|
How can parents help their kids get the best from their education? Four award-winning teachers share their top tips.
Tip 1. Get involved in your child's education
Kindergarten teacher, Juineta Kirby, said
it was important parents realised education began from
day one. So get involved from now on.
Tip 2. Give you child plenty of attention
Music teacher, Joan Jones, said using people's names, looking at them
and taking in what they were saying helped build a child's
self-esteem.
"You need to keep in touch with your kids otherwise they get older and
turn around and say, 'where were you when I was a teenager, you were
too busy working to know what I was really doing', and I think that's
really sad, I think that happens a lot these days," Ms Jones said.
Parents should also moderate how much time their children spend on computers, she added.
"I think it's really important, although they may have access to the
latest technology, they have it in moderation and they balance it out,"
Ms Jones said.
Tip 3. Do not just read to you children, but also try and read in front of your children
Primary teacher, Stuart Cooper, said parents played a key role when it came to role modelling.
"One of the best ways of making a child interested in reading is for them to see you reading," he said.
Tip 4. Do not over-schedule your children
Jocelyn Pride of Scotch College said parents needed to be mindful
their children were not too busy every night and they had
time to be themselves.
"They need to have time to go outside and kick the footy around, take
the dog for a walk, that every moment isn't on a tight schedule where
they don't have time," Ms Pride said.
Tip 5. Give your child responsibilities at home
Ms Pride said having chores fostered a sense of responsibility that would carry through to schoolwork.
"I think that's part of the whole role modelling, preparing students
for the future, that life is about putting in and working as a team and
getting things done," she said.
"A family is a great place to start for that," she added.
Tip 6. Encourage your child
Whether they were struggling or breezing through, kids needed to know their parents are proud of the efforts they are making.
If people felt good about themselves they achieved and did the best
that they could, our experts agreed. The message was that encouragement
will never fail.
More tips for helping kids excel in school. Coming up soon!
|
More information:
|
