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One can be poor while having tons of money, whereas those who truly believe in God don’t hesitate to give, even if they are not so rich; it’s because they don’t have this poverty state of mind. That also explains why the Prophet used to give so much that his companions said he used to give in the manner of a person who fears no poverty; this is the example of the Prophet who wasn’t really rich as we know.

Let’s also look at some other indications of this Law of Optimism in Islam. The Prophet says “Ask God with firm conviction that He will answer your prayer.” Now imagine the state of mind of a person believing this saying of the Prophet. Imagine that you pray to God and ask Him for good and Halal things, then you go about in life certain that God’s mercy and generosity will give you what you wish. Imagine how much power this will give you, how much enthusiasm and how much hope! It’s true that God will not answer your prayer on the spot, not immediately, but you know He will, and your worries disappear.

The verse also links this attitude of asking for the bad to being hasty, notice that pessimism is usually connected to impatience as well; a pessimist loses hope as soon as he is challenged, whereas hope can’t be there without patience, because you don’t really expect the good to happen overnight. Reasonable and hopeful people realize that, so they are not hasty and impatient to have what they want.

Effective Ways to Use Authentic Materials with ESL/EFL StudentsBy Charles Kelly, Lawrence Kelly, Mark Offner and Bruce VorlandAuthentic Materials and Cultural Content in EFL ClassroomsBy Ferit KilickayaUsing Creative Thinking to Find New Uses for RealiaBy Simon Mumford

My Philosophy for Teaching English for BusinessBy Lawrence BaronUsing Authentic Business Transcripts in the ESL ClassroomBy Jonathan CliftonTeaching Business Communication to LEP StudentsBy Ken LauFrameworking in Business English ClassesBy John AdamsonTeaching Tips for ESL University Business English InstructorsBy William BrooksMethodology for Using Case Studies in the Business English Language ClassroomBy Peter Daly

Matching Teaching Styles with Learning Styles in East Asian ContextsBy Rao ZhenhuiTeam Teaching Tips for Foreign Language TeachersBy Rebecca Benoit and Bridget HaughThe Importance of Eye Contact in the ClassroomBy Robert Ledbury, Ian White and Steve Darn

Three Activities to Promote Learners' AutonomyBy Galina KavaliauskienëGetting Students Actively Involved Using "The Mistake Buster" TechniqueBy Hai K.P. Huynh

Perpetual Motion: Keeping the Language Classroom MovingA technique that allows students to practice with as many different partners as possible.By Christopher KelenInteresting Ways to Call Roll in JapanBy Lawrence KlepingerLet Your Students Teach Their ClassBy Naoyoshi Ogawa and Dennis WilkinsonEncouraging Students to Interact with the TeacherBy Roger NunnWhat to Do with Failing StudentsBy Marty DawleyCultural Kickboxing in the ESL Classroom: Encouraging Active ParticipationBy Jan Guidry LacinaA Group Introduction Activity to Create a Safe AtmosphereBy Clay Bussinger

Using Presentation Software to Enhance Language LearningBy Miriam Schcolnik and Sara KolQuick Tips for the CALL LaboratoryBy Brian Cullen and John MorrisUsing PowerPoint for ESL TeachingBy Don L. Fisher

Encouraging English Expression through Script-based ImprovisationsBy Manette R. BerlingerTeaching Conversation Skills With Content Based MaterialsBy Greg GoodmacherUsing Pair TapingBy Peter H. SchneiderTeaching Conversation Strategies Through Pair-TapingBy Nancy Washburn and Kiel ChristiansonBoosting Speaking Fluency through Partner TapingBy David E. Kluge and Matthew A. TaylorOvercoming Chinese-English Colloquial Habits in WritingBy Ted KnoyCommunicative Language Teaching in a Multimedia Language LabBy Shih-Jen Huang and Hsiao-Fang LiuIt's on the Cards: Adapting a Board-game Communicative ActivityBy Bob Gibson Leaving the Room: An Introduction to Theme-Based Oral EnglishBy Stewart Wachs

The Talking Stick: An American Indian Tradition in the ESL ClassroomBy Kimberly FujiokaRole Playing/SimulationBy Patricia K. TompkinsBrainstorming Before Speaking TasksBy Brian CullenTeach Students to Interact, Not Just TalkBy Gerard CounihanFive Steps to Using Your Textbook to Build a More Dynamic EFL Conversation ClassBy Stephen B. RyanDialog Performances: Developing Effective Communication Strategies for Non-English Majors in Japanese UniversitiesBy Susan Gilfert and Robert CrokerOvercoming Common Problems Related to Communicative MethodologyBy Stephen B. RyanDesigning Simple Interactive Tasks for Small GroupsBy Roger NunnTips for Teaching Conversation in the Multilingual ESL ClassroomBy Cara PulickTeaching "How are You" to ESL StudentsBy Brendan DalyUsing Games to Promote Communicative Skills in Language LearningBy Chen, I-JungFacilitating English Conversation Development in Large ClassroomsBy Gerry GibsonHelping EFL/ESL Students by Asking Quality QuestionsBy Nasreen HussainSuccessful Classroom Discussions with Adult Korean ESL/EFL LearnersBy Hye-Yeon Lim & W. I. GriffithIncreasing Authentic Speech in Classroom DiscussionsBy Georgia SmyrniouDesigning Simple Interactive Tasks for Small GroupsBy Roger NunnA Practical and Effective Way to Enhance the ESL Students' Oral CompetenceBy Yichu Qi

Practical Techniques for Teaching Culture in the EFL ClassroomBy Brian Cullen and Kazuyoshi SatoRole Play in Teaching Culture: Six Quick Steps for Classroom ImplementationBy Maria A. KodotchigovaCompliments: Integrating Cultural Values into Oral English ClassesBy Chou, Yen-LinRole Play in Teaching Culture: Six Quick Steps for Classroom ImplementationBy Maria A. KodotchigovaGuidelines to Evaluate Cultural Content in TextbooksBy Ferit Kilickaya

Drama Techniques for Teaching EnglishBy Vani Chauhan

Using Picture Dictation Exercises for Practising All Four SkillsBy Sylvia Sao Leng IeongTeaching the Four Skills in the Primary EFL ClassroomBy Marcos Peñate Cabrera and Plácido Bazo

The Structural Drill in Remedial TeachingBy Felix MosesClassroom Techniques for Contextualization:How to make "This is a pen." a pragmatically motivated utterance.By Yoshinori SasakiA Technique for Practising Conditional SentencesBy Galina KavaliauskieneGrammar Correction in ESL/EFL Writing Classes May Not Be EffectiveBy Ronald GrayDoing Things with Sentences in the ESL ClassroomBy Simon MumfordTeaching ESL Students to "Notice" GrammarBy Francis J. Noonan IIIUsing Simple Poems to Teach GrammarBy Hawanum HusseinCommunicative Grammar -- It's Time to Talk.By Noriko NishiguchiEmpowering English Teachers to Grapple with Errors in GrammarBy Caroline Mei Lin HoHelping Students with ModalsBy Michael ThompsonA Technique for Practising Conditional SentencesBy Galina Kavaliauskiene

Using Humour in the Second Language ClassroomBy Paul-Emile Chiasson

Using the Internet in ESL Writing InstructionBy Jarek KrajkaSome Possibilities for Using On-line Newspapers in the ESL ClassroomBy Jarek KrajkaGetting Your Class ConnectedSome ideas on using e-mail and homepages.By Dennis E. WilkinsonActivities for Using Junk Email in the ESL/EFL ClassroomBy Suggested ways to use junk mail and some ready-to-use handouts for the classroom.By Michael IvyLet the E-mail Software Do the Work: Time Saving Features for the Writing TeacherBy Ron BelisleDiscussion Forums for ESL LearningBy Peter ConnellReport on a Penpal Project, and Tips for Penpal-Project SuccessBy Vera MelloUsing E-mail in Foreign Language Teaching: Rationale and SuggestionsBy Margaret Gonglewski, Christine Meloni and Jocelyne BrantHow to Build a Multimedia Website for Language StudyBy Randall S. DavisMaking Chat Activities with Native Speakers Meaningful for EFL LearnersBy Jo MynardInteractivity Tools in Online LearningBy Chien-Ching LeeTeaching Search Engines to ESL Students: Avoiding the AvalancheBy Kirsten LincolnTeaching EFL/ESL Students How to Use Search Engines and Develop their EnglishBy Rupert HeringtonInteractivity Tools in Online LearningBy Chien-Ching LeeMaking Chat Activities with Native Speakers Meaningful for EFL LearnersBy Jo MynardHow to Build a Multimedia Website for Language StudyBy Randall S. DavisQuick Tips for the CALL LaboratoryBy Brian Cullen and John MorrisCreating a Learning Community Through Electronic JournalingBy Anne BollatiA Model of Team Teaching in a Web-mediated EAP CourseBy Mihye Harker & Dimitra KoutsantoniUsing LiveJournal for Authentic Communication in EFL ClassesBy Aaron Patric CampbellWeblogs for Use with ESL ClassesBy Aaron Patric Campbell

75 ESL Teaching IdeasBy Hall Houston

Redesigning Non-Task-Based Materials to Fit a Task-Based FrameworkBy Kevin RooneyA Holistic Classroom Activity - The Class SurveyBy Roger NunnThree Activities to Promote Learners' AutonomyBy Galina Kavaliauskienë

Music and Song in DiscussionBy Brian CullenSong DictationBy Brian CullenTeaching Phrasal Verbs Using SongsBy Subrahmanian UpendranHelping Prospective EFL Teachers Learn How to Use Songs in Teaching Conversation ClassesBy Natalia F. OrlovaFocused Listening with SongsBy Isaiah WonHo Yoo

Getting the Most from Textbook Listening ActivitiesBy Thomas LavelleTraining for Impromptu Speaking and Testing Active Listening With a Focus on Japanese StudentsBy Cecilia B-IkeguchiDictation DrawingBy Brian GroverReal Audio to Augment Real Listening in the ESL ClassroomBy Frank TuziSelf-Instruction by Audio CassetteBy John SmallDictation as a Language Learning DeviceBy Scott AlkireFocused Listening with SongsBy Isaiah WonHo YooListening Activities for Effective Top-down ProcessingBy Ji LingzhuDictation as a Language Learning DeviceBy Scott Alkire

Sustaining an Interest in Learning English and Increasing the Motivation to Learn English: An Enrichment ProgramBy Supyan Hussin, Nooreiny Maarof, and J. V. D'CruzHelping ESL Learners to See Their Own ImprovementBy Upendran SubrahmanianCommunicating SuccessBy Trevor SargentCreative and Critical Thinking in Language ClassroomsBy Muhammad Kamarul KabilanLearner Training for Learner Autonomy on Summer Language CoursesBy Ciarán P. McCarthyEncouraging Students to Become Stakeholders in the ESL ClassroomBy Karen BordonaroMotivation in the ESL ClassroomBy William T. Lile

Some Techniques for Teaching PronunciationBy David F. DaltonTesting Some Suprasegmental Features of English SpeechBy Mehmet CelikTeaching English Intonation to EFL/ESLStudentsBy Mehmet CelikReverse Accent Mimicry: An Accent Reduction Technique for Second Language LearnersBy Laurence M. HiltonA Quick Way to Improve /r/ and /l/ PronunciationBy Tim GreerTeaching English Intonation to EFL/ESLStudentsBy Mehmet Celik

Teaching Debate to ESL Students: A Six-Class UnitBy Daniel KriegerGuiding ESL Students Towards Independent Speech MakingBy Françoise Nunn and Roger NunnA Genre Approach to Oral PresentationsBy Fiona Webster

Teaching EFL/ESL Students How to Read Time and NewsweekBy J. Ignacio BermejoGraffiti for ESL ReadersDescribes an activity using content-based articles.By Brent BuhlerReading and Writing through Neuro-Linguistic ProgrammingBy Tom MaguireHow to Read Nonfictional English Text Faster and More EffectivelyBy Helmut StiefenhöferWhat Do We Test When We Test Reading Comprehension?By Akmar MohamadTeaching ESL Reading Using ComputersBy Saad AlKahtaniAn Integrated Approach to Teaching Literature in the EFL ClassroomBy Christine SavvidouA Fun Reading Quiz GameBy Madhavi Gayathri RamanReading Aloud (Out Loud) in Conversational English Classes By Derek KellyUsing Children's Literature with Young LearnersBy Eowyn BrownUsing News Stories in the ESL ClassroomBy Robin Antepara

A Method for Oral Testing in University English Programs at Korean UniversitiesBy David B. KentMeasuring Word Recognition Using a PictureBy Jungok Bae

Developing Film Study GuidesBy Donna Hurst TatsukiDeveloping an English for Specific Purposes Course Using a Learner Centered Approach: A Russian ExperienceBy Pavel V. SysoyevVideotaping an English Mini-drama in Your ClassroomBy David G. MagnussonUsing CNN News Video in the EFL ClassroomBy Alan S. MackenzieContent Video in the EFL ClassroomBy Michael FurmanovskyCaptioned Video: Making it Work for YouBy Randall S. DavisUsing Movie Trailers in an ESL CALL ClassBy John GebhardtVideo Production in the Foreign Language Classroom: Some Practical IdeasBy Sebastian Brooke

Personal Vocabulary NotesBy Joshua KurzweilLearner-centered Vocabulary Building PracticeBy Sadia Yasser AliA Learner-Centred Approach to Vocabulary Review Using BingoBy Galina KavaliauskienëSongs, Verse and Games for Teaching GrammarBy Arif Saricoban & Esen MetinDeductive & Inductive Lessons for Saudi EFL Freshmen StudentsBy Mohammed Y. Al-KharratWarm-up Exercises in Listening ClassesBy Zhang Yi JunGetting Japanese Children to Make Use of Naturally-sounding English in the ClassroomBy Junko YamamotoVocabulary Teaching Using Student-Written DialoguesBy Alice Dana Delaney WalkerTeaching Vocabulary to Japanese Students: A Lexical ApproachBy Kwabena AsareDrilling Can Be FunBy Simon MumfordThe Use of Corpora in the Vocabulary ClassroomBy Yu Hua ChenBuilding Vocabulary Through Prefixes, Roots & SuffixesBy William PittmanPersonal Vocabulary NotesBy Joshua KurzweilTeaching Vocabulary to Japanese Students: A Lexical ApproachBy Kwabena AsareMeasuring Word Recognition Using a PictureBy Jungok Bae

Secret Partner Journals for Motivation, Fluency and FunBy Timothy StewartReading and Writing through Neuro-Linguistic ProgrammingBy Tom MaguireA Peer Review Activity for Essay OrganizationBy Bob GibsonMaking Jigsaw Activities Using Newspaper ArticlesBy David DycusUsing Postcards in the ClassroomBy Peter LobellLess Is More: Summary Writing and Sentence Structure in the Advanced ESL ClassroomBy George L. GreaneyTeaching Integrated Writing SkillsBy Cecilia B-IkeguchiCorrecting Students' WritingBy Bryan MurphyUsing E-mail in EFL Writing ClassesBy Eui-Kap LeeApproaching Writing Skills through Fairy TalesBy Silvia BrutiTeaching ESL/EFL Students to Write BetterBy Yesim CimcozEnglish Writing Program for Engineering StudentsBy Hui Mien TanFreewriting, Prompts and FeedbackBy Kenneth J. DicksonPortfolios and Process Writing: A Practical ApproachBy Simon ReaInteractive Writing in the EFL Class: A Repertoire of TasksBy María Palmira Massi

Using Cooperative Learning to Integrate Thinking and Information Technology in a Content-Based Writing LessonBy Gabriel Tan, Patrick B Gallo, George M Jacobs and Christine Kim-Eng LeeEncouraging Engineering Students to Write Simple EssaysBy Thevy RajaretnamIntegrating Writing with ReadingBy Yang ShuyingThe Process Writing MethodBy Daniel J. JarvisSuggestions for Evaluating ESL Writing HolisticallyBy Matthew W. CurrierDeveloping Writing Skills in a Foreign Language via the InternetBy Roger C. KenworthyCreating a Writing Course Utilizing Class and Student BlogsBy Andrew JohnsonA Fun Way to Generate Ideas for Comparison ParagraphsBy Melodie CookSeeing is Understanding: Improving Coherence in Students' Writing By Chien-Ching LeeDeveloping Task-based Writing with Adolescent EFL StudentsBy Maria CabralProviding Feedback on ESL Students' Written AssignmentsBy Jason Gordon WilliamsSimple Steps to Successful Revision in L2 WritingBy Catherine ColemanTeaching TESOL Undergraduates to Organize and Write Literature ReviewsBy Roberto CriolloThe Process Writing MethodBy Daniel J. JarvisIntegrating Writing with ReadingBy Yang ShuyingEncouraging Engineering Students to Write Simple EssaysBy Thevy Rajaretnam

Maximizing Study Trips AbroadBy Howard HigaThe Application of Universal Instructional Design to ESL TeachingBy Kregg C. StrehornBaFa BaFa: Does it Work with University EFL Learners?By Donald Glenn CarrollA Tutor-Guided Learning Scheme in a Self-Access CentreBy Lai Lai KwanImproving Science Students' Fluency through Project WorkBy Nebila Dhieb-HeniaUsing Service-Learning as Part of an ESL ProgramBy James M. MinorIncorporating Critical Thinking Skills Development into ESL/EFL CoursesBy Andy HalvorsenHelping ESL Learners to Minimize Collocational ErrorsBy Rotimi TaiwoUsing Concept Maps to Gauge Students' UnderstandingBy Lee Chien ChingContent Based ESL Curriculum and Academic Language ProficiencyBy Clara Lee BrownUsing Pictures from MagazinesBy Joep van der WerffEnhancing Critical Thinking with Structured Controversial DialoguesBy Hanizah Zainuddin & Rashid A. MooreUsing Expectations to Improve LearningBy Gena BennettIntegrating Language Learning Strategy Instruction into ESL/EFL LessonsBy Catherine Y. KinoshitaUsing Checklists to "Standardise" ContentBy Chien-Ching LeeGames in the ESL and EFL ClassBy Angkana DeesriOvercoming Common Problems Related to Communicative MethodologyBy Stephen B. Ryan

have you stagnated, using well-honed skills on a repeated basis but without adding more personal value within the workplace?

Break down the elements that have enabled you to be successful. Highlight your key strengths in your current or most recent role.

take the courses that you need to bring your skills up to speed

skills needed to actually perform the functions of the job

Keep your professional accreditations current

Attend industry conferences to understand what is driving your sector, and how your skills might need to be adapted to play a role in the future.

Are you up to date with the tools and techniques that are being used by the forward-thinking firms winning the business?

Be honest in your assessment and identify both your strengths and any gaps that need to be addressed.

Be clear about if and how the sector is growing and whether your expert knowledge is in demand or could even command a premium.

Have an understanding of how competitors do things, as this could be used to good effect in a new role (taking into account any non-disclosure agreements, of course).

In many industries there is now a need to demonstrate expertise with a strong online presence

Smart use of technology has become a major part of roles at all levels of an organisation. You should be able to demonstrate that this is an area you are comfortable with and can use to advantage in your role

Achievements are as important as skills. Having yours off pat is essential, as is being able to demonstrate how you could repeat your success.

Look at all the elements you have broken down, and take an honest look at which are transferable to a new role and have the greatest value in today’s job market. It is these that you should be prioritising on your CV during your job search or highlighting on your LinkedIn profile.

a key component of your job search: whether you should be focusing on roles where the likelihood of success is based your technical skills, or if you should be targeting employers where your sector and competitor knowledge is of greater interest.

it equally if not more important for those around you to understand it–family, job, school, friends. Once they get the concept they will be able to understand you much better and to help you as well.

Try to get rid of the negativity that may have infested your system if you have lived for years without knowing what you had was ADHD

Listen to feedback from trusted others. Adults (and children, too) with ADHD are notoriously poor self-observers. They use a lot of what can appear to be denial.

Consider joining or starting a support group

Give up guilt over high-stimulus-seeking behavior. Understand that you are drawn to high stimuli. Try to choose them wisely, rather than brooding over the “bad” ones.

Don’t feel chained to conventional careers or conventional ways of coping. Give yourself permission to be yourself. Give up trying to be the person you always thought you should be–the model student or the organized executive, for example–and let yourself be who you are.

what you have is a neuropsychiatric condition. It is genetically transmitted. It is caused by biology, by how your brain is wired. It is NOT a disease of the will, nor a moral failing. It is NOT caused by a weakness in character, nor by a failure to mature. It’s cure is not to be found in the power of the will, nor in punishment, nor in sacrifice, nor in pain. ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS. Try as they might, many people with ADHD have great trouble accepting the syndrome as being rooted in biology rather than weakness of character.

External structure. Structure is the hallmark of the non-pharmacological treatment of the ADHD child. It can be equally useful with adults. Tedious to set up, once in place structure works like the walls of the bobsled slide, keeping the speedball sled from careening off the track.

Make frequent use of: ◦    lists ◦    color-coding ◦    reminders ◦    notes to self ◦    rituals ◦    files

Color coding. Mentioned above, color-coding deserves emphasis. Many people with ADHD are visually oriented. Take advantage of this by making things memorable with color: files, memoranda, texts, schedules, etc. Virtually anything in the black and white of type can be made more memorable, arresting, and therefore attention-getting with color.

try to make your environment as peppy as you want it to be without letting it boil over.

Now that you have the freedom of adulthood, try to set things up so that you will not constantly be reminded of your limitations.

 Make deadlines.

 Break down large tasks into small ones. Attach deadlines to the small parts. Then, like magic, the large task will get done. This is one of the simplest and most powerful of all structuring devices. Often a large task will feel overwhelming to the person with ADHD. The mere thought of trying to perform the task makes one turn away. On the other hand, if the large task is broken down into small parts, each component may feel quite manageable.

Prioritize. Avoid procrastination. When things get busy, the adult ADHD person loses perspective: paying an unpaid parking ticket can feel as pressing as putting out the fire that just got started in the wastebasket. Prioritize. Take a deep breath. Put first things first. Procrastination is one of the hallmarks of adult ADHD. You have to really discipline yourself to watch out for it and avoid it.

Accept fear of things going well. Accept edginess when things are too easy, when there’s no conflict. Don’t gum things up just to make them more stimulating.

 Notice how and where you work best: in a noisy room, on the train, wrapped in three blankets, listening to music, whatever. Children and adults with ADHD can do their best under rather odd conditions. Let yourself work under whatever conditions are best for you.

it is O.K. to do two things at once: carry on a conversation and knit, or take a shower and do your best thinking, or jog and plan a business meeting. Often people with ADHD need to be doing several things at once in order to get anything done at all.

Do what you’re good at. Again, if it seems easy, that is O.K. There is no rule that says you can only do what you’re bad at.

Leave time between engagements to gather your thoughts. Transitions are difficult for ADHD’ers, and mini-breaks can help ease the transition.

Keep a notepad in your car, by your bed, and in your pocketbook or jacket. You never know when a good idea will hit you, or you’ll want to remember something else.

Read with a pen in hand, not only for marginal notes or underlining, but for the inevitable cascade of “other” thoughts that will occur to you.

Set aside some time in every week for just letting go

Recharge your batteries. Related to #30, most adults with ADHD need, on a daily basis, some time to waste without feeling guilty about it. One guilt-free way to conceptualize it is to call it time to recharge your batteries. Take a nap, watch T.V., meditate. Something calm, restful, at ease.

Many adults with ADHD have an addictive or compulsive personality such that they are always hooked on something. Try to make this something positive.

Understand mood changes and ways to manage these. Know that your moods will change willy-nilly, independent of what’s going on in the external world. Don’t waste your time ferreting out the reason why or looking for someone to blame. Focus rather on learning to tolerate a bad mood, knowing that it will pass, and learning strategies to make it pass sooner. Changing sets, i.e., getting involved with some new activity (preferably interactive) such as a conversation with a friend or a tennis game or reading a book will often help.

recognize the following cycle which is very common among adults with ADHD: Something “startles” your psychological system, a change or transition, a disappointment or even a success. The precipitant may be quite trivial. This “startle” is followed by a mini-panic with a sudden loss of perspective, the world being set topsy-turvy. You try to deal with this panic by falling into a mode of obsessing and ruminating over one or another aspect of the situation. This can last for hours, days, even months.

Plan scenarios to deal with the inevitable blahs. Have a list of friends to call. Have a few videos that always engross you and get your mind off things. Have ready access to exercise. Have a punching bag or pillow handy if there’s extra angry energy. Rehearse a few pep talks you can give yourself, like, “You’ve been here before. These are the ADHD blues. They will soon pass. You are O.K.”

Expect depression after success. People with ADHD commonly complain of feeling depressed, paradoxically, after a big success. This is because the high stimulus of the chase or the challenge or the preparation is over. The deed is done. Win or lose, the adult with ADHD misses the conflict, the high stimulus, and feels depressed.

 Use “time-outs” as with children. When you are upset or overstimulated, take a time-out. Go away. Calm down.

Learn how to advocate for yourself. Adults with ADHD are so used to being criticized, they are often unnecessarily defensive in putting their own case forward. Learn to get off the defensive.

Avoid premature closure of a project, a conflict, a deal, or a conversation. Don’t “cut to the chase” too soon, even though you’re itching to.

Try to let the successful moment last and be remembered, become sustaining over time. You’ll have to consciously and deliberately train yourself to do this because you’ll just as soon forget.

 Remember that ADHD usually includes a tendency to overfocus or hyperfocus at times. This hyperfocusing can be used constructively or destructively. Be aware of its destructive use: a tendency to obsess or ruminate over some imagined problem without being able to let it go.

 Exercise vigorously and regularly. You should schedule this into your life and stick with it. Exercise is positively one of the best treatments for ADHD. It helps work off excess energy and aggression in a positive way, it allows for noise-reduction within the mind, it stimulates the hormonal and neurochemical system in a most therapeutic way, and it soothes and calms the body. When you add all that to the well-known health benefits of exercise, you can see how important exercise is. Make it something fun so you can stick with it over the long haul, i.e., the rest of your life.

Learn to joke with yourself and others about your various symptoms, from forgetfulness, to getting lost all the time, to being tactless or impulsive, whatever. If you can be relaxed about it all to have a sense of humor, others will forgive you much more.

Make a good choice in a significant other. Obviously this is good advice for anyone. But it is striking how the adult with ADHD can thrive or flounder depending on the choice of mate.

Schedule activities with friends. Adhere to these schedules faithfully. It is crucial for you to keep connected to other people.

Find and join groups where you are liked, appreciated, understood, enjoyed. Conversely, don’t stay too long where you aren’t understood or appreciated.

Pay compliments. Notice other people. In general, get social training, as from your coach.

Set social deadlines.

Not all teachers in state schools are work-shy; some are brilliant. But there are too many teachers who are not

In the last 10 years, only 17 out of 400,000 teachers in state schools were dismissed due to incompetence

In the state school, once-a-term staff meetings were something to get through as quickly as possible.

Parents thought nothing of looking me right in the eye at parents' evenings and reminding me that they were paying a lot of money for their child's education, so they expected results. I felt personally accountable. Do parents dare to tell a teacher in a state school that their taxes are paying their salaries, so shape up?

class size. I've taught classes with 15 pupils and classes with 35. Children in smaller classes feel more confident about contributing, and I had more time for them. I knew the name of every pupil in the school; I felt part of a close knit community and so did they.

Independent schools can't allow any child to slip through the net. At the weekly staff meeting we discussed each year group, flagging up any pupil who was struggling and an action-plan was devised. My department also had a weekly meeting where pupils were discussed.

Autonomy and accountability, that's what makes the independent system successful. Bad teachers just go.

Do independent schools simply hot-house children to get them through exams? Yes, and why not? But extra-curricular activities in independent schools are there to help children flourish, whether they are academically gifted or not.

Everyone connected with independent education expects success - the teachers, parents and children. There is no embarrassment about applying to Oxbridge or any Top Ten university, it's the norm. I accept that not all state schools have low expectations, but too many have an 'us and them' attitude towards top universities.

As an only child, I wanted my son to start in the prep system and carry on making friends for life

it gives parents power to provide the best for their children; you are the customer.

Until the state system is run on those lines, giving parents power, attracting the very best teachers with salaries and working conditions to match, then money will always buy better education and no one should feel guilty if they choose to buy it.

It could be deduced that we live in a society where your chance of success is determined before birth and that there is little reason to compete in 'the race of life' since some people are starting that race 150 yards in front and the top positions in our society are largely predetermined.

The trick is to find a school where the kids (and their parents) are committed to learning. Such schools do not have to be private, and the teachers in both private or state schools are generally excellent.

The grammar schools and the private schools are roughly comparable in academic performance. They outperform the comprehensives, for the simple reason for this is that the kids ending up in the comprehensives tend to be the ones who failed the 11+ examinations (i.e. their parents did not get them private tutoring, etc.).

The most stuck up children come out of private school.

This is the third time she has been back to private education and we feel we have much more of a say, as we are employing them to do a service and feel much more involved in her education.

We also need to improve teaching standards across the board and not focus so much on structures if we are to match those countries that consistently outperform the rest of the world – not just places like Hong Kong and Japan, but successful European education systems – and use their achievement as our benchmark

Exclusions and school transfer of pupils reduces performance.

Pisa is unequivocal in saying that: “The bottom line is that the quality of a school system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers.”

The Pearson report concluded that spending on education was important but less so than other factors. For example it said successful countries gave teachers a high status and have a ‘culture’ of education.

also emphasised the importance of high-quality teachers and the need to find ways to recruit the best staff – including raising teacher status, professional respect and pay.

The teacher's role in the classroom will become that of a coach. The instructor's goal is to move each child towards pre-determined outcomes rather than attempting to transmit the content of Western civilization to the next generation in a scholarly fashion

the focus is no longer on content. Feelings, attitudes, and skills such as learning to work together in groups will become just as important as learning information--some reformers would argue more important.

Where traditional curricula focused on the past, reformers argue that outcome-based methods prepare students for the future and for the constant change which is inevitable in our society.

Reformers advocating an outcome-based approach to curriculum development point to the logical simplicity of its technique. First, a list of desired outcomes in the form of student behaviors, skills, attitudes, and abilities is created. Second, learning experiences are designed that will allow teachers to coach the students to a mastery level in each outcome. Third, students are tested. Those who fail to achieve mastery receive remediation or retraining until mastery is achieved. Fourth, upon completion of learner outcomes a student graduates.

According to William Spady, a reform advocate, outcomes can be written with traditional, transitional, or transformational goals in mind. Spady advocates transformation goals.

Traditional outcome-based programs would use the new methodology to teach traditional content areas like math, history, and science

Many teachers find this a positive option for challenging the minimal achiever

An outcome-based program would prevent such students from graduating or passing to the next grade without reaching a pre-set mastery level of competency.

Transformational OBE subordinates course content to key issues, concepts, and processes. Indeed, Spady calls this the "highest evolution of the OBE concept." Central to the idea of transformational reform is the notion of outcomes of significance.

Spady supports transformational outcomes because they are future oriented, based on descriptions of future conditions that he feels should serve as starting points for OBE designs

little mention is made about specific things that students should know as a result of being in school.

The focus is on attitudes and feelings, personal goals, initiative, and vision--in their words, the whole student.

It is in devising learner outcomes that one's world view comes into play. Those who see the world in terms of constant change, politically and morally, find a transformation model useful. They view human nature as evolving, changing rather than fixed.

Advocates of outcome-based education point with pride to its focus on the student rather than course content. They feel that the key to educational reform is to be found in having students master stated learner outcomes. Critics fear that this is exactly what will happen. Their fear is based on the desire of reformers to educate the whole child. What will happen, they ask, when stated learner outcomes violate the moral or religious views of parents?

Under the traditional system of course credits a student could take a sex-ed course, totally disagree with the instruction and yet pass the course by doing acceptable work on the tests presented. Occasion-ally, an instructor might make life difficult for a student who fails to conform, but if the student learns the material that would qualify him or her for a passing grade and credit towards graduation.

If transformational outcome-based reformers have their way, this student would not get credit for the course until his or her attitudes, feelings, and behaviors matched the desired goals of the learner outcomes.

Another goal requires students to know about and use community health resources. Notice that just knowing that Planned Parenthood has an office in town isn't enough, one must use it.

transformational outcome- based reform would be a much more efficient mechanism for changing our children's values and attitudes about issues facing our society

the direction these changes often take is in conflict with our Christian faith

"Who has authority over our children?"

Outcome-based education is an ideologically neutral tool for curricular construction; whether it is more effective than traditional approaches remains to be seen. Unfortunately, because of its student-centered approach, its ability to influence individuals with a politically correct set of doctrines seems to be great. Parents (and all other taxpayers) need to weigh the possible benefits of outcome-based reform with the potential negatives.

who will determine the learner outcomes for their schools

consideration of what learner outcomes the public wants rather than assuming that educators know what's best for our children. Who will decide what it means to be an educated person, the taxpaying consumer or the providers of education?

If students are going to be allowed to proceed through the material at their own rate, what happens to the brighter children? Eventually students will be at many levels, what then? Will added teachers be necessary? Will computer-assisted instruction allow for individual learning speeds? Either option will cost more money. Some reformers offer a scenario where brighter students help tutor slower ones thereby encouraging group responsibility rather than promoting an elite group of learners. Critics feel that a mastery- learning approach will inevitably hold back brighter students.

With outcome-based reform, many educators are calling for a broader set of evaluation techniques. But early attempts at grading students based on portfolios of various kinds of works has proved difficult. The Rand Corporation studied Vermont's attempt and found that "rater reliability--the extent to which raters agreed on the quality of a student's work--was low." There is a general dislike of standardized tests among the reformers because it focuses on what the child knows rather than the whole child, but is there a viable substitute? Will students find that it is more important to be politically correct than to know specific facts?

whether or not school bureaucracies will allow for such dramatic change? How will the unions respond? Will legislative mandates that are already on the books be removed, or will this new approach simply be laid over the rest, creating a jungle of regulations and red tape?

although districts may be given input as to how these outcomes are achieved, local control of the outcomes themselves may be lost.

Many parents feel that there is already too much emphasis on global citizenship, radical environmentalism, humanistic views of self-esteem, and human sexuality at the expense of reading, writing, math, and science.

education may become more propagandistic rather than academic in nature

USEFUL LINKS Finnish Ministry of Education and Culture The Finnish National Board of Education thisisFINLAND: Education & Research Articles World Education Services Education Links – Finland The CIA World Factbook: Finland

OECD. (2014). Education at a Glance 2014 – Country Note: Finland.

Finnish National Board of Education. (2012). International comparisons of some features of the Finnish education and training system 2011.

Ministry of Education and Culture, Finland. (2012). Education and Research 2011-2016: A development plan.

OECD. (2011). “The Children Must Play: What the U.S. Could Learn from Finland” in The New Republic. (PDF)

Abrams, S. (2011). “Finland: Slow and Steady Reform for Consistently High Results,” in Strong Performers, Successful Reformers in Education: Lessons from PISA for the United States. (PDF)

The World Bank. (2006). Policy Development and Reform Principles of Basic and Secondary Education in Finland since 1968. Education Working Paper Series. (PDF)

The purpose was to validate single sisters who want to get married and have children [but that's not happening for whatever reason] and let them know that there are other roles even a Mother of the Believers had played without having the blessing of kids.

“Notwithstanding the issue of whether or not `A’isha was on the correct side (the consensus is that she wasn’t), the prominent role she played shows that the earliest of Muslim women —a wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself— thought it conceivable that a woman could take such a leadership role over a group of Muslims. At no time did she strive to be head of state and actually took a role deferring to Talha and al-Zubayr. Yet, to one of the pioneers and masters of Qur’anic exegesis, a woman could take a leading role in the affairs of the Muslims.”

he wanted schools to be able to stay open longer for nine or 10 hour days. This would allow more time for after-school activities or to provide a place for children to do their homework.

Mr Gove said that commentators had associated state schools with "poor discipline, low standards, entrenched illiteracy, widespread innumeracy", but he said that this "pessimistic view is no longer tenable"

he said the state system was improving, with better results, more pupils taking tougher subjects and fewer weak schools

called for more testing, including taking the common entrance exam taken by 13 year olds in some private schools

Academies, which are now the majority of secondary schools, can already set their own hours

Mr Gove backed plans for individual secondary schools to be able to take the OECD's international Pisa tests

Sir David also had tough words about teachers' unions, saying their "political naivety has been astonishing". "Their barrage of industrial action and knee-jerk opposition to any change has allowed the education secretary and his supporters to characterise them as cartoon-like bogeymen," he writes.

Responding to Mr Gove's speech on Monday, Labour's shadow education secretary, Tristram Hunt, said: "Improving school standards starts with a qualified teacher in every classroom. Until Michael Gove commits to this, he is ruling himself out of any serious debate about how we raise standards in our schools. "Whether on discipline, delivering extra-curricular activities or on improving learning outcomes: it all hinges on the quality of the teacher in the classroom. Raising the quality of teaching - that is where the focus needs to be and that is what Labour is concerned with. The Tories have lost sight of this and are undermining school standards as a result.

Christine Blower, leader of the National Union of Teachers, challenged the idea of state schools using the common entrance exam. "Why would we imagine that that is an appropriate examination? He's not discussed that with anybody, he's not discussed it with any of the exam boards, he's certainly not discussed it with the representatives of teachers," said Ms Blower.

Mr.Gove says that at the heart of every successful private school is the independence of the Head. It isn't.At the heart of every successful private school is exclusivity; fees; selection and privileged parental backgrounds.Will he give those to state schools? No, of course not. So let's stop this nonsensical argument now.

Most people work a 8 hour day (although there are many who work more) and we expect children to work for longer? How, many of us adults would want to attend a course that lasted 10 hours a day for 40 weeks of the year? I know my brain would explode! Concentrate on quality not quantity Mr Gove!

In just 14 years the share of Swedish children educated privately has risen from a fraction of a percent to more than 10%

What no one predicted was the emergence of chains of schools. Yet that is where much of the growth in independent education has come from

Kunskapsskolan gets its customers to do much of the work themselves

He then broadens the analogy to hotels and airlines, which make money only if they are popular enough to maintain high occupancy rates.

Youngsters spend 15 minutes each week with a tutor, reviewing the past week's progress and agreeing on goals and a timetable for the next one. This will include classes and lectures, but also a great deal of independent or small-group study

Kunskapsporten allows each student to work at his own level, and spend less or more time on each subject, depending on his strengths and weakness

Each subject is divided into 35 steps. Students who reach step 25 graduate with a pass; those who make it to step 30 or 35 gain, respectively, a merit or distinction

no money is wasted on fancy surroundings

Teachers update and add new material to the website during school holidays and get just seven weeks off each year, roughly the same as the average Swedish office worker

“We do not mind being compared to McDonald's,” he says. “If we're religious about anything, it's standardisation. We tell our teachers it is more important to do things the same way than to do them well.

Sweden's Independent Schools Association has ten members that run more than six schools, and five that run ten or more

Each child's progress is reported each week in a logbook, and parents can follow what is being studied on the website.

expectation that the children take responsibility for their own progress

“Our aim is that by the time students finish school, they can set their own learning goals,” says Christian Wetell, head teacher at Kunskapsskolan Enskede. “Three or four students in each year may not manage this, but most will.”

tracks the performance of individual teachers to see which ones do best as personal tutors or as subject teachers

bonuses to particularly successful teachers and is considering paying extra to good ones from successful schools who are willing to move to underperforming ones

preferred bidder to run two “academies”—state-funded schools run largely free from state control—in London

run by a not-for-profit arm, since for-profit ventures are banned from Britain's academies programme

The firm also hopes to open low-cost independent schools in Britain, where it can offer the full Kunskapsskolan experience, free of state meddling

the returns are solid, rather than stellar: Mr Ledin quotes an average return on capital of 5-7% a year

If a future government, hostile to school choice, changed the rules, that would be the end of this nascent market.

The school reforms are popular with parents, he says, and politicians know they meddle with them at their peril. More plausible would be a change to the rules so that independent schools had to match the methods and curriculum of state schools more closely, or perhaps even a ban on profits

The latter sounds bad, says Mr Stawström, but would not really amount to much: companies could split themselves into non-profit schools and a profit-making body that supplies services, such as teaching materials and consultancy

surely this is a non-issue as Facebook users can prevent recruiters from seeing their profile data, using privacy controls, right?

What if an employer askS for access to your Facebook profile? This is personal information, protected under the data protection legislation of many countries in the world and you are under no obligation to disclose it to a recruiter.