Many people assume that online degree programs are more expensive than those offered at traditional schools. Performing a strict comparison on the cost per credit hour for each program can be a good basis for financial evaluation, but this should not be the only comparison made. In many cases, you might actually find that these costs are comparable with local campuses. I compared credit hour costs among eight different schools and the online campus that I had selected, and found that the costs were relatively similar.

Yet, there are additional costs that should be factored into the equation before making a final decision. Many traditional schools add additional fees for parking, medical services, and library and computing resources. Often, these fees are not necessary for online degree programs. Additionally, such “soft costs” such as gas and wasted travel time should be considered.

You should also consider books and course materials. Traditional schools typically have bookstores on campus to provide the required course materials. Sometimes, used books may be available, thereby reducing the overall expense, but in many cases, new books will be required, particularly for upper-level course work. Some campuses have begun offering downloadable electronic books (E-books) that can provide some cost savings. Online campuses will occasionally have book stores for specific course materials, requiring the student to order the required materials far enough ahead of time to enable the student to meet course deadlines. Many more online campuses have begun offering materials strictly via online delivery, often at a flat-fee per course (somewhere between $70-100 per course, depending on the course level and school). Naturally, such materials cannot be resold as hard-copy books can.

Financial aid resources can help many students meet these financial obligations once a program has been selected. Schools that offer federal financial resources are typically reputable; be wary of those schools that simply offer private financing options, as these schools may not be accredited. Many online campuses will also have a list of grant and scholarship opportunities available. Finally, if you have served in the military, a reputable school will allow you to use your veterans’ benefits; be warned, certain benefits do have an expiration date. Ask the school for a breakdown of costs over the course of your program if you have questions so that you can determine how much financial aid will cover and you can plan accordingly. In some cases, undergraduate studies may not be fully funded by these financial resources, though graduate programs may be fully (or over) funded.

It is interesting to note that a review of biographical sources, however, provides little or no evidence to support this assertion.

According to LD lore Einstein failed to talk until the age of four, the result of a language disability. It is also claimed that Einstein could not read until the age of nine. To strengthen their case LD proponents point to such facts that Einstein failed his first attempt at entrance into college and lost three teaching positions in two years.

While this makes a nice story, this widely believed notion is false, according to Ronald W. Clark’s comprehensive biography of Einstein, and according to “Subtle is the Lord: The Science and Life of Albert Einstein,” a biography by Abraham Pais (Oxford University Press, 1982).

Pais states that although his family had initial apprehensions that he might be backward because of the unusually long time before he began to talk, Einstein was speaking in whole sentences by some point between age two and three years. According to Clark, a far more plausible reason for his relatively late speech development is “the simpler situation suggested by Einstein’s son Hans Albert, who says that his father was withdrawn from the world even as a boy.” Whether one accepts this interpretation, other information helps us to judge Einstein’s language abilities after he began to speak.

Einstein entered school at the age of six, and against popular belief did very well. When he was seven his mother wrote, “Yesterday Albert received his grades, he was again number one, his report card was brilliant.” At the age of twelve Einstein was reading physics books. At thirteen, after reading the “Critique of Pure Reason” and the work of other philosophers, Einstein adopted Kant as his favorite author. About this time he also read Darwin. Pais states, “the widespread belief that he was a poor student is unfounded.”

FAILING HIS COLLEGE ENTRANCE EXAMS

True, Einstein did not pass the college exam the first time he took it. However, aside from being only sixteen, two years below the usual age, the plain fact was he did not study for it. His father wanted his son to follow a technical occupation, a decision Einstein found difficult to confront directly. Consequently, as he later admitted, he avoided following the “unbearable” path of a “practical profession” by not preparing himself for the test.

It is also true that, after graduating from the university, Einstein had difficulty finding a post. This was mainly because his independent, intellectually rebellious nature made him, in his own words, “a pariah” in the academic community. One professor told him, “You have one fault; one can’t tell you anything.”

Also true is that Einstein went through three jobs in a short time, but not because of a learning disability. His first job was as a temporary research assistant, the second as temporary replacement for a professor who had to serve a two-month term in the army. Clark remarks that it is “difficult to discover but easy to imagine” why Einstein held his third job, as a teacher in a boarding school, for only a few months: “Einstein’s ideas of minimum routine and minimum discipline were very different from those of his employer.”

In his article “Was Einstein learning disabled? Anatomy of a myth,” (published in 2004 in the “Skeptics Society & Skeptic Magazine,” a revised version of an article that originally appeared in the March/April 2000 issue of the “Journal of Learning Disabilities”) Marlin Thomas concludes: “Given the meager basis for the claim that Einstein was learning disabled, one has to wonder why it has become so accepted. Part of the reason is the encouragement it gives all of us to know that even geniuses have shortcomings. The claim also enhances the prestige of learning disabled individuals. Any marginalized group benefits from having one of its members be a stellar figure in cultural history. These may be salutary, but the consequence of claiming that Einstein was learning disabled without historical evidence is harmful. It distorts the historical record and it questions the credibility of other claims regarding the learning disabilities of prominent persons.”

Talk of normal or disabled, all children love toys. No child has similar liking. What happens to be a fun-toy for one might not be of interest to the other. So, while picking up a toy for your child you need to get the right type of toy as per his liking. Besides, added care is needed while choosing toys for disabled children. They are special and therefore their toys also have to be special. Here are top 10 toy buying ideas for disabled children:

1. Building blocks: Building blocks will help your disabled child in developing their motor skills. The toys that fall in this category are alphabetical blocks and colored blocks that come in different shapes and sizes.
2. Paints and coloring pencils: This is the best tool for those disabled children who are deaf and dumb. Paints and coloring pencils give them an effective medium to express themselves with colors. Besides this, the responsiveness to a particular color form your child will help you to connect to your child’s psychology and thus understand him well.
3. Stories with repetition or rhymes: Development of proper speech is very important for a disabled child. So, you should always try hard in this direction at the earliest possible time. In doing so, you can take the help of various books that come with stories in easily comprehendible languages.
4. Mix and match toys: Besides development of good speech, the other important thing that you need to take care of in your disabled child, is the sense of mental ability coupled with cognitive skills. For this, there are available certain toys, which involve sorting and grouping numbers, shapes and colors.
5. Board games: Board games help your child develop cognitive as well as motor skills.
6. Toys with light: Development of the sense of active visual stimulation is also very important for your disabled child. To aid this, there are several toys like “flashing molecule ball” that help in improving your child’s responsiveness to the visuals.
7. Musical instruments: Musical instrument toys like drums, guitar, piano, to name a few will be helpful in developing musical interest in your disabled child. Such toys help in generating creative ability with the other skills of cognizance and motor.
8. Stretch-Eze: This is a very unique toy. This toy is ideal for your child in developing creative movements and is also useful in exercising.
9. Books with pictures: Pictures are great way by which you can build your child’s imagination. These books will contain various riddles and stories based on different themes that will help your child build understanding powers.
10. Calculator Cash Register: This is one of the most perfect toys for your disabled child. The toy features a calculator and also includes false-plastic money with bills, coins and also credit cards. The purpose of this toy is to develop and encourage mathematical skills and quick learning ability in your child.