It's (almost) that time again!

I don't know about you, but I'm actually looking forward to the school year starting soon! I have a lot of ideas and plans for how I can make my teaching more effective and engaging, and I'm looking forward to getting to know all of my new students and seeing returning students.

At the middle school, we just finished up a 4-day mini-course for new students, where participants were introduced to a variety of strategies that will help them become more skilled at things like time management, organization, active reading, memorization, note-taking, and self advocacy. We had a fantastic group of students participate, and I want to thank their parents for supporting their attendance too.

Below is part of a letter that was sent home to parents on the last day of the mini-course; these are just some suggestions of how parents might support their student's continued progress once the school year is underway. Parents- you may see something in here that could be applicable to your child, even if he or she is not in middle school. Students- you may see something in here for yourself too! Just throwing it out here in case it can be helpful to anyone...

•  Help your student create and follow routines for homework and organization.

• Talk with your student about the strategies he or she is using to complete tasks; this reinforces the metacognitive element of learning.

• Help your student break down long-term projects or assignments into smaller, more manageable tasks; we call this “chunking” or “breaking big rocks into pebbles.” Then, help them to plan (and write down!) when to complete each smaller task, starting with the due date and working backwards; we call this “backwards planning.”

• Talk with your student about what he or she is learning, both content-wise and skill-wise. Emphasize that different strategies work for different people, and that we all need to figure out how we learn best, so we can be efficient and effective learners.

• Part of a student’s middle school experience should be figuring out how to manage more responsibility and independence. For students to have opportunities to learn and practice this, they need to be allowed to grapple with tasks, attempt to problem-solve independently, and experience natural consequences for their actions and inactions. (The Gift of Failure by Jessica Lahey is an interesting book that builds on this idea.)

• Encourage your child to communicate with his or her teachers and/or advisor, especially if they are feeling confused, overwhelmed or unsure of themselves. You could role-play a conversation they might have, or encourage them to write a note or email the teacher if they’re hesitant to initiate a conversation with them.

• Encourage your student to attend extra help sessions with their teachers, and any other skill-building workshops offered by the school (e.g. the HLC’s Snack and Study sessions are held about 2 times each month, for an hour after sports- so your student would need to be picked up from school when it’s over. Upcoming Snack and Study topics and dates will be posted in the weekly TNN email, and they will be in the daily morning announcements as well.) If you're not sure what resources might be available, have your child inquire!

•  Maintain a growth mindset- that is, embrace the belief that we can grow our “intelligence” in different areas, with strategic practice and perseverance. In conversations with your child about schoolwork, grades, and “abilities,” emphasize that strategic practice of a skill actually changes the brain’s structure by building and solidifying neural pathways; so, they’re not “doomed” to always struggle with one task, skill, or content area because the brain is like a muscle we can exercise to make stronger. (See the work of Carol Dweck for more information on growth mindsets- it’s pretty interesting stuff!)

Enjoy your remaining days of summer vacation, 

and see you soon!