Strategic Studies: e-News Volume 2, issue 1 [September 1998)

President's Notes

TEN Ways to Make the Most of STUDY TIME

Connected Learning

If All the Trees Were Oaks

Squeezed for Time?

Curriculum Writers Needed

Helpful Links

President's Notes

School is on the mind of everyone this week as the children in the neighborhood started school again. Backpacks bulge with new books and supplies, girls wear the latest fashions and boys find the baggiest levis. Happy faces and anticipation as the little ones trooped off to catch the bus.

A neighbor stopped over and asked about her child who is three. With a birthday in September, she has been told that it might be better if she holds him back from attending school a year. Her concern is that he will be the youngest child in the class and may be immature and not do well in the school. This is a difficult question for me.....my own children have October birthdays and I did not hold either back. I know they struggled not only through elementary and high school, but college as well. Nevertheless, they both were bright enough and I didn’t see the problem as theirs, but that of the schools. In hindsight would I have done things differently....probably not. It is painful, though, as a parent, to see your child struggle.

So, my response to my neighbor was "wait and see, he is still young." My children are adults now and there weren’t as many options then. However, it saddens me to think that a parent has to even consider this question today. Many parents choose to keep their children home for schooling, but others are unable to do this. So, do they have to worry that their child may not be ready? "Who is not ready, the child or the school?"

President's Notes

TEN Ways to Make the Most of STUDY TIME

Connected Learning

If All the Trees Were Oaks

Squeezed for Time?

Curriculum Writers Needed

Helpful Links

TEN Ways to Make the Most of STUDY TIME

Relax a bit after school before doing homework. Then....

1. Find the best time to study

After school, after dinner.....homework should have a definite start and finish time. If the homework is finished early, the remaining time should be used to double-check and review.

2. The best place to study

Homework headquarters should be away from television, stereo, telephone, and other distractions. A writing surface and good light are necessities. A small tale may be the best place for a young student, while a desk or table, even the floor or a bed, may work for an older student.

3. Be prepared

Have all the materials needed to complete assignments. Pencils, sharpener, eraser and paper for younger students, a pen, ruler, dictionary, thesaurus, and more may be necessary for older students.

4. Make a homework list

Make an easy two-part homework checklist:

______ List homework assignments in each class each day as they are made.

______ Check over the list at the end of the school day to make sure you have all the materials necessary to take home.

Show the assignment sheet to teachers. They can help to see that you have everything to complete assignments at home.

President's Notes

TEN Ways to Make the Most of STUDY TIME

Connected Learning

If All the Trees Were Oaks

Squeezed for Time?

Curriculum Writers Needed

Helpful Links

5. Keep a homework calendar

Record due dates for major long-range assignments on a special calendar brings the task into focus. Work backwards, identifying all the steps along the way to completion of the assignment.

If a short paper is due on Friday, the last step is to write the final draft on Thursday.
The first step is to begin reading and note taking on Monday.

6. Study rhythms

Tackle the most difficult assignments when you are most alert and save easier tasks for off-peak times. Schedule several smaller segments of time for memorization. It is easier to learn in short stretches than at one long session. Try using an easier assignment as a break from something more difficult.

7. When you get stuck

Ask these questions.....

Have you read and followed directions carefully?
Are you taking short cuts that are confusing you?
Are you using your book properly?
Read the directions aloud....now do they make sense?
Have you tried making a picture, table, graph, or diagram to represent the known facts and relationships?
Have you tried to sold a similar, but less difficult problem?
Have you checked the glossaries, the table of contents or the indexes for help?
Did you copy the words or numbers correctly?
Are you trying to do too much of the work in your head?
Have you checked for careless mistakes?

Still stuck? Do other homework assignments for awhile. Go to class early and check with the teacher. Remember.....teachers want success from their students.

President's Notes

TEN Ways to Make the Most of STUDY TIME

Connected Learning

If All the Trees Were Oaks

Squeezed for Time?

Curriculum Writers Needed

Helpful Links

8. Ask for help

It is okay to ask for help. Ask parents, older brothers and sisters, just ask.

9. Take a break

Schedule one or more short breaks during the study time. Stretching the mind for an hour, calls for stretching the body for a few minutes. Do jumping jacks, play ping pong or the drums.....get up and move.

10. Book bag at bedtime

Create a fail-proof method for getting completed homework assignments to school on time. A good slogan is "homework goes in the book bag at bedtime."

Connected Learning

Do you have questions about learning and the Internet? Contact Dr. Jennifer Wallace, Educational Consultant at jwallace@strategicstudies.com or 847.318.7110. She has traveled throughout the country talking to teachers and administrators about connecting to the Internet for learning.

Since obtaining her Ph.D. from Northwestern University, Dr. Wallace has used innovative and creative teaching methods at the university level. She has been instrumental in using the Internet to teach college courses and will now bring her expertise to the educational website http://www.e-tutor.com

President's Notes

TEN Ways to Make the Most of STUDY TIME

Connected Learning

If All the Trees Were Oaks

Squeezed for Time?

Curriculum Writers Needed

Helpful Links

If All the Trees Were Oaks
What If all the trees were oaks.
How plain the world would seem;
No maple syrup, banana splits,
And how would orange juice be?
Wouldn’t it be a boring place,
If all the people were the same;
Just one color, just one language.
Just one family name!
But
If the forest were the world, And all the people were the trees;
Palm and pine, bamboo and willow,
Live and grow in harmony.
Aren’t you glad, my good friend,
Different though we be;
We are here to help each other,
I learn from you, and you, from me.

This poem was sent to me by Wendy Eriksen. She does not know the author, if you know the author, please e-mail the information, so we can publish it in our next newsletter.

Squeezed for Time?

Are there so many demands on your time that you can’t squeeze another second out of your schedule? If so, you have "timelock." Just as gridlock stops traffic, timelock stops productivity. Here is what to do to get unlocked:

Think of what you want out of life....not how much you can get done. Assess all your activities. If they add to your life, keep them. If not, eliminate them whenever possible.
Understand your body clock. It’s irregular and not as uniform as time from a clock. Identify its peak times. That is when to schedule especially difficult work.
Don’t crowd every minute with some task. If you do, tension rises and effectiveness declines.

President's Notes

TEN Ways to Make the Most of STUDY TIME

Connected Learning

If All the Trees Were Oaks

Squeezed for Time?

Curriculum Writers Needed

Helpful Links

Slow down. Don’t be addicted to rushing. Ask, "Why am I rushing? What will hap-en if I don’t?" Know the difference between necessary haste and impatience.
Subtract an old activity when you add a new one.

Curriculum Writers Needed

Curriculum Writers Needed E-Tutor is hiring curriculum writers to write lessons for E-Tutor, an on-line, interactive web site.

A model lesson http://www.strategicstudies.com/lessonPlans demonstrates what a typical lesson includes. For more information please call (847)318-7110 (M-F, 9 AM to 5 PM, CST)

Helpful Links

Surf the WWW

Create a Calendar (http://calendar.yahoo.com)
You have to sign up for this but there are lots of add ons which make this a strong program.
Whales (http://www.discovery.com/exp/humpbacks/humpbacks.html)
Take an expedition in search of migrating humpbacks.
Countdown to the Millennium (http://www.worldwildlife.org/500day)
Five hundred days to change the world. Count with the World Wildlife Fund.
Looking for a needle in a haystack (http://www.astro.ku.dk/tycho/tbe98/english/)
Four men are searching for a meteorite that crashed into Greenland’s Southwestern Icecap on December 9, 1997. Follow the story of their search.
America’s People (http://www.TrueAmerica.com/)
This is a writing tour of the United States taking place now and through 1999 by a photographer and writer. His writings are about the people he meets on his journey.