How to Motivate a High School Student

How to Motivate a High School Student Its the same conundrum that a lot of parents face. You know your child is intelligent. Every now and then, you see glimpses of brilliance: a high test score, a great idea, a strong grade, etc. Yet, you just cant seem to get them to put in the extra time to improve. Your child isnt reaching their full potential and it might appear that they just dont want to buckle down and make it happen. Never fear youre not the only parent who has this problem and there are plenty of ways to motivate high school students. Make them want it Do you ever feel like you want your child to get a 30 on the ACT more than they do? If thats the case, you should know that theyre not just going to all of the sudden snap out of it. You need them to want it. If you can achieve this, your student will be well on their way to high achievement. Let them make the decisions Dont push the big state school or the older siblings alma mater on them. Dont push a certain high school curriculum or dictate exactly what their GPA should be. Instead, discuss their specific goals with them. Ask them where theyd like to go to college, what classes they enjoy, or what theyre considering for a major. Then, you can ask them what they need in order to achieve all of this. Students need to feel like theyre controlling the entire process and must set their own goals to do so. Keep in mind that they might not always tell you what those goals are, especially if they think youre just going to micromanage the entire process with that information. Offer help when asked for it You can frequently ask your child if they want help, but dont offer it unsolicited. Doing the latter could kill their motivation. For example, if you sneak onto the computer to proofread their college application essay, youre essentially telling them that they arent mature enough to handle it themselves. Instead, you should just ask if theres any way you can help, and only do so if they ask for it. Dont use scare tactics One of the worst things you can do is tell a student that they definitely wont get into their choice school if they dont do X, Y, or Z. At that point, they will only study to appease you, rather than studying to genuinely improve. They will end up doing the absolute minimum instead of putting that extra effort needed throughout all areas of their application to holistically impress the admissions committee. Let them work with a tutor College admissions is becoming increasingly more competitive and many students are turning to SAT tutorsorACT tutors to improve their scores on the respective tests. Sometimes, unmotivated students can respond very well to these scenarios. However, its incredibly important that you explore these options with your child. Let them select their own tutor dont simply sign them up with a stranger who they know nothing about. Recognize hard work If your student spends a Saturday afternoon studying for the ACT, acknowledge and praise it. Buy them a pizza and show them how proud you are of the fact that theyre moving in the right direction. Stay calm Throughout the college application process, you need to be a rock for your child. There are going to be moments when they bomb an SAT practice test or get overwhelmed with the various application essay topics and start to worry. You need to be supportive and help diagnose the problems they are having.