Inspired 2 Learn

After watching a lot of anime and reading a lot of manga, I’ve been inspired to learn Japanese. I know it’s stupid, but what better way to get the idea? Anyway, I’ve been looking at Japanese-English dictionaries online, and I thought maybe it’d be better to use software. I’m down to two options: Byki and RosettaStone. Which one should I use? Should I use software at all?

RosettaStone is absolutely terrible for learning any Asian language. Do NOT use it.
I would suggest using the book "Genki", which can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=genki&x=0&y=0

RosettaStone shows you a picture and you hear a word, along with seeing the characters on screen. This cannot teach you a language effectively. Imagine that one of the pictures is of a park with a lot of people and a car driving by… how do you know what in the picture you are supposed to associate the word with? Also, they do not provide any explanation as to how to use sentence structure effectively.

And what instrument?

For me, I started playing guitar when I heard and wanted to learn "Heaven Beside You" by Alice in Chains, about 7 years ago

There was so single band or artist that inspired me to start playing the guitar. Joe Satriani, David Gilmour, Jimi Hendrix, and Tony Iommi were my main influences when I picked up my first guitar.

I began taking voice lessons when I first really listening to Led Zeppelin. More than any other vocalist, I think Robert Plant uses his voice as an instrument and as a compliment to the music his band plays. I wanted to train my voice to compliment my abilities as a guitarist, but I wanted to still sound feminine and not resort to screaming. To that end, I was further influenced by Tarja Turunen, Nina Gordon, Christine McVie, and Ann and Nancy Wilson.

I began playing bass guitar more as an extension of playing guitar than anything else. There is a list of bass guitarists that have influenced and inspired me, but I’ll mention Chris Squire, Roger Waters, Geezer Butler, Geddy Lee, Jaco Pastorius, and John Myung as my favorites.

I can play two songs on the drums, but I’m not a drummer. They’re easy, and that’s why I learned them.

Kids are learning well in school but they learn things for passing the tests not for the love of learning. I hope they develop skills like independent thinking, how to use the knowledge they acquired and enjoy learning not for anybody else. How do help my kids?

Downplay the importance of tests/quizzes/grades by asking your kids what they learned/are learning each day rather than how they did on a test or what grade they were given. This will help your kids to understand what is really important and they will begin to focus more on what they are learning and less on grades.
Let your kids read books/mags that interest them and avoid pushing any particular books/authors on them. Kids will read what interests them out of curiosity, and they will learn as their interests branch out over time.
Spend family time exploring issues of interest to you and your kids. Allow them opportunities to discover and develop new interests. When they make mistakes, avoid the temptation to rush in and solve the problem for them. This will help them to develop independent thinking skills while reinforcing the positive message that mistakes are a pathway to knowledge.
At parent/teacher conferences, focus the discussion on specifically what the teacher is teaching students. What are the students learning in history, how are they learning it?
Thanks for asking such a terrific question!

I’ve never played the piano before in my life but I heard that song and I wanted to play it badly. So I took the keyboard out of my bro’s room and learned the whole song in two hours. Would you say I could be a good piano player? Because I’ve always wanted to learn it.

I already play the guitar and I’m pretty good on that.

Thanks.

anything you put your mind to you can be good at… it just takes a certain something to be great at it. that’s awesome that you can pick up tunes like that, it’s how i started playing every instrument that i play now… guitar, vox, bass, keys, violin, viola, cello, clarinet, banjo, ukulele, harmonica, and the list goes on

What inspires YOU to learn. What song, movie, commercial, phrase or anything else gives you that motivation to simply… learn? We all need a little motivation sometimes =).

What I personally believe is that learning is a continuous process which never ends. It started the day you open your eyes in this world and it ends with your last breath. Motivation for learning comes from several directions like competition among class mates, while reading any poem, by any beautiful invention, by any song and by an inspirational speech by the teacher.
The best way to get motivation for learning is from your teachers, to seek their experiences while their learning age and all that information, hurdles they have tackled during acquisition of learning. They always have a solution for your learning troubles; therefore I recommend that teachers are the best inspirational resource for learning.

I am a hardcore rap fan, but i was at a talent show and this boy was playing a johnny cash song with his guitar, and it sounded so beautiful. I was inspired at that moment to learn how to play guitar. So my birthday is coming up soon, and i was going to ask my parents to buy me a guitar. I’ve never played one before, so which type of guitar would be the best for a beginner to get?

I would start with a cheap accoustic guitar. If you want to play electric then still buy an accoustic. Its easier to learn on and if you transfer to electric then your technique will progress faster than people who started on electric

I have a 15 year old son who has above average intelligence. On all the mandatory state and federal tests he does extremely well, always in the top 90%. However, he doesn’t turn in homework or do well on the tests in class, and basically just gets by. His counselor and I discussed challenge classes, but he doesn’t qualify because his GPA is too low. I’ve have talked with him till I’m blue in the face, taken away his Playstation, cell phone, gone to therapy, etc. etc., all to no avail. He is unhappy about his situation but acts like he’s too lazy or doesn’t care to try and do his best. I’ve told him I will be happy, even if were to fail something as long as he did the best he could. I’m so tired of this slacker attitude!

So, my question is: How do you inspire a teen to do their best in academics?
Edit: I forgot to add that he did exceptionally well in school with great work ethic, until he got to high school, then pffft! Gone! And got some new slacker kid in his place!

Get him evaluated by a Dr since he changed so drastically he could be suffering from depression.

My brother scored very high and dropped out because even the challenging classes were boring to him.
Find out what does interest him and let him explore that.
Id take him out of public school and home school him.
Once you find out what does interest him, find an expert in that field that is willing to talk to him about what he does and how he got to where he is. See if he can suggest a course of action your son can take to get what he wants. Public school is not for everyone it is an assembly line education that not everyone fits into.