Parenting through Yr12 Folio Subjects

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This is our second year in a row of Year 12 Studio Art.  The second year of a stressed out teenager with too much to do and not enough time to do it.  Folio subjects require a great deal of time in a way that the more academic subjects just don't seem to.

Miss Mischief and I spent six hours at school on Saturday, working on her folio.  I cut, put double sided tape on hundreds of printed photos.  She placed them, I unpeeled said double-sided tape and stuck them down.  Ten combined hours of hands-on work time. Now there are about 30 pages of annotation to be completed.  And a proposal for potential directions for next term to be written.  Between English essays and Biology SAC's.

So how do we manage this stressful time crunch?  Gently.  Carefully.  Compassionately.  I hope.

• Miss Mischief has a dishes reprieve for the week.  The other two will either wash or put dishes away instead of splitting the putting away between two of them.
• I get to rub Miss Mischief's back before bed - I have no idea what I'm doing or how to do it, but she seems to like it and thinks it's special.
• Encourage her to keep going when she'd love to just collapse in a heap.
• Help prioritise annotating those pagse and studying for SAC's.
• Nag Encourage her to phone her Food Tech teacher (distance subject) and ask for a small extension.
• And pray.  Pray that she gets that annotation done; that she can write like the wind.  That words would come easily and quickly.  That her writing would be clear, succinct, intelligent and address the subject matter, aesthetics and materials appropriately.  That time would slow down and that she would be able to use every single spare moment to the best possible effect.

Last night when I popped quickly into Safeway I was served by a beautiful young man I have known since before he was born.  He said he has lost the will to study and that it just all feels too hard.  He's doing a folio subject too - not Studio Arts.  Before he had to serve another customer all I could do was encourage him to remember the big picture.  There are just four or five months to go.  Keep going, run your race.  You can do it.  Don't stop now!  I could see him inhale my words to bolster him for another step or two.

How are your Year 12 students faring?