Tag Archive for 'College Success'

Strong Teams Win Championships

The other day I was talking to my oldest, high school age, nephew about working on group projects  in school. Although there’s a bit of an age range between us, he described his group project experiences to be very similar to the group project experiences I had in high school. There was always at least one student who did nothing, another one who partially participated, and one or two who did most of the work.

That setup does not work well in the workplace because your colleagues do not want to pick up your slack, and your employer could possibly give you a poor evaluation or terminate you because of your lack of participation. Prepare to excel in group projects well before college and when you get into your career field.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, has his or her own particular strength. The leader of the group, which is usually obvious in the beginning of the process, should get each member of the group to write down what part of the project interests him or her most. If the interest in each person is identified, that’s usually also that person’s strength. People want to work on things they are good at doing.

Let each person create their own task list for their portion of the project. Set a deadline for the entire group to get together and present that task. These two simple steps will get the project completed without some people participating and others not.

In the workplace, everyone must participate. Employers notice if someone is slacking and who is apt to take the lead role in group projects. Practice being a good team leader now, so you’ll be an excellent team leader in the future.

Published on Friday July 2, 2010 in Broadcast, College Success, On the Job and Professional Skills. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

Financial Aid is Not Free

One day I was talking to one of my students outside of the classroom. He was not performing well in class, and I was offering him tutoring services from myself or the tutoring center. He said one of the main reasons he was not performing well was because he worked a lot.

While I was talking to him about options of balancing between his job and school, he said, “I’m not paying for school anyway.”

I said, “Oh really? What methods do you use to cover your tuition?”

He said, “I’m on financial aid.”

I said,” You do know you have to pay financial aid back….don’t you?”

“No I don’t,” he said,”that’s why it’s called aid.”

Let me dispell the financial aid myths for you right now. This stuff can be extremely confusing for both students and parents. There are three types of financial aid and there are huge differences between each of them.

1. Grants: This is the free money you aren’t responsible for paying back. This free money is usually awarded if you get a scholarship, you have exemplary grades, or you qualify to be in extreme need of the money based on you or your family’s financial situation. You can also get a grant if your employer provides tuition reimbursement.

2. Most students take out loans without even realizing that they’ll have to pay this money back. Popular loans are from Sallie Mae, Stafford, Perkins, and Plus loans. Approximately six months after graduation, the loan companies start sending you bills for the money you owe. The interest rates on these loans are usually rather low. The ideal behind them is that when you graduate, you’ll be able to find a job and pay them back. The loan companies tend to be flexible in working out payment plans, as long as you are responsible in paying on time.

3. Another way to pay for school is to find out any work study your school might have to offer. They don’t normally pay too much, but it’s at least something you are paying off gradually while you are in school, instead of the lump sum you’d be asked to pay six months after graduation.


Published on Monday June 28, 2010 in Broadcast and College Success. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

Open Your Mouth: Communication Between Parents and Students

On the last day of class, I have one-on-one conferences with my students. I discuss what each student needs to work on in their next class, whether the student needs to retake the class or is moving on to the next level.

In one of my end of the semester conferences, I asked my student the question I’d been wanting to ask him all year. I acknowledged that he was a great person but never seemed to put any effort into his work. I asked him, “What’s preventing you from giving your all in class?” He said, “I don’t want to be in college. My mother is making me come.”

That comment spoke volumes to me. If someone doesn’t feel they have a choice, they will not put the effort into their work. This student is very smart and could have completed the class with an “A.” Instead, he got an, “F,” and had to retake the class.

We all have our own journey in life. Parents, allow your children to make choices about their future. They really do know what they want to do and will succeed in it if they’re given the choice to pursue it. Students, tell your parents what you want. If you open up the lines of communication, parents will understand your point of view.

Published on Tuesday May 18, 2010 in Choosing a Career and College Success. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The Responsibility Factor

Often times teachers will say their students need to be more responsible. Many students will say that it’s their teacher’s responsibility to make sure that they pass the class. Who’s really responsible?

You are!

Whether you are a teacher or a student, your own responsibility lies within you.

One of my students came into class today without anything – without the textbook, without a pen or pencil, and without any paper or notebook. I asked him, “Where are your things?” He looked at me curiously and said, “At home….”

Just as my blood pressure began to rise over a student coming to class unprepared, I changed my perspective and my reaction. I said,” Well, just like it’s my responsibility to be prepared to teach you, it’s your responsibility to be prepared to learn. It’s like a pact we made when you signed up for the class. So, I’m going to be standing up here doing what I do, and hopefully you can take action right now to be as prepared as you possibly can with the resources around you.”

He said, “What resources? I didn’t bring anything.”

I said, “There are 19 other students in this classroom right now. What items do they have that you don’t have right now?”

He said, “They have everything I don’t have.”

I said, “Okay, so who might be able to help you get what you need?”

Then the lightbulb turned on in his head. He smiled. He asked the girl next to him for paper and a pen. Then he asked her if she could share her book. He raised his hand to answer every question I asked throughout the class period. And he was very eager to pay attention and participate in the discussion.

With both of us fulfilling our end of our own responsibility, learning happened for both of us. He learned his responsibility, and I learned not to let my blood pressure rise in a situation that seemed incomprehensible at the time.

Published on Monday February 1, 2010 in College Success and On the Job. 0 Comments Tags: , , .

The Power of Flexibility

Change occurs constantly. One never knows what’s going to happen next. If you remain flexible, you’ll be able to adapt easily. If you freeze up, you’ll break. It’s your choice how to react in any situation.

Take this situation as an example…….

For the past month or so, a collegue of mine and I have been working on the unveiling of a new pilot course. The technology program works with our remedial writing class and makes paper submissions, grading, and teaching grammar easier for both the students and the instructor.

During winter break, my colleague and I worked diligently with the publishing company to put this pilot class together. This included online training and a few meetings for us to understand the program. Then, we went into the program and tailored it to fit our curriculum. We also created an extremely detailed course outline so students could follow along with the tasks they’d be completing on a day to day basis.

With everything prepared down to the very last detail, we couldn’t possibly be prepared for the monsoon like rain storm we had yesterday in South Jersey. I can’t even count the amount of times my umbrella turned inside out on my way to the class, but by the time I arrived to class, I was drenched….along with our department secretary and the three representatives from the publishing company, who had traveled three hours to get to my class to help train the students.

We decided to meet 30 minutes before the class started. We set up all of the computers so that all the students had to do when they got to the class was sit in front of them, look up at the monitor in the front of the classroom, and follow directions.

Well, that’s not what actually took place. As soon as all the students got to class, the power went out. With the exception of four computers that were apparently running off of the back up generator, everything was off….including the lights. Thinking quickly, we decided to rotate the students onto these four computers and let them leave after they registered for the software program. Quickly after the second group of students got onto the computers to register, those four computers went out as well.

How did the students react to the situation? They became flexible. They took the directions and registered at home. They listened carefully and took notes in the dark before they were dismissed from class.

Although the students might not even realize it, they learned a very important lesson that they can apply throughout life. They learned how to remain calm when things seem to be chaotic. They made a decision that they were going to have enough confidence in themselves to try the new program at home and complete the assignment for homework. They made a decision that they were going to become flexible.


Published on Tuesday January 26, 2010 in On the Job. 0 Comments Tags: , .