Karen Restivo
In Other Words....
Let the 2025-2026 school year begin.
For students in extracurricular activities, they’re already waking up at dark-thirty churning out practices wondering where summer went.
Education is having a moment in the sport of playing catch-up in its attempts to re-invent itself while still recovering from the pandemic’s kryptonite effects on the institution.
New strategies are abound suggesting change and renovation are in the works, from several notable sources: Extended school years and calendars, addressing learning gaps, more technology integration, classroom management, social-emotional learning, adjusting to new realities and the importance of intergenerational learning. It’s a tall order.
For most students, the ease of socialization at the beginning of school ranks high on popularity concerns, (one of the new social-emotional learning strategies mentioned above).
While procuring information for this article, I discovered an informative site on Instagram called readysetparent that throws some statistics around about popularity.
According to their site, “Being likeable is 10X more important than being smart. Research shows social skills unlock more doors than IQ alone.
“But schools still teach kids to compete instead of connecting.
“Dr. Van Sloan tracked 2,000 high schoolers for 10 years. The most popular kids weren’t the smartest or funniest.
“Popular kids did one simple thing differently - They expressed genuine liking for others first.
“While other kids tried to be impressive, popular kids made others feel impressive. This changed everything we think we know about popularity.”
Diving deeper into the topic, readysetparent revealed what further shocked researchers, “These same kids became the most successful adults - better jobs, stronger marriages and happier lives.
“Harvard followed students for 80 years. The happiest and most successful adults had one thing in common-strong relationships in their 20s, not high GPAs.
“Yet we’re still teaching kids the opposite: Show off your talents - Be the smartest in the room—-Win every competition.
“This creates kids who talk but never connect.”
According to readysetparent, “Your child’s future boss won’t care if they were valedictorian. They’ll care if your child makes them feel valued.
“Likability gets you hired. Connections keep you promoted.
“Other countries already figured this out. Finnish schools spend half their time on social learning.
“Japanese kids learn cooperation before competition. Their mental health rates blow ours away.”
There’s more, but I’m guessing you’re getting the picture.
In other words, think of an artist painting a picture, or a baker baking a pie.
During the creation process, each is focused on the essential parts.
Upon completion, the masterpiece is viewed from a state of ‘wholeness.’ Each brush stroke and ingredient play an integral part in the masterpiece’s wholeness. Achievement and connection are both essential parts in determining a student’s success in education and life. Check out Readysetparent for more information on this topic.
Karenrestivo57@gmail.com