Four Challenges that Arose this School Year (and How Your Child Can Overcome Them)

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every facet of daily life, and for parents of school-age children, the impact has been especially obvious. The last year has been full of many challenges for students. Here’s a look at some that your child may be facing and tips on how to overcome them as we head into summer: 

1. Lost motivation - There are many reasons students lose motivation, but often it is because they are having a hard time with one or more subjects, don’t find material interesting and don’t believe in their abilities. If this all sounds familiar, you can help turn things around by talking about what’s causing your student to feel unmotivated. Does your child feel so overwhelmed by school that they don’t even know where to begin when it comes time to do homework? Are they lacking the grit that difficult schoolwork requires? 
2. Avoidance and apathy – One of the biggest problems that arose during the last year for even the brightest students is the loss of interest in school and learning. Virtual learning is not a perfect fit for a lot of students, including those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and students who need structure and learn better with peers around them. For many, extended virtual learning has led to diminished perseverance on homework. 
3. Procrastination – Virtual learning upturned the traditional school routine, which has presented challenges for students. With little to no teacher oversight during at-home days, parents working outside of the home have had to trust that their children will keep themselves on task. In reality, the loss of that school structure has made it easier than ever for students to procrastinate. Taking a long time to complete homework, getting distracted and putting off work until the last possible moment have become unfortunate norms. 
4. Lost confidence – Learning any subject takes effort and persistence. For all of the reasons above, even students who went into the 2019–2020 school year eager to learn have likely experienced diminished confidence over the last year and a half. If learning remotely was a challenge for students and their grades suffered, this has probably taken a toll on their self-esteem and confidence. The situation has probably been worse for students who were already struggling before the pandemic. 

Although these problems are serious and should not be ignored, rest assured that it is possible to get your child back on track this summer. Call Huntington. We will perform an academic evaluation and get to the root cause of your child’s struggles, develop an individualized program of instruction to get them back on track and help your child be ready for next school year. A return to normalcy is in sight. Huntington’s experienced teachers can get your child back on track and feeling confident and motivated once again.