(This is a much-discussed topic with students, teachers, parents and within our team!)
It may seem like STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education is getting all the attention nowadays in schools. Sure, STEM is important for students to be able to master, but so is another area just as fundamental but less hyped: good writing skills.
Being able to communicate effectively is a critical skill that every student, not only aspiring writers, needs in order to to compete in our increasingly complex world. And, many leading educators as well as science/industry leaders are advocating the importance of language and other arts in a well-rounded and effective education – there are quite a few who promote STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math) instead of just STEM.
Develops Logical And Critical Thinking Skills
Critical thinking is a necessary skill in understanding and analyzing the many perspectives and biases that inhabit the information we receive (from the news, social media, even textbooks). Writing essays trains students to consider various viewpoints and to argue their own ideas critically and skillfully through a carefully considered thesis and argument – the essence of critical thinking, which can be used for any subject or problem.
You see this argument building in math, too.Take for example writing proofs in geometry, where every mathematical action requires evidence to support it.The practice of writing helps students build universal skills in analyzing, reasoning, and logic, which are essential in any field of study.
Promotes Individual Thinking
Writing is great way for students to develop their own opinions, perspectives, and criticisms on everything and anything, from the young adult book they’re reading for fun to Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, current events, or their own values and lives.
Most essay writing starts with “brainstorming,” an approach that fosters creative thinking and innovation. Essay writing will aid young students in developing their overall communication skills, including the expression of their own opinions, and taking creative and unusual perspectives. All these skills are useful in college and the workplace, where effective communication is as important as innovative thinking (after all, what’s the point of having a great idea if you can’t explain it?).
Builds Memory and Understanding
How often have you read an article or heard a news story, and forgot some of the important details moments afterwards? Now imagine trying to remember and understand the main points to something more lengthy and complex.
Putting thoughts to words on paper (or screen) helps teens, and adults, better synthesize, understand, and retain information. The structured approach of essay writing hones the skills that aid in understanding and retention, without requiring a teen to write a full-blown essay (unless you are asked for one!).
For more details on how writing helps your brain, check out this infographic about writing and the brain.
Prepares For College And Careers
Students (and their parents) probably already know that writing skills are a must for college. Almost every college requires personal essays as part of the admissions process. Writing is also a key component in just about every college-level class, in subjects as diverse as economics, anthropology, comparative literature, biology, and math.
As for the workplace, good writing skills are a requirement in many fields, and especially so for advancement.You may wonder why writing is important when communications are all about short tweets and YouTube videos. Want convincing? Here’s a Harvard Business Review post stating “Effective writing must be a company wide endeavor.”
Helps Reduce Stress
Writing is also a great outlet for stress. Teens and pre-teens are dealing with a variety of personal, academic, and social pressures and challenges. Writing has been proven to reduce stress. Maybe that’s why so many professional therapists and self-help advisors recommend keeping journals!
Best of all, writing offers a creative outlet. Not all of us may be capable of playing music or painting works of art, but everyone can write about something. Once your child is past the stage of worrying about writing “well,” she can write for enjoyment. Encourage your kid to write – it’ll give him a lifetime of confidence as well as comfort.
If a teen needs to improve his or her writing skill, parents can make an effort to provide some help. Teachers may have suggestions on activities and resources, and you can of course find any number of workshops and classes, online or onsite, especially during the summer. And if you want feedback on the writing, check out our essay review!
What do you think? How important are writing skills to you? Leave us a reply!
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Congratulations, seniors! Finally, the moment you’ve been working towards for the last several months (years) has arrived – you get to go to college! But first, if you’re lucky enough to have got more than one college acceptance letter, you have to make the Big Decision and select one college – and you want to make sure you’re picking the right one for you!
Of course, the pressure just piles on when everyone tells you that selecting which college will set the course of the rest of your life. Relax. Trust yourself. And know that just going to college is a winning strategy (college grads make more money and are happier with their jobs).
So, how do you choose between all those schools that want you? We’ve listed some key items you’d want to consider. (Make a list or spreadsheet with these factors, mark which ones matter to you, so you and your family can rate the colleges on each one.)
Majors and programs
Your time in college should help prepare you for a successful life and career. You have probably applied to schools with programs and majors that matter to you. Dig a little deeper. Visit the college websites to get more information about the majors you care about.
What are the offerings for special programs, like research, study abroad, internship, and career placement opportunities that are important to you? High school seniors are still discovering the world and their options in it. So many teenagers change their minds about the majors to pursue. Does the college offer other options that interest you and how long do you have before you have to commit to one?
Cost and financial aid
Let’s face it: college is expensive. Considering that 2015 graduates have the highest debt loads (for now), for most students it makes sense to compare the costs.
Check your financial aid letters to figure out the total cost of attendance (be sure to look at the TOTAL cost, including things like tuition, housing, books, and transportation). Will you get scholarships and grants (i.e. free money)? Is the school offering you loans (i.e. money you have to pay back)? How much money are you and your family willing to borrow? Are you willing to work while going to school?
You can also do a little sleuthing to find out more about the typical financial packages, as well as the graduation rate, by searching for the college here.
Location and surroundings
Do you want to go to college (and live for the next few years) in a big city like Chicago or Boston, or are you happier some place with a little less hustle and bustle? Reflect on whether open space and greenery is important to you, or the lively anonymity and constant buzz of a city like New York is what you crave. Also, if you’ve spent your entire life living in sunny southern California and have never seen snow, living and going to school in a place like Michigan might be a challenge – or an exciting new experience!
Distance from home
For some students, being far away from home seems exciting. They look forward to spreading their wings, learning to appreciate a new place and being independent.. For others, being close to home may be more appealing so they’re closer to family support, or because their family situation may need them to go home more often. For the rest, it’s not a big deal either way. So, think about what it means to you, how often you will want to go home and also what it will cost you.
School size
The size of the school has a big impact on your college experience. A school like UCLA, with nearly 30,000 undergraduate students, lower division classes are often held in large lecture halls, and your professors may never know your name. But, there’s a bounty of amazing resources, social activities, best-in-their-field professors, and world-class facilities that only a larger school can provide.
On the other hand, Occidental College, also in Los Angeles, has just over 2,000 undergraduate students, and an average class size of 19, so your professors will definitely know you (and when you’re missing from class) at Oxy. Think about who you are and whether you would relish the variety in a larger school or flourish in a smaller setting or somewhere in between.
Campus life
For many students, experiencing dorm life is one of the most memorable parts of being in college. Many students make some of their best college friends in the dorms (nothing creates strong bonds like mutually complaining about another meatloaf night in the dining halls). But, other students may not like to share a room and prefer the freedom and choice of living off-campus. There are all the other aspects of campus life to consider too, clubs, sports teams, sororities/fraternities, so check into the available options if any of these are important to you.
Feels right
Sometimes you just know when something feels right, and that goes for colleges too. If you were able to visit the colleges you’re considering, did you have a Goldilocks moment with any of them? It could have been the happy-looking study body, the lush greenery, or the state-of-the-art science labs) but if any school felt “just right” to you, give it extra consideration.
Finally, choosing which college to attend is your decision. Your friends and family may have strong opinions, but you’ll be the one at the college (though if your parents are helping you foot the bill, you should definitely hear them out). So, take your time and pick the one that feels right for you.
What other factors are you thinking about when making this decision? Let us know in the comments below. And, congrats again!
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If you’re reading this, you probably use social media too, and shouldn’t be surprised that 92% of teens go online at least once a day, with 24% online almost constantly, most often on their smartphones. Teens and social media go together like peanut butter and jelly. Teens like hanging out with friends, and now they can do it anytime, anywhere, with very large groups – instantaneously. Online safety (and manners!) is a new and critical topic for family discussion, and it helps to know what they use – most teens are on multiple networks!
Here’s a quick introduction to the most popular ones.
The gist: You probably use it yourself. Facebook is not only the ubiquitous network connecting friends, family, coworkers and classmates, Facebook has also become a network to read news (and ads!), play games and more. It is the biggest network around.
Teen use: While marketers note the demise of Facebook’s popularity among teens (as their parents and grandparents are on it too), most teens still maintain a Facebook profile for selective use, for connecting with family and useful cohort groups, or liking pages to get updates and deals. Facebook can be a relatively safe place for teens who are selective in accepting friend requests and pages/links they visit.
The gist: A lot of people take pictures on their phone, and then wait to post or upload to other sites. With Instagram users can take photos and videos and share them instantly, apply filters to change their look, and follow others’ feeds.
Teen use: Instagram is popular with teens as they love taking pictures of themselves and sharing them – instantly. Teens are naturally drawn to visual media, and often follow their favorite artists, athletes and other celebrities on Instagram and enthusiastically use hashtags to help classify and find posts. Instagram, like Facebook (which owns it), attempts to keep anything seriously objectionable out, but as with anything else, the user has to exercise discretion.
Snapchat
The gist: Like Instagram, young people can use Snapchat to take photos and videos and share them with their friends, family, and “followers.” But the “snaps” (photos, videos) disappear after reading. The ethereal nature of snaps reflects its many users’ short attention spans, while also being different from the messaging apps favored by older (read, over 30) adults.
Teen use: Teens like Snapchat due to the swift disappearance of snaps, so they can share content that is silly, or less polished than what they would share on Facebook or Instagram. Snapchat has the potential for misuse for sharing risky /risqué content, because recipients can re-share and even save the image if they choose.
The gist: Twitter lets users share “tweets,” messages that are 140 characters or fewer. Twitter also allows links, pictures and videos to be shared. Users can also “retweet” others’ posts which go viral, globally, which is why most interesting news seem to first break on Twitter.
Teen use: While adults use Twitter for work purposes like marketing, teens use it “follow” their favorite celebrities (fans often engage in Twitter chats), have direct message exchanges with friends, and even use it for academic research/polling. Care is recommended as even adults have been often hurt by virulent Twitter-storm comments.
Tumblr
The gist: Tumblr allows users to post pictures with short blog posts. It is an attractive social networking options for many young people who want to share a little bit more information (or opinions) with their pictures. Users can follow other’s blogs and also choose to make their blogs private.
Teen use: Tumblr is very popular with teens, especially girls. The appeal is that their parents are less likely to use it, while it still satisfies their requirement for sharing visuals and doing it all on the smartphone.
Other apps
Vine
Vine is an app that lets users share six-second (or shorter) videos. Yes, really. Vine’s super short video format lends itself to clips of all kinds, including cat videos or a three-pointer shot.
ooVoooo
Voo is a free, high quality video conferencing service and teens like using it for group video chats for studying, or just hanging out. As with other apps where anyone can contact anyone else, privacy and safety settings should be enforced by the teen.
Periscope, YouNow
Periscope is a live video streaming app (acquired by Twitter) where viewers can share comments while watching the stream, and teens need to take care on what they share and with whom. YouNow is similar, making it really easy for teens to stream videos of themselves, so the same rules of caution apply.
Kik
Kik is an increasingly popular anonymous messaging app, but anyone can send messages with pictures to anyone else, even if they don’t know them, which worries many adults. Teens need to be extra careful to protect themselves from strangers.
Ask.fm, YikYak
Ask.fm is an anonymous question and answer site and YikYak is an anonymous message posting site, both of which have gained popularity, while also garnering wide criticism as there’s high potential for unacceptable content, and even cyberbullying.
YouTube
The now venerable YouTube is a huge hit with teens who often get their entertainment from it, plus there’s a video for almost anything they want to learn about (or shouldn’t!). Again, teens should be careful about what they post and who they connect to on YouTube.
And there’s Pinterest, Omegle, Burn Note and more…
The Bottomline
Online safety is critical, especially with anonymous users, and teens (and their parents) should know how to use the security settings and enjoy using the apps without fear (or disgust!). Luckily there are a lot of helpful guides out there (here’s one).
Social media in itself is not bad, and can do good, helping teens maintain friendships, learn new things or get help when needed, even for academic purposes. Teens and pre-teens just need to learn how to protect themselves on social media – it’s fascinating, but a jungle out there!
Do you agree?
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Soon, students across the country will be escaping school for a week-long spring break. Planning a family trip? Lucky you! But for many parents, work demands and summer plans may keep them close to home. So, what can the kids do all week long? A high schooler can take the lead in managing his/her spring break (with maybe just a little guidance from our post!). But your middle schooler needs you to take an active role in making a plan to get the most out of spring break.
Here are some ideas to get you started.
- Involve your child in working out a plan (she’s more likely to stick to it).
- Pick out the broad goals (see below) that are important to you and your child.
- Select activities under each that appeal to you
- Plan how/when/where/with whom they will be done
- Most importantly, leave plenty of unscheduled free time to do anything or nothing at all!
Catch Up
We all need a bit of downtime just to catch up with our lives. Middle-schoolers are no different.
Complete missed work
Did your child miss a class or two in the past few weeks? Are there some overdue assignments? Maybe she needs some extra help with a tough topic or two? Now is a great time to tackle these. Talk it over with your child (and maybe your teacher), and find out what she can do to get up to speed. Remember to give her some help and encouragement while she’s doing it so it is less of a chore.
Reconnect with family
This is a good time to help your child catch up with family. Drop him off with the grandparents for a day or at your sister’s to spend time with the cousins or go to the skating rink with siblings. And of course, you as a parent should use this opportunity, when you don’t have to worry about homework and carpool schedules, to spend some quality time with your child doing something you both enjoy – even if its just pizza and movies on a school night!
Recharge
Enjoying the time off is the most important thing your middle-schooler can do during spring break. It’s important for the mind and the body to have a rest every now and then. Breaks are scheduled for just that purpose! So let your children sleep in and just have some downtime reading young adult novels, watching a favorite show or playing a video games – what they can’t do during school days – and then they can recharge in other ways too.
Get the body moving
Students have way more “seat time” than they do movement at school, so encourage your child to put down the video game and get moving, at least for a little while every day. Maybe he can have friends over to shoot some hoops or play flag football. Your child may also enjoy short classes in your local Parks and Recreation so she can pick up some tennis or join a volleyball group. Make it a family activity and head out for a hike or bike ride. Exercise and being outdoors reduce stress, build healthy bodies, brains and minds, and, best of all, it is fun!
Exercise creativity
Is your child really interested in some topic or skill that she doesn’t get to explore at school? Give her a chance to learn something just for the fun for it – whether it is cooking or cartooning. Your son loves movies? Let him try making one himself and doing all the steps from script to final edits. Check out our post of creative activities for fun, engaging ideas that you can share with your child.
Get Ahead
A little bit of prep work during spring break might make the rest of the school year much less stressful for your middle-schooler.
Get a head start
Middle school students are likely to be expected to deliver end-of-year projects and reports. Help your child develop a schedule for big projects by working backwards from the date they should be turned in. It is best if your child takes the lead, as this is his project, but offer encouragement and advice when he needs and wants it.
Reduce test anxiety
If your child gets nervous or stressed during tests, spring break’s a good time to start preparing lightly, without the pressure. A practice test or two and reviewing what she’s learned, especially tough topics, will help her get familiar with what’s expected and increase her confidence when test time approaches.
Prepare for high school
The transition from middle to high school is both exciting and a little scary. The high school will have orientation sessions, make sure you and your child attend them. If you know a parent with a teen at the school, try to arrange for a conversation – you’ll learn a lot of things that are not covered in websites or brochures! You and your eighth-grader may also use this time to plan ahead for high-school readiness activities for the summer, whether it is signing up for algebra review or doing a soccer camp if she wants to try out for the school team.
With a little planning, spring break can be refreshing as well as productive. But whatever you do, relax and make sure your middle-schooler does too – after all, that is the whole purpose of the break. What are your favorite activities with your middle-schooler on break?
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Heading into spring break? Don’t have any plans yet for a whole week (and two weekends) of no school? How about using some of the spring break to get ahead? After all, if spring break’s almost here, it means that the end of the school year (and the crunch) is just a few weeks away. But it doesn’t have to be all work. You can have some fun too and you’ll get back to school feeling good about yourself. Here’s how.
Recharge
Breaks have a purpose, whether it is during a game or during the school semester. They give us time to refresh ourselves so we can back to what we’re doing with more energy and enthusiasm, and there are many ways to get refreshed.
Sleep in
If you’re like most teens, you’re probably no stranger to sleep deprivation. So go ahead, plan on sleeping in during the break! Even if you can’t make up for every lost hour, your body and mind will thank you for getting more rest – maybe you’ll notice you’re a little less grumpy too!
Spend time outdoors
There’s tons of research that show how being in the great outdoors can give your mental space a boost. Being in nature makes you feel more alive and creative, reduces stress, and improves focus. If you can’t get away for a camping trip in the woods, a simple walk around a tree-filled park can work wonders. And, if you invite your friends, you can do your socializing IRL.
Get your body moving
Surprisingly, sitting still all day in class can be exhausting! The human body wasn’t built to sit for hours at a time. Take advantage of this week away from chairs and desks to get moving and exercising. Not only will it get your body in shape for spring dance season, it also helps support the brain by increasing your circulation, improving your mood, and boosting learning and memory. So, once you finish reading this, go play some pickup basketball, take a brisk hike (see above), go dancing – anything at all that gets your body moving.
Learn something you like
As we wrote previously, learning something new is both fun and good for you. So dust off your guitar and learn a new song, or learn to play mahjong with grandma or how to build a website for your club. You’ll find that learning something just because you feel like it is satisfying and energizing!
Catch Up
We get it – sometimes we all fall a little behind and need time to catch up. Spring break is the perfect time to check off the unfinished projects on your to-do list so you can go back to school with a lighter load.
Complete assignments
Did you miss a deadline or two in the previous weeks? Are there extra credit assignments you can do to boost your grades? Spring break is a great time to tackle them. Talk to your teacher at least several days before the start of break about any assignments you can complete over the week, then get to work.
Review missed classes
Were you out sick or other excused absence for a few days and missed some classes? If so, use this time to get caught up, your teacher will be able to tell you how. And your friends may help with their notes and maybe even join you for a review (and socializing) session.
Reconnect with friends and family
Sometimes catching up doesn’t refer to work but to people you care about. You might have friends that you don’t get to see that often (maybe they go to a different school). Or you maybe you miss playing board games with your siblings because you’ve been so busy. Make an effort to spend time with the people who matter to you – they’ll make you feel good!
Get Ahead
To be sure, recharging and catching up indirectly help you get ahead – by making you energized and ready for new challenges when you get back to school. Still, there are some activities that you can consider to help you get ahead in a more direct way.
Get a head start
If you already have some end-of-school year projects on your to-do list, now’s a good time to get started. Brainstorming, doing research, outlining the project, even just making a schedule of tasks and dates will all make it easier for you to turn in a quality project on time .
Prepare for tests
Okay, this doesn’t sound like fun, but studying a little bit now is a lot better than cramming later, when you’re stressed and pressed for time. SAT, ACT and AP tests are all coming up and almost everyone benefits from a little prep time on those. If you’re not doing tests, but find a particular topic or subject troublesome, now’s a good time to get some one-on-one help to get you over this hurdle.
Start Thinking About College
If you and your parents are able to, try to visit some colleges (check out our guides for students and for parents) – it is never too early! Can’t visit colleges in person? Take the virtual tour from home – it might be fun to do this with friends too. If you’re not sure which colleges you should look at, you can start researching (The College Board has a cool search tool). Bonus: looking at colleges keeps you motivated to do well in school!
With so many options for things to do on spring break, there’s one thing we strongly recommend: don’t stress about it. Even if all you do is spend time on Netflix and Snapchat, relax and enjoy your break!
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(We like this idea so much we’re repeating it for all the students who may need a reminder that learning can be fun!)
Though we here at Meemli don’t like to admit it, sometimes, learning can feel like a chore. Being assigned to memorize the Prologue to “The Canterbury Tales” or repeatedly writing the conjugations for irregular AR verbs for Spanish class could feel mind-numbing. To make it worse, most of the time, you’re not learning for the fun of it, you’re doing it because you have to – grades, college admissions and everything else demands it.
Surprisingly, when schoolwork gets to be a drag, more learning might put the zing back in it – as long as you’re learning something just because.
Learn what you choose, how you choose, when you choose.
Choose to Learn
Choose to Learn
What does that mean? How do you go about doing it?
Here’s how:
Pick something just for you.
That means learn something for fun, not because you have to. Pursue something you’ve always found interesting. You can choose to learn to play just one song on the guitar, or learn to be really good at it. Practice 25 common Russian phrases just because your grandfather was born in Russia. Love to cook? Well, you can learn about the science of baking.You can learn anything: a language, a subject you don’t have at school, a sport, music, pottery. Anything at all. Your choice. Choose whatever subject you find fascinating, and dig a little deeper.
Choose how you will learn.
Maybe you want to sign up for a class, or maybe you don’t. There’s a YouTube video for practically every learning need, from quilting to quantum physics! As you probably know, there are tons of ways to learn something new. Read a book, take an online course, talk to other people, or find a mentor. There might be local clubs that you could consider joining if you want to learn with others. Sometimes the best way to learn something is to ask an expert – Grandpa would probably be more than happy to teach you those 25 Russian phrases!
Make up your own schedule/timeline.
Since you’re learning this new subject because you want to, you also get to set the schedule. You could choose to spend one day on this project over a weekend or spring break, or 30 minutes every week for several weeks. You can think short-term, or plan a schedule over the next year or two. It’s your time and your goal, so do whatever works best for you and your schedule. And, since this learning isn’t something you have to do, you never have to feel pressured. Stuff happens and plans change. Extend your timeline whenever you need to, with no qualms.
Still need convincing? Here’s why you should try learning just for the fun of it:
1. Boost your brain.
Learning new things actually changes your brain – in a good way. (Read the science behind learning here.) There’s been a fair amount of research that is finding a link between learning a new skill (even something like quilting) to improved memory. So, stretch your brain to stay sharp, for now and for when you take the inevitable SATs, ACTs, entrance exams and the like. Great minds think – period!
2. Feel good.
Accomplishing a task makes us feel fulfilled, satisfied and self-confident, especially if it’s something you’ve wanted to do for a while. So choose something you enjoy, or something you’ve always wanted to do. You’re a learner, choosing to know and do something that’s of meaning to you. There’s a sense of fulfillment that comes when you immerse yourself in something that interests you. Since you’re in control of your learning and it’s free from external pressures, you can work on learning your new skill without stress, guilt, deadlines or dread (the perception of being in control is another stress-reducer).
4. Impress the grown-ups.
Taking on a new learning goal just because you want to is impressive. It demonstrates motivation, dedication, and initiative — all qualities that adults like to see in teens (and, anyone else for that matter). Not only will you impress the grown-ups around you, this will add a big boost to your resume when applying for colleges and future jobs too.
5. Make yourself more interesting.
Ok, this may not be THE reason to learn, but it certainly gives you a fun conversation starter next time you’re waiting in the lunch line or trying to impress that new boy or girl at your school. You don’t have to limit yourself to classwork, the upcoming Sadie Hawkins dance, or the new substitute teacher – you now have something new and different to share. Those 25 Russian phrases you’re working on may come in handy!
It’s easy to see why learning something for the fun of it is a no-lose proposition. We’d love to hear your thoughts. What have you always wanted to learn? Let us know!