Think back on your teenage years and try to remember what you learned in high school or middle school. If you are like me, you can remember many experiences, but you might not be able to remember the exact content you learned when you were in your teens. This is because during middle school and high school students are learning more than just new content, they are creating habits that will help them be successful in their future.
This summer a small group of teachers at the middle school and high school met to discuss a book entitled The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. During this book study, the group discussed ways to help instill these 7 habits in our classroom routines. Each habit focused on skills that young people need to develop to find success as they transition into life after high school.
The first three habits focus on your personal victory or habits that put you in the driver’s seat of your own life. The next three habits focus on social interactions and how people thrive when they find positive ways to interact with others. The final habit focuses on taking time for yourself and maintaining balance in your life. Through our discussions, we thought about ways to encourage these habits in our classroom and allow ways for students to reflect on these habits throughout the learning process.
All habits, either good or bad, help define who we are as people. Habits are not permanent, they are just the way we operate on a daily basis. Because teenagers are in the process of developing their vision of who they want to be, it is important to discuss the habits that help people be successful. Take some time to think about your habits and the way you approach each day. Share these habits with your teen and help them build their vision for who they want to be.
This book is one of the summer reads from our learning teams focused on student success beyond high school.