Why All San Franciscans Should Switch - 1039 Words

Why All San Franciscans Should Switch to CleanPowerSF Lawrence M. Ling Author Lawrence M. Ling is a Project Pull Mentor’s Assistant in the Policy and Government Affairs Team of the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. He is an undergraduate student at the University of California: Los Angeles who majors in Political Science, and he strongly believes that CleanPowerSF is the best solution to the growing trend of global warming. Why should all residents in San Francisco switch to CleanPowerSF? But hold on, wait: you must be wondering what it is. In the thriving city of San Francisco, there is a Community Choice Aggregation (CCA) program called CleanPowerSF administered by the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The broad goal of this program is to provide cleaner and cheaper energy opposed to current plans by investor-owned utilities (IOU) like Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PGE). In order to explain the first reason why CleanPowerSF is beneficial, I will begin with this question. Have you ever seen smog in major California cities like Bakersfield, Fresno, or Los Angeles? For many people, the answer is â€Å"Yes. I see it everywhere!† You can indeed find smog in these cities, but pollution actually exists in nearly every major city. The pollution that glooms over those cities, which is caused by greenhouse gases, may lead to various types of short-term health issues like coughing and throat or chest irritation. Likewise, high levels of ozone can irritate

The Health Benefits of Yoga Essay - 1186 Words

Yoga is a practice that anyone of any age can complete anywhere at anytime. It originated in ancient India and is estimated to be nearly five thousand years old. Through yoga, one is able to find his or her path to peaceful bliss within him or her self (Finney 25). The mind and the body become balanced with each other, giving one the sense of enlightenment (The Magic of...Meditation). Depending on the styles and poses a person is to choose, yoga benefits a person not only physically, but mentally as well. Any gender at any age or health level has the capability to do yoga because it has various styles, poses, and tempos at which they are performed. Different yoga postures have specific effects on breaking up obstacles in your body, so†¦show more content†¦Bikram is similar to Desikachar, Sivananda, and Viniyoga because they all solely relate to breath and meditation. The difference between all of these styles, are the postures, the practices of breathing, and the diets assoc iated with each type (Cook). Some perceive yoga to be a connection to Buddha, spirits, or the devil, but yoga is only that, if that is what he or she wants it to be. If people are very religious, and they are wanting to use yoga as an offering or praise to their God, they should do Bhakti yoga . To do Bhakti yoga, all that is required is love. While doing so, one prays, sings, or chants to his or her God expressing love, gratitude, or hopes (Finney 38). Hatha yoga is one of the most common, renowned yoga. It’s said to be meditation of the physical body. When Hatha yoga was being developed, the creators’ ultimate goal was to gain control of the mind (Finney 24). It was not an easy task though. Yoga guru, Holiness Sri Swami Satchidananda once said, â€Å"It is easier to control a drunk monkey that has been stung by a scorpion than it is to control the mind† (Finney 22). I find that Karma yoga is the most interesting. It’s believed that Karma isn’t be cause of a higher power trying to punish one for their actions. The things one experiences in life, good or bad, helps one to learn from his or her decisions (Finney 34). Understanding lessons thatShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Yoga On The Mind Body Spirit About A Person s Overall Health Status1524 Words   |  7 Pagesof literature on the benefits of yoga show the importance that exists between the mind, body, and spirit. This review conducted shows the significance of link between the mind-body-spirit about a person’s overall health. Diversity in yoga including type, intensity, and duration are what play significant roles in the levels of perceived health benefits in comparison to traditional exercise. Thus, far stress reduction seems to be the most proposed benefit associated with yoga therapy, even thoughRead MoreEssay The Effects of Yoga in Fitness718 Words   |  3 PagesYoga is a simple process of reversing the ordinary outward flow of energy and consciousness so that the mind becomes a dynamic center of direct perception no longer dependent upon the fallible senses but capable of actually experiencing Truth (Self-Realization Fellowship). Yoga also helps a person’s physical well being. So what are the effects of yoga in fitness? Well, there are several ways that yoga affects people’s physical fitness components; there are also several benefits, and also many waysRead MoreBms Conducts A Program For Yoga1065 Words   |  5 PagesDetails about BMS program BMS conducts a program for Yoga. Yoga is the activity to explain the procedure behind connecting one’s body, brain and respiration. The variation in brain is known as Vritti and beat of respiration is known as Pranayama. 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After two months of doing nothing the last thing I wanted to do was startRead MoreYoga as medication?1382 Words   |  6 PagesIndividuals who practice yoga experience an awareness of their body and environment. Yoga helps them to relax and feel at peace with a subtle feeling of stimulation. This paper examines the use of prescription drugs/stimulants that are used to treat ADHD in children, and the use of an alternative that for some can be just as effective to treat ADHD. Yoga has beneficial factors for managing ADHD symptoms. According to the â€Å"yoga Journal† through deep breathing exercises, yoga tea ches kids to tap intoRead MoreTransform Your Life With Yoga And Meditation1403 Words   |  6 PagesTransform Your Life with Yoga And Meditation! MariaJohnson By MariaJohnson May 2, 2013 Yoga and meditation have been a crucial part of history. If you think yoga is about twisting and bending your body, then it s time to see it in a new light. In simpler form it is a combination of asanas, pranayamas, and meditation. Yoga and meditation are two important aspects that complement each other. Meditation is a crucial part of yoga sessions and one of its five principles; after-all being mentally fitRead MoreAn Effective Adjunct Therapy For Eating Disorders1458 Words   |  6 Pagesstrategies, and scientific findings regarding eating disorders. Incorporating yoga into eating disorder recovery plans has become common, and has proven results for improving body image, and reducing levels of anxiety and depression that often accompany eating disorders. Yoga is an effective adjunct therapy for eating disorder patients, and can have significant results when combined with traditional medical treatments. Yoga originated in India, and is a practice that involves body movement, breathRead MoreThe Yoga Sutras, The Science Of The Mind, Body And Spirit1200 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction Top In the Yoga Sutras, Yoga is defined as union of mind, body and spirit. Classically, Yoga is understood as the science of the mind. [1] These days it is assuming importance in improving mental health and quality of life in the treatment of a number of disorders. [2] Several diseases affect a person s biopsychosocial functioning to a greater or lesser degree. [3] These diseases are known as psychosomatic diseases. Psychosomatic means mind (psyche) and body (soma). A psychosomatic

Professional Organisation-Free-Samples for Students-Myassignment

Question: Complete a report on your findings. Your report will feature the following headings o Professional Organization o Description of Conference o Personal Applications Answer: Professional organisation: Science access is initiated with aim to fulfil goals of scientific community in terms of exchanging ideas to facilitate research and development. Speciality of the organisation is to facilitate fruitful communication among research scientists working in the same field and related interdisciplinary field. This organisation facilitates dissemination of information and ideas which can not be achieved by use of routine channels. Following is the Vision of this organisation, To be a destination for Authors and Scientific Community. To be market focused in whatever we do and to lead change in publishing. Following is the Mission of this organisation, To organise the worlds scientific information and make it universally accessible everyone. Science access organises conferences, meetings and workshops internationally. This organisation selects conference venue which suits informal community atmosphere. Hence, it selects venues which are scenic and in isolated nature. This organisation arrang es conferences not only related to nursing profession but also related to life sciences, biotechnology and medical and pharmaceutical field. This organisation regularly publicizes proceedings of the conference in the journals of respective field. It also provides information about the past, current and future conferences on their website. It also provides all the information related to the abstract submission, registration and certificate of attendance to the certificate (https://www.scienceaccess.org/). Description of Conference: Science access arranged Nursing Conference 2017 from December 11-13 in Dubai. The Theme of Nursing Congress 2017 is Current Challenges and Innovations in Nursing. In this conference Nursing issues like education, innovations, and challenge were discussed. Different stakeholders like healthcare scientists, professors, nurse practitioners, health care researchers, nurse associations, registered nurses, doctors, and faculty of nursing attended this conference. This conference helped in the modernization and advancement of nursing education and innovations. This conference was specifically conducted for the young nursing professionals like post-graduate students, post-doctoral fellows, trainees and junior faculty. It was mentioned that authors of the presentations should not be senior faculty and they should be below age of 33yrs. It gave opportunity to the young nursing professionals to acquire knowledge about the current research and to improve their capacity as a multidisciplinary res earcher. Guidelines for the speakers, poster presenters, E posters and publishing. Venue for this conference was holiday Inn Express Dubai Airport, Airport Road, Dubai International Airport, Near Terminal 3 - Dubai - United Arab Emirates. Both telephone and email contact of organisers were provided on the website. It helped participants to contact the organisers. During Nursing Conference 2017, diverse topics were discussed like healthcare practices, nursing laws and ethics, surgical and dental nursing, psychiatric nursing and clinical nursing practice. During this conference, discussions related to education research, innovative research and development research were conducted which would be helpful in the strengthening Nurse education and Evidence-Based Practice. Importance was given to the specific topics like Teaching, Assessment, and Learning Clinical Practice in Universities, Simulation, Technology, and Education in Nursing, Continuing Professional Development, Continuing Education in Nursing, Patient Safety precautions, Innovation, Academic Leadership and Evaluation Research, Midwifery Education. This conference helped in bringing different professionals related to nursing education on the same platform. These professionals are interested in nursing education through implementing practice, developing theories, and conducting research. Nursing institutes wishing to improve their educational qualities and implement newer technologies were invited for the conference. Organisers were confident that nursing professional went back to their hospitals with confidence of providing quality nursing practice and armed with certified nursing procedures. Scientific sessions like Nursing Education Nursing Management Practitioner, Health Care, Nursing Law, Surgical Nursing Dental Nursing, Cardiovascular Nursing, Women Health Nursing, Midwifery Nursing Cancer and Tumor Nursing, Mental Health Nursing, Veterinary Nursing, Travel Nurse Pediatrics Nursing, Nursing Practice, Critical Nursing, Clinical Nursing and Innovations in Nursing Education were conducted. During this conference, different products and services were exhibited from different commercial and non-commercial organisations. Personal applications: This exercise taught me method of searching professionals organisations which are working for the betterment of the nursing profession. I learned to scrutinize different organisations working for augmenting knowledge of nursing professionals and working for the welfare of mankind. This exercise is helpful in learning diverse aspects of the nursing profession. It helped in understanding the scope and applicability of the nursing profession. I enriched with the knowledge about the recent research and developments in the nursing profession and its application in the nursing profession. By going through the profiles of varied nursing professionals and organisations, I got information about the employment opportunities for me and my colleagues. I got knowledge about the different professionals and organisations, those are working constantly for the improvement of the nursing profession. Also, I got information about the organisations, those are working on the filed of my interest. Hence, I can contact them and discus about the collaborative work for the improvement of the nursing profession. During this exercise, I understood in depth knowledge of nursing management. I understood different hierarchy levels in the nursing profession. I came across modern, innovative and cost-effective methods of surgeries. I got contacts of few vendors and suppliers of surgical instruments. I got website links with demonstration of surgical procedures. I understood importance of giving special attention to the women health nursing. I came across few good abstracts which gave special attention for women health nursing. I learned that mental health nursing is the most difficult and critical field of nursing. From this exercise, I learned that mental health nursing can be effectively practiced by providing holistic care to the patients (https://globalnursingcongress.com/). References: Global Nursing Congress from https://globalnursingcongress.com/ on 22.02.208 Science access. Retrieved from https://www.scienceaccess.org/ on 22.02.2018.

The Rise And Decline Of The Creoles free essay sample

Of Color Essay, Research Paper The Rise and Decline of the Creoles of Color The Creoles of colour made many great paces in shuting the societal spread between inkinesss and Whites. This they achieved at a clip when most, if non all, basic freedoms were being denied to nonwhites. As a group, these Creoles achieved a great sum of success. many acquired huge lucks, having plantations and slaves. What happened to this group of people during the class of history? When American civilization began to take the topographic point of Gallic civilization in Louisiana, the Creoles of colour lost their particular position. Their civilization was in danger of being forgotten. It is difficult to give a specific definition to the Creoles of colour. They are a people of assorted cultural heritage. Today there is a quandary over what constitutes a modern Creole of colour. During the 18th and 19th centuries nevertheless, the definition was fundamentally ; a category of people of Gallic or Spanish blood, assorted with the blood of Africans or Santo Domingos. We will write a custom essay sample on The Rise And Decline Of The Creoles or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Their households had been free for coevalss. This group is portion of a larger societal order known as names de couleur libre, or the free people of colour. The Creoles of colour made up a 3rd caste in the ante-bellum South. They stood between, or instead apart, from both the inkinesss and the Whites. They identified more with the upper caste, though they shared the humiliation of being associated with the enslaved. This group was alone to Louisiana. Before the civil war the Creoles of colour existed as a separate category. The mean white accepted this in-between bed of society and dealt easy with its members. This is the one exclusion in American history of an effort to harmonize a 3rd group particular position. Historically, in the United States a individual holding any Negro lineage has been considered a Negro. There is no ground why a individual with half of his lineage black and half white should be labeled as black. With equal logic that individual could be defined as white. The Creoles of colour overcame these labels, if merely for a short clip. Though the Creoles of colour had their ain particular position, they were by no agencies regarded as equal to Whites. There was a caste system for Creoles of African descent: Negro # 8211 ; Full Negro blood Sacatra # 8211 ; 7/8 Negro # 8211 ; 1/8 White Griffe # 8211 ; 3/4 Negro # 8211 ; 1/8 white Mulatto # 8211 ; 1/2 Negro # 8211 ; 1/2 White Quadroon # 8211 ; 1/4 Negro # 8211 ; 3/4 White Octoroon # 8211 ; 1/8 Negro # 8211 ; 7/8 White The grade of privledge received was dependent on this graduated table. In other words, the whiter a individual was, the more freedoms that individual had. Beginnings of the Creoles of Color There were free people of colour in Gallic colonial Louisiana every bit early as 1725. Some came from Santo Domingo and entered the settlement as free people. Others were former slaves who had been given freedom. In March of 1724, the authorities in France formulated a series of Torahs called the Code Noir, or Black Code. Though some fo the Torahs were meant to modulate the behavior of freed slaves, others were designed to protect them. Aothough there was an exclusion that said free pople of colour could non get married Whites, one of these Torahs granted free people of colour the same rights as any white citizen of Louisiana. When Louisiana was taken over by the Spanish, most of the free people of colour were upset. They were really proud to be Gallic and did non desire to be ruled by Spain. However, Spanish regulation proved to be favourable to them, as they did non hold to give up their Frnch civilization, and the prevailing linguistic communication in Louisiana continued to be Gallic. Under the Spanish government many slaves were freed. This was partially due to the fact that there was a deficiency of white European adult females in the settlement. Many Gallic and Spanish work forces took slaves as couples. It was really common for these work forces to liberate the slave adult females and the kids which resulted from Thursdaies relationships. After liberating the slaves the adult male would normally allow them some land and give them money to supply for the ileegitiamte household. These relationships were the beginnings of a patterns known as placage. Placage is a Franch word significance to be placed. Affluent Gallic gentleman would take the most beautiful light-skinned adult females of colour, normally quadroons or octoroons, and enter into an illicit relationship with them. These adult females were raised in celibacy and protected until they met with a suited |protectorX. From childhood these misss were trained in societal graces and Gallic manners. When they were old plenty, they were introduced into society at Quadroon Balls. These balls were glamourous, formal personal businesss where the affluent Gallic gentlemen went in the hopes of run intoing a beautiful Creole adult female. After the confederation was made, the twosome got together and agreed in a formal contract on the mode in which the adult female would be taken attention of. The adult female was normally given a gouse in which to populate and raise the kids that the coulple would finally hold. T hese adult females were normally taken really good attention of. They were given all right vesture, gems, and retainers. Placage was common pattern in New Orleans. It was rarer in the rural countries of Louisiana, nevertheless it ded occur. Basically it was accepted by the society and considered platitude. These adult females of colour lived as 2nd married womans to their white plantation owner |protectorsX. Through these relationships they gained wealth and regard. Their greatest hope was to hold kids who were light plenty to go through for white. Many adult females of colour preferable placage to relationships with work forces of their ain sort, which they thought were excessively restricting. Placage was non the lone manner in which Creoles of colour increased their population and advanced their wealth. In the rural backcountry placage was looked down upon. There, people were expected to hold a proper nuptials in a church. Standards for matrimony between Creoles of colour definetly involved skin colour. Marriages were usuallly arranged by the parents. They sought out parnters for their kids trusting to happen a lucifer who had the same shadiness, or sooner lighter, tegument. Sometimes there was a limited figure of Creole households of colour life in a rural country. This meant a deficiency of couples for the newest genteration. When this happened Creole work forces of colour were brought in from New Orleans. There were ever many who were willing to travel into the back state, live on a plantation, and get married a Creole adult female of colour. The population of Creoles of colour was becomming larger all the clip. Another manner in which Creole households grew was through the illicit kids of slaves and white plantation owners. Often, the male parents of these kids wanted to maneuver them off from confederations with laves. These male parents would liberate their kids and set up a matrimony with a Creole planter+s kid. The Rise of Creoles of Color Outside of Louisiana, when a slave was freed, they frequently found themselves with no land, no money, and no manner to gain a life. This left them in a state of affairs that was little better than bondage. In Louisiana nevertheless, there was a topographic point for freed slaves in society. When slaves were freed in Louisiana, they were frequently given some land and money. Under Spanish and Gallic regulation, free people of colour enjoyed many economic autonomies. They could get land grants, and many of them did. They farmed this land and profited from it. Finally many of these farms became plantations. These Creoles of colour became affluent, slave-owning plantation owners. The Creole household farms and plantations were normally larger than, or the same size as, those owned by Whites in the same country. The early harvests grown on these plantations were indigo, baccy, and sugar. These harvests finally gave manner to cotton. An mean Creole farm in the rural back state had about nine slaves. evidently, on a big plantation there would be many more slaves. As parents divided their retentions between legion offspring, there was an inevitiable diminution in the size of single plantations. Familiy was really of import to the Creoles of colour. It was common proctice for parents to give full platations to their kids as nuptials nowadayss. In their intervention of the slaves they owned, Thursday vitamin E Creoles of colour couldn+t win no affair what they did. They were criticized by Whites for being sort to thier slaves, every bit good as for being rough. As a regulation nevertheless, their slaves were treated merely every bit good as, if non better than, the mean white planter+s slaves. Creoles of colour were besides known to allow valued slaves freedom. Although each free individual of colour had a background that included bondage, the Creoles were non morally against it. Many Creoles were afraid that if all slaves were freed they would lose their particular position. Basically, they adopted the attitude of the larger socity in sing slaves. The bottom line was that slaves were an economic plus. The bulk of Creoles of colour did non ain plantations. Louisiana was alone in bring forthing many economic chances for free people of colour. In other countries white concern work forces had an antipathy to engaging nonwhites. This made it highly difficult for them to do a life. In New Orleans, the most typical ocuupations that free people of colour held were: seamster, Barber, carpenter, Mason, cigarmaker, drudge driver, and cobbler. The Decline of the Creoles of Color Early on on Torahs were passed curtailing the free people of colour. However, it was non until the Americans took over Louisiana that any of these Torahs truly took clasp. For illustration, Esteban Miro+s edict was passed in 1786. This was an effort to forestall placages. It ordered free adult females of colour in placages to happen new ways to back up themselves, or be expelled organize the settlement. It besides stated that free adult females of colour were to halt have oning so many gems. Form so on they were required to have on a tignon, a kerchief used as a headgear, as a symbol of their lower position. This edict was non truly obeyed. The tignon+s were made of silks and decked with gems. They were used by these adult females as a farther plus to their beauty. The placages continued, though in greater secretiveness. In 1803 the United States bought Louisiana from France. This proved to be the first in a series of events that would finally do the ruin of the Creoles of colour. After the Louisiana Purchase, Americans ppoured into the settlement and took over. This was a batch like takeng over a foreign state. Not merely was the Gallic civilization in danger, the civilization of the free people of colour was in danger of being wiped out all together. The Americans viewed all nonwhites as being portion of the same inferior group. The free people of colour had antecedently enjoyed many rights and ummunities. They besides expected the Americans to acknowledge their particular position. When Louisiana became a province, its fundamental law ignored all the freedoms that the free people of colour had been accustomed to. They were given no political rights at all. In an effort to stay a separate group, the Louisian free born people of colour began naming themselves Creoles. They insisted that others call them this every bit good. In response to the invasion of Americans in their place, the Creole community drew into itself. The Creoles refused to larn English. They held themselves distant signifier Whites and freshly freed work forces. By the 1840+s the figure of Creoles in Louisiana was reduced. Though the Creoles considered themselves a separate category, they suffered organize the general anti-colored feeling in the late 1830+s # 8211 ; 1840+s. There were Torahs bing passed which made it progressively more hard for them to populate in Louisiana. For examle, the Creoles of colour were barred from go toing publec schools, though they had to pay revenue enhancements for those schools. It became easier for them to go forth, instead than populate under a authorities that wouldn+t recongize their rights. Among the Creoles who stayed, their finding non to intermix into the society grew. In 1843 the first magazine of Hagiographas by Creoles was published. It was called L+Album Litteraire, and contained a aggregation of verse forms and short narratives. Armand Lanusse published a book of verse forms by Creoles. These plants were treasured by the Creoles of colour. The narratives and verse forms were memorized and cherished. At the oncoming of the Civil War many Creoles left for Haiti, where they would be recognized as a particular group. The Creoles who remained had assorted feelings abouut the Civil War. If the South won the war, the Creoles thought there was a opportunity of keeping thier separate category. If the the North won, the Creoles feared they would be lost in the rush of freed slaves. At the same clip there was hope that all people, black and white, would be treated the same. Until New Orleans fell to the Union ground forces, many Creoles had supported the South and given their adjutant in the war. The Creoles finally gravitiated to the North. This was because the South drove them to it. Laws had been passed necessitating free people of colour to hold a license to walk the streets. The Creoles loved the South, but the South seemed set on destructing them. Besides, the North offered the Creoles many promises. The most improtant one being, that with so many illiterate slaves being freed, the knowing Creoles would be awarded places of power. They would go leaders of the nonwhite population. After the war about all white Louisianians were deprived of their power because of their portion in the war. Positions of leading were abundant. In 1863, Lincoln said that all free people of colour who were intelligent and had fought on the Union side in the war should vote. By 1868, the offices of Lieutenant Governor and State Treasurer, among others, were held by Creoles. It was a brief period of equality and chance for people of colour. After a piece, the Whites who had supported the Confederacy were allowed to vote once more. They regained their places in the community. The anti-black feelings returned and the Creloses were included. It was a clip for the people of colour to pay for the shor t period of equality they had enjoyed. During this clip there were many vioulent Acts of the Apostless committed against people of colour. The Creoles still thought that they had a alone category, though they were seen as Negroes in the eyes of others. One bead of Negro blood made them black, when before one bead of white blood was plenty to allow them a small freedom. Bing black in the South at this clip was equal to holding no privileges at all. The populace schools which had been opened to them once more, were one time once more closed. Then came the Jim Crow Torahs, which made it progressively difficult for people of colour to populate. Discriminatory Torahs piled up on one another for a figure of old ages after 1900. Each one took more civil and economic rights off form the Creoles of colour every bit good as from non-Creole inkinesss. Since there was truly notheing they could make to better their state of affairs in Louisiana, many Creoles left the South. The Creoles who were light plenty passed into white society. After a while the Creoles of colour realized that they could non stay wholly separate from American society. They knew thsy would hold to alter in some ways in order to map in America. By the early yars of the 20th centry, they had stopped talking Gallic. Today, merely a few Gallic words remain in their address. Yet despited all the alterations, the Creoles of colour have maintined enough of their alone civilization to separate them organize other inkinesss. There is a batch of calamity involved in the sory of the Creoles of Color. They attained Civil rights about a century before the Civil Rights Movement in America. They came so close to accomplishing equality between inkinesss and Whites, merely to hold it all taken off from them. One wonders how the class of American history may hold changed if the brief period of chance that the Creoles enjoyed had been the tendency that the United Stated had followed from so on. Bibliography Mills, Gary B. The Forgotten People, Cane River+s Creoles of Color. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1977. Haskins, James. The Creoles of Color of New Orleans. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell Company, 1975. Dominguez, Virgina R, White By Definition, Social Classification in Creole Louisiana. New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1986. Desdunes, Rudope Lucien. Our Peoples and Our History. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1973.

Foreign Policy Under Thomas Jefferson

Foreign Policy Under Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson, a Democrat-Republican, won the presidency from John Adams in the election of 1800. Highs and lows marked his foreign policy initiatives, which included the spectacularly successful Louisiana Purchase, and the horrid Embargo Act. Years in Office: first term, 1801-1805; second term, 1805-1809. Foreign Policy Ranking: first term, good; second term, disastrous Barbary War Jefferson was the first president to commit US forces to a foreign war. Barbary pirates, sailing from Tripoli (now the capital of Libya) and other places in North Africa, had long demanded tribute payments from American merchant ships plying the Mediterranean Sea. In 1801, however, they raised their demands, and Jefferson demanded an end to the practice of bribe payments. Jefferson sent US Navy ships and a contingent of Marines to Tripoli, where a brief engagement with pirates marked the United States first successful overseas venture. The conflict also helped convince Jefferson, never a supporter of large standing armies, that the United States needed a professionally trained military officer cadre. As such, he signed legislation to create the United States Military Academy at West Point. Louisiana Purchase In 1763, France lost the French and Indian War to Great Britain. Before the Treaty of Paris of 1763 stripped it permanently of all territory in North America, France ceded Louisiana (a roughly defined territory west of the Mississippi River and south of the 49th Parallel) to Spain for diplomatic safe-keeping. France planned to retrieve it from Spain in the future. The deal made Spain nervous as it feared to lose the territory, first to Great Britain, then to the United States after 1783. To prevent incursions, Spain periodically shut down the Mississippi to Anglo-American trade. President Washington, through Pinckneys Treaty in 1796, negotiated an end to Spanish interference on the river. In 1802, Napoleon, now emperor of France, made plans to reclaim Louisiana from Spain. Jefferson recognized that French reacquisition of Louisiana would negate Pinckneys Treaty, and he sent a diplomatic delegation to Paris to renegotiate it. In the meantime, a military corps that Napoleon had sent to reoccupy New Orleans had run afoul of disease and revolution in Haiti. It subsequently abandoned its mission, causing Napoleon to consider Louisiana too costly and cumbersome to maintain. Upon meeting the US delegation, Napoleons ministers offered to sell the United States all of Louisiana for $15 million. The diplomats did not have the authority to make the purchase, so they wrote to Jefferson and waited weeks for a response. Jefferson favored a strict interpretation of the Constitution; that is, he did not favor wide latitude in interpreting the document. He abruptly switched to a loose constitutional interpretation of executive authority and okayed the purchase. In doing so, he doubled the size of the United States cheaply and without warfare. The Louisiana Purchase was Jeffersons greatest diplomatic and foreign policy achievement. Embargo Act When fighting between France and England intensified, Jefferson tried to craft a foreign policy that allowed the United States to trade with both belligerents without taking sides in their war. That was impossible, given that both sides considered trade with the other a de facto act of war. While both countries violated American neutral trade rights with a series of trade restrictions, the United States considered Great Britain to be the biggest violator because of its practice of impressment- kidnapping US sailors from American ships to serve in the British navy. In 1806, Congress- now controlled by Democrat-Republicans- passed the Non-Importation Act, which prohibited the import of certain goods from the British Empire. The act did no good, and both Great Britain and France continued to deny American neutral rights. Congress and Jefferson ultimately responded with the Embargo Act in 1807. The act, believe it or not, prohibited American trade with all nations- period. Certainly, the act contained loopholes, and some foreign goods came in while smugglers got some American goods out. But the act stopped the bulk of American trade, hurting the nations economy. In fact, it wrecked the economy of New England, which relied almost exclusively on trade to support its economy. The act rested, in part, on Jeffersons inability to craft a creative foreign policy for the situation. It also pointed out American arrogance which believed the major European nations would cave in without American goods. The Embargo Act failed, and Jefferson ended it just days before he left office in March 1809. It marked the lowest point of his foreign policy attempts.

The History of Pepsi Cola

The History of Pepsi Cola Pepsi Cola is one of the most recognizable products in the world today, almost as famous for its commercials as for its never-ending battle with rival soft drink Coca-Cola. From its humble origins more than 125 years ago in a North Carolina pharmacy, Pepsi has grown into a product available in multiple formulations. Find out how this simple soda became a player in the Cold War and became a pop stars best friend. Humble Origins The original formula for what would become Pepsi Cola was invented in 1893 by pharmacist Caleb Bradham of New Bern, N.C. Like many pharmacists at the time, he operated a soda fountain in his drugstore, where he served drinks that he created himself. His most popular beverage was something he called Brads drink, a mix of sugar, water, caramel, lemon oil, kola nuts, nutmeg, and other additives. As the beverage caught on, Bradham decided to give it a snappier name, eventually settling on Pepsi-Cola. By the summer of 1903, he had trademarked the name and was selling his soda syrup to pharmacies and other vendors throughout North Carolina. By the end of 1910, franchisers were selling Pepsi in 24 states.   At first, Pepsi had been marketed as a digestive aid, appealing to consumers with the slogan, Exhilarating, Invigorating, Aids Digestion. But as the brand flourished, the company switched tactics and decided instead to use the power of celebrity to sell Pepsi. In 1913, Pepsi hired Barney Oldfield, a famous racecar driver of the era, as a spokesman. He became famous for his slogan Drink  Pepsi-Cola.  It Will Satisfy You. The company would continue to use celebrities to appeal to buyers in the coming decades. Bankruptcy and Revival After years of success, Caleb Bradham lost Pepsi Cola. He had gambled on the fluctuations of sugar prices during World War I, believing that sugar prices would continue to rise - but they fell instead, leaving Caleb Bradham with an overpriced sugar inventory. Pepsi Cola went bankrupt in 1923. In 1931, after passing through the hands of several investors, Pepsi Cola was bought by the Loft Candy Co. Charles G. Guth, Lofts president, struggled to make a success of Pepsi during the depths of the Great Depression. At one point, Loft even offered to sell Pepsi to executives at Coke, who refused to offer a bid. Guth reformulated Pepsi and began selling the soda in 12-ounce bottles for just 5 cents, which was twice as much as what Coke offered in its 6-ounce bottles. Touting Pepsi as twice as much for a nickel, Pepsi scored an unexpected hit as its Nickel Nickel radio jingle became the first to be broadcast coast to coast. Eventually, it would be recorded in 55 languages and named one of the most effective ads of the 20th century by Advertising Age. Pepsi Postwar   Pepsi made sure it had a reliable supply of sugar during World War II, and the drink became a familiar sight to U.S. troops fighting all across the globe. In the years after the war, the brand would remain long after American GIs had gone home. Back in the States, Pepsi embraced the postwar years. Company president Al Steele married actress Joan Crawford, and she frequently touted Pepsi during corporate gatherings and visits to local bottlers throughout the 1950s. By the early 1960s, companies like Pepsi had set their sights on the Baby Boomers. The first ads appealing to young people called the Pepsi Generation arrived, followed in 1964 by the companys first diet soda, also targeted at young people.   The company was changing in different ways. Pepsi acquired the Mountain Dew brand in 1964 and a year later merged with snack-maker Frito-Lay. The Pepsi brand was growing up quickly. By the 1970s, this once failing brand was threatening to displace Coca-Cola as the top soda brand in the U.S.  Pepsi even made international headlines in 1974 when it became the first U.S. product to be produced and sold within the U.S.S.R. A New Generation Throughout the late 1970s and early 80s, Pepsi Generation ads continued to appeal to young drinkers while also targeting older consumers with a series of Pepsi Challenge commercials and in-store tastings. Pepsi broke new ground in 1984 when it hired Michael Jackson, who was in the midst of his Thriller success, to be its spokesman. The TV commercials, rivaling Jacksons elaborate music videos, were such a hit that Pepsi would hire a number of well-known musicians, celebrities, and others throughout the decade, including Tina Turner, Joe Montana, Michael J. Fox, and Geraldine Ferraro.   Pepsis efforts were successful enough that in 1985 Coke announced that it was changing its signature formula. New Coke was such a disaster that the company had to backtrack and reintroduce its classic formula, something Pepsi frequently took credit for. But in 1992, Pepsi would suffer a product failure of its own when the spin-off Crystal Pepsi failed to impress Generation X buyers. It soon was discontinued. Pepsi Today Like its rivals, the Pepsi brand has diversified far beyond what Caleb Bradham could ever have imagined. In addition to the classic Pepsi Cola, consumers can also find Diet Pepsi, plus varieties without caffeine, without corn syrup, flavored with cherry or vanilla, even an 1893 brand that celebrates its original heritage. The company has also branched out into the lucrative sports drink market with the Gatorade brand, as well as Aquafina bottled water, Amp energy drinks, and Starbucks coffee beverages. Sources Calderone, Anna. Crystal Pepsi Will Return to Shelves One Last Time This Summer. People.com. 19 July 2017.CBS News staff. Almanac: Pepsi Cola. CBSNews.com. 16 June 2013.Herrera, Monica. Michael Jackson, Pepsi Made Marketing History. Billboard.com. 7 March 2009.PepsiCo staff writers. The Pepsi Cola Story. Pepsi.com. 2005.

Futures Complete Featured Software Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Futures Complete Featured Software - Essay Example It can be termed as a process of creating an incomplete model for future’s complete featured software. The process includes identification of the basic requirements, developing initial prototypes, gather reviews of the customers, revise and enhance. Prototyping is mostly exercised in projects where risk is involved. The aim is to eliminate an element of any serious risk in the project. The processing methodology is mostly used when a rapid development is essential. It will solve many issues related to the software and the end users. This usually engages interviews involving a number of users from all the departments or phases of the existing system. If there is any misunderstanding between the end user and the customer is present, all of them are exposed. It will help in finding the missing services and will help us to identify the confusing services. A system is available early on in the process. It serves to provide the foundation for deriving a working system specification. User Interface (UI) that can support end user’s training and testing of the software at the same time. That will enable us in developing software according to our needs and requirements completely. Quicker user feedback leads to the better solution. Along with the development our end using staff would be given a training session as well. Some of the problems that I think we could face are insufficient analysis. This can lead to ignore enhanced solutions, preparation of incomplete specifications or the conversion of limited prototypes into poorly engineered final projects that are hard to maintain. The user may have some confusion regarding the finished system as they may think that this is a prototype and actual system would be more refined one. In this methodology, the developer could misunderstand the user’s objective.

Ethics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 9

Ethics - Assignment Example vices to the communities where they have little access to health care by creating awareness campaigns whole sole mission will be to teach the community on regular medical check-up and the emerging issues in the health care system. 6. To give the patients the best medical attention by having good interpersonal skills where the patients will be free to state their problems without the fear of being discriminated. This will increase the opportunity of having a good patient-doctor relationship. Achieving these goals is critical for the profession in the sense that, it is important to abide by the code of ethics to ensure that there is no conflict of interest between the patient and the doctor. However, achieving these goals or statements is not an easy task as it requires adequate financing, especially when it comes to ensuring that all individuals in the society have equal access to health care. Although the government has tried to introduce legislation such as Obama care to help in allowing equal access to health care this has not been achieved. Thus, making it my obligation to ensure that all the patients are catered for when it comes to the delivery of health care. Therefore, in order to achieve this mission statement, I will collaborate with my colleagues in the profession to ensure that the interest of the patient comes first. In relation to educating the society on the emerging issues in the health care profession I will use schools as a foundation of the campaigns because what students learn in school is related to their parents. By so doing, I will create an interpersonal relationship not only with the parents, but also with the children where they will grow up trusting the health care system. This will also create trust between the clinicians and the patients and with the emerging issues in the health care profession (Harman & American Health Information Management Association, 2006). For example, today the health care system has become

The Life Styles Inventory Essay Example for Free

The Life Styles Inventory Essay The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) is a self-assessment questioning instrument that processes the information you input into the system into 12 different thinking styles. The LSI encourages applicants to understand and change bad behavior and find ways to improve them by examining one’s thoughts and feeling and why they do things the way they do. After taking the 240 self-assessment exam an individual knows exactly what they need to focus on in terms of their development style, because the assessment gives you raw feedback of the results. The results of the self-description is graphed on a circular diagram and table chart giving visual feedback of the individuals results as it relates to their thoughts and behavior in the 12 LSI styles. This summary is a custom-made developmental needs assessment, which then gives the individuals their strengths and areas they may need improvement in. My Life Style Inventory profile shows my primary style is Avoidance. My backup thinking style is dependent closely followed by Power falling within 5% referred to in the LSI Circumplex. As much as I hate to admit it I found the information in the finding extremely accurate with my primary style. I would definitely agree that Avoidance is in my nature. The information that it has under the avoidance style circumplex describes me to T. All my life I’ve been told that I hide my true feelings, that I shy away from situations that I may not want to get involved in because I make them bigger than they really are, and even that I have a fear of failure and rejection. However, I don’t fully agree with what it says about the Avoidance-Oriented Manager style for me. It states that that (â€Å"Managers scoring higher on this scale are often threatened by the responsibilities of their positions and tend to feel overwhelmed much of the time. By choosing to ignore problems in hopes that things will take care of themselves, they often obtain a false, temporary sense of security. †(LSI 2013). I agree with this statement to a certain extent. I might feel threatened by the responsibility of 1my position sometimes, but that is only because I want to do the job perfectly without any flaws, knots or wrinkles. As this may cause me to feel overwhelmed, it doesn’t make me ignore problems in hopes that things will take care of themselves it makes me strive that much harder to complete the job as best I can. I find myself as a more hands on: we will get it done together type manager because I feel people respect managers who don’t mind getting their hands dirty sometime. That’s not to say that I want delegate responsibilities throughout my team because I certainly don’t have a problem with doing that also. My first back up style is Dependent and I too much don’t agree with everything that was stated in this circumplex but again it kind of fit my personality. The circumplex states that (â€Å"The Dependent scale measures the degree to which we feel our efforts do not count. Dependent behavior originates in a need for security and self-protection: dependent people typically feel that they have very little control over their lives. † (LSI 201) It also stated that this style may be due to some type of life changes which I can see why it fits my personality. I was recently in a long term relationship with the first girl I ever loved and I believe due to that separation I can see how I may feel my efforts do not count and how I may feel I may feel that I have very little control over my life because in this relationship I really wanted to get back with my ex-girlfriend but we never did. And this even ties in with the Power management style which would be like my backup to my backup style. I believe my limiting style would be Self-Actualizing because this is where I scored my lowest score on the LSI circumplex. I believe that my low score in this area is what will possibly keep me from being the most effective manager possible. If I could change one behavior from this area I would change how it says I doubt myself and my ability to make a difference. I would like to have more confidence in my abilities and take the risks because with risk you get big rewards. This style that I would like to change is Achievement. I believe Achievement is one of the styles that I much have working for me because of all that I could gain. I also chose Achievement because this is where I scored one of my lowest scores on the LSI assessment and I agree with the reasoning the assessment had to offer. I think by me not scoring high in this assessment it increase my overall effectiveness in the organization because Achievers have increased opportunities for promotions, higher salary levels, more respect from others and the ability to effectively lead others just to name a few and these are all thing that I want the gain within an organization. My personal style is more laid back. I have a really nonchalant attitude toward most things. I am not really confrontational at all I am more like a mediator. I like to think of myself as an open person accepting of others and very friendly because I have a nature of wanting to be accepted. I feel my management style is somewhat different though. First and for most I demand the respect of all my employees as a manager because I want no misunderstanding what our roles is. Once you start one what you can’t change styles in the middle of the race, I believe you will lose a lot of respect from employees that way even fellow coworkers, top management etc. Also as a manager I feel that I am loyal, honest and fair. I believe that hard work is very important and I always strive to complete assignment at any cost. After I have established my roles as a manager and thing are running smoothly I then let my personality slip into the mix. Once I feel more comfortable with employees I am able to joke around and allow for a un-tense work environment. As I am not a manager at this time I recall my previous positions as a supervisor at my last job as a case manager and as a resident assistant over a floor of 35+ college men. In my job I also strived to complete assignments because I want the team to look good when other department were falling short of the quota. At the same time I was pretty cool with my team because I wanted a non-hostile work environment. My personality was shaped throughout the course of my life. I was raised by a single parent my mother and I was pretty sheltered. I was raised to do the right thing in a Christian household and to do unto others as I would want them to do unto me. I feel that the way I was brought up, my religion and culture definitely plays a part in my personality. I feel my mother sheltering me relates to my need to be dependent on others. I feel that the way I was brought up in a Christian household relates to me thinking the way I do causing me to be a little narrow-minded when it comes to certain issues. Looking back on this assignment I really feel like I learned a lot from the LSI. This experience helped me understand my style a whole lot better and makes me what to take hat I have learned and apply it to my life to make me a better manager. With what I have learned I definitely feel this assignment will influence my personal, academic and professional development because of what I know now. I’ve learned that this chart is not indefinite and that my styles can change if I work on it. The areas that I may feel are character flaw I can work on them and potentially fix them and make me better manager. One goal that I hope to work on is opening up more and not shying away from responsibility. I feel that if I work on these goals I would be a good manager.

Theme of Hypocrisy in Conrad’s, Heart of Darkness, and Coppola’s, Apocalypse Now :: Literary Comparison, Analytical Essays

Both Conrad’s, â€Å"Heart of Darkness†, and Coppola’s, â€Å"Apocalypse Now†, profoundly illustrate the journey of man into their inner self and man’s encounters with their insanity, fears and demise. The novella and film are comprised of numerous pivotal themes that facilitate the understanding of the deeper meaning of both works. Fundamentally, theme is an extensive message or idea expressed by an author and is a crucial element of literature since it sheds light on universal concepts. The most striking parallels that can be formulated when comparing themes in both the novella and the film are associated with human nature. Specifically, Conrad and Coppola incorporate theme of hypocrisy in order to portray man’s incredible potential for evil. Firstly, the theme of hypocrisy is integrated in both works for the purpose of portraying man’s staggering and absurd potential for evil. In the novel, Heart of Darkness, the Europeans state that their objectives in Africa are to trade with the natives and immerse them with the light of civilization. However, their actions fail to reflect their stated motives since the Europeans take the ivory from the natives by force and they treat them inhumanely. Not to mention that the Europeans constantly refer to natives as objects such as machinery as well as suppress and eradicate them at any opportunity. Ultimately, the Europeans utilize their false words as a civilized veneer that masks their capability of being evil and savage. For instance, in Africa, Marlow states that he has familiarized himself â€Å"†¦with a flabby, pretending, weak-eyed devil of a rapacious and pitiless folly.† (pg. 81). Symbolically, the colonists are described as the devil mentioned above becau se they treat the natives with brutality even though their stated intentions are pure. Also, the colonists are foolish and tactless for they are unaware that their actions expose the evilness behind their actions. Similarly, in Coppola’s work, the United Sates affirms that they fight in the name of freedom and democracy, yet they commit senseless and violent killings. In reality, their ulterior motives were to promote capitalism and become a dominant military world power. Furthermore, the U.S. focuses on their attention on murdering their own operative instead of attempting to finish the war, which is of a higher priority when lives are at stake. Additionally, the U.S. troops are strangers in Vietnam, but they act as if posses the foreign land since they seize territory and commit murder without being incited.

Leadership Talents of Jack Welch Essay

Jack Welch was a successful Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of General Electric Co. (GE) for twenty years (1981 – 2001). He was admired and feared for the â€Å"new vision† that was implemented at GE. Jacks talented strategies were based on how he saw the hierarchy layers of management, how he analyzed the 42 strategic business units, and how he implemented the culture of GE to have the feel and the passion that he had been striving for. These strategies received a lot of positive and negative attention and as a result the company’s value increased by 4,000% during his tenure at GE. Jack Welch was born John Francis Welch, Jr. on November 19, 1935. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Massachusetts in 1957. Then he went on to earn a M.S. and Ph.D. in chemical engineering from the University of Illinois in 1960. He was introduced to Carolyn Osburn through a mutual friend, and then approximately six months later they were engaged. By November, 1959 they married two days after Welch’s 24th birthday. In 1960, Dr. Dan Fox offered Welch a chemical engineering position to work on a new project on a new thermoplastic called polyphenylene oxide (PPO) at GE. PPO was described to withstand high temperatures, which could replace hot water copper piping and stainless-steel medical instruments. Welch realized after his first year at GE that he disliked GE’s bureaucracy, which nearly drove him to leave based on the standard predetermined $1,000 raise he received in 1961. He was fed up and walked up to his boss Burt Coplan and quit. Coplan’s boss, Reuben Gutoff (Reg) called Welch and offered to meet for dinner. Gutoff took Carolyn and Jack out for dinner and promised a bigger raise, more responsibility, and would keep the bureaucracy out of his way. In addition, Gutoff added another $2,000 raise on top of the $1,000 raise Coplan already given him, which showed Welch he was serious about his promise. In 1972, Jack was named the company’s youngest Vice President then was elected Vice Chairman in 1979, then was elected the eighth chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in 1981. Jack held this position until he retired in 2001. During his twenty year term as CEO Jacks reputation In 1999, Forbes magazine named him â€Å"Manager of the Century† and the Financial Times named him one of the three most admired business leaders in the world today (General Electric Company). During Jacks twenty year tenure at GE he was able to step outside of the box and change the way the game was played. (Business Pundit, 2008).

Are Sports Beneficial or Detrimental to Youth?

Are sports beneficial or detrimental to youth? Why and how? When and where? A lot of questions have been asked either by parents or by other people who are doing this type of research. Although the physical exercise provided by sports is essential, there are many other benefits both immediate and long-term. Some state that it gives children an opportunity to play Sports and interact with other children and form social bonds and relationships but along with that it is beneficial but from the research I looked at and my own opinion essay writer cheap, I feel that most children drop out or do not play because of lack of interest or other reasons.It is beneficial because it gives children an opportunity to play â€Å"Sports and interact with other children and form social bonds and relationships. It shows them a sense of teamwork and sportsmanship and allows them to gain respect towards others† (â€Å"American Academy†). It also gives them the chance to learn to manage succ ess and disappointment. â€Å"It also allows them to have fun and to get exercise. Sport gives children the opportunity to build confidence and self-esteem† (â€Å"Pediatrics for Parents†). They play sports for the following 6 reasons which have been proven in the following years of sports.The reasons are to have fun, to improve skills and learn new ones, to be with friends and make new ones, for the â€Å"excitement of competition, to succeed and win, and to exercise and be fit† (â€Å"Pediatrics for Parents†). According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, â€Å"somewhere between 16 and 33 percent of American children are obese† (â€Å"American Academy†). â€Å"But children who play sports are far more likely to maintain a healthy weight and avoid the many health risks that come with being overweight† (â€Å"Family Resource†).It is beneficial but from the research I looked at and my own opinion, I feel that most children drop out or do not play because of lack of interest or other reasons. Those â€Å"risks multiply when a person becomes obese early in life†, so it's important to get your child involved in sports early (â€Å"ARE Competitive†). Another way sports are beneficial to kids is that it teaches them how to set goals and work to achieve them. As the kid works harder at his craft, his results will improve and he'll learn the value and results of goals and hard work.Many children are naturally shy or averse to immersing themselves in unfamiliar social settings. Sports encourage kids to interact with their peers, and through that osmosis they learn different techniques and realities involved in making friends and dealing with adversity. A study done by America Sports Data Inc. found that, in youth organized sports, 69% of all parents want their children to play only one sport. If the child is between six and eight years old, 79% of those parents want their chil d to play only one sport. Of all the sports organization in 2004, 44% of the children stated they only wanted to play one sport† (â€Å"Why Are†). â€Å"To avoid burnout Children should wait until high school before specializing in a sport. There is no doubt that youth sports have become a huge force in society† (â€Å"Family Resource†). Some state that it gives children an opportunity to play Sports and interact with other children and form social bonds and relationships but from the research I looked at and my own opinion; I feel that most children drop out or do not play because of lack of interest or other reasons.Are sports beneficial or detrimental to youth? Why and how? When and where? A lot of questions have been asked either by parents or by other people who are doing this type of research. Although the physical exercise provided by sports is essential, there are many other benefits both immediate and long-term. So playing sports is beneficial to youth at an early age to start interacting in the social society, so it is not detrimental towards youths these days. Work Cited Pediatrics for Parents†; the effects of video games on children: what parents need to know? Douglas A. Gentle; June 2004, Web, 20 Mar. 2013 â€Å"American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Obesity in Children and Teens†; May 2008, Web, 20 Mar. 2013 â€Å"Why Are Sports Beneficial to Kids? † Aug 9, 2010 | By JeffErmann, Web, 20 Mar. 2013 â€Å"Family Resource: Problems in Youth Sports†, James White and Gerald Masterson, Ph. D. , Web, 20 Mar. 2013 â€Å"Are Competitive Sports Bad for Kids? † Mar 31, 2011 | By Rachel Nelson, Web, 20 Mar. , 2013

Attention

Attention Defining the phenomena that are related to human psychology is not an easy task; even though there are certain ways to define the existing psychological disorders, with most of their symptoms, as well as their consequences, some of the aspects of the disorder will still be left out.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: The Basic Information in a Nutshell specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As Gregg and Deshler explain, â€Å"A major problem [†¦] involves the eligibility criteria used to operationalize disability definitions† (Gregg Deshler, 2011, 39). The above-mentioned is especially characteristic of such a phenomenon as ADHD, or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Robin and Barkley were two of the psychologists who managed to pinpoint the specifics of the ADHD: â€Å"Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is a heterogeneous disorder of unknown etiology.† This is the opening line of a major review of the literature medication for treating ADHD by one of the leading child psychiatry research teams in the country [†¦].To this line, we could easily add the phrase â€Å"and of highly changeable definition.† (Robin Barkley, 1998, 13) Therefore, to properly represent the specifics of the ADHD disorder and to define the phenomenon, one will have to incorporate several definitions. Once the disorder is described from several viewpoints, it will be represented in a more adequate way. To put it the way Gregg and Deshler did, â€Å"professional institutions should provide the specific definitions used to construct their documentation guidelines and eligibility criteria† (Gregg Deshler, 2011, 39). Therefore, as the authors claim, â€Å"no definitions [†¦] are included in the regulations for these statuses, unlike the definition of ‘specific learning disabilities’† (Gregg Deshler, 2011, 39). Howeve r, it would be a far stretch to claim that ADHD cannot be defined – the phenomenon still has a lot of characteristic symptoms. Moreover, it is also worth mentioning that not only children, but adults as well can have ADHD. In the case with adults, however, the definition of the disorder will be quite different from the one which is provided for a child ADHD. Speaking of a more or less traditional definition of ADHD, the one offered by Echeverri can be considered rather precise: â€Å"Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurobiological condition involving behavior dysfunctions and cognitive distortions† (Echeverri, 2008). When it comes to defining neurological diseases, psychological disorders, or other health issues which influence the work of a human brain rather than any other part of body, finding the appropriate definition for the phenomenon in question is rather hard. Likewise, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder is quite hard to define.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Since its symptoms have not been studied well enough yet and the factors of its development have not been fully discovered, it is not simple to define the disorder. One of the key problems, thus, is that the people who research the issue in question are not quite sure what they are exploring. Moreover, some of the researchers argue that ADHD, in fact, does not exist. With that in mind, one can see why ADHD does not have a full-fledged definition yet. ADHD is mostly known for affecting children; however, adults can also display the symptoms of ADHD, according to the existing evidence concerning the issue. Since the issue of child ADHD and the instances of ADHD symptoms among students have been strongly emphasized in the media quite recently, one might have thought that there is a relation between the age of a person and his/her age. According to the data provided by Buitelaar, Kan and Anderson, with a person getting older, the risks of his/her developing an ADHD syndrome decrease. As Buitelaar, Kan and Anderson explain, the peak of an ADHD threat in women appears at the age of 6; the same goes for men, while at the age of 18-20 for men and 16-18 for women, the threat of developing ADHD shrinks rapidly. Nevertheless, it is necessary to mention that adults can also develop ADHD, though not as rapidly as children do. Another essential detail about ADHD which is worth bringing up is the statistics on the ADHD records and the patients’ gender. In the given case, it is not as easy to figure out the relations between the two issues as in the previous one. As Buitelaar, Kan and Anderson explain, Although there is a general agreement that gender-related differences exist in comorbid conditions, these differences have been described in clusters: boys have been found to have more â€Å"externalizing† disorders, and girls have be en described as tending to have more â€Å"internalizing† disorders such as anxiety and depression. (Buitelaar, Kan Anderson, 2011, 18) Therefore, judging by the existing evidence, there is little to no correlation between the gender and the possibility of developing ADHD among adults. However, when considering the instances of children developing an ADHD syndrome, one will discover a completely different picture. As the research says, boys are subjected to the risks of developing an ADHD syndrome to a much higher degree than girls. Mostly explained by the specifics of boys’ psychological development, this is an inevitable scientific fact: In childhood, boys are three times as likely as girls to have A.D.H.D. Boys with the disorder tend to be more hyperactive and impulsive and are more likely to develop oppositional behavior, conduct problems and later delinquency than girls, though girls, too, can develop these problems.   (Barkley, 2011)Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: The Basic Information in a Nutshell specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More According to the authors, the fact that boys are more subject to the ADHD syndrome can be explained by the specifics of upbringing and the emotional development, namely, the fact that boys are not encouraged to express their feelings in the open and, hence, are under much more strain than girls are. Therefore, when boys set their emotions loose, the consequences are much bigger and the boys’ hyperactivity level is much higher than the one of the girls. â€Å"With ADHD represent a more significant proportion of adults with ADHD than has been previously recognized. (Buitelaar, Kan Anderson, 2011, 18).Therefore, it can be considered that the chances of men developing ADHD are only slightly higher than the ones of women. As it has been stated above, the symptoms of ADHD have not been fully explor ed or described yet; there are only vague assumptions as for what a person with ADHD might behave like and in what way his/her behavior might differ from the rest of people. However, one can hardly demand more in the case when even doctors are not quite sure whether ADHD exists or it is another excuse for the lack of willingness to concentrate. Nevertheless, some of the specifics of behavioral problems which people with ADHD display have been described in a rather exhaustive manner, which gives another reason to reconsider these symptoms. However, in the given case, it is necessary to keep in mind that there is a child ADHD syndrome and an adult one. Since the two groups are on different levels of psychological development and have different emotional specifics, the symptoms of the ADHD development in each group are going to vary. To start with, as the research results say, the key symptoms of ADHD in adults are: Problems with becoming organized Inability to concentrate Family issu es Problems with relaxation Inability to find a way to start working on something Constantly being late on something Outbursts of rage Troubles with priorities (Tuckman, 2007). As for children, ADHD symptoms are quite similar. According to Everett and Everett, there are two key signs that a child is developing an ADHD syndrome: The child is hyperactive and cannot focus; The child is dreamy and cannot focus (Everett Everett, 2001). As it can be easily spotted, the two symptoms are quite opposite to each other; the child can be either too active or, on the contrary, lack activeness. However, in both cases, the inability to focus is represented. Therefore, the key symptom of ADHD is the inability to concentrate.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, when diving deeper into the specifics of ADHD development in children, one will see that there is more than just the inability to pay attention that children with ADHD suffer. As Everett Everett explain, the problem is even more complicated – children with ADHD often fail to understand, start and/or complete the task which they are offered, disregarding the task complexity. Therefore, it can be assumed that the problem goes beyond lacking focus; ADHD obviously decreases the students’ motivation, leaving them lacking any interest in the activities which they used to enjoy (Everett Everett, 2001). Therein lies the difficulty of the problem – incorporating the biological and the psychological issues, it needs a complex solution that will help defeat the disorder not solely on the neurological level, but also on the physiological one. Like any other disorder, ADHD can be explained from a biological point of view. Since there are several perspectives from which the given phenomenon can be explained, it is most reasonable to consider each. To start with, there is a neurological theory concerning where the ADHD syndrome comes from and what factors it is induced by. As Weiss, Trokenberg-Hentchmann and Weiss explain, â€Å"Neurological dysfunction or damage has always been considered an important determinant of ADHD† (Weiss, Trokenberg-Hentchmann Weiss, 2010, 28). Indeed, there are sufficient reasons to consider ADHD primarily a brain dysfunction, since people with ADHD display obvious differences from the rest of the people in their behavior and process of thinking. As it has been stated before, the key symptoms of an ADHD syndrome are memory malfunction and the inability to concentrate, which serve as strong indicators of something going wrong on a neurological level. However, calling ADHD a â€Å"minimal brain damage† (Weiss, Trokenberg-Hentchmann Weiss, 2010, 28) would also mean defining it from a strictly neurologica l point of view, since it is not only the brain, but also the nervous system that suffers. Therefore, apart from a neurological one, there must be another explanation of the ADHD phenomenon. Despite the fact that the phenomenon of ADHD is rather well-known and often researched, its true origins are still a mystery. As Weiss, Trokenberg-Hentchmann and Weiss claim, there is a reason why the neurological theory of ADHD is so popular among most doctors: Many of these theories are used to support treatments that are profitable to providers, but costly to patients in terms of both delaying effective treatment and of unnecessary dollars spent. More recently, researchers have tended to put more of their effort into investigating causes of ADHD that are supported by empirical data. (Weiss, Trokenberg-Hentchmann Weiss, 2010, 29) Therefore, there are reasons to search for some explanations of ADHD other than the neurological one. As Weiss, Trokenberg-Hentchmann and Weiss assert, the factors w hich enhance development of ADHD are much more diverse than most researchers used to think and involve not only neurological, but also social aspects and the aspects of genetics: â€Å"Our knowledge of ADHD has increased through study of genetics, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, risk factors associated with pregnancy, and other environmental influences† (Weiss, Trokenberg-Hentchmann Weiss, 2010, 29).Hence, it can be considered that the factors inducing the development of ADHD are not only neurological, but also environmental. As it has been mentioned previously, not only children suffer from ADHD – adults are also disposed to developing the given psychological disorder. However, it is worth mentioning that, in case of an adult developing the symptoms of ADHD, the treatment methods are going to be considerably different from the ones which are usually offered for curing ADHD in children. As a rule, adults are usually prescribed with specific medicine, such as stimulants. If considering some of the most advanced strategies of curing ADHD, one will find out that MAO inhibitors are the most popular medicine for adults. Buitelaar, Kan and Anderson claim that there are several ways of pharmacological treatment acceptable for adults. One of the most common methods is prescribing the monoamine oxidase (MAO) inhibitors. However, when it is necessary to cause an agonist effect in the patient, norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitors, such as Buropropin, can be chosen for an efficient treatment (Buitelaar, Kan Anderson, 2011). In certain cases, however, combined therapy is used. Still, medicine alone will not help – it is only with efficient therapy that one will be able to return to one’s normal state. Speaking of the medicine which is typically prescribed for the children who were diagnosed with an ADHD disorder, one has to mention a comparatively recent scandal concerning Ritalin, its use and its actual effect on children. There are serious concerns that Ritalin is overprescribed and that, when overused, Ritalin can cause even more problems than ADHD disorder, making children more passive. The medicine could actually seem rather innocent and efficient – as a matter of fact, it does have a positive effect on the patients; however, it is still necessary to check whether the game is worth the candles and whether the positive effects of Ritalin are more numerous than the negative ones. If considering the properties of Ritalin as they are listed in the instruction for the medicine, one will not find anything suspicious about Ritalin at all. To paraphrase Palank, Ritalin, the medicine is best known for its ability to make the patients focus (Palank, 2000, 60). Enhancing people’s ability to pay attention and making their memory work in a proper way, Ritalin can be considered a rather decent medicine for curing ADHD. As Palank explains, there has been a record of positive effects of Ritalin: â€Å"The me dication Ritalin is known to enhance a person’s ability to focus† (Palank, 2000, 60). As Palank explains, Ritalin â€Å"is helpful for many people with this disorder† (Palank, 2000, 60). It seems that Ritalin has stood the test of time, which means that doctors have the right to make Ritalin a number one medicine for ADHD. However, what seemed to be an obvious solution might actually turn out another misconception. As Palank confesses, â€Å"There is no evidence that this medication will enhance concentration or focus in individuals without ADD who have normal chemistries† (Palank, 2000, 60). Hence, the question concerning how exactly Ritalin makes the children with ADHD return back to their normal state remains open. Geographically, one can hardly draw any pattern of ADHD development – it seems that the disease cannot be referred to specific regions and affects children and adults disregarding their nationality. It is rather the environment that ma tters for developing ADHD symptoms. Therefore, UAE should not have any outstanding records on the number of ADHD instances in the state. However, checking on the statistics of the ADHD instances will help understand the way the UAE handle the problem of ADHD among children and adults. According to the results of the 2011 research conducted by Khamis, Results indicated that 12.5 % of the children had ADHD symptomatology, and that the prevalence ratio varied across the three ADHD subtypes, with the following rates; 1.5 % for the combined type, 7.5 % for the inattentive type, and 3.5 % for the hyperactive-impulsive type. (Khamis, 2011, 28) Judging by the statistical data offered above, the rates of ADHD among the UAE children are quite high. Therefore, it can be considered that the given type of disorder is rather common in the United Arab Emirates. Determining the key causes of ADHD among the UAE children, Khamis suggested that the family background must be the key factor: â€Å"Rese arch in the Arab world [†¦] has recently indicated that family environment and parental style of influence may be a key cause of ADHD† (Khamis, 2011, 29). Therefore, it can be considered that for UAE, ADHD is quite a topical issue. Reference List Barkley, Dr. (2011, February 11). Men, women and ADHD. The New York Times.  Retrieved from https://consults.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/11/men-women-and-a-d-h-d/ Buitelaar, J. K., Kan, C. C., Anderson, P. (2011). ADHD in adults:  characterization, diagnosis, and treatment. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Echeverri, L. E. V. (2008). Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Web. Everett, C. A., Everett, S. V. (2001). Family therapy for ADHD: Treating children,  adolescents and adults. New York, NY: The Guilford Press. Gregg, N. Deshler, D. D. (2011). Adolescents and adults with learning disabilities  and ADHD:  Assessment and accommodation. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Khamis, V. (2011). Attention-def icit and hyperactivity among school-age United Arab Emirates children. International Journal of Special Education, 26(3), 28-35. Palank, E. (2000). The god doc: Health, humor and insight to improve your game.  Toronto, CA: Jones Bartlett Learning. Robin, A. L. Barkley, R. A. (1998). ADHD in adolescents:  Diagnosis and  treatment. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Tuckman, A. (2007). Integrative treatment for adult ADHD:  A practical, easy-to-use  guide for clinicians. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications. Weiss, M., Trokenberg-Hentchmann, L., Weiss, G. (2010). ADHD in adulthood: A  guide to current theory, diagnosis, and treatment. Baltimore, MD: JHU Press.

Khan Academy SAT Will Never Be Enough †Heres Why

Khan Academy SAT Will Never Be Enough - Here's Why SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips With the new 2016 SAT, Khan Academy has partnered with the College Board to create a free SAT prep program. All things considered, Khan Academy's SAT prep program is high quality. It's a great introduction to the test and elevates the bar of free SAT materials. Students unable to afford books or prep programs have a useful resource to train for the test. But it's not complete. There's still a lot missing from the Khan Academy SAT program that can prevent you from getting the highest score possible. In this review, you'll understand what exactly is wrong with the Khan SAT program – and why the partnership with the College Board means these problems will never be fixed. If you plan to use the Khan Academy SAT program, this will show you what you're missing. Introduction Here's a one-sentence summary of my stance: Khan Academy could have built a much better SAT prep program, but it's being handcuffed by the demands of the College Board. To fully understand the weaknesses of Khan Academy's SAT program, you have to understand the nature of the partnership between College Board and Khan Academy. To you, the high school student, the College Board may seem like a monolithic giant bent on ruining your life. But the reality is the College Board is a vulnerable group struggling to justify its existence in a shifting education landscape. This is the entire reason for the 2016 SAT redesign. You'll see how Khan Academy's SAT program is a tool used by College Board to further its own agenda. If you're interested in why the College Board is struggling and its strategy to stay alive, then keep reading this from top to bottom. If you just care about hearing the pros and cons of Khan Academy's SAT program, click here to skip down the page. However, if you plan on using Khan Academy for 20 hours or more of prep, I think this article is well worth the 15 minute read, so you know what you're getting out of your studying. Disclaimers Before we start, let's get two things out of the way. First, these opinions are my own. While I know people who are current/former employees of Khan Academy, I'm not privy to any confidential information and didn't consult them for this article. I draw my own conclusions from my knowledge of the testing and education industries. Therefore, any information that isn't public (like the terms of the contract between Khan Academy and College Board) are purely my opinions about what's going on. Second, I co-founded PrepScholar, an education technology company with our own online SAT and ACT prep programs. I'm clearly going to be biased toward thinking that our approach to the SAT is the right way to prep.Having worked with our thousands of students and seen our score improvements, I'm confident that we're on the right track. So take all of what I say with a grain of salt, and make up your own mind. If you don't agree with what I say below, then that's cool. I wish you the best on your SAT studying and hope you get an awesome score. If instead what I say makes sense to you, then you'd probably also like our SAT prep program. It provides a great SAT prep experience onlinewith leading score improvement results. I believe we have the best SAT prep program available, and you'll see from my thinking below why that is. Of course, you don't need to buy an SAT prep program to do great on the test. On this blog, we've published the best SAT resources availableto support millions of students around the world to prep better. But if you could use help organizing your prep and could benefit from an all-inclusive SAT prep program that's effective and easy to use, then check us out. Let's get started. What's Khan Academy? I'll say it upfront and repeat it throughout - Khan Academy is one of my favorite educational organizations. I have a HUGE amount of respect for them. Years ago when I first saw their product and heard of their vision to provide free education to the world, I was blown away. Their approach seems like such an obvious idea in retrospect, but no one was actually doing it at scale. Khan Academy started as a collection of math video lessons featuring Sal Khan. Since then, they've expanded their content dramatically to cover subjects beyond math to include art, economics, and computer science. They've also developed a more sophisticated program that tracks your progress and gives you practice questions. Khan Academy is now used in schools worldwide to supplement teacher teaching as part of a movement called ‘blended learning.' Given Khan's educational reach and tech platform, they were a natural choice for College Board to partner with. On the surface, the program looks great. It's free, slick, and easy to use. But if you peer under the surface, you'll understand why Khan's prep program has fundamental weaknesses, directly attributable to its partnership with the College Board. The College Board's 3 Giant Problems Remember what I said above, about the College Board trying to justify its own existence? Here's why. For decades, the SAT was the major game in town. If you wanted to get into a top college, you had to take the SAT. The ACT was around, but it wasn't as popular. Fast forward to today. The College Board and the SAT have three big problems that threaten their existence: Problem 1: The SAT Doesn't Strongly Correlate With College Success First and foremost, the purpose of the SAT is to differentiate better students from worse students. The higher the score you get, the more likely you'll succeed in college and career – supposedly. Colleges thus use SAT scores to admit the best students they can. The problem is, colleges run analyses on their students and started finding that SAT score often wasn't the best predictor of success – grades and coursework were. Naturally, schools started thinking, "why do we even need the SAT?" This led to a movement to make the SAT/ACT optional. One of the most famous schools doing this is NYU, which allows you to substitute three AP exam scores in lieu of the SAT. If this isn't problem enough†¦ Problem 2: Richer Students Tend to Do Better on the SAT Income inequality is a hot button topic in this country, especially when it comes to education, which is seen as a universal right. Over the past century, colleges have made a huge push to promote diversity and lower inequality where it can. Unfortunately, the higher your family income, the higher your SAT score tends to be. This sounds bad. The first thing people often think when they hear this is, "richer people can afford better SAT prep." This is true, but in reality this is a much more complicated problem with many factors at play. Income affects the type of parents you have, your environment, the resources you can access, how others treat you, and many more factors that sum up to your academic potential. So it's not all the College Board's fault. Regardless, the correlation with income still sounds really bad. If colleges take students with higher SAT score, one can argue they're just admitting richer students – which is counter to most colleges' mission statements. This makes colleges think – "if the SAT doesn't predict college success well†¦AND it correlates with income†¦why in the world are we still using it?" Strike two. And the kicker†¦ Problem 3: The SAT Is Losing Market Share to ACT For decades, the SAT was far more popular than the ACT. No surprise – it had a head start, with the College Board founded in 1899 and the ACT in 1959. Up until 2008, the SAT had always held at least a 20% lead over the ACT in terms of number of test takers. However, in 2012, the tables turned – for the very first time,the ACT had more test takers than the SAT. And in 2015, the gap widened – the ACT had 1.9 million test takers, compared to SAT's 1.7 million. So why the changing in positions? The ACT has always positioned itself as a test of what you learn in school. In contrast, the SAT has always had more of a reputation as an aptitude test, closer to an IQ test. Partly for this reason, many states adopted the ACT as a state-wide standardized test (like Illinois, Michigan, and Utah). This means 100% of all high school juniors in these states take the ACT before graduation – which also means few of them feel they need to take the SAT. You can tell that these are three HUGEproblems. Not only is the ACT gaining ground, colleges overall are questioning the value of tests like the SAT and ACT. If the College Board didn't do anything, the SAT would be obsolete before long. So it implemented its grand strategy – the 2016 SAT redesign, supported by the Khan Academy SAT prep program. The College Board's Grand Strategy Let's get right to it. Here's how the College Board is attacking all three problems above: Strategy 1: To Improve the Correlation With College Success, They Redesigned the SAT The new SAT supposedly better matches the skills needed for college success. It now emphasizes skills you're likely to use in the future, like algebra and grammar in the context of passages. It got rid of skills panned as irrelevant, like obscure vocabulary and tricky math logic questions. It also closely matches the new Common Core curriculum – no surprise, since a contributor to the Common Core (David Coleman) became president of the College Board in 2012. Desired outcome: If the new SAT can better predict student success, then colleges will continue using the SAT as an admissions factor. The College Board will stay alive. Strategy 2:To Reduce Income Inequality, They Partnered With Khan Academy to Produce a Free SAT Prep Program A common criticism of the SAT is that wealthier people can afford test prep or tutors, and this causes inequality. With Khan Academy's free SAT prep program, students who can't afford books or prep programs can now prep for free. This in itself is a great step forward – don't get me wrong. As I'll explain below, the Khan Academy SAT program has a lot to offer and is a solid program. But make no mistake, the College Board KNOWS how much this helps their marketing to colleges and to the public. With this program, they can now go to colleges and say, "we honestly believe our free SAT program is going to reduce inequality. This means when you choose students with higher SAT scores, you can be confident you're NOT biased by income." While the reality of educational inequality is more complicated, this is great PR for College Board. Desired outcome:Ideally, completely levelout the playing field and solve income inequality. Since this is a tough problem and thus unlikely to happen, plan B is to CONVINCEcolleges that the SAT doesn't bias for income, now that Khan Academy is around. This will get colleges to swallow the SAT more easily. Strategy 3: By Gaining Reputation With Colleges and Broadening Their Reach to Students, the SAT Can Compete With the ACT for Market Share The College Board wants more students to take the SAT. The more students who take the SAT, the more it'll be accepted as a default part of life, and the harder it'll be to get rid of.Furthermore, more SAT test-takers means more students who apply to colleges using the SAT, which means it'll be harder for colleges to get rid of their SAT requirement. This is how the College Board will get more students to take the SAT: Push states to adopt the SAT as state-wide standardized testing. The College Board can argue that the SAT is now Common Core aligned, so it'll test what schools are teaching. Furthermore, now that students have Khan Academy to prep for free, states won't feel as bad requiring all students to take the SAT. This competes directly with the ACT's state partnerships – in fact, Illinois and Colorado have already switched from the ACT to the SAT. This is huge – it takes away major market share from the ACT. Use Khan Academy's reach to convert Khan users to prep for the SAT. Khan Academy has a nationwide reach with millions of student users. A lot of students who might not have taken the SAT otherwise can now learn about the SAT and take it. Furthermore, students who start prepping for the SAT first will be more likely to take the SAT rather than the ACT. Promote the SAT among people who wouldn't normally take the SAT or go to college. Now that it has a great free resource in Khan Academy to promote, it can partner with organizations like Boys Girls Clubs of America to reach millions more students. In the chess game that is business strategy, the College Board made some brilliant moves here. By redesigning the test and offering a high quality free resource (Khan Academy), it has legitimate responses to each of its major problems: correlation to college success, income inequality, and ACT competition. Side note: Despite all these efforts, the New SAT still has really bad inequality data 1 year after its introduction. By ethnicity: the average Asian score is 1181 and the average White score is 1118, while the average African American score is 941. There's a whole standard deviation of difference here, which is huge. By income: students who used a fee waiver scored a 978, while those who didn't 1087. By parent education (which is a good signal of income): kids of parents with graduate degrees scored a 1177, compared to 944 from kids of parents with no high school diploma. Maybe it needs more time to play out - it's only been a year. But I'm very skeptical. I think the New 1600 SAT is going to see pretty much exactly the same inequalities the Old 2400 SAT had, because the inequality problem in education is MUCH broader than test design. Why Does College Board's Strategy Matter for Khan Academy SAT? Now what does this have to do with Khan Academy's weaknesses? The critical point, for the purpose of this article, is that Khan Academy is a tool in College Board's strategy. The partnership exists to further College Board's mission and achieve its goals. As a result, you have to see Khan Academy's SAT program as an extension of the College Board. Because Khan Academy SAT is an integral component of College Board's strategy and presentation to colleges, the College Board needs to control the content and messaging in Khan Academy's program. Imagine if the College Board didn't have tight control. Imagine if Khan Academy ran counter to College Board's stated philosophies, like if Khan Academy said, "the SAT is a test that you can exploit to get a higher score." This would destroy College Board's credibility with the people they're trying to impress - colleges and the American public. College Board can't let this happen. The stakes are too high if something goes wrong. So they need to control the Khan Academy program. Thus, Khan Academy SAT is a reflection of College Board -College Board's vision for themselves, College Board's approach to testing, and College Board's insistence on how YOU should prep for the SAT. This is where we run into major problems, because you shouldn't believe many things that the College Board says about SAT - particularly about what it takes to improve your score. Side note: I don't want to sound cynical here or make you think that the College Board has nefarious motives, like a cartoonish villain. I respect what College Board and Khan Academy are doing to help even the playing field and get more kids to get into college. They have good intentions, and the problems they are working on are hard and important. Still, the College Board has an agenda and a strategy to meet its goals. Just because it wants to help more students get into college doesn't preclude it from pulling its levers to achieve its goals. One of these levers is Khan Academy's SAT program. College Board's Stances Will Hurt You So once again - because College Board is so tightly linked to Khan Academy's SAT program, the prep program will be a reflection of College Board's philosophies to the test. Unfortunately, these philosophies don't reflect the reality of how to prep for the test to get the highest SAT score. Here are the most important problems. First, for most of its 100+ years of existence, the College Board has maintained that you can't prep for the SAT. This goes back to the positioning of the SAT as the "scholastic aptitude test" – where aptitude refers to the innate ability you're born with. It's obviously changed its mind by releasing a program with Khan Academy, but, like a giant ship, an institution as old and big as the College Board can't change its course quickly. Second, the College Board never, ever teaches test strategy. By test strategy, I mean test-taking skills that can raise your score even WITHOUT learning more core content like algebra. An example of a test-taking skill is skipping the hardest questions and focusing your time on the easier questions that you're more likely to get correct. Another is developing a reliable formula for the SAT essaythat will work every single time. Yet another is understanding how to approach Reading passages to balance time and accuracy. We know, from experience with thousands of students, that these strategies work. They raise scores. But you will never see score-boosting strategies like these in any official materials from the College Board. Why? Because it directly contradicts one of their fundamental messages – that the SAT predicts academic achievement and career success. As the College Board says, "The new test is more focused on the skills and knowledge at the heart of education."(source)It really wants to push the idea that doing well in school is enough to do well on the SAT, which means the SAT measures your pure academic achievement. So if they EVER suggested that special strategies you DON'T learn in school will improve your score, it will DESTROY this mirage. It will make the test seem like an artificial construct that doesn't predict student success – problem #1 you read about above. Let's say there's a strategy you learn just for the SAT that has no application in the future, in college or in your career as a doctor or as a lawyer or as a writer.It's only really relevant for the SAT and other standardized tests like it. Let's say that strategy improves your score a lot. This would mean your SAT score doesn't accurately predict your future success. This is a BIG problem. This is why College Board will never teach these strategies. And this is also why Khan Academy has none of these strategies. I'll explain this critical weakness below. Before we move on to a full review of the Khan Academy SAT program, I want to share one final unpleasant implication of this partnership. You already know that the College Board is competing with the ACT for market share, and that Khan Academy is a critical tool in this competition.If Khan Academy were to develop a similar free prep program for the ACT, it would be a massive blow to College Board's strategy. That's why Khan Academy will NEVER develop its own ACT program while partnering with College Board.In fact, I suspect College Board contractually prohibitedKhan Academy from developing its own ACT program. To me, this is unfortunate. 1.9 million students took the ACT in 2015, more than the SAT. If Khan Academy created an ACT program, it would double its impact and help a ton of students. But it already signed the deal, and it has its hands tied. Remember what I said above about being cynical? This is one place I'll admit that College Board's strategy builds itself up purely at the expense of students. Because it wants to defeat the ACT, the College Board is willing to place ACT test takers at a disadvantage. And the College Board knows what it's doing – those disadvantaged ACT test takers will switch to the SAT. We've covered a lot. Let's summarize the main points: College Board is fighting irrelevance. Colleges have big problems with the SAT. In response, the College Board implemented a strategy to redesign the SAT and provide a free SAT program with Khan Academy. Because Khan Academy SAT is so important to the strategy, College Board needs to control its content and messaging so it doesn't ruin the strategy. College Board's control means Khan Academy SAT will never be a complete prep program With all that in mind, let's look through the Khan Academy SAT program. Pros and Cons of Khan Academy SAT Program Pros – Where Khan Academy SAT Works As I've said, there's a lot to like about Khan Academy's SAT program, and it's a great start for beginner students. Pro 1: Easy to Use + Clean Design The first thing you'll notice about Khan Academy is how intuitive it is to use, especially compared to most other online prep programs. The onboarding process introduces you to the program and diagnostic, and the features and lessons are laid out simply. It loads quickly and doesn't have obvious bugs. This is a credit to their strong product and design team. Based in Silicon Valley right next to Google headquarters, Khan Academy has access to great talent for building web applications. Tech is a core strength of Khan Academy, and it's safe to say College Board wouldn't be able to build anything close to Khan's SAT program. Pro 2: Organization of Math and Grammar into Skills One of my most important SAT prep philosophies is to dissect the test into individual skills, figure out which skills you're weak in, and drill those skills with practice. This idea is fundamental to the way I designed our SAT program at PrepScholar (read more in my Perfect SAT Score guide). Khan's program uses the same philosophy for the Math section and the grammar section of Writing. Each is split up into individual skills that you can train with practice problems. This makes a giant scary section like Math a lot more approachable. Furthermore, the problems it gives you are customized to your level. Miss more questions, and you'll be dropped a level. Get more questions right, and you'll upgrade your level. We believe in customization at PrepScholar as well, since you grow best when you're challenged at the edge of your ability. Unfortunately, the Khan SAT program doesn't go far enough in its skill division. As of publication date, the Reading section and the rhetorical skills part of Writing are NOT divided into skills. These are important sections, and I'll explain more below. Pro 3: Plugin With PSAT Scores This is the coolest part of Khan Academy's official partnership with the College Board. If you've taken the PSAT, you can connect your College Board account to Khan Academy, which will automatically pull in your test results and customize your prep program. This will add accuracy to your diagnostic and lower the friction to getting started. It's likely that only Khan Academy will have access to this cool feature. College Board doesn't currently allow any other company to connect to their databases and pull student data. Khan Academy has special access because of their official partnership, and giving any other company this access would lessen their competitive advantage. While this feature currently only works with PSAT results, I'm confident in the future Khan Academy will allow you to plug in your SAT results as well. Now, this isn't going to revolutionize your prep or significantly improve the quality of the program. The diagnostic is already mostly good enough. Typically the diagnostic will be even better, as it gives you a broader range of questions and tests your skill right at that moment, not 11 months ago when you took the PSAT. But it still lowers the barrier to people getting started with SAT prep, and that's a good thing. Pro 4: A Lot of Practice Questions, College-Board Approved The last major thing Khan Academy has going for it is a lot of practice questions – over 2,000 as of this writing.As of writing, they have 954 Math questions and 1545 Writing questions, but only 242 Reading questions. So Reading is a major weakness in their content availability right now. Even better, these were reviewed by College Board writers to be accurate. They describe: The College Board works closely with Khan Academy staff at all stages of content creation to ensure that the test questions you see on the Khan Academy website are the same types of questions you will see on the actual SAT. Content writers from Khan Academy collaborate with the writing staff at College Board, who revise multiple drafts of their works." Source Important note: this cuts both ways. Remember what I said about College Board controlling Khan Academy's program? You can see it here: College Board "revises multiple drafts of their works." AKA "doesn't allow anything to get published that they don't like." You'll see why this is a problem below. At PrepScholar, we believe that a lot of practice is important, which is why we're aiming to create 8,000 practice questions for both our SAT and ACT products. To improve our quality, we've also broken down the SATlike I've no other company do (see our UltimateReading, Math, and Writing guides). So far, so good. Khan Academy is easy to use, has a lot of practice questions, and lets you train specific skills in math and grammar. On the surface, this sounds great. But if you dig deeper, you'll notice the major problems with the Khan SAT program as it exists today. Cons – Where Khan Academy SAT Is Weak As I've explained above, the official partnership between College Board and Khan Academy means the College Board has strong control over how the SAT program works. You can imagine College Board telling Khan Academy, "if we're going to put our name on this, it needs to represent how we think, and we need to be able to review everything in the program before it goes out." You can see this right above: "content writers from Khan Academy collaborate with the writing staff at College Board, who revise multiple drafts of their works." This is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing is that the test questions likely will be higher quality and look close to real SAT questions. The curse is that the content HAS to conform to College Board's philosophy, or it won't get published. This extends to everything in the program – how you should get the right answer, how skills are taught, strategies to get a higher score, and more. The result is that Khan Academy's SAT program is how the COLLEGE BOARD wantsyou to prep. This is NOT usually the best way you should prep to get the highest score possible! This is an important distinction. Remember that the College Board has its own agenda – it wants to prove that the SAT tests what you learn in school and skills that are useful for a career. It doesn't want to teach you the exact ways you can raise your SAT score in ways that don't align with College Board philosophy. This is where the biggest failures arise. I'll explain each in detail next. Even worse, while the partnership lasts, it's unlikely many of these problems will be fixed. Con 1: No SAT Test Strategies This is the major problem with Khan Academy's SAT program. At PrepScholar, we know that test-taking strategy is essential to scoring your highest score possible. Strategies like: Skipping the hardest questions to focus on the easier questions you're more likely to get right How to attack SAT Reading passages most effectively to save time Predicting how the SAT tries to trap you into wrong answer choices Alternative strategies to get the right answer for math questions, even if you don't know how to solve them We teach strategies like this in our SAT prep program. If you're like most students, understanding these strategies will raise your score. We've seen this with thousands of students. You'll never find strategies like these on Khan Academy. The reason is fundamental – these strategies apply primarily in artificial testing environments like the SAT, and these strategies exist primarily to raise your SAT score. They aren't that helpful for success in college and in your future career. If the College Board admitted strategies like these existed, they'd also have to admit that the SAT doesn't test pure academic skill - Problem #1 above. They want to maintain that the SAT is all about testing purely what you learned in school. So they'll never allow teaching of these strategies. This is unfortunate, because I bet Sal Khan and the Khan Academy staff know a bunch of useful test strategies they used themselves to excel on the SAT. But they're not allowed to share them. As one example, here's an example of Sal Khan breaking down a Reading passage. In this video, he reads the passage slowly, breaking it down line by line. He wants to make sure you understand every single sentence and how it fits into the passage. In our testing philosophy at PrepScholar, we believe this is the absolute wrong approach to SAT Reading passages. You don't have to understand every line in a passage in detail, and it's a waste of time to do so. Simply put, the reason is that there are only 11 questions per passage, which leaves a ton of details in the passage you just don't have to understand. In fact, this method of detailed reading is why so many students run out of time in the SAT Reading section – they just spend too much time trying to understand every detail. If a student read the passage like Sal Khan does in this video, she'd be at a serious disadvantage, compared to someone who knows better test taking strategies geared to the SAT. Instead, we advise all our students, especially those scoring below a 700, to skim the passage for light understanding, then use the questions to hone in on parts of the passage that are actually important. College Board would NEVER want to teach a strategy like this, because it's too specific to this test. In your future, when you write an English essay in college or prepare a report in your job, you won't use this strategy – instead, you WILL read the material line by line, extracting every detail and leaving no stone unturned. This is just one of many examples of strategies that Khan Academy is lacking. This is my major gripe with the program, and for the reasons above, I doubt they will ever truly fix this in their program. The College Board is just too strongly tied to the Khan SAT program. Con 2: Insufficient Lessons I believe that when you're weak in a skill, engaging with a detailed lesson helps you learn the fundamental content and strategies in a structured way. If you're weak in algebra equations, for example, it'd help to learn the basics of how to isolate x on one side of the equation, to see a range of real SAT questions, and to learn alternative strategies for solving equations. Here's one of many example lessons we've published for free. Khan Academy SAT doesn't have full-fledged lessons like these. Instead, for most skills they feature just example problems worked out. Here's an example for solving linear equations, where Sal Khan works through a sample question: While it's somewhat helpful to see one question worked out, it doesn't go far enough. Most students won't be able to teach themselves strategies from just one example. It's not that easy to extract the general principles from a single question. It's odd for Khan Academy to ignore this, because the rest of Khan Academy is based on this fundamental skill learning. Check out their main Algebra programas an example. So if they believe these fundamental lessons are useful, why didn't they do it for the SAT? Here are a few plausible reasons: They just didn't have time to make high quality lessons. They felt fundamental skills learning was too distracting from SAT prep. Learning algebra fundamentally might take hours, so maybe it's more effective to just focus on doing practice SAT questions. However, the SAT is supposed to be all about fundamental skills, so this doesn't seem consistent. The College Board controlled Khan Academy's lessons to focus on question solving rather than teaching. Maybe it was too hard to agree on how to teach the fundamental skills, or Khan Academy wanted to teach too much test strategy. If it's the last option, then it's unlikely Khan Academy will ever fix this problem because it's baked into their partnership. This brings us to a related weakness of Khan Academy SAT†¦ Con 3: Doesn't Integrate With the Rest of Khan Academy A natural solution to weak SAT lessons is to integrate the main Khan Academy program, which is excellent and features hundreds (if not thousands) of hours of instruction. For example, for algebra I would love to see them link to the main Khan Academy algebra lesson, which has great fundamental content. They don't, however. Aside from the header at the top of the page, it's hard to tell that any other Khan Academy program exists. There aren't any links from the SAT program to the main Khan Academy program. Once again, it's possible College Board forbade Khan Academy from more tightly integrating the two products. There's too much of a chance the other Khan Academy programs contain messages that the College Board doesn't agree with – and so it's safer just to prohibit it altogether. This is a big loss, since most of Khan Academy is excellent. Granted, it's not focused on the SAT, so it's not likely the most efficient way to study. But it'd still be a big help for someone who wants more detailed help on skills. Then again, it's possible Khan Academy just doesn't think this is a good idea, or it didn't have enough time to implement this. On a variant of Hanlon's razor, I might say, "never assume bad intentions when lack of time is explanation enough." Con 4: Bad Skill Splits for Reading and Writing I mentioned above in the Pros that Khan Academy SAT did a good job splitting up Math into individual skills. This makes training your weaknesses a lot easier. They really missed the mark on the Reading section and the rhetorical skills section of Writing. For Reading, for example, they separate the training by the subject matter of the passage: I find this a completely unhelpful classification. You don't approach literature passages differently from history passages. In fact, they contain very similar types of questions. At PrepScholar, we use a more useful classification of Reading skills: Big Picture Reading Closely Inferences Words and Phrases in Context Citing Textual Evidence Perspective Analyzing Word Choice Analyzing Text Structure Analyzing Multiple Texts Analyzing Quantitative Information These skills are defined by the type of question and the actual reasoning you would use to answer it. Just like how a geometry question should be approached differently from an algebra question, an Inferences question is very different from a "Words in Context" question. Similarly, for Writing, some of their non-grammatical skills - what the SAT calls "expression of ideas" and what we call "rhetorical skills" - are divided poorly. This is a problem because rhetorical skills make up the majority (55%) of the Writing section. Here, Khan Academy breaks down into the type of passage once again: At PrepScholar, we classify them like this: Logical sequence Focus Proposition Support Transitions Because the College Board defines individual skills themselves, I imagine this problem is mainly a time limitation. It's possible Khan Academy will fix this in the future. Con 5: Weak, Unhelpful Question Explanations In our experience, when a student misses a question, they need coaching from "first principle" – what is EVERY logical step from when you first read the question to the last step of getting the right answer? In contrast, most test prep companies use simple answer explanations. They'll explain why each answer choice is correct or incorrect, but they won't explain the logical steps starting from when you first read the question and make sense of it. Unfortunately, Khan Academy uses the simple answer explanation for most of their questions. They'll explain why a correct answer choice is correct and a wrong answer choice is wrong, but often this isn't helpful to figuring out where you actually made the mistake. Here's an example question from Khan Academy: This explanation is super unhelpful to someone who misses the question. Answers A-C, which are all incorrect, are all explained in an unhelpful way. Each of the answer explanations can be paraphrased as, "the author doesn't say this," which is another way of saying, "the answer is wrong because it's wrong." If you missed this question, these answer explanations wouldn't help you get to the right answer. Answer D, which is correct, has an explanation that basically paraphrases the answer choice. In other words, it's saying "the answer choice is correct because it's correct." If you actually missed this question, these answer choices don't really help you figure out WHY you missed the question and HOW to repair this in the future. In contrast, at PrepScholar we believe inattacking explanations from first principle. Here's an example explanation for this question: The question is asking for the central claim of the passage, so we're looking for the author's main point. As you've read before in our strategies, you should come up with an answer in your mind before reading the answer choices and getting biased. As you skim the passage, you should get a sense of Ben Franklin's main points. Here's the main point of each paragraph: people tend to think they're infallible, or perfectly right in their beliefs. I'm old and I know better. even though the Constitution is flawed, we need to pass it because this country needs one. We won't be able to make a better one because we all have our own opinions. I don't believe we can come up with a better Constitution, and promoting the faults of the Constitution is going to weaken our nation. We all need to approve this unanimously, go back to our constituents, and promote the Constitution in solidarity. So, without looking at the answer choices, the central claim is something like, "we need to pass the Constitution now because we can't create a better one, and we need to be unified." With that in mind, let's go through the answer choices and see what we can eliminate and why. A. "the Constitution will have to suffice until it is proven to be inadequate." This is negative in tone and implies that the Constitution may fail at some point. Franklin nevergoes this far into the future. He's focused on the now – the Constitution can't be improved any further now, and we need to pass it. This is incorrect. B. "the objections to the Constitution are trivial and should be disregarded by the Assembly." The key problem here is "trivial," or unimportant. Franklin never dismisses the objections of his colleagues to be unimportant. In fact, he has his own objections: "I agree to this Constitution with all its faults, if they are such" (lines 19-20). His key point is that DESPITE the faults, the Constitution is as good as it will be, and they need to pass it. Thus B is incorrect and a classic example of an answer choice being wrong because of a single word – in this case, "trivial." C. "the objections to the Constitution can be dismissed unless they are unanimous." This seems tempting because it uses an important word from the passage: "unanimous." This is a classic wrong answer trap for students who don't read closely and grasp for answer choices that seem familiar. But in the passage, Franklin uses unanimous to assert that the Assembly should be united. He doesn't say that objections can still apply if they are unanimous. He doesn't suggest any situation in which the Constitution should be dismissed at all – he wants to push this thing through, today. So C is incorrect. D. "the Constitution is adequate and should be passed without objection." We've ruled out A-C up to this point, so hopefully D fits. And it does – it matches our central claim when reading the passage. Franklin strongly states that he doubts "whether any other Convention we can obtain may be able to make a better Constitution" (lines 27-28). He then suggests, "we shall act heartily and unanimously in recommending this Constitution" (lines 52-53). This is the best answer choice. If you got this question wrong, compare your thought process to this explanation. Where did you go wrong? Did you misinterpret the passage? Did you get tricked by one of the wrong answer choices? Did you mistakenly find something wrong with choice D? Step through your reasoning to find where you can improve for the future. In our opinion, this is a complete explanation. It guides the student step-by-step through solving the question. It discusses what the question is expecting from first reading, what kind of answer the student should be formulating, whether to rule each answer choice in or out, and settling on a final answer. Importantly, it also tells the student specifically why a wrong answer choice is wrong, and how it fits into a pattern of wrong answer choices. It then steps the student through analyzing her own mistakes to learn for the future. Granted, it's a lot more expensive for us to produce, since it takes a lot of time to write and we hire only people who have truly mastered the test. But we view every question as a learning opportunity. If you miss a question, you NEED to understand how to solve the question from first reading. Khan Academy doesn't have full explanations. It's possible College Board requested that they write simple, dumbed-down explanations – after all, their official SAT Study guide worked exactly like this. But it's also possible Khan Academy doesn't have the time to write better explanations. Con 6: No Essay Feedback This is a simple drawback – with Khan Academy, you can't submit your essays for grading. They'll ask you to score your own essay using the standard rubric. There are two reasons for this: Automated computer graders are bad. The worst ones use simple algorithms based on easy-to-cheat metrics like sentence length and word size. You can get a high score for writing a gibberish essay. It's possible to build a better automated grader based on machine learning, and Khan Academy is well equipped to do this, but it's not easy and will take time to get it right. Human graders are expensive. Since Khan Academy SAT is a free program, they can't afford to hire human graders to grade thousands of essays each month. To improve your essay score, it's important to understand your weaknesses and practice writing to overcome them. You can certainly teach this to yourself, using guides like ours. At PrepScholar we've built in expert essay grading as part of our program. You'll get customized feedback on how your essay can improve with examples to follow. We've had a lot of success improving essay scores with this model. It's more expensive for us to provide, we believe in the results. Con 7: A Host of Smaller Problems In using Khan Academy, there are a bunch of other problems that make the experience unpleasant or ineffective. To prevent this guide from getting even longer, I won't write a detailed section for each, but here are the gists: Most Sections Are Untimed In Khan Academy SAT, most of the quizzes are untimed. You have an infinite amount of time to work on each question or passage. The only exceptions are preset timed quizzes and full-length practice tests. I get what they're doing – they want you to focus on building your fundamental skills first, then get faster as you get more competent. Personally, I don't agree with this approach. Timing is a constant threat in the SAT. While building fundamental skills is important, by giving yourself infinite time all the time, you develop bad habits. In fact, time management is one of the biggest and most common problems facing SAT test takers. Take the Reading section as an example. There are 65 minutes, 5 passages, and 52 questions. This roughly means you need to get through 1 passage and its 10-11 questions within 12 minutes. We recommend that students spend no more than 5 minutes skimming the passage to get a brief understanding, then taking 40-60 seconds per question. Without time pressure, you might practice taking 10 minutes to read the passage, as Sal Khan does in his training videos. On the real test, this would leave you with barely any time to answer the questions. The result, I'm afraid, is that many students will be surprised by the time pressures of the test and have no idea how to deal with it – because due to Con #1, College Board will NOT support test-taking strategies on time management. Can't Review Previous Questions When I finished a quiz or a set of questions, I couldn't find a way to review those questions after exiting. I'd like a way to see my previously missed questions to review them and learn from my mistakes. It Erroneously Emphasizes All Skills Equally On Khan Academy, all skills are more or less treated equally. For example, all 40+ skills in the Math section have about 20 questions associated with them, so you'd spend equal time working on all the skills. We know, however, there are MASSIVEimbalancesin how important skills are. At the extreme, "solving single variable equations" takes up 12.5% of the test, and "function notation" takes up just 0.43% of the test. This is a massive 30x difference in importance, but you wouldn't know it from Khan Academy. This can mean students using Khan Academy emphasize the wrong skills and waste a lot of time studying things that aren't important. But College Board is unlikely to change this, since it would appear too much as "teaching to the test" rather than learning important fundamental skills. Con 8: Khan Academy Is Spread Thin Here's the final con, which isn't strictly a problem with the program but does suggest problems about its growth moving forward. Khan Academy is a really important organization with a big impact. It has dozens of subjects to teach like computer programming, is building partnerships with institutions like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and has an exciting vision to provide free education worldwide. The SAT is just a small component of what Khan Academy does. As a result, I doubt they have enough manpower to build the product to its full potential. This means problems will take longer to resolve, and even possibly that the product loses steam if the partnership fades. Furthermore, given that Khan Academy relies primarily on donors to fund itself, I wouldn't be surprised if they downplayed the SAT product's importance in their organizational reports. Standardized testing has gotten more controversial (see College Board's 3 Big Problems above), and it'd be odd for Khan Academy to come out in favor of more testing. Otherwise donors might think, "wait, I'm giving you millions of dollars so you can help College Board perpetuate standardized testing" I Wish Things Were Different All told, I really admireKhan's mission to provide free education, and I respect College Board for taking a step in the right direction. It's an improvement over the old situation, where you had to buy a $25 book just to get access to 10 practice tests. However, this product is not enough to achieve College Board's goals. The way the program works now, students who seek better prep programs will be able to achieve higher scores. There will still be an achievement gap between people who prep for the test intelligently, and people who don't. In this partnership, I think Khan Academy got the short end of the stick. College Board needed Khan Academy more than Khan Academy needed College Board. Without Khan Academy, College Board wouldn't be able to put out a good product. They just don't have the technical talent to build something good. And without a good free product, College Board's strategy would be crippled. But in my opinion, Khan Academy didn't need College Board all that much. Khan Academy already had a strong school presence because of its main program. If they'd produced an SAT program independently, they would have a ton of eager users. Moreover, without the College Board partnership, they could have built an ACT program and reached double the students. They'd also have much more control over how the SAT program works, which means more test strategy and better content. This is unfortunate because Khan Academy is all about social impact, and I believe they reduced their impact dramatically through this partnership. I wonder if they feel the same way. In case you want to review any part of this article, here's a set of quick links: What is Khan Academy? College Board's 3 Giant Problems The College Board's Grand Strategy Why Does the Strategy Matter for Khan Academy SAT? College Board's Stances Will Hurt You Pros and Cons of Khan Academy SAT Con #1: No SAT Test Strategies Con #2: Insufficient Lessons Con #3: Doesn't Integrate with the Rest of Khan Academy Con #4: Bad Skill Splits for Reading and Writing Con #5: Weak, Unhelpful Question Explanations Con #6: No Essay Feedback Con #7: A Host of Smaller Problems Con #8: Khan Academy is Spread Thin What Does All This Mean For You? I know we've covered a lot. We've discussed the College Board's major problems, its strategy involving Khan Academy, and the major strengths and weaknesses of Khan Academy's SAT program. So should you use Khan Academy SAT to study? I think it's great for a few types of students: if you're new to the SAT and want an introduction to the test if you plan to study around 10 hours for the SAT, and aren't that interested in improving your scoreto its fullest potential if you're a self-motivated studier, and all you need are math and grammar questions split up by skill In contrast, if you care a lot about your score, are willing to work hard, and want to improve your SAT score to the highest possible, then Khan Academy won't be enough for you. If you just trust Khan Academy to do all the work for you, you'll be at a huge disadvantage compared to other test takers. So whatshould you do? First, it helps to know what you're missing. If you liked this article, you'll enjoy some of our best guides: How to Get a Perfect SAT Score, by a Perfect Scorer How to Get an 800 in: SAT Reading SAT Math SAT Writing What's a Good SAT Score? If you do decide to use Khan Academy, we have a guide specifically focused on exactly which of its resources to use to get the most out of your SAT prep. Next, you need to decide how you're going to study. As I always say, you do NOT need an SAT prep program to do well on the test. If you're self motivated and love studying by books, check out my recommendation for Best SAT Prep Books. But if you want an all-in-one program that customizes to your learning, teaches you test strategy, and packages everything into a great learning experience, I still believe PrepScholar is the best prep program available. Check us out here: