TOPS Homeschool Lesson: Resolutions for 2012

At the beginning of the New Year, many people make resolutions for improving something about themselves and their surroundings. These resolutions usually focus on changing a specific habit that will make their life, health, home, or even attitude better.  

We would like to recommend that this year you choose one meaningful, key word to focus on during 2012.  Choose a word to meditate on in good times and bad; a word to use with your child in schooling activities as well as around the house.  For instance, you might choose:

DETERMINATION

     Look up the meaning with your child; learn to spell it; then tell your child about times when you have shown determination. Help you child identify a time when she has been determined.  Focus on the word for the whole year or a term or a month or whatever is right for your family.  You might want to read biographies of people who have exhibited determination in their lives. 

For example:

• Thomas Edison – he would not quit.  He made 1000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb before finding the right solution.
• Winston Churchill – he failed 6^th grade.  He was defeated in every election for public office until England asked him to become the Prime Minister. Listen with your child to his “Never, Never, Never, Never Give Up” speech.
•  Louisa May Alcott – her family thought she should forget writing and find work as a servant.
•  Gladys Aylward – she changed Chinese history by standing on her “flat feet”.
•  Mother Theresa – her life was dedicated to helping the poorest of the poor in India and she wouldn’t stop when people advised her to retire and rest.

 A few word options to get you thinking:  serene, committed, eager, listening, hope, contentment, beauty, change, dream, memory, alive, steady, creative, wonder, delight, calm, and so many, many more. 

We pray that all of you will have a very prosperous and peaceful New Year.

The Oaks Private School: Regionally Accredited

The Oaks Private School received its Regional Accreditation through the Northwest Accreditation Commission, one of only six regional accreditation agencies recognized by the U.S. Department of Education (USDOE) and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA):

• Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools
• New England Association of Schools and Colleges
• North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
• Northwest Accreditation Commission
• Western Association of Schools and Colleges
• Southern Association of Colleges and Schools 

As The Oaks Private School's high standards and quality is being sought by a growing number of national and international students, it was determined that NWAC's trans-regional and international accreditation would best serve the needs of our students.
The Oaks continues in its commitment to provide families with the highest level of Christian education and the best quality of academic service. As we move forward, we are extremely pleased to be able to provide our students with a recognized level of accreditation that is both regional and international in scope.

Regional Accreditation

Regional accreditation is a term used in the United States to refer to educational accreditation conducted by any of several accreditation bodies established to serve six defined geographic areas of the country for accreditation of schools, colleges, and universities. Each regional accreditor encompasses the vast majority of public and nonprofit private educational institutions in the region it serves. They accredit (and therefore include among their membership) elementary schools, junior high schools, middle schools, and nearly all high schools, and public and private institutions of higher education that are academic in nature.

History of Accreditation

The regional accrediting agencies were established in the late 19th and early 20th century in response to a perceived need for better articulation between secondary schools and higher education institutions, particularly to help colleges and universities evaluate prospective students. The New England Association was formed in 1885 by a group of schoolmasters of secondary schools. The Middle States Association formed in 1887. The faculty of Vanderbilt University led the establishment of the Southern Association in 1895, and the North Central Association was organized the same year at a meeting of 36 administrators of mid-western schools, colleges, and universities. The Northwest Association of Secondary and Higher Schools (predecessor of the two organizations that now serve that region) was formed in 1917 and the Western Association was founded in 1923. Initially the main focus of the organizations was on accreditation of secondary schools and establishment of uniform college entrance requirements.

Value of Accreditation

Accreditation is an activity long accepted in the United States but unknown in many other countries that rely on governmental supervision and control of educational institutions.
The record of accomplishment and outstanding success in the education of Americans can be traced in large part to the reluctance of the United States to impose governmental restrictions on institutions of postsecondary education, and to the success of the voluntary American system of accreditation in promoting quality without inhibiting innovation.
The high proportion of Americans benefiting from higher education, the reputation of universities in the United States for both fundamental and applied research, and the wide-spread availability of professional services in the United States all testify to postsecondary education of high quality, and to the success of the accreditation system which the institutions and professions of the United States have devised to promote that quality.