Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Life's Success Begins At School

BARBARA A. HOLT, PhD.

CLARK COUNTY EXTENSION AGENT

FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES

COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES

One key to success in life is success in school. Parents need to pay attention to their children's activities in school.

There are several ways you can help your child succeed in school, according to Swarna Viegas, youth development specialist, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas. Praise your children's school achievements.

Affirm your children's talents. Children thrive on praise and encouragement. Give children love, support and affirmation. Tell children that no matter how their tests went, and what grade they got, you believe in them.

Look for opportunities to praise their successes, however small, at school. Consistent and sincere praise from you will go a long way to help your children endure the less positive messages they may receive at school.

Get involved and stay involved. Attend parent-teacher meetings. Make sure that the school is evaluating itself regularly and is being creative about developing approaches for improvement. Insist that the school recognize your children's unique learning style and pace. If they need extra help in any particular subject, make sure they get it. Help shape the mission of the school. Ensure that your child's school is thoughtful about the unique needs of all children, and that personnel put the mission into practice in an equitable matter.

Observe and monitor your child's social life. Do your best to ensure that you child is safe at school and after school. When your child returns from school, ask what they do and don't like about school. Encourage them to talk about friends and teachers. If they do not open up, talk about your own experiences, about the exam you forgot to study for, about the fifth grade math teacher you could not stand, about the homework that you copied from a friend and the consequences of having been discovered. By showing your own vulnerability, your children may feel comfortable showing their own. Discussions will give a fair idea of their self-esteem.

Don't let schools misjudge your children. Make sure that your child's deficiencies are handled by trained professionals. The problem for children's deficiencies may stem from the school's climate, untrained or inadequate staff, faulty teaching methods, gender stereotypes and practices that do not cater to individual differences. If you have reason to be concerned about an academic problem, talk to the teacher as well as other parents of children in the same class. You may discover that your child is not the only one struggling with a particular teacher. If there is a behavioral problem, study all factors that may have contributed to the problems, so that you can find the most effective solution to the problem.

You've guessed it. In order to help your children succeed in school you have to stay connected with your child, with the teachers and with other parents; and be part of school and after-school events and programs.

For more information about child development call the Clark County Extension office at 246-2281.