The 12 Essential Chords You Need to Play Country Guitar

The 12 Essential Chords You Need to Play Country Guitar Sign up successful D-G-A-A7-D-G-A-A7-D Remember, mastering the guitar can take years of practice. You don’t have to be the best guitar player in the world when you’re just beginning your journey. When you’re learning chords, memorize the finger placement so you don’t have to refer back to the diagrams. Playing a series of chords in a progression is the most efficient way to memorize chords. Country Music Theory Now let’s look at the basic music theory behind country music. Country music uses a lot of major guitar chords. It also uses the dominant 7th chords. These chords can be built in any key using any scale with a tiny bit of music theory knowledge. Building Major Chords Major chords are made up of three notes: the tonic, third, and fifth interval. These three notes are pulled directly from the scale of the chord that you are playing. Let’s look at the C major chord as an example. The C major scale is C(1)-D(2)-E(3)-F(4)-G(5)-A(6)-B(7)-C(8). It consists of natural notes (no sharps or flats). To build the major chord, take the first, third, and fifth notes from the C major scale (C-E-G). Here’s another example with the D major chord. The D major scale is D(1)-E(2)-F#(3)-G(4)-A(5)-B(6)-C#(7)-D(8). Take the first, third, and the fifth notes, which are D, F#, and A. Building the dominant 7th chord is just as simple as building a major chord, but we add one more step to the process. First, take the first, third, and fifth notes from the desired scale. The next step is to take the seventh note from the desired scale. For the D dom7 chord, use the D major scale (D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D). Use the first, third, fifth, and now, the seventh note. This gives you D-F#-A-C#. For a minor chord, take the first, third, and fifth notes from the scale, but this time, use the minor scale rather than the major scale. Try this with the C minor chord. The C minor scale is C-D-D#-F-G-A-A#-C. When you pull the first, third, and fifth notes, you get C-Eb-G. This process is a lot easier when you memorize the major and minor scales. Remember the steps: W-W-H-W-W-W-H for the major scale, and W-H-W-W-H-W-W for the minor scale. If you want to play and build a progression, select three or four of the 12 essential   chords, and make up a progression or sequence. You can make up tons of different progressions with the 12 essential chords. Playing these progressions will help you transition from chord to chord. You can use any rhythm when you play. When you practice, you should focus on making smooth transitions (no gaps or hesitation) from one chord to the next. Start out slow, and then pick up the tempo. Build Your Own Progressions I will use E major to show you how to build your own progression. Use the E major scale, lift the tonic (E), third (G#), fifth (B), and the seventh note (D#). When you build a major triad over these four notes, you get the four chords of the I-III-V-Vii chord progression. This rule will work for any chord progression you want to build. There are hundreds of songs out there that use the 12 essential country guitar chords. Alan Jackson’s song Drive”uses G,D, and C, and repeats the G-D-C-C  pattern for the majority of the song. Check Yes or No, by George Strait, uses a I-IV-V chord progression in the key of D. The D-G-A pattern repeats throughout the song. Now that you know the essential country guitar chords and the history behind them, it’s time to start practicing. You can use these  classic country songs  to practice the chords and perfect your technique. Need some help perfecting your country guitar skills? Find a private guitar instructor near you!  Zachary A. is a guitar instructor in Katy, TX specializing in beginning and intermediate students. He is currently earning a degree in  music theory. Learn more about Zachary here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by Atauri.

Afraid of Phone Calls Here Are 8 Steps to Help You Beat Your Phone Phobia - Introvert Whisperer

Introvert Whisperer / Afraid of Phone Calls Here Are 8 Steps to Help You Beat Your Phone Phobia - Introvert Whisperer Afraid of Phone Calls? Here Are 8 Steps to Help You Beat Your Phone Phobia Many introverts prefer text messages, social media, or email when contacting friends or customers. They have some time to think about what they’re going to write. They can restructure and revise all the information they’d like to provide. Finally, if nothing comes to mind, they have the option of responding with a simple “OK”, a gif, or a meme.   All of this with the added bonus of feeling safe and secure. Unfortunately, phone calls don’t offer the same luxury, and this can leave everyone, including introverts, feeling vulnerable or nervous. If you have an important phone call coming up, especially a business one with someone you dont know, there are a few things you can do to take the edge off. 1. Calm Yourself First Introverts often deal with anxiety surrounding social situations. Instituting a calming routine can help ease the jitters and switch the mind into a more social mode. Many introverts find that meditation helps. Clearing your mind, fully relaxing, and taking a few deep breaths can help you tamper down some anxiety. When you’re wound a little less tight, it’s easier to focus on the task at hand with a clear mind. Do whatever it is you do to relax or clear your mind â€" even if it’s a leisurely walk. 2. Write Notes and Take Them With You You might be worried that you’ll bungle something up or forget to mention something important â€" especially if you’re calling about a job interview or something equally as meaningful. Write notes about all the things you’d like to discuss, and keep them in front of you. If you’re not sure what to say or if you’re worried about something in particular, you’ll have a reference sheet. 3. Make Sure You’re Comfortable â€" Physically and Mentally Since a phone call can be done alone, there’s no reason to get all dressed up. If you’re most comfortable in your pajamas, take the phone call in your pajamas. Don’t wear a belt that digs into you or shoes that pinch your toes. Physical comfort can help promote mental comfort. Make the call from a place where you feel secure and wear something cozy. Calling someone in your pajamas might be a bit more difficult if you are in the office and have to make a business call to a client. However, even at work you can probably find that little corner behind the coffee machine that is both quiet and out of your coworkers earshot. If it is currently occupied by your introvert colleague, consider going to the bathroom. No worries, it turns out that 3 out of 4 people take their phones to the bathroom, so you will not look weird. If you cant do that either, just leave the office and talk on the corridor, or in front of the building. You will feel less stressed knowing that there is nobody there listening to your call. 4. Practice What You’re Going to Say Sometimes, saying the actual words aloud may help. You won’t be self conscious about the way you phrase things, the volume of your voice, or your intonation if you’ve said the same thing a few dozen times. Run through your talking points until you get tired of them. Memorize them so well that you could recite them in your sleep. Repetition will help dull the words down, making them less uneasy to say. This is helpful if your phone call is to place a counteroffer on real estate or request a promotion â€" situations in which you may need to project confidence. 5. Make a “Mock” Call to a Friend Doing something the second time never feels quite as stressful as it did initially. One smart way to relieve the stress connected with making a phone call is to make a “mock” one before the “real” one. Call a friend, a family member, or a coworker â€" someone you are comfortable talking to over the phone. You can just chat for a minute or two which will help you unwind and get into the phone conversation mood. Even better, if your mock caller is aware of your phone phobia, you might even practice the “real” phone call with them. Regardless of what you choose to talk about, typing in the phone number, hearing the ring tone, and then having to start the “mock” conversation will make it so much easier for you when you are starting the “real” one, two, or three minutes later 6. Utilize Your Energy Move around a little bit. Use your hands. Make facial expressions. Pace around when you’re on the phone. If you get nervous energy that builds up in the moment, use that energy as you talk. It won’t get pent up and affect your phone call. There’s nothing wrong with fidgeting â€" the person on the other end of the phone won’t see you. If you have nervous energy coping mechanisms, remember that you’re free to use them however you see fit. Phone calls offer a unique kind of privacy that might even be better than having a conversation in person. 7. Visualization May Help If your nervousness surrounding phone calls stems from the fact that you cannot see the person or let their physical cues and nonverbal communication shape the conversation, visualize the person. If you’re paying attention to the tone of their voice, it’s easier to imagine what they may look or the way they’re sitting. If you can picture yourself in front of the person and doing so would ease your anxiety, allow yourself to. Pull up a picture of the person if that aids in your visualization. 8. Give Yourself a Reward There are two reasons why you should schedule a reward for after your phone call. The first is that a reward is a motivation to do something successfully. You’re giving yourself an incentive to do something you don’t really want to do, which makes getting through the process a little more exciting. The second reason is that you’re building a positive association with something that makes you uncomfortable. Over time, when you reflect on the reward at the end, it might dull your unease with speaking on the phone. Plenty of people, introverts and extroverts alike, aren’t big fans of phone calls. If you work at improving your ability to speak on the phone little by little, things will become easier over time. Try utilizing as many techniques as possible to increase your chances of success. Audreys Bio: With over 9 years of experience working with customers, Audrey Robinson knows a thing or two about overcoming the fear of approaching and talking to the people one doesnt know. Currently supporting Maxo, phone communication experts, Audrey might often be found online, sharing her business tips with others. Go to top Bottom-line â€" I want to help you accelerate your career â€" to achieve what you want by connecting you with your Free Instant Access to my 4 Building Blocks to Relationships eBookâ€" the backbone to your Networking success and fantastic work relationships.   Grab yours by visiting here right now! Brought to you by Dorothy Tannahill-Moran â€" dedicated to unleashing your professional potential. Introvert Whisperer

Fun Physics Games For Kids

Fun Physics Games For Kids Playing Games Related To Physics ChaptersResearch Into GamingHow Can Physics Games For Kids Help Mine Learn?Fun Physics Activities In The Form Of Apps Or Downloadable SoftwareWebsites Dedicated To Online Educational GamesHave you always been of the belief that your kids are wasting their time playing video games or sitting with their faces glued to their tablets, and that they'd be much better off playing with a jigsaw, doing some colouring  or playing a matching game? Have you ever wondered if they actually learn anything useful from this kind of screen time that people are so keen to warn parents about?You can take matters into your own hands and encourage your son or daughter to engage with and play games that will help them to develop a mathematically curious mind. If they are going to play games anyway, you might as well make it work to your advantage (and theirs!). Make it your mission, your quest, to teach them how to learn something that will benefit them with the use of these educational games for kids and other ideas.Through learning activities, solving number games and other games for kids, your child could potentially gain number sense, learn how to better apply logic, improve on their thinking skills, and develop their reasoning.Keep reading to find out more about how games and activities can help them learn about physics!Make the most of your wifi at home by using it to educate your children. Photo credit: mista stagga lee on Foter.com / CC BYThe Physics ClassroomThe Physics Classroom is yet another free-to-access set of instructional pages written in a user-friendly manner and complemented by cool graphics and visual elements to make the journey even easier. The classroom tutorial section is the ideal starting point for those grasping for understanding or searching for answers to basic Physics questions.In addition, the website has numerous sections and zones that you can pick from. Just take the Physics Interactives, for instance, which is designed with tablets in mind and incl udes skill-building exercises, simulations, and game-like challenges to add a bit of fun competition.Need more help? Hire a  Physics Maths tutor.Furthermore, there's the Concept Builders area, which offers a collection of exercises that focus on discrete learning goals. Complete with many interactive elements, this section is the perfect tool for getting students thinking about the meaning of concepts.Last but not least, the Multimedia Physics Studios has a huge collection of animations and movies designed to demonstrate the principles of physics in a visual way, with explanations to accompany each lesson and links to further information.

How to Break your Songwriters Block and Get the Girl

How to Break your Songwriter’s Block and Get the Girl Suzy S. Twenty years ago in 1991, before Justin Bieber was even born, soulful crooners like Whitney Houston and Color Me Badd topped the Billboard charts.   Its also the year Boyz II Men released their first album, Cooleyhighharmony. Today the group released their latest album, Twenty, featuring an array of new songs, as well as a few of their old-school classics. If you grew up in the 90s, theres a good chance groups like Boyz II Men provided the unofficial soundtrack for your middle school crushes and forlorn love stories. The majority of their songs like most of the RB genre have a theme of love and relationships.   For songs with so much emotional draw, lyrics are especially important. And as pop culture has showed us time and time again, music is a great way to woo the object of your affection (just look at John Cusack in Say Anything and he didnt even have to play an instrument!).   But whats a musician to do when you want to get the girl, but cant find the lyrics to say it?   Dont fret weve got a few tricks up our sleeves to help you overcome your songwriters block, courtesy of Disk Makers blog, Echoes: 1. Start with a title “Find an interesting title and most of the song will often write itself,” says songwriter, guitarist and producer Tommy Marolda, who has written tunes with Richie Sambora and Rod Stewart. “That’s something I’ve used in a lot of my songwriting.” Successful song-crafters like Bon Jovi and Diane Warren have used this strategy, and songs like “Living’ On A Prayer,” “Bed Of Roses” and “Dead Or Alive” were written this way. “With most songs, the title tells the whole story,” he continues. But where can you get an intriguing song title if the ideas just aren’t flowing? “Try looking at magazines,” says Marolda. “You can flip through the table of contents and sometimes they use interesting hyperbole or plays on words that can spark something in you. Or go to a poetry section in a book store and look at the titles of poems.” 2. Look and listen everywhere “Whether you’re on a train, walking around, or just having a conversation, you never know what you’re going to hear,” says independent singer/songwriter Natalie Gelman. “When I’m really in the moment and paying attention to what’s happening around me, sometimes I’ll hear someone say something random and think, That’s a great line! I should use that.’” 3. Carry a notebook, voice recorder, or both This may seem basic, but since you never know when inspiration will strike, it’s important to have a way to document a great musical idea whenever it comes along. If you’re comfortable with traditional musical notation, a small notebook with staff lines can be all you need. If you prefer to sing your melodies, a voice recorder on a smart phone or another small recording device can do the trick. 4. Keep unfinished ideas Even if you’re only able to come up with a verse here and a chorus there, save everything you write, recommends Marolda. “A lot of famous songwriters have a suitcase full of ideas that they pull for different songs when they get stuck,” he says. “Go back into your own catalog of unfinished work and see what’s hanging out. You’d be surprised that a bridge you wrote years ago might fit perfectly with a song you’re working on now.” 5. Write a lot For Gelman, more hours spent writing music means an easier overall creative process. “Writing constantly helps you become comfortable with the act of crafting songs â€" and with yourself as a songwriter,” she says. “As songwriters, we have to accept the good, the bad and the ugly that comes out when we write. It’s important not to reject anything that you write, and to keep writing.” Part and parcel of writing a lot is working on whatever inspires you at any given moment, regardless of whether or not it fits into your genre of choice. Are you a shred-metal guitarist who suddenly comes up with a great Zydeco accordion line? Write it down. Even if it’s totally unusable for your current band or project, you never know when such a creative tidbit might come in handy down the road. This is just the start to the full list of tips, which can be viewed here.   After youve tried your hand at writing, let us know how it goes.   What are your own strategies for writing songs?   How many of you carry around a notepad for when inspiration hits?   Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below! Looking for songwriting lessons?   Click here to search for a teacher near you!   Like these posts?   Sign up to receive daily updates right to your inbox!   Click here to subscribe.

9 Important Blogging Tips for College Students - Private Tutoring

9 Important Blogging Tips for College Students BobbiM Sep 25, 2015 Blogging turns out to be one of the major online income generating avenues, especially for school and college students. I personally can do my essay online, post it on my blog and make some money. In pursuit of their blogging dreams, many students even miss classes in order to do research and write articles. This is bound to affect their academic performance. This article highlights nine important blogging tips for college students, to help them strike a balance between their studies and blogging. 1. Prioritize your studies In as much as blogging gives you fame and money, at the end of the day, employers will look at your academic qualification and not your prowess in blogging. Therefore, give your class attendance and studies the seriousness they deserve. 2. Sketch a suitable schedule It is important to have a timetable. Allocate blogging a suitable time frame, not beyond midnight. It is healthy to sleep for at least 6-7 hours. 3. Determine what time goes to blogging Again emphasizing on tip number 2, strike a balance between your studies and blogging after your class time. Follow your timetable to the letter. 4. Create personal publicity for your blog Make an effort to tell everyone about your blog. Give them your blog address to create an audience for your content. Seek for some feedback on your posts by asking them to fill in something in the comments section. 5. Count blogging as a valuable part time job Unlike other part time jobs that college students engage in, blogging generates much more revenue. It is advisable to seek out a renowned web publisher, showcase your work and be sure to increase your chances of getting a writing job, if and only if you are a proficient writer. 6. Establish connections in your city Seek out famous bloggers in your city, meet them and connect with them for a broad experience in the field. You can also attend blog camps and get a great opportunity to seek clarification on certain issues unclear to you. 7. Consider starting blogging classes in college With relevant and adequate experience in blogging, you can consult your head of department for permission to start blogging classes in college. This will give the other students a chance to learn about how they could make money through blogging. 8. Create an impression with your friends Blogging, as mentioned earlier, comes with some degree of fame. Take advantage of it by coming up with interesting articles, especially ones that could solve technical problems among your friends. 9. Be informed on blogs in your field. If you are an engineer, this blog whatengineers can be an example for you. If you are a student taking Art subjects, read blogs in that field to gain more insightful knowledge. Similarly, if you are a Science or technical-related student, read relevant blogs to build on your blogging experience. For instance, you could read Harsh Agrawal’s blogs.  With these few blogging tips, college students can make the best out of blogging. Other than making money, blogging serves as a good part time job, instead of lazing around or engaging in unhealthy behavior such as drug abuse during free time. Moreover, blogging is a great opportunity to harness creative thinking. The online media offers a broad platform for bloggers and other online writers to venture into. How could you use blogging in your world?  Let us know in the comments below!  And if you enjoyed this post, please share it on Twitter or Facebook, stumble it on Stumbleupon or pin it to Pinterest.

How Can Schools Find the Time for Tutoring

How Can Schools Find the Time for Tutoring With tightening budgets and a trend towards evidence-based decision-making, school leaders are under more pressure than ever to demonstrate additionality for their investments. Teaching staff are  increasingly overworked and  schools must find new answers to some familiar questions: which students should be targeted, how should we support them and who will provide that support? When it comes to tutoring, undoubtedly the main barrier for schools is cost. By using trained and experienced volunteer tutors the Tutorfair Foundation can bypass that issue, but the practical questions around organising support remain. Even when providing completely free tutoring to a school, there is one key issue that divides opinion, where school policies diverge the most and many different approaches are used. That is when should the additional support take place? The Foundation’s Director, Joss, gave us his thoughts on the problem of timetabling for tutoring in schools. Increasingly, the mainstream secondary schools I speak to are consciously moving away from requesting in-class support. This is not to say that they believe in-class support is not impactful or not welcomed by teachers; only that they’re aware that the impact of this intervention can be harder to show. Consequently, the well-publicised research into high-quality small-group tuition  (as well as its relative cost efficiency) makes this the more common approach â€" focused, high-impact and simple to monitor. So, let’s imagine we are planning to support a group of three Year 11 students with their maths. Their predicted grades are all 5, but they’ve been struggling with the fundamentals for a while and they’re at risk of falling behind where they need to be. We want to group them together and have them work with a tutor for an hour each week to work on individual difficulties, improve confidence and secure three good passes. Generally speaking, we have three main ways to deliver this. Firstly, we could arrange for students to have their maths tuition for an hour outside of teaching time. Sometimes schools will ask students to come in on Saturday mornings for this purpose, but more likely we’re looking at an hour after school or during lunch break. Secondly, we can take students out of their lessons in other subjects. Most often this means sacrificing an hour of P.E. or PSHE, but (depending on the student and the time of year) has sometimes included extractions from the non-core subject in which the student in question is least likely to achieve a passing grade. Thirdly, we can arrange for the sessions to take place during their timetabled maths lessons - for one hour per week they will go to a tutor instead of to their usual class. All three of these options offer obvious benefits, but each also has its pitfalls. So how can schools navigate their policies and make the right choice? Maths tutoring in non-teaching hours More than ever before I am speaking with schools who operate a strict policy of never removing students from their lessons for interventions â€" particularly in Year 11. Historically, it has been common practice for schools to operate a programme of extractions using their teaching assistants as an “informal” teaching resource for their most needy students. Although, undoubtedly, this was driven by efforts to provide additional support to the students who need it, evidence now suggests this is not best practice and is not the best use of teaching assistants’ time.   Perhaps partly as a reaction to this, I’m now more likely to speak with school leaders who are formally focused on keeping all students in their lessons and investing in interventions that directly improve or augment classroom teaching, rather than relying on a programme of extractions to address low-attainment. So, if students aren’t coming out of lessons, our Year 11s must have their maths tutoring after school or during lunch. The obvious upside of this is that it won’t disrupt learning in any other subjects â€" we’re only adding to learning time and never replacing it. But, of course, more learning does not mean better learning â€" evidence consistently shows that the quality of a provision (and our students’ engagement with it) has a much greater effect on outcomes than its quantity. The clear danger is that students asked to stay behind after school or miss lunch for additional maths support can feel singled-out and even punished as a result. This, in turn, limits the number of students for which the intervention will be effective. Only students that are highly motivated will settle to the provision long-term. Students that are anxious or disengaged with the subject will find it very hard to commit to and enjoy after-school support over a number of weeks, leading to issues with attendance and behaviour in the sessions. This also poses challenges for the tutor, who has to deliver their lesson appropriately to the situation â€" bearing in mind that the students may be predisposed to resent attending the sessions and may arrive either tired from a full day of lessons or needing to blow off some steam at lunch. A further problem is that (at least when considering our volunteer/tutor community) many successful tutors who would like to support a local school will be in high demand after 3pm and are likely to have their own clients booked for in-home lessons. As a result, we find that opportunities for after-school support are harder to recruit for than opportunities that take place during the day. Maths tutoring replacing lessons in other subjects Often, schools will operate a policy that allows for extractions from some subjects but not others. The usual suspects will suffer first (double P.E. here, a Careers lesson there) but, as exams approach, the number of lessons that can find themselves on the chopping block increases. This has always presented a problem in school; an understandable tension between departments as attendance begins to drop in one subject to insure against failures in another. All teachers are under pressure to demonstrate progress in their own subjects so, inevitably, grievances can occur when this method is used. As with tutoring after school, students can feel similarly singled-out and punished by being removed from other subjects â€" particularly when they enjoy those subjects more than they enjoy maths. More broadly, the notion that P.E., PSHE, history or computing should function as a reward for students who are succeeding in maths rather than important aspects of a students’ education in their own right is problematic â€" and not a notion that, in my experience, school leaders would stand by. But the time for interventions must come from somewhere and these decisions can be difficult. Removing students from lessons in other subjects enjoys the same benefit as tutoring during non-teaching hours (it means more maths support for struggling students) but faces many of the same drawbacks and more. Aside from the increased practical difficulty in timetabling sessions for a group of students that might be expected in a number of different subjects, it can put students off, stoke internal tensions and, most importantly, requires additional work to ensure that progress in tutoring sessions is meaningfully connected to the students’ maths lessons. Maths tutoring replacing maths lessons The final option to explore is removing students for tutoring during their maths lessons. This is an option that is more likely to be prohibited by school policy for students in later years â€" more popular as an intervention for KS3 students than those in KS4. The question posed by this method is that of where students should be during their maths lessons. Surely, if the maths provision at a school is adequate, the best place for students during their maths lessons is in their maths lessons! It’s hard to commit to the notion that they should be somewhere (anywhere) else during this time, but it’s obvious that in some cases students will benefit from more individualised help with the topics at hand. This approach carries the highest risk and the highest reward. The risk is that if an intervention is unsuccessful (whether because it fails to settle over a number of weeks or simply because the standard of tuition isn’t high enough) then not only have our three Year 11 students not been helped by the sessions, they’ve also missed crucial maths lessons that they would otherwise have attended. The reward stems from the fact that tutoring is so much more likely to be impactful if it is directly and meaningfully connected to teaching in the classroom. By taking students from their maths lesson to a small-group setting, tutors can start from the same themes, resources and approaches used in the lesson â€" offering individualised support with minimal divergence from the content of the lesson they’ve been taken from. This means their next maths lesson will follow on intuitively from the session and we’ll see impact from the tutoring more effectively translated back into the classroom. Ideally, this approach encourages a closer working relationship between the tutor and the maths department â€" where, for example, in after-school sessions there is no guarantee the tutor would even have met their students’ teacher, let alone regularly communicate and share resources. This approach will see the highest attendance and engagement from sessions and encourages students to see the support as augmenting their learning â€" not singling them out or punishing them for struggling. Choosing a route Whilst tutoring during scheduled lessons has the highest potential to be impactful, effective support that is directly connected to classroom teaching, we know that it has the highest risk and can challenge policies that rightly value classroom teaching as the indomitable provision. Once tutoring is underway and a relationship is established between tutor and tutee, however, it’s difficult to deny that more individualised support once a week would be a fantastic resource for any struggling student. Perhaps, where there is room to make a choice as to which route to take, it would be best to begin a programme of tutoring during non-teaching hours or via extractions from other subjects. After 3 or 4 weeks, once a relationship is established and the provision is judged to have settled effectively, the sessions could move to take place during timetabled maths lessons. This would capitalise on the likely increased impact of connecting to lessons, whilst mitigating the risk of an unsuccessful intervention. The burden on other subject teachers would be lessened, and students wouldn’t have to commit time after school or during lunch for the entirety of the provision. If you have any questions or comments or would like to discuss having our volunteer tutors support students at your school, feel free to get in touch us me at foundation@tutorfair.com. I’ll be delighted to hear from you.

Equal Work Deserves Equal Pay

Equal Work Deserves Equal Pay Equal Pay Banner via thecontributor.com In my lifetime, I am expected to make on average one million dollars less than a man doing the same job as me. For every dollar a man makes, a female makes  77 cents  of that doing the same exact job. Why, when I am just as smart, educated, capable, and competitive as a man, do I get paid less? Although, there are many factors that contribute to this, the most important thing to do is try to avoid this injustice so it does not happen to you. The first step, which will decide your pay, is  how well you can negotiate. The time between when you are offered a job and when you agree to take the job is the ideal time for you to negotiate your salary because that is when you have the most power. The wage gap between you and another employee at start might be small, but as time goes on, it only increases. So before negotiating your salary, do your research and know the average salary for job positions in your area by using websites such as  www.wageproject.org  and  www.payscale.com. Knowing your value and what youre worth is key when agreeing on your salary. Employers assume that I will be leaving my job for some time when I have children. Will this affect my job? Because of this assumption, employers often divert females onto side tasks because they know that soon work will not be their focus. This is not okay. You might not even have kids or maybe you will adopt and your partner will decide to take a step back from his/her career to focus on raising the children.   Regardless of the situation, you should be able to get ahead in your job whether you have kids someday or not. Since talking about salary at a workplace is often not appropriate, it is hard to tell if you are making equal to that of a man, or even, the rest of your coworkers. Make sure you do your research and talk to human resources so your paycheck is the exact same as the man’s in the cubicle right next to you.

An Open Letter To The Stanford Rape Case Judge

An Open Letter To The Stanford Rape Case Judge pixabay.com Sure, sentencing a young boy to years in prison wouldnt be the most fulfilling aspect of your job description, but that doesnt mean you simply dont do it. On a day that an innocent, broken down victim looked to you, trusted you, relied on you to do the right thing by her, on a day that America as a whole, looked to you to do exactly what needed to be done, you fell short. No, thats too forgiving. If Im being completely honest, you failed completely. And heres why: For one thing, rape is a serious crime thats all too often disregarded by our judicial system. Lack of proof and gray areas are just some of the reasons certain rape cases will never even make it to trial, while simple fear of reliving such a traumatic experience prevents even more victims from even reporting the crime. And what youve done in your sentencing does nothing but reiterate this concern to victims everywhere. What youve told victims is that their voice does not matter. Youve told them that their traumatic experiences, their recovery from this experience, and their fear something that oftentimes lasts the rest of their lives doesnt require justice to be served. Youve told them, and everyone else in the country, that a college athlete is above the law. What do you think the repercussions are going to be? You think that rapes are going to decrease now? You think that perpetrators are going to be afraid to commit this crime? Certainly not. All youve done is shown rapists the repercussions for their crimes arent going to be taken seriously. All youve done is taken away hope from victims and given it to their perpetrators. Whether purposely or not, this is what youve done. Let me fill you in on something that needs to be heard, not just by you, but by the entire system: athletes are not above the law. Athletes are people. And if theyve committed a crime, theyre a criminal. Their swimming time no longer applies their crimes do. A football player that murdered his wife is a murderer. A basketball player that robbed a bank is a thief. An Olympic gymnast that smuggles drugs, but that brought home the gold medal three times for the U.S., is still a smuggler. To put it into perspective for those that dont understand: athleticism does not make you immune to the law when you commit a crime. It just makes you an athletic criminal. I understand that the Stanford student was young. I understand he had a bright future ahead of him. But his actions are no ones fault but his own. One person, and one person alone ruined his future: him. Not sentencing a criminal because youre afraid of what it will do to them is laughably ignorant. Sure, this kid will come out mentally more stable than perhaps he would have otherwise. So what? What of the victims around the world who were silenced by your decision? All youve done is exchanged the well-being of one criminal for the well-being of innumerable innocents. As difficult as it is to be a judge to hand out sentences in the hopes that they are correct its astounding that such an unforgivable crime receives nothing more than a slap on the wrist. For the rape victims everywhere that are too scared to speak up, you are doing them no favors. Nobody should be put through this, and by handing out a light sentence, in a way, you are condoning this behavior if youre of a certain social status, or if youre an athlete. Its time to make a stand, to make an example out of someone that many would believe untouchable, but you instead did nothing to help the cause. Rape victims shouldnt have to go through such trials for such a minimizing outcome. This is exactly why victims arent speaking out against their assailants theyve been shown time and time again that their pain and suffering do not matter. That its their own fault, that even if they come forward, nothing is going to come from it. Its a sad reality, and thats exactly why now is the time for a change, and what better way to start than at the top? If you wont make an example of such privileged assailants who have no remorse, then we as a public have decided to make an example of you. The time for change is now no more waiting around for a change that we cant go on without. In the wake of this crime, youve let us down. And in all honesty, you wont be the last to do so. But we wont be silenced. We have a voice. The victim of this crime has a voice. And we are all going to start being heard. Like I said, its a time for change, whether the judicial system is ready or not. So thank you for your awful decision. Thank you because its made the rest of us stronger. Its brought light to an issue otherwise ignored. Thank you for your ignorance. Its made us stronger.