Teachers have a difficult job. Not only do they have the awesome responsibility of teaching your kids facts and figures, they must also teach them good citizenship. Parents can help tremendously if they do these three things daily:
Show a positive attitude about school.
Kids are smart. They can tell if their parents value learning and education. Parents should make it a point to say good things about their child's school, teachers and learning in general. Kids need to know that their parents care about what they are being taught at school. Take a few minutes each day to ask your children about what they are learning . At first, you will probably get the same old, boring responses, but once they sense that you truly care, you will be amazed at the wealth of information that will begin pour out of them.
Encourage kids to love reading and writing.
Good readers make good writers. Good reading and writing skills will not only make most schoolwork breeze, they will also set your children up success later in life. Reading should not be a punishment. It should be a reward! Writing should not be a chore. It should be fun!
Monitor your child's Internet and television usage.
Although the Internet and some television programs are great resources for learning, kids should have limited access to them. Too many parents use TV and tablets as babysitters. Parents need to spend time with their kids away from electronic devices so they can explore good books or even the great outdoors together!
Get involved.
A report from the National Center for Family and Community Connections with Schools concluded that students with engaged parents do much better in school and even have higher graduation rates than their peers.
How can you help? Make time for your student's school activities, volunteer to help students read, become a copy assistant for an hour a week or just share your work experience with the classroom. Show them how you are putting your education to work. They need to see how math, reading and writing are important in the real world!
Even if you have a day job, you can still help at PTO meetings, fundraisers, concerts and presentations. Ask your child's teachers what they suggest. They will surely think of something!
Encourage your child to work independently.
Although they should know that you are available to help if they get stuck on a question, you should make it clear that you have no intention of doing your child's homework. Explain that the homework is simply a review of what they learned in class, so it would not be smart for you to complete it – even if you do know all the answers! Remind them who is going to be taking the tests over the material.
To wrap it all up
Teachers want what you want. They want your kids to be lifelong learners who value education! If you work with your kids' teachers to encourage fun learning environments and good character traits, your children will grow to be happy and productive citizens.