It’s time for children to go back to school. Teachers have already been hard at it with summer school (for students as well as continuing education for themselves), in-service workshops and other meetings and then it’s the traditional opening of a new school year. Soon students will be flooding the hallways, reconnecting with classmates from past years and meeting the new kids – incoming freshmen, move ins etc. – who are entering these school buildings for the first time. For some students, because of Covid, it will be their first time physically back in the classroom in a year.
Of course, there are all the doings of back to school; shopping for school supplies, physicals for those wanting to participate in athletics, school clothes for the growing and the fashion conscious, meetings for various fall activities some of which will start before school actually does and so on. There are some other things that parents and students can and should do to be prepared for the start of the school year.
This advice comes from almost forty years of teaching at Mitchell High School and observation of young people in the school habitat. Bullying is a fact of life. Everyone has a different tolerance level for being picked on and different people will define bullying differently. However, if you want your child to avoid being bullied there are some things you and they can do to prevent it. First, try to fit in. That means dressing “normally”. If ripped jeans are all the rage, have a pair of ripped jeans in the closet. A kid who “sticks out” draws attention so if you don’t want people to notice you negatively perhaps ditching the rainbow-colored hair is the way to go. If you feel bullied, do report it to a teacher or counselor or principal. School officials can’t act on problems they don’t know about and what feels like bullying to you may look like the rough and tumble of social interaction, especially at the high school, to grizzled veteran educators.
Second, if you’re new to the school (especially freshmen) keep your mouth shut for a while. Get a feel for the school, certainly interact with your peers but realize there is a physical, mental and maturity gap between freshmen and seniors. Seniors are men and women with some mental maturing yet to do but freshmen really still are boys and girls by comparison. Challenging seniors and uttering thoughtless remarks is just begging for trouble. Remember, in life enough trouble just finds you all on its own without you having to go out looking for any.
Students will fit in faster and make more friends if they are involved. Join an activity or two and try to excel at it. It will make school more fun, broaden your social circle and increase your social capital with teachers which will be important when you start asking for scholarship recommendations at some time in the future.
It seems trite but pay attention in class and give teachers some time before you decide they and the classes they teach are boring. Some classes are mandated by the State as well as some topics within that subject so your teacher may not be much happier than you are with some of the material. There are state accountability tests and other assessments (ACT and SAT for example) that teachers are getting you ready for and you may be grateful at the end of the year for what they covered earlier in the fall. Your education is partially your responsibility so listen, participate and ask questions. Teachers are highly educated but generally incapable of reading minds. It may not be obvious to them that you are frustrated or struggling in class.
Also, you shouldn’t expect to get all your homework done at school, that’s why they call it homework. Parents should stay connected with the school by monitoring Campus as well as staying in contact with the teachers.
Education gets kids ready for life. School teaches a wide range of subjects because educators can’t know who is going to end up where and while students may have a goal or a preference, frankly they don’t know where they’re going to end up either so applying themselves in all their classes is the best strategy to be ready for the future. Schools punish tardiness and absenteeism for two reasons; first, you can’t learn if you’re not there and second, real life employers fire people who are chronically late or absent.
The only thing I miss about not teaching any more is the interaction with kids and seeing those “aha” moments when they make connections and master concepts. I hope you have a great school year and remember a lot of whether you do or not depends on you, your attitude and your effort.