Tips for a Positive Attitude Adjustment

I’ve watched enough movies to know brainwashing is real. I’ve seen enough advertising to know it’s all around us. I’ve noticed peer pressure at work. So why not make this work for our students, instead of against them?

I used a couple of simple tricks to change the attitude of my students from negative to positive. I wanted their way of thinking to help them get ahead, instead of holding them back. Here are three tricks that worked miracles in my classroom.

1.  Motivational quotes: In addition to writing down their homework assignments as soon as they entered the classroom, my students also conjugated a verb of the day in every tense they had learned to that point, and copied down positive motivational quotes. They understood why they should do the first two. After all it was a French (or German) class. But they wondered why do the third?

For first year students, I explained they would probably need these for writing compositions in their English or History classes. I learned their importance from an author named John Maxwell. I told them I wished someone had told me about this when I was their age. This is true by the way, and they bought into it.

For second year students and beyond, if they asked, which was rare, I explained it was my attempt at brainwashing. I wanted them to be happier and more successful in life, which would make my job easier. They usually laughed, and told me how helpful the quotes had been in writing compositions in English and History classes the year before.

2. One year I applied for a small grant. My stated goal was to improve leadership skills of my students. I won the award, received $200 and bought twenty copies of Seven Habits of Highly Effective Students by Sean Covey, CLICK HERE (ad). They were added to my classroom lending library.

3. Whenever a student was finished early, and had nothing else to do, he went over to my lending library and picked up a book to read. Often, at the end of class, he asked if he could take the book home. I asked the student to put his name, the book title and date on a 3 x 5 card. When the book was returned to me, I wrote 10 points on the card, and dropped it into the “In Box” on my desk.

I also approached students who were class leaders, and handed them a copy of 7 Habits. I often did this on a Friday or the day before a three day weekend or holiday. “Here, you’ll like this.” When they finished, they returned the book, and sang its praises. I told them I would give them 10 extra credit points if they told two of their friends about the book. Then, of course, their friends asked to check out a copy. Only once in ten years of doing this did a student answer the question, “What did you think about the book?” without something very positive to say. His comment was, “It’s okay.” I’ll take it.

We’ve all heard the phrase, “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree.” Why not bend the twig in a positive way? There are so many negative factors bombarding our students. Put a few positive ones in their path.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

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Image Credit: Pixabay

Take Control of Your Future

Full Ride Colleges and Universities Still Exist - Princeton

While the cost of obtaining a college degree in the U.S. has continued to climb, some colleges and universities offer enough financial support to make them virtually free to attend. Most of these institutions are private, and about two-thirds are liberal arts, according to a recent U.S. News and World Report survey. Half base how much they provide a student by the financial need of the family (as determined by the FAFSA form). The others base their contribution on merit alone.

One university where a Full Ride is possible is Princeton University, ranked number 1 in the nation by U.S. News. Princeton is located in a suburb in New Jersey. It was founded in 1746, making it the fourth oldest university in the nation. The campus covers 600 acres. The current undergrad population is 5,402 students. It’s a world class institution which provides an excellent education.

The application deadline at Princeton is the first of January. The early action deadline is November first. There’s a $65 fee to apply to the university. ACT and SAT test scores are due on January first. While it’s difficult to be selected to attend with an acceptance rate of only 7 percent, there’s an early acceptance rate of 19.9 percent.

The cost of tuition and fees for a year at Princeton is $45,320, (2016-2017). But with a Full Ride, this doesn’t matter. Most colleges that provide a Full Ride do so by combining student loans, scholarships, grants and a work-study program. The most important aspect of planning to go to any such university is to make sure that the amount of student loan required is zero, or close to it. The rest of the aid is free money. It never has to be paid back. It’s advantageous to attend college somewhere that provides a suitable education without leaving the graduate with a mountain of student loan debt.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

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Image Credit: Pixabay

Aim High

Improve Your Grades by Adding Low-Tech Aids

I love my smartphone, tablet and laptop, but they’re not always appropriate to use. Sometimes I’m someplace that frowns upon the blue glow. I’m sure that happens to students all the time. But that doesn’t mean I’m stuck. Neither are you.

One day when passing back exams and making comments to students as I did, I complimented a girl on making only two errors on a four page German exam. The boy next to her said, “Sure. She’s smart. Of course she got an ‘A’.” Ah, a teaching moment. Love those. I said, “Okay, let’s see how smart she is.”

I asked her how she prepared for the test. She told us she studied with flashcards. “So you made them last night, and studied for a while, right?”  “No, I make flashcards for each new vocabulary word or verb when they're introduced, but also anything else you put on the board. I start studying them that night. I study a little each night until the day of the test.”

I turned to the boy and said, “I guess you’re right. She is smart.” From that day on, I had all my students make flashcards on 3 x 5 cards cut in half. These work, CLICK HERE (ad). They kept them in a small Ziploc bag and carried them just about everywhere. They reviewed the cards whenever they had a free moment.

You know there are times you’ve finished your work in a class and you’re not allowed to pull out your phone or tablet. But you can certainly take out a bag of flashcards to study. When you’re in a doctor’s office or at home watching TV, or even waiting for a bus, you can study a little. It can’t hurt, and it certainly will help improve your grades which just might help you win more free cash for college. Learn more tips on how to earn more scholarships, CLICK HERE. 

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Give Yourself a Break

Showing Up is Half the Battle

The importance of school attendance has been in the news lately. There are all sorts of studies proving what teachers have known for decades. We can’t teach them if they aren’t in class. I taught German and French for most of my career. There was no way students would learn these languages without coming to class. While I never penalized students for poor attendance, I made it worthwhile for them to show up.

I rewarded classes with perfect attendance and good naturedly teased the one student who was absent or late and ruined perfection. Rewards were never large, but any positive attention gives a positive result.  

The smallest reward was stickers. Yes, high school students like stickers, just as much as elementary kids. I bought large bags of inexpensive German or French decals or stickers as rewards. These would work in other subjects, CLICK HERE (ad).  I also had buttons to give away on special occasions.

The greatest success I had in influencing behavior was when I played one class section off against another. They always knew the students in my other classes and were friends with most of them. They eagerly jumped into completion no matter the subject.

Once, about three months before the end of the school year, one of my classes had perfect attendance for three days in a row. Rather than stickers, I added five points to the grade they had earned on their homework assignment. This really got their attention.

I told them my other classes were jealous. I wanted to see just how long they could keep this going. Being absent or tardy would ruin the game. After a month of perfection, they were eager to know their prize. I told them if they kept it up until the end of the school year, they would be very pleased with their reward. I did not specify what it was, but they trusted me.

Two weeks before their final exam, one of the students in this class had to be in court on a traffic matter. No excuses. He left court at lunch, drove to class, arrived on time, and went back to court after the bell rang. He didn’t want to ruin the fun for his classmates.

The day of the final exam, when the students took out their paper and pens, I went to the board and wrote in German, “Tell me if you’re happy with your grade. If you are, you’re finished with the exam. If you’re not, in German, tell me what you think your grade should be and why.” They were delighted they had maintained perfect attendance for almost three months, and so was I.

Whatever gets recognized and rewarded gets done.

You are reading from the blog, RoadtoFreeCollege.com, where we empower families with knowledge to navigate the path to higher education without the burden of excessive loans.

 

For more information, you’ll want my book, Free College, CLICK HERE . It teaches families how to help their kids become more successful in school, college, and life.

 

As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases, at no additional cost to you.