As parents, we encourage our children to reach high. As a lifelong educator, I help learners reach academic, university, and career goals. Personal and professional experiences show clear advantages when school and home work closely together. In addition, research repeatedly validates the immense benefit of parent involvement, as reported by prominent institutions such as University of Leicester and Harvard.
If two students otherwise have similar abilities and school quality, the one with focused parent support will enjoy a distinct advantage. While strategies abound for encouraging learning at home, the following points provide a focused path to success:
1. Read
Reading is perhaps the most important key to learning. Help your child become an avid reader by finding topics of interest. Make family reading a way of life. A former student earned a perfect score on the SAT university admissions test. He said the most important advice he could give others is to read as much as possible, starting as early as possible. Read and succeed.
2. Be involved
Talk with your child daily, about school and life in general. Help your child find strengths and interests, and encourage creativity. Communicate with teachers early when you have a question or concern. Volunteer at school and be an active learner and teacher.
3. Teach character
How is this accomplished? By focusing on discrete habits. Aristotle says it best: “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Fundamental habits that lead to success include attention, listening, organization, good conduct, sharing, and timeliness. Perhaps most important is the habit of respect to adults, peers, and self. Search “habit training for children” to find countless resources online.
