How can parents help?
Organization is also a huge part of being successful in school, well truthfully, in all aspects of life. Agendas are probably the easiest one to use, but they can often get lost or forgotten in lockers, classrooms or under beds. Most students will need a lot of coaching and reinforcement to use them effectively. Communication books are another tool that allows a consistent flow of information between home and the school. Often these are started in elementary and for some, continue through junior high. It reinforces the need to stay organized and helps prevent missed homework. Google classroom has been a fantastic creation to further help foster that communication piece between home, school and students. Parents are able to confirm what is due and when, what is missing and for how long its been overdue, see upcoming tests and assignments, and also check notes that the teacher has given on particular tasks. If you haven’t tried it yet, you will be pleasantly surprised. When is it time to get help? That can depend on many factors. How is your child doing academically? Are they behind by a few weeks, months or more? Sometimes hiring a tutor is the answer because parents don’t feel comfortable helping their children with the school work, especially in the high school math and sciences. Others don’t want the frustration that often results from trying to complete homework at the kitchen table. Sometimes tutoring is needed for only a short time because it is for a specific course, other times it may be for the entire school year or years. For parents of children with learning disabilities, autism or who have missed large periods of time due to illness, it is often a long-term investment. Professional tutoring centres like Sylvan begin with a skills assessment to determine where a child is on his/her learning path. Sometimes there are skills that are missing or need to be strengthened before grade level concepts can be learned. Our role is to help fill in those gaps. Ultimately, we want to see confidence increased and learning become easier. Every student works on an individual program at their own pace.
Sometimes parents suspect that there might be something bigger going on with their child’s inability to do well in school. If so, they can contact a clinical psychologist who can determine if there are any disabilities that impact learning and offer valuable guidance on how to move forward. What are some hidden signs or behaviors that could be a flag? These may appear in different levels of intensity or frequency for children but some common ones can include; acting out at home or school, homework is a huge struggle which may result in tears, arguing or takes far longer than what you feel is reasonable. Other signs might be excessive complaining of headaches or stomach aches and trying to get out of going to school. Amongst the hardest to hear is when your child says they feel stupid, that they have no friends, no academic interest and hate school. This is overwhelming for any parent. Time to take a deep breath and reach out for help. What about after high school? For many students, finishing high school means moving on to a post secondary education. This is a huge step in their educational journey and many things need to be discussed and planned to ensure that they take the best path for them. A good first question to ask or sort out is why are you going on to post secondary? It will make a lot more sense if there is a big picture goal. Next, what school will be best for you? Do you want to stay here on PEI or is there a school or program somewhere else that appeals to you more? How can you decide between university or college? This comes back to knowing that big picture goal. What do you need to achieve it? For some, it will be university, others it’s college, and for others still, it might mean taking some time off to sort things out. PEIL
Parents often ask what they can do at home to help their child. A favourite answer of mine is read with them. Reading is such an important part of all learning that it really needs to be nurtured for success to follow in other areas of study. You can also easily incorporate extension activities. For example, have your child make predictions about what might happen in the story. Have them change a character’s role, add or delete characters to see how the story line can be changed. Do they want to make a different ending or perhaps tell you their ideas for a sequel? Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter what they read, as long as they are reading. Once students reach junior high and high school, parents are still able to help by using similar techniques, now it’s just at a more advanced level. Try to get your child to tell you about what they are reading. Do they like it better than their last book and if yes, or no, then get them to explain why? If parents are really struggling to get their child to read, librarians are an excellent secret weapon. They truly have a wealth of knowledge for you. Librarians can direct you to areas of interest that your child has, can advise on what is popular among their peers, and they can also find high interest/low vocabulary books for those who may still be overwhelmed by full chapter books.
How can parents ensure a good start to the school year?
Communication really is key. I encourage parents to meet with their child’s teacher as soon as possible, especially if the parent has specific concerns. As a classroom teacher, I want to know how I can best help my students. The more information that I have, the better I can do that. As a mother, I want the same for my son and I reach out to his teachers to ensure he has the best school year possible. Let them know what works and what doesn’t. What learning challenges should they be aware of and how can they help?
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