It takes more than new clothes, notebooks, and tennis shoes to
make it a successful new school year.
Our back-to-school buying habits do not help kids succeed in the
classroom!
Parents are buying new book bags, school clothes, tennis shoes,
notebooks, pens, etc., with the mistaken belief that this will help
their child succeed in school. By mid-September the clothes will be
dirty, the book bag will be torn, the new pens will be lost, and the
notebook will have writing all over the cover. Additionally, those “in”
sneakers will suddenly be “out” and the new “must have or I’ll die” pair
will cost you another $125.
The back to school retail season is the second most important market for
retailers – a staggering $14 billion is spend from mid July until
mid-September to get our children ready for the new school year. Yes, it
is important that our children have the right mind set for their new
school year’s challenge. Certainly, they need to get off on the right
foot and make a good first impression with the teachers. The question
becomes – what do parents do when the new clothes, shoes, book bags, and
things become “old”? (Old in a student’s eyes can be anything over two
weeks.) What do we give our children to help them for the rest of the
school year?
Our gift is to teach our children how to take more responsibility for
their education. It is essential that we give them the tools they need
to succeed today, tomorrow, and for the rest of their lives. How can we
get kids to “own” their education? If we show them how to set and
achieve goals and how to use these principles in the classroom we will
give them important life skills tools that they will use for a lifetime.
Teach Your Child:
1. No Vision = No Direction. Have them write down what they want to
accomplish in the first 10, 20, 30 days of the school year.
2. Teach them not to Don’t Find Fault – Find A Solution
3. Minimizing the Bummer Words: Show them how these six words that can
hold them back from being successful - no, can’t, won’t, never, maybe,
and if.
4. Coach your child that To Earn More they will have to Learn More,
Think More and Do More
5. Stress the “I’ll Make It Happen” words: yes, I can, and I will.
6. Demonstrate to them the power of Eliminating Excuses
7. Show them tangibles examples of how to set and achieve goals. Give
them examples for how to use goal setting in the classroom.
8. Help them to develop a habit to ask themselves each day: “Did I Give
My Best Effort to Today’s Activities?”
9. Demonstrate the importance of Helping Others
10. FOCUS = Vision + Goals + Attitude + Action
Teaching your child how to set and achieve goals will make a positive,
long-term difference in their performance in the classroom, in the
workplace and in life.
John Bishop is the Executive Director of Accent on Success®, a
non-profit organization dedicated to helping students succeed in the
classroom and in life. He is the author of Goal Setting for Students®
which has won three national parent book awards.
Parenting - Making A Schedule This article on the benefits of scheduling your day as a parent
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myself when I had young children at home, and I wish I had done so - and
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