Be prepared before school starts
Ignore those naysayers who might label you a “kiasu” parent for doing this because starting early and preparing your child for the next academic year before it commences will definitely give him or her a headstart and allow him or her to begin on the right foot.
If it sounds stressful to you, keep in mind that you don’t have to start full force and shove concepts down your teen’s throat right away. Start by briefly revising the previous year’s work and then looking at the coming year’s academic content. This will provide your child with an idea of what to expect so that he or she wouldn’t feel completely lost when lessons begin.
Revise a little every day or week
We’ve all been told when we were students that consistency is the key to academic success. Encouraging your teenager to revise regularly ensures that he or she can stay on track with topics in school and helps him or her with time management.
Rather than cramming all that revision to the week before exams, consistent revision will provide your teen with more time to understand all the information that he or she would need to ace those exams.
Set goals
Goal setting would be an effective motivator for your child to excel or achieve his or her academic targets.
Whether it’s a grade to achieve or a concept to nail, having a target to work towards creates something for your teen to accomplish. When he or she eventually does achieve what he or she initially set out to work towards, it can be a huge motivator for your teen to push him or herself further.
Be organised
This might seem like a trivial concern to many but being organised has a greater impact than you might think.
It would be easier and less time consuming to look for things like notes and stationery when your teen needs them, and it would also create less stress for him or her when his or her study environment is less cluttered. An organised study area would also allow your child to have a clear mind which would help him or her focus better while studying.
Being organised does not have to take too much effort: your teen can make use of tools such as stationery holders, notebooks, and Post-Its to organise his or her study area and notes.
Pay attention in class and participate actively
Encourage your teen to pay attention in class and more importantly, to participate actively in school!
Students who participate more actively in school tend to be more confident as they would have experienced a wider range of events and activities which would provide them with more topics to share and talk about.
Help your teen with managing his or her school life and let him or her know to give some of these tips a try! Feel free to share with us in the comments below if you have got other ideas on what parents or students themselves can do to help them manage their school life more effectively.
If your teen has trouble keeping up with a revision schedule on his or her own, consider enrolling with us and let our teachers take care of the rest! For more information about our secondary level programmes, click here.