You’ve noticed it for a while now- your child’s marks are going down. Even in subjects that they used to find easy, like Chemistry.
You have also noticed that the problem is not one of slacking. The books come out, but very little gets done. You know something’s off but any time you try to bring it up, the conversation turns into an argument. You wonder who else can help.
There are 3 kinds of people you could call: a tutor, a coach or a counsellor. Each one solves a different problem. If you pick the wrong one, you can spend months putting in effort that addresses the wrong problem.
If you are in a situation like the one I described above (you see your child studying but the results don’t show it), before you figure support, ask this question first: what kind of problem is this? Your answer to that question will guide you to the right kind of support.
1. A knowledge problem: call a tutor
Tutoring will help if your teen is trying, but the material isn’t making sense. Some likely signs:
- Faces trouble in mostly in one or two subjects only
- Puts in the hours, but the marks don’t follow
- When you look at the mistakes, they come from not understanding the concept (not because of other issues like running out of time)
2. An execution problem: call an execution coach
An execution coach can help if your child has a ‘doing’ problem. If he’s bright but procrastinates. Or does things well every now and then, but never consistently. Some likely signs:
- Low marks across subjects
- Everything gets left till the last minute
- Starts strong and then loses interest
- Makes plans, but the plans don’t happen
This isn’t ‘laziness’. Planning, starting, focusing and following through are skills. And like any other skill, they can be taught and practised. That’s what an execution coach (sometimes called a performance coach) works on.
3. A mental health concern: start with a counsellor
If your teen has been diagnosed with a mental health condition, or you suspect one, start with a counsellor, psychologist or psychiatrist. Other support, like execution coaching, can often work alongside treatment, but it shouldn’t replace it.
Why Kazivu isn’t counselling
Parents sometimes ask us if Kazivu is a form of counselling. It isn’t, and we’ll tell you what’s the difference.
Counselling helps a teen work through what they feel. Execution coaching builds what they do every day: how your child plans their time, starts their work, stays focused and follows through.
This everyday functioning matters a lot. When your child struggles to get things done, they feel bad about it (even if they don’t show it to you). When they experience difficulty in following through their commitments, the stress starts building, and it starts to shape how they see themselves. Which makes them fall further behind.
On the other hand, when they can manage their days, they feel more capable and more in control. This motivates them to do more and get better. Habits like regular sleep, physical activity and staying engaged at school are also among the things that help protect a teen’s mental health. So, while we don’t treat mental health conditions, building strong daily functioning is one of the ways we support your teen’s wellbeing.
Of course the two can work side by side. Being in counselling doesn’t automatically rule a teen out of working with us. When a family reaches out, we check whether Kazivu is the right fit right now. A few things need to be in place (for example, your teen needs to be able to show up to sessions and engage with their coach).
And what about tuition?
Execution coaching works well alongside tuition. A tutor helps your teen understand the material. But most learning happens in the hours between classes: revising, practising, finishing assignments and homework. An execution coach helps your teen use those hours well, so that your investment in tuition pays off.
Tuition can’t replace execution coaching. In a tuition class, someone else sets the agenda and keeps your teen on track. Which is useful, no doubt about it. But the real test is when your teen sits down to study alone, when no one else is supervising them. If your child only works well when someone sits with them, more tuition then can hide the problem instead of fixing it.
So, where do you start?
Go back to the question we began with: what kind of problem is your teen facing? If your child understands the work but struggles to plan it, start it or keep going, it’s most likely an execution problem. That’s the one we help with. If you are curious to find out how your teen currently fares on execution, I recommend that you take The Teen Execution Check. You will find out where exactly they fall short and what kind of support they need most right now.
It will take you 5 minutes, and you get the profile on screen at the end. And no, we don’t ask for your contact details unless you want us to get in touch.
