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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…

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…

How a Simple Studying Technique Led to the Only 100% Test Grade Out of 250 Students

June 28, 2020

Preparing for an exam where the average score is 65% had me a little concerned. I usually got good grades, but had never been particularly good at taking exams. And the fact that my extremely smart roommate‘s grade was only a 45% last term, really gave me anxiety. Checking my teacher’s reviews online was not helpful…

The Pursuit of Perfection Creates Stress for Students

October 6, 2019

I am typically not one to watch intellectual competitions in my spare time, especially any more intense than Family Feud. However, flipping through the channels, one caught my attention. The show was called Child Genius. I saw young children answering questions about crazy subjects and spelling words that I didn’t even know existed, and I…

Inside Out: The Importance of Emotional Intelligence

September 21, 2019

Tears. Shouting. Pouting. Kicking. Screaming. More tears.  This perfectly describes the temper-tantrums I see in my 5-year old daughter, Madison. I know my child isn’t the only who has temper-tantrums.  But, I still wonder, “What is going on with you, child?!” I would patiently try to get to the root of the problems. I would…

My Mom’s Advice: “Get Some Dumb Friends!”

August 3, 2019

Last week, I received an email from a 30-in-30 subscriber: Her son is a junior in high school who struggles academically. He refuses extra help from a tutor or teacher, insisting he can do it on his own. He has an older brother who does well in school with relatively little effort, so the young…

Boys and Their Shortcuts: A Lesson from Henry Ford

April 24, 2019

I hear one complaint often; it usually comes from moms and female teachers who are frustrated over how much “effort” boys will put into written assignments. It goes something like this: “He knows so much about the material, but he will only write a couple of things… he always wants to take the shortcut!” I often ask,…

Legal Homework Rights: What’s the Limit on Homework?

November 4, 2018

Hi, I just read your article Titled “Can You ‘Opt Out’ of Homework?” (Click HERE for the original article.) I enjoyed the article but I guess I need a more concrete answer to the question of my legal homework rights: CAN I LEGALLY OPT OUT OF HOMEWORK FOR MY CHILD? – Dawn, SOAR® Parent The answer is…

Study Skills Camp Scholarship

May 21, 2018

So far, we’ve had an overwhelmingly positive response to the SOAR Virtual Summer Camp! However, I was deeply saddened by a couple emails I received expressing great interest, but declining participation because the camp was cost-prohibitive. Excellent education should not be “cost-prohibitive.” So, I jumped into action and reached out to some local businesses to secure…

How to Transcend ALL Barriers to Education: Poverty, Learning Disabilities, Apathy, & More

April 21, 2017

In 1896, in the slums of Rome, a young woman was put in charge of a group of children labeled “impossible to educate.” As the first female physician in Italy, she had fought great resistance to get her own education; “no one wanted a female doctor.” Her assignment to care for these children was considered…

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