Blog
5 Great and Effective Study Tips
As a teacher, I am obliged to give exams regularly. But, I recognize that learning how to study for an exam is no easy task. Here are 5 key S.T.U.D.Y. tips to keep in mind when preparing for a test, however big or small. Sleep Does the all-nighter really work? Can you cram a unit’s worth of material into your brain the night before an exam? No, and in fact, it will often backfire. Pulling an all-nighter will defeat the purpose of studying when you have no energy to think the next day. Take your time and pace yourself Don’t leave studying to the last minute. Spread it out over a few days and let yourself gradually absorb the material. This gives you time to check with your teacher about any misunderstandings and it also lets you use the last day before an exam for reinforcement of learning and not new learning. Use all available resources Don’t be afraid to ask peers and teachers for help. Find a classmate or two and determine each of your strengths, then teach and reteach each other...read more
Teaching the Novella
Too often high school teachers serve up the same “classic” novels that have weighed down the literary canon for decades. You know the culprits: The Great Gatsby, A Tale of Two Cities, To Kill a Mockingbird, and The Grapes of Wrath, to name a few. These are all great books; they deserve to be read. But it’s important, too, that teachers search outside the box. I’ve found great success with novellas and short novels in two ways. The nightly reading required to get through a longer novel too often stretches it out into a month or more. My experience is that interest severely flags around two-and-a-half weeks—which is about the time it takes to get through a shorter form. The novella is often called “the bastard child” of literature. For publishers, they are impossible to sell because readers are confused by their length. But there are plenty of good ones out there. Here are some suggestions: First Love by Ivan Turgenev (1860). The protagonist, falling in love for the first time, is...read more
Now That You’ve Decided to Take an AP Exam
While going about how to register for the AP exam, people tend to put off finding a place where they can take the them until the last minute--and that's the worst thing you could do, especially in a place like New York! Unlike the SAT or ACT, there is no online AP test registration and there are no test centers set up specifically for these exams. It’s left up to each school to allow (or deny) students who wish to test with them. I always recommend the following: 1. Call the College Board directly to get a list of schools that allow outside students to test with them. This is not a list of all schools that will offer AP exams, just those that are willing to say that they'll allow non-enrolled students to test with them. Call early! They generally have a cap on how many outside students they can/will allow, and these spaces fill up fast. In addition, the AP exam registration deadline is typically at the end of March—for schools to order AP exams from the College Board. ...read more
Celebrate the Chinese New Year in New York
Xin Nian Kwai Le! Gong Xi! Gong Xi Fa Cai! This is the traditional Chinese greeting that families, friends and neighbors address each other with during Chinese Lunar New Year. It translates to “Happy New Year! Wishing you happiness and prosperity! This year, 2015, which happens to be the year 4714 on the Chinese Lunar Calendar, will be celebrated on February 19th ushering in the year of the Ram. The Chinese Zodiac consists of 12 animals, and their legends are often told by the elderly members of the community as they pass on the customs and rituals to the younger generations. The “Legend of the Great Race” begins with Buddha summoning the animals to bid him farewell as he departs Earth; he said he would reward the first 12 animals that came to him by naming the years after them in the order of their appearance. The order of the animals were: Rat Ox Tiger Rabbit Dragon Snake Horse Ram Monkey Rooster Dog Boar Similar to western Astrology, the Chinese believe that the animal of your...read more
Deciding Whether or Not to Take AP Exams
As parents and their children worry more and more about how hard it is to get into college, they look for additional opportunities to distinguish themselves from the rest. Advanced Placement courses and exams have become one of those things high school juniors and seniors take to show that they are competitive. Every year, however, I field inquiries from frantic parents who are looking for a tutor or a place for their child to take these AP exams, in large part because “that’s what everyone does.” Before you stress out about where your child can take an AP exam (either because your school doesn’t offer this particular exam or because your child is home-schooled) or commit to paying for endless hours of tutoring, there are a few things to consider: What’s the goal: to get college credit or create a more competitive college application? In a perfect world, both things would be nice; however, many people are focused on one or the other. AP courses can be taken without taking the...read more
Using Technology to Exercise the Mind - Part II
In a follow up to my last blog regarding how significant a role creative software can have in the development of a person’s mind, I’d like to share an illuminating example. Here at The Beekman School we offer various creative courses, and one of them is a course in the fundamentals of design using Adobe Illustrator as the software tool. I assigned a project so challenging to my students that they have listed it as the most difficult task they have ever done. All I asked was for them to mimic each other’s style for one of their projects. I wanted to get them thinking outside the box regarding their design solutions. Every day of the project I received comments ranging from, “This is so hard!” to, “Why are you making us do this?” Why indeed? To expand their minds, break down assumptions, and force new perceptions. After a week of this, the project came to an end. The students were relieved and asked if they could go back to their old style of design. I said yes, and the next...read more
Why Do We Tell Each Other Stories?
We all have stories. Sometimes we think that our stories are not valuable or interesting, but if our inaugural Chirp Café last week taught us anything, it’s that this just isn’t the case. The room was packed to the rafters with spectators who were there to listen to students tell their personal stories of transition and change. I started Chirp Café as a venue for students to share their stories. At first, I was afraid it would flop. What teenager would be brave enough to get in front of a crowd of their peers and share their feelings? It seemed a non-starter. But how wrong I was! The kids loved it. Our students come from all over the country and the world, and it’s a culture shock when they get here. I experienced it myself. As an American born and raised abroad, it took some adjusting when I finally decided to make the United States my permanent residence. So I shared my story. I didn’t fit in as a high school kid, and continued to struggle when I went to college. But at the same...read more
Using Technology to Exercise the Mind
Virtually all schools have a technology requirement. Common sense tells us that this is because our world is increasingly dependent upon technology, and it’s important to be able to utilize it. Here at Beekman, however, we go beyond the basics and learn technology through the execution of “fun” software. This is certainly more engaging for students, but there are more benefits than meet the eye. People learn programs like Adobe Photoshop in order to manipulate images for work, play, or artistic exploration. And while it’s not too difficult a program to learn, it does take time to master it. Every Photoshop project is truly a problem that has to be solved, no differently than a math or science question. At The Beekman School, we offer several computer courses, one of which teaches Adobe Photoshop in order to explore the fundamentals in Digital Imaging. It is a challenging but fun class. And I stress to my students that although it may seem simple compared to some of their other...read more
Private School Rankings and the High School Myth
Are you starting to look for a school next year? Just like the college admission game, getting into a private high school in Manhattan can be a strategizing and stressful experience. Although there isn’t a report like the one U.S. News & World Report publishes so parents can see top ranking schools, there is an unspoken hierarchy passed among parents and other education professionals as to which schools are “the best.” Given the ease of the Internet, most parents would begin with a Google search. Something like “ranking nyc private schools.” And guess who shows up at the top: paid advertisers! (If you’re not careful, or don’t know the ins-and-outs of how Google works, you might miss that subtle line across the page or ignore it as irrelevant.) What follows below the line is a listing of organizations that work with all of the private schools and should be unbiased in their rankings. What do you think they have to say to parents who want to know who’s at the top? One website...read more
You’re a Unique Person; We’re a Unique School!
Do you ever feel like you just don’t fit in at your school? Mean kids, exclusive cliques, lunchroom gossip, bullying in the halls, unfriendly teachers, no one listens to you and no one cares? Most teenagers feel that way at one time or another, but when the atmosphere at school becomes so oppressive that it’s keeping you from performing at your best, it’s time for a change. Your school day takes up the majority of your daylight hours. Feeling miserable while trying to learn is not the optimum environment for success. NYC private schools can be a challenging, even intimidating place for prep school teens. Even the best prep schools face the challenge of trying to meet the needs of each individual. We are a college prep school with over 85 years of experience in creating an academic program and facilitating a social setting that promotes the qualities that a wide variety of students have deemed important during their high school years. The Beekman School, founded in 1925,...read more