The High School Struggle
It has been increasingly apparent to me that many students arriving in high school are not equipped to deal with the challenges that they face. Often, there are multiple technology platforms that teachers need to use to deliver content, instructions, and assignments. There are deadlines that carry late penalties, as well as a large volume of work to master, remember, and notes to file – digital and paper copies. Teachers also expect more from these adolescent kids who have recently fallen out of middle school, are going through puberty, and are a little overwhelmed.
Suddenly, the tests seem a little harder, the work volume increases, more independence is expected, and the looser format in high school of “If you don’t hand in the work, you get a zero” starts to give a false sense of freedom. Many students take this new format as “If you don’t want to do the work, you won’t get punished.” It does not take long before students who were seemingly on the path to rocket science in middle school start getting poorer grades, enjoy the apparent freedom, but start to think they will not do well anymore. Comments such as “I am cooked” and “I’m going to fail” are regularly thrown out, and their self-image takes a dip.
The Parent Perspective
On top of that, anxious parents get on their case and take away phones, ground students, and try to force them back on track again. Tempers flare in the tumultuous, underdeveloped frontal lobe as parents start wondering if these new grades are going to affect their GPA and if they won’t get into college, ending up on the side of the road with a piece of cardboard in their hand. Parents feel powerless as they realize that they can no longer do the math or understand the science and start getting exasperated. At this point, parents may employ a whole host of tutors, take a trip to the psychologist, and try to get all the accommodations that are available.
How I can Help
What I am offering is a supportive, structured way of getting 7th to 10th grade students to look at the big picture, understand the playing field, and come up with an individual plan to tackle each of the challenges that are thrown at them. I work on their desire to own the process and not just to attend coaching because their parents have paid and told them to attend. I help them to try and envision their future and what it will look like with them in it. Once they can do that, then we look at what they need to do to get them there. Once they have their mind in the right place, and they own the process, they are ready to create strategies with me for how they can do their very best.
A Realistic Approach
I am not creating the expectation that everyone can be top of their class. I am simply helping each student to be their very best. If they are not achieving their very best, there is something that can be done about that. If parents have an unrealistic expectation that magic is going to be performed – that can’t be done.