Your family might be experiencing what you are going to read today, or maybe you know a family going through a comparable situation.
Students find it difficult talking about their academic struggles. Parents also find it difficult talking about their children’s academic struggles.
Usually, by the time they get around to talking about the struggles, the situation has gone too far, difficult to unravel, students lose interest and waddle throughout school or completely drop out of school. Many parents feel ashamed, feel no one will understand or they just don’t know how to help their children enjoy school, learn and succeed. If only they know that they are not alone, maybe they would open up and get the help they need.
A lot of students struggle academically and that is devastating to families. It does not stop with students and families, the effects spill into the larger society.
In the United States alone, research shows that every year, over 1.2 million students drop out of high school. That’s one student every 26 seconds – or 7,000 a day. Tony Miller
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that the unemployment rate of high school dropouts is 47% higher than graduates. What are the causes of academic struggles? The list can include medical, mental, emotional, social, and sometimes no one knows.
But according to an article published by Grand Key Education, the main reason students struggle in the classroom has very little to do with the difficulty of the subject at hand.
Let’s look at playground relationships at school Just A Little ...
With relationships at school playing important roles in learning, we don’t need to look very far to find reasons why students might struggle academically.
Think back when you were in school and during recess or breaks, teams were put together for a friendly game of tag, football, or basketball. Out of 10 students, can you remember the students who were usually selected first and who got picked last? Maybe it was you or someone you know.
Not being among the first 5 to be selected is not fun not to mention being the last student to be selected. This situation can affect the student’s ability to learn and succeed. Today we will not talk about relationships in school or how they can cause academic struggles. We will talk about that in another article. In this article, we will look at some activities that students and parents can do to encourage learning while reducing academic struggle stress on everyone.
What can be done to help students and their families?
Let us be clear, when children struggle academically telling them to study harder is not a solution. Do not get me wrong, I am not suggesting that students abandon their studies, but suggesting a need for balance and applying appropriate interventions.
There are many ways and things to do to encourage and motivate children as well as parents and everyone involved. Remember, the mind and body are connected in many ways, so making sure students and parents stay on top of their physical health, emotional and mental health is important.
Tip #1 Extracurricular Activities
“A tired brain can sometimes benefit from a quick refresh. If work or school has sapped your ability to concentrate, take a break from your desk and get outside if you can. Healthline
If you have not already done so, get your child involved in extracurricular activities such as swimming, football, farming, basketball, walking, biking, tennis, cooking, baking, learning to play an instrument, singing and the list goes on. Allowing the brain and mind to refocus on something other than books will enhance and motivate learning.
The more the exercise the better, but if you can manage a 15-minute walk “you’re still benefiting by giving your brain a break, improving your mental clarity and possibly even relieving some stress.” Here are some self-care tips that I often remind parents and students to practice.
- Drink a lot of water.
- Get enough sleep. Also take naps.
Step away and take breaks from your study during the day – if you are in school, ask for permission to go to the toilet. The little break and walk are beneficial.
- Close your eyes for 5 minutes three times a day or just sit quietly.
- Exercise – it helps the brain, body, and mind to air out. 30 minutes at least twice weekly. Nothing extraordinary. You can play football in the neighborhood with friends or kick around by yourself against the walk, visit the gym or a walk in the neighborhood will do the job.
- These activities can easily be overlooked because of their simplicity but stopping a couple of minutes during the day to simply sit and do nothing can do wonders.
Tip #2 Make Learning Exciting and Real
Old and young, hands-on activities can expedite learning when students struggle. Like exercise mentioned above, hands-on activities give the brain a break, improving mental clarity and possibly relieving stress. Here are some fun activities for the whole family.
For the younger kids, welcome to the Walking Water Science Experiment. This is a fun way to teach math, reading, speaking, writing, science and whatever you want without getting all teacherly. I got this activity from a colleague many years ago and it has not lost its steam.
What you will need …
- Download the two PDFs. One is the how to (guideline) and shows what you need, and the other is the record keeping form.
For the older kids, here are some ideas and students can add to the list.
- Cooking and baking: try making something alone or with family and friends. You will smile and laugh not because of the mess, but because of what you can make. Visit Dedells for ideas.
- Helping younger siblings or neighborhood kids with school tasks can boost self-esteem.
- Building Ancient Greek Castles with Paper: I’ve done this as a class event with parents and children and it is always exciting!
What you will need …
- Get a picture of a castle or any building of your choice.
- Gather the materials needed: color papers, tapes, staple, masking tape, measuring tape, and so on.
- Ready set and have fun.
- Do not forget to set the timer.
- You might choose to use paint, coloring pencils, and crayons – just get them ready.
- You can tweak the activities and use for all age groups.
Tip #3 Talk to Someone
Very often, life’s problems can easily be resolved by talking to someone – family, friends, or staff in your child’s school . If you feel that you would like to discuss about your child’s academy struggles or your child would like to discuss with us, Alpha Springs is here to help. We will listen and assist you and your family to find the probable causes and solutions for the academic struggles.
We believe when children are happy and doing well in school, the family and society will also be happy. Click HERE to book a complimentary phone consultation and visit our website for more resource at www.alphaspringsedu.com.
Tip #4 Just for Students: Do not Procrastinate
Low Expectation of Academic Demands causes many students to struggle or dropout out of college. Pace your schoolwork and do not procrastinate. It will be difficult or near impossible completing a project that was supposed to take a month in one week. Imagine having 2 to 3 of such tasks?
“Going to School is Tough Just Like any Other Bob, so Practice School-Life-Balance.” –Alpha Springs
A lot of high school students and first-year college students seem not to have a clue of how intense school is mentally, emotionally, and physically. To generate self-care discussions I made a poster with the heading “School is tough just like any other job, so practice school-life-balance.” Download and paste it where you can easily see it – so you will remember to keep up the pace, care for yourself and remain academically successful.
Let’s bring it together!
There are a lot of benefits from studying long and hard, but it’s also important to emphasize self-care because when a student is physically, emotionally, or mentally exhausted; learning becomes difficult to impossible; and struggling academically begins.
Academic struggle is real, and it can happen to anyone at any time, but knowing that there is help and taking advantage of it and on time are important. However, preventing it from happening in the first place might be the best approach. So, how can you prevent academic struggles?
- Know that academic struggle is real.
- Practice fun learning activities at home.
- Be mindful of your health – have a good self-care plan and practice it.
- Do not be isolated, stay connected. Share what you are going through.
- Students do not procrastinate. Get work done on time.
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Do you think your child could benefit from learning support or academic advising? Book a free consultation. We are happy to discuss with you and guide you through the process. We help remove the stress so your child gets on with learning.