When Your Teen Wishes School Were Easier

Komo

3 min read

A lot of teens wish school were easier. They take shortcuts, do the bare minimum, and procrastinate. When they struggle or get low grades, some blame teachers (“she doesn’t teach in a way I understand”) or classes (“I’m just not good at math”) or learning differences (“It’s not my fault I can’t focus, I have ADD”). They might ‘try’ to change things, and often get some good false starts (especially the first week or two of a fresh term or quarter) before invariably slipping back into the status quo. 

All of these things, including ‘trying harder’, actually make school much harder. Why is ‘trying’ in brackets, you might wonder? Because increased effort and energy without a clear strategy is not helpful and in fact generally does more harm than good (see this post for more on why just ‘trying to work harder’ is a bad idea).

The fastest way to make school feel easier is to build skills. 

When your kid has the skills to manage and engage in their work – to take ownership over their work, manage their time, self-advocate – all of the things that used to feel hard become simpler. Self-motivating, staying on track with work, asking teachers questions, doing well on tests…all happen with greater ease (and sometimes joy :)) than ever before. 

There is no challenge your child is facing that stronger skills won’t help, and it’s vital to understand that your child can start building these skills today. One of my favorite quotes is that skills are built, not born. 

With the right skills, you’ll watch your child…

…get their work done properly and in on time, every time

…^do this on their own, without you nagging

…feel smarter and more confident

…earn higher grades consistently, in all classes

…reduce or eliminate test anxiety

Two questions for you to consider: 

1. Which of these (above) would you most want to see? 
2. What is stopping you/your child from starting your own skill-building journey right now? I.e. what is stopping you/your child from making school feel much easier?

Comment on this post, or send me and email to let me know,

Kelsey