The Freshman Follies: Or How to Survive Your Child's First Year of High School
by Kathy Jones, DHS Teacher/Parent

The other day, when my son brought home a D on his Spanish 2 interim, I asked my mom, a retired Spanish teacher, for some advice. She compared learning Spanish to learning to type, to playing an instrument, to competing in a sport: to succeed, you need to practice, practice, practice.

Many ninth graders do not know how to study. Even those who got A's in middle school are often clueless about simple habits that will enable them to recall information tomorrow, in two weeks, or at the end of the year.

To help your child to become more successful, try some of the following strategies:

1. Talk to your child about what you expect in terms of homework. Make it clear that all assignments are to be done carefully and thoroughly and neatly.

2. Take a deep cleansing breath and ask your child to empty his backpack. Look at what comes out of there. If there are random papers, pens, and lunch leftovers, this is not a good sign. Every paper should be filed in a separate section of his binder. Invest in a notebook hole punch so that your child can insert unpunched papers into his notebook. If the notebook is disorganized, ask your child to call a classmate who is organized and work together on reorganizing it.

Your child cannot study notes that he can't locate. Ninth grade teachers have been stressing note taking and you should be able to look through his notebook and see whether or not he is taking notes effectively. Use consequences to reinforce the behavior you want to see and to eliminate the behavior that is keeping your child from succeeding.

3. You can help your child to build confidence in his ability to do the homework by using a technique called "chunking," which means dividing a large assignment into smaller chunks that are easier to complete.

4. Resist the urge to actually help your child to do the work until you are convinced he has genuinely tried to solve the problem on his own. Kids need to learn that it's OK to struggle, that the brain hurts when it is stretching to learn new information and processes.

Tips for Students:

1. Set a specific goal for the grade you want to earn. Write it on a piece of paper and post it where you can see it. Determine what you will have to do in order to earn that grade. How much time will you need to spend on homework? Do you need to meet with a tutor or your teacher for extra help? Write your plan down.

2. Use your planner every period to keep track of daily and long-range assignments. As you complete your homework, check it off in your planner.

3. Schedule a daily homework time. Daily homework needs to be a priority. (Some parents institute a mandatory homework time during which the student must work on homework. If he finishes reviewing all notes, etc., he must read or do other academic work. This teaches him that rushing through work does not give him more free time. Doing work well and efficiently will give him more freedom.)

4. Take notes in class. Teachers almost always tell you what is likely to appear on a quiz or test. If you take notes, you'll know what to study.

5. Study every night. Start by going over class notes. This quick review will help move the information into your brain's long-term memory. Read over your class notes, highlight main ideas and write question marks in the left margin next to anything confusing so that you can ask questions in class the next day.

6. If you have very little homework one night, use the extra time to review topics for quizzes and tests. Learning any subject requires regular review so that information won't be forgotten. You'll be amazed at how much more you will remember and how much time you will save when you are studying for tests.

7. Check the details. Go over assignments to make sure that you have followed directions and that you have not made careless errors. If you cannot spell, show your work to someone who can and then correct your errors.

8. Equip yourself with pens, pencils, looseleaf, highlighters, sticky notes, etc. so that you are prepared for every class every day. In the real world, workers don't show up without the tools of their trade.

9. Pack your backpack before you go to bed. Make sure that everything you need is in there before you fall asleep.

One Final Note to Parents and Students: There are excellent study skills suggestions on pages 6, 7, and 8 of the Dulaney planner.

Sources: "Ten Study Secrets of Great Students" from The Parent Institute and Parents On Your Side