Summer school isn't a walk in the park!Even just the name ‘Summer School’ comes with all sorts of nice connotations: summer = sun = holiday = fun = relaxation. The irony is of course, is that summer school is anything but relaxing.
If your teen is about to embark on Summer School or a summer course, they may be about to have this realisation.
The whole point of summer school is to cram in a lot of work into a small amount of time. This will mean your teen won’t have the luxury of procrastinating nearly as much as they might do during the normal school year.
If this is something you believe your teen might find a problem, here are a few things you can do to help them squash their summer school procrastination.
Forewarned is forearmed. Many summer school students don’t realise they don’t have the luxury of excess time until their half way through. And by this stage it can be very overwhelming to get back on top of things.
We suggest that you have a chat with your teen before they get started to make sure they realize what the work load is going to be like. They’re going to have to start with a hiss and a roar and won’t be able to take their foot off the gas.
Working to a timetable is something that we advocate during the normal school year, and particularly when exams are looming.
Having a weekly timetable – and more importantly sticking to it – is possibly going to be even more important for your teen’s success at summer school.
It’s really simple – having a timetable makes students much more likely to stick to a regular study schedule. And this is obviously a pivotal part of doing well at summer school, because again, your teen doesn’t have any time to waste.
Your teen should plan out their weeks – noting down specific times when they’re going to study for a particular subject, complete assignments, and prepare for their exams.
From what we’ve described here about summer school, anyone who didn’t know better might think we’ve described a setting of boot camp!
As it would be with boot camp (not that we’d know), striking success at summer school will ultimately come down to how well your teen can find the balance of working really hard, without burning out.
Summer school can be really intense and really stressful, and stress isn’t something you want your teen to feel for the entire duration. It’s counterproductive.
But you can help them keep things in perspective when they’re freaking out, suggest fun or stress-reducing things they can do in their down time so they don’t go insane.
Plus, it’s important that you’ll just be there for general help and support. If your teen wants to ace their summer school exams, they’re going to need it!
Overall your teen should probably be looking at summer school as a trade off – it’s a lot of work and it’s pretty intense – but they will come out having done something really great and have gotten extra credits towards their academic career.
The trick to the success is simply to be organised, efficient, and to stay positive about it.
And with your help – they will be able to do these things much more effectively.
The Study Gurus are Clare McIlwraith and Chris Whittington. Their aim is to show parents how they can help their children reach their academic potential. They’re sharing their years of studying and tutoring experience at http://www.thestudygurus.com/.
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