LTSA's Guide to Inspiring Children to Learn
How do we get kids to love learning and love going to school every day? This is a growing problem in our society today. Kids are experiencing stress, anxiety, and depression at rapidly increasing rates. In Psychology Today (May 2018), Dr. Peter Gray cited a study report that showed “a continuous increase in the rate of psychiatric emergencies during school weeks, but not during vacation weeks over the 4-year period of the study.” The reasons vary from academic demands and peer pressures to disinterest and plain boredom.
At Lake Travis STEM Academy, we make learning fun by creating real-world curriculum and experiences to provide students with engaging, supportive, and authentic lessons/projects. Students feel personally relevant to each collaborative learning experience they are working on and don’t want to miss out a single day! LTSA strives to create enthusiasm and excitement for learning through experiences, reflection, and critical thinking. We believe that listening to our students and determining how they learn is key to their success.
Small student:teacher ratios and multilevel classes provide supportive, familylike learning environments. Students are themselves at school. They celebrate individuality and offer lots of encouragement! LTSA’s successful mentorship program, in which older students mentor younger ones in projects, play, and field experiences, has had a very positive effect on all students. Younger students love having the attention and relationships with the “big kids” whom they admire, and older students love the responsibilities of nurturing the younger learners.
Children at LTSA are learning CPR procedures in a hands-on approach
LTSA students use their school time effectively so when at home they can pursue other interests and family time. Finland uses this same model and also has happy learners.
As Gray mentioned in the article cited above, a recent survey by the American Psychological Association revealed that teenagers are the most stressed, anxious people in America; 83% cited school as the stressor, and 27% reported extreme stress during the school year compared to 13% during the summer. LTSA’s alternative way of learning without standardized testing benefits students without the accompanying stress.
LTSA is a private STEM School, accredited by AdvancED, and part of the University of Colorado’s Xsci Research Collaborative. Schedule a tour today