Tips for Succeeding in School
Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2025 8:12 am
Despite the controversy surrounding President Barak Obama’s live back-to-school broadcast Sept. 8, the potential for meaningful discussion and thoughtful debate in public schools resulting from his speech is endless.
I watched the address at a local high school along with 34 high school journalism students. After the broadcast, I discussed its overall message and effectiveness with more than 150 students throughout the day. Ultimately, while most students applauded Obama for taking the initiative to speak directly to them, they were also disappointed because he had little, if anything, inspirational to say.
Some students felt that Obama’s recipe for success — “show up to phone number data schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed” — was far too simplistic, similar to the ’80s war on drugs slogan, “Just Say No.”
Despite the students’ less-than-impressed reaction to the speech, I challenged them to go beyond the speech and take ownership of the problem themselves: What would you tell students if you were President of the United States? What would your advice be for success in school, especially at the beginning of the school year?
As the comments came in, clear patterns began to form, and many of those patterns reflected the ideas in Obama’s speech. As the students began to think more deeply about the overall means to success in school, their own comprehensive plan began to take shape with three distinct areas of focus.
Before School Starts
Familiarize Yourself with Your School
Noted linguist Stephen Krashen believes that when people are exposed to potentially stressful situations or situations that cause anxiety, an “affective filter” will go up in the person’s brain that prevents comprehensible input from being processed. Now, imagine how stressed out a new kindergarten student is on the first day, or how stressed out a freshman is just trying to navigate a new school, or a middle school student experiencing puberty.
In order to decrease the potential stress experienced by your child when a new school year begins, have them visit their school ahead of time to learn where things are that they might need on any given day, including the bathrooms, the cafeteria, the school nurse, administrative offices, campus security, the playgrounds, bus stops and the library.
If your children take the time to learn this information before they need it, it should make their transition easier and make them feel more comfortable, which Dr. Krashen believes helps people process information better, regardless of age.
I watched the address at a local high school along with 34 high school journalism students. After the broadcast, I discussed its overall message and effectiveness with more than 150 students throughout the day. Ultimately, while most students applauded Obama for taking the initiative to speak directly to them, they were also disappointed because he had little, if anything, inspirational to say.
Some students felt that Obama’s recipe for success — “show up to phone number data schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed” — was far too simplistic, similar to the ’80s war on drugs slogan, “Just Say No.”
Despite the students’ less-than-impressed reaction to the speech, I challenged them to go beyond the speech and take ownership of the problem themselves: What would you tell students if you were President of the United States? What would your advice be for success in school, especially at the beginning of the school year?
As the comments came in, clear patterns began to form, and many of those patterns reflected the ideas in Obama’s speech. As the students began to think more deeply about the overall means to success in school, their own comprehensive plan began to take shape with three distinct areas of focus.
Before School Starts
Familiarize Yourself with Your School
Noted linguist Stephen Krashen believes that when people are exposed to potentially stressful situations or situations that cause anxiety, an “affective filter” will go up in the person’s brain that prevents comprehensible input from being processed. Now, imagine how stressed out a new kindergarten student is on the first day, or how stressed out a freshman is just trying to navigate a new school, or a middle school student experiencing puberty.
In order to decrease the potential stress experienced by your child when a new school year begins, have them visit their school ahead of time to learn where things are that they might need on any given day, including the bathrooms, the cafeteria, the school nurse, administrative offices, campus security, the playgrounds, bus stops and the library.
If your children take the time to learn this information before they need it, it should make their transition easier and make them feel more comfortable, which Dr. Krashen believes helps people process information better, regardless of age.