Meet Teaching Teens
3 Things Teens Can Do to Have a Great School Year
Do Their Homework
I’m not sure when it happened, but far too many students think that homework is an option. It’s not. All truly successful students do their homework. Not some of their homework. Not most of their homework. All of their homework. I don’t teach half of my students. Restaurants don’t serve most of my dinner. The IRS doesn’t require me to pay 65 percent of my taxes. In the real world, real jobs require that 100 percent of the assigned tasks be completed. Teenagers need to do all of their homework. If they do, I guarantee that these kids will see their efforts directly reflected in a very positive manner both on their report cards and in their academic growth. The connection from strong, consistent homework to strong, consistent grades is a straight line. Remember, homework is not an option.
Be Productive After School
The hours between 3:00 P.M. and 7:00 P.M. might be the most critical in a teenager’s day. Study after study shows that this is the time slot when kids who merely hang out get into the most trouble. Trouble can mean anything from doing drugs to having sex to getting involved with gangs or running seriously afoul of the law. Less obvious but certainly very problematic pitfalls during these after-school witching hours also include kids simply melting their brains away by watching hour upon hour of mindless TV or playing video games or surfing the Internet until their cerebral cortexes have been reduced to mush. (Of course they do this while consuming enough junk food to start their very own 7-Eleven, too.) After-school participation in something that is meaningful and of genuine interest to a teenager—the arts, a club, a hobby, sports, something—is crucial to them having a successful school year. Don’t worry so much about academics; there will be plenty of classwork over the course of a year. And plenty of tests, as well. However, making sure that young people are involved in something concrete, something extracurricular—photography, piano, gymnastics—that occupies this vital time slot in their day is the key to keeping kids on the right path while staying away from a host of potential problems. Remember, in today’s world, just kickin’ it can be a recipe for disaster.
Use A Planner
I can’t tell you how crazy it drives me to see teenagers write down homework assignments on the backs of their hands or the sides of their folders or, worse yet, swear to me (as they squinch their eyes and try to cement my assignment in their brains) that they’ll “remember” it. Students shouldn’t need to remember it. Their craniums should be occupied with more important thinking activities than simply trying to remember class assignments. A planner allows for organization (and organization is, as many adults know, a prerequisite to success). A planner allows for simplicity (everything is always in the same place so there is never a need to wonder where that sticky note with math homework on it disappeared to). A planner allows parents to actually see what kids need to do and by when (thus eliminating the question “Do you have any homework tonight?” forevermore—parents can just look in their kids’ planners). Planners empower students to be successful, and teens who use them inevitably find that their school year becomes both less stressful and more productive. A planner is the small tool that unquestionably paves the way for great student achievement.
Teenagers are going to have to take a degree of ownership over their own education. Parents and teachers cannot do it for them. However, parents and teachers can (and should) support them in a way that enables teens to enjoy a school year filled with both personal and academic success. Having teens do the three things listed here will most assuredly start their upcoming school year off on the right foot.
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Clare Henriksen
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Clare Henriksen
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http://www.turningwinds.net Ferdie, Turning Winds
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