Empowering Excellence: Strategies for Life Taking Learning and Life to the Next Level

A guest post by Kathy Stacy and Nichole Dalzell

Does your child or the children you work with have a difficult time starting and finishing homework? Have they ever thought they would get a good grade on a test or project but have been disappointed? Do you ever wonder where all their study time goes?  According to the Brown ADD Scales Manual “When executive skills are not working effectively, a child, regardless of their  cognitive abilities, can experience significant problems in many aspects of learning, getting work done, social functioning, and self-esteem.” Executive functions skills help us decide what to pay attention to in our lives and are  increasingly important aspect of every child's education especially in today's high-tech, fast paced world.

These skills cover a wide range of processes such as prioritizing, planning, organizing, managing time, goal setting, maintaining sustained attention, being flexible and accessing working memory.  Each of these skills stands on its own as well as partnering with others to form a suite of learned behaviors that carry us successfully into adulthood.  From our experience working with students, families and teachers we have found the three most prevalent needs to be in areas of time management, accessing and honing working memory, and planning and prioritizing.

1. It’s About Time:
Time management is an essential executive function skill that allows students to develop efficiency in how they begin tasks and stay on track until the task is completed.  Honing this skill allows students to properly estimate how long a task will take to complete and gives them the ability to create accurate schedules that allow for realistic follow through.  It is essential for parents and teachers to explicitly provide children with strategies that help them estimate and understand time, adhere to deadlines, manage technology distractions, and improve the use of calendar/agenda systems.

2. If Only I Could Remember:
Working memory allows children to hold information in their minds while performing complex tasks.  It affords them a chance to examine their current situation in light of past experiences and decide how they might perform better.  When effective note taking and study strategies are clearly taught, modeled and reflected upon children understand the importance of using these strategies across a variety of disciplines to be successful in and out of the classroom. 

3. What Are You Going To Do and When Are You Going To Do It?
The executive functioning skill of planning and prioritizing gives students a “road map” to reach a goal or complete a task.  It involves being able to recognize what is important, focus on that task first and move forward with a plan of action.  Students need  an understanding of how they can  independently impose structure and order on ideas.  Several strategies that might prove beneficial are: calendaring systems, chunking long term assignments, monitoring progress and goal setting.

Regardless of academic experience- students can employ strategies to make school work easier and allow them to earn better grades. The key is to learn a few strategies well and practice them until they become second nature! Practicing these strategies, systems, and routines Empowers students for Excellence.  According to Richard Guare, PhD, author of Smart, but Scattered, "It's never too early or too late to help your child develop the skills for success. Learn how to build these skills and stay on track all year long and throughout your life."

Empowering Excellence, LLC offers customized webinars, one-on-one student sessions and group workshops on executive functioning skills to both parents and school faculties to help their students tackle schoolwork and life more efficiently and effectively. 

Teacher staff development opportunities:
Our staff development training is designed to assist teachers in understanding and implementing instructional approaches and techniques to support the development of executive functioning skills in their classroom. In this workshop, we will illustrate what executive functioning deficits look like in the classroom and offer specific techniques for addressing those weaknesses that affect student performance.

Individualized coaching:
Executive functions let people plan, organize and complete tasks. Some of the most important skills a child needs are not taught in school. As academic coaches, we look at these important set of skills and develop a plan to address weaknesses that can affect a child's everyday life.
We help students build strategies to address their Executive Function weaknesses.
Helping the student to:

• Understand how to manage their time, study smarter, plan for tests, and design learning strategies tailored just for them.

• Break assignments down into workable “chunks,” and use technological and visual aids that keep them more organized.

• Manage their workspace and materials, keep up with assignments, and be proactive on long term projects.

Kathy and Nichole are skilled educators with a combined 35 years of experience. They are committed to empowering students to unlock their academic potential and gain the tools necessary for success not only today, but for a lifetime. Their passion is helping students study smarter, not harder by developing the Executive Functioning Skills needed for LIFE! 
Visit us on the web at www.empoweringexcellence.org

A Teacher's Treasure Box

The school year is well under way and things are going great for me overall with so much to be grateful for in my classroom. But I am also struggling with some new challenges. That is something probably every educator can say. Nothing will ever be perfect and if we ever achieved perfection, something would change. However, these facts keep the craft of teaching exciting and propel us to constantly adjust, refine, and grow in our quest as educators.

Recently, I was a bit overwhelmed and I dipped into my teacher “Treasure Box” where I store my keepsakes that remind me of the rewards of teaching, the letters and notes from students and parents, expressing their thanks and deep appreciation. These letters explicitly demonstrate that all the hours of toil are worth it and the seeds I am planting are taking root, spreading out and hopefully reshaping our world. Some of these letters are especially poignant when they come from students who are moving on to high school and college.

I came across the following note that I received last year and was reminded of the gifts that students give us and the spiritual nourishment we receive, when we are open to it. Here it is:

Gratitude Letter to Mr. Griffith

Mr. Griffith,

            First off, I want to say thank you. I am going into high school in a few months and I will also be moving to a new state. You were my first teacher at a new school when I came to your class in 4^th grade and you have helped me tremendously. Although in the beginning I had many struggles, you helped me through everything. When I came close to giving up, you wouldn’t let me. Because of this, I persevered through the end of 8^th grade.

            Having come from a school beforehand where things were much easier, there were times when I almost came home and said, “I can’t do this anymore.” I didn’t give up because I always remembered your perseverance and gratitude. Even when you weren’t anywhere to be found, you have helped me through difficult times. I came to your school completely new and had no friends here. Soon, I’ll be going through something very similar and I will make sure to always remember what you have done for me.

            It’s been four years now since I left your classroom and I have not forgotten to bring gratitude with me. Although I have lost track of daily gratitude entries, I always come up with as many things as I can when I am feeling stressed. This helps me tremendously. I have been blessed to have had you as a teacher. What you have given me is a gift, a gift that I could never thank you enough for.

Thank you,

Tim

Here is a quote to end the blog:

"Good teaching is an act of hospitality toward the young, and hospitality is always an act that benefits the host even more than the guest." - Parker Palmer