Don't Let Your Children Fail In School. Know The Top 3 Distractions That Keep Students From Studying.

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Back to the old school

New York Magazine has a fantastic article on the psychological impact of high school and how it affects you through your adult life.

It’s a fascinating subject because so much of developmental psychology has focused on childhood and yet our adolescent school years are probably the most formative for our view of the social world.

Not everyone feels the sustained, melancholic presence of a high-school shadow self. There are some people who simply put in their four years, graduate, and that’s that. But for most of us adults, the adolescent years occupy a privileged place in our memories…

Yet there’s one class of professionals who seem, rather oddly, to have underrated the significance of those years, and it just happens to be the group that studies how we change over the course of our lives: developmental neuroscientists and psychologists. “I cannot emphasize enough the amount of skewing there is,” says Pat Levitt, the scientific director for the National Scientific Council on the Developing Child, “in terms of the number of studies that focus on the early years as opposed to adolescence. For years, we had almost a religious belief that all systems developed in the same way, which meant that what happened from zero to 3 really mattered, but whatever happened thereafter was merely tweaking.”

The piece is focussed on the American high school experience, with its weirdly formalised social structure – like a teenage Brave New World, but you can see the universal parallels.

Either way, it’s an excellent article that explores an oddly under stage of development. Recommended.

Link to New York Magazine on ‘Why You Truly Never Leave High School’.

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In short: Rare Book School in session, Amelia Earhart crash site still a mystery

Here, some great finds from across the internet, for your reading pleasure:

Others may dream of the beach this summer, but we secretly wish we were at Rare Book School, a five-week long camp that brings together librarians and antiquarian enthusiasts at the University of Virginia. The school is taught by William Noel, who gave the gripping TEDTalk “Revealing the lost codex of Archimedes.” [NY Times]

Must. Listen. Now. Montell Jordan sings the news over at “That Headline is My Jam.” [msnNOW]

When French aristocrat Pierre de Frédy revived the ancient Olympic Games in 1896, he believed it was vital to stick with a less-athletic tradition of the Greek original — art competitions. [Mental Floss]

Writer Moe Tkacik has a bold idea for how to make money as a journalist these days — she has declared herself a “Web 2.0 Panhandlr” allowing, well anyone, to pay for her reporterly services. [Das Krap]

A group set out last month to prove a theory that Amelia Earhart and her navigator Fred Noonan crash-landed on the remote Pacific island of Nikumaroro. Today, they have returned home empty-handed. [CNN]

Speaking of collecting data, David Johnson has sent rapper Jay-Z 262 emails over the course of two years, and believes Hova himself has read — even reread — each one. The story is a meditation on celebrity, access and online connection. [Buzzfeed]

Photo: Shutterstock

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Video: Sir Ken Robinson, what’s in the school of your dreams?

Watch as four student reporters hand Sir Ken Robinson a “blank check” and say: Design a learning place of your dreams. It’s a three-part video series — and definitely do watch through to Part 3, where things get a little bit silly.

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How to Help Your Child Ace School Exams

Children are most likely to say that they want to just lounge around or rest for a while after spending hours listening to lecture after lecture from their teachers. There is nothing wrong with this if they had a rough day.

What’s disturbing, is if they deliberately stay away from schoolwork or procrastinate when it comes to reviewing for their tests or completing an important science project.

When it seems that it is becoming a habit for your child to put off school work, it’s time for you to step in and help your child develop good study habits to get better  grades. It is important for you to emphasize to your child the importance of setting priorities early in life. Don’t wait for them to flunk their tests, or worse, fail in their subjects before you talk to them about it.

You can help your children hurdle their tests with these 7 tips:

Ask your child what they want to achieve for that particular school year. Tell them to set a specific goal or target. If they say, “I want to get better grades,” tell them to be more specific. It will be better if they say they want to get a GPA of 2.5 or higher. Having a definite target will make it easier for them to undertake a series of actions to achieve their goals, instead of just “shooting for the moon.”

At the start of the school year, teachers provide an outline of a subject’s scope along with a reading list and other course requirements. Make sure that your child has all the materials they need for these course requirements. Having these materials on hand will make sure that your child will have no reason to procrastinate and give them the opportunity to study in advance.

You may opt to give them a small notebook where they can jot down important dates or a planner that has dates where they can list their schedule. Ask them to show this to you so you can give them “gentle reminders” to block off the whole week before the dates of an exam. During this week, advise your child to not schedule any social activity so they can concentrate on studying.

Encourage your child to set aside at least two hours every day to go through their lessons. This will help them remember the lectures for the day and understand the concepts they were taught. They should be encouraged to spend more time on subjects or concepts that they do not understand.

Some kids find it hard to digest or absorb mathematical or scientific concepts. Ask your child if they are having difficulties with their subjects and if they would like to seek the help of a tutor. There is nothing wrong in asking for the assistance of a tutor who can explain complex subjects.

Your child needs to relax from time to time. During his break, you can consider bringing your child to the nearest mall or grocery store and get them a treat. You may play board games with them during their downtime. The idea is to take his mind off studying for a limited period of time.

If your child achieves their goals for the school year, you may give them a reward such as buying them the gadget they have always wanted or allowing them to vacation wherever they want. By doing this, you are telling your child that hard work does pay off.

You need to take the time to monitor your child’s performance in school. Your guidance is essential to helping your child realize the need to prioritize their school activities. As a parent, your ultimate goal is to expose your child to habits that will lay down the groundwork for their future success.

(Photo credit: Portrait of a lovely girl drawing via Shutterstock)

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TED Live: Get the TED Conference experience at your home, school or office

Announcing TED Live, a year-long membership that offers individuals, schools and small businesses remote access to TED, including “virtual seats” at both the TED and TED Global conferences.

“TEDsters have asked us for a convenient and affordable way to enjoy TED all year long. By watching both conferences at their home, work or office; receiving a TED Book twice a month for a year, delivered automatically to one of this season’s hottest items, the Kindle Fire; and getting private access to the TED Live community, members will enjoy exclusive access to TED all year round,” said Tom Rielly, TED’s community director. “And for some, it makes a pretty great holiday gift.”

The membership is available for individuals and primary/secondary schools at $995 a year, and for colleges, universities and small businesses at $2,500 a year. Both options include:

Live webcast of TED and TEDGlobal Conferences
Virtual seats at TED’s flagship conferences from anywhere in the world. Individual/home members can view the conferences with up to 10 people, and schools and businesses up to 50.

Year-Round TED Live Online Community
Dedicated TED Live chat rooms for TED Live community during each conference; exclusive content, inside access and live reporting from on-site TED Live liaison, bringing TED Live voices into the physical conferences; year-round access to an exclusive Facebook group and TED.com messaging features.

Kindle Fire + TED Books Subscription
Amazon’s New Kindle Fire 7? color tablet plus a one-year subscription to TED Books (twice a month or approximately 24 books) – short eBooks by TED speakers and Fellows that elaborate on powerful ideas from their TEDTalks. Authors include Nic Marks, Gever Tulley, Juan Enriquez & Steve Gullans, Cindy Gallop, and Graham Hill. TED Books will be automatically delivered to the member’s Kindle Fire or other Kindle device or software. The Kindle Fire also supports watching TEDTalks, acclaimed videos of the conferences’ amazing luminaries, as well as other books, music, video, apps and web browsing. (1 per membership)

Unlike previous TED virtual memberships available only for one conference, TED Live may be purchased any day of the year, and members will enjoy access to the next TED and TED Global.

Learn more at TED.com/TEDLive >>

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5 Simple Tips for Better Grades at High School

Photo credit: Max and Dee (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Even though your teen is out of diapers you still have a huge influence on them.

They still look up to you and want to make you proud.

Your support throughout their high school years will have an enormously positive effect on their grades and attitude towards school and studying.

It can be difficult to know just exactly how you can help your teen with their studies. After all, it’s probably been a while since you’ve opened a math or chemistry book!

So here are 5 practical things you can do with your teen to help them reach their academic potential at high school.

Despite what many people think, anyone can learn how to study effectively. To do so, your teen simply needs to figure out what study habits and techniques work for THEM.

Part of learning how to study as effectively as possible involves figuring what your predominant learning style is. Once your teen knows what theirs is, they can integrate study techniques associated with this style into the way they study.

Never again will they have to be frustrated by not knowing what to do when they sit down to study.

Take our 5-minute Learning Styles Quiz here!

The most common topics parents ask us about are motivation and time management.

How can I get my teen to do school work regularly? How can our family fit everything in during the school week?

Sound familiar?

There’s something wonderfully powerful about scheduling study time in advance. So our answer is to draw up a timetable of your teen’s normal school week and let them assign the times when they’re going to complete homework and/or study.

There’s one very consistent difference between motivated teens, and not so motivated teens…

Motivated students have personal reasons WHY it’s important to do well at school.

Motivated students all have some idea as to what they want to do when they leave school. Either they have a career in mind, or a college they want to go to, or they simply know it’s important to keep their options open by getting great grades.

Unmotivated students who aren’t feeling driven to do well should think about THEIR future.

What are they interested in? What can they see themselves doing in 5-10 years time? Do they want to work at the supermarket for the rest of their days or would they like to get a good education and have the world as their oyster?

Have a chat with your teen about what reasons will motivate them to get off the couch and over to their desk.

Another great motivator for any student is for them to decide what grades they want to aim for this year. This will give your teen a target to work towards – something to keep focused on.

Secondly, when they achieve their goal grades they’ll be so chuffed with themselves it will spur them on massively to keep giving school their best shot. There’s nothing like the sense of accomplishment and reward that comes with achieving goals.

Studying can be a chore. Especially when exams are looming!

But it doesn’t have to be a total slog 100% of the time. You can help your teen study effectively and make it more enjoyable by getting involved.

Flash cards are a fabulous tool you can use with your teen, and they’re incredible simple to make!

We also found it really helpful to have our parents ask us questions from our study notes when studying for exams. It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand the content of what your teen has been studying – just you asking questions from their notes will massively help their recall.

If you can talk about the real life relevance of what they’re learning it will show them WHY what they’re learning is important. This plays a huge part in keeping your teen interested in their school work. So sit down and have a chat about what they’re learning and why they’re learning it.

You know your teen better than anyone, so you may find that there are tons of other things you can do at home to help them enjoy what they’re leaning and improve their memory retention. If you have created any family study games in your household we’d love to hear about them in the comments below!

The Study Gurus are Clare McIlwraith and Chris Whittington. Their aim is to show parents how they can help their children reach their academic potential. They’re sharing their years of studying and tutoring experience at http://www.thestudygurus.com/.

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The Secret to Helping Your Child Excel in School and in Life

Photo credit: melanerpist (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

Is your child struggling in school? Does your child stall when it comes time to do homework? Does your child’s teacher often comment that your child is capable, but is just not working to his or her potential? Or does your child do alright in school, but seems a bit bored or lacks enthusiasm for learning?

Well, there is a secret that you need to know in order for you to change this.

We are all born with certain propensities. We enjoy doing some things more than others and we see the world and experience it from a certain perspective. Parents can often say, “Oh, Johnny could stay outdoors playing in the dirt all day long,” or “Susie is such a people person”. At a very early age children show what they enjoy doing and what they are naturally interested in. Paying attention to this can be very beneficial to parents and in turn, to their children.

Dr. Howard Gardner, Professor of Education at Harvard University, developed a theory called Multiple Intelligences. The theory suggests that the traditional notion of intelligence, which is based on I.Q. testing, is far too limited.

Instead, Dr. Gardner proposes eight different intelligences to account for a broader range of human potential in children and adults. Here’s a brief summary of these eight intelligences:

Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart): This type of intelligence involves sensitivity to spoken and written language, the ability to learn languages, and the capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals. This intelligence includes the ability to effectively use language to express oneself rhetorically or poetically; and language as a means to remember information. Writers, poets, lawyers and speakers are among those that Gardner sees as having high linguistic intelligence.Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Number/Reasoning Smart): This type consists of the capacity to analyze problems logically, carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically. In Gardner’s words, it entails the ability to detect patterns, reason deductively and think logically. This intelligence is most often associated with scientific and mathematical thinking.Musical Intelligence (Music Smart): This type involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. It encompasses the capacity to recognize and compose musical pitches, tones, and rhythms.Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (Body Smart): This type entails the potential of using one’s whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. It is the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movements.Spatial Intelligence (Picture Smart): This type involves the potential to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas.Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart): This type is concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. It allows people to work effectively with others. Educators, salespeople, religious and political leaders and counsellors all need a well-developed interpersonal intelligence.Intrapersonal Intelligence (Self Smart): This type entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one’s feelings, fears and motivations.Naturalist Intelligence (Nature Smart): This type enables human beings to recognize, categorize and draw upon certain features of the environment. A number of schools in North America have looked to structure curricula according to these intelligences, and to design classrooms and even whole schools to reflect the understandings that Howard Gardner developed. It takes a commitment though from school boards, administrators and teachers to put something like this into practice.

Dr. Gardner says that our schools and culture focus most of their attention on linguistic and logical-mathematical intelligence. We hold the highly articulate or logical people of our culture in great esteem. However, Dr. Gardner says that we should also place equal attention on individuals who show gifts in the other intelligences: the artists, architects, musicians, naturalists, designers, dancers, therapists, entrepreneurs, and others who enrich the world in which we live.

Unfortunately, many children who have these gifts don’t receive much reinforcement for them in school. Many of these kids, in fact, end up being labeled “learning disabled,” “ADD,” or simply underachievers, when their unique ways of thinking and learning aren’t addressed by a heavily linguistic or logical-mathematical classroom.

So, if your child’s school does not teach based on these principles, how can you as the parent use them to help your child be successful in school and in life? Let’s first take a look at how Howard Gardner’s theory would work in a classroom. Then, we’ll look at how you can use these techniques at home.

Let’s say that a teacher needs to teach a lesson about The Law of Supply and Demand. They might do any or all of the following:

Read to their students about it (linguistic)Study mathematical formulas that express it (logical-mathematical)Examine a graphic chart that illustrates the principle (spatial)Observe the law in the natural world (naturalist)Observe the law in the human world of commerce (interpersonal)Examine the law in terms of one’s own body, such as when you supply your body with lots of food, the hunger demand goes down; when there’s very little supply, your stomach’s demand for food goes way up and you get hungry (bodily-kinesthetic and interpersonal)Write a song (or find an existing song) that demonstrates the law like Bob Dylan’s “Too Much of Nothing? or John Mayer’s “Waiting on the World to Change”.

It isn’t necessary for teachers to teach something in all eight ways. But it is necessary for them to see what the possibilities are, and then decide which particular pathways align best with the topic.

In addition, a teacher should also provide students with an opportunity to discover which intelligence best describes themselves. After students are aware of this they can take charge of their learning. When they study for tests they can relate all the ideas to topics that mean something to them. When they work on a project they can present it in a way that most makes sense to them.

If your child’s school doesn’t work this way then you can still teach this to your child and they can still use the strategy to study and complete projects and assignments. Here’s how:

Have your child take this test, which determines their intelligence. Then, describe all eight intelligences to them in language appropriate to their age so that they will have a clearer understanding of each one.Once your child is clear about how they learn and how this is innately what they enjoy, then the next step is to show them how they can use this with their school work.When an assignment or project comes home tell them to put the topic of whatever the project is in the center of a blank sheet of paper, and draw eight straight lines or “spokes” radiating out from this topic. Label each line with a different intelligence. Then start brainstorming ideas for learning or showing that topic and write down ideas next to each intelligence. They might just want to do the assignment in a way that aligns with their intelligence, but it’s important for them to know that everyone has a little of each intelligence — so they can mix and match too.

With anything new, this process will need guidance and practice. However, you will be amazed at how quickly they catch on and how engrossed in their homework they will be simply by taking this approach.

Our world has become smaller due to globalization and it’s also becoming a world where different “traits” or intelligences are needed. Let’s help our children understand and feel good about themselves. With these two things in place they will feel confident to use what they’ve got to help make their difference in this world.

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A Lifehack On How To Choose A Martial Arts School

Martial arts training is one of the best activities for fitness as well as for developing personal confidence and self discipline. If you have decided that you might want to take up martial arts, do not just simply walk into the closest karate school and sign up right away without doing some research. Not all martial arts are alike and not all schools are alike either.

The discussion of which martial art style to take is too extensive for this article. So what I will say here is that there are differences in the various styles of martial arts which may result in some being more suitable for certain individuals compared to others. Do some research and visit the classes of a few clubs that teach different styles if possible.

What is more important is each school’s approach to teaching. Many martial arts schools teach only techniques that are specific to a traditional style. These schools follow the ways that the original founders of each style developed and they have continued with minimal variance over the years. Other studios like to borrow techniques from a variety of martial art disciplines and integrate a mix into their programs. These more non-traditional schools adopt a more open free-style system that incorporates both traditional and modern techniques.

With the explosion of mixed martial arts, some martial arts are purely combative without any artistic and spiritual content. Each school will claim that their style and method of teaching is superior to others. Prospective students must not take these claims too seriously. Choose an approach that would be best suited for you.

Many schools push the backgrounds of their instructors as a way to attract students. It is important to realize that the more degrees (or dans) a particular black belt has does not always mean that the individual is a better instructor. This is the same with instructors who have successful competition records. There is no correlation between the number of championship titles won and how good an instructor is. The term master should be taken with caution.

Some instructors use the approach of the old masters where discipline is strictly enforced much like in the military. While general discipline is actually a good attribute to learn from martial arts, some of the old ways of teaching, particularly reprimanding students vocally or physically for incorrect techniques may be considered a bit harsh for modern society.

This is why it is important to watch classes of prospective. You want to see the teaching style of an instructor to determine if it is a style that would be compatible with you or not. Ask questions after instructors have finished teaching. If you have the gut feeling that certain instructors will not be right for you, move on to find another club. Most legitimate schools will allow prospective students to witness or even try out a class for free before joining.

Some schools are very much into competition with active encouragement of students to participate in tournaments. Some schools even make this a requirement in order to advance through the different levels.

There are schools in the complete opposite end where they do not believe in competition at all and pretty well keep to themselves without any interaction with other martial arts clubs. Many Chinese kung fu clubs do not compete and some styles such as aikido do not offer any competitive outlet. Many schools choose to have a relaxed position towards competition where they leave it up to individual students to choose whether they want to participate in tournaments or not.

So as a prospective student, you should consider what involvement you would like in competition if any. If you know that you never want to compete, you should not get locked into a school that requires tournament competition. If you have a desire for competition, do not join a studio that shuns competition.

Some schools teach in community centers, school gyms and even church basements. Some have bare bones studios with outdated equipment. Some have the latest fitness equipment with sparkling clean change rooms and facilities. All of these will factor into the membership fee of each school. You have to determine what you are willing to pay for and what type of environment you will feel comfortable training in.

Many schools require annual contracts while some are on a month-to-month basis. There could be initiation fees as well as testing or grading fees for advancement. All of these extra costs will add up. Ask what happens if you have to freeze your membership due to extended illness or injury.

If one does not really know whether martial arts is an activity for them in the long run, the option of taking short term courses such as those offered by community centers may be a viable alternative to making a full commitment to a dedicated martial arts club with its own studio space.

There are many options in the form of different martial art styles and schools to choose from in the market today. Just make sure that you do some preliminary research before committing to any particular club.

Clint Cora is a motivational speaker, author & Karate World Champion based near Toronto, Canada. Get his FREE 3-part Personal Development Video Series on how to expand your comfort zone and finally conquer even your most daunting goals in life.

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What TEDTalk would you play to open the school year? We counted your (almost 1,000) responses …

Over the weekend, we asked the TED community on Facebook this question:
“If you wanted to show a TEDTalk to open the school year, which one would you choose?” It’s inspired by a question tweeted from the #jed21 conference. On Facebook, almost 1,000 responses flowed in. The job of tallying the results — given in freeform comments — fell to our writer/editor Ben Lillie, as shown:

The pick of a good half of the commenters? Sir Ken Robinson, with more than 400 nods. However, as you can see, dozens of other TEDTalks got multiple mentions …

The full (long) list follows after the jump …

PS: The original poster on Twitter, @edtechworkshop, wrote in: “wow! I posted this ? on twitter last night and got about 10 responses. that I can handle… 599 comments in 1 hour is overwhelming! so far I am leaning towards Julian Treasure’s “5 Ways to Listen Better” for our teachers. Last time showed them Adora Svitak. I love Sir Ken, but feel like most people have already seen him. Want something new.”

Photo: TED/James Duncan Davidson

Ken Robinson 421
Salman Khan 30
Elizabeth Gilbert 21
Julian Treasure 21
Jamie Oliver 20
Jill Bolte Taylor 20
Brene Brown 19
Chimamanda Adichie 17
Sarah Kay 16
Benjamin Zander 15
Pranav Mistry 12
Hans Rosling 10
Thandie Newton 10
Tie Your Shoes 10
JK Rowling 9
Kathryn Schultz 9
Richard St. John 8
Temple Grandin 8
Adora Svitak 7
Aimee Mullins 7
Barry Schwartz 7
John Hunter 7
Neil Pastricha 7
Brian Cox 6
Grever Tulley 6
Steve Jobs 6
Sugata Mitra 6
Dan Arielly 5
Jane McGonigal 5
Mike Rowe 5
Phillip Zimbardo 5
Randy Pausch 5
Sam Richards 5
Simon Sinek 5
Tony Robbins 5
Wade Davis 5
William Kamkwamba 5

— Research Assistance by Shawn James, Jr.

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5 Ways to Help Your Teen Get Great Marks at High School

Studying is usually defined by the same, old, boring methods – reading, writing study notes, and rote learning.

While these tasks should take up the bulk of your teen’s studying time, there are certainly other less well-known methods that effective studiers use to make sure they get the grades they’re aiming for.

The five methods below are all things YOU can encourage them to do and help them with, and will contribute massively to your teen’s studying success.

Your teen’s study timetable only needs to be very simple, yet the benefits of having one (and using it!) are huge:

Your teen is much more likely to complete the study they need to if it’s planned in advance and written down. A timetable achieves both these things immediately.By marking out when they will study each subject, your teen will ensure they study everything they need to in time for each exam.Quite simply, having a study timetable = more study done

Making and sticking to a timetable is Organization 101, and being organized does absolute wonders for stress levels. By helping your teen get organized, you’re helping to keep their stress levels down… something the whole family will benefit from!

Many teenagers need a good kick up the bum leading up to exams. If this sounds familiar then we suggest using a few simple incentives to give them the boost they need.

But, they need to be the right kind of incentives…

Harvard Educational Professors have shown that incentives based on a child’s inputs [work done] are far more effective than those based on their outputs [grades].

This means you should base your incentives on the number of hours of study done, rather than the grades your teen ends up getting.

The web is a goldmine of fabulous free resources designed specifically for high school exam study, of any schooling system.

To get you started here are a few of our personal favorites:

Khan Academy: This site has thousands of free videos covering everything from math to chemistry to finance at a level that’s perfect for high school students.
It also has a ‘Practice’ section that acts as a personal math tutor. All free!GCSE Bitesize: Based on the British curriculum, but a fantastic website bursting with resources for any high school student anywhere.YouTube: Yes, it is one of the best tools for procrastinating, but if your teen can resist their browsing urges, YouTube probably has at least 10 videos explaining any topic they could ever need to master.

We credit a lot of our own exam success to studying from past exams. Not every teacher will provide them, but it never hurts to ask.

They’re a wonderful study tool because:

The questions and format of the exams this year will probably be very similar to those in previous years.They’ll give your teen the best idea of what to expect in the exam, and they’ll want to avoid any nasty surprises!Going over past exams will very quickly show your teen what they need to brush up on.

A great tool for studying is getting someone to test your knowledge.

As a parent, you may not know what protein synthesis or differentiation is, but that doesn’t mean you can’t help your teen memorize those definitions.

As long as you can read, you can ask questions from their study notes. Flash cards could also fit in very well here.

As you can see, just because your teen is growing up and studying for subjects you haven’t thought about for 30 odd years, it doesn’t mean you have to be a spectator of their success.

Behind every successful high school student are very proud and supportive parents. We hope that the tips we’ve outlined here help you help your teen reach the level of academic achievement you know they’re capable of.

It’ll be YOU they thank first at their high school graduation.

The Study Gurus are Clare McIlwraith and Chris Whittington. Their aim is to show parents how they can help their children reach their academic potential. They’re sharing their years of studying and tutoring experience at www.lifehack.org//www.thestudygurus.com/.

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How To Help Your Teen Hack Summer School

Summer school isn't a walk in the park!

Even just the name ‘Summer School’ comes with all sorts of nice connotations: summer = sun = holiday = fun = relaxation.

The irony is of course, is that summer school is anything but relaxing.

If your teen is about to embark on Summer School or a summer course, they may be about to have this realisation.

The whole point of summer school is to cram in a lot of work into a small amount of time. This will mean your teen won’t have the luxury of procrastinating nearly as much as they might do during the normal school year.

If this is something you believe your teen might find a problem, here are a few things you can do to help them squash their summer school procrastination.

Forewarned is forearmed. Many summer school students don’t realise they don’t have the luxury of excess time until their half way through. And by this stage it can be very overwhelming to get back on top of things.

We suggest that you have a chat with your teen before they get started to make sure they realize what the work load is going to be like. They’re going to have to start with a hiss and a roar and won’t be able to take their foot off the gas.

Working to a timetable is something that we advocate during the normal school year, and particularly when exams are looming.

Having a weekly timetable – and more importantly sticking to it – is possibly going to be even more important for your teen’s success at summer school.

It’s really simple – having a timetable makes students much more likely to stick to a regular study schedule. And this is obviously a pivotal part of doing well at summer school, because again, your teen doesn’t have any time to waste.

Your teen should plan out their weeks – noting down specific times when they’re going to study for a particular subject, complete assignments, and prepare for their exams.

From what we’ve described here about summer school, anyone who didn’t know better might think we’ve described a setting of boot camp!

As it would be with boot camp (not that we’d know), striking success at summer school will ultimately come down to how well your teen can find the balance of working really hard, without burning out.

Summer school can be really intense and really stressful, and stress isn’t something you want your teen to feel for the entire duration. It’s counterproductive.

But you can help them keep things in perspective when they’re freaking out, suggest fun or stress-reducing things they can do in their down time so they don’t go insane.

Plus, it’s important that you’ll just be there for general help and support. If your teen wants to ace their summer school exams, they’re going to need it!

Overall your teen should probably be looking at summer school as a trade off – it’s a lot of work and it’s pretty intense – but they will come out having done something really great and have gotten extra credits towards their academic career.

The trick to the success is simply to be organised, efficient, and to stay positive about it.

And with your help – they will be able to do these things much more effectively.

The Study Gurus are Clare McIlwraith and Chris Whittington. Their aim is to show parents how they can help their children reach their academic potential. They’re sharing their years of studying and tutoring experience at http://www.thestudygurus.com/.

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A day at the Green School in Bali

The Green School is hiring science and physics teachers. To learn more, visit the Green School website. And watch John Hardy’s TEDTalk from TEDGlobal last summer.

In the shade of the open-air bamboo warung (the Balinese equivalent of a small cafe), I listened to the buzz of the cicadas rather than the buzz of fluorescent bulbs, and sipped on a frozen strawberry lemonade drink made with fresh fruit and raw cane sugar grown just across the path. I watched as children rushed in to order a morning treat, which came atop a small basket of banana leaves (instead of paper napkins), swallowing down fresh fruit juice out of glass cups (instead of plastic). The morning went by slowly and gracefully; parents sat in the warung for hours, talking with each other and with me, eager and anxious to find human connections anywhere and everywhere.

The Green School, the soul-child of John and Cynthia Hardy, sits on 23 acres of lush, tropical landscape. The bamboo classrooms (which house pre-K through 11th grade) seem to nearly sprout right out of the ground. The Heart of School is the most stunning; currently the largest bamboo structure in the world, it comprises two swirling vortexes that collide to create a third, double vortex in the middle. The Heart of School houses the library, the administrative offices, and a few classrooms. As we take our tour, we walk by skilled Balinese men sitting cross-legged on the floor building lockers out of, you guessed it: bamboo. In fact everything is made of bamboo, from the shoe cubbies to the dry-erase boards to the beautiful beams engraved with names of the school’s supporters.

Delicious smells waft throughout the open-air building as the cooks throw delectable pieces of local meat onto the BBQ and prepare salads and potatoes from produce grown right there on the school’s land. Surrounding the Heart of School are gardens bursting with ripe, red tomatoes, shaggy heads of lettuce, fruits of all shapes and colors. In fact, every classroom is responsible for its own garden.

“The idea is that the gardens roll right up to the edge of everything,” explains John. “The Earth is here for one reason: that’s to produce food for people and for animals. If kids figure out that the Earth is for food, maybe then they’ll think twice about bulldozing it.” As we walk, John points out each tree as we walk by: banana, jackfruit, cacao, clove, tapioca, papaya. Suddenly we are surrounded by a soft cloud of dragonflies. “Proof that there aren’t any pesticides,” remarks Cynthia with a smile, for they’re eating the bugs that would otherwise be wiped out by farming chemicals.

But it’s not just food that excites John and Cynthia about this place. It’s the bamboo. “Bamboo is really magical,” John says lovingly. He references a Vietnamese proverb: When the bamboo is old, bamboo sprouts appear. And indeed, bamboo can grow forever.

We stop and speak to a woman who is splitting bamboo seedlings, and John and Cynthia explain their program to spread the growth of bamboo. This woman processes more than 400 seedlings a day, which can then be split again in a few months, reaping hundreds and thousands of tiny future shoots of bamboo. They take these seedlings to surrounding villages and give them to the farmers to plant, which allows the plant to suck up more CO2 and deliver more oxygen. “After 5 years when the bamboo is fully grown,” Cynthia points to a piece of bamboo wider than my thigh, “we’ll go back and buy the bamboo from them.”

Bamboo is also being used to help teach the students about their own effect on the environment. John and Cynthia seek to create a carbon-positive community. The students will look at their travel, the amount of gas they burn, and the amount of electricity they use to calculate their own carbon footprint. They can then understand how much bamboo they will need to plant to not just offset their carbon footprint, but to send their effect into the positive.

The real magic of the Green School, though, happens inside (and outside of) the classrooms. It is obvious to me, as Carina Hardy, their middle daughter, trots past us donning an enormous Monty Python costume, chanting silly words which explode into giggles, that these children are excited to be at school: they are alive, empowered and challenged by the idea that they can influence the world around them in a very profound way.

The school’s mission statement reads “Empowering global citizens and green innovators who are inspired to take responsibility for the sustainability of the world.” The administration is constantly finding new ways to incorporate new ways of thinking and seeing into the students’ curriculum. Not far on the horizon, Cynthia hopes to be able to incorporate more physical interaction with the land: “Kids will take responsibility over pieces of land,” Cynthia says. “They will work the land, cultivate seedlings, plant the seedlings, weed the rice fields. When the rice is fully grown, they will cut it, thresh it, take it to the mill. They will see brown rice and compare it to white rice. They will look at the weight, the cost, the world price versus the subsidized price, how many hours it took to make, how nutritious it is.” Students also learn how to make soap from coconuts, chairs and charcoal from other natural resources. This is the vision: a complete, sustainable and experiential learning experience that takes advantage of what’s been provided here on Earth, and using that to both create and conserve.

John and Cynthia’s daughters have embraced the greater responsibility and entrepreneurial spirit that comes with being a student at The Green School. Their youngest daughter, Chiara, recognized a need for new computers at the school and kickstarted an “Ice Cream for iPads” program in which she sells cups of gelato during breaks and lunchtime for 20,000 rupiah (a little less than $2.50). So far, Chiara’s initiative has put 4 iPads in the library! 15-year-old Carina Hardy takes on leadership positions of all kinds as well; as a sophomore she is now co-directing the school’s spring play, The Wizard of Oz. John’s eldest daughter, Elora, was never a student at the Green School, but she shares her father’s passion for change and runs Ibuku, a design firm responsible for the sustainable design and construction of both the Green School and their newest pursuit, Green Village, a community of staggering open-air homes made entirely from bamboo.

As we finish our tour, we walk by the initial model for the Heart of School. “This is how it started,” says Cynthia. “It started as a sketch, and then it became little sticks glued together, and then it became this.” She gestures around her. “It is the product of our collective imagination.” Indeed, as my eyes wandered from the tiny model building to the giant swirling weave of bamboo above my head, I could feel the reality of the place. There’s no theory or proposal here: this is the real deal. Things are happening quickly, thoughtfully and profoundly.

John expresses his gratitude for TED as we leave. “When they published my talk, everything at this school took off like a rocket ship.” John referenced a student body of 120 in his TEDTalk last summer; since then that number has doubled, as has the number of countries represented by the students. Their new challenge: finding teachers who are committed to teaching the most basic of concepts in the most exciting of ways.

Photos by Benny Haddad and Rachel Tobias.

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