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School is Near? Tips to Clear the Fear!

 

It is that time of the year again where parents, students, teachers, and school administrators prepare for going back to school. Feelings are mixed up between excitement, determination and some anxiety! Many factors will impact this experience remarkably. As a result, here are some tips that will help you adjust back to school mode and have a good start.

  • Adjust your sleep/wake schedule

During the summer, parents tend to allow their kids to sleep late and wake up at any time. As school approaches, it’s very important for your kids to go back to a routine schedule of sleep/wake. Your kids’ ability to comprehend and function will be greatly affected by a poor sleeping schedule.

  • Prepare all the needed tools and supplies

Get your kids’ school supply list and dedicate a trip to shop for it. Make sure you bring your kids with you and allow them to pick one or two items that they really want. That will surely make them involved in the process and excited about going back to school. Having the right tools will make your kids feel well prepared and ready for school.

  • Get familiar with what’s expected

As a parent (high school or college students too), you should make yourself familiar with what’s expected from your kid(s) during the upcoming school year. You can look up information about the expectation for each grade level on your school’s district website or email the teacher to request information. For high school and college students, take a look at your class’s syllabus. Knowledge is a great tool to be proactive.

  • Be a role model

Kids look up to their parents and that’s why the way you react about going back to school will impact your kids. As a result, it’s highly recommended for parents to be excited about school. In addition, you should start talking to your kids about how exciting it is to go back to school and all the fun that comes with it. Why not become a cheerleader for your kids?! Also, you can start a fun tradition that you only do with your kids when school is near start.

  • Set up a study area

Dedicate an area in your home for studying. Ask your kids to help you set up the space and organize it. You should take away any distractions from this area such as TVs, game consoles, phones, etc.

  • Plan after school activities

Whether it’s sports or arts, it’s important to keep your kids active and engaged. Remember, your goal is to minimize the anxiety and stress that comes with school sometimes. In addition, consider hiring a tutor to help your kids navigate through their academic work.

  • Be involved

Many parents tend to get distracted by work and forget about the importance of being involved in their kids’ education. Make it a priority for yourself to become actively involved. You don’t have to become the president of the parent teacher association or even a board member too. A few things you can do are meeting your kids’ teachers, meeting the school principal, asking about your kids’ performance, and TALKING to your kids about what goes on in school.

  • One book a week

Introduce a new challenge to your kids: have them read one book per week. Reading will boost your kids’ creativity, imagination, communication skills, understanding, and comprehension. It refreshes and enrich their brain with new ideas, experiences, and terminologies.

Other tips that may help you prepare for school are setting goals, using a calendar, recording everything on an agenda, and use educational/organizational mobile apps to name a few. Now, it’s your turn! Tell us how you prepare yourself and your kids to school. Our email is info@educaremi.com and on social media @educaremi1

In conversation with Hussein M. Hachem, Founder of Educare, on Online Tutoring

According to a report by research firm Global Industry Analysts, Inc. (GIA), the global private tutoring market is projected to grow into a $102.8 billion market by 2018. The reason being ineffectiveness of current standardized education systems to engage and motivate students to learn and the overwhelming amount of homework. Students need tutors who can help them after school hours, organize learning and achieve their academic goals.

However, tutoring has always been a luxury available to students from high-income families only. Hussein M. Hachem, a renowned edupreuner, noticed this problem and decided to solve it. He started helping students who were struggling with Chemistry, Biology and Physics. In 2013, he founded Educare Student Services – a tutoring company which provides tutoring services to parents/individuals of all race, color, ethnicity and religion. His service towards the growth of society won him many leadership awards and his efforts are recognized by President Barack Obama with the Call to Service Award.

In collaboration with WizIQ, Hussein delivered a free webinar “Online Tutoring: Tools, benefits & advantages” on July 24th, 2015. The webinar is ideal for online tutors, educators, parents, students and all those who are interested in learning more about online tutoring.

Here, you can get a quick tour of Hussein’s tutoring journey, his views on online tutoring and the challenges associated with it.

Here are the excerpts from our conversation with him:

  • Your tutoring business has grown by leaps and bounds within a period of two years only. Could you tell us how your journey has been since you started out?

Educare started out of my home office. I hired one tutor in the beginning and reached out to couple of parents that I know to inform them about the company. During the past two years, we focused our efforts on bringing quality tutoring services to parents. It wasn’t an easy job. We keep a constant line of communication between us, the company, and the parents through phones calls, mails, emails, and even social media. We relied on social media to spread the word about our services and we received so many positive feedbacks. Now the company has its own learning center where it runs various programs for students K to 12 including after school programs, summer programs, ACT & SAT workshops, AP tutoring and advancement programs for Reading, Writing & Math.

  • You have ventured into online tutoring too. Share your experience of teaching online.

The company is based in Dearborn, Michigan and we were limited to the area when providing our services. We received many requests from parents who live far from the area that we cover to tutor their kids. As a result, six months ago we decided to provide Online Tutoring. That move expanded our horizon and exposed us to a new base of students. The generation now is well educated on how to use computers and tablets which makes Online Tutoring an accepted choice for parents. The student can hear and see us, ask questions, take tests and quizzes, and interact with the tutor as he/she is physically present to help. I see a worldwide trend that started 5 years ago but its booming now more to move towards Online teaching. We are living the Online era.

  • It is often seen that parents are not too comfortable with the concept of online tutoring despite the popularity and advancement of e-learning. How do you see this situation?

Many parents who hesitate about allowing their kids to receive e-learning aren’t fully aware of the concept, the advanced techniques used, and the proved positive outcome. If we look at the educational systems worldwide, we see prestigious colleges and universities providing online courses for students around the globe. You can receive degree from home. E-learning has opened opportunities for disabled and challenged students to received degree and achieve their dreams. Yes, we have to acknowledge the hesitation of many parents; however, we have to also point out that many of those hesitant parents recommend e-learning to their network after they experience the benefits of it.

  • According to you, what all basic things does one need to get started with online tutoring?

As a student and a tutor, you need basic knowledge in computers. It’s as simple as opening your electronic device, opening the web service, typing in the company’s website, logging in to your account and clicking start on the session. In some cases, it might be as simple as opening Skype or Google Hangouts. Many e-learning companies provide their own online platform with many sophisticated tools such as whiteboard, screen sharing, mathematical symbols and equations, shapes and forms, ability to upload documents and share them with many users, ability to take quizzes and tests and discuss results with tutors. As much as we are moving forward, technology is advancing and presenting simpler and easier tools for students and tutors.

  • Do you have some advice for teachers who want to seriously take up online tutoring?

I encourage teachers to start online tutoring. It is an option that opens your eye to the world as they will be no limit to what you can offer and receive. It doesn’t matter if you teach Languages or Mathematics or Physics or History or Programming, there is always a need for what you offer. All what it takes to be successful is to provide quality, loyalty and trustworthy relations with your students. Love what you do and surely others will love it too.

10 Ways to Improve your Academic Performance

At times of failure, it is important to take responsibility and commit to a plan to change. Whether your grades dropped, you’re failing a class, or simply you are not achieving your target, it is never too late or too early to apply certain changes to your studying habits. In this article, we will explore 10 ways to improve your academic performance. It is good to mention that some ideas may work for one student but may not work for another; however these ideas have helped many students from different backgrounds and age group.

  1. Pay more attention in class

Avoid the daydreaming and focus on what’s happening in the class. Many teachers give hints on the topics that they want to include in their quizzes and exams. Also, you will be able to understand the concept being taught instead of going home and struggling to understand the given material.

  1. Ask questions

This point goes along with the idea of being focused in class as you will be able to identify things that you didn’t understand in class. In this way, you have the ability of directing a question to your teacher requesting a further and clearer explanation. It’s good to point out that it doesn’t make you less smart (or stupid) if you ask questions.

  1. Take notes

Many students fail their homework, quizzes, or exams because the lack of note-taking skills. These notes will be your source of information for everything you have to do for any class. As a result, make sure your notes are readable, useful, and organized.

  1. Do revisions and practices

One of the main reasons for lower grades is the lack of practice and revision. It is important to review your notes and read your books. Also, practice exams are a great idea to start with so you can identify your weaknesses and work on them. In addition, give yourself enough time to revise so you don’t get stressed over the lack of time.

  1. Stop procrastinating

Many students write their essay the night before the due date, study for their exams the day of the exam, and try to finish their homework before class starts. If you are doing that, you need to stop now! In order to avoid having a big workload, you need to do your work on a daily basis. Do not wait for the night before or the day of to start doing your school work.

  1. Start organizing

Probably the best way to improve your life in general and your academic life in particular is to get organized. Make a folder/binder for each subject and put all papers that are related to that subject in it. It’s important to keep your backpack clean so make one day a week where you go over your folders and discard the papers you don’t need. Also, start making use of your planner as to homework deadlines, exams dates, and other important things.

  1. Have a positive attitude towards learning

Surely lower than expected grades will bring a negative and disappointed feeling. You may feel depressed or down however it is important to defeat this feeling with positivity. For any challenge you face, it is helpful to approach it in a positive attitude because this is the only way you will be able to bring a change to the situation. You have to always tell yourself that “I can do it”, “I will do”, “I will not give up”, “I’m not a failure”.

  1. Make learning fun

Parents usually confuse fun with failure however they miss an important point – the enjoyment of learning. Your attitude towards education and learning will be different if you find ways to enjoy your learning experience. For instance, if you like sports, implement it in your studying schedule. Also, give yourself (or your kids if you are a parent) incentives for achieving things. It is important to be motivated about something in order to succeed in it.

  1. Take short breaks

Studying may become an overload and at times impossible to comprehend. As a result, make sure you make your study sessions about 45 minutes each. After each study session, take a short break (about 5-10 mins) and do something different such as a  short walk, watch a motivational clip, or a small workout.

  1. Hire a private tutor

It is no shame to ask someone for help. It could be your older sibling, your mom, or your cousin. However, kids tend to feel shy or uncomfortable around their siblings or cousins. As a result, you should hire a tutor that could help you understand the material, teach you new study skills, and work with you to improve your grades. Many students have a fear/embarrassment to ask their peers or relatives for help so a private tutor may be the solution for that.

….and always remember that EduCare will help you achieve your goals!

Redesigned SAT Tutoring Summer Camp

9th, 10th and 11th graders should register for this program!

SAT Flyer
SAT Flyer
Redesigned SAT Summer Camp

As you may know, The State of Michigan has changed its standardized test for high school students. Instead of the ACT, Michigan students are required to take the new redesigned SAT test starting Spring 2016.

Educare has designed this program to introduce students to the new test in a friendly and easy way to ensure their previous test-taking skills are not lost. The course will provide students with an overview of the new test; its design , subjects tested , and how to generally get a better score. Many comparisons will be drawn between the new test and previous examinations to keep the material engaging and familiar.

Our tutors will work for over 2 months with students to ensure them a better academic success. Class meets twice a week, Monday and Wednesday 11 A.M. until 1 P.M., and it will start on Monday June 22nd and end on Wednesday August 19th.

Registration is now open!

For more information, call 3132586999 or email info@educaremi.com

 

SAT Flyer
Redesigned SAT Summer Camp
SAT is the new State high school exam?

On January 7th, Parents & school officials were freaked out after the announcement was made by the State of Michigan about the upcoming change to the State high school exam. Michigan State students’ will be required to take the SAT instead of the ACT starting in spring of 2016. What does this announcement means? And how it is going to affect the college admission process?
Today’s 10th graders will be the first to take the new redesigned SAT exam to fulfill their state high school exam. However, would that affect their college admission? Many university officials have explained that the change will have a minimal impact on their admission regardless of the change. Universities have been accepting both ACT and SAT scores provided by students. The college admission application is a collective of high school performance, ACT or SAT score, letters of recommendation, applicant’s personal statement, and extra-curricular activities.

As a conclusion, students can still take the ACT exam, however they will have to pay the cost for it. In addition, students who are taking ACT preparation courses shouldn’t consider that a waste of money as they still have the ability to choose which score to send to their college.

Hussein M Hachem
Educare, Managing Director

Registration

Registration is now open for our Reading Comprehension & Math Summer Program