Homeschooling Chronicles - The Art of Studying

One of the hardest parts of studying is knowing how to do it right. This is one of those elusive skills that is rarely taught, but students are expected to know how to do. Study skills can be tricky to teach because studying properly involves a variety of factors. Primarily, each person must discover what works best for him. One person might find that highlighting passages from a book and then writing them in a notebook helps him to remember important events in history. Another person might find that creating a song to memorize information provides a way to cement it in his mind.

Middle school is a time where studying and test taking become more important. High school and college are approaching, emphasizing the fact that study skills must be intact. One day, I decided to see how my preteen child fared when I told him to study a particular subject and then, take a test.

After informing my reluctant son of the plan, he slumped off to get to work. I heard a few grumbles, but he seemed to get busy studying. After what must have been the fastest study session on earth, he told me he was ready for the test. While fantasizing about my child’s incredible study skills, and perhaps a visit to the talk show circuit to tell everyone about my successful student, I started to correct his test. Instantly, I knew my fantasy would come to naught. He had more wrong answers than he had right answers.

Having to simultaneously play good cop/bad cop, a feat that most moms can handle; I identified the problem. My son had glanced at the material, and assumed that he would remember it.  I explained that since prehistoric times, children have been told to memorize information. In that era, children were expected to know their bison and to study cave paintings. While they too, may have wished they could learn through osmosis, it isn't possible. So like everyone else, my son learned that he had to study in order to retain information.

I explained that the manner in which one studies varies according to subject. It is also a good idea to choose a study method, discuss it, and then practice together using that approach to study. By doing this, you are modeling study skills. Of course, whining and complaining can ensue, but the proof is in the pudding. My son's method resulted in poor retention, while my method led to success. In this case, we used flash cards and oral review as our study method.

My preteen is learning that there is really no easy way to study. One just has to sit down and do it.  Knowledge can be hard to retain, but learning the secrets of the process can help your preteen build confidence, and lead to success.