ROR Magazine Lifestyles of the Global Educationist Fall 2023

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PUBLISHER Thomas Schenck President, Dartmouth Associates EDITOR Rhodora O COVER & CREATIVE DIRECTION Hagan Schenck ART DIRECTION Rhodora O TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE Inam ul Haq PROOFREADING Sumy Sarfaraz WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA Binte Noor APPROACH US: Website: www.rormagazine.com Facebook: RORMagazine LinkedIn: RORMagazine CONTRIBUTE/ COLLABORATE: submit@rormagazine.com ADVERTISE: dartmouthassociates@gmail.com SUBSCRIBE: rormagazine.com

Disclaimer: ROR Magazine will not be held liable for any contents of the magazine attributed to a particular contributor/creator. This applies to advertisements. The contributor will be liable for any copyright claims. Details behind the back cover.

Publication in the magazine does not imply endorsement by anyone connected to the ROR Magazine, or Dartmouth Associates, with the views and opinions expressed in the published material.

Copyrights: No part of this magazine may be copied, reused or redistributed in any form.

All images are credited to sources with license details. Any uncredited photos have been obtained from subscribed stock photo services.

See detailed TERMS & CONDITIONS at the back-end of the magazine.

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Hagan Schenck VICE PRESIDENT AND ARTISTIC DIRECTOR FOR WORLD BRANDING He supervises all critical brand visual and content aesthetics for both ROR Publications as well as the universe of Schenck Enterprises including Dartmouth Associates Family of Services, such as ROR Training, ROR Consulting, and ROR Promotions. He also reviews and stabilizes the aesthetic consistency of websites, social media, and all collateral promotional campaigns.

A New York trained artist and entrepreneur, he has contributed his talents to a broad range of creative and business endeavors including The Aware Wolf Collective, a branding and promotional agency, as well as developing a motivational and fitness system that promotes the All I Know Is Go training system.

Binte Noor

WEBSITE & SOCIAL MEDIA ADMINISTRATOR

Born in Sharjah, UAE, Binte Noor grew up to be a Bachelors in Computer Science and Information Technology from one of the most prestigious universities of Pakistan. She can create any website from scratch, and loves to use pre-fabricated templates from state-of-theart website creation platforms to her advantage.

She has done an excellent job carving and maintaining an online presence for the ROR Magazine in the past year. Her website is professional, functional, aesthetically pleasing, and of great value for the recurrent and prospective patrons of the magazine alike. In her free time she remains a doting mother of two lovely daughters, apart from pursuing other personal interests.

Trey Pray

DIRECTOR OF GLOBAL MEDIA AND OUTREACH

Trey manages the production of the podcast aligned with the ROR Magazine, the Admissions Entrepreneur, A Day in the Life, across all audio and visual platforms. He has created a ground-breaking podcasting system allowing our admission professionals to be featured in sound and print around the world.

Previously he founded Hype Music Network in 2013 with the start of his first podcast “The G-List Show.” Trey set out to give musicians and up & coming creatives and entrepreneurs an opportunity to share their talent globally, all the while creating high-quality content.

In this issue...

MEET

Bard College at Simon’s Rock

STEVEN BOYD A Self-made Millionaire Story!

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44 PERSONAL ESSAY

EDUCATION

Homeschooling on the rise

68

New England Innovation Academy

155 LewerMark Insurance for Students

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Cascade Academy Life Quest Academy

124

Exploring Trends

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by Janice Kyler

Homeschooling Curriculum Guide

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ROR SCOOP News about the local and international private school affairs.

by ROR Staff TECH

by Johnathan Naylor

The WIZARD behind CHATBOTS and AI RESEARCH TOOLS

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128

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Findings on Recent Homeschooling Trends Criticism of International Schooling Growth

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ROR PROFILES Select bios of Professionals in Admissions and Related Fields

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SEV-

ROR SCREEN

By

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Usama

Ahmad

ER-

ANCE

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ROR POET “Let Me Be”

by Ademola -Oyejobi Mabadeje

Peter Hermann with Rhodora O PHOTO FEATURE

ROR CARTOON:

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By Bill Adler

“Evolutionary ladder” “Never get high on your own supply”

147 ROR STORY

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A View into Abandoned Places

WORLD

86

Sakura Petals

by Beckey Kelvin with Rhodora O

It’s High Time 144 to Separate ROR BOOKSHELF: ZIONISM from Best Non-fiction of 2023 so far!

ROR Staff JUDAISM...

In this issue...

Publisher’s Message

D

ear ROR Magazine family,

Wherever you are in the world my family and I wish you, and those you care about, great health and peace in your lives. As we all know peace in ourselves and the circumstances that surround our lives is a constant pursuit of balancing many conflicting challenges. The more tools we can bring to bear gives us more strategies to succeed now and in the future. Education is the greatest tool we can have. Education can empower people to become self-actualized and work for peace within themselves and the world at large in the following ways: Education can help people develop their critical thinking skills, which can help them make informed decisions about their lives. By learning to think critically, people can better understand the world around them and make choices that are in their best interests. For example, education can teach people about the importance of voting and how to research candidates and issues before making a decision.

Education can help people develop their communication skills to help express themselves effectively and build relationships with others. By learning to communicate effectively, people can better understand and be understood by others. This can lead to stronger relationships and a more peaceful society. For example, education can teach people how to listen actively, how to express their feelings in a constructive way, and how to resolve conflict peacefully.

Education can help people develop their empathy to help them understand and care about the perspectives of others. By learning about different cultures and lifestyles, people can develop a greater understanding of the world and the people in it. This can create more compassion among different groups, helping to reduce conflict and violence. For example, education can teach people about the history of different cultures, the different ways that people live around the world, and the challenges that people face in different parts of the world.

Education can help people develop their sense of social responsibility, which can motivate them to work for the common good. By learning about the problems facing society, people can be inspired to take action to help solve them. This can lead to a more just and equitable world. For example, education can teach people about the importance of environmental protection, the need for social justice, and the importance of working together to solve problems.

Education can help people develop their resilience, which can help them to cope with challenges and setbacks. By learning how to deal with difficult situations, people can become stronger and more resilient. They can overcome challenges and lead happier and more fulfilling lives. For example, education can teach people about different coping mechanisms, how to manage stress, and how to build a support network.

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Overall, education can help people to become more informed, engaged, and compassionate citizens who are better equipped to create a more peaceful world.

As always, I thank you, our contributors, sponsors and advertisers for believing in our mission to improve the world through the passion of education. And most importantly, I thank my son, Hagan, for his brilliant cover work, and RO, my world class editor whose vision continues to raise the quality of the ROR Magazine with each publication. I wish everyone a safe and joyous holiday season!

Warm Regards,

Thomas Schenck PUBLISHER

21 November, 2023

Original art by Kohei Yoshihara shared with the ROR Magazine by the artist.

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Scan the QR code to visit us at www.brandonhall.org

Original art by Kohei Yoshihara shared with the ROR Magazine by the artist.

tor

ial

carry oneself with peace and dignity.

Hamas will go and take hostages knowing that this will open the door to atrocious war crimes against the civilian population of their small country. Israel will declare war instantly and dehumanize children, media workers, and hospitals as collateral damage because it knows it can get away with it. On top of another war that has already exacted its price on the life of 10,000 Ukrainian civilians, here we are contending with that number again, just a few thousand miles away.

What should be the role of the rest of the world, as for the second time in two years, the world sways dangerously close to the breakout of a third world war? When governments of the world, notably the US President Joe Biden, announce their instant “jumping in” intentions, actively supporting acts of war and choosing sides, instead of initiating constructive strategies of conflict resolution, do they stop to think if the world’s struggling economy and its sprawling humanity can even afford an all-out war?

Edi

It seems the world doesn’t quite know how to

In this day of cross-cultural consciousness and diversity talk, how come there is still such room for white-washed nationalism that it can legitimize overthrowing of international laws and a razing to the ground of a human population at such swift speed that UN professionals have no choice but to call it a genocide?

Are we saying that when a white nation occupies, displaces, throws out, or straight away kills off the civilians and their abodes of another, non-white nation, we are to accept it as legitimate because once this was done to the said nation too at an even bigger scale? Are we saying that the non-white, occupied nation is to pay with it’s civilian lives for the crime that a militant group from its ranks chose to do? Are we truly okay with branding children, old men, pregnant women, and the sick under treatment in hospitals and their medical carers active militants and “terrorists”? Have we openly accepted that the label of nationalism and terrorism is dependent on skin color of the nation, or based on where you fall on the dominant versus non-dominant bloc in world politics? Is there really any difference between these two divides?

Think on these questions before you go to sleep tonight.

Rhodora O

21th November, 2023

Succes s

Our Contributers

Janice Kyler

has been actively writing in the field of education for many years. Her special concerns are equity, diversity, and inclusion in education, and special education.

She completed her education in the United States and works as a freelance writer. She is available on Fiverr for writing engagements @ proffjanice

Beckey Kelvin is an experienced writer

with subject-matter expertise in various fields such as nursing, business, psychology, politics, and history. He is available for hire on Fiverr @beckeykelvin and is based in Kenya.

Bill Adler

is an American writer living in Japan.

His books include the time travel novella, “No Time to Say Goodbye,” and the bestselling “Outwitting Squirrels.” He publishes short stories at billadler.substack.com.

Usama Ahmad

is has a law degree from Pakistan. He has been fulfilling his love of writing in politics, law, history, and other subjects of contemporary interest for more than 12 years.

He avails his writing talents via Fiverr @ naturalwriter11

Johnathan Naylor

is a software developer and consultant with more than 10 years of commercial experience in developing enterprise technology solutions. Reach out to him to plan your projects at techbynaylor@gmail.com

Steven Boyd

Steven Boyd Jr. is a self-employed software engineer, serial entrepreneur, father of two, and a dedicated husband. Armed with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from Colorado State University, Steve has risen to prominence as a highly respected Principal Solution Developer, designing and implementing scalable technology solutions across various operating systems and applications. His consultative approach has made him a trusted advisor to clients, ranging from startups to Fortune 500 corporations. Steve is also an astute real estate investor and a licensed Realtor in the state of Colorado. He also started a scholarship program at his alma mater to support underrepresented students in their pursuit of Computer Science degrees.

is a British Black medical student and a member of BLACHIR Youth Council. His poetry has been making waves in his country and he has recently been selected as one of the Top 50 leaders of the future by UK’s Future Leaders Magazine.

Kohei Yoshihara

is a Japanese self-taught artist in Tokyo. He has been trying to extract ephemeral sentiments from ordinary scenery in Japan and crystallize them into works with simple composition. Currently, I am mainly active on social media, where he shows his works on Instagram @kohei1975 and Twitter @kohei1975_tw.

Peter Hermann

loves to explore urban landscapes, architecture, and abandoned places through his camera lens. He generously shares his work on several prominent platforms such as Pixabay, Unsplash, and Instagram. His repertoire of stills is huge, breathtaking, and awe-inspiring.

Denys Nevozhai

Featured Artists

Ademola OyejobiMabadeje

is a seasoned UX designer living in California. He’s a cofounder of Mnemonic, the complete NFT intelligence platform. He loves exploring the world; being in unique places is a source of inspiration. He digs into design and architecture, science and futurology. He also loves hiking, biking and snowboarding. His long run goal is to contribute to products that solve real-world problems. Get in touch with him via dnevozhai.com. He avails his art and photography on Unsplash.

Imagine a school was once the most a school that was once that considered theconsidered most Imagine a school that was once considered most Imagine a school thatnow was once considered thethe dangerous in San Diego now having amost 100% us campus in Sancampus Diego having a 100% dangerous campus in San Diego now a 100% dangerous in San Diego now having a 100% graduation rate the past 12 consecutive years.

A on rate for thecampus past 12 for consecutive years.

A having graduation rate for the past 12 consecutive years. graduation rate for theby past 12 systemic consecutive years.

A A school gangs, violence and systemic urrounded bysurrounded gangs, violence and surrounded by gangs, violence and systemic bygame gangs, violence and systemic poverty that is now changing the game for its thatschool is school nowsurrounded changing the for its poverty that is now changing the game for its A school poverty that is now changing the game for its students, families, and community every day. s, families, and community every day.

A school students, families, and community day.

A school students, families, community every day.

A school where all seniors graduate and apply to college.

A l seniors graduate andand apply to college.

A every where all seniors graduate and apply to college.

A where all seniors graduate and apply to college. school where students are able to realize theirAdreams, where students are able to realize their dreams, school where students able to realize their dreams, school where students areare able to realize their dreams, and have been accepted into schools like Harvard and e been accepted into schools like Harvard and and have been accepted into schools Harvard and have been accepted into schools likelike Harvard and Columbia. a. and Columbia.

Columbia.

That school is Gompers Preparatory Academy. ool is Gompers Preparatory Academy.

That school is Gompers Preparatory Academy.

That school is Gompers Preparatory Academy.

Located inSan Southeastern San Diego, Gompers in Southeastern Diego, Gompers Located in Southeastern San Diego, Gompersin grades in (GPA) Southeastern San Diego, Gompers Preparatory Academy (GPA) serves students toryLocated Academy serves students in grades Preparatory (GPA) serves students in grades Preparatory Academy serves students in grades 6 through 12.Academy GPA is(GPA) a college preparatory school that h 12.

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GPA a college school thatit 6 through 12.first.

GPA isisais college preparatory school that operates with students first.

It is more it than a school, s with students It more than apreparatory school, operates with students first.

It is more than a school, it operates with students first.

It istomore is the of ongoing story of a community willing to fightitfor going story a community willing fightthan for a school, is ongoing story a community willing to fight is the ongoing story community to fight forfor what is needed in education.

It isheart, awilling story about heart, needed inthe education.

It isof a aof story about what istakes needed in education. a inner story about heart, what isheart needed in education.

Itto isIttransform aisstory about heart, the work it takesa a failing inner school college into a thriving college t work that it tothat transform failing city school intocity a thriving the heart work that it takes to transform a failing inner city school into a thriving college heart work that it takes to transform aand failing inner city school into a thriving college preparatory academy.

A story filled with joy,triumph struggle, and triumph where our students torythe academy.

A story filled with joy, struggle, where our students preparatory academy.

A story filled with struggle, and triumph where students preparatory academy.

A story filled with joy,joy, struggle, and triumph where ourour students are the stars. stars. stars. areare thethe stars.

Since opened doors as anpublic independent in 2005, GPA has e opened ourwe doors as anour independent charter public schoolcharter in 2005,school GPA has Since we opened our doors as an independent public charter school in 2005, GPA has Since we opened ourthe doors as an independent charter school 2005, GPA has become a neighborhood school the community can count on believe in.

The GPA a neighborhood school community can count public on and believe in. and The in GPA become a neighborhood school community count and believe in. The GPA become a neighborhood school thethe community cancan count and believe in.

The GPA mission, in partnership with UCSD and our community, ison toon accelerate academic in partnership with UCSD and our community, is to accelerate academic mission, in partnership with UCSD and community, is accelerate to accelerate academic mission, in partnership with UCSD and our community, isand to academic achievement for all students through aour college preparatory culture and curriculum. ment for all students through a college preparatory culture curriculum. achievement for all students through a college preparatory culture and curriculum. achievement for all students through a college preparatory culture and curriculum.

In addition to our academic In addition to our academic In addition to our academic In addition our academic program, is proud to offer program, GPA is proud toGPA offer program, GPA is proud to offer program, GPA is opportunity proud to offer students the to students the opportunity to students opportunity students opportunity to to engage inthe classes like Musical engage in classes likethe Musical engage in classes like Musical engage in in classes Musical Production andlike Ballet in order for Production and Ballet order for Production and Ballet invarious order Production and Ballet in order forfor students to experience students to experience various students toagency, experience various students tolearning, experience various ways of gaining agency, ways of learning, gaining ways of learning, gaining agency, of learning, gaining agency, and sharing their GPA is a and sharingways their talents.

GPA is talents. a and sharing their talents. and sharing their talents.

GPA is ais a place where students feelGPA safe, place where students feel safe, place where students feel safe, where students feel safe, joy and are to find joy and place arefind encouraged toencouraged find joy and are encouraged joy and are encouraged to to DREAM BIG! DREAM BIG! find DREAM BIG! DREAM BIG!

100% 100% 100% 100% Graduation Graduation Rate Rate Graduation Rate Graduation Rate

www.GompersPrep.org | (619) 263-2171 www.GompersPrep.org | (619) 263-2171 www.GompersPrep.org | (619) 263-2171 www.GompersPrep.org | (619) 263-2171 enrollment@gomperscharter.org enrollment@gomperscharter.org enrollment@gomperscharter.org 1005 47thCA Street San Diego, CA 92102 1005 47th Streetenrollment@gomperscharter.org San Diego, 92102

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1005 Street San Diego, CA 92102 1005 47th47th Street San@GompersPrep Diego, CA 92102 @GompersPrep @GompersPrep @GompersPrep @GompersPrepTV @GompersPrepTV @GompersPrepTV @GompersPrepTV

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Ben Stiller-

directed, first season of this TV show made huge waves last year. The New Yorker labeled the show “sci-fi for the soul.,” Metacritic described it as a “Charlie Kaufman-designed nightmare,” and With only one season so far, “Severance”, crafted by Dan Erickson featuring Adam Scott, explores the cosmos of new-age technology and the manipulative effects of this tech in corporate drudgery. It is a narrative of how we live our lives incessantly battling between professional work and personal life, and what if someone went to the extreme with science in the way of a solution.

How should that work for us?.

Mark (Adam Scott) is an intermediate executive in a biotech corporation. He is part of a batch undergoing a so-called “severance” procedure by which their memories are completely compartmentalized between their personal lives and employment, thus, adequately structuring their recollections as well as their experiences.

Mark’s journey mirrors where employees are fully

“‘Severance’ Offers a Surreal, Allegorical Twist on Work-Life Balance”

AI-generated art by Adobe Firefly

-- Alison Herman, The Ringer absorbed into their professional space, with little to no interest or attachment to their personal lives. This lifestyle, whether perpetuated by corporate culture or taken upon themselves, is critically disastrous for the personal and mental well-being of individuals. Mark’s story underscores the desensitizing impacts of corporate culture and the endeavors to reconnect with his true self.

Mark’s expedition to find and reconnect with his lost and eroded emotions and memories is a sophisticated annotation of the corrosion of an individual’s real-life identity in a work-centric community.

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SEVERANCE

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TV REVIEW by Usama Ahmad “Holmdel, New Jersey, USA - December 4, 2022: View of the interior of Bell Works” Editorial Use License; Shutterstock

Left; Bottom, and Facing Page.

AI-generated art by Adobe Firefly

The theme of dehumanization and preoccupation with efficiency exudes from the character of Irvin who is a high-ranking executive of Lumon Industries. His only aim is to maximize the profits for the company even at the expense of dehumanization of employees. He engages employees in grueling productivity exercises to enhance the overall yield of the company. The personal well-being of employees is a thing unknown to him.

On the other hand, Helly’s character can be considered to be a yardstick to gauge morality.

Helly is charged with the responsibility of overseeing the development of the severance procedure. However, she herself goes through the procedure and works as an employee. She ends up going through the most struggle in her severed state, attempting to escape and even commit suicide. Her struggles highlight the moral repercussions and ethical dilemmas of these kinds of innovations. She represents the dark side of scientific innovation, thus urging the audience to consider the moral choices which are to be made while scientific progress.

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The show expertly handles the theme of erosion of self-identity. It also sheds light on personal relationships at the workplace which becomes dim and eventually lost in corporate culture. Dylan, a close friend of Mark, becomes a focal point for this theme. Once a concrete friendship between Mark and Dylan, the latter’s birthday ceremony, made it clear how impactful the severance procedure was as it blurred and

eroded the emotional attachment of both. Their past friendship is now completely pale and strained because of the disconnect introduced by the severance procedure.

The show works as a sinister tangle of morality and ethics riddles. Severance allows the company a perfect control over their employees. Mark’s department solves “data problems” but no one has any idea what do these numbers mean? A former employee who escaped and attempted a reversal of Severance meets the home-life version of Mark and questions, “What if . . . you’re murdering people eight hours a day and don’t know it?” Finally, a rebellious spirit starts to spark among the severed employees, and its anyone’s guess where that will lead in the next season.

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“Aerial view of Bell Labs Holmdel Complex. The Bell Labs building in Holmdel is an architectural heirloom, designed by renowned architect Eero Saarinen, with a proud and distinguished history.

For 44 years it was the home of an advanced research lab owned successively by Bell Telephone, AT&T, Lucent, and Alcatel.”

Courtesy Wikipedia; CC BY-SA 2.0

P R

ARIANAPOLIS

E P

At Marianapolis Preparatory School, our mission is to educate students in the Catholic tradition of academic excellence with a commitment to an active faith in God and a dedication to building character with content, compassion, and integrity.

The school, founded in 1926, has been a long-time fixture of New England independent school education. Yet, the current global health crisis is a timely test for whether an institution’s mission can meet the needs of students in an unprecedented historical moment.

So what are we doing to meet those needs?

Our academic excellence is all about innovation. The school had a ten-year history of virtual education before students ever needed to pivot online. Our combination of infrastructure and experience was invaluable to sustain scholastic rigor, regardless of location. The current need is flexibility; in-person learning is prioritized and preferred, but online work may be necessary for some to ensure health and safety on campus. Marianapolis classrooms are outfitted with Clear Touch Boards that allows instructors to teach directly to students in the room, as well as to any classmates who may need to log in from home for the day. Similarly, our online platform allows students to view and submit assignments, preview when assessments will occur, and stay connected with our faculty outside of classroom hours.

Marianapolis Preparatory School Grades 9-12, PG Day, 5-Day Boarding, 7-Day Boarding

www.marianapolis.org (860) 923-9245 admission@marianapolis.org 26 Chase Road, Thompson, CT 06277

Dedication to building character with content, compassion, and integrity remains central to our operations and community life. Character growth occurs as a result of open discourse, with supportive adults helping to contextualize priorities and outcomes for each student.

The extracurricular program has also remained active, with interscholastic sports competing throughout the year. The social/emotional benefits of physical engagement are endless. The focus for our extracurricular educators is growth, resilience, and teamwork, as this extension of the traditional classroom fosters countless learning opportunities. In each context, we stay hands-on in our approach to student development.

Finally, our commitment to an active faith in God is central to helping students understand the scope of – and approach to overcoming - challenges. While not all of our students are Catholic, our community approach is wholly values-based. Our students are taught to defend the lives and dignity of all people, seek common humanity, and advocate for both individual rights and the common good. The School holds the philosophy that there is no greater responsibility than to recognize our role in caring for ourselves, our community, and our world.

It is through this principled approach and innovative pedagogy that we are helping students at Marianapolis tackle the obstacles of the twenty-first century. As we approach our centennial anniversary as a school, we sincerely hope your student will consider joining us.

MEET

STEVEN BOYD The Self-Made Millionaire Who Cracked the Freelancer Formula A Decade Before Us! 32

Pheonix Rising To say I didn’t come from money would be an understatement. There were times in my early childhood where we were homeless; not necessarily out in the street homeless, but staying with my Mom’s friends or in a hotel. There was a period where we didn’t have hot running water or electricity. The showers we could take were cold and had roaches everywhere. The only electricity available to us was from an extension cord pulling power from the vacant apartment next door. The first time I remember meeting my dad I was eight; I remember walking right by him because I had no idea who he was.

Fast forward to present day: I’m 40 years old and married with two kids. My wife and I own 7 rental units which gross almost $160,000/yr in rental income. In 2019 we purchased a new primary home for $625,000 and I was able to pay that off in 2022. Our current net worth is just over $3 Million which includes a total of about $100,000 of college funds for both boys and I’m living off rental income as I work on building a startup. By no means am I sharing this information to be braggadocious. I just want to show that in some cases, not all, it is possible to change your trajectory in life. Let me share with you my journey on how I went from one circumstance to the other. I’ll lay out my journey while also introducing many of the pivotal people I met along the way. People who have helped guide me along the way; whether it was directly or indirectly.

Power in Purpose I cannot tell this story without mentioning my mother, who I love dearly. Like I said we didn’t come from money, but I never doubted my mother’s love. As an adult, and a parent myself, I know in my heart she did the best she could with what she had.

My mom worked a lot. As a single parent of three, she was the primary wage earner, and as the oldest I had a lot of responsibilities at a young age. She was transparent about the fact that we didn’t have money, though I suppose it’s hard to hide when there’s no electricity. Even so, I was always in awe watching her juggle different bills. She always called it “robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

AI-generated art by Adobe Firefly throughout this article, with the exception of the following credited photo: Facing Page.

Illustrated postcard, Yacht Basin, Havre de Grace, Md.

By Tichnor Bros. Inc., Boston, Mass. d. 1930 - 1945 Boston Public Library; CC BY 2.0

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I have no doubt that my responsibilities as a child made me a better adult. One of my mom’s biggest pet peeves was having dishes in the sink, which never made sense to me; isn’t that where dishes belong? Regardless of where we lived, or what was going on, my Mom always emphasized how important it was to get good grades. Little did I know these things were shaping me to be who I am today. I learned that if I didn’t want to get in trouble for not doing the dishes, then do them before she’d say anything. I figured that if there was anything she would get on me about, to just do it before she could get the chance: an approach that I take with me on contracts to this day. My mom would also incentivize me to get good grades when I received a letter grade of B or better she’d give me cash, so achieving academically became something I strived for.

35 I figured that if there was anything she would get on me about, to just do it before she could get the chance: an approach that I take with me on contracts to this day.

Pains and Adventure I grew up in many places, but most of my younger years were spent in Havre de Grace, Maryland and Baltimore County Maryland. In the 1980s, drug use was high so it was common for us to see drug needles and used condoms around the neighborhood. My best friend Carlos and I could look out my bedroom window and watch people scatter as police raided the block. There was even a time where my uncle and I watched the police raid a house across the street. It was nuts, just like you see on TV where they have the battering ram bang the door down and storm in.

Though my dad wasn’t around, and when he was I’d often wished he wasn’t, my mom’s brothers were. She had three and I loved them all, but Uncle Paul, who’d served in the army for 22 years, saved us. He was in a position that allowed me, my mom, and my two siblings to pack up, board a Greyhound bus, and migrate to Colorado. I was 14 at the time, my sister was six, and my brother was only two. This migration took about 48 hours of bus riding, changing buses many times along the way and it was in the middle of winter. He was and still is an eternal inspiration for me. I wanted to make sure that I’d be in a position as an adult to take care of my siblings if they ever needed it. Colorado was a new, great, and much needed change for the three of us.

Stairway to College

Soon after, it was junior year of high school which meant time to think about going to college. A woman by the name of Tracy Rayford from Colorado State University (CSU) talked to us about majors. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to major in, but Mrs. Rayford said this to me: “People who graduate with a degree in Computer Science graduate making $50,000”. Coming from where I came from, $50,000 sounded like millions so I thought to myself, “Yes, that’s it.” I had no clue what it meant or what it would take to major in Computer Science. In 1999, coding wasn’t quite as popular as it is today. I hadn’t written any code at all before, and quite honestly hadn’t really spent much time on a computer in general, but that salary sounded fantastic so that was my major.

In 2000, I ended up going to CSU and majoring in Computer Science. I was a good student, school generally came pretty easy for me so I usually didn’t have to put in too much effort to succeed. However, learning how to tell a computer what to do, or what not to do was a whole different animal. After getting D’s and F’s in some of my first CS courses, my Mom, in her caring way, suggested maybe I should do something else.

But my understanding was getting better, even though my grades didn’t really show it.

I began reading all assigned course material, started all assignments the first day they were assigned instead of waiting until later, and going to office hours. I also worked on assignments with other students who were far smarter than me. Finally, it all started to make sense! Well, enough sense to graduate at least, even though my GPA was a 2.8. Nonetheless, I had made it through!

I had an interview with Hewlett Packard (HP) for an internship. I remember going suit shopping with my mom. Why did I buy a suit that looked like I was going to a club and not an interview? In addition to not dressing appropriately for the interview, I didn’t know how to interview. Needless to say, I didn’t get the internship. It wouldn’t be until years down the road that I’d know how to dress and prepare for an interview.

Before graduating, I received quite possibly the best piece of advice I’ve ever received.

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My roommate’s dad, Mr. Ligori said to me, “Steve, whatever you do after college, don’t become a slave to your possessions.” He continued, “So many people work and buy stuff that keeps them having to work even harder to afford.” In our “buy buy buy” culture this advice would be huge and completely change how I saw money.

37 Wizard of Jobland

After graduating in 2004, I moved back home.

On my mom’s couch, or sharing a bed with my “little” sister who was 14 by this time, I needed to find a job, a career that I went to school for so I could use my degree. I had cornrows but felt that I needed to cut them to be more “presentable” for interviews.

I really didn’t want to cut my hair, but at the time there was a perception that having cornrows could mean someone was a thug or gangster which I was neither.

Finding a job was not nearly as easy as I thought it would be.

I remember walking around the Denver Tech Center handing out resumes trying to find something in my field. I picked up some odd jobs here and there, but none were tech-related. Though it took several months, I finally ended up taking a short contract for $16/hr to do some Quality Assurance. It wasn’t quite what I was going for, but it was a start.

As that contract was about to wind down, I got a full time Quality Assurance job. During my stint in that position, I noticed that the number of bugs were stacking up without being fixed, so I asked upper management if I could start writing code to help fix them. Thankfully, they said yes and I was able to start writing a little bit of code professionally. Not long after that I was laid off with about 13 other people.

Many of the people had been there for years and really helped build the company, yet they were still let go.

This taught me a very important lesson early in my career. It wasn’t a company’s responsibility to make sure I could eat; it was mine. Before being laid off I’d picked up just enough professional development experience that I was able to land my first real software development job with a consulting company called Avanade; a joint venture between Microsoft and Accenture. I had a starting salary of $51,000 and felt like I’d finally made it. Here I’d get to work with and alongside some of the brightest people I’ve been with in my field.

See, being a consultant for a firm link Avanade is a lot like being an independent contractor/freelancer. For both, your resume has to stay updated, skills must stay sharp, and it’s common that potential clients will want to interview you before starting an engagement. Working for a consulting firm can be a great segue into being an independent contractor. While at Avanade, I was staffed on project Bruin, a project based in California. I’d wake up early on Monday, fly out, head straight to the office where I worked in a small conference room with about 6 other guys, then fly back home on Friday. The days were long and brutal, but fun. I think the longest day was 22 hours; it was nuts.

Door Openers

It was here that I met two people who shaped me in different ways. First I’ll start with Mr. Hisham Baz. Mr. Baz was the lead on the project and happened to look like me, even down to his complexion and we both carried a little extra weight at the time.

We could have been cousins. Seeing someone who looked like me with a similar background and no-nonsense attitude who was smart, well-respected, and led a team was huge. How can someone have impostor syndrome, a term I can’t stand, when they see right in front of them a figure who exhibits the attitude of not only “yes, I belong here”, but one of “and if I’m too much for, you I’ll happily leave.” Watching how he worked and how he talked to people in a direct, yet respectful manner really set the stage for the type of professional I’d become.

Next is Mr. Jon-Michel Evans. Mr. Evans didn’t look like me at all and while I agree that representation matters, just because someone is or isn’t the same color as us doesn’t mean they can’t represent us, or that there aren’t other ways to connect. There was a conversation at work one day where Mr. Evans mentioned he’d put down over $100,000 on the first home he bought. This blew my mind. I’d never heard of anything like it. A regular person, writing code just like me, although much better, putting down that type of money showed that I could do it too. From those two different people I was able to extract vastly different things, but both would help shape my career and personal life.

Onward and Forward

My stay at Avanade was pretty short. I’d worked on a couple of really grueling projects and expected a higher raise. Once that didn’t happen, I found another consulting firm that was willing to hire me at $75,000. I didn’t stay there very long at all, but before I left, I met Mr. Michael Crandall who I began calling “Sensei.” Mr. Crandall was an independent contractor and we were on the same project. I talked to him about the independent lifestyle, but I was fearful of the “insecurity.” He and I would talk about it from time to time, but I wasn’t ready.

After I left the second consulting firm I went to work as a full-time employee. At this point my goal was to have a six-figure salary by the age of 30. At this company I met many lifelong friends like Mr. Gino and Mr. Gabe. We had so much fun working together it made the dysfunction of the company seem minimal. I was able to surpass this goal by 4 years. I ended up leaving this job after about a year or so and dabbled in a little bit of contracting, but ultimately, I ended up going to work for a startup.

It was such a great place to work, but funding was an issue, which meant there were times when we wouldn’t get a paycheck.

Since my wife and I were trying to buy our first investment property, not being paid wasn’t going to work. To buy an income property you need cash, pay stubs, or if you’re independent, two years of tax returns. No pay meant no pay stub, which meant I had to find a new job. In 2010, I accepted an offer at a company for $110,000 which I’d negotiated up from $105,000. This would be my last full time job.

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Seeing someone who looked like me with a similar background and no-nonsense attitude who was smart, well-respected, and led a team was huge.

Sometimes it’s a matter of knowing there are other choices available to us outside of the ones we see before us.

By this time I’d become really good at two things: software development and negotiating salary. I’d recently left a company that was intolerably dysfunctional, and it became evident really quickly that my current company was even more dysfunctional. After about 6 months there it was time to move on.

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41 The Road not Taken

In 2011, I decided to go all in on being an independent contractor full time. By now we had a decent amount in savings and one income property that cash-flowed $500/mo. We had our firstborn on the way, but we lived a fairly modest lifestyle, always remembering what Mr. Ligori said.

I created an LLC called Sketchy User Experience, LLC, and a separate business bank account.

I figured it was worth a shot; if it didn’t work out I’d just go back to full time work. Since I had a consulting background, I thought contracting wouldn’t be too different, and with a full-time working spouse I was able to get on her benefits.

My first contract under the new company I had a bill rate of $65/hr. Each time a contract would end and I’d start a new one, I’d increase my rate. By 2012, I’d managed to get my bill rate up to $125/hr and haven’t billed anything less than $100/hr since. The most I’ve been able to bill was $150/hr for a short-term engagement. How was I able to do this? I was fortunate in my career to be a subcontractor for a few different companies. Subcontractors work with other firms that have billable work but need another set of hands to help complete a project. They tend to have fairly high margins and are always securing new work.

I also make sure my skills stay sharp. I’ve found the best way to do that as a software developer is to develop solo projects. I grow the most when I develop a project from scratch. Being easy to work with is critical too. I’m always very polite, kind, respectful, but also very direct. This is an easy way to get repeat business. Not that everyone I’ve worked with would work with me again, but the majority of the folks would. It allows me to be fully vested in a project or company, but doing so from the perspective as an advisor. For my limited time as a full-time employee, I’d take my work home with me so to speak. If things weren’t going well at the office, it really bothered me, but as an independent contractor my role is to help the project and company succeed. If I offer a recommendation and it’s dismissed or not heeded, I never take it personally.

I know whatever long-term decisions are made, it’ll be the client who ultimately has to live with them. For me, contracting is the way to go. I’ve met so many amazing people and got to work on projects at Starz, and Walmart, as well as so many others.

No Looking Back

Some situations allow for an easier transition into being independent than others, but if it’s something you’re considering, I’d say go for it. Before doing so, I’d recommend that you have an emergency fund in place, figure out how you’ll get health coverage, and just give it a shot one contract at a time. Get in the best shape you can. This will be different for different people, but as someone who has lost 142 pounds it is possible to be in better shape today than you were yesterday, even if it’s just incrementally. Being independent means there’s no PTO. If you’re sick and need to take time off, you will not get paid. I’d also recommend reading a lot. I love to read and learn. It helps keep my mind sharp and gives me ideas.

At the time of writing this, my last contract ended in August of 2022. Over the years, I’ve started a few different companies, though nothing major. I’m a licensed realtor, started a company that creates 3D tours, I’ve got my Part 107 drone pilot’s license, I’m a father of two, a husband, a big brother, and a son. I decided to take some time off from contracting and I’m in the early stages of starting a company called Rent Offers. Rent Offers allows renters to place offers on rental properties and I’ve been working on Rent Offers full time since my last contract.

I’m not sure where it’ll take me, but I’m having fun building it.

In closing, I want to say that life boils down to a series of choices. Sometimes it’s a matter of knowing there are other choices available to us outside of the ones we see before us and I hope, if nothing else, I’ve exposed some new choices to you.

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NEIAcademy.org

I CREATED MY OWN GRAPHIC NOVEL

Where today’s students become tomorrow’s innovators.

New England Innovation Academy is a day and boarding school for grade 6-12 students to develop their passion and prepare for their best future.

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All images provided by the College, except where credited.

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The question we hear most from prospective students and parents is: “What exactly is Simon’s Rock?” This question isn’t due to a lack of brand recognition, memorable alums, or world class faculty at Simon’s Rock. We promise, we have all of that. It's just that Simon's Rock contains so many things, including Bard Academy, Bard College at Simon's Rock, and the new Bard Queer Leadership Project.

BARD COLLEGE AT SIMON’S ROCK First and foremost, Bard College at Simon’s Rock is a place to get a great education. As the nation’s first early college, this allows students as young as tenth grade to start pursuing their bachelor’s degree two years early. Simon’s Rock is a haven for bright, motivated students ready to leave high school and enter higher education now. With the prevalence of early college programs across the country, Bard College at Simon’s Rock offers more than just classes with college credit. This college provides every aspect of the authentic college experience, but two years early. It lets younger students escalate their education directly to college while also embracing the social change and meaningful experience of leaving home and finding their place in the world.

Simon’s Rock is not a “halfway” point between high school and college. It’s a rigorous four-year institution accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, part of the prestigious Bard network, and regularly recognized for its excellence. Bard College at Simon’s Rock was named a Fulbright Top Producing Institution for U.S. Scholars for the 2022-23 Academic Year. For the second consecutive year, Simon’s Rock is ranked in the top five in the categories of Best Undergraduate Teaching and Most Innovative colleges by U.S. News & World Report 2022 Best Colleges rankings.

Additionally, The Princeton Review has named Simon’s Rock among the Best Regional Colleges in the Northeast in its 2022 rankings.

For our students, Bard College at Simon’s Rock is a launchpad for an incredible, meaningful life and career. With a plethora of notable alums, from Pulitzer Prize winner Ronan Farrow to renowned cartoonist and Macarthur Genius Grant awardee Allison Bechdel to the Academy Award winning filmmakers, the Coen Brothers; there’s a lot to brag about at Simon’s

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Rock. Forbes magazine included four of our alumni on each of its first two annual “30 Under 30” lists of the most creative minds in 15 fields. This list included Simon’s Rock alumni Jennifer Fan, founder of Arbalet Capital LLC Hedge Fund, Jessica Mah, founder and CEO of in Dinero.com; founder and chair of Impact Collective, Kyle Allison, Systems Biology Fellow, Columbia University and 2014 recipient of the NIH Director’s Early Independence Award. Forbes describes its picks as young people who “represent the entrepreneurial, creative and intellectual best of their generation” and “aren’t waiting to reinvent the world”—a perfect description of Simon’s Rock students.

ACADEMICS As we said, education at Bard College at Simon’s Rock isn’t just a series of classes; it’s part of the fabric of our students’ daily lives. Students are encouraged to see the connections between their courses across a multitude of disciplines, to wrestle with unfamiliar and complicated ideas, and to dream up new ways of thinking about the world. This kind of exploration and discovery doesn’t only take place in classrooms, labs, and studios—it happens in the dining hall, while hiking through the woods, or working on the campus farm. It also happens in conversation with advisors and professors, who work with students to choose (or design) a program of courses, internships, tutorials, and off-campus opportunities tailored to their particular interests. Ultimately, a Simon’s Rock education is a reflection of each individual student–and everything they have to offer to the world.

Let’s dive a little deeper. During the first two years in the college, students choose courses from all four academic divisions: Arts; Languages & Literature; Science, Mathematics & Computing; and Social

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49 Studies. As students explore and grow, they can follow their interests across all disciplines. Our first-year students also take discussion-based seminars guided by professors from different disciplines, and characterized by engaged debate and collaborative inquiry.

Want to learn about the intersection of French language, French food, and sustainable farming practices? You might want to meet professor Maryann Tebben. More interested in the psychology of interpersonal conflict? Maybe professor Anne O’Dwyer is the right match for you.

In junior and senior year, students hone in on their concentration and ultimately craft a pivotal senior thesis. Many students also study abroad in the second half of their college career at Simon’s Rock, as well as pursuing other off-campus opportunities. This senior thesis is required of all seniors and encourages them to both explore and embrace their areas of academic interests and profound passion. The thesis is a year-long project that is the capstone of the work our students have done at Simon’s Rock. When completed, each thesis is bound and kept in the Simon’s Rock campus library, reflecting the unique work of every student that has been part of our community.

As with every facet of the Simon’s Rock experience, this comes with a significant amount of freedom and responsibility.

RESEARCH Beyond a traditional classroom setting, academics at Simon’s Rock have countless interesting venues and opportunities. This extends beyond the traditional school year, as well. Many students choose to stay on campus over the summer, working as summer research fellows alongside our faculty. The research fellowships allow students to spend up to 10 weeks on campus during the summer, working directly with faculty on research projects in mathematics, physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science, and a range of other fields—and students are often listed as co-authors when professors publish papers based on this research.

OPEN SOCIETY UNIVERSITY NETWORK Simon’s Rock is also a member of the Open Society University Network, an international partnership of colleges and universities that stretches from Asia to

the Americas. OSUN was founded by Central European University and Bard College, and its members include American University of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan, Ashesi University in Ghana, BRAC University in Bangladesh, Sciences Po in Paris, and SOAS and Birkbeck, University of London. Our students can take online courses through OSUN, where they interact and collaborate with faculty and students from around the world. In addition, the OSUN Student Mobility program allows Simon’s Rock students to study abroad at more than a dozen OSUN campuses.

DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION The mixture of college and academy has created a distinct, vibrant Simon’s Rock community. As a whole, Simon’s Rock works hard to value a rich multiplicity of identities and backgrounds in our community. We know this makes us stronger, as well as enhancing our students’ experiences in and out of the classroom. We’re ranked 4.5 out of 5 stars on the Campus Pride Index, the premier LGBTQ national benchmarking tool for colleges. Our faculty offer classes and develop academic concentrations in fields that directly address issues of diversity: African American studies, Asian studies, cross-cultural relations, gender studies, queer leadership, and Spanish and Latin American studies.

Our W.E.B. Du Bois Lecture Series brings contemporary scholars on race to campus. We are committed, as are our many diverse student groups, to challenging long-standing societal assumptions in order to create an enriched community in which all ranges of opinion and belief can be expressed and debated.

CAMPUS LIFE AND MORE Is there more to Simon’s Rock than just academics?

Of course! We regularly host visiting scholars, artists, and activists who offer public lectures and performances, small group discussions, workshops, and master classes. Our Office of Campus Life, working closely with students, sponsors a range of events: talent shows, open mics, dances, and performances by local and student bands–all free to students. Simon’s Rock students also participate in national academic competitions in fields such as mathematics, econom

ics, and international affairs. Clubs are student-led and represent current student interests. For example, there’s currently a strong International Student Association and Pre-Med Society. Black Student Union, Asian Student Association and Social Justice Committee all meet regularly. Like birding?

Board games? There’s a club for that. Of course, if there isn’t a club that represents a student’s favorite activity or cause, we can always help them create a new space for just that.

A key part of life at Simon’s Rock is engagement in the natural world. With 270 acres on campus, including numerous hiking trails and a campus farm, our students live in and engage with nature on a daily basis. Beyond the outdoors, wellness is ever present in the Simon’s Rock experience. At the Kilpatrick Athletic Center, professional staff offers personal training and classes accommodating all ability levels. Our athletic center features 58,000 square feet of top-of-the-line exercise and recreation facilities, including an eight-lane, 25-yard swimming pool; a full-service fitness center featuring cardiovascular and strength training equipment; an aerobics and dance studio; an oversized gymnasium; an elevated indoor track; squash/racquetball courts; tennis courts; and a climbing wall.

Beyond the Simon’s Rock campus and facilities, we are truly blessed with one of the most beautiful locales in the country. Located in Great Barrington in the Berkshires, Simon’s Rock serves as a cultural magnet. Our long-standing South Berkshire Concert Series brings renowned classical and contemporary music performers to campus; recent guests include Peter Serkin, the Avanti Wind Quintet, Triple Helix Piano Trio, and Chinese lute virtuoso Min Xiao-Feng. Campus galleries host rotating exhibits featuring work from established and emerging artists, including students. Students take courses in theater, dance, and music and have the opportunity to perform in concerts and productions throughout the year.

BARD ACADEMY The Simon’s Rock experience isn’t limited to those already halfway through high school. With the creation of Bard Academy in 2015, we now welcome high school age students as early as ninth grade.

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Bard Academy is the nation’s first two-year high school serving both boarding and day students. To give our students the right building blocks for a full, meaningful experience, Bard Academy shares both faculty and campus resources with Bard College at Simon’s Rock. This means Bard Academy is one of very few private high schools located on a college campus with access to the college’s facilities dedicated to arts, science and technology, and research and scholarship, as well as health, community, and athletics.

Just like the college students, Bard Academy students work in new and invigorating ways. They study a range of disciplines and draw connections between those disciplines. They build strong writing habits, learning to engage in writing as a way of thinking and form of expression. At the same time, they explore the technologies of the digital age. These are skills that enable success in the classroom and enrich a well-rounded life. At Bard Academy, students are encouraged to bring an independent, questioning mind to reading and writing.

They are asked to challenge and analyze their own assumptions and the ideas of others. And they’re expected to infuse discussions and debates with a global perspective. In these ways, students experience profound personal transformations and expand their knowledge of the world–a world that will benefit from their participation in it.

After a reimagined two year high school experience, Bard Academy students matriculate directly into Bard College at Simon’s Rock to begin college two years early. This means our students can skip the time and hassle of college applications, directing that valuable energy back into their education, all while starting their bachelor’s degree two years early.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF SIMON’S ROCK In 1966, Elizabeth Blodgett Hall founded an early college, named Simon’s Rock for a glacial rock formation on her family’s land, that would become the college’s campus. This school was formed on the belief that many bright, motivated young people are ready for serious intellectual work at the age of 16 or 17. In 1979, Simon’s Rock became part of Bard College, one of the nation’s most outstanding

51 and innovative liberal arts colleges. Simon’s Rock has retained its unique identity and singular mission, while the partnership-brought new academic and financial strength to the College.

In the years since its founding and its partnership with Bard College, Simon’s Rock has become so much more than just an early college. In 2015, Bard Academy opened on the Simon’s Rock campus, welcoming a small class of boarding and day students to an enriched two-year high school experience prior to their enrollment in the regular Simon’s Rock college program. In 2023, Simon’s Rock launched the Bard Queer Leadership Project, which serves college students of all age groups. The Bard Queer Leadership Project is a revolutionary, new Bachelor of Arts degree program designed for, and by, LGBTQIA+ college students to elevate other LGBTQIA+ students and college graduates into leadership roles in school and the workforce.

WANT MORE INFORMATION? As we said, there’s so much to learn and experience at Simon’s Rock. For the right student, Simon’s Rock is more than just a great education. From the campus farm to the Sugar Shack used for the yearly maple syrup boil, Simon’s Rock is the place to be, a place where students can feel at home.

Interested in learning more about either Bard Academy or Bard College at Simon’s Rock? Find out more at simons-rock.edu and bardacademy.simons-rock.edu.

Simon’s Rock with its constructed brick chimney on the side, Great Barrington, MA. Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0

A View into Abandoned Places

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Peter Hermann’s Photography Showcase

PETER HERMANN with RHODORA O

P: This is one of my newer pictures, taken in a disused textile factory in Verviers, Belgium. You can see the jumble of pipes in a boiler room. I'm thrilled by the orderly chaos, even though all you see are rusted pipes and fittings. Not everything in this photo is original, because I started experimenting with AI and I add or change a little detail from time to time... just as my imagination dictates.

R: I love your description of “orderly chaos.” I can’t imagine you having adding too many details beyond, maybe, emphasizing the shades of rust in the foreground, the golden sunlight painted on the far walls, or the general feel of grime and dust clinging like a second skin to every surface in view. I don’t know why but the clock on the left side is taking me into some Lewis Carroll type of fantasy.

R: Your assessment of the image is very good! In principle, it looked in this room as you see it in the photo... Also the rust was already on the pipes... I really just made the mood a little more nostalgic, changing to a little warmer colors and I like it when in my pictures, on the one hand, the reality is sharp to see and, on the other hand, I edit the more unimportant things so that they are either out of focus or blurred or only dimly visible.

With AI I have inserted here the clock in Steam Punk style. So to speak as an eye-catcher …

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The picture on the facing page was taken in the same huge building complex of the sanatorium. And honestly, a red sofa in the basement of a decaying building is always worth a photo too. I think that this room was used for events of all kinds (including religious). The ceiling of this hall is built in the same style as you know it from cloisters in old churches or monasteries... also a little bit mystical... just right for me!

P: Wonderful location in Germany near Erfurt. In my job I travel around Europe a lot and if you travel with your eyes open you will find something like this. I researched this building in history and found out that it was built around 1890 as a sanatorium to cure lung diseases. That was it for about a 100 years. Around 1990 they started to build a new, more modern building and since then the old house is decaying because it would be too expensive to demolish it. The decay can be seen, including graffiti everywhere and a touch of nostalgia.

57 R: By any chance is this building the infamous Beelitz Heilstätten Sanatorium. It is near Erfurt and the story goes that one of Beelitz patients included a young Adolf Hitler. The venue was routinely used as a military hospital during both World Wars I and II. Hitler was a soldier in 1996 and was wounded in his thigh from a blast shell during the Battle of Somme, later earning an Iron Cross for his troubles. He was brought to Beelitz for medical attention after that injury.

P: I think it’s amazing that you picked three images from the same location... You have a good eye! However, it is not the Beelitzer Heilstätten. It is another sanatorium near Erfurt. At that time there were many of this type in Germany, some also at the time of the 2nd World War serving their army. That’s one reason, by the way, what interests me in such old buildings... digging in the past, the history... super exciting!

P: A bit like a trip to the Wild West.... but it was quite different and AI helped me. This photo shows an old railroad car I found on a siding in Würzburg, Germany. When I have some time at work and find something like this, I take the camera and disappear for an hour or two... Here I had hoped that the interior would be in a little better condition, but no luck.

This wagon was in the middle of Würzburg and from the windows you could really only see ugly buildings. So I made for a flair that suited me better to the picture and I ended up liking the desert landscape better.

R: And to that I must say, wise choice, Peter.

The desert theme you chose for background helps elevates your capture of the toppled interior of the train cart into a work of art.

Facing Page: P: This time I'm traveling in France, near Colmar.

So I drove along through one of those wonderfully romantic little wine villages where you would think time had stood still and there it was, the little farmhouse. I dared to look through the open window (sometimes in France or Belgium such old, dilapidated houses are still inhabited) and see the entire interior... as if the house had been hastily abandoned. I then went in through the open door and there was so much to see... for example, I found a diary from 1940... very exciting!

R: What an exciting adventure! That thrill of discovery and wonderment at old treasures lying in wait for an explorer is so well captured in the way sunlight streams through the room. It’s positively inviting and the ancient perambulator in the foreground, the molten gold tangled with its pulled back cover... Could this have been the room where Alice found the potion and grew out the windows? Honestly, a whole historical novel can be built around this shot.

I can’t help but wonder if you tinkered in your photoshop with it to add the dreamy quality or if it’s all the magic of natural light?

P: Yes, this little house was intriguing. I’ve seen this kind of place more often and it’s like you’re completely immersed in this place and in the lives of these people who lived here. I can tell you that I didn’t change anything in this room; everything I found was exactly the same. In the post-processing I have then strengthened the pressure, colors and contrasts and changed the light, of course. The room should be flooded with light... The feeling that a lukewarm breeze blows through the open window on a warm summer day, I find this thought beautiful.

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P: Here I am once again in Belgium, on the road and very close to Brussels. A reflection of this kind in a very small and inconspicuous attic is always something special, because suddenly, everything seems much larger. The building was a very old and for many years an empty children’s home. It was built at the end of the 19th century, now very run down. The roof was holey in many places and the rain was dripping in.... a great reflection R: The sense of depth and a door into another world when you focus on the reflection... The tiny and cute (or creepy) doll sitting tidily in a chair of it’s own... It’s like invisible kids are still lurking past our eyes, angling to jump in the puddle...

P: I don't know how long time has stood still in the children’s home, but the sight of this so sparsely furnished room made me a little sad... There may be a lot of light coming through the windows, but it reminded me almost of a prison... and children lived there? How sad…

R: Indeed, I had mistaken this for a prison room as well. A commentary on the sordid state of social work back in the day, isn’t it? The room seems straight out of a Dickens’ story.

Can you solve the mystery and share more details about what this place originally was and where?

P: This large complex near Brussels is still partly in use today. It used to be a children’s home and it is now a nursing home... I think. So there are still buildings on this site that are inhabited, but crazily there are also houses right next to it that are empty and decaying....

I never disclose the exact locations of abandoned places that I photograph. I also get the coordinates only because I am so secretive... if they were known, the destruction and vandalism would be inevitable.

R: A despicable reality indeed!

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Top.

Facing.

P: The Hall of Silence... it has the character of a cathedral, and yet it was just an old feed factory. The really very large hall was filled with water due to various structural damages. in front of this sight one felt extremely small as a human being. I wanted to somehow capture these gigantic dimensions and I think I succeeded quite well.

P: A Jesuit monastery in the Netherlands, abandoned until early 2023, not far from the German border. Here, too, I took the photos with the permission of the owner at the time. In the meantime, this monastery is being converted into a hotel and a conference center.

I can not say what specifically was produced or worked in this building... The factory stands to this day in Belgium and rotting.

In these walls you could feel the breath of the past in every room and every corridor. At the end of this long corridor is a model. I liked this snapshot very much... the mystical light, the special floor, the peace that such buildings radiate and at the far end that model in the right outfit...

R: I whole-heartedly agree with your sentiment.

The way you capture these dual rows of rising pillars opening a reflected path does create awe in the viewer. And yet the humble origins of the factory joins its fate full circle in a moral of mundaneness of vast creations and the humilty of their inevitable fate.

R: Ha! Looks like we have found the Alice of your photographic wonderland!

This Boslust monastery in Valkenburg seems to be having its fair share of misfortune. The renovation projects have changed enough hands and plans. The latest owner is no longer planning a hotel, and work was recently halted by the local council on report of unsafe working conditions.

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P: Taken a few years ago in an old castle, near Hanover, Germany; this was already a special tour with the permission of the owner. I had at that time 4-5 hours to explore the infinite attics in the castle Bückeburg. The treasures lay in the form of furniture, pictures and other things from times long past. I was also able to photograph rooms one lower floors where all this staff must have been used. It was truly an impressive journey into the past.

R: The confluence of sun, rust, mohagany and dust immortalized by your artistic eye, this one’s my favoirite in this whole feature for all the mostalgia it evokes. for all things forgotten.

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P: I see the shadows flitting... everything in black and white... a long corridor, all doors open... a fine breeze brings a musty stench to my nose... somewhere an open window slams shut and the old floorboards creak. It sounds like heavy footsteps coming closer and closer... where am I... in a dream? I don't know where I took this photo... I've searched and searched in my archives and I have a suspicion, but I'm not sure.... Somewhere in France, but it doesn't really matter!

R: Were the doors left open by the wind or unseen hands, one wonders? After this wonderful corridor of possibilities, we have one last puzzle on the next page....

R: Before you read Peter’s description, take a moment to guess which of the abandoned places already featured Peter has captured here in all its glory. The foliage wrapping its arms around has alleviated the sense of abandonment and desolation from the place. There is that optimism and cheeriness found in nature... the cycle of life goes on, indifferent to the human drama the walls have witnessed!

P: And again we see the same location as on Pages 56-7, only this time a piece of exterior view. The whole complex is located in the middle of a forest, partly very overgrown and surrounded by large trees that once belonged to the associated park. How artful at that time but was still standing in all its glory; this great architecture always inspires me very much!

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R: Peter, it was so nice of you to take our readers with you in your world of abandoned places. Please share some of your general inspirations and experiences in this field.

P: Photography is a hobby for me, a wonderful balance for my day job. I don’t earn any money with it, but provide almost all my pictures to the general public for free at Unsplash.com and Pixabay.com. Anyone who feels the need and appreciates my art is welcome to send me a donation. I started taking pictures in 2015. Since I travel a lot in Europe in my job and see a lot of beautiful, special, and abandoned places, I want to capture that with a camera, if time allows. Both photography and image editing I have taught myself and am actually in a constant learning process. That’s exactly what keeps me at the rod: photographing special places and changing them by editing the images, manipulating them, letting my imagination run wild and sometimes showing the photos in their original state, according to my mood Abandoned places have a special aura for me.... What happened here in the past, who lived here or who worked here, how were the people, what is the story behind it? It is sometimes mystical, sometimes also a little bit creepy to visit such places; all this excites me very much; it’s like a virus or an addiction.... I often have no time for photography, but at some point I have to go again and for this reason the next trip to an old castle, which has been empty for many years, is already planned... this time it goes to the East of Europe.

I already change my original photos very often... sometimes just a little bit, sometimes a day also becomes a night shot, with horror house and gloomy mood... the change makes me have as much fun, as photographing.

EMPATHY. CREATIVITY. ZERO BOREDOM. WELCOME TO NEW ENGLAND INNOVATION ACADEMY, THE SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE. he world is changing rapidly—new technology, new industries launching, new jobs forming almost overnight. Yet for some reason, despite all this tumult, education stays stagnant. Many of these institutions are using century-old teaching techniques and assessment methods. They operate like factories, valuing convention and conformity over creativity. The results are disastrous. Too often learning is neglected in favor of rote memorization and inapplicable skills. Engagement and application suffer. More importantly, students suffer! They are staying up later than their guardians, studying knowledge they’ll never actually apply. They are stressed out and unsatisfied.

Ultimately, these students are entering the real world ill-equipped for the future, merely trained to pass a test, not to lead.

That’s why we’ve made a new kind of school, built from the ground up with the student—and their needs—in mind. A school where everyone belongs. A school where the classroom has no boundaries. A school that never forgets that learning should be inherently fun.

OUR CURRICULUM No two students are the same. We know that. That’s why we’ve created a relevant, future-focused curriculum that gives students permission and space to explore. With so many paths, their potential is limitless.

Our curriculum includes the study of Humanities, Math, Science, Languages, Visual Arts, Theater Arts, Well-being, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation Studio.

Innovation Studio is an immersive, multi-disciplinary design studio that teaches responsible innovation and entrepreneurship that results in beautiful outcomes that benefit the world.

Students will plan, create, implement, and iterate on their own original projects in Innovation Studio, resulting in meaningful innovations and breakthroughs.

NEIA is proud to partner with Global Online Academy (GOA), an innovative and

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NEIACADEMY.ORG

intellectually stimulating online learning platform for students seeking a transformative educational experience. Although NEIA’s scope of subjects is both wide and deep, GOA supplements NEIA’s core curriculum and gives students the opportunities they need to explore additional topics they are passionate about. The topics range from Business, Economics & Finance, Computer Science & Engineering, Psychology & Neuroscience, Art, Media & Design, and many more. By completing three or more courses within one of GOA’s eight pathways, students earn a Pathway Certification, which is highlighted on their GOA transcript.

Across all classes and disciplines, our school never loses sight of our founding pillars. We carry these core values into every endeavor, in and out of the classroom.

“

My son, Ethan enjoys it. He enjoys being at NEIA and becoming a critical thinker in learning... I see he’s happy, learning, and challenged while also not stressed.”

B A R B A R A , 11T H G R A D E PA R E N T

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“

The people at NEIA that my daughter, Lila interacts with daily are pretty amazing. They have such great backgrounds and expertise.

I always feel great dropping her off or having her in class, knowing the kind of experience she is gaining.”

DAV E , 11T H G R A D E PA R E N T

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION

Entrepreneurship is at the center of

everything that we do at NEIA. Like any other skill, entrepreneurship must be practiced. Students are taught how to find their passion, then they put that passion to use by considering desirability, viability, and feasibility. Whatever our learners choose to pursue, they are given the tools to make their dreams a reality.

Committed to promoting responsible entrepreneurship, the Entrepreneurship curriculum integrates lessons on social impact, encouraging students to envision business endeavors that can contribute positively to the world, not just make money.

An essential part of entrepreneurship is innovation. Innovation means not just embracing change, but actively creating it. Each student at NEIA learns how to use the design process on team projects ranging from consumer and medical products to solutions for societal issues.

Our goal is to alchemize student passion and teach real-world problem-solving skills.

HUMAN-CENTERED DESIGN

Human-centered design (HCD) is a term that gets thrown around a lot these days, but at NEIA it’s so much more than that. It is a philosophy that has been the core of the Innovator experience since Day One. HCD is a problem-solving technique that focuses on real people. It starts with developing empathy for the users whom you are designing for.

This process, which never loses sight of the stakeholders and the needs of people, guides our students in problem-solving, teamwork, integrity, and compassion.

When our 12th-graders get a oncein-a-lifetime opportunity to pitch rollerblade designs to real Rollerblade™ representatives, they begin by considering both their client’s and users’ needs. Our lunches, crafted by our excellent chef, are specifically designed to introduce our students to a variety of cultures and dishes they might not have encountered before. Everything we do— teaching, counseling, and coaching—is designed with empathy in mind.

INTEGRATED AND EXPERIENTIAL

Tradition tells us that we need to separate each branch of a subject into its own class. History and English are taught completely independently of one another. Science is divided into years: Chemistry and Anatomy and Biology, all separated. But what if that’s actually counterintuitive? Why should students take Algebra 1, move on to Geometry, and come back to Algebra 2 just to realize they’ve forgotten everything they learned? At NEIA, we have found a better way. No more siloing subjects. Our Humanities curriculum brings together History, English, and Geography. Rather than separating each math subject into its own year (Geometry, Algebra, and Precalculus), our integrated math sequence takes a holistic approach to mathematical reasoning, interweaving all those important subjects together.

We don’t stop there. Let’s take that idea to the next level: integration across all subjects. In the real world, rarely are you just using math, or just using science, or just using art. This founding philosophy, where subjects are integrated rather than isolated, improves retention and deepens learning. In practice, these collaborations between curriculums can take form in a variety of really exciting ways. A Languages project might team up with the Visual Arts department to make a magazine, pairing design with the written word. Innovation Studio can bring scientific theory to life in our cutting-edge maker spaces. Humanities crosses over with Math, Well-being works its way into everything that we do. All areas intentionally integrate at various entry points, increasing the relevance and authenticity of learning.

BELONGING AND TOGETHERNESS

To foster togetherness, we strive to make everyone in our community feel seen, valued, and heard. As an innovation-minded institution, we believe in celebrating diversity, facilitating conversations, and giving everyone a voice.

From our staff to our students, we strive to create a safe, empathetic community of many cultures and perspectives.

THE SCHOOL OF THE FUTURE

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Manitoba Awaits Fate of Nine New Schools Promised under a Private-Public Partnership Program

Photo from Manitoba government website gov.mb.ca

USA, NOV 2023: A change in provincial government from Tories to NDP has left the fate of the schools in hanging that the Tories government promised.

Among promised schools were a 9-12 vocational school in Neepawa, and a K8 school in southwest Brandon, each planned to accommodate 500 and 700 students, respectively. Lisa Naylor, pictured right, who is the new minister of transport and infrastructure has promised to look into the previous contracts in order to build these schools.

- via Brandon Sun

ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE DOES NOT EXTEND SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM FOR PRIVATE SCHOOL ATTENDEES USA, NOV 2023: In 2017, the Illinois government started the Invest in Kids Scholarship Tax Credit Program. It offered a 75% tax credit to individuals or businesses who contributed to Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). SGOs help out middle and lower income families who can’t send their child to a non-public school of their choice due to financial limitations. Illinois’ tax credit for contributing to the local SGOs finishes in the year 2024. The last round of scholarships for the 20232024 school year have already been awarded. Unless the program is extended, parents in the state will be back to forcing their kids to a public school, even though a different, private school matched the child’s unique skill set or condition better.

Parents, educationists, and other activists have been protesting against the ending of the tax credit program to no avail.

- via Toronto Star

Concerns raised over Spending for Arizona’s State Scholarships for Private Schools Students

USA, NOV 2023: A legislative committee appointed to oversee matters with Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) is frustrated with the lack transparency and efficiency of records and data from ESA. Currently, 70 thousand students are enrolled and covering scholarships so parents can send these kids to a private or alternate school of their choice is projected to cost $900 million for the next fiscal year, raising questions, concerns, and plenty of eyebrows. Critics are decrying the fact that a portion of the scholarship money was spent on alternate schooling parents on equipment for activities that public school attendees can’t even dream about.

- via AZPM News and ABC 15 News

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Oikocredit Loans 1.5 Million USD to Ed Partners Africa to Open Affordable Private Schools in Kenya KENYA, AUG 2023: Oikocredit is a social investor that specializes in sustainable development and capacity building in the developing nations of Africa. Ed Partners Africa advances affordable loans to schools in need of development, helping the school upgrade its infrastructure, transport facilities, technology, and general upgrade of the look of the school. The executives of both companies were excited moving ahead with this partnership and renewed their commitment to further affordable private education to African people. The current loan will help Ed Partners serve a pool of 400 private schools across Kenya.

Recently, African countries are experiencing a boon in private schooling especially International schools. Recent changes in policy in China has turned the attention of international educationists to Africa, where there are unmet needs for affordable private education.

- via Africa.com and ForeignPolicy.com Open air school in a poor rural village in sub-Saharan African

Dulwich College to Join List of Private Schools Buckling under Pressures in China HONG KONG, NOV 2023: A number of changes in China’s private and international schooling landscape are forcing schools to close or face mergers. Economy has been slowing down in China and it has also introduced tighter regulations for private schools recently. These changes follow after a pre-pandemic boon in internationally run bilingual schools with western curriculums and exams. In an attempt to lower financial pressures on families and ease examination stresses from the children, China introduced some strict regulations for private schools in 2021. The new rules centered on bringing private and international school cirriculums more in line with the official curriculum taught in public schools. Combined with the pandemic years and slowing economy, the new rules have severely limited the enrollment market forcing schools to desperate measures. .

- via Reuters

Labour Party, UK, Promises to Tax Private Schools but Not Remove Charity Status LONDON, SEP 2023: If it comes in power, UK’s Labor Party has promised to mandate private schools pay value-added and business taxes. Earlier some readers had said this will requiring stripping some private schools of their charity status. However, now the leaders have clarified that mandating tax payments does not require forcing charity private schools to give up their status and the benefits that come with it. These schools deserve and enjoy key tax redemptions.

-via FinancialTimes.com

Recent Homeschooling Trends in the USA Albert Cheng and Daniel Hamlin researched the prevalence of different homeschooling formats from nationally representative USA data: i) homeschooling plus private tutoring; ii) homeschooling plus online learning; iii); homeschooling with partial school enrollment; and iv) fully parent-educated homeschooling.

They discovered that supplementing home education with one or other resources listed is highly prevalent. Fully parent-based education tends to be more popular in lower-income, Southern, white families. Online learning is very commonly supplemented with at the secondary level. This study was published in 2022 by SAGE in Education Policy, Vol. 37.

Dimensions of Explosive International Schooling Growth Tristan Bunnell, Lecturer, International Education, University of Bath, finds that not only international schooling has grown explosively in the last decade, it’s predicted to keep growing at a faster rate by the end of this decade. Moreover, the flavor of international schooling enrollment market has changed critically. It’s the middle-class families, looking for options alternative to traditional public schooling and the elite world of expensive private schools.

Typically, these schools are funded by profit-drive private equity funds from foreign nations and their main attraction to families is the prospect of non-public schooling curriculum and bilingual education.

The schools are also characterized by greater diversity and slightly more affordability than elite private schools.

Countries have been slow and varied in their policy or market responses. Some countries such as Egypt and Malaysia have started “International Public Schools,” extending the alternate education format to their respective pools of public school attendees.

Fast-paced policy responses to this growth have avoided Concerns and criticisms surrounding open discussion and debate. New state policies in different are now reducing traditional boundaries between international schooling in various countries private, public, and international schooling. The major concern raised about this reactionary policy is the erasure of nations include: identities and subversion of regional cultures.

Lack of transparency - Monetary national Bunnell explains this phenomenon with an “inverted-cologrowth motives - Fear of student nialism growth thesis.” While in Europe and English-speaking nations, bilingual education strengthens the cultural populations of international schools roots of local diverse populations, in all other nations it has loosing their national identity - Of- the opposite function. With English as the primary mode of instruction and a Western curriculum, the thesis makes fering public international option sense. It also serves an extra stream of revenue for European and North American private schooling brands who themonly to gifted students selves face competition from bilingual education at home.

“[M]any International Schools are no longer autonomous players, and they bring with them the sophisticated machinery and baggage of the mainly Global North-based GEI such as private equity funding, powerful commercial brands, and anonymous foreign investors. International Schooling now involves a complex flow of trade, like any other goods and services” -- Tristan Bunnell (2022), in Educational Review, 74:1, p. 47

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Pandemic-enforced, school-led, home-based learning Research has finally emerged on what different learning trends did the children display when everyone was forced into a home-based model for online schooling during the recent COVID-19 pandemic. York University’s Melody Minhorst’s literature review, published in YU-WRITE, a journal of graduate student research in education, discovered the following patterns reported in peer-reviewed research:

“[M]many children could not fo- At the same time many “children excelled cus or did not know how to in the home environment and enjoyed structure their studies in a way ‘that they could organize their work authat was helpful for learning.” tonomously and work independently.’”

“Families had to take on different responsibilities as school and home roles overlapped and they faced similar hardships as documented in pre-pandemic homeschooling.”

It is noteworthy that in different studies when children or caregivers were asked what they appreciated, or what they had needed, regarding home-based school learning, the commonly cited answer Minhorts found was flexibility.

For the caregivers at least, the pandemic-enforced home-based school learning was a cause of much psychological disturbance and upset. A large study of Australian adults who went through it found very interesting patterns. A research team from the Australian National University analyzed nationally representative data from the Australian National COVID-19 Mental Health, Behavior and Risk Communication (COVID-MHBRC) survey. This study had enough data to compare parents with children doing home-based school learning with parents with no children, or those with children who continued regular schooling just as before the pandemic.

Homeschooling parents suffered greater distress and also reported more disturbance in their work/home life from the home-schooling.

Experiencing greater impact from the new routines and feeling unsupported by the school contributed to having more distress and work/ home life disruption.

Some parents had to modify their usual work hours which severely impacted their leisure time and made home management activities more difficult to finish.

This study was published in 2022 in the journal, BMC Public Health, Vol. 22.

Boarding School and College Advising From Experienced Experts 203.848.7112 Madison, Connecticut www.soundconsulting.com 74

David Beecher

Christine Pape

95 75

Call Mark Blackman Office of Scattergood Enrollment Management main 319.519.1860 direct 319.519.1856 www.scattergood.org

“Autumn landscape, 1877, Fanny Churberg Original public domain image from Finnish National Gallery” via rawpixel

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77 “Autumn ferns (1887) chromolithograph art by Ellen T. Fisher.

Original public domain image from the Library of Congress.

Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.”

“Claude Monet’s Tulip Fields at Sassenheim (1886) famous painting.

Original from the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.”

Public domain.

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“Japanese plum blossoms in moonlight (18th century) vintage ink and color on silk by Sō Shizan. Original public domain image from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.”

Public domain

Ademola Oyejobi-Mabadeje

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LET

Let me be me.

Let the leaves beneath my feet lift me up, And place me on top of this karri tree.

Your world is in my view.

If you can do it, I can do it too.

I breath the air that you breathe.

ME

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Let me be me.

I’m not the mind you think you know.

I am a light; only I can spark to glow.

Whenever you get lost in the night’s snow, This firefly will show you the way back home.

Let me be me.

Enjoy the journey in your train of thought.

Look outside Time’s window. birds of paradise.

Species of all sort.

Planted in your beautiful paradigm.

Slow down. Listen to your heart cry.

Heart strings sing the softest chime.

Ignore what you’ve heard through the grapevine.

Let me be me.

Spiced cinnamon and apricot iced tea.

Sweet scents of freedom Baked by Mother Nature.

Peace and love is all we need To find out what it truly means to be serene.

“Karri trees of Boranup Forest in the Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park” via Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

BE

Let me be me.

Let the leaves beneath my feet lift me up, And place me on top of this karri tree Your world is in my view.

If you can do it, I can do it too.

Let me finally Be me.

Since our launch in 1991, LewerMark Student Insurance’s guiding principle has been ’Do the right thing’. Thirty years later, and with the second and third generations of Lewer family leadership now at the helm, this principle continues to drive us.

We administer health insurance for international students because we believe those students and their institutions need better options—options that do right by the schools and students. We listen to our clients, adapt to their changing needs (and the changing times), and ultimately, help them protect the dreams and goals of our nation’s international student body. Similar to the K-12 schools we partner with, our level of service and care is holistic.

Client Advocacy The cornerstone of LewerMark's commitment to student care is our Client Advocacy Team. No matter the benefits we offer, if the student can’t understand or access their benefits easily or can’t get questions answered or provider billing problems resolved, we haven’t brought the student any value.

That’s why our team is available by phone or web chat to provide solutions. They make claims processing and payment, billing and enrollment, and program management a breeze for you, for your international office, and for your students.

“We have been working with LewerMark for more than seven years,” said Kim Fiala, Assistant to Head of School and Registrar at Thomas Jefferson School. “The team is always professional, friendly, and helpful. Annual renewals are simple and easy to complete. The claims folks are always helpful and quick to resolve any issues that crop up. We really value their partnership.”

Simply put, we know you already have more than enough on your plate, so it’s our pleasure to handle the insurance administration duties for you. Speaking of insurance administration, have you ever tried to explain American health insurance to anyone? It’s confusing!

The jargon can be intimidating, especially when it directly impacts both the student’s health and wallet. This is why our Client Advocacy Team hosts orientations for students and families. We’ll help navigate the complexities of the US healthcare system and even have a little fun while we’re at it—because we all know the topic of health insurance can be tedious.

Trusted Basics Our approach is to cover all the expected basics by providing a robust PPO network and low out-of-pocket cost immunizations, annual health checkups, sports physicals and coverage, and tuberculosis testing, to name a few. “We’ve yet to find a company that can match LewerMark’s product and customer service,” said Gay Bennett, High School Vice Principal, and International Program Director at Linfield Christian School. “Truly, the personalized website, knowledgeable staff, and immediate response to questions set LewerMark

Photo Credit (all on spread): LewerMark Insurance

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83 erMark apart from all the others. They are consistently outstanding and provide peace of mind to families that the medical needs of students will be met.”

Beyond Basics Like we said earlier, we want to build better options for students — using the global benchmark for features and design. That’s why we don’t stop at the basics. We go beyond the expected coverages to provide care that is directly applicable to the needs of international students.

For example, LewerMark offers Interscholastic sports coverage. We know students in your schools like playing sports, — that it leads to a sense of community and builds character. So whether they hit it off with the tennis team or decide to kick it with the soccer team, we have the coverage that’s just right for them. They will be able to access care from anywhere, because we’ve brought telemedicine to international student care. We’ve partnered with Teladoc, the global leader in virtual care. They provide both general medical and complex care by web, phone, or mobile app. It is a convenient and affordable option that allows students to talk to a doctor who can diagnose, recommend treatment, and prescribe medication. But we didn’t stop there.

Adapting to Current Needs Even further beyond the basics, we are constantly adapting to meet new needs.

We listen to our clients and students, and explore new options and opportunities to provide a product that students will actually use.

After two years of quarantining, masking, and vaccinating, the coronavirus still hasn’t gone away. But we’re taking the panic out of pandemic with a little common sense.

COVID-19 treatment is covered under the LewerMark plan and medically necessary diagnostic testing is covered at no charge to your students.

The pandemic has also accelerated the concerning trend of emotional well-being among students, especially international students. Our plan offers outpatient and inpatient mental coverage if prevention and intervention methods at your school are not meeting your student’s needs.

We believe our commitment to meeting the unique and changing needs of international students is why we hear such positive comments from our clients, like this one from Joelle Williams, International Student Program Advisor at Grand Rapids Christian Schools: "The strong desire for both rigorous insurance coverage for our students and efficient and professional customer service—for both our students and us as program administrators—led us to LewerMark Student Insurance.

From the very beginning of our involvement with LewerMark we have been truly impressed by their knowledge of the needs associated with working for students in the secondary education market, their attention to details, their quick responses to our questions, and their genuine desire to see students well cared for. Our switch to LewerMark has so far been an excellent move!”

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It’s High Time to Separate ZIONISM from JUDAISM...

“Israel and Gaza militants traded cross-border fire.”

Photo by Anas Mohammed Shutterstock; Editorial use license.

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BECKEY KELVIN WITH RHODORA O

An unflinching look at how North America dismisses the ongoing war crimes on the Gaza strip

Ever since the latest wave of Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7th this year, the Israeli response has been extreme. As early as October 10th, President Netanyahu had already promised “a long war ahead.” The number of civilians killed on the Palestine side has been alarmingly ballooning every since. By October 19th, the office of UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk raised his voice against the scale of violence against civilians.

Together, women and children form 67% of the war casualties in Palestine since October.

Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City was targeted and bombed in October, killing nearly 500 civilians including medical staff at the spot, while burying many injured victims under the rubble.

A school operated by the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency has repeatedly received deadly strikes, as well as the surrounding

“We are extremely alarmed by the rapidly deteriorating human rights situation in the occupied West Bank and the increase in unlawful use of lethal force.”

-- Office of UN High Commissioner of Human Rights

By the start of November, more than 8,000 Palestinians, most of them civilian including a large number of infants and children, had gave up their lives in attacks from across the border. That number has already crossed the 10,000 mark at the time of writing. In contrast, the Israeli death toll from Hamas attacks reported thus far is around 1400 people.

The following human rights violations have been committed thus far: 4,237 children have been killed in Palestine since October 7th, a number that is shockingly twice the total number of children’s death in military action in the same area since 1967. As the Defense for Children International commented, Gaza has become a “graveyard for children.”

In different statements from the UNICEF, WHO, and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), “Women, children and newborns in Gaza are disproportionately bearing the burden of the escalation of hostilities in the occupied Palestinian territory, both as casualties and in reduced access to health services.”

More than 2000 women have been killed.

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Al-Maghazi camp which shelters families displaced by the war.

39 journalists killed so far.

Israeli warplanes have been encircling many of the 13 hospitals in the country, prompting evacuations which often inevitably prove life-threatening for the people under medical care.

Scaling evacuation orders from Israeli military has caused the displacement of 1,500,00 Palestinians since October 7. This number represents a whopping 65% of the total population in the country and is the largest displacement in the shortest amount of time in human history.

Since 9 October, Israeli military executed a “complete siege” on the Gaza strip. This action has cut off deliveries of food, water, fuel, and other supplies to a country already under occupation and dependent on humanitarian aid.

Now, Israeli forces have ordered the evacuation of the only pediatric cancer care center in the area, according to Dr. Barbara Zind, the American doctor in charge, who had no choice but to return to USA.

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“Smoke rises after Israeli air strikes of the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, October 10, 2023.”

By Anas Mohammed Shutterstock; Editorial use license

Typically, human rights violations and war crimes at this scale earn immediate international attention with most of the civilized world creating immense pressure to end the violence. But not in this case.

Craig Mokhiber, a human rights lawyer and director of the UN High Commissioner of Human Rights’ New York office resigned from his directorship over the UN’s inability to effectively end the Israeli attacks. In his resignation letter, he also accused much of North America and Europe as “wholly complicit in the horrific assault.”

In the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attach, US President Biden has supported Israel with a commiserative visit to the country, identifying as a Zionist, sending billions in military aid, doubting the figures of Palestine’s human loss, and downplayed the civilian victims as “the price of waging war.”

The European governments and Canada, while less active than the USA, have more or less went along this approach: support Israel’s actions and turn a blind eye to the blatant genocide and child-murdering.

According to writers for Brookings Institute, a non-profit research organization on international policy, this attitude is not only perpetuating mass violations of the international law, but will also backfire for short-term and long-term Israeli and US interests. As King Abdullah II of Jordan, a country who has always supported USA, declared:

“The message … is loud and clear: Palestinian lives matter less than Israeli ones. Our lives matter less than other lives. The application of international law is optional. And human rights have boundaries — they stop at borders, they stop at races, and they stop at religions.”

Such a tone-deaf North American and European attitude has placed the whole Palestinian population under threat of complete eradication. It can escalate tensions in the whole region, against US interests, draw Israel and USA in military conflict with Iran, take the whole world on the verge of another world war, and give rise to new future militant groups in the region resisting Israeli and US military actions.

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I know well that the concept of genocide has often been subject to political abuse. But the current wholesale slaughter of the Palestinian people, rooted in an ethno-nationalist settler colonial ideology, in continuation of decades of their systematic persecution and purging, based entirely upon their status as Arabs, and coupled with explicit statements of intent by leaders in the Israeli government and military, leaves no room for doubt or debate. In Gaza, civilian homes, schools, churches, mosques, and medical institutions are wantonly attacked as thousands of civilians are massacred. In the West Bank, including occupied Jerusalem, homes are seized and reassigned based entirely on race, and violent settler pogroms are accompanied

by Israeli military units. Across the land, Apartheid rules.

This is a text-book case of genocide.

-- Excerpt from Craig Mokhiber’s Resignation Letter as Director of the New York Office of UN High Commissioner of Human Rights

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“Israeli and Palestinian deaths preceding the 2023 Israel–Hamas war. Of the Palestinian deaths 5,360 were in Gaza, 1,007 in the West Bank, 37 in Israel. Most were civilians on both sides” Based on data from UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Image via Wikipedia; CC BY-SA 4.0

Delineating Zionists from Jews A lot of the desensitization surrounding the Palestinian situation results from equating calls to observe human rights for the country’s civilian population with antisemitism. But this couldn’t be further from the truth.

The holocaust by Hitler’s Nazi Germany unleashed on innocent Jewish people in Germany and other European regions was a horrible crime which is rightly remembered as an irredeemable, extremely horrific piece of history.

Zionism was a nationalist political movement founded by secular Jews with the express purpose of finding the state-less Jewish nation a country of their own. Palestinian territory, due to its historical connections to Judaism, was a natural choice. Unfortunately, due to the unlawful eviction and forced displacement of millions of Palestinians, and later, military occupation, racial apartheid, and continued evictions and other human rights violations of the Palestinian Arab residents in the area, whether Israel or Palestine, has been the source of constant political and military conflict in the area.

Now, both among laypeople and in political or pop culture circles, any attempts to raise voice in favor of Palestinian human rights get flagged down as “antisemitism. From there on it becomes easy to dismiss the entire issue, to dehumanize innocent civilians including babies, pregnant women, and schoolchildren, and to basically kill even the messenger as an antisemitic.

Of course, Judaism is a monotheistic religion with many different interpretations and traditions. Zionism, on the other hand is an all-encompassing political philosophy with different meanings. Although Zionism developed from Jewish aspirations, not all Jews share this political ideal. The mistake of thinking that Zionism and Judaism are one of the same can confuse discussions of war, politics, rights and their violations.

Attacking any commentary or critique on Zionist philosophy as an attack on the faith or the following of Judaism is dangerous and inaccurate. It loses sight of the fact that Zionism is one of the political ideologies that some,

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but not all, Jewish people subscribe to. Keeping them separate and using the right term in discussions will foster objectivity and lack of bias and prevent discussions of the future of the area and peace and harmony between the two countries from an emotional clouding of judgment.

While, antisemitism refers to a wrongful prejudice and discrimination against Jews, and is condemnable on all accounts, the right term when someone does not agree with Zionist philosophy or actions will be anti-Zionist. Given that Zionism is a political movement that has frequently been called out for extreme, violent, and damaging interpretations for neighboring Arabs, it should be no surprise, that many Jews in the world today are anti-Zionists.

The thing is that it’s the age of Internet and deaths of children, bombings of schools and hospitals, and killings or evacuations of journalists, doctors, and UN workers can no longer be twisted as “terrorist propaganda.” People are live tweeting videos of shocking, graphic scenes from inside Palestine. UN workers and international media on-site are documenting and filing reports.

Our world is certainly more aware and wellversed on human rights today than before.

Many Jewish people have joined forces with other activists in raising awareness and upholding the cause of the oppressed Palestinian nation. Labeling all Muslims as terrorists was a mistake North American made before in the 9/11 aftermath and the world knows better know. Then why are similar mistakes being made when it comes to the Israel-Palestine issue? This is a question that educated, aware, and rights-conscious Jews are asking as much as anyone else.

Two major protests have recently been conducted so far in USA to protest the blind eye to the war crimes being daily committed. Tens of thousands of people, Muslims, Jews and other human rights activists, marched shoulder to shoulder on Washington DC towards the White House demanding an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. Leaders as

93 well as ordinary citizens from Jewish and Arab communities held signs in solidarity with Palestine. Many American Jews released videos explaining why they were supporting the Palestine cause, doing their part in clarifying the damaging fuzziness between Zionism and Judaism.

Later, on the same weekend, 500 Jewish peace activists gathered around the Statue of Liberty, in a sit-in demonstration demanding a ceasefire. It was arranged by New York’s Jewish Voice for Peace, a group the Jewish community created specifically to raise awareness and understanding on the Palestine-Israel conflict and empathy with the oppression of Palestine. According to the mission statement on their official website, they are “inspired by Jewish tradition to work together for peace, equality, human rights, respect for international law, and a U.S. foreign policy based on these ideals.

“As long as the people of Gaza are screaming, we need to yell louder, no matter who attempts to silence us.”

-- American Jewish photographer, artist and activist Nan Goldin, during the Statue of Liberty sit-in demonstration for ceasefire in Gaza.

5 November, 2023

“Palestinians carry the body of a 3-year-old child, Amir Qanan, who was killed after an Israeli air strike on his home, in the city of Khan Yunis, southern of the Gaza Strip, on October 10 2023.

Anas Mohammed, Shutterstock; Editorial use license

Al-Aqsa Mosque, Jerusalem, Israel, against a beautiful sunset sky.

Nick Bundle Photography, via Shutterstock; Editorial use license

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95 A Palestinian child playing in a field.

Photo by Hosny Salah Pixabay license

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People who work in the admissions world are special and we are delighted to introduce you to some of our colleagues. Reach out to them so we can all learn from each other!

DISCLAIMER: All profiles have been borrowed or put together from the professionals’ official online presence.

Dwayne Matthews is an internationally recognized Future of Education and Innovation Strategist. Matthews founded the TomorrowNow Learning Lab, which was the world’s first “future of learning” lab to integrate the metaverse, neurotechnology platforms and protocols, project based learning and management to increase student success and mental wellbeing Matthews sits on a number of boards including the OVS advisory board, Hackergal advisory board, and the Universal Proptech advisory board.

Dwayne is currently the Future of Education segment expert on Canada’s national breakfast show, CTV’s Your Morning and The Marilyn Denis Show.

DWAYNE MATTHEWS Educational Consultant, Ontario Virtual School, Toronto, ON

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Dwayne completed his Bachelor of Education, with a focus on Elementary Education and Teaching, in 1999 from the University of Windsor, where he is now a celebrated alumnus, before embarking on his remarkable career.

99 SETH DUNHAM President, Bridgeway Academy, Catasauqua, PA Seth Dunham is the President of Edovate Learning Corp and founding board member of the Homeschool Trade Association. Seth is passionate about education, leadership development and the importance of family. Seth has successfully lead individuals, teams and organizations for over 25 years. He has been called a strategic thinker, a great coach, and an honest leader but what drives him most is to make a lasting and positive impact in each person, team, company, and family that he can. He is on a mission to make a difference, and to help others do the same. When he isn’t working, Seth spends time with his family, wood working projects or outdoors hiking and hunting. Seth describes himself as a “builder”, someone who loves to build whether it is furniture in his workshop or business as an executive leader, he puts his focus, intellect and effort fully into building something that will last and enrich the lives of others.

LEIGH BORTINS Founder, Classical Conversations, Southern Pines, NC

Leigh Bortins is best known for creating lifelong learners through her educational support program, Classical Conversations, which organizes classical academic communities for homeschooling families.

Leigh founded Classical Conversations (or CC) in 1997 to know God and to make Him known through the power of community. CC supports classical, Christian homeschoolers in all fifty states and thirty foreign countries, with well over 45,000 families enrolled in the program. After receiving a bachelor of science in aerospace engineering from the University of Michigan, Leigh went on to write her Doctor of Ministry thesis on church-based global education for Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.

She has written several books, including The Core: Teaching Your Child the Foundations of Classical Education, The Question: Teaching Your Child the Essentials of Classical Education, and The Conversation: Challenging Your Student with a Classical Education, a series which explores the classical trivium from a parent’s perspective. She has also authored curriculum and guides for parents and students, including The Math Map, a complete math curriculum for classical students of all ages.

VANI MANOKARAN Assistant Principal, Victorian High Ability Program, Thornbury, VC

Vani completed her Masters in Educational Leadership and Management from the University of Melbourne in 2010. She also has a diploma in teaching biology and chemistry. Using these credentials, Vani has carved out an awesome international career as a teacher in independent schools.

Vani has served in Singapore’s Ministry of Education for some years. Returning to Australia, Vani joined the MacRobertson Girls’ High School in Melbourne. She taught advanced courses at this school then moved into administration, serving as an outreach coordinator for the gifted and talented. She was promoted to Director of Development and Accountability at this school as well.

When Vani Manokaran accepted a role at Virtual School Victoria (VSV) after only working in physical schools, a number of her colleagues were curious to find out more about how a virtual school worked. Vani was also curious – she knew this was an ‘opportunity of a lifetime’. Vani believes that while technology is a key component of virtual teaching, it does not replace a great teacher.

Mr Koul is an accomplished professional with 27 years of domestic and international experience in education management, skill development, government and institutional business.

He has helped develop and manage more than 900 educational learning setups across 12 countries. In the past, he worked for organizations like Hero Group, Everonn Education, Apollo Tyres Group and Apeejay Education Society. Mr Koul has served as a member of NABET (Quality Council of India), BRICS Business Council for Skills Development Sector Working Group, and others.

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RAJEEV Director, Operations and Integration, Global Schools Foundation, Singapore

101 NEELAM SHAH Lead Admissions, K8 Online School, Lucknow, UP In Shah’s own words: “Being around children is what drives my energy and motivation. Their smiles bring smiles to me and when I am able to create a positive difference in their lives, I feel I have achieved something. I have literally spent my entire career inside the classroom driving that positive difference to thousands of children over the last 2 decades. I know what counts and how to make it count, when it comes to children’s development. In K8 School, I bring together my professional passion, experience and motivation to take this spirit to students pan-nation.”

ROLANDO BALMACEDA G. Regional Project Manager -- South America, Chile

Rolando grew up in Chile and moved to the USA for two years as a volunteer representative to teach and help the Latin community. When he returned, he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Construction Engineering at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, and two certificates: Preparation and Evaluation of Real Estate Projects and Project Planning Management (PUC) from the Universidad de Chile.

Before joining the International Schools Partnership (ISP), Rolando worked for the judiciary Corporation as Head of the Construction Section and as a Project Manager for the Construction Department at LDS Corporation. These jobs have allowed him to gain experience in construction supervision, design reviews, tender processes, execution and delivery of remodels, expansion, and new building projects. He is also grateful for the opportunity that his jobs have given him to travel throughout Chile and South America (Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) and to meet and learn from a diverse group of wonderful people.

Rolando loves spending time with his wife Brenda and their three children and doing outdoor activities with them. He also like sports including track and field, gymnastics, Krav Maga, soccer and biking.

“Evolutionary ladder” Original cartoon generated via Adobe Firefly

“Trust me, Shorty. The real world is harsh on misfits. You’re better off in that glass case of yours.

What — mall dentistry is beneath you of a sudden now? Your hours are comfy!”

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BY JANICE KYLER

Exploring Trends

Homeschooling on the rise

Art on pages 104-8 and 111 created via Adobe Firefly.

Although the COVID-19 epidemic served as an impetus to spark the homeschooling growth in North America, it’s crucial to investigate the larger reasons and incentives that lead parents to switch to home-schooled education.

Some parents prefer the flexible scheduling the homeschooling option provides. Parents try to integrate the kids’ education into their home life. Children’s involvement in sports and neighborhood organizations promotes a well-rounded social development that allays socialization fears. Finally, homeschooling aligns with some parents’ religious beliefs and philosophical convictions regarding education. But what are the larger concerns that are stabilizing homeschooling as a bonafide, preferred mode of education alongside public and private formal schooling?

Academic Concerns Washington Post recently published a poll on what’s driving the parents away from school more often these days. Many parents raised serious concerns about the quality of school education. Packed classrooms, disparities in academic standards, an increase in school shootings, and behavioral problems were the common reasons cited, not religious inclinations.

Individualized Learning A rising number of parents are assuming greater responsibility for their children’s education because they desire a more individualized method of instruction. A recent National Home Education Research Institute poll reported that parents’ main motivations for selecting homeschooling were related to their kids’ academic achievement.

Parents are criticizing standardized testing in the public education for encouraging “teaching to the test” and undervaluing individual student abilities. Students who are home-schooled are liberated from these limitations. They can learn at their own speed and according to their requirements.

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A Diversity of Methods

Curricular Options

By altering the curriculum, teaching strategies, and resources, parents may take into account the diverse learning styles and preferences of their children. Using this approach, students may go further into areas where they excel and research subjects that spark their interest.

Homeschooling encompasses a wide range of methods and concepts. Some parents adopt a more hands-on, practical approach, while others go for a more classical education and emphasize the importance of ancient literature and languages. Holistic, kid-centered homeschooling strategies that draw inspiration from Waldorf and Montessori education are also gaining popularity.

Many printed and digital materials are available that address a broad spectrum of topics, age groups, and learning preferences. Traditional textbooks, online courses, interactive materials, and even freely accessible Internet resources are all options available to parents.

Popular homeschooling curriculum comes from publishers such as Time4Learning, Khan Academy, and Abeka. Parents can also self-design an extensive and economical curriculum for their kids by utilizing free educational tools from Khan Academy, CK-12, and free online lesson plans. Some learning platforms such as IXL, offer monthly subscriptions to help students master concepts and skills.

The How-To of your homeschooling plan By altering the curriculum, teaching strategies, and resources, parents may take into account the diverse learning styles and preferences of their children. Using this approach, students may go further into areas where they excel and research subjects that spark their interest.

Homeschooling encompasses a wide range of methods and concepts. Some parents adopt a more hands-on, practical approach, while others go for a more classical education and emphasize the importance of ancient literature and languages. Holistic, kid-centered homeschooling strategies that draw inspiration from Waldorf and Montessori education are also gaining popularity.

Legal Aspects to Consider Legal standards and laws pertaining to homeschooling differ from state to province in North America. The necessity of uniform testing, record-keeping, and notification procedures are some of these legal factors. In order to ensure that their children receive an education that meets legal standards while maintaining the independence and individualized approach that homeschooling offers, families who choose to homeschool their children must be aware of and adhere to these limits. In general, the present surge in homeschooling may have been caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, but there are a number of other causes at work as well, including curricular variation, individualized learning, and academic concerns. These factors have led to an increase in the number of families in North America looking into homeschooling as a viable and effective educational option for their children.

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HOMESCHOOLING CURRICULUM GUIDE A. Planning a Curriculum STEP 1 Research Local Homeschooling Laws

STEP 2 Research State Curricula

STEP 3 Build your Homeschooling Plan

Homeschooling is legal in a large part of the world.

States and provinces of different countries establish detailed curriculum guidelines and criteria for each school subject at all grade levels.

Cover the following ground:

However, some countries, especially in Europe, Asia, and South America, still ban homeschooling.

In the USA & Canada, different regions may require you to: 1.

File or request your child’s local school baord about your decision to homeschool.

2. Follow a formal, written curriculum, or cover requisite subjects.

3. Demonstrate teaching ability/qualification.

4. Teach a required amount (in days/hours).

5. Maintain formal records for underage children (such as child’s work, attendance, lesson plans.

6. Register for standardized testing.

7. Conduct an annual evaluation.

Many states allow conducting homeschooling through association with a government based or a private school. Requirements of some states may differ when linked with a program or hiring a tutor.

These curriculums typically describe the contents children are expected to cover, and the skills they are expected to master. They often also give clues as to how mastery of content or skillset can be best demonstrated.

For each subject, after you have reviewed the curriculum: 1.

Decide if it matches what you expect your child to achieve at this grade level, or will it be too basic or advanced.

2. If the curriculum is a good match, decide the contents you wish to follow as the baseline for the year.

3. Decide what you want to vary and alternate with other content during the schooling year.

Once you have a clear vision of the content coverage, it is time to build your homeschooling curriculum.

Subjects 1.

Start with Language Arts and Math as the core skillsets.

2. Build up with history and science; 3. Add music, art, drama, & sports.

4. Vary with construction, cooking, cooding, gardening, etc.

Learning Activities Choose and Vary: 1. Science experiments 2. Journal writing 3. Reading time 4. Field trips 5. Nature walks 6. Research projects 7. Presentations 8. Survey Analysis 9. Posters 10. Roleplays/theater 11. Games 12. Construction & Craft Learning Materials 1.

Textbooks and Library books for projects and test preparation.

2. Activity books for practice.

3. Multimedia (videos, presentations, visuals, music) for engagement and retention.

B. Tailoring the Curriculum Plan Every child will probably have a tailored curriculum for every subject, but it’s not just about choice and variation. Not only you have to consider the needs, strengths and weaknesses of the child, you will also have to consider the limitations your own situation places on your plan.

STEP 4 Identify the Needs

STEP 5 Delimit your Budget

STEP 6 Define Preferences

1.

1.

Your household and work routines may determine the choice of activities and materials any day. Other than that, there should be room to incorporate cultural choices, such as these:

Learning styles are easy to dismiss, but tailoring learning activities to the child’s visual, kinesthetic, or auditory style increases the child’s capacity to understand and remember.

2. What are the strong versus weak areas of your child? What topics or activities interest your child better?

3. If your child is neurodivergence, you will have to research and evaluate the child’s needs more deeply and adapt the curriculum accordingly. Collaborating with private or professional services for both testing and teaching may be a good idea.

Quality of learning resources is not dependent on the price.

2. Define your budget at the outset in an annual or monthly terms and adhere to it.

3. Building your curriculum with resources within your budget is necessary to avoid financial strain as it would hinder your ability to foster fruitful learning conditions at home.

4. Research available curriculums, resources, and materials for pricing, quality and match; highlight those showing at least one more fit in addition to price limit.

1.

What other languages are you planning to include other than your country’s national language?

2. How will you adapt the materials and activities to incorporate your unique cultural heritage?

3. Will you be including religious elements? If yes, will you structure the whole curriculum around your religious beliefs?

C. Acquiring the Curriculum STEP 7 Available Curriculums Private homeschooling curriculums reflect all the variety that you have considered when planning and tailoring your child’s curriculum. Some curriculums are exclusively online and interactive; some are traditional, structured around textbooks and workbooks; while most offer a range of compromise between online/hands-on and traditional.

Some will be more cost-effective, while could be beyond your budget. You will find curriculums tailored to the needs of neurodivergent children and those leaning toward one or more learning style or instruction mode. Check out our guide on page 112 for a bird’s eye review.

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111 STEP 8 DIY Resources There are enough resourc-

es available for free or at very low cost, so you can put together your own curriculum as the year progresses. Lesson plans, hand out tasks, educational videos, games and reference sources are all at a keyboard or a printer away to use.

Check out our guide on page 113 for a quick overview.

STEP 9 Homeschooling Support It is necessary to have a support plan, whether as a back up or as supplement. There are private tutors, homeschooling cooperation groups run by other parents like you for group learning, support groups, and even legal support groups if such matters arise.

Search your local listings to create a network of supportive people to help you out in your journey.

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- 3-7 - MATH vide lessons - problems practice - video explaining the problems you got wrong.

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TRISMS - online reading lessons - ebooks - 2-13 age level - animations - games - songs

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- K12 resources - Charlotte Mason inspired - secular - core subjects & art - literature-based - Read Aloud Book Club

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115 “Charlotte Mason - painted in 1902

by Frederic Yates” Public domain, via Wikipedia Charlotte can be regarded as a mother of homeschooling. She was the first to devise a detailed homeschooling philosophy in a series of books now classics.

Some of the book cover art from her canon, all public domain, is pictured on the facing page.

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When Akari finished scooping up all the fallen cherry blossoms around her, she raised her head and asked, “Mommy, Daddy, do you have glue?”

Photo by Asakawa Kohji.

Entered into the public domain via Pxhere

Sakura Petals

Akari sat on the sidewalk, legs crossed, in front of Grand Tree shopping mall, a brown, four-story building shaped like an ice cream scoop, five blocks from her apartment in Kawasaki, Japan. She wore a blue and white striped dress and pink shoes.

Her dress, filled with the pile of sakura she had gathered, tented between her legs. The flowers shimmered like undersea coral.

Grand Tree usually buzzed with life on Saturdays in April, with both shoppers and families thronging the mall’s fourth-floor activity center. The sidewalk in front of Grand Tree, where sevenyear-old Akari sat, was usually bustling.

But today, Akari and her parents were the only people outside. Everyone else in Kawasaki, all of Japan, and the rest of the world chose to wait for the end of the world at home.

“Sprawling In The Sky By aitoff derived from an image on Pixabay” Public domain via Openclipart

When the last sakura blossom fell, the planet would break in two, ejecting one half of the Earth toward the sun, and the other into the cold of space. The Earth would expel its atmosphere, and those who didn’t die from asphyxiation would perish when they tumbled into the chasm that separated the two halves.

For three weeks since the first blossoms left their trees, the Earth had been growling like an angry bear woken from its deep slumber.

The foreboding, sibylline sound was everywhere, penetrating hospital operating rooms, bank vaults, and even the deepest submarines.

Lightning exploded all over the globe, across cloudless skies, and the air tasted like bitter metal.

The earth wobbled every which way as if it was a top on its final rotation.

Most trees lost their petals a week after blooming. A few held on for another week, and now Japan’s only flowered sakura tree stood in front of Grand Tree shopping mall.

“There are nine blossoms left,” her mother, Mika, whispered. “How long do you think we have?”

Haruto raised his hand to test the wind. A slight breeze tinged his flesh. “Maybe fifteen minutes. The wind’s picking up. I don’t think these sakura will last much longer. They will join the others on the ground, and then—” He wiped tears from his eyes. “It’s over. But you know what, my love? Akari is oblivious to what’s coming.”

“Look at her. She’s smiling. She’s having fun collecting the flowers, unaware that they are the instrument of the world’s destruction.”

“She does this every spring. Even before she could walk, she sat on the sidewalk and gathered the blossoms. It makes her happy.”

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121 “That makes me happy, too,” Mika said. “It’s not terrible to die happy.”

Akari asked her question again, “Do you have any glue? I need glue!”

Haruto shook his head.

Mika shrugged and fished through her bag, expecting to find random objects—a brush, tissues, lip cream, keys, wallet, and a small penlight—but her fingers also found a plastic cylinder, which she took out. Mika squinted, wrinkled her nose, and said, “I have a glue stick?” She narrowed her eyes at Haruto and then turned to Akari. “Would you like a glue stick?”

“Yes! That’s perfect.” Slowly and carefully, Akari stood. She held the lower part of her dress horizontal to keep the blossoms from spilling, took the glue stick from her mother, and waddled over to the cherry blossom tree. Akari touched the tip of the glue stick to one of the blossoms and pressed it to the tree’s stem. Satisfied that the blossom stuck, she glued another to the tree, and then another and another.

The growling quieted. Fewer lightning bolts crisscrossed the sky, and the planet’s wobble steadied.

Haruto slipped a yellow glue stick out of his left pocket, then another out of his right, and passed one to Mika. They collected blossoms from the sidewalk, gluing them to the tree as fast as possible.

Neighbors, who had been watching Akari, Mika, and Haruto from their windows, flooded into the street, glue sticks in hand. Hundreds, then thousands of people, scooped petals from the sidewalks and streets. Within minutes, all the trees blossomed, a sea of pink everywhere.

A tintinnabulation, like wind chimes from a distant temple, filled the air. Mika heard the Earth sigh and when Akari looked at her with a broad smile, she knew Akari heard it, too.

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In 2018, Monte and Rachael Hawkins opened the doors to Life Quest Girls Academy knowing there was a need for a different kind of boarding school that offered a completely unique student experience. Whether students are coming directly from home, or transitioning from another facility, Life Quest Girls Academy offers each student an opportunity to be independent as they learn and practice valuable 21st century skills that give them the confidence needed to be successful in life once they transition back home or into adulthood.

students are expected to hold other students accountable for conducting themselves in a safe, appropriate manner while living amongst one another.

Being in Charge of Your Own Life We understand that each student is different with unique, individual needs. Where some approaches work for one student, it may not work for others. Life Quest believes that each student who enters should be entrusted with a sense of freedom academically, as well as freedom to thrive in worthy, after school activities and endeavors conducive to their individual passions and interests.

A New Alternative Boarding School Experience for Struggling Teenage Girls Looking for Success in Life & Academics A Safe and Positive Experience Safety for all students is our primary focus. We make sure each student feels safe in an environment free from discrimination and bullying. Our focus on safety has helped create a positive learning environment that allows for both academic success and clarity in the individual self-improvement journey of each student. With many students already thriving at Life Quest, the environment and culture is positive, and student success is contagious. Coupled with staff oversight and supervision

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Learning styles and interests vary per student, and Life Quest takes seriously the need for every student experience to be unique and conducive to their individual strengths and interests. Students learn in an open-campus environment, giving each student a more normalized teenage school and life experience.

There is no behavior-based leveled system to advance through, no points to earn or lose, no hoops to jump through, and no 24/7 locked doors. Instead, there is a self-governing system in place that allows each student to gain confidence in themselves, be able to hold other students accountable, and create their future as they take charge of their own learning.

125 59 An Employable Future After-school activities, off-campus employment opportunities, and the opportunity to gain post-secondary education, builds a bridge from adolescence to adulthood. Life Quest’s goal is to help each young lady gain 21st century job skills.

Life Quest encourages students to understand the value of money and entrepreneurial skills. They feel as these tools are coupled with education, it will unlock the doors to future careers and employment success for each student. Students can gain valuable, real-life experience, as well as earn industry standard, in-demand certifications to increase their opportunities of finding sustainable 21st century employment. Life Quest encourages each student to secure employment while living at the academy.

Occupational Therapy Available We are a non-therapeutic boarding school, so we do not provide therapy, nor do we have therapists on our staff. However, Life Quest does facilitate therapy as needed for students whose parents desire them to meet with a therapist. Life Quest will provide transportation to and from counseling sessions, online connections with therapists through Zoom and other digital media options. Being on the continuum of care, Life Quest understands the importance of incorporating each student’s individual therapy needs with their opportunities for real life experiences.

This allows students to practice what they learn or have learned in therapy and apply it to life situations outside of treatment.

A Willingness to Succeed Life Quest’s setting is best designed for students who are willing to be there, who want to, and are willing to focus on overall self-improvement. This includes academics, future career skills, healthy relationships, and personal growth and development of any other specific life skills that may be lacking in each of their lives. Students need to be willing to make positive choices and be willing to hold themselves and their peers accountable in maintaining a positive culture on a daily basis.

Every student who submits an application to Life Quest is interviewed by our admissions staff to ensure they understand the various life-changing opportunities available to them instead of forcing them into a program

The Self-Improvement Course Our accredited self-improvement course is designed to help navigate each student through important topics. Each topic allows students the opportunity to self-reflect and take action, giving way for positive interactions with self, peers, and family members. One of the first priorities they have on this course is to identify a personal passion and create a plan to focus on applying this passion during their stay at Life Quest. This course will help our students return home after graduation with a newfound confidence in themselves and in their relationships with family and peers.

Meet the Owners One of the highlights of Life Quest is the dedication and care of the staff. Besides each staff member, owners Monte and Rachael get to know each girl and do all they can to foster their growth and independence. Rachael is a certified Life Coach for girls who are moving on to college or other adult life situations.

Both Monte and Rachael are passionate about creating opportunities for growth for each student. Monte and Rachael award many scholarships to deserving students upon completion of the Self-Improvement Course. Monte and Rachael also encourage all their program graduates to stay in touch and continuously share their life successes with them after they leave Life Quest.

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127 “Poster announcing free adult education classes and encouraging adults to return to school” 1938 Work Projects Administration Poster Collection (Library of Congress).

Public domain, via PICRYL

BYTES BY JOHNATHAN NAYLOR Artwork on pages 128 & 131 via Adobe Firefly

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Natural

THE WIZARD

Language

BEHIND CHATBOTS

Processing

& AI RESEARCH TOOLS

The realm of human cognition is an intricate symphony, harmonizing thought, experience, and expression into the vast composition of human understanding. The notes of this symphony, articulated in our written language, reflect a deeply complex cognitive imprint, a testament to the capacity and richness of human intellect.

The Nature of Language This written language serves as more than a mirror. It is a form of encoding, an external, structural manifestation of inner thought.

Each character and phrase is a translation of the mind’s workings into tangible symbols.

Written language is not merely a sequence of symbols archiving events, but a coherent stream of data that embodies the elaborate choreography of human cognition itself.

Just as motifs recur within a symphony, patterns emerge within this narrative. Reflected in grammatical structures and cultural references, these patterns serve as signposts within the labyrinth of our collective intellect.

However, comprehending the full extent of this labyrinth remains a Herculean task. Our understanding of the cognitive imprint is currently like a map in the making, with many areas yet to be explored and understood.

Numbers and Letters...

Thankfully, if we want to seriously define the patterns hidden in human language, we have a universal translator at our disposal: mathematics.

Fields such as computational linguistics and natural language processing have already embarked on this journey. We are using mathematical models to illuminate the complexity of language patterns. This mathematical characterization brings us a step closer to understanding the structural nuances of our cognitive imprinting. Remember, language arises from human cognition and any decoding of its patterns using math ultimately helps us understand more how cognition works.

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...And the Great Beyond This translation, however, is only the prologue of our cognitive exploration. If we can map these cognitive patterns mathematically, could we then replicate them? Could we introduce these mathematical constructs into an artificial intelligence model, so it can try to emulate our cognitive choreography? Of course, this is no longer just an idea; it’s a whole field that we are calling natural language processing.

The result is the emergence of large language models, the same models that power today’s most popular AI chat assistants. These models are trained from a wide spectrum of written language that effectively capture a collective, average imprinting of the patterns that make up human cognition. Trained language models absorb these cognitive patterns and their responses appear to mirror aspects of human reasoning, creativity, and even empathy.

Understanding Emergence It is important here to understand this phenomenon of emergence. While they may not possess genuine human consciousness, their outputs bear a striking similarity to our cognitive behaviors. That means, the AI model is then able to respond on it’s own (rather than using pre-made sentences fed to it beforehand), constructing sentences using the decoded patterns it has been trained on.

Any AI language model is but a digital fascimile of the real thing: human cognition. It is the meeting point of language, mathematics, and artificial intelligence that orchestrates a digital echo of cognition in the model’s responses. Our written language, like the intricate contours of a blueprint, captures the nuances of thinking processes. Mathematics, in its numerical clarity, then morphs these contours into a format that the digital facsimile can handle and “understand,’ so to speak.

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Inference and Reinforcement The process is called inference in the AI modeling world. You feed the model examples of input and desired output. Then it figures out how, why, and when those responses should be generated. The scientists doing this work do not preprogram it to handle every possible scenario. They simply embed the mathematical relationships of real examples of a system that does work (the human mind in the case of language models). The trained model serves as a mathematical (or algorithmic, if you please) approximation of the system that produced the examples.

A lot of training and reinforcement goes into getting the model to a functional stage.

It’s usually a function called the ‘loss function’ that decides if a given output is considered good or bad, or some value in between. There are a bunch of different names for different kinds of loss function. The one where a human is deciding yes or no is called RLHF (Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback).

But there are dozens of ways to do it.

The Introspective Age In sum, when you train an AI model on the mathematical versions of human language patterns, you get a natural language processor. It could be the small chatbot you must have encountered in the Discord app, it could be Siri, Alexa, or some other speaking ghost in your machine. Or it could be the very vast network of ChatGPT which can handle complex essay-like responses like a pro. Especially, the success of these Large Language Models wraps us closer into the full circle between cognition, language, math, and AI. As our visibility into the human cognitive imprint deepens, we edge ever closer towards understanding human thought, perspective, creativity, mental illness, and cultural biases.

I believe we have officially entered an ‘Introspective Age’.

“Just in Time for Halloween, NASA’s Juno Mission Spots Eerie “Face” on Jupiter” Sept. 7, 2023 NASA Image and Video Library; Editorial use license

“Researchers found that the depleted area of the ozone layer over the South Pole was slightly improved this year.

Image of the Day for November 2, 2023” Model by Lauren Dauphin; NASA Earth Observatory; Editorial use license.

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133 “Fresh Powder on the Rockies: A storm brought wintry weather and the first significant snowfall of the season to the Rocky Mountains.”

October 15, 2023; NASA Earth Observatory; Editorial use license

“Clarke’s Relief Globe (1849) etching art by J.M. Attwood.

Original public domain image from The Smithsonian Institution.

Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.”

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135 “NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope reveals an ultraviolet view of Jupiter.

NASA, ESA, and M. Wong (University of California – Berkeley); Processing: Gladys Kober (NASA/Catholic University of America)” NASA; Editorial use license

“Vintage Kyoto landscape map, Japanese illustration.

Original public domain image from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel.”

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Fall Foliage Photography - a country road winds across the mountainside through the fall foliage.

by ForestWonder.com team; CC BY-SA 2.0

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The global movement towards Web 3.0 and the Metaverse is well underway. Businesses, Banks, Institutions and even Governments are all establishing their presence.

Schools and Colleges are already teaching some of the skills necessary for the advent of Web 3.0, and many of the top universities have already added virtual metaverse campuses.

GmetaOne will guide you towards understanding and establishing a presence in the Metaverse.

We are a full service organization, with Metaverse Education at our core and we’ll help you to understand the “how” as well as the “why”. Here are just some of the services we can offer:

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A game changer for schools Inquiry to Enrollment... solved.

BOOK A DEMO

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JEFF HORWITZ’S The Broken Code is the inside story of the employers of Facebook (now Meta), who identified serious problems with the platform and drew plans to fix them but were rejected for the cost of solutions.

Facebook, and it’s creator Mark Zuckerberg’s, problems are well-known. However, investigating with the insider employees, Horwitz reveals how comfortable the company is giving drug traffickers, propagandists, fake news dispensers, and other shady elite clients a platform. The conduct of all such customers is in violation of Facebook’s own rules, spreading harmful and dangerous information. But the company does not want to lose the revenue.

Among the problems that the company regularly turns a blind eye to are peddling, amplifying anger and hate, political polarization, and body image issues among teens. All three social media controlled by Zuckerberg, Meta, Instagram, and WhatsApp, are complicit in letting vulnerable people fall under the influence of such damaging politics, information, and influencing. The employees who not only diagnosed but also came up with detailed actionable solutions to all of these problems faced considerable personal pressure from the company’s management in their efforts.

Horwitz’s book follows up on his award-winning series, The NATHAN THRALL is a Facebook Files, with The Wall well-known Jewish AmerStreet Journal. It’s an essential ican journalist based in read for any educated profesJerusalem. His book fosional who wants to keep up cuses on a tragic bus with the horrors of technology accident that killed six juggernauts running free society Palestinian kindergarwith their hold on the economy. tens and teachers. This accident, which was per-

BEST NONFICTION OF 2023 so far!

fectly avoidable, captures how ordinary citizens pass their lives on Israeli soil, fated to accept indignities and atrocities as part of their daily routine.

Thrall says he chose this tragedy, expanding from Abed Salama, one of the parents who lost their child that day, because how close Salama and the families of other victims including the teachers, live to Thrall’s own residence in Jerusalem. To be practically neighbors and yet to suffer such different humanity’s fates on the same small piece of land under the same governance was something Thrall couldn’t shake off.

Thrall uses the tragedy of the bus to create a vivid picture of the interminable Israel-Palestine conflict and it’s human cost. For instance, in an interview to National Public Radio (NPR), Thrall highlights the fact that the accident happened because availability of normal life facilities inside Israel depends on whether you are from Palestine or not. When the accident happened, the law enforcement at the site allowed the bus to burn and so many victims to die instead of responding or getting backup help.

The book came out only recently and Thrall has also spoken on how

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145 swiftly the reaction to the book shifted once Israel escalated military efforts against Palestine following the attack from Hamas on October 7. The book should be sought out by learned minds who can stay above the fray of international politics to understand the grave violations of human rights for everyone trapped in the cross-fire.

At a time when facts have become weapons in this seemingly endless conflict, this is a book that speaks with deep and authentic truth of ordinary lives trapped in the jaws of history.

--- Alex Preston, The Guardian CARL SAFINA is the lauded American ecologist who burst onto the scene of environmental writings with his novelistic Song for The Blue Ocean in 1998. BEN GOLDFARB is an award-winning environmental journalist who has written before on his love for beavers. Both are back this year with additions to their corpus — books that deepen our bond with nature while leaving us eager to care about its future on our planet.

The new science of road ecology observes the positive and negative effects of the criss-crossing network of roads and highways that dissects the developed world, especially North America. Calling it “empathy manifested as science,” Ben highlights the two major ways society’s over-reliance on cars and highways has negatively impacted the ecology.

New highways often cut right through natural habitat for thousands of species, both plants and animals. The flip side of that familiar phenomenon, roadkill, is the contribution of highways and cars to eradication and extinction of local species. Construction of highways has also been used to punish black communities, such as I-85 which forced relocation from the heart of the Black civil rights communities in the 60s. Highways define social stratification lines; farther suburbia are typically not affordable for the majority of colored America, a factoid with real life consequences. Bronx, home to three expressways, also boasts thrice the national average for deaths from asthma.

In his book, Carl Safina narrates how an owl he and his wife saved and nurtured refused to fly away from home, coming back to roost, mate, and give birth in their backyard. Carl draws the reader‘s heart closer to their natural surroundings by refusing to treat nature as a “subject matter.” So when he contrasts the Western dualist philosophy of prioritizing the material self-body with Indigenous and Oriental philosophies stressing naturalism, you can personally connect to it.

Both books use the power of stories to show what damage we have inflicted on nature in a relentless pursuit of material success.

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“Never get high own your own supply” Illustration by jason Ford, via Wikimedia; CC BY-SA 4.0

148 “Yan’an East Road Interchange, Shanghai, China” Photo by Denys Nevozhai.

Donated to public domain by the photographer; via Wikimedia;

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George Copeland Ault’s (1891-1948) Moonlit Desert, 1941 and (facing page) Roofs, 1931 Public domain via ARTNews.com and Wikimedia Commons, respectively

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ROR Introduction

ROR Introduction

ascade ascadeAcademy Academybegan began with with aa dream dream of treating adolescentgirls girlssuffering suffering with with severe severe treating adolescent anxiety.

Adolescent girls are three times more anxiety. Adolescent girls are three times more likely to experience anxiety than boys.

This need likely to experience anxiety than boys. This need presented an opportunity to serve students and presented an opportunity to serve students and families across the country.

As with most dreams, families across the country. As with most dreams, there were many obstacles to overcome to keep there were many obstacles to overcome to keep hope alive. It took three years to make the dream hope alive. It took three years to make the dream a reality. a reality.

Cascade Academy was founded by John & Carol

Cascade wasand founded

by Johnin&January Carol Probst,Academy Caleb Cottle Brad Gerrard Probst, Caleb and Brad Gerrard in the January 2020.

With Cottle dynamic leadership forging way, 2020.

With dynamic leadership forging the way, each partner has worked hard on their mission to each partner hasand worked hardtoonembrace their mission to help students families life with andand joy. families to embrace life with helpcourage students courage and joy.

Having worked many years in the behavioral healthworked industry, Caleb saw ina the needbehavioral to serve Having many years adolescent girls with severe anxiety and health industry, Caleb saw a need to began serve his searchgirls for the ideal adolescent withperfect severelocation anxietyand andthebegan team. Uninterested in a facility with an his search for the perfect location and the ideal “institutional” feel, he began a search for team.

Uninterested in a facility with an something that felt like “home.” Through a series “institutional” began search for of fortunate feel, events,he he was led toaJohn and Carol something that felt like “home.”

Through a series Probst, respected entrepreneurs and community of fortunate events, he Utah. was led to were John interested and Carol members in Midway, They

Probst, respected entrepreneurs and community members in Midway, Utah. They were interested

sellingtheir their13,000 13,000 square home. inin selling square footfoot home.

WithWith ninebedrooms, bedrooms,tenten bathrooms, kitchens nine bathrooms, twotwo kitchens and and plentyofofoffice officespace, space, it was “home” he had plenty it was thethe “home” he had been searching searching for.for.Rather Ratherthanthan been sell sell theirtheir beautiful John and Carol offered it asitpart beautifulhome, home, John and Carol offered as part of a partnership agreement and Cascade of a partnership agreement and Cascade Academy in in the the scenic Academy was was born. born.Situated Situated scenic Wasatch Back just outside of Park City, Cascade Wasatch Back just outside of Park City, Cascade Academy environment to promote Academyis isthe theperfect perfect environment to promote healing for students and their families. healing for students and their families.

With the location established, Brad Gerrard, a With the location established, Brad Gerrard, a well-respected and seasoned expert in the well-respected seasoned expert and in the behavioral healthandfield, was recruited behavioral health field, was recruited completed the ownership team, filling the role as and completedDirector. the ownership filling the role as Executive Shortlyteam, thereafter Bekah Executive thereafter Bekah Schuler joinedDirector. the team Shortly as Clinical Director and Schulerbecame joinedspecialized the team and as Clinical Director quickly knowledgeable in and the treatment of specialized adolescent anxiety.

With over in quickly became and knowledgeable thirty years of of experience in education, Jackiover the treatment adolescent anxiety. With Burnham fills the demanding role as Academic thirty years of experience in education, Jacki Director, plans Burnhamcreating fills thepersonalized demandingeducation role as Academic for each student.

As the Admissions Director, Director, creating personalized education plans LeaKae Roberts walks parents through the for each student. As the Admissions Director, difficult process of placing their daughter in LeaKae Roberts walks parents through the treatment. Porter Roe acting as Program Director difficultcertain process daughter makes that of theplacing needs oftheir students and in treatment.

Porter Roe acting as Program Director their families are met throughout the duration of makes certain that the needs of students and treatment.

their families are met throughout the duration of treatment.

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CLOSING: 30th JANUARY 2024

83% 83%

PARENTS WHO PARENTS WHO DREAM OF PRIVATE DREAM OF PRIVATE SCHOOLING SCHOOLING SUREFIRE SUREFIRE

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Lookingahead… ahead… 56.5 Looking 56.5 %

METHODS METHODS PARENTS WHO PARENTS WHO We stride into magazine’s third year, marchWe stride into thethe magazine’s third year, marchACTUALLY FULFILL ACTUALLY FULFILL LIVILNIVGING TO TO THEIR DREAM THEIR DREAM ing in step with the new era of greater inclusiveing in step with the new era of greater inclusiveE IN TIN HNUMBER ETHNUMBE O OWNING OWNING ness, citizenship, and more innovative technoloness, citizenship, and more innovative technolo-

36% 36%

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Our features highlight complex and alarming Our features highlight thethe complex and alarming POWER POWER SEATS FILL SEATS FILLED issues world ranging from politics beissues of of thethe world ranging from thethe politics be/SCHOOL /SCHOOL hind war economic woes times hind thethe war to to thethe economic woes of of ourour times and environmental digressions against planand environmental digressions against thethe planround issue with culture reviews, 573 573 et. et.

WeWe round upup thethe issue with culture reviews, food and health, travel, fashion, and literature food and health, travel, fashion, and literature forfor your pleasure! your pleasure! *Developing Legacy* *Developing Legacy* *Expanding Networks* *Expanding Networks* *Global Outreach* *Global Outreach* 200k reads!

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