GO A L
FOR IT!
The beginning of a new school year is a great time to
set some year-end goals. Try these ideas:
Find the time to sit down with your teen and make
a list of things that you’d both like to see them
accomplish in the coming months.
Write each goal on its own page in a notebook, and
break large things into manageable increments to take some
of the pressure off.
You may want to set a reward for major achievements to help
motivate your teen.
Don’t forget to keep track of your teen’s progress throughout
the year, making notes as they hit important milestones and
detailing how they overcame challenges and hurdles.
TEENS
GOALS
GET ORGANIZED
GO SOLO ON
PROJECTS
PARENTS
Losing work, scrambling to find supplies,
forgetting test dates — They all lead to
frustration and will affect grades.
Provide some organizing systems with a place
for study aids and an area that they keep items
going to school.
tive to
ique perspec
ct.
Use your un
to any proje
eativity
add some cr
Review the final draft for helpful suggestions
but refrain from doing or re-doing the work.
Avoid looking up the assignments on the
teacher website. Monitor progress and
discipline for incomplete and shoddy work.
DO THE WORK
Be responsible for homework assignments.
CHOOSE FRIENDS
WISELY
Avoid “guilty by association.” Define what
you want in a friend.
FILL IN THE GAPS
Set out to fill in weak or missing areas on
your resume.
Help your teen fill out their
teen resume. Scan this QR code
to get an example at
PotentialMagazine.com.
Resolve to succeed in the tough course and
survive a tough teacher.
Coach your teen on ways to
handle different situations and
how to resolve issues or conflict.
HANG TOUGH
KEEP A CALENDAR
TAKE GOOD NOTES
BE ALERT &
CONCENTRATE
READ, READ &
READ SOME MORE
30
Give them guidance and bou
ndaries —
This is a large “derailing” issu
e for teens.
activities, especially
Keep a calendar of
s like studying,
unstructured activitie th friends.
time wi
working out and
No one can write as fast as the teacher can
talk (and boy can they talk!), but writing key
facts to keep you on track when
studying is an important skill to master.
Learn to learn.
Commit to outside reading whether books or
newspapers, as long as it is interesting!
www.potentialmagazine.com
Coordinate with teens and have them
communicate their time commitments to you.
Avoid the tendency to schedule their time for
them.
Have them tell you about the lecture based on
their notes. Give them accountability until you
feel like they have made it a habit.
Encourage teens to ask
questions silently
to themselves about wh
at they are
hearing and writing do
wn. If they are
confused, remind them
to ask it out loud.
Learning to read and comprehend the
written word is valuable for standardized tests
and schoolwork.