Description

Empowers teens at risk of failing or dropping out of school by showing them how real students around the country have gone from drowning in D’s to swimming in A’s and B’s. Video follows several struggling teens as they go through their academic transformations. Their compelling stories clearly detail effective strategies to enable viewers to get their grades back on track. Strategies include: identify long term goals, prioritize what is important, believe that you have the power to change, accept personal responsibility for your shortcomings, develop self-advocacy skills, devise and implement a plan of action. Hopeful and inspirational, this video and accompanying curriculum guide lay out a clear pathway for success for struggling students.

Includes: 18-minute video, printable teacher’s resource book, and student handouts with pre/post tests.

Sample Video Clip:

Reviews:

Through testimonials from struggling students, viewers are introduced to the common problem of capable students unable to achieve satisfactory grades. Six diverse teens describe their frustration at not being able to keep up with their school work. Following the introduction of the problems, a teenage host outlines a plan to turn Cs and Ds into As and Bs. The strategy includes identifying long-term goals, prioritizing activities, accepting personal responsibility, developing self-advocacy skills, and implementing a plan of action. The students describe how their grades improved after implementing the recommended strategies. While there is nothing really new in this sage advice, the supplemental pre-and post-tests as well as the goal setting, time management, and self-advocacy activities offer wonderful reinforcement. With the assistance of a teacher or a counselor, motivated students will learn valuable life skills from this program.

– Ann Weber, Bellarmine College Prep., San Jose, CA
School Library Journal

Highly Recommended  This self-help video would be useful in public and school libraries. It has a thought provoking message with realistic advice for young people. The main message is “In order to make a change you have to want to change.” The narrator does a good job introducing the goals you need to move forward. The students interviewed in the film are personable and convincing. The length is just right to hold one’s attention. Along with the DVD there is an accompanying teacher’s guide. The guide is also available for download from the DVD.

– Veronica Maher, Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island
Educational Media Reviews Online (EMRO) 

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