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American School of Correspondence Blog
Wednesday, July 23, 2008 Charisma-tic It's July 23, and actress Charisma Carpenter turns 38 years old today. Legions of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans remember her as Cordelia Chase on that show and later on its spinoff, Angel. Since those shows have stopped production, Charisma has kept herself busy by acting in other television shows and movies. Our Carpentry course won't teach you how to be an actress like Charisma, but you will learn many valuable things about carpentry as a trade. These include information on accident prevention, tools, construction lumber, wood products, insulation, hardware, rough and finish, adhesives, concrete and blueprint reading. Carpentry is just one of many trade courses we offer, so if you are interested in learning a trade, either to become handy around the house or to further your career goals, we have the course for you. Visit the rest of our Web site for more course descriptions and to download an application. We think our courses and prices slay the competition! Tuesday, July 22, 2008 Questions And Answers Today is July 22, and Jeopardy! host Alex Trebek is celebrating his 68th birthday. Jeopardy! is one of America's favorite game shows and was created by the late Merv Griffin. He wanted to create a show where contestants were given answers and then had to provide questions. That's how the show's tradition of answering in the form of a question was born. The American School is familiar with questions and answers too. We have been asking questions on exams for over 110 years, and our instructors carefully grade every student's answers by hand as part of our personalized customer service. This Web site has a Frequently Asked Questions page where you can find answers to some of your questions. If you have other questions, call or write us and we will be happy to answer them. We're committed to giving you the best courses and best service we can. There's no question about it! Wednesday, July 16, 2008 AFT Convention Recap The American School had a booth at last week's American Federation of Teachers convention at Navy Pier in Chicago. While convention delegates weren't listening to speeches from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, many of them stopped by our booth to learn more about our program and how we can serve their students. We enjoyed meeting educators from all across the country and look forward to being of service to their students. Monday, July 14, 2008 Happy Bastille Day! It's July 14, a national holiday in France known as Bastille Day. There's no better day to grab your favorite french pastry and coffee and read about the two French courses we have in our curriculum. French I provides an introduction to grammatical principles and vocabulary through a variety of exercises and dialogues. The course includes the study of the present and passe compose tenses of regular and irregular verbs, pronouns, adjectives, idiomatic expressions and sentence structure. A CD to help students with their pronunciation is provided at no additional charge. If you like French I so much that you want to continue your study of the language, you can do so by taking French II. The second year course stresses correct usage in context and thinking in French through the use of visuals and dialogue formats. Verb tenses covered include a review of the passe compose, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present subjunctive. To enroll in French I, French II or any of our courses, download the application and mail it to us. We are confident you'll find them to be magnifique! Thursday, July 10, 2008 July Chat Session Recap Those people who attended the American School's chat sessions yesterday received the personalized service and attention that have been our trademarks for over 110 years. They learned more about our courses and policies and shared some of their post-high school plans with our facilitator and their fellow students. The chat sessions are a great way to connect with your classmates all over the country. We hope more students and guarantors will take advantage of this opportunity and join us at future chat sessions. Keep reading this blog for exact dates, times and topics. Wednesday, July 09, 2008 American School Has Peachy Time In Atlanta The American School's booth at the ASCA conference last month in Atlanta was abuzz with excitement as hundreds of school counselors from across the country and around the world stopped by to learn more about our Independent Study program. Many counselors who visited the booth were already familiar with what we offer, and they were pleased to know that student records are now available in a secure online counselors office. Those guests who were previously unfamiliar with us were excited to learn how we can offer their students interesting courses at a reasonable price to help ensure they graduate on time with their class. Nearly 200 counselors entered their names in our special gift card raffle, and the winner was Lakya Washington of Macomb, Missisippi. We thank Lakya and all of the counselors who stopped by our booth. We look forward to helping your students during the 2008-09 academic year and seeing you again at the 2009 ASCA Conference in Dallas. Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Important Notice Regarding Introduction To Computers We have received word that the publisher of the textbook used in our Introduction to Computers course has removed the links for online help for those students using the 4th edition of the textbook. Therefore, the Web address that was printed in the introduction of the study guide is no longer valid. Please follow these steps to access the online materials that supplement that course. 1. Go to www.mhhe.com/teched/norton. 2. Click on the 6th edition. 3. On the left side of the page, click on the Online Learning Center link. 4. Select student edition. 5. Choose a chapter from the left side of the page. 6. Begin your online quiz, access online presentations, and more. We are currently revising our Introduction to Computers course. Thank you for your patience as we update this course to include the most relevant information possible. Wednesday, June 25, 2008 Music To Your Ears It's June 25, and two of the biggest recording artists of the last 40 years are celebrating birthdays. George Michael is 45 years old today. He had a string of hits in the 1980s as one half of Wham! and then had even bigger success as a solo artist. Meanwhile, Carly Simon is 63 years old today. Her biggest success came in the 1970s but she is still making music 30 years later. These two artists have had so many number one songs between them, and the American School has a number one as well. Whenever we survey our students, their top reason for choosing the American School is that we allow them to work at their own pace in the comfort of home. If you are a night person, you'll never have to say "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go" to your parents because you can sleep in and do your schoolwork in the evening. Our program is structured to give you the "Freedom" that you need, and our friendly staff will help you keep the "Faith" as you continue your studies. If you "Haven't Got Time For The Pain" of waiting for your exams to be returned to you, you may get your grades within minutes after they have been recorded by accessing our online student center. The site is available to you all throughout your American School education. Near the end, we know you will have much "Anticipation" when you are so close to graduating. After receiving your diploma, we're confident you'll say "Nobody Does It Better," not only about us, but about yourself as well. Get started today. You'll find that we are music to your ears! Tuesday, June 24, 2008 Midsummer Already?? Today is June 24, and believe it or not, the midsummer night referred to in William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream is tonight. Yes, even though summer is just a few days old, people in England have long celebrated the middle of summer on June 24, probably because it is nearly exactly six months before Christmas, which is often thought of as being in the middle of winter even though it falls right at the beginning of the season. A Midsummer Night's Dream is one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, and another good one is Twelfth Night, which students will read in our Literature 4: Selected English Classics course. In addition to Twelfth Night, this half-unit course allows students to explore George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone. Emphasis is on reading for enjoyment and understanding through an analysis of the structure and themes of each work. Each work comes with its own study guide, which stresses a different aspect of vocabulary development such as paraphrasing and analogies. So if you like to read and want to earn a half-unit of credit to boot, enroll in Literature 4. It's the perfect course for some early summer, late summer, or even midsummer reading! Monday, June 23, 2008 Dog Day Afternoon You've probably heard the expression "every dog has his day," and today is one of those days. We have a pair of Bulldogs, Fresno State and Georgia, playing for the College World Series title, and the "Big Dawg" himself, American Idol judge Randy Jackson, turns 52 years old today. Though at times you may find yourself dog tired during these summer months, it's important to keep plugging along on your studies. To help you out, the Online Student Center is open all summer long. We'll be having chat sessions on Wednesday, July 9, from 1-2 p.m. and 7-8 p.m. and again on Wednesday, August 13, from 1-2 p.m. and 7-8 p.m. Also, be sure to take advantage of the help sheets and links to homework web sites we have for you. We've been working like dogs creating new help sheets and visiting new homework web sites that are sure to benefit our students. Keep reading this blog for more details about the American School's exciting summer! Friday, June 20, 2008 First Day Of Summer Today is the first day of summer. We realize that, for many people, school is the last thing on their minds when the weather is nice, but in reality, summer can be a good time to get schoolwork done. Other schools may close for the summer, causing a gap in your education. You might forget things you learned awhile back, and when the new school year arrives, you might take a little while to get back into the swing of things. With the American School, you can enroll any time of the year, take classes any time of the year, and graduate any time of the year. You do the program entirely at your own pace. We also realize that, for some students who attend a school in their community, summer school might be a necessity. It doesn't have to be, though. Our independent study program allows students, with the approval of their counselor or other school official, to take our courses any time of the year. When their work with us is done, we send their school a transcript, and students can once again graduate on time with their class. So while summer is a great time to get outside and enjoy the nice weather, you can make it even better by using this season to further your education. Wednesday, June 18, 2008 Rave Review It's June 18, and longtime movie critic Roger Ebert turns 66 years old today. He has reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for more than 40 years and has hosted a syndicated movie review show on television for more than 30 years now. Although health problems have sidelined him from television work in the past couple years, Roger remains a Chicago institution. The American School is a Chicago institution too, even though we were established in 1897 in Boston. We moved to Chicago in 1907 and remained in our headquarters at 58th and Drexel until 1996, when we moved to our current location in the south suburb of Lansing. We have 111 years of experience in distance education, and we are looking forward to many more years of educating students from all over the world. We are confident that when you have finished our program and earned your diploma you'll give us a big thumbs up. Get started today. Our instructors are looking forward to giving you rave reviews on your first exam! Tuesday, June 17, 2008 Something To Talk About It's June 17, and actor Greg Kinnear turns 45 years old today. His prominent film roles include such movies as Sabrina, You've Got Mail, Little Miss Sunshine and As Good As It Gets, for which he received an Oscar nomination. He first shot to stardom, however, as host of the cable show Talk Soup in the mid-1990s. Talk Soup took a humorous look at a day's worth of television talk shows by mixing in clips from the shows themselves with commentary from the host. Usually, the clips featured on Talk Soup weren't very good. The talk shows' guests would have been well-served by taking the American School's Speech course. The course teaches students how to talk more effectively and provides hints for mastering the art of persuasion. Students who take this course will learn how to handle themselves on the phone, how to lead meetings, and how to have a successful interview. They will also have the option of recording their speeches on tape or CD and submitting them to our instructors for evaluation. Learning to talk effectively is important in any profession. The American School's Speech course will give you valuable skills that you will use for the rest of your life. We're confident that you'll find it and the rest of our program to be As Good As It Gets! Monday, June 16, 2008 Happy Father's Day Yesterday was Father's Day, and, as such, all of us at the American School extend Father's Day greetings to all the dads reading today's blog. Many American School employees are parents, and so we know from experience that you want to see your children do well. Our curriculum department does its part by developing challenging courses and exams that will test your child and motivate them to do even better. Our instructors help the cause by writing constructive feedback on every page of your child's exam. Our customer service personnel assists by processing your requests for books, transcripts and more. When it comes time to decide on a high school for your child, consider enrolling at the school whose employees care about your child's success as much as you do. Download an application and get started today! Monday, June 16, 2008 American School Announces Changes To Home Page Visitors to the American School's home page now see a new pop-up menu that will take them directly to useful parts of the site, including the enrollment application and the online student center. If you choose to visit parts of the site not listed on the new menu, simply click on the link that allows you to explore the rest of the site. The menu will disappear and you will have access to the rest of the site. We hope this new menu will make your time on our web site even better. Thursday, June 12, 2008 Graduation Day Memories It's June 12, and on this date in 1994, the American School blogger graduated from high school. To this day I remember the tremendous feeling of accomplishment and pride as four years of hard work paid off handsomely. I graduated from a great school and was accepted at the college of my dreams. At the same time, it was a bittersweet day because my friends and I were going in different directions and none of us knew for sure what the future would hold. When you graduate from high school, the whole world is out there for you. You can go to college and further your education, or you can go into the business world and dive right into your career. The choice is yours. Without a high school diploma, however, your options are much more limited. You can't go to college, and you probably won't have the career of your dreams either. The American School is a great way for you to earn your high school diploma at home. You'll receive interesting courses, access to our online student center, and helpful feedback from our instructors, all of whom want you to do your very best. We want you to experience the same feelings of pride and happiness that all high school graduates feel on the day they graduate. The best way to do that is for you to get started today. Download our application, fill it out completely, send it to us along with your down payment, and you'll be on your way! Thursday, June 12, 2008 June Chat Session Recap Yesterday the American School's chat room was open for business, and we welcomed several students who visited the chat room for the first time and others who are regular participants. One topic that arose in both chat sessions was the American School's curriculum and what new courses are in the works. A newly-updated Careers course will soon be available and will include the latest news and trends from the job front. Build Your Writing Skills 2 and Latin 2 are currently in production, and Introduction to Business is currently being revised. We are always updating and revising courses so that our students get the most out of their American School education. Keep reading this blog for further updates, and if you are a current student, make plans to attend the July chat sessions, which will be held Wednesday, July 9, from 1-2 p.m. Central time and 7-8 p.m. Central time. Tuesday, June 10, 2008 American School Holds 70th Annual Scholarship Meeting The American School held its 70th annual scholarship meeting earlier today and is pleased to once again award $21,000 in college scholarships to 18 deserving graduates. President Gary Masterton was joined on this year's scholarship committee by School trustees Dr. Fred Aho, Dr. John Kemp and William Hunding, guidance counselor Janet Howe and CITA regional coordinator Cher Tufly. Together, they reviewed this year's applicants and selected three graduates to receive $2000 scholarship awards and 15 other graduates to receive $1000 awards. All awards are paid as tuition to the accredited college or university selected by each winner. In his remarks to the School's corporate members, President Masterton thanked them and the entire American School staff for working hard to ensure the success of all of our students, not only those who were awarded scholarships today. In our history, the American School has awarded nearly $700,000 in scholarships. Information on scholarships to be awarded in 2009 will soon be available in our guidance department. Please contact them for details as to how you might continue the tradition of those outstanding students who have received American School scholarships to further their education at colleges and universities across the country and around the world. Friday, June 06, 2008 Remembering Nathan Hale and D-Day Today is June 6, and we're honoring a famous person and a famous event in American history. Nathan Hale was born on this date in 1755. At age 21, he was captured while gathering intelligence for the colonists and subsequently hanged by the British. Before he died, however, Hale said one of the most famous quotes in American history: "I regret that I have but one life to give my country." Nearly two centuries later, on this very date, American soldiers had similar sentiments as they landed on Normandy, France, in an offensive that would eventually be known as D-Day. This invasion was a turning point in World War 2, and to this day, remembrance services are held right on the very beaches where allied forces invaded. Nathan Hale and D-Day are just two of the people and events featured in our United States History course. You will start with an overview of Native American settlement of the New World and trace the major events and trends in United States History from that time to the present. In the process, the course seeks to develop skills involved in comprehending, analyzing and interpreting the past. To that end, students will read several skill modules and write various types of short historical essays that will help make the people and events described in the course come to life. For more information on United States History or our other courses, view the course descriptions on this site. If you are ready to enroll, download the application, fill it out completely, and mail it with your down payment to us, and we will begin processing your enrollment immediately. Thursday, June 05, 2008 It All Makes Cents Today is June 5, and on this date in 1723, Adam Smith was born in Scotland. He is the author of The Wealth of Nations and is considered the father of modern economics. You'll learn about some of Smith's ideas when you take our Consumer Economics course. The goal of this course is to give you the knowledge and skills necessary to make wise choices as consumers. You'll learn about your role in our economic system, how to budget your money, and how to keep your credit rating in good condition. In addition, you'll learn how to get the most for your money in specific spending areas such as food, transportation, housing and insurance. One of the fringe benefits of taking Consumer Economics or any of our other courses is that we don't put a huge economic burden on you. Our courses are very reasonably priced, so you'll have more money to save or to put into other areas of the economy. Taking courses with the American School makes perfect "cents" so get started today! Wednesday, June 04, 2008 Not Full Of Hot Air Today is June 4, and on this date in 1783, the Montgolfier brothers first publicly demonstrated their newest invention: the hot air balloon. In the 225 years since their invention, hot air balloons have earned a unique place in transportation. While they are still useful in getting people from one place to another, they are perhaps best known today for their colorful balloons and for their ability to give people a bird's-eye view of such picturesque sights as the Grand Canyon. As its name suggests, hot air balloons are full of hot air. The American School, however, is not full of hot air. We back up everything that we say in our printed materials and on our Web site. Our 18-unit diploma program costs $1399 and includes all books, study guides, instruction, and access to the Online Student Center. You won't find a better value anywhere. Our independent study program allows you to make up credits and earn your diploma from your resident school. Either way, your confidence will soar and your costs will not. Review the rest of our Web site for more details on either program and to download the appropriate enrollment application. Let us take you up, up and away to heights you've never imagined! Monday, June 02, 2008 Facing The Music It's June 2, and actor and game show host Ron Ely turns 70 years old today. Ron starred as Tarzan in the 1960s and also played such roles as Superman, Marc Antony and Doc Savage before hosting the Miss America Pageant in 1980 and 1981. Those same years, Ron also hosted a game show called Face The Music. Contestants had to guess the titles of songs and then match them up with famous people, places, things, whatever. Ron told them what they were looking for as they went along. At the end of the show, contestants heard songs about a famous person and saw that individual grow up right before their very eyes. Your parents probably feel like you've grown up right before their very eyes too, in some cases, perhaps too fast. If you are short of credits toward your high school diploma, it's time to face the music and earn your diploma so that you can move on with your life. The American School can help you make up individual credits so that you may receive a diploma from a school near your home, or you can enroll in our diploma program and earn the fully-accredited American School diploma. The choice is yours. Information on either program can be found elsewhere on our Web site. Check it out, and you'll be singing a happy tune on the day you receive your diploma! Thursday, May 29, 2008 Reaching The Summit Today is May 29, and 55 years ago today, Sir Edmund Hillary and his guide, sherpa Tenzing Norgay, became the first two people to reach the summit of Mount Everest. At this time of year, many students reach the summit of their high school careers and earn their diplomas. Throughout this year alone, nearly 4000 students will earn the American School diploma, and, through our Independent Study program, thousands more will earn diplomas from their resident schools. We want you to rise to similar heights. Take a look around our web site. Read our course descriptions. Download our enrollment application. After you enroll, you will have access to our online student center, which will help you operate at peak performance. Let us be your guide and help you reach the summit of high school career. We enroll students year-round, and there's no time like the present to begin your ascent to the top! Wednesday, May 28, 2008 Rudy Toot Toot It's May 28, and joining the American School Blogger in celebrating a birthday today is Rudy Giuliani. He was mayor of New York City from 1994-2001 and is perhaps best-known for the leadership he showed in the days and weeks following the horrible events of September 11, 2001. In the wake of such terrible tragedy, Giuliani showed calm, composure and confidence. He was a person people could count on, a true leader in every sense of the word. Leaders show initiative and try to always make the right decisions, even if those decisions aren't always the easiest or the most popular. One of those tough decisions that you might have to make for yourself is determining where you will earn your high school diploma. Your friends might pull you in one direction, but sometimes you have to do what is right for yourself and for your family and choose a school that will best help you make your dreams a reality. Many years ago I myself made a decision about this very issue. I went against the tide and chose a school that very few of my grade school friends were going to attend. To this day, it is the best educational decision I ever made. This school allowed me to try new things, meet new people, and prepared me well for the college I had always wanted to attend. To this day, I am very grateful to my high school. We want you to feel the same way about the high school you attend. If you like working independently and at your own pace, the American School is the school for you. Our challenging curriculum will prepare you well for college courses, and our reasonable tuition will ensure that you have money left over to attend the college of your choice. Visit the rest of our site, read our course descriptions, and download an application. If you choose to enroll, we are confident you'll be making the best educational decision of your life! Thursday, May 22, 2008 Ohno? Oh Yes! It's May 22, and Apolo Anton Ohno turns 26 years old today. He is a 5-time Olympic medalist in short-track speed skating, winning 2 golds, a silver and 2 bronzes in the 2002 and 2006 Winter Games. More recently, he showed his prowess on the dance floor by winning a season of Dancing With The Stars. What you might not know about him is that he was one of the featured speakers at the 2007 Wisconsin School Board Association convention in Milwaukee, a convention also attended by the American School. Apolo likes to go fast on the ice, but the beauty of the American School is that you can move through your courses as fast or as slow as you want. You work entirely at your own pace. If you have mastered the material, you don't need to wait for others to catch up. If you need more time, you don't have to worry about getting left behind. Don't put your goals on thin ice by not having a high school diploma. Get started today, and you'll be well on your way to your diploma by the time Apolo returns to the Olympics in 2010! Wednesday, May 21, 2008 Cooking Up A Storm David Cook just won American Idol, and since we do not have any music classes in our curriculum just yet, we'll focus on the winner's last name instead. It's hard to do an actual cooking course via correspondence, but our Food Study course is the next best thing. In this course, you'll focus on the principles of nutrition and the relationship of good nutrition to your well-being. You'll learn how to plan diets appropriate for your age and lifestyle as well as how to find and evaluate information on nutrition. In addition, you'll be introduced to the fundamentals of food preparation for all the major food groups as well basic cooking tools, microwave cooking and safety precautions in preparing and handling food. Food Study is an elective course that's sure to come in handy in your everyday life. To enroll, download our application, complete it, and mail it in. Now that American Idol is over for another season, you can use the time you spent watching and voting to further your education. Get started today, and you'll be well on your way to your high school diploma by the time the show starts all over again in January! Tuesday, May 20, 2008 Remembering Jimmy Stewart Today is May 20, and American film legend Jimmy Stewart was born 100 years ago today. Ten of Stewart's films are preserved in the United States National Film Registry because they are culturally, historically or aesthetically significant. They are Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, Destry Rides Again, The Shop Around The Corner, Philadelphia Story, It's A Wonderful Life, The Naked Spur, Rear Window, Vertigo, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and How The West Was Won. Rear Window and Vertigo, as well as The Rope, were directed by Alfred Hitchcock, but there's really no mystery involved in what it takes to give yourself a wonderful life. A high school diploma will set you in the right direction and give you opportunities you never thought possible. Jimmy Stewart graduated from high school and had dreams of becoming an architect. But while he was a student at Princeton, he became interested in theater, which is how he got into show business. Without a high school education, he wouldn't have gotten into college, and he wouldn't have become one of the greatest actors of all-time. Choosing to earn or not earn a high school diploma doesn't just impact your life now. It carries with it ripple effects that you might not even recognize. Today, think about the wonderful life you would like to have for yourself and your family. You will realize that it will only happen if you have your high school diploma. The American School can help make your dreams come true. Download our application and get started right away! Monday, May 19, 2008 Horse Power Over the weekend, Big Brown easily won the Preakness Stakes at Pimlico. Having won the Kentucky Derby in equally impressive fashion two weeks ago, he now has won the first two legs of horse racing's Triple Crown. If he wins the Belmont Stakes on June 7 at Belmont Park, he'll become the first Triple Crown winner in 30 years. Big Brown is named after UPS, the shipping company famous for its big brown trucks. During this busy time of year for us, we receive many UPS parcels a day from students who need their exams graded as quickly as possible in order to graduate on time with their class. Other students send their exams via FedEx, DHL or the United States Postal Service. We are doing our best to process and grade every exam we receive in the fastest and most accurate way we can. As mentioned in our Kentucky Derby blog, the American School's Triple Crown consists of challenging curriculum, affordable tuition and outstanding customer service, including 24-7 access to your grades in our Online Student Center. We are especially sensitive to the need for swift service at this time of year and are confident that we have the horses to give you the kind of service that you both need and expect from us. Friday, May 16, 2008 Spelling Bee Today is May 16, and actress Tori Spelling is celebrating her 35th birthday. The daugher of famous television producer Aaron Spelling broke into show business through guest roles on The Love Boat and Vega$, but Tori is most famous for playing Donna Martin on Beverly Hills 90210 from 1990-2000. Since today is her birthday, it's only appropriate that we talk about our course that shares Tori's last name. The 1/2 unit spelling course focuses on both sounding out and visualizing the spelling of words. Being able to spell correctly is an important part of communicating clearly and of making a good impression, whether you are writing essays, putting together your resume, filling out college applications and scholarship forms, or even writing blogs. What kind of impression of us would you have if this blog contained a bunch of misspelled words? You probably wouldn't be impressed, especially since we are a school! Your instruction book, which features the famous American School Spelling Bee on its cover, will, among other things, teach you rules for adding prefixes and suffixes so that spelling words correctly will become second nature to you. You will also receive a dictionary that will be a handy reference tool in this course and beyond. To enroll in Spelling or any of our other courses, download the application from this Web site and send it to us. We look forward to helping you become a better speller and a high school graduate! Thursday, May 15, 2008 May Chat Session Recap Yesterday a record number of visitors participated in the American School's monthly chat sessions. Those who attended comprised a nice mix of students just starting their programs and others who are close to graduating in a matter of weeks. In the presence of an American School employee who acted as facilitator, students shared their experiences in certain courses and discussed their post-high school plans. The chat sessions are a great way to connect with fellow students and to share experiences, but the only way you can participate in our chats is to become a student yourself. Whether you need one class to graduate from a resident school or 18 classes to earn the American School's diploma, we have the curriculum to suit your needs. Take a look around the rest of our site. Then download the enrollment application, complete it, and mail it to us. We will send you a student code and password in time for the June chat sessions. Keep reading this blog for exact dates and times. Wednesday, May 14, 2008 Remembering Frank Sinatra Today is May 14, and on this date 10 years ago, Frank Sinatra died. Perhaps the greatest singer of all time, Sinatra's many hits included Strangers In The Night, My Way, Come Fly With Me and New York, New York, just to name a few. One of Sinatra's nicknames was Ol' Blue Eyes, and blue is an important color at the American school too. In addition to our official colors being gold and blue, we will send you blue first page forms to use on the last exams you will send us before earning your diploma. Using these special blue forms will indicate to us that you are just about ready to graduate, and so we will take special care in grading these exams. Just this week the United States Postal Service released a new stamp honoring Sinatra. We look forward to seeing these stamps when you mail in your exams for us to grade! Tuesday, May 13, 2008 Wonder-ful Wonder-ful It's May 13, and Stevie Wonder turns 58 years old today. Although blind since birth, Stevie is a music legend, scoring over 30 Top 10 hits and winning 25 Grammys, a record for a solo artist. His first number one song came when he was just 13 years old, and they just kept on coming. The American School has helped other many teen prodigies earn their high school diplomas. They like the flexibility of our program and the ability to study whenever and wherever they have the time. When you enroll with us, your textbook and study guide will be at your "Fingertips" so that you may refer to them at any time throughout the course. If you are "Uptight" about a certain question, just call or write us. Our instructors will be happy to help you because "That's What Friends Are For" and we want you to succeed. And when you finish your exam and drop it in the mailbox, rest assured that it will be "Signed, Sealed and Delivered" to us for swift grading. We look forward to taking you to the "Higher Ground" that comes with earning your diploma, and we are confident that you will find your entire American School experience to be Wonder-ful. Get started today! Monday, May 12, 2008 Happy Mother's Day Yesterday was Mother's Day, and, as such, all of us at the American School extend Mother's Day greetings to all the moms reading today's blog. Any mom would tell you that one of the proudest days of her life is the day her child graduates from high school. It's the culmination of years of hard work, determination, patience and love. Mothers of American School students might feel an extra sense of pride since they have the opportunity to play a more active role in their child's education. Some mothers double as their child's primary teacher since all coursework is done at home. They and other guarantors might visit our online student center frequently to view their child's academic progress, download help sheets, and participate in chat sessions. The American School looks forward to helping you make your mother proud. Our applications and course descriptions are available right on this site. Print them out, complete them, and send them to us. You will then be taking the first step toward one of the best days of your life and your mother's life. Friday, May 09, 2008 Bein' Green Hiho! It's May 9, and Kermit the Frog turns 53 years old today. It was on this date in 1955 that the lovable amphibian that Jim Henson made out of his mother's old green coat and ping pong balls made his debut on a puppet show called Sam and Friends. Years later, Kermit became a fixture on Sesame Street doing Muppet News Flashes, in which he interviewed various nursery rhyme characters, but he would become best known as the star of the Muppet Show, which ran for several years in the 1970s and spawned a series of movies in the 1980s. To this day, Kermit is the most beloved of all the Muppets, and millions of people visit him every year at the Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. One of Kermit's best-known songs is Bein' Green, in which he discusses the difficulty of being a green animal. At the American School, green is an important color, too, but we think you'll like bein' green. After you enroll, we will send you a special green first page form for you to use on your very first exam. This form tells us that you are a brand new student, and your instructor will write special welcoming comments on that exam. We will also send a green request for information form that you can use to contact us if you have any important questions. Finally, you'll like that your wallet will have more green in it, since our tuition is the most reasonable and flexible around. Hop on over to the enrollment section of our Web site and download our application. Your friends will be green with envy after you earn the American School's diploma! Wednesday, May 07, 2008 Launch Your Education Today is May 7, and on this date in 1992, the space shuttle Endeavour lifted off on its first voyage into outer space. To date, Endeavour has flown 21 flights, spent 219 days in space, and traveled over 85 million miles while orbiting the earth. If you are looking for liftoff on your high school education, then you've come to the right place. The American School has been a leader in distance education for over 100 years now, well before anybody tried to go into outer space. And with the launch of our Online Student Center last year, we have entered a new frontier of service. Students, guarantors and school officials now can view students' records any time of day from anywhere in the world, just by entering their code and password. The Online Student Center also contains help sheets, links to homework Web sites and monthly chat sessions, and we made sure that your tuition didn't skyrocket as a result of these new features. In fact, you can get your high school diploma for less than a dollar a day. You won't find a better deal anywhere in the solar system. So take some time today to consider your future and your goals and how you will achieve them. If you determine that earning your high school diploma from the American School will make your dreams a reality, download our application and mail it to us. We will process your application the day it is received. We look forward to having you as one of our students and think you'll find this educational endeavour to be out of this world! Tuesday, May 06, 2008 Happy National Teacher Day Today is the first Tuesday in May, and every year on this day, we celebrate National Teacher Day by honoring American School instructors. We are grateful to have over 200 instructors on staff, and even though they don't see students on a face-to-face basis, quite possibly they have more students than any other high school teacher in the world. Approximately 4,000 students earn the American School diploma every year, and when you add in those students who are on their way to a diploma and those who only take one or two courses with us to recover credits, we have a student body close to 30,000. Despite the huge numbers, our instructors treat every student exactly the same. They write personalized feedback on all exams. This time of year, our instructors are working as hard as they can to help thousands of students graduate. We have no shortage of exams at this time, and all exams are graded carefully by hand in the order in which they are received. They look forward to grading your exams as well. Enroll today and let our instructors help you earn your high school diploma! Monday, May 05, 2008 Happy Cinco De Mayo Hola! It's May 5; in Spanish, Cinco de Mayo. This Mexican holiday celebrates their victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. For many Americans of Mexican ancestry, today is the equivalent of St. Patrick's Day for the Irish, Oktoberfest for the Germans, and Chinese New Year for the Chinese. It is appropriate, therefore, that today's blog discusses the American School's two Spanish language courses. Spanish 1 introduces students to the basic grammatical concepts and structural characteristics of the language. The course emphasizes using Spanish in a cultural context through the use of visuals, scenarios and dialogue formats. Spanish 2 expands on the grammatical principles and vocabulary students learned in Spanish 1. The course emphasizes the correct usage of time and place through a detailed study of verb tenses which includes the use of visuals and dialogue formats. Most four-year colleges require at least two years of a foreign language, so consider taking Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. You will earn the credits and skills you need for college, and you will learn much about Spanish culture as well. Saturday, May 03, 2008 Horsing Around It's the first Saturday in May, and today the Kentucky Derby will be run at Churchill Downs in Louisville. This is the first leg in horse racing's Triple Crown and referred to by many as the most exciting two minutes in sports, since the field of 20 horses will complete the race in just over two minutes. No horse has won the Triple Crown since 1978, but you can be a Triple Crown winner if you enroll with the American School. Our Triple Crown consists of challenging curriculum, affordable tuition and outstanding customer service, including 24-7 access to your grades in our Online Student Center. It is a combination you won't find anywhere else. You might say you'll hit the trifecta if you enroll with us! Take a look around the rest of our Web site. Odds are, you will find something you like, and we look forward to one day meeting you in the winner's circle to present you with your high school diploma! Thursday, May 01, 2008 Happy May Day! Today is May 1, also known as May Day. "May Day" is a common cry for help among pilots and sailors, but if you need help with your American School work, you do not need to cry out in a loud voice. Rather, go to our Online Student Center, where you will find help sheets in PDF format that you will be able to download and print. You will also find links to free homework Web sites that will explain the material in a different way and give you more examples so that you can see just how much you have learned. Of course, if you have specific questions, you can always call us too. Our instructors are available every day from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and are happy to talk with you. All of us at the American School are committed the best service possible, and these methods of helping you are just some of the ways in which we do that. We look forward to seeing the fruits of your hard work and our help on the day you earn your diploma. Tuesday, April 22, 2008 Wrapping Up April Conventions The American School recently attended two conventions and got to meet counselors from Illinois and Indiana who use our courses to help their students graduate from high school. Many of them were impressed that they can now view their students' progress any time they want in our online student center and were equally pleased when we told them that they can receive weekly student activity reports delivered to their email inbox every Monday morning, provided they supply us with an email address after logging into our site. We are looking forward to meeting counselors from across the country at the American School Counselors Association convention from June 28-30 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. More details about this convention and some special events we have planned will be posted on this blog soon! Wednesday, April 09, 2008 April Chat Session Recap We just wrapped up our April chat sessions, and in addition to the usual orientation topics, today's chat session talked about the American School's scholarship program. Each year we award $21,000 in scholarships to graduates who meet certain academic requirements. The $21,000 is split so that three students receive $2000 awards and 15 students receive $1000 awards. Information on our scholarship program is available by calling the School during our regular hours. In addition, one of today's chat participants mentioned that he stopped by for a tour of the American School. Even though we do not see our students on a daily basis, that doesn't mean we don't like to see them. In fact, we love meeting our students, and, in some cases, personally presenting them with their diploma. Our next chat sessions are scheduled for Wednesday, May 14, at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. Central time. Make plans to attend, and keep reading this blog for further details on our chat room and other events happening in the Online Student Center. Monday, April 07, 2008 The Rice Is Right Occasionally students will contact us and ask for help preparing for the SAT. There are, of course, countless books and Web sites that you can consult, but only one of them will help feed the hungry. People magazine recently highlighted www.freerice.com, which was created by John Breen. The site contains a multiple-choice word quiz that will help you build your vocabulary as you prepare for the SAT. Every time you guess a word's definition correctly, freerice.com donates 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help end hunger worldwide. The more words you get right, more rice is donated, and more people are fed. Everyone comes out ahead. So visit the site today and help others while you help yourself study for the SAT. Friday, April 04, 2008 American School Attends Chicago Southland Business Expo Yesterday the American School attended the annual Chicago Southland Business Expo in nearby Tinley Park, Illinois. The event was a great opportunity to meet nearby businesses and to introduce them to what the American School is all about. One of our fellow exhibitors, however, already knew about us. That's because he's an American School graduate. With a high school diploma, you're on the right path to having the life you've always wanted. Maybe you'll even have your own business to exhibit at a convention someday. And if you do, be sure to stop by the American School's booth. We're always happy to hear from our graduates who have gone on to lead successful lives after earning their American School diploma! Friday, March 14, 2008 American School Honors Double Decade Club Members Yesterday the American School honored members of its Double Decade Club. This select group consists of employees who have logged 20 or more continuous years of service with the School. In his remarks, American School President Gary Masterton praised these employees, not only for their dedicated service to the School, but also for their dedicate service to millions of students over the years. The very fact that the American School has a Double Decade Club should tell you something about the School and its employees. We have been around for over 110 years, and our mission and philosophy have always been the same. The student comes first. Our employees feel the same way and enjoy working with others who share that belief. The result is that many of our employees make careers out of serving our students. To them, the American School is most grateful. We are also grateful to those students, parents and school officials who have put their faith and trust in us to give their children an outstanding education. It is a responsibility that all our employees, both those in the Double Decade Club and those just beginning their American School careers, take very seriously. Thursday, March 13, 2008 March Chat Session Recap Yesterday the Online Student Center hosted two chat sessions for current American School students and guarantors. Each chat session had a nice mix of students and guarantors, some of whom were just starting their program and others who are close to graduating. Those who are very familiar with how the American School works were able to assist the facilitator in making newer students feel more comfortable and confident in the program. Next on the agenda is a special counselors-only chat session on Wednesday, April 2, at 1 p.m. Central time. Dates and times for the next general chat sessions will be posted in this blog and on the schedule of chats in the chat room itself as soon as they become available. Friday, February 29, 2008 Happy Leap Day It's February 29, and, no, that's not a typo. Today is the extra day added to the calendar every four years because the time it takes the earth to travel around the sun is not exactly 365 days. It's more like 365 1/4 days. It would be impossible to add 1/4 day to the calendar every year, so every four years, an extra day, namely February 29, is added. Normally American School students can view their grades 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, but not in 2008! They're able to view their grades all 366 days of 2008, including today! If you want to be like them, there's no time like the present to get started. What better way to celebrate this extra day than by making the most of it and committing yourself to earning the high school education that will serve you well for endless days, weeks and years to come. After you download and complete our application, hop over to the post office and mail it to us. Once we receive it, we will send you your first two courses so you can jump right into your studies. Our instruction department and online student center will do their best to ensure your grades never take a dive, so take a leap of faith and get started today! Tuesday, February 19, 2008 February Chat Session Recap The American School's Online Student Center once again hosted a pair of chat session last week, and those who attended either the afternoon or the evening session got the benefit of talking directly with an American School representative about a variety of topics related to their program. There is no more personal service than that! Our next chat sessions are scheduled for mid-March. Exact dates and times and topics will be made available in this blog and in the Online Student Center chat room page as soon as they are finalized. You still have time to enroll and receive your Online Student Center log-in information which you will need to access the chats. Simply download our application and mail it to us, and we will process it and send you your log-in letter in no time. Friday, January 25, 2008 WASB Convention Recap Earlier this week the American School had a booth at the Wisconsin Association of Schools Boards' annual convention in Milwaukee. Special guests at the convention included Henry Winkler of "Happy Days" fame and 3 of the sausages who race around Miller Park during Brewers baseball games. While we were there, we met many school board members who were excited to learn about what we can do for students in their districts. We can help their students graduate on time by offering independent study courses that they can take to make up credits. We offer students, parents and counselors access to our online student center, where they can view grades and download help sheets whenever they want. And since we are a not-for-profit institution, we do all of this at a very reasonable cost. So if you are ready to take a course, we are confident that you'll find us to be "cool" like the Fonz himself. And like the hot dog who wasn't there to participate in the sausage race yesterday, let us be your "missing link" that will connect you to a high school diploma and the life you've always wanted! Thursday, January 10, 2008 January Chat Session Recap Yesterday the American School's Online Student Center hosted two chat sessions, one in the afternoon and one in the evening, and those who attended exchanged study hints and learned how the American School's guidance department can help them prepare for college. Our chat sessions are a great way to meet other American School students and learn about the latest developments here at the School. Make plans to join us Wednesday, February 13, again at 1 and 7 p.m. Central time, and keep reading this blog daily for further updates. Thursday, November 29, 2007 November Chat Session Recap Last night we had another successful chat session as several new students and guarantors dropped by the online student center. The chat room facilitator discussed American School policies and procedures and answered students' questions about final exams, receiving more subjects, and how to apply for our annual scholarships. We're looking forward to the new year and new chat sessions, the first of which is scheduled for Wednesday, January 9, at 7 p.m. Central time. If you enroll soon, you will have the code and password you need to access the online student center in plenty of time for the January chat session. Get started today by downloading and filling out the application and sending it in to our admissions department. We hope to chat with all of you in January! Tuesday, October 30, 2007 American School Holds 110th Annual Meeting A week ago today, the American School's trustees and corporate members gathered for the School's 110th annual meeting. The event gave attendees the chance to look back at the accomplishments made by the School in the past year, and indeed, there were many accomplishments since the 109th annual meeting, not the least of which is the expansion of the online student center. A year ago, you could not view your grades any time of the day or night. Now you can. A year ago, you could not receive grade notification via email. Now you can. A year ago, you could not participate in monthly chat rooms. Now you can. You get the picture. The coming year is going to be even better. We will soon have new courses that will both challenge and inspire our students. We are also phasing in new and more efficient customer service methods, everything from how you can pay for your education to how your exams are returned to you. Keep reading this blog for more details. A lot has changed since the American School's first annual meeting in 1898, but our commitment to serve our students has never wavered. That commitment has only gotten stronger, and we are looking forward to another great year of serving our students! Monday, October 29, 2007 October Chat Session Recap Last Wednesday night a record number of students and guarantors gathered in our online student center for our October chat session. The one-hour event gave people from all over the world the chance to talk about their American School experiences in a supervised, moderated setting. Plans are already in place for the November chat session, which will be held Wednesday, November 28, at 7 p.m. Central time. If you download our application and enrol today, you will have access to the online student center by that date. Not only will you be able to participate in chats, but you will also have 24-7 access to your academic records, help sheets and links to homework Web sites. Get started today, and we'll look for you in our chat room November 28! Thursday, September 20, 2007 September Chat Session Recap Students and parents from as far away as Hawaii gathered in the American School's chat room last night to discuss a variety of topics. A handful of students who were just starting their American School program were excited about Build Your Writing Skills and many of the other courses awaiting them. Several students who are nearing the finish line are already thinking about receiving their American School diploma, class ring and applying to colleges. Parents who stopped by were interested in how to more effectively motivate their children to complete their studies. The chat session allowed the participants to share experiences and support each other as they all work toward a common goal: earning a high school diploma. The chat sessions are open only to American School students and guarantors, and if you enroll today, you should have access to the online student center in time for the October chat session. We are happy to provide the chat room, and we hope to see you there next month. Keep reading this blog for the exact date and time! Saturday, September 15, 2007 To The Nines It's September 15, and nine years ago today, your faithful blogger's career at the American School began. During those nine years, I've had the opportunity to do many things, from grading exams, to writing and editing study guides, to representing the School at conventions across the country, and, of course, writing this blog. And, as you might have guessed, there have been plenty of changes in those nine years. For example, blogs didn't even exist nine years ago, and our online student center didn't launch until earlier this year. The one thing that hasn't changed in the past nine years, though, is the American School's commitment to providing students all over the world with the best high school education possible. It's a commitment we've had since our founding in Boston in 1897, and it's a commitment I and over 300 fellow American School employees will always honor. Thursday, August 23, 2007 August Chat Session Recap Last night's inaugural chat session in the American School's online student center was a success. Several students and parents stopped by to learn more about our program and to share experiences with other students and parents. We are hoping for an even bigger turnout on Wednesday, September 19, at 7 p.m. Central time for our next chat session. You yourself can participate in the chat room, but only if you're an American School student. If you have not enrolled yet, today is the perfect time to do so. You will get a welcome letter containing the information you'll need to log into the online student center and participate in the September chat, as well as view your academic records, download help sheets, and view links to homework Web sites. See the rest of our Web site for more details. Tuesday, August 07, 2007 Important Notice Regarding British Literature CD The CD which comes with our new British Literature course contains spoken versions of some of the written selections assigned in the course. Students who take British Literature are NOT required to listen to the spoken versions in order to successfully complete this course. The CD is provided as a supplement to enrich the experience of the literature. Recently we have discovered that the CD included in this new course was inadvertently formatted by the publisher to only play using Apple software. If you already have a Mac or a PC which has Apple QuickTime Player, you can play the CD. You can also download for free the appropriate software at: http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/ The publisher is preparing new CDs with audio files that can be played on standard compact disc players and on PCs using other common software. If you are enrolled in the new British Literature course and would like a copy of this CD when it becomes available, please contact the American School, and we will be happy to send one to you when we receive them. This offer is only for students enrolled in British Literature. While we are disappointed that the current CD is not compatible with all software, we are excited that a new CD is being produced so that all students may experience British Literature to the fullest. Friday, August 03, 2007 Students in the News The X Games are underway in Los Angeles, and if you look closely, you might see highlights of American School student Travis Pastrana performing his 720 stunt that he debuted at last year's X Games. In addition, American School student and current pop star Tiffany Evans celebrates a birthday tomorrow. Tiffany gained fame for winning Star Search and currently has a new hit single that's climbing the charts. These are just two of our many famous students, but we treat all of our students exactly the same because all of our students have unique talents. Check out the rest of our site to read bios of our other famous students and graduates, and then download our application so that you can join them in the American School family. Thursday, July 19, 2007 American School Introduces British Literature The British Open is underway at Carnoustie in Scotland. Tiger Woods is trying to become the first golfer in 51 years to win the Claret Jug three times in a row, and he's off to a good start, shooting a 2-under 69 that places him in the top 10 as of this writing. If you're feeling British this weekend but can't cross the Atlantic to be there to follow Tiger's progress in person, the American School has a brand new course that will allow you to experience the literature of Scotland and the rest of the British Isles like never before. British Literature, which replaces English Literature in our curriculum, is a detailed survey of British literature from the Middle Ages to the present. You'll read works from such authors as Shakespeare, Chaucer, Donne, Heaney and many others, but you'll do more than just read stories, plays and poems. Rather, thanks to the course's study guide, you will learn about literary devices and terms and how to best critique and analyze what you have read. An accompanying CD includes audio excerpts to make what you read come alive. The course culminates with the reading of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility or one of three other novels you may choose to read and critique instead. We hope that you have the good sense and sensibility to sign up for our new British Literature course or any of our other offerings. You'll find that our courses and service are much more than just par for the course! Enroll today! Monday, July 16, 2007 American School Forms Admissions Department This blog has talked many times about the numerous changes that have occurred at the American School in the past 13 months, and today we are proud to announce another change. The American School has combined the talents and resources of the Sales and Registration departments to form the Admissions department. Thanks to upgrades in our computer system, this new department will process your enrollment applications more quickly and more accurately than ever before. Once you are enrolled, these upgrades will also result in you getting your books quicker, which ultimately leads to you earning your diploma in a shorter amount of time. This new department is just another example of how the American School is adapting to the needs of our students, parents and school officials. We are happy to serve you, and we hope you will become acquainted with the Admissions department soon when you enroll with the American School. Thursday, July 12, 2007 Famous Students Update From time to time, we like to catch up with some of our famous students and graduates who are listed on our Web site. Since today is Andrew Wyeth's 90th birthday, it's worth a mention that his son Jamie is an American School graduate. Andrew Wyeth is one of the most well-known American artists of the 20th century thanks to such paintings as Christina's World. His son Jamie is an accomplished artist in his own right, drawing everything from portraits and landscapes to White House Christmas cards. Meanwhile, two other American School students recently made headlines for their athletic achievements. Wilson Chandler was a first round pick of the New York Knicks in this year's NBA Draft, and Travis Pastrana picked up a 2007 ESPY award for his action sports skills. You are capable of doing great things as well, and the American School can help you develop your talents and abilities, whatever they might be. Download, print and complete our enrollment application and get underway today! Wednesday, July 11, 2007 Happy 1st Birthday, American School Blog! Today is July 11, and one year ago today, this American School Blog was born. In that very first blog, we talked about the Major League Baseball All-Star game, which was being played in Pittsburgh that evening, and how earning your high school diploma from the American School can make you an all-star too. Since then, this blog has had a starring role in giving you the latest American School information. For example, regular blog readers were the first to know about the opening of the American School's online student center, the first to know about the American School's 3,000,000th student, and the first to know about the American School's new service of having your grades emailed to you. As we look back over the blog's first year, we hope that this blog has been both informative (since we've profiled all of our courses and have told you about many of our school procedures) and fun (see our Bob Barker Tribute last month). As this blog begins its second year, we're looking forward to doing more of the same, but even better. This blog will be the place you find out the date and time of the first American School live chat session coming up later this summer, and when our other exciting changes and developments happen, you'll be among the first to know those too! If this blog had a birthday wish, it's that you tell your friends to read the blog too. Then even more people will become familiar with the American School and everything we have to offer. Friday, June 22, 2007 American School To Launch Two New Internet Services From time to time this blog talks about the headway the American School is making in using the Internet to better serve its students. Today is one of those occasions. Soon, two exciting things will be happening. First, if you have a valid email address in our system, we will email you your exam grades within 15 minutes after they are entered into our system. As you know, grades are posted in our online student center within 15 minutes after they are entered into our main system, and this service has been met with rave reviews from students, parents and counselors alike. Now we are making it even easier by having your numeric grades delivered right to your inbox. In preparation for this new service, please put the domain @americanschoolofcorr.com on your email safe list. This will ensure that you receive your grades and other emails from us without interruption. As usual, your exams themselves will arrive at your home 5-10 days after they have been graded and entered into our system. Even though you can now have grades emailed to you, by no means should you shun the online student center. For one thing, the online student center is the only place where you will be able to see your entire academic history, and from there you will also have access to help sheets and helpful homework Web sites. The online student center will also be the home of the second exciting thing that will happen soon: the American School chat room. The chat room is scheduled to open in mid-July and will be a forum for enrolled American School students to become acquainted with the School and its procedures. Keep reading this blog for more details about this new service and when it will make its debut. We're looking forward to serving you in new and exciting ways! Friday, June 15, 2007 The Fabulous Showcases Today as Bob Barker ends his run as host of The Price is Right, we end our series of tribute blogs in grand style. At the end of each episode of The Price is Right, contestants are shown two fabulous showcases filled with fantastic prizes. The contestant who bids closest to the actual amount of his or her showcase without going over wins all the prizes in that showcase, and if a contestant is within $250 of the actual price of the showcase, he or she will win both showcases. Since this is the final blog in our special tribute, it's a good time to showcase what the American School can offer you. To do so, we'll incorporate the names of some other pricing games that we didn't have time to discuss in our series. One of the first pieces of information you'll receive from us after you enroll is a Lucky Seven-digit student number. That student number is important because you will need it when you access our online student center. You don't need to worry about one of those Safe Crackers having access to your records. Our online student center is completely safe, and to ensure security, we only issue codes and passwords through the mail. New enrollments now have the option of paying by Credit Card, and with our affordable pricing plans, you'll never say That's Too Much when talking about paying for your American School education. We are happy to serve students who need additional credits too. Sometimes people feel like they've already had their 3 Strikes and won't complete high school. We believe that a student should have 2, 3 or even Ten Chances to succeed. When you near the end of your American school curriculum and are One Away from graduating, we will take special care to ensure that your diploma is sent to you as soon as possible after you complete your work. It's a proud day for you and for us when your high school education is In The Bag and you've hit the Bullseye and earned your diploma. We'll be back to our regular blogs on Monday, but our tribute wouldn't be complete without a traditional signoff: "This is Bob Blogger reminding you to help control the uneducated population. Have yourself and your friends educated with the American School. Goodbye everybody!" Thursday, June 14, 2007 Plinko We close the pricing games portion of our Bob Barker Tribute with perhaps the best-known and most popular of all pricing games, Plinko. In this game, a contestant gets the chance to win five Plinko chips by correctly guessing the prices of small appliances. Then the contestant climbs a staircase to the top of the giant Plinko board, which is made up of many rows of pegs all offset from each other. At the bottom of the board are these slots: $100, $500, $1000, 0, $10000, 0, $1000, $500, $100. The contestant lays a chip flat against the board and releases it. The chip bounces off the pegs and ultimately lands in a slot, and the contestant wins money that corresponds to the slot in which the chip lands. In the early days of Plinko, chips would hit pegs and fly off the board and onto the stage. Other times they would get stuck on a peg and not go all the way down. These days the Plinko board is covered in clear plexiglas to prevent chips from flying off, but in the event that chips still get stuck, Bob uses the trusty Plinko stick to pry them loose. Since this is everyone's favorite game, it's likely to be played on Bob's final episode, which airs tomorrow in daytime and in prime time. As exciting as it is to watch the Plinko chips fall down the board and into slots, you can't just let the chips fall where they may when it comes to your education. Getting a good education requires hard work, determination and a can-do attitude. The American School can help you get the education you have always wanted and the education you deserve. Download, print, complete and mail your application today, and come back tomorrow for the fabulous showcases as our Bob Barker Tribute concludes. Wednesday, June 13, 2007 Cliff Hangers If you watched The Price is Right yesterday, you got a chance to see for yourself how Hole In One is played after reading about it in yesterday's blog. As wonderful as it was to see the contestant roll in his second putt to win the car, yesterday's show reached new heights in the following game, which was Cliff Hangers. We couldn't do a series of blogs about The Price is Right without devoting a day to this great game. Cliff Hangers begins with a mountain climber at the base of a mountain. There are 25 steps from the base of the mountain to the top of the cliff. The contestant is asked to bid on three small prizes. If the contestant guesses a price exactly right, the mountain climber stays where he is. If the contestant misses (which is usually the case), the mountain climber will move one step for per dollar difference between the contestant's guess and the actual price while yodeling music plays in the background. For example, a contestant might bid $35 on a handy appliance that lets you cook an egg and toast a muffin at the same time. The actual price of that item is $39, so the mountain climber would move 4 places while the audience yodels along with the music. If the mountain climber is still on the board after the contestant has bid on all three prizes, the contestant will win a larger prize such as a spa or furniture. If the mountain climber falls off the cliff, more's the pity. When it comes to your education, maybe you think you have many mountains standing in your way. These mountains might include time, money and lack of self-confidence, and they might be steep mountains, but you shouldn't be afraid to climb them. The American School can give you the tools you need: not ropes and hooks and things the mountain climber in Cliff Hangers would use if he was climbing a real mountain, but things like the ability to work at your own pace, flexible and reasonable payment plans, and helpful feedback from our instructors to boost your self-confidence. When you receive your American School diploma, you will feel proud that you conquered these mountains, and you'll have the confidence and the skills you need to conquer any other mountains that come your way. Take a "peak" at the rest of our Web site for more details, and be sure to come back tomorrow for the final pricing game in our Bob Barker Tribute. Tuesday, June 12, 2007 Hole In One Today's pricing game in our Bob Barker Tribute coincides nicely with the U.S. Open golf tournament going on later this week at Oakmont Country Club in Pittsburgh. Holes in one will be rare at Oakmont, but holes in one happen about once a week on The Price is Right when the game called Hole in One is played. To win the car, a contestant must make a putt on a miniature putting green. The distance of that putt is determined by how accurate the contestant prices six grocery items from cheapest to most expensive. If the contestant prices all six items correctly, he or she wins a $500 bonus and has a tap-in putt to win the car, but the earlier a contestant makes a mistake, the farther his or her putt is. Needless to say, not all contestants are Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson or Jim Furyk, and many of them miss their putt. Fortunately for them, Bob gives them a second chance and the game becomes Hole in One (or Two). The American School gives students second chances too. Many of our students take a course with us to make up credits so they can graduate on time with their classes. We also give our students second chances to pass exams they have failed by assigning them alternate exams with specific helpful comments from our instructors. One of Hole in One's best-known features is Bob's inspiration putt, in which he'll putt from the farthest point on the putting green in an attempt to inspire the contestant. It is our hope that after you read this blog and check out the rest of our Web site that you will be inspired to enroll with the American School and continue your education. Do that today, but come back tomorrow as our exciting Bob Barker Tribute will reach new heights. And yes, that's a hint at what tomorrow's game will be! Monday, June 11, 2007 The Big Wheel If there's one item that immediately comes to mind when you think of The Price is Right, it's probably the big wheel that contestants spin at the end of the first and second halves of the show to see who will advance to the Showcase Showdown. Contestants have up to two spins to see who is closest to a dollar without going over. If a contestant gets a dollar, he or she gets a bonus spin. If the bonus spin lands on the green 5 or 15, the contestant gets a $5000 bonus. If the bonus spin lands on the $1.00, the contestant gets a $10,000 bonus. Here at the American School, we are doing much more than spinning our wheels. In fact, our wheels are always in motion, moving the School and its curriculum forward. This blog has spoken several times about the online student center and all the new features that are available there to American School students, parents and counselors. Soon we will be giving you the option of having grades directly emailed to you within an hour of their entry into our main system. Those grades might come from some of our new courses too. A revised British Literature course will be available soon, and Latin 2 is in the early stages of development. Another new development just happened last week. We now accept credit cards as a method of payment. See our June 5 blog for more details, and come back tomorrow as we begin the second half of our Bob Barker Tribute. Friday, June 08, 2007 Any Number Today we wind up the first half of our Bob Barker Tribute by going all the way back to the very first pricing game played on The Price is Right when the show premiered in 1972. That game is Any Number, and 35 years later, it remains one of the show's most popular games. The premise is simple. The contestant sees a board with three prizes and spaces for numbers in the prices of those prizes. One of those prizes is an automobile which costs at least $10,000, one is a prize which costs between $102 and $987, and the piggy bank consists of an amount between $1.02 and $9.87. The first number in the price of the car is given to the contestant as a freebie. The contestant then begins calling out numbers 0 through 9, and those numbers go where they belong on the board. Each number (not counting the first digit in the price of the car) is used only once. The contestant wins the first prize whose price is completed. When it comes to enrolling in high school, we know you have any number of options, from public school to private school to home school. Sometimes those who enroll in a large public school feel like a number or a face in the crowd rather than uniquely talented students that they are. We can ensure you that when you enroll with the American School, you won't be just any number with us. Yes, you will be a given a student number, and that student number is important. It will allow us to better monitor your academic progress, and it, along with a password, will grant you access to our online student center. But more than that, you will be a student first, and our main goal is to give you a quality education. Others feel the cost of enrolling in a private school is just too big a number for their family to bear. Our four-year program costs $1189. When you do the math, that's $297 a year, $5.63 a week, or 81 cents a day. No doubt our price is definitely right! Next week we'll be back with a showcase showdown, three more pricing games, and the exciting showcases a week from today. Have a terrific weekend! Thursday, June 07, 2007 Master Key Today we're going to play Master Key. On The Price is Right, this game is played for three prizes, one of which is a car. By correctly guessing the prices of two smaller items, a contestant can select two of five keys. Each of the five keys has a different effect on the three locks which represent the three prizes the contestant can win. One key is a dud and opens nothing. Three of the keys open one lock each. One of the five keys is the Master Key, which opens all three locks. If a contestant picks the Master Key, he or she wins all three prizes. The American School works with keys too. Our Curriculum department, in collaboration with our Instruction department, puts together the keys that our instructors use to grade exams. You might think that keys only consist of the correct answers, but American School keys consist of much more. They include point values so that all of our instructors can grade your exams fairly, accurately and consistently. Our keys include page references so that, in the event you miss a question, the instructor can write on your exam the page number where you may find the correct answer. We also put supplemental information on each key so that our instructors can pass more information on to you if you are interested in a particular topic. You can also rest assured that the people who use our keys to grade your exams are highly-qualified. All of our instructors have completed at least 24 college hours in the subjects they grade, and many have advanced degrees. As you can see, well-written keys are, well, key to our success and your success. Let the American School unlock your future. Enroll today, but be sure to come back tomorrow for the next pricing game in our weeklong Bob Barker Tribute. Wednesday, June 06, 2007 Golden Road The Golden Road is always the first pricing game of the day whenever it is played on The Price is Right, so it is appropriate that it is the first game we talk about in our special Bob Barker Tribute. The Golden Road is very large and takes up the entire stage. Therefore, whenever it is played, Bob will make his stage entrance by walking through the audience rather than coming out of the giant doors. The game begins with a grocery item (such as a can of corn) which costs less than a dollar. The contestant sees the price of the grocery item and then goes over to a prize whose price is between $100 and $999. One of the numbers in that price is missing, and the contestant has to decide which of the two numbers in the price of the grocery item is the missing number. The process continues with a prize whose price is between $1000 and $9999 (the missing number in this price is found in the price of the three-digit prize) and continues to the end of the Golden Road where a prize whose price is usually over $50,000 awaits (the missing number in this price is found in the price of the four-digit prize). Your American School experience is much like the Golden Road. That game is set up so that the contestants will, at the very least, make it to the four-digit prize. Your first couple courses with us, Planning Your Career and Psychology, are designed to give you the solid footing you will need to continue in our curriculum. In these courses, you will learn more about yourself and become comfortable with the process of earning your high school diploma at home. Just like the prizes build on one another in the Golden Road, subsequent courses will build on the knowledge you learned in those initial courses. At the end of the Golden Road, the contestant, if he or she is lucky, will win a fabulous prize such as a sports car or a motor home. At the end of your American School experience, you, if you work hard, will receive something more fabulous: an American School diploma. Check out the rest of our Web site for more details, and come back again tomorrow to see which pricing game we'll talk about next! Tuesday, June 05, 2007 Come On Down!!! Tomorrow legendary game show host Bob Barker will tape his final episode of "The Price is Right," retiring after 35 years on the show and 50 years in television. That episode is scheduled to air on Friday, June 15, but if you need a game show fix between now and then, be sure to read this blog every weekday from June 6 to June 15. To pay tribute to Bob Barker, we'll be playing our own version of "The Price is Right". The title of every blog will be the name of a pricing game on the show, and we'll tell you how that game relates to what's happening at the American School. Be sure to "come on down" and check it out! Tuesday, June 05, 2007 American School Awards Scholarships The American School's Scholarship Committee will meet over the next two days to determine scholarship winners for 2007. Every student who is enrolled to earn an American School diploma is eligible to receive one of 18 scholarships totalling $21,000. Scholarship candidates are the highest-ranking graduates for the calendar year, but while high scholastic achievement is essential, the Scholarship Committee considers other factors as well. These include character and personality traits and community activity, among others. Three graduates will win $2000 scholarships. These awards are the R.T. Miller Scholarship, the Henry Buresh Scholarship and the President Emeritus Scholarship. The other 15 scholarships are for $1000 each. All awards are paid as tuition to the accredited college or university selected by each winner. For more information on our scholarship program, contact our guidance department. Tuesday, June 05, 2007 American School Begins Accepting Credit Cards As of June 4, 2007, the American School is accepting credit cards as an additional form of payment for walk-in registrations and all incidental costs (transcripts, requests for overnight exams, duplicate books, etc.). In the near future, our Web site and registration forms will include information on how to pay by credit card. Once the credit card information and authorization forms are in place, existing students who have an outstanding balance will be able to pay their monthly fee or balance by credit card. The School has made every effort to ensure that your credit card information will be kept confidential, and we are confident that this is yet another way for us to better serve all of our students. Keep visiting this blog and our Web site for new developments. Thursday, April 26, 2007 Important Online Student Center Information The American School's Online Student Center is up and running, and we have received many calls from students, guarantors and counselors who are pleased with this new service we are providing. We have, however, received calls from a handful of people who, for a variety of reasons, have not been able to access certain portions of the site. This blog offers the following suggestions. If you are having trouble getting to the online student center, you may go directly to the site by typing the appropriate address from the following list. For students and guarantors: http://studentcenter.americanschoolofcorr.com/student.asp For counselors and other school officials: http://studentcenter.americanschoolofcorr.com/school.asp If you have successfully gotten to the above sites, but the page does not advance when you click on the appropriate blue log-in button at the bottom of the screen, you may go directly to the log-in site you need by typing the appropriate address from the following list. For student log-in: http://studentcenter.americanschoolofcorr.com/form_login.asp?type=1 For guarantor log-in: http://studentcenter.americanschoolofcorr.com/form_login.asp?type=2 For counselor/school log-in: http://studentcenter.americanschoolofcorr.com/form_login.asp?type=3 As previously posted, we recommend that you view the site using Internet Explorer. We hope that you are enjoying the benefits afforded to you by our Online Student Center, including secure access to your grades, help sheets for many of our courses, and links to useful Web sites, all of which are available exclusively to American School students. Tuesday, April 10, 2007 Access the Online Student Center in Internet Explorer Recently we have received a number of calls from people who have had minor difficulties viewing some portions of the Online Student Center. If you are having difficulty getting the log-in page to come up on your screen after pressing the blue Student Log-In, Guarantor Log-In or School Log-In button, try accessing the site using Internet Explorer as your browser. We have found the site works best when viewed using this browser. Keep checking this blog for further updates on the Online Student Center and all the other exciting things happening at the American School. Thursday, March 15, 2007 Latin I Now Available Today is March 15, and on the Roman calendar, today is known as the Ides of March. For the ancient Romans, the Ides was the middle day of the month. Sometimes it fell on the 13th, but in most months the Ides was the 15th. The Ides of March is the best-known of all the Ides because it was on this day in 44 B.C. that Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of conspirators who worried he was gaining too much power. A seer warned him to "beware the Ides of March," but Caesar went to the Senate anyway. The rest, as they say, is history. 2051 years after Caesar's death, the American School is proud to mark the Ides of March with happier news. The long-awaited Latin I course, which contains 12 exams and is worth one unit of credit, is complete and now available to students. Contrary to popular opinion, the Latin language did not die with Caesar. Rather, it is alive and well throughout the world, particularly in the medical and legal professions. In addition, many world languages, including English, derive at least half their words from Latin. If you take this course, your command of the English language and vocabulary is sure to improve. You will also learn about the fascinating culture of the Romans and read about some legendary Roman heroes. "Carpe diem" is a popular Latin expression. It means "seize the day," which is what you should do when it comes to completing your high school education. Now is the time to get started and enroll in Latin I or any of our other courses. You may do so by printing out the application from our Web site, filling it out completely, and mailing it to the School for processing. Tuesday, February 06, 2007 American School Featured On Homeschoolingradio.com The American School will be featured in a 10-minute interview to be posted this Thursday, February 8, on homeschoolingradio.com. Jeff Cox of the American School's Curriculum department will be the guest of hosts Leland and Kathie Fleming and will discuss the School's diploma program, its courses, its history and much more. Check it out this Thursday at 10 a.m. Central time, and if you cannot log on at that time, the interview will be posted in the Archives section of that Web site shortly thereafter. Monday, December 18, 2006 Another American School Milestone This blog has often talked about the American School's illustrious past and its strong connections to Chicago, but you might be surprised to know that the American School wasn't always located in or near Chicago. In fact, the American School was founded in Boston in 1897 by R.T. Miller with the help of some of his Harvard classmates. Later that year, in keeping with its instructional objectives, R.T. Miller and other school officers applied for a charter as an "educational institution not for profit." The Commonwealth of Massachusetts granted that charter on December 17, 1897. 109 years and 1 day later, that same charter still governs and guides the American School. Times have certainly changed, but the American School's commitment to quality, affordable education through correspondence has not. That commitment remains as strong as ever, and it's only getting stronger. You, too, can be a part of our storied history and our bright future. Enroll today! Tuesday, December 12, 2006 American School Welcomes Three-Millionth Student Recently the American School enrolled the three-millionth student in its storied 109-year history. Timothy Graziano, 15, of Tinley Park, Illinois, and his mother, Krista, visited the school last week, where they were given a tour of the building and received gifts commemorating Tim's achievement. American School President Gary Masterton presented Tim with a certificate, an American School pen and pencil set and an American School watch, among other gifts. Other American School dignitaries joining in the celebration were Roberta Allen (Vice-President/Curriculum Director), John McCulley (Vice-President/Educational Director), Marie Limback (Prinicpal), Vince Immordino (Comptroller) and William Hunding (Trustee). Tim and Krista were very appreciative of the gifts they received. Even though they had never visited the School before, they knew about the American School because Tim's brother, Tony, is also an American School student. "We enrolled Tim with the American School because we were familiar with it," Krista explained. "We knew what was expected, we are pleased with the customer service, and the School has an affordable montly payment." Tim is looking forward to a career in perhaps the education or medical fields, but before then, he is excited about taking the American School's World History and Food Study courses, since becoming a chef is also a possible career option. When he visited the school last week, he also took note of the American School's dedicated staff. "I was surprised by how many people work here," he said. "I thought it would be smaller, but it was definitely nice meeting everyone." And we at the American School enjoyed meeting Tim and Krista too. It's not every day we meet our students and parents in person, but it's not every day we enroll our three-millionth student either. We are already on our way to serving four million students, and you can be a part of it by enrolling today. You'll receive the same outstanding customer service and affordable monthly payments that the Grazianos receive, and you'll feel like a million bucks when you receive your American School diploma. Get started today! |
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