TED: Ideas Worth Spreading

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

I don't often feel so strongly that I feel compelled to put someone else's ideas on my blog. This was just too good.
If you care at all about education, about ideas and about creating wonder, check this talk out from Sir Ken Robinson.
This has reaffirmed my idea to develop the High School Hikes program so that kids can clear their minds of clutter, focus on art and creativity and healthy ways to express themselves. Sorry if this somehow offends anyone. That was not my intent. I just believe that his talk has many interesting points which we often recognize but seldom act on. And it's good, at times, to hear someone else say things that we, perhaps, thought no one else in the room was thinking.
All my best and I'll work harder to blog more often. I would love to get more feedback from anyone on topics or interests that you may be interested in reading . . .

First Month Phone Calls From College

This has been an interesting few weeks of fielding phone calls for me. Without getting too specific or personal, regarding the individual students, I want to just express, here, what I would tell (and have told) any student who calls me in the first semester, to explain to me a negative trait of his/her college life:

We are humans. For humans, change is not easy. Drastic change, such as a move, being responsible for your own well-being and/or trying to create your own sense of happiness, all while existing in the midst of a community of new people, this is NOT easy! On top of this, it's almost always predictable as to which aspects of the college life are going to be the most difficult for each individual, in my experience. One particular student will struggle with a roommate; one will struggle with eating healthy; partying moderately; managing study time. There are so many aspects that make this move to college difficult. But just because it's difficult does not mean that it's not also exciting. Most of the students are totally satisfied with the physical location and environment of their college choice (hey, this IS my job!). It's letting go of their high school life, their nurturing environment and their amenities of home that makes the adjustment difficult. College is not a cult (well, there are some, but those aren't the schools my students attend). To enjoy the college experience does not require 'drinking the Kool-Aid'. All it requires is an open-mind and embrace. You see, it's an almost-guarantee that difficult times bring negative thoughts. We all doubt ourselves on occasion. This is normal. But there are formidable ways of coping with this doubt. The one that I highly recommend: call ME. If that's not your choice or you need something extra, try to confront your anxiety. In other words, make an effort to recognize what is so difficult about this change that you're undertaking and plan methods to make that change more manageable. If you're not making friends as easily as you would like, look at what your personal investment in making friends is. Maybe you have to go and say "hello" to everyone wearing a blue shirt on campus. Maybe you have to go join a club. Maybe you should reach out to a professor. If it's more a situation of being homesick. You're calling home several times a day, talking to your friends who stayed at the local college, plan trips back home for weekends, perhaps you need to self-impose limits. You start by calling home once a day (this will dwindle to, maybe 4 times a week, more or less). You get yourself off of Facebook. Instead of investing time and resources into planning trips home, go around campus and find information about the various weekend activities offered through the student body, clubs, town/city you're living in, or find a friend and plan a road trip!
Look, I might not be the most sympathetic in this situation. I understand that. Students work so hard to achieve during their high school years, that it seems to me a bit irresponsible to get to college and, within a semester, decide that it's not the appropriate fit. However, I do realize that there are some extreme situations. My word during these rare incidences (and I take it from my background in water polo): Leave it all in the pool. Leave it all in the classroom. Leave it all on campus. Don't leave any stone unturned, any connection unmade, any ally unaligned, any opportunity untaken! You may think that you would be better off at University X, but until you live there, you will never know. And, if you do end up transferring (which, after all options have been examined, is a fine idea) you should make certain that your effort at the first school was the best that you could have given. Because if you don't exert that positive attitude and work hard for a great collegiate experience, you are doing an injustice to yourself. Not only that, but being that change is not easy and college is (likely) the biggest change that you've undertaken thus far, college is not easy. Remember, cliches are cliches because they're true. The grass is always greener. The biggest change creates the greatest growth. You get out what you put in.
With that in mind, get back to the books.
Today you WILL make a new friend.
Today you WILL find out something new about your school or your school's town.
Today you WILL embrace all that hard work you put in to earn for yourself this amazing opportunity!

Does Your Senior Year Really Count?

Welcome to your senior year. It’s an exciting time full of change and celebration. Many people may have told you how unimportant your senior year is. For example, they maybe told you that your grades don’t matter one iota, (although they usually stress, ironically so, that you should do better in the first semester than the second). Or, maybe, they told you that colleges will not look at your grades from senior year because they already have accepted you based on your 9th-11th years. Well, my young, goal-oriented high schooler, THESE ARE LIES. Your senior year counts. Not only does your senior year count towards your high school graduation, it counts towards the trend that you have worked so hard to set over the past three years and that you promised you would continue to achieve when you applied to college.

But, fret not. The senior year, although it does count as a significant factor in the college admission decision- as far as the strength of your curriculum, your GPA and your class rank are concerned- it is not unlike any of the other years that you have entered. My advice is the same for seniors as it is for freshmen: it’s better to get an A in a regular-level course than a C in an AP course; it’s better to challenge yourself with courses that reflect your intellectual interests than courses that you feel pressured to take (i.e. if you really want to take anatomy-physiology instead of physics, go for it!).

The senior year is about you getting comfortable with directing your own academic pursuits. Don’t do what your guidance counselor tells you to do if her/his reason is “you HAVE to take this class for college”. Instead, take a constructive balance of courses that shows you are academically serious but also intellectually curious. If you have taken AP courses in the past, take an AP course or two. You may also consider taking a more creative course or pursuing an internship. Whatever you do, don’t fill your schedule with courses like “study hall”, “teacher’s assistant” and/or “typing”. These are courses that just demonstrate laziness and a lack of curiosity.

The worst thing that you can convey to colleges is that you are not taking your senior year seriously. Remember, at most schools, your senior year WILL count as 25% of your academic history. At some, it will count as even more (33%), as many universities do not calculate your 9th grade year as a part of your overall academic GPA and history. In other words, continue to work as hard as you always have, in classes that similarly challenge you.

A Winning College Essay

Granted, most high school seniors find the most difficult part of their senior year to be brainstorming the ideas for their college admission essays and then, once they’ve got their topic chosen, writing it in the preferred amount of words. Before I go any further, let me say here what I know to be true, the application essay(s) are the most important component of the applications. The point is not to be well-organized with the transition sentences and the specific number of supporting arguments. The point is to be creative and execute whatever you undertake to write (a poem, song, short story, typical essay, etc. . .) with style and verve. Take a risk. Challenge yourself.

That’s the point of pursuing a college education, right? It’s one big risk. You have to move away from home, live with a complete stranger, eat in the same place all the time, get yourself to 8am class, live on hardly any money, choose for yourself what you want to get involved in and be happy about it all—and when you’re not coping with the pressures of this transition, recognize it yourself and seek out your own help. See, college is all about testing YOUR limits. May as well start testing yourself during the application process.

Believe me, I understand how difficult it is to sit down and write about a specific topic, especially when the topic is personal. Writing about oneself is THE most difficult. The only people who seem to be really effective at this are politicians and I don’t know if any of them truly write their own books anyway. Then again, they have lots of practice talking about themselves. The everyday layman, however, does not. This doesn’t mean you don’t have some really interesting or tragic experiences to write about. And, if you can’t think of any- no worries. I always tell my students, the topic doesn’t have to be brilliant. You could write 1,000 words about staring at a fish in a bowl. Just so long as you make it fascinating. You see, the essay is a different type of exam. Though it is by no means standardized, the admission essay does test your ability to say something important about yourself (your terms) but in a regulated number of words (their terms). It’s sort of like your chance at an interview. But it’s also a bit like your first true test of expression.

In high school, no one cares about expression. Your assignment is never to write a poem or a passionate stream of consciousness piece, right? Correct. Your job in high school is to comply with the various and varied standardized tests and write all assignments in such a manner that you’re constantly preparing your organizational writing skills to look like this:

Paragraph 1- Present your generic point of view

Paragraph 2- Present your first supporting argument and example

Paragraph 3- Present your second supporting argument and example

Paragraph 4- Present your thi- . . . and on and on and on

Conclusion - Conclude your paper by re-stating your point of view but don’t present any new facts.

Wow! Doesn’t this just bleed creativity? I know that I, for one, am fairly confident that if a student can write creatively in order to express him/herself caring not whether every thesis statement is perfectly positioned in the first paragraph (as students are taught in high school to be the ONLY proper way to create an introduction) but that the thoughts are organized in a manner that promotes flow and easy understanding for the reader, they will not have to be taught the concept of written expression as it pertains to communication in the post-high school years. And I don’t think there is a single university professor out there who is anxiously awaiting a group of really inept freshmen writers hoping to teach them all how to write a creative and well-thought paper. You see, every person must be able to express emotions and ideas on paper if, for no other reason, than the fact that he/she wants to become effective in the professional world (not to mention one’s personal life where writing and written communication are becoming more and more necessary with the advent of email). I have conversations all the time with both students and parents, alike, where the ability to effectively communicate inevitably comes up as a significant concern of both groups.

The biggest concern for most parents is that their student(s) cannot express themselves on paper. Have they ever been taught? Regardless, this is not the issue. In my opinion, if a student is an avid reader, whether or not he/she has ever had good writing instruction, the level and reading ability comes through in his/her writing. Writing is so unique in that it is not really a teachable craft. I believe that grammar is teachable and a basic knowledge of it certainly will benefit any writer. However, to truly be able to convey a message, one cannot be pushed or prodded but instead must be creatively inspired and practiced. In other words, start writing NOW! Write for ten minutes every day. Write poetry: haiku; limerick; stream of consciousness, etc . . . Write fiction using creative first lines to get you started. If nothing is coming to mind, try this: “Stuck. She was experiencing another case of writer’s block and this time . . .”

Seriously, go for it. Write away. Oh, and don’t forget, the key to all good writing- err, at least the key to all things written well is READING. You’ve taken the first step by reading this blog. Now, go read something more interesting. Then, if you finish your fiction and poetry writing and you are, for whatever reason, craving another assignment but cannot conjure up any ideas, drop me an email, actgroupbrady@gmail.com and, if you want me to read it (and respond), make sure that you have expressed yourself clearly and creatively. I’ll look forward to great things from you in the future.

Where I've Been

Greetings, College Enthusiasts!

Alas, I am working from a computer at the library as my new laptop has been delayed in shipment, yet again! For those of you who don't know- and may care- my laptop was stolen right out from under me, literally, at the San Francisco Airport, two weeks ago. What a tragedy, eh?! But I have recovered and the sense of a new school year will help me even more.

Being that I'm at a library, it has made me notice what, exactly, the young people are doing. Is it just me or has gaming absolutely infected the current high school generation? In hearing from a colleague at North Carolina State University a few months ago, I found out that gaming is the #1 reason for students in the engineering and computer science programs to drop out. That was absolutely shocking. In accord with the previous blog, about Richard Louv's Last Child in the Woods, I have decided to act as responsibly as I can and incorporate into my education curriculum, a new educational program called High School Hikes. After reading Louv's book and hearing, seeing and feeling the evidence of sedentary lifestyles all around me, I believe that if I can do something to open the eyes and minds of some young people, I can help in the fight against nature deficit disorder. Starting now I am soliciting for students to join me on the maiden voyage: most likely a drive up to the Great Smokey Mountains for a few days of exploration, introspection and good, old fashioned fun! What a wonderful world we will discover-- after the 12 hour drive, that is.
Wonderful nonetheless. Be in touch. Ask questions. Read a book. Never stop learning. Never stop growing!
Be well.

Latest Reading

In a recent phone conversation with my best childhood friend, who now teaches, among other things, Human Development, our conversation diverged to a common concern. Not only has the adjustment to life in Florida been difficult for me as the mountains seem so distant, but the awareness that these students are growing up in an urban jungle, replete with transplant sand beaches, palm trees and highways, like arteries, running through the middle of everything. It's not easy being a young person in our world. I don't think that we make it any easier by removing ourselves from nature. I am thrilled that my students enjoy listening to music on their ipods. I think music provides a lot of positive and creative stimulus for the brain. I am dumbfounded that my students might not be able to create a craft of some sort or put together a puzzle . . . or recognize the difference between a Redwood or Oak Tree!

My friend then told me about a book that he had recently picked up that he thought I might enjoy, Last Child in the Woods, by Richard Louv. The book focuses on what we can do to prevent our children from acquiring, what he has coined as nature deficit disorder. Although I have not finished the book yet, I can already tell that there are many parts of it, if not the book in its entirety, which would be helpful for both adults and young people.

It's not uncommon to link the idea of many of the current learning disorders to a lack of certain stimulus or over-stimulus. Many of the ideas that we, as educators, are fearful of: teaching to the tests, cutting recess and physical education, larger class sizes, longer class periods, shorter lunches, etc . . . are all feeding an epidemic of restless and under-stimulated students. So, how will these young people, our children and students, be able to access nature for their children and students? As the generations perpetuate themselves, we grow further and further away from nature.

Stay tuned . . . I am organizing programs to take a group of students to Yosemite National Park and a few other trips in the coming year.

Pick the book up if you have a chance. We all must be agents of change. Go for it! Make a difference.

When to Hire a Private College Admissions Counselor?

Of course, like everything, every student has different needs. It is not universally true that every high schooler undergoing the college application process needs to hire an admission “expert”. Granted, hardly any who call themselves such truly know much more than any guidebook could tell you. There is, however, one thing that is indisputable: all young people need advocates in their lives. Sadly, a common trend in education, private and public, alike, is that the high school guidance and college counseling departments are too overworked and underfunded to offer much more than one or two generic meetings to discuss the local and in-state university landscape. Not to mention, they all too often quickly dismiss certain universities as unrealistic and impossible for the student to gain admission. There have been very few instances that I can recall where I have said to someone that he/she can’t gain admission somewhere. It’s just not a good habit to practice. With the constantly changing state of the college admission process, you might want to look into hiring a private counselor if you meet any of the following criteria…

You might benefit from a private college admissions counselor if…

1. You are not in the top ten percent of your high school class (the students who the school counselors ordinarily tend to focus on)
2. Or, you are in the top ten percent of your class, academically, but have doubts about what you want or what might be a healthy fit for you.
3. You’re seeking a less traditional academic path, in that you are a student looking to pursue athletics, theater, music or art at the university level.
4. Your high school has a very poor record of college preparation and you believe that you are unique among your peers for wanting to pursue 4-year university immediately following high school graduation.
5. You want to apply to out-of-state or in-state schools that your guidance office says are a “bad fit” or “out of your reach” or “not financially viable”.
6. No one is helping direct you to potential options or many people are offering differing opinions on your future.
7. You are a student-athlete and unsure of how to initiate conversations with college coaches.
8. You need motivation and a lot of positive reinforcement during this very stressful process.
9. You don’t want an all-out war in your house because of the intensity of the college search and application processes.

As for instances when, I believe, working with me has made a significant difference in a student’s life, there are many. Each different student has a different set of needs and recognizing this is the first of many steps. I have many students who had committed so much of their lives to athletics and were extremely talented, but did not want to focus on that in the college process even though it could be a tremendous benefit. They pursued that angle and it helped significantly. I had one student whose SAT test scores, combined for math and reading, totaled less than 800 but was accepted to the flagship campus of one of the top state systems in the country- a top 50 university. He got it because he really got to know the admission counselor for his region on a personal level and she helped become his advocate on the inside because she knew he would be successful once he got there. I have worked with students who had no support at home and those who had parents hovering above them at all hours. Both of these groups needed me to serve as an outlet.

Some need a mentor. Some, a teacher. For others they need a mediator or a counselor. I have been called a big brother and a father-figure, a disciplinarian and a friend. I have been rewarded, many times, with the first phone call once a student finds out that he/she has been accepted to their top-choice school.

But, like everything else in life, do your homework. Check references of the private counselor. Ask if you can meet with former/current students of theirs’. Ask as many questions as you can and be prepared for the extra time that a good consultant might ask you to put towards this process. Remember, we all need advocates in our life. In one form or another, paying for a mentor or a counselor is no different than paying the soccer coach who might end up as a role model or the tutor or the private music instructor. Just be aware of what you expect out of the process and make sure that the counselor you choose is on the same page as you are.