Executive Function Skills

Executive function skills are high-level mental processes that allow us to regulate behavior over time in order to achieve longer-term goals.  Nurturing these skills from a young age can have a bigger impact on your child’s education and long-term well-being than other factors -including IQ, school choice, or delaying kindergarten.  
It’s that important.  
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As an educator and father, my interest in this topic stems from the observation that it is increasingly difficult for young people to reach college age with this skill set on track. In schools, whatever “study skills” instruction exists typically plays a backseat to reading, writing, and other curricular priorities. Pervasive screen time, coupled with hectic, structured schedules and highly organized play reduce opportunities for kids’ executive skills to develop naturally. Years of work in independent schools leads me to believe that strong transcripts can mask real deficiencies in executive skills.
"It sounds crazy that students can spend half their waking hours in school and not be taught how to learn,
but that is often the case. Teachers teach content, such as math and science, but rarely how to learn such content.”  
-Ken Kiewra, Teaching How to LEARN
My approach is informed by researchers in the fields of education, psychology, and over 20 years teaching experience in both public schools and K-12 independent schools in San Francisco. I provide learners with tailored recommendations and hands-on training using both assistive technologies and other, traditional learning tools and organizational strategies. Given the strong influence of the home environment, I strongly encourage parental involvement.

Self-regulation. Executive function skills are all about self-regulation -the ability to do all it takes to focus on a goal despite distractions. Self-regulation skills are shaped by both heredity and the home environment. As such, it is most helpful when parents or other care-givers properly structure home routines, interactions, organization, expectations, boundaries, etc.
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My framework consists of the following:
  • Attention regulation: Attention is the doorway into learning. While largely chemical in nature, there are many environmental considerations that enable a focused learning environment. Without attention, there is no learning.
  • Procedural regulation: Some students struggle because they have not been taught how to accomplish tasks that depend on certain cognitive skills in ways that work for them. Like pilots who use checklists to guide their actions and keep cool under pressure, students benefit from helpful learning tools that structure challenging academic and organizational tasks. (Time, task management; initiation; self-monitoring; organizing space/materials; transitions; working memory)
  • Emotional regulation: How we feel about something often dictates how or whether we act on it. Emotions are the rudder that dictates a learner’s response to a problem. When a student has systems for juggling the complex demands of school, emotions are more likely to motivate and sustain effort than derail it.
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The Wait Until 8th pledge empowers parents to rally together to delay giving children a smartphone until at least 8th grade.​
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