As
a high school counselor, I often meet with parents who come to me
seeking advice on how to help their children succeed in school. By the
time the child is in high school, habits and behaviors are set.
Maintaining positive behaviors is easier than trying to change negative
behaviors. Setting positive behaviors early help in setting up academic
success!
One
of the first things I ask parents is “What are some of the things YOU
do to ensure your child is a GREAT student?”. Raising a good student
comes from a home that encourages education. Parents often leave the
“educating” to the schools and teachers, but forget that learning needs
to continue at home. Parents and schools are partners educating
children.
There are three main areas I focus on when meeting with parents about their child’s academic success, they are:
1) Encouraging good study habits
2) Showing interest in his/her progress
3) Supporting academic success
Encourage good study habits
First
off it is important for a parent to provide a quiet place free of noise
and distractions where your student can study and do homework. The
National Center for Educational Statistics identified "providing a place
to study" as one of three family characteristics which were
significantly related to student achievement. Creating a “quiet time”
every school night when all electronics are off, phones are silent, and
the entire house is involved in a quiet activity helps in creating an
environment that places importance on studying.
A
parent should also be aware of how much time their child spends on
homework. Research says ¨“the important influence of homework on grades,
a more focused parent involvement aimed at encouraging students to
spend more time on homework might well lead indirectly to higher
grades." As children study, parents should be involved also. They should
show interest by asking their children student what topic(s) he/she is
studying in a particular class.
Parents
should also be an audience for their children—listen as he/she recites
or shares what he/she is reading in school. Research on recently
emigrated Southeastern-Asian families found that in almost half of the
families studied, the parents read aloud to their children, either in
English or their native language; students from those families earned
significantly higher grades. Reading programs at your local library are
great places to get the entire family involved in reading. Ask questions
to help children clarify or think more deeply about what he/she is
reading. Volunteer to help children prepare for tests by asking the
questions he/she has written from lecture or textbook notes.
Ultimately,
parents should be positive and give praise! When parents praise their
children, they should be specific and concrete such that children would
be able to learn which behaviors are good and could perform those more
frequently. Words like “Great job studying for your tests! See, your
grades have improved!” and “Thank you cleaning your room, you can spend
some time on the computer if you want!”
Show Interest in His/Her Progress
Parents
should consistently talk to their children about school. Parents who
talk to their children about school, limit television watching, and
communicate high expectations are increasing their children’s social
capital so they will be more likely to succeed.
Some ways to start these conversations:
What did you do in school today?
What did you learn today?
What was your favorite activity in school today?
What did you find interesting in what you learned?
What did you understand best?
What questions do you still have about what you learned?
Is there someone at school you can ask for help?
Being aware of the child’s classes and his/her performance in each class is obviously important. High School and Beyond study
cited that "Parents might well help their high school children achieve
higher grades through monitoring their daily activities, by keeping
close track of how they are doing in school, and by working closely with
their students concerning planning for post-high school pursuits”.
Take
a look at your student’s binder and/or backpack. Returned assignments,
forms to be signed, outdated homework will go unattended to if this is
overlooked.
Parents
should always find out who are their student’s friends . Parental
awareness and monitoring of their child’s behavior has shown to
positively affect a child’s welfare. Parents who know their children’s
friends and activities, and who set age-appropriate limits have teens
with lower rates of risky behaviors. Allow your children to bring their
friends over to your house. Plan activities where your children can
bring their friends. When allowing your children to visit with friends,
ask to talk to their parents. Don’t hesitate to visit your children when
they are out (mall, movies, etc.). When children know you are attentive
and present, they have reason to ensure the act appropriately.
Communication
with the teachers and counselor(s) regarding the child’s progress on a
regular basis should be given priority. Student achievement goes up when
parents show that school matters by getting involved. Open house,
parent workshops, parent institute, school site council are all ways to
get involved. Parents who communicate with teachers and get informed
about school resources are also more likely to get necessary support for
their children.
Support School Success
Parents
should be aware of graduation and college requirements. Many school
districts graduation requirements may be different from college and
university entrance requirements. Knowing these requirements early may
help students create realistic goals for their post-secondary endeavors.
Recognizing
accomplishments on standardized tests, grades, quizzes, and etc. are a
great motivation for children to continue their efforts towards academic
success. Going out for some ice cream, a movie, or a few more bucks on
the weekly allowance goes a long way. High school students still love to
see their work on the fridge! On the flip side, when students are not
performing to academic expectations, consequences should be put in place
also. One of my favorite suggestions to parents is to take away
electronics (computers, video games, cell phones). Hide the power cords,
the controllers, whatever you need to do to make it “hurt”. Keep these
cherished items until progress is shown. Parents are surprised how well
this works!
Encouraging
children to become involved in extracurricular activities is also
important. Repeated records of high school students have shown that
those students who become involved in extracurricular activities tend to
be model students and seldom get involved in delinquency and crime.
Studies show that students who are involved in extracurricular
activities excel above their peers academically. Extracurriculars and
community service are viewed favorably in college admissions and
scholarships as well!
What do you all do at home to encourage academic success? I’d love to hear what works well and not to well!
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Parenting Without Power Struggles By Stiffelman, Susan (Google Affiliate Ad)
The Co-Parenting Survival Guide By Thayer, Elizabeth S., Ph.D./ Zimmerman, Jeffrey, Ph.D./ Davis, Jennifer E. (FRW)/ Moskowitz, Emily J. (FRW) (Google Affiliate Ad)