Blog Archives

LISTEN TO OLD BEN!

9/22/2013

Have you ever made a mistake? Of course you have. We all have; it's called being human. The really SMART person learns from his or her errors, and tries not to repeat a mistake.
It's still very early in the school year. Have you gotten a low grade on a quiz or test? Have you failed to hand in a homework assignment or a lab? This is what you do to correct things BEFORE it gets worse: Make up any missing work. Study harder for the next test. Figure out what went wrong so that it won't recur. Decide (and only YOU can decide) not to fall into a pattern of failure. Be determined to be a better student. It feels GOOD to do well. It feels great not to fall behind. It feels super to get everything done on time. You know that feeling. Just be sure that's your normal feeling. Make yourself - and those who love you - proud. If you haven't started doing that yet, start today! What was it Benjamin Franklin once wrote? Oh, yes - "Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today."

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NO MORE PRINTED TEXTBOOKS!

9/17/2013

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There is a high school in White Plains, New York (about a one hour drive from here) which no longer uses PRINTED textbooks. It is Archbishop Stepinac High School, and starting this school year, every student will receive an iPad and nobody will have to lug around a heavy book bag or back pack. (One student weighed his textbooks last year: 35 pounds!) All textbooks will be replaced by a "digital library" which can be accessed - in school or from home, or anywhere there is wi-fi - Starbucks, anyone? - on any internet-connected tablet or laptop. At Stepinac, this means that students can get to all 40 textbooks which the school uses as well as note-taking, highlighting, on-line dictionaries and other features. It'll be good for the environment and students' backs. All students will be better prepared for college and many careers because they will be that much more tech-savvy. The textbooks will be interactive and will be constantly updated during the course of a year. Students will alwyas have the latest information. The head of the school predicts that "this will sweep the country."
Imagine reading a social studies textbook and suddenly listening to and watching President Kennedy delivering his speech about the Cuban Missile Crisis or being sent by a math teacher to a link for a problem with the teacher's notes attached. This school will even have a web site at which students will be able to submit essays to be graded for grammar and sentence structure as well as for repeating ideas. This site will even suggest re-writes. A student can even have novels and plays read to him or her.
Do YOU want this for your school? Will it improve how you are doing? Do YOU think it will better prepare you for your working life? Do you see any disadvantages to replacing textbooks or is it a win-win situation? Let us know what you think. Click on "Comments" above and put down your ideas. Explain whether you would look forward to these changes in the high school of the future. It looks as if the future isn't that far away.

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USE OUR MATERIALS . . . PLEASE!

9/15/2013

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Okay, the photo on the left has some special effects, but we wanted to get your attention about an important feature of Great Neck South High's Study Center. Yes, we have a great collection of talented and experienced teachers, but, in addition, we have many very useful resources. Pictured in the fancy photo are some of them: novels, books about writing, photographs, dictionaries.
We also have globes of the world, illustrations of the human body, a chart of the chemical elements, textbooks used in every subject class (If you don't see what you need, just ask; if we don't have it yet, we will acquire it!), charts, graphics, copies of Regents, computers, printers, a copier and loads of file cabinets with sheets to help reinforce your learning and help you review many, many specific topics.
For those of you working on projects, book covers, brain maps, etc., we even have a collection of colored pencils, some colored paper, scissors, highlighters - you get the idea. Of course, all work should and must be done under the supervision of one of the Study Center teachers.

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SHOULD STUDENTS BE PAID?

9/11/2013

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Should you be paid cash for the schoolwork which you do, especially if you get good grades? If so, who should pay you? The government? Your parents? This subject comes up because there was a story in the news last week about whether college athletes should be paid money for being on the football team or whatever. Funny - many of them ARE being paid . . . with scholarships. Students in high school ARE being paid - with knowledge. Okay, that sounds corny, but it's true. The knowledge which you gain in high school can prepare you for a coveted college scholarship. It should prepare you for a career in which you can make a living wage. Whether you take advantage of your time in high school is up to you - and this year, it begins NOW! Do you want to get the big bucks some day? Then do your best every day. Organize, plan, don't put things off, study, attend - do all the things you know it takes to get the most out of your education. Treasure that a high school education is free in this country. (It isn't free in every nation.) Of course, unless you earn one of those precious scholarships, college is NOT free at all. So do your best starting TODAY!

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