By Doug Schlesser

One of my favorite parts of SuperCamp is our discussion that leads up to the Ownership key talk. The Campers come into our Main Room to a message displayed on a flip chart that says, “Whatever you are doing, saying – even wearing – at any given moment is sending a message to the people in the world around you about who you are.”

This idea is one that I think about a lot. The messages that we send are very important as individuals, and as Facilitators at SuperCamp, we live in a fishbowl.

When I came across a study linked on the LA Times’ blog Booster Shots that ties social networks to grade point average, I was reminded of it again.

The study, which reconstructed the social networks of 158 students at Maine-Endwell High School in Endwell, New York (a sample of 92% of the junior class), produced an interesting result.

Not 24 hours before reading this article I had a very similar conversation with a student of my own who was being heavily distracted by a friend in class. I asked him to do his best to stay on task and help bring his friend up to his own level of achievement, instead of the other way around.

Sure enough, this study concluded that students who were surrounded by friends with higher GPAs at the start of the year increased their own GPA during the year. Of course, the opposite was also true. Surround yourself with students who aren’t as high achieving and you’re likely to mimic them as well.

It seems to me that one of the most difficult conversations to have with a student is about the messages that they send. In fact, we may find that the messages adults interpret as negative are the messages that teenagers actually want to send.

At SuperCamp, where our methods and intentions live in a vacuum, a conversation like the one above can go smoothly and easily re-direct a behavior. In a school, however, it is much more difficult to consistently send positive messages. SuperCamp does a lot to offer support to our graduates to help transition this behavior and others we learn at SuperCamp into daily life.

But here’s the kicker – when it comes down to it, on paper the end result of a high school career is a grade point average. It is the first indicator, a number assigned that is theoretically representative of a student’s intelligence and level of success.

A student may ask us, “Who cares about my GPA?” And  the answer is simple: colleges, universities, trade schools, parents, future employers, etc.

It’s a hard concept to grasp for anyone that our actions in one space can affect the perception of us in another arena seemingly unrelated at the moment.

The job of stressing the fact to our SuperCamp students that their GPA sends a message about themselves, and supporting them daily in an effort to shape that message, is a difficult one. For me, it starts as a SuperCamp Facilitator. I happen to be lucky enough to continue that as a teacher during the rest of the school year.

Visit www.SuperCamp.com or call 1-800-228-5327 NOW to speak with an Enrollment Counselor and learn how to increase their grades, confidence and motivation.

About the Author:
Doug Schlesser is a graduate of Illinois State University. He has been a Quantum Learning Network SuperCamp Facilitator since 2011. During the school year, he is a High School English Teacher in Thornton, Illinois.

About SuperCamp:
SuperCamp offers academic and personal enrichment program summer camps for teens, including specifically designed summer programs for high school students, middle school students, and college students respectively. These educational summer camps provide ideal college prep skills and help instill positive values for life based on The 8 Keys of Excellence by Bobbi DePorter. SuperCamp’s academic summer programs for teens help students increase their grades, confidence and motivation.

The post Your GPA Sends a Message — Academic Summer Camps Can Help appeared first on SuperCamp.

The Junior Forum
The Junior Forum is a seven-day summer camp program specifically made for middle school students. This summer camp program will prepare them ahead for high school and their eventual quest for college and future careers. Held at the most prestigious universities, Junior Forum helps to inspire thousands of young minds to achieve excellence in various fields of life. This program will help your child realize their own learning styles and potentials, allowing for easier educational and personal growth, which they will need in their late teenage years. The Junior Forum focuses on the following skill areas:

• Time Management
  Even at their preteen stage, children are bombarded with school work, extra-curricular activities, and social interactions with friends. Often times, they find it hard to manage all of these, because they are overwhelmed by the demands of their middle school life. SuperCamp will teach your kids how to own their time, and not let time own them. With our help, we will empower your kids with proper time management strategies that will allow them to be more productive, making their middle school life a stress-free experience.
• Quantum Strategies
  SuperCamp will teach your middle schoolers the secrets of Quantum Learning strategies. Quantum Learning strategy was developed by SuperCamp’s founder Bobbi DePorter, with a help from the renowned Bulgarian educator Dr. Georgi Lozanov, the father of accelerated learning. These learning strategies allow your kids to create an optimal study environment for themselves. It involves teaching powerful techniques about memorization, note-taking, and mind-mapping. With our Quantum Learning strategy techniques, your children will learn efficient study habits that they can use throughout their school life and beyond.
• Communication Skills
  Communication is one of the most important skills that a person could learn today. It is the backbone of any career field that your child will wish to take later in life. With proper communication skills training, your kids will be able to confidently express themselves to other people. SuperCamp will teach your kids the proper techniques and strategies that will allow them to communicate and interact well with their teachers, friends, and parents.
• Leadership Skills
  SuperCamp will also give your kids proper foundation for leadership skills. This helps them to acquire proper leadership training that will aid them in organizing any group projects, club, or events, they have in school. The Junior Forum’s leadership training uses the techniques from our 8 Keys of Excellence. Its principles will be imbibed on their personalities, allowing them to grow as future leaders of society

With this kind of training, your kids will certainly become model students in no time. Remember that we will not only teach your children strategies and techniques in studying, but we will also teach them how to love learning! Do not waste this opportunity, it’s time to tap your child’s hidden potential! Enroll your middle schooler now at SuperCamp’s Junior Forum, and we will help them to become the very best that they can be!

Go to www.SuperCamp.com or call 1-800-285-3276 NOW to speak with an enrollment counselor and learn how to help your child increase their grades, confidence and motivation.

The post SuperCamp’s Junior Forum: Leading Middle School Children to a Better Tomorrow appeared first on SuperCamp.

We enjoyed a 2-hour demonstration of SuperCamp in action today as this year’s Facilitators practiced teaching in front of local middle and high school students to give real-time feedback.

Sam, a local high school student, was the most out-going kid in the room, shouting out answers, jumping out of his chair and over the table to volunteer to pass out materials, leading the team share and bringing an energy to learning that most teachers usually only dream of.

It wasn’t until the end of the session, when his high school teacher made the comment that this was the most he’d heard Sam say all year, that we understood the profound impact these SuperCamp strategies had in changing Sam’s life.

His progress in just two hours is a testament to the SuperCamp Facilitators and Quantum Learning methods. Sam demonstrated in just two hours what an astounding difference this 10-day academic summer camp can create in a child’s life and how impactful positive energy is in supporting learning.

We eagerly anticipate the coming summer months when SuperCamps will commence at universities throughout the U.S. and we will enjoy similar experiences with hundreds of teens just like Sam. We are excited to share these life-changing methods to help your child reach their potential.

If your child could benefit from increased grades, motivation, communication and study skills, please visit www.SuperCamp.com or call (800) 285-3276 to speak with one of our dedicated Enrollment Counselors who will help find the best SuperCamp for your child.

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