What are the most important things you can do to help your child succeed in school? This is a question that every parent wants to know. In this blog post, we will discuss 5 techniques that have been proven to help kids excel academically.
Tip 1. Be a good listener
When your child comes home from school, ask them questions about their day. This will show that you are interested in what they have to say and it allows you to find out if anything is wrong at school.
The more engaged you are with your child, the easier time they’ll have asking for help when they need it!
Your response is also an important part of your listening; knowing your child’s love languages is something that we at Center Ed greatly encourage!
Tip 2. Provide your student with the tools they need to succeed
It is vital for school success that your child has access to the right materials. You must add tangible and intangible assets to their arsenal.
An example of a tangible asset would be things like a back-pack, pencils, paper; we are strong proponents of apps that help your student learn better. At Center Ed we provide each student with access to our in-house web application that is used for assignments and interaction. Other apps to consider would be the Elevate app for cognitive function.
Intangible assets would be things like emotional intelligence. Making sure that you are giving your child the tools to understand their own emotions and the emotions of others is greatly important. Consider the five love languages (gifts, physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, and acts of service); parents and children need to both understand how to speak and receive each language of love.
Tip 3. Give your child encouragement, not criticism
What is the goal of education? To help your child succeed in life.
Criticizing them will not lead to success, but instead it can create feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem. When you give a child encouragement they are more likely to take risks which leads to accomplishment.
If the student has finished work there should be no need for criticism from outsiders such as parents or teachers because they have done their best with what’s been given. The only way that students learn is by being able to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes. When something goes wrong don’t criticize; instead, offer solutions on how to improve in the future.
Remember the compliment sandwich: affirm – correct – affirm. Always start with recognition of some accomplishment, then correct the poor performance, and end with recognition of accomplishment.
Tip 4. Keep an open dialogue with teachers and other parents about what is going on in school
Find strong lines of communication and join educational communities to find support and advice. Work as a team with other parents to keep an open dialogue with your child’s teachers, counselors, administrators and other parents on what is going on in the education world.
Communicate any changes in your child’s life that will affect how they learn as early as possible so you can provide guidance for your teachers.
-Parents should stay informed by reading local education publications such as newsletters from schools or blogs written by educators
-Join community organizations based around education topics of interest like PTA groups or teacher associations
-Talk about schoolwork during family time instead of restricting conversations just to after dinner when homework has been completed
-Get involved in your child’s education – volunteer at their school!
-Find Facebook groups (like our Center Ed Tribe group) to interact with parents
-Use the apps provided by the school to communicate or recommend an app for communication
Tip 5. Encourage them to do their best, but never force success if it isn’t there yet
Fear of failure will always prevent success. Giving students the space to fail gives greater chance of success in the long run.
-You might say, “I know you can do it,” but refrain from saying anything else when they don’t succeed in their first try. Less is more.
-Encourage students to persevere and show them that mistakes are a part of learning.
-Teach your kids how to fail gracefully by applauding even an unsuccessful effort! The most important thing is just being willing to take risks or make changes in order to grow into more confident learners.”
Conclusion:
Now you are ready to teach your kids how they can improve their education and be successful in school. You are an integral part in your students education, don’t go at it alone.
Find your tribe, your education community of parents. Whether it is your church or baseball team; wherever you are and whatever you do, do it together. We are all better together!
Show your child grace as they prepare to return to school in the fall, and don’t be afraid of their minor failure. Every success is a compilation of many small failures.