It’s true, regardless of how we feel, it is true; the early bird gets the worm (at least most of the time). The path towards success is accomplished through the process of leveraging and managing resources. I’ll explain each in reverse order:
Managing Resources
Wealth best exemplifies this point. Wealth is most commonly developed or matured through a process of diverse investments & then diversifying within those investments. Real estate, the age old investment, is what it is through the collection of multiple properties. A landlord who owns 15 different investments has to have a sound system for keeping the different units in a healthy, functioning state. This is done through a balance of knowing what each property’s needs are, as well as their strengths. A high school student has different resources at hand, including: grades, act test scores, areas of specialty (art, sports, etc), and network. Each area has its own value and that value should be assessed, simliiary, each area has a weak point, and that point should be fortified accordingly.
Leveraging Resources
It takes money to make money. The example of finances works again. Once one owns a property or two, she can use financial strategy to leverage her resources towards the accumulation of more resources (granted, this process also calls recessions, so proceed with caution). Consider a high schooler’s network. At first glance; a high schooler lives in a small world; but with a little work they can be very connected to very influential people. Through managing their network, a student can develop advocates who can either “put in a good word” or even better, coach a student towards the achievement of a greater goal. People must not be afraid of asking, and wheeling and dealing is a part of life.
Thanksgiving is right around the corner, and along with the great feast comes great football! With full realization that I have frequented this subject numerous times before; I venture into yet another blog regarding Boone county schools, and Kenton County schools, and how their football programs are absolutely dominant. Granted, I do have a bias as I spent many of my formative years in both counties, but today, I’m a proud resident for Fort Thomas, KY, & anyone living in that city knows the Bluebirds of Highlands High School must be given maximum credit.
But back to the point. Gobble down your turkey and digest it with the ky state playoffs. Soon we’ll be watching as Beechwood High School, which by the way, dominated the ky act scores, compete to place (and most likely win), the 1A championship, and the bluebirds most continue to devour all of their opponents.
On a different and generic note, if you are interested in purchasing unique shower curtains, pleaded frequent our website.
Killing yourself on the ACT is way to easy of a move. Here are a couple of tips to keep you in the black:
- Finish the test….every question, finish them all
- Be sure the number on your act test booklet, and answer sheet match! Sounds dumb, but this happens
- Read directions the first time and know them!
- Read questions carefully, know the big picture!
Today’s students, especially in kenton county school districts, boone county school districts, and campbell county school districts, need to go out of their way to be strategic in their exams, and if they do so, northern Kentucky and the greater Cincinnati area will prove to be an academic powerhouse.
Qualifying words:
The difference between what is said and what we hear can be gigantic. Qualifying words throw wrenches into the hearers understanding of a statement; and are very standard tool by the ACT Test to challenge interpretations. I’m going to give you a list of qualifying words, and then some usage examples:
- not
- least
- all
- most
- some
- none
- always
- usually
- seldom
- sometimes
- never best
- worst
- highest
- lowest
- smaller
- larger
Which sounds more accurate:
- Politicians never tell the truth.
- Politicians seldom tell the truth.
Obviously, the first statement, which is easy to say, is a fallacy; especially when compared to its companion. The power of qualifying words must be considered for a successful test taker.
Where do you want to be tomorrow?
Where do you want to be in a year?
5 years?
Want to go to college?
Want to graduate college w/ out a huge load of debt?
Now ask yourself this, “What am I doing today that will get me where I want to be in 5 years?”
The other day on the phone, I was speaking w/ an energetic dad about her son taking our ACT Course. He is a good student, a strong GPA, and is an active kid. As we laid out a strategy to position her son to go from partial to potentially full ride scholarships, we came to the point of his participating in our Boot Camp. She liked the idea, not for the sake that it is my business, but because with really just a moderate amount of effort, her son has the potential to land a full ride. And then it happened. “oh, well, he has soccer practice that night”. I respond, “oh, I thought the season was over” I came to find out that her son’s school season was over but this was a different leauge he likes playing in, and also that while he likes soccer, he won’t be playing at the collegiate level.
Short sightedness is the disease of America. With moderate test prep, her son has the potential to be positioned amazingly for college, at a value upwards towards $50,000, but instead, HE IS PLAYING A GAME FOR SOME EXTRA FUN. Get serious people, look at the big picture and do what it requires.
Memorization is a key point to the act test. I graduated from the kenton county school district and we did a lot of memory practice. Wiki describes memory in this way:
In psychology, memory is an organism’s mental ability to store, retain, and recall information. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing the memory. The late nineteenth and early twentieth century put memory within the paradigms of cognitive psychology. In recent decades, it has become one of the principal pillars of a branch of science called cognitive neuroscience, an interdisciplinary link between cognitive psychology and neuroscience.
As it applies to the test, mathematics is a game of memorization. Memorize the basic formula and you will at least be able to play ball; but if you don’t do that, you are hosed. Period.
As far as the act goes, there is no bail out bill; at least there doesn’t have to be. Facilities that host the ACT are not required to provide clocks in the testing area. Likewise, act test proctors are not required to inform participants of time, with some exceptions. Now when it comes to increase scores, time management is important. We frequented, and will continue to frequent, time management skills, and how they apply to each section of the test, but the fundemental element to time management is a…..time piece. Buy a watch. Wear it. Make sure the watch on your wrist works. But do be sure that you turn the sound off as you can be asked to leave the test for interruptions. Regardless, the cornerstone of sound time management is a time piece. Don’t forget!
I live in Fort Thomas and from the window of my office I watch the Blue Birds practice everyday. And if you’ve never seen Highlands play, you know that they practice and practice well, because the last time I checked, they were ranking in the top ten nationally. I recently heard a football commentator on tv speak on the football programs in the Cincinnati area, and how our section of the country is the nation’s football powerhouse. It is hard to deny. Likewise, NKY , in my opinion, is the Commonwealth’s best area for athletics. I mean think about it, NCC, HIGHLANDS, SIMON KENTON, DIXIE, RYLE, CONNER, BOONE, BEECHWOOD, COV CATH- the list goes on, and you’ll find all of these schools competing for state championships every year. Now if only we can get the schools to push equally hard for act scores. Soon (we hope).
The German’s are invading! Actually, they have invaded. Historically, Germany is an incredibly unique culture, filled with progressive ideas, philosophies theologies, and industries. Lucky for us, the Cincinnati area has a rich German culture. Another aspect of German culture is their willingness to put their hand to the plow and work hard. Hard work is the key to success, and the same applies to ACT Prep. Hard work, dedication, diligence, bred w/ strategy, and intentionality will absolutely result in higher scores. Get rich quick is full of garbage.
