(Photo by J. Bangerter) Involvement in a teenager's life
reaps many benefits for both.jpg)
the parent and the teen.
The first two weeks in June historically are the weeks that teens quake in their shoes with the prospect of facing the biggest tests of the year. The comprehensive final exam returns the high school student to material studied at the beginning of the school year, and teens are often shocked when they look back and feel as if they remember nothing. The task of relearning subject matter from nine months ago can be overwhelming, but parents can help.
If the student is overwhelmed, a parent can help by showing the teen how to break up the material into bite-sized pieces. For example, social studies courses, which cover a great deal of material, can be separated into time periods, and looking for main events during each time period can trigger memories of what the student has learned. The parent can help the teen by showing how to find significant facts and outlining them. When studying from the text, showing the teen how chapters are divided into topics and subtopics and questioning what each topic is about will help the teen review.
Very important to a teen’s success during exams is insuring that he or she gets enough sleep. There is a huge relation to sleep and success in school for teens, and many kids this age do not get enough. Their minds will simply not recall what they need for the test if they are operating on less than six hours of deep sleep. Those teens with after-school jobs would find it beneficial to take the week off from work so they can pass their exams, and student employers who value education will agree to this.
A good nutritious diet also plays an important role during exam week. Too much junk food at the expense of regular meals will make the teen sluggish and slower to think, and his mind will be fuzzier than if he had eaten better.
Keeping things in perspective is also helpful. If a teen is freaking about a certain test, the parent should sit down with him and discuss what the worst possible thing that could happen would be. Often, it is not as bad as he thought. Some of my freshmen in my French 1 class had never had a comprehensive final before and were petrified, so I would do this in my classes. I showed them how difficult it was to fail this exam and the course by figuring out various grade scenarios, and this helped to ease many of their minds.
Exams are important in several ways. Research has shown that relearning material helps the student to retain that knowledge, and this is the ultimate goal of education. Exams also help the teen to learn how to work under pressure and study effectively, a future life and work skill he will need after graduation. It is crucial that the teen have parental support and encouragement in this endeavor.
For more information on helping a teen in school, go to these links:
castingoutnines.wordpress.com/2007/12/05/how-to-prepare-for-final-exams
www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/71
www.publicschoolreview.com/articles/71
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