Setting goals for the school year: 3 Simple tips to get started

Wherever they are at in their academic stage of life, goal setting is a valuable tool for students. By visualising and writing down what they hope to achieve by the year-end, students can ensure that their performance in school continues to be maintained, while remaining on track for their larger life goals.

Not sure how to get your child to cultivate the habit of setting goals? Here’s a quick checklist to get started.

#1: Set Attainable Targets

A good way to begin would be to think about what the goal at the end of a certain period of time would be. While it may be tempting for students to focus solely on getting good results for their exam papers, it’s nonetheless wise to set more aspirational targets based on what career path they would wish to embark upon after their studies. This would help them to set a general direction for growth, at which pointthey can then begin to plan their goals accordingly.

A single large-scale goalcan then be broken down into smaller, achievable goals for the year. For example, if your child wishes to become an accountant in the future, what are the subjects must they excel in? What sort of internship opportunities should they pursue? Once they have done this breaking down of goals, they will be more able to make shorter term plans that act as stepping stones to achieve these goals.

#2: Set both Personal Development as well as Academic Goals

As a young student, your child has their whole life ahead of them, and parents like us should know by now that it’s not all about academics. The development of the self is also crucial to their sense of self, as well as crucial to their holistic development as a member of society. Focusing on self-improvement by having clearly defined personal development goals will aid in improving their performance in school, and will greatly improve their likelihood of succeeding in all areas of their life. This will greatly benefit your child’s sense of belonging in the world as well, once they have demonstrated to themselves that they are able to take charge of their own lives.

Whilst discussing your child’s larger life goals, take the opportunity to discuss some personal development goals, together with your child, and how to go about achieving them. For example, perhaps your child could do with spending less time on playing games, and more time reading. How many books do they hope to read in a month? How much time would they set aside in order to achieve their goals? If they desire to become better public speakers, how would they go about achieving that?

#3: Staying the Course

Keep in mind that goals need to constantly be reviewed, in order to check that you are on track. It is important to continually review progress, so that should any intervention be required, it can be done in a timely manner. Sit down with your child on a regular basis – it could be a weekly check-in, or every couple of weeks – to review whether your child is on track to meet their smaller, and consequently larger, goals.

If they are veering off-track, consider what the issue is and what needs to be done. For instance, if they have been unable to complete revision for a particular topic that they are weaker in, why was that the case? Do they need extra help by way of tuition? Or have they simply been spending too much time on leisure activities? Once the issue is identified, it can be rectified, and your child will hopefully be able to get back on track.

Your child may chafe against such constant monitoring of their goals. However, remind them that they have to keep their eye on their larger life goal, and that such check-ins are necessary in order for them to be successful in achieving their smaller, as well as their larger goals in life.

Geniebook's suite of online learning products - GenieSmart, GenieClass, and GenieAsk - give our students the freedom to set and achieve their own milestones, making them the perfect way to personalise their learning. With our Bubbles rewards system, they'll be motivated to start taking charge of their education right away.