Your attitude makes you either fertile or toxic.

Attitude is the primary building block upon which any and all successes or failures are built.  In terms of education, nothing can be taught until the student’s mind is open (willing and ready) to accept the idea of learning something new.  The farmer has to plow the field before he ever plants a seed.  Seeds only grow in a fertile environment.

The second quarter of Academic Gameplan is all attitude development.  This foundation is what allows the program to take root in the student.  This segment of the program includes lessons such as:

The Vicious Circle – Helps us see and understand the reasons we don’t succeed

Understanding Comfort Zones and the Dynamics of Change – Can we change?  How?

The Magic of Why – Discusses the power behind why questions.  Having a big enough why is the first step of motivation.

The Power of How – The six steps for doing anything.  The power is in the doing.

Controlling Your Focus – What you focus on and how you perceive things affects your reality

The teaching process relies on communication.  For a teacher and a student to have quality interaction they have to be able to speak the same language.  This means they have to know the terminology being used and what it means.

Academic Gameplan teaches and uses specific terminology such as Scouting Report, Line-Up Card, Scoreboard, Master Schedule, and Class Index and Summary Form.  This gives all students, teachers, parents, and coaches involved in the program the same vocabulary making interaction both simpler and more effective.

Training is the process of acquiring knowledge and skill.  The educational process requires that we find a person to take us where we are unable to take ourselves (i.e. teachers, coaches, trainers).  The first step of the training process is attitude because that is how we engage the student in the learning process.  The second step of the training process is for all parties to understand the terminology being used so that we can all speak a common language.

In Academic Gameplan, the DVDs provide the training.  The DVDs teach the material and allow for repetition because the lessons can be replayed as often as necessary.  Repetition is the mother of all skill.

A good portion of the training is specific to learning how to use and apply the tools.  “The tools of the trade” is a common phrase used to describe a craftsman in any industry.  There are certain tools that are standard to the process of education and those tools continue to be useful beyond school in adult life.  People who ultimately succeed in their own chosen field or endeavor have one thing in common: they study it.  There is a difference between buying a tool and owning one.  Owning a tool means knowing how to use it and using it consistently.  The more tools a student has in their toolbox that they own, the better they will do.

Academic Gameplan tools include the Academic Gameplanner, the 3 ring binder, the binder forms, and the school supplies.  Click here to learn more about each individual tool.

Technique means skillful execution of the fundamentals.  It is how, and how well one uses the tools.  We are fully immersed in the information age and with technology outdating itself almost daily, it has never been more important to master the techniques that are fundamental to the process of handling information: recording, filing and retrieving information, and doing strategic planning.

Some of the techniques taught through Academic Gameplan include: note taking, how to be a competitor in the classroom, how to study, how to review and prepare for tests, how to win the grading battle, etc.

There is no shortcut to greatness!  Take the time it takes so it takes less time.  Most people don’t take the time to do something right, but they always have the time to do it over and over again.  It takes time to learn skills and techniques.  People overestimate what can happen as a result of a seminar but they underestimate what can happen in a semester or a year.

AGP Rule #1 – When trying to establish or change habits or attitudes, there is no such thing as a miracle cure

It will take time to learn and master the skills and techniques taught through Academic Gameplan but the time is well spent.  Students who have gone through this program as late as college or later still find it beneficial.  Once the program is mastered, the tools and techniques will serve you for the rest of your life!

The things we remember are the things we do together.  Coaches coach and players play, but the process involved in the joint journey toward accomplishment is where the satisfaction lies.  Life is a team sport and the ability to work with a team to achieve a desired outcome is what life is all about.  As people we become the net result of the sum total of our experiences and the people that cross our path and touch our lives.

Academic Gameplan is designed to work in a team setting.  The student does the work, but there is someone (a teacher, coach, or parent) that coaches and supports them through the process.  The student goes much farther and accomplishes more as part of this team than he/she would have been able to on his/her own. 

Academic Gameplan is a plan, a comprehensive plan that works.  What is your plan?