Across the country, schools have been experimenting with ditching the five-day week and substituting it with a four-day week instead, giving students and teachers an extra day off. While this change is taken place largely in rural school districts, it’s uncertain whether this change could positively affect urban schools. However, clear benefits and drawbacks can be seen in the changes made at various schools as well as in the research that has been conducted related to the four-day week, and it is not unlikely that research will be done in the near future that evaluates the effects on urban school districts.

In a study published in 2013, the effects of four-day weeks on student achievement were evaluated by assessing the math and reading scores of fourth- and fifth-grade students. The study included scores from 2000-2010 at 15 schools using the traditional five-day schedule and 14 schools that had switched to four-day weeks. The schools were chosen based on similarities in size and school characteristics, including socioeconomic characteristics and ethnic demographics of the school areas, and the number of students enrolled in free or reduced lunch programs, according to an article written by a one of the researchers heading up the study, Mary Beth Walker. The study was also completed using only school districts in Colorado to avoid differences in state standards and education requirements, and the state allowed for a large pool of schools from which to choose, as more than one-third of Colorado’s school districts operate using the four-day week schedule.

Overall, the research seems to indicate that a four-day school week improves math scores, and reading scores were not affected. Essentially, the study found that the four-day week does not have discernable negative impacts on student achievement but rather improves one area while the other remains the same or only slightly improved. However, test scores, and this study alone, are not enough to create a need or desire for national changes in education systems.

A school in Chattooga County, Georgia, has adopted this four-day schedule, and, so far, the school district seems to be mostly benefiting from the change, especially financially. The school has saved money on bus transportation, substitute teachers, electricity, and other expenditures, allowing them to save almost $800,000 annually after switching to a four-day school week in 2010. Saving this much money allows the school to keep electives and sports that other schools have found themselves forced to cut. Students’ test scores have also increased in the district, raising it above the state average for test scores. The district has even seen a drastic decrease in the frequency of discipline referrals by 73 percent. All of that said, with the change in the number of school days comes a change in the length of school days. This district begins classes Monday through Thursday at 7:40 a.m. and ends the day at 3:45 p.m. to make sure that it’s meeting the 150 hour-per-year minimum as outlined by the state and also keeping its old vacation schedules without extending the school year further into summer time.

There are several schools with similar stories to that of the Chattooga district, but there is still the potential for this new four-day fad to disappoint. Schools will be looking to this change as a means of cutting costs, as Chattooga did, but it’s not clear how effective this will be in all types of areas. It has mainly been tested in rural areas, and there have been no studies regarding the use of four-day weeks in urban districts at all. However, there are some pros and cons that the 2013 study discovered, which may or may not hold true for urban schools in the future but can certainly provide some perspective on why it might be a good idea for school districts to at least consider the possibility of change.

Pros for Teachers

Longer class periods allow for greater flexibility in how lessons are organized and what material can be covered each day, potentially allowing for more varied teaching methods.

The day off can be devoted to teacher planning or conferences on days that teachers will not have to plan around and let affect schedules or lesson plans.

It can reduce turnover and absenteeism, and higher teacher turnover rates have been proven to negatively impact student achievement.

It may lead to higher productivity if teacher have three days off to recuperate from the week.  

Cons for Teachers

Teachers might face difficulties initially adapting their lesson plans or their teaching styles to the schedule change.

There is the possibility that teachers would respond poorly to the longer days and shortened weeks, adding greater stress and fatigue.

Pros for Students

Better attendance; higher student attendance rates have been associated with better test scores. Students will have a day to schedule medical and other essential appointments on their day off rather than during their school week, allowing them to miss fewer classes.

The study showed that students were less distracted, exhibited an improved morale, and behaved better.

With a three-day weekend, students gain an extra day to do homework and to prepare for classes.

It permits flexibility in the event of school cancellations, particularly weather-related. Schools can reschedule missed days without increasing the length of the school year and can reschedule classes before test days rather than after, making sure students are not cheated out of class time to prepare.

Test scores fall for high school students with minimal time between testing. While students have less time to recover between days during the school week, a longer weekend might enhance student performance on tests, as it’s been shown in various studies that test scores, especially for high school students, fall when students have minimal time to prepare.

Cons for Students

It has been conjectured that it would be difficult for students to retain subject matter when given an extra day off. Although the study suggests that this is not the case, further research needs to be done to assess whether this differs for students in different demographics.

Longer school days require added focus and attention, which could be an especially difficult adjustment for younger students with shorter attention spans.

Parents might need to find a daycare service or after school program for their youth to attend on their days off if there is not a parent home on that day. While this might not be necessary for high school students, it is still debated whether finding alternative arrangements for their days off will negatively affect students.

-Hope Swedeen

What do you think of the four-day week? How could this change positively or negatively affect you?

Homework has been a thorn in my side for years. It’s something that found me in elementary school, and it’s followed me around ever since. To my dismay, homework has gotten harder and more time-consuming the longer it’s been with me, and I’m not the first to have asked, “Is this really necessary?” In fact, in the last 5-10 years, there has been a slew of research conducted regarding the value (and lack thereof) of homework.

Research regarding the value of homework has yielded positive and negative results, some of which contradict each other or create further questions about homework’s worth. There are a variety of types of homework that all have varying effects, and these can be academic or nonacademic. In a study conducted by the Center for Public Education (CPE), several benefits were discovered that are not directly related to academic achievement. Homework was seen to improve communication between students and parents, encourage students to work and socialize with peers, improve task- and time-management skills, establish routines and study habits, and increase determination to follow through on a task.

These benefits are often a product of homework that is designed with a view of enhancing nonacademic achievement rather than being directly related to what students are learning in school. According to the study, homework that enhances what you might call “life skills” rather than academic learning goals is most beneficial for younger students in elementary and middle school. These students’ basic habits and skills are being shaped by their assignments, and their ability to ignore irrelevant information, focus on tasks, and avoid distractions is much lower than that of older students. A Washington Post article addresses studies that show no benefits to assigning course-related homework to elementary students, and even middle school students should have little academic homework.

In the CPE study, the effects of homework that is related to or expands upon what students learn in school were also evaluated. These assignments often include practicing a task learned in class, preparing for upcoming course work, applying class material to new contexts and situations, or combining skills learned in class with other skills. These types of assignments are more beneficial for high school students, but it is unclear to what extent or in what situations. According to the Washington Post article, studies have been done that show a correlation between increased homework and standardized test scores, but the correlation is not very strong, and there is no evidence to say that homework actually causes better test scores. Several studies also concluded that math homework has a better effect than most other types, especially reading and writing.

In terms of class grades, there does not seem to be any evidence to suggest that students who complete homework earn higher grades than those who do not if homework completion is not factored into class grades. Students who prepare less outside of class are actually shown to receive higher grades, according to the CPE study.

Studies conducted point to several negative effects of course-related homework, and in the CPE study, it was shown that homework can negatively affect students’ attitudes toward school, increase boredom, exhaustion and frustration, limit the amount of leisure time students can enjoy outside of their 6.5-7 hour school days, lead to family conflicts, and create a lack of interest in learning. The Washington Post article states: “Six hours a day of academics are enough, and kids should have the chance after school to explore other interests and develop in other ways — or be able simply to relax in the same way that most adults like to relax after work, and… the decision about what kids do during family time should be made by families, not schools.”

While research on the benefits and drawbacks of homework is not conclusive, there are a few overarching viewpoints that have come out of these studies. According to the CPE study, older students benefit more from completing homework on a regular basis, especially when the homework relates to upcoming course work or review of material that has not been covered recently rather than assignments that repeat what was learned earlier in the day. However, the optimum amount of time to spend on homework was found to be between 1.5 and 2.5 hours for high school students and 1 hour or less for middle school students, which is much lower than the amount of time that many students need to work on homework each night to complete all of their assignments. It also appears that homework assignments that require parent or peer participation are more likely to be completed, and an article on theatlantic.com shows that students who have a choice in the type and content of homework given have a greater interest in assignments.

These studies mainly address the subject matter, amount, and nature of homework, but there are also home or community factors related to parent involvement, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status that affect academic success that have not been studied closely enough to determine their impacts on the effects of homework. There are no definitive results, and these studies are by no means the be-all, end-all, but they’re beginning to paint a picture of what the future of homework might be like based on its current and past effectiveness.

-Hope Swedeen

What are your views on the value of homework? What are the pros and cons that you have observed?

If you're like most students, the moment you leave school marks the beginning of your free time. It's your time to relax and forget about school until tomorrow, and nothing can stand between you and your daily reward for making it through the day. Except, maybe, school work. 
After spending hours doing nothing else, school work is probably the last thing that you want to think about, but if you want to be as successful as you can, your work won't end with last period. You'll need to make time for homework for sure, and when that's said and done, there's usually a quiz or test to study for.

It's easy to put off studying and just do your homework (or not do your homework). However, if you create a study system that works for you, you just might find that it's not as time-consuming as you might have thought, and your grades might become achievements rather than just numbers or letters on a paper. 
Here are ten tips to get you started on your studying path: 

1.     Focus on one task at a time

If you’re worrying about your math homework while studying for a science test, you’re never going to be able to fully concentrate on science. Try putting away all of your school work that you’re not working on in the moment.

You should also try to do your work or study without trying to multitask by listening to music, watching TV, etc. Studies have shown that multitasking, as we imagine it, is actually impossible. Instead of being able to focus on multiple things at once as you might believe, we are actually only able to quickly switch back and forth between multiple tasks, thereby drastically decreasing the amount of time you focus on each task.

2.     Create a schedule

Set aside specific times to study and do homework. For harder classes or classes that require more work, set aside more time. When you create your study and homework schedule, though, make sure that you also include plenty of time to relax or else you’ll burn out and start putting aside school responsibilities, social experiences, or both.

3.     Find a routine place to study

When you’re studying in the same place consistently, your ability to concentrate will improve, as there will be nothing new or novel about the space to distract you. Memorization of information is likely to be better as well. I’ve found that when trying to remember a certain phrase that a teacher uses, I can remember it better when I also remember how she said it or what she was doing at the time. In the same way, if you’re trying to memorize a vocabulary word while looking at, or doing, something in particular, you might be able to remember that moment during your test. The more specifically you can remember that moment, the more you’ll remember the vocab word.

4.     Reward yourself

If you accomplish a difficult task or finish studying a section of information that was particularly time-consuming, give yourself a break and do something that you enjoy or may have put off to do your work. This way, you’ll be more likely to put just as much effort into studying next time knowing that there can be a payoff (other than good grades).

5.     Study slow and steady

There’s no doubt that cramming for a test can work in a pinch, but it’s unlikely that you’ll retain any of that information beyond the time of the test, and you probably won’t remember everything that you need to for the test anyway. Instead of cramming, try studying a little bit at a time. Break notes or readings down into sections or chapters and go over one section a few times before moving onto the next. When you feel like you’re reading and not comprehending, or you’re thinking about other things, stop. Take a break and try again in a few minutes when you’re able to focus again.

6.     Study alone

It’s tempting to study with friends, and you might think that your friends will help motivate you to concentrate. This might be true for some, but, often times, your friends will just provide another distraction regardless of whether they’re making any sound. It’s difficult to stay focused when you have proof that you could be doing something else sitting right in front of you.

7.     Narrow your focus

If you try to remember every tiny detail that you’ve written down or that you see in a textbook, you’ll never remember what you’ll actually need to know. Try to identify the crucial information so that you don’t spend time studying for a test you aren’t taking. This might be the larger concepts of a chapter, usually found in the form of subheadings of a textbook, and the pertinent information related to them. It could even be vocab words or just topics that the teacher went over in class. Ask your teacher to make a study guide or give you some information about what type of information might be on the test. If you don’t have any luck there, start asking your classmates what they think is the most important information.

8.     Test yourself

Once you finish reading over your study materials, make sure that you remember what you’ve read. Try testing yourself, looking at concepts or questions to study and trying to remember their answers without looking. You should do this multiple times for each section or chapter that you’ve broken your notes, book, or other materials into.

9.     Study frequently

If you have weekly or biweekly quizzes for a class, it’s a must to study consistently, but if you only have one or two big tests all year for a class, it’s even more imperative that you don’t wait until the last minute to get ready. If you do, all of the material from the entire year or semester will be waiting for you to try to tackle, and you probably won’t be able to hack it. To avoid facing a wall of information that you can’t possibly learn in a day, or even a week, make sure that you study every few days to get a refresher on older topics.

10.  Skip grammatical correctness

When you’re writing your notes to study later, don’t worry about transcribing information word for word or getting every bit of punctuation where it should be. Paraphrasing, or writing notes in your own words, will help you retain information better than if you’re studying textbook definitions and answers, and using short-hand will work even better. Think of your notes as bullet points rather than sentences, and you’ll be much better off when it comes time to memorize.

-Hope Swedeen

What techniques do you use to stay focused while studying?

You may want to consider using bluetooth headphones to for help in concentration as well as to block out the noise. For help in deciding which ones to choose refer to reviews for quality headphones.

When your youth get home from school, it’s difficult to draw conversation out of them. Often times, if they answer your questions at all, they give monosyllabic, yes or no answers. It seems that most parents are curious about what their youth are doing at school, but they don’t know how to draw out the answers that they’re looking for. Usually, this means that the ever-irksome “what did you do (or learn) at school today?” will crop up whenever there’s a doubt of how to begin the ritualistic after-school Q and A.

If you’re struggling to find questions to ask your youth or you’re tired of asking the same things constantly, maybe it’s time to try asking something new or asking old questions in a new way.

When you’re deciding what you want to ask your youth, be sure to always ask open-ended questions rather than questions with “yes” or “no” answers. This way, you can keep the conversation going without coming to a stand-still after every answer. For example, if you ask, “Did you enjoy school today?” Your youth is almost certain to say “yes,” “no,” “it was fine,” or something similar to any of these three. Youth aren’t typically prone to giving more information than they’re asked for, so try asking more specific questions to get more specific answers. Here are some questions you might consider asking the next time you’re racking your brain for a conversation-starter that won’t double as a conversation-ender:

1.      What were your favorite parts of school today? Least favorite?

2.      What made you laugh today?

3.      Tell me something weird that happened or that someone said or did.

4.      When were you bored today?

5.      What was something good that happened today?

6.      What was your favorite subject today? Least favorite?

7.      What was the hardest thing you did today?

8.      Did anyone get in trouble today?

9.      What are you looking forward to doing tomorrow?

10.   Did you get better at anything today?

11.   What would you change about your school?

12.   What was your easiest class today? Hardest class?

13.   If you had to go to only one class, what would it be? Why?

14.   If you could skip a class, what would it be? Why?

15.   If you could do today over again, what would you do differently?

-Hope Swedeen

What are some questions that you ask your youth when they get home from school? Which questions are they more likely to answer?

It’s become common-place for students and professionals to have and frequently use LinkedIn accounts. LinkedIn has become the mainstream form of professional communication and network-building, and it’s only gaining more traction as it grows and progresses. It’s now become almost a requirement for people to create and constantly update and check LinkedIn accounts, and that means that it’s probably something that will be necessary (or already is necessary) for you to embrace too. Below is a list of reasons why LinkedIn can be invaluable to you as well as some tips to help you create or improve your own profile.

Benefits of using LinkedIn

1.  Large network of professionals at your disposal

Having a large network of professionals to connect with will be beneficial when applying for new jobs. You can contact anyone at any time and build professional relationships that can carry you from one job to the next. Connections can also tip you off when they know of job openings or even offer recommendations to employers on your behalf. Make sure, though, that you send a personalized, rather than generic, connection request, as most people will not know why you want to connect with them if you do not. Once you’ve connected, you can send out emails to say that you’re looking for a job, ask questions, get advice, or request informational interviews to learn more about a company and maybe get one foot in the door.

2.  Groups offer connections among professionals of specific careers

Industry groups offer a wealth of information in addition to a more niche community of connections. If there is a certain career path that you’re interested in pursuing or that you would like to progress in, groups specific to that line of work allow you to contact other members of that profession for advice, information, professional contacts, and news within their own workplace regarding position openings, company or field practices, and more. You’ll not only have a great outlet for finding news, but you’ll also have the opportunity to comment on and discuss postings by other professionals to show off a little of what you can offer companies.

3.  Readily-available résumé

LinkedIn allows you to document everything that you’ve ever done in one place for anyone to see, so your profile is essentially an online, comprehensive résumé that you can look back on at any time. If you need to alter your paper résumé for a new job application, you can easily look through your profile and see what’s worth adding for a particular job. It also allows prospective employers to see everything that you can’t fit on your résumé but may have wanted to include, as your résumé grows with your work experience.

4.  Space to showcase examples of your work

When you send in a copy of a resume to companies, often times that’s all that they ask for and all that you can physically send. Unless they’re taking digital applications via email or some other medium that allows you to send work samples, there’s a chance that they may never get to see your actual work if it’s not something that can be printed and mailed. LinkedIn allows you to upload your work to showcase and market it to employers in a way that is easily accessible.

5.  Ability to search for jobs

LinkedIn’s advanced search tool can be excessively helpful when you’re looking for a job near you or in any area that you choose. It also allows you to search for jobs within the field of work that you’re interested in pursuing at companies of various sizes depending on your preference. If you’ve just graduated and are therefore relatively inexperienced, you might consider using the student jobs portal, which helps you locate entry-level jobs.

6.  Endorsements of your skills

You can list as many skills as you’d like on your profile, and it is also possible for other LinkedIn users to endorse those skills, or to express to anyone who views your profile that they believe in your skills listed. The more endorsements you can get, the better, as these are proof for employers that you’re not the only one who believes in your skills.

7.  Get introduced through a 2nd-degree connection

It can be awkward to reach out to someone who doesn’t know you and has no idea why you’re interested in connecting with them, but LinkedIn makes it possible for you to ask a shared connection to “introduce” you to another member. This way, you can make contacts through someone whom you and the desired contact both know and who can vouch for your professional interest.

Tips for building a strong LinkedIn profile:

1.  Customize your URL

Initially, your profile URL will include numbers and letters at the end that signify nothing but your existence among many other LinkedIn users. By personalizing your URL, you will have an easier-to-remember, more professional-looking link to send employers and potential connections that’s easy for them to remember and also shows that you’ve put effort into crafting your profile for their benefit.

2.  Have a strong headline

Your headline should tell anyone looking at your profile who you are and what type of job you’re looking for. If you already have a job, then it may be a good idea to write your position here.

3.  Add a background and thumbnail photo

Keeping in mind that these should be professional photos, try adding something that corresponds to the company that you currently work for, a cause that you strongly believe in or work to promote, or anything that is professionally important to you as your background image. It can be anything you want, but it has to be professional. As for your thumbnail image, or your profile image, choose something professional-looking that will allow people to find you easily.

4.  Constantly update work samples and profile information

It’s crucial that your information be up-to-date if a prospective employer views your profile. If you have recent achievements or positions that you neglect to add, you’re displaying only part of your overall experience, and you’re putting yourself at a disadvantage because you may amass less employer interest than those who have all of their experience clearly stated and updated for easy viewing.

5.  Rearrange and customize sections

On LinkedIn, less is not more. This is your chance to tell people everything that you’ve ever done without the constraints of one piece of paper. It’s an opportunity for you to list everything you’ve accomplished, and you should fill out as many sections as you can: education, volunteer work, honors and awards, projects, languages spoken, skills, experience, organizations, recommendations, and so many more. Your profile will start out very basic with the same format as every other user’s. However, it’s possible, and encouraged, for you to create a relatively unique profile crafted to your own needs. There are several options of sections that can appear on your profile that you may not know about. If you’re a recent graduate, it’s extremely important to complete the student profile section of your profile. You’ve been in school for a while, and that means that you have to show that you’ve been working toward getting a job while you’ve been doing school work.

-Hope Swedeen

What can high school students with no work experience add to their LinkedIn? How can you market yourself and your experiences in school?

When applying for a job, the first step is typically to send in a résumé and cover letter, and employers have certain criteria that they use to evaluate candidates based solely on their résumés. One of these criteria is that prospective employees demonstrate an understanding of good grammar, and when slimming down a pool of candidates, it’s easy to separate those who use proper grammar from those who do not. As was mentioned in a previous post, “5 Tips on How to Build a Strong Résumé,” a résumé is the first impression an employer will have of an applicant, and, while it may not seem fair, many employers, regardless of the relationship of grammar to your applied-for position, will be more inclined to choose a candidate whose résumé has fewer grammatical errors.

Grammar Matters…

Kyle Wiens, the CEO of the online, global repair manual, iFixit, is one such employer who places grammar at the top of the list of must-have qualities in employees. In an article he wrote to validate the importance of grammar in the work place, he says, “Good grammar is credibility, especially on the internet. In blog posts, on Facebook statuses, in e-mails, and on company websites, your words are all you have. They are a projection of you in your physical absence. And, for better or worse, people judge you if you can’t tell the difference between their, there, and they’re.”

Because of this view, Wiens requires that each potential employee, regardless of his or her prospective department in the company, take a grammar test before being hired. He also states in his article, “If it takes someone more than 20 years to notice how to properly use ‘it’s,’ then that’s not a learning curve I’m comfortable with.” As this CEO points out, good grammar can be indicative of other beneficial attributes of job candidates. It shows that you have the ability to learn something that may be difficult for you. Everyone has a learning curve, and it’s important that employers have faith in yours. However, it does not necessarily follow that poor grammar indicates the lack of necessary or desired skill sets. For some, writing grammatically-correct sentences is simply challenging. It’s accepted in many lines of work that some people aren’t great at math, and it’s often a non-issue for those people; those who suffer through grammar lessons, however, typically aren’t extended the same amount of understanding.

… But it Might Not Matter to Everyone

A New York Times writer, John McWhorter, argues against Wiens’ idea that proper grammar is a necessary attribute in employees of all job descriptions. Though he recognizes the importance of good grammar when it is necessary to do a specific job well, he says in an article, “After we pat ourselves on the back for upholding grammar standards, how many of us can really justify barring someone from a decent job because he or she isn’t always clear on the difference between ‘your’ and ‘you’re?’”

If you’re on the fence about whether you should pay more attention to grammar, below are some examples of how grammar can help you succeed in the work place no matter what type of work you do:

Maintains Clarity

We aren’t always successful at saying what we’re trying to convey. When reading an email, note, or memo, it’s easy to get caught up on a sentence that isn’t structured properly or that has misused or misplaced words or punctuation. To be sure that the people we’re trying to reach understand what we’re saying, it’s necessary to pay attention to how we say it. If what we write is confusing and difficult to understand, then, often times, the people reading what we have to say will feel as if they’re translating text.

Saves Time

Proper grammar can help ensure messages are delivered and received promptly. Good grammar helps to lessen confusion when an employee decides to file a complaint, send a message to colleague, or voice his or her opinion in a presentation or meeting. Delivering a grammatically-correct message can also reduce time wasted on translation and follow-up, potentially leading to higher productivity.

However, the ability to send a brief, concise message can now be just as valuable as sending one that follows strict grammar rules. As long as a message is clear, the ability to quickly convey meaning using shorthand has become important in the workplace, especially as communication mediums such as Twitter become commonplace forms of professional communication.

Shows a sense of responsibility

Employees who are entrusted with the task of representing a company through any form of the written word are assumed to have a higher level of responsibility and therefore must be what you might call grammatically responsible. A company’s image is crucial to its operations, relationships, and success, and whoever is responsible for taking care of that image must be able to meet the standards required by other organizations in addition to his or her own employer.

Maintains professionalism

Those who utilize proper grammar may be more likely to succeed in the workplace, as the way that they communicate reflects a high level of professionalism that clients, employers and colleagues will notice. Demonstrating strong communication skills could be one of the main factors that leads to a promotion in title or pay in the future.

Attention to detail

Those who pay attention to the details of grammar are expected to pay close attention to and care about details of assigned tasks. While the misuse of grammar does not necessarily indicate that a person does not pay close attention to detail in other instances, using proper grammar is proof that a person is detail-oriented.

Grammar doesn’t always have the final say in whether you land a job or are passed over. It depends entirely on the views of each employer, and it’s up to you to decide whether or not you pay extensive heed to grammar. Though it’s nowhere near the only thing that matters when applying for jobs, it may be safest to take the time to improve or touch up grammar skills, as you can never be sure whether you’re applying at a company that cares about your use of apostrophes and commas or not.

Whether you decide to pay closer attention to grammar or not, I would recommend that everyone know how to correctly use the following, as they are some of the most frequently-made grammatical errors:

It’s = Contraction of “it is” / Its = Possessive

Example: “It’s raining today.” / “The company sold its product.”

Their = Possessive pronoun / There = A place or pronoun / They’re = Contraction of “they are”

Example: “Their phones had no service.” / “There is a coffee shop over there.” / “They’re professional.”

Your = Possessive pronoun / You’re = Contraction of “you are”

Example: “Your car broke down.” / “You’re working on your grammar.”

-Hope Swedeen

What do you think about the use of proper grammar in the workplace? Is it necessary for people in all fields of work to have good grammar?

As students prepare for this coming school year, many of you have probably begun to think about what kind of grades you hope to earn this year in your classes, and you’re trying to visualize getting to the end of the year with great marks. However, just thinking about getting good grades isn’t enough. It’s going to take preparation, dedication, and hard work to reach your academic ambitions.

The school year can seem dauntingly long when you think of everything that you hope to achieve and equally as short when you think of how much time and effort it will take to succeed in pursuing those achievements. Setting goals for yourself to break down responsibilities, and tracking your progress in reaching these goals, can be a huge help as you try to balance everything.

If you’re someone who finds it difficult to find time to do work or study, perhaps more specific goals are best, as they’ll get you thinking about when exactly you need to complete tasks. Even if you do have good time-management skills, writing specific tasks down is probably still a good idea so that you don’t forget to do anything. I would recommend always creating some goals for yourself before starting your school year, and I have listed a few suggestions that you might consider using to draft your own set of goals below:

Set SMART Goals

SMART goals are created using a specific set of criteria, which form the acronym SMART. They are characteristically: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based.

These goal-building criteria can help you to create goals that are especially helpful to you, as a student. Although a goal doesn’t need to include each aspect, each can be useful in their own right, and it’s ultimately up to you to determine which type of goal best suits your habits. As the criteria suggest, SMART goals should:

Include specific tasks to be accomplished.

Have a measurable objective and outcome to verify the completion of your goals.

Be realistically attainable so that you don’t set out to accomplish the impossible.

Be relevant to your needs in each specific area of your student life.

Be time-based so that you know how much time you have before they must be completed.

When utilizing the SMART model, it is important to keep in mind that some goals will be easier to keep track of than others, and the model doesn’t necessarily make a difference on that front. While short-term goals are fairly simple to track (for example, “I will study for quizzes and tests at least two days in advance”), long-term goals (such as, “I will earn a B in Math”) are more difficult to monitor.

Track your progress in completing long-term goals:

1. Review the tasks you’ve completed to be sure you have time to reach your overall goal

2. Revise goals, if necessary, depending on progress and external factors and circumstances

3. Remind yourself why you’ve set your goals and what achieving them would mean for you

4. Celebrate your daily achievements and milestones

When setting goals for your school year, always keep your individual strengths and challenges in mind. If you know that you have a certain skill, see if you can use it to make completing your goal(s) any easier, and if you know that completing a particular goal will be challenging for you, use any resources available to you that might help. It’s important to keep in mind that there are always people available to help you to complete your goals, whether they be parents, teachers, tutors, friends, or otherwise, but you must first set your goals and attempt to achieve them to the best of your ability.

-Hope Swedeen

How do you think students should monitor their progress in completing goals? What should students do if they get off track?

Every year, about 65 percent of NYC public school students graduate from high school. To combat this low percentage, several programs and organizations have been created to aid students in their pursuit of education and provide them with otherwise inaccessible opportunities. Support ranges from academic to financial aid, and many programs provide opportunities for students to enroll in the country’s top high schools without having to pay the large fees associated with these institutions. The application processes for these programs often begin in the fall, so now is a great time for parents and students to get ahead on application preparation. Some programs and organizations that particularly target low-income youth of NYC are:

1.     A Better Chance

This organization offers youth of color access to educational and scholarship opportunities through its College Preparatory Program. This program places “Scholars,” or students who have sent in a free application and been accepted into the program, into one of the schools associated with A Better Chance, and Scholars are given funding to attend the school in which they are placed. Each school must undergo an application process to become a “member school” among over 300 already affiliated with the organization, which include independent and community boarding schools, as well as independent day schools. About 500 youth are aided by the program each year, and students attending member schools are eligible for A Better Chance Scholar Awards, which are given annually to students of all grade levels.

To receive more information regarding the organization or application process, fill out an inquiry form to be contacted by a representative from A Better Chance.

2.     Oliver Scholars Program

This program aims to prepare African-American and Latino students of NYC, beginning in the 8th grade, to be successful students and leaders. Students may be nominated by faculty at their school, themselves, or parents in the fall of 7th grade, and must meet several nomination criteria, including high academic achievement, involvement in extracurricular activities and their communities, and a desire to succeed. Students who become involved in the program must successfully complete courses designed to prepare them for their applications to top independent high schools. The program offers financial aid options to assist in covering application costs throughout the middle and high school processes.

3.     Prep for Prep

Prep for Prep aims to identify promising youth of color in NYC, beginning in 6th or 7th grade, and prepare them for placement at schools within the city and boarding schools in the Northeast. It offers support and millions of dollars in financial aid to youth throughout high school and college, providing resources to advance the success of every student on “The Prep Journey.”

Visit Prep for Prep’s website for more information about the admission process, or see its annual report.

4.     Student Sponsor Partners (SSP)

This program offers students from low-income families the chance to have a mentor and a financial sponsor for all four years of high school at a non-public school. Sponsors pay part or all of a student’s tuition for the school that they choose to attend among the 23 affiliated with SSP in the NYC area that are meant to better cater to students’ individual needs. SSP is geared toward “academically average to below average” students and is intended to aid struggling students in their effort to graduate from high school.

For more information regarding the admissions process or requirements of the program, visit SSP’s website.

5.     TEAK Fellowship

The TEAK fellowship aims to aid NYC students of high academic standing and low-income families in succeeding at top high schools and colleges by providing academic support, leadership training, mentoring, career advice, and exposure to otherwise inaccessible experiences. Students are able to become TEAK fellows beginning in the 6th grade, if eligible, and programs are designed to build a foundation for students’ success in high school and college by fostering skills, academic achievement, community involvement, and social immersion.

Fill out an Admission Info Request Form to receive more information regarding the program, and view the TEAK brochure for a brief overview of the fellowship.

-Hope Swedeen

Please note that all information has been complied using the online resources of the above organizations themselves. 4T’s has not vetted these organizations and therefore cannot vouch for the authenticity or effectiveness of their operations and/or programs. 

What can parents do during the summer to prepare their students' application materials for the fall? How can students prepare themselves to be ready for these programs if they apply and are accepted?

Teachers are constantly facing the challenge of reaching out to and engaging their students’ parents, often employing a multitude of tactics to foster better communication between themselves and parents. Several studies and surveys done in the past two decades have suggested that student learning improves when their teachers have an understanding of their parents and home life, as this allows them to better cater to each student’s learning needs.

Because communication between parents and teachers is so crucial to ensuring students’ success, it is important for parents to reach out to teachers as well. Parents are often busy with their own weekly tasks and are unable to attend every event hosted by their youth’s teachers, but appearing at some of these events can be extremely helpful. In addition, parents should make time in their schedules to communicate outside of these teacher-hosted events, especially if they are unable to attend them. There are countless suggestions of how to foster healthy communication with your youth’s teachers that I have not listed, but parents should make an effort to do the following as often as possible:

1.      Attend meet-and-greets and open houses

Attending these events is a great way to initiate communication between yourself and your youth’s teachers, as they can help you understand teachers’ characteristics that may or may not mesh well with those of your youth. These are also often scheduled for a time that teachers assume are after normal work hours, so they may be a convenient way for you to begin and continue acquaintances with teachers and parents.

2.      Schedule routine meetings

Meeting with your youth’s teachers on a regular basis will help you stay up-to-date with how your youth is doing in school. It may be useful to pay more frequent visits to those who teach subjects that are challenging for your youth. If you are unable to fit meetings into your schedule, communicate frequently via phone, email, or another medium, as it’s important to keep tabs on what your youth is having success with and what he or she may be struggling to achieve.

If you’re having trouble finding a convenient means of communication, try doing a little research. There are several apps and new technologies that are designed specifically for parent-teacher communication that you may want to suggest to your youth’s teachers. Some teachers may already use forms of communication similar to these for maintaining contact with students or parents, and utilizing these will help you “check in” when you don’t have time to write an email or schedule a meeting.

3.      Review progress reports

Teachers often send students home with progress reports or report cards. Whether these are sent home monthly or only at certain times of the year, make sure to ask your youth’s teachers for copies of the reports. If you have trouble understanding why your youth earned the grades that they received (both good and bad), follow up with teachers to learn how you can help your youth improve or continue to excel. If your youth does not receive reports, ask his or her teachers for updates often.

4.      Pay attention to positive feedback

Knowing what your youth can improve upon is necessary, but you should also be aware of what they’re doing well. In addition to giving your youth advice for improvement, be sure to give praise to accentuate their success. Praise will help to motivate your youth rather than discouraging them by focusing too heavily on criticisms.

- Hope Swedeen

What are some ways that you make time to communicate with your youth's teachers? How do you balance your own schedule and your youth's?

People want to use their graduation from high school, trade school, or college as a springboard for bigger and better things. They want to take the knowledge that they gained in the classroom and apply it. They plan to land that dream job upon entering the ‘real world’ and find success as soon as possible. But most of the workforce doesn’t come out of the gates and get an ideal position. Rather, you must work your way to the top. A slow climb can actually benefit you in the long run, though, so don’t dread paying your dues. You could actually stand to benefit from busywork. Here are a few tips on how to make the most of your first handful of positions:

Do What No One Else Wants To

Frederic Kerrest, cofounder and COO of Okta, points out that more than likely your first job will mean spending time in Excel, taking meeting notes, scheduling, and answering phones. But once you’re past these menial tasks, you’ll look back and realize how important they are to the company. Kerrest says, “Mastering the humble, small work of your industry may seem mundane at the time, but an understanding of the who, what, when, and how of the business will give you incredibly valuable insight that you can turn into smart recommendations and strategic guidance that will set you apart during the rest of your career.” If you were to skip the beginning work, you wouldn’t fully absorb or appreciate how those staff members fit into the big picture of the company, which they undeniably do.

Know the Industry’s Past and Present to Prepare for Your Future

In addition to understanding the big picture of how the company functions, you should also know how an industry has grown over time and how your company fits within that. Kerrest explains, “If you’re considering a new business venture, be a student of history: know the trends, the highs and lows, and the events that shaped the landscape. When you’re building your skills and setting goals, you can leverage their wins and losses to make smarter decisions along the way.” You wouldn’t be able to steer a company in the right direction if you couldn’t comprehend the trajectory it has been on. The time to learn this information is when you first start off; it will give you a strong advantage when you move into leadership positions.

Once you have a strong awareness of the industry’s past, research the current big players within it. Kerrest counsels, “You’ll learn more starting at the bottom than anywhere else, such as…the power of long-term relationships… Building a network of mentors and investing in your relationships with them for the long term is a necessity in business.” Shadan Deleveaux, director of sales multicultural beauty division at L’Oréal USA, adds, “A mentor can help you even before your career starts. When it comes to business, I think there are generally two ways to learn: through experience and through advice.” Oftentimes, it’s about who you know, and why not learn from the best? Research who has notable achievements in your field and company, and hopefully you will be able to put yourself in a position to gain insight from them, helping you on your journey up the ladder of success.

Have a Plan


Having a plan of where you want to end up in your career could really be a benefit to you. If you have some idea of what you want to be doing in the next five years, you'll be able to be strategic about your busywork. Instead of going in blind purely to have an income, there should be some purpose behind your first position. Making coffee for the people in the positions you want to hold in the future means that you can learn the ropes through observation and make connections (as mentioned before - networking is gold), rather than just making coffee. Starting off in an industry that allows you to use your strengths will make less exciting work worth it in the end, instead of getting stuck in a field that doesn't match up to your passions. While you shouldn't be rigid in your path to get where you want to be, try to follow a general direction towards an end goal that will make you happy. 

Follow these tips to help make your time spent paying your dues worth it. Seemingly trivial work will become a stepping stone for the rest of your career, rather than an obstacle in your path. 

-Samantha Phillips

Have you or someone you know experienced logging hours in this type of entry level position? Did you find that it paid off later in your career?