[Al Skierkiewicz]

I have said this before but here goes... Calculators are just a tool. Tools make the work go faster so using calculators leaves you more time for studying other things. What we really need to do is find a good way to give students a reason to study and do well in school. Most of them have no inkling. I was an average student through high school, right in the middle of my graduating class. It wasn't until I was in college and paying most of my own way did I see a need to get what I paying for. When I realized two simple things, my grades shot up. 1. If I was paying out big bucks for school it was a wasted investment if I didn't try harder and do more and better studying. 2. If I was learning something I liked, I better do well at it or I wouldn't be able to do it everyday for the rest of my life. All during grade school and high school, I had no clue why I was being forced to study algebra, the French Revolution or English literature. At best I thought I would do well if I ever was on a game show.
However, I do know this. What worked for me, may not work for someone else. It might get the student thinking about what else might trigger him or her to study better, ignore the 'friend' who wants to lead them somewhere else, or piddle away the hours playing Warcraft or posting on Facebook. They need to learn that play can be a reward for working hard. While First does instill these ideals, it only hits a small audience. It does hit that group very effectively considering the high percentage of our students that are going off to higher education. I would guess that as many as half of our students enter the program with no thought of life after high school and end up excelling at university. We have to teach students that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and then turn it on for them. If there is one thing I have learned, there is relatively little difference in intelligence. The difference lies in some people being able to focus their energy in one direction at a time while the others focus in every direction or no direction.