Over the past 10 years, I find myself endlessly ruminating about our educational system’s inability to help students become proficient readers— and my blood boils. Our country manufactures self-driving cars, yet more than  2/3 of US high school seniors are not prepared for college-level coursework.  Various studies illustrate that seniors are reading between the 5th […]

This past week I told a 12th grade 4.0 student that we would soon be applying our reading skills to her Advanced Placement book. Her response was the typical. “We don’t use that book in class and I already have a 4.0.”  So, I retorted, “Let me get this straight. Your teacher is providing you […]

Many very smart and talented students fail to reach their potential because of one problem that goes unrecognized throughout their academic careers— poor reading skills. Students and their parents often are in denial about this problem because students work hard and are getting excellent grades. Signs That Your Reading Skills are Holding You Back You […]

I recently viewed an old interview from around 7 years ago, and I chuckled because it referred to one student who increased his ACT score from 16 to a 33. One of my RTS Success® sayings originates from my parents, who stressed that “practice makes perfect!”  I have passed their adage onto my own children, […]

For nearly all people, in nearly all situations, multitasking is impossible. When we think we’re multitasking, most often we aren’t really doing two things at once – but instead, individual actions in rapid succession.The neuroscience is clear: We are wired to be mono-taskers. One study found that just 2.5% of people are able to multitask […]

Why Parents Pick the Wrong Colleges For Their KidsJohn Katzman and Steve CohenApr 14, 2017IDEASKatzman, the CEO of Noodle companies, was founder and CEO of The Princeton Review and 2U; Cohen, an attorney, is the co-author of Getting In: College Admission in the Digital Age.Before May 1, the deadline for college enrollment deposits, more than […]

“I don’t want to go to camp. I just want time to hang out.” Those were the words of my 12-year-old daughter when I mentioned summer plans. And then the parental anxiety set in. I knew in my heart that my middle-schooler was too old to go to that wonderful day camp that kept her […]

Miguel Flores was excited when he got into San Francisco State University. But after his freshman year, Flores decided not to go back. Reflecting on that decision two years later, Flores says he left because there was “too much focus on partying. I just didn’t spend much time on the academic part of college.” The […]

I’ve seen my children thrive with teachers they loved — the science teacher who encouraged my daughter’s love of animals and nature; the humanities teacher who helped my son through an awkward middle school phase by fueling his fascination with history; the physics teacher who held my older son’s ninth grade class in thrall with weekly, […]

t’s a parent’s summertime nightmare. While you’re at work all day, your tween or teen is at home. Alone. With nothing to do. So what does she do? She turns your house into party central.This nightmare is exactly what happened to psychologist John Duffy’s clients, a family in a well-heeled Chicago suburb. “Every day when […]