The most significant concern you may have as a parent is probably your child’s education. You want your child to get the best education with cutting-edge techniques and immense encouragement. However, learning is not linear. A classroom and a handful of lectures are insufficient to cultivate and nurture a young brain.
It takes a village to raise a child, and you play an essential role in your offspring’s education as much as educators and schools do. So, to safeguard your child’s future, here’s what you need to do:
Look For Critical Thinking Institutes
Children have a natural curiosity which you can cultivate into critical thinking. This will help your child analyze information, judge it, and find a solution. Institutions that impart critical learning skills should be your priority. Therefore, look for schools centered around inquiry-based learning, which encourages your child to ask questions, analyze the answer and learn new techniques to approach foreign concepts. This helps your child solve complex questions within the classroom and in practical life. Look for schools that help children grow according to their abilities and believe in focused education.
Teachers skilled with the pedagogy of inquiry-based learning strategies know how to polish students. As a parent, you should be vigilant about the teachers who work with your child and have the right knowledge to design an inquiry-based curriculum. You will notice that such educators will work with your child in an adequately structured environment where they provide relevant topics, questions, and background information to enable learning.
These educationists may also deploy the Socratic method. In this method, the teacher feigns ignorance and provides students with tidbits of information to reach the crux of the questions. Such teachers are also careful about the textbooks, activities, and resources handed out so that your child gets the most out of class without feeling confused. You may also find that these teachers have an extensive list of short and long-term curriculum designs to help your child get better at thinking fast on their feet.
Leverage Technology To Help With Homework
Your child may need help with homework. Over 70% of American students have felt stressed working alone in the last five years. However, helping your child is different from solving their work. You want to ensure that your child has the appropriate tools to make them effective learners.
Technology is a significant asset in such situations. You should consider applications such as YouTube kids and khan Academy, which contain lessons in simple language that cover multiple topics for your child to explore. You should also enable the downtime feature provided on most smart devices and a parental lock to ensure your child stays on educational applications and does not stray.
You may also instill discipline by keeping a designated schoolwork area with no distractions. When you provide your child with the tools instead of immediate solutions, you teach them to be independent. Your child will also learn better management skills, become more research-oriented, and use tools at their disposal to do their work.
Meet The Teacher
The best way to help your child do better in school is by meeting with their teacher often. Teachers have a good idea of where your child stands, so you cannot skip these meetings. Discuss your child at length, paying attention to the strengths and weaknesses the educationist is laying out for you.
While meeting your child’s teacher, find out what methods get used in class. Does the teacher refer to the VARK style, which signifies visual, auditory, reading, and kinesthetic? The last one refers to using the sensation of touch to feel the object for learning purposes. You may also want to know how involved students are with the class lectures. Does the professor create a flexible environment, including cultural diversity and personalized courses? You cannot focus on your child alone and not pay attention to how the teacher operates. Sometimes the gap lies in the methods.
Pay Attention To Your Child’s Needs
As a parent, you need to nurture your child and take care of them. Your child will not perform well in school unless you provide a safe and comfortable home environment. You should ensure your child has a nutritious meal every day along with chewable vitamins to supplement their diet. While your offspring uses any smart device, impose a screen time with a lock to ensure they don’t access restricted content and pause after a specific period.
Take out time to read to your child as it encourages cognitive development. You will notice your child picks up new words faster. Ensure that your child has a proper bedtime and gets the required nine hours of sleep each night. These few healthy activities keep your offspring fresh, alert, and able to keep up with schoolwork.
Be A Source Of Encouragement
You need to be the wind beneath your child’s wings. Whether your child is having a good day or a bad one, you need to be a source of encouragement. Take an interest in what your child is doing at school and figure out ways to help. Get into the habit of praising your child as this instills positive reinforcement, and your child feels inspired to try out harder. You also help build their self-esteem, confidence, and stamina to go on.
You should try and supplement your child’s work outside of the classroom, buy them books, play games, and sit with them to make them feel supported and loved. Children who come home dejected from school need a support system. When you provide that for your child, you are more attuned with your child’s needs and prevent them from giving up.
Final Thoughts
Providing your child with the best education is not easy. You need to strive to ensure your child truly benefits from their education. Enroll your child into an institution that encourages critical thinking. You also need to work hand in hand with your offspring to help them accomplish their homework.
Don’t forget to meet their teachers often and learn about your child while updating yourself on the educator’s credentials. At the same time, ensure your child’s needs are getting met and never stop encouraging them to do better. These will instill quality features in your child, which will help them be top-tier students.
