Leigh had the exasperated voice that I know so well: a caring mom who had tried for many years to inspire her son to work harder. Andrew, a student at Daniel Hand High School in Madison, CT, had never been particularly motivated but the pandemic brought his academic energy to a new low. Getting him […]
Read MoreUS News & World Report, the arbiter of all rankings(!), released a report on the best states. Connecticut came in 4th for education. But for towns along Shoreline-Southeastern, CT as well as Fairfield County Connecticut, Connecticut is really number 1 for education. Our suburban population’s statistics are disproportionately affected by Connecticut’s cities which, unfortunately, are […]
Read MoreDue to Covid, you have been around your teen far more than most parents have been with their teens in the past. This is either a very good or very bad thing! Or both. One thing I know for sure: college planning has been limited. Something about a global pandemic that prevents people from planning […]
Read MoreLiving on the Connecticut shoreline, particularly in a small town like Old Saybrook, leads to running into former students frequently. One of the more common comments from past students has been that they used the framework of growth from our SAT class and applied it elsewhere. Recently, Liam, an old student from neighboring Old Lyme, […]
Read MoreNortheastern snobbery alert… We live in a “smart” state. College admissions are national. The SAT is a national test. Why would students in a state that is normally in the top 5 in every educational measure – with our leafy Connecticut suburbs being dragged down by our underperforming cities – not want a national test? […]
Read MoreEven things that are not fun seem far better if “normalcy” is coming post-Covid. It turns out that “not-striving” is not good for mental health. Those in their teens do best when striving and building. Today, the PSATs came back for Connecticut students and parents are contacting The Learning Consultants related to test prep. The […]
Read MoreCovid has created massive learning gaps. Despite what seems to be collective misgivings about what is taught in school, there is no doubt that the fundamentals (the three Rs reading, writing. aRithmetic) do matter. Perhaps the biggest misconceptions propagated by those who do not understand the SAT (or ACT) is that the test can be […]
Read More“Do these kids think they will be professional athletes?” This was a serious question from a European educator who was visiting The Learning Consultants and shocked at how much time and energy parents had invested in training for sports. No. But many believe that their children will get college scholarships for sports. Small town Connecticut […]
Read MoreI wrote Motivate Your Son in 2012. The principles are timeless but I certainly did not anticipate the effect of Covid and how much social media would devastate the psychology of teen boys (and girls, but that will be a different post). This is a problem that could have lasting effects well beyond the early post-Pandemic years. […]
Read MoreAs one college admissions official directly told me: the SATs are the only way that we can compare a vast number of our applicants. He elaborated: we have a hard time telling the difference between grading systems at different high schools and parents vastly overestimate how much going to a “good” high school matters. For […]
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