Homework, and More Homework…

Many parents are frustrated with keeping track of their child’s daily assignments.  An unbelievable amount of children don’t do their homework these days, which causes them to continually struggle in school.  It a distraction for the teacher, the child is penalized, and parents are upset.  The good news is that many teachers these days are posting their daily homework assignments online.  But what if the teacher doesn’t post the assignments on the school’s website, how do you deal with this issue?  Great question.

Most schools give out a daily planner often called the “agenda.”  If your school doesn’t have one, a simple planner will work just as well.  The plan is to have every child write in the upcoming assignments in the agenda for every class,  every single day.  Don’t worry if this sounds like too much work, just about every teacher gives a moment or two for students make note of assignments, quizzes, tests, projects, etc.  Having been on the teaching side of things, I can assure you that the most successful students do this consistently and most children who struggle don’t have a good system for homework.  Even if the assignments are posted online, students need to fill in their agenda so they have it as a reference at their lockers at the end of the school day. This is also a great habit to develop as they transition into college and then adulthood.

Your first task after securing an agenda for your child is to explain to them that they will need to write down the assignments for every class, every single day.  Your mission will be to check it to make sure they are doing it.   A simple checklist posted somewhere obvious can really help.  It can be as simple as a checklist with a series of simple questions, such as:
-Was the agenda/planner open and ready for inspection at _______ time?  (pick a time)
-Was there something written for each class?
-Was it legible?
Was the assignment completed?

You get the picture.  A daily checklist will show your child exactly what is expected of him/her.  Failure to complete tasks should result in a negative consequence.

Now you might ask yourself “What if my child decides not to write it down, or conveniently forgets to mention an assignment?”  Emphasize that this is the same as lying to your face and there will be severe consequences.  If the assignments are posted online, great!  Simply check it out and make sure your child wrote it out correctly.  If not, you will have to contact the teacher weekly and ask them if there were missed assignments that week.  Don’t be shy about asking the teacher.  They deal with this situation all the time and often have set times when you can reach them.  

While this is annoying at first, most children will realize there is no getting around this process and simply do it correctly to avoid the consequences.  Please keep in mind that it may take many months or even years to break your child of their bad habits, but it is worth it in the long run.  As one parent said to me “getting my child to write out his assignments was like breaking a wild horse!  It took nearly two years, but it was worth the fight.”
Your School Coach,
Scott Straub 

The first step will be sit down with your child and explain to them what is going to happen.

Super Charge you, or your child’s memory…

As a teacher I’ve seen many students struggle because they simply cannot memorize information.  I wasn’t born with a photographic memory either so school was often a challenge for me as well.  The truth is, most students have to work fairly hard because learning and memorizing lots of information can be difficult.   The truth is that anyone can memorize more information in less time than they ever imagined. 
Did you ever wonder how doctors and other professionals memorize large quantities of information?  Most of them use memory systems to aide in their studies.  I learned one of these memory systems early in my college career and it changed my life.  Since then I have taught this same system to my own students and have seen incredible results. 
What is this magical system?  Well, it’s not magic.  It is a process of taking what is normally abstract and perhaps very ordinary information and making it stand out in the brain.  I’m sure you’ve heard of mnemonics?   This is a process where ordinary information is learned by the use of symbols, rhymes and other associations such as poems.  A classic example is learning the colors of visible light as seen in a rainbow by using the mnemonic ROY G BIV?  The letters stand for each of the colors of light, in order! 
R=Red   O=Orange  Y=Yellow  G=Green  B=Blue   I=Indigo  V= Violet

The problem with using mnemonics is that there aren’t clever associations for most things we need to memorize.  So the question is how to make ordinary and abstract information stand out in our minds?   In order to do this we must consciously make the information we are trying to remember stand out in the mind.  Some ways to do this are by making the object extremely large or small, picturing millions of them, or making an object move and have color, etc.  How? 

For example, let’s say you needed to memorize capitals of the countries on the African continent.  The capital of Sudan is Khartoum.  Most students would learn this by looking at the word dozens of times hoping that the fact sticks in their brain.  This is a time-consuming process and for many folks it’s not highly effective since there is so much information to learn each day at school. 
In order to memorize this fast and have it stick, we need to associate Sudan with Khartoum in a way that is so unusual it will be hard not to remember it.  In this example, I would have my students use their imaginations to come up  with what the words Sudan and Khartoum remind them of.  Each person must do this themselves as it won’t be as effective it someone else makes the association for them. 

With this word often times the word Sudan reminds people of a type of car called a sedan.  While this works for many people, it really doesn’t matter what the association is.  It could just as easily remind someone of a “suit that is tan.”  The word Khartoum often reminds people of “cartoon” or “cart in a tomb.”  
Now all we have to do is link together in a very unusual way and we’ve got it.   What comes to my mind is a sedan filled with cartoon characters driving around Africa.  Does that sound wacky?  You bet it is, but I can tell you that that I haven’t forget since I learned this over 20 years ago.  It was such a silly association that it’s hard to forget. 

Now you might be saying “that works for that country and capital because those words easily sound like something else, but what about words that are harder or longer?”  Great question.  The good news is that this can work every single time because the learning takes place when the brain is rapidly trying to associate the words or facts.  So even if you’re image isn’t perfect, the brain still finds it unusual and therefore it will stand out. 

Does this method take a little longer?  Perhaps in the beginning, but wouldn’t it better to work a little harder in the beginning to create something that will last a very long time in the mind?  Also, like everything, once you get good at doing this, it comes much easier.  And the wonderful news is that younger kids often do this much better than adults!

Very soon I will have created my memory program, found at www.ScottStraub.com giving tons of examples so every student, no matter how young or old, will fully understand how to use this system.  But you don’t have to wait. Try it today and see how it works.  

Your school Coach,
Scott Straub

Recession Proof Your Child, and Yourself!

I can’t help but comment about our economy and how you can help protect yourself and your children.  Several years ago I was told to read a book called “Rich Dad Poor Dad -What The Rich Teach Their Kids About Money–That The Poor And Middle Class Do Not!” by Robert Kiyosaki.  Like many folks I was skeptical and bit lazy so I delayed reading it.  One night I saw it in a bookstore and picked it up.  Rarely do I ever read a book in one sitting, but this one really got to me.  After finishing the book about 2:30 am, I felt like I tripled my financial knowledge in 3 hours.  Long story short, within a month I had put a down payment on an investment home I was thinking about buying, I paid off most of my debt, and I haven’t looked back since.

How does this affect you and your child?  Well, after finally learning how the financial “game” was set up and what the rules were, I was determined to never let myself or the ones I care about suffer because of a lack of financial education – this included my students too.

I decided to create an after-school program based on Robert Kiyosaki’s book.  We discussed money, debt, everything surrounding finances.  I was surprised at how interested and intelligent these 11 and 12 year olds were.  Many of them picked up ”Rich Kid Smart Kid” and loved it.  You can pick many of Robert Kiyosaki’s books at:

http://astore.amazon.com/recessionproofyourchild-20/detail/0446677485 

I must point out that a child, or young adult, needs more than just this book to get a solid financial education, but it’s a very good place to start.  While Kiyosaki does suggest that folks, even teens, to start thinking about a secondary stream of income, kids might get the wrong impression that Robert wants students to drop out of school.  I’ve read just about all of his books and he certainly does not believe or teach that, but it’s important to help kids understand the rules of the “financial” game so they can start making good choices now. 

One of Kiyosaki’s major points is that in addition to getting a solid traditional education, everyone including kids, should have a healthy understanding of how the financial world works, too.  The students and parents I taught believed this was wonderful first step, and from my point of view, in the short time I had these students, many seemed to improve and mature as students and as people.

Lastly, if you want to make it more interesting, a fun game to play is Cashflow 101 (it’s in the link above).   The original version was made for adults, but now there’s a kids’ version too.  While it is just a game, it does show you how to monitor and spend your money in a responsible way - plus the kid’s I’ve played with get a kick out of it.  My point is, no matter what sources you choose to use, it might be wise to make sure your children understand what is happening in the financial world, and how they can easily avoid many problems if they are educated with regards to money. 

Your School Coach,

Scott Straub

Are note-cards really an effective way to study?

Are note-cards really an effective way to study?

“Many times studying is a very passive activity, meaning that we often don’t get our brains, and our bodies in the process. This makes it harder to learn and retain information.  Think about how most students are taught to study.  After teaching for over ten years I can tell that note-cards are the most popular method I’ve seen.  While this method can work, it’s effectiveness can be greatly enhanced if we take it to the next level and make it an active process.  The result is that you can learn more information in less time.  Wouldn’t even a 10 percent increase in learning and memory be huge advantage?   How much time would this save over the course of semester, a year, or a lifetime?

How can you accomplish this?

The next time you or your child have information to memorize and learn, instead of just writing the word or concept on one side of a note-card and the answer on the other side, draw a quick picture next to the definition.  

Use colored markers, crayons, or pens to make it stand out. Make the drawing very outrageous and silly.  Make items extra large, or very small.  The goal is not to create great artwork; the purpose of this activity is to activate different areas of the brain as you are thinking of what to draw.  Don’t let your child tell you they can’t draw!  This is not an acceptable answer for this method, because the learning comes when they are thinking of what to draw.  

Research shows that when people draw, different regions of the brain are activated causing more pathways to be formed in the brain.  This, in turn, creates a larger impression which leads to greater retention of information.  In addition, you are also moving your hands while you draw the picture. This helps make using note-cards more of an active process, creating even more pathways for the information to nestle iself in the student’s brain!

Your Education Coach,

Scott Straub

p.s.  Be sure to check out www.ScottStraub.com for our latest products.