"HOW DO I GET MY FOUR-YEAR-OLD INTO THE IVY LEAGUE?"
Raise your hand if you ever, if only for a millisecond,
believed you could manufacture the ‘Perfect A’ child? Ok.
I’ll take the hit. Guilty. Banish me to ‘good-intentioned Mommy’
prison. And don’t disregard the fact
that, as a professional educator, I
should have known better. By
default, ‘child experts’ are the worst offenders here. We’ve hypothesized, theorized, researched and
defended our way right into a resilient web of delusion.
On paper - a flawless plan of action. Live and in color - not so much.
Here’s what professional and personal experience bears
out. Balanced and equipped university
candidates are resilient AND imperfect.
Notice I didn’t say, ‘smart’.
Academic excellence is merely one gauge of success; and a
lesser indicator at best. Look around
you. Our society values talent. We exalt ambition. We herald risk-taking. If we possessed the power to build a Perfect
‘A’ child, would we? What’s the pay-off? Quantitative scores are indicators of
quantifiable proficiency. Are you
prepping your child to be exam ‘ready’ or exam ‘dependent’?
Control the environment.
Not the child.
Provide opportunities for your child to explore their
environment in a developmentally appropriate time frame, collaborate in their
own learning process, question the world purposely and fearlessly and adapt to
change and challenges in the pursuit of a rich, self-confident foundation. Sound academic? Let’s make it real.
Test-Prep clients at all academic levels receive
personalized instruction incorporating readily accessible strategies, adapted
to reflect the student’s interests and learning styles. The organic
approach to test preparation is a natural progression from the experiential
learning model. Recipe 4 Success, Inc. dispenses with traditional tutoring methods
like flashcards, drills, and busy-work handouts. Instruction is hands-on
and child-centered and incorporates the higher thinking models necessary to
inspire gifted children to question.
