“I Teach Study Skills and Won a Teaching Award!!”

The title of this post greeted us in our email inbox on Friday. Elisa Collins, a middle school teacher in Cape Coral, FL, wrote us with exciting news! She went on to say:

“…and Karl Fisch contacted me and congratulated me!! I have used the SOAR^® curriculum for 3 years now and it has made the kids smarter and more organized!

The Cape Coral News-Press also ran a huge spread on it. The actual ceremony is tonight and I am very happy to be able to tell the attendees how important study skills are to today’s learners! If I can I will share pictures of the event.

Thank you for creating such a wonderful program!

– Elisa”

Congrats to Elisa on bringing SOAR^® to life with dedication and compassion! I am thrilled that she is being recognized for all of her hard work.

Here is the Cape Coral News-Press excerpt featuring Elisa’s accomplishments:

Of Elisa Collins, Oasis Middle School Principal Dr. Melissa Byington said, “She is a very creative, energetic, dynamic teacher who is great in making connections for her students. She teaches sixth grade. She’s also an asset to our staff by providing professional resources and assisting with staff development.”

“I teach Study Skills – Learning to Learn,” said Collins.” I was very surprised to see so many people come to let me know about the award. It was kind of like having the Publishers Clearing House Prize Patrol. The kids were surprised as well.”

Of what she teaches, she said many don’t fully understand. “What it is, is that we teach the children how to learn, to use the abilities that they have to help them be the very best learner.”

She said she patterns the philosophy of Karl Fisch, a “teacher/technology education guru.” She uses his now famous quote: “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that have not yet been invented in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.”

“I really work hard with the students to make them rely on themselves. What I am teaching them to be is learners, how to learn strategically, organize themselves, process new information, make critical decisions and how to access it at a later time, to use these ‘superpowers’ to be successful in the 21st century, in this school, in high school and the future.”

The full article can be found here.

Learn more about Elisa’s award-winning curriculum here.

-Susan Kruger

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