HELPING STD 7 PUPILS

SET PRIORITIES

Transitional time: leaving childhood behind.

Their lives are changing and their bodies are changing.

Mostly interested with the present: they live in an immediate, self-involved place.

Their behavior can be confusing. It vacillates from being ‘mature’ to being ‘babyish’

It’s a very exploratory time of life, the child has a lot of interests. They are searching for meaning in their lives and find school assignments void of meaning.

May start engaging in risky behaviors such as experimenting with smoking, drugs, etc… and often brag about these things

Desire for independence.Need to gain approval from peers rather than adults.

Face challenges in organization and motivation.

Unguided teen’s priorities:

1. Enhancing face value among friends

Spending time with friendsFacebookhanging out/sleep oversphysical appearance; hair; etc

2. Special Talents Sports Singing/dancingPlaying musical instruments3. Food 4. Relationships 5. Friendships

How can parents assist them set priorities?

1. Use of time  Help the boy make and then facilitate a fairly regular timetable

Time to leave schoolWhat to do when one gets home

Weekday time tableWeekend timetable (beginning Friday)

Holiday timetable

Home/school timetable and activities:

Where possible, Mid-CAT and CAT weekends should not coincide with family activities e.g. outings, visits, parties etc.

SOCIAL LIFEDiscuss friends: Cultivate a genuine interest in his friends

Time spent with friends; age of friends-advise them avoid older friends

Discourage Hanging out (Junction, Mall, etc.)

Set a policy on visits, sleepovers, etc. Get to know the parents of the friends

MOBILE PHONEEstablish policy on phoneType of phoneDays of useInternet accessFacebook access (friends)Amount of credit

MoneyWhat are his sources of money?

Allowance from youRelativesBusiness

How much has he got? NB: The more liquid the boy is, the more fluid he will be!

How does he spend his money?

Extracurricular activities:Agree on the number of activities he can engage in.

Agree on what marks he should maintain in order to continue with the activity.

ACADEMICSTrack performance in the year so far in each subject and identify:

Strong subjects (above 80%)Average subjects (60-79%)Weak subjects (below 60)

For the weak subject(s) find out from the subject teacher(s) why the boy is not performing well:

Does not study Does not copy notes Has gaps from earlier years

Distracted in classDoes not do homeworkDoes not write homework in the diaryTakes long to learn concepts

Decide with the teacher/tutor:What needs to be done By whom it should be done How you are going to evaluate success

Examples: How to ensure that homework is done

Revision strategies Remedial classes/tuition (topics to be covered)

Supplementary materials Constructing a timetable

Set targets for each subject with the boy

The mark the boy should work towards

What he needs to do to get the mark: small tasks every day/week

What help he needs to achieve the targets

What he needs to give up to achieve his targets

As we help the boy: Don’t go for a “quick fix” Correct with facts not opinions Opinion: “You are very lazy these days….”

Fact: “You woke up at 10 o’clock last Saturday and only studied for 20 minutes”

Don’t dwell too much on the future: he may never see it. Deal with the “now”

Be consistent. He has a right to your acting in a predictable manner

Invest time on this project!GOOD LUCK!