Happy Winter Break!

After all the parties, last minute quizzes, perfomances, and general anticipation of a couple of weeks off from school, everyone is pretty darn ready for Winter Break. You may be travelling, spending time with family or just sleeping in a lot. This is a good thing! In his book Seven Habits of Highly Succesful Teens, Sean Covey would call this "Sharpening the Saw." That is, giving your brain a rest so you can be ready to go when January rolls around.
So enjoy your time off, have some good time with yourself and those close to you, find a new book to read, and maybe a new mini-adventure of some kind. Happy holidays!

Already we're past mid-quarter and coming up on the first grade period of school.
How naturally we dive into the accomplishments, expectations, and shortcomings of a new school year.
Is this one different from the last? Are you getting your homework/ tests/ papers done? How does your GPA look so far?
These are not insignificant questions, but what if the questions were: Are you learning new things? Do they interest you? Have you explored beyond the parameters of assignments, just because you want to know more? Is your future taking shape in your mind?
Yes, your perfomance in school will impact what comes next, and your GPA can influence where you might go to college. But what is going to stick with you? The teachers, classes, disoveries; allies, mentors and resources you find along the way; they will be the foundation of your further ventures.
Keep your eyes and mind open. This is YOUR life, your education. It will serve you in ways you may not imagine, at times that seem unlikely. Take it all in, don't settle for mediocre when the richness of your knowledge and imagination are the fuel for your life to come.

Making summer count (and still have fun!)

"Studying? During Summer?" The usual reaction I hear from students when they first are offered/suggested to have summer tutoring. But for sure, I hear a whole different response when the school year begins: "Wow! I felt so much more prepared when school started this year..."

Summer is a great time to catch up, move ahead, or spread out in new directions academically. For many years I've taught a study skills workshop in August which is always well-received (and fills up) with students who realize the value of learning some new tricks during the low-pressure time of summer break. [In fact, this summer's workshop is coming up in just a couple of weeks; more on that in the next post..]

The season is also a good time to recover high school credits, raise your GPA, or take a class over a more condensed period of time rather than sitting through months of normal school-year class time. Some folks like to try on community college or distance learning at this time, too.

Best of all, you can pursue some interests with more freedom from time demands, e.g., creative writing, reading/research in an area of your choice, study for a driver's licence, travel, or volunteering and internships to try on a workplace experience that you may not have time to do otherwise. All of these pursuits will broaden your future options, while fending off boredom and hours of TV drivel.

Keep an open mind; watch for some opportunities to do more than just hang out. You'll be glad you did!

Part 3.a: Note-taking Basics and Tips

Forget the spiral. Use loose leaf (like the papers in your binder) to take notes on. You can get access, reorganize the order and have the flexibility that a spiral notebook does not have.

For free, pre-formatted Cornell note paper (and many other useful templates) try
http://www.printablepaper.net/preview/Cornell_Notes-letter

Also, highlighting is good in limited form. Get only the WORDS or phrases that are pithy and convey key ideas. A highlighter pen will not serve you if it is your only tool. I’ve seen countless sources with consecutive paragraphs underlined/highlighted. How can this be helpful?

Edit and summarize as you go, since you will be using this as source material for your own written notes. You will also be framing the information in your own way, and not just copying.

[BTW: sorry for the long break since the last entry; got too many irons in the fire!]

PART 2: the Format

I like the Cornell system. Developed by Walter Paulk of Cornell University (duh) who found that students retained at least twice as much of their studies if they wrote and reviewed their notes in concise, organized fashion. This website:
http://coe.jmu.edu/learningtoolbox/cornellnotes.html gives step-by-step instructions very succinctly and usefully.
It’s very straightforward and easy to use. There are numerous other sites that provide the template for you to download and print.

Taking Notes: a Three-Part Series

Introduction

How do people usually learn to take notes? Often by trial and error, or the occasional teacher who gives a little guidance. Yet for students coming out of high school and going on to college, good quality notes can make or break you for important reasons. First, the act of writing notes helps you learn/remember more than by simply reading or listening. Also, your notes are an invaluable study tool to review for tests, compile your research, and record source information to write papers.
Following is a 3-part series on note-taking, in which you will learn the how-tos of creating useful notes from various sources.
First, a brief overview of the features of good, useful notes.
• they are concise and summarize all key information
• they are written in an abbreviated form to save time
• they are well-organized

Follow some basic steps, and you’ll find success by efficient note-taking.