See Also: How to Help Your Child with Homework
Managing time is a universal issue; certainly, it is not confined exclusively to students. However, school provides the perfect place, along with limitless opportunities, for young people to begin to form habits to effectively use their available “free” time that will assist them throughout their lives.
Many schools have incorporated technology into the daily lives of students and their families by posting all class assignments and grades online. The student can, and must, check their schools' website portals for a listing of all classwork that is due. Having all assignments in one accessible place can be extremely helpful. Because of the number of subjects a student takes, that list can cover quite a bit of space and, at first glance, may seem a bit daunting. A closer inspection usually reveals due dates that are staggered, which means that the student must now prioritize the workload. It is not enough to refer to the website daily and use that as the homework sheet. No time is being allocated for long-term projects, test review, or work that is expected to take several nights to complete.
For many students, this is the juncture where “high tech” should join forces with “old school.” Enter the student planner or some other form of a calendar. By transferring the information from the school website portal into their own calendar, the student can then begin to plan for the successful completion of all assignments.
It is essential that every student use their own calendar. The student can choose to use a paper/pencil calendar, a whiteboard calendar, or a technology device that contains a calendar to visualize the workload that awaits. One that can be transported from home to school and kept in the same general place each day is helpful. Teaching students to use one planner to organize their day-to-day tasks is important to their success.
Some schools, like Sanford, are so committed to the concept of planning they issue every student from third through twelfth-grades an organizer at the beginning of the year. It outlines the daily schedule, provides ample room for each subject’s daily assignments—including weekends—and notes vacation days. Some planning has already taken place before the student even opens the calendar. However, the rest is up to him or her!
To move away from the “one day at a time” thinking, the calendar should include assignments and activities that are:
Transferring the web homework postings into a calendar provides a very visual representation of what lies ahead for the student. Being able to see a week, and even a month, at a glance allows for better time management and less stress. Additionally, calendar entries for extracurricular and family events afford the student an opportunity to see where time demands may create conflict. The student then can take ownership by deciding how to manage his or her time to resolve the conflict and still honor all obligations.
Long–range planning is an essential skill to master. An important step in ensuring academic success is having the tools—and using them—to effectively manage time.