Figuring out High school

Entering high school is a whole new experience for parents as well as students. Your kids are growing up and becoming more independent so how much should you monitor them in high school? It is a time when students need to learn how to advocate for themselves and figure out how to ask for help. The problem is that a lot of students don't realize that they need the help until they have already dug a hole. So here are some suggestions for parents of freshman

1. Monitor their grades. Get them on the right track by completing all of their work and learning how to schedule their time.

2. Watch their quiz scores closely. Homework is not a good measure of learning. With computers answers can be copied and pasted without much thought. Most teachers have quizzes to help the student and teacher realize what material has been mastered and what still has to be learned.

3. Students often do not realize that they have not retained the material until they are tested over it. If they are struggling with the quizzes have them go in and talk to their teacher to figure out what they are doing wrong

4. Most schools also have after school tutoring or educational hubs that students can go to for extra help. It is important for students to start first with their teacher since they are the first resource in any class. It is also helpful for the teacher to know that the student is working to try to improve their grades.

5. For test preparation programs like quizlet, IXL, quizzes, and kahoot are also good learning tools that can help students determine how much they really know. Just reading through their notes is often not enough. If your student needs some individualized help beyond what they can get from their teacher then consider tutoring.

Next blog I will discuss how the brain learns and some of the traps that students fall into when studying that really don't promote learning.