Tips for School Success
BY ALLISON BARCHICHAT / AJT //
Now that first-semester grades are in, many of us wonder what we can do to make second semester more successful for our teens. Here are four quick tips to turn that grade point average around:
Get the scoop. Some parents call my business for tutoring, but when asked the name of their child’s teacher or the course their youngster is taking, they don’t have an answer.
In the tutoring world, this is vital information. Before things go south, keep track of all your child’s teachers, classes and grades. Also, make sure your student has the login and password for their school’s online grade book so they can check on their grades.
Start talking. In many schools, teachers are only required to contact a student’s parents once if a student is in danger of failing. However, there is no limit on the number of times you can check-in with your child’s teacher.
So send an e-mail to your child’s teacher any time you have a question or notice grades slipping. Don’t wait!
Use the web. A parent contacted me recently to see what her son should use as a final exam review tool. Meanwhile, the teacher had already posted her own review on her blog.
Sometimes, information given to our teens at school doesn’t make it all the way home. Check the teacher’s blog as a means of cross-checking your student! Links to teacher blogs are on most school’s webpages.
Importance of homework. In high school, there is homework every night. If your child isn’t bringing materials home, there’s a problem.
Teens often interpret ungraded homework as “unnecessary homework.” Everything the teacher assigns is important, graded or not, for review, practice and understanding.
All the tutoring in the world isn’t going to make your teenager do his homework, and nothing will impact your student’s grades more.
Editor’s note: Allison Barchichat is the mother of three boys and owner of East Cobb Math Tutoring in Marietta (eastcobbmathtutoring.com).
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