Educational Media Reviews Online

This DVD is framed by scenes of 4 high school students who carpool, three of them having organization problems causing the driver to drop them from the group, and their return after addressing their organizational difficulties. It is further divided into three sections, each opening with a narrator, followed by the scenes described below, and closing with the narrator reiterating the main points and general information such as the average person spends six weeks per year looking for lost objects, which is sure to get everyone’s attention. “Take Control of Living Space” encompasses planning space for everything in a teen’s room and is given authority by professional organizer Monica Friel. This section shows a young man organizing his room at home as well as addressing dorm living. Tips include breaking the job into manageable pieces and using containers. The second section, “Organize your School Materials” presents a young lady organizing her locker and backpack with binders, folders, and locker organization supplies. The use of a flash drive is also recommended to organize electronic media. The final section, “Make Your Time Count” addresses organizing a schedule by defining priorities and goals and allotting time to match the priorities. A young lady who has been spending too much time on her job and not enough on school is the scenario, which also includes how to organize time to complete larger school projects to avoid the all too common all-nighter. Her sympathetic boss helps her out and emphasis is given to reducing stress and gaining self-confidence through these organizational skills.

The quality of the filming is good, and though the acting is a bit stilted at times, it does not detract from the quality of the message given both through narration and example. The situations are realistic and will hit home with most teens. An online teacher’s guide is available by searching the item number on the spine of the video box at the Cambridge Educational web site. This informative DVD will be useful in classrooms and for individual students struggling with organizational skills.