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Summer leadership program provides teen leadership training

Are Great Leaders Born or Made?

There are definitely two sides to the on-going debate as to whether great leaders are born or made. Here’s where we, at SuperCamp, fall on this issue. Yes, certain people are born with, or intrinsically develop, various traits that help them become good leaders. However, for the most part, we share the opinion of legendary […]

Much of what has been written about soft skills, also known as transferable skills and 21st-Century skills, focuses on their importance in the workplace. There is no doubt that tomorrow’s workforce needs these soft skills in order to survive and thrive. We’ve written about it in our blog. But the reality is that students will begin to benefit from acquiring soft skills while they’re still in school, particularly once they reach college. It begins in college with motivation and commitment—having a positive attitude and working hard in each of their classes to succeed. Being determined and having the self-discipline without a parent looking over your shoulder to see if you’re doing your homework and studying for tests and exams. Attending class on a regular basis is another aspect of this soft skill. A related soft skill is being enthused about their education and having ambition. This includes showing engagement in the classroom through participation in group discussions and asking questions of the professor. It also is seen in college students who understand that success in college is more about what you learn and how you can apply what you learn than it is about obtaining a piece of paper on graduation day. Similarly, being goal-oriented in college is a soft skill that drives one’s results and ultimate productivity, just as it does after college, in a career. Developing and fully utilizing a particular talent or talents in college can be considered a soft skill. A talent does not necessarily have to be some exceptional trait or ability; it’s as simple as having and applying such learning skills as writing, listening, note taking, time management and studying. Effective organization and preparation are soft skills often absent in your average college student. Clearly, these soft skills align closely with several other soft skills, notably motivation, commitment, enthusiasm and ambition. Strong interpersonal skills are a key to college success in most academic areas and an indicator of future success. The more one can hone these skills in college by being personable, friendly, tactful, and a solutions- and resolution-seeker, the better equipped they will be as they embark on their career. Thinking, in and of itself, is a soft skill. Everyone thinks, so how can that be a skill, you may ask. But there is a skill to thinking—applying past learning to current situations, thinking critically to solve problems, analyzing and evaluating information. A college student exhibiting these soft skills has a much greater chance of being successful in their post-secondary academic life. But students who head off to college don’t miraculously acquire these skills on the first day of class. They have to learn them in their high school and even in their middle school years. They also have to use them and ingrain them, particularly in high school, so that when they begin college, these soft skills have become part of their DNA. For the most part, however, these transferable or soft skills aren’t taught or nurtured within schools. One exception is schools that have embraced Quantum Learning methods. Development of a student’s soft skills is a core aspect of the learning and life skills training in QL schools. But, for most middle school and high school students, they have to look elsewhere to learn these soft skills. Enter SuperCamp, which delivers Quantum Learning training to all students enrolled in our summer academic programs. Every one of the soft skills outlined above is covered directly or indirectly at SuperCamp. The indirect aspect of the learning comes from building students’ confidence and motivation, which in turn, strengthens their commitment to succeed and focuses their goal-setting and their ambition to achieve those goals. The thinking, studying, reading, writing, note-taking, test-taking and interpersonal/communication skills comprise the majority of the SuperCamp curriculum. Students graduate from SuperCamp with a thorough understanding of these skills and, through practice and year-long follow-up from SuperCamp, they further ingrain these skills. By the time a SuperCamp grad heads to college they have the soft skills that will set them up for success.

How Soft Skills Contribute to Career and Academic Success

Much of what has been written about soft skills, also known as transferable skills and 21st-Century skills, focuses on their importance in the workplace. There is no doubt that tomorrow’s workforce needs these soft skills in order to survive and thrive. We’ve written about it in our blog.   But the reality is that students […]

Students attend academic achievement camp

In Pursuit of Academic Achievement

Over the years, SuperCamp has been labeled an academic summer camp, a learning and life skills camp, a summer enrichment camp, a college prep camp and a student empowerment camp—some labels coming from us and some from others. As they say, it’s all good—because we are all of these things … and more.   In […]

Another benefit of summer enrichment programs

Summer enrichment is traditionally considered to be a great way to expose students to new or more advanced areas of learning during the long summer vacation break. No argument there. But the right kind of summer enrichment program can play another significant role in a student’s academic success and that is in helping prevent summer […]

College Prep Programs for College Success

A College Prep Program Progression Just like students who wait until the last minute to cram for an exam, many parents don’t focus on college prep summer programs until it’s quite late in the game. Most high school college prep programs are geared to high school seniors and juniors. Some ACT and SAT prep courses […]

A SuperCamp Family Success Story

SUPERCAMP IN THEIR BLOOD: FROM CRADLE TO COLLEGE, TRULY A SUPERCAMP FAMILY SUCCESS STORY Patti Brucki connected to SuperCamp as a facilitator early on in her teaching career—and she brought the entire family along with her—her husband, Ken, and their three children! Now, 22 years later, see the results! Patti is an English teacher, librarian, […]

Preparing Students for College and 21st-Century Success

Studies abound with statistics reporting the growing number of students who begin their college careers grossly unprepared for college-level work. The cost to the colleges and the students is significant, as the schools are forced to establish remedial courses and the students are forced to come up with additional tuition to pay for these courses. […]

Parent and Teen

Building Better Relationships with Children and Students

4 Relationship Styles – One Works! Relationships are very tricky—husbands and wives, parents and children, teachers and students, employers and employees, friends, colleagues, etc. It matters not; every type of relationship comes with its challenges. While it seems that relationships can be defined in an endless number of ways, ultimately, every relationship falls into one […]

teen gadget addiction

Targeting Teen Gadget Addiction

There has been a lot in the news recently about gadget and smartphone addiction among teens, pre-teens and even young children. It’s reached the point where two investor groups have urged Apple to play a role in curbing smartphone use. They cite studies on the negative effects on children’s health of smartphones and social media. […]

GIVING STUDENTS A “FIRE IN THE BELLY”

Bobbi DePorter, SuperCamp co-founder and president, sat down recently with well-known radio and media personality, Joel Roberts, to discuss the challenges today’s teens face and how SuperCamp empowers them to become more independent and more confident self-motivated learners. In the interview, Bobbi explains how SuperCamp is in the “fire in the belly” business, meaning how […]

The importance of acquiring lifelong learning skills

A new study by the global consultancy firm, McKinsey & Company, predicts that over the next 13 years, as many as 70 million workers in the United States will be forced to find another way to make money. Why is that? The answer is found in two words: automation and robots. The impact will be […]