A guide to implement, expand, or improve an extended college orientation course on campus is presented. Student success courses and extended orientation programs help students learn to be more effective in school and improve student performance and retention. These courses are sometimes designed for honors students, returning adults, athletes,…

Acknowledging that college life has changed dramatically over the last 20 years, this book tells parents what to expect as their children leave home. Beginning with the college admissions process, practical solutions are offered for specific problems. Topics covered include: basic issues every family should discuss before the student leaves for…

This report provides information that will help Americans deal with or counsel Vietnamese refugees. The following topics are covered: (1) history and geography of Vietnam; (2) culture of Vietnam; (3) differences between American and Vietnamese culture; (4) counseling recommendations; (5) differences between American and Vietnamese students; and…

The purpose of this paper is to present different aspects of the effects of grade retention on students and to consider what is best for the total development of the child. Studies show that grade retention does not ensure significant gains in achievement. However, studies seem to be less conclusive regarding retention due to the immaturity of…

An analysis and discussion are presented of observations of 27 different first lecture situations at the University of New South Wales at the beginning of 1978. The analysis was intended to provide teachers with a range of data about what occurred during first lectures in schools other than their own, and to highlight the potential impact of the…

Noting that starting school is a major milestone for young children as well as for their parents, this activity booklet provides a read-aloud story for parents to share with their children to help them feel confident and comfortable in school. The story features the Public Broadcasting System characters Arthur and his sister D.W., and includes…

This newsletter offers practical guidelines to parents of children with special needs of ways to get the school year off to a good start. Such children's school-related worries as fears of getting lost or of not making friends are noted. Specific suggestions are offered to help in the areas of school separation, making friends, and school…

This booklet provides information about high school in Virginia for students and their parents. Chapter 1, "Entering High School," offers descriptions of course options in all the subject areas of both academic and vocational education, along with advice on studying and on solving problems having to do with coursework. Chapter 3…

Suggestions for students preparing for foreign study in Asia and Africa are presented. It is noted that cooperation and peace may be linked to developing successful programs in the non-Western world. The brief time that students spend in the host country enables the student to describe what the foreign values seem to be, but probably without…

The purpose and effect of a college education today is examined in this book by a graduate of Harvard, Oxford, and Princeton and a former professor at three institutions. "Group memory" is defined as the knowledge of how to survive that is passed from one generation to the next. The heart of the book is two survival manuals--one for…

Teaching experience at The Lab School of Washington has shown that learning-disabled children and adults cope with their lack of self-esteem and feelings of stupidity by developing masks to hide their hurt. These include masks of super-competence, helplessness, invisibility, clowning, injustice collecting, indifference, boredom, outrageousness,…

Reviews recent literature which has investigated the interaction between learning disabled adolescents' self-concept and academic, peer family, and community systems. A unique behavioral pattern of emotional disturbance may result from continuous, negative self-concept experiences. In the family and/or community, however, these students can be…

The physical, instructional, and attitudinal aspects of the learning environment in the West Indies are described, with emphasis on the problems West Indian students and their teachers must surmount in Canadian schools. (PMJ)

Information on Tourette Syndrome (TS), as well as transient and chronic tic disorders, is provided in this pamphlet for the school nurse, who can support and educate the child, family, and other school personnel. Information is included on genetic factors and behaviors that may be connected to TS: obsessive-compulsive symptoms, hyperactivity,…

Parenting an adopted child is, for the most part, the same as parenting any other child, but is different in some unique and critical ways related to the child's separation from birth parents and genetic roots. Understanding how a child interprets, understands, and feels about adoption, and why, can help the parent guide the adopted child…