Author: John Hyde

Schools don’t care about students and are setting your child up for failure.

You are probably thinking, WOAH, that is absolutely not true. Teachers pour their hearts into their students, and counselors work with students to find solutions to their mental health challenges. So how can it be that schools don’t care about students? 

I completely agree with you. Teachers, counselors, and other educational support staff care about students, but the school system does not. 

As a former classroom teacher, I know how much the teachers, counselors, and school staff care about their students. However, the system they are a part of does not value students as they do. 

The school system is too dependent on end-of-year exams to evaluate student performance and the performance of administrators and teachers.

The impersonal nature of end-of-year exams turns your son or daughter into a number rather than an individual, which can have severe consequences for their academic growth and future.

Keep reading to learn how schools’ testing priorities shift the classroom dynamic, how it impacts your child, and what you can do about it.

End-Of-Year Exams are Setting Your Child Up For Failure

The care and compassion that teachers have for their students have not changed. However, their ability to do their jobs had changed dramatically. I want to be clear that I am not calling teachers negligent or incapable and have tremendous respect, and I know their struggle intimately. I see teachers as victims of this system that has turned them into cogs in a machine.

Schools have undergone a dramatic shift in the last several decades. Before the widespread introduction of end-of-year exams, teachers could implement the lessons they thought were the most effective for teaching content standards.

Schools trusted teachers to use their experience and expertise to teach the content. They also had the flexibility to change their teaching approach to meet the specific needs of students. If a teacher found students were lacking a skill like organization or goal setting, a teacher could dedicate classroom time to working on this skill.

Unfortunately, this is no longer the case. Schools are increasingly reliant on end-of-year exams as a measure of student performance as well as teacher performance.

Focusing On Content Is Setting Your Child Up For Failure

The emphasis and value placed on end-of-year exams trickle down and influence how content is taught. With the focus on exams, teachers must prioritize subject-specific content over teaching to the student’s needs.

Due to the sheer amount of content teachers are expected to cover, there is no time to teach the skills necessary for success. Teachers have to deal with content standards that leave no time to teach anything other than the standards. Sometimes, there isn’t enough time to cover the standards, let alone essential soft skills that won’t be on the exam.

Beyond the classroom, the use of end-of-year exams highly impacts school administration and its approach to creating an effective learning environment. School administrators have to prove that their school is meeting standards. The pressure to meet standards means teachers must spend more time and energy preparing students for the exams rather than focusing on what students need to be successful adults.

The reality is that schools are not necessarily interested in the individual student’s success. They are more concerned with their overall performance as a school and how they measure up to other schools in the district.

This approach leaves no room for meeting the individual needs of the student. I would argue that it punishes attempts to spend time working on essential skills and other non-testable characteristics.

So even though teachers and school staff care deeply about the students and want to do what is best for them, the system prevents them from doing this. Instead, teachers are forced to treat your children like a number.

The Effect of Impersonal Teaching and the Modern Classroom on Your Child

Focusing on teaching to the test and end-of-year exams sets your child up for failure. Instead of learning essential skills like problem-solving, critical thinking, and collaboration, your child must memorize facts they can quickly look up on a smartphone. These types of tests can reinforce bad study habits.

Additionally, teachers don’t have the time to address the student’s individual needs. The rapidly increasing size of classrooms means that teachers do not have the time to meet with their child one-on-one and give them the attention that they need.

As a result, your child is learning information that may have little relevance to them, which can cause them to check out of school. Additionally, students who have difficulty understanding or retaining the content will likely fall further behind their peers.

Perhaps the biggest problem is that your child will not learn the foundational academic skills needed to succeed. Without these skills, they may have difficulty achieving in college or the workplace.

Learning skills like goal setting, routine, organization, and foundational skills will give your child the grounding to learn skills in the future. They will be at a disadvantage in college or the workplace without the time to practice them. School is setting your child up for failure.

What You Can Do About It

Providing individualized attention outside of school is the best way to ensure your child learns the necessary skills. Investing your time and energy into helping them with their academics can go a long way in teaching them the skills they need. However, this can be time-consuming and cause conflict between you and your child.

Tutoring is also not a great option because tutors focus on content rather than skills. A tutor will teach your child the same information that they are learning in school for their end-of-year exams.

The best way to get your child the individualized attention they need is to hire an academic coach. An academic coach specializes in helping students develop their foundational skills and will treat your child as an individual instead of a number. They will work to tailor a plan specifically for your child and help them become a well-rounded student.

If you think an academic coach is a right solution for your child, let’s chat. I have helped many students develop their skills and increase their confidence. I would love to help your child too.

About the Author: John Hyde

I am an educational coach specializing in teaching students academic fundamentals and a growth mindset. 

After graduating from Duke University in 2015, I taught at a public middle school from 2016 to 2019. Although I loved working with students in the classroom, the public education system was not teaching students the skills essential to academic success. 

I left the classroom in 2019 to start Academic Empowerment Academy. Since then, my coaching program has helped hundreds of students realize their academic potential by assisting them in building confidence and empowering them with the skills and mindset to meet their goals in school and life. 

If you’d like to discuss how I can help your teen be more motivated, foster good habits, and improve academic organization/performance, Book a Complimentary Discovery Call Here.

Author Spotlight

Hi I’m John, author of this blog, academic coach, and founder of AE Academy.

I help teens reach their academic potential by empowering them with academic fundamentals, a growth mindset, and critical thinking. 

If your teen is struggling to reach their academic potential, or isn’t learning the skills they need to succeed in school, we should connect.

It’s on me – Book Your Free Call Here

In my experience as a classroom teacher and an academic coach, one of the most common problems students face is bad study habits. Unfortunately, many students receive little instruction on proper study habits in elementary and middle school. Then, teachers suddenly expect students to know how to study in high school.

This approach sets up many students for failure and encourages the development of bad study habits. Developing bad study habits can have terrible consequences for students. Not only are they hard to break, but many students perceive that school isn’t for them simply because no one has taught them the skills they need to succeed.

Some students succeed despite their lousy study habits, but this requires a tremendous amount of effort, often leading to burnout in high school or college.

If you are ready to demonstrate your academic potential, and learn to work smarter instead of harder, keep reading. This article will outline ten bad study habits, their consequences, and how to break them. By the end of the article, you will be well on your way to better grades while spending less time studying.

10 Bad Study Habits

This list of bad study habits includes some obvious ones like multitasking and cramming, but it also consists of more subtle poor study habits that can set you up for failure.

1. Cramming

Cramming is one of the most common bad study habits. It is hazardous because it seems like you are doing something right. You have a test tomorrow and spend four hours studying for it. The problem is that this will only help you remember the material briefly instead of learning it.

Not only is cramming bad for your test grades, but it also encourages lousy study habits and does not equip you with the skills necessary to do well in college or beyond.

Instead of cramming, starting your studying in advance is far better. If you spread out your studying over three or four days, not only will you retain information better, but you will also reduce your stress levels.

You will find that by studying in advance, you can spend less time studying and get better results. Plan ahead, keep a schedule, and start studying four to five days before the test to study SMARTER, not harder.

2. Multitasking Is A Terrible Study Habit

Multitasking is another bad study habit that many students fall into. This bad habit can take many forms, from talking on the phone while studying to jumping back and forth between multiple projects.

Not only is multitasking bad for your grades, but it can also be bad for your health. Studies have shown that multitasking can cause significant stress and impair your ability to focus.

The solution? You need to focus on getting the most out of your study time. Set aside a specific amount of time each day for studying and turn off all distractions, such as your phone and television.

Focusing on one task is also more efficient. It is far better to focus on one thing for 30 minutes than try to do something while multitasking for an hour.

The one exception to this rule is listening to music. Listening to music can help you focus, but you should avoid listening to music with lyrics. Stick to instrumental music like classical, jazz, or deep house music.

3. Poor Note Taking 

One of the most common misconceptions high school students have is that studying starts when you get home. Studying starts in the classroom. In fact, using your class time well is one of the best ways to save time and learn more efficiently.

You have to be in class. You can’t watch tv, hang out with friends, or play sports, so you might as well take advantage of that time to spend as little time outside of class studying.

An essential skill to master for in-class studying is note-taking. Poor notes can be a bad study habit that sets you up for failure. Taking poor notes prevents you from studying effectively at home and makes it challenging to learn the material.

To ensure you take good notes, write down key concepts, keep your notes organized, and summarize the main points from each lesson. It can also be helpful to write down questions in the margins. There are many different methods for taking good notes; find one that works for you and stick with it.

4. Pulling All-Nighters: A Popular Bad Study Habit

Of all the bad study habits, pulling all-nighters is probably the very worst. It is an ineffective way to study, but studies have shown that you will probably do worse on your test the following day.

The appeal of pulling all-nighters is similar to cramming. You are putting a lot of effort into your studying, which gives you a false sense of confidence and is incredibly inefficient.

The solution is to plan ahead and never wait until the last minute. Ensure you are studying in advance, breaking up your work into manageable chunks.

It is also essential to make sure you get enough rest. Studies have shown that sleep can be just as crucial for learning as studying. Sleep enough and plan your studying a week in advance to get the most out of your studies.

5. Studying without a Plan 

Another bad habit I see many students make is studying without a plan. Many students feel so busy that they sit down and immediately get to work without coming up with a plan. This approach gives the illusion of efficacy, but you will often be pulled in several directions and won’t spend the necessary time on any specific topic.

While this approach may seem like it saves you time, spend 10-15 minutes planning your week and identifying what will help you study more efficiently.

A great way to break this bad study habit is to establish a daily schedule and create deadlines for yourself. Set specific goals to complete and start with the biggest, most important tasks first.

It can also be helpful to plan how you will break down each subject and ensure you have enough time for studying.

6. Not Taking Breaks 

Not taking breaks is another bad study habit that many students fall into. Students often avoid taking a break because they don’t feel they have enough time to complete their work. On the surface, it seems to make the most sense to study until you finish something. Like many bad study habits on this list, the most common approach is ineffective.

Your brain peaks in efficiency after working on something for about 20 minutes. Your brain stays in this state for about another 25 minutes. After 45 minutes of working on something, your effectiveness crashes, and you must take a break.

When your brain enters this state of fatigue, getting up and moving around, getting some fresh air, or doing something unrelated to studying is essential. Make sure you don’t stay in the same spot for too long, and try to balance socializing with studying.

By taking breaks, you’ll be able to focus more effectively when you sit down and study. An excellent way to break this habit is to set a timer for 45 minutes. When the timer rings, take a five-minute break and return to work.

7. Passive Studying: One of the Hidden Bad Study Habits

Passive studying is something that few people talk about, but it is a widespread reason why many students can put hours into studying but still do poorly on tests.

Passive studying is when you read something or review your notes without engaging in the material. This bad study habit often happens because students are so focused on speed-reading or rapid note-taking. Passive studying can also lead to bad note-taking habits.

The solution is to practice active studying. When you review your notes or a textbook, ensure you engage with the material. Ask yourself questions, draw connections between topics, and practice writing summaries to test your understanding.

An excellent way to avoid passive studying is to think about what you don’t know. Spend time thinking about what confuses you and what you are uncertain about. It would be best to focus on these topics rather than the ones you are most confident in. Spending more time on your weak areas is more efficient and can save you time while boosting your performance.

8. Being Disorganized

Being unorganized is not only a bad study habit but can affect other aspects of your life. Being disorganized makes studying more complicated and can cause stress and anxiety. If you are unorganized, you will be surprised by how much time you spend looking for papers or doing missing assignments.

To avoid this bad study habit, you must take the time to organize your space and figure out what works best for you. Start by organizing your notes, textbooks, and other materials. Once these are organized, creating an efficient filing system to store the material is essential.

If you use digital materials and online resources, create folders for each class or subject to store the material and access it quickly when needed. Use digital calendar systems or a planner to create reminders for yourself and ensure you are on track with your work.

Spending time to ensure your papers and study materials are in order will pay huge dividends in the long run.

9. Not Asking for Help: One of the Hidden Bad Study Habits

There is a common misconception that good students don’t need help and don’t need to ask questions. This bad study habit is incredibly harmful and can prevent you from understanding the material fully or even getting a bad grade on an assignment or test.

It is essential to ask for help, especially when stuck on a problem or concept. Don’t hesitate to contact your teacher or professor and ask for help, or even contact a peer interested in the material.

A good way to break this bad study habit is to create a support network. Find friends or classmates interested in the material who can help you when needed. Having someone to turn to in times of need is invaluable and can help you better understand the material.

Additionally, if you don’t feel comfortable asking the teacher a question in front of the class, write down your question and ask them at the end of class. It’s better to ask questions and get your doubts cleared than to spend hours figuring out the answer.

10. Always Studying Alone Is A Bad habit 

Far too many students only study alone. This bad study habit can become problematic because it pressures you to understand everything. Plus, when you study independently, you are only coming at the information from one perspective, which is limiting.

Studying with other people can be incredibly beneficial. While there are advantages to studying alone, such as being able to focus more intently on the task at hand, it is essential to take advantage of the various perspectives other people can bring. Additionally, studies have shown that one of the best ways to retain information is to teach it to someone else.

It’s a good idea to form study groups with friends or classmates, allowing you to discuss topics, ask questions and help each other understand the material better. It’s also an excellent way to stay motivated and review the material meaningfully.

Take the Next Step and Break Your Bad Study Habits

It’s vital to recognize bad study habits and the consequences they can have. Understanding why bad study habits are ineffective and what better alternatives exist is essential.

The name of the game is studying smarter, not harder. Don’t fall into the trap of waiting until the last minute to study or wasting time in class. If you use your class time effectively and plan, you can study less and get better results.

If you want some help implementing these steps, let’s chat. I’m an academic coach and I’ve helped hundreds of teenagers break their bad study habits .

You can schedule a FREE evaluation call, and we can review your study habits and identify ways to help you maximize your time and get better results. Let’s make bad study habits a thing of the past!

About the Author: John Hyde

I am an educational coach specializing in teaching students academic fundamentals and a growth mindset. 

After graduating from Duke University in 2015, I taught at a public middle school from 2016 to 2019. Although I loved working with students in the classroom, the public education system was not teaching students the skills essential to academic success. 

I left the classroom in 2019 to start Academic Empowerment Academy. Since then, my coaching program has helped hundreds of students realize their academic potential by assisting them in building confidence and empowering them with the skills and mindset to meet their goals in school and life. 

If you’d like to discuss how I can help your teen be more motivated, foster good habits, and improve academic organization/performance, Book a Complimentary Discovery Call Here.

Author Spotlight

Hi I’m John, author of this blog, academic coach, and founder of AE Academy.

I help teens reach their academic potential by empowering them with academic fundamentals, a growth mindset, and critical thinking. 

If your teen is struggling to reach their academic potential, or isn’t learning the skills they need to succeed in school, we should connect.

It’s on me – Book Your Free Call Here

A positive work ethic is one of the skills that is needed to succeed in both school and life. Yet so many teenagers don’t have it. 

Parents with teenagers who lack a positive worth ethic are rightfully concerned. Unfortunately, many parents miss the boat entirely when it comes to identifying why their teen lacks motivation and a go-getter attitude. 

It can be incredibly disheartening to see your teen get overwhelmed and shut down or procrastinate and try to finish everything at the last minute. It can be even more frustrating when you know your teen doesn’t know how to approach a problem, but they reject your ideas and suggestions.

Over time, this dynamic, paired with the consequences of poor academic performance, can lead to parents micromanaging, nagging, and constantly reminding their teens to get “back on track.” 

The Illusion of Sucess

This approach gives parents the “illusion of a win.” A teenager may turn in an assignment, complete a task, or study for a test, but in reality, the parent has done much of the work, and the teenager is not learning the skills they need to succeed in the long run. Nagging and reminding give you short-term gains but set the stage for long-term failure and a lack of positive work ethic. 

I understand that time is pressing, and each day, your teenager is getting one step closer to leaving the house. However, this approach fails to develop a positive work ethic in teenagers and can also be a source of conflict between parents and their children.

The conflict between developing a positive work ethic and the appeal of short-term wins begs the question, what is the end goal? 

Is it to get an A on the homework assignment today? 

Or 

Is it to raise a well-adjusted adult with a positive work ethic that can take care of their academic and professional responsibilities?

If your goal is the latter, keep reading to learn how to create an environment that will encourage your child to develop a positive work ethic and maximize their potential. 

Independence and Developing a Positive Work Ethic 

Teenagers are developmentally at a stage where they want to express and demonstrate independence. However, this conflicts with the reality that they lack many skills to handle their responsibilities independently. 

This circumstance puts parents in a challenging situation. Do you give your teen independence and risk the mistakes and failures that will occur? Or do you support them and help them avoid their mistakes? 

In my experience, many parents fall into the trap that the latter option presents. 

The overbearing support that some parents provide can lead to various consequences. Your teen may feel the following:

• An inability to make choices for themselves 
• There isn’t a point in trying because no matter what they do, it isn’t right 
• A lack of confidence in their own decisions 
• Apathy and a lack of ownership over school and their other responsibilities

These feelings can lead to a lack of work ethic and poor academic performance. It also contributes to teenagers’ focus on “unimportant” things like video games. They feel they have control in these areas and can express their independence. No one critiques them when they make mistakes, and they can make decisions and live with the consequences. 

Teens want to live with the consequences of their actions. They want to feel like they have agency and control over their life. If you want to help your teenager build a positive work ethic, there are a couple of critical steps you can take. 

Give Teens Agency To Build A Positive Work Ethic

The first thing you can do for your teen is to allow them to make their own decisions and, more importantly, live with the consequences. Let your teenager take charge of their school work, enabling them to take in the positive and negative feedback they receive.

Give your teenager the independence to decide when, how, and what to study. Most importantly, allow them to make mistakes. Even if you see your teenager doing something you don’t think is the right decision, let them take ownership of their choices and learn from the consequences. 

Now, this is not to say that you should wash your hands completely of the matter. It is vital to give your teen independence and boundaries, and expectations. Let them know what you expect of them but let them figure out how to get there. 

If your teenager fails to meet those expectations, establish consequences, but don’t try to save them from the mistake, and don’t take away their independence.

Be Prepared for them to Make Mistakes When Developing a Positive Work Ethic

Take a minute to think back to when you were a teenager. What was your relationship with your parents like? 

Did you do everything they told you to do? 

What were some of the mistakes that you made? 

Was everything your parents said correct? 

Your teenager is going through a similar experience with you right now. Even if you provide them with positive guidance, they will make mistakes. They need to make these mistakes and learn from them to become a responsible adult.

Be there for your teenager, but be prepared to let them make their own mistakes. When they stumble and fall, be the one they can come to for support.

Allow your teenager to make decisions, even if they result in mistakes. Once they start making mistakes and learning from them, they will develop a positive work ethic.

Give Encouragement 

Although you are giving them independence, teenagers still crave parental approval. When you see them exhibiting a positive worth ethic – praise them! When they make positive decisions, encourage them. Let them know you appreciate their positive work ethic so that it becomes a habit for them. 

It is also important to remember that positive reinforcement works better than negative reinforcement in creating positive habits. Instead of punishing your teen for not meeting expectations, reward them for positive behavior and work ethic. 

Emphasizing the positive rather than the negative will help them identify the behaviors they need to return to continuously. 

Ask Questions 

Reflection is one of the most critical skills that lead to a positive work ethic—learning to think back and evaluate what went well and what didn’t allow us to learn from our mistakes and understand our strengths. Reflection gives you a sense of agency and control over your life which is essential for building a positive work ethic.

Unfortunately, many teenagers do not learn how to reflect because the school system focuses on rote memorization and external evaluation rather than self-reflection. You can help your teenager learn from their mistakes by asking questions. 

Some questions you can ask are:

• What did you learn from this situation?
• What do you think you did well?
• Would you like some advice?
• What would you do differently in the future?

Open-ended questions that focus on their option will give your teenager a sense of empowerment and ownership over their lives and decisions, which will lead to a positive work ethic.

It is important to note while asking these questions, don’t fish for a specific answer. It can be tempting to want your son or daughter to come to a specific conclusion, but your teen will sniff this out immediately. Instead, ask broad questions and let them think and come to conclusions. 

Keep the End Goal in Mind 

It can be easy to get caught up daily or week-to-week. This focus on the short run can lead to the “illusion of a win” that I referenced earlier in the article. Instead, focus on the big picture and remember the end of your teen’s journey is not an A on a test or even an A at the end of the year. 

The end goal is to provide your teenager with the skills they need to succeed and thrive in the future. A positive work ethic is one of these skills and one of the most important.

Each day, your teen has the opportunity to build the skills they will need to leave the house and successfully take on the world. 

Keeping this end goal in mind can make it easier to accept the mistakes that they make along the way. 

Give them Academic Support 

Helping your teenager develop a positive work ethic can be a tall task, especially when you don’t have the same academic expertise that teachers and tutors possess. However, there are still ways for you to provide academic support to your teenager.

Working with an academic coach is a great way to give your teenager the support they need to develop a positive work ethic. An academic coach can provide personalized support and help your teen develop positive study habits.

An academic coach can provide the consistent feedback, support, and accountability your teen needs to learn from their mistakes. Meanwhile, you will have the peace of mind that your teenager isn’t on this journey alone.

Hiring an academic coach can allow you to focus on the fun aspects of being a parent without worrying about your teenager’s academic performance.

If you think an academic coach is the support your family needs, let’s talk. I’ve helped hundreds of teenagers develop a positive work ethic while allowing their parents to take a step back and enjoy positive relationships with their sons or daughters.

About the Author: John Hyde

I am an academic coach specializing in teaching students academic fundamentals and a growth mindset. 

After graduating from Duke University in 2015, I taught at a public middle school from 2016 to 2019. Although I loved working with students in the classroom, the public education system was not teaching students the skills essential to academic success. 

I left the classroom in 2019 to start Academic Empowerment Academy. Since then, my coaching program has helped hundreds of students realize their academic potential by assisting them in building confidence and empowering them with the skills and mindset to meet their goals in school and life. 

If you’d like to discuss how I can help your teen be more motivated, foster good habits, and improve academic organization/performance, Book a Complimentary Discovery Call Here.

Author Spotlight

Hi I’m John, author of this blog, academic coach, and founder of AE Academy.

I help teens reach their academic potential by empowering them with academic fundamentals, a growth mindset, and critical thinking. 

If your teen is struggling to reach their academic potential, or isn’t learning the skills they need to succeed in school, we should connect.

It’s on me – Book Your Free Call Here

If your teenager struggles in school, it can be easy to think they are failing school because of laziness. You may even wonder if your teenager cares about their long-term success and have serious concerns about how their lack of success impacts your family.

These are all reasonable perspectives and concerns, and you are doing your due diligence as a parent to try and find solutions. I’ve provided solutions to the three root causes of your teen’s laziness.

But first, I want to tell you a story about my experience with laziness and how I escaped it. 

I was the Valedictorian of my graduating high school class, and I had never known anything but success until I got to college. During my first semester at Duke University, I hit a wall.

I didn’t know why I was there. I was completely unmotivated and lacked the foundational academic skills to succeed in college. By the end of my first year, I was in the bottom 5% of my class.

Needless to say, my parents were not pleased. They accused me of being lazy, they yelled, and we argued. The truth was that I was overwhelmed and didn’t know what to do. 

I was able to right the ship and get back on track, and I was on the Dean’s list each semester during my last two years at Duke.

To be honest, my parents were little to no help. The way they approached my academic struggles was counterproductive.

I can understand and empathize with your concern as a parent. You want the best for your teenager, and you see their potential. 

Hope is not lost, and you can help your teen turn things around.

However, it may require a different approach that addresses the sources of your teenager’s laziness.

Failing School Because of Laziness or Something Else?

Laziness is easy to blame for a teenager’s lack of academic success. You probably don’t see your teen working hard or doing their homework. They may even lie about doing their work or procrastinate until the last minute.

It can be frustrating as a parent to see this behavior and not know how to help. You may have even tried different tactics to get your teen to succeed, but nothing seems to work.

Have you considered why your teenager is being lazy? 

To get your teenager back on track, addressing the source of their laziness is an essential first step.

Teenagers want to be successful. The feeling of success is one of the best feelings in the world. In my experience as a classroom teacher and academic coach, I’ve identified three primary sources of laziness in teenagers:

• Poor Foundational Academic Skills
• Fear of Academic Failure
• Poor Motivation

The good news is that these obstacles are correctable. The bad news is that schools do little to address them. Schools fall into what I call the “lesson plan problem.” Teachers are so focused on teaching specific lessons and the content for the end-of-year exam that little to no time is spent teaching students the soft skills they need to succeed in the classroom.

As a result, many students are lazy and don’t care much for school. 

If appropriately addressed, you can help your teen turn things around and help them “academic agency.” You can help them develop the skills they need to take control of their academics and be self-sufficient.

The Actual Reason Your Teenager is Failing School

There are three primary reasons a teenager may struggle in school: lack of academic skills, fear of academic failure, and low motivation. 

Lack of Academic Skills: A Common Cause of Laziness

Teenagers who lack foundational academic skills will struggle in one or many subjects. The lack of study, note-taking, organization, test-taking and other skills makes classroom engagement difficult.

The lack of these skills can cause things to spiral out of control, particularly in high school. Without these skills, it doesn’t matter how motivated a teenager is; they lack the skills needed to engage with the content.

Teenagers who lack these skills may appear lazy and uninterested in their work. In reality, they don’t know how to and cannot do so.

Fear of Failure Can Look like Failing School Because of Laziness

Fear of academic failure is another source of laziness in teenagers. It may seem counterintuitive, but it is a real problem for many teens. The fear of failing is so great that it leads to a feeling of powerlessness and apathy.

Failure may seem inevitable, so some teenagers don’t try in the first place. Other teens fear failure so much that laziness gives them an escape. If they are lazy, there is a reason why they fail, and this is easier to handle than trying hard and coming up short.

A Lack of Motivation Can Look Like Laziness

Teenagers who struggle with motivation have trouble sustaining focus and energy over long periods. The work may be interesting, but they can’t get themselves to do it.

A lack of motivation often results from not having a “why.” Many teenagers don’t know why they are going to school. They are expected to but don’t have a meaningful connection to it; without a “why,” teenagers will struggle to stay motivated in the classroom.

In my experience, most teenagers who appear lazy struggle with one or more of these sources.

Does your teen’s behavior match up with one of these three sources? It may be one or a combination of the three.

Solutions to Failing School Because of Laziness

To help your teenager get back on track, addressing why they are lazy is the first step.

The goal is for your teenager to be self-sufficient and independently take care of their academics. 

These solutions are not short-term fixes. It will take time for your teenager to build up the skills, attitude, and perspective they need to succeed academically. However, these are long-term and lasting solutions that can help teenagers succeed academically and in life.

Stop Failing School by Building Academic Skills

I recommend starting by asking your teenager questions. Ask them what areas they struggle in and what types of assignments/projects they struggle with the most.

I highly recommend getting additional help from an academic coach. Academic coaches approach the needs of students holistically and can help your teenager develop a well-rounded plan to improve their academic skills.

You can also work with your teenager to build these skills. You can show them how you organize your day, take notes, stay organized, and study. You can check out my guide for more information on working with your teenager.

Defeat Laziness by Overcoming The Fear of Academic Failure

In my experience, teenagers often develop this fear because of their parents’ anxieties and how they talk to them. It may also arise from their experiences in the classroom.

If this is your teenager’s obstacle, the objective is to get your teenager comfortable with the concept of failure and learn that mistakes are part of the learning process. 

To accomplish this, I encourage you to reflect on how you feel about your teenager’s success or lack thereof. Do you feel anxious and nervous? Are you stressed?

If the answer is yes, you will likely pass on these negative emotions to your teenager.

It would help if you also had an open and honest conversation with your teenager. Ask them how they feel about academics and how they think. You can also ask them if you are contributing to it.

To overcome a fear of failure, your teenager needs a lot of positive feedback and optimism. It would be best if you aimed for a ratio of 5:1 for positive to negative praise. Additionally, sharing your failures and how you have overcome them can help your teenager see failure as a part of life.

If your teenager’s fear of failure is deep-seated, you might consider working with a therapist.

Stop Failing School and Start Succeeding By Building Motivation

If your teenager is not motivated and lacks the drive to succeed in school, they must develop a “why.” A “why” will give them a reason to be at school and work on their homework.

The best way to do this is by talking to them about their future. Ask them what they want after high school and what job they want. Most importantly, ask them what they need to do to get there.

The act of asking questions can completely change your teenager’s perspective. Many teenagers will acknowledge that they want to work hard in school to achieve their goals. 

The difference lies in being asked vs. being told.

Help your teenager figure out what they are passionate about in school and how it can help them move towards the future they desire. Help them find out their “why” for being at school, and the motivation will take care of itself.

Get the Right Support to Help your Teenager Overcome Their Laziness and Stop Failing School

You can help your teenager overcome the root cause of their laziness and the challenges caused by the “lesson-plan problem.” Over time, this can help your teenager develop educational agency and take responsibility for their academic duties.

Unfortunately, this can be particularly challenging because teenagers are at a stage where they thirst for independence and autonomy. Working with them to overcome these hurdles can cause conflict and increase tensions in the home.

A great alternative is working with an academic coach. 

An academic coach can help you customize a plan for your teenager to help them overcome their laziness and the lesson-plan problem and develop agency.

A coach will also support you as a parent, guide you on how to have conversations with your teenager, and provide resources to support your teenager’s development.

An academic coach will also work with your teenager to build their academic skills, overcome their fear of failure, and find their intrinsic motivation while providing accountability.

As a third party, an academic coach can be a go-between and keep everyone in the loop while minimizing the amount of conflict between teenagers and parents.

Let’s talk if you want assistance helping your teen overcome their laziness. I have worked with hundreds of students and helped them build the skills and habits they need to succeed in school and life. 

Every student has specific needs and challenges; let’s talk about how we can help your teen overcome the source of their laziness and develop their academic agency – book your free discovery call here. 

About the Author: John Hyde

I am an educational coach specializing in teaching students academic fundamentals and a growth mindset. 

After graduating from Duke University in 2015, I taught at a public middle school from 2016 to 2019. Although I loved working with students in the classroom, the public education system was not teaching students the skills essential to academic success. 

I left the classroom in 2019 to start Academic Empowerment Academy. Since then, my coaching program has helped hundreds of students realize their academic potential by assisting them in building confidence and empowering them with the skills and mindset to meet their goals in school and life. 

If you’d like to discuss how I can help your teen be more motivated, foster good habits, and improve academic organization/performance, Book a Complimentary Discovery Call Here.

Author Spotlight

Hi I’m John, author of this blog, academic coach, and founder of AE Academy.

I help teens reach their academic potential by empowering them with academic fundamentals, a growth mindset, and critical thinking. 

If your teen is struggling to reach their academic potential, or isn’t learning the skills they need to succeed in school, we should connect.

It’s on me – Book Your Free Call Here