Ideas from Mark Stout

Parents and teachers know kids lose scholarly momentum over the summer, and research backs them up. Certain kinds of summer camps go a long way to keep the brain’s synapses firing. They are expensive and most parents can only afford a week or two, if they can afford it at all. And by now it may be too late to sign up for good camps anyway. How can we keep young brains firing on all cylinders so students can hit the ground running when back in school in late August? I recently came across a website listing 1,800 online courses.  Class-Central.com  does not provide the courses but lists courses produced by universities like Harvard, Stanford and Princeton, and companies such as Google and Facebook. High school students, maybe even some middle schoolers, can watch these videos to get a feel for subjects they are interested in. Even if they do not finish an entire course, it will get them thinking. And it is a wonderful way to dip their toes into subjects they may want to major in...

Is someone in your family comfortable with computers, but maybe not quite right for college? Or do they worry a four-year degree is more likely to put them into debt than into a job? Do you have a college-bound high schooler who could use a shot in the arm confidence wise, and maybe an achievable goal that might help them get a good part-time job in college? Are you wishing you had a job working with computers; a burgeoning field? Or, are you knowledgeable about computers but do not have anything in your record proving what you know? Comptia is an Information Technology industry trade association. It offers a variety of computer-knowledge certifications such as the basic A+, Network+ and Security+. Many starter jobs in IT, such as help desk, repair technician, or printer technician, require a Comptia A+ Certification. To obtain one of these certifications requires a test taken at a Pearson Testing Center. There are many paths to the first A+ certification. You can begin b...