Every parent wants their child to improve within school.
They want their child to be able to meet their current targets and also know
how to move forward to improve and go beyond their current target level. The
question is what steps can be put in place to try and improve and then
therefore move forward?
Targets
The first idea is to set targets; these can be establish by
talking with their current teacher or to set your own personal targets that you
feel your son/daughter needs to improve upon. Take note of progress reports
from the school, what subjects are causes for concern and which subjects potential
hold the strengths for higher grades to be achieved. The idea now is to try and
replicate these strengths across all subjects to help to maintain progress.
Participation in learning
Just as targets are important to see where your son/daughter
is in their current academic portfolio for a particular subject. It is
important to realise how well they are participating in learning. This would
mean:
- Are the pupils behaving appropriately?
- Do they create a positive ethos and encourage their friends to continue with their work?
- Are they fantastic with group work and helpful when others are in need?
- Another important factor is the attendance; a pupil cannot have a good participation in learning if they are not in school for their lessons.
When we have established that participation in learning is currently
or improved to good or outstanding then will see an improvement in their
current target grades.
After school clubs
When it comes to the time in your sons/daughters life to
apply for university, have you ever wondered what would make them stand out
from the crowd apart from their grades? The reality is there are so many people
trying to go to university that applications are increasing and you have to
have a great application and not just fantastic grades (however these are the
main priority). Joining after school clubs tends to be of great benefit to the
pupil. If you get in the routine early making sure your child is joining after
school clubs it will help in their future options as they will be likelier to
join clubs later on which will help with confidence and social skills.
Have a read of this fantastic description of what an ideal
grad student would be:
The Ideal Grad
Student
The ideal graduate
student is gifted, eager to learn, and highly motivated. He or she can work
independently and take direction, supervision, and constructive criticism
without becoming upset or overly sensitive. Faculty look for students who are
hard workers, want to work closely with faculty, are responsible and easy to
work with, and who are a good fit to the program. The best graduate students
complete the program on time, with distinction - and excel in the professional
world to make graduate faculty proud. Of course, these are ideals. Most
graduate students have some of these characteristics, but nearly no one will
have all, so don't fear.
Balance of rest and work
It is so important to find a balance between work and rest;
you have to know how to prioritise as there are certain times in the week which
will be better suited to either resting or working. Too much rest will tend to
have a negative response where you would develop no motivation and will look
upon any task as being too much. On the other hand too much work and you would
not be doing yourself any favours (both health wise and having destroying
family time) this applies to anyone of course, both parents and children. In
order for us to be able to be the best that we can be we must have a balanced
life of work and rest.
Tutoring
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to
change the world” – Nelson Mandela
Education is the key and as Nelson Mandela stated it can be
used to change the world for a greater good. Tutoring should be looked upon as
an investment; something which you should feel is worth the risk as it provides
an opportunity for your son/daughter to be taught about a subject which does
not involve some of the distractions that school could potentially bring. There
is no harm in trying something new out; to see if it would be of any benefit
and in the case of tutoring it normally tends to be positive.
We want to live a life where we are happy, not dragging our feet in doing something that makes us sick just thinking of it. I cannot begin to express just how exciting it is to take a jump into doing something that you are really passionate about. The reality is that you must take that jump, if you do not you are leaving yourself open to a life of discomfort and unhappiness.
