Lessons Learned #7

Being a good athlete is not a guaranteed ticket to college scholarships.

I have said it before, and I will say it again – the chances of a student receiving a college scholarship for athletics are very low. When parents push students to excel at a sport to the point that it takes time away from the student’s academic career, they are only doing their child a disservice. Parents cannot tell their children that academics are important, and then schedule them for three teams a season, so that the student has little to no time to do homework, and then expect that the student is going to excel in school. Something has to give, and usually it is a student’s grades.

Lessons Learned #6

We all learn differently, and at a different pace.

Sometimes a student is perfectly capable of grasping a concept, but they are in a class that is too big, and they can’t get the attention they need from a teacher. Students may learn better visually, but the teacher uses an auditory teaching style. The student may learn best by doing, but the structure of the class demands that they sit in a seat for 30 or 45 minutes at a time, with no opportunity for experiential learning. Sometimes the pace of the class is too fast, and leaves the student behind. Other times the pace of the class is too slow, and the student tunes out. Despite a teacher’s best efforts to give each of his or her students what they need, it is virtually impossible to do so in a class of 25-30 students. Many teachers are forced to “teach to the middle”, and hope for the best.

Lessons Learned #5

Negative thoughts can become self-fulfilling prophecies.

When a student struggles with subjects like math, languages or science (especially when these subjects may have come easily to them before now) they can often descend into a spiral of poor performance that becomes somewhat self-perpetuating. Often what is needed to break this cycle is some “wins”. Having someone show them how to master a previously difficult concept instills confidence, and allows the student to feel that they can solve that difficult equation, learn those tricky tenses, or understand that complicated concept.

Lessons Learned #4

Effort goes a long way.

Many students, particularly those at key transition points in their educational careers are stymied when they are required to expend more effort for things that used to take them a lot less time to accomplish in another grade, or another school. Complaints of: “I always spend about 20 minutes on math homework.” are common, and reflect not only a student’s frustration, but also a lack of understanding about what is required for success. Developing new habits is key to success when expectations are changing.

Summer Brain Drain

Now that school is (almost) out for everyone, it does not mean that learning has to end. I recently received a newsletter from BPS that contained a very interesting statistic - the average child loses about a month of academic progress made during the school year. The school year in America is on average 180 days long. In South Korea the school year is 220 days long, in Japan the school year is 243 days long. On a recent test to measure math ability in students in industrialized nations, students were asked how many of the algebra, calculus and geometry questions on the test had the students learned in school. Japanese 12th graders had learned 92% of the material in school, American 12th graders had only learned 52% of the material in school. No wonder America is falling behind other industrialized countries in math and science. Summer does not have to be a time of brain drain. Keep your child engaged in reading and math over the summer so they have a competitive advantage once school starts in the fall. Some of the highest paid careers (medicine, law, finance, engineering, etc.) require excellent math and verbal skills.

Lesson Learned - #3

A lack of good study skills is the downfall of many a bright student.

No matter how bright the student, if they do not have solid study skills, they are bound to run into trouble as elementary school leads into middle school, middle school leads into high school, and high school leads into college. Students at these key transition points in their education are often expected to “step it up”. Without the proper tools: organizational skills, time management, project management, etc., they are often at a loss as to how to meet these increased expectations. We work with students to teach a very comprehensive study skills curriculum that works on organization, time management, project management, and a number of other very important study skills that will enable them to succeed.

Lessons Learned - #2

This is the second in a series of lessons learned as we review the past school year.


The problem is usually not going to go away, or solve itself.

Most times if students are struggling with a subject (especially cumulative subjects like math and languages) if they fall behind at the beginning of the school year, it is only going to get worse. Waiting for the 2nd and 3rd report card to see if there is improvement is often a recipe for failure. Address problems early on, and you can expect better results. It is almost impossible to try to teach a student a whole year of math or language in an hour a week, during the last two months of the school year. Seek help for your child as soon as the problem becomes apparent. Again, use the summer to get caught up on subjects where students are behind, so that they start the school year off on solid footing.