Where Passion Meets Perseverance

Whereas it’s true that what happens at home dictates what happens in the classroom, there’s tremendous value in what educators bring to the table. Research tells us that quality teaching can completely offset the devastating effects poverty has on student performance. In my experience, this begins with understanding positive psychology. Though it helps, you don't have to be a trained psychologist to leverage principles of positive psychology. Here's what I've learned so far...

Positive psychology explores a number of character strengths, one of which is grit. Grit is the place in our being where passion meets perseverance. Empowering learners to persevere in the direction of discovering their passions is complex. Several mantras guide my path. This post discusses a few mantras that remind me of what it means to cultivate grit and nurture grit in learners of all ages.

Do the difficult things while they are easy 
and do the great things while they are small.  
- Lao Tzu

It's not uncommon to try on several pairs of shoes before finding the perfect pair. Assuming your once organized closet is a wreck from trying on every pair with no success, what's next? The department stores at the indoor mall have nothing. The outlet mall has nothing. The event is in two days. You can't go barefoot. Now, you're wishing you'd made better use of lunch breaks during the past month! Imagine being in a frenzy about more than one outfit for an out of town conference. Do you think it's easier to find the perfect pair of shoes for one outfit at a time?... or three or five? Feeling frantic, yet?

Now, let's apply this thought process to education and learning. When the window of opportunity to do that easy, small thing passes us by, we can't get it back. Making the most of the opportunity that's in front of us right now is all that matters until our time is up, until the school day is over, until the tutoring session is over, until the exam is behind us. Though learning is about perseverance and the journey. Making a mental note of the rest stops along the way encourages learners to remain energized for just a little while longer. Helping learners distinguish between go-time and rest-time positively influences internal motivation to persevere.

Consistency breeds trust. 

- Vincent Molina

It was around 4 years ago when Vincent shared this nugget with me during a coaching session. The conversation was about consistently delivering value. In the moment, we were talking about breeding trust with clients and potential clients. I wrote this quote on a sticky note that I've only recently trashed this year - because it's embedded in my brain. It was a reminder to keep going, to keep moving forward. A few days ago, different meaning came from these same words.

Let's consider the example about finding the perfect shoes for an outfit. The struggle is real. It's common for men and women. I'd argue that kids even get frustrated about which pair of shoes to wear. This not only happens when we're preparing to travel, for some, frustration over what to wear - or what not to wear - strikes daily before school or work. At least two people have this challenge mastered: Steve Jobs and my mom. Steve Jobs consistently wore the same thing to work everyday. My mom consistently prepares her clothes for the week on Sunday nights. It's a no-brainer for her. Mission accomplished. What's next?

But, what's happening here? Yes, they preserve mental fortitude by giving themselves one less decision to make in their work day. In making this decision regularly, they also build trust in themselves. They choose not to go with whatever the day brings, they trust that the decision will serve them in circumstances they have yet to experience. Though a simple act on the surface, each small act of self-trust helps us flow with the process. We're making time to listen to ourselves and figure out what we really want, how we really want to live, what our passions are...

In everything, say thank you. 
- Maya Angelou

Gratitude. When we're rushing to find that one pair of shoes, how often do we say thank you? When educating or parenting children, how often do we say thank you? In my last blog post, I talked briefly about showing gratitude. Giselle Chapman is a motivational speaker who tells us to start with gratitude. Over the course of a few of her phenomenal workshops, I gained a deeper understanding about how coming from a place of gratitude improves our ability to perform. The feel-good hormones like dopamine, serotonin, and endorphines flood the brain and help us get things done!

To embrace the complicated and unending process of discovering passion and persevering to bring ideas to fruition, we need to make the habit of starting from a place of gratitude. There are other - less enjoyable - ways around this. But why choose the hard way when we can have fun cultivating grit?!

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About Jackson Education Support: Specialty areas include character development, literacy, math, and science. All ages welcome. We develop in-person and online solutions for educators, families, and learners globally. Read feedback, join the community, and learn more by visiting je411.com. You're also invited to connect with us on social media!

                     

The BIG 12: #BizChampion Takeaways

The traditional essay has an introduction, conclusion, and 3 body paragraphs. My favorite pastor on planet earth offers a 3-point sermon. It's common for presenters to offer 3 supporting details when making an argument. Ever wonder why?

As an educator, I usually follow this pattern as well because of a secret weapon known as chunking. In short, many learners retain vast amounts of information by grouping related information. Instead of recalling a long list of facts, the brain is better able to process categories of information.

In the spirit of college readiness, let's consider discussions about collegiate sports as an example. When distinguishing between players or schools, sportscasters and sports fans often communicate in terms of conferences. The conferences (e.g., PAC-12, BIG-12, SEC) are chunks of information. When we're first learning the names of schools across conferences, it's easier to chunk schools into larger conferences based on location. This also makes for smoother discussions. The Big 12 Conference is an example of one of the collegiate sports conferences; the name serves as motivation for this month's blog title. (I'm #OleMissAlum, so I'm partial to the SEC; however, 'The SEC #BizChampion Takeaways' doesn't have the same jenesequa, so I digress.)

I'm breaking the mold by offering the big 12 takeaways from the #BizChampion celebration in Reno, NV. National champions across various industries came together during the last days of April. Notably, a few sports gurus were in attendance. Each of the 102 winners of the 2018 American Small Business Championship networked with SCORE Mentors and guest experts during a two-day, jam-packed, high-paced, fun-filled event. The schedule of events began at 8am and ended at 8pm on both days.

Sessions topics included positive psychology, team synergy, marketing strategy, HR issues, preventative legal measures for entrepreneurs, and more. To top all this off, table discussions during meal times centered on even more opportunities for business and personal growth. We shared experiences: what's worked, hasn't worked, next steps, and unresolved challenges.

1. Celebrate Successes
I've moved away from really celebrating client successes. It's common to say congratulations, but I'm not sure this counts as a celebration. With guidance from Tonya Ludwig, owner of 621Gifts, clients are in for a real treat during Back-to-School season. By celebrating small successes, we create a winning culture. Success begets success.

2. Listen More
One speaker mentioned that we're only as successful as the questions that we ask. (Forgive me for not noting the speaker's name and exact words.) In private, I prepared questions to ask; however, deeper conversations in person revealed even more valuable questions worth asking.

3. Give Often
Joseph Amato's story about becoming a business owner at age 16 is beyond inspiring. Though the point isn't to give with an expectation of receiving something in return, Joseph earned 50% of a small tanning business as a result of giving. Business strategy suggestions that he offered to a tanning salon owner turned an even greater profit than originally anticipated. Unbelievable.

4. Marketing Strategy
Have you considered mobile ads as part of your marketing strategy? The thought crossed my mind a number of times, but it wasn't until Reiva's evidence-based arguments that I became convinced to make a move. Somewhere between 95 and 97% of Americans own a cell phone, so chances are... my ideal client, your ideal client owns a cell phone and could be viewing our competition's ads right now.

5. Show Gratitude
Giselle Chapman's spiel about starting each day, each activity from a place of gratitude reminded me of the frequent gratitude journal entries made when I was first introduced to this practice years ago. This strategy works, so why was I creating less space in my life to keep it up? Giselle advised that we journal for five minutes, and I'm gaining momentum.

6. Sell Everywhere
Currently, only my books are available for sale on Amazon. I'm looking forward to offering TeachersPayTeachers activities for educators and parents by selling on Amazon as well. Making our products and services available on multiple platforms is a great way to deliver value to a larger audience.

7. Copyright
Taking the time to copyright each project becomes overwhelming when there're so many irons in the fire. It was a relief to learn from Rocket Lawyer Founder Charley Moore that, whereas it's still a good idea to copyright original works, there's no requirement to do so since including the copyright designation is sufficient to protect our intellectual property.

8. Keep Looking
There is more than one way to skin a cat. If you think product costs are too high, keep looking for connections to get them down. Many small business owners take an innovative approach that allows them to offer lower prices. There's constant growth across industries, so we want to remain vigilant.

9. Online Presence
If everything Reiva Lesonsky shared is true, then my website is never going to be done... And, that's okay. Securing website ranking is like trying to hit a moving target. When we think our sites are optimized, consumer behavior changes the status quo so we adjust. Accepting that our websites are a work in progress is key to continuing to make progress.

10. Own It
Giselle also spoke on how stress in nearly unavoidable and that we're responsible for being intentional about coping with stress in healthy ways. Breathing exercises are a staple in my life, so I seek opportunities to introduce clients to this strategy. I'm excited to implement gratitude emails and explore more strategies for increasing the happy in my life and in my clients' lives.

11. Celebrate Others
There's pleasure in watching others win when you're confident that their wins don't take away from yours. This isn't an entirely original thought; it's a hodgepodge of advice obtained from mentors, both real and imagined. The #bizchampions are currently in competition. Still, we're celebrating one another and it feels great to see others doing great things, accomplishing more in their businesses.

12. Keep Growing
An introverted educator seems like an oxymoron, as does an introverted entrepreneur (...an introverted author, not so much). The research for my most recent book, Cultivating Grit: An approach to increasing confidence, provided the foundation for entering the American Small Business Championship. Attending the conference provided an invaluable opportunity test my own theories presented in the book. We must continue to walk in our passions. Check out Cultivating Grit if you haven't found your passion or you're feeling stuck.

Maybe you aren't a small business owner? Maybe you have zero desire to become an entrepreneur? These BIG 12 takeaways are intended to help readers establish a more balanced work-life dynamic.
If my BIG 12 is helpful for you, share this post with others in your network to encourage them as well.

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About Jackson Education Support: Specialty areas include character development, literacy, math, and science. All ages welcome. We develop in-person and online solutions for educators, families, and learners globally. Read feedback, join the community, and learn more by visiting je411.com. 

You're also invited to connect with us on social media!

                     

The Top 3 Reasons I Teach

The reasons I teach are numerous. I could write at length on this topic, because the skill set required to effectively support learners is a lifetime work in progress. We adopt student characteristics to promote independence. Then, evaluate and re-evaluate the effectiveness of instructional strategies toward this end.

Supporting clients is a mutually beneficial endeavor. Implementing lessons that meet a variety of learning needs requires educators to abandon comfort zones; through growth we learn to effectively support this in others.

Personal and professional growth are mere strokes of serendipity. My top three reasons to teach involve helping learners leverage challenges, effecting generational change, and supporting creative freedom.

Leverage learning challenges
Whether education professionals, government officials, or parents, someone is expected to accept blame when students fail to meet learning objectives. When test scores are low, are teachers to blame? When homework is missing or incomplete, are parents to blame? When environments are unsafe, are administrators to blame? When students lack resources, is government to blame? We all bear some responsibility in each of these instances. Collective effort prepares students for success.

I teach because learners are not to blame. The learning process is influenced by environment. We assimilate behaviors and beliefs - good or bad, right or wrong - from peers and role models. Students often have little control of this process. Even adults have limited physical control. Many lack knowledge of pedagogy and androgogy, which help us understand education and learning (there is a difference). Through educational support services, clients gain deeper insight into effective learning strategies and master ways to leverage challenges.

Level the playing field
Adult education impacts youth education. Young people are often limited in the types of learning opportunities to which they're exposed. Proliteracy reports, "Children of parents with low literacy skills have a 72% chance of being at the lowest reading levels themselves." We know that literacy skill impacts math and science performance as well. As a consequence, children of illiterate and moderately literate adults are at risk of experiencing greater academic challenges. With each generation, legislation and societal advancements require the bar be raised in education. Ill-prepared, students are expected to meet more challenging learning standards at younger ages.

I teach because obtaining an education levels the playing field across socio-economic sectors. Systemic inequities experienced by those having low socio-economic status result in low grades and behavior issues. Students repeat grades levels as a result; some lose hope and drop out of school altogether. This downward spiral continues generation after generation. Helping learners leverage strengths to resist low expectations permanently transforms families.

Liberate minds
Practically from birth, children are trained to abandon their instincts. We know that the best experiences happen outside the box; yet, children are expected to hoe a designated row (and do nothing else). If they talk, they're punished. If they laugh too loud, they're ridiculed. If they question the status quo, they're marginalized.

I teach because confident students feel liberated to follow their passions. Supporting this process of self-discovery is our best chance for improving life as we know it. An insightful article in Harvard Business Review makes this point simply. Teresa Amabile acknowledges creativity is viewed as "unmanageable" and shunned by short-sighted leaders (and parents). Her notion of "managing for creativity" brilliantly communicates my approach to teaching. The objective is that learners feel encouraged in this way.

Essentially, teaching to the whole child is ideal. I want students to be college- and career-ready. The most successful individuals and organizations embrace creativity, so I aim to liberate minds. I want students to feel empowered to change their circumstances regardless of perceived limitations. Many need to view the playing field as level to pursue success (a conviction that's different for each person); they must feel their efforts are valued and valuable. Sustaining the wherewithal to overcome obstacles is made easier when students learn to leverage challenges independently.

Learn more about my education firm, Jackson Education Support, and schedule a consult to improve academic performance and increase confidence. Specialty areas include literacy, math, and science. Currently, popular services are private tutoring and writing assistance. Jackson Education Support options help learners of all ages move into more challenging environments.

Literacy by the Numbers

Decision-making should be data-driven. Armed with the facts, educators and parents are more likely to behave in ways that achieve results. Accordingly, let's focus on literacy research and ways to leverage statistics. Stats are more than numbers; they should improve decision-making in classrooms and at home.

In previous posts, a number of data-driven strategies designed to build strong readers are offered. This post highlights three literacy statistics every educator and parent should know. The trends below are worth sharing.

Attend class
Missing 10 days of school equates to 94% attendance and is the same as missing 60 lessons.

On average, students attend school 180 days each year. In the graphic above, we see a relationship between class attendance and school days missed. The take-home message is that attendance matters. The number of class days missed is directly related to academic performance.

Lisa Freds' article titled Attendance Impact offers an eye-opening explanation of the value associated with attending class. As students miss additional class days, potential for success drops. Children experience added challenges with each missed lesson. What's worse, those already experiencing challenges are likely to give in and quit.

Are there times when children have to miss school? Absolutely. Unavoidable causes include illness and the passing of loved ones. Avoidable causes include behavior issues and dress code violations. No matter the cause, adults can mitigate the impact of missed learning by planning ahead and taking corrective action. If a child misses a lesson, try these suggestions.

• Discuss missed objectives and activities.
• Share relevant resources to reinforce learning objectives during missed days.
• Encourage lots of reading during down times.

Sacrifice now
Students who do not achieve grade level literacy by 3rd grade are four times more likely to drop out of high school than those who do.  

Our choices during early years set the tone for each student's future. It's challenging to express the importance of decisions made prior to third grade regarding reading, writing, and speaking. We can encourage or discourage development of higher level skills... instill self-governing behaviors or cede to children's whims... model positive attitudes about reading or shake our calling to promote student success.

Research tells us that performance in third grade serves is a predictor of many important aspects of academic and personal growth throughout a child's lifetime. In particular, those who do not read on grade level by the end of third grade are likely to struggle as they progress in school. What's more, struggling readers don't just struggle in reading. Math performance is affected. Science grades are affected. This domino effect happens because reading is fundamental to demonstrating understanding and skills. Students have to read homework, textbooks, and tests independently as early as kindergarten.

Whether students achieve grade level literacy by grade three also influences high school graduation rates. Third graders reading on grade level are four times more likely to graduate. Given that there are few viable employment options without an undergraduate degree and even fewer options without a high school diploma, it's imperative that we sacrifice now to develop strong readers.

Consider tomorrow
Surveys of Fortune 500 companies in 1978, 1985, and 1995 revealed trends in the evaluation of resumes. Compared to earlier years, the later survey found more emphasis on grammar and spelling than previously.

Speaking of employment opportunity, companies are taking steps to weed out illiterate applicants which raises the stakes for building strong readers. In the words of Dr. Steve Perry, founder and principal of Capital Preparatory Magnet School in Hartford, Connecticut, "Our children's unimpressive performance will make them among the least sought-after employees". But, it doesn't have to be this way. We can sacrifice now by filling our respective roles as education stakeholders.

I launched Jackson Education Support for this very reason. Visit the site to learn more.

Get Your Child to LOVE Reading

February is American Heart Month! It’s only fitting to discuss an activity that, according to psychologists, eases tensions in the muscles and heart: reading. 

Losing yourself in a book is considered the ultimate means of relaxation, but it doesn’t come naturally. Let me explain...

We were born to speak, not to read. Children are reluctant to read, because reading is not a natural (or instinctive) function. Children learn to speak through exposure. However, they learn to read through intentional instruction (i.e., direct teaching of phonemic awareness, decoding, and comprehension).

Reading is easily one of the most difficult skills to develop. This in mind, it may be increasingly difficult for parents and educators to cultivate fondness for reading.

1)    Your attitude about reading is reflected in your child or student. Display enthusiasm even if reading feels like a chore. One trick I use: imagine something you’re passionate about as you describe reading. Even the slightest waver in the tone of your voice affects children’s perception of reading.

2)    Punishing children by making them read creates a negative stigma; they associate reading with ‘doing something wrong’. This impression spills into the classroom.  Replacing tablets with books can make children feel penalized, because they no longer have access to a preferred means of entertainment. Though this seems like a no-brainer, children may view the substituted means of entertainment – books – as dismal.

3)    Use interests to propel children’s love of reading. If your child likes a specific character, purchase books about that character. If your child has an affinity for a specific subject or animal, subscribe to a periodical that features the same. (Getting Highlights in the mail was an epic experience for me growing up.)

4)    Find post-reading activities. My favorite activity is to make Green Eggs using avocados after reading green eggs and ham. There are countless, easy-prep activities that foster a love of reading. Pinterest has a reservoir of pre- and post-reading activities.

Is time an issue? Try these two methods:

·         Car reading - turn mundane road trips into reading adventures. Whether to the grocery store or to visit relatives, pack your car with books on your child’s reading level. Keep reading level in mind, so children move through the text independently. Though bumps are expected, encourage your child to spell difficult words for help reading.

·         Watch books - leverage a routine activity to build reading skill by incorporating story time via online platforms like Youtube. Bath time and bed time are great opportunities to listen to audio books on a mobile device. Often, the stories will include humorous character narrative to engage children. If they’re laughing while learning, mission accomplished!

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A very special thanks for this contribution goes to 

guest blogger, Jeannette Washington. 

Jeannette is the owner of 

Bearly Articulating.

SMARTening up your targets

New Year’s Resolutions... those fantastic goals for the coming 12 months. We all set them: to lose weight, take up running, get a new qualification, travel more, join a gym, etc., etc... We force ourselves to enjoy these challenges for the first two weeks of January, start to slip in the middle of January, and the gyms are again empty by February. The diet clubs lose members, and we avoid going for a run in favor of watching TV.

These vague targets are soon forgotten, but with some tweaking you can transform vague targets into SMART targets making them useful, far easier to reach, and a great way to improve learning.

Let’s say you decide to Help your child with homework. What does this actually mean?

Specific

Helping with homework sounds great. But, is it sitting with a child each evening and gently guiding them? Or, buying them books to help them learn? Is a tutor a better plan? Are they struggling with a subject you know nothing about? Or, is time management an issue? Are they constantly losing worksheets?

Targets:

1. Help children become more organised.
2. Improve maths skills.
3. Reduce the amount of screen time.

Measurable

Help is a great word, but it needs to be defined further. This could mean a number of things. I could hand them a sheet of paper, so they don’t have to get up. I could read their work before submitting for a grade and offer feedback...  Make sure there is a way to measure when you’ve reached the specific goal.

Targets:

1. Watch a maximum of 2 hours TV per night.
2. Set a goal to achieve 80% on a Year 4 Maths test.
3. Create study area with folders for each subject.

Achievable

We’d love to be helping every night and achieve A's by the end of the year in all subjects. But, that just puts too much pressure on you and your child. You’re going to be helping them stay organised? Plan to work on this one or two nights a week when it doesn't clash with your work schedule. Plan to boost performance by two letter grades per year. (If children achieve more, that’s fantastic!) Avoid setting unobtainable goals.

Targets:

1. Review papers and organise them together two days a week.
2. Improve Maths grade from a D grade to a B grade.
3. Set aside homework time each evening.

Relevant

Do they actually need homework help, or is a different issue to blame? As a professional charged with the responsibility of helping struggling students, I normally sort out learners' problems in one move: limit screen time. Between social media, games consoles and their favourite programmes, often the issue with too much homework relates to an issue with too little free time.

Targets:

1. Reduce screen time.
2. Set aside a specific homework times for them to do homework.
3. Improve handwriting so students can read their own notes.

Timed

When are you going to start helping? How long is it expected to last? By when should grades improve? If you need to set aside daily homework time, are there other obligations to consider?

It seems like a small change, but rather than Help with Homework, your improved target could be...

1. Download a workbook and two textbooks to work through together for an hour each night to improve their D grade in math to a B grade by the end-of-year exam.
2. Reduce screen time outside of schoolwork to a maximum of two hours each weekday evening by removing their phone and tablet from the bedroom and turning off the television.
3. Set up a filing system to help organise class docs and plan for the week ahead on Tuesday and Friday evenings.

Can you see how the targets now are more specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and timed?

Try redefining one of your targets. I don’t need to be more organised. I need to timetable two hours per night, Sunday through Thursday, to mark student work and plan the next day’s lessons. How can you SMARTen up your targets?

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A very special thanks for this contribution goes to guest blogger,

Ruth McDonald, B.Sc., M.Sc., pgDTLLS.

Ruth is an educator with 
Sailing Through School.

Her role is to improve learning for children and adults outside the classroom.

Revving Up Parental Engagement

When buzzwords like “parental engagement”, “parent and community engagement”, “parental involvement”, and “parent-school partnership” are used in the media or by education professionals, what is your first thought?

Do you think...

• I'm already an involved parent?
• I'm doing the best I can?
• I’m not sure where to start?

Stockimages. Published 10/15/13.
FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Parent Support: 30Ways to Support Your Child’s Education is a resource that offers strategies to help parents increase engagement in learning processes. The take-home message is that parents get involved – and stay involved. 

The term "engaged parent" is not synonymous with educated parent, stay-at-home parent, home school parent, or grade school parent.  All parents should persistently and consistently pursue engagement opportunities.

Not sure where to start?

1. Begin with the end in mind. If we want to improve achievement, awareness of learning goals is imperative. For parents of public or private school children, attention to graded work and homework assignments is the surest way to discover learning goals. Home school parents are tasked to identify the best curricula for children; typically, learning goals are clearer for this group. Also, educators are tasked to disseminate information timely and invite parents to join efforts early on.
2. Infuse learning goals into your lifestyle. After identifying learning goals, it’s time to implement your version of Parent Support’s Lesson Twenty, Gardening is Educational. In this lesson, readers learn how to merge an everyday activity for many families, gardening, with science learning objectives to increase student engagement and motivation to learn. The strategy is applicable to other subject areas as well. One suggestion: look for ways that students will implement learning goals in real-world settings. We leverage literacy learning goals to make decisions about voting behaviors. We also leverage math learning goals each time there's a sale in our favorite boutique.
3. Encourage disciplined innovation. A third strategy offered in Lesson Two of Parent Support, involves establishing a balance between teaching children to follow directions and encouraging innovation. As shared with readers of Parent Support: 30 Ways to Support Your Child’sEducation, creativity and innovation drive our economy. We want to actively prepare children to meet academic standards without sacrificing individuality and ingenuity. For instance, children often rebel when asked to complete tasks a certain way. Observing the child before intervening may reveal a new way to skin the proverbial cat!

Stockimages. Published 07/14/14.
FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Already highly engaged?

Great! You’re likely aware of the strategies offered to this point.  There’s still more to do. Highly engaged parents are challenged to show others the way. How do you balance family and work life? How are you successfully communicating with education professionals?

Answers to these questions reveal ways that highly engaged parents can build more vibrant learning communities. We know that sharing wisdom with parents increases student performance. More important, stronger readers, writers, mathematicians, and scientists are better equipped to improve society.

Facts to consider

Consider the following facts as you work to develop parent-school partnerships.

• Engaging with families is not always intuitive for teachers and school leaders... Their comfort and skill levels often need to be developed.
• Discussing children's readiness skills can open dialogue about strengths and areas of concern for families and educators.
• Student benefits associated with effective family engagement include improved school readiness, higher student achievement, better social skills and behavior, and increased likelihood of high school graduation.

As parents embrace their ability to positively influence children’s academic performance, desired outcomes are realized. Explore Parent Support to learn ways leverage parental engagement opportunities.

Free consultation with a support professional may be scheduled by visiting je411.com. Specialty subject areas include literacy, math, and science. Learn more about options for individuals and organizations by exploring the website or give us a call (1.601.724.2152).

Parents, are you on the Fence About Tutoring?

Are you  considering tutoring for your child?  Did your child struggle to end last year on a high note?  Has the classroom teacher expressed concern about academic performance? Well, you're not alone...

Jillian Smart, M. Ed., launched Jackson Education Support.

I launched Jackson Education Support (JE) to support the educational goals of learners in literacy, math, and science subjects. If you haven't heard, JE is a Mississippi-based education firm that offers personalized in-person and online services which allows parents like you to enjoy family time.

While classroom teachers are often expected to provide children with individualized attention during class, the likelihood of this happening decreases as class size increases - not to mention the growing number of assessments that take precedence during lesson planning.  

Jackson Education Support support learners by providing homework help and study skills support.  Each service is personalized to meet individual need. Clients schedule in-person and virtual tutoring sessions to address gaps in achievement that hinder progress in literacy, math, and science classes.

Tutoring is the new normal, reports scholastic.com.  "When specific, basic skills are not developing as you would expect, or when a child has a diagnosed learning disability, having a tutor can help her build those special skills or compensate for the ones she lacks," says learning specialist Susan J. Schwartz, M.A. Ed., clinical coordinator at the Institute for Learning and Academic Achievement at the New York University Child Study Center. Parents of early elementary students are feeling the pressure to ensure that children meet and exceed rising educational  standards.

If you think your child struggles in school, I encourage you not to wait for the problem to resolve itself. I say this, because many parents regret hiring a professional at the end of the school year. Children who receive support early on become more independent over time, so working with an educator outside of school times may not have to be a long-term arrangement for your child.

But, adding an experienced educator to your team is the best way to start the new school year. Let's discuss your child's academic needs in greater detail.  Schedule a free consultation today!

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