With the break getting closer and closer, many students will be returning home to a slew of questions from their parents; and while some may be able to answer these without a shadow of a doubt in their mind, some will find these to be a bit difficult to answer. I may not be one of these students, but I have felt the strain that this semester has exuded. So I’d like to take a moment to remind some of the waiting parents what exactly their child has been through.
First off, I’d like to preface this with a reminder: You may not be in school anymore, and having a job is not exactly the same thing as spending several hours each week cramming or working on assignments for multiple classes. Too often the comparison has been made comparing a student going to school to the corresponding parent going to a typical 9-5 job. These two aren’t the same, with a working job, typically you are doing the same few things, or quite possibly the same ONE thing over the course of your work shift. A student, however, has to swap mindsets every so often in order to keep up and maintain relevancy in said class.
I’d also like to state that any student that “dodges” a question isn’t necessarily doing poorly in their classes. Remember that they’re home on BREAK, and most likely want to enjoy what time off they have before tackling the beasts known as finals. Assuming that your child is failing is more detrimental to their mental state than you’d think. Scolding them for not answering or giving that signature parent look of “I’m not going to say it, but know I’m disappointed in you” doesn’t help any, either. In some cases, it could upset your student. Just trust that they know what they’re doing, even when they say that they don’t.
If you are one of those parents that may have access to your child’s grades during the semester, you probably check pretty often, just to know where he or she is standing. While they may be okay with you checking on them during the active semester, bringing this up during their break is not okay. It stresses students, knowing they have a constant reminder of how they are doing. Some may be doing absolutely fine, and have no worries whatsoever. However, for those that may not be doing as well as their cohorts, reminding them of where they’re standing is nothing more than stress-inducing. If they aren’t doing as well as you’d like them to be, chances are, they know why, and have already taken steps or planned out what they need to do to better themselves.
College is stressful, it’s even more so when you aren’t doing as well as you’d like. As parents, you are supposed to support and encourage your students, especially on break. Reminding them that they may be failing a class or two does nothing but stress them out, just relax, it's break after all. Enjoy your time with your kid, and fill yourselves up with good food.
