COMMUNITY
Your Education
HELPING FRESHMEN TRANSITION TO HIGH SCHOOL WITH BATTLE GROUND ACADEMY’S LAYNE PICKETT
Freshman year of high school brings such a combination of feelings. I still remember the knot in my stomach during my first week. I was so nervous about getting lost, making friends and doing the work, yet excited to finally be in high school! Now, as I work with high schoolers, I see that freshmen still experience that combination of nervousness and excitement, but I also see that parents do, too. In my conversations with freshmen, they invariably mention their enjoyment of the added freedom high school brings and realize the added responsibility that accompanies it. While they may not always show it, freshmen are well-aware that “grades count” now. They feel the pressure to do well in class, whether for themselves, their parents, or college applications. Yet they must balance that with the many changes they are experiencing and what it means to do well in all other areas of their life. Over the four years of high school, it is remarkable to see how students change. They genuinely transform into someone who sees and carries themselves differently. That transformation doesn’t happen overnight, though. Freshmen have four years to test limits, They push boundaries, try new h activities, change friends, years ave four rely on friends, pull away t o liv and le from family and reconnect arn a e nd under again. They have four years to complain more, to say no them stand selve more, to say yes more, and s as they to make more mistakes. They have never have four years to live and learn befor and understand themselves as e. they never have before. They are developmentally able to reflect, 82 FALL 2020
reason logically, and objectively understand the impact of their decisions. All of these changes are not easy on parents, though. Each year at BGA, we offer freshman parents a program to provide insights on what to expect socially, emotionally and academically from their freshman and how to best support their teen. Some of the tips offered include: Focusing on connection versus control. Showing interest in your child’s interests. Offering encouragement over criticism. Reviewing grades but not obsessing over them, and Remaining consistent and reasonable with consequences, expectations, and routines. While this year’s program felt a little different with most parents participating remotely, they were still able to gain a sense of community with other freshman parents embarking on the same four-year journey. They are all working toward the same goal — nurturing independence in their teens — while navigating the changes that are part of that process. Hopefully, knowing that they are all in it together makes the journey more exciting and a little less nerve-wracking. LAYNE PICKETT Counselor Layne Pickett is a Tennessee Licensed Professional Counselor at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin. She received her bachelor’s degree and her master’s degree in counseling from Vanderbilt University. In addition to being BGA’s Director of Counseling Services and Parent Support, Mrs. Pickett teaches a freshman life-preparedness class, oversees the Upper School Advisory Program, and sponsors the Peer Leadership Program. She is also the mother to two teenage sons.
