Is a Summer Class/Tutoring a Good Thing?

As we near the end of June this year, all schools are out for the summer by now.  I'm a firm believer that students need time off from their school work/activities once summer is here. So go on vacations, take day trips to your favorite lakes or ocean beaches, go to summer camp, and generally enjoy yourself, for a while.

There are some students that opt to sprinkle in some school work in the summer by taking summer classes or working with a tutor on subjects they struggled with during the school year. This is not a bad thing though. But it's important to set goals and have a tangible plan on how you will incorporate learning into your summer plans.

High school students can get a jump start on their college degrees by taking certain college classes during the summer or even as part of a high school /college credit program. Many colleges have two summer sessions so perhaps the answer is to sign up for a course in the second session before returning in the fall to regular classes. This course should be one that will bring you closer to meeting the requirements for whatever degree you are working to get. It's best to make sure that each and every course you take will count towards getting your degree. Believe it or not, sometimes students who lack a plan end up wasting time taking classes that don't count towards their degree. This is very inefficient and can cause some students to get discouraged and drop out.

Regarding high school/middle school students, there are a number of things that can be accomplished by working with a tutor. Students can work on improving their study skills, practice their writing, hone their test/quiz taking techniques, and review topics that they struggled with during the school year, to name a few. If you have a particular class, say Algebra 1 that gave you some trouble, but you passed the class, there are concepts that you most likely didn't master. Working with a tutor will allow you to revisit and master those issues that caused you problems. This also sets you up for success when you will most likely take Algebra 2 in the fall. Remember that each more advanced math class builds on previous concepts so if you missed something it's most likely going to come back to cause you problems if you don't master them. Don't let that happen to you!

I hope you find this post helpful.

Ken




Comments

  1. ahmedFebruary 17, 2020 at 8:36 AM

    This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fraction Action

Image
In my job as a tutor for two local school systems, I have noticed that many students struggle with fractions. There are plenty of adults that have problems with understanding fractions too. I recently read a few articles that indicated children start learning fractions around nine-years-old. I'm convinced that this issue needs to be addressed earlier in the educational learning process. I recently read how Ruth Spiro developed the Baby Loves Science series published by Charlesbridge.  On her blog, Ruth discussed how she spent about a year researching science topics to fully understand how best to explain things in very simple terms. In addition, she learned that the best way to present the science to young children was through a story with awesome illustrations of other young children. After some thought, falling back on my years of engineering and math experience, I have some solid ideas how best to approach this issue. I am in the process of developing several picture bo
Read more

Week 1-Helpful Information-Linear Equation With Fractions

This problem requires you to solve for x. The key is to not let the fractions scare you.                                           -6(x+1) = 5(x +4)                                                5              2      Step 1: Multiply both sides of the equation by 10. The reason you do this is to eliminate the denominators on both sides. 10 is a least common denominator, that is 2 x 5 =10. This results in the following:                                           10 x -6(x+1) = 10 x 5(x +4)   or                                                  5                       2                                             2 x -6(x+1) = 5 x 5(x+4) or  -12(x+1) = 25(x+4)      Step 2: Next distribute both sides of the equation. This results in:                                                 -12x-12 = 25x + 100      Step 3: Combine both terms with the variable.  Add + 12 x to both sides. This results in:                                             +12x -12x -12 = -12 = 25x +12x
Read more