Back-to-School Night

Wednesday is Back-to-School Night at my son's high school. With three kids, this will be my 16th Back-to-School Night, so I consider myself something of an expert. Even though I've done this numerous times before, I'm still curious to meet my child's teachers, to find out from him where he sits, so I can see his view of the classroom, step into his shoes for a few minutes.

Of course, things have changed over the years.

When they were in elementary school, the rooms were packed. Both parents attended whenever possible, so it was standing room only. Middle school parent nights were also well attended, making it a real challenge to navigate between classrooms during the three minute passing period - the same amount of time the kids have.

High school Back-to-School Nights have been a little different. This will be our seventh year at the high school, and my husband and I have experienced both sides of the coin - classrooms that were full of anxious parents, wondering what will be expected of their child, and nearly empty rooms where maybe three other parents showed up.

Granted, sometimes a parent can't get away from work, or they have more than one child and can't be in two places at once. But this is the one time it really pays for both parents to show up. It's one evening where you get to find out what is expected of your child, what the homework policy is, whether or not extra credit will be awarded. How much are the tests worth? How much time should they be studying at home? What big project is due next week?

Try to fit Back-to-School Night into your busy schedule. It will be worth the time; and, who knows, you might even learn something!

Back-to-School: Goal Setting Time

For those of you with younger children, your back-to-school experience will no doubt include a parent-teacher conference and a chance to set some goals for your child this year. However, many middle and high schools forego this process. After all, the kids rotate from classroom to classroom and work with several different teachers. You can't have a conference with each one.

In lieu of the parent-teacher conference, you should sit down with your student and come up with your own set of goals. These should include expectations regarding study time, recreation time, and after-school activities. What kind of grades should he strive for, what social and behavioral goals should he have? Make the goals realistic and agree upon rewards for achieving those goals. Write up a contract with your child and check it throughout the year to see how he's doing.

This is a great tool for keeping your child on track and helping him to succeed in school.

Hooray for Independence!

This post is an addendum to Monday's entry. I gave my son the option of attending Freshman Registration by himself or with me at his side. He opted to try it for himself, knowing I was just a phone call and a five minute drive away. He did just fine by himself, and he said it made him feel more responsible handling everything on his own.

Give Your Teen the Chance to Prove Himself

I volunteered to help at High School registration this year. I had worked the Senior Registration last year, and it had gone pretty smoothly. So this year I decided to be brave and work two days, registering first Seniors and then Juniors.

To my utter amazement, almost half of the kids showed up with their parents. One would expect to see a lot of parents with the Freshman class, maybe even the Sophomores, but sixteen and seventeen year olds?

A lot of these kids can drive themselves, and most live within walking distance. The registration process is simple. The parents and children complete the forms at home, so all they have to do when they come to school is hand in the correct forms at the correct station. There are plenty of parent volunteers to steer them in the right direction, and the student should be able to handle any problems that arise.

It's great to see parents involved in their children's education, but what will these kids do when they have to choose classes and complete registration for college without help from mom and dad? Parents are not included in that process, so going through high school registration is good practice for their kids and helps them build confidence in their ability to take care of themselves. What do you think?