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Help Your Teen With Hardships of High School

Evaluating student progress

At the beginning of classes in September, most teachers provide students with an outline of their courses, either for the semester or for the full school year. The outline usually includes plans for evaluating student achievement throughout, showing the allocation of percentages of the final mark to class participation and homework, to major projects or essays, to short tests, and to full-length exams. It's good for parents to become familiar with this information so that they can help their kids balance the emphasis on different phases of each subject in which they enroll. The teacher usually writes comments on the student projects or assignments throughout the semester. Report cards at the end of the semester and of the course usually include the mark or the letter achieved and a general comment.

Beyond the report card

For a fuller assessment of how your teen is coping in high school, make a point of attending parent-teacher nights so that you can talk individually with each teacher. In your meeting with each teacher, ask basic questions.

• Is my teen attending your class?
• Is my teen behaving in your class?
• Does my teen complete homework assignments and hand them in on time?
• How is my teen doing in tests?

Most highschool teachers return essays and assignments with a mark and any comments to the students. If you have concerns about these assignments, bring a marked one to the interview and ask the teacher to discuss what problems your teen's work shows.

When you suspect there's a problem, always call the school; don't wait for a teacher to call you. At the high-school level, teachers are responsible for many more students, so the system for reporting back to parents can sometimes break down.

Extracurricular activities

Many of the activities your teen takes part in at high school can't be graded and won't show up on his report card but are, nevertheless, very important. Clubs, teams, student government, and community service are all part of the high-school experience. Encourage your teens to get involved and applaud their efforts. Sometimes when a student is going through a bad patch at school -- classes are boring, he's struggling with math -- it's the drama club or basketball practice that keeps him going. The friendships they make and the experiences they gain make high school a place they want to be. Kids who participate in activities outside of class have greater motivation, and do better academically.

Academic survival

Most classroom teachers in the last grades of elementary school talk to students about the demands of high-school courses and the hard work that lies ahead; they talk about the importance of having good work habits and of doing homework -- in fact, they hand out major assignments themselves. Here are some useful organizing tips for your teen:

Advice to use a calendar agenda or diary - so as not to miss an assignment or test because he forgot to write it down.
Be sure he prepares for class by doing the reading assignments the night before. This makes it possible to follow the class discussion.
Listen actively in class. Explain the importance of focusing on what the teacher and other students say and participating in the discussion contribute to overall marks and reduce or help with follow-up homework.
Take notes. A kid should know how to concentrate on key concepts and key facts. Don't try to write down everything the teacher says. Listen to the point the teacher is making; if it's an interesting variation on what have been read or a tip that helps to understand, jot it down.
Organizing notes. Show the best way to organize all the notes taken - good advice are to date them; use a highlighter to emphasize definitions or important concepts; write down any questions about the subject to ask them in class.
Remind your kid that he is free to ask questions if he don't understand. It's too easy to let a question go and miss an important concept. Asking questions as well as answering them demonstrate interest and give teachers opportunities to expand on topics that may also puzzle other students.
Learn how to manage time. Set aside enough time to get the homework done or to study for a big test. When your teen finished the work, he may reward himself with a phone call or a game.
Set up a study space. Habituate your kid to gather up all the supplies he'll need at school and keep them in an easy-to-reach box. If you can't create any other space and the kitchen table becomes the work table, choose a study time that doesn't bump into meal preparation.
Watch your teen never pull an all-nighter for a test. No one is at his best when he works through the night and tries to write a test or exam without adequate sleep.