Recent Competition In The Education

The Education Industry in Australia is one of those quiet earners. Year on year we have seen improvements, but after incidents of last year, we have seen that our market can easily go away. Whether to learn English or more advanced studies, students have many other choices than Australia. With a low US dollar, countries like Canada and the USA are much more competitive on the international market and the next few years will see a heating up as countries like China do their best to keep students in their own country. What is Australia doing about it?

• Visa process. The process of getting a student visa is still slow and a little complicated compared to some other countries, and a shake up is required. Although requirements for some countries such as India and China have been lowered, it is important that we see improvements in the actual process. The industry is currently waiting on government reports and recommendations on this issue that should be released in the middle of this year. Other countries such as the UK and New Zealand have much lower visa fees and also do not require students to have money in the bank for the whole course - requiring only to show they can support themselves for a year. This is a more realistic option.
• Study type. Countries like Canada are targeting India with a broader and easily accessible trade and community courses. Australia has seen a decline in these types of students as a result. Australia saw a recent fall of around 10% in these types of English and trade studies. These can often be bigger money earners than marketing courses and other higher-end studies.
• Bad press and losing India. The bad press in 2010 problems of Indian students being the target of racial hate and attacks has meant a real disaster for Australia. Applications have seriously plummeted. What is Australia going to do about this to make it more appealing again? The USA and Canada have capitalised on this right when their dollars are cheaper. Indian student numbers will be less than 50% of what they were.
• Loss of fees and schools closing. Did you know that over 15 private colleges closed in 2010 and over 3000 students were affected - many of them losing their fees. In an industry where people are choosing a country, there is an obligation that must be met by the country to guarantee the welfare of the students. We are selling our country and not just its education.
• Immediate effect. It must be understood that the drop in students coming to Australia has an immediate effect on many jobs and many lives in Australia. It is not just the economy that suffers. People who have invested their lives in the industry are having their lives shattered.
• Pathway to permanent residency. There is always the issue that many students use it as a pathway to a residency visa. Is this not fair in itself? If people are investing many years of their life with substantial financial investment, and they have good qualifications, then why should they not be allowed to stay? We are living in an international world and the more diversified Australia becomes, the better off it will be. Australia needs to grow up and take a more international approach to the students and their future, just like Canada, the USA and Britain do.

If Australia does not make serious changes to its attitude we will continue to see other countries take advantage of the current situation further. We are at a crucial turning point. If it was another industry such as mining, it would be all over the news.

Political Correctness in Education Has Gone Too Far

There are lots of reasons why parents home school their kids. Some feel the schools aren't safe, and it's true some are not. Some parents worry about drugs, some worry about bullying. Yes, indeed, those can be factors. But the main reason home schooling exists is because many parents do not trust the public schools anymore. They don't trust the schools to teach their kids correctly, the right information, or do it in the way they would with integrity, decency, and honesty.
Political correctness in our schools is also a reason I hear when I interview home schooling parents, and interestingly enough, over the years I've talked to 100s all over America. But how bad is the PC world of education these days? Well, some parents get irate when explaining some of the stories and experiences they've encountered. And in listening to their critique, well, I cannot say I much blame them.
In fact, in a story I almost cannot believe which was printed in an E-School News article Titled; "White-washing of Literary Classics Paints Controversy" in the February 2011 edition there was an article where "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" was actually modified as to not offend black students. Yep, they modified Mark Twain's work. Can you imagine modifying a literary classic like that, and then having the kids read it without telling them it has been modified? Talk about lack of integrity! I am appalled.
But it brings me to another point, you ought to have your home-schooled children also read; "Lies My Teacher Told Me" as part of their at home curriculum as well. It just blows me away that we can have adults in our educational system pull something so childish. And if it really is "that bad" having a book with a black-slave in it, then just don't have them read it at all, but modifying it, changing anything is absolutely unethical in every way - but it's even worse, because the educational system which demands ethical students is doing it.
What does this teach our children I ask? Scary stuff indeed, but luckily the story was picked up by CNNs Anderson Cooper and played on TV to get the word out. Could it get any worse you wonder? Sure it could, especially when everyone plays along and no one stands up and says; "Hey, wait just one minute here!"
Well, I hope you've enjoyed today's topic, and I hope you will please consider all this and think on it.

Forex Trading Education

A prospective forex trader would be well advised to spend a little time researching a respectable currency trading course. Of course he or she will want to start making money as soon as possible, but forex trading is risky, and if they do not get a good foundation they could easily be losing pots of cash instead. Currency price movements are not easy to predict, and a trader needs to take many factors into consideration. In addition, it is imperative to open and close trades at the right moment to get maximum profit from any price variation. If a trader tries to work all of this out for themselves it will take a lot of time.
It would be ideal if the forex trading course covered all the necessary principles of foreign exchange trading, and beneath you will discover my recommended list of what I would expect to find in a quality course.
1. Principles of currency trading
Any high-quality currency trading course will make clear the fundamental principles of the forex market including leverage and margins, pips, spread and other costs, and what to look for in a broker.
2. Technical analysis
The understanding of charts and other indicators is known as technical analysis. The trader uses these to spot signals to buy or sell, such as trends or swings. Different systems rely on different indicators. Consequently, an investor would not require to learn all indicators, but just those which were significant to his or her system. At a later date, a trader's system may change, so it would be convenient if the currency trading course could be looked at yet again later on. This would permit an investor to alter his or her system relatively effortlessly.
3. Fundamental analysis
Fundamental analysis relates to the financial news, announcements and other events which affect foreign currency prices. In the end, it is each country's economic performance which causes the value of its currency to change. One does not need to be able to foresee all these events. It is quite normal for traders to avoid the market at these times. But it is vital to understand how the process works and keep an eye on the alerts for anything that might influence trading.
4. Risk management
Risk management concentrates on minimizing losses through the use of stops, and protecting income by limiting the position size. In general risk on any one trade should never be more than 5% and many traders work on 2%, 1% or even less. Fund size has a great effect on risk, and one should reduce it as funds increase. Anything over 5% is pretty much guaranteed to wipe out funds. A trader may feel like taking a chance for quicker growth on a small fund but wiping out their funds is not a good way to go!
5. Mindset
Forex trading education is worth little if it does not cover the most essential aspect of all which is mindset. Ultimately, if a trader does not take the time to comprehend the mindset of a successful trader, they will not be in a position to profit from the market.
Self-discipline is the key. Without this, emotions such as fear, greed or excitement will take over and money will be lost. A trader must also be able to handle losses, and not allow them to get the better of them. Of course risk management will always help, however patterns of behaviour can be established if emotions are permitted to take over, and this will lead to losses. A good forex trading course will include teaching and exercises to help a new trader master the art of self-discipline and keep their emotions off the trading floor.