My Kid Doesn’t Know How to Study, Help!

I generally like to look at problems and determine where they stem from and then take a look at how I can solve them.  Most parents reach out to me when their kiddos enter middle school, about six or seventh grade, letting me know that little Johnny has a hard time in math.  I think that is mainly because parents start to have more access to their kiddos’ grades on a regular basis. Of course, this privilege can be used for both good and evil reasons. Parents can tell quickly if their children are performing well in class and get help if they need it. But also, some parents begin to micromanage their kiddos and put some unnecessary stress when constantly talking about grades and assignments.

So why is it that kiddos don’t know how to study?

Well, let’s ask ourselves what studying looks like and how did we as parents learn how to study?

When I was younger my tactics were to memorize a lot of information and hope that somehow that information would show up on a test. I would memorize math facts, science terms, dates, and important people for history grammar rules and etc. I would rewrite my notes and spend countless hours reading and rereading books and passages. And honestly at the end of the day, I never really was the star student. I wasn’t a failing student but I wasn’t an A+ kiddo either.

So if that doesn’t work then what does? And who has to teach our kiddos how to study? Are teachers in charge? Parents? Tutors?

Well, let’s take a closer look at one of the biggest complaints that I’ve had as a teacher. There is never enough time to teach all of the curricula before the end of the school year. (Side note: I don’t think I’ve ever been able to complete a full year worth of curriculum because my kiddos needed to spend more time on some topics than usually allotted for by the curriculum planning team at our district.)

With time being so tight, how could teachers really put “how to study for a test” into their daily lessons. I’ve met some amazing science teachers who help their kiddos learn the science vocabulary by having students write on index cards and create flashcards at the beginning of every lesson. This seems to help most kiddos but not all. And of course, this is something that teachers need to train students to do.

If teachers don’t teach kiddos how to study, then perhaps parents should? Well, I’m not sure that this is a very reasonable solution either. Most parents work eight hours a day, then come home and make dinner and by the time it’s time for homework most parents are exhausted. However, if that’s not the case (parents are not working) then who’s to say that the parents know how to study?!

Well, if teachers or parents are not the answer, then who is it? Tutors? Well, there are families who can afford tutors and their increasing prices, but not all families are capable of affording a weekly or biweekly tutor. Maybe instead of pointing the finger at one person or group of people, we should probably work together to help raise the kiddos. After all, it takes a village, doesn’t it?

Check out my blog next week for some additional insight on this topic.