Question: This is my son’s first year in school. I definitely want him to enjoy it, but more than that I want him to do well. What should I be doing? –Want to be on the Right Track
Answer: The number one thing that will make this happen is your involvement in your child’s education. Take the following quiz to see how well you have been doing so far. You should be able to answer "yes" to most of these questions:
- Do you take an active interest in the papers your child brings home from school?
- Do you talk to your child every day about what happened at school?
- Do you show pride in your child’s accomplishments?
- Have you taught your child to take responsibility for bringing lunch money, books, and papers to school?
- Have you attended all conferences, meetings, and programs at your child’s school?
- Are you beginning to teach your child how to handle homework?
- Have you spoken to the teacher if your child is having any problems with reading or math?
Question: My seventh grader is not doing well in math this year because the teacher won’t answer all her questions. The teacher feels my child is asking way too many questions in class. What can be done to help her? –Too Many Questions
Answer: Because your daughter is having problems with math, more is probably needed than for her teacher to answer all her questions. Begin by finding out exactly where your daughter is having problems. Looking over tests and homework should give you some idea of the problem, but you will need to talk to the teacher for definitive answers.
The next step is to formulate a plan to help your daughter do better in math. If she has significant gaps in her grasp of math, serious help is needed now. Find out what help can be provided by the school, how you could help, and if a tutor is needed.
You must realize that school in general and especially math is becoming harder at this level. Students have to be willing to put more time into their studies. Good study techniques can also make a difference. Is your daughter paying close attention to the teacher’s explanations in class? Is she too inclined to ask questions before spending any time puzzling over a problem? Is she taking notes in class? Is she reviewing her notes and redoing sample exercises in the math textbook before asking for help? And believe it or not, your child should do more math problems. For example, if only the even problems are assigned, she needs to do the odds, too. This really works!
The teacher and your child need to meet and come to an understanding about asking and answering questions in class. Your child needs to express why she has so many questions, and the teacher needs to talk about how many and what kind of questions he or she will answer.
Question: How can parents judge the quality of their children’s reading instruction? I definitely know how important it is for children to be good readers, and I worry that my children might not be receiving good instruction. I don’t want to jump to conclusions because I don’t know how to judge the reading instruction they are receiving. –Worried about Instruction
Answer: According to the International Reading Association, judging the quality of reading instruction is something parents can begin to do when visiting a classroom, attending a school open house, or during a parent-teacher conference. Effective reading programs provide the following:
- Good teachers. The more teachers know about reading instruction, the more children succeed. Your school should provide support to teachers in keeping up with the latest research findings and best practices.
- Mixed instruction. Anyone who works with children recognizes how rarely they are on the same page at the same time. Moving from whole class instruction to small groups and one-on-one attention every day gives each student the chance to stay on track.
- Great classroom and school libraries and time to use them. All children need easy access to an array of interesting books, magazines, and other reading material.
Research shows that the amount of time that is spent on instruction is the most important variable in students’ learning to read and write. Generally speaking, the students who get the most reading instruction do best.
If your children appear very eager to read and to do reading assignments at home, it is a sure sign that the teacher has caught their interest. Also, if your children frequently pick up books and attempt to read them, it shows that they have developed confidence in their ability to read.
