Essential Learning Skills : Study and Speed-reading Skills Every Student Must Know

by Logan, Dwight

• ISBN13: 9781600133992
• ISBN10: 1600133991
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-10-11
• Publisher: Insight Pub Co

Summary

Studies have been made showing that the reasons that a large number of students are not able to earn good grades is attributed to many factors. Some of these factors (copouts) are: the teacher doesn¿t like me; I never have been a good student; environment; lack of interest in the subject matter; ethnicity and language. This is very interesting, but most of them are not reasons, they are just excuses. The main reason that students do not learn well is that they have not been taught how to study. Many school systems water down the content to the level of the slowest child so that all can have social, not academic promotion to the next level. It is sad, but a large percent of schoolteachers do not know how to study properly. If the teacher does not know how to learn, how can they be expected to teach ¿learning¿? The key success for the learning triangle is that parents must become involved. Many parents spend more time working with their child to teach them to play sports than they do working with them to learn. For young people in the U.S.A., ¿learning¿ assures future earning and success, not ¿sports¿. The most damaging and horrific problem in the public educational program is that we must all be ¿politically correct¿. This great country has enjoyed centuries of success because those who came to live had to learn and use English. Our family lived in Japan two years after WW II ended. Even though there was much devastation throughout the country, the school system was back in full swing. The children attended class for six days a week (Saturday was only a half day) and had long homework assignments. In addition to learning, the students cleaned the classrooms each day. A key element to the success of the educational program in Japan is that the teachers are treated with respect in the community. They are respected not only because they are dedicated, but the Japanese people know that teachers hold the key for the success of their children in later years. One of the greatest keys to learning is that one must learn to take detailed notes. This is true when reading, doing homework, sitting in class and working in study groups. ¿Goal setting¿ early in life pays off later. A study was done years ago involving Ivy League students. Three percent of the students had written down their goals for life. Ninety-seven percent had not. Twenty years later the three percent who had written their goals earned more income than the other ninety-seven percent combined. The success of writing goals and guideline works as well for students. One should set guidelines for studying. These guidelines include where homework will be done, when it will be done and how it will be done. Not only should students take copious notes in class, but they must take excellent notes while reading the text. A simple plan is:1. Write it down ¿ when you write things down your mind has to focus on the material 2. Make it clear ¿ if it is not clear, it will make it difficult to read when you are reviewing the information or if you are trying to explain it to others 3. Refresh your memory by reading the notes over and over ¿ the repetitive experience reinforces the ability to retain information 4. Evaluate the notes ¿ if they do not contain enough information, add to them and if there is too much information, delete some of it 5. Evaluate your knowledge about the information ¿ ask yourself if someone who had not read the book or taken the course could learn from your notes 6. Run with it ¿ take the exam with confidence as you read this book, you should realize that certain ideas are repeated for emphasis reasons. STUDENTS SPEND TWELVE OR MOREYEARS IN SCHOOL. It is pathetic that there is not a course teaching one how to become a proficient student. There are a few simple tricks that one can learn about reading texts, studying for, and taking exams. Having taught for many years, I have seen firsthand the lack of learning skills. This handbook demonstrates how easily learning skills can be acquired. Hilliard Shackford and I were co-authors of a textbook for adults taking real estate courses. One chapter dealt with how to read a textbook, study for, and take exams. Not only did the Real Estate Commission approve the text, but Ann Tuck, Executive Director of the Commission, especially loved the unit dealing with learning how to read a text and take exams. Many students said that they had never learned how to study until they took the course and read the book. Many stated that learning this way was easy and felt that they could have done much better in high school and college had they had this information while students. (I wish that I had known this information when I was a student.) The following is a result of many requests that this information be made available for children and grandchildren of our satisfied students.

Author Biography

Dwight Logan is a gifted author, educator, lecturer, and was licensed as a real estate broker. His background and experience cover diverse fields. He has taught legal and real estate courses in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Tennessee. In addition, he has been a successful broker in Tennessee and the metropolitan New York area. Mr. Logan is as comfortable in the classroom as he is in the boardroom. He was the founder and a director of the Dwight Logan Real Estate School in Knoxville, Tennessee. Mr. Logan has taught at Walters State in Sevierville, State Tech. in Knoxville, Nashville Educational Services, Blount adult education and Hiwassee College in Tennessee. While he was with Hiwassee College he was an Adjunct Professor. Most students recall his "dumbiosities" or dumb ways to remember salient points. He graduated from the State University of New York in Oswego with a BS. in education. He later attended Rutgers Law School and earned his J.D. degree. He was host of the talk radio show, ôThe Real Estate Doctorö, on ôNewstalk Radioö 990 FM.