How to Become a SuperStar Student by Teaching Company....useful, waste????

[ConnieB]

Someone recommended that I get these now (eldest is 7th grade) so that we can start to develop the techniques to help in our high school years. It sounds interesting, but when I looked at Worldcat (our library doesn't have any) the descriptions of some of them sounded extremely pro-school socializing.....for instance one of the 30 minute lectures is devoted to why you should be very involved in your school.

Obviously, not gonna want to listen to that one, lol.....since we homeschool, but I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if the other lectures all have the same attitude?

I'm mostly interested in getting some suggestions/help/ideas about note taking, study habits, organizing your work, etc. Since she's the only student in "class" she's not really had to do these things, but I know in college (and hey, real life too) she's going to need these skills. THis is one of those intangibles I'm having a lot of trouble teaching.....I'm a relatively organized person, and I had hoped she'd pick it up through watching what I go through when I fail to stay organized, but it's not happening, lol.

If not Teaching Company's series, do you have some other suggestions?

[Kareni]

This program is mentioned quite frequently on the high school board. Here are two past threads that might be of interest:

How to Become a Superstar STudent (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45772&highlight=superstar)

http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65672&highlight=superstar

Regards,
Kareni

[Kareni]

You might also wish to read this thread which recently appeared on the high school board which has some great food for thought:

I finished the Study Skills class proposal (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83152)

Regards,
Kareni

[StaceyL in Canada]

Someone recommended that I get these now (eldest is 7th grade) so that we can start to develop the techniques to help in our high school years. It sounds interesting, but when I looked at Worldcat (our library doesn't have any) the descriptions of some of them sounded extremely pro-school socializing.....for instance one of the 30 minute lectures is devoted to why you should be very involved in your school.

Obviously, not gonna want to listen to that one, lol.....since we homeschool, but I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if the other lectures all have the same attitude?

I'm mostly interested in getting some suggestions/help/ideas about note taking, study habits, organizing your work, etc. Since she's the only student in "class" she's not really had to do these things, but I know in college (and hey, real life too) she's going to need these skills. THis is one of those intangibles I'm having a lot of trouble teaching.....I'm a relatively organized person, and I had hoped she'd pick it up through watching what I go through when I fail to stay organized, but it's not happening, lol.

If not Teaching Company's series, do you have some other suggestions?

I had them but wouldn't recommend them. They are very much geared towards a classroom environment re note-taking, so would be useful perhaps in preparation for attending school/ college, but not so much for hs'ing (unless you lecture your children a lot!) Also, one lecture is devoted to the way Anna, the lecturer's star student, managed to fit in research for a substantial essay due in four days despite her multiple other activities... My sons and I decided "Anna" must be an acronym for Advanced Neurological Nerdy Android, because no real kid could be so perfect!

The lecture-based note-taking system presented in the course is very similar to the Cornell note-taking system--perhaps you could google for that and find it; it's pretty straight-forward.

[ConnieB]

Thanks so much! Kareni those links are wonderful, and actually made me think now I'll start lurking on the high school board a little bit, lol. Somehow high school just seems so far away, but in reality it's less than 2 years!

And Stacey, thank you so much for that review.....it sounds like exactly what made me hesitate to buy it was exactly what you experienced. Considering that I don't lecture (or even close), I'm sure that our methods of study leave a gap in their skills as far as note taking and essay/report writing because we use such a "living books" type approach. We jointly read and then talk about things so that the kids are discovering the information instead of me simply filling their heads for them. They use the teacher guides as much as I do! I know that isn't how it will be in college, lol.

And I laughed heartily at your android acronynm.....I've often suspected that speakers combine many people when they start describing someone who made such remarkable feats seem simple. I sometimes wondered if I suspected this as my way of not feeling totally incompetent, but maybe not!