Resources for Common Core: FREE Review Copy

Susan Kruger, M.Ed.
America’s #1 Learning Expert

Dear Educator,

You are facing insurmountable pressures! Expectations continuously increase, while resources –like your valuable time and energy– decrease. Nearly every educator I meet is completely maxed out and depleted! I know the feeling. I was a classroom teacher for several years. My husband is a high school teacher. My best friends are teachers.

Everyone is constantly stressed out! The real culprit is not the fatigue of having more to do than time to do it. It is the chronic sense of feeling ineffective; the feeling that all of your work, effort, and investment of your soul’s precious energy is not enough to meet expectations. This situation is not what you imagined when you chose this profession.

The expectations and mandates have hit critical mass; the pendulum won’t swing any farther. Something must change. The goods news is that you have the power to make critical changes, simply by harnessing a mathematical law of the universe. It’s the law of 80/20, or “Pareto’s Principle,” as named after the Italian economist who discovered the law in 1906.

80/20 says that all of your efforts are not equal. The Pareto Principle states that 20% of actions produce 80% of results. Or, 80% of effects come from 20% of causes. Here are some simple 80/20s you might recognize: • You wear 20% of the clothes in your closet 80% of the time. • People spend 80% of their time with 20% of their family and friends. • 20% of society holds 80% of the wealth. It’s not always an 80/20 split—sometimes it’s 70/30 or 90/10—but you will rarely see an even split between cause and effect.

When you harness your “top 20%” efforts intentionally, you quickly find yourself feeling more and more effective…and less stressed. This phenomenon goes completely against conventional wisdom. Our natural tendency is to believe that our rewards should be equal to our efforts. But, when your efforts are at (or beyond) maximum capacity and the “rewards” aren’t meeting expectations, it’s time to recognize that the 1:1 ratio of “effort” to “rewards” is flawed.

80/20 & the Common Core: How to Reclaim Your Energy & Effectiveness

People who understand the power of 80/20 spend more of their precious time pursuing passions and living happier lives, while accomplishing more, too! Educators can do the same!

Common Core has clearly identified its 80/20 leverage points…the Anchor Standards!
The Anchor Standards are the “ultimate outcomes” of Common Core, but 80/20 says we need to teach the Anchor Standards FIRST.
When students know how to access content, the friction between the learner and new content is eliminated.

The Common Core has clearly identified its 80/20 leverage point…the Common Core Anchor Standards for Career and College Readiness.

What Are the Common Core Anchor Standards? They are the “ultimate outcomes” for the Common Core. All of the Common Core standards are intended to “build up” to the final outcomes described in the Anchor Standards.

80/20 turns that notion upside down and says, “Teach the anchor standards FIRST!” Then, students will know how to access all of the other Common Core standards. When students know how to access content, the friction between the learner and new content is eliminated.

Students FIRST need the skills to achieve the outcomes of the Anchor Standards. THEN, they can practice applying these skills to the more specific content in the Common Core and other curriculum areas. This process has many important benefits:

1. Students perform much better on standardized tests. Now that students know how to learn, they are able to learn more content, much faster, with long-term retention. (See page 8 and 9, “The Two Research-Based Ways to Raise Test Scores.”)
2. Students will be ready for college and the workplace. The continued “application” of these skills in various content-areas and situations is perfect practice for college and workplace expectations.
3. Teachers have less stress. When students have strategies for learning and self-management, they are empowered. Teachers have more energy because they do much less “nagging.”
4. Teachers feel more effective. These skills release all sorts of resistance from students, who are now more organized and prepared to learn strategically. Now, teachers can focus on…teaching! (Not nagging, prodding, and feeling eternally ineffective.)

The Scale Has Already Tipped in a Healthy Direction. But, Most Educators Don’t Know It…Yet!

Will you be the hero for your school and introduce the most valuable 20% of Common Core curriculum that will make 80% of the impact on your students?

SOAR^® Soft Skills (2^nd edition of SOAR^® Study Skills) covers 100% of the Common Core Anchor Standards! It is all of the same, award-winning content from the first edition; we simply added three chapters to cover 100% of the Common Core Anchor Standards. SOAR^® is the perfect Common Core resource!

The SOAR^® Study Skills Curriculum is a fit for 6^th grade and up. The transition years of 6^th-9^th grade are an ideal time to introduce SOAR^®!

Get your FREE Digital Review Copy today (scroll up to the top, right corner of this page) to see this Common Core resource for yourself!

Sincerely,

Susan Kruger, M.Ed.

Former Struggling Student
Author of SOAR^® Soft Skills
#1 Best-Selling “Study Skills” book in the world!
#1 Ranked for “Test-Prep”