Teach English in Dayi Zhen - Yangzhou Shi

Every student has unlimited potential. But there are contributing factors that can affect whether they eventually live up to that potential. Experts believe that a parent’s role in a child’s life has far-reaching impact. Parental involvement is extremely important for a child to do well in school. The importance of parents for education is obvious from the direct links between people’s family background and their probability of success in and through education. Genetic factors, wealth and family networks are important for children’s education outcomes. There is a growing body of research today that confirms parent’s critical role in helping both teachers and students succeed academically. The parent-school relationship is one that should begin early. Research have shown that parental engagement has a positive impact on many indicators of student achievement, including:  Higher grades and test scores  Enrolment in higher level programs and advanced classes  Lower drop-out rates  Higher graduation rates  A greater likelihood of commencing tertiary education. Beyond educational achievement, parental engagement is associated with various indicators of student development. These include:  Better social skills  Improved behavior  Better adaptation to school  Increased social capital  A greater sense of personal competence and efficacy for learning  Greater engagement in schoolwork  A stronger belief in the importance of education. It is important for parents to be the steering wheel on the vehicle of learning, providing guidance and information along the entire journey, so that their children stay on course and are not distracted or dissuaded from reaching their academic potential. It is said that the most important time to get involved is when children are at the elementary level of schooling. These early years provide parents the most opportune time to explore the world with their children through a variety of fun and helpful learning activities. As children get older, parents should continue to be involved in their kids’ schoolwork and ensure that they are engaged in their education. There are many benefits that come from early parental involvement in a child’s learning behavior. These include the following: • Parents and children enjoy a deeper interaction • Children who received interaction at home tend to do better on standardized tests • Children show improved self-esteem and self-worth, improved confidence and better behavior • Children complete homework more easily and consistently • Children receive better grades on tests and attendance • Parents are more aware of what their children are learning and can pinpoint key areas or subjects that the children may need additional help in Part of being involved in children’s lives includes ensuring they are engaged and challenged in their educational environment, as well as supporting their learning along the way, including reading to the younger children, helping them with their homework, and looking for ways to learn outside of the school day. It’s also important that children enjoy the learning process. Parents are role models for learning. In the early years, parents are their children’s first teachers — exploring nature, reading together, cooking together, and counting together. When a young child begins formal school, the parent’s job is to show him how school can extend the learning they began together at home, and how exciting and meaningful this learning can be. Parents should pay attention to what their child loves and find out what interests him/her and help him/her explore it. Parents should tune into how the child learns. Many children use a combination of modalities to study and learn. Some learn visually through making and seeing pictures, others through tactile experiences, like building block towers and working with clay. Still others are auditory learners who pay most attention to what they hear. Parents should practice what the child learns at school. Many teachers encourage parents to go over what their young children are learning in a non-pressured way and to practice what they may need extra help with. Parents should set aside time to read together, read aloud regularly, even to older kids and let kids pick the books they like. Parents should connect what the child learns to everyday life and make learning part of the child’s everyday experience, especially when it comes out of the child’s natural questions. Parents should try to connect what the child learns to the world and find age-appropriate ways to help your older child connect his school learning to world events, for example by asking questions. Parents should not over-schedule the child. Parents should try to earn something new their self. Learning something new yourself is a great way to model the learning process for the child. Besides school learning, parent’s active role during their study life can help them to grow up with better social skills and improved behavior. Many studies and surveys have noted the importance of parent’s involvement in the child’s education. Students with good support from home have achieved better grades at school and grew up with a higher self-esteem.