Marlaine Black scoffed when her son broached the topic: "Virtual physical education." How could that be a real thing?

"To me it was comical," said Black, a Mount Pleasant resident.

But by the time her son Benjamin had completed the online PE course for high school credit this summer through VirtualSC, a free state-run program, she was sold on the idea.

For a self-motivated student like Benjamin, some argue that a self-paced online course can be just as effective as a traditional gym class.

With more than 2,000 South Carolina students enrolled in the 2015-16 school year, physical education has become one of the most popular courses offered through VirtualSC since the online program began in 2006.

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Students clamored for the course this summer, and some ended up on a waiting list as the S.C. Department of Education employed two full-time teachers and eight adjuncts to teach the class.

Some local school districts, including in Horry and Greenville counties, have begun offering their own online PE courses to meet the growing demand.

Here's how it works: Students read through a textbook and complete quizzes online following the same state academic standards as in a traditional gym class. A certified teacher administers each class of about 65 students and is available to answer questions and give guidance on personal fitness plans. Tuition for all VirtualSC classes is free.

Regular registration for fall courses via VirtualSC has ended. To register for later semesters or to look at course offerings, visit virtualsc.org.

For the physical portion of the course, students fill out weekly activity logs. Their activity can be almost anything they want: Yoga, club sports, school athletics, even walking. The point is to demonstrate consistency and improvement over the course of the class, which students can take either in the fall or spring semester or over the summer.

Students must also find an adult to administer the FitnessGram, a battery of physical fitness tasks, at the beginning and end of the course.

"Students are able to do what they enjoy," said Travis Scott, a PE teacher with VirtualSC who oversees classes from his home office in Loris.

"What Im trying to do is to help students be active for a lifetime, to show them the importance of doing things," he said. "In brick-and-mortar (gym classes), some kids just hated the things we would do, but in the virtual setting, students are given choices."

Scott worked as a PE coach in schools across the state before coming to work at VirtualSC, and he's glad to offer help to students who feel uncomfortable in a traditional gym class. He said a parent recently called to thank him because her daughter now asks to jog with her husband every day.

A screenshot from the VirtualSC Physical Education course.Provided/S.C. Department of Education

South Carolina isn't the only state where virtual PE has gained popularity in the last decade.

In a 2013 graduate thesiscompleted at the University of South Florida, Leslie Michelle Williams acknowledged skepticism about the idea within the teaching profession but found that virtual PE "has been a viable option for some teachers in the U.S. and Canada."

"This is becoming part of the new look of 21st-century physical education," Williams wrote.

In a review of existing research, Williams found that some virtual PE students "prefer not to dress out at school and participate in physical activities around their peers." Other students were high achievers getting their PE requirement out of the way at home to free up time in their school schedule for more Advanced Placement and college-credit courses.

Benjamin Black, a sophomore at Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston, said he took PE through VirtualSC to clear up space in his schedule.

He said it allowed him to take Latin and advanced math courses as a freshman at Wando High, and now he's up to speed in the famously competitive environment at Magnet. His chosen physical activity was running, a hobby that he already enjoyed but that he gradually got better at over the course of the summer.

"One drawback was it seemed like I was the only one taking the class," Black said. "I didnt have any interaction with other people who took it. You kind of lose that team spirit of PE."

A handful of students across South Carolina take virtual PE because it's their only option. The newly opened Early College High School in Charleston County, for example, offers students the chance to earn an associate degree while attending classes on the campus of Trident Technical College but there is no gym and no PE teacher, so every student will have to enroll in the VirtualSC PE course to complete their high school diploma requirement.

Horry County's Early College High School has a similar arrangement, although students there have the option of taking PE via the local Horry County Virtual School. Like VirtualSC, the district-run virtual program offers supplemental courses but is not meant to replace a traditional school for students.

"Kids are different now. Some of them have to work to help support themselves in 11th and 12th grade," said Edi Cox, executive director of online learning for Horry County Schools. "Our program has served kids all across the scale. We have students who struggle, at risk, up to students in the Scholars Academy in the top 1 percent in the district."

Reach Paul Bowers at 843-937-5546. Follow him on Twitter @paul_bowers.

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Online physical education: It's a real thing in South Carolina and it's reinventing gym class - Charleston Post Courier

To be made a statue, a woman had to be a naked muse, royalty or the mother of God. Or occasionally, an icon of war, justice or virtue: Boadicea in her chariot in London, the Statue of Liberty in New York, The Motherland Calls in Volgograd.

Still, of 925 public statues in Britain, only 158 are women standing on their own. Of those, 110 are allegorical or mythical, and 29 are of Queen Victoria, according to a study of British public monuments by Caroline Criado-Perez. Just 25 are statues of historical women who are not royalty, she writes, one of whom is a ghost and only there because shes looking for the spirit of her murdered husband.

There are 43 statues of men named John.

In the United States, less than 8 percent of public statues are female. Nine of 411 national parks are dedicated to womens history. Which is why women have been stealthily gathering funds to break through the bronze ceiling and place statues of women in busy public spaces.

A campaign begun in February called Put Her on the Map aims to encourage cities and corporations to put women on the map by naming streets, statues and buildings after influential female figures. In Manchester, England, where Queen Victoria is the sole female figure out of 17 statues, the Womanchester Statue Project has been gathering funds for a statue of the suffragist Emmeline Pankhurst.

Monumental Women is raising money for a statue of suffragists in Central Park in New York. And a new app, The Whole Story, uses augmented reality technology to place female statues in public spaces everywhere from Washington to Milan, Prague and Rome.

Why does this matter? Because history is skewed. Because women have been rendered invisible and irrelevant for centuries. Because when little girls walk past imposing figures on pedestals, they know they represent status and authority, that this person has done or been something worthwhile.

And if women are on those pedestals, they will know women can matter and make history. Or simply that women are history.

One thing I like most about Victorias statues is that she did not pose coquettishly or aim to please the eye. She stood with authority. The primary concern of the woman Leonard Cohen called the mean governess of the huge pink maps was not whether people liked her but whether she liked them.

This monarch, who eschewed corsets and shocked doctors with her frankness about her body, was simply powerful. She loved to surround herself with beauty, most especially her husbands, but she did not give a fig about her own.

Which is lucky, because her sculptors did not flatter her. When, in 1919, the Arts Gazette asked readers to nominate the ugliest statue in London, George Bernard Shaw thought there were several of Victoria that could qualify. He asked what crime Queen Victoria committed that she should be so horribly guyed as she has been through the length and breadth of her dominions.

It was part of her personal quality that she was a tiny woman, and our national passion for telling lies in every public subject has led to her being represented as an overgrown monster. The truth, he said, was that Victoria was a little woman with great decision of manner and a beautiful speaking voice which she used in public extremely well. Instead, All young people now believe that she was a huge heap of a woman.

Heap or not, she could not be ignored. Which surely is the most obvious upside of visibility.

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Why We Should Put Women on Pedestals - New York Times

Sixteen years on from his last novel, Glasgow-based Northern Irish writer Bernard MacLaverty reflects on the events that have shaped his new book, Midwinter Break

There are days when Bernard MacLaverty likes nothing more than to hurl James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw against the radiator at the far end of his study. The author of Cal, Lamb and some of the finest short stories in the English language doesnt throw tattered copies of Ulysses or Pygmalion, nor is the hurling performed in a fit of pique or frustration when the days sentences knot or buckle. No, this is an act of great joy one involving knitted figurines of Irelands greatest men of letters and performed with the enthusiastic participation of his youngest grandson. As each figurine is equipped with a concealed magnet, victory is decided by which author hits the radiator then sticks. So is literary rivalry settled in

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'I left behind the hatred, the bombings and the fear' - The Times

THE BASICS: AN OCTOROON, a 2014 play by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, directed by Peter Hinton starring AndrSills, Patrick McManus, Ryan Cunningham, Vanessa Sears, et. al. runs throughOctober 14at the Royal George Theatre, 85 Queen Street, Niagara-on-the-Lake.www.shawfest.comor1-800-511-7429. Theater opens hour before curtain, full service cozy bar in the downstairs lounge, great coffee, snacks. Runtime: a little over 2 hours and 30 minutes including one intermission.

THUMBNAIL SKETCH: In this play within a play, we first meet playwright BJJ (Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, get it?) as played by AndrSills, in his underwear, at a makeup table, explaining that he wanted to revive an 1859 melodrama called The Octoroon which takes place on a slave plantation called Terrebone, but he couldnt get any of his white guy friends to play the overtly racist characters, so hes going to do that himself, as he slathers on white face makeup. Sills then takes on the roles of both the kindly George, who has returned from England to inherit a plantation, and also the role of the evil MClosky who has designs on the place and on the innocent Zoe, who is 1/8 black (an octoroon) and who may be a slave (and therefore MCloskys property along with the plantation) or might be free to marry George depending on a plot device. And, along the way, we have white actors applying blackface and redface to play the various roles required. We go back and forth between pre-American Civil War theatrics and post-Obama racial analysis. This is what theater is supposed to be. Thank you Artistic Director Tim Carroll for including AN OCTOROON in the lineup.

THE PLAYERS, THE PLAY, AND THE PRODUCTION: AN OCTOROON provides the big breakout role for AndrSills, in his third year with The Shaw Festival, having been in last seasons two race oriented plays: Athol Fugards MASTER HAROLDAND THE BOYS as well as Shaws THE ADVENTURES OF THE BLACK GIRL IN SEARCH OF GOD. And Sills is also currently in THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III, also at The Royal George. Hes a busy guy, but never more so than in this production, where, towards the end, he plays George and MClosky simultaneously, wearing a suit that is half one character and half the other.

With his immense talent, and playing the three lead roles of playwright BJJ, George, and MClosky, this could have been all about Sills, but thanks to the Shaws deep pool of talent (including Gillian Gallow, Bonnie Beecher, and Ryan de Souza who provided design, lighting, and music) and a fine ensemble cast, the evening feels balanced but very powerful.

The playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950), for whom The Shaw Festival is named, consistently explored themes of imperialism, domination, and economic disadvantage. And we are still dealing with those problems today, if not military imperialism, then cultural imperialism, cultural domination, and systematic economic oppression. So, this play honors the legacy of Shaw, is true to the mission of The Shaw Festival, and is about as current as you can get.

In general, I do not like metatheater where the play is aware of itself as a product of a culture. I think thats our job as audience to see that. But while AN OCTOROON is a play about putting on a play, the writing, the production values, the acting are at such a high level that its not distracting at all.

The Shaw Festival (www.shawfest.com) continues to offer plays into October. While MIDDLETOWN ends onSeptember 10; WILDE TALES and Shaws ANDROCLES AND THE LION run throughOctober 7; and 1837: THE FARMERS REVOLT ends onOctober 8(note that Thanksgiving Day in Canada and Columbus Day in the U.S. are celebrated onMonday, October 9). Looking at the final weekend, DRACULA; 1979 (about Prime Minister Joe Clark); and AN OCTOROON end onOctober 14; while Shaws SAINT JOAN, the musical ME AND MY GIRL; THE MADNESS OF GEORGE III; and DANCING AT LUGHNASA close the Festivals offerings onSunday, October 15, 2017. Also note thatSundayperformances are now an hour early at both1:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

Rating: Four and half Buffalos

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AN OCTOROON at Shaw: Race in your face in one of the best shows this summer. - Buffalo Rising

Katie Roche: because the shrew must go on

Independent.ie

Emer O'Kelly finds that a post-modern approach to a classic can work well.

http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/theatre-arts/katie-roche-because-the-shrew-must-go-on-36092206.html

http://www.independent.ie/incoming/article36092958.ece/d1e96/AUTOCROP/h342/Katie%20Roche%206.jpg

Emer O'Kelly finds that a post-modern approach to a classic can work well.

Teresa Deevy's Katie Roche is an extraordinary play. Written in 1936, it posited in Catholic Ireland the theory that being "illegitimate" might have been the "fault" of your mother; certainly the "fault" of your father if he took off on hearing the news, but not at all the fault of the "illegitimate" child.

Nearly 30 years later, John B Keane wrote of a society in which an "illegitimate" girl, Sive, was told that being sold to a rapacious old man while in love with a young man was "more than she deserved". Nothing had changed; the child was still being stigmatised.

But while Katie Roche is threatened with the same fate as Sive, she is saved by a genuine if flawed love. Stanislaus Gregg has loved her since her early girlhood, but fled from her flawed pedigree. But his staid love was too strong, and he returns to his home to woo the young Katie, who has been working as housemaid for his maiden sister. The difference here is that Katie also loves him.

But she wants to love in her own way, wilfully and strong-mindedly, while living her youth to its full extent.

Maddened by the restraints and decorum that surround her, she defiantly flaunts a young neighbour (with whom she has long flirted) before the eyes of her husband.

Young Michael, though, is the classic "whited sepulchre" - it is he rather than the prosperous and gentle Stanislaus who thinks Katie is "no better than she should be". He would have been a very broken reed had she turned in truth to him.

The play becomes a Taming of the Shrew for rural Ireland in the years before World War II, full of the mocking cliches that Deevy saw all round her, and which she undertook to expose, both subversively and gently.

She got away without having her work banned, but her particular morality never exactly took off, despite the active encouragement and approval of both George Bernard Shaw and Denis Johnston. But then the Catholic Church didn't like them either.

It has long been my theory that Katie Roche survived the outraged eye of Mother Church because it is a comedy, albeit subtle and satirical. Shakespeare's shrew is tamed against her will; Deevy's adapts rather than submits, and thus saves her own independent soul. And of course, her love for the staid Stanislaus has never been in question.

The play was written in the era of expressionism, and Caroline Byrne's new production for the Abbey (truncated, but fairly expertly so) is delivered in that style, on an open stage designed in post-modern style by Joanna Satcher and lit by Paul Keogan; the opening mud and mire in which Katie is trapped adapts throughout to regulated panels of possible escape and freedom.

Caoilfhionn Dunne and Sean Campion head the cast as Katie and Stanislaus, and are touchingly and superbly matched. Good support comes from Kevin Creedon as the feckless Michael, Donal O'Kelly as Reuben, the wandering deus-ex-machina, and Siobhan McSweeney as the gentle, spinster-ish Amelia.

*******

Beryl (the Peril) and Eejit are sisters who live together in the house they presume was left to them by their vicious old mother. We know she was vicious because, although she's dead and gone, and had suffered from dementia, she was the one who nicknamed them from their given names of Pearl and Edith. And their late father was happy to be equally beastly.

Now Beryl, awaiting her pension, suffers from agoraphobia, while Eejit keeps the household going through writing romantic novels for Mills & Boon. Until their solicitor writes to tell them that the former gardener, Miguel from Spain, who was bedding more than the plants, is actually the legatee.

Cue a black comedy that's a cross between Arsenic and Old Lace and Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? And it's actually jolly funny when you skip over gaps in credibility.

Skipping those yawning gaps would be easier with both better acting and better, much slicker direction.

The latter, by Eamonn B Shanahan, is lumpish, while Helen Roche's Beryl is unconvincing as an ageing neurotic. Even comedy requires conviction.

Billie Traynor fares infinitely better as Eejit; presumably as the author of the piece, she is well under its skin.

Beryl and Eejit is a co-production between Poppin and DoItYerself, playing at Theatre Upstairs at Lanigan's Bar on Eden Quay in Dublin.

Sunday Indo Living

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Katie Roche: because the shrew must go on - Independent.ie

There were moments in Auckland Choral's Elijah when one could imagine the full Victorian splendour of Mendelssohn conducting his oratorio in 1846, with 396 musicians under his command.

With less than half that number, conductor Uwe Grodd still ignited an impressive conflagration of sound from his choristers, supported by Pipers Sinfonia and organist Michael Stoddart.

Four-square choral marches, just a few chords away from revivalist hymns, were sturdily effective, free from the blemishes of brass smudging and occasional loose ensemble elsewhere.

Martin Snell caught the humanity of his Old Testament hero, from the bass' stentorian launch of the evening to a particularly moving It is enough, with well-turned cello obbligato from Charles Brooks. Alison Jepson's oboe, weaving through Jennifer Barrington's first aria caught my ear too, as did Melody Lin's flute, shading in the lyrical composure of Helen Medlyn's O rest in the Lord.

Treble Jacob Siohane-Royle asserted an individual voice, advising Elijah and his people of imminent and welcome rain.

Tenor Martin Thomas Buckingham was unerring in his well-placed and paced recitatives, investing his first aria with a confidently heroic swing.

Elijah is a perplexing work, famously and wittily loathed by George Bernard Shaw; perhaps this performance, free of the Draconian cuts that marred its last town-hall appearance 10 years ago, suggests it is time for a reassessment.

What: Auckland ChoralWhere: Auckland Art GalleryWhen: SaturdayReviewer: William Dart

- NZ Herald

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Classical review: Auckland Choral - New Zealand Herald

By Jim Lowe | on August 31, 2017

Provided photoEric Tucker

MIDDLETOWN SPRINGS The Paramount Theatre will host the third residency of the acclaimed New York City theater company BedlamSept. 4-10.The residency will feature two workshop presentations of works-in-progress: George Bernard Shaws Saint Joan (a re-mount of Artistic Director Eric Tuckers signature production prior to a national tour) and a new play, Kind Man, Man Kind by Kimberly Pau.

In a new Paramount structure, these two presentations will take placeoff-siteat the Burnham Hollow Orchard Barn, 30 Orchard Road: Saint Joan at 7:30 p.m.Friday Sept. 8, and Kind Man, Man Kind at 4 p.m.Sunday Sept. 10.

In Kind Man, Man Kind, eight weekend warriors hike through an isolated Texas forest and are forced to confront the darkness within: a meditation on masculinity, privilege and surrendering dominance. Kimberly Pau wrote the play as a rallying cry to the many men who find toxic masculinity abhorrent but often find themselves in the role of the innocent bystander.

Eric Tucker and Andrus Nichols co-founded Bedlam in 2012, presenting Saint Joanon a shoestring budget with only four actors playing over 25 characters. The show received instant recognition and was extended four times. Terry Teachout ofThe Wall Street Journalwas an early admirer, describing it asThrilling! An unforgettable show! The most exciting George Bernard Shaw revival Ive ever seen, bar none.

Paramount Executive Director Bruce Bouchard, commented: It is both an honor and a rare treat that The Paramount is able to host this talented and enterprising theater company for the third time in Vermont.Since their first appearance four years ago in the summer of 2013 they have established themselves as one of the premiere companies in the country.They have mounted nine full productions in the past four years (with three coming in their next New York City season) and have played in numerous American venues, to universal acclaim.

As these presentations are no-frills works-in-process, admission will be pay what you will ($10 suggested donation). Seating is limited to 80. There is no Paramount Box Office available for these presentations.

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Bedlam theater returns | Rutland Herald - Rutland Herald

Position in the Company:Leisure Attendant

Number of years in the leisure industry:17 years

Working at Shannon Swimming & Leisure Centre since:2006

Qualifications:

Degrees:P.E. Master degree (2003, Lodz University, Poland)Diploma work topic: Steroids and supplements in amateur bodybuilding

P.E. Bachelor degree (2001, Lodz University, Poland)Diploma work topic: Steroids in amateur bodybuilding

Studies:Physical and Health

Position in the Company:Leisure Attendant

Number of years in the leisure industry:17 years

Working at Shannon Swimming & Leisure Centre since:2006

Qualifications:

Degrees:P.E. Master degree (2003, Lodz University, Poland)Diploma work topic: Steroids and supplements in amateur bodybuilding

P.E. Bachelor degree (2001, Lodz University, Poland)Diploma work topic: Steroids in amateur bodybuilding

Studies:Physical and Health Education higher education studies (1998-2003 Lodz University, Poland)

Courses :Pool and beach lifeguard (WOPR, Water Voluntary Emergency Ambulance Service, Zgierz, Poland,1997/1999)Teaching methodology of volleyball (1999-2000, University Lodz)Sports camp tutor (1999, Malinowka, Poland)Water Sports camp (1999, Malinowka, Poland)Kayaking, Canoeing, Swimming, WaterPolo etc.Teaching methodology of handball (2000-2001, University Lodz)Psychology (1999-2002, University Lodz)Teaching methodology of swimming (1999-2002, University Lodz)Traditional and modern dances (1999-2000, University Lodz)Teaching methodology of soccer (2000-2001, University Lodz)Motor Boat Helmsman (2000, Polish Motor-Boat and Water Ski Association, Lodz, Poland)Winter sports camp (2000, Krynica, Poland)-Ski, Ice-skiting etc.Teaching methodology of basketball (1999-2000, University Lodz)Human anatomy (2000, University Lodz)Teaching methodology of athletics (1999-2001, University Lodz)Fun and games (1999-2000, University Lodz)Teaching methodology of gymnastics (1999-2001, University Lodz)Human physiology (2002, University Lodz)Physiotherapy (2002, University Lodz)Aerobics (2002, University Lodz)Sports nutrition (2002, University Lodz)Gym weight and cardiovascular training (2003, University Lodz)First aid (1997 WOPR, Zgierz, 1999 WOPR, 2000, UL, 2011 Shannon, 2013 Shannon)Addiction prevention (2004, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)Behaviour management agression (2004, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)Hyperactivity of children (2005, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)School quality measurement (2005, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)Dyslexia symptoms and management (2005, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)PADI Open Water Diver (2008, Stari Grad, Croatia)PADI Advanced Open Water Diver (2008, Stari Grad, Croatia)PADI Deep Diver Specialty (2008, Tenerife, Spain)IWS Pool Lifeguard (2010, Shannon Leisure Centre)PADI Nitrox Diver Specialty (2014, Abu Nuhas, Red Sea)PADI Wreck Diver Specialty (2014, Abu Nuhas, Red Sea)

Workshops:Strength development of younger children (2005, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)Pilates-intelligent gymnastics for everyone (2005, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)Teacher evaluation planning and results (2005, Teacher Development Centre, Lodz, Poland)Creating classes for elder people (2012, HES Ennis)Weightlifting (2014, KG Elite Performance, Dublin)

A little bit about me:I have been working in sports and education sector since 1997, mostly as pool lifeguard in outdoor and indoor swimming pools. For 5 years (2001-2006) I was working as a P.E. teacher and sports instructor. In 2006 I have moved to Ireland and started working for Shannon Leisure Centre as leisure attendant.

My interests are history, underwater archaeology, travels, books, sports and sports nutrition.

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Gym - CLASSES - Shannon Leisure Centre

Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) is seen as a monster in most people's closets, sending them on a terrifying rage, suffering from joint pain and stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory disease that causes joint pain, stiffness, swelling and decreased movement of the joints. In some people, the condition can damage a number of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart and blood vessels.

According to certified personal trainer Carol McPherson, getting lots of exercise is an important part of coping with rheumatoid arthritis.

"My job is physically demanding and RA has hindered me from doing certain aerobics routines and exercises." she told Flair. "I would have flare-ups experiencing pain, stiffness and swelling in my knee from walking or standing for long periods. After my diagnosis, I did intense research on RA and found that exercise can help to improve your health and fitness without hurting your joints," McPherson explained.

With the correct treatment programme, McPherson and psychotherapist Desmond Thompson stress that exercise can strengthen the muscles around the joints, helping to maintain bone strength and enhance the quality of life for those suffering from the disease.

Before engaging in any form of exercise, it is important to stretch to prepare your muscles and joints for the exercise routine. You should also stretch after your exercises to prevent stiffness. It is OK to rest a day between your workouts, and take an extra day or two if your joints are painful or swollen.

With the help of McPherson and Thompson, today Flair shares a few exercises that persons suffering from RA can indulge in and feel much better for it.

There are three sets of exercises you can kick off RA with: range of motion exercises such as cycling, elliptical workout, strengthening exercises like leg presses, hip extensions, and aerobics exercises such as walking, cycling and making use of the treadmill.

These exercises relieve stiffness and increase your ability to move your joints through their full range of motion. Aerobics exercises help with your overall fitness, and strengthening exercises help to build strong muscles that support and protect your joints.

kimberly.goodall@gleanerjm.com

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Kicking rheumatoid arthritis - Jamaica Gleaner

While the improved returns for do-nothing investors don't sound like much, over time they can significantly boost your nest egg. You could improve your performance by 1 percentage point by adopting a static, low-cost portfolio and putting your contributions on autopilot.

Let's say you started out with $50,000, were earning a 6 percent return and contributing $500 a month. Your nest egg would hit $1 million by 2050. What if you boosted your return to 7 percent? You'd hit seven figures three years sooner. Of course, you'd do even better if you lowered fund expenses and saved more.

There's a fly in the ointment, though: To reap the higher returns, you may have to short-circuit your own brain and stop trying to guess whether the market is too high or too low. You'll need to adopt a "dollar-cost averaging" strategy that invests equal amounts every month.

That way, you're buying at a broad range of market prices and getting lower prices (and more shares) when the market dips. You can do this with any stock, mutual fund or retirement account.

This may sound counterintuitive, but if you keep your long-term investing cheap and simple, you'll be a lot richer down the road. Less is more when it comes to achieving better returns.

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Here are 3 ways to close the investment timing gap - CNBC.com - CNBC