In order to flourish and cultivate a life-long love of learning, students must be equipped to develop mastery of fundamental academic skills. Achieving greater mastery of the basic to the most advanced academic skills will certainly prepare students to do well on homework, assessments, and standardized tests. However, the best education does not make the good grade, it makes the good person. It makes the truly happy and whole person.

​Developing effective academic skills will enable students to succeed in and out of the classroom, but what is more, they will gain greater access to the riches that their education can offer that will enlarge their souls. 
These skills include: ​
  • Personal Organization
    • Systems
    • Resources 
  • Time Management 
  • Note-taking
    • Texts 
    • Class Lectures and Presentations
    • Class Discussions
    • Cornell Notes 
    • Outlining 
  • Study and Test-Taking Methods
  • Deep Reading and Comprehension 
    • Annotating Texts for Personal Reward, Retention, and Research
    • Synthetic Reading (Comparative Literature) 
  • Research Techniques 
  • Clear, Effective, and Worry-Free Writing 
    • Argument Building
    • Using Source Material Well
    • Commonplacing 
  • Public Speaking
  • Critical Thinking (including basics of Logic) 
  • Mindfulness for Attention and Anxiety