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The end of the year always seems to be a bit chaotic. As a high school English teacher, I can actually feel the anticipation of summer as I make my way through the hallways. I admit it is not only the students who are anticipating the break. Most high school students try to mentally shut down during these last few weeks of school. There are plenty of end of school social functions that begin to fill your child's calendar. The end of school does not lend itself to be a very academically productive time of year; however it is usually the last two days of school when students are expected to perform well on their final exams. In my district these exams are worth twenty percent of a student's grade. This percentage can have a significant impact on a student's semester grade. Therefore, it is paramount that parents do their best to keep their kids focused, a daunting task, indeed.

So, how will a parent compete with the "end of the year attitude" students use to justify misbehavior, procrastination, indifference, and other evils that rear their heads this time of year? Communication and compromise will play a strong role in surviving this time of the year.

Communication, not only between parents and students, but a parent should also communicate with school teachers. Try to stay in the loop with phone calls or even short emails requesting your child's grade. Teacher's are usually more than happy to divulge this information quickly, because they realize if they are in constant communication with parents, the student will eventually, realize the same thing. This just might be enough to squelch some of the squirreliness out of them. By communicating with your child's teachers you can get an idea of whether or not your student has "shut down" for the summer yet.

Once this communication has been established and even made aware to your child; it is now time to compromise. The child knows that he is being watched, and realizes if he/she steps out of line, or slacks off in class than his teachers will notify the parents. However, as a parent you may have won a small battle here, but also potentially began a war that you want to avoid. Instead of butting heads and breathing down your child's neck attempting intimidate him/her into behaving a certain way, I would recommend giving your child a bit of incentive by means of positive reinforcement. In other words, if they do well on their test than throw a party for them, or allow them to go to a party. However, you may also try the reverse negative reinforcement, where you tell them if they do poorly on the test you take away their phone, computer, or car. Either one of these will probably get your point across, but you must understand that ultimately the decisions remain with your child. The best approach for a parent would be to allow the child to make the decision, but come up with a compromise that clearly states the consequences of his/her actions whether they be positive or negative.

Focus and concentration often fall victim to the "end of the year" chaos. Students are more worried about signing a friend's yearbook, than they are signing their name on their final exam. Teachers and parents should establish a communication link, so that they may hold students accountable. Such a link would be mutually beneficial for teachers and parents and even students, but they won't realize that for a few more years. A compromise should be formed between parents and their kids that allow the young student to make his/her own decision on how to approach the end of the year. However, this decision will carry with it clearly defined consequences. Both parties should try and be as flexible as possible; after all you will be spending the whole summer together

Learn more about this author, Drew Price.
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