SOAR Study Skills - Organize and get better grades in less time.

I am so sorry to send this out late…I had to
make a “last-minute” road-trip to meet my new
niece today; I am now an “aunt” for the first
time! Baby Katelyn is adorable and a truly
wonderful Thanksgiving gift!

As I held that beautiful newborn this morning, I
thought about the blessings she already has in
life, including her two loving parents and
extended family (including “Aunt Sue”) who love
her to pieces! We will all make sure she has
every advantage in life. This is a stark
comparison to the situation described below.

When I announced the 30-in-30 Project, I received
the following plea from a subscriber, looking for
creative ideas to help some very needy students in
Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. If you
have any suggestions for her, please post them on
the blog or reply to this email. Your assistance
will be greatly appreciated!

—-
Dear Susan,

My situation is probably unique, but if you could
help, you’d be helping students in the poorest
country on earth….

I’m the Education Chair for a 72 child orphanage
in Bo, Sierra Leone. We had a chance to visit the
schools they attend back in March of 2010 and we
weren’t surprised by what we saw, but we were
dismayed.

The classes we observed while in Bo were at a
private school. There are government schools as
well. School is “compulsory” in Sierra Leone, but
all students (even the ones who attend government
schools) must pay tuition and buy their own books
and uniforms. Many children don’t attend school
at all because their families cannot afford to
send them (and to have them not earning money for
the family) so that compulsory thing is obviously
not really enforced.

Because of the rampant poverty and recent
devastation of the country’s infrastructure, there
just are no resources. Classrooms are four walls
and a battered blackboard with no electricity.
Teachers use a spiral notebook to record
attendance, grades and lesson plans. Each teacher
has a few pieces of chalk. Students must buy
their books, but they don’t bring them to school
for fear they’ll be stolen and resold on the black
market.

All classes at all levels and in all subjects are
taught by rote memorization. Students write down
verbatim what the teachers say and recite it back
from memory. That’s it. Students are not
encouraged (or in many cases allowed) to put
things into their own words. We have seen
students punished for writing anything other than
what they were explicitly told to write.

One summer we taught our orphans an easier
modified Cornell note-taking method, thinking that
if they were taught by lecture at least this
method would afford them some ability to analyze
and synthesize the information they received – but
after observing in March, now I worry that they
might be punished in school for this.

What I’m wondering is if there is a way to help
them use their verbatim notes more actively when
they study at home in the evenings? If we can
take this raw material they’re given and help them
to figure out ways to synthesize or organize the
information to maximize the learning we can get
out it that would be ideal. Is there a way we can
help them use this raw material better to increase
their comprehension and retention?

Thanks,
Laura
———————

Hi Laura,

One question I find myself wondering, and I am
sure many others will ask is, “Is there anything
we can do?” I know you are looking for specific
ideas, but people will want to know if they can
offer any additional help. Let me know if there is
anything I can elaborate upon in this regard.

Thanks,
Susan
———————

Susan,

What kind of help are we talking? The needs are
many – that’s for sure! Honestly, we’re pretty
well set with school supplies and backpacks; that
sort of thing – we get donations of these items
all year long.

What I’d love for them is new computers. They have
about 8 used laptops networked together in a lab on
campus, but it’s not enough and they’re old, tired
and unreliable. Mostly we just need some good ideas
for how to help these kids retain what they’re taught
in schools.

Deep down, I also worry about their critical
thinking and problem-solving skills. Although
these are not the things that are taught and
tested in Sierra Leone, I worry about their
ability to function and excel as adults in the
world.

Sierra Leone in still squarely in the third world,
but if they’re ever going to make the leap in to the
second or first worlds, they’re going to have to
learn the skills that help folks to be successful
the world over – the ability to collaborate, create,
analyze, synthesize,evaluate; to think outside the
box. I struggle with being caught between the need
to prepare these kids for the world in which the
currently live and my need to prepare them for a
better one they could potentially create.

Sorry if that sounds a little pie in the sky. I
know that most people who want to help want to be
told what to send – and I do appreciate these
kinds of donations too! I think what these kids
need more is some good ideas for how to be
successful now and in the future, and I know
that’s a lot harder to do!

Thanks so much for including us in your blog
project!

Laura
———————

Please share suggestions and/or ask additional
questions below.

If you would like to invite a friend to join
30-in-30, they may do so here:
http://www.soarstudyskills.com/30-in-30.

To view all 30-in-30 Posts, visit http://www.soarstudyskills.com/blog