School

2007-07-14T21:14:54Z

Chris341:

A '''school''' is an educational institution. Schools can be either publicly- or privately-owned, funded by public or private sources or a combination of both, and may have a secular or a religious mandate.

The increasingly popular alternative to school is [[homeschooling]].

== Types of schools ==

Terms used to describe schools vary from place to place. Some of the following descriptions overlap with each other.

=== State school ===

A '''state school''' is one that is owned and funded by the state.

In the United States, government-controlled schools are supported by taxpayers, often in the form of a school tax on property. Prior to the 20th century, school attendance was only part-time, consuming only about half or less of the year.

In some states of [[Australia]], although the curriculum is secular, religious education by volunteers associated with the Council for Christian Education is permitted. This takes place in class time, but parents can choose that their children not attend this class.

=== Private school ===

A '''private school''' is one that is owned by some body other than the state. Private schools are generally funded by fees levied on the parents of the students, which usually means that the parents are paying twice, once in direct fees, and once in taxes for state schools.

In Australia, the Federal government provides some funding to private schools, although the parents of the students provide most of the income of the school.

Some private schools aspire to very high standards, some specialize in certain modes and topics of instruction (such as a military school), and yet others provide a place for children who need curricula not available in the state systems.

In [[Nordic countries]] there are virtually no schools other than government schools.{{fact}}

=== Public school ===

In America, a '''public school''' is a ''state school''. In some Commonwealth countries, a '''public school''' is a church-run (i.e. run by a church denomination) school that is open to the general public.

In America, the curriculum in public schools is dictated by state governments. Public schools do not provide religious instruction to schoolchildren, nor do they allow teacher-led prayer.

=== Faith school ===

A '''faith school''' in the [[United Kingdom]] is partially controlled by religious groups and have a predominance of pupils from that religious group. The government funds or partially funds faith schools.

=== Parent-controlled schools ===

'''Parent-controlled schools''' (in Australia) are private schools usually owned by churches, but with control being in the hands of a parent-appointed board.

=== Church schools ===

'''Church schools''' (in Australia) are the older denominationally-owned and run public schools which generally provide a secular education.

=== Christian schools, Muslim schools, etc. ===

What are known as ''Faith schools'' in the United Kingdom are known as '''Christian schools''', '''Catholic schools''', or similar in Australia.

== Alternatives ==

[[Homeschooling]] is the primary alternative for most parents to public school. Increasing numbers of parents choose homeschooling due to a declining quality and culture in traditional schools and their hostility to religion and morality.

==See also==
*[[Homeschooling]]

[[Category:Education]]

RuneScape

2007-07-13T21:46:19Z

Chris341:

[[Image:Runescapemining.jpg|right|thumb|Screenshot of RuneScape.]]
'''RuneScape''' is a popular MMORPG videogame.<ref>[http://www.runescape.com/ RuneScape official site]</ref> It was developed and supported by Jagex, Inc., and based in [[London]], [[England]]. RuneScape is offered in a free version or a subscription version. Paying the $5 per month subscription gives players access to a vast array of new items, quests, and areas to explore. Roughly 10 % of the game can be played for free and all of it for the fee.

The game is popular for a number of reasons, not least of which is that players can chat with each other in a way viewed by everyone in the immediate game area, or privately to selected friends. Control of one's character in the game is mostly done by mouse, including character movement in the game world, purchasing items, selling, picking up or dropping items and changing a character's attire. The graphics interface is intuitive to most players.

Character development is another strong element of the game. A character begins with low skill levels and raises a skill by performing it. Several skills with weapons, armor and magic are used in combat and are raised by performing them. Fighting is probably the basis of the game, but a character need not fight at all. Monsters (dragons, demons, skeletons, etc.) are found in various game locations and respawn a few seconds after they are killed. Player characters can fight each other in designated game's areas. A further strong point the game has is the players ability to create and personalise their own accounts, as is portrayed by Vignesh119's profoundly creative chicken suit and well-known hair.

A player's character can developed by performing various quests in the game. And the game is added to by Jagex pretty often, graphics are improved, new dungeons appear from time to time. Tips about playing Runescape can be found at [http://runescape.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page this RuneScape wiki].

==High scores==

'''Zezima''' is the highest ranking player within the highscore system of the [[MMORPG]], RuneScape.<ref>hiscore.runescape.com/lang/en/aff/runescape/hiscorepersonal.ws?user1=zezima</ref>. He joined the game between late June and early July the year 2001 [[A.D.]]<ref>tip.it/runescape/index.php?times=39 </ref>. Zezima has participated in an interview on two or more websites, including ''tip.it''<ref>tip.it/runescape/index.php?times=39</ref> and ''Rsforums''<ref>z6.invisionfree.com/RunescapeForums/index.php?showtopic=12548&st=0</ref>. He and his friend created a website for one purpose to bring some light to myths about his character and real-life status. He attained his popularity in being both the first player to attain 99 in every stat in the game, and maintaining the highest rank in the highscore system for a respectable amount of time. His name is also featured on a t-shirt bearing the words, "I Pked Zezima."<ref>http://www.cafepress.com/youvegotlol/1548639</ref> He is also noted in over a 1,000 videos on the popular free video sharing website [[YouTube]]. Due to this broad reputation, many rumors circulate around both the game itself and other websites. The same person behind Zezima also used to play a game known as Triple Triad x, in which he was able to maintain a rank within the top four players.<ref>tip.it/runescape/index.php?times=39</ref>
==Addictive Nature==
Runescape has come under criticism over its addictive nature sometimes players using the game for days on end
==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Video games]]

Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

School

RuneScape