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Starting the School Year off Right
It’s normal to be full of anxiety at the beginning of the school year. Students, teachers, and parents feel the stress of new expectations, new material, and new people. Here are a few tips to help stay organized and manage some of the new-school-year stress.
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It’s normal to be full of anxiety at the beginning of the school year. Students, teachers, and parents feel the stress of new expectations, new material, and new people. Here are a few tips to help stay organized and manage some of the new-school-year stress:
1) Color Coding. Assign colors to school subjects and keep everything for that subject in a color-coded folder, notebook, and/or binder. At the end of every school day, go through each folder to check for homework and notes to review. Keeping subjects separate helps avoid clutter and missed assignments.
2) Write Things Down! If you never wrote down your homework last year and want to be better this year, now is the time to start! There is usually less homework at the beginning of the year so even writing “No Homework!” in an agenda or wherever you keep track of your to-do lists will get you on the right track. Also, make sure you write things down as often as you can, not typing them into a computer or phone. Hand writing helps you remember so it’s like doing twice the work in one pencil stroke.
3) Gather your Resources. If you anticipate struggling in a subject, ask your teacher for some resources at the beginning of the year. You can supplement work in class with videos, games, reading, workbooks, and other activities to help you catch up, or place into a higher level class. Here are some places to start:
Your public library has an endless wealth of knowledge. In most cities, you can go online to reserve any book (or DVD or other media) in their catalogue and pick it up at your local branch. (All age groups.)
Khan Academy offers free, in-depth videos, taught by experts, on a variety of subjects. It’s an especially good resource to focus on tough math concepts. (Most age groups)
German animation studio Kurzgesagt has a YouTube channel full of colorful animated videos that provide simplified overviews of topics in science, politics, philosophy, psychology, and technology. (Best for middle and high school students.)
Sites like SparkNotes and CliffsNotes can be helpful SUPPLEMENTAL material for readers struggling with understanding or wanting a deeper look at a particular book. These resources should be used to guide reading, not to replace it. (Best for 8th grade and above.)
Shmoop.com has a variety of free and paid resources for test prep, homework help, and subject area review. (All age groups.)
4) Try Something New! It can be stressful to take on new things, but if you look at a new school year as an opportunity for growth, it can be less daunting. I suggest trying a new extracurricular or elective, or even just taking up a new hobby, as a way to get to know people (who can make great study partners!) and to build new skills. I especially encourage this if you are starting at an entirely new school. The beginning of the year is when everyone else is trying new things, too, so you won’t be alone!
When to Hire a Tutor
There are a lot of reasons to consider a tutor for your student—from falling grades to test prep or academic enrichment—but before making the commitment, it’s important to define your student’s needs and goals.
How do I know when I should hire a tutor for my student?
There are a lot of reasons to consider a tutor for your student—from falling grades to test prep or academic enrichment—but before making the commitment, it’s important to define your student’s needs and goals.
Tutoring can boost confidence, build knowledge, and provide useful strategies for studying and test-taking, but it is not a substitute for the classroom.
Tutoring is an investment of both time and money. With the exception of things like test prep or high school and college admissions tutoring, it can be a long time before you see consistent student improvement.
Here are some common reasons parents hire tutors and some key considerations for each:
Standardized test prep. Test-prep tutoring is very common and is usually short-term, lasting only 2 – 3 months. Most standardized tests are more about strategy than subject-area knowledge, so tutoring (combined with student practice) can be very effective to increase test scores.
Students should take at least one, but ideally two or more practice tests before committing to a tutor. A diagnostic test will help you get the most from a test-prep tutor.
When to get at tutor: If practice test scores are a lot lower than you are hoping, or your student has test anxiety, a tutor can help to familiarize them with the test and provide strategic guidance.
When not to get a tutor: If you have a motivated student who is performing slightly below where they want to be, try out a Kaplan or Princeton Review test prep book. The easiest way to improve scores on standardized tests is practice!
Falling grades and academic performance. It’s very common for students excel in some subjects and struggle with others. Science and math are frequent challenges and writing skills may be impacting performance in multiple subjects.
If your student has started a new grade, a new school, or even just a new unit in one of their classes, their grades might suffer. Always talk to your student about their grades to make sure the problem is academic and not personal.
When to get a tutor: If a student has shown consistently poor performance in a subject area, a subject-specific tutor can be helpful to provide clarity and further explanation on topics learned in school. If they are struggling across areas, study skills tutors may be the best option.
When not to get a tutor: If a grade suddenly drops, it may be due to a change in what the class is studying. A single bad test is not an indication that your son or daughter needs academic support. Talk to them about why they are struggling. If your child is feeling anxious about starting a new school or other life change, there will be an adjustment period. A tutor probably won’t be able to help much with non-academic concerns.
Academic enrichment. For high-achieving students, an academic or skill coach may be the best option. Examples of this include: learning a language not taught at school, acting coaching, private chess lessons, or advanced subject tutors to design projects.
When to get a tutor: If a subject area is difficult to learn independently, like a musical instrument, a tutor would be a great bet. This is also a good option for students who need more structure to stay motivated.
When not to get a tutor: If your child tends to jump from hobby to hobby, you may to let them explore things independently so you don’t invest time and money in something they’ll lose interest in. Or, for very independent students, YouTube tutorials, books on the subject, and internet research may be enough.