Q: My son starts community college soon and is worried about failing. He isn't a star student, but I know he can do this. How can I reassure him?

A: These fears are normal. Even with the excitement of oncoming independence, students still worry about flunking out, managing the workload, affording the costs and making friends.

Unfortunately, the fears aren't unfounded, says Carl Wahlstrom, professor emeritus at Genesee Community College in Batavia, N.Y. and co-author of the practical guide "Learning Success: Being Your Best at College and Life" (Wadsworth Publishing; 2002). He says the first two to six weeks are a critical time of adjustment if students are to succeed in college.

No matter how stellar a student was or wasn't in high school, success is his if he masters three key traits.

-- The first is staying power.

"Some really smart kids fail because they didn't have the persistence, commitment, focus and discipline necessary for achievement," says Wahlstrom.

His popular "First-Year Experience" course stresses persistence.

"It comes when students learn to take personal control and responsibility for their actions," he says. "Persistent students don't blame others for their results. They use strategies, such as writing down daily goals and reviewing them each evening, to move forward. Optimism, creativity and the ability to take psychological risks also help a student hang in there."

-- Second, become a mindful learner.

This is a big shift for most college freshmen, says Wahlstrom. They are used to searching for "the answer," yet in college, a professor might say, "That is one answer. What are others?"

A mindful learner is a critical thinker "who can create new categories of information in his head, is open to new information, and is aware of more than one perspective," he says.

Mindful learners are more engaged and remember more. "They are creative, alert to distinctions and open to novelty," says Wahlstrom. "They are aware of different contexts and perspectives, and oriented in the present. When they study a topic, they question, critique, speculate and hypothesize.

"For example, a student in world history will likely remember more about the date that the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on Japan if he speculates on what would have happened if the U.S. had dropped the A-bomb on Germany first."

-- Third, master informational literacy.

"That means learning how to find, evaluate and use information of all kinds," says Wahlstrom.

This means knowing how to access "the Four C's: campus resources, community resources, computers and communications pathways such as the Internet. Students may know how to use Facebook, but have no idea how to do an Internet search for a term paper," he says.

Wahlstrom tells students to take full advantage of campus resources.

"That's a first stop!" he says. "There are many, and they lead you to others. Successful students aren't afraid to ask for information and put it to use for their benefit."

Give your son a copy of Wahlstrom's "Learning Success" before he heads to school. The self-directed exercises will help him have a more successful freshman year.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: I've noticed that my son, Garth, a rising third-grader, doesn't have a vocabulary as large as some of the same-age kids he's playing with this summer. Should I get some flash cards?

A: No. There are better ways to help a child develop a stronger vocabulary than rote learning of random word lists, says Tim Rasinski, a Kent State professor of literacy education. Any such learning is often quickly forgotten because the words usually don't connect to what the child knows or is interested in. So nix the flash cards -- ditto for writing words multiple times, copying definitions or filling in worksheets.

To expand Garth's vocabulary, help him "own" the words he loves and add those he wants to know. Find them in a book he enjoys or in topics he's passionate about.

For example, if he's a "Star Wars" fan, he probably has heard the following words, but he may not know them when reading: galaxy, armored, transmissions, intercepted, smashed, reactor. So when he encounters these in "Star Wars" books, have him focus on learning two or three at a time. Have him add the words to a vocabulary notebook under a "Star Wars Words" tab, writing each new word in his notebook, adding a short definition and drawing a picture as a visual reminder. Do this with other topics he's keen on. He's more likely to learn new words this way because they are meaningful to him.

Rasinski reminds us that just because a word is in a notebook, it doesn't mean it's in the brain: "Kids need multiple opportunities to see, write and use new words."

So add them to conversations and Post-it notes ("Garth, I intercepted a dirty sock in the hallway!"). Encourage him to write stories with these new words. Garth will own a galactic batch of words in no time.

This next suggestion may surprise you. In the Summer 2012 issue of Educational Leadership, Rasinski and co-authors Nancy Padak, Karen Bromley and Evangeline Newton make the case that primary-grade children benefit from being clued into Latin and Greek roots. So, for instance, by teaching Garth that the prefix bi means "two" (bicycle), tri means "three" (tricycle) or sub means "under" or "below" (submarine), you can give him a leg up. The authors' article, "Vocabulary: Five Common Misconceptions," concludes with a starter list of Greek and Latin roots. Find it at ascd.org.

Research shows that games are a wonderful way to inspire interest in words and develop knowledge about them, says Rasinski. Many folks learned new words at the kitchen table with Balderdash, Boggle, Buzzword, Pictionary and Scrabble. Kids still get a kick out of these games. Add them to your family's fun and everybody gets a chance to boost their word power.

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)

Q: My daughter, Charisse, just competed in a girls' rodeo event. In addition to riding skills, contestants were given a citizenship quiz and she failed. She didn't even know the vice president! I was shocked. If schools don't teach citizenship, how can I bridge the gap?

A: Earlier this summer, some Miss USA contestants visiting a TV show couldn't name Vice President Joe Biden, nor describe the color of the waves of grain in "America the Beautiful."

But young people aren't the nation's only civics slackers. A recent survey by Xavier University's Center for the Study of the American Dream found that one in three native-born citizens failed the civics portion of the naturalization test, in stark contrast to the 97.5 percent of immigrants applying for citizenship who passed it.

Native-born citizens do especially poorly on questions about the U.S. Constitution and the governmental, legal and political structure of American democracy -- principles that underlie our civic life. For example, 85 percent don't know the meaning of "the rule of law." (Take a sample test with Charisse at csmonitor.com/USA/2011/0104/Could-you-pass-a-US-citizenship-test.)

To beef up Charisse's civics savvy, use the upcoming election to get her engaged, suggests California educator Bill Laraway.

"CNN, Scholastic, TIME For Kids all have election news tailored to young people on their sites," says Laraway. "Check out C-Span's 'Road to the White House' for human-interest stories. NPR and USA Today have apps she might enjoy. The ironic humor on 'The Daily Show' and 'The Colbert Report' appeals to teens and will fire up their critical thinking.

"Watch the news together and have dinner-table discussions on topics she can relate to, such as how much folks should pay in taxes, whether college students' health insurance should be covered on their parents' plan.

"Take her to meet local candidates on the ballot in your area. Volunteer together in a campaign. The best way to raise a citizen is to model citizenship."

North Carolina educator and newly sworn-in U.S. citizen Lisa Malaquin-Prey suggests getting a copy of E.D. Hirsch Jr.'s book, "What Your Fourth Grader Needs to Know, Revised Edition" (Delta, 2005).

"Many of the questions on the test for immigrants wishing to become citizens can be found in it," says Malaquin-Prey. "Dr. Hirsch's Core Knowledge curriculum is increasingly popular in schools because it teaches the principles of American democracy and the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizenship, starting in kindergarten." (Go to coreknowledge.org to learn more and locate schools that use the curriculum in your area.)

Parents shouldn't rely on schools alone to develop civic literacy.

"There's a tendency to treat civics and history as 'nice to know,' but it really is essential," says educator Robert Pondiscio, author of the Core Knowledge Blog (blog.coreknowledge.org). "Citizenship was the founding principle of public education. Civic participation is closely linked with educational achievement. The higher your education level, the more likely you are to vote.

"Education and civics are cornerstones of both schooling and our democracy."

(Do you have a question about your child's education? Email it to Leanna@aplusadvice.com. Leanna Landsmann is an education writer who began her career as a classroom teacher. She has served on education commissions, visited classrooms in 49 states to observe best practices, and founded Principal for a Day in New York City.)