All parents want academic success for their children. While some children do not need prodding to engage in learning, all kids benefit from the encouragement of their parents, so parental involvement is a crucial part of maintaining and improving academic performance.
Parental contribution to a child’s education has significant outcomes, the main ones being a higher achievement and better grades. A child’s attitude about classroom time and his/her own education improves when parents are involved, creating motivated learners. There is no doubt that with parental involvement and encouragement children come to relish their time in class.
Being an involved parent does not have to be a chore, in fact, parents can squeeze in as little as 15-minutes daily helping their child academically. More than just hovering over the child during homework time, parents can facilitate great study habits in several ways:
Tips for proactive parents
- Seize every opportunity for your child to learn outside of school. Children soak up a lot of knowledge in the natural environment, which presents numerous opportunities to acquire information.
- Use free time as a chance to explore the environment through field trips.
- Trips to museums, festivals, and workshops expose children to new, cultural experiences.
- Other opportunities outside the classroom include more traditional academic programs, which allow parents to actively engage with their children through at-home lessons.
It is also a good idea to stay abreast of school-related matters, and if possible to become involved in school curriculum choices and overall policy. By becoming involved, parents know what is available to their child in terms of assistance outside classroom. The school PTA, for instance, presents many opportunities for parents to take an active role. The American international school in Hong Kong encourages parental involvement in its PTA because it keeps parents fully informed about school policy. In addition, PTA meetings are also an opportunity to connect with other parents.
Getting to know your child’s teacher is a positive move. Volunteering to chaperone a field trip or aiding in the classroom are ways in which parents can engage academically with the child. Busy parents can connect with their child’s teacher by spending a few minutes before or after school conversing with him or her to stay informed about classroom activities.
Help children to be organized
Designate time after the work and school day to organize your child’s backpack, even if the child has no homework. By doing so, you can address any notes, due dates, and other important pieces of information. More importantly, children will then begin to adopt these behaviors independently.
Adopt and model positive attitudes about education
Parents setting a positive example about education is important for children. Because parents impart their own attitudes and beliefs about education to their children, they can become negative when a problem arises at school if the parent does also. Regardless of personal feelings, there should always be respect for the authority of the child’s educators.
Ultimately, the goal is to keep the lines of communication open with your child’s teacher and school administration. Through connecting with teachers, parents can take a proactive role in helping children achieve. By doing so, parents lay the foundation for future success beyond the K-12 educational experience.
Lara Goldberg
Friday 11th of May 2018
For many families doing homework is a real problem. If parents take responsibility for this matter, they release their student from it. As a result, the child doesnt learn to show initiative. To properly motivate a child, you need to give him the opportunity to be proactive. The willingness of parents to gradually step back into the shadows and allow the child to take initiative and responsibility is an important part of the educational process. Taking initiatives, the child takes responsibility; taking responsibility, he gets motivated. Many people dont want to do homework; especially often this happens in the early adolescence, in the normal passive-aggressive period of the child's life. But even at this time we must remember that the responsibility for homework is not on us, but on the child. You can tell your teen that you are happy to help him, if he asks for it. But in this case, try not to do the job for him, but again put all the responsibility on his shoulders. For example, if a son or daughter has difficulty with mathematics and he (she) asks for help, you can look in the textbook, find a section on this issue and return the book to the child, saying at the same time: "This page gives an explanation. Read it carefully and tell me when you're done. I will be near". Sending a child to the appropriate source for an answer to their questions, you teach him to the initiative and responsibility, the ability to rely on their own strengths, as well as to the correct motivation. If necessary, you can invite the child to ask the teacher for an explanation.