Spring Fever – Is it Jeopardizing Your Child’s School Success?
Debbie Elder
Has the power struggles over school work hit a new height recently? Has your child struggled to get back into gear since Spring break? Are you worried that all their hard work to date could go down the tubes if they don’t get it together now and finish strong? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you need to read on.
The top two reasons students lose momentum are:
1. The student is not clear on what is expected or required.
2. The student is overwhelmed by the amount of work that needs to be completed before the end of the school year.
When we are unsure of what lies ahead many of us wander aimlessly or completely shutdown. I have seen students fall into both of these traps. Thankfully, you can help steer them in a direction that can avoid these two pitfalls of procrastination. The first step is to ask the student to make a list of everything that needs to be completed between now and the end of school. The list must include everything; tests, projects, research papers, final exams, sports obligations, family commitments, practice/rehearsal schedules, etc. Don’t leave anything off the list. Once the list has been completed pull out the planner and start adding all the confirmed dates that you have identified.
Next sit down together and start to prioritize the list. Break large projects into daily and weekly tasks. If your child is unsure of exactly what their teachers expects encourage them to get clarification. If your child is young you may need to email or call the teacher directly. Once you have gathered all the information start to set your goals. Goals should be both long term – to the end of the semester and short term – what needs to be completed daily in order to reach the eventual goal of completely this school year strong.
After the game plan has been established have your student list in very specific terms all the ‘what’s in it for me’ points. It is really important that our students can determine their personal ‘why’s’ for finishing out the year strong. I would also caution you against stepping in to quick to help them complete the list. The ‘why’s’ really need to come from the child. If your student is not used to doing this type of exercise he or she may struggle, let them. This is a very valuable tool that will teach your child to take ownership of their own learning.
Parents, time to come to attention and get focused. Your student needs you now and the tools you need to assist them are at your finger tips. The final weeks of the school year require a level of focus that most students struggle to achieve; this is where you as the parent need to step in. By providing encouragement, help, and accountability to set them up for academic achievement you can coach your child to school success. We want our students to finish strong, so let’s help them meet that goal.
Offer your student encouragement and support. This is definitely the time to articulate the positives, they are under enough stress at school, do everything you can to make their time with you a safe haven. If you are a home schooling family the same holds true for you, continue to catch them being good and remember to acknowledge what you want repeated. Keeping their confidence level up will go a long way to giving them what they will need to tackle the next few weeks. Remember what Henry Ford said, “There is no man living that cannot do more than he thinks he can.”
This is a great time of the year to lay the groundwork for a contract with your child. I suggest that you empower them to put down in writing what they intend to accomplish this semester, each week, and daily. This written agreement essentially allows you to step into the role of coach. By clearly outlining the tasks that need to be completed you can hold the student accountable to their ‘to do’ list. By involving them directly in the process you gain permission, upfront to keep them on track. In essence you will become their accountability partner.
By cooperatively working with your student to lead them to success they will achieve the results they want. In addition to that accomplishment you have trained them in a great system of completion. The applications of this new system are endless. Also you have opened the door to future opportunities to offer assistance because you have collaborated. Your student will welcome your help in the future because you have valued their input and listened to their needs.
by Debbie Elder