When faced with a difficult situation concerning motivation, parents often turn to offering external rewards or threatening to revoke perceived privileges; such actions are all forms of extrinsic motivation but some methods are more effective than others. While these tactics can be effective, often they are overused and in someRead More

Students and parents can enhance student motivation by working together to establish long-term and short-term goals that are challenging, measurable, and attainable.  Students and parents should also work to set up systems of incentives and disincentives for both kinds of goals when intrinsic motivation fails [See our article on “TypesRead More

In today’s competitive college application environment, many students and parents are tempted to choose prospective schools based solely on rank or name recognition.  For others, tuition costs are the most important concern.  While each of these factors is important, it is also critical to thoroughly evaluate a school to makeRead More

Increasingly, a number of studies are indicating that artificial food coloring may exacerbate the symptoms of children affected by behavioral issues such as ADD and ADHD.  The FDA is now assessing whether a variety of foods ranging from Minute Maid lemonade to Cheerios should now include warnings as to such.Read More

Rice has announced that its tuition for undergraduates matriculating in fall of 2011 will increase by 5.4% over 2010 to $34,900.  Including room, board, and fees, the annual cost of a Rice education will be $47,821.  Although this figure seems high, it is generally several thousands dollars less than comparableRead More

A new study out of the Netherlands states that as many as 65% of children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may benefit tremendously from a change in diet.  The researchers believe that children may simply have adverse reactions to certain foods.  The study is careful not to stateRead More

Applying to colleges in today’s competitive environment can be an overwhelming process. With the huge volume of paper mailings, test dates and scores, e-mail information, and online and offline application materials to contend with, many students find themselves spending as much time sorting through a box full of papers asRead More

In high school, it’s important to decide whether or not you should take AP Classes and AP Exams.  You have to decide if you can handle the difficulty level of an AP course, determine if an AP course will hurt your GPA, and figure out how an AP Exam willRead More

Getting Started with a Tutor – Realizing Expectations Our experiences in working with students and parents have taught us a few lessons about how to maximize the tutor relationship. We present this guide in the hope that it helps you maximize the value of working with any third party tutorRead More