Since my last article, a parent asked me the best question I can remember a parent asking: What can I do to support my daughter without giving her more work? (Although this question was asked about SAT prep, it applies to academics as a whole.) Students today are often swamped with work—some graduate high school with their associates degree. Others take 8 (or more) AP classes. A student may do some type of formal SAT (or ACT) prep. This is just academics. On top of that, a student may have a sport (or several) and may be playing on one or more teams for a single sport. A student may also have a job and possibly a social life that exists outside of all these commitments. All these factors made this an excellent question.
The best fixes are simple. A parent can best support their child by making sure that child is getting enough sleep. Parents can provide their child with a quiet space where they won’t be interrupted. For the SAT, make sure the child is registered early to ensure the closest test center. It is also important to normalize questions that a student gets wrong—instead of saying “Why did you miss it?”, say “What did you learn from the last question?” Reminding students that the SAT measures hard work, not intelligence, will help reinforce the crucial growth mindset needed to improve. Praise effort and approach.
A student explaining how to do each question reinforces how to do each question. This practice is great for retention. Parents can remind students that improvement is not linear—there are ups and downs along the way. The result can still be much better than the initial assessment. Not mentioning practice test scores every week can help here. Positive support, from the background, (almost) never adds pressure.
Questions about how to best support your child without overwhelming them? Book me for a free consultation: https://www.ivymasters.com/free-consultation/