The #1 predictor of success: Concentration

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Guest blogger Susan Phariss, founder of Brain Fitness Strategies, believes that it’s possible to change the brain and profoundly improve the future at a level most people never imagine. She specializes in helping bright kids who struggle with sensory, reading, and anxiety issues. Using neurodevelopmental movements, she helps kids get rid of the blocks that prevent them from reaching their full, thriving, happy potential.
 

I was shocked when I read a study reporting that the ability to concentrate is the #1 predictor of success in life. The Duke University study was conducted in New Zealand with over 1,000 kids. They studied the kids for eight years and then did a follow-up when they were 32 years old. What they found is that the ability to concentrate is a stronger predictor of success than IQ or socio-economic status. It predicted health, career success, and financial success.

As a neurodevelopment specialist, I often work with kids who have really poor concentration. An example would be my past client, Micah. When we started working with him, his mom said it took four hours to do his schoolwork every night—and he was in elementary school! Mom or dad had to stay with him the whole four hours—and no one else in the house could have fun while Micah was doing homework, as it would distract him even further

After doing our brain exercises for three months, Micah’s mom reported he was down to just 40 minutes to get his homework done. Then, after eight months, she said he was a straight-A student and never brought homework home anymore—he always got his work done at school!

Here are a couple of favorite activities to boost concentration that you can do at home with your child:


Peacock Feather

The first activity is balancing a peacock feather. Place the tip of the feather on a finger or anywhere on the hand, stand the feather straight up, look at the top, and then let go of the feather with the other hand. As the feather starts leaning, follow the feather with your hand, keeping it underneath the feather.

Your job as a parent is to remind them, “Look at the top! Look at the top! Look at the top!” Once they grasp that they can balance it longer by staying focused on the top, you can stop reminding them—and start timing them.

I recommend keeping a success chart of how long the peacock feather was balanced in each hand. This keeps them motivated to beat their old record every time they practice, building their concentration through play!

When they can balance the peacock feather consistently for 60 seconds, challenge them with balancing a yardstick! The yardstick moves much faster and will be more challenging, building even more concentration.

You can pick up a peacock feather at Michael’s or most arts and crafts stores. Be sure it is approximately 36 inches long (like the yardstick). I buy mine in bulk online here.


Juggling

I love juggling as a neurodevelopmental exercise so much that Paul and I wrote an e-book about it! There are lots of studies (like this one and this one) reporting how juggling grows new brain cells (both gray matter and white matter), and that it grows it mostly in the visual processing center of your brain.

My favorite prop for teaching new jugglers is colorful juggling rings! They are easier than beanbags because you don’t have to control your wrist angle.

Have your child practice throwing it up and down with one hand, with a first goal of 10 throws in a row with no drops. Then try the other hand. Then throw from hand to hand 10 times without a drop. When they are comfortable with catching and throwing to themselves, then you can start having them pass with you! My e-book has the rest of the steps for learning how to juggle three objects successfully.

Passing juggling props between two or more people builds their ability to collaborate. It also builds creativity, eye-hand coordination, reading skills—the list of benefits is long!

I buy my juggling rings online here.

For more tips on teaching your child to juggle, Alt Ed Austin readers can download a free copy of the juggling instructions from my e-book, Have a Ball Learning, from my website. It’s a step-by-step guide on teaching your child to juggle—even if you can’t! It also includes activities for kids who don’t have the coordination to juggle yet, plus other games you can play with them that build focus and concentration.

But don’t take my word for it—let your child try it and let them tell you!
 


Susan Phariss
 

College admissions for alternative schooled, homeschooled, and unschooled applicants (Part 1)

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Antonio Buehler is the founder of Abrome, a private K–12 school located in West Austin between West Lake Hills and Bee Cave. Antonio has over 13 years of college admissions experience as an admissions consultant where about 75 percent of his former clients gained admission into a Top 10 school, and about 50 percent of those who applied to Harvard and/or Stanford were accepted. Antonio previously volunteered for the West Point admissions office and currently serves as an alumni interviewer for Stanford University.

Antonio no longer provides admissions consulting services, but as a guest contributor to the Alt Ed Austin blog, he is here to explain the college admissions process from an alternative school perspective. This is Part 1 of his two-part guide, and it’s packed with helpful information for aspiring college students who’ve educated themselves in unconventional ways. Visit the Abrome website to learn more about Antonio and Emancipated Learning, and come back here tomorrow for Part 2.


Today, the Common Application goes live, and with it the college admissions season is once again here. And today, hundreds of thousands of rising high school seniors begin transitioning from the thrill of imagining themselves in a variety of university settings as they flip through college websites and view books to the anxiety of filling out applications and wondering if they will get into a college that is prestigious enough for their parents to place a sticker of that college on the back of the family car(s). While students who were able to opt out of traditional (public and private) schools so that they could go to a progressive alternative school, be homeschooled, or unschool themselves were able to avoid much of the stress associated with the ever-present college admissions arms race that has fully permeated the high school experience, they are often less sure of the next steps forward because they do not have a clear understanding of the application process or how they measure up against other college applicants. This essay serves as a brief primer for these applicants moving forward.


Start Early

Harvard University

Harvard University

Ideally you (or your children) are not applying this year, and instead are planning to apply several years down the road. Those who begin earlier rather than later have significant advantages because they can be more thoughtful about building an interesting and relevant transcript, conduct meaningful research of their target schools, prepare for standardized tests, manage potential recommenders, and endlessly edit their essays until they near perfection. Additionally, those who understand that the college admissions process is a game can turn the game on its head by leading a remarkable life over a period of several years, as opposed to trying to package themselves in the 11th hour (see “It’s a Game” below). Some of this advice will be geared toward those who start earlier, but even those who wait until the summer before applications are due to dive in can benefit from a better understanding of the admissions process and what they can bring to it.


It’s a Game

College admissions is not a meritocracy; it is a game. Sadly, it is a game that weighs heavily on applicants and parents, and it is often seen as a decision that can make or break one’s future prospects. Even more sad is that college admissions decisions have little to do with merit, and much to do with class and privilege. It is essential for applicants to recognize that the college admissions process is not fair, and that the decisions that colleges make in favor or against an applicant have absolutely no bearing on the academic or personal worth of that applicant. Easier said than done. But when an applicant recognizes that college admissions is a game, and they know the rules of the game (and how to hack it), they are more likely to be successful at the game. And an applicant who opts out of traditional schooling has a huge leg up in the admissions game.


Building a Transcript

Stanford University

Stanford University

Hopefully, most young people who are alternatively schooled, homeschooled, or unschooled know that a high school degree is largely worthless. No reputable college or university in the United States requires a high school degree. However, all colleges will want to see a transcript, and this is one area of several where non-traditionally schooled applicants have a sizeable advantage. The time and effort that typical high school students put into their transcripts usually end with a verification that they are hitting all graduation requirements (e.g., 4 math credits, 4 science credits, 4 ELA credits) and a quick calculation to determine which honors and AP classes they should take to boost their GPA relative to their peers. But young people who are responsible for their educational pathways have the opportunity to walk admissions committees through a unique journey that was tailored to the applicant’s needs, goals, and interests. The best way to do this is to celebrate how the applicant spent their time engaged in deep, meaningful, and enduring learning experiences, without trying to conform it to a standard academic transcript (e.g., 4 math credits, 4 science credits, 4 ELA credits).

Additionally, letter grades or percentages are meaningless on a non-traditional transcript unless it shows anything less than a perfect GPA, which would hurt an applicant. Those who opt out of the traditional schooling system should never introduce the rank ordering aspects of grading that pull applicants down. [1]


Standardized Testing

Another benefit of opting out of traditional schooling is that young people get to avoid the relentless testing that is required in the classroom and for the state (e.g., Texas STAAR, New York Regents). Testing serves as a means for lazy politicians, bureaucrats, administrators, and teachers to assess and sort students, at the expense of students. Hopefully, the first time any young person takes a test is if they opt into it for their own benefit, such as taking the PSAT or an AP exam. However, one of the very few downsides to a non-traditional education is that many colleges will lean more heavily on standardized test scores during the admissions process. While the SAT or ACT most often serves as a disqualifier for top private colleges and universities (and as an automatic qualifier for many lower-ranked private or state schools), non-traditional applicants may have a more difficult time overcoming a poor SAT or ACT score than a traditionally schooled applicant who has a perfect GPA and ranks at the top of their class might.

The good news for non-traditional applicants is they should have ample time to prepare for the tests without being burdened by the unnecessary time requirements associated with traditional schooling (e.g., compulsory attendance, mandatory classes, homework, studying, testing). And for those who do not perform well on standardized tests even with plenty of prep, there are now over 900 colleges and universities that do not rely on or require standardized tests in the application process.

It is worth noting that the most exclusive schools also require or “recommend” applicants submit SAT subject tests with their application. Non-traditional applicants should treat SAT subject tests as required if a school “recommends” them, and as recommended if a school “considers” them. Similar to the SAT and ACT, these tests can hurt an applicant’s prospects if the scores are low, but are unlikely to substantially help since so many applicants score in the high 700s or 800 on these tests.


Building a College List

Yale University

Yale University

Traditionally schooled applicants typically have an easier time than non-traditional applicants in zeroing in on schools to apply to because (1) they are more likely to focus on college rankings as a guide for constructing their list, and (2) based on their class rank and GPA at their particular school, combined with their standardized test scores, they can lean on their guidance counselor or Naviance to help them identify the highest-ranked schools where they have a chance of admission. Unfortunately, this approach results in a high volume of applications to a wide range of schools, lower-quality applications, excessively high rates of anxiety, and very often a failure to identify best-fit colleges.

Non-traditional applicants can more easily overcome the aforementioned challenges because they are more likely to “understand thyself” thanks to years of self-directed learning (or less-coercive schooling) and reflection, and therefore are more likely to be drawn to colleges based on what opportunities and experiences the colleges can provide the applicant in accordance with their needs, as opposed to being drawn to colleges based on their rank. This process will still lead many of these non-traditional applicants to elite, private research universities such as Harvard and Stanford, but others may find that the flagship state school or even starting out at a local community college may be more advantageous for them, while many others may be drawn to liberal arts colleges that are less selective than the elite research universities but that arguably provide the best college education of all.

From a strategic perspective, fewer schools are better than many in the college applications game. By focusing on only the most selective schools as opposed to the best-fit schools, many applicants are driven to apply to upwards of two dozen colleges that may each have single- or low-double-digit acceptance rates. In doing so, they undermine their chances by stretching themselves thin on supplemental essays, applying to schools that their applications will not resonate with, and failing to help recommenders (especially optional recommenders) tailor their letters to a targeted group of schools. Applying to a bunch of schools also costs a lot of money.

Many counselors and consultants recommend applying to 6–10 schools, but we would recommend applying to no more than 5 schools. We have advised applicants to only apply to schools they would be thrilled to attend because of what they could make of the experience, whether it is Harvard, Stanford, State Flagship University, or Directional State U. We highly recommend against applying to “safety” schools as something to fall back to if best-fit schools do not work out. We also recommend against applying to any schools that do not require supplemental essays beyond what is required in the Common Application or Coalition Application, unless the applicant feels that the school is a great fit for their needs. Schools that do not have additional essay prompts often benefit from having large numbers of lazier applicants apply because of the marginal effort required (an application fee), making it more difficult for a non-traditional applicant to drive home their unique story to the admissions committee. [The author of this essay applied to only three universities: West Point for college, Stanford and Harvard for business school, and Harvard for education school. The author has never been rejected and attributes much of this success to being able to submit a near perfect application on the factors that he was able to control or have considerable influence over (e.g., essays, recommendations).]

[Join us back here on the blog tomorrow for more advice from Antonio in Part 2. —Ed.]

     1. Grading also undermines the learning process. Any school that grades its students fails its students. There is never a reason for an alternative school to engage in this destructive practice.


Antonio Buehler

I scream, you scream, we all scream for screen time (and some page time, too)

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Summer has really been behaving like summer lately, hasn’t it? Heat, humidity, a whoosh of thunderstorms tossed in for good measure. Good summer weather makes me want to walk by the river, look at the birds, and even do a little kayaking. But oppressive summer weather whispers in my ear: Let’s go inside and watch a movie.

I loved Spider-Man: Homecoming  and Wonder Woman, and I can’t wait for Thor: Ragnorok, but it’s a relief to switch things up now and then, and get away from the usual blockbusters. When I watched some great trailers for upcoming films for kids and families, I was excited to see several based on classic children’s literature: Goodbye Christopher Robin, out in October, will tell the story of how A. A. Milne created Winnie the Pooh. Ferdinand, a Christmas 2017 release, will animate and stretch the wonderful little tale of a flower-loving bull to almost 2 hours! And two highly anticipated films based on much-loved books arrive next year: Mary Poppins Returns and A Wrinkle in Time.
 


I certainly remember being inspired to seek out books after watching great (and maybe not-so-great) movie adaptations, ranging from The Wizard of Oz to Jaws to Frankenstein. So here, to encourage some cozy family time in air-conditioned comfort, is a list of movies for kids ages 7 to 12 that might inspire them to head for the library to get the full story. I’ll follow up with a list for teens soon. The films are linked to their descriptions at Common Sense Media to help you determine whether they’re right for you and your kids.
 

Classic Must-See and Must-Read:

Animators Bring Books to Life:

Laugh ’til You Cry

The Scary Stuff (Beware!):

Get Your Heart Warmed


Shelley Sperry
 

Why start a new private school in a good school district?

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Eustace Isidore is a founder and director at 4Points Academy, a private elementary and middle school in Steiner Ranch, Austin. As a guest contributor to the Alt Ed Austin blog, he explains the rationale for starting a new private school in an area where the public schools have a generally positive reputation. Visit the 4Points website to learn more about this unique school—and check out its summer camps!
 

4Points Academy’s Microsoft field trip

4Points Academy’s Microsoft field trip

Why start a new private school in Steiner Ranch? It’s a question we at 4Points Academy often get asked when we meet with parents. After all, our school is located in a district with high achieving schools. Yet even with the success of these public schools, there are still certain gaps that parents acknowledge:

  • the need to have fewer students in a classroom so that the teachers are better able to understand and address the needs of every child in their care
  • the need to shift the focus back to teaching rather than focusing on getting students ready to pass the STAAR tests, which bring anxiety to so many students and their parents each year
  • that “X” factor, where many parents articulate that their child is not being challenged or that their child’s specific needs are just not being addressed, and how difficult it is for the child or the parent to really be heard in a large school environment

We created 4Points Academy to provide our students with a safe and nurturing environment that allows them to flourish and grow, and we provide our parents with a view into their child’s learning and a voice in navigating it. At 4Points, we emphasize core subject mastery and provide small classes to enable individual student attention. Our specialist teachers help deepen our students’ learning, and we offer 1-1 technology, foreign languages, art, music, sports mechanics, and more, to give our students a well-rounded academic experience.

We also take the additional steps to understand each individual as a learner with unique needs and to foster an environment that that will allow all of our students to grow into confident, compassionate, courageous, and committed young men and women. We go beyond the academics to emphasize cultural diversity, global awareness, information technology skills, business and financial literacy, public speaking, and presentation skills, as well as proper handwriting, posture, manners, use of eye contact, and yes, even a firm handshake!  

Another important way we distinguish our program from public schools is that we do not waste valuable classroom time teaching to a standardized test. There is no STAAR exam to focus on. Instead, there is a continuous focus on individual students and meeting their academic and social needs.

Why all of this? Because we want our students to be confident and articulate, to be “book smart” as well as “world smart.” We want our students to be 21st-century students, academically and socially ready for high school, college, and beyond.


Eustace Isidore
 

Media Monday: The challenge of summer melt

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ACC’s College Destination Center was set up in part to help students avoid summer melt with one-on-one assistance in transitioning to college.

ACC’s College Destination Center was set up in part to help students avoid summer melt with one-on-one assistance in transitioning to college.

A term I hadn’t heard of before, “summer melt,” hit the news in the past week or so. The term has been around for several years, but new solutions are prompting a mini wave of new media attention. Summer melt refers to the 10 to 40 percent of students who declare when they’re tossing their high school graduation caps in the air that they are heading to college—but, when classes start in the fall, never show up.

I first ran across the term in an NPR Podcast, Hidden Brain, which focused on an innovative program at Georgia State University that uses texts to check up on students and—more important—to answer the nagging little questions that create roadblocks, especially for lower-income kids. It seems, from the NPR report and others from Houston Matters, the Texas Tribune, the New York Times, and multiple articles a couple of years ago from KUT, that it’s usually a series of many small frustrations and confusing hurdles that add up to thwart students and keep them from reaching their dreams.

What I like about most of these discussions is that they take into account the major emotional turmoil that so many kids are facing as they transition to the new, bewildering world of college. Financial challenges are the biggest category of roadblocks, but even serious money problems often can be overcome with the right mentoring, timely information, and support from family, friends, churches, and other community institutions.

Certainly new technologies—the focus of the NPR and New York Times stories—offer a lot of help. And a major study and handbook from Harvard’s Center for Education Policy Research can also offer tips, especially for teachers and school counselors. But if you know young people struggling right now to get through the frustrations of July in order to step into higher ed in August and September, you might take a look at the stories of three local young people who beat summer melt a couple of years ago. Their tales are chronicled by KUT’s Kate McGee on a tumblr called “The Months Between.”


Shelley Sperry
 

Tools and tips for parents of teens with anxiety

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Guest contributor Courtney Harris is a child-centered and teen life coach. She supports teens and tweens in moving from anxiety and overwhelm to self-love and intentional self-expression. She also partners with parents to integrate new skills and improve communication and connection within the family. Courtney Harris Coaching offers 1:1 coaching sessions and Austin-area workshops and events; follow Courtney on Facebook to learn more.

 
In my nine years in the classroom and one year working with young people and families privately, I have come to hear the terms anxiety, social anxiety, and overwhelm more than I can count. Starting at very young ages, our children are internalizing patterns of overwork, perfectionism, and constant public performance. According to Psychology Today, 7 percent of the population in the United States is estimated to have some form of social anxiety within any given 12-month period.

Many of our children, especially those who identify as introverts, are highly sensitive, or have learning or developmental disabilities, do not feel supported by society. They feel that their way of being is not acceptable according to many social norms. The pressures to perform both inside and outside of the classroom are often too much to handle, particularly when the young people are not affirmed for the patterns and behaviors that are most natural and comfortable to them.

During this past year, I have been working with a 13-year-old who prefers face-to-face communication over social media, which feels isolating to him, given his friends’ heavy technology use. Yet he found it difficult to identify shared interests to relate over in person when he had those opportunities. All the while, he was managing and worrying about his honors courses, feeling exhausted by the workload, managing demands and expectations from his parents, and struggling to ask for help. Under the weight of these pressures from home, school, and social life, this teen was exhausted! He felt robotic, disempowered, and stuck in his life. Every Sunday was a source of anxiety for him, knowing the the cycle of overwhelm was starting anew. After months of watching him living this way, his parents saw that he needed to slow down; they recognized his need to feel secure and grounded and to develop new patterns for being his most authentic self.

If your child is already beginning to fear the pressures of the upcoming school year or is refusing attendance at a summer camp, rest assured that there are pathways to greater ease and peace for your child and your family. I’d love to share some of the big tips and tools that worked for this 13-year-old on his journey, especially when starting a new activity or semester.

CourtneyHarris_resources.jpg

Most of these are simply opportunities to think about your own thinking and share your process with your child. By telling them about how you think and problem solve, you can invite them to develop their own (not necessarily the same) processes.

  • Show your tween/teen the planners, calendars, and time management techniques you use. Talk about how your system works, how you prioritize tasks, when you say “no” to things you can’t commit to (or don’t want to). Allow your child to choose the type of system they prefer.
  • Create family routines around planning the week ahead. On a designated day, at a set time, stop to talk about the upcoming week. Discuss which activities bring a sense of joy and ease, and which activities bring up stress.
  • When talking about upcoming activities or plans, you can share your inner dialogue about how you are preparing for the week. Describe what kind of things you need to do in order to be prepared for your meeting, or in order to have all of the meals cooked for the family, or in order to get the bills paid on time.
  • Encourage your child to mentally prepare as well. Ask questions like, “What do you need to do in order to feel prepared for the test?” or “What do you need in order to feel safe on the first day of school?” Letting your child name their own needs will give them a source of power and control, which will motivate them to take action.

Outside of scheduling and planning, there is a great deal of metacognition you can share with your child to help them develop self-awareness.

  • Talk about how anxiety feels in YOUR own experience. How does it show up in your body? Give qualities and descriptors to it. For example, do you get tense shoulders, a racing heart, shortness of breath, scattered thoughts, etc.? You also might consider giving your anxiety a number, using a 1–10 scale. In naming our anxiety, we can begin to understand that while it is something we experience, it does not define us. Over time, if you notice anxiety or tension in your child’s body, words, or behaviors, you can begin to ask them to notice what they observe or to rate their sensations. They will have the language for this through your modeling!
  • Make time to talk about support systems and resources. Tell your child about those you go to for help. Whom do you seek advice from? Where do you get your information? Whom do you open up with? Tell them what this experience feels like. Ask your child whom they feel comfortable asking for help. Help them identify the people they can socialize with comfortably. Role-play situations in which they ask for help. The more your child practices this with you, the more prepared they will be to advocate for themselves as needed.
  • Help your child generate a list of the top five topics they like to talk about with peers. Share the types of questions you like to be asked when meeting new people. Help them develop some go-to questions to ask new acquaintances and friends.
  • Share with your child about the ways you incorporate peace and quiet into your life. Do you read for 20 minutes before bed? Do you do a crossword over coffee? Encourage your child to commit to time in their day for quiet and calm. Help them pick places they can go during the day to recharge or get away from the chaos of school life. Having routines that offer safety and security will enable your teen to feel more equipped and energized for the other activities that may be more draining.

The more often you and your child engage in conversation about the ways we perceive and process the world, the more self-aware they will be, and the more connected you will feel. While transitions may still be challenging in your family, the more intentional practice we have with approaching new opportunities with authenticity, the more confident and grounded our young people will feel.


Courtney Harris