Mrs. Smith teaches a weekly composition class. One evening she gets an email from one of her students.
Student: Is it okay for me to cite Wikipedia as a resource when I write my paper?
Mrs. Smith: May I ask why you waited until 6:45 p.m. to begin an essay that’s due tomorrow?
Sound familiar? You assign a report on Aztec culture, and you ask your teen to turn it in to you three weeks from now. But when will he typically start working on it?
That’s right—a day or two before it’s due!
Squelching a Myth
We’ve heard it. Perhaps we’ve even said it: I work better under pressure.
But actually, studies have shown that pressure and procrastination cause myriad problems.
“Psychologists have focused on procrastination among students because the problem is rampant in academic settings; some 70 percent of college students report problems with overdue papers and delayed studying,” according to Joseph Ferrari, associate professor of psychology at Chicago’s DePaul University.
“Procrastinators generally don’t do well under pressure,” says Ferrari. The idea that time pressure improves performance is perhaps the most common myth among procrastinators.
[A study by Tim Pychyl, Ph.D.] found that “procrastination is detrimental to physical health. College students who procrastinate have higher levels of drinking, smoking, insomnia, stomach problems, colds and flu.” ~from “Stand and Deliver,” Psychology Today
Obviously, there’s more than just a deadline. The wise parent will begin early to teach study habits for college...... continue reading
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