Teen Talk Tuesday - Back to School

9/1/2020 - Starting Math in the 2020-2021 School Year

Anxiety levels this school year may be super high!

So school is back in session...COVID-19 is still a thing, and so is #remotelearning. Whether your child's school has decided to go fully remote or do a hybrid model, this year is starting off like no other!

And so is #math class! Typically, with math class comes #mathanxiety. However, with the frustration of last school year's #distancelearning in mind, combined with the uncertainty of this school year, anxiety levels can be at an all-time high! Students may already be starting with the mindset to give up or shutdown.

You can still get ahead of this though! Here are...

7 strategies to help your #tweens/#preteens/#teens win with math this school year!

7 strategies to help your adolescent youth win!

1 - Contact your student’s guidance counselor and teacher. Find out what your child should expect, what you should expect, especially in the way of communication and support, and the counselor’s/teacher's best strategies for starting the year off right.

2 - Join the #BackToSchool, #Open House, etc. conferences and sign up for the #PTA/#PTSA. This is always a great way to get informed. See what the administration and staff have to say about what you should expect and what resources and support are available to you. This is also the time to ask whatever questions you have about the school year.

3 - Teach and encourage your child to have a #growthmindset. Your child's brain has the natural ability to learn math, but they need to understand and BELIEVE that! You can help simply by changing the words you use. For example, rather than telling your child how smart they are, begin praising hard work and effort. They’ll begin to understand what’s really important and grow accordingly.

4 - Celebrate the wins. When your child does math, point out what they did successfully! Sometimes, their success is in identifying the correct keywords in an exercise or setting up a process appropriately, even if their final answer is incorrect.

5 - Celebrate the mistakes! Huh? Yes! Mistakes are valuable, so celebrate the learning opportunity and make it an adventure to find the mistake and figure out how to fix it.

6 - Take a break. When frustration begins to set in, because it will - that's a part of growth, encourage your child to take a break, do something else that they enjoy, and then revisit the work later.

7 - Help them employ mindfulness techniques. When they start to get anxious, stressed out, frustrated...help them center themselves, relax, breathe and re-focus on where they are and what they're doing, and then zero in on what's really causing the frustration. Sometimes, that frustration has arisen because they've begun to focus more on the time it's taking them to solve the problem, and then started judging themselves based on that time. Sometimes, they're just cranky cause they're hungry or tired. Mindfulness helps them hone in on the real issue, so they can deal with that, and then get back to doing math.

So these are just a few quick tips to help your adolescent youth win with math as this school year begins! Which one(s) speak the most to you? Why? What other strategies help you help your child with math anxiety and back to school concerns? I'd love it if you'd share your thoughts in the comments below, and feel free to share this post!

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Hi! I'm Christina and I'm an online math tutor with 20+ years experience mentoring, teaching and tutoring young people. My goal is to empower students all over the world to succeed by helping them overcome their struggles and anxiety in one of their toughest academic areas, math! If you are interested in 1-1 assistance for yourself or your child, feel free to contact me: www.cmamathtutoring.com/contact-me.