1. Since Vanguard Success Corporation is a non-profit public charity and contributions to it are tax-deductible, does this mean that the corporation can use such contributions to provide scholarship packages and/or discounts to organizations applying to establish club units?
Answer: Yes. In that the organization is qualified to receive tax-deductible bequests, devices, transfers or gifts, it intends to use such donations in the same way as proposed to grant providers. Although none of the grants submitted have been approved to date, earlier grants solicited funds to support the implementation of Pilot Success Club units. Our hope is that grant providers, organizations concerned with supporting innovative educational programs, and individuals who traditionally provide scholarship support to educational institutions will assist in promoting our efforts to bring this program center-stage.
NOTE: It should be noted that Questions 2 through 11 were asked prior to Vanguard Success Corporation changing the program’s main focus to the Success Club format. This change was forced after discovering that school districts and universities are blocked from implementing privately developed academic programs at this time.
The newest of these, FAQ #1, was the most frequently asked since the change from The Super Tips For Success Program to The All –Around Success Program.
2. What, in your opinion is educational reform?
Answer: In that reform by definition is to improve by alteration, correction of error, and to put into a better form or condition, educational reform is concerned with implementing ideas concerned with directional changes that transform and impact positively in putting the educational arena in a better form or condition.
3. In what way does The Super Tips For Success Program (STFSP) address educational reform?
Answer: The program addresses educational reform by taking positive steps against the problems identified as besetting our schools – poor attendance, dropout rates, poor study habits, low-test scores, and peer-pressure and student-based behavior issues. While these problems are at the heart of the reform problem attributed to student behaviors, the essential needs are to curtail these problems by inspiring the students and improving their outlooks, skills, and understanding, while making the other transformational changes that cause the educational arena to be in a better form or condition. These changes pertain to correcting and standardizing classroom procedures, to the removal of the impediments to student and teacher success, and to insuring that these measures remain in place.
4. What is so special about this success program?
Answer: The program is special because it is based on the notions that all problems can and should be fixed, and that the major problems being experienced in educational organizations stem from too many of the students therein not being successful. It follows that their not being successful stems from not having been given tips that foster success in their educational pursuits, and in a variety of other life skill arenas that are not covered in the regular curriculum.
5. Why do you believe that character development should be on par with other school district goals for students?
Answer: It should be on par with goals such as “increasing student achievement,’ or “enabling students to participate as informed citizens” because character development is knowledge-based also, and pertinent to the aspect of achieving in the general sense. Character development results from a combination of learning experiences, where the basic ones deal with the student’s knowledge of themselves and others – to include how to deal successfully with these others; and the more advanced experiences deal with the issues of learning to learn, thinking critically, solving problems, making decisions, confronting challenges, and with acquiring skills related to success with studies, jobs, careers, and with life in general.
6. How does the STFSP stack up against other character development programs?
Answer: We believe it to be far superior to other well-meaning character development programs, such as the very popular “Character Counts,” a student conduct improvement program based on 6 pillars: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. We are in agreement with other educators who believe that classes on the specific subject of “conduct improvement” is not the answer for causing the behavior we want our students to make, for in order for one’s character to develop, his mental abilities must be comprehensively developed. Likewise, these educators agree with us that the essential need is for a program that not only inspires students and addresses personal behavior issues, but one that promotes a zeal for being successful, and that provides tips and guidelines for attaining these successes in a wide variety of settings.
7. What are the main subject areas in the STFSP, and what means are used in developing these topics?
Answer: There are 56 main subjects covered under 12 chapters in the resource books developed for presenting the STFSP wholesomely. The chapters, beginning with Personal Tips for Success, continue in the following order: Tips Concerning Personal Records, Tips on Understanding Relationships, Tips on Gaining Knowledge About Things, The Writing Act, Verbal Communicating Tips, Management and Leadership, Planning, Confronting Challenges, Tips for Getting and Keeping Jobs, Tips on Things To Be Remembered, and The Final Chapter which ends the training with a summary of tips in a nutshell. The tools used in presenting the program are a student textbook, a workbook for students, and a teachers’ edition.
8. Why do you use 3 books in presenting this program?
Answer: We developed 3 unique books because in delivering a successful training program where skill production is the aim, “programs within programs” are necessary. In our view, a program is needed for control and guidance of the primary effort from start to finish, as well as one for introducing the various skills to be understood. Additionally, in cases where advanced skill production is the need, a support program must be included whereby the skills introduced are honed to sharpness by a process that adds to the learners’ basic skills while providing further information and an avenue for practice.
— The Student Text (The Basic Manual) is unique because it consists mostly of 1-page discussions on topics that are not taught in regular courses. The topics were designed to suppress negative conditionings, widen student horizons, and provide knowledge and skills needed for academic success and for success in dealing with most of the other issues to be faced in their lives.
— The Student Workbook (The Support Manual & Workbook) is structured to insure that the skills introduced are more vividly, soundly, and memorably implanted in their minds, and to strengthen comprehension abilities, communicating effectiveness, critical-thinking, problem-solving, and managing and leading skills. It is unique in that it is student-activity centered, and allows the students to play the lead role in developing themselves for the 21st Century economy and workplace.
— The Teacher’s Edition (The Facilitator’s Edition) is structured to insure teacher excellence in guiding the course of study so that student knowledge and skills are extended. It introduces situations, scenarios, and additional topics for discussion to evoke the vicarious learning experiences that compliment the behavior modification objectives of the program. It is unique in that it provides ready responses for the teacher to use in addressing every question asked in the student text.
9. What is so special about the student workbook?
Answer: Of the many special things about this workbook, it causes the strengthening of participants’ vocabularies automatically, and keeps them from having to refer to the dictionary to find word meanings. The most special thing, however, is that the student activity section requires them to enter written responses after discussing the topic material. These written responses call for writings that show the students are demonstrating essential educational and organizing skills, such as in developing outline formats, the common types of paragraphs, essays, and the 3 and 5-paragraph themes.
10. What is the difficulty level of the STFSP?
Answer: The STFSP is challenging from the standpoint of a rather high readability level; however, it was developed to particularly challenge readers and build comprehension, writing, problem solving, and critical-thinking skills. Although teacher intervention may be seen as necessary in guiding the activities of high achievers selected for the program, a great deal of care has been taken to insure word meanings and vocabulary building are optimized to facilitate the building up of effective skills for communicating well.
11. How would you implement this program at the secondary school and university levels?
Middle Schools
Answer:
While the program is written at a rather high a level for implementation at the middle school level, middle school principals agree that the 30-minute guest speaker motivational presentation developed from condensing 6 of the Super Tips topics is essential for students at this level. It is felt that this introduction alone will inspire all in attendance, and cause them to have more positive attitudes and outlooks towards being successful with others; and for dealing with educational and on the job issues more skillfully.
This is due to the anticipated enthusiasm the presentation will engender in students wanting to acquire additional success tips, and to the expected impact the program will make in alleviating negative student behaviors in the areas of attendance, study habits, testing, and peer pressure influences.
While a live presentation is the preferred method of delivery of these condensed topics, they may also be delivered in assemblies using the video version of this presentation.
For purchase of the videodisc, educational leaders may order a disc for a single school by clicking on the Store button.
High Schools
The program can be introduced in grade level assemblies by presenting the 6 condensed topics from the success program in the guest speaker or video disc modes in order to spark student appreciation for the tips process, to cause them to have more positive attitudes and outlooks towards being successful with others; and to give them an edge in dealing with educational and on the job issues more skillfully. It is noteworthy that 100 percent of the high school who received this introduction indicate that this presentation alone will make a drastic impact in alleviating negative student behaviors in the areas of attendance, study habits, testing, and peer pressure influences.
In that many high school students will have no immediate interest in participating in the dynamic learning environment the Success program offers, it is a certainty that all will benefit if parts of the program is integrated within the social studies curriculum — even if it would be integrated in the “Read Only and Discuss” modes
Were it up to me I would: 1) Insure that every high school student – whether success-oriented or not – would be given a gift of the Basic Manual, and asked to turn and glance at every page of it before putting it aside. 2) Take steps to promote the merits of the Success Program to the high achievers identified within high school populations — especially those who intend to continue their education at the college level and enter one of the professions. These students will be greatly served by completing this dynamic program as a member of a locally established Success Club.
Universities
At the university level, the ideal is to insure the introduction to the STFSP is provided in assemblies of first-year students, and that all first-year students are required to complete the success program prior to graduation. It is noteworthy that the consensus gathered from educators at these institutions and fro a large gathering of professionals in a university alumni class agreed that the tips provided in the program would have given them the jump they needed when entering their professions.
Of equal noteworthiness, 100 percent of the over 1800 entering college freshmen who received the introductory presentation, indicated that this introduction was helpful in changing their outlooks for success. In addition, 99.2 percent of these indicated that this presentation would have made a drastic impact in alleviating negative student behaviors in the areas of attendance, study habits, testing, and peer pressure influences if it was given to the students at the high schools they had recently graduated from. At the same time, all in attendance indicated they would enroll in the success program if it were offered as a course of study at the university.
12. What is the major difference in presenting the STFSP as a course of study and as a Success Club unit?
Answer: As a course of study, the program is presented by a regularly assigned teacher and supervised under the auspices of the school leadership, as with the other courses. As a Success Club unit, the program is guided by a coordinator who conducts the program under the administrative auspices of the executive director of Vanguard Success Corporation, the program designer.
13. How would one go about establishing a Success Club unit?
Answer: There are various ways; however, the preferred method is to follow the procedures developed for establishing Success Clubs and Success Club units. In following this process all administrative details fall in place to facilitate the role of Vanguard Success Corporation in establishing and maintaining the required historical and other records pertinent to the unit’s operation and progress, and to assure that those completing the program in the club setting are awarded certificates of completion.
14. What guidelines are needed for estimating the cost of implementing the STFSP at a school?
Answer:
Program implementation costs can be estimated simply by determining the costs for the necessary teacher orientation program, and by utilizing assumptions made at the schools regarding how the books are to be utilized for the different class groupings. For example:
Assumption 1: A certain number of teachers at the same grade level will teach the program at a school during 5 class periods where there are 20-25 students per class and only the Student Textbook will be used in the “Read Only and Discuss” mode.
Assumption 2: The same number of teachers and students are involved at a higher-grade level; however, both the Textbook and Workbook are utilized during the training.
Assumption 1 Cost Analysis
Teacher Orientation Training @ 2 days (If required)
Cost of 2 books for each teacher (Teacher’s Edition & Student Workbook)
Cost of 1 book per student (Student Textbook)
Assumption 2 Cost Analysis
Teacher Orientation Training @ 2 days (If required)
Cost of 2 books for each teacher (Teacher’s Edition & Student Workbook)
Cost of 2 books per student (Student Textbook & Student Workbook))
NOTE: Visit Store for prices and for purchasing from Vanguard Success CDC.
15. Why do you say the Video Disc on Super Tips For Success is a highly valued tool?
Answer: I say it because in the race for success the 6 topics covered in the 30-minute video serve easily as the starting blocks for the runners in this race. While I do not believe there has ever been such a tool with this power, documented feedback obtained from university students, their professors, and others, support this belief. I consider the topics covered to be the starting point for all who are on the track to be more successful because having these topics alone in one’s arsenal of knowledge will go far in producing the success-oriented behaviors so necessary in winning friends and influencing people. The following two statements extracted from comments received from professional level sources give credence to this theory:
“Every manager, leader, teacher, and parent will have changed outlooks for dealing more positively with others and in improving their organizations and even households after viewing this video. In my opinion, this video is the most valuable tool a principal at a school or a principal manager in industry can use in developing a spirit of effectiveness within the workforce he is expected to lead successfully.”
“If you see a turnaround in the outlooks of students on a school campus regarding their attendance, study habits, test preparations, and in their behaviors, they have without question received the 30-minute presentation of the video featuring 6 of the super tips for success. Not only will these presentations strengthen and encourage the students in facing 21st Century education, interpersonal, and economy and workplace issues with confidence, they will serve as cost saving character development and life skill enhancing measures for the leaders at these schools.”