Make them sit in their rooms in silent and do their homework alone
Side with the teacher and not get your child’s side of the story
Tell them that their grades are the most important thing they should worry about
INSTEAD:
Ask if they’re having trouble with other students or teachers
Sit down with them and help them with what they don’t understand
Speak calmly instead of yelling
Don’t invade their privacy by looking through their devices
Don’t take away their hobbies as punishment
Never make them feel unsafe or unable to trust you
This has been a message from a struggling high school junior that wishes their own parents actually did this stuff.
Bonus: Don’t look through their freaking backpacks. Chances are they know damn well they have loads of unfinished papers and the stress of knowing is so overwhelming they don’t even wanna look at it.
Also: Don’t belittle or minimize their struggles. If they need support with mental health, help them find a therapist – and for the love of all that is good, do not make therapy a punishment for bad grades. Actually genuinely care about their mental health and prioritize mental health above good grades.
Make them sit in their rooms in silent and do their homework alone
Side with the teacher and not get your child’s side of the story
Tell them that their grades are the most important thing they should worry about
INSTEAD:
Ask if they’re having trouble with other students or teachers
Sit down with them and help them with what they don’t understand
Speak calmly instead of yelling
Don’t invade their privacy by looking through their devices
Don’t take away their hobbies as punishment
Never make them feel unsafe or unable to trust you
This has been a message from a struggling high school junior that wishes their own parents actually did this stuff.
Bonus: Don’t look through their freaking backpacks. Chances are they know damn well they have loads of unfinished papers and the stress of knowing is so overwhelming they don’t even wanna look at it.
Also: Don’t belittle or minimize their struggles. If they need support with mental health, help them find a therapist – and for the love of all that is good, do not make therapy a punishment for bad grades. Actually genuinely care about their mental health and prioritize mental health above good grades.
That relatable (older) Gen Z memory: when all the projectors and white boards got replaced by Smart Boards™ around like fifth grade and none of the teachers knew how to use them but they Had To Use them otherwise the school just wasted a bunch of money and it was a rlly weird transition
an addition: when they calibrated the board by pressing the dots and everyone in class lost their minds
That relatable (older) Gen Z memory: when all the projectors and white boards got replaced by Smart Boards™ around like fifth grade and none of the teachers knew how to use them but they Had To Use them otherwise the school just wasted a bunch of money and it was a rlly weird transition
an addition: when they calibrated the board by pressing the dots and everyone in class lost their minds
It’s interesting how diseases rip through schools at incredible speeds despite being in an arguably modern, clean(ish) environment. I wonder if it has something to do with the whole “you need a doctor’s note to excuse your absence of even one day” combined with the average price of going to a doctor, the lack of education on things like “you’re still contagious even after the fever goes away”, and the overwhelming message of “if you don’t struggle through it, you’re a failure!”
Is needing a note a common thing because I’ve never needed a doctor’s note for anything except the time I sat out of gym because I had just gotten stitches in elementary school