The academic year brings many new challenges and opportunities for kids. But it also brings new risks, as well.
As kids move up through the grades, they are faced with new pressures, both academically and socially. I am always amazed at how much my students seem to change during the brief summer months. They suddenly seem much older than I remember them. I know that they are venturing into new phases of their lives where they will be faced with peer pressures they may not have experienced before.
All students could use a refresher on refusal skills at the start of the school year. Top Ten Refusal Skills for Teens outlines how kids can increase their assertiveness by building an “emergency toolkit” of responses they can have at the ready.
Teens and Date Rape Drugs covers a topic all educators should be familiar with. Check it out for info on what they are, why they are so dangerous, and how you can help educate kids to keep them safe.
The beginning of the year is also a great time for teens to start to set goals for themselves for the coming year. Goal Setting and Teens outlines how they can do just that. Working together, you can help teens learn the skills to identify and prioritize what they want to accomplish, and develop a plan for how to get there.
Please also check out Advertising in Schools to learn about some of the ways marketing is reaching and impacting our kids even in the “safe haven” of the educational system. How does your school stack up?
