{"id":893,"date":"2020-04-01T00:11:29","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T04:11:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21?p=893"},"modified":"2020-10-25T00:14:23","modified_gmt":"2020-10-25T04:14:23","slug":"just-keep-learning-the-secret-to-student-success-outside-the-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/just-keep-learning-the-secret-to-student-success-outside-the-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Just keep learning: The secret to student success outside the classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Just keep learning: The secret to student success outside the classroom<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Internal, Features<\/p>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

April 1, 2020<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Sara Chiarotto O’Brien<\/h3>

Editor in Chief<\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

As Ontario students enter their third week of school shutdowns, the novelty of endless freetime is beginning to wear off, replaced by concerns surrounding graduation, extracurriculars, and keeping up with academics. As of Saturday 28 March, the provincial government had not released a plan for home-education while schools remain closed. While a supplementary resource platform has been released, there are no clear guidelines for students or teachers outlining how they should approach education in the week before Monday 6 April, when online classes are set to launch.<\/p>

After listening to student concerns, Graffiti sat down with Vanessa Vakharia, CEO of the Math Guru, to discuss some strategies students can use to stay organized, stay learning, and stay healthy.\u00a0<\/p>

After moving all Math Guru tutoring sessions online, Vakharia realized that one of the biggest challenges her students are currently facing is stress. \u201cThis is a time that feels so out of control to so many people, and as a result we start feeling anxious.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>

The triggers for anxious thoughts range from fears over university admissions, to worries about the health of family members and the quality of students\u2019 social life.\u00a0<\/p>

After hosting an Instagram livestream about mental wellbeing with a psychologist last week, Vakharia has learned that \u201cpart of that anxiety is a lack of structure.\u201d If students are to be successful at home, both emotionally and academically, learning to manage feelings of stress and anxiety is essential.<\/p>

Vakharia\u2019s first piece of advice is to \u201clet yourself feel what you\u2019re feeling.\u201d Acknowledge that \u201cnobody has gone through school in a pandemic before,\u201d and feelings of uncertainty or worry are valid. However, she warns against allowing these feelings to paralyze you. Instead of worrying over problems out of one person\u2019s control, Vakharia advises students to \u201cwrite down\u00a0 everything [they\u2019re] anxious about,\u2026 circle everything that is in your control\u2026 and then focus\u00a0 <\/span>your energy on the things that make you anxious and are in your control to develop a plan.\u201d<\/p>

\u00a0From an academic standpoint, planning for success includes a balance of organization, motivation, and most importantly, structure. \u201cHuman beings feel better with structure,\u201d says Vakharia. If you\u2019re one of those students who has allowed bedtimes to slip into the early hours of the morning and the day to start at noon, Vakharia recommends getting back on a sleep schedule and setting up your day to \u201cmimic the structure of a school day,\u201d with two work periods separated by a lunch break in between.\u00a0<\/p>

Vakharia adds that it\u2019s okay to \u201cgive yourself an extra hour and start working at ten, but don\u2019t start working at noon.\u201d While there may be no mandatory school work right now, she says it is important to avoid summer break amnesia and continue to review content, even if you don\u2019t feel prepared to to teach yourself new content on your own.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cIf you\u2019re struggling with what to learn, just go back over stuff,\u201d using old tests and homework as a guide. Additionally, it can be helpful to break up your morning and afternoon periods into four half hour chunks each, and treat each chunk like a different class in order to cover a variety of material. To avoid burnout, Vakharia has also had students schedule \u201celectives\u201d for themselves: an hour after lunch or during a work period where they spend time doing an activity of personal interest, such as learning guitar, painting, or working out.\u00a0<\/p>

Sticking to a system like this may be easier said than done. The allure of Instagram and Netflix is harder for some students to resist than others. For students who are worried about finding motivation and staying on task, Vakharia recommends finding an \u201caccountability partner,\u201d who you can talk to at the beginning of the day or the week to establish goals with, and then check in on each other later to help meet those goals. Knowing that someone else is expecting you to keep your word is a powerful motivator for many people, and something that often helps Vakharia\u2019s students.<\/p>

Even with the proper motivation, the issue of understanding material can still pose a challenge when teachers are not around to explain concepts and answer questions. Luckily the age of the internet means that finding a good explanation for a concept can easily be done through a Google search. Additionally, Vakharia reminds students that friends are an excellent resource. \u201cThis is a really good time to reach out to friends\u2026[because] you\u2019re all stuck at home anyways!\u201d Students can even start digital study groups to help eachother out and maximize the learning they can do at home.<\/p>

It is undeniable that self-quarantining and physical distancing in the name of slowing the COVID-19 pandemic will take a toll on students\u2019 education and mental health; however, by keeping focused on day-to-day life, these challenges can be managed and may even lead to positive outcomes.\u00a0<\/p>

\u201cThis is a time for students to start remembering that learning is actually fun,\u201d remarks Vikharia. Without the pressure of marks and tests, she anticipates some students discovering newfound interests in subjects like math and science, whose interesting elements are often overshadowed by time pressures and an emphasis on grades. \u201cIf there\u2019s something you always thought was cool but never had time to learn, now you do.\u201d<\/p>

No matter how you choose to organize your time,Vakharia emphasizes that the most important thing is to \u201ckeep yourself learning and doing something.\u201d<\/p>

Please note:<\/b> the advice in this article regarding anxiety is not intended for students with pre-existing mental health conditions. If you find yourself unable to manage stress or other negative emotions, professional help is available, even as most offices remain closed. Please see below for resources:<\/p>

Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868.<\/p>

Skylark virtual drop-in counselling: https:\/\/www.skylarkyouth.org\/what-we-do\/programs-counselling-services\/walk-in-clinics\/<\/span><\/a><\/p>

Vanessa Vakharia is the founder and director of\u00a0<\/i>The Math Guru<\/i><\/span><\/a>, a super cool boutique math & science tutoring studio in Toronto. She\u00a0is the host of a new podcast called <\/i>Math Therapy<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0where she helps guests work through their math trauma, one problem at a time! Her <\/i>#goals<\/i><\/span><\/a> are to be Lady-Gaga-famous and to totally change math culture so that STEM is finally as cool and accessible as basically every single Taylor Swift song ever.\u00a0She failed Grade 11 math twice, which was the best thing that ever happened to her.\u00a0Sidenote but totally relevant: Vanessa is a founding member of Toronto indie-rock band\u00a0<\/i>Goodnight, Sunrise<\/i><\/span><\/a>.\u00a0Mindy Kaling is her idol and Vanessabelieves that she should be yours too.\u00a0\u00a0<\/i>Connect withVanessa: @themathguru or <\/i>vanessa@themathguru.ca<\/i><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t

Our Instagram Posts <\/a><\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
[iscwp-grid username=\"ntcigraffiti\" grid=\"1\" limit=\"5\" show_likes_count=\"false\"]\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Just keep learning: The secret to student success outside the classroom Internal, Features April 1, 2020 Sara Chiarotto O’Brien Editor in Chief As Ontario students enter their third week of school shutdowns, the novelty of endless freetime is beginning to wear off, replaced by concerns surrounding graduation, extracurriculars, and keeping up with academics. As of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"enabled","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[10,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-internal"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=893"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":897,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/893\/revisions\/897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/graffiti.ntci.on.ca\/2020-21\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}