As students navigate through elementary school, high school and beyond, there may be periods of time when they are dealing with heightened worry about their academics or their academic performance.
If your child shares feelings of worry around their academics, try to resist the urge to dismiss their worry (for example, "That's not true! You are great at math!"). It is recommended to allow them to sit with their feeling, and validate it. Follow-up questions should be specific and not too open-ended.
This table in the attached article provides some helpful examples of ways to respond to academic worries.
Coming up with a plan of action:
The first point of contact should always be your child's teacher. It is helpful to have your child be a part of the process- if they are old enough or comfortable to do so they can approach the teacher directly with their concern. If they are not comfortable or old enough it may be helpful to have them sit with you and write an email together, asking for clarity, extra help etc.
Your child's teacher will direct you to the relevant contacts, if necessary (for example: NESS Department)
If your child requires extra time to do work at home, let them help you build their "after-school schedule" to allow them to feel in control and heard as they work to find a balance of the things they must get done after school and the things they want to do after school.
Focus on the positives and areas of strength. We all have areas of greater strength and areas of weakness. Normalize this for your child and focus on the areas of strength whenever possible.