How to Help Your Child Transition to a New School

How to Help Your Child Transition to a New School The following piece was written by Liz Perelstein. Liz has been featured in our Admissions Expert series and is the Founder of School Choice International. Its the start of a new year. Whether entering Kindergarten, middle school, high school, or even a non-traditional entry year, many children are beginning a new era of their education. Transitions invariably are difficult, so you may see your child struggling socially or academically. To parents, this is painful. When my family moved to London for three years, my kids were in the middle of the 4th grade and the 6th grade. My daughter sat in the cafeteria for six weeks without talking to anyone, while my son was invited to play-dates and a sleepover party the first weekend. My daughter waited and watched, but ultimately made lifelong friends. In the end, my son went through four different social groups before he found his niche. Both styles are normal, and both children ended up fine. But I went through a great deal of anguish until they were settled. Having lived it firsthand, and seen thousands of children transition over the past 15 years, I have some strategies to help you feel mor e comfortable with the process of transition, and some tips for making your childs entry easier. What is natural for children in transition: 1.Young children may cry and children of any age may not want to go to school. 2.Children may revert to old behaviors and insecurities, which might take the form of difficulty separating from you, forming friendships, or academic confidence. This is temporary; when your child becomes more comfortable in the new setting, he will appear more like himself. 3.Within the classroom, children may jockey for position at the start of a new year, particularly in grades where many children are new. Insecurity doesnt bring out the best in children, who may appear aggressive or socially withdrawn until they find a friend. Seeing your child in either of these roles is difficult, but it should dissipate as she gains confidence. 4.Your child may not be available to make new friends if he has been separated from close friends in his former school. As much as you push, he may not want to enter the social environment for awhile. 5.Academically, your child may have lost ground over the summer and feel uncomfortable about this in a new school. She may be exposed to subjects, skills, or topics of study with which she is unfamiliar. A top student may find herself at a loss and not understand why. Here are some things you can do to ease the transition: 1.Talk to your child. Even if he appears reticent, he will hear you. Point out that transition is a process. Explain that you expect it to take time for him to adjust. Repeatedly point out the progress that he has made. It can be difficult for the one going through this to notice the progress. 2.Explain that it is natural to feel socially awkward, and that even the children who appear confident experience these feelings. 3.Make sure you communicate to your child that you are okay with her transitional behavior. She shouldnt feel like she has to take care of you; she wont talk openly about her feelings if she sees you suffer. 4.If your child is floundering academically, explain that this is normal in a new school and that it is not his fault. Once he recognizes that he has not had the preparation that his peers may have had, he will feel more comfortable. Let him know that you will do anything he needs to bring him up to speed, whether working with him in the evenings or getting a tutor until you have evened the playing field. 5.Steer your child toward activities that interest her or at which she excels. If she takes ballet, plays the piano, or plays soccer, find after school activities where she can show her skills. Preferably, these should be programs in which some new classmates participate. This will instill confidence and identify kids who share her interests. It is much easier to find common ground with others when you have something to talk about. 6.For young children, seek out mothers or fathers of other kids with whom you can arrange day trips or play-dates, and bring them together outside of school. Above all, maintain confidence in your child. S/he will pick up on your anxiety. Remind yourself of all of her strengths and his prior successes. Give him or her a boost by expressing, through words and your demeanor, that you know s/he is capable and will be successful in his or her new school. And then be patient *if transitional issues persist for an extended period of time or intensify rather than resolve, consult your school or a professional. VisitSchool Choice Internationalfor more information. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

What is it Like to Attend Oberlin College

What is it Like to Attend Oberlin College The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Alexandra earned her bachelors degree in biology at Oberlin College and is pursuing a masters degree in elementary education at John Hopkins University. She lives in Chicago and specializes in ACT Science tutoring, ACT Reading tutoring, writing tutoring, and several other subjects. See what she had to say about her experience at Oberlin College: Describe the campus setting and transportation options at Oberlin College. Alexandra:Oberlin College is in the very small town of Oberlin, OH, about 40 minutes west of Cleveland. The campus is small, and all academic buildings are located within a few square blocks of each other. All student housing is within one mile of campus, but most is a lot closer than that. The campus is extremely safe. I am female and felt completely safe walking by myself at any time of day, including in the middle of the night. There are no campus buses because the campus is so small. You only need a car if you want to leave Oberlin very often. A car is not necessary because most people know at least one person with a car who can take you to the store when you need to go. Things like CVS and the grocery store are all within walking or biking distance of the school. A lot of students at Oberlin have bikes because it makes it easier to get around the campus more quickly. They also have free bike storage during the winter. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Alexandra:My professors were always very available to students and willing to meet outside of class, either during office hours or at a mutually agreed upon time. They were responsive via email, and a lot of professors even invited students to their homes. Academic advisers were also easily available by email and appointment. One nice thing about Oberlin is that the school is so small that all of your professors and your adviser know your name and remember things about you. All of the teaching assistants I had were very helpful and held study sessions multiple times per week outside of class. I was also a teaching assistant for multiple years and made an effort to get to know my students and make myself available to them. How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Alexandra:Dorm life in Oberlin is good. The dorms are old, but they are usually clean and have everything you need. I lived in two doubles, a single, and in a room in an on-campus house, and I was satisfied with all of those living situations. I liked most of the people who lived in my dorm, and there were constantly campus events and concerts at the Conservatory that we went to together. There are two main dining halls on campus (Stevenson and Dascomb) and one takeout/convenience store-type place (DeCafe). Athletes and people on north campus mostly ate at Stevenson, and everyone else ate at Dascomb mostly because of physical proximity. Stevenson and Dascomb had pretty decent food options, and the school is vegetarian/vegan friendly. At DeCafe, you can order smoothies, sandwiches, and salads, as well as buy other snacks and groceries. The food at DeCafe was awesome, but you cannot use meals there you have to pay cash or use your meal plan flex dollars. If you do not want to eat in dining halls, you have the option of joining a co-op. There are several co-ops on campus they are generally cheaper than eating in the dining hall, and you have to do co-op work duty on a regular basis. You cannot eat both in co-ops and in the dining hall. You have to decide to either eat all of your meals in a co-op or eat all of your meals in the dining hall. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported at Oberlin College? Alexandra:I studied biology so I am biased in answering this question. Oberlin has strong science programs biology, chemistry, physics, and neuroscience. The environmental science program is also large and well-known. Beyond that, I would ask an admissions representative because I do not know much about non-science-related programs. I studied biology because I was premed until the fall of my senior year. I have always loved science I had a hard time deciding between neuroscience and biology at Oberlin because I loved both of the programs so much. I also have a chemistry minor. I felt very supported in my major by both professors and students. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Alexandra:One of the reasons I chose Oberlin was that it has NO Greek life. It was easy to meet people freshman year because everyone was looking for friends, and they also had a lot of freshman socialization opportunities, especially during freshman orientation week. Clubs are really big at Oberlin, so people make a lot of friends through clubs and other activities they do. I was shy and did not find my core group of friends until the beginning of my junior year, but they became like my family. I live hundreds of miles from all of them now, but I have seen everyone at least once since we graduated, and we all talk on a regular basis. How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services? Alexandra:The career center helped me find the job I am currently at today. They were very helpful when I was writing my resume and looking for summer opportunities, and they told me about the job I ended up applying for and getting. I know of a lot of students who had similarly positive experiences. My professors were also very helpful with ideas for job/program hunting and resume help. I do not know which companies recruit on campus. The Oberlin alumni network is very strong, and I know a lot of people who got jobs and internships from other Oberlin grads. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Alexandra:There is an endless supply of study space at Oberlin. There are large common rooms in dorms, multiple libraries, and various nooks and spaces in several academic buildings. You choose your study space based on the environment you are looking for. If you want to hang out with friends and talk while you do work, you might go to the library caf or a dorm common room, but if you want somewhere silent you can go to the science library. The science library is generally less crowded than the main campus library, but I was always able to find space no matter where I wanted to study. Describe the surrounding town. Alexandra:Oberlin is a very small town and is split into the student side and the townie side. The main green space in downtown Oberlin is called Tappan Square. The campus is located mostly on one side of Tappan, and townies live on the other side. The main strip with all of the stores and restaurants in Oberlin is located along Tappan Square. Not very many townies set foot on campus property because college security discourages this. Townies and students intermingle in downtown Oberlin and there is no major tension. There are several restaurants in town and one main bar, The Feve, which is awesome. Oberlin gets a little small and boring after a while, so it is nice to befriend someone with a car who will periodically take you off campus. Students go downtown very often (there are also two coffee shops for studying) because the campus and downtown are so close to each other. How big or small is the student body at Oberlin College? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Alexandra:I think there are about 2,200 undergraduate students at Oberlin. I went to a high school of 400 students and wanted to go to a small college, so the size of the student body was perfect for me. I was always very happy with my class sizes. Intro biology had over 100 students, and that was by far my largest class. Most of my classes had 15-25 students. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Alexandra: My absolute favorite class at Oberlin was Vertebrate Structure and Evolution, a biology class with Professor McCormick, who is now retired. It was so difficult we had to memorize so many facts and bones and structures but I learned more from that class than any class I have ever taken. We also got to dissect several animals, and I really enjoyed that. View more ACT tutorsnear you. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.