Life is a race. Where are you in this race? Some, many, of your classmates are putting in a lot of effort and leaving some of you in the dust. You must realize that by refusing to participate in the race of life you are allowing your friends and peers to pass by you, to be leaps and bounds ahead of you. Sure, you may be progressing and moving forward, but every time you decide to not do you best, to not really try, you are letting everyone else be better than you. Where does this leave you? Why should you care? Well, you tell me.
How would you feel to know that you were the worst cook in cooking school?
How would you feel if everyone's picture were on the wall wall and yours was the worst?
How would you feel if you were the odd man out?
Some of your peers are taking leaps and strides in their learning because they are really trying and doing their best. Don't be left behind. Don't choose to be one of the worst.
Friday, March 25, 2016
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
For Students Only
(As published in Healthy Valley Magazine August 2012 issue)
It’s August. It’s back-to-school time. Supplies are on sale and it’s time to prepare for the long journey ahead.
If you were going on a week-long outdoor excursion, what would you do? Would you just pick up and go or would you first prepare? Most people who wanted to survive with relative comfort would choose to prepare, perhaps by gathering some things to help perform basic activities and prevent accidents, maybe even by preparing his/her body mentally and physically with nutrition and hydration. If nothing else, he/she would get a good night’s rest, eat a good meal and drink a tall glass of water before taking off.
Do you realize that you are the one going on that excursion? Okay, maybe it’s a bit more than a week long, and maybe it’s not exactly outdoors, but you are going and you need to prepare. You need to gather your tools and prepare your mind and body if you want to survive with minimal discomfort, problems and stress.
Having the right tools with you at all times is first priority. Although you may not have an official school supply list, you already know that you will need pencils, erasers, folders, lined paper and a calendar to note your assignments and other important dates. Once you have gathered your supplies, you can estimate the size of backpack or book bag that seems appropriate. Keep in mind that the larger the backpack or bag, the more stuff you’re going to put and keep in it, possibly making it heavier than is safe for your back and making it difficult to retrieve your supplies when needed. And when you’re trying to make it down a congested hallway or trying to stay focused on the lesson, those are not times to be slowed down by a too full and too heavy backpack.
Just as you would eat a good meal and drink water before your week’s excursion, you should prepare your body before the school year starts, and every day during it, by getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals and hydrating your body so you can function at your best. Just because you have been managing just fine all summer eating junk food, drinking soda, staying up late, not getting enough sleep and mistreating your body in general, doesn’t mean you can survive the school year doing all those things. In fact, you will “survive,” but it will come with suffering and unnecessary stress and frustration.
So, start your school year off right with the proper supplies, plenty of sleep and healthy food in order to make the most of your year-long excursion!
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
It’s August. It’s back-to-school time. Supplies are on sale and it’s time to prepare for the long journey ahead.
If you were going on a week-long outdoor excursion, what would you do? Would you just pick up and go or would you first prepare? Most people who wanted to survive with relative comfort would choose to prepare, perhaps by gathering some things to help perform basic activities and prevent accidents, maybe even by preparing his/her body mentally and physically with nutrition and hydration. If nothing else, he/she would get a good night’s rest, eat a good meal and drink a tall glass of water before taking off.
Do you realize that you are the one going on that excursion? Okay, maybe it’s a bit more than a week long, and maybe it’s not exactly outdoors, but you are going and you need to prepare. You need to gather your tools and prepare your mind and body if you want to survive with minimal discomfort, problems and stress.
Having the right tools with you at all times is first priority. Although you may not have an official school supply list, you already know that you will need pencils, erasers, folders, lined paper and a calendar to note your assignments and other important dates. Once you have gathered your supplies, you can estimate the size of backpack or book bag that seems appropriate. Keep in mind that the larger the backpack or bag, the more stuff you’re going to put and keep in it, possibly making it heavier than is safe for your back and making it difficult to retrieve your supplies when needed. And when you’re trying to make it down a congested hallway or trying to stay focused on the lesson, those are not times to be slowed down by a too full and too heavy backpack.
Just as you would eat a good meal and drink water before your week’s excursion, you should prepare your body before the school year starts, and every day during it, by getting enough sleep, eating healthy meals and hydrating your body so you can function at your best. Just because you have been managing just fine all summer eating junk food, drinking soda, staying up late, not getting enough sleep and mistreating your body in general, doesn’t mean you can survive the school year doing all those things. In fact, you will “survive,” but it will come with suffering and unnecessary stress and frustration.
So, start your school year off right with the proper supplies, plenty of sleep and healthy food in order to make the most of your year-long excursion!
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
Monday, July 23, 2012
Scholarships for Low-Income High School Seniors (2012-2013)
Taken from QuestBridge.org
The QuestBridge National College Match is designed for high school seniors who have shown outstanding academic ability despite facing economic challenges. Most College Match scholarship recipients come from households earning less than $60,000 annually (for a typical family of four) and have experienced long-term economic hardship.
In order to be eligible to apply in 2012, applicants must graduate from high school during or before the spring/summer of 2013 and plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall of 2013.
We do not have absolute criteria for GPA, standardized test scores, or income. When selecting finalists for the National College Match, we try to answer the following questions: "Does this student have the motivation and academic ability to thrive at one of our partner colleges?" and "Has this student overcome socio-economic obstacles to achieve academic excellence?"
QuestBridge selects finalists and then sends the finalist applications to our partner colleges for their review. QuestBridge does not choose College Match scholarship recipients. Partner colleges ultimately make the final selection of scholarship recipients from among the finalists.
A note about citizenship requirements:
Students who are not U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents may apply. However, not all of our partner colleges will consider these students for admission and full scholarships through the College Match process. Most of our partner colleges use federal and state funds to finance a portion of the scholarships, and these funds are only available for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents.
Although only U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents are generally eligible for College Match scholarship packages, our partner colleges will consider all students who apply through the Regular Decision process, regardless of citizenship status. Each year, many QuestBridge applicants who are not U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents gain acceptance and financial aid to our partner colleges via the Regular Decision process.
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
The QuestBridge National College Match is designed for high school seniors who have shown outstanding academic ability despite facing economic challenges. Most College Match scholarship recipients come from households earning less than $60,000 annually (for a typical family of four) and have experienced long-term economic hardship.
In order to be eligible to apply in 2012, applicants must graduate from high school during or before the spring/summer of 2013 and plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall of 2013.
We do not have absolute criteria for GPA, standardized test scores, or income. When selecting finalists for the National College Match, we try to answer the following questions: "Does this student have the motivation and academic ability to thrive at one of our partner colleges?" and "Has this student overcome socio-economic obstacles to achieve academic excellence?"
QuestBridge selects finalists and then sends the finalist applications to our partner colleges for their review. QuestBridge does not choose College Match scholarship recipients. Partner colleges ultimately make the final selection of scholarship recipients from among the finalists.
A note about citizenship requirements:
Students who are not U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents may apply. However, not all of our partner colleges will consider these students for admission and full scholarships through the College Match process. Most of our partner colleges use federal and state funds to finance a portion of the scholarships, and these funds are only available for U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents.
Although only U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents are generally eligible for College Match scholarship packages, our partner colleges will consider all students who apply through the Regular Decision process, regardless of citizenship status. Each year, many QuestBridge applicants who are not U.S. Citizens or Permanent Residents gain acceptance and financial aid to our partner colleges via the Regular Decision process.
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
Thursday, June 28, 2012
Read (and Write) for Rewards!
This summer, Barnes & Nobel and Texas grocery store chain HEB are offering great rewards for reading.
Barnes & Nobel is offering free books to elementary students who read eight books this summer and record them in the Barnes & Nobel Summer Reading Program, Imagination’s Destination Journal, which can be picked up at any Barnes & Nobel bookstore. After completing the journal, which entails writing the titles of the eight books and a very short recommendation, positive or negative, all you have to do is take your journal to your local Barnes & Nobel bookstore by September 4th and choose a free book from the list printed in the Imagination’s Destination Journal. Not a bad deal!
If you’re a junior high or high school student who likes to read and write, then the HEB Summer of Read. Write. Win. contest may be the challenge for you! Just choose an influential Texan to read about and write an essay explaining why you think he or she has had an impact on Texas. 3 Grand Prizes: $15,000 scholarship – 3 First Prizes: $6,500 scholarship – 7 Honorable Mentions: $1,000 scholarship
So here’s to you! Find yourself a great book and get reading! Enjoy!
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
Barnes & Nobel is offering free books to elementary students who read eight books this summer and record them in the Barnes & Nobel Summer Reading Program, Imagination’s Destination Journal, which can be picked up at any Barnes & Nobel bookstore. After completing the journal, which entails writing the titles of the eight books and a very short recommendation, positive or negative, all you have to do is take your journal to your local Barnes & Nobel bookstore by September 4th and choose a free book from the list printed in the Imagination’s Destination Journal. Not a bad deal!
If you’re a junior high or high school student who likes to read and write, then the HEB Summer of Read. Write. Win. contest may be the challenge for you! Just choose an influential Texan to read about and write an essay explaining why you think he or she has had an impact on Texas. 3 Grand Prizes: $15,000 scholarship – 3 First Prizes: $6,500 scholarship – 7 Honorable Mentions: $1,000 scholarship
So here’s to you! Find yourself a great book and get reading! Enjoy!
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Setting Myself Up for Failure
It may sound crazy, but lately I've been setting myself up for failure...on purpose.
I'm right-handed but have been trying to throw with my left hand and kick with my left foot when playing ball with my dog. Let me tell you, Lily was very patient with me. When kicking her small orange ball with my right foot, I could get that thing to loft into the air and go a good distance, but with my left foot, it was a totally different story. At first, it was the same as when I golfed, nothing but air. My foot usually wouldn't even hit the ball, but if it did, the ball hardly moved from its spot. Sometimes I got lucky and the ball would actually move forward a few feet. After a while, I'd get to feeling bad for Lily and, for her sake, would revert back to using my right foot. Boy would that get her running! But each time Lily and I went out to play ball, I would try for quite a while to kick her ball with my left foot. It really didn't take more than a few days of trying before there was consistent contact and distance, which made both of us happy.
Like I said, I also tried throwing with my left hand. There was a bit more success in that, but only because the ball was already in my hand. Although the ball went much farther than when I kicked it with my left foot, the difference between throws with the right hand and the left were obvious. Nonetheless, I kept throwing with with my non-dominant hand and paying attention to how my wrist moved, how the ball sort of rolled off my finger tips, and how my arm moved. Often I would throw with my right hand, paying attention to all those things, and then try to mimic the movements with the left side of my body. Just like with the kicking, my throwing improved quite a bit.
So now you may be wondering "Who cares?" or "What's the point?" Well, let me tell you. I have been purposely setting myself up for failure in order to become better. I have been challenging the left side of my body to improve the power of my brain. That's right. There is a connection between the ability to use both sides of your body and the ability of your brain. You don't have to only practice academics to "get smarter."
So I challenge you. Start using your weaker, non-dominant hand to eat, open jars, throw balls, drink, and unlock your door and use your non-dominant foot to kick a ball, push a drawer closed and pull open a door. It won't take long before you'll see the physical progress and in the future you'll appreciate the mental results. Talk about a painless way to get a better functioning brain!
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
I'm right-handed but have been trying to throw with my left hand and kick with my left foot when playing ball with my dog. Let me tell you, Lily was very patient with me. When kicking her small orange ball with my right foot, I could get that thing to loft into the air and go a good distance, but with my left foot, it was a totally different story. At first, it was the same as when I golfed, nothing but air. My foot usually wouldn't even hit the ball, but if it did, the ball hardly moved from its spot. Sometimes I got lucky and the ball would actually move forward a few feet. After a while, I'd get to feeling bad for Lily and, for her sake, would revert back to using my right foot. Boy would that get her running! But each time Lily and I went out to play ball, I would try for quite a while to kick her ball with my left foot. It really didn't take more than a few days of trying before there was consistent contact and distance, which made both of us happy.
Like I said, I also tried throwing with my left hand. There was a bit more success in that, but only because the ball was already in my hand. Although the ball went much farther than when I kicked it with my left foot, the difference between throws with the right hand and the left were obvious. Nonetheless, I kept throwing with with my non-dominant hand and paying attention to how my wrist moved, how the ball sort of rolled off my finger tips, and how my arm moved. Often I would throw with my right hand, paying attention to all those things, and then try to mimic the movements with the left side of my body. Just like with the kicking, my throwing improved quite a bit.
So now you may be wondering "Who cares?" or "What's the point?" Well, let me tell you. I have been purposely setting myself up for failure in order to become better. I have been challenging the left side of my body to improve the power of my brain. That's right. There is a connection between the ability to use both sides of your body and the ability of your brain. You don't have to only practice academics to "get smarter."
So I challenge you. Start using your weaker, non-dominant hand to eat, open jars, throw balls, drink, and unlock your door and use your non-dominant foot to kick a ball, push a drawer closed and pull open a door. It won't take long before you'll see the physical progress and in the future you'll appreciate the mental results. Talk about a painless way to get a better functioning brain!
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
Sunday, April 22, 2012
Fun Educational Websites!
Below is an article that I wrote for Healthy Valley Magazine's April 2012 issue. It's a compilation and descriptions of some awesome websites that parents and students can take advantage of, and all of the sites are FREE!
Kids Know It is “the Internet's most popular educational website since 1998.” Children can find educational activities, products, movies, music, games, articles, text books, learning programs and worksheets. There are even posters and podcasts available. http://www.kidsknowit.com/
"FunBrain is the #1 site for online educational games for kids of all ages.” It offers games, books, comics and the lost art of Mad Libs. The site helps students improve their math, grammar, science, spelling and history knowledge in fun, versatile ways that keep kids wanting to play, without realizing that they are improving their academic skills. http://www.funbrain.com/
Starfall is a wonderful site dedicated to literacy that teaches children to read with phonics. Its systematic approach and phonemic awareness practice are perfect for preschool through second grade students as well as those in special education and English language development programs. Starfall keeps literacy fun and motivating, so it is a site that also appeals to struggling readers. http://www.starfall.com/
Jefferson Lab, also known as JLab, comes from a world-class research facility in Virginia, and is considered a highly valued partner by the local, regional and national education community. JLab focuses specifically on science and math through a collection of science videos (produced by Jefferson Lab Science) and recorded lectures, both via the Science Cinema portal. Students can learn math and science through games and test their knowledge and receive specific feedback through the SOL Tests section. http://education.jlab.org/
Smithsonian Education offers to students so much knowledge about just about everything. Unlike most educational sites, this site does not focus solely on academic knowledge; although there is plenty of it. It invites exploration because it is full of cool stuff that kids are unlikely to discover and experience without traveling around the globe. http://smithsonianeducation.org
Coolmath-games is all about math. As the names suggests, many cool math games can be found here, but not only that. There are math lessons from basic arithmetic to pre-calculus that are simple to understand and that go step by step. The lessons are short, so students have to spend a lot of time to be successful. The three sites that make up Coolmath are http:/coolmath.com/, http://coolmath4kids.com/, http://coolmath-games.com/.
Signed,
Lora the Stucy Coach
Kids Know It is “the Internet's most popular educational website since 1998.” Children can find educational activities, products, movies, music, games, articles, text books, learning programs and worksheets. There are even posters and podcasts available. http://www.kidsknowit.com/
"FunBrain is the #1 site for online educational games for kids of all ages.” It offers games, books, comics and the lost art of Mad Libs. The site helps students improve their math, grammar, science, spelling and history knowledge in fun, versatile ways that keep kids wanting to play, without realizing that they are improving their academic skills. http://www.funbrain.com/
Starfall is a wonderful site dedicated to literacy that teaches children to read with phonics. Its systematic approach and phonemic awareness practice are perfect for preschool through second grade students as well as those in special education and English language development programs. Starfall keeps literacy fun and motivating, so it is a site that also appeals to struggling readers. http://www.starfall.com/
Jefferson Lab, also known as JLab, comes from a world-class research facility in Virginia, and is considered a highly valued partner by the local, regional and national education community. JLab focuses specifically on science and math through a collection of science videos (produced by Jefferson Lab Science) and recorded lectures, both via the Science Cinema portal. Students can learn math and science through games and test their knowledge and receive specific feedback through the SOL Tests section. http://education.jlab.org/
Smithsonian Education offers to students so much knowledge about just about everything. Unlike most educational sites, this site does not focus solely on academic knowledge; although there is plenty of it. It invites exploration because it is full of cool stuff that kids are unlikely to discover and experience without traveling around the globe. http://smithsonianeducation.org
Coolmath-games is all about math. As the names suggests, many cool math games can be found here, but not only that. There are math lessons from basic arithmetic to pre-calculus that are simple to understand and that go step by step. The lessons are short, so students have to spend a lot of time to be successful. The three sites that make up Coolmath are http:/coolmath.com/, http://coolmath4kids.com/, http://coolmath-games.com/.
Signed,
Lora the Stucy Coach
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Translation Stick-Ups YouTube Video
I hope this blog finds you doing well and being successful in your studies. I want to let you know that another Lora the Study Coach video has been posted on YouTube. This one is entitled "Translation Stick-Ups" and uses Math as the sample subject material. Of course, this activity, like all the others, is useful to study and learn information for any subject. I hope you like it and find it helpful.
Here is the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubi_R9CRpBY
You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel with this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/LoraTheStudyCoach?ob=0&feature=results_main
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
Here is the YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubi_R9CRpBY
You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel with this link: http://www.youtube.com/user/LoraTheStudyCoach?ob=0&feature=results_main
Signed,
Lora the Study Coach
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