It's natural for parents to push for the best for your child when it comes to their education. Ninth graders navigating high school and their college prep journey may need to work to develop key skills that can prepare them to succeed in high school and in life. Navigating high school academics, social life, and any sports or volunteering to prepare for college requires that your ninth grader gain crucial life-skills that can make a significant difference in their success.
Time management and organization are two key aspects that can greatly impact your child's academic performance and overall well-being. These skills must be taught. Sometimes learning them will require letting your child fail or stumble to learn a valuable lesson. This article will expand on the importance of these skills for college preparation. It will also provide tips on how parents can help their children develop and strengthen time management and organization, specifically.
Time Management
Time management is a critical skill that every college student (every adult) needs to grasp. In college, students must juggle multiple classes, assignments, activities, life responsibilities (like laundry, cleaning, and cooking) and social commitments. Without proper time management, it's easy for students to become overwhelmed and fall behind or neglect their responsibilities and commitments. This can lead to those around them not knowing whether your child is dependable or trustworthy, which will limit their career prospects and opportunities for involvement. Developing good time management skills early will help students stay on top of their workload, reduce stress, and improve their academic performance and interactions with their peers.
Building a Schedule
One of the first steps in effective time management is helping your child to create a schedule or a planner. This might look like sitting down with them at the beginning of every week and mapping out their academic commitments (tests, assignments, study time), social commitments (sports practices, extracurriculars, and volunteering), and family commitments (a sibling's game or dinner).
When initiating these conversations, encourage your child to use a physical planner or digital calendar to keep track of important deadlines, assignments, and appointments. Depending on your child's learning style, it might be beneficial to have multiple calendars such as a monthly and weekly schedule. A visual representation of your child's commitments can help them prioritize tasks and allocate their time wisely. Setting specific goals and breaking them down into smaller, manageable tasks can make daunting projects more achievable and help your child to avoid procrastination.
Prioritizing Tasks
Another crucial aspect of time management is learning how to prioritize tasks. Help your child to identify urgent and important assignments, and encourage them to tackle those first. Maybe they have a big test coming up at the end of the month and a quiz in two weeks. It may initially seem like the quiz should receive more study time since not as far away. Yet, you may learn in discussion with your child that the quiz is 5% of their overall grade while the test is 30%. With this information, you can help your child to think critically and allocate their studying in a way that prioritizes what will have the most impact on their grade.
For students without a plan, procrastination is a common habit to fall into. Teaching your child the importance of starting early and avoiding last-minute cramming can set them up for success in college, especially during midterms and finals seasons. Maybe they have a big end of semester project that is worth a significant portion of their grade. At the beginning of the quarter or semester, this project may not seem super important. But, helping your child plan out and set aside a couple hours each week to work on it can help them to avoid a major headache at the end of the semester. Planning also keeps your child from falling into unhealthy habits, like pulling all-nighters, to get work done.
Organization
In addition to time management, organization is another key skill that will benefit students as they prepare for college. Being organized can help students keep track of their materials, stay focused, and maintain a clutter-free environment that promotes productivity. It will also help others to see them as dependable and reliable increasing their chances for community and peer involvement. A well-organized student is more likely to succeed academically and socially while experiencing less stress and overwhelm in the process.
As a parent, you can promote organization by establishing a designated study space for your child at home. Take time to ask them questions about their learning style. If they don't know it, help them to think about where and how they learn best. Maybe they prefer standing up when studying instead of sitting down. Maybe they focus better with music as opposed to silence. If your child feels more alert and focused in the morning as opposed to after afternoon sports practices, help them to develop a morning study routine. Your child's study space should be free from distractions and have what they need to succeed. Encourage your child to keep their study space tidy and organized, so they can easily locate and access their materials when needed.
Note Taking
Another important aspect of organization will involve helping your child to develop good notetaking skills. Encourage your child to take clear, concise notes during lectures and to keep their notes organized by subject or topic. For more information on notetaking, encourage them to check out our existing Newsroom notetaking series:
Effective notetaking can improve retention and understanding of course material, which will help your child to perform better on exams and assignments. Teaching your child the importance of decluttering and organizing their belongings can also have a positive impact on their overall well-being and mental wellness. A cluttered environment can lead to feelings of stress, which can hinder academic performance and overall health. Encourage your child to regularly clean out their backpack, desk, and living space to create a more peaceful and conducive environment for studying and learning.
Time management and organization are vital skills that every college-bound student should prioritize. While it's never too early to teach your child these skills, the transition to high school offers a perfect opportunity to build these skills. As a parent, you play a crucial role in helping your child develop and strengthen their time management and organization. Providing guidance, support, and encouragement can help your child navigate the challenges of college preparation and, ultimately, their college years successfully. It's never too early to start instilling these skills in your child. Starting today will help them thrive academically and beyond.
