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Understanding What
Causes a Lack in Confidence
is
Key to Performance Both in
the Classroom and Beyond
By:
Mary Lee Naccarato
For many children who are
struggling in school, the
problem may be self-evident
– they may have poor study
skills, they’re not strong
in math, or they don’t spend
enough time on their
homework. In each of these
examples, the problem could
be solved with a more
diligent and structured
approach to schoolwork. For
other children however, it
may not be clear what is
causing their grades to
spiral downward. At the same
time, they may withdraw from
conversations about school
and other aspects of life.
What causes this? It could
be a child’s lack of
confidence in his own
learning ability.
Poor performance in school
can drag down grades, but
ongoing trouble can
undermine a child’s whole
academic experience and his
sense of self-esteem. Lack
of confidence can lead to
many problems – failure to
participate in classroom
discussions, failing grades
and unwillingness to talk to
teachers or parents are just
some examples.
Sylvan Learning Center, the
leading provider of
in-center and live, online
tutoring at home to students
of all ages and skill
levels, offers study skills
training as well as specific
subject tutoring for
students whose lack of
self-confidence begins to
affect their learning
ability. By improving
studying and test taking
skills, it not only benefits
a child in all his or her
subjects, it builds
confidence as well.
For example:
Randy, an active high school
musician, began showing
signs that he was struggling
in his math classes when he
was in sixthgrade. He
received extra help from his
teachers but was unable to
get the help that he needed
once he entered high school.
As a result, Randy became
very frustrated, and his
Algebra grades suffered
tremendously. He excelled at
many other subjects in
school, but lacked the basic
skills to progress in
Algebra.
“I felt like I had been
defeated, and I really
didn’t have confidence in
myself,” says Randy. With
the help of his parents,
Randy decided to enroll in
Sylvan Learning Center’s
basic math program. He
worked very closely with the
Sylvan teachers and
immediately began building
his confidence level and no
longer felt frustrated. “The
Sylvan teachers encouraged
me to keep trying when I
didn’t understand something
and were the first to
congratulate me when I
overcame obstacles,” he
says.
The
vast improvements seen in
Randy’s attitude and ability
are also seen in his high
school math class where he
recalls, “I got into trouble
one day in class because my
teacher said that I was not
giving the other students a
turn at answering the
problems.”
With a little help and a lot
of encouragement, Randy now
excels in math and most
recently received the second
highest grade in his high
school Algebra class.
Sylvan Learning Center bases
its instructional services
on a proven process and the
“mastery learning” concept.
It starts with a Sylvan
Skills Assessment®, which
identifies the child’s
personal skill gaps.
Sylvan’s personal
instructors then begin to
develop those skills by
reinforcing the child’s
existing skills and building
on them until the new skills
have been learned and
mastered. Sylvan also builds
confidence in students by
offering rewards for
performance and attitude. As
a result, the child’s level
of self-esteem begins to
grow, which helps build
confidence in overall
learning.
Sometimes, it may be
necessary to go back years
in the curriculum to get at
the root of a child’s
individual skill gap. Sylvan
supplements – not re-teaches
– what is learned in the
child’s school classroom in
order to unlock a child’s
academic potential. The
reward is seeing a child
begin to understand what
they’re learning and their
confidence begins to soar.
For more educational
resources for children in
grades pre-K through 12,
please visit
http://tutoring.sylvanlearning.com
or call 724-834-2255.
Mary Lee Naccarato is the
director at the Greensburg
Sylvan Learning Center, the
leading provider of
in-center and live, online
tutoring at home to students
of all ages, grades and
skill levels. With
approximately 30 years of
experience and nearly 1,200
centers located throughout
North America, Sylvan’s
proven process and
personalized methods have
inspired more than 2 million
students to discover the joy
of learning. Sylvan’s
trained and certified
personal instructors provide
individual instruction in
reading, writing,
mathematics, study skills
and test-prep for college
entrance and state exams.
Sylvan helps transform
unique kids into uniquely
inspired learners with the
skills to do better in
school and the confidence to
do better in everything
else.
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