Author: Jared Wells

So many students go through middle and high school, putting everything they’ve got into success, without putting a lot of thought into “Why?” I was one of those students myself, not really ever thinking about what the purpose of my education was or how it was going to help me achieve my career goals (what career goals?) until senior year of college. And as I’m sure you can imagine, it was a frightening realization for me!

“What Color is your Parachute for Teens” is a great way to get your kids thinking about how they are going to build the life and career they want for themselves, so they can make the most of their opportunities while they are in high school and university. Here are 3 ways your kids will benefit from reading and working through the book this summer:

1. It invites readers to think about their skills in non-academic contexts. So much of a student’s life is wrapped up in academic performance. But success in academia does not necessarily mean success as a professional, nor does struggling in school necessarily. mean failure as an adult. Empathy is not necessarily a skill that will lead to a good grade in a math class, and so it might not be something the student has though a lot about, but empathy IS a skill, and that skill is exceedingly useful in many careers. One great example of an exercise that deals with this is writing stories about times where the student succeeded or felt very competent, and identifying the skills and knowledge that resulted in the success. Some of these skills will likely not be things taught in school, which is fine!
2. Has an adult ever told your child “You need to start thinking about your future”? It isn’t a very specific directive is it? And students, who really don’t have any idea what surviving as a adult entails, are at a loss as to what that means. The book gives students great questions to start with, and very detailed activities that will help them answer questions like “What are my best skills?” “What jobs/fields use those skills?” “How can I learn more about those jobs/fields”.
3. Having a clearer picture of how what they are doing NOW can have a direct impact on success and happiness in the future will provide motivation to succeed NOW. Most students have a vague idea that “If I get good grades, I’ll be able to go to a good college…something something…and then I’ll have a good job”. That doesn’t sound very inspiring. But ideas like using assignments in class as opportunities to research career fields, or mastering planning so that you’ve mastered time-management give additional meaning and impetus to work hard on these things!

What better way for a student to spend their summer than to start building the career that they want for themselves? I can’t recommend “What Color is your Parachute for Teens” more highly. Find it in paperback or Kindle.

Vince

In my last post, I talked about the value of student informational interviews: short (15 minutes) meetings with adults who work in fields in which you (the student) are interested. so you can learn more about the field and the career opportunities in an effort to decide if it is a good fit.

Of course, you might say, “Yeah, but I don’t know anyone who works in that industry.” Maybe not, but you probably know someone who knows someone who knows someone. The key is this: don’t make assumptions about who can make a connection. Maybe Grandma isn’t the most tech-savvy person in the world, but she might tell you that her friend’s daughter works in the video game industry. You never know!

Here are 8 adults that even introverted student can ask for referrals for an informational interview:

1. Family: This one is a no-brainer, but don’t limit your search to Mom and Dad. Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, even older siblings may know someone you can talk to. Make sure to call your out of town family too…informational interviews can be done online as well!
2. Friends: People your age will probably not have networks the size of the adults you know, but that doesn’t mean they can’t connect you with someone. Plus, friends are really easy to ask.
3. Teachers: If there are teachers you had good relationships with from previous years, talk to them too!
4. Community group leaders: Your boy/girl scout leader, pastor/rabbi/imam, or the head of a volunteer organization you are a part of are great people to get referals from. Doesn’t hurt that you are getting referred as part of a community service organization!
5. Employers: If you have a job, it’s a good bet that your boss is plugged into the local business community and may have connections you can take advantage of. I’m not talking about the college aged shift supervisor, but rather the store or district manager. Bonus: if you work in customer service and you have regular customers that like you, they aren’t bad people to ask either if your after high-school life comes up in conversation!
6. Friends’ parents: You’ve known them for years, and they know you really well. Why not see if they can help you make a connection?
7. Coaches: See teachers above.
8. Social Media: This isn’t really an adult, but how hard is it to throw up a post on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter/LinkedIn (you do have a LinkedIn, right?!). Taking a few minutes to ask for connections on social media could be the easiest way to make a connection.

 

Ask each adult this: “I’m learning about different careers, and so I’m trying to meet people who work in industry X and schedule a 15 minute meeting to ask questions about their job and industry. Do you know anyone in that field that might be willing to meet with me?”

So get out there and start networking! Check out What Color is your Parachute for Teens for more ideas like this one.

-Vince

With summer fast approaching, we’re getting our 10th and 11th graders in to take their free SAT and ACT diagnostic exams with us (is your son or daughter signed up yet?)

But there is something even more important than test prep that students should be doing this summer to prepare for college and career…learning about the fields they think they might be interested in working in. I’ve met many people through my life (and I’m sure you have too) who have gone to university for four years (or more) and, having graduated, realized that they don’t actually like any of the jobs related to their field of study. Imagine, if this could have been avoided by spending a few hours doing a little investigation while in high school!

What can students do this summer to learn more about fields they are interested in? They can conduct informational interviews.

What is an informational interview?

It is a short (15 minutes or so) conversation between the student and a professional who works in the student’s field of interest. The information interview gives the student a way to see what working in that industry is really like, from people who do it every day. Doing a few informational interviews might help a student realize that a field they thought they might enjoy actually holds no interest for them whatsoever. Better to find that out now than after 4 years of a university education (or worse, working in the field for years!)

So how can students set up informational interviews?

 

Step 1 Connect with people in the field you are interested in

You (the student) should talk to adults you know and trust (family, friends, teachers, etc) and ask them if they know anyone who works in the field or industry you are interested in learning about. If so, ask the adult to contact the professional and ask if they would be willing to meet with your for a 15 minute conversation so you can ask some questions about their job and the industry.

If the professional is willing to meet with you, have the adult get contact information (email or phone number) for you. Reach out and schedule a meeting, in person ideally. Make sure that you meet somewhere public (a busy office or a coffeshop work great). If you would feel more comfortable bringing a friend or trusted adult with you, make sure to mention that when you set up your meeting.

Make sure to be early for the meeting, and dress professionally!

 

Step 2: The interview

They key here is to make sure that 1) you respect your interviewee’s time and stick to the 15 minutes schedule (although some people love talking about themselves or their job so much they might be happy to talk longer!) and 2) you get the most important questions answered, which are questions like:

-What does your typical workday look like/what are the most common tasks you perform on a day to day basis?

-What kind of education or training do you need for your position?

-What are your favorite and least favorite aspects of your job?

-How do you see your job/industry changing in the next 10 years?

-What is something that you think a high school student interested in this industry should know before deciding to pursue it as a career?

These questions will help you get a clear sense of whether this job is something that you would be interested in doing. You might have some industry specific questions, so include those too.

Come with your questions prepared and typed up, and make sure you take good notes!

Remember to get your interviewee’s business card (and if they don’t have one, make sure you have the person’s name, company name, mailing address, and job title)

 

Step 3: Reflect on the interview and send a thank you card.

This step is very important! After the interview, review your notes, and think about what aspects of the person’s job appeal to you, and what aspects don’t. In your card, thank them for being so generous with their time, and ask for referrals for more informational interviews. It can help here to highlight any aspects of their job that you particularly liked or didn’t like. For example, if your interviewee said that she solves difficult technical problems (which interests you) but does a lot of phone customer support (which you don’t like particularly) mention that and ask about someone she might know that does less (or no) customer support.

Spending a few hours this summer getting to know people in the industries you think you might be interested in can pay HUGE dividends for you. Who knows, but a connection you make right now might lead to a job down the line! But once you’ve talked to a few people and like what you’ve heard about the jobs and industry, it’s time to try to find an internship so you can actually experience the industry first-hand!

Check out the GREAT book “What Color Is Your Parachute For Teens” for more information about informational interviews (and much, much more). I can’t recommend this book enough!

Give us a call if this is something you’d like your son or daughter to have some guidance with this summer!

 

So the planning time has been set. Our student has figured out how to sit down in the same place every afternoon at 3pm and have the information and materials they need to write an effective plan for that day.

So, how do we do that?

First we need to answer this question:

What IS a plan?

And the best way to start to answer is to answer this question:

What is NOT a plan?

Here are some things that students commonly confuse for plans:

-A list of tasks is NOT a plan
-A due date for an assignment is NOT a plan
-A test date is NOT a plan
-An unwritten intention (eg. a student knowing that, at some point today, he has to study for a biology test) is NOT a plan

A plan consists of the following components
-A goal
-Specific steps needed to achieve that goal
-Time scheduled for completing each step

Component 1: A goal

Many students (plenty of adults too!) just react as life happens to them without looking toward the future and thinking about what they want for their future selves. And if a student doesn’t think about her future self, it’s no wonder that, the night before the biology test, she hasn’t done anything to prepare for it. Thinking about what you want for your future self is just another name for goal setting. I’ll do a future blog post on goal setting, but the key idea for students is

How can parents help?

Most importantly, check in with your son or daughter about their goals.

When you hear that they have a test coming up, ask, “What is your goal for that test?”

When they have a paper, ask, “What goal have you set for the grade?”
It’s likely that your son or daughter didn’t have a particular goal in mind, and asking that question can help them to formulate the goal in their mind. This is the first step of planning.

Component 2: Specific steps to achieve the goal

Once the goal is set, an action plan can be created. So, if the goal is “An A on my biology test next week.”, it’s time to identify the specific actions that will help to achieve that goal, like

Do my biology reading and note-taking before class
Talk to the teacher about my last test to find out why I didn’t perform well.
Meet with a tutor the week of the test
Meet with a group study the weekend before the test.
Create flashcards for the vocabulary.
Create a mind-map for the chapter.
Review chapter and notes the two days before the test.

And so on. As you can see, these are already above and beyond the homework required for the class. Also note that some tasks have subtasks.

Explicitly identifying the individual steps is crucial for two reasons. First, imagine yourself trying to keep a 7 task list straight in your head. Tough, right? I can’t even remember 7 items to get at the grocery store if I don’t write them down! Now imagine keeping a list straight that hasn’t actually been fully formed in the first place! It’s stressful having this black, disorganized mess of “I have to do things for biology” in the back of your mind. Whereas once it is down on paper, it isn’t quite so scary! This list actually seems pretty achievable two weeks out, right?

Secondly, writing the action items out is necessary for the third part of planning: scheduling.

How can parents help?

When you hear that your son or daughter has a goal that is out of line with past performance, encourage them, but ask, “What are you going to do differently this time?” or “What is your plan to improve over last test?” If your child doesn’t have an answer, help them brainstorm ideas. If they give you ideas, ask, “When are you going to do that?” Encourage them to write their “when’s” in their planner. Be supportive, but be realistic: doing things the same way as previously is not going to achieve a different result.

Component 3: Time scheduled for completing each step

Once the necessary actions are identified, it’s time for the student to sit down with his planner and schedule these items. This means the student will need to a) estimate how long each task will take, and b) assign each task a start time. These start times and duration should be scheduled on a calendar in the student’s planner! Write on the calendar what day and time they will do their mind-map for the chapter, talk to the teacher, and create (and study) flashcards. If a task is important enough to be done in the first place, it is important enough to be scheduled!

You can see that some of these tasks actually have subtasks. “Doing biology reading and notetaking before class” should actually be scheduled out, day by day.

How parents can help?

Encourage scheduling! As I said in the previous email, give students more freedom and flexibility on weekdays when they’ve scheduled their time out. Look over their schedule, and ask them about time frames that, to you, seem overly optimistic. If they fail to stick to their schedules (we all do sometimes, right?), help them problem solve with positivity and love (which we’ll talk about in the next blog post).

-Vince

We know planning is important…why don’t students do it? They don’t PLAN to plan!

One of the biggest reasons that our students see improvement, no matter what they are coming in for support for, is that the session creates a time and space for the student to pause, and take a moment to take stock of the big picture of what is going on in their classes. The rest of the week may be nothing more than reacting to crises, but in the session, our instructors ask, “So, what is your grade in the class right now?” and “Do you have any homework or projects due this week?” and “Do you have any test or quizzes coming up?” This is the beginning of creating a plan. Often, when students leave their sessions feeling positive, a big part of it is that they’ve had a chance to organize the chaos of their classes, and they’ve got a clear plan of how they are going to get done what they are going to get done. That can be an immense relief!

But planning 1 or 2 times a week (while better than 0 times) is not enough! Circumstances change from day to day (sometimes from hour to hour). This means that our plans should be adjusted from day to day. But in order for that (like anything) to happen on a regular, consistent basis, we need to plan to plan! So how can we help our students get into the planning habit?

-Planning is the keystone habit. Treat it that way! For students that need this level of support, set an expectation that you will check their planner each afternoon/evening at a specific time. Not check that the homework is complete, but that they have their plan for that afternoon written out (and that it has been followed). Make this the one thing you check every day, and they’ll start to get how important it is!

-Set a time for the student to write out the plan for that day Best time is right when the student gets home from school, before breaks, snacks anything. Give your son/daughter as much freedom as they can handle when it comes to how they use the rest of the day (as long as it is planned out!), but planning time is rock solid/set in stone/does not change.

-Be generous with free time on weekdays, provided that the free time is scheduled in their planner! Do they want to play video games in the evening? Fine, as long as video game time was scheduled in their planner when they get home in the afternoon (and of course, the converse…no video games unless the planner has been filled out for the afternoon!) Set the expectation that, as long as they’ve planned their time out, and are following their plan, that they’ll be free to take care of their responsibilities in the order of their choosing.

-Reward planning behaviors first. Many parents have agreements with their kids that they get some kind of privilege if they get all homework assignment turned in that week. Strike at the root. Homework gets done as a result of good organization and planning, so make the first and most important agreement about consistently using a planner and how and when the planner is used.

Next post, we’ll talk about best planning practices for students, and in particular, for students who struggle with planning.

Students MUST master all of them!

For many of the students for whom provide academic support, struggling with class material is simple a symptom of the real problem, which is executive function challenges. This is why in our work with students, from test prep to class support, we emphasize planning and executing plans.

When students think about planning, they think about their planner, which, to most students, is a notebook in which they write down when things are due. This, while important, is not really a plan (which is a step-by-step process of how, and when, the task will be completed).

That said, helping student learn how to plan, schedule, estimate how long tasks will take, etc, is only one piece of the puzzle. There are actually THREE levels of planning, all of which are vital to successful planning

-Planning to plan

-Planning

-Planning to execute

1. Planning to plan: Planning is a task like any other (though I’d argue it’s the keystone task: much of the success of your day can depend on whether you did a good job of planning it!). And, since we know that planning how and when a task will be completed is how we can best make sure the task is accomplished well and on time, it stands to reason that we need to plan to plan! Making planning into a habit requires doing the same thing we do to make anything a habit: a regular time and place to get it done, and a clear process of how we do it. Otherwise, planning just becomes another task that might get done when we think of it.
2. Planning: You’ve got a list of tasks that need to be accomplished, and by when they need to be accomplished. Planning is the process of scheduling those items and making sure that we have all the information and materials that we need in order to get those things done in the time allotted.
3. Planning to execute: So your student has his or her plan all written out and scheduled. Great! Now it is time to anticipate the most likely reasons that the tasks will not be accomplished as planned, and create plans to deal with them. Is a student’s phone going to be a distraction? What can we do about that, now, to ensure that it won’t be? Does the student forget materials at school? What can he or she do to make sure that all materials are in the backpack where they are needed? Each time we fail to execute a plan, we have an opportunity to learn a little bit about the things that get in our way, and a chance to problem solve so that that obstacle will not stop us next time.

In next posts, I’ll break down each of these steps, and how you can provide support for your son or daughter in accomplishing them.

-Vince

As I always say, “yesterday me” is smarter than “today me”. That is, what I knew, yesterday, that I should do today will almost always be a better plan that what I will decide, today, that I should be doing instead. Yesterday, I knew that I needed finalize the “Getting a Head Start on Finals” Workshop plans, but once I got to today, other, less valuable tasks showed up to try to distract me from accomplishing a much more important task.

So if we can already determine what the most important things to accomplish are, why do we have trouble getting them done?

Two reasons: first, we didn’t stop and think, yesterday, about what should be done today. We CAN plan, but we don’t; we act purely in the moment and react to the crises that come up as a result of a lack of a plan. This is like ignoring the advice of a personal trainer or a coach. They know better than you, so listen to them!

Secondly, and the purpose of this email, is they arrive at the scheduled time to accomplish the pre-determined task, and they talk themselves out of it. And the reasons given for changing course, as I’m sure you know from your own experience, are usually not sound. A conversation between the two might sound something like this:

Yesterday Student: We need to get started on the paper right when we get home from school. That way, if we need help on it like we’ve needed in the past, we’ll have time to go over it with our tutor that evening

Today Student: Yeah, but we know what we need to do. We’re not going to need help. We can work on it this evening.

Yesterday Student: Yes, but the essay took longer than we thought last time. Remember, we were up until 1pm last time!

Today Student: That isn’t going to happen this time. Let’s play video games instead.

Yesterday Student: That’s why we were up until 1pm last time!

If your son or daughter overheard this conversation between two friends of theirs, they would almost certainly advise “Today Student” to listen to “Yesterday Student”. And yet, this conversation plays out (more or less consciously) in the minds of students every day. Even in the minds of successful students who do heed the advice of “Yesterday Student” it can be a struggle.

One way that students can help make sure that “Yesterday Student” is listened to is by pre-committing. What this means is that the student finds ways to disallow “Today Student” from changing plans in the moment. For me, some examples of pre-commitment are

• Having a gym partner I meet at the gym at the same time every day
• Using Focusmate to schedule focused work sessions and using the Forest app to prevent myself from getting distracted by my phone during those work sessions
• Packing myself a healthy lunch in the morning so I don’t choose in the afternoon to eat something unhealthy
• Change my social media passwords to long, difficult to type passwords to make logging in to social media a more challenging, conscious process.

And so on. These are ways that I’ve found that help me lock in the wiser decisions of “Yesterday Me”, and prevent “Today Me” from changing them.

So how can students use the power of pre-commitment to lock in the plan of “Yesterday Student”?

–Study Groups! For a test or a big project coming up, find a partner or two and plan to study/work on the project together. Even better, set goals for what should already have been done prior to the study group (already read the chapter/already finished a rough draft) and what will be accomplished during the study group (ask each other practice questions/do mind maps/workshops essays) etc. It’s easy to let “Yesterday Student” down. It’s tougher to let a good friend down, and that can provide the motivation to get the work done ahead of time.

–Identify and eliminate distractions before the appointed work time. The student should think about the things that are most likely to get in the way of accomplishing the goals of “Yesterday Student” and remove them. Is the family a distraction? Plan on doing the work at the library. If the phone a distraction? Give it to a parent, sibling, or friend (really!) Are other classes a distraction (from the project or class you have been avoiding?) Only bring the materials for working on a single assignment with you. Every student can probably easily list the top five things that prevent them from getting their work when it should be done. Get rid of those things!

–Make a bet. Is there a big task you have coming up on which you know you are going to need to be pushed? Create your plan, then pick a couple of checkpoints along the way and make a bet with your parents (or a friend) as to what you will accomplish and by when. The bet can be money, it can be chores, it can be anything, but it should be something meaningful to the student. For example, if step X is completed by date Y, mom gives me $10. If not, student has give up the xbox for a week. The key is that the bet is something voluntarily entered into by the student.

What are some ways that you use pre-commitment in your own life to motivate you to get things done?

-Vince

If your son or daughter could use some support with planning/organization/executive function, we’ve got a great workshop for them. Call (858.551.2650) or email (help@wellsacademics.com) to sign up for our “Getting things done for students” workshop this summer. Classes start the week of July 1st!

I recently sat down and had a talk with Liam Dunfey, college counselor with University Advisors Admissions Specialists about his experiences working with students over the years. Here are the three most important things I learned from that conversation.

1) The best time to get in touch with a college counselor? After first semester ends Junior year. At that point, the student still has plenty of time to do lots of research (and visits!) to schools they’re interested in. On the other hand it’s late enough in the student’s career that the college counselor will have a good idea of the student’s profile and what kinds of schools they will have a good chance of being accepted to, and the student will have some clearer ideas of what fields they are interested in. There is a lot more to the college application process than filling out paperwork, and getting started sooner rather than later can take a lot of stress out of it.

That said, some students can benefit from reaching out earlier, especially students that are having a tough time figuring out what their interests and strengths are. A college counselor can help with planning classes and activities that will lead to the student’s having the transcript and resume that is going to lead to success in their applications

 

2) One of the toughest challenges of the college counseling process for parents is their student’s changing interests over time. It isn’t uncommon for students to begin the college counseling process with one idea of where they want to be and what they want to do, only to do a complete 180 during the process. It’s important for parents to remember that 6 months is a big chunk of life for a teenager (compared to that same period of time for parents) and that they are still going to be doing a lot of learning about themselves (maybe more than they’ve ever done!) during the college counseling process. This means that a student might end up in a very different place than they initially thought they would, and that’s OK!

 

3) For current Juniors who have not done much to explore their college options, the most important step they can take TODAY (outside of calling a college counselor!) is to talk to a trusted adult in their life that has been to college so that they can start getting an idea of the scope of the task ahead. Ideally this is something that can help shepherd and mentor them through the process. This could be mom or dad, a family friend or relative, or a teacher or school counselor. Graduating high school and transitioning to college is a HUGE step, and it can be scary for a student to take a close look at a task and find out how enormous it is, which can lead to procrastination. Even if the adult is not a college expert, they can still help the student find the information they need and plan out what needs to be done to make successful applications.

Give Liam Dunfey a call (1.619.865.1498) or email (Liam@admissionspecialists.com) at University Advisors Admissions Specialists to learn more about the college application process today.

-Vince

Register here!

If you don’t start thinking about finals until June, you are already behind! In this workshop students will learn how to create a long term plan that will lead to greater success (and less stress) as finals season approaches. Students will leave this workshop with a clear idea of what stands between them and the grade they want in each class (and timeline of how they will overcome the obstacles that stand in their way). Parents and students welcome. (Average post workshop scores 8.5/10).

As your son or daughter heads into finals season, start them out on the right foot with a positive message: they can take control of finals by beginning to prepare starting today!

Led by Vince Perry of Wells Academic Solutions.(www.wellsacademics.com)
When: Wednesday, May 2nd from 12:30pm to 2:30pm.
Where: LJHS Library
Cost: $25/student. (Free and Reduced Lunch Program: $5)
Pay at the door. Make check payable to: La Jolla High ASB, (Check note: Junior Class)
100% of proceeds go to La Jolla’s Junior Class ASB!

Questions? email: help@wellsacademics.com or talk to a Junior Class ASB Representative