Helping students become capable and confident beyond the parameters of the classroom is central to our mission. To help with this mission, we often organize student development into ‘macro-skills’, delineated by aspects of our executive function curriculum or other skills core to student success. These macro-skills include organization, time management, study skills, and impression management […]
Cultivating Curiousity Read More »
High school students are overworked. Starting their day at 7:30 or earlier, they spend eight hours or more in the classroom, and attend one or two extra-curricular activities after class ends. After they leave campus, it’s a mad dash to eat dinner, shower, and try to get homework done. Students usually manage 1-2 hours of
How Successful Students Sleep Read More »
We love organization at SAOTG; that’s been made clear. Our stance on educational technology, on the other hand, is often misunderstood. Yes, we have written numerous blogs on the dangers of technology, on the dangers of technological overuse in modern education. Excessive screen-time and ubiquitous notifications have caused issues with focus, retention, and other executive
How Students Can Supercharge Their Organization Read More »
Being a successful student depends on two factors: preparation and performance. Students should pursue mastery in both of these areas because emphasizing one at the expense of the other can have disastrous consequences in the long-run. Just like in sports, imbalances create issues. Consider a basketball player training during the offseason. The athlete tries an
Self-Testing: The Hallmark of Successful Students Read More »
Part of high school (or some more competitive middle school programs) is learning how to read. By this, we don’t mean learning how to sound out words and whatnot, the essentials of phonics. Instead, we mean learning how to read with an eye toward comprehension. We have written extensively in previous posts about annotating a
Annotating vs. Underlining Read More »
Most students despise textbook reading assignments, and it’s not hard to see why. Textbooks are built to be boring. The density of the book alone is enough to frighten away even the most enthusiastic students. Textbooks, generally speaking, are poorly organized, written for maximal boredom, and render more confusion than clarity. So, why should students
An Unconventional Approach to Textbook Reading Read More »
Breaks get a bad wrap. Whether it’s the never quit mentality instilled in our kids through sports or the workaholic tendencies of many seemingly admirable pop culture figures, many kids view breaks with disdain. Still, it’s worth mentioning that many students abuse breaks, as well. They see breaks as an oasis from the seemingly endless
Summer reading seemed like such an easy feat several months ago, as finals week turned into summer break. Read a book and write an essay, that’s simple, right? After all, students had just completed nine months of reading and writing. If it’s so easy, why start now? So, that summer reading book fresh from Amazon
Too often smart students don’t have the results to match their potential. The most frustrating students are often the most capable ones. Recognizing and helping these students is our mission at Staying Ahead of the Game. Do any of these quotes sound familiar? 1) “I don’t need to write it down. I’ll remember.” Smart students
Recognizing Smart Students with Executive Function Deficiencies Read More »
Wouldn’t it be amazing if every student had the creative brilliance of Pablo Picasso, Walt Disney, or Marie Curie? Imagine a classroom full of creative, engaged students, eager to learn and share ideas. How do we make this creative paradise a reality? First, we need to dispel some myths about creativity, starting with perhaps the
How Students Can Become More Creative Read More »
