Summaries are important not just in the homeschool classroom, but almost everywhere else as well. The ability to cut to the chase in a long winded conversation is appreciated just as much as the ability to pick out the most important points during a presentation in the work place. As a homeschool teacher you can impart an important skill to your homeschool students when you get them to understand and use the 30 second rule.

What is the 30 second rule?

This is a simple life skill which can come in handy after every lesson, meeting or significant life experience that your children may have. At the end of the event you have to ask your child to simply take 30 seconds to summarize the most salient features or important points that they picked up during the lesson and write them down. That’s it. No waiting for later to write a detailed report, or getting lost in the sludge of additional information provided.

Why does it work?

Firstly it forces you to immediately introspect on whatever it is you have been told. So you pay more attention when you are listening to what is being said. Secondly it helps you avoid the details trap by making you work at figuring out what is truly important. So you don’t drown in a million unimportant sentences. And lastly it helps you interpret what you have been told faster as you prioritize the information that you constantly receive.  This allows you to make good decisions based on solid facts rather than being bogged down with the information gained.

How to get your homestudents to practise it?

The more this particular skill is practised the better it is honed, so find excuses to make them summarize just about everything that they have experienced. Make them do the 30 second rule summary at the end of each class highlighting what they have actually done. Make them write down what they experienced in a field outing as soon as they return home. The best part is that they get precisely 30 seconds to think of what they did before they get writing. Its not a lengthy process and can be interjected into the day for any activity.