January 2014
Madison Public Schools
Matthew Mingle, Director of Curriculum
Set learning resolutions with your
teen for the new calendar year
It’s the start of a new year—and nearly the halfway point in this school year.
So it’s a good time to take stock and make any needed adjustments.
Talk with your teen about how he feels the school year is going. Is he
making the progress you both would like? How can he make the rest of the
school year even better?
Then make some learning resolutions. Here are a few to get you started:
• Review and update time management.
Between school, activities and time with
friends, is he setting aside enough time to
get his homework done? Is he getting
enough sleep?
• Consider reducing screen time.
Keep track of all the time your teen
spends watching TV, surfing the
Internet and texting his friends. Teens
spend an average of 7½ hours on these
activities each day. But when parents set
limits on media use, teens use about three
hours less per day. One easy way to cut down on
screen time is to make sure that he recharges his phone
outside his bedroom.
• Spend more time reading. Just one in four teens reports reading for
pleasure. But the best way for your teen to build the vocabulary he’ll need
in college is to read often and widely.
Source: Kaiser Family Foundation, “Generation M²: Media in the Lives of 8- to 18-year-olds,” kff.org/other/
event/generation-m2-media-in-the-lives-of/.
Support your teen during adolescence
Your teenager’s brain is growing as quickly now as it did during the first
two years of her life. This is a major reason that her moods may shift so
drastically—and quickly. But you don’t want a bad mood to affect her work.
Team up with your teen to help
• Patience. Teens are attempting to
meet her changing needs and keep
expand their horizons and explore
her moods in check. What she needs
the world. Discuss your teen’s
from you is your:
new interests.
• Time. Family time shows your
• Nurturing. Help your teen make
teenager that you support and
healthy food and exercise choices.
care for her.
Remind her that you love her and
are there for her.
• Encouragement. Make sure she
knows that you are proud of her
Source: M. Barone, “Living and Learning with
and believe she can be successful. Teens,” Homefires, www.homefires.com/articles/
living_with_teens.asp.
Learning to focus makes
homework less of a struggle
Learning to focus on the task at hand is a
challenge. But there are some things that
can make the job a little easier:
• Plan ahead.
• Begin with the hardest task.
• Remove distractions.
• Don’t wait until the last minute.
Source: G. Fleming, “Concentration,” About.com Homework/
Study Tips, tinyurl.com/keqfmu9.
Always stress effort—not
perfection—with your teen
When parents have high expectations for
students, students will rise to meet them.
But make sure expectations aren’t too high.
Sometimes, teens get so anxious that they
begin to view small mistakes as failure.
To help your teen defeat
perfectionism:
• Focus on effort.
• Urge her to see mistakes
as a learning experience.
• Point out your own mistakes.
• Love her for who she is and tell her so.
Source: P.L. Benson and others, What Teens Need to Succeed: Proven,
Practical Ways to Shape Your Own Future, Free Spirit Publishing.
Breakfast gets students off
to a good start each day
Studies show that students who eat a good
breakfast:
• Are more alert at school.
• Perform better in class and on tests.
• Achieve higher standardized test scores.
• Behave better in class.
Make sure your teen eats breakfast every
morning. A piece of fruit and a bagel as he
runs out the door works for mornings when
he’s in a rush!
Source: E. Payne, “Good nutrition boosts exam success,” My
High School Journalism, May 2011.
Copyright © 2014, The Parent Institute®, www.parent-institute.com
Suggest books your teen
will want to read
January 2014
What can I do when my
teen is bored during class?
Q: My teen is bored in one of her classes. That’s proving to be
a real problem. Her grades in this class are slipping into the
danger zone. What can I do before things really
get out of control?
A: Before starting on a plan of action, you
need to have two talks—one with your teen,
one with her teacher. Try to figure out
what the problem areas are.
For instance, if your teen doesn’t
finish the assigned reading, she is likely
to be bored during discussions. Or if
she chats with her friends in the back
of the room, she won’t be actively
participating in debates.
On the other hand, it may be that
the class isn’t challenging enough for her. You
both can talk with her teacher to figure out how to challenge your teen.
Encourage your teen to use this as a learning experience. Throughout her
life, she’s going to have to do some things that aren’t interesting. Learning
how to make the most of those experiences is important.
Challenge your teen to change her in-class behavior. Ask her to try an
experiment: For a week, act as if she enjoyed the class. She might sit in a
different seat or raise her hand more frequently. See if making these changes
can help transform her attitude.
Do you know how to help your teen
prepare for oral reports and projects?
Your teen has to give an oral report. He’s nervous—it’s a big part of his grade.
You may be feeling anxious yourself. But there are ways parents can help teens
prepare for oral presentations in class. Answer yes or no to each question:
___1. Do you encourage your
teen to start working early?
Procrastination can really hurt.
___2. Do you suggest that your
teen look for an interesting
or insightful story to open or
close the oral report?
___3. Do you encourage your
teen to practice the report
before he gives it in class?
___4. Do you record a practice
run—using a video or audio
recorder—if possible? That
way, he can listen to himself
and make adjustments.
___5. Do you make sure your
teen gets a good night’s sleep
before the report?
How did you do?
Each yes means you are helping your
teen do his best on an important oral
presentation for class. For each no, try
that idea from the quiz.
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With so much competing for teens’ attention,
reading materials need to be really interesting to grab a teen’s focus. Suggest your teen
choose reading materials:
• Related to current events. • About exciting ideas that will expand
his understanding of the world.
• That you loved when you were a teen.
Source: Reading is Fundamental, “Helping Teens Find
Something to Read,” AdLit.org, www.adlit.org/article/23399/.
Build your teen’s self-esteem
Teens with good self-esteem often do better in
school because they believe they can
accomplish goals and overcome problems.
To help build your teen’s self-esteem:
• Praise accomplishments and efforts.
• Talk about goals.
• Take pride in your teen.
Source: “How Can I Improve My Self-Esteem?” TeensHealth
from Nemours, tinyurl.com/6d6ffx.
Keep your teen safe online
Your teen uses the Internet
to do homework, visit
social networking sites and
just have fun. But do you
know what else she’s doing
online?
To keep your teen safe online:
• Talk about Internet dangers,
including predators and cyberbullying.
• Keep the family computer in a
visible place, like the living room.
• Use filtering software to prevent her
from visiting inappropriate sites.
• Limit computer usage—especially if
it’s affecting her schoolwork.
• Remind her never to give out
personal information online.
Copyright © 2014, The Parent Institute®, www.parent-institute.com
Helping Students Learn®
Published in English and Spanish, September through May.
Publisher: John H. Wherry, Ed.D.
Editor: Stacey Marin.
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Layout & Illustrations: Maher & Mignella, Cherry Hill, NJ.
Copyright © 2014, The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.
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