet. The fewer precautions a person takes to hide what they are doing or scramble the contents of messages the easier it is to grab information. The government says data retention system envisaged in the bill will cost about £1.8bn to build. Critics say it will cost much more.

Are there limits to what is possible technologically?

Encryption, which scrambles data, can make it hard to look at the content of messages. However, the way the net and most other modern communication technologies work make it very hard for anyone to hide who they are calling or mailing and the websites they are visiting. The hard part for investigators is identifying the means through which someone is communicating. Although technologies exist to obscure browsing habits, few use them.    source bbc.co.uk

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Golden Frog's VyprVPN Helps Preserve Open and Free Internet in Belgium

GRAND CAYMAN, CAYMAN ISLANDS--(Marketwired - Sep 20, 2013) - Golden Frog, a global software and Internet application development company, announced today that it has added a new VyprVPN server cluster in Brussels, Belgium to help preserve an open and free Internet. VyprVPN is a personal VPN (Virtual Private Network) service that encrypts Internet connections to defeat monitoring of online communications, protect online privacy and preserve an open and free Internet by providing access to restricted websites. The VPN server cluster in Belgium is now available to all of Golden Frog's VyprVPN customers.

"Belgians, like other Europeans, face privacy issues on multiple levels that affect their access to an open, free and secure Internet," said Sunday Yokubaitis, President of Golden Frog. "Using VyprVPN will help Belgians protect themselves against these restrictions and attacks on their privacy."
Golden Frog was founded to help ensure the Internet remains open and free, a mission that continues to grow in importance as users across the world face privacy threats. Doing its part to protect privacy, Golden Frog has launched additional server clusters in more than a dozen cities around the globe so far this year, with more servers to come in 2013.
VyprVPN users now have unlimited access to the following server locations:

• Asia - Hong Kong
• Austria - Vienna [New!]
• Belgium - Brussels [New!]
• Canada - Toronto
• Czech Republic - Prague [New!]
• Denmark - Copenhagen
• Finland - Helsinki
• France - Paris
• Germany - Frankfurt
• Ireland - Dublin
• Italy - Rome
• Japan - Tokyo [New!]
• Luxembourg
• Malaysia - Kuala Lampur
• Netherlands - Amsterdam
• Norway - Oslo
• Poland - Warsaw
• Portugal - Lisbon [New!]
• Romania - Bucharest
• Russia - Moscow
• Spain - Madrid
• Singapore - Singapore
• South Korea - Seoul [New!]
• Sweden - Stockholm
• Switzerland - Zurich
• Turkey - Istanbul
• U.K. - London
• U.S. - Austin
• U.S. - Los Angeles
• U.S. - Miami

U.S. - Washington, D.C.

To learn more about VyprVPN, please visit: http://www.goldenfrog.com/vyprvpn

About Golden FrogGolden Frog is a global service provider committed to developing applications and services that preserve an open and secure Internet experience while respecting user privacy. With users in over 215+ countries, Golden Frog owns and operates server clusters in North America, Europe and Asia. Golden Frog owns and manages 100% of its own servers, hardware and network to ensure the highest levels of security, privacy and service delivery. Learn more about Golden Frog's vision for a free and open Internet by reading their "Peace, Prosperity and the Case for the Open Internet" vision paper located at www.goldenfrog.com/vision.

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How do I get email?

You can use email on your computer, tablet or smartphone. It allows you to send messages or photos to people all around the world, at any time of the day.
Email is fast becoming an essential part of everyday life. You will usually be asked for an email address when completing a range of tasks online, such as paying a bill, booking tickets or filling out a form.

First steps

Continue reading the main story

Print: How do I get email?

Setting up an email account is easy, and it's free. You can choose from a range of email providers who will let you create a unique email address.

You can register for an email account on sites such as Outlook.com (run by Microsoft), Gmail (run by Google), Yahoo! Mail and AOL Mail - but there are loads of others to choose from.
The sign-up process for most email accounts is quite similar. You click on 'Log in' or 'Sign up' on your selected site.
You'll be asked to provide a unique user name and password (you might be offered alternatives if the user name has already been taken). You will then be set up with your email account.

Unique address

You'll use your email address to send emails, and it will be used by other people to contact you. As with a postal address, an email address is made up of different parts.
• the first part (which comes before the @ symbol) is your user name
• the company that provides your email address comes after the @
• the email address typically ends with .com or .co.uk
Only you can use or access your email address. And you should make sure it stays that way by creating a password that's hard to guess and keeping it to yourself.

Messages and attachments

Once you've got your address, you can write to anyone else who uses email by clicking on 'Compose' or 'New message' (depending on the program you're using).
When you've finished writing your message, type in the email address of the person you're sending it to. Then fill in the 'Subject' line of the message and press 'Send'.
All the emails you receive will appear in your 'inbox'. To read a message, you simply click on it.
To respond to a message, click on 'Reply', and to send it on to someone else, click 'Forward'. You can also store it in a folder or you can hit 'Delete' to get rid of it.
You might find that you have been sent an email with an 'attachment'. Look out for a little paper clip symbol next to it. An attachment is a file - such as a photo or document - that has been added to the email.
For more information on how to open an attachment or attach a file to an email, take a look at the Related Links section at the end of this guide.

Junk mail

Some of the emails you receive might be unwanted junk mail known as 'spam'.
Most of these messages will automatically end up in your spam/junk folder. However, some spam may not be filtered out and may appear in your inbox.
Check the sender's name before opening an email. Don't open any attachments or click on links unless you trust the sender - otherwise you will be at risk of your computer being infected with a virus.
If the email is clearly junk mail, the best thing to do is to delete it immediately.

Stay safe

You also need to keep an eye out for 'phishing' emails that attempt to trick you into handing over personal information.
Phishing emails can often appear to be from a trusted business or friend, and are sometimes very convincing, so never enter any personal information or passwords unless you are absolutely certain it's necessary.
If a message from a friend seems out of character, think twice about opening it - the sender might have had their email account hacked.
And remember to always log off or sign out when you've finished using email in order to keep your information safe.

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