Brief Notes on US History

History is a very important subject. It is of paramount importance to know the history of the world that we live. However, not many people are interested in learning history. They say that history is boring. But, it is necessary that you know the history of the country you live, at the least. I presume that the readers of this article are from USA. So, a brief knowledge of the US history is important. Let me quickly run through the history of USA in this article.

It is a well-known fact that Christopher Columbus is the discoverer of America. It dates back to the 15th century. To be specific, it is in the year 1492 that he discovered it. It is known to be an accidental discovery. He actually intended to go to Asia but he completely lost the route and went elsewhere. It is said that he and his crew had to travel for days together without finding any land area. It is said that it was approximately 30 days before they could find any land area and the land area that they found turned out to be America.

Division of American into 50 different states is a story in itself. It was only in the 18th century that the efforts to divide America into states began mainly after the American revolutionary war. George Washington was the star for America in the American revolutionary war which began as a revolt against the colonial rule of British. It started in the year 1775. George Washington was fittingly rewarded for his efforts as he was made the first president of USA. There were 13 colonies under the British rule which developed into 50 states over time. All the 50 states weren't formed at once though. The formation was spread out over the years. Delaware was announced as the first state of USA in the year 1787. The last one was Hawaii in the year 1959.

If you look at the years above, you might be able to figure out that USA is a relatively new country and doesn't have a long history or a rich tradition as compared to some of the other older countries. But, USA is one of the best democracies in the world and a highly developed nation.

One of the most important but difficult times in the history of USA should be during the great depression. There was a serious slump in the economy of USA. But, this great depression was very important in molding USA into a better country.

A single article is not enough to discuss the history of USA. If you are a student who is really interested in studying the history of USA, then there is a course on US history called 'AP US History' that can help you in developing your knowledge of US history.

Finding a SAT Tutoring Specialist to Help You to Prepare

Having a strong SAT score is one of the most important criteria that you will need to get into the college of your choice. Every year there are thousands of students across the country busy preparing to take their SAT's. Formerly known as the Scholastic Aptitude Test or the Scholastic Assessment Test, this test measures an individual's aptitude in critical reading and writing, as well as mathematics. Most colleges and universities require it of all of their applicants. For those who are panicking about taking the test there is SAT tutoring to give them the peace of mind that they will be prepared when the day to take the examination rolls around.

With the right level of preparation and the assistance of a good tutor who knows his or her stuff, you can acquire the skills that you need to not only pass the test but to excel on it! SAT tutoring may not be necessary for every student but if you feel that you could benefit from the extra help then it is a very good idea to find a qualified tutor to help you to learn and to brush up on the areas that you anticipate will present a problem for you when you sit down to write.

How do you find a SAT tutoring expert?

What you first need to do is to research your options. There are big companies that offer SAT tutoring and there are also those who work as independent tutors. For instance, many high school teachers and college students choose to freelance or work part-time to supplement their incomes. Check out the various options available to you and then decide if you would rather hire someone from one of the larger firms who specializes in this area or if you would rather work with an individual.

You need to interview and consult with each person that you are thinking about hiring to help you to prepare for your exam. Ask the person about his credentials. You not only want to choose someone who is smart and successful in an academic sense but also someone who is excellent at taking tests. Most companies who hire individuals for this job will not accept anyone for employment who scored below the 90th percentile on their SAT. There is nothing wrong with expecting the same high standards from an independent contractor.

It is wise to schedule a preliminary appointment to discuss what your specific needs are for the SAT tutoring. Some individuals may need help in one or two particular sections while other students may wish to improve their test taking skills in general. Only you can know for sure which category you fall into.

Before you move forward you must discuss price. Find out about the fees per session as well as if the person charges cancellation fees for missed appointments. Some will charge a fee if you cancel without giving 24 hours notice while others will not.

If You Want To Power Up Your Study Habits Then Here Are Some Great Study Tips For You

There are many useful study tips and techniques on how to study and most of them have a use. Study involves reading books, watching videos, listening to audio recordings, researching facts in libraries or on the Web and attending lessons/lectures. The result of these activities can be enhanced if you know how to study.

The Best Way to Study

What you study will be determined by the subject but how you study is up to you. You attend your classroom lessons and lectures but if you want to do well in the exam you will study on your own in addition. Knowing how to study consists of taking notes, timing and timetable planning. You should also select the best area to study where you are surrounded by all you will need for you studies such as books, computers, pens, pencils and paper and most important it is quiet with no disturbances such as cell phones - you are not available during study time.

The Best Timing Strategy for Study Sessions

Because of the way memory works it is better to time your studying in short sharp bursts. I recommend that a study session be broken down into one hour chunks. Each chunk is carried out as follows:

• First 5 minutes revising the material studied in the last session (First hour study the last session of the last study period). This satisfies the need for Frequency.

• Main 40 Minutes intensely studying the new material. This satisfies the need for Intensity.

• Next 5 minutes revise what you have just studied. This satisfies the need for Frequency.

• Finally relax for 10 minutes. Do something different, leave the study area, make a cup of hot drink or go for a walk. This period is when the mind sorts out the material from short term memory to long term memory (Empties the glass into the tank). It is vital not to skimp on this or you will lose a lot of your studies.

Designing a Study Timetable

Designing a study timetable is as important as knowing how to study. So as to get the most out of the time available it is best to make a plan in the form of a Study Timetable. A wise man said that if you fail to plan then you plan to fail so you should plan your time according to what is available. Start by laying out a grid (You can use a spreadsheet such as Excel to do this if it helps) allowing for a week with three periods a day: Morning, Afternoon and Evening. Start by blocking of the times fully committed and therefore not available such as School/College/Lecture time. Block off time for Meals and enough social time for example if you like to go out with your friends on a Saturday night then block this off - do not fool yourself, if you want to go out then plan it and that way you will not fail in that section of your study. What is left is your available study time. Planning is one of the best study tips.

Remember to divide the time into one hour chunks and allocate you subjects so as to take up the time available. It is best to study the subject in the evening of the day you covered it in college so as to simulate the study hour above (study what you did last time, do this sessions study then revise this sessions study). If you should miss a session don't worry, just continue as planned at the next session, you should only go back if you have some spare time.

On a regular basis (weekly or monthly as suits your lifestyle) do a revision day and again go over what you have studied since the last revision day. Make this as relaxing an event as possible and if you can involve friends and fellow students and a tutor/teacher all the better.

How do I get the most out of Revision?

Exam revision starts with taking notes whilst studying. These notes will come into much use during the revision process as a representation of distillation of the knowledge needed to pass the exam. To just re-read all the books studied is counterproductive because it does not take into consideration the effort taken to study in the first place.

Exam Revision Timetable

Revision timetable is very similar to the study timetable but more detailed and even more vital to success.

Setting Priorities

The best among revision study tips is to start setting priorities for your revision. Don't lose sight of the fact that the goal is to get good exam results and that revision is just a means to an end not the end in itself. You might, for example, have a subject which you consider more important than the rest or in need of extra work to get a result. You might have some personal priorities such as a concert that you have been waiting for a year to go to and you want this to be of a very high priority.

In Home Tutor Services for All Ages

Having a tutor is one of the advantages that your child could have over his or her peers. There are a number of benefits that come from getting a professional to guide and supervise the child in almost every aspect of his education. Tutoring can be done for any age and can be most advantageous for individuals in their older years, especially those in high school and college, where the subjects can be very difficult and confusing. Even parents who have gone through these subjects during their high school or college days may have already forgotten them or have gotten lost in the new subjects that are being introduced these days. Tutorial experts often have a vast experience with regards to their subject specialty or they are actually teachers of the subject and are updated with their knowledge and experience regarding a particular subject. Math and the many subspecialties under it is one of the most sought after topics of tutorials especially for high school and college students. The tutor may be a math major in college or a teacher who focuses on mathematics. Science and other subjects that fall subsequently under this are also part of the difficulties that high school and college students experience in school. Physics, chemistry and other subspecialties in science can be too much for a child. Foreign languages are also another subject that can be difficult for those who are not inclined to be linguists.

Benefits

The benefits of getting an in home tutor are many. Aside from the fact that these experts are there to supervise your kids with their education and help to make them understand and get better grades, the fact that they go to your home is another advantage. The expense of driving your child to and from a place that houses teachers can be very expensive. If the teacher goes to the home, his or her fare or expense in getting to and from your house rests on his or her shoulders, unless otherwise stated. It also saves time to have the child wait in the comfort of the house instead going out every day or regularly for the tutorials. In home tutoring also assures the parent of a one on one approach that is not always guaranteed in study halls or paces where tutors converge to teach their tutees. The one on one approach is also another guarantee that the teacher will be able to get to know the needs of your child without the interruptions that usually come when putting your child in a study pool. Having the tutor go to the home can also give the parent lots of time to do chores around the house instead of wasting time driving to and from one place.

These are just a few of the advantages that come from getting an in home teacher. There are many others that can be seen by the parents once the teacher is present in their home. The arrangement for the tutor may be done privately or through the school.

An Enigma of Human Mind - The Appeal of Puzzle Games Throughout the Ages

Who does not want a good challenge? Throughout the ages, puzzles have been important parts of our human experience. A puzzle is merely a problem, a simple question, or a challenge. It is intended to challenge the mind, our senses and our ingenuity to solve complicated problems either in logistical or mathematical nature. Successful resolution can sometimes be attributed to mathematics.

One of the most popular types of puzzles to have ever graced the world is the Jigsaw puzzle. Its origins have been dated around 1760 where a London-based map maker and engraver decided to mount a map on wood, cut it and used it in teaching geography to children. The idea became a hit and ever since, jigsaw puzzles have become essential educational tools, even today. Of course, the wealth of puzzles for educational purposes has become expansive and now, there are unique kinds of puzzles to test kids. Some puzzles are open-ended while others offer a specific conclusion.

The Rubik's cube has become one of the most popular puzzles in the 20th century. It was developed in 1974 by Hungarian professor, Erno Rubik. Its popularity and unique challenge to the user has become a sensation especially in the 1980s. before, the main goal of solving the Rubik's cube is to match all same colored tiles on all sides, but then, speed was included in the equation, amplifying the challenge and even today, competitions are being held dedicated to solving the cube in record time.

Word puzzles come in all forms, providing groups of people and individual players a fun activity or past time at home, school or work. From crossword puzzles, word finding puzzles, and pictograms, from ancient times to the information age, word puzzles are still highly popular especially for English-speaking populations. A lot of regional adaptations have been made throughout the years.

The popularity of puzzles paved way to tons of adventure, suspense and action movies and games. From the death-defying puzzles games in notable games like Tomb Raider, the adventures of Indiana Jones, to the mystery clues of Sherlock Holmes, the idea of problem solving has been reinvented several times, creating an almost cynical look at the world today. Complexities of puzzles are highly used in Hollywood films and are also adapted in numerous games. There is a challenge in creating a puzzle and when executed flawlessly, gives both the creator and the player an exhilarating experience.

The Ideal Polymaths - Leonardo Da Vinci, Alexander Von Humboldt, Athanasius Kircher

By definition, a polymath is someone whose knowledge spans a considerable number of various subject areas. In layman's terms, they are people who know a whole lot about a lot. The word is closely related to the common term Renaissance man, since the latter is one who is educated or who does extremely well in a broad variety of fields or subjects. On the other hand, because polymath is an ancient term, the meaning ascribed to polymaths in this day and age is substantially different than in olden times.

How is this so? For starters, in those early days of civilization, science was yet to be divided into its specific fields such as chemistry, astronomy, zoology, etc., for the reason that these labels were not yet created. Back then, science was unified, and its sole purpose was to build and organize knowledge about the entire universe. The result would be that there were no such things a specialized scientists (no chemists, no zoologists) - maybe an astronomer or an artist, though. So it would be completely natural for a scientist of such stature as Copernicus to be a physician, a mathematician, and an astronomer at the same time, since all these involved the construction of knowledge about the universe. Consequently, this would make Copernicus as well as Isaac Newton and Francis Bacon polymaths today.

Centuries ago, there were many significant polymaths, but there is no other polymath who is as celebrated and revered as Leonardo da Vinci, the archetypal Renaissance man. Even today, Leonardo da Vinci is usually referred to as the most talented man to have ever walked the face of this planet. Say this in one breath: he was an architect, anatomist, botanist, engineer, cartographer, geologist, mathematician, scientist, musician, painter, sculptor, inventor, and writer. Not only did Leonardo da Vinci paint the Mona Lisa or drew the Vitruvian Man, he also conceptualized the calculator, helicopter, solar power - inventions that were only feasible one or two centuries ago.

Alexander von Humboldt is known as the last Renaissance man in civilization. He is known to have significantly contributed to every field of the natural sciences from botany to geology to zoology - Alexander von Humboldt also created the field of meteorology. But the most important contribution made by Alexander von Humboldt was his theory that all these varied scientific fields were interconnected, meaning that every living thing is connected to every part of nature.

Athanasius Kircher was a 17th century scholar, who was also known as "the master of a hundred arts." As a scholar, Athanasius Kircher is sometimes referred to as the father of Egyptology, since he was one of the first people to not only interpret hieroglyphic writing but to also relate it to other ancient forms of writing such as the Coptic languages. He was also a geologist, and probably the first person to scientifically understand the effects of microbes and microorganisms. The magnetic clock, the automaton, and the megaphone are inventions attributed to Athanasius Kircher.

Joseph Leidy was the first paleontologist to successfully excavate a complete fossilized skeleton of a dinosaur. Other scientific fields which were of interest to Joseph Leidy were parasitology, geology, and mineralogy. But the fame of Joseph Leidy rests on him becoming the first person to utilize a microscope in order to finally solve a murder case. A lot of people now refer to him as one of the founding fathers of forensic science.