Empowering Parents and Educators: Essential Tips for the 2024–2025 School Year

We encourage students to develop strong habits. Habits are such powerful forces in our lives that even the best among us can benefit from looking at how we can more closely align our habits with our personal values. We do that by establishing systems, not just goals. Adults can play a role in helping young people understand and implement those practices.

How can parents help students build these crucial habits? Here are some practical strategies:

• Start small: Encourage students to begin with tiny, manageable habits. For instance, reading for just 10 minutes before bed or reviewing notes for five minutes after each class.
• Use habit stacking: Help students link new habits to existing ones. For example, “After I brush my teeth, I’ll pack my backpack for tomorrow.”
• Create a good habit-supporting environment: Work with students to design their study spaces and routines in ways that make good habits easier and bad habits harder.

Celebrate progress: Acknowledge and reward consistent effort, not just results. This reinforces the habit-forming process.

And as for educators, we encourage you to help block burnout. This is more than simple self-care strategies like getting a quarterly massage or occasional treats. Our minds can work against us if we’re not careful, but fortunately we can train ourselves to address the root causes of burnout.

Here are some effective strategies for educators to combat burnout:

• Manage cognitive biases: Recognize biases that can skew your perception of impact and effectiveness. Regularly seek objective feedback to maintain a balanced perspective on your teaching performance.
• Set boundaries: Establish clear lines between work and personal time. This might mean setting specific hours for answering emails or grading papers.
• Use the premortem technique: Before implementing new lesson plans, imagine it’s the end of the semester and your plans have failed. Then work backward to identify and address possible pitfalls. This proactive approach can reduce stress and boost confidence in your planning process.
• Cultivate supportive relationships: Build a network of colleagues for mutual support and idea-sharing. Others can also often spot biases in our thinking that we miss. Consider starting or joining a peer support group.

As we embark on this new school year, let’s commit to fostering strong habits in our students and prioritizing educator well-being. By focusing on these areas, we can create a more positive and productive learning environment for everyone involved.

Remember, change doesn’t happen overnight. It’s about consistent, small steps in the right direction. Whether you’re a parent helping a student work on building better study habits or an educator striving to maintain your passion and energy, every effort counts. Let’s make this school year the best one yet!