Tag Archives: College Parents and Stakeholders

How Good Is That High School Diploma?

First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Success In College, The Costs and Benefits of Higher Education, Uncategorized, , , , , , , ,
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Copyright State Farm

I’ve been reading with some concern about accountability for k-12 education going back to the individual states as a result of No Child Left Behind being discontinued.  This will make national evaluations of high school students’ abilities harder.  Every high school graduate should have some idea of how he/she compares with graduates from other high schools across the nation because the market for jobs is national and becoming more international every day.  Allowing states to be individually responsible for assessing what their students know and can do will make this more difficult.  An article from the New York Times shows why this is so important.

How can we ensure that all students get the quality public school education they deserve?  Let me know what you think.

This $14.99 Gift Could Be Worth $120,000*

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Ci4y with BowGive students in college, going to college or considering college the gift of success this holiday season.

College in Four Years is the essential guide to graduating on time with better grades and less stress for a lot less money.

 

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*The average college student takes six years to graduate. The average cost of a year of tuition is between $30,000 and $60,000. Students graduating in four years may save up to two years of tuition.

 

CARRYING ON THE TRADITION

Mentoring Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, , , , , ,

 

 

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by Rashida S. Mar b. courtesy of Flikr

In my blog post “Talking Good Talk” I shared the important role family dinners had in my life as I grew up. When I had my own family, my wife and I  instituted the same rule as my parents—six days a week, Sunday through Friday, our family ate dinner together. The tradition had the same effect on our children it did on me. We talked and laughed about everything which helped us bond as a family. We also talked good talk about what was happening the world and what it meant to each of us. My wife and I intentionally kept the conversation at a high level so our kids could learn from the discussion and the thinking behind comments  made.

My oldest daughter, who had a very good public school education, got a scholarship to a university in upstate New York. After a few weeks on campus she called and said “Daddy, I’m going to school with trust fund babies.”  When I asked her what that meant, she said these kids were from successful,  affluent New York families who provided them with everything they needed. From the day they were born their families set aside trust fund all they would need for the best private schools. “They had and still have advantages I don’t have,” she also told me, “but I have  no trouble keeping up with these students academically or socially because of what I learned around our dinner table.” I’m sure some other things contributed to confidence but I believe what she was telling me was that she knew what she had to say was valuable and valued and she could hold her own in any environment – with or without a trust fund.

From her experience and mine, I know that what happens to outside of school is as important, perhaps  more important than what happens in school. School is where you get your knowledge but home is where you learn your values. Let me know if you had similar experiences growing up or as a parent.

Great Visit to The Maggie Linton Show on SiriusXM Radio

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GMS and Maggie Linton 8-21-15I enjoyed a great discussion today with host Maggie Linton on preparing for success in college and the benefits of graduating in four years. If you missed the show or would like to hear it again, you can listen to my interview on the Friday, August 21st edition of The Maggie Linton Show by clicking on the link below. Let me know what you think.

GradeUP! Challenge #17: Keep Them In The Loop

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©Patrick McGarvey on flickr
©Patrick McGarvey on flickr

Now that mid-term grades are out and you know where you stand in your classes, it’s time to let folks who have a stake in your success know too.  No student can be successful in college without help so the people who are supporting you financially and emotionally deserve to be kept in the loop. Don’t assume they will be like Eveilliene, the Wicked Witch of the West in the Wiz (see the link at the end of the post if you need a reference) who didn’t want anyone bringing her bad news.

Because these are the people that want the best for you, I’m sure expectations are high. However, no one expects you to do well all the time. You’re going to have successes and setbacks in college and folks helping you know that – so keep them in the loop. If you leave them in hanging, they can only pay and pray that you’re doing well.  Use these approaches to share the good as well as the bad news with them:

  • Share good news right away – that way, folks helping you know they are important to you and that you want them to know how you’re doing.
  • Don’t stop there, talk about how you did well and how you are going to keep up the good work.  This is just as important as the good news because it shows you have the right strategy to repeat your success.  You are demonstrating that your good performance wasn’t just luck – you have some skills.
  • When the news is not so good, share it in a timely way as well.  People supporting you will know something is wrong because you aren’t talking to them; this isn’t a secret you can keep.  They don’t know the details, but they know it’s not good – probably believing it’s worse than it really is.
  • Be ready to tell them why you didn’t do as well as you wanted and what you have done, are doing and will do to improve your performance.  When someone asks why you didn’t do as well as you wanted, the worst answer you can give is, “I don’t know.”  If you don’t know you can count on having this difficult conversation again because you don’t know how to change things.

Look at the previous GradeUP! Challenges about talking to teachers, your advisor and other people who can help you develop your strategy for improvement. What’s important is how you are going to get better in the future, not how you did in the past because you can’t change that.  Don’t walk backwards into the future, turn around, face it and plan for a more successful future.  Then, share your plans with the folks who are supporting you.

Click here for a clip from the Wiz featuring Mable King as Eveillene, the Wicked Witch of the West.

All previous GradeUP! Challenges are available on the GradeUP! Challenge Week by Week page.

You can learn more about getting the help you need to do better in your classes in Chapter 5 of College in Four Years; Making Every Semester Count.

Click on the  hyperlink to learn more about College in Four Years; Making Every Semester Count.

Between Helicopter and Hands Off: When Your College Student Needs Help…

Mentoring Students, Success In College, , ,

Parent Wait OutsideSince most students are on Spring Break this week, it is a great time to talk to parents, stakeholders and mentors of college students about your role in your student’s success. So today’s GradeUP! Challenge (#13 in the series) is for anyone who is supporting a college student financially and/or with advice and counsel. If your student is struggling, and by midterms they know if they are, it’s not always easy to know how to help. As a professor and advisor I face that dilemma multiplied by 3 classes each semester and by 60 students as their academic advisor. After working with so many students I’ve been able to figure out the best way to motivate and keep my students on track. What works, every time, is to give them practical, proactive tools they can use to get, and keep, their grades up. I mentor my students by sharing specific tasks that any student can integrate into their study routine and that have proven successful in helping students get and keep their Grades Up.

In February, I launched The College in Four Years GradeUP! Challenge on my website. Over the first half of the Spring Semester I’ve posted a dozen of these “Challenges” as a way to virtually mentor any student who can benefit from the help and information I share with students as a professor and advisor. Each week I post two short, easy to accomplish and integrate suggestions to help students improve or maintain academic progress so they can graduate on time with great grades and job prospects. I’ll continue to add a Challenge each Tuesday and Thursday through April 30.

I invite and encourage you as parents, mentors and stakeholders to share the College in Four Years GradeUP! Challenge with your student. Mid-semester, after they’ve had some downtime during Spring Break, is a great time to assess their progress so far and to help your student figure out if they’re on track using some of the tools I share in Challenge #10 and Challenge #11. It is not too late to get back on track using the GradeUP! Challenges I’ve posted previously and the ones I’ll post on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the coming weeks.

The tips and tactics from the GradeUP! Challenge are a great way to talk to your student about how they’re doing – the perfect balance between being a Helicopter Parent and too Hands-Off. You’ll find more information on the College in Four Years GradeUP! Challenge on my website and I even have a special page for parents, mentors and stakeholders to help you with the conversation.

For you and your student, remember the goal is graduation.

GradeUP! Challenge #2: Make Your Syllabus Your Action Plan

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Syllabus from Flickr by Grace KatRead the syllabus for each class you’re taking. Really read them – all of them. Find out what is expected of you and when, then use a planner – paper, electronic, virtual – and plan out what you need to do and when you plan to do it so you stay current in all your classes. If you don’t have a system for scheduling your time – get one NOW! Don’t get behind because trying to catch up and keep up at the same time is a losing proposition.

From the syllabus in every class you should:

  • Confirm the location and time for class – be there on time from the first day forward.
  • Learn the instructor’s name, office location, contact information and office hours so you’ll know who to contact and how to contact them when you have questions about class;
  • Find out what you need for class – the textbook (if it’s required) and any other material or equipment, (calculator, software package, etc.) you’ll need to be successful. Get everything now, not having the materials is not an excuse for not doing your work;
  • Understand the assignments for each class including reading, homework, projects, reports – know when each is due then schedule when you plan to tackle that assignment so you can turn it in on time;
  • Know when exams are scheduled and what they will cover so you can plan when and how to prepare for them;
  • Find out how you’re going to be graded in class so you’ll know how you’re doing at any time during the semester (more about this in a subsequent post;
  • Note any other information about how the class is going to be run and what is expected of you; and
  • Find out anything that you think you need to know to get the most out of each class, now is the time to ask for it.

The next Challenge posts on Tuesday, 2/10/15. Learn more about the GradeUP! Challenge here. 

To let me know what you think about this post and the GradeUP! Challenge, please leave a comment below.

College In Four Years Challenges Students to GradeUP!

Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Success In College, , , , ,

Grade Up Logo - jpeg-revSo, how were those first semester grades? Are you on track to ace this year or will you need to improve to finish strong? Either way, it is the beginning of the second semester and you have to start now to make this semester count. To finish strong you have to start the semester strong; then stay on it through mid-terms and finals. This semester, I’m here to help you do that.

Tuesday, February 3, I’m kicking off the first College in Four Years Grade-Up! Challenge. For the next 15 weeks – through the end of the spring semester – every Tuesday and Thursday I’ll post a task designed to help you work smarter, not harder, to get the grades you want this semester. The tasks are short, easy to accomplish and, they integrate and enhance what you should be doing to earn your degree. GradeUp! tasks are not optional – they’re essential and work for any class, all majors and students at any academic level. The GradeUp! Challenge tasks are tools to help you succeed in college and beyond.

To join the GradeUp! Challenge, click the orange Follow button to the right. I’ll notify you by email when a new post is available or, follow me on twitter @ProfGMS you’ll find the GradeUp! Challenge Tasks on my profile page or use #Ci4YGradeUP hashtag.

The goal is Graduation so, Tuesday 2/3, GradeUp! and let’s get started.

Instead of Paying and Praying – Make College Success a Family Affair

Coaching, Higher Education, Success In College, , , ,

GMS with Dr LoveI had a great conversation with Dr. Justine Love on CBS Radio’s Community Focus about the role parents and educators play in getting students into, keeping them in and ensuring their success in college.

Dr. Love’s comments on what every 11th and 12th grade student with aspirations for college needs were insightful. She also helped me share tips on how family can “coach” undergraduates to better grades.

If there’s a student in your family, or you know someone, who is on track to attend college or already there, you won’t want to miss our discussion on Community Focus with Dr. Justine Love:

The show originally aired Sunday, January 25 on WPGC 95.5 FM. Special thanks to Fred Robinson, Director Government/Political/Issue Marketing, CBS Radio Washington, for facilitating this interview.