Mercy Community HealthCare , located at 1113 Murfreesboro Road, Suite 319 in Franklin will bring you quick health tips for you and your family every Saturday and Monday. Mercy Community Healthcare provides sick and urgent care, counseling and social services, chronic illness management, and psychiatry services to patients of all ages, both insured and uninsured. If you have any questions or need assistance call 615-790-0567.
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“It doesn’t matter how hard I study, I just can’t seem to get the hang of geometry. I guess I must be dumb or somethin’.”
At least one in five students will have trouble keeping up academically at some point during junior high and high school. School slumps require our immediate attention, before the damage to self-esteem is irreparable or a youngster develops an aversion to attending school.
While the root of the problem may be school related and nothing more, a drop in grades can be a warning sign of one of the underlying causes below:
- Physical ailments: undiagnosed sleep disorders, anemia, infectious mononucleosis, thyroid conditions, impaired vision or hearing, others
- Emotional disorders: depression, anxiety, eating disorders, others
- Learning disabilities/developmental disabilities: dyslexia, central auditory-processing disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), others
- Substance abuse: a drastic decline in grades may be a tipoff that a child is experimenting with alcohol or illicit drugs
What You Can Do
Talk to your teenager. After all, she’s the ultimate authority on what’s behind her academic difficulties. But this should be a conversation, not a confrontation. Let her know that you’re on her side and want to help her get back on track:
“Honey, this is the fourth test in a row that’s come back with a C or a D. You’re usually a B-plus student. Is there anything going on in school or other areas of your life that you’d like to tell us about? We’re concerned and we want to help.”
Arrange a meeting with the teacher(s). Even the most involved parent doesn’t truly know what goes on in school. Adolescents sometimes reveal sides of themselves at school that they keep under wraps at home—or vice versa. So a teacher’s observations can provide invaluable clues to the cause of a child’s academic troubles.
In the days leading up to a parent-teacher conference, write down questions addressing the areas that most concern you. You may not be pleased to hear everything the teacher has to say once you get to the conference. But try to keep in mind that with rare exceptions, less-than-glowing feedback is not a personal attack on your youngster’s character or your competence as a parent. If your son’s home economics teacher says that he disrupts her class with his wisecracks, accept that what she says contains at least a shred of truth.
Ask her to be more specific and listen politely to what she has to say. For instance: “Could you please give me an example of what you mean? How frequently does he act up in class?” Then work together to come up with a solution. Perhaps you decide to warn your son that any future incidents of misconduct will result in the loss of a privilege, such as one week’s allowance or use of the family car.
“And,” you can add, “we’ve asked Mrs. Jackson to call us immediately if you should ever disrupt her class again.”
Memo to Mom and Dad: After a conference, always dash off a thank-you note to the teacher.
Read the entire list of things you can do here to help your child succeed in school.
