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Greenbrae, California

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A+ Head Start

Posted at Helpful Tips by Marty Bautista

Aug. 12, 2008

Tagged with: a head start for a students this school year

A Head Start for A+ Students This School Year

There are several things parents can do to help their children get a head start to maintain their A+ status this school year. The school year is fast approaching and parents and students are anxiously awaiting their 2008-09 class schedules. First, parents can help their children differentiate between their strong and weak academic subjects to determine where they will need to focus their time and energy this year. Some students naturally succeed in language arts based subjects like English and social studies while others are more adept in math and science.

Parents of A+ students usually have a laptop or other computer available for their child to use to write papers and work on school projects if not their own system. We also advise that you take off any and all distractions that may be on these computers. It’s always optimum to prepare a workspace for the A+ student similar to an organized office workspace. An organized space will assist the A+ student in efficiently optimizing their study time. Example: a place for storing old tests for review, a place for materials that will be needed such as graph paper, rulers, binder paper and pencils. The tempting distractions of face book, social chat rooms and play stations should not be in this environment because they usually take away from building blocks for learning.

Parents should take note and see if perhaps their child was over scheduled last year and needs a break from so many after school activities. It is great that kids play a sport after school for mental and physical stamina, but children who try to take on too many after school activities may be so burned out that they cannot make good use of their study time. Parents should also talk to their kids about how much time is really being spent doing homework versus how much time is dedicated to the child’s social agenda? Seeing friends and having a social network is important, but cell phones and text messages should be limited to Fridays and the weekends when a child is struggling in school.

Once the subject areas that need attention are targeted, it may be time to find a tutor who can assist in the learning process. With the rise in attention deficit disorder and other learning differences, some students may need a general homework coach who can work on time management and organizational skills. Planning adequate study time for long-term projects is difficult for students who have trouble with attention to detail. Other students may need a subject specific tutor who has previously taught the course, can go over class material and help answer questions on the homework.

A very good friend of mine, Shannon Mulligan, is a fabulous tutor and operates the company, Marin Tutors, based here in Marin County. Shannon has a B.A. in Economics from U.C. Berkeley and a M.A. in School Counseling from Boston College. She comes highly recommended and has several tutors working for her to accommodate all of the varied subjects as well as PSAT and SAT prep. Shannon can be reached through her website www.MarinTutors.com or by phone at 415.378.3324. If you have or know a child in need, I would advise to contact Shannon to make sure the child is given all available tools necessary to succeed in any academic endeavor. An education will last them a lifetime.

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