I often liken the school year to a long-distance race. This time of the year, students have hit the half-way point, but the finish line isn't quite in sight. At this point, however, bad form and a poor stride really start to flag one's stamina. It gets hard to lift the knees and push off the toes, but bad footing can lead to a nasty fall. So it is with bad habits. This is the time of year when they really start to show. The temptation for many students is to rely on their memory instead of keeping a record of upcoming assignments and assessments. Some students content themselves with mediocre work that's good enough to get a passing grade.
As parents, you can't run the race for your kids, but you can do more than cheer from the sidelines. Once place to start with encouraging your children and keeping them accountable is the red folder, aka the "parent communicator." Students should be taking their work home on a weekly basis in their folders and, ideally, they should be discussing it with you. Looking back at returned assignments can be useful for students in recalling to mind what they have learned, correcting misunderstandings and errors, and for evaluating how to improve.
