The Cougar Connection

As your child navigates the exciting, yet challenging, middle school years, it is important that we work together to support their academic and personal growth. One crucial skill for success is the ability to set and achieve meaningful goals.

The skill of “goal-directed persistence” is one of the last executive function abilities to fully develop in adolescents. This means that until this goal-setting ability matures, students may struggle to stay focused on long-term objectives, often getting pulled towards more immediate interests and rewards.

As teachers, we are committed to helping your child practice this important skill in the classroom. Some strategies we are using include:

• Asking students to set small, achievable learning goals, like “I will finish my math worksheet with no more than 2 mistakes.”
• Modeling goal-setting ourselves and having students observe when we meet our own goals.
• Praising students when they work hard, even if they don’t fully succeed yet.
• Leading class discussions about overcoming obstacles and setting realistic goals.
• Setting common class goals, like an 85% homework completion rate, and brainstorming ways to support that.
• Building personal connections with students before discussing their individual goals and challenges.

At home, you can also support your child’s goal-setting skills by:

• Helping them set relevant goals around their interests, like saving money to buy a desired toy or activity.
• Using quick, frequent rewards to teach task persistence.
• Assigning chores and breaking them into small, manageable steps.
• Collaborating with your child on goals that are meaningful and achievable for them, rather than imposing your own.

By working together, we can empower our scholars to develop the critical executive function skills needed to succeed not only in middle school, but throughout their academic and personal journey.