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The truth is, if you want a decent job that will lead to a decent life today you have to work harder, regularly reinvent yourself, obtain at least some form of postsecondary education, make sure that you’re engaged in lifelong learning and play by the rules. That’s not a bumper sticker, but we terribly mislead people by saying otherwise.

lifelong learning is the key to getting into, and staying in, the middle class.

“illiteracy will not be defined by those who cannot read and write, but by those who cannot learn and relearn.” Any form of standing still is deadly.

Bring the middle and high school administrators, teachers, and counselors together to learn about the courses, curriculum, and requirements of each school; to develop a mutual understanding about the young adolescent; and to create a smooth transition plan. Include input from students and parents. Include in the transition plan visits to the new school, counseling, and summer experiences that help students acclimate to their new schools.Plan activities that provide incoming students with social support, including opportunities to develop relationships with other incoming students and with older students.Provide an advisory program that assigns each student with an advisor or mentor — an adult advocate. Put significant, purposeful effort into engaging parents and families in the school. Parent and caregiver involvement tends to decrease in the middle grades and even more so during the transition to high school. Provide activities throughout the school year that involve students from both the middle and high schools. Peer mentoring programs that connect a ninth grader or older student with an incoming eighth grader are a popular way to accomplish this.

blending video tutorials about complex concepts into a high-quality project-based curriculum has its place in the learning process.

Years of research have proved that an individual's ownership of new knowledge comes through constructive, productive, creative activities, not through passive consumption of instructional tutorials or reading textbooks.