Grit

Preparing for College: Start Early, Be Consistent, Finish Strong

By on July 3rd, 2015

college prep
Many students fall into the trap of thinking college is something they need to start considering their senior year.

Students who wait until then, however, will be much more than a day late and a dollar short (more like four years too late and thousands of dollars short).

The fact is the time to start thinking about college is when you are selecting your freshman courses. It can be argued that it begins much earlier than this even – through the development of soft skills like time management, study habits, and a growth mindset for example, but that is a different post. Continue reading


Win a Family Getaway to Kennedy Space Center!

By on June 30th, 2015

KSC_contest
There’s still time to enter our summer video contest – and win an awesome new prize!

Share a video of you learning a new skill by July 31 and you could be the lucky winner of a family getaway to Kennedy Space Center!

View all of the contest details here.

Did you know that NASA specifically seeks individuals who have a history of struggle and failures when searching for astronauts and engineers? Those who have bounced back and grown from their mistakes bring with them a unique set of strengths over those with straightforward success stories. Continue reading


FLVS Brain Challenge: Week 1

By on June 26th, 2015

Brain Challenge Cover 1
It’s been a great first week for the FLVS Brain Challenge!

This week’s top contender is @jozh_legit who comes to us from Instagram with some crazy bike tricks. It’s obvious that he’s been making progress in learning some new moves this summer. Search for #FLVSBrainChallenge to see for yourself!

Think you can show us something even crazier? You could be our next big featured participant – or even our final winner! All you need to do is share a video of you learning something new on Vine or Instagram.

Learn more about our contest and how to enter here. Continue reading


Join the FLVS Summer Brain Challenge!

By on June 12th, 2015

Campus_Blog_Brain_Challenge_150610Did you know your brain is constantly forming new neural connections?

Scientists have made amazing discoveries about the way our brain cells grow and form new circuits – even into adulthood. The trick to that growth is keeping them engaged by exploring new challenges and concepts.

This summer, we are challenging all of our students and their family and friends to show us what new connections your brain can make!

We’re hosting a video contest on social media asking you to show us your skills. All you have to do is share a short video of you learning something crazy and cool like this. Continue reading


Don’t Procrastinate, Motivate!

By on May 26th, 2015

Great things
Motivation is literally a desire to do things.

It is crucial to attaining goals.

Motivation is the difference between getting up and doing something or being a couch potato all day.

Whether you want to motivate yourself, colleagues, classmates, or children…here are some proven methods to improve your motivation and to motivate those around you. From setting goals to persevering through difficult challenges, these tips will help you accomplish all kinds of great things!

Continue reading


Innovative Math Instruction

By on May 8th, 2015

MJ Math blog
More than ever before, middle school math students are being asked to perform at a higher rate in class and on assessments.

Students are learning higher-level standards and being evaluated in new ways with computer-based testing and interactive tools.

New standards expect students to be able to: make sense of problems and persevere in solving them, reason abstractly and quantitatively, construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others, model with mathematics, use appropriate tools strategically, look for and make use of structure, and look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning. Continue reading


The Creativity Conundrum

By on September 10th, 2014

scared to make mistakes cover
When Did Students Become So Scared to Make Mistakes?

Directions: Please read the following article. At the end of the article you will be asked to give your opinion regarding creativity in schools. You will be expected to provide a response that shows thinking outside the box and is worthy of a Nobel Prize. No pressure. Think Creatively. Continue reading


“She’s on our team?!” A Lesson from the Last Pick

By on August 1st, 2014

last pick coverAs a child, I was always the last one picked for team sports. I hated the days in gym class when we had to corral up against the chain link fence like criminals in a police ID line awaiting one of the peer captains to call our name and form teams.

It didn’t matter if we played kickball, whiffle ball, Red Rover, or dodge ball – my name was always the last one called. I couldn’t hit the ball, never made it through the human chain of people, and I wasn’t fast enough to make it to the base without being tagged. Someone from the team who got stuck with me invariably would whine, “She’s on our team?” Each time it was a bit more demoralizing than the time before. Add to my lack of natural aptitude was the fact that I never played an organized team sport outside school, so my opportunities to improve upon my lack of natural ability were non-existent.

Continue reading


Got Grit?

By on April 17th, 2014

grit coverBright eyed and bushy tailed I moved right from graduation to teaching geography, reading, and running a computer lab. Everyone said, your light will dim and your focus will change. Well, they were wrong.

Let the record show, that was some 10 years ago and my intentions have not changed, but have only grown stronger and more awesome.  Why? Because I “got” grit and I teach my students to have grit.

How else can I prepare my students to function in the interconnected online global world that is full of competition? By never stopping to achieve their goals – that’s how!  Do not be pushed down in the face of adversity. Remember, it is okay and even good to make mistakes; this is how we learn. Stand up for what you believe in. If you get knocked down, get up!  Life can be hard and hurtful. Learn from this and get back to work.

Continue reading


Standards, Grittiness, and the Underdog

By on March 27th, 2014

resilienceIn his book, “David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants,” Malcolm Gladwell  argues that the people we traditionally considered to be underdogs might actually have unique  advantages created by the very adversity they had to overcome. Gladwell uses the allegory of David  and Goliath to dramatize how David’s victory may not have been as unlikely or extraordinary as we are led to believe.  Perhaps, David relied simply on an unconventional approach and his own audacity to blindside Goliath.  His experience as an underdog forced him to view the situation differently and discover a creative solution to his problem.  David didn’t view Goliath simply as an indestructible giant. Rather, he saw a slow opponent, dragged down by his armor, and unprepared to battle a swifter, more prepared adversary.

Gladwell continues his theory by describing a seeming disadvantage, dyslexia, as a “desirable difficulty.”  Continue reading