If it is Not Free, It is of No Value

A m

an was extremely poor. He had no job and no wealth. He became extremely frustrated with life and deiced to commit suicide. He went to a hill and decided to jump from there to end his life. When he was about to jump, a wise man stooped him from jumping. The poor man started crying and asked the wise man, "Why have you saved me. I have nothing. I don't want to live." "Who said, you have nothing.

You are a millionaire", said the wise man. The poor man looked surprised and said "You must be joking. I have nothing" The wise man gave an offer, "OK. Then I can make you a millionaire now." "How?" asked the poor man in disbelief. "I have a friend, who needs an eye. If you can give me one of your eyes, I can give you 100,000. You can still live as you have two eyes" The wise man suggested. The poor man thought for a while. Then hesitantly said that he couldn't give his eye. Then the wise man suggested to give him his Kidney, legs and other body parts for a price but the poor man refused to part with his limbs. Then the wise man calculated the price of different parts of his body and explained that if only his body parts are valued at many millions, how can he be poor. The poor man understood the value of him and decided to work hard. Gradually he became a millionaire due to his efforts.

Most of us are like the poor man as we feel that we are poor as we have very little wealth as compared to others. In the world of materialism, we have learned to value everything and every person in terms of money. A man is worth the money one has or capable to earn. So everyone try for higher salary and larger income to become valuable and important. Yet, all the money of this world can't buy the things which are really valuable to a human being. The most valuable things in life are those that still cost nothing.

Unfortunately, in the era of materialism, man has stopped valuing the things that are made available to him free. What is free? Anything that is not saleable is either not available or provided free. If anything is not saleable in the market, for a businessman, it has no value but for a man it is the most valuable thing as it is truly invaluable. The life can only be made beautiful and fulfilling from the things that are too valuable to be available for sale.

The Joy of Freedom

Freedom is one of the most valuable gift that a man has. Compared to our previous generations, we have considerable freedom. People have freedom of speech, thoughts, expression, to choose friend and chose a profession what they like. In the modern world, everyone is free as no one is owned by anyone. The parents, don't own the child and the Rulers don't own the ruled. We can choose to do whatever we wish. Imagine the people, who have all the wealth and power but no freedom. Or imagine a person who is lodged in jail and lost all his freedom. These people can pay anything to become free. Yet most fail to value the freedom as it is available to them free. Dick Cheney has rightly said

"It is easy to take liberty for granted, when you have never had it taken from you."

Health is Wealth

Many thousands years ago, Buddha said "Every human being is the author of his own health or disease". The same holds today. It cost nothing to be healthy. If only people are little careful about their food habits and keep themselves active, they can remain healthy. Billions of people, world over are healthy without spending a penny on medicine. Most of the people suffer illness, not due to lack of anything but due to overindulgence of things. Most people fail to value health unless they have lost it completely. People somehow, believe that if they have good money they can also buy health. A. J. Reb Materi said

"So many people spend their health gaining wealth, and then have to spend their wealth to regain their health."

However, a good health can be maintained free and the health bought with money harldy last. Yet few people appreciate good health as they get it free from nature.

The Magic of Love

Love is another gift that is available to all man free. People fail to value love because, it is available in plenty and spread everywhere. A person starts getting love of the parents and relatives from the very day when he is born. A child is loved by all, even strangers. Love is available free and unconditionally to most people as a rule. However, people don't value love because it is free and prefer to find love which is available at a price. So as an adult, they visit prostitutes, have extramarital affairs and pay heavy gifts to their girlfriends to get love while ignoring the love of the spouse, parents, relatives and children as it is available for free. Yet when they lose the free love give, they loose everything in life. A love that can be bought and sold in the market is just not love.

The Justice of Time

There may be wide disparity in the distribution of wealth in this world as per the laws made by the man, but God has been extremely fair in giving time to man. A multi-billionaire man does not live longer than an ordinary man. All wealth and medicines of the world, can't add years in the life of a person. We all have almost same time at our disposal in this world. However, most people don't value their time because it is free. They spent it for acquiring more wealth rather than enjoying what they have got. They don't realize that time can never come back. Once can never buy time which has gone. If people use their time properly, they can enjoy their life fully.

The Value of Friends

Charles Caleb Colton said "True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it be lost." How True? Yet how many people value friendship. They have all the time for making money but no time for friends unless they can get some benefit from them. People often make friends to do business, make money or become powerful. However, a true friendship is one that is free without any motive. If friendship comes with a price tag, it is useless and of little value.

The Cost of Happiness

Happiness is available to all man free. Even animals are happy without any possession. It cost nothing to feel happy. People can be happy even living in slums and earning less than a dollar a day. However, people try to buy happiness by spending huge sums of money and time. They visit different parts of the world, go to recreation and amusement parks, and earn a lot of money and power to make themselves happy. They treat happiness as a commodity that can be purchased from the market. Yet the more wealth one gets, the more one desires and in the process one fail to get happiness. It does not make you happy, if you get what you want. But if you are happy, you get what you want. In the words of Albert Schweitzer,

"Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful."

Yet the true happiness comes free in this world. The more you distribute happiness, the more you will get happiness. So make others happy without any motive, and you will get happiness free for life. Happiness bought from money is value nothing, as it does not last.

Understand the Value of the Free Gifts

In the material era today, there is a tendency to put a price tag on everything. People believe that higher is the tag, the more valuable is the thing or person. However, good things in life are not for sale. So either you can consider it cheap as they are available for free or you can consider it invaluable as they can never be purchased. Either way, you are right. However, if you can value the free things even before losing them, you have got everything in your life and you have already become a wealthy and happy person.

How to Introduce the Clock to Elementary School Children

Children are typically taught how to tell time when they begin elementary school in kindergarten. Reading a digital clock is introduced first, followed by the more difficult analog clock. In order to read a clock successfully, a child must be able to count to 60, since there are 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute. By using a variety of educational tools to introduce the clock, learning how to tell time can be a fun accomplishment for a child.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Talk about the different ways to tell time. Show examples of an hourglass, pocket watch and stopwatch. Discuss how to use the sun and shadows to tell what time of day it is.
     
   • 2
     Show examples of clocks. Display a digital clock and an analog clock that are both set for the same time. Ask the children to describe the differences between the two and explain how they are similar. Have the children read the time on the digital clock and ask if they can guess what time it is on the analog clock.
     
   • 3
     Understand the parts of the analog clock. Explain the differences between the hour, minute and second hands of the clock. Ask them to point to the big numbers on the clock and tell them when the short hour hand is pointing to one of the numbers, that is what hour of the day it is. Show them the tick marks in between each number and explain to them when the long minute hand moves from one tick mark to the next, one minute has passed. Ask them what activities they can do in one hour and that they can complete in only one minute.
     
   • 4
     Have the children guess how long a minute is. Ask children to close their eyes and instruct them to raise their hands when they believe one minute has passed. Let them know you will clap when a minute has passed. Put their hands down if they are too early. Have them watch the second hand on the clock for one minute and then ask them to try again.
     
   • 5
     Have the children create a paper plate clock. Write the numbers 1 to 12 on the edge of the plate as on an analog clock. Attach construction paper hour and minute hands with a brad fastener to the center of the plate.
     
   • 6
     Play a game. Call out a time and ask the children to move the hands on their clock to display the correct time. Give a prize to the first child who does this correctly. Children may also be divided into teams and awarded points for their team for correct answers.
     

Ideas for Teaching Spelling

Spelling is a part of many school lessons. Copying a spelling list is a traditional approach to memorizing words, but you can add a more interesting twist on classroom spelling practice to motivate the students. A break from simply rewriting the words may make students more willing to participate actively.

1. Back Spelling

   • The kids work with partners for this spelling practice game. One student uses her finger to "write" the letters of a spelling word on her partner's back. She should write one letter at a time, giving her partner a chance to process the word. The partner thinks about the list of spelling words and the letters he feels on his back to figure out what the other student is writing. Have the students switch so both kids get a chance to write the words.

   Newsprint Spelling

   • Gather lots of newspapers and magazines for this classroom spelling activity. The students use their list of spelling words as a guide for the activity, searching through the print materials to find all of the letters to spell each word on the list. The kids then glue the letters in the correct order to recreate the spelling list. This activity works well as both a group or individual lesson.

   Letter Guessing

   • This spelling game shares similar attributes with the game "Hangman" because the students try to guess the spelling word by picking letters. Each student needs a copy of the alphabet. Provide a sheet with several rows of the alphabet, one for each spelling word. One at a time, the students guess a letter. The teacher tells them whether or not that letter is in the spelling word. The kids cross out the letter if it's not in the word or circle it if it is. They use these letters to figure out the spelling word.

   Scrabble Spelling

   • The letter tiles from Scrabble make a natural choice for practicing spelling words. The tiles also allow you to add a math aspect to the spelling practice. The kids form each spelling word using the Scrabble tiles. They add up the total point value for each word based on the numbers on the tiles to determine which one has the highest value. This spelling activity works well in a learning center with individual students, because you won't likely have enough Scrabble tiles for the entire class.

   Artistic Spelling

   • Adding an artistic aspect to spelling practice can reach the more creative students in the class. One simple idea involves using letter stencils. The kids can use markers, colored pencils or other writing instruments to trace the stencils and spell out words. Another creative way to spell out words is with rubber stamps. Provide a washable stamp pad for the kids to dip letter stamps into before stamping onto the paper.

How to Teach Languages to Young Learners

Teaching language to young learners is an exciting task. Children enjoy learning new words. They pick up vocabulary quickly in their native and second languages. Language learning for young learners combines formal language assessment with fun games and activities. Children of all ages benefit from fun language instruction. Here are some ideas to try.

How to Make Inferences in Reading

Making inferences in reading is a crucial skill that must be mastered for a reader to have real comprehension. Making inferences involves reading the text and recalling prior experiences that are similar to what you are reading. Then, you use context clues from the text to draw a logical conclusion about what might happen next. This mental process happens quickly and improves as you move to more complex reading material and have more life experiences for reference.


Instructions

1



Read short sections of text at a time. If you are reading a book, this may mean stopping at the end of every chapter, or at the end of five to seven paragraphs if you are reading a short story. Ask yourself the following questions: Has this scenario ever happened to me or somebody I know? Have I heard about someone who has gone through this? If so, what was the reaction and/or consequence? From what you have read and what you already know, make a prediction about what is going to happen. Read on to find out if you were right or close in your inference.
2



Adjust your inferences. If you are proved right in the further reading of your text, then you are making connections that help you comprehend and more likely to remember what you have read. If what you inferred does not happen, then adjust them accordingly. Compare the events in the text to your prior experiences. Did you think the same way as the main character or have the same emotional response? It is in these metacognitive exercises that you further relate to what you are reading. By re-thinking what you have read, the text will have deeper meaning for you.
3



Practice inferring. People do not naturally infer, necessarily. Like any skill, it has to be practiced. This can be done in several ways. There are many websites that have downloadable worksheets or interactive games in which a short scenario is presented in a few sentences. You then choose the best inference from three or four possible answers. These activities reinforce and build your inferring skills.

Activities for Teaching Media Smart

Media Smart aims at teaching media literacy skills using advertising as a vehicle. Four pillars of media literacy that Media Smart applies to advertising are: production: who produced this text, and why; language: how does text create meaning through uses of images, sounds, language, branding and product image, and rhetoric and persuasion; representation: how does text portray subject; and audience: how is text interpreted?

Games
A teacher can employ several activities in the class to teach students how advertising aims to manipulate emotions and the intellect. The program allows each student to access a main screen where they have a choice of educational media games such as Tag the Ad. This game has the student view a screen that is moving down a streen quickly and as it moves, students are to tag by right clicking on advertisements. There are also other items and pictures that flash past in the scene that are to be ignored with students only tagging the advertisements. There are 45 advertisements that move past the screen and students will have no end of fun in recognizing them

Brands

Another activity is called Brand Me. In this activity, students are presented with a screen where they are to design a brand name using their own image and name. They don't use a real photo of themselves but they select features that they'd like in the brand, clothing, hair, eyes, skin tone, and finally a slogan and a logo. This activity will help them understand the rationale behind the most popular logos and advertising slogans and logos. Advertising campaigns sometimes use unbelievable concepts to get attention. Media Smart uses a :house hippo" and presents this creature as something that comes out in the night while everyone sleeps. This concept teaches children that advertisements do not always use reality to get messages across.

Assessment


An activity that lets students self-evaluate while still learning is the interactive quiz on advertising. The subjects of the quiz are mainly United Kingdom television advertising and programs, although there are some U.S. shows featured as well. The testing is done in a formative way in that students do not study and then take the quiz. if they make an error, the program tells them to have another go until they select the correct answer. In this way, the students are learning and at the same time becoming Internet and media savvy. Media Smart teaches children about the positioning and targeting of audiences in advertising and the difference between the attributes of a product and what is actually said about that product. Children learn the roles of music, lighting and other technical aspects in selling as well as the rights on consumers, peer pressure and brand culture. The critical thinking skills that Media Smart teaches help children become active citizens of a modern society with skills that can be applied to all areas of daily life.

How to Introduce the Clock to Elementary School Children

Children are typically taught how to tell time when they begin elementary school in kindergarten. Reading a digital clock is introduced first, followed by the more difficult analog clock. In order to read a clock successfully, a child must be able to count to 60, since there are 60 minutes in an hour and 60 seconds in a minute. By using a variety of educational tools to introduce the clock, learning how to tell time can be a fun accomplishment for a child.

Instructions

1. • 1
     Talk about the different ways to tell time. Show examples of an hourglass, pocket watch and stopwatch. Discuss how to use the sun and shadows to tell what time of day it is.
     
   • 2
     Show examples of clocks. Display a digital clock and an analog clock that are both set for the same time. Ask the children to describe the differences between the two and explain how they are similar. Have the children read the time on the digital clock and ask if they can guess what time it is on the analog clock.
     
   • 3
     Understand the parts of the analog clock. Explain the differences between the hour, minute and second hands of the clock. Ask them to point to the big numbers on the clock and tell them when the short hour hand is pointing to one of the numbers, that is what hour of the day it is. Show them the tick marks in between each number and explain to them when the long minute hand moves from one tick mark to the next, one minute has passed. Ask them what activities they can do in one hour and that they can complete in only one minute.
     
   • 4
     Have the children guess how long a minute is. Ask children to close their eyes and instruct them to raise their hands when they believe one minute has passed. Let them know you will clap when a minute has passed. Put their hands down if they are too early. Have them watch the second hand on the clock for one minute and then ask them to try again.
     
   • 5
     Have the children create a paper plate clock. Write the numbers 1 to 12 on the edge of the plate as on an analog clock. Attach construction paper hour and minute hands with a brad fastener to the center of the plate.
     
   • 6
     Play a game. Call out a time and ask the children to move the hands on their clock to display the correct time. Give a prize to the first child who does this correctly. Children may also be divided into teams and awarded points for their team for correct answers.