Reading and Studying Strategy Program

[bjkuds]

I received information in the mail for the Baldridge Reading and Study Strategy Program that they are offering to the Cadets/Rats at VMI. It is to be offered Feb 12th through Feb 16th at VMI. Fee is $150.00. It runs for 75 minutes a night classes beginning after 2000hrs at Scott Ship Hall. Just wanted to put this out there in case someone didn't get the info.

Question.. has anyone taken this course, or had their Cadet go through it and was it worth it? Not so concerned over the price..(although I'm not big on wasting money).. DS thinks it will be a waste of valuable time. I'm thinking if he was a 4.0 then I would agree, but that is not the case. I kinda gave him that Mom glare and said please think about this.

 

[RahVaMil2009]

If they'd offered this while I was there, I definitely would have taken it.

The academic support program at VMI is incredible, between the Miller Academic Center and the Writing Center. (I can't speak for the new Math Center, because they launched that after I graduated, but I promise you I would haven been there, too. )

That said, I think I was a Second when I went to the Miller Academic Center to see if they had any reading speed strategies, and they really didn't have a lot of suggestions. I'd been hoping to learn more about how to read quickly without sacrificing comprehension. As a liberal artist, the vast majority of my classes by that point were based mostly on reading and writing, and I was looking for ways to maximize the effectiveness of my study time.

My guess is that this program is a direct response to other cadets seeking reading support. In my case, I didn't have issues with reading comprehension as long as I could spend 2-3 hours on each assignment. I'm not sure if that's what this program is about, but anything that can help a Keydet cut down on study time without sacrificing learning is worth it. This sort of thing is probably more of an investment than anything else.

Here's one of the challenges: at 75 minutes per night every night for a week, that's really going to cut into his study time--especially since rats aren't allowed to take late study anymore (unless that's changed).

My recommendation is that if your son does choose to take it, he should talk to each of his professors and let them know. It won't be an excuse to blow off his homework, but if one or two of his profs decide to cut him a little slack that week, it will help immensely.

-jmb-