Andrea Zians

What Nobody Tells You About College Success I can tell within the first conversation whether a new student is ready for college. It isn't about grades or test scores. It comes down to a small habit: whether they have already logged into their institutional email. Prepared students don't wait for someone to remind them to check their inbox. They look at it on their own because they are genuinely eager, curious, and engaged in getting set up. They understand that this new email address isn't...

By Andrea Zians I have been working with students for over 30 years. Thousands of them. Bright kids, curious kids, kids who tried so hard it broke my heart, kids who stopped trying because trying had only ever led to embarrassment. And in all that time, one question has never left me. Why aren't we teaching students how to learn? Not what to learn. How. There is a difference, and it is costing us. The Curriculum Nobody Teaches Every teacher knows what explicit curriculum looks like. It is the...

The most effective solution for the phone is also the simplest one. It needs to leave the study space entirely. Not flipped over. Not silenced. In another room. This is not about punishment or distrust. It is about building an environment that enables you to be productive and focus fully.