Voted Best Teen Book
By charles | June 19, 2009
The teen reviewers over at Radical Parenting just voted The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! as a Best Teen Book! Check it out!
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7 Things You MUST Ask Your Kids Before they Leave for College [guest post]
By charles | May 31, 2009
The following is a guest post by Vanessa Van Petten, teen author of “You’re Grounded!” She runs the parenting blog RadicalParenting.com, which is written with teens from the kid’s perspective.
“I am free, I am free, I am free”
I have heard both parents and teens chant this as they pack up the minivan and leave for college. Yet, parents often watch their kids leave, with tears in their eyes and forget to cover some essential pre-freshman topics.
1) Money
Your child will most likely call you in the first six months asking for more money. Often times, kids leave for college without any idea or guidelines about how much money they should be spending and what happens if they need to be bailed out.
Essential Talking points:
“We are giving you ______ per month.”
“You can use our credit card for everything except ____, ____, _____. These are things you need to pay for on your own either with your savings or from a job.”
“You _______ have your own credit card.”
“If you are in an emergency and need more money, we will loan/give/not give it to you.”
2) Contact
Many parents have an expectation in their mind that they will talk to their child every few days. Many teens have the expectation in their mind that they will talk to their parent every few weeks. Then, both go off to college and both get annoyed with the other for calling too little or too much.
Essential Talking points:
“I would like to talk to you ____per week/month.”
“I must talk to you at the very minimum _____ per week/month.”
“Lets make a regular check-in time of ________(Sunday afternoon at 3pm is usually good)”
“If I do not hear from you, I am warning you now, I will call your resident dorm director.”
3) Vacations
When teens leave home, they feel they have no more rules and boundaries—and maybe they don’t. But they will come home to visit, rules will return. Talk about this now, before they come home for Thanksgiving and realize they no longer can stay out until 4am.
Essential Talking points:
“I know you are free to do whatever you want, but we would love it if you could ______ while at school.”
“Just so you know, you will have more freedom when you come home from breaks, but we still expect ______curfew, _____ car rules, ______ amount of family time….”
4) Memories
Too many students leave for school without ever thinking of logging their memories. Talk to your kids about keeping a journal, photos or video diary online.
Essential Talking points:
“Here is a camera/journal/video camera, please document your first year.”
“Don’t you wish you could see pictures of my bad hairstyle from college? Ok, so make sure to take your own pictures to save for your kids.”
5) Grade Limits
College is to learn. College is to learn. I often have to repeat this to rising college freshman. Make sure your kids know what kind of expectations you have on their grades. The more specific the better on this one.
Essential Talking points:
“Of course, we want you to do well in college, it would be great if you could keep a ____GPA or higher.”
“In fact, if you go below _____GPA, we will not pay for your school/you will have to quit the sports team….”
“We have access to your transcripts.”
“You need to send us a grade update every ________months/weeks.”
6) Significant Others
Most likely your child will get a significant other during freshman year. It is important to talk about what this means for vacations and breaks. Are you ok with them coming home for Christmas? What if your child wants to go home with them for a break?
Essential Talking points:
“If you want to bring someone home from a vacation this ____ allowed.”
“If you bring someone home from a vacation, they are ____allowed to stay in your room with you.”
“We expect you to come home for the following holidays: _____, _______, ______”
“It would be ok, if you went with a boyfriend or girlfriend on the following holidays/vacations: _______, ________ “
7) Expensive Extra-Curriculars
The last thing you should talk about before they call you mid-October and ask is about expensive social activities. Talk about the following:
Essential Talking points:
“If you join a sorority or fraternity you will _____ have to pay for your own dues.”
“If you want to go on an expensive spring break trip to Cancun we will _____pay for it/part of it/none of it.”
“If you join the sailing team we will ____ pay for your sailboat and equipment.”
Even if you think your kid would never join the sailing team, talk to him or her about these issues just in case. Trust me, waiting until they call from their friends cell phone is not a great first way to talk (or argue) about these issues.
Vanessa Van Petten is the teen author of the parenting book “You’re Grounded!” She writes a parenting blog along with 12 other teen writers from the kid’s perspective to help parents. Her work as a young family peacemaker have been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Teen Vogue, CNN, Fox News, CBS Miami and much more!
http://www.RadicalParenting.com
Articles like this by Vanessa Van Petten:
Horror Stories From My Freshman Year (Teens Leaving Home)
Best School Supply Checklist: College Students
My Ultimate Pre-College Guide for Freshman
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Another Satisfied Customer
By charles | May 31, 2009
I just wanted to share a quote sent to me by a student in Miami.
“Princeton, here I come! Thanks, Laugh Out Loud Guide!”
–Evan A., high school student, Miami, FL
Thank you, Evan!
And don’t forget our previous quotes:
“Anyone with kids about to enter the collegiate system needs to buy this for their children.”
–Curled Up With A Good Book [book review]
“SAT prep books don’t work if students don’t read them. A professional comedy writer and PhD wrote this book to hold student’s interest, and students will eagerly read it.
–James Rosenbaum, professor of education, Northwestern University
“The answer to the hardest SAT question of all: How do you keep your sense of humor while preparing for the test?!”
–Harry Lewis, former dean of Harvard College
“This book will make taking the SAT suck less. Like maybe 72% less suckitude. That’s just an estimate.”
–Tom Root, head writer, Robot Chicken
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No Need For Derrick Rose To Cheat On the SAT
By charles | May 28, 2009
If someone had given Derrick Rose a copy of The Laugh Out Loud Guide this never would have happened.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/185914-drose-might-have-cheated-on-the-sat
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Study Finds SAT Test Prep Courses To Be A Waste Of Money
By charles | May 20, 2009
If you’re thinking you need to pay thousands on test prep courses to do well on the SAT, think again. Check out this story in the Wall Street Journal:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124278685697537839.html
Of course, if you have the money to spare, there’s certainly nothing wrong with giving it a shot. Some test prep companies are better than others. But if you don’t have the money to spare, don’t feel bad about it. Just buy a couple of SAT books and make sure to add learning questions to your test prep routine. Repeating from yesterday:
If you’re really serious about achieving a higher SAT score, then you need to add some learning questions to your test prep mix, and the best way to do that is with The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
http://www.learningisfunny.com/2009/05/19/the-importance-of-learning-questions-in-sat-test-prep/
http://www.learningisfunny.com/2009/05/04/sat-advice-multiple-books/
Happy studying!
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The Importance of “Learning Questions” in SAT Test Prep
By charles | May 19, 2009
One question I’m asked sometimes about The Laugh Out Loud Guide is whether or not one should be concerned that the real SAT exam is so much more boring than the comedic questions found in The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
The short answer is not only a big fat NO, but even stronger than that — the test prep process will actually be enhanced with the comedic questions in the mix.
To explain why, here’s the longer answer:
There’s a difference between test questions and what I call learning questions. A test question is simply that — a question that tests your knowledge. A learning question, on the other hand, goes way beyond that to help you learn the material and retain your knowledge.
Test questions are the boring official questions students need to answer correctly on test day, but that doesn’t mean the entire study process should consist of ONLY test questions. In fact, test questions are almost by design not memorable and are therefore less effective in the learning phase because they’re so boring.
A smarter approach would be to include some learning questions within the study process. These learning questions would be more memorable so that you could learn the overall concepts more effectively and remember them better. And then you’d be able to continue and complete the study process by moving to the test questions, applying the same concepts you just learned.
Let’s consider an example. Consider a boring official test question that tests your knowledge of the word corpulent. If you already know the meaning of the word, you’ll get the question right and be happy with yourself. But what if you don’t know what the word means yet? In that case, the test question won’t effectively help you learn and remember what the word means. The test question is boring and you’ll forget it very quickly.
On the other hand, let’s look at the following learning question found in The Laugh Out Loud Guide:
Yo Momma so _______, when you mail her a letter, you need two zip codes.
(A) diaphanous
(B) luminous
(C) ravenous
(D) grisly
(E) corpulent
I guarantee you won’t soon forget what the word corpulent means. And now the next time you see a boring official test question that requires you to know the meaning of that word, you’ll be able to apply what you learned in the learning question to correctly answer the test question.
To write this as an equation:
Learning Questions + Test Questions > Test Questions
In other words, a test prep plan that includes both learning questions and test questions is better than one that is made up entirely of test questions.
Oh, but it doesn’t stop there.
The other benefit to including some learning questions in the study process is that funny learning questions are more effective at getting a person started. Many students are simply handed one of those massive study guides and it’s no surprise that they have a tough time getting started because it’s so massive and boring. If there’s a book that gets you interested and started well along the process, that’s half the battle right there.
Now, yes, if a student completely misuses The Laugh Out Loud Guide, going straight from it to the actual test on test day, then they’ll be in for a bit of a shock with respect to how boring the real test is — but the book explicitly guides students on that point so that should never happen. Students who DO listen to the book’s guidance will enjoy a much more enhanced study process than if they use boring test questions and ONLY boring test questions.
It’s the same with teachers — the really boring ones aren’t as effective as they can be, and similarly if every single piece of reading and teaching is goofy then it’s too much and that would be wrong too, but if the overall lesson plan includes both boring and entertaining elements, then that’s the most effective approach of all.
My feeling is there are a spectrum of students and The Laugh Out Loud Guide will be used differently depending on the student. Some students will start with The Laugh Out Loud Guide and work through it completely before moving on to other books and official practice tests. Others won’t use The Laugh Out Loud Guide in any primary way, but will use it instead as comic relief during study breaks. In other words, even while taking a study break, they’ll be learning something. I think both uses are perfectly legitimate — every student is different — but in either case, the student’s learning process is being enhanced by including The Laugh Out Loud Guide in the mix. The book is not meant to totally replace — it is meant to enhance.
So that’s the long answer. If you’re really serious about achieving a higher SAT score, then you need to add some learning questions to your test prep mix, and the best way to do that is with The Laugh Out Loud Guide.
Good luck on the test!
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Author Q&A — Write On!
By charles | May 12, 2009
Here’s an author interview I just did for for my book The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep!
The interviewer is Debra Eckerling of Write On! Online. Check it out!
http://writeononline.com/2009/05/12/author-qa-comedy-writer-charles-horn/
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SAT book not just for high school!
By charles | May 8, 2009
From the latest Amazon review of The Laugh Out Loud Guide:
“I keep my copy on my coffee table, and everyone that comes over loves to read through it. My friends and I actually read the questions out loud to see if anyone knows the answer. I’m sure you could build a board game around it.”
If you haven’t picked up a copy for your coffee table yet, what are you waiting for?
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Interviewed by Teen Success Expert Justin Sachs
By charles | May 8, 2009
Here’s a blog interview I did for my book The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! (cut for length). The interviewer is Justin Sachs, who is a Teen Success Expert.
Interview with Charles Horn
Friday, May 8, 2009
Charles Horn is the author of the new book, The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep!, which uses comedy to prepare students for the dreaded SAT. Charles is an Emmy-nominated comedy writer and a Princeton PhD.
1. What do you do?
I am a comedy writer based in Los Angeles. My credits include Robot Chicken, Robot Chicken: Star Wars, and freelance jokes for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.
2. Tell us about your new book.
The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! is a fun and effective SAT study guide that uses comedy to prepare students for the SAT. Sample questions include:
Yo Momma so _______, when you mail her a letter, you need two zip codes.
(A) diaphanous
(B) luminous
(C) ravenous
(D) grisly
(E) corpulent
At a Saks Fifth Avenue store, Winona Ryder examines four distinct blouses, five distinct dresses, and two distinct handbags. How many different combinations of items can she shoplift if she takes exactly one blouse, two dresses, and a handbag?
A couple of quotes regarding the book include:
“Anyone with kids about to enter the collegiate system needs to buy this for their children.”
–Curled Up With A Good Book [Book Review]
“SAT prep books don’t work if students don’t read them. A professional comedy writer and PhD wrote this book to hold students’ interest, and students will eagerly read it.”
–James Rosenbaum, professor of education, Northwestern University
3. Why did you write it?
I often tutor in between writing gigs and whenever I tutor for the SAT I invariably see either a boredom factor or a stress factor come into play. If students are bored, they won’t put in the effort, and if they’re too stressed, their learning ability becomes impaired. Comedy helps in both regards, because it reduces stress and keeps students interested and engaged. The other remarkable thing about comedy is that it actually increases recall, so students will remember the information better on test day (and apply the same concepts to the more boring SAT questions).
Let’s face it, too often students are simply handed huge mind-numbingly boring textbooks that put them immediately to sleep, so they don’t even end up studying in the first place. If research shows that comedy is an effective teaching tool in many ways, then a comedic SAT study guide will be helpful and effective on multiple levels. I realized I was in a unique position to write such a book. I designed the guide so that it could be used to enhance all traditional forms of test prep. In other words, students can now laugh their way to a higher test score.
4. What makes you an expert in your field?
I have a Ph.D. from Princeton and a total of five degrees in engineering and mathematics. I was also nominated for an Emmy award for my writing on Robot Chicken.
5. What type of people should read your book?
Students studying for the SAT. Parents of students studying for the SAT. People who know students studying for the SAT. Adults will enjoy reading all of the comedic questions in the book as well, but the book wasn’t written explicitly for them and I imagine the word SAT would scare most of them off anyway. 
7. Advice for Teens or Parents of Teens
First, if you don’t have a ton of money to drop on classes and tutoring, don’t worry about it. Many students (including myself) have aced these kinds of standardized tests without going through expensive classes and tutoring. There are many good books out there and that’s all you need. And because books cost only $10 to $20 each, you can afford to buy a couple of them and still save hundreds and thousands of dollars in test prep costs. Buy The Official SAT Study Guide for its eight full practice tests and take a look at the other books to see which ones help you in the areas you need most. And of course buy The Laugh Out Loud Guide to give you that comedy edge. Review the material and then work through many practice tests until you’re happy with your score.
Second, if you are paying for classes or tutoring and a company tells you they have the “secrets” to “beat” the SAT, then run. Get as far away as possible from them. Don’t be taken in by satisfaction guarantees either. Most guarantees only provide more free classes that didn’t work for you the first time. Or they place many barriers in front of you to make sure they never have to give you any money back.
[...]
10. How can we purchase your book? Learn more about you? Do you have a blog?
The Laugh Out Loud Guide: Ace the SAT Exam without Boring Yourself to Sleep! (Andrews McMeel Publishing, $12.99) can be purchased at Barnes and Noble and other fine bookstores, and on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0740777106?ie=UTF8&tag=charhorn-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0740777106
The website for the book is located at http://www.laughoutloudguide.com.
You can also find my comics website and blog at http://www.yayrobot.com.
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SAT Advice — buying multiple books can save thousands in test prep
By charles | May 4, 2009
If you don’t have a ton of money to drop on SAT classes and tutoring, don’t worry about it. Many students (including myself) have aced these kinds of standardized tests without going through expensive classes and tutoring. There are many good books out there and that’s all you need. And because books cost only $10 to $20 each, you can afford to buy a couple of them and you’ll still be saving hundreds and thousands of dollars in test prep costs. Remember, each book has its strengths and weaknesses. Buy The Official SAT Study Guide for its eight full practice tests and take a look at the other books to see which ones help you in the areas you need most. And of course buy The Laugh Out Loud Guide to give you that Comedy Edge. Review the material and then work through many practice tests until you’re happy with your score. Good luck!
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