3 Keys To Help Your Child Build Strong Academic Habits

Do you have a child that needs some help staying on top of things academically? It’s not too late. When we talk about students being successful in college, academic habits come up a lot. What are academic habits? When you think about students that routinely make the dean’s list, honor roll, or consistently have over a 3.0 GPA, what do you think they do on a day-to-day basis to get those grades? Their day-to-day actions are academic habits. In other words, it's what a student does consistently that results in getting the grades they want. I believe any student can make good grades with the right habits. High school and middle school students can start to develop great academic habits now (with a little help from you). Take a look at the steps below to walk your student through building up their academic habits.

Their Why + Motivation

Grades are important, but they’re not everything. I truly believe grades are a means to an end. Most obviously, high school graduation is that end, but let’s go beyond that. Ask your child what type of lifestyle they want for themselves in their 30s. The lifestyle they describe will be created by everything they do in their teens and 20s and is much harder to accomplish without hardwork, dedication, and planning. They’ll likely answer, “I want a nice car, nice home, and want to travel a lot.” Then ask them, “what mindsets and actions does it take to achieve that lifestyle?” Lastly, ask them, “How can you apply those actions and mindsets to school?”

Teeneagers typically aren’t thinking long term, but this conversation is more about their work ethic than the outcome of their grades in the class. As you know, adulting never ends and when you choose to opt out of any part of it, there's consequences. The purpose of this conversation is to get your child to tap into a larger purpose that will help drive them to focus on improving their work ethic.

Make a Plan + Strategy

Once your child is clear on their why, they need a plan to implement. To develop this plan, discuss with your child what they do during and after class to make good grades and where they can get better. They should identify ways they can replicate their strengths and improve their areas for growth. Some examples that could land on the “strength” or “growth” side could include, but not be limited to: showing up to class on time, taking notes, asking questions during class, going to tutoring, googling when you can’t find an answer, partnering with a classmate, reading the textbook, creating/completing study guides, getting extra practice, being productive at home, etc. Of the list of growth areas, have your child put them in order of most to least impactful on their grades to least. They could create a list for each class or a general list. Choose the growth area ranked highest and that’s their starting point. Your child needs to make time to do the thing they said they would do. This should be during a time where there are absolutely no distractions. Help your child to create this environment so they have time to focus.

At the end of each week they can assess how well their plan is working and what tweaks to make. It’s important that they stick to their strategy for at least two weeks before making any significant changes. Patience and consistency is key here. It’s better to start with more bite sized actions and then add time as time goes on.

Track + Celebrate Growth

The process of growth for your child is going to be one filled with ups and downs and that’s normal. You and your child should document what’s going well (and celebrate it!) and where they can improve each time they implement their strategy. The more often you do this, the faster your child will improve. I’d suggest a minimum of a weekly assessment, but if you’re ambitious, assess daily. By only focusing on growth areas, it can be easy for your child to get down on themselves, so make sure to acknowledge and celebrate their wins and successes. Have them think about what they did and the action they took to achieve those wins. When there’s growth, celebrate it! With each win and improvement your child will start to build momentum. Focus on maintaining it.

This can be one of the best semesters your child has ever had, but it’ll take some work from them and it’ll take some pushing and praise from you. Model patience and consistency for your child while genuinely celebrating even the smallest growth. Your need to be your child’s biggest cheerleader and coach throughout this. You got this! As you embark on this journey together don’t hesitate to reach out to me with questions at fredjohnsoniv@fourthedu.org.