Hi!
How did these first back-to-school weeks go? Are you feeling like everything is under control, or rather like reorganizing the entire family schedule is hitting you hard?
Tough questions to start, I know.
And you know what? This reorganization is not only being hard for you. It’s being just as hard for your kids.
How do I know? Because I already see them everyday in my office look for:
a math explanation on OneNote
a French exercise on Quizlet
German homework posted on Teams
Science homework posted on OneNote
and family schedule on Google Agenda
We come from a lucky generation in terms of organization: all we had was one paper agenda. Needless to say their generation is used to… another level of complexity.
Wondering how to help them find what they need and not lose their mind (and attention)?
Here are 3 steps written just for them for a fresh start into new and productive habits:
Step 1: the inventory.
Before you make any significant change, it is crucial to evaluate the current situation and what in it is uncomfortable and makes you need that change. Here are some first questions that may help you identify the issues you face:
What are the different types of content that I might be looking for and tasks that I might need to do? (long essays to write at home, short and long tests to prepare, short homework,…)
Where is my homework posted? Is it in the same place for all of my school subjects, or are different teachers using different platforms?
What seems to work best for me? Do I prefer to have a to-do list on paper? On my phone? A single online agenda with both events and tasks on it?
How can I transfer everything there? (This will require some personal work, but once the habit is taken, it only takes a couple of seconds for each content to be transferred. Which can then be saving a lot of time and energy once you’re trying to work efficiently.)
Step 2: the fresh start.
Making a clear inventory of the current situation and what doesn’t satisfy you, done.
Identifying where you wish to head so you can work more smoothly, done too.
It is now time to write your own action plan:
what do I need to do to transfer everything into the tool I chose? (write each task to do on my paper agenda, add notes on my to-do list, add them on my Google Agenda, etc)
when am I going to do it? (during the class if it is on paper or if laptop is allowed, during study time if I have any at school, everyday as soon as I get back home for all the new tasks I received during the day, twice a week,…)
how will I make sure deadlines are met and info is not missed? (can I notice any pattern in the days in which I receive most of my homework, or the deadlines for which most of my work is due? How much time am I usually given to accomplish a task? What minimum frequency must I actually set to make sure I don’t miss anything?)
Step 3: the reminders.
Setting new habits, no matter how hard we want to make the change, is hard and takes time.
To help you turn wishful thinking into concrete and long-lasting actions, set reminders on your phone, iPad, or any tool you may use to set reminders and help you in this transition period.
Your reminders may for instance be:
Add new tasks to my to-do list/agenda (weekly reminders on 2 different days of the week)
Revise my math memo cards (weekly reminder on at least 1 day of the week)
Do exercice 4 page 49 of my French book (one-shot reminder due to a specific piece of homework given)
Setting new organizational habits: the ultimate checklist
List all the different kind of tasks you have to do (homework, revision, school subjects, longer papers/presentations,…)
Choose where it make the most sense for you to group them all (paper agenda, online agenda, to-do list(s),…)
Make sure you choose different ways of presenting the different kind of tasks (for instance, different colors for different school subjects, ‘events’ for revision and ‘tasks’ for homework on Google Agenda,…)
Plan your organization time-wise (when will you check what new homework has been posted? When will you dedicate time to grouping everything at the same place? Do you prefer to dedicate a few minutes to it every time you see something new has been posted, or to dedicate more time to it twice a week?)
Set reminders for as long as you need until these new habits are taken (i.e. a weekly reminder on Mondays at 5pm and Fridays at 4pm to check on all platforms the new info posted and report it in your own organizational tool)
💡Shedding a light on… the latest national statistics.
Luxembourg recently shared its 2022 national results1 to the WHO’s international HBSC studies: a transnational and collaborative program to assess teenagers’ health and well-being across the globe.
Some of the main local conclusions are:
59.4% of teenagers (11-18yo) say they like school a little or a lot. That is less than 4 years before.
44% of students said they feel a little or a lot pressured. That is more than 4 years before.
48.3% say they trust their teachers very much.
57.3% of teenagers say they feel very supported by their classmates. That is less than 4 years before.
61.4% of teenagers say they receive a lot of support at home. That is less than 4 years before.
Students coming from underprivileged families tend to like school more and to feel less pressured by their families, but they also tend to find it harder to communicate with their parent(s).
However, one detail caught my attention: the survey has only been conducted with students following the national curriculum. A detail? Not really: according to SCRIPT statistics, for the year 2024/2025, 18% of the students were not following the national curriculum in Luxembourg. Sure, the latest HBSC survey was run in 2022. And yes, the number of public international schools and pupils has increased since then. So the percentage was probably lower back then, and could maybe be estimated at 15%. Yet, the trend requires us to raise a concern: national statistics need to take all students into account, if we expect them to be relevant to us all.
https://santesecu.public.lu/fr/publications/h/hbsc-rapport-contexte-social.html