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Has your teen brought home a report card with lower-than-anticipated grades? Unexpectedly low grades will surely stir a series of uncomfortable emotions, but there’s no reason for either of you to feel defeated. There are some surefire ways to bring low grades back up! It will take careful conversations, critical thinking, and a little extra work.
1. Talk With Your Child
First, before pushing your feelings about the low grades onto your child, ask them how they feel. Lead with open questions and see how they respond. It might very well be that they knew they were struggling, or that these particular courses simply aren’t the ones they want to pursue.
2. Establish The Root Cause
Once you’ve seen how your child feels about their grades, it’s important to try and get to the root cause of their poor performance.
Is your child being bullied? Is the teacher’s teaching method effective for your child’s learning style? Has a recent move or upheaval disrupted the school year? Are they burnt out from working too much, or are they too distracted by extracurricular activities? Did they not understand the subject matter? Did they not know how to ask for help with coursework or assistance in the run-up to an all-important test?
Once you’ve talked with your child to establish where, when and why their grades have dropped, you can move forward with a plan.
3. Be Positive
Surround your child with positivity and support. A poor grade doesn’t make your child a failure whatsoever! They’ll no doubt already be feeling downtrodden at the sight of poor grades, so having these feelings amplified at home won’t help. Instead, praise them for the other ways they demonstrate achievement, and promise to help them boost the grades they’re unhappy with.
How To Improve Grades
There are a few options to help your child boost their grade. Your actions will depend on the root of the problem and your child’s individual needs.
Virtual School
One fantastic solution is to take high school courses online. At a virtual high school, students can repeat courses they received low grades in or courses that they failed outright. They will have a second chance to learn course material and get a good grade. This is especially beneficial for teens whose grades dictate whether or not they’ll get onto their desired university or college program.
Connect With Your Child’s School
Reach out to your child’s school to see if there are any after-school programs that may help with your child’s grasp of the coursework. The likely answer is that yes, supportive learning courses or study groups are available to them. The school’s guidance counsellor should be more than happy to help.
Help Your Child To Establish Their Study Skills
Perhaps there’s a way you can help finesse your child’s preferred learning method using their homework as a control. Maybe they’ll learn better when they’re moving at their own pace. Maybe they’ll retain information better in the evenings than during the day. Experiment!
You can also encourage them to practice good study habits so that they focus on their assignments without getting stressed.
At the end of the day, the best way to help teens when they’ve received poor grades is to be practical. Consider their feelings, talk about the problem and come up with solutions. Then, you can both move forward.
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