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A Parent’s Guide to Preparing For the New School Year
Helping Your "Knowledge Workers"
Families across the U.S. are preparing to go back to school. Right now, thousands of students are heading out to buy supplies, new clothes and the latest gear. Their parents are juggling multiple projects, priorities and responsibilities while struggling to prepare for the inevitable start to another school year.
The weeks leading up to school can be challenging, particularly for busy parents. We believe it is possible to guide your children in the creation of strategies and systems that can sustain academic success and result in a more enjoyable start to the school year. Great parents, like inspirational leaders, create the environment and systems that provide the necessary infrastructure to transform their child’s learning experience.
In a world where students are struggling with academic overload and growing demands on their time, parents need to provide their "knowledge workers" with the information, tools and systems they will need to successfully manage their academic responsibilities. How can parents maximize their end-of-summer preparation while minimizing anxiety and frustration? The following three ideas will help pave the way towards a more successful and enjoyable school year for both students and parents.
Create an Academic Biography
A road map is most useful when we can identify two things: (1) Where we are, and (2) Where we are going. Similarly, knowing where you are is a valuable step in realizing a potential goal. Most teachers, parents and students focus on where they're going, often beginning with the end in mind. However, there is significant value in settling into a few moments of reflection about current reality. The suggestion here is to begin with the beginning in mind.
Support your child in identifying their current educational reality. This can begin as a mind map or brainstorm session - where ideas come out in a random order. Concepts to include are: Strengths, Weaknesses, Challenges, Interests, Dreams, etc. It is important to listen and accept all ideas as you record them on paper. Resist the temptation to filter, negate or question the authenticity of your child’s ideas.
A very effective way to begin this activity is to ask your child to spend up to fifteen minutes free-writing about any of the questions below. If you prefer to have the ideas flow from a discussion than begin by choosing a question that will generate some initial conversation.
What do I really enjoy about school? What do I like to learn about?
What has been easy for me to learn or do in school? What challenges me?
Where would I like to see the most dramatic change in my academic success?
If I could study ANYTHING at all, and learn about it, what would that be?
Let your child own this work. Your role in this activity is to listen, record ideas and ask the questions that will continue to move the discussion forward. This collection of ideas, thoughts, and truths becomes an incredible discussion prompt for future family meetings. In essence, it provides the form to begin defining goals and outcomes for the year.
After brainstorming several ideas work with your child to write a letter, put together a collage or draw a picture that represents this “map.” Many families post their maps in a visible location as a continued reminder and source of acknowledgement for their child’s strengths, dreams and challenges.
Define Year-Long Goals at your Family Meeting
Successful families consistently work together, as a team, to create short and long-term objectives. Perhaps the time has come for a strategic planning session, (a.k.a. a family meeting)! Check your calendar and select a time when the family can spend an hour together. Begin by asking this question: "If our academic year went exactly the way we wish it would, what will be true by next June?" Everyone should have the opportunity to respond and share their ideas. The resulting responses become goals for the year ahead. Some goals may focus on academic or athletic achievement while others may take a more personal focus. For example, your child’s goals may look like: "Make the varsity soccer team," and, "Earn at least a 1250 on the SAT in the fall." The more specific and measurable these outcomes are, the easier it will be for your child to follow through towards completion of their goals.
Written goals act as magnets, pulling the creator toward manifestation of their dreams. Many families forgo this very important exercise, instead taking a day-to-day approach to their year that ultimately results in frustration and anxiety for everyone involved. Written goals become measurable benchmarks for a child’s progress and thus hold greater importance. Regularly reviewing written goals is like sailing with GPS navigation. If your boat veers off-course, it is easy to regain your bearings and progress towards your destination.
Set Up and Maintain a Dedicated Work Station
One of the most important aspects of academic and personal productivity is access to an effective workstation. Commonly referred to as a desktop, the knowledge worker of the 21st century needs a "command center" for managing information. The lack of a dedicated, equipped and well lit study space will negatively impact your child’s academic progress.
Supplies should be easily accessible. Recent time management research found that students can spend as much as 50% of their study time looking for materials on the floor, in backpacks or on shelves. Use a checklist to note what supplies should be available and accessible at the workstation. A weekly or bi-monthly review of your checklist can save many hours throughout the year. Make a note on the checklist when supply items begin to run low. Plan a restocking trip to your local office supply store as the need for supplies begins to grow.
Students have been learning with TV, radio and telephone in hand for years. Although it is possible to learn in many diverse environments, there are several reasons to create a quiet, dedicated, fully stocked study area. Selecting a location that effectively silences the competition can reduce (sometimes even up to 80%!) the duration of your child’s study time. Instead of using 40 or 50 minutes to complete a math assignment while listening to music, responding to chat messages and answering the occasional phone call, encourage your child to plan 20-minute study blocks that are free from distraction. Following each study block your child should take a 5 minute break to relax, make a quick phone call, answer chat messages or engage in another activity of their choosing. Gradually, the 20-minute time block should be extended to 30 minutes or 45 minutes for older high school students. Incorporating the study block strategy will result in a more effective use of your child’s time with the added benefit of allowing your child to engage in activities of their choosing.
Consider reviewing your own office work station. What makes it so effective for you? If you could change anything, what would it be? Each of these questions can be posed to your children as they are the ones managing priorities, projects, teachers' expectations, in addition to their personal wellness and family commitments.
Although there are many study strategies that can be utilized throughout the school year to beat procrastination, prepare for exams and retain information it is imperative that families have taken a team approach to planning for a year of academic success. By following the above three principles, children can prepare to win the game of their own education and parents will experience a more relaxed and enjoyable start to the school year.
Click here to read other articles by Joe Bruzzese, M.A.
Click here to read other articles by Jason W. Womack, M.Ed., M.A.
Copyright © Joe Bruzzese, M.A. and Jason W. Womack, M.Ed., M.A. are California-based expert coaches, speakers and writers on parent-teen communication and family goal achievement. For a free checklist titled, "7 Steps to a Successful First Week of School," please send them an email. Reprinted with permission.
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