My first memory of ever studying was in grade school. Like most students I know, including my own children, I’d receive a weekly spelling list. I’d take the words home and study on Thursday night by “looking” at the words and having either my sister or my mom read them aloud to me, so I could spew back the correct spellings. Fortunately for me, I was predominantly a visual learner, so my early success on spelling tests gave me confidence that I had a knack for school, even if it was no indicator whatsoever.
As the words became more challenging, I would write and rewrite the words to build my muscle memory, adding a kinesthetic layer of studying to back up my visual skills. I do not recall that anyone made this suggestion to me. Instead, I believe that I gradually deduced through an observation of others and through a growing awareness of my own needs that this practice might help. It did. I continued with success on my spelling lessons.
Despite breezing through middle school without too much challenge, I was in for a rude awakening as the coursework became more rigorous in high school. When I faced a subject that was less intuitive for me, such as chemistry, I had to scramble to adapt. I learned to lean on friends with an interest in these subjects, and building on my grade-school study skills, I would write everything down like a crazy person, so I could “play back” the teacher’s lectures at home.
In time, I realized that I was exerting far more energy than necessary in terms of my notetaking, and I, thankfully, was mature enough, invested in my school subjects and performance, to adapt. I tweaked my skills with each assessment to find a successful path and to become a more consummate learner.
Today, many parents seek my support and share, often with embarrassment, that their children, despite performing excellently in school and despite being very bright, do not know how to study. These children are not alone. They are following in my footsteps and in the footsteps of so many others, only the stakes “seem” greater and the pace “feels” faster. A few changes in recent years have heightened our concerns about our children’s inability to study.
We are pushing AP coursework, which demands more developed study habits, at an increasingly younger age, so the pressure to enroll in these courses has risen, even though our children may have no apparent interest in the offered subject matters. Historically, many of my tenth grade students enrolled in at most one or two AP classes, and always “softer” APs, such AP Psychology, a subject that is immensely relatable and vocabulary intensive, lending itself to easier studying. I always understood why some sophomores would seek out AP Psychology.
Recently, the public schools have added AP Government and Politics as an optional history choice for sophomores. While AP GoPo, as it is affectionately called, is frequently considered a relatable AP course, most tenth-grade students have not yet been exposed to or shown an interest in the subject matter. Political news is everywhere, but the current hot issues that plague our nation, such as gerrymandering and Supreme Court bias, are rarely the talking points of fifteen-year old students, and the vocabulary alone can strip these students of their confidence. Moreover, the mean score on the AP Government exam is notoriously low.
Meanwhile, underclassmen are also enrolling in pre-AP coursework, such as pre-AP English, which, frankly, does not seem very different from its counterparts, yet these pre-AP courses carry with them the “expectation” that students will pursue AP coursework the following year in that subject matter, again adding to the pressure culture.
Technology has had both positive and negative effects on our children’s study skills, too. On the one hand, students have access to incredible study tools and endless information. In some ways, studying has never been easier; however, this information overload, along with the pandemic and online schooling, has served to make our children more passive learners. They are often burnt out and have had access to so many shortcuts that they have not developed the work ethic or the motivation to put in the hard work required.
An underpaid teaching staff has compounded an already challenging issue. Low pay attracts low quality. While there are many strong teachers, schools are having a hard time snagging and keeping them with low salaries. The limited pay and large class numbers also dampen the teachers’ spirits. Many of these teachers are now taking shortcuts in teaching by using online lessons and homework assignments that lack the needed personal touch.
And the pressure of college admissions still looms.
Ultimately, many parents fear that their children do not have time to learn study skills through trial and error in this climate, which is why they seek my support.
As parents, you should know that children need to engage in active learning. “Looking over notes” will likely never suffice in preparing for a high school math assessment or for an assessment in other challenging coursework. You should be aware of whether teachers are inspiring and resonating with your children, and you should stand by, if you can, to help them troubleshoot their studying pitfalls. If you seek out my support or the support of others, know that the best possible academic coach should identify your children’s weaknesses and then give them the tools and skills that they need, so they can do the “heavy lifting” themselves. There are no real shortcuts to becoming a better student, nor would we want there to be. Success should require hard work.