How to Get Your Unmotivated Teenager to Improve in School and Get a Part-Time Job

You hold the key to motivating your teen!

That’s the answer. When the question is how do you get your teenager motivated to improve in school. You have to look in the mirror and determine your attitude toward school, toward your teenager and toward the future.

What children see their parents do in moderation will be manifest in excess in their lives. There are some specific steps that can be taken, but first you need to examine where you stand.

What is your attitude toward school? Has your teenager grown up with your bad attitude toward school and now you expect him/her to be motivated to succeed? Have you expressed your distaste for having to help all the way through grade school with homework? Your teen will pick up on your bad attitudes and will reflect them in their actions.

Maybe it’s time for you to have an honest talk about the importance of school and what it will ultimately accomplish for your teen’s future. Before you do that though, you might need a little help.

Do you understand that the purpose of geometry is more than determining the area of a cone? Do you see the value of each discipline for just that; the discipline that comes from mastering the subject? Do you understand that learning is a life long experience and that school is simply helping your teen to master the disciplines necessary to continue that quest for the rest of their lives?

If you’ve ever questioned why your child needed to know something it will be difficult for your teen to get motivated about school. You’ll have to be honest with them about your attitudes, past and present, so you can help them with their future. The is the first step so don’t take it lightly.

What’s my attitude toward my teenager? There is a fear of being a parent of a teenager. That fear can be driven by a lot of things but it is completely unfounded. I’ve seen this for more than thirty years now as I have watched the teenagers whose parents were once afraid now becoming fearful parents of teenagers themselves. The cycle has to stop!

A teenager isn’t a monster or bundle of uncontrollable hormones. Although they try pretty hard to prove that is exactly what they are sometimes. They’re not! They’re adults in training.

This will be the shortest period of time in their life. It may not seem like that to you. It certainly won’t seem like that to them. This is the only time you have to help them prepare for the rest of their lives. Don’t waste it by being afraid. Take control of the training period.

What’s my attitude toward my teenager’s future? Remember this is the training period. Your goal is to make them productive, honest and industrious adults. How optimistic are you about them and their future? That optimism or lack of it will greatly influence their motivation.

You’re their guide to the future. They are about to embark on the most challenging period they will ever face. Show them that everything in their life is connected. There school work, their part-time job experience and their friendships with other adults form the tapestry that will become their future.

The part-time job is a worthy goal but it must be looked at in the light of the overall objective of the training period. Once the motivation for school is established the next objective can be addressed – getting that part-time job.

The job can actually be a part of the overall training necessary to becoming a productive adult. You can use the job as a reward for getting on the right track concerning school. If you not careful though the job can interfere with good school habits.

As an adult there is plenty of time to learn to juggle multiple priorities. Remember this is a training period and you should focus on individual skills before you start putting them all together. Don’t allow the job to take away from the discipline of school.

The ultimate goal of every parent should be to lead their children to become responsible and productive citizens in any culture. To accomplish the goal each parent must take a careful look at themselves to make sure they are able to lead their teenager to the next level in his/her life.

Free Information About Residential Boarding Schools for Teenagers

If you ask different people about what they think about residential boarding schools for teenagers, you’ll probably get mixed opinions about it. Some have a favorable opinion of boarding schools, maintaining that they are very successful in giving high quality education while also providing students the chance to gain a sense of independence. Some have their fears and misgivings about sending children to boarding school, away from home. Here are a few of the myths and facts about these residential boarding schools for teens that may be helpful when forming your own opinion about them:

Myth #1: Parents who send their children off to residential boarding schools for teenagers do so because they are tired of raising their children and do not want to be burdened by them anymore. In effect, parents are giving up their right to become authority figures in their children’s lives when they send them away from home.

Truth: Many parents who send their children away to residential schools realize that when their children come home, they have a better relationship because they are less tense, stressed out and edgy. There are no more fights about doing homework, playing too much video games, watching too much TV or staying up too late. Parents and their teens enjoy a more relaxed relationship when they come home. Teens also flourish and become better adjusted when they enjoy some measure of independence. They become happier, and more confident.

Myth #2: Boarding schools aren’t very successful in preparing teens for college.

Truth: Compared with day schools, boarding schools are more successful in preparing children for college because they are given an opportunity to earn some degree of independence while at an early age. There is something important about living with people who aren’t your family members and learning to pick up after yourself, to fend for yourself, and to adapt to a new environment. College is definitely very different from high school but children who study away from home have an easier time adjusting to life away from home when they reach college. Not to mention that when it comes to academic preparedness, these schools set the bar.

Myth #3: Residential boarding schools stifle individuality

Truth: Some schools do require students to wear uniforms to class, some don’t. All have staff that are available 24/7 to make sure that teens stay out of trouble. Teens are not completely left alone to their own devices after school hours, but it doesn’t mean that these schools stifle the individuality of students. As a matter of fact, most of these schools have an impressive number of extracurricular programs that are available for students. There are a lot of activities to explore and help teens to get to know themselves and what other interests they can cultivate. Students of these schools also often come from different parts of the country and even include students from the international community. Students become aware at an early age of cultural diversity and learn how to appreciate and respect this. Many schools also make it a point to hire teachers that are from different cultural backgrounds as well as different fields of studies in order to provide students with a richer experience.