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Essential changes as they start high school
New school stages should start new responsibilities
School is starting in Australasia, and some students have entered high school for the first time. It’s a big change into Year 7, as the setup is usually very different. Many teachers instead of a few, establishing new friendship groups, moving around campus for lessons rather than staying in the one spot. All of these things make it a changed schooling experience that takes some getting used to.
But high school should not only represent a change in location. By the time a child is in Year 7, their behaviour and responsibilities should be changing to reflect what should be their growing maturity and academic independence. This means that this year they should be doing more than they did last year. They should be doing this without your polite reminders and more urgent ones that stray into voices-raised territory.
To ensure they are on the right track, I would like to pose some important questions to keep in mind as they start their high school journey.
Are they dependent on you to pump up their self-esteem?
Praise is good in the early years to get children motivated to do the right thing. But over the years they should not be reliant on praise for their motivation, particularly for…
