Summer, fall, winter or spring, if you have young children with time on their hands you need to have some tricks planned. Every child benefits from fun that is also educational, and 10 fun projects with magnets fill the bill nicely. This list is divided evenly between "experiments" (1 through 5) and "projects" (6 through 10) so you can keep the attention of your potential scientists as well as your future artists.

There are plenty of places to get your magnets, and don't forget the many different kinds available. They come in all sizes and shapes, colored and plain, and even in flexible sheets that can be cut into any shape.

For the following activities, you will need a variety of magnets and other supplies. Instead of making one materials list for you, however, it is suggested that you decide which activities you (and your kids) want to do, then assemble your supplies from the list in each activity report.

Note: The "you" in the following instructions can mean the parent or the child. Frankly, these activities are fun and interesting for all ages!

1. Make a compass

You will need the following items:
- non-metallic bowl filled with water
- metal pin
- magnet
- cork

This experiment will show how to make a compass that points true North.

Magnetize the pin by holding it in your hand and stroking it with the magnet in one direction only, from the base (head) to the point. Lift the magnet off at the point, then begin again at the base. Repeat this at least 25-30 times.

Now push the pin through the piece of cork so that the cork is in the middle of the pin, and put the cork/pin in the (non-metallic) water-filled bowl. The pin should have been made magnetic enough to point North.

You can also try seeing how strong your new pin magnet is by seeing if it will pick up small metal objects, such as paper clips.

2. Polar attraction/repulsion A

You will need the following items:

- two (2) bar magnets

Magnets, of course, have north and south magnetic sides. Depending upon which ends (or sides) that you force together, they will also attract strongly or not at all. If you put north and south magnetic poles together, they will attract. If you put two similar sides together, north or south, they will either not attract or they will actually repel one another.

With this research, you and your children will discover the force of the attraction or the repulsion of the magnet.

Place two opposite ends together and you will notice that they instantly attract to one another. Lesson: north and south poles on the magnet attract one another, at different strengths depending on the magnets and the conditions.

Now try to force the two north sides of the magnets together. You will be able to feel as the poles resist one another. You can do the same thing with the south sides and will notice the same effect. You can measure the force by holding the same poles together and slowly releasing your hold on the magnets.

3. Polar attraction/repulsion B

Using the same bar magnets, place them down on a table. Take one magnet with north side pointing forward and push it close to the other magnet's north side. The magnet you are not holding will move away from the one you are, and even try to turn itself around.

This shows that the south side is attracting your magnet's north side. You can resolve the magnet strength by seeing how far away you can be and still have these effects.

4. Polar attraction/repulsion B Again using the same kind of magnets, but three to five of them, experiment with pushing the magnets in a kind of "magnet train." Line magnets up with south sides facing south and north sides facing north, then push the first magnet and watch the other magnets jump forward.

Keep lining up magnets this way and see how many you can get to work together in your "train."

5. The floating magnets

You will need the following items:

- five (5) to eight (8) "donut" magnets (the ones with the holes in the middle)
- one (1`) wooden rod that will fit through magnet holes
- base for rod (wood or modeling clay)

If you cannot buy or construct a base for the rod, you can stand it up in a wad of modeling clay. It won't be bearing much weight, so it doesn't have to be "over prepared."

First, resolve the magnetic forces of the donut magnets and which side is north or south.

Remember, of course, that polar opposites attract. Now put three or four magnets along the bottom of the wooden rod as it is standing. The positioning of the magnets is important: Place all of the magnets with south at the bottom, so when you stack up the three or four magnets, the north (top) part of the bottom magnet will attract the bottom (south) side that you place on top of it. Thus, at the very top of the pile, you will have a north side.

Place the next magnet with the north end down. It will not attract to the north side below it, so it will "hover" over the other magnets. You can continue the hovering demonstration by placing another magnet, south side down this time, on the rod. This new magnet will also hover, as will any others you position on the rod (remembering to rotate the north/south direction).

6. Sheet magnet fun A: Refrigerator magnets

You will need the following items:

- several letter-size sheets of flexible magnetic material, white on one side
- family photos or kids' artwork
- glue or paste, scissors

Have the kids decide whether they want to make their refrigerator magnet with a drawing or a photo. It could be great fun for each child to make his or her own photo magnet.

Cut the drawing or photo out and trim it nicely. Place it on the magnetic sheet and trace the shape with a pencil, then cut the shape out of the magnetic sheet. Glue the drawing or picture to the magnetic material.

7. Sheet magnet fun B: Word magnets

You will need the following items:

- list of common words for sentence formation (Internet)
- computer and printer (different: Sharpie pens)
- several letter-size sheets of stretchy magnetic material, white on one side
- glue or paste, scissors

On the Internet you will find different sources for lists of commonly used words. You need a selection of nouns, verbs, articles and other kinds of words for sentence creation, but include a few family favorites, names, nicknames, etc.

Print out the list on your computer printer, with each word in a 1/2-inch by 2-inch area. Alternatively, if you do not have a printer you can use Sharpie pens to write the words on 1/2-inch by 2-inch strips of the magnetic sheet.

Cut and paste the words onto appropriately sized strips of the sheet material. Place the magnetic words on the refrigerator or stove front. Leave surprise messages for one another, make up silly sayings or have fun just jumbling them up!

8. Sheet magnet fun C: Kiddie business cards

You will need the following items:

- several letter-size sheets of flexible magnetic material, white on one side
- kids' artwork and old magazines (for pictures, words)
- glue or paste, scissors

Trace a standard business card on the sheets, or draw a 2-inch by 3.5-inch rectangle. Have your kids find pictures that apply to their personalities – tigers for the rough and tumble, princesses for the graceful little ladies, or vice versa! They can write their names, and make themselves the president of any company they'd like to invent. The finished cards can go on the fridge, inside their school lockers or anywhere else a magnet will stay put.

9. Colored magnet tic-tac-toe

You will need the following items:
- bag of colored magnets (same size, different colors)
- a 5-inch square of magnetic sheet, white on one side
- ruler and Sharpie pen

Draw a tic-tac-toe playing square on the magnetic sheet. This will go on the fridge, the front of the stove or some other centrally located place. Keep a bag of similarly-sized magnets of different colors near the play square and, picking one color for yourself and another for your opponent, make a tic-tac-toe move each time you pass by that area. Check through the day and watch for your opponent's move. This is a great way to stretch a game of tic-tac-toe out for a day, sometimes, while giving you the opportunity to grab a snack out of the fridge, too.

10. Personalized memo-holder

You will need the following items:

- bar magnet, at least 1/2-inch wide, three (3) to four (4) inches long
- paper, colored pens and pencils, scissors, glue

Trace the shape of the bar magnet onto a piece of paper. This will show you how much room you have to write your name and draw a design. You can write your name simply or color your letters differently, even adding designs and other shapes. Cut the piece of paper out and glue it to the side of the bar magnet. Now you have a way to put your "to do list" or your "memo to Mom" on the fridge door, stove front or any other magnetic spot.

What with all the letters and shapes and pictures and name-tags resulting from these projects, there could be a real upsurge in "magnetic publishing" in your house. The magnetic words, in particular, have great educational value, and the lessons learned in the simple magnet experiments are helpful as well as entertaining. With just a few magnets and art supplies, you can attract a whole lot of fun to your house!

Sexual harassment and sex prejudice are the common incident in the workplace and well known to world wide. Sexual harassment is an unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual favors and other verbal or physical contact of a sexual nature. Following situations can be sign of sexual harassment.
a) If a male boss of an office compliments his secretary on her style of dress
b) A female supervisor asks a male supervisor out of lunch
c) A male employee is apt to touch people’s arms and shoulders as he speaks
d) A female employee offers sexual favors to a male manager for assistance in obtaining a promotion.
These kinds of situation need to be fulfill following conditions and then we can treat them as sexual harassment.
1. Where sexual conduct is made a condition of an individual’s employment
2. Where such conduct or condition creates an employment consequences
3. Where such conditions create an offensive environment or interfere with job performance.

Sex discrimination is also an important consideration at the workplace. Most of developing countries like Bangladesh; the employer pays different salary/wages on the basis of sex. For same job a male worker is paid more than female. Male are preferable than female here. Such kinds of discrimination are the main constraints for economic growth of any country.

The history of sign language is littered with shocking events. At several points in history, some not long ago, deaf people were strongly broken. At one point, they were even denied their basic rights. How their language, sign language, was treated during these oppressive times is directly related to why the deaf place such a high value on sign language today.

The first person to make a claim about deaf people was Aristotle. He theorized that people are only able to learn by hearing spoken words. Deaf people, then, were seen as unable to be educated.

Deaf people were denied their basic rights because of this claim. They weren't allowed to marry or own property. The law actually labeled them as "non-persons."

During the revival in Europe, the claim was finally challenged. After 2,000 years of believing that deaf people couldn't be educated, scholars made their first attempts to educate deaf people. This point in the Deaf history was the beginning of signed language development.

The Beginning of Deaf Education

An Italian Physician named Geronimo Cardano standard that to learn, you do not have to hear. He found that by using the written word, deaf people could be educated.

In Spain, Pedro Ponce de Leon around the same time was educating deaf children. He was a Benedictine monk and was successful with his methods of teaching.

Juan Pablo de Bonet was inspired by Pedro Ponce de Leon's success and used his own methods to teach the deaf. He was a Spanish monk and used earlier methods of teaching the deaf that included writing, reading, speechreading, and his own manual alphabet. Juan Pablo de Bonet's manual alphabet represented the different speech sounds and was the first known manual alphabet system in the history of sign language.

Until the 1750's, organized education of deaf people did not exist. recognized in Paris by Abbé Charles Michel de L'Epée, a French priest, was the first social and religious organization for the deaf.

There is a popular story that has been retold throughout Deaf history about Abbé de L'Epée. The story claims that while L'Epée was visiting a poor part of Paris, he met two deaf sisters. The mother had wanted them educated in religion, and she wanted L'Epée to teach them. L'Epée was inspired to educate them after he exposed their deafness. Soon after this encounter, he devoted his life completely to the education of the deaf.

In 1771, Abbé de L'Epée founded the first public school for the deaf. The name of the school was the Institut National des Jeune Sourds-Muets (National Institute for Deaf-Mutes). Children travelled from all over the country to attend this school. The children who attended the institute had been signing at home and creating a sort of "home sign language" with their families. Abbé de L'Epée learned these home signs and used them to teach the children French.

The signs L'Epée learned from his students formed the standard sign language that L'Epée taught. More schools for the deaf were recognized and the children were bringing this standard language home to their communities. This standard language became the first standard signed language in Deaf history and is now known as Old French Sign Language. More and more deaf students were becoming educated so this standard language spread widely throughout Europe.

Abbé de L'Epée established twenty-one schools for the deaf and is known today as the "Father of Sign Language and Deaf Education."

Abbé de L'Epée is also often credited with being the creator of sign language. This is inaccurate. Sign language was invented by deaf people. Even before they were formally educated, deaf children were signing with their families using home made signs. However, Abbé de L'Epée was the first to bring together these signs and create a standard sign language to educate the deaf.

Abbé de L'Epée claimed that sign language was the natural language of the deaf. However, a German educator named Samuel Heinicke thought different. He supported the oral method of educating deaf children. Oralism is the term used for educating the deaf using a system of speech and speechreading instead of sign language and fingerspelling. Samuel Heinicke taught his students how to speak, not sign. While he spoke, he had his students feel the sensations of his throat.

Oralism was the first major roadblock after all of the positive advancements with the history of sign language. Abbé de L'Epée is known as the "Father of Sign Language" and Samuel Heinicke is known as the "Father of Oralism."

American Sign Language

American Sign Language is traced back to 1814. Dr. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, a minister from Hartford, Connecticut, had a neighbor named Mason Fitch Cogswell. Cogswell had a nine-year-old daughter named Alice who was deaf. Gallaudet met Alice and Gallaudet wanted to teach her how to correspond.

Gallaudet did not really know anything about educating a deaf child. So, he raised enough money to travel to Europe to learn their methods of deaf education.

Gallaudet met Abbé Roche Ambroise Sicard who was Abbé de L'Epée's successor and the head of the National Institute for Deaf-Mutes in Paris. Gallaudet also met Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc, two talented teachers of the deaf from the same institution.

Gallaudet attended classes with Sicard, Massieu, and Clerc at the Institute. He studied their methods of teaching and took private lessons from Clerc.

Preparing to return to America, Gallaudet asked Clerc to join him. He knew that Clerc would be instrumental in starting a school for the deaf in the United States. Clerc agreed to travel with him back to America.

The American protection for Deaf-Mutes (now known as the American School for the Deaf) was established in 1817 in Hartford, Connecticut. This was the first public school for the deaf in America.

Deaf people from all over the U.S. travelled to attend the school. Just like at Abbé de L'Epée's school in Paris, children brought signs they learned at home with them. From these signs and the signs from French Sign Language that Gallaudet educated, American Sign Language was created.

A Deaf College

In 1851, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet died. However, his two sons, Thomas Gallaudet and Edward Miner Gallaudet succeeded him and continued work in deaf education.

Edward wanted to establish a college for the deaf, but the funding always stopped him. In 1857, though, Amos Kendall donated acres of land to establish a residential school in Washington, D.C. called the Columbia Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and the Blind and wanted Edward to be the administrator of the school.

Edward accepted the offer, but still wanted to start a college for the deaf. So, he presented his idea for a deaf college to Congress and Congress passed legislation in 1864 allowing the Columbia Institute to grant college degrees.

The Columbia Institute's college division (the National Deaf-Mute College) opened in 1864. In all of Deaf history, this was the first college for the deaf.

The National Deaf-Mute College was renamed in 1893 and again in 1986 to the name it still has today-Gallaudet University. Gallaudet University was the first and is still the only liberal arts university for the deaf in the world.

Oralism versus Sign Language

Sign language was spreading widely and was used by both deaf and hearing people. However, supporters of oralism believe that deaf people need to learn how to speak to be able to function in society.

The Institution for the Improved Instruction of Deaf-Mutes was founded in New York in 1867 and the Clarke Institution for Deaf-Mutes was founded in Northampton, Massachusetts. These schools began educating deaf children using oralism only. If that wasn't bad enough, these schools encouraged all deaf schools to use only the oralism approach as well. The oralist methods of teaching speech, listening, and speechreading spread quickly to schools across the nation.

Alexander Graham Bell was one of the strongest supporters of oralism. In 1872, he established a school in Boston. This school trained teachers to use oralism to teach deaf children.

Bell established the American Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, Inc. in 1890. This association is now called the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf.

From 1880 to 1990, the sign language versus oralism debate intensified. Meeting in Milan, Italy in 1880, the International Congress on the Education of the Deaf met to address this issue. Many leaders in education attended this conference that is now known as the Milan Conference.

Oralism won the debate at this conference and Congress then passed a declaration stating "the incontestable superiority of speech over sign for integrating the deaf-mute into society and for giving him better command of the language."

Because of this conference, the use of sign language in deaf education declined drastically over the next decade. Some oralism activists wanted to eradicate sign language completely.

By 1920, 80% of deaf children were taught using the oral method. Teachers of deaf children were once 40% deaf and 60% hearing. By the 1860's, only 15% of teachers of the deaf were deaf.

Outside of the classroom, however, sign language was still widely used. The National Association of the Deaf (NAD) was established in the U.S. and supported the sign language method of deaf education. The NAD argued against oralism saying that it is not the right choice for the education of many deaf people. They gained support and kept the use of sign language alive during this time.

among this great dispute, William Stokoe, a hearing Gallaudet College professor, published his claim that proved American Sign Language is a real language. He proved that ASL is a language separate from English and that it has its own grammar and syntax.

American Sign Language was then finally seen as an important national language.

Congress issued the Babbidge Report in 1964 on oral deaf education that stated oral education was a "dismal failure." This quote dismissed the decision that was made in Milan.

In 1970, a movement began that did not choose between signed or oral education. The movement was called Total Communication and attempted to mix several methods of deaf education. Total Communication gave deaf people the right to information through all possible ways. This method of teaching can include speech, sign language, fingerspelling, lipreading, pantomime, computers, pictures, facial expressions, gestures, writing, hearing aid devices, and reading.

The changes that have occurred throughout the history of sign language makes sign language and the lives of deaf people what they are today. Deaf people have experienced great hardships as well as great achievements to bring sign language, the language of the Deaf, the respect that it deserves.