Study Skills

Parents, teachers, administrators, and politicians all have their own pet theories on why so many public schools receive failing grades and why, as a general rule, children are more poorly educated than they were a generation ago. Some of these ideas focus on the schools themselves, while others assign blame to teachers. There are plenty of proponents of the "Blame the Parents" school of thought, just to complicate things further. So who's right?

The odds are, parents, teachers, schools, and the students themselves are all partly to blame for lackluster standardized testing scores, poor math skills, and virtually non-existent reading and writing abilities. There's another theory, however, that must be factored into the greater picture of academic mediocrity: perhaps children aren't receiving the study skills necessary to excel at their schoolwork.

The Slippery Slope of Poor Study Skills

A child who is never taught effective study skills in elementary school has little chance of learning them on his or her own in junior high. If no teacher inculcates those skills at that point, what are the odds, realistically, that that same student will magically grasp them in high school? Is it realistic to think that a student who somehow makes it through high school with subpar study skills will suddenly begin using them in college? The answer is, not without guidance.

The fact is, however, that many kids go on to distinguished academic careers without ever having learned the basics of note-taking, reading comprehension, time management, concentration, and critical thinking. It's worth pointing out that such excellence occurs in spite of, not because of, poor training. In the end, natural ability still holds sway over discipline and hard work for many students.

So What Are These Magical Study Skills?

First, it's critical to see the development of strong study skills as a progressive phenomenon. Nobody wakes up one morning suddenly able to write meaningful synopses and spot arguments without a good deal of practice. Few if any students know how to expand their brain's retentive capabilities, though lots of them are adept at shrinking them. Anyone who's serious about broadening his or her learning abilities must proceed with that caveat firmly in mind.

Strategies abound for reading literature, reading poetry, and reading essays, all of which require different mindsets. Learners (they're not always kids; lots of adults choose continuing education as well) can also discover ways to improve their vocabulary and read for context, thereby making seemingly intractable passages easier to master. Lastly, these learners can tackle mnemonic devices such as "pegging" that help improve mental recall, an invaluable skill for test-takers.

How to Master Study Skills

As with most things, mastery over study skills requires a mixture of hard work, practice, and receptivity. The last of these qualities is perhaps too often diminished in the eyes of students, who only grudgingly proceed with their skills-based curricula. A mind that's open to the mere possibility of improvement is far more likely to realize that potential.

That said, there's no substitute for outstanding learning materials and a dynamic teacher. Working with an educator who's proven his or her success not only through research papers but in the classroom is imperative for those who wish to plow forward with their study skills. The good news is that while most teachers aren't naturally "inspired," there are plenty of books, tapes, CDs, and DVDs that do feature captivating instructors who have real lessons to impart.