18 Ways for Kids to Practice Spelling Words

18 Ways for Kids to Practice Spelling Words Every week your youngster is probably going to get back home with a spelling word list in which they will have a test toward the week's end. It’s their business to consider and gain proficiency with the words, yet essentially taking a gander at them isn’t going to work. They will require a few devices to assist them with recollecting the words. Here are 18 imaginative and intelligent approaches to work on spelling words. Make a Spelling Word Origami Fortune Teller These are otherwise called Cootie Catchers. It’s sufficiently simple to make spelling word Cootie Catchers and having your youngster illuminate the word boisterous is useful for sound-related students. Make and Use a â€Å"Word Catcher These changed flyswatters can be a ton of enjoyable to utilize. Give your kid a duplicate of their spelling words and you may be astonished to perceive that they are so eager to begin smacking the words in all the books, magazines, banners, and papers in the house. Attractive Letters, Alphabet Blocks, or Scrabble Pieces Similarly as saying the words for all to hear can support a sound-related student, truly constructing the words can be useful for progressively visual students. Simply remember you may require more than one lot of attractive letters to spell all the words. Make Your Own Crossword Puzzle Fortunately there are free online apparatuses like Discovery Educations puzzlemaker program to assist you with making puzzles. You should simply type in the word list. Utilize Sensory Play A few children learn better when every one of their faculties are included. Doing things like splashing shaving cream on the table and letting your youngster follow their words in it or having them keep in touch with them with a stick in the soil can help concrete the words in their memory. Play Spelling Word Memory There are several different ways to do this. You can make two arrangements of cheat sheets with the spelling words-it’s a smart thought to compose each set in an alternate shading or you can make one set with the words and one with the definition. From that point onward, it’s played simply like some other Memory game. Follow the Words in Rainbow Colors This is a minor departure from the old â€Å"write your words ten times† schoolwork. Your kid can follow each word again and again to recall the request for the letters for each word. At long last, however, it’s much prettier than a straightforward word list. Let Your Child Text the Words to You Along these lines to work on spelling words depends, obviously, on whether your kid has a mobile phone and what the arrangement incorporates. With boundless messaging, however, it’s simple enough for you to get the content, right the spelling if fundamental, and send back an emoji. Use Sandpaper Letters to Make Spelling Word Rubbings In spite of the fact that it requires a little prep work, this is a great method to rehearse the words. When you have a lot of sandpaper letter stencils, your kid can organize each word, place a bit of paper over it, and make a scouring with pencil or colored pencils. Make Word Searches This, as well, is an action that is simple enough with online assets. SpellingCity.com is an incredible site that permits you to make word looks and make different exercises for your kid. Play Hangman Executioner is an incredible go-to game with regards to spelling words. On the off chance that you have your youngster utilize a duplicate of their spelling show, it will be simpler for them to limit which word you’re utilizing. Keep in mind, you can generally utilize the definition as a hint! Make up a Spelling Word Song It might sound senseless, yet there’s a distinct association among music and proficiency. In the event that you and your kid are imaginative, you can make your own senseless tune. For the less musically-slanted, have a go at setting the words to the tune of â€Å"Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star† or another nursery rhyme tune. Play the â€Å"Add-A-Letter† Game This game is a pleasant method to cooperate with your youngster. One of you begins composing the spelling word on the paper by keeping in touch with one letter. The following one includes the following letter. Since many word records incorporate words that start with similar sounds, it might be trying to realize which word your game accomplice began composing. Compose a Story Using Each Spelling Word Numerous instructors request that understudies do this with their spelling words for schoolwork, yet you can include a curve by giving your kid a theme to compose or recount to a tale about. For instance, challenge her to compose a tale about zombies utilizing every one of their words. Feature the Words in the Newspaper Give your kid a highlighter and a heap of papers and time them to perceive to what extent it takes for them to discover and feature all the words on their rundown. Play a â€Å"What Letter Is Missing?† Game Somewhat not the same as Hangman and like the Add-a-Letter game, this game is played by composing or composing the words, however leaving a clear space of two for key letters. Your youngster should place in the right letters. This works especially well to rehearse the vowel sounds. Act Them Out Basically this is playing the game Charades with your child’s spelling words. You can do it two or three different ways give your youngster a rundown of the words and have them surmise which one you are carrying on or placed all the words in a bowl, have them pick one and request that they demonstration it out. Put Them in ABC Order While ordering the rundown won’t fundamentally help your kid figure out how to spell every individual word, it will assist them with perceiving the words and, for certain kids, simply moving the strips (on which each word is composed) around can assist them with keeping the word in their visual memory.

Working Students Free Essays

In instructive foundations, achievement is estimated by scholastic execution, or how well an understudy satisfies guidelines set out by neighborhood government and the establishment itself. As vocation rivalry becomes perpetually wild in the working scene, the significance of understudies doing admirably in school has grabbed the eye of guardians, lawmakers and government training divisions the same. Understand more: Define Academic Performance | eHow. We will compose a custom exposition test on Working Students or then again any comparable subject just for you Request Now com http://www. ehow. com/about_4740750_define-scholastic execution. html#ixzz2NEVziRNN Significance Although training isn't the main street to achievement in the working scene, much exertion is made to recognize, assess, follow and support the advancement of understudies in schools. Guardians care about their child’s scholarly execution since they accept great scholastic outcomes will give more profession decisions and employer stability. Schools, however put resources into encouraging great scholarly propensities for a similar explanation, are likewise frequently impacted by worries about the school’s notoriety and the chance of fiscal guide from government organizations, which can rely on the general scholastic presentation of the school. State and government branches of training are accused of improving schools, thus devise strategies for estimating accomplishment so as to make plans for development. History * before, scholarly execution was frequently estimated more by ear than today. Teachers’ perceptions made up the main part of the evaluation, and today’s summation, or numerical, technique for deciding how well an understudy is performing is a genuinely ongoing creation. Evaluating frameworks appeared in America in the late Victorian time frame, and were at first condemned because of high subjectivity. Various instructors esteemed various parts of learning more profoundly than others, and albeit some normalization was endeavored so as to make the framework all the more reasonable, the issue proceeded. Today, changes have been made to consolidate separation for individual students’ capacities, and investigation of substitute strategies for estimating execution is progressing. Full-content training books, articles, diaries at Questia. www. Questia. com/Education Function * The following of scholarly execution satisfies various purposes. Regions of accomplishment and disappointment in a student’s scholastic vocation should be assessed so as to cultivate improvement and utilize the learning procedure. Results give a system to discussing how understudies admission in school, and a consistent standard to which all understudies are held. Execution results likewise permit understudies to be positioned and arranged on a scale that is numerically self-evident, limiting protests by considering educators and schools responsible for the segments of every single evaluation. Highlights * Performance in school is assessed in various ways. For normal evaluating, understudies show their insight by stepping through composed and oral examinations, performing introductions, turning in schoolwork and partaking in class exercises and conversations. Educators assess as letter or number evaluations and side notes, to depict how well an understudy has done. At the state level, understudies are assessed by their exhibition on government sanctioned tests designed for explicit ages and dependent on a lot of accomplishments understudies in each age bunch are relied upon to meet. Contemplations The subjectivity of scholarly execution assessment has reduced as of late, however it has not been completely wiped out. It may not be conceivable to completely expel subjectivity from the present assessment techniques, since most are one-sided toward understudies that react best to conventional instructing strategies. Government sanctioned testing is best reacted to by understudies that exceed expectations in perusing, arithmetic and test-taking, an expertise that isn't in itself demonstrative of scholastic worth. The tests reward visual students, and give zero chance for sensation or sound-related students to show their capacities. The state sanctioned test neglects to perceive understudies with learning and physical incapacities that don't permit them to finish the test in a similar way or measure of time as different understudies. Assessments from homeroom instructors, however they give the most nitty gritty data, may at present hold predisposition if singular separation and learning styles have not been considered. Understand more: Define Academic Performance | eHow. com http://www. ehow. com/about_4740750_define-scholarly execution. html#ixzz2NEXuduq0 Working understudies Presentation Numerous undergrads today work low maintenance. Work during school could improve grades if working advances viewpoints that compare with scholastic achievement, for example, innovation or time the executives abilities, or rather decrease reviews by diminishing time and vitality accessible for homework. Something else, working may be related with scholastic execution, yet not legitimately impact it, if imperceptibly understudy contrasts impact both work gracefully and grades. Unmotivated understudies may neither work for pay nor get passing marks since they put little exertion into the work market or school. Interestingly, understudies uninterested in scholastics may work extended periods of time that would some way or another have been committed to recreation. Understudies may misconstrue the connection between school accomplishment and future income when settling on work flexibly choices. Provided that this is true, getting a reliable gauge of how such choices influence scholarly execution is tentatively significant for arrangement thought. An understudy alludes to somebody who is officially occupied with learning, particularly the person who is taken on a school or school. You would call an individual an understudy in the event that the person is a student. Business at that point relates to employments, work, calling, and so on. W would you at that point characterize ‘working student’? On another person’s mind, they would consider it an understudy who participates in learning and working simultaneously. It doesn't make a difference what nature of work it would be. Numerous undergrads today work low maintenance. Their explanation behind working is for the most part because of the way that they come up short on the money related help they need. Few would reason out that they just required the additional salary for individual recreation. Guardians would ordinarily bolster their youngster for their instruction. In Step by step instructions to refer to Working Students, Papers

what weve been up to recently

what we’ve been up to recently We haven’t been blogging as much as we’d like to. Senior fall and even this winter break have been so, so busy between the job hunt from September November, and then grad school applications from November now.   We don’t have time right now to write something too substantial, so in attempt to not fall off the face of the blogs, here is a list, in no particular order, of things we’ve been up to recently:   Studying for the GRE   Retaking the GRE ten days ago (and doing a little better than the first time! woot!)   Watching Cats with our friend from high school! We actually really liked a lot of the songs, and dance numbers. Memory was amazing, and the second big number, The Naming of Cats, was super cool and spooky sounding! We both forgot to take our glasses to the theater, so we literally didn’t notice any of the supposedly awful CGI lol, and hence mostly just focused on the music. We think that made our experience better than our friend’s, who left the theater in a trance, repeatedly saying “what the f” Working WAY too long on updating and changing the formats of our portfolios. Like literally 100+ hours at this point Going to the beach a couple times   Going to pilates with our mom a couple times Going on lots of walks  Dogsitting our mom’s friend’s hyper energetic dog. Like, he would go absolutely berserk outside on walks. Actually let’s rephrase: he would go absolutely berserk outside on runs, if that says anything. He was super cute though so we mostly didn’t mind (except the two times when he almost caught a bird) Watching Steven Universe Future! It’s been so good so far! Our favorite episode so far is Volleyball ??   Watching season 4 My Hero Academia! Miriooo and Eriiiii ?????? That’s about it. We are really hoping to be able to blog more during IAP and next semester! Till then!

Strategies for Hiring a Teacher

Because teachers can make or break a school, the process used to hire them is critical to a schools overall success. A building principal typically plays some sort of role in the hiring of a new teacher. Some principals are a part of a committee that interviews and decides who to hire, while others interview potential candidates individually. In either case, its important that the necessary steps are taken to hire the right person for the job. Hiring a new teacher is a process and should not be rushed. There are important steps that should be taken when looking for a new teacher. Here are a few of them.   Understand Your Needs Every school has their own needs when it comes to hiring a new teacher and its important that the person or people in charge of hiring understand exactly what those are. Examples of specific needs might include certification, flexibility, personality, experience, curriculum, and, most importantly, the individual philosophy of the school or district. Understanding these needs before you begin the interview process allows those in charge to have a better idea of what you are looking for. This can help create a list of interview questions catered to these needs.   Post an Ad It is important that you get as many candidates as possible. The larger the pool, the more likely it will be that you will have at least one candidate that meets all of your needs. Post ads on your school website, in each of the local newspapers, and in any educational publications in your state. Be as detailed as possible in your advertisements. Be sure to give a contact, a deadline for submission, and a list of qualifications.   Sort Through Resumes Once your deadline has passed, quickly scan each resume for key words, skills, and types of experiences that fit your needs. Try to get as much information about each individual candidate from their resume before you begin the interview process. If you are comfortable with doing so, pre-rank each candidate based on the information in their resume before interviewing. Interview Qualified Candidates Invite your top candidates to come in for interviews. How you conduct these is up to you; some people are comfortable doing a non-scripted interview, while others prefer a specific script to guide the interview process. Try to get a feel for your candidates personality, experience, and what sort of teacher they will be. Do not rush through your interviews. Start with small talk. Take the time to get to know them. Encourage them to ask questions. Be open and honest with each candidate. Ask tough questions if necessary. Take Comprehensive Notes Start taking notes on each candidate as you go through resumes. Add to those notes during the interview itself. Jot down anything that is relevant to the list of needs that you created before beginning the process. Later on, you will add to your notes when you check each candidate’s references. Taking great notes on each candidate is essential for  hiring the right person and its especially important if you have a long list of candidates to interview over the course of several days and even weeks. It may be hard to remember everything about the first few candidates if you do not take comprehensive notes. Narrow the Field After you have completed all the initial interviews, you will need to review all notes and narrow down the list of candidates to your top 3-4. You will want to invite these top candidates back for a second interview. Re-Interview With Assistance In the second interview, consider bringing in another employee such as the  district’s superintendent or even a committee made up of several stakeholders. Instead of giving your co-workers too much background before the interview, its best to allow them to formulate their own opinions about each candidate. This will ensure that each candidate will be evaluated without your personal bias influencing the other interviewers decision. After all the top candidates have been interviewed, you can discuss each candidate with the other persons who interviewed, seeking their input and perspective. Put Them on the Spot If possible, ask the candidates to prepare a short, ten-minute lesson to teach to a group of students. If it is during the summer and students are not available, you can have them give their lesson the group of stakeholders in the second interview round. This will allow you to see a brief snapshot of how they handle themselves in the classroom and perhaps provide you with a better feel for what kind of teacher they are. Call All References Checking references can be another valuable tool in evaluating a candidate. This is especially effective for teachers with experience. Contacting their former principal(s) can provide you with important information that you may not be able to get from an interview.   Rank the Candidates and Make an Offer You should have plenty of information after following all the previous steps to make someone a job offer. Rank each candidate according to which one you believe best fits your school’s needs. Review each resume and all of your notes, taking the other interviewee’s thoughts into consideration as well. Call your first choice and offer them a job. Do not call any other candidates until they accept the job and sign a contract. This way, if your first choice does not accept the offer, you will be able to move to the next candidate on the list. After you have hired a new teacher, be professional and call each candidate, letting them know that the position has been filled.

Essay on Massachusetts Health Reform - 1386 Words

Massachusetts Health Reform In 2006 the state of Massachusetts wanted to help its millions of citizens who were uninsured. The state legislators as well as the governor put into place a plan to help citizens get insurance. A law was passed to reform insurance in Massachusetts, which was known as Chapter 58 of the Acts of 2006 of the Massachusetts General Court; its long form title is An Act Providing Access to Affordable, Quality, Accountable Health Care. The newly enacted law decreed that almost all of Massachusetts’ residents obtain a minimum level of insurance coverage. It also gave free health care insurance for Massachusetts residents that earned less than 150 percent of the federal poverty level. It also decreed that all†¦show more content†¦The rising costs of unpaid emergency room expenditures were an issue that had to be addressed by state authorities. EMTALA required that all persons be treated, however, it did not include any legislation to reimburse payment that left hospital left wi th unpaid bills and growing expenses. The state of Massachusetts had a tax set up to help pay for the expenses of the uninsured emergency room visits. The tax was known as Uncompensated Care Pool, and nicknamed free care pool. It also covered uninsured hospital admissions and community health centers. The free pool care was always underfunded and was raised annually. An MIT professor determined that the amount of money in the free pool care would be enough to fund reform legislation without needing to raise any more taxes or have additional funding. Another issue was the fact the large employers that received self-insurance were progressively giving up health insurance as an employee benefit. They also mandated that only full-time employees would be eligible for the insurance benefit. These issues among others are why advocacy groups and state legislators felt very strongly that some kind of health insurance reform was necessary. The actual statute consisted of key provisions, one o f which was the employer Fair Share Contribution and Free Rider Surcharge. Another was a requirement that each individual must have proof of coverageShow MoreRelatedPositive And Negative Effects Of The Massachusetts Health Care Insurance Reform Act2274 Words   |  10 Pagesto improve overall healthcare, the state of Massachusetts implemented the Health Care Insurance Reform Act. This paper looks at the positive and negative effects of the Massachusetts Health Care Insurance Reform Act (MHRA). Using a literature review of public health studies ranging from 2009-2012, I argue that there are both positive and negative effects of the Massachusetts Health Care Insurance Reform. While the Massachusetts Reform increased health insurance coverage for all citizens and decreasedRead MoreThe Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA)1660 Words   |  7 PagesProtection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) is one of the most substantial reforms in Medicare since 1965. This is now consid ered the law of the land according to Douglas Holtz-Eaton. The PPACA portrays a â€Å"coverage first† strategy. â€Å"Sadly, a review a of the state’s experience bodes poorly for the future of national reform.† (Point/Counterpoint 177) There are two major driving factors in which could propose a threat for this reform. The first factor is it costs too much. Many decades ago, healthcareRead MoreThe Effects Of Universal Health Insurance Mandate On The Massachusetts Labor Market1372 Words   |  6 Pagesthe universal health insurance mandate in the Massachusetts labor market. Using a difference-in-differences (DID) model, this study focuses on the co-evolution of insurance coverage and labor markets. One found that under the recent legislation, workers from firms of varying sizes demonstrate different patterns with regards to obtaining insurance coverage. While employer-sponsored health insurance is designed to be the primary source of coverage for Massachusetts residents under reform, two legal loopholesRead MoreThe Massachusetts Of Massachusetts893 Words   |  4 PagesThe Massachusetts Experiment Massachusetts has undergone many changes in their health care system since enacting a universal health care law in 1988. The effects of the Massachusetts health care laws are a good indicator of what people should expect from the enactment of the ACA. The multiple health care reforms in Massachusetts were in an attempt to increase health care coverage while still maintaining financial stability. Background Massachusetts began its health care reform in 1988. Under theRead MoreThe Massachusetts Health Care System1563 Words   |  7 Pagesfocuses on analyzing the Massachusetts health care system. Specifically it addresses how the 2006 health care reform law sought to increase health insurance coverage for the uninsured, underinsured, children, young adults, and low income residents. Its desire was for universal coverage for all its residents, and that it would be both reasonably priced and of value. The Law addressed need to decrease the barriers to health care, such as racial disparities, and overall health care costs while increasingRead MoreThe Massachusetts Health Mandate And The Role Of Health1878 Words   |  8 Pages THE MASSACHUSETTS HEALTH MANDATE AND THE ROLE OF HEALTH INSURANCE INTRODUCTION In 2006, the state of Massachusetts set out to close the gap in the number of uninsured citizens within its borders. The number of uninsured non-elderly adults in the state was nearly 17% (Chandra, 2011a). The same author said executives in the state realized the growing problemRead MoreThe Massachusetts Health Care System2396 Words   |  10 Pagesanalyzing the Massachusetts health care system. Specifically it addresses how the 2006 health care reform law sought to provide health insurance coverage for the uninsured, underinsured, children, young adults, and low income residents. In addition it diminished the demand side rationing that was occurring in Massachusetts. Its desire was for universal coverage, and would be both reasonably priced and of intrinsic value. The law addressed the need to decrease barriers to health care, such as racialRead MoreThe Massachusetts Health Care Act Of 2006922 Words   |  4 Pages The Massachusetts Health Care Act of 2006 was an attempt to gi ve healthcare to all of the residents of Massachusetts. The law mandated that nearly every resident of Massachusetts obtain a minimum level of insurance coverage, provided free health care insurance for residents earning less than 150% of the federal poverty level and mandated employers with more than 10 full-time employees to provide healthcare insurance. The law was amended significantly in 2008 and twice in 2010 to make it consistentRead MoreEssay about The Impact of The Affordable Care Act1660 Words   |  7 Pagesalways had a realization that there was a problem with obtaining affordable health insurance. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) also known as Obamacare, was signed into law in March 2010. This law enables people who were unable to afford healthcare the ability to obtain a healthcare plan at an affordable rate. In 2009 a survey was taken as to the amount of people in the United States that carried health insurance. In table one below you can see over 50 million people in the UnitedRead MoreImproving Access Of Healthcare1156 Words   |  5 PagesIn the United States, health insurance expansion and market reforms have focused on increasing the access of healthcare. For instance the passing of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) of 2010 focuses on the expansion of affordable quality health care to millions of uninsured. The act requires that all Americans purchase a private health care plan or enroll in a government funded insurance program. The often repeated argument in favor of expanding health care coverage is that

Acct451 Week 3 Free Essays

Companies Should not be Held Liable for Losses Sustained in a Successful Attack Made on Their AIS by Outside Sources. ACCT451 2013 I argue against the statement† Companies should not be held liable for losses sustained in a successful attack made on their AIS by outside sources. † There are several reasons for my contention. We will write a custom essay sample on Acct451 Week 3 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The Accounting Information Systems has been used by businesses to improve their recording, processing, and reporting of accounting information. At the same time it is the responsibility of the companies to adequately protect their information systems from outside sources. Since, the company benefits and consequently profits from the use of accounting information system, it should bear the losses that arise from attacks on the accounting information system. The argument in favor of the contention is that the accounting information system not only processes financial transactions to provide internal reports to managers but also does external reporting to outside parties such as stockowners, government and lenders. Since, it is essential that the accounting information system should be accessed by outsiders the system is particularly vulnerable to outside attacks (1). Still the onus of the security of its accounting information system clearly lies with the company and not with anyone else. It is a part of the business risk of a company. Consider the following example, a company maintains five distribution centers throughout the country. Each of these distribution centers may be attacked by robbers and looted. Who bears the loss? It is part of the business risk. The company cannot refuse to bear the losses. Similarly, if a company truck carrying goods to or from the company premises is attacked by robbers and is plundered, the company is responsible for the loss. It is another matter that the company may take out an insurance and the insurance company makes good the losses. However, the fact remains that the company pays premium for insurance and had there been no insurance, the company would have been forced to pay for the losses (2). The current accounting information systems bring tremendous benefits to companies. These generate several types of useful reports for the company, the company does not have to employ clerks to manually process accounting data, with a touch of a button information is generated, there are tremendous savings in costs, there is automatic payment and generation of important accounting documents, and there is efficiency in processing information. These benefits reduce costs for the companies and improve efficiency but come at a cost. One of the elements of the cost is that the accounting information system may be attacked from outside sources. Since the company enjoys these benefits, it must suffer the costs ( loss because of outside attack). A firm whose warehouses get destroyed by hurricanes do not absolve themselves of their losses because the hurricane is an outside source. Similarly, during war the premises of a firm may get bombed or hit by a missile, yet the company has to bear the loss (3). If an accounting information system is hit by outside sources there is a danger of fraud, virus attacks, or hackers. These risks have to be borne by the business as a part of its normal business risks. Further it is the responsibility of the company to maintain the highest level of security for its accounting information system. The physical security should be fool proof, authentication system should be the most advanced, virus protection should be the latest, and backup should be done at a safe place outside the premises. Such measures are required to ensure that attacks on the accounting information system like identity theft and loss of irreplaceable data do not take place. There are some institutions that are particularly vulnerable to outside attacks. For instance, the banks are vulnerable to outside attacks where the attackers seek to pilfer money using confidential information. In such cases, higher levels of authentication, and information security should be used. The fact that banks and financial institutions provide accounting information system based services, is a source of profits, these institutions are responsible for losses sustained by them (4). One of the most important features of most accounting information systems is the controls over the system and the security measures that the company implements If the company is not held responsible for the losses sustained by it because of outside attacks the company will avoid its responsibility for controls and security. It is also important that the quality of software used, the backup of data, and the people who are authorized to access the accounting information system are checked and tested. If the company is not held responsible for losses because of outside attacks the company will become lax in its essential functions related to the accounting information system. References: (1)Accounting Information Systems, Ulric J. Gelinas, Richard B. Dull E8 Cengage Learning, 2009 (2)Accounting Information Systems James A. Hall E6, Cengage Learning, 2008 (3)Accounting Information Systems Marshall B. Romney, Paul John Steinbart E10, Prentice Hall, 2005 (4)Information System Management, Ankita Bansal, Gyan Publishing House, 2002 How to cite Acct451 Week 3, Papers

One Mans Struggle To Stay Alive Essays - , Term Papers

One Man's Struggle To Stay Alive One Man's Struggle to Stay Alive Over the years John Sidney McCain, the white haired Senator from Arizona has survived many things. He has endured three plane crashes, a firestorm at sea, and a North Vietnamese prison camp, to emerge as a major player in the national political scene. The Vietnam War had a significant impact on Senator McCain. McCain spent five and a half years in North Vietnamese prisons, thirty-one months in solitary and was brutally tortured. Yet, almost immediately upon his release in 1973, he began putting Vietnam behind him. This lighthearted man has rarely lost sight of what he has called ?the shadow of Vietnam? (Timberg 12). Due to his continuing contributions to the United States, John McCain has become a true American hero and would make an excellent president for our country. . John McCain grew up in a family rich with Navy heritage. John McCain's grandfather was one of the navy's greatest commanders and led the strongest aircraft carrier force of the Third Fleet. McCain's father who was a submarine commander during World War II was equally distinguished by heroic service in the navy. Both McCain's father and grandfather rose to the rank of four-star admiral, making the McCain's the first family in American history to achieve that distinction. John McCain III followed in his grandfather and father's footsteps when he entered the U.S. Navy Academy in 1951. McCain struggled during his four years at the academy, but in June 1954, he graduated with 899 other young men. The Class of '58 had been whittled down by 25 percent. Of the 899 who endured the four years at the U.S. Navel Academy, John McCain was one of them, standing fifth from the bottom. The Navel Academy was very rigid for McCain, but even as a teenager, he showed presidential traits, perseverance b eing one of them. This feature is extremely important for John McCain if he wants to be the man to lead our country. John McCain continued to press on and in August 1958, McCain reported to flight school at Pensacola were he would begin his Navy career. Little did McCain know that his quick thinking would be tested not just once, but three times during his flying. One Saturday morning, as McCain was practicing landings, his engine quit and his plane plunged into Corpus Christi Bay. McCain survived with minor injuries but that would be his first of many brushes with death (Norman). The fall of 1965, John McCain had his second encounter with death where again, his quick thinking would save him. He was flying solo to Philadelphia to watch the Army-Navy game when his engine died. At one thousand feet, he ejected, landing on a deserted beach moments before the plane slammed into a clump of trees. McCain's perseverance and quick thinking has been tested and both times, he has shown true leadership qualities that every president needs (Norman). Once again, John McCain's skills would be tested. On July 29, 1967, he was where he wanted to be, on the flight deck of a Navy Aircraft. Before taking off to bomb Hanoi, McCain was going through his preflight checks, when a stray voltage from his plane blew apart the exterior fuel tank on McCain's bomber. Two hundred gallons of highly flammable gas streamed onto the flight deck engulfing everything in its path. McCain still strapped in the cockpit of his plane was surrounded in a gulf of flames. McCain, quickly jumping out of his plane onto the flight deck, escaped just before the burning fuel set fire to his plane. When it was all over, 134 men were dead, missing, or injured. McCain and the other pilots in his squadron lost all hope in fighting the Vietnam War. All hope was restored when another Air Carrier had been losing pilots and where looking for volunteers to fill the ranks. John McCain signed on to the new squadron (Timberg). John McCain's new assignment had finally come on October 26, 1967, when he took flight to Vietnam to bomb a power plant in Hanoi. Little did McCain know that Hanoi was now more heavily defended against air attacks than any other city