Category Archives: Education

Buying Children’s Educational Toys In The UK

Posted on by

When you’re in the UK and looking for the perfect educational toy to gift your child, or your favorite nephew, you don’t have to look hard because most of the educational toys that are manufactured by the likes of LeapFrog, Hasbro, Jakks Pacific and Disney are being distributed worldwide. Access to educational toys is so open that anyone, even people from the outskirts of the UK are able to buy it if they have the resources.

Buying the right kind of toy for a child is probably as difficult as solving a major Math equation. Do you get something that he or she would appreciate for the longer term until he or she grows a little older, or do you gift something that is the “in” thing now? Given the busy times nowadays, most people would tell you to just go for the easy way and get an educational toy.

This way, you don’t have to worry if the toy you’re giving has sufficient value because you’re sure the child will learn a lot of things from it.

First, find out if the educational toy you’re thinking of buying is actually appropriate for the child you are giving it to. That is, if it’s learning level coincides with the child’s age range. All educational toy boxes carry this information outside, to guide you in your purchase.

Second, when in doubt, ask. Most toy stores have little information kiosks where the educational toys being sold are made accessible to the public for testing and trials. These kiosks also almost always have a representative from the toy store who will gladly explain and demonstrate what each toy can do and for what ages they are best suited.

Third, don’t get carried away. While it may be tempting to buy the largest and hippest educational toy in the bunch, it would be best to, instead, buy something that will bring the greatest value to the child.

When buying educational toys in the UK, there really is no secret formula. Just get the toy that is appropriate to the child’s age and base your choice on what you think would best interest him or her. If the child is into experiments, you can get him or her a science and discovery toy. If the child shows some adeptness at communication, you can get him or her a story reader or a speller.

There are many toy stores in the UK that carry brands that make educational toys. Finding the right gift shouldn’t be too difficult.

Education – Public Vs. Private

Posted on by

Another continuing battle in the world of education and politics is public versus private education. The arguments for and against each are compelling. This is another one of those debates where there is no winner or loser, right or wrong, though there are those who disagree. We’ll present each side of the argument without taking one side or the other.

The obvious arguments for a private education is the quality of that education itself, or at least so the supporters say. Supposedly, a child who goes to a private school gets better teachers, newer books, individualized attention, smaller classes and the so called better class of person to share his pencil case with. The person who goes to a private school doesn’t have to worry about being picked on by bullies. Private schools are simply the ideal utopia for your young child.

The arguments for public education are not as obvious, especially with all the bad press that most public schools get. But one thing that most people don’t realize about public schools that is not true about private schools is that a teacher must be certified by the local educational association. This is not true about private schools. So while the general theory is that you will get a better quality of teacher in a private school simply because of the nature of the school itself, this is not necessarily true.

But the biggest argument for public education really comes down to money and the community. Unfortunately, the money that is allocated to a public school is based on the attendance of that school. If that majority of students in the area go to private schools then the attendance at public schools drops which causes a drop in their funding. This doesn’t just affect the school system itself but the community as well. The less money the schools get, the less money the community gets. What then happens is that the children who go to the public schools don’t get the education that they are entitled to because they don’t have enough money.

This leaves the parents of the child about to attend school with a difficult decision to make and that’s only if they are even aware of this problem. And that is where the problem itself begins. Parents are not informed. They think that sending their children to private schools doesn’t affect them any more than just the money they have to pay for their education itself. In the process of doing this they are taking money away from their community and ultimately lowering the standard of living in the community.

For everything in life there is always a trade off. The debate between public and private education will continue, with both sides fighting hard to get their share of the pie; public schools fighting for more funding and private schools fighting for vouchers so that more kids can afford to go to private schools. The truth is, until these two institutions can find a way to coexist with each other, there will be no winner in this war.