Back
At the start of every call with the parents and students I work with (and my own team), I kick off with wins. A win can be anything, big or small, that you do that makes you feel GOOD. That you’re proud of or happy about or excited by.
We celebrate wins because we get results where we focus our energy; the more we focus on wins, the more wins we see. We’ve been doing this for years and I honestly can’t believe it’s never dawned on me to share some of these wins with you. They’re inspiring and insightful and you should have an idea of what will happen when YOU decide to learn how to learn (if that’s today, click here, let’s talk). Here’s a roundup from last week:
Grade wins
- College student 1: received 100% on my essay!
- College student 2: got 91% on my in-class essay!
Both students, when asked what they think helped them get those AMAZING grades: the 7 steps for writing assignments make it so much easier to get organized and keep my thinking straight. It’s a lot easier to do essays when you have a plan for what you’re gonna write.
Note: we detail what these steps are in the breakdown of our curriculum here, check out Lesson 5.
Growth wins
- High school student: I didn’t know how to do this assignment, there seemed to be stuff missing from the instructions but I wasn’t going to see my teacher for a few days. Normally I’d think I just have to wait but this time I knew I could email the teacher so I did right away. I also texted a friend to see how they’re understanding the assignment.
Skills being practiced: resourcefulness, initiative, intellectual humility (not feeling dumb because they didn’t know how to do something, not feeling the teacher would think they’re stupid for reaching out), communication (hi, email etiquette!).This student’s Mom also shared her win was NOT having to suggest he do any of these things. He just did them.
- High school student with extreme ADHD: I thought notes were kinda stupid and never wanted to take them but when I do it the right way, in bullet points, it actually makes things more organized and easier.
Skills being practiced: growth mindset, critical thinking, communication, metacognition
NOTE: for many students with extreme ADHD, dialing in their note taking the RIGHT way like this student said is a game changer – being able to identify distinct pieces of information and visually organize concepts accordingly facilitates focus and sustained engagement.
That’s it for our first weekly round up!
***
Are you a parent who wants more wins for you and your teen? Book a 1:1 call with my team here, we’ll do a deep dive into your situation and get you both crystal clear on exactly how to change your situation for the better, starting today.
Kelsey Komorowski is an educator and the founder of Komo, where she helps high school and university students close the skills debt and become confident, capable learners. She holds a Master’s degree from the University of Toronto and began her career at Ontario’s Ministry of Education, in the Student Achievement Division. Over the past decade, she has worked with thousands of students and been featured in The Washington Post and The Globe and Mail.
