Monday, April 29, 2019
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
How to Survive Living with a Teenager
Teens can be cranky, sullen, lethargic, unmotivated and
unhappy. Living in the same home with them is often a challenge. Seven Habits
of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey can change all that. If the book title
and author seem familiar, it’s probably because Sean Covey is the son of Stephen
Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
I’ve read both books. I prefer Sean’s. (You can buy it
by clicking HERE.) Maybe it’s the teacher in
me. I spent decades with teenagers, and know how they think. This book can
improve how they feel about their lives and their understanding of the future. When
I was still in the classroom, I recommended this book to parents every Back to
School Night. I've given a copy to every child in my family on their
thirteenth birthday. It should be required reading in the seventh
grade.
I kept twenty copies of this book in my classroom library. I loaned them to
students, often when they finished their work early, or just before a school holiday.
I always said something to them when I handed over the book. It varied by the
personality of the student. Before you give your child or other young family member a copy of Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens, think about his/her personality. This will work for your kids too.
·
For the left-brained, analytically minded, tidy
teens in your life, tell them the book will help them organize everything. They love this, and will happily read the book. (It does, by the
way.)
·
For those who are a little loud, love
bright colors and think the world exists to be their audience, explain the book
is funny and will help them make more friends. They will enjoy hearing this,
and will read the book. (It does this, too.)
· For the pushy teen, who knows how to run
everything and often takes over, suggest they read the book because it will
show them how to reach their goals. This is their hot button, and they’ll have
the book read in no time at all. (It does this for everyone else too.)
·
For the laid back type, who hates making
decisions and might seem a little lazy, hand them the book, and tell them to
start reading. (They don’t need reasons; being told to do something is
enough for them.)
Students who read the book I loaned them told me they
enjoyed it so much, they bought a copy for themselves. I always asked their
favorite tip from the book, to see if they had actually read it. Their
answers varied, but each student was very excited when they explained it
to me. Why did I loan this book to students and give it to kids in my family? I
wanted them to know they can get what they want out of life. I also wanted them to
have the tools needed to do so. This book does everything I’ve explained here,
and more.
You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com
Photo credit: Google Images
If you’re interested in learning more about helping your children,
you can follow me on Twitter, @ElizaWallace27 or
click on the image of my book, Free College, at the top
right corner of this page. You'll be taken to Amazon, where you can read more
about my book, and buy it now.
Monday, April 22, 2019
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
What Does Notre Dame Mean to You?
To me, Notre Dame represents a promise made, and a
promise kept. In the late 1980s, I left a school district where the student
population was dwindling. I took a job in a lower socioeconomic minority high school with only two foreign language teachers. They taught first and
second year French and Spanish. When the French teacher retired, I took his
position.
The graduation rate at this school was low, and the
number of students going on to college was even lower. I believed the way to
help these students reach their goals in life was through higher education. So I set
out to make sure my students fulfilled the A-G requirements for college acceptance.
I told them they were mine for four years, unless there was a more
beneficial course for them to take in their senior year. The six new foreign language teachers we hired over the next few years followed my lead. The counselors knew
what we were doing, and backed us up.
As I worked to make taking French or Spanish the “thing
to do” at the school, several students asked to study German. Since I’m degreed,
credentialed and experienced teaching German, we added it to the
master schedule. District administration thought offering three languages was
beyond the abilities of students at this school. We proved him wrong by giving students
reasons to take the classes, and to stay with them until graduation.
One such enticement was language trips to countries
where the languages students were studying were spoken. The first group we took was small. Most people
at the school didn’t really believe we would go. But a dedicated group of
students was not about to give up. One boy caught the measles. His doctor told
him if he scratched, the sores would not heal in time for the trip. His brother
told me it was awful watching him resist the urge to scratch. But he made it.
He’s on the right in this blurry photo.
So is Denise. On our first trip, we visited Paris. On
the first full day, we went to see Notre Dame Cathedral. We wandered around
inside. Each looking at whatever he or she found most fascinating. Then I saw Denise.
She was standing about two feet from an interior wall. It was made of stone, and brown with age. I suggested she touch it. She was horrified. So I took
her hand and placed it on the wall. I then named several historic figures who had also, perhaps, touched the same wall. This was a student who hadn't been anywhere. She could only come along because we sold everything we could get our hands on.
She lived thirty minutes from the sea, but had never seen it.
Here she was in Paris, France, with her hand on the
wall inside Notre Dame Cathedral, crying. She realized the significance of
being where she was. She could set a goal in life, work hard, and realize it. I
promised these kids I would take them to Paris, help them get into college and reach their goals in life. To me Notre Dame is a promise made to students who had
dreams, but not the courage to fight for them. It’s also the realization of the
promise kept. All five of these trip kids went to college. So did every other student
who travelled to Europe with our school, and thousands of others who cheered
them on and believed they too could reach their dreams. This is what
Notre Dame means to me.
You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com
Photo credit: Google Images
If you’re interested in learning more, you can follow me on Twitter, @ElizaWallace27 or click on the image of my book, Free College, at the top right corner of this page. You'll be taken to Amazon, where you can read more about my book, and buy it now.
Monday, April 15, 2019
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
Don’t Let Your College Acceptance Turn into a Nightmare
Going to college is only a dream if you have a plan to
pay for it, and you continue to work your plan. Far too many families think
money for college will magically appear, but it doesn’t. Students who go to
college on a full-ride did a great deal to earn their award. The most important
thing they did was to apply for scholarships and/or grants over and over, until
they had enough free money to pay for everything.
Paying for college entails having enough money for more
than just tuition. There are books, fees, room and board to consider as well.
Students whose families are extremely well off, and have put away enough money
for retirement, may be able to help. Most families probably won’t be much
financial help, however. Of course, if you live at home, room and board won’t
be an issue, but transportation might be. I lived at home when I went to college.
My family bought me a very inexpensive car, and I drove to campus and work daily.
Tuition then was minimal and books were inexpensive. My job paid enough to
cover it all.
A simple financial plan to pay for college might
include looking for scholarships and grants while children are still in elementary
school. At this time, parents are doing the searching and applying. As children
mature, they should take over. In high school, they should be applying for
scholarships at least three times each week, and more over holidays and
vacations. A major mistake many students make is they stop applying for
scholarships once they’ve been accepted to college.
Acceptance is an important step, but most of the time it
has nothing to do with paying for college. If a college provides financial help
through grants, scholarships or a work-study program, that’s great. It does not
mean students should stop looking for more free money. When they do, they often
realize too late, they can’t pay their bills. Taking a job might help pay for
books or some fees, but it won’t cover everything, not by a long shot. Scholarships
and grants are the best way to avoid needing to take out student loans.
The only time a student need not continue to apply for
scholarships is if he/she has received a truly free ride. This must include
tuition, fees, books, room, board and travel for all four years. These awards
exist, and are wonderful. But every scholarship is not a free ride. Some only
cover part of tuition or tuition for the first year. Many do not include books,
or room and board. There are thousands of college students who are homeless and
food insecure. There’s money out there to pay for all of this, but it won’t
come looking for your student. Someone has to find it.
Parents who have purchased my book, Free College, know I provide a place in
the book to record scholarships and grants. If you don’t have my book, be sure to purchase a calendar and notebook to keep track of all scholarships you've applied for over the years. If you don’t,
you’ll become confused and miss something important, like a deadline. You can buy my book instead by clicking on the book cover in the upper right hand corner of this page. Continue
applying for scholarships until your student has graduated from college debt
free.
You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com
Photo credit: Google Images
If you’re interested in learning more, you can follow me on
Twitter, @ElizaWallace27 or click on the image of my book, Free
College, at the top right corner of this page. You'll be taken to
Amazon, where you can read more about my book, and buy it now.
Monday, April 8, 2019
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Will Sweeping Changes to College Admissions Help or Hurt Your Child?
This depends upon who you are and where you live. If
you’re an alumni or a donor living in California (this is where the changes are
starting), your child will no longer be given preferential treatment in college
admissions. If you aren’t, then the proposed changes may help your child. They
also make learning the sixteen defining habits of successful scholarship
winners even more important than before. (To learn about these habits, click on
the image of Free College, to the
right of this post.) Although these modifications are proposed in California, they're likely to spread.
State colleges and universities in California don't presently
award legacy or donor admissions to students, but some private institutions in
the state do. The state legislature is looking into removing Cal Grants from colleges
who continue to do so. I’m sure there will be a fight in the courts over this,
so be aware everything about admissions is in flux. You can no longer count on your children being
given preferential treatment.
They're also considering eliminating standardized
testing such as the SAT and ACT from the admissions process. This will make
other considerations, such as which courses are taken, their difficulty level, and the overall GPA even more significant. So if you aren’t involved in your high
school student’s course selection already, you’ll want to look into them in the
future. It would also be wise to read progress reports and report cards before
signing them.
Another development is the regulation of admissions consultants.
In the past, anyone could open an office, and do whatever they wanted to help
parents place their children in the colleges of their choice. This led to the
recent admissions scandal, and perhaps to people going to jail. Students
who were implicated in the fraud will be inspected on a case by case basis. Those
already enrolled may be expelled. Some who applied, but have not yet been
admitted, have already had their applications rejected.
Many of the fraudulent admissions involved coaches.
Some parents faked a history of participation in sports, and their children
were admitted. In the future, it’s proposed that any student awarded “special
admissions” for athletic, musical or other talent, be approved by an oversight committee
of at least three staff members. This should level the playing field for students
with exceptional talents.
It’s hard enough going through school, knowing you’ll
need a college education in order to enter the field of your choice, without
less qualified students sneaking in front of you. The proposed changes should eliminate
this. However, if students who have been given preferential treatment in the
past no longer have these benefits, parents will find other
ways to help them. They’ll hire tutors to make sure their grades are high. They’ll
give them private lessons in music or sports, all in order to give them a leg
up in entering the college of their choice.
In order to compete, learn
what honest families do that results in both college acceptance and lots of scholarships.
After doing extensive research, I found sixteen defining habits of graduates who
won the most scholarship money for college. They’re in my book, Free College. Click on the image
of the book cover in the upper right hand corner of this page to be taken to my book on Amazon. Do what other
people don’t, and your children won’t have to worry about college admissions or
scholarships. Both will come to them without cheating.
You are reading from the blog: http://www.roadtofreecollege.com
Photo credit: Google Images
If you’re interested in learning more, you can follow me on
Twitter, @ElizaWallace27 or click on the image of my book, Free
College, at the top right corner of this page. You'll be taken to
Amazon, where you can read more about my book, and buy it now.
Monday, April 1, 2019
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