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| Solving the
dropout dilemma |
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In this way, the whole school works very much along similar lines to
business where, say, computer staff will regularly re-attend short training sessions to
master a new application, or move on to a higher level.
Says Tait: "One of the real benefits is the way
every student gains confidence. Success builds on success."
And the practical results? "When we did an
analysis of what had happened to our leaving students, very few were either not in some
form of tertiary or other learning or in paid employment."
5. SuperCamp brings it all together
What would happen if all of these approaches were
linked with the world's most effective learning and self-esteem-development techniques and
where students end up loving to be at school?
That answer, too, is being given decisively - and
resoundingly - in a program that started in California, has now spread to several other
American states, and has been introduced in Singapore, Russia, Canada and Hong Kong. The
program is called SuperCamp. And it shows that while dramatic changes may not come
overnight, they can certainly happen after ten nights.
SuperCamp is an intensive training and development
program, mainly for teenagers but also for older college students. Some students are sent
by their parents - generally because of low grades or lack of motivation. Others want to
come because their friends have loved it so much. After only ten days, there is increased
motivation, self-esteem - and later quite remarkable achievements in academic results.
A major seven-year doctoral study23
involving 6042 students found after only ten days that 84 percent reported having
increased self esteem, 81 percent more self-confidence and 68 percent increased their
motivation.
The results don't stop there. American high schools
grade students from A to F. And after attending SuperCamp for only ten days,
previously low-achieving students have reported an increase of 1 GPA (grade point
average). F students have become D; D's have become C's; and C's have increased their
ratings by half a grade point.
So what are the SuperCamp's secrets? The program, which
is based on a unique prototype developed in 1982, is a dual curriculum consisting
*
Now more than 25,000 students have attended SuperCamp.
Contents Page Preface
Introduction
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