Middle School: The Time for Parents to Step Away or Not?

It’s not time to leave your child completely on his own yet when it comes to school.Too often parents who have stayed at home or worked part time think that sixth or seventh grade is the time for them to start working full time. That’s a mistake! The switch to middle school is a big step-often even bigger than going to high school. Middle schools tend to be big-more than twice or even three times as big as the elementary schools that students are coming from. Kids feed in from sometimes as many as six or seven elementary schools. To top that off, instead of moving through the day with the same set of kids, most middle school kids regroup every period. A student is lucky to be in class with someone he knows much less a friend.The curriculum really does get harder.The content standards for early adolescence make a jump in the amount of critical thinking and problem solving required. The pace is relentlessas the emphasis is on getting through the whole list of standards rather than mastering a few key ones. At my school, when we looked at the 6th graders’ marks, they were lower first trimester than second and lower second than third. Even the best students wobbled a bit while adjusting to the change in academic expectations. Parents should know this and reassure their kids that they will figure out how to handle middle school work given time, but most schools don’t give parents that information.Middle School teachers get “harder.”The biggest change, however, is the mentality of middle school teachers. Unlike elementary school teachers who see their primary goal as encouraging self-esteem and a love of learning, junior high teachers lean towards focusing on kids accepting that a lot of life is about jumping through hoops and doing things in a certain way. Docking points for incorrect paper headings and throwing away papers with no names on them is common practice.Students will complain their teachers are mean. We don’t see ourselves as mean. We see that we are the last stop before high school where kids can still get low grades with no consequence to their long-term future. We feel it is our job to teach what high school is going to be like before it counts towards graduation and college admissions. In 6th-8th grade, grading shifts from assessment of a student’s ability to an assessment of her performance. That means the student who has skated by on test scores and an occasional brilliant project is now going to learn that consistency and attention to detail are actually more highly valued. These are important skills to learn before high school.It feels like parents are not wanted, but that is not true.Parents often feel left out of the equation in middle school. Because their children might say they don’t want them there and because there is no room parent organizing volunteer activities, they feel unsure of how to be a part of school or, worse, they feel unwelcome. While it is true that you might not be asked to man math centers every week, it is not true that parents are not needed or wanted. Being involved at school in any way gives you a chance to stay connected with your child at time when his instinct is to shift toward his peers.Even if you do not volunteer in your child’s class, by finding a volunteer job at school, you will hear more about what is going on. You will learn what clubs and activities are available to your child and will be able to encourage her at home to participate whether it is the joining the soccer team or signing up for the spelling bee. As you fold flyers or stuff envelopes, you will overhear gossip about which administrators are supportive and which are a waste of time to approach. You will learn the rational for the new homework policy and what teachers are doing to prepare kids for the state tests.Middle school is a time for parents to step back, but not to step away.Parents are still a child’s touchstone. They are still the best person to help a child process what she is experiencing. Getting grades based on percentages for the first time can be a real blow to the ego. A child’s sense of himself can be seriously shaken as he will associate his grade with how smart he is. A parent can help a lot by making the distinction between intelligence and following procedure and letting a child know that both are a part of being successful in life. Parents can continue to be there as a sounding board, but if in the past they have done most of the talking, it is time to develop deep listening skills. Asking your child, “What is your next step here?” might get you farther than, “Here’s what you should do.”What does stepping back look like?Stepping back might take the form of letting a child suffer the consequences of lost or incomplete homework without swooping in to defend the child. (Do continue to offer a lot of empathy that it feels awful to have worked hard on something and then not get credit for it because of one little mistake-like not putting your name on your paper or forgetting it on your desk at home.) Stepping back can mean not micro managing students’ projects but asking questions like, ‘What’s your plan for spreading out the work of the project?” or “Have you done your best work?” or “What part of this paper are you especially proud of?” When students get graded work back, instead of focusing on the grade, parents can ask, “What is your plan for doing better next time?” or “What resources do you have for getting help understanding this?” Above all parents can help their kids talk to adults at school not by doing the talking for them but by roleplaying how conversations with a teacher or administrator might go. In this way, a parent is still staying connected and supporting his child and at the same time allowing his child to stand on his own two feet.These school years are the time for parents to stay connected and know what is going on, but it is also time for them to position themselves as guide rather than driver of their child’s life.

Building a Solid Business Foundation for Financing

The single most important thing a business owner can do for their business is to build their business to sell it.Sell it you ask?Yes. Build to Sell.Every decision a business owner makes should be based on that thought. If an entrepreneur can base their business decisions with that underlying idea (in terms of financing), they will be set up for long term success.The lending institutions base their acceptance or declination on one thing.Is the business an attractive lending risk.There are 20 key points every business owner must have in place to be approved by financial institutions when their underwriting team is determining to approve or decline a loan app. Many of these are small, seemingly meaningless ideas. However, lets take a look at it from the eyes of the lenders.Banks and lending institutions get so many applications from business owners who, quiet frankly, have no business applying for a loan. Their business is not set up to be lent to. The banks are not even viewing these entities as a viable businesses. So the first stage of getting past the computer guidelines is to have these in place.Additionally, if you were to go to the bank and not have these in place, the loan officer would get a two digit code back from the computer system and all it was say was “Loan application declined.” Your loan officer, without investing some time into the issue, would not know exactly what you needed to do differently to be approved. The loan officers surely do not have the underwriting guidelines for their firm.In this article we will examine the top three reasons business owners fail at business credit building and business financing.The first is simply the business owner does not have all the I’s dotted and the T’s crossed in their business. Things like having an 800 number, being listed in the 411 directory, and having a dedicated fax line is a must to a business owner seeking financing. Many business owners I speak with are small businesses, who are just seeking their financing options. It’s impressive to see the amount of businesses that do not even have these first three steps accomplished. Remember, the goal here is to have your business look attractive on paper. In the eyes of a lender, if you do not have an 800 number it is suggested you own a “mom and pop shop” and are not setup for success.Secondly, business owners have not started to build their business credit. There are right ways and wrong ways to go about building your business credit structure. In the eyes of the lender business owners who go out seeking to open revolving lines of credit and are turned down (due to reasons outside the scope of this article) it appears as though they are fishing for financing. It’s imperative to apply for the right types of credit lines and being approved for those lines when establishing your business credit from the get go.Thirdly and most relevant to most entrepreneurs: they have not separated their personal liabilities from their business. It’s important for a business owner to have good receivables in his/her business. But, and what’s equally important, is that business owners personal credit is not tied to the business, in any possible way. There are two reasons why you’d want to separate yourself from your business. If something happens to your personal financial situation, you do not want that to be the reason your business is unsuccessful in obtaining financing. Secondly, should something happen to your business, you do not want that to affect your personal credit.

How to Invest Money Vs Where to Invest for 2015 and Beyond

It is one thing to have a handle on where to invest; but quite another to have confidence in how to invest money for 2015 and beyond. The big difference lies in asset allocation, or how to invest money across the asset classes. The “how to” will depend on your financial objectives, comfort level and the markets in 2015 and beyond.There are 3 or 4 basic asset classes, and we’ll start with where to invest in stocks. Stocks are the growth engine of your portfolio, and most investors should concentrate on large-cap diversified stock funds that pay dividends of about 2%. This way you’ll own a small piece of a large portfolio of America’s largest, well-known companies. For the vast majority of Americans with longer-term financial goals (like retirement) this is how to invest money for growth without excessive risk.To keep market risks lower stay away from low-cap (small-company) stocks and funds; and growth stocks and funds that pay little or no dividends. With the stock market hitting all-time highs, this is not where to invest for 2015, especially if riskier stocks don’t fit your comfort level. Down-side risk is rising for 2015 and beyond, and a market reversal will likely hit the smaller-company and high-growth sector hardest. And don’t increase your asset allocation to stocks in general. That’s not the success formula for how to invest money when prices are high.For most of the people most of the time, a 50% to 60% asset allocation to stocks is commonly recommended as the standard answer to how to invest money for longer-term goals. If retirement is approaching, or this just doesn’t fit your comfort level, a lower asset allocation is your answer to how to invest for 2015 and beyond – for greater peace of mind. If you would sleep better with an asset allocation of 40% or less in stocks, go for it.The second asset class is bonds, and when held in conjunction with stocks they add balance to your portfolio and offset risk. Few individual investors have either the experience or the inclination to sort through bond issues. That’s why professionally managed bond funds are the average investor’s answer to where to invest for 2015 and beyond. With today’s high bond prices (due to recent record-low interest rates) you’ll want to be careful here in terms of exactly where and how to invest money.The answer to how to invest money here: avoid the temptation of higher dividends offered by high-yield (junk) and long-term bond funds. Junk funds pay more due to the low quality of bond issues held and the risk associated with default (of interest payments and/or principal). But the real risk for 2015 and beyond is interest rate risk, and long-term bond funds are high risk in that department; and are definitely not where to invest money in bond funds at this time. Your best bet for risk vs. dividend income: go with medium to high quality, intermediate-term bond funds for 2015, 2016 and beyond.For many years now the financial industry has suggested an asset allocation of about 40% or so in bonds as a rule of thumb for how to investment money for longer-term goals. As we look down the road to 2015, 2016 and beyond keep in mind that there is a bond market and it works much like the stock market. Bond prices and bond fund values fluctuate and usually less so than stock prices and stock fund values. If interest rates rise significantly, bonds and bond funds will lose money. Long-term bond funds will be hardest hit. That’s the way bonds work, and why it is crucial that you know how to invest money in them for 2015 and beyond.If high bond prices and an asset allocation of 40% don’t fit your comfort level, go with a lower asset allocation to bond funds. Now the question is how to invest the rest of your money if your asset allocation to stocks plus bonds adds up to less than 100%. The third asset class is often referred to as just “cash”, or safe liquid investments. As to where to invest for safety and easy access to your money consider a money market fund. As interest rates rise money market fund dividends automatically follow suit. Plus, you can easily move money from fund to fund within your fund family.If you are more adventuresome consider adding the fourth asset class, called alternative investments, to your asset allocation. These are your alternatives for how to invest money to make higher returns in 2015 if the stock market tanks. Examples include: real estate, gold, and natural resources like oil. The good news is that there are specialty stock funds that specialize in these sectors, so that’s where to invest to keep things simple. While stocks and bonds have become pricy, both gold and oil have dropped in price. If either starts to look cheap, that could spell opportunity in 2015, 2016 or beyond.

Tips For Easy Car Transport

If you are wondering how a car is transported from one city to another, you are on the right page. Just like you move your things by hiring packers and movers, you can also choose a car transport service to move your car. This article will help you get ready to have your vehicle transported. Read on to find out more.

Consider the Faculties Offered by the Service Provider

When it comes to moving your car, it may not be possible for you to trust anyone. After all, you can’t hand over your expensive asset to someone you can’t count on. They may end up damaging your car. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to look for a professional car transport service.

Although you may be a good driver, you may not be able to drive for hours non-stop. So, if you want to make a realistic choice, we suggest that you contact a good transport company.

Before you choose one, make sure you ask about the facilities they offer. This will help you get a better idea of how safely they can move your car. In fact, safety is the number one factor when it comes to looking for a good service.

Get your Car Serviced before you get it ready for the move

Once you have found a good service, your next move is to find out if they are insured. In this case, you want to consider the terms and conditions related to the insurance policy. Apart from this, you may not want to forget asking about their service charges. Some shoddy service providers have some hidden charges. So, what you need to do is make sure that there are no hidden charges, and that the invoice offers a list of all of the expenses you have to pay for.

So, if you keep all of these things in mind, you will be able to make the best choice. Although moving a car involves a lot of consideration, the idea is to consider those things that are the most important for you.

Keeping this in mind, you don’t want to lose your expensive car. Therefore, you may want to ask the service provider about the type of vehicle they are going to use to shift your car to your desired destination. This vehicle must be powerful enough to transport your vehicle to your city or state without any problem.

Look for a Trustworthy Service

Make sure that the company will keep its word no matter what. While discussing the matter with the company representative, make sure you talk about the specifics about what exactly you want. This will help you make the task a lot easier for yourself.

So, we suggest that you choose the best transport solution for shifting your vehicle. Although this is going to be a tough decision for beginners like you, if you keep the tips given in this article in your mind, this choice will be a lot easier for you.