Why Helping Your Child Through School Feels Like a Full Time Job: 4 Pervasive Challenges to Look Out For

We all know that education needs reform. From overworked teachers to academic coddling, there are real and persistent struggles within the academic system in the U.S.A. Do not get any educator started with the issues related to AI. Apart from this, your student’s personal hardships add another dimension to this full time job that is parenting.

It is simple to think about the approach to a math problem being to first identify what the problem actually is. However, it might not be as easy in real life. Real life is the most complex trick word problem. Part of the reason that many parents struggle to help their children in their academics is because they do not identify the challenges that their child might be experiencing. It is understandably so, since these struggles can be difficult to pinpoint. So the solutions that the parent might implement will not solve the struggles at hand. In addition, there may be layers of these struggles that are also interacting in different ways.

Throughout the years being a tutor who is behind the scenes, I have observed the following struggles that persist in student’s academic lives. This list is also influenced by what other colleagues have observed as well. The reasons behind these struggles and how to address them are whole other discussions. However, identifying them is the first crucial step to creating a more helpful and customized approach for each student.

It should go without saying that misuses of systems that are in place to help because of documented medical conditions that affect academics are unfortunately rampant. However, this article does not deep dive into this particular topic and does not criticize anyone who might need this type of assistance in school as part of established programs.

In no particular order, here are the major challenges that students from middle school to college face nowadays.

1. Assuming that the issue is the understanding of the class content

   It is understandable that the most obvious option might be what's happening. There is the possibility of having difficulty understanding the concept because it is inherently difficult for the student or in general a difficult topic to learn. Then there is the other side of the coin in which the teacher does not explain this particular concept or the whole course well, or indeed the teacher’s style does not match the learning style of the student. It can be phrased differently, but the essence is the same. Both deal with understanding the concept itself. It can pertain to some topics or the whole subject. This struggle is indeed responsible for a lot of student’s academic hardships.

   
   

2. Not knowing how to take notes

   The entire system supports students not being explicitly taught how to take notes. I’m not referring to proper, efficient notes, but notes at all. Relying on note packets where students need only to fill in certain words, or having to tell students exactly what to write or expecting them to write everything on the board are hindrances supported by the current setup. This major guidance that is provided during middle school and at the beginning of high school is necessary. However, there is a need to explicitly teach and enforce practicing note taking. The usefulness of notes is only seen when they are nonexistent. Students know that notes are useful, but for many reasons they do not take notes that work for them or any at all. The guidance provided starts to become a hindrance when it is not followed by independence.

   
   

3. Memorizing: Not remembering what they learned

   With the rise of digital tools and easy access to the internet, the assumption that students no longer need to memorize anything is very wrong. In order to understand the many new concepts, there is a need for memorization in the form of remembering. It is not enough for a student to understand the concept while the teacher is explaining it. They must be able to remember it in order to keep learning more deeply.

   This requires effort that is not explicitly mentioned by anyone, so it goes as an unspoken expectation that seems to cause problems but no one can pinpoint it. Students are not remembering or memorizing what is necessary, and or they also need help deciphering what is necessary for them to keep remembering.

   
   

4. Coddling 

Coddling or giving too many good opportunities to those who will abuse them is a persistent challenge. Understandably teachers and the system at large have had to adapt to a more comprehensive learning approach that encompasses many learning needs, and so their class structures have allowed more leniency. This is in theory a great approach. However, many students take the leniency as a sign to relax and cruise by. Unfortunately, this approach undoes what the extra credit, multiple retakes and make ups were offering in the first place. These tools are there to catch a student from falling once or twice, but if the student seems to rely on these tools, there is a bigger issue at hand.

An immense acknowledgement is due to the multidimensional interplay of these issues, as well as the many challenges within the administrative structures in academia that affect these issues.

The academic struggle of a student will probably be multilayered and it will require a series of experiments per se, each time tweaking something and waiting to see the results. This requires patience, persistence, and effort from guardians, teachers, counselors, any other educators involved, and the student themselves. This is the reason parents choose to hire someone dedicated to this aspect of rerouting their child to a self-sustained academic position. It will take time, but the reward will be fully academically independent children who will be able to manage their time, responsibilities, and goals to successfully move on to college and beyond.

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