A Simple Tip to Boost Student Achievement

Teens today are more anxious than ever before.  The world’s stressors are great, communication is constant, and it all can get overwhelming very quickly.  All too often, I see parents with the best intentions add to this stress and the pressure can break even the strongest kids.  At the root of it all is the push for good grades and the expectation of top academic achievement.

Teens tell me that good grades are not enough.  Their parents want them to be the highest performing in their class.  They expect that their child make the honor roll each semester. For many students, they start to measure their value by the grade at the top of each paper.  This mindset can be detrimental.

As I hear these stories, I wonder… “Have we missed the point completely?”

“What if we focused on goals rather than grades?”

Science teaches us that we forget 80% of what we learn in school.  If that’s true, than it’s safe to say that millions of people are wasting 12 plus years of their life and tuition dollars might be better spent on something else.

What if academics wasn’t the end all, but rather the training material.  I believe that the main purpose of school is to train your brain for the real world.  It helps establish listening patterns, communication skills, develop learning styles, social skills, and grow work ethic.

What are some things that can be learned from school other than the basic subjects that you are taught?

• JOB SKILLS.  School is a chance for us to practice and learn things that help us choose a job in the future.
• SOCIAL SKILLS.  School helps us learn new social skills.  By going to school we can learn how to be respectful and responsible.  We also learn how to interact with each other.
• CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.  School also shapes us to become who we are.  As we experience different things, we are shaped or changed by it.

How much is a diploma worth?

This information comes from a government labor report.  A person with a high school diploma will earn approx. $500,000 more in their lifetime than a drop out.

If you figure that the “average” graduate spends 2160 days in school (180×12) and divide that figure into 500,000 you will see that if a student was paid for the time that they were in school it would equal around $231 per day or $38.50 per hour.