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Susan Kruger Winter, M.Ed.

Student Organization: Why the SOAR® Binder Is Optimized for the Brain

July 2, 2025

I recently received an email from a mom, Beth R., concerned about organization for her middle school son. She believes in our streamlined system, but she’s concerned that her son won’t feel comfortable using our system. He won’t want to “stand out” amongst his peers. Beth’s concerns are fairly common for a student using the Binder…

Conquer Summer Brain Drain: Let Go of the Guilt!

June 22, 2025

Summer vacation is coming—for some of us it’s already here—and that means it’s time to tackle Summer Brain Drain again. How do we keep our kids’ brains active for the three months that they’re out of school? How can we make the gap between school years an advantage, and not just dead space? Most parents…

The Learning Disability Circuit: How Learning Disabilities Work

June 15, 2025

The Learning Disability Circuit Video Transcription “Learning disability” is the term we use to describe a low power supply of brain chemicals in sections of the brain that process language or math. Common learning disabilities include: dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, language processing disorders, and more. For example, imagine this string of lights represents the neuron wires…

Advice from Dad: The Original “Soft Skills”

June 8, 2025

When I was in middle and high school, my dad was home to greet us after school every day. He and I would often drift into long conversations while enjoying a snack together (usually saltine crackers with butter). Looking back, those “cracker conversations” with Dad were my personal “Soft Skills University.” It was during those…

True Colors: The Personality of Education

June 1, 2025

By now, you’ve heard me mention Ginelle, SOAR®’s Operations Manager. Ginelle is a certified teacher; she was actually my son’s (favorite) teacher. She is very kind and easily wins respect from her students. But, she holds everyone accountable. I believe she is one of the best teachers I’ve ever had the pleasure to meet and am…

The “New Initiative” Bandwagon:
The One Fatal Flaw of Every Education Initiative

May 26, 2025

Why Do You Have to Work So Hard to Make Students Learn? You work harder and harder, but clearly feel a drag. You are tasked with more things to do, document, and correlate every day. Your extended efforts never seem to be enough. Students become more apathetic. Many people are quick to blame technology. But,…

THE Right Way to Teach with Student-Led Software

May 18, 2025

Teaching with student-led software raises many questions for teachers… Should I introduce the lesson before having the students jump into the software?  Or, should I let them explore the software, and then discuss the content with them? What if students want to progress farther ahead in the software on their own?  Should I let them?…

A Mother’s Day Tribute

May 11, 2025

I thought it would be appropriate to reflect on the significant roles that mothers (and fathers) play in homework, having just celebrated Mother’s Day over the weekend. As a young student, I had my share of homework arguments with my mom. As an adult, I have become more and more appreciative of the tenacity my…

“A ‘Good’ Teacher is a ‘Self-Abuser’ Teacher!”

May 4, 2025

“I am convinced that a ‘good’ teacher is a ‘self-abuser’ teacher!!” My grad-school professor said this in class one day. He was lamenting that his wife, a kindergarten teacher, had been on leave for two years to have their two children (they lived in Canada, with generous maternity leave). He specialized in reading development and…

How to Teach a SOAR Workshop

April 27, 2025

It was almost-summer of 1998. I was wrapping-up my first year of teaching… at my alma mater. Just five years before, I was sitting in those desks. Now, my desk was at the front of the room. From this new vantage point, I could see that nearly all my 9th & 10th graders struggled with…

Six Steps
Conquer the Chaos


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