Goals
Stop, Collaborate, and Listen
By Guest Blogger on February 26th, 2014
Doing Virtual Doesn’t Mean Doing it Alone!
When people think virtual, what do you think comes to mind? Prior to my experience at FLVS, I thought of sitting alone in front of the computer, reading lessons, responding to discussion boards, and checking email. The common denominator behind all of my thoughts was that you do it alone. While virtual education primarily places responsibility on the learner, there is a debatably larger need to collaborate to be successful.
At FLVS, students are required to collaborate with one another at least one time within each segment/semester. Many families, at first glance, think this is a demanding request or an off-the-wall requirement, because of their initial thoughts about virtual education. What they find is that they wonder why they didn’t start collaborating sooner. Continue reading
Meet Zoe, Pageant Queen and Non-Profit Founder
By Guest Blogger on February 21st, 2014
Zoe Mignone, a FLVS Full Time senior, has accomplished quite a bit in her 17 years. She has been a mentor, triathlon participant, advocate, pageant queen, and has even started her own non-profit organization! Oh, and, in case you couldn’t guess – she’s also a very active student with FLVS Full Time.
In 7th grade, Zoe became a mentor for an organization called Girls on the Run and helped advocate for children in Teen Court. At the age of 12, she started doing triathlons and quickly realized that triathlons were very expensive to train for and to participate in. That was when her idea was sparked – working with her friends and her mother, she put together the foundation for her own non-profit organization called Setting an Example. Describing her efforts, Zoe states, “My vision for it is all my own. I’ve always had a distinct vision.” Continue reading
Know Before You Go: The Power of Formative Assessments
By Guest Blogger on January 14th, 2014
A few years ago, not long after I first learned to drive, a family friend allowed me the opportunity to borrow his car.
The rule of the road was “if it has two digits, it goes around the city in a circle and you can’t get lost, it’ll always bring you back.”
When I began driving with my friend, I noticed I was a bit lost, but was fortunate enough to see the I-95 sign. It had two digits, the 9 and 5, so that must have meant it would loop around and I’d be back in no time. An hour later, I pulled off at an exit to ask for directions, to find I was now an hour and a half away from home.
Efforts vs. Smarts
By Mary Mitchell on January 10th, 2014
In her book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success, Dr. Carol Dweck explains the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset and how this impacts our success in learning and in life. Dweck argues we aren’t just “born smart” or with certain abilities. We have the incredible capacity to learn and grow every day. We can actually expand our brains and intelligence with our effort.
In fact, Dweck claims that “praising intelligence and ability doesn’t foster self-esteem and lead to accomplishment, but may actually jeopardize success. With the right mindset, we can motivate our kids and help them to raise their grades, as well as reach our own goals – personal and professional.”
The underlying basis of the two mindsets, “fixed” and “growth” is illustrated in the chart below. Continue reading
Celebrate Successes in 2014!
By Amy LaGrasta on January 1st, 2014
Every January, about 45 percent of Americans resolve to accomplish a new goal or reform a habit with a New Year’s resolution.
Unfortunately, only about 8 percent are successful in keeping their resolutions.
Did you stick with your resolution for 2013?
What are your goals for 2014?
Revive and Realize Your Dreams
By Guest Blogger on December 20th, 2013
My wife and I absolutely love reality television, especially the singing competition ones. The best part is always the beginning during the auditions, because you see and hear people who are not cut out for the industry and are best left to late-night karaoke. There is always a look of shock from contestants when the judges have to let them down, because it’s crushing a dream.
Have you ever had someone crush your dream because of a lack of skill? I know I have. Does that mean we give up on our dreams? Absolutely not! Continue reading
The Real Win is in Losing!
By Amy LaGrasta on November 19th, 2013
Losing is part of life. In fact, it is one of the most valuable lessons one can learn.
We don’t get everything we want all of the time. We can’t win every race. Tasting defeat only allows us to savor victory and try harder the next time. Learning how to lose teaches us how to win.
If a child knows they will automatically get a reward for showing up, what motivation is there to try? If our students’ walls are adorned with ribbons and trophies for participation, we have done them a disservice. We are teaching them that a promotion will be handed over on a silver platter, not earned. Grades will be given based on attendance, not effort. Continue reading
Multitasking: Technically Impossible
By Guest Blogger on November 1st, 2013
These days it seems like everyone is always trying to multitask.
It’s certainly possible to fold laundry while talking on the phone, or ride a bike while listening to music, but it just doesn’t work well to attempt two tasks that involve brain power at once.
Why? Our brains can hold only five to nine things in their short-term memories, so when someone’s trying to accomplish two dissimilar tasks that both require some level of thought and attention, that’s where the “multitasking” ends and the switching from one task to another begins. And when information doesn’t make it into the short-term memory, it can’t make it into long-term memory to be recalled later. Continue reading
The Power of Negativity
By Guest Blogger on September 30th, 2013
Remember the old saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?” I have to say, that through life experiences, I’ve come to realize that this statement is completely false. The bruises that are caused by sticks and stones may last for a period of time, but the scars words leave can last a lifetime. Continue reading
AIME, AMC, USAMO, Oh My!
By Guest Blogger on September 25th, 2013
The science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) field is rapidly growing. There are many programs and contests young students can become involved with to learn more about the different careers in STEM.
Many of these contests, however, are commonly recognized by their acronyms: AIME, AMC, USAMO. Few people outside the field know what these letters actually stand for. Each contest is part of the American Mathematic Competition Association (AMC). This group is devoted to growing mathematic understanding in the nation’s youth. Of the many contests, AIME, AMC, and USAMO are the most popular. Here are the contests behind the acronyms. Continue reading