Dec19

The First Trimester with Smartick

When children come home with their grades from the first trimester it’s like an imaginary referee has signaled the first water break during a game. It is time to check the score, take a breather, and assess if a comeback is possible. It may feel like it is the halfway mark but that’s false. It’s only the beginning. There are some teachers whose philosophy is to not give very high grades after the first trimester so students don’t slack off or get comfortable because there is still a long way to go. But it is also an opportunity. Some students take some time starting again and getting used to the routine after summer. Only in January do they become fully aware of the work ahead.

Good intentions can be set for the New Year. Beyond those that involve impulsive subscriptions to the gym or a diet that promises to help you lose weight without feeling hungry. One of these good intentions could be to help your children practice calculation and problem solving with Smartick’s 15-minute daily sessions. We are not a miracle fix, an app that makes a child a math genius in mere seconds. Rather, we use artificial intelligence to give each child the exact math that they need, but this doesn’t mean that they don’t have to do anything. They need to think, have patience, learn to make mistakes and then correct them. And since we adjust the content, they progress. This increases their self-esteem and their grades improve, no magic needed.

What Can You Do?

There is enough time in six months, you just need to use it as a challenge. One that needs some planning, has clear priorities and know that there are cheaper solutions instead of looking for private tutors. You could put a bandaid on it out of anticipation, before summer stops feeling like summer and before math becomes a burden. It is something that can also affect the choice of high school. Or even more serious, education, because mathematics performance is known to be an academic predictor.

So, during this water break, the coaches, in this case the parents, can choose to give their kids the tools to finish strong. We are conscious that not everything depends on the coach and we are willing to help them. We believe in the effort but also know how to make it more attractive. There is nothing like looking back on the first trimester and see how we are doing during the first water break. We only respond if children squeeze all of the possibilities out of us. Smartick is able to motivate them with math and know that we can make it fun, important, and teach them to look at the world in a certain way. This is something we are committed to as well as have grades improve come June. With commitment and hard work in addition to those good intentions.

The game, or the school year, can improve. We are just warming up. Now comes the important part. The truth is if we don’t do anything now come May a comeback will be nearly impossible. So the end of school vacation is a great time to try Smartick for free. After the New Year, we hope to welcome you to a game that can be won.

Learn More:

Fun is our brain’s favorite way of learning

Diane Ackerman

Smartick is a fun way to learn math