CHRISTMAS is supposed to be a vacation but this year, how about a different and a more enjoyable kind of vacation – a working vacation. Learning a new craft this Christmas can after all be both satisfying and fulfilling at the same time. There are different ways to do that. If you are here in Salamanca for example, learning British English for two weeks can be exciting. I mean, there are lots of British tourists around here in Salamanca especially that a big Hollywood movie featuring Salamanca, Vantage Point, is coming out early next year. And there are a lot of English language schools here in Salamanca because there are not just British tourists here all year round, some have even loved to stay here. So if you have just graduated in a hospitality college and you will want to have better chances to work in the local tourism industry here in Salamanca, you better polish your English skills in just two weeks of a crash course. The crash course provides all the basics in English and it is indeed nice to learn British English because it has a non-rhotic accent, meaning the letter r is not pronounced in certain syllables, notably the last syllable in a word.

Or you may have fun learning another craft this Christmas like reflexology. In reflexology, you will not only learn practical ways in how to treat ailments naturally just by massage, you can also ultimately earn. The health sector in such countries as the United States are in need of reflexologists so even if you’re not American as long as you have a certificate in reflexology, you can qualify and of course, everybody knows that the health industry in the United States (whether government or private) pays its employees well. You will not only receive the regular compensation, you will also receive lots of bonuses such as a yearly two weeks’ off, a company-sponsored vacation, a Christmas bonus, a midyear bonus and even a 13th month and a 14th month pay. If you’re a student in a reflexology crash course here in Salamanca this Christmas, you are also trained a little bit in acupuncture, acupressure, Swedish massage, the Eastern art of shiatsu massage, how to concoct oils which can be therapeutic through their aroma, body scrub and body wrap, among others.

But if that is not your cup of tea, then you may want to learn ballet here in Salamanca throughout the holiday season so you can boast to your classmates by the time classes go back that you have learned ballet. There are more ingenious art forms that can be learned even in two weeks’ time. There’s horse whispering, the Eastern martial art of muay Thai, the Israeli martial art of krav maga, the French action-inducing pastime of fencing (either foil or epee), the French escapist art of parkour (which has already been used in two Hollywod movies, Casino Royale and Die Hard 4.0) and many others.

EACH country in the world has its own education standards. But education must start from being a tot. Parents or guardians must teach children how to say simple words in Spanish such as papa or mama. Then later on, parents will entice their children to be sent to nursery. Nurseries are staffed with child psychologists and are equipped with state-of-the-art playthings like they do in nurseries in malls, hotels across Europe and cruise ships touring anywhere in the world. Anyway, these playthings are safe and are bereft of unwanted substances because they are checked again and again by the folks in the nursery school because of the controversy that some toys manufactured from China contain unwanted substances. During the first day in nursery school, parents or guardians must momentarily take a half day of absence from work so that they can focus on the academic developments of their respective children back home. You must also see closely the cognitive performance of your child as far as his or her interaction with his or her classmates is concerned. This will be the first time that you can sense whether your child is autistic or not. You will be assisted by the child psychologists in the nursery for that.

After nursery, a child will then graduate to kindergarten and then to primary school. A child usually enters first grade at the age of six or seven. During that time, he or she is introduced to such subjects as mathematics. Even mathematics has its own specialized subjects like arithmetic, geometry and trigonometry. Science subjects are also introduced like botany and earth science as well as religion. However, terminologies used are mostly simple in nature.

When a child enters seventh grade or first year in high school, more complex terminologies in subjects are used in whatever medium your school uses. Sex education is already introduced. There is a complex discussion on human pathology. Whereas physical education at the elementary level is merely relegated to exercises, the one in high school becomes more dynamic and more complex too. You will be introduced to live firing exercises as military discipline is integrated in the physical education curriculum. This is especially true even in conventional and exclusive private high schools in such countries as Israel. You will even learn the martial art of krav maga there. In some high schools in France, there is an emerging trend to learn the escapist art of parkour. There, you will be exempted in taking the final physical education exams if you will enroll in the special parkour program.

But we’re talking here of the typical high schools. There are many and diverse forms of alternative high schools in such countries as the United States. There are home schools, boarding schools sand military schools. Home schools are where students are assigned tutors by the school they are enrolled in. There are many reasons why students opt to be in home schools. They are either special children or are usually bullied by other students.

PARENTS have the most responsibility to educate children. Educating children can be achieved even before the infant reaches a year old. One can say simple words like papa and mama. Even when the child is already more than a year old, parents or guardians can now teach the child to sing and dance. My mom used to tell me that when I was at two years old, I used to dance to the beat of the Village People’s YMCA. There’s one girl I know who at two years old know how to sing JoJo’s Beautiful Girls. Remember that a person’s mind is most precarious at childhood so it must be developed and nurtured well not just with academic stuff but also with precious nutrition found only in breast milk and natural foods plus a supplement of vitamins. That’s the same reason why there are nurseries in malls nowadays so that the cognitive and the social aspects of a child’s psyche will be developed. There will always be bullies in mall nurseries but these are older children so always watch out for your child’s welfare. In some beach resorts in Portugal and Spain such as Praia da Luz, they have established nurseries there for toddlers to be placed so that their parents on a second honeymoon will not be disturbed. These nurseries are staffed with child psychologists so the welfare of one’s child is taken care most.

Another thing to watch out for is a child’s first day of school. In a child’s first day of school, always make sure that the parents or stepparents or guardian or guardians be absent from their work for at least half a day. Don’t just leave the child with a nanny. You must see for yourself how well your child performs at the first day of school. This is important since this may well be the best gauge whether your child has autism. After that, children then go to the obligatory subjects of mathematics, geography, geometry, arithmetic, botany, earth science, physical education, music, home economics, the country’s history, world history and everything else in between during their entire basic education period which starts on the children’s first grade and ends during their senior year in high school. In between, they’ll experience the period of puberty and students tend to be rowdy during this period as a result of testosterone and estrogen surge. Their minds want them to be more liberated and more independent, thus, parents and guardians alike need to haul in their children back to them with tender care and guidance so their studies won’t be disturbed.

By the age of 18 when students are about to graduate from high school, children are now given free choice by their parents to attend boarding college or to stop schooling altogether. But if their is an opportunity to go to college, then better advise your child to go for it. There are millions of adults in the United States but only a few of them have become shining stars thanks largely to college education.