Mt. Everest Goals Versus Bunker Hill Goals

“Can I make it through the 10th grade?”

“When will I make the honor roll?”

“How can homework not be a battle this year?”

For me the changing of the seasons is not marked by the return of Tom Brady and pumpkin-spiced everything. Instead, it’s when I start to hear these all too familiar questions that I know…fall has arrived.

The start of each school year is often full of hope and big aspirations for a fresh start. Yet by the end of September, many students and parents already find themselves feeling defeated. Why?

It’s what I call Mt. Everest goals versus Bunker Hill goals. While it is valuable to set high aspirations, the reality is nobody ever scaled Mt. Everest without first learning to walk up a lot of small hills. Successful students start small in order to achieve big goals over time. How?

Brainstorm a list together of any and all goals for this new school year.

Keep it positive. Use bright-colored markers, pens, and paper. There are no “right” or “wrong” goals, it is all part of the brainstorming process. Goals can be academic or social, occur inside or outside of school, be brand-new or a continuation of habits that worked well in previous years. Let your child lead, these are his or her goals.

Choose one goal to focus on first.

Building any new habit or routine requires consistent practice and support. One goal usually feels manageable, ten goals feel overwhelming. Encourage your child to select a goal that seems helpful and applicable to his or her daily life right now.

Plan one small but measurable first action step and move forward from there.

Decide when and how often this action will be performed as well as what types of supports may be needed. Write it down and look at it daily, mark it on a calendar, make a colorful chart, or experiment with different goal tracking apps. The aim is not for perfection (i.e., 100% completion) but rather progress (e.g., 3 out of the last 5 days).

Positive momentum propels success!

For example…

Goal: I will submit my math homework on time.

First Action Step: For the next 14 days I will log onto Google Classroom 10 times and check my math teacher’s homework page for new or upcoming assignments.